Season 10 in Review: What NFL, PepsiCo & Unilever Taught Us About Modern Marketing Leadership

Marketing and insights teams speak different languages when building cultural relevance. Radhika Duggal, CMO of Major League Soccer, and Bettina Garibaldi, Chief Marketing Officer for FIFA World Cup 26™ New York New Jersey, reveal how soccer earned its place in American culture through three decades of patient community building. They share the "attention and spectacle" framework that transformed MLS marketing, the "participation is the new reach" strategy driving World Cup engagement, and how both organizations convert global moments into lasting local fandom through authentic cultural integration. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Marketing and insights teams waste millions speaking different languages. Nataly Kelly and Steven Phillips, Zappi's CMO and Chief Innovation Officer, reveal the five breakthrough patterns that emerged from interviewing leaders at NFL, PepsiCo, Unilever, and Visa. They share Unilever's "100-hour consumer passport" rule, the CMO-CFO partnership framework that drives real business growth, and why AI's biggest win isn't productivity. It's freeing up time for human relationships that turn consumer truth into market advantage.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Most brands treat AI like a data processor, but Christian Niederauer uses it to ask deeper human questions. As Vice President of Global Insights at Colgate-Palmolive, Christian leads consumer research across 200+ countries and transforms how AI reveals what people actually need, not just what they buy. He shares his "people-centric AI" framework that moves beyond traditional consumer segmentation to understand humans holistically, his "machine insights" methodology for optimizing content in an agentic commerce world, and practical strategies for democratizing insights while maintaining quality control across global markets.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Most brands lose relevance one price-led campaign at a time. Carolyn Pollock, former CMO of Tailored Brands and advisor to CEOs, transformed iconic menswear brands by reconnecting with consumer truth rather than chasing discounts. She reveals her "Love the way you look" strategy that rebuilt emotional brand equity, her framework for turning finance leaders into marketing allies through shared assumptions and documented models, and why the future belongs to AI-augmented generalists who provide strategic context across the entire marketing mix.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Frozen food faces a massive perception problem that's costing brands billions. Alex Hardy, Consumer Insight & Analytics Director at Nomad Foods, bridges this gap by transforming misconceptions into market opportunities across 25 European markets. He reveals how demand space frameworks uncover universal meal occasions that transcend cultural boundaries, why AI experimentation requires a "problem-first" mindset rather than technology-led solutions, and how building genuine partnerships with marketing teams creates the foundation for turning consumer truth into business growth.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Most meal kit companies struggle with turning trial customers into loyal subscribers. Patrick Roney, Customer Insights & Analytics Lead at HelloFresh, bridges marketing strategy with behavioral data to solve this exact challenge, having previously applied similar approaches at McDonald's and Burger King. He reveals HelloFresh's "bigger, healthier, tastier" framework that doubled recipe variety from 50 to 100 options weekly, explains why emotional connection beats functional benefits for lasting loyalty, and shares the three-part formula for creating customer experiences competitors can't replicate.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Marketing teams measure campaigns but miss the bigger picture of systematic effectiveness. Sorin Patilinet, Global Marketing Effectiveness Executive at PepsiCo, bridges engineering precision with marketing creativity to build scalable measurement systems that actually drive business growth. He reveals the Kaizen principle for iterative testing that changes one variable at a time, explains why ad wear-out is a marketer myth that wastes budgets, and shares how to align entire organizations around a single effectiveness metric that connects every decision to measurable outcomes.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Most insights teams still operate like order-takers, not strategic partners.Sinead Jefferies, SVP of Professional Services at Zappi and former Chair of the Market Research Society, bridges C-suite strategy with operational research excellence, transforming how organizations embed consumer truth into decision-making.You'll discover her "know your audience" framework for speaking the language of business leaders, the cultural shift from project-based to connected insights that changes how marketing perceives research, and why reading the room matters more than statistical significance when influencing senior stakeholders.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Most global brands fail at cultural relevance despite massive research investments. Katherine Melchior Ray, former CMO at Shiseido and marketing leader across Nike, Louis Vuitton, and Hyatt, bridges strategic vision with cultural intelligence gained from 12 years working abroad. She reveals the "freedom within a framework" approach that lets KitKat succeed in 14 countries, the cultural intelligence model that prevents costly missteps like Airbnb's China exit, and how trust-building requires shared values, honest communication, and consistent promise delivery across every market.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Most brands treat Super Bowl advertising like a single moment instead of a strategic system. Mark Kirkham, CMO of PepsiCo Beverages US, and Greg Guidotti, CMO of Ferrara Candy Company, reveal how winning Super Bowl campaigns actually work. The process starts months before kickoff with clear business objectives, not just creative buzz. They share the "make simple special" framework that drives real growth, the consumer insights that give teams confidence to be bold, and why the best Super Bowl advertising connects to year-round brand strategy rather than chasing viral moments.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.