Schedule & Session Highlights

 

THURSDAY
May 4 — Networking Reception

6:00 – 8:00 pm at the AC Hotel, 1112 19th St. NW, Washington, DC, 20036

 

FRIDAY
May 5 — Sessions 

WellComms sessions take place at 1828 L St. NW, Washington, DC, 20036, in the Grand Canyon room of the building's conference center on its ground floor.

Agenda schedule for May 5 is from 9:00 am – 3:00 pm, with continental breakfast from 8 – 9 am and lunch included. Sessions and speakers subject to change.

8:00 – 9:00 am Continental breakfast
9:00 – 9:30 am  Immersion, Influence and Brand: How Your Communications Strategy Will Work, Even with Robots
9:30 – 10:15 am  Beyond the Label: The Importance of Science and Responsible Practices
10:15 – 10:45 am  Influencing with Expertise
10:45 – 11:00  Break
11:00 – 11:30 am  Recognizing, Embracing, and Thriving in Disruption
11:30 – Noon  Unlocking the Potential of Marketplaces with the eCommerce Success Framework
Noon – 12:15 pm   Break—grab from our catered sandwich buffet to "lunch and learn" and be seated for the next educational and interactive session
12:15 – 1:00 pm  Legal Claims for Nonlawyers—Best Practices Beyond FDA Compliance for Today’s Litigious Times 
1:00 – 1:45 pm  Today’s Most Powerful Marketing is User-Generated Content
1:45 – 2:00 pm  Break
2:00 – 2:30 pm  2023 State of Journalism
2:30 – 3:00 pm  Closing Remarks

 

Immersion, Influence and Brand: How Your Communications Strategy Will Work, Even with Robots

Ephraim Cohen, Global Managing Director, Media + Platforms, FleishmanHillard will discuss: 

  • The ever-changing levels of trust consumers have with various sources of content; 
  • How working with influencers is becoming more complicated than ever, as data dictates the direction; and 
  • How immersive experiences and AI will challenge marketing and communications conventions in the not-so-distant future.

Beyond the Label: The Importance of Science and Responsible Practices

Consumers have become more aware of the value and importance of responsibly practices. In fact, according to The Economist Intelligence Unite, there has been a 71% increase in online searches for sustainable goods in the last half decade. Furthermore, a 2022 survey from McKinsey & Co. found 66% of all respondents and 75% of millennial respondents say they consider sustainability when they make a purchase.
 
Responsibly sourced and traceable ingredients act as a key differentiator for any consumer-facing company, but especially in the supplement industry. It can be an overwhelming sea of sameness for consumers and has often come under criticism for being unregulated.
 
Moderated by Spectrum Science Chief Science Officer Chetan Vijayvergiya, Spectrum's Senior Vice President, Social Impact, Kay Brungs Laud, and Vice President, Brand Strategy, Adela García Chévez, along with Jennifer Cosenza, co-founder of Catalytic Agency, will discuss when, how, and why science and sustainability matter in consumer marketing around responsible nutrition—and when they don’t.


Unlocking the Potential of Marketplaces with the eCommerce Success Framework

Explore the nuances of digital marketplaces with eCommerce expert and eLearning instructional designer Melissa Ardavany of Allume Group. We’ll review the key differences between eCommerce marketplaces and value-added retailers, including new areas of responsibility for brand and brand-enablers. Harness the knowledge and expertise of thought leaders in the industry and learn how to apply the eCommerce Success Framework. 


Influencing with Expertise

In an influencer marketplace awash with pay-for-play pseudo celebrities, increasingly, connecting with actual experts with reputable influence is becoming a challenge. Acclaimed nutrition author and health guru Katherine Tallmadge, MA, RDN, LD, and “Not Your Average Dietitian” Caroline Thomason, RD, LDN, CDCES, will discuss why expertise matters, especially when you are building credibility with consumers. The panelists will also explore how they both communicate healthcare information to a general audience in a way that maintains scientific accuracy, while still delivering engaging content.


Gaining an understanding of the legal and regulatory frameworks that promotional language and advertising claims must comply with can save marketing and communications professionals loads of time and heartache. Spend more time being creative and less time going back and forth with legal, using insights you’ll learn from longtime supplement industry legal experts Rend Al-Mondhiry, partner, Amin Talati Wasserman, and Claudia Lewis, partner, Venable. Satisfying FDA requirements is just one element of this invaluable interactive session. Learn also how marketers and communicators can help their companies avoid costly run-ins with FTC and class actions that eat into your hard-earned revenue. 


Recognizing, Embracing, and Thriving in Disruption

While every industry was radically disrupted by COVID-19, we now must recognize that disruption in so many forms (digital adoption, consumer behavior, AI, competitive, FDA etc.) is simply part of business and life. Ryan Olohan, EVP, Klick Health, and former Managing Director - Healthcare, Google, will share insights on how nutrition companies with cultures built to embrace change, leverage tech, adapt, innovate, and stay nimble will win in our new disruptive world. Embrace disruption or be disrupted! 


Today’s Most Powerful Marketing is User-Generated Content

EnTribe CEO & Founder Adam DornbuschMatt Heindl, GVP, Content Engagement Strategy, Razorfish; and Andrew Nash, CEO, Targetable, will discuss how user-generated content (UCG) is reshaping the social media marketing landscape, how brands are losing control of their creative, and how, while brand safety and rights clearances are more challenging today, they are even more important in the new landscape. 


Muck Rack's 2023 State of Journalism Report

Muck Rack VP of Consumer Success Vanessa Neurohr will discuss social media habits, reporting strategies, PR pitching preferences and more from Muck Rack's survey of 2,200+ journalists from 14 journalist organizations to about the biggest trends and challenges facing the industry. Learn about how journalists are impacted by economic uncertainty, why some journalists are more likely to respond to pitches now compared to last year, and more.