General Sessions

Piers Fawkes, president of PSFK, will present freshly updated findings from PSFK’s annual Future of Retail report. Fawkes will inspire anyone involved in creating touchpoints that lead a customer through the purchase path. While there are tremendous changes happening across all aspects of retail, he focuses on the vibrant innovation revolving around the physical store. Fawkes will present key trends and macro themes that retailers, service providers and product manufacturers can leverage to enhance the shopper experience in order to drive sales.

Fawkes will touch upon 10 key retail trends that live within three broad themes:

• Shopper know-how.
• Online expectation, real world experience.
• Redefined retail cartography.

Mike Rowe, who has performed more than 300 jobs as host of Discovery Channel’s “Dirty Jobs” series, has launched a website (www.mikeroweworks.com) and a foundation (mikeroweWORKS Foundation) to promote skilled labor and provide assistance to those seeking to learn a skill or master a trade. He has many large commercial endorsement and licensing relationships, including Ford, Caterpillar, Kimberly-Clark (Viva), Kimberly-Clark Professional, VF Corp. (Lee) and Master Lock. He also recently launched a new line of cleaning products under the name Dirty Jobs.

In spite of these diverse activities, Rowe doesn't see himself as a host or spokesman. He sees himself as a curious viewer or customer with access to experts and a genuine fan of the companies and brands with which he is associated. That positioning has affected the work genre in television and helped maintain his authenticity and credibility. It has also resulted in a powerful brand centered around Rowe, and him being one of the most trusted celebrity endorsers.

Come listen to Rowe speak about his experiences in the entertainment and commercial world and how he "Forrest Gumped" his way in to a successful brand.  

Shopper Marketing Effie Awards

Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony

This dynamic presentation will showcase the power of digital media along the shopper's path to purchase, putting the what, the why and the action together to partner with leading retailers to capture growth.

This speaking team is unique because it has been assembled to cover digital integration across all major channels of trade, from convenience and gas through grocery to mass retailers, from insights to solutions.

The goal of the presentation is to walk the audience through the framework used to work collaboratively with key retailers, beginning with framing and identifying the opportunity to develop programs and ultimately measuring success to assure effective use of tools and capabilities. Key takeaways:

• A digital shopper engagement framework to focus efforts.
• Building solutions and selecting digital tactics that are appropriate for the retailer, the brand and the shopper through their decision journey.
• Digital program case study examples where the solutions were more integrated and effective than either a retailer or vendor brand could do on its own – building brand lovers and converting brand buyers.