Creativity is about what you do, not just what you say. As a hybrid creative and strategic partner, we solve the toughest problems not by reacting to culture, but by understanding and shaping where culture will go. Strategy is only as useful as its application. That’s why we let creative inform strategy and strategy inform creative. We have fuzzy lines between roles. No waterfall processes. No account people. And no attitudes. We think work is a practice. That means we’re always reinventing how the work gets done. Inertia is the enemy. Momentum is the antidote. Individually, we embrace the freedom to define our own career paths, and reinvent as needed. Collectively, we push each other to be brave, whether we’re sharing ideas or coming up with new ones. We all have expertise at something — but no matter the subject, we believe everyone in the room has something valuable to say. We’re motivated by people, and the energy we get from one another. Business should be a force for good, both for people and the world at large. The best businesses are profitable because they solve problems that shape a better way of living. We’ve been independent since day one, and plan to stay that way. We control our destiny, our ways of working, and our impact. To help us and others thrive, we recently launched Nostos, a community of agencies that want to remain strong and independent.

What first sparked your interest in advertising? The aesthetic branding of your favorite coffee chain? Apple’s industry shifting minimalism? Hilarious commercials from your go-to snack brand? B2C (business to consumer)advertising is the easiest to spot in the wild and is typically what comes to mind first when thinking about the profession. But there’s a whole other segment of advertising overflowing with opportunity that gets less mainstream attention: B2B (business to business). As an agency who specializes in the agriculture, food and companion animal industries, Curious Plot spends a lot of time in the B2B space. Join us in a session exploring the nuances of B2B advertising, hear case studies from the Curious Plot repertoire and get inspired to pursue a career in strategic and impactful B2B advertising from two rising stars in the Twin Cities ad industry.

Curious Plot is a marketing, communications and consulting agency serving clients in the food, agriculture and companion animal care markets.

Media agencies are their own breed, even within the agency community. And even though we’re a team, we’re also individuals who have our own goals, dreams, and passions. Many in our line of work and interested in our industry look for careers and roles that not only give the opportunity to pursue our passions, but places where we can gain skills that will make that pursuit even better. Attendees can expect to learn about the skills that our own team has picked up specifically from their time in the media world, dispelling a few myths about the agency world in general along the way.

True Media is an independent media agency helping leading and emerging brands across North America build stronger connections with customers. True works closely with clients to apply a deep media expertise and genuine human perspective to enable them to find what’s true and elevate their brands across all digital, traditional, and performance media channels. For more information, visit truemediaservices.com.

Before the advent of social media, advertising as a whole was one-sided. It followed a product-first marketing formula where consumers had little say in the brand. But in an age where ads now have comments – and skip buttons – brands have to be more in conversation with consumers to foment brand love. Therein lies the opportunity – how can advertisers leverage the internet to make a brand people are passionate about? Learn more in this fireside chat.

An advertising agency for companies that would rather outsmart the competition than outspend them.” That was the headline of Fallon’s very first ad, introducing the agency in 1981. At the time, it meant an idea could be—and should be—more important than a budget. And it was rooted in the notion that creativity was the last legal means of gaining an unfair business advantage. 40 years later, Outsmart vs. Outspend is still our mantra. Today, outsmarting means creating big juicy ideas that can travel across the sea of emerging media. Today, outsmarting means using data in artful ways to inspire insights and inform message delivery. Today, outsmarting means an ad is anything a brand does. Whether it’s 60 seconds, 6 seconds, 6 characters or some other thing that doesn’t fit squarely in any size or shape. Today, outsmarting means brands aren’t only owned by marketers who architect their every move. They’re co-owned with consumers. Or as we like to call them, people. Today, outsmarting means MODERN CREATIVITY.