Alexis Ohanian, Keke Palmer & More at ADWEEK's Brandweek

What do Alexis Ohanian, Keke Palmer, Todd Kaplan, and Lynn Teo have in common? They're all ADWEEK Brand Genius honorees, and they're all speaking at Brandweek 2024. From Sept. 23-26 in Phoenix, Arizona, C-suite leaders, iconic multi-hyphenates, and cultural power players will convene to talk about brand marketing in an era of near-constant upheaval. They'll discuss what's working and what's not. Where the industry should push forward and what it should leave behind. As they gear up to offer insights live from The Grand Canyon State, we're offering a glimpse of what to expect from some of our Brand Genius speakers on stage. See below to get a flavor of what they'll discuss next week, and remember there's still time to register for a virtual pass if you can't make it in person. How Alexis Ohanian went from Reddit to revolutionizing women’s sports Alexis Ohanian Alexis Ohanian is leading the Brand Genius charge this year as ADWEEK’s latest cover star. The Reddit co-founder and venture capitalist has spent the past 20 years developing a deep understanding of communities and their behavior online. Now, he's moving into the arena of women’s sports with Athlos, a track competition. Recognizing the uptick in women’s sports both commercially and culturally, he sees his new venture as a clear path full of experimentation. “The silver lining of women’s sports being so underinvested in was that they were so easy to invest in,” Ohanian said. “You can try anything you want. There is no way that things have been done before.” At Brandweek, Ohanian will be joined by ADWEEK’s chief content officer (CCO) Zoë Ruderman to discuss what drives his passion for sports. During, “Unleashing Sports, Startups, and the Future of Advertising with Alexis Ohanian,” he'll cover how he’s breaking the mold with brand partnerships and offer some hot takes on navigating the AI-driven advertising world. Keke Palmer on guiding Black creators with KeyTV Keke Palmer Keke Palmer is a woman of many talents. As a child actor in the 2000s and 2010s, she broke down barriers and showed that Black girls are not a monolith. Now, as a woman, mother, actress, artist, entrepreneur, and published author, she is continuing that work with her digital platform KeyTV. “KeyTV was born out of the concept of democratizing the entertainment industry for BIPOC creators,” said Palmer. “We live in a time where we are fortunate to be able to broadcast our work without needing a corporation to help us do so…” “I realized that we all have all of these platforms at our fingertips and everyone can take control of their own destiny, which is unique to this time,” she added. “So, I started KeyTV with that mission in mind—I wanted to use what I learned to create a resource that would show others how to do it too.” At Brandweek, Palmer will be joined by Ruderman for “Keke Unleashed: Stories, Screens, and Everything In Between!” where she will speak about KeyTV, her upcoming book, her must-watch TV and film moments, and everything in between. Northwestern Mutual's Lynn Teo offers tips on better ways of branding Lynn Teo At Brandweek, Northwestern Mutual's CMO Lynn Teo will reflect on the launch of "A Better Way to Money," devised to provide consumers with a real way to approach their finances without complexity. On stage, her quick-fire session "10 Brand Tips in 10 Minutes" will offer advice on how to build impactful brand positioning and ignite behavior change. Her perspective is that of a marketer who has modernized a legacy brand and diversified its media mix. "Consumers are overwhelmed. There's a ton of conflicting information. There's so much that's being shared and said on social media," Teo said of the genesis behind the new campaign. She added: "What's important now is to help consumers take action, to understand that there is a different approach to planning and that we represent the best of the old and the new." Modernizing legacy with Kraft Heinz CMO Todd Kaplan Todd Kaplan Having spent the best part of two decades making Pepsi cool, Todd Kaplan took on a new role this year as CMO of Kraft Heinz, overseeing its $22 billion food and beverage portfolio in North America. He's now charged with leading iconic household brands including Velveeta, Lunchables, and Oscar Mayer, modernizing marketing activity and meeting customers where they are. "When you look at these brands, [they] have 94% household penetration in the U.S. These are brands that are already in people’s refrigerators, cupboards, on their tables," he said. "So it’s really about unlocking the connection that they already have with consumers and elevate those occasions into culture." The marketing veteran will join ADWEEK's chief experience officer (CXO), Jenny Rooney, for a fireside chat on "Building on the Legacy of a Legendary Brand." He'll dig into how legendary brands—and their CMOs—can evolve while leaning on nostalgia. "Today’s marketing is evolving so quickly and today’s brands need to think fast on their feet in terms of the products, the communication strategies, the creative," Kaplan said, noting that today's class of brand leaders need to be agile and in tune with consumer insights. ADWEEK's editorial team will be reporting live from Brandweek, bringing you all the scoops, insights, and learnings from the event as it happens. Keep up with the coverage here.

Brandweek

Alexis Ohanian, Keke Palmer, and More Lead the Way at Brandweek

A peek at the hot topics ADWEEK's Brand Genius Honorees will be discussing on stage

Cydney Lee

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Cydney Lee