How does your CEO view marketing efforts as regards brand growth? 1. as a brand building investment 2. as an unaccountable but necessary expense 3. as an unnecessary expense 4. not sure 56% no. 1. No. 1 got the most votes with 56%, which is a very good sign. Which is your preferred social media site for driving brand growth? 1. Facebook 2. Twitter 3. MySpace 4. YouTube 5. LinkedIn 6. All of the above 7. None of the above Amazingly, the answer with the most, at …

Up next: Andrew Robertson, President and Chief Executive Officer, BBDO Worldwide, invites us to email him at andrewrobertson@bbdo.com if we'd like to view 50 minutes of the agency's commercials, drawing a few laughs. He has decided to forgo making us all sit through it. A bigger laugh: He's addressing each of us, "Joe the Plumber" and even more when he says, "My friends." I guess we can assume much of the audience is more blue than red ... He's talking about Rituals and asked for a show of hands of those who check their email between getting out …

CMO Mike Mendenhall, SVP and CMo, hewlett-Packard says that digital social media is both a risk and an opportunity.  Nothing new there, but he showed how HP has done this. Mendenhall, who left Disney a year ago to join HP as chief marketing officer says the change "Has given me great insight into where technology and content converge." He says the, according to Forrester Research, GenY is spending 30% more time online than watching TV.  "This digital conversation never stops and we need to update organizations and operations accordingly. The questions are, when do you think you are …

Mike Mendenhall, Chief Marketing Officer, Hewlett-Packard, who left Disney a year ago, takes us back to 1969 by uttering one word to describe the digital revolution: Twitter. It is at the center of the largest events of our time, he says. Facebook, MySpace are household names reaching 200 million users each month. Plus YouTube = staggering.

Among five favorite Disney characters, Goofy won the first test polling here at the ANA. Bob Liodice was surprised. "Goofy, my man! And my middle name," he quipped. Goofy beat Mickey, Minnie, Pluto and, oops, I forgot but I think it was Cinderella. Throughout the conference the audience is polled on issues and topics of importance to marketers. Stay tuned for results of more weighty issues ...

When the question was how will the economic squeeze affect your marketing spend. 27% said they will spend more.  33% said they would alter mix, and reallocate spend.

So, in this economy, how do you deal with private label, disaffected consumers, price shopping, etc?  "The lessons even more important, people are looking for right value and if we are offering the right value and buidling on relationships we will get through it. We have had many tough times in many countries with eocnomic slowdowns if you focus on the right stuff you get through it."

You heard it here first. Jim's last public statement as PG employee, at least at the ANA: "if you have been inspired by these lessons, make a personal commitment to try to bring some of this to life in your organization.  We have so much talent, we spend so much money," he said.  "We can lift this to a higher level together, if you take this back make some personal commitments."

Few thoughts before he leaves stage.  "What am I doing next?"  He is going to form small new venture called "Jim Stengel," whose mission is to be catalyst and change agent globally to lift marketing to higher level of purpose and performance.  Also in the works is a book, "Packaged Good" sort of delineating his own purpose.  "This will be a business case marketing's higher mission. I'm also going to do speaking, consulting on this, and I want to get involved with young people and do teaching, likely adjunct faculty on leading university probably the West coast."

The only way forward to grow brands sustainably, says Jim Stengel. Not cause marketing, he says. It's wonderful but is not synonymous with purpose-based branding. It is "Inspirational, motivational reason for being for your brand and having all activity eminate from that." It answers the question, Why am I here? It has an agenda. Let's review some brands with purpose: Nike's? Build self esteem. Trying to be inspiration for athletes around the world. Pepperidge Farm goldfish bring optimism to children. Old Spice, since discovering its purpose, has achieved greater results. Helping young men navigate …