2020 Virtual Conference: Brands in Society

(BONUS) Networking Break

We added new networking opportunities each morning, so don’t miss out on opportunities to build your network, participate in a town hall or join a small group discussion!

Welcome and Opening Remarks

Ayala Deutsch, NBA Properties, Inc. (USA) (2020 INTA President)

Conference Co-Chairs:

Signe Naeve, Starbucks Coffee Company (USA)
Pieter van den Bulck, Anheuser-Busch InBev S.A. (Belgium)

Capsule Keynote: Consumer Trust

Consumer trust is key to ensure a brand’s success. However, in recent years, consumer trust has been waning. Traditional means to reach consumers are less effective and consumers are demanding that their brands be trustworthy and socially conscious. Brands need to understand key drivers for consumer purchase decisions and brand and company loyalty. Hear an expert describe how to build consumer trust and the steps brands must take to ensure their relevance today and tomorrow.

Jennifer Cohan, President, Edelman New York (USA)

Session 1—A Toolkit for Success: What Brand Lawyers Need to Know

Historically, there were distinct legal teams dealing with different issues facing brands—the trademark team dealing with what a company owns, the marketing legal team dealing with advertising issues, and the regulatory team addressing potential regulatory challenges, and more. As timelines shorten and legal issues blur and overlap, trademark legal teams are transforming to brand legal teams dealing with a myriad of issues, including advertising, copyright, regulatory, and messaging in a socially conscious world.

What tools are needed to be an effective counsellor to business? Who delivers the message? How do you work with your creative teams and marketing teams so everyone understands his or her role and responsibilities?

From real-world examples, learn how to face these issues head on—to work effectively across functions, internally and externally, and understand the key role the brand legal team must play in business today.

Topics to be addressed are:

• Key advertising and social media legal issues that every trademark counsel should know
• Regulatory, collaboration, and design issues when operating in an online world
• Data privacy and General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) dos and don’ts, including the role of the brand legal team in both avoidance protocols and addressing breaches in real time
• And more!

Moderator:
Megan Bannigan, Debevoise & Plimpton LLP (USA)

Speakers:

Lindsay Donn Mann, Calvin Klein, Inc. (USA)
Austin Phillips, Facebook, Inc. (USA)

Session 2—Delivering Your Brand Message During a Social Revolution

The changes in recent years are not limited to technological advances but also include changes in consumer norms and expectations. There is an enhanced focus on climate change and social responsibility. Many companies are now driven by a social mission—with the emphasis on solving a problem and not necessarily on selling products. Politics are no longer private dinner table discussions, but happen across borders on social media with a cast of thousands.

We’ll hear from legal and public relations experts as they share the issues they see in the social media world and how to address these issues effectively in real time. Legal teams will learn how to effectively address sensitive issues that impact brand reputation and value with marketing teams. Get tips and watch-outs that you can apply to your work today!

Moderator and Speaker:
Kaydi Osowski, ViacomCBS (USA)

Speakers:
Jamie Joyce, Managing Director, Digital, Rubenstein (USA)
Rick McMurtry, Warner Media (USA)

Networking Break

Session 3—Marketing Today: Just Because You Can, Should You?

As technology has changed how we consume information, the way brands speak to their consumers has changed. Online influencers have been a trend that we have seen with many brands across different products and different demographics. As many brands have jumped at the chance to reach consumers in a new way, unexpected issues have arisen.

Get a bird’s-eye view of the issues brand legal teams need to address when working with an influencer and find out how to break up with influencers with the least impact to your brand. Walk away with the questions you need to ask, the due diligence you need to do, and the exit clause you wish you had in every talent agreement!

Interviewer:
Pieter van den Bulck, Anheuser-Busch InBev S.A. (Belgium)

Panelists:
Swaim Hutson, Founder & Creative Director, The Academy New York (USA)

Erik Lavoie, Partner at VICE Media LLC and Chief Growth Officer at VIRTUE Worldwide (USA)

Sarah Lippman, VICE Media LL (USA)

Session 4—Maintaining Brand Loyalty and Achieving Business Goals in Volatile Times

Consistency has been a mantra in trademark counsel advice to marketers: “Be consistent in how you present your mark,” “you are promising a consistent quality,” and “consumers rely on your consistency.” We could go on and on. But then technology changed the rules: we have dynamic use of marks online, consumers crave a surprise, and sometimes our history is inconsistent with what consumers want.

How do brands keep up with change and appeal to today’s consumers while maintaining their loyal base? Can they—or do they want to—maintain their base?

Using a study of historical and current ads around the world, hear from marketing executives and legal professionals as they show how brand loyalty can journey with you in changing times and how to effectively partner with business teams to achieve business goals in the world today.

Learn how to adjust your protection strategies in a cost effective way and be a thought leader within the business, to help your business team navigate muddy waters, and to make sure the brand and its messaging remain on course.

Moderator and Speaker:
Milan Milojevic, MSA IP (Serbia)

Speakers:
Daretia Austin, AT&T Services, Inc. (USA)
John Hodges, Managing Director, Infrastructure and Finance, BSR (USA)
Antonis Kocheilas, Global Head of Brand Strategy, Ogilvy (USA)

Wrap-Up from Conference Chairs

Fireside chat with Signe Naeve and Rick McMurtry
Brands and Politics: Staying Silent or Taking Sides (30 minutes)

A volatile political landscape around the globe has changed the dialogue among families, peers, and friends, and between brands and their consumers. The COVID-19 pandemic has continued to shape that dialogue. Should brands stay silent or do consumers demand that the brands they support reflect their political views?

Listen to this fireside chat with two thought leaders as they provide insights into strategies that address the influence of brands in addressing politically volatile issues and potentially shaping public opinion. Learn the risks and rewards in today’s marketplace and what you need to do to be an effective counselor.

Speakers:
Signe Naeve, Starbucks Coffee Company (USA)
Rick McMurtry, Warner Media (USA)

(BONUS) Networking Break

We added new networking opportunities each morning, so don’t miss out on opportunities to build your network, participate in a town hall or join a small group discussion!

Welcome and Opening Remarks

Chief Executive Officer:
Etienne Sanz de Acedo, International Trademark Association (USA)

Conference Co-Chairs:
Signe Naeve, Starbucks Coffee Company (USA)
Pieter van den Bulck, Anheuser-Busch InBev S.A. (Belgium)

Session 5—Diversity and Inclusion: How to Live Your Values to the Benefit of Your People and Your Brand

Listen to law firm and company representatives explain the importance and value of diversity and inclusion programs for companies and law firms with respect to employee wellbeing, talent retention, product design and customer experience. And hear how they have transformed their businesses to the benefit of their people, their reputation, and, dare we say it, their bottom line.

Moderator and Speaker:
Sanjana Sharma, UL LLC (USA)

Speakers:
Kim Culmone, SVP Global Head of Design Barbie & Fashion Dolls, Mattel, Inc. (USA)
Peter Dernbach, Winkler Partners (Taiwan)
Michael Moore, Mattel, Inc. (USA)

Capsule Keynote: Growing Brand Value Through Sustainability

Corporate social responsibility does not end with donations to NGOs or engaging employees in volunteer activities. Instead, sustainability has to become a core way of doing business. In this session, you will learn about how companies and brands can transform themselves through a focus on sustainability across their value chain.

Venkatesh Kini, Co-Founder & COO, Ubuntoo (USA)

Session 6—CSR and Brand Value: The Economic Benefit of CSR Initiatives

Corporate social responsibility is not just a “nice to have” to make us better citizens, but a “must have” for our community and our planet. And, it is good business!

Studies have shown that CSR initiatives increase brand recognition, enhance brand image, and ultimately grow brand value.

Hear from leading experts, using real-world examples, not only showing you how to measure the value of CSR initiatives, but also providing practical advice on how to make sustainability issues a part of strategic planning and marketing decisions.

Moderator and Speaker:
David Lossignol, Novartis Pharma AG (Switzerland)

Speakers:
Maria José Sánchez Ray, Federación Nacional de Cafeteros de Colombia (Colombia)
Phil White, Co-founder & Chief Strategy Officer, Grounded World (USA)

Networking Break

Session 7—The Fourth Industrial Revolution: How Legal Teams Are (Should Be) Changing

The fourth industrial revolution is the current environment in which we live. Disruptive technologies have had an enormous impact on how we communicate, consume, work, and interact—from smart phones, search engines, artificial intelligence (AI), and ride shares, to self-driving cars and drone deliveries. Twenty years ago could we have contemplated an online world where we read our news, talk to our friends, and find obscure facts in real time on a phone? Would we ever have expected an immediate response and action?

The changes in technology have had a significant impact on the role and responsibilities of a brand legal team. Not only are brand teams practicing law at the speed of light, the technological changes have created new issues for teams to address on a daily basis. Get the inside view of trends and issues in current practice and some insights for the practice of tomorrow. This session will include discussion of a variety of topics, including:

• Best practices in digitizing and automating a trademark practice, including clearance, brand use information, smart contracts, and online enforcement.
• Online tools for day-to-day practice—what the legal team loves and what tools they wish would go away.
• Leveraging machine learning, AI, and blockchain technologies in your legal practice, including anticounterfeiting efforts.
• The impact of “need for speed” and balancing information overload—prioritizing and staying relevant when bombarded with information.

Moderator and Speaker:
Juan Felipe Acosta, OlarteMoure (Colombia)

Speakers:
Julius Stobbs, Stobbs (United Kingdom)
Yo Takagi, World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) (Switzerland)
Pieter van den Bulck, Anheuser-Busch InBev S.A. (Belgium)

Session 8—Enforcement in the Court of Public Opinion: Brand Strategies in Unpredictable Times

Brands do not exist in a vacuum—they live and die by consumer demand and consumer opinions. Today, as the whole world has become attached to mobile devices and social media platforms, reputations (and trademark rights) can be quickly damaged by a misstep in internal marketing or communication, by rogue posts from “influencers,” or even by silence in the light of controversy or challenge.

This reality has an impact on brand rights and enforcement strategies. Consumer conversations cannot be ignored, and the brand lawyer is becoming more and more of a key player in framing the discussion to ensure the brand comes out of the battle, if not unscathed, then as strong as possible.

In this session, legal team members will discuss what they do to harness the barrage of information bombarding them every day—the tools they use and the teams they build—using real-world examples of how they enforce brand rights in the court of public opinion. Get practical tips to help maintain your brand loyalty, integrity, and goodwill, while at the same time keeping your trademark rights strong.

Moderator and Speaker:
Megan Bannigan, Debevoise & Plimpton LLP (USA)

Speakers:
Steve Beale, Unilever P.L.C. (United Kingdom)
Jeffrey Kobulnick, Brutzkus Gubner (United States)
Cathy Lueders, MasterCard International Incorporated (USA)

Closing Remarks and Thank You

A volatile political landscape around the globe has changed the dialogue among families, peers, and friends, and between brands and their consumers. The COVID-19 pandemic has continued to shape that dialogue. Should brands stay silent or do consumers demand that the brands they support reflect their political views?

Listen to this fireside chat with two thought leaders as they provide insights into strategies that address the influence of brands in addressing politically volatile issues and potentially shaping public opinion. Learn the risks and rewards in today’s marketplace and what you need to do to be an effective counselor.

30 minutes

Speakers:
Signe Naeve, Starbucks Coffee Company (USA)
Rick McMurtry, Warner Media (USA)

Speaker: Boaz Paldi, Global Engagement and Partnership Manager at United Nations Development Program (UNDP) and Lead for the Lion’s Share Fund (USA)

This session will discuss the importance of government and private sector collaboration to protect workers, communities, and our planet, and the benefit these collaborations can bring to brands and stakeholders.

A panel of key officials and brand owners will highlight the UNDP Accelerator Labs other collaborative projects, how brands can be part of the solution, and what their counsel must be aware of to support their commitment to these collaborations.

Moderator and Speaker:
Heather J. McDonald, BakerHostetler (USA)

Speakers:
Ezgi Barcenas, Global VP, Sustainability, Anheuser-Busch InBev S.A. (USA)
Amanda Kizer, Head of Global Offerings and Innovation, B Lab Global (USA)
Lorena Sander, Partnerships Development Specialist, United Nations Development Program (UNDP) Accelerator Labs Network (USA)

Brand reputation is impacted by all actions (or inaction taken) by a company. How does a company balance its aim to be charitable with its need to be profitable? How do you create the right partnerships? How do you effectively vet your sponsors to align with your brand messaging? And as social conditions and consumer opinions change, how does a brand act nimbly and decisively to maintain its reputation?

Get practical tips and learn important watch-outs when building relationships that are intended to promote good, but that may have unintended and unfortunate consequences. Get tips for due diligence, key contract provisions, and maintaining control in what may seem like chaos.

Moderator and Speaker:
Jeffrey Kobulnick, Brutzkus Gubner (United States)

Speakers:
Tanya Fickenscher, Major League Baseball Properties, Inc. (USA)
Cathy Lueders, MasterCard International Incorporated (USA)
Anthony Marinos, Business Development Senior Manager, charity: water (USA)