I’m just landing in New York after a stellar start to the PTTOW! Summit. PTTOW! is a community of bright marketing minds and business leaders coming together “to build the beautiful world of tomorrow”.
The summit took place at a winery outside of Atlanta and featured a mix of programming focused on main stage inspiration, breakouts where smaller groups tackle issues across business and culture, and a mix of activities focused on taking you outside of your comfort zone and building connections. (Set and setting make a difference. I ziplined through the forest!). Every attendee gets a curated itinerary based on what’s of most interest to them and their business.
Three icons were honored: André 3000, Halle Berry, and Ludacris (who I had the privilege of inviting and the pleasure of interviewing). To kick off the opening reception, Jermaine Durpri gave us a proper welcome-to-ATL DJ set. The opening keynote featured an interview with Dr. Bernice A. King, who was beyond inspiring and shared exciting plans for the 100th birthday commemoration of her mother, Coretta Scott, and her father, MLK. The King Center they are building will honor them mightily.
On day 2, Stacey Abrams gave a powerful speech on diversity and inclusion that will help define the new era. I was blown away by the depth and reach of this amazing array of inspirational speakers. There were fascinating breakout sessions featuring topics ranging from dealing with tariffs/organizational uncertainty, to trauma response and recovery, to utilizing nostalgia in marketing.
The crux of the experience, though, was the shared stories and anecdotes, the friendships, and the safe space to discuss real challenges with trusted partners. There is nowhere else you’ll find creatives like Jeezy, Coodie & Chike, and Michael Sugar; thought leaders like Jon Halvorson (Mondelez), Brie Olson (PACSUN), Andrew Steinthal (The Infatuation), and Avery Akkineni (CMO of Vayner); and the top marketers running plays for trailblazing darlings like Elf, Liquid Death, and American Eagle all in the same room. The dialogue was open, honest, and authentic. These folks and these brands are the pulse of what’s happening in culture and the conversations were reflective.
It takes a village to plan something like this and the PTTOW! team has really become dear friends and family. Massive thank you and shout out to Roman Tsunder, Jim Sullos, Sammy Rabstein, Ryan Boughan, Ryan Brenner, Nicole Rosofsky and the entire PTTOW! team for organizing and creating the right environment. If you’re a CMO or business leader looking to learn more about membership, Nicole is the way in the front door. If you want to discuss membership, I can make an intro.
As someone who’s been obsessed with meaningful cultural impact & marketing since childhood, studied it in college, and built a business around it over the past couple decades, I can’t think of a better way to spend my time than at PTTOW!
