ADVANCE AGENDA

Discover what moves marketing forward at ADVANCE.

Forget the buzz. These are the ideas, innovations, and real-world stories that marketers are taking back to work.

8:00 - 9:00 am
Registration
Invite-Only
8:00 - 9:00 am
Executive Breakfast hosted by TikTok
Fuel your morning before ADVANCE at an exclusive TikTok breakfast. Designed to foster meaningful connections and insightful conversations, this intimate gathering brings together leaders shaping the next era of advertising.
9:00 - 9:15 am
Opening Remarks
Laura Desmond opens ADVANCE with a look at the trends shaping the future of marketing and the conversations that will define the day.
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Laura Desmond
CEO, Smartly
9:15 - 9:45 am
CMOs on What's Next
The marketing playbook is being rewritten by creators, platforms, and changing consumer habits. The Chief Marketing Officers from NBCUniversal, The New York Times, and DoorDash discuss where brands should invest, what still drives differentiation, and how the role of marketing is changing.
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Jenny Storms
CMO, NBCUniversal Television
& Streaming

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Amy Weisenbach
CMO, New York Times
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Tim Castree
CMO, DoorDash
Brianna Gays
CMO, Smartly
9:45 - 10:15 am
Discovery, Rewritten
Discovery is changing, and so are consumer expectations. Hear from Pinterest CEO Bill Ready and Laura Desmond on how AI is reshaping the path from inspiration to action, and what it means for brands competing for attention.
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Bill Ready
CEO, Pinterest
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Laura Desmond
CEO, Smartly
10:15 - 10:45 am
Winning the Big The Creator Shift
One of the world's most influential leaders in media and technology joins ADVANCE for a conversation about where creativity, creators, and AI go next. Final title and full session details coming soon.
Mary Ellen Coe
CBO, YouTube
10:45 - 11:15 am
Networking Break
11:15 - 11:45 am
Real Talk: Humans, Agents & the Future of Marketing Teams
Every marketing leader is making the same decisions: where people create the most value, where AI should take over, and how teams need to evolve. Hear how leaders are redesigning their organizations, rethinking roles, and preparing for a future where humans and agents work side by side.
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Steven Wolfe Pereira
CEO & Founder, Alpha
11:45 - 12:15 pm
Partnership Rewritten: Who Leads in the Age of Intelligence?
When technology becomes widely available, competitive advantage shifts elsewhere. Leaders from the world's top agencies discuss what clients will value most in the years ahead, and how strategy, creativity, and execution are evolving as AI changes the economics of marketing.
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Ndidi Oteh
Global CEO, Accenture Song
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Lauren Wetzel
CEO, WPP
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Bob Lord
President, Horizon Media
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Andrea Bendzick
CEO, WPromote
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Laura Desmond
CEO, Smartly
12:15 - 12:25 pm
The Future of Performance: Why Creativity Wins
For years, performance marketing was defined by targeting, optimization, and media efficiency. That era is ending. Today's highest-performing brands don't start with campaigns, they start with culture. They identify consumer signals earlier, transform them into creative that people genuinely want to engage with, and use AI to continuously learn, adapt, and scale what resonates.

Join industry leaders and a leading creator for an executive conversation on how the relationship between creativity, technology, and performance is being rewritten.
David Kaufman
Global Head of Monetization
Product Partnerships, TikTok
12:30 - 1:20 pm
Lunch Break
1:30 - 4:30 pm
Breakouts: Commerce AI and Creative AI
Spend the afternoon diving deeper into the ideas shaping marketing. Across Creative AI and Commerce AI tracks, hear how leading brands, platforms, and partners are putting AI into practice. Explore Smartly-led sessions as well as sessions led by Reddit, LinkedIn, Roku, and Google.
4:30 - 5:00 pm
Advertising For Good
Paid media reaches billions of people every day. Leaders from Meta, Google, Reddit, and Pinterest discuss how that reach can support trusted information, strengthen communities, and create positive impact alongside business results.
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Judy Toland
VP, Marketing, Meta
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Sean Downey
President, Americas &
Global Partners, Google
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Jen Wong
COO, Reddit
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Lee Brown
CBO Pinterest
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Laura Desmond
CEO, Smartly
5:00 - 5:30 pm
One Final Guest. Worth the Wait.
Some moments fade. Others become part of culture. What can brands learn from the athletes who inspire the world's most passionate fans? Join a conversation on fandom, influence, and earning a place in culture. Special guests to be announced.
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Laura Desmond
CEO, Smartly
Invite-Only
7:00 - 10:00 pm
The ADVANCE Dinner hosted by Pinterest
Continuing the conversation post event, Pinterest will co-host an invite-only dinner just steps away from ADVANCE. Centered around the theme of “Celebrating Great Partnerships", this intimate setting brings together marketing leaders for an evening dedicated to strengthening connections and fostering community.