🎤 Global Brands Reimagine Marketing Strategies

The central theme of the discussion focused on a tectonic shift in marketing strategies: moving away from traditional intrusive advertising toward cultural integration and ecosystem development.

Synergy of Formats: When Gaming Becomes Culture

Gaming giant EA is no longer confined strictly to the gaming sphere, and Lego Group has long outgrown the boundaries of manufacturing toy bricks. Julia Goldin, Chief Product and Marketing Officer at Lego, and David Tinson, Chief Experiences Officer at EA, agreed that brand communication today must be completely holistic.

“When we analyze how young audiences engage, we see that they play not just for the gameplay itself, but to build social connections and generate content,” David Tinson noted. “The modern brand experience is shaped not only within the game, but entirely around it.”

Julia Goldin added that at Lego, any product—such as their Formula 1 line—is natively engineered in parallel with large-scale social media activations and special projects, making the marketing and the product itself completely inseparable.

From Reach to Relevance

Amy Reinhard, President of Advertising at Netflix, and Leandro Barreto, Global Vice President for Dove at Unilever, discussed why the pursuit of superficial brand “visibility” is becoming obsolete, replaced instead by cultural relevance.

A prime example was the collaboration between Unilever’s Dove brand and Netflix’s hit series Bridgerton. The release of a limited-edition personal care line triggered a 60% influx of new buyers to Dove, and the entire inventory at one of the largest US retailers sold out in just a month.

“Historically, our focus was centered on linear TV, but today consumers have developed an allergy to having their attention interrupted by ads,” Leandro Barreto emphasized. “There is a powerful shift toward entertainment, passion-point content, and community spaces. The deeper we embed ourselves in culture, the more precisely we align with audience demands.”

Risks, Memes, and Consumer-Driven AI

One of the most widely discussed topics was Pepsi’s “The Choice” Super Bowl 2026 commercial, created by BBDO Worldwide and directed by Taika Waititi. The spot featured the iconic polar bear—the long-standing mascot of Pepsi’s chief rival (Coca-Cola)—who ultimately chooses Pepsi during a blind taste test.

Mark Kirkham, Chief Marketing Officer at PepsiCo US Beverages, acknowledged that traditional analytical data strictly advised against utilizing a competitor’s core iconography. However, the calculated risk paid off. According to Chris Beresford-Hill, Chief Creative Officer at BBDO Americas, the genuine catalyst for success was modern technology in the hands of everyday people:

“The social media boom occurred not because agencies deployed AI, but because everyday consumers began mass-producing their own parodies and memes using generative tools on their smartphones. Consumers effectively became co-creators of the campaign.”

Creators Over Transactions

Leonardo Aizpuru, Global Chief Marketing Officer at Nespresso, and Fabiola Torres, Chief Marketing Officer at Gap, shared insights into engaging Generation Z.

Gap has completely overhauled its approach to influencer marketing. While the brand maintained zero long-term ambassadors two years ago, its network today encompasses 1,300 creators whom the company treats as equal partners and members of the brand family. Their autumn campaign featuring the pop group Katseye, titled “Better in Denim,” generated 1 billion impressions within its first week and went on to surpass the 8 billion milestone in a matter of months.

Similarly, Nespresso is betting heavily on organic communities, such as creators who self-identify as “Nespresso Girlies.” According to Aizpuru, capturing Gen Z is highly critical—not only due to their future purchasing power, but because of the massive halo effect they exert over older generations by driving online trends.