My Experience at the American Advertising Federation's District 4 Summit

On May 11th and 12th , I was invited to attend the American Advertising Federation’s District 4 Voice of Advertising Summit. During these two days, I learned from various transformational keynotes speakers, took part in essential networking events, attended various professional development workshops, and I proudly represented my school, Full Sail University, at the AdPath student professional development conference. In addition to these experiences, I was introduced to some of the best advertising work of 2022 by both students and professionals alike. From animators to product packaging experts, I was immersed in the world of advertising, and I was honestly blown away by some of the things I learned.

As mentioned before, I was given the privilege to learn from industry leaders throughout the weekend. Throughout this conference, I was especially impressed by Annette Diaz’s seminar on “building brands within brands”. Annette is the director of marketing at Four Seasons Yachts and has decades of marketing experience within luxury brands. Annette emphasized the importance of putting yourself in the mind of the consumer when developing brands that provide exceptional customer experiences. In the eyes of the consumer, your brand is similar to an outfit, it tells a story about who you are and what you do. Additionally, a brand embodies a lifestyle, and it is your job as a marketer to translate that lifestyle into the detailed nuances of the consumers’ experience. The problem with most businesses is that they simply present a lifestyle through their marketing efforts; however, they forget to maintain that lifestyle through their interaction with their customers. To successfully build a brand with longevity, marketers must live and breathe the lifestyle in which their consumers desire and translate that lifestyle into an exceptional customer experience.