The most important conversations of the week
POSSIBLE delivered. We spent the week sitting down with some of the most influential brand and marketing leaders in the world – and walked away with our heads full. From the future of augmented reality to the power of live sports, from redefining brand purpose to building entire categories from scratch, the conversations covered everything that matters right now. Here are the most important things we heard.
"You make the role. The role doesn't make you."
Todd Kaplan, CMO of Kraft Heinz, said this almost in passing – but it stopped us cold. It's one of those lines that applies equally to how you build a career and how you build a brand. Don't inherit the expectations that come with a seat. Define what's possible from it.
Todd also walked us through Kraft Heinz's new partnership with the NFL – a five-year, global deal spanning more than 20 brands. The activation at the NFL Draft in Pittsburgh, the birthplace of Heinz, was a perfect example of what a brand partnership looks like when it's genuinely endemic to the experience. The "Mr. 57" moment – where the 57th draft pick received a Heinz endorsement deal, a red jacket, and a lifetime supply of ketchup – was fun, culturally sharp, and completely on-brand. Over 800,000 fans came through Pittsburgh over the course of the draft. The energy was undeniable.
Brand strategy is like hosting a dinner party
Margot Hauer-King, SVP of Creative Strategy at UTA, gave us one of the most refreshing reframes on brand strategy we've heard in a while. Setting a brand strategy, she explained, is a lot like planning a dinner party – you have to think about every guest, what they need, how to make them feel welcome, and how to bring the whole table together. It's a human-first way of thinking about what can otherwise become an overly abstract exercise.
What Crocs and Stanley have in common
Terence Reilly, Chief Brand Officer at Crocs, has had a front-row seat to two of the most remarkable brand stories of the last decade. His conversation touched on what it actually takes to build cultural momentum – and the role that the right people, in the right moments, play in making it happen. The throughline between Crocs and Stanley isn't luck. It's an approach to brand-building rooted in authenticity and a genuine understanding of what people actually love.
The 50/50 pledge is changing the game
Andrea Brimmer, CMO of Ally Financial, is one of the most purposeful brand leaders working today. Her commitment to the 50/50 pledge – achieving equal representation in Ally's sports media sponsorship between men's and women's sports – is a real, accountable standard. It's not a campaign. It's a policy. And it's pushing the entire industry to ask harder questions about where marketing dollars go and who they uplift.
Snap's glasses are not a future story
Ajit Mohan, Chief Business Officer at Snap, made it clear that the convergence of AR, social, and spatial computing isn't something brands should be planning for someday. It's happening now. Snap's vision for glasses-based augmented reality is ambitious and, increasingly, real. Brands that don't start thinking about what it means to show up in that space are already behind.
Building a category from the ground up
Lauren Weinberg, CMO of Supergoop!, is doing something genuinely hard: changing behavior at scale. The Supergoop! story isn't just about selling sunscreen – it's about repositioning SPF as a non-negotiable part of daily skincare. That kind of category-creation requires patience, consistency, and a deep belief in the insight driving the brand. Lauren has all three.
Data is still the most powerful lever – when you use it right
Matt Spiegel, EVP of TruAudience Growth Strategy at TransUnion, made the case for data not as a cold targeting mechanism but as the connective tissue that lets brands find the right people at the right moment. In a fragmented media landscape, that kind of precision isn't a nice-to-have. It's the difference between waste and impact.
The reach of Xbox Media Solutions
Claire Nance, Senior Director of Marketing and Communications at Xbox Media Solutions, brought into sharp focus just how significant the gaming audience has become – and how underutilized it still is by many brands. The reach is there. The engagement is there. The question is whether marketers are willing to meet that audience where they actually are.
The fandom you can't manufacture
Miguel Lorenzo and Miguel Gurwitz from NBCUniversal Telemundo Enterprises brought the conversation back to one of the most powerful forces in sports and culture: genuine fandom. Spanish-language sports media, and the communities it serves, represent an audience whose passion and loyalty are extraordinary. Brands that earn that trust earn something rare.
The bottom line
What made POSSIBLE live up to its name was the caliber of the conversations – people who are actually doing the work, sharing what they've learned without the usual polish. The Speed of Culture exists for exactly these moments. We're grateful to everyone who joined us, and we're already thinking about what comes next.
Catch all episodes of The Speed of Culture Podcast, hosted by Suzy Founder & CEO Matt Britton here.
