The document summarizes the top 10 pieces of advice from the ANA's events in 2017. The advice includes: continuing to innovate and find new ways to tell brand stories; recognizing that consumers are now in charge; solving the problem of annoying ads; treating all marketing as marketing, not differentiating "digital"; tailoring content to each specific channel; focusing on people, not just technology; listening to customers; making content emotionally effective; underpromising and overdelivering on brand promises; and ensuring high quality marketing regardless of causes supported.

1. THE ANA’S
BEST OF 2017

2. While 2017 was a year of immense innovation, it was one of ups and downs
for marketers. On the one hand, marketers have gotten better at using
technology and navigating channels that didn’t exist even a decade ago.
On the other hand, issues with ad fraud, ad blocking, non-transparency, diversity,
and talent continue to dog the industry. As the ANA and the marketing industry
at large set their 2018 sights on driving growth, we take a look back at the
best 10 pieces of advice we heard at ANA events this year.
L E T ’ S G E T T O I T !

3. “If you keep doing everything you’ve already
done, things are going to pass you by.”
— Dan Keats, director of sponsorship
marketing at Allstate, during the
2017 ANA Brand Masters Conference
There is no better way to kill a brand than
to operate under the mantra of “That’s
how we’ve always done things.” It’s time
to break old habits and find new ways
to tell the brand story.
T H E TA K E A W AY
3© Copyright 2017 by the Association of National Advertisers, Inc. All rights reserved.

4. “To say consumers are in charge is a
huge understatement.”
— Lisa Brown, global chief strategy and
chief business development officer at
Active International, during the 2017
ANA Advertising Financial Management
Conference
Somewhere along the way, the balance
of power shifted. It is now consumers who
are calling the shots. Figure out how to
delight them, or 2018 could be a long year.
T H E TA K E A W AY
4© Copyright 2017 by the Association of National Advertisers, Inc. All rights reserved.

5. “It’s high time for all of us to solve the
problem of annoying ads.”
— Marc Pritchard, chief brand officer at
P&G, during the 2017 ANA Masters of
Marketing Conference
It’s unrealistic to expect consumers to stop
using ad blockers. Instead, the onus is on
marketers and advertisers to push for ads
that people will actually want to see.
T H E TA K E A W AY
5© Copyright 2017 by the Association of National Advertisers, Inc. All rights reserved.

6. “I’m not a believer in digital marketing.
I’m a believer in marketing in a digital world.”
— Matt Preschern, CMO at HCL America,
Inc., during the 2017 ANA Masters of B2B
Marketing Conference
Make a New Year’s resolution to stop saying
“digital marketing” next year. Going forward,
it’s just marketing.
T H E TA K E A W AY
6© Copyright 2017 by the Association of National Advertisers, Inc. All rights reserved.

7. When it comes to your media channels,
one size does not fit all. Instead marketers
must work harder to create content unique
to every channel they use.
T H E TA K E A W AY
“Gone are the days of creating once and
publishing everywhere. Each platform and
each device should serve a unique purpose.”
— Jennifer Utz Ilecki, VP of influencer
content and partnership marketing at Mariott
International, during the 2017 ANA Digital
& Social Media Conference
7© Copyright 2017 by the Association of National Advertisers, Inc. All rights reserved.

8. Technology is simply a means of learning
about and reaching people. It is on the
marketer to ensure the message is exactly
what those people need to be converted.
T H E TA K E A W AY
“The core of technology is people. Do you
know the audience? Can you be relevant to
the context they’re living in at the moment?”
— Ari Sheinkin, VP of marketing analytics at
IBM, during the 2017 ANA Media Conference
8© Copyright 2017 by the Association of National Advertisers, Inc. All rights reserved.

9. Because customers have all the control,
it’s imperative to hear what people want
and give it to them in spades.
T H E TA K E A W AY
“Listen to what customers are saying.”
— Alan Bethke, SVP of marketing
at Subaru of America, during the
2017 ANA Brand Masters Conference
9© Copyright 2017 by the Association of National Advertisers, Inc. All rights reserved.

10. People respond to emotion. If you can’t get
a person to laugh or cry when appropriate,
your content will get lost in the fold.
T H E TA K E A W AY
“Digital advertising needs a heart to be
emotionally effective.”
— Jeff Goodby, co-chairman and partner
as Goodby Silverstein & Partners, during
the 2017 ANA Advertising Financial
Management Conference
10© Copyright 2017 by the Association of National Advertisers, Inc. All rights reserved.

11. Know the fastest way to lose a customer
forever? Promise them something and then
fail to provide it. The old adage still remains:
under-promise and over-deliver.
T H E TA K E A W AY
“Before you tell your brand proposition
to the world at large, you better damn
well be ready to deliver it.”
— Lili Tomovich, chief experience
and marketing officer at MGM Resorts
International, during the 2017 ANA
Masters of Marketing Conference
11© Copyright 2017 by the Association of National Advertisers, Inc. All rights reserved.

12. As brands continue to humanize, it makes
sense to hitch the wagon to an appropriate
cause. However, that doesn’t give you a
pass to mail it in on the messaging and
creative.
T H E TA K E A W AY
“Sh*tty marketing is sh*tty marketing,
whether you put a cause on top of it
or not.”
— Aria Finger, CEO of DoSomething.org,
during the 2017 ANA Masters of
Marketing Conference
12© Copyright 2017 by the Association of National Advertisers, Inc. All rights reserved.

13. And that’s a wrap for 2017!
Want to get a jumpstart on the lessons of 2018?
We’ve got an event to help with that.
Here’s our full calendar.
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