THURSDAY, APRIL 19

7:00–8:00

BREAKFAST

8:00–8:15

WELCOME REMARKS: Cindy Judge, President and CEO, SRG

8:15–9:00

STILLNESS IS ON THE MOVE: OPENING KEYNOTE: Scott Witt, Former Creative Director, Apple and Commercial Photographer and Fashion Entrepreneur

If a picture is worth a thousand words and the idea behind it must be articulated in eight, how do creators harness mere fractions of a second to make it last forever? Previsualizing what’s next by harnessing what’s now.

In his talk, Scott presents what photography—a historically static medium—can tell us about innovation, a principle of things always in motion. Through image studies and short stories, he’ll explore how the constructs of one’s chosen profession manifest in more evocative ways when traditional constraints are applied in new ways.

9:00–9:30

ANTICIPATING AN UNCERTAIN FUTURE: OUTLINING THE CHANGE FORCES AND OPPORTUNITY SPACES FROM FUTURES 2025: Steve Clouthier, Managing Director and Partner, SRG, David Palmer, Managing Director, RBC Capital Markets, and Nik Modi, Managing Director, RBC Capital Markets

SRG has partnered with the Royal Bank of Canada to publish Futures 2025, designed to help companies anticipate and prepare for an uncertain future.

Using RBC’s global network of more than 100 analysts who cover companies across industries, the two firms combined to create a framework that helps solve for the intersection of both predictable and unpredictable forces that could be profoundly disruptive in defining the future. Futures 2025 helps to identify Change Forces—developments, events, and/or driving factors—that could have large-scale impact on the future, both predictable and unexpected. It also identifies opportunity spaces for organizations and sectors, along with implications for strategy and operations.

9:30–9:45

FUTURES 2025 Q&A: Moderated by Cindy Judge

  • Steve Clouthier
  • David Palmer
  • Nik Modi

9:45–10:15

NETWORKING BREAK

10:15–10:45

UNDERSTANDING YOUTH FOOD CULTURE: HOW THE DIGITAL AGE IS DRIVING THE FUTURE OF FOOD: Eve Turow Paul, Author, Advisor, Public Speaker

Eve Turow Paul will reveal why young people today are so obsessed with food and provide a deep understanding of what drives today’s food trends. Blending findings from sociology and psychology with journalistic research, you’ll walk away seeing “foodies” in a whole new light.

10:45–11:00

THE FUTURE CONSUMER PANEL: Moderated by Cindy Judge

  • Eve Turow Paul, Author, Advisor, Public Speaker
  • Pat Masker, Managing Director of Insights, SRG

11:00–12:00

THE FUTURE OF FOOD SHORT TALKS

The world of food is changing at a faster rate than ever before. From the information consumers seek out about the food they eat to how it’s grown to the new sources of protein in the world, there is much to understand. In a series of TED-style talks, we will bring together diverse thought leaders who are investing in and leading this change.

  • Michiel Bakker, Director, Google Food: Food Trends and Search Implications (11:00–11:20)
  • Jack Li, Haiku Master, Datassential: Food Trends (11:20–11:40)
  • Marc Oshima, CMO, Aero Farms: Indoor Ag at Scale (11:40–12:00)

12:00–12:20

THE FUTURE OF FOOD PANEL: Moderated by Amy Shipley, SRG

  • Michiel Bakker
  • Jack Li
  • Marc Oshima

12:20–1:15

LUNCH

1:15–1:45

THE FUTURE OF MEDIA: Mike Monello, Founder and Creative Director, Campfire

As the world of media changes and evolves, it is becoming increasingly complex to understand how to generate consumer engagement. Mike is a partner at Campfire, an agency that specializes in world-class participatory programs and immersive experiences that ignite fan cultures, encourage spread, and drive awareness. He was a co-creator of the Blair Witch Project and has built amazing consumer experiences for HBO, Cinemax, National Geographic, Infiniti, and many others. Learn how to create engagement beyond the digital world and drive consumers to share content and interact with your brand in a whole new way.  

1:45–2:00

THE FUTURE OF MEDIA PANEL: Moderated by Adam Wohl, Executive Creative Director, SRG

  • Mike Monello
  • Ana Kornegay, National Brand Director, Jack Daniel’s Craft and Luxury Brands
  • Katie Barker, VP of Entertainment Communications, CBS Corporation

2:00–2:30

WHAT’S HAPPINESS ANYWAY? Billy Otteman, Strategist, SRG and Lillian Robinson, Marketing Specialist, SRG

The quest to maximize happiness drives much of consumer behavior, but the underlying values that influence happiness change over time. Join us to learn about the primary drivers of happiness, how they relate to our changing values, and the language consumers use to talk about happiness.

2:30–3:00

NETWORKING BREAK

3:00–3:20

THE FUTURE DEFINITION OF HOME: Brandon Reed, Associate Strategist, SRG

Whether you live in a suburban oasis, reside in a vegan commune, or outright reject the idea of a traditional house, everyone has a definition of home and what it means to them. Join us as we discuss the current definitions of home, explore the role technology plays in the idea of home, and hypothesize how changing conceptions may impact future interactions and consumer behaviors.

3:20–4:00

MODELS FOR INCUBATING AND ACCELERATING GROWTH PANEL: Moderated by Cindy Judge

Today, large companies are starting their own incubators and corporate venture capital arms to participate with early stage companies and practice the art of external innovation to jump-start growth. What can be learned from this new approach and what can large brands learn from PE firms and other experienced investors in identifying growth opportunities?

  • Tom Spier, Founder and Managing Partner, Boulder Food Group
  • Chuck Templeton, Managing Director, S2G Ventures: Sustainable Future of Food and Ag

4:00–5:00

THE INNOVATION MINDSET AT CIRQUE DU SOLEIL: Jay Guilford, Creator and Content Strategist, SPARK at Cirque du Soleil

Cirque du Soleil is a brand known around the world for one-of-a-kind shows with dazzling performers. Founded in 1984, it completely reimagined the traditional circus and turned it into a global entertainment company with shows running on four different continents. Audiences come to a Cirque show expecting to be amazed but also wanting each to be distinctly original. Learn how Cirque implements an innovation mindset to create their unique approach to entertainment and storytelling.  

6:00–9:00

COCKTAIL PARTY AT SRG: Featuring the food of Daniel Asher, River and Woods

 

FRIDAY, APRIL 20

6:15–7:00

WORKOUT WITH AN IRONMAN (OPTIONAL): Dave Scott, six-time Ironman World Champion

7:30–8:00

BREAKFAST

8:00–8:40

INTRODUCTION OF HOW ATHLETES EAT TODAY AND AN OVERVIEW OF BREAKFAST WITH Q&A: Dave Scott

WELCOME BACK AND RECAP OF DAY ONE: Steve Clouthier

8:40–8:55

REINVIGORATING GROWTH AT MATURE BRANDS: Deborah Wahl, CMO, Cadillac, Former CMO, McDonald’s

Despite significant marketing investment, 52% of Fortune 500 companies failed to grow. Creating growth is the key focus for marketing and even more important for mature companies. Deborah will draw on her experiences reinvigorating growth in complex, mature industries such as Automotive and QSR. She will share her story and insights into how to change a mature brand and keep it relevant in modern times.

8:55–9:15

HELPING THE BUNNY GROW: INNOVATION AND INTEGRATION AT ANNIE’S: John Foraker, CEO and Co-Founder, Once Upon a Farm, Former CEO, Annie’s

Annie’s is one of the great success stories within the CPG industry moving from entrepreneurial startup to being acquired by General Mills for $820 million in 2014. Originally founded by Annie Withey in her kitchen in 1989, Annie’s grew from a mac and cheese brand into a $200 million portfolio of products in many categories across the store. John operated as CEO for the last 17 years and will talk about how he helped the company grow at such a high rate and the opportunities and challenges of working as a small independent company as well as a division of a large CPG company.

9:15–10:00

INNOVATION PANEL: Moderated by Steve Clouthier

  • Deborah Wahl
  • John Foraker

10:00–10:30

NETWORKING BREAK

10:30–10:55

CRAVEOLOGY 101: Taylor Cunningham, Insights Manager, SRG and Paris Hogan, Marketing Specialist, SRG

We’ve all experienced a craving, but what are cravings made of? In this session, we’ll discuss the art and science behind culinary cravings, social cravings, emotional cravings, and more. Join us to see SRG’s newly developed cravings framework, which illustrates the human tensions that keep us wanting more.

10:55–11:15

CRAVEOLOGY 101 PANEL: Moderated by Steve Clouthier

  • Lori Estrada, SVP Culinary and R&D, Wendy’s
  • Sarah McAloon, Former CMO, Cicis Pizza
  • Taylor Cunninghan
  • Paris Hogan

11:15–12:00

WICKED DESIGN: FINDING LEVERAGE POINTS FOR CHANGE AT SYSTEM SCALE: Arjun Chakravarti, Assistant Professor of Management and Marketing at the Illinois Tech Stuart School of Business

As the focus of two recent Nobel Prizes, the field of behavioral economics has entered the collective consciousness of industry leaders throughout the world. The field of behavioral economics has improved social behaviors as varied as organ donation levels, energy saving, healthy eating choices, and financial decision making. However, there are also cases when behavioral nudges can fail. Arjun’s lab has documented several of these failures and has identified reasons why. He will share the right ways to integrate behavioral economics within a design thinking process that helps generate not only the right considerations to focus on, but also a sustained level of organizational buy-in for these methods. 

12:00

WRAP-UP