ANA Day of Learning

quotThe future is already hereamp160it39s just not very evenly distributedquotamp160amp8213 William Gibson AuthorOn September 14th a seismic shift happened in our industryamp160Nearly 12000 people in over 85 countries committed to take the day off from work to participate in an honest exchange on how we can all move the marketing industry forward Maybe you got to attend or maybe you didn39t but either way I am confident in saying that you will benefit because this Global Day of Learning from the ANA was the beginning of the future of the marketing industrySome people are calling this one of the largest and most complete marketing and business gathering ever I am calling it the largest exchange of global knowledge in marketing39s history in a single day Whatever we call it the success metrics will not be measured in size but how it has inspired our industry towards the change it needsThis virtual event ran for 24 hours straight and offered a continual stream of the latest thinking informed by the last year and a half of business and personal challenges and fueled by the immediacy of the moment There was much to take in an overwhelming amount in fact but volume was not the point The point was to get everyone in the industry together to pause to learn from each other and to recommit to working as a team beyond this daySo how did this happenThe discussions that took place leading up to this were the kind that are often held behind closed doors And in fact the idea for this day started during a closed door meeting of the ANA39s Global CMO Growth Council at Cannes Lions When the agenda turned to helping marketers and specifically CMOs to drive more growth at their organizations the open and frank discussion that followed caught everyone by surprise The CMOs in attendance came to a point in their discussion when they began to see their roles differently that they didn39t just have the ability to influence marketing they had the ability to influence business Energized by the moment they sprang into action knowing that if they didn39t the moment would be lostWhy this event was unique The attendees were not just Csuite executives it was everyone whole teams This was a chance for deep participation within marketing organizations and I can think of no other conference or learning event that offered this kind of team learning at this scaleOne of the biggest reasons people registered was to close the gap on the learning ecosystem But this wasn39t just about bringing all of these disparate segments together it was equally about bringing together marketing teams brands and their agencies PampampG for instance had over one third of its global marketing team registered to attend Other global companies had upwards of 90 of their teams join in and many smaller companies thought it was so important that they had 100 of their team attendWho was thereThe day began with some of the most influential CMOs in the world people who control much of the world39s advertising and in turn influence the lives of many people including those in attendance People like Julia Goldin CMO at LEGO who was coleader of the event along with Elizabeth Rutledge CMO at American Express Marc Pritchard from PampampG Marcel Marcondes from AnheuserBusch and Raja Rajamannar from Mastercard among many othersOther presenters were top academics creatives brand officers CEOs advocates editors founders creators and more Attendees were from every sector including real estate retail publishing education healthcare tech food ampamp beverage charity transportation financial digital farming religion the military sports and entertainment Important industry trade groups including the 4A39s and IAB also helped to drive participation from the industry39s major stakeholders Cannes Lions shared best practice for creative excellence from this year39s award winners and thought leaders from companies like Google Facebook Twitter Microsoft Yahoo and LinkedIn all contributed their expertise This was a truly a diverse unprecedented and comprehensive group who came together to forge a path forward as a global communityWhat the day was likeA few people likened it to a marathon There was grumbling about the lack of breaks and one attendee said that the lineup was so good that it gave her FOMO Teams spread out around the world embraced it like a relay race taking turns watching during their day and then connecting later to fill each other in on the big picture excited by what they sawFrom my perspective it was a global conversation These were not lectures they were provocations meant to spur more thinking more conversations and more actionWhat the days after will bringI put together a list of takeaways from what I saw and heard during The Day of Learning They are by no means exhaustive but they are a good starting point for moving forwardDon39t make the goal to get back to normal Make it to get to a better placeInvite everyone in Diverse points of view offer the most options for changeResist the pull of the status quo The only way to grow is through discomfortLook beyond your industry The solution you need may already exist thereRecognize that creativity is a skill It is a way of thinking that can be learnedCommit to always learning It is our responsibility as leaders and influencersLook for catalysts Good thinking naturally stimulates more good thinkingThink culture not brands and people not consumers It39s about connectingSee change as growth This shift in thinking turns problems into opportunitiesData and tech are tools Use them to inform and inspire your growth mindsetYou can39t go this alone True change comes from open and honest collaborationSustainability is nonnegotiable Without it there literally is no future for usWhat you can doWill there be another Day of Learning I hope so In fact I hope that there are dozens of them each independent and each inspired by the last But I also urge you not to wait for more Think about what you could present to your colleagues now from your unique point of view and put a presentation together Take what you learned to heart and put something out into the world Don39t make it perfect Just make it a relevant place to start the discussionA quick noteThe event was so large and so broad that it could not be contained in one day That39s why the ANA kept the access to its content up for an additional two weeks If you registered for the event you can still see the video tract and download the more than 200 pieces of content that were made available during the event Just do it before September 30th when it39s coming down The ANA will also be putting out a quotbest ofquot from the Day of Learning soon so look for that And you may also want to consider joining the ANA to become involved in all of the other opportunities they provide to learn and grow throughout the yearClick the social buttons to share this story with colleagues and friendsThe opinions expressed here are the author39s views and do not necessarily represent the views of MediaVillagecomMyersBizNet

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Steven Stark

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