Adspeak

What happens when brands stop treating audiences as consumers and start treating them as communities?

In this episode of Adspeak by ADWEEK, host Jenny Rooney brings together Jason Bunge, CMO at Hasbro, Rachel Delphin, CMO at Twitch, and Dan Moriarty, CMO at Chicago Fire FC, for a live BrandWeek panel on the future of play and fan engagement.

The conversation explores how brands can move beyond traditional broadcast marketing to create authentic experiences that bring people together across physical and digital worlds. The panelists share how strategic partnerships, creator ecosystems, micro-communities, and grassroots experiences can turn casual audiences into loyal advocates.

They also unpack the importance of accessibility, cross-generational play, and the emerging idea of the “brand as fan,” showing up authentically in the communities that matter most. From stadiums and youth soccer clinics to Twitch chats and video game launches, this conversation reveals how marketers can build lasting connections by becoming active participants in culture rather than simply broadcasting into it.

What You'll Learn:
How to shift from broadcast marketing to community-first strategy
The "Universe is Beyond" partnership framework
Why accessibility drives lifetime fan value
How to activate creator and influencer ecosystems instead of paid media
The "brand as fan" positioning
How to design cross-generational engagement through shared play experiences

About the Guests:
Jason Bunge is Chief Marketing Officer at Hasbro, where he leads global media, entertainment, brand, retail, and digital marketing strategy across the company’s iconic franchises. He joined Hasbro in 2023 after serving as the first CMO of Riot Games, overseeing marketing, publishing, and global channel strategy. Previously, he held senior marketing roles at Electronic Arts and Microsoft, including product marketing for Office 365.

Rachel Delphin is a marketing and communications leader who serves as Chief Marketing Officer at Twitch, where she led the strategic direction of PR, social media, growth and media, integrated marketing, creative, and brand teams. She joined Twitch in 2018 after communications leadership roles at Tanium, Twitter, and WIRED. At Twitch, she championed the platform’s creator community and helped shape its approach to brands, creators, and community-driven engagement.

Dan Moriarty is Chief Marketing Officer at Chicago Fire FC, where he leads branding, advertising, media, promotions, and fan engagement while overseeing marketing strategy across the club’s community and youth soccer initiatives. Before joining the Fire in 2024, Moriarty was VP of Marketing at the Chicago Bulls, following leadership roles with the Bulls and the Chicago White Sox. He previously spent five years at Hyatt Hotels and began his career in marketing and media agencies.

Host and Guest Resources:
Jason Bunge on LinkedIn
Hasbro Website
Rachel Delphin on LinkedIn
Twitch Website
Dan Moriarty on LinkedIn
Chicago Fire FC Website
ADWEEK Website

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What if purpose and performance weren't mutually exclusive while building a brand?

In this episode of Adspeak by ADWEEK, host Audrey Kemp brings together R. Ethan Braden, VP and CMCO at Texas A&M University, and Tyler Merrick, Founder and CEO of Joyride, to explore how very different brands can turn authentic storytelling and bold marketing decisions into measurable growth.

Ethan shares how Texas A&M modernized a 150-year-old brand without losing its core values, including the campaign that generated 80 million YouTube views. Tyler reveals how Joyride used product differentiation, cultural relevance, and genuine creator partnerships to become the #1 candy at Target. Together, they unpack why purpose-driven marketing works best when it is grounded in authentic brand positioning, strong creative conviction, and a clear understanding of the audience.
From legacy institutions to challenger brands, this conversation offers practical lessons for building brands that matter and perform.

What You'll Learn:
How to reposition a legacy brand nationally by what makes you distinct
Why pulling underperforming creative can catalyze breakthrough results
The three-legged stool framework for challenger brand success
How to validate purpose-driven positioning through retail performance
The difference between hiring an influencer and building a partnership
How to maintain brand integrity while modernizing for national relevance

About the Guests:
R. Ethan Braden is Vice President and Chief Marketing and Communications Officer at Texas A&M University, where he leads brand, marketing, communications, and storytelling to strengthen the university’s national presence. Previously, he served as EVP and CMO at Purdue University and Purdue Global. Earlier, Ethan spent more than a decade at Eli Lilly & Company, helping lead billion-dollar brands including Cymbalta and Jardiance. His work has been featured in Fast Company, Ad Age, and The Washington Post. In 2023, he was named Content Marketer of the Year by the Content Marketing Institute.

Tyler Merrick is the founder and CEO of Joyride, a challenger candy brand that became the #1-selling candy at Target by combining clean ingredients with authentic creator partnerships. With roots in family entrepreneurship and a background in product development across multiple categories, Merrick built Joyride on a thesis of purpose-driven performance: delivering significantly less sugar and zero artificial additives without compromising taste.

Host and Guest Resources:
R. Ethan Braden on LinkedIn
Texas A&M University Website
Tyler Merrick on LinkedIn
Joyride Website
ADWEEK Website

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AI is reshaping how brands imagine, produce, and tell stories, but the most effective creative work still starts with human ideas. In this episode of Adspeak by ADWEEK, Nik Kleverov, Co-founder and Chief Creative Officer at Native Foreign, explores how visual AI is helping brands including Toys“R”Us, Coca-Cola, and Delta push beyond the limits of traditional production. He explains why AI should be treated as a creative accelerant rather than a replacement for human judgment, and how iterative, editor-centric workflows are changing the production process.

Nik also discusses the rise of the “generalist with big ideas,” the importance of building client trust through transparent workflows and legal safeguards, and how teams can decide when AI genuinely adds value. From impossible-to-film environments to questions of representation and bias, he offers a practical look at using AI to expand creative ambition while preserving authenticity, emotional resonance, and human authorship and meaningful brand storytelling today.

What You'll Learn:

How to position AI as a creative accelerant, not a human replacement
Why visualization and iterative workflows are replacing traditional production
The "Generalist with Big Ideas" advantage in an AI-driven market
How to build client trust through legal safeguards and transparent workflows
When to use AI versus traditional production, and when not to
How representation and bias in AI tools directly impact campaign inclusivity

About the Guest:
Nik Kleverov is the Co-founder and Chief Creative Officer at Native Foreign and a pioneering storyteller exploring the possibilities of AI in creative work. From Netflix’s Narcos title sequences to the first AI-generated brand film for Toys“R”Us, his work blends technology and creativity to push storytelling forward. A sought-after speaker, Nik is a leading voice on how AI is reshaping the future of storytelling.

Host and Guest Resources:

Nik Kleverov on LinkedIn
Native Foreign Website
ADWEEK Website
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In this episode of Adspeak by ADWEEK, host Audrey Kemp sits down with Sahara Lotti, founder and CEO of Lashify, to explore why intellectual property is far more than a legal safeguard; it can be a powerful competitive moat. Sahara shares how solving a personal beauty problem led her to create a new product category, build Lashify from $300 to $8 million in its first year, and invest heavily in patents and enforcement. She discusses the challenges women-led beauty innovations face in an industry rife with copycats, including her landmark court victory against overseas manufacturers.

The conversation also explores how founders can use broad patent protection, direct-to-consumer margins, community-building, and transparency to defend innovation and build lasting brand value. Sahara offers a candid look at the business realities of protecting original ideas and explains why intellectual property can become a foundation for generational wealth.

What You'll Learn:
How to Transform a Personal Problem Into Patentable Innovation.
Why Beauty Brands Are Marketing Companies, Not Innovators
The Patent Enforcement Reality Check.
How to Win Against Counterfeiters and Set Industry Precedent
The Influencer Attack Strategy Used Against IP Defenders.
Build Direct-to-Consumer Profitability to Fund Your IP Wars
Why Vague Patents Beat Precise Ones
The Incubator Model as an IP Protection Strategy

About the Guest:
Sahara Lotti is the founder and CEO of Lashify, the world’s first at-home lash extension system, which redefined luxury DIY beauty. With more than 700 global patents, her patented Gossamer lash technology has established a new standard for innovation in the industry. In 2024, Lotti led Lashify to a landmark $30.5 million legal victory. In 2025, she secured a Federal Circuit ruling that strengthened patent holders’ ability to protect innovations and block counterfeit imports through ITC exclusion orders.

Host and Guest Resources:
Sahara Lotti on LinkedIn
Lashify Website
ADWEEK Website

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Travel brands are redefining the journey by moving beyond destinations to create personalized, culturally relevant experiences at every touchpoint.

On this episode of Adspeak by ADWEEK, host Jenny Rooney brings together Sheretha Bell of Atlanta Convention & Visitors Bureau, Eliot Hamlisch of Amtrak, and Brad Hiranaga of Marriott to explore how the industry is responding to changing traveler expectations. The conversation examines how transportation brands are turning the journey itself into part of the experience, while destinations connect with travelers through passions, identity, and culture.

The guests also discuss personalization, first-party data, loyalty ecosystems, and the growing influence of AI and ChatGPT on travel discovery. From Amtrak’s unexpected social strategy to Atlanta’s handwritten postcard activation and Marriott’s expansive Bonvoy ecosystem, the episode reveals how brands can combine technology and data with creativity and genuine human connection to drive engagement, loyalty, and revenue.

What You'll Learn:

How to pivot from transportation to hospitality
Why values-driven travel is reshaping destination marketing
The personalization imperative in hospitality
How to build culturally relevant social strategies for Gen Z
The critical role of content quality in AI-driven discovery
How loyalty programs and media networks drive scale
Why blending AI-powered tools with human connection wins

About the Guests:
Brad Hiranaga is Global Senior Vice President of Brand and Design Experiences at Marriott International, bringing expertise in experience design and brand strategy across hospitality. With a background spanning packaged food and apparel, Hiranaga leads initiatives to innovate hotel experiences, from the newly launched outdoor collection to wellness-focused services, leveraging Marriott's scale of 10,000+ properties. His work demonstrates how loyalty data and design thinking unlock new revenue opportunities and consumer insights in hospitality.

Eliot Hamlisch is Chief Commercial Officer at Amtrak, responsible for transforming the nation's rail operator from a transportation utility into a hospitality brand. Over two years in the role, Hamlisch has spearheaded initiatives to redefine train travel as an end-to-end experience, from digital booking to onboard partnerships (including collaborations with celebrity chefs like Steven Starr), while driving measurable engagement and ridership growth through unexpected, Gen Z-focused social campaigns.

Sheretha Bell is Senior Vice President of Marketing and Brand Strategy at Atlanta Convention and Visitors Bureau (Discover Atlanta), where she has driven strategic evolution over 25 years. Bell leads efforts to position Atlanta as a premier destination for conventions and leisure travel, integrating AI-powered advertising tools with authentic content and experiential marketing, such as the "World's Largest Postcard" campaign, to reach travelers at critical decision moments while maintaining the personal touch that drives loyalty.

Host and Guest Resources:

Brad Hiranaga on LinkedIn
Marriott Website
Eliot Hamlisch on LinkedIn
Amtrak Website
Sheretha Bell on LinkedIn
Atlanta Convention and Visitors Bureau Website
ADWEEK Website
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