Modern Retail Marketing Summit

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For hair care brand amika, word-of-mouth has been critical to scaling its brand. In this session, you'll hear from Nilofer Vahora, CMO of amika who will talk about the tactics that have worked to drive word-of-mouth and build organic community momentum through professional stylists, creator advocacy and cultural moments that drive disproportionate impact without overreliance on paid media.

As algorithms fragment and AI reshapes discovery, brands can no longer "hack" their way to durable growth. In this session, you will hear from Amina Pasha, chief marketing officer at Thrive Market, who will discuss why trust — not tactics — has become the most reliable algorithm, and how leading brands operationalize credibility, transparency, and consistency to drive acquisition, retention, and long-term relevance.

Lots of people talk about the importance of unifying owned channel data. Few understand how unified data ties to the P&L. In this session, you'll see how retailers that connect their email, SMS, and app data are closing revenue leakage and eliminating wasteful spend.

The modern CMO's job has gotten a lot more complicated as attribution changes and AI have complicated the traditional Facebook/Google funnel. In this session, you'll hear from Kristen Brophy, SVP, Head of Marketing at ThredUp. Kristen will argue that in an ever-changing world, new experimental channels and ways to measure your full funnel are the future.

Take a break, grab a coffee and connect with fellow attendees before the next session begins.

Brands only. Gather with fellow brand and retail leaders for a candid discussion about the industry. Together, we'll create a challenge board and explore the real issues you're facing — think of it as group therapy.

Brand and retailer VIPs are invited to join us for a welcome drink and networking ahead of the 10-Minute Meetings.

The 10-Minute Meetings are designed to help connect participants with innovative technology platforms and build valuable business relationships.

Join us for a cocktail to wrap up Day 1. Open to All.

While you grab breakfast, check out the Modern Market showcase. Sample products and check out cutting-edge innovations from the industry's top brands.

Welcome back! Anna Hensel is about to kick off day 2.

As next-gen enterprise brands grow, their marketing mixes and overall approach to marketing planning must evolve, too. In this session, you'll hear from an executive at one brand that's evolved from a pure-play DTC startup to a broadly distributed omnichannel brand with distribution in Target, Walmart, Amazon and more.

Join Lindsey Kling, SVP of Brand Marketing at Coterie, as she discusses how to build a brand that resonates in a world where shoppers take longer to buy and demand more from every dollar. Lindsey will share how Coterie moved beyond transactional marketing to create a "parent-first" community, leveraging zero-party data and authentic storytelling to cut through the noise.

In this session, you'll hear from Richard Cox, chief merchandising officer of Pacsun, who will discuss all the ways that the brand engages with Gen Z, through new ventures like a youth advisory council and its new app called PS Community Hub, which combines content creation, community engagement and e-commerce.

Take a break, grab a coffee and connect with fellow attendees before the next session begins.

Join us for a mini-town hall before we break out into working groups. Sandbox Presentation: 11:00am: Marketing Architects – Retail Brands Are Measuring CTV Wrong

Attendees will break out into small groups of 20-30, with discussions led by a brand executive, to talk about potential solutions related to some of the most pressing issues marketers at brands and retailers face today.

Recharge with a delicious lunch and network with peers before the next session.

Open to VIP participants. Grab a beverage before the 10-Minute meetings begin.

Join us for a cocktail to wrap up Day 2. Open to all.

Fuel up with breakfast, courtesy of Modern Retail, as we get the day started.

Welcome back. Jill Manoff is about to kick off the day's sessions.

It's the hottest topic on everyone's minds right now: how do I make sure my brand is getting mentioned by ChatGPT, Gemini, Perplexity and more? In this session, you'll hear from one brand executive who will talk about how their company is rethinking their approach for the GEO era – updating PDPs, investing more in organic content, changing budgets.

It seems like trends change faster thanks to the ascent of social media. In CPG, for example, one year consumers are all about protein, the next year they are all about fiber. What's a CMO to do, and how do you make sense of the trends that are actually relevant to your business?

In 2026, Ruggable's focus is on building a more creative-led consumer organization and divesting away from purely performance-led digital spend and reinvesting in its brand culture. In this session, you'll hear from Lauren Sherman, chief marketing officer at Ruggable about her strategy for aligning teams around brand purpose.

Succeeding in retail today requires brands to build out different muscles. Gone are the days when brands can score more sales simply by scoring a sweet end cap. Rather, today's brands face pressure from retailers to spend on everything from retail media to seasonal deals, while also constantly promoting newness and innovation.