Brandweek 2026 Returns to Atlanta With a Senior Brand-Marketing Lineup

Adweek's Brandweek returns to Atlanta on September 15–17 as a three-day summit for senior brand and marketing leaders. The agenda is organized around three themes — reinvention, AI and purpose-driven growth — that the conference says are reshaping marketing in 2026.

The speaker lineup includes Starbucks global chief brand officer Tressie Lieberman, Crocs chief brand officer Terence Reilly, Mattel president and chief marketing and brand officer Roberto Stanichi, Coca-Cola executive vice president and chief marketing and customer commercial officer Manolo Arroyo, Keurig Dr Pepper chief marketing and innovation officer Drew Panayiotou, Ben & Jerry's co-founder Ben Cohen, State Farm head of marketing Alyson Griffin, The King Center CEO Dr. Bernice A. King, and Gold House executive chairman Bing Chen.

Featured sessions include Crocs' Reilly on reinvention through unexpected partnerships and social commerce, Ben Cohen on how businesses can stand for more than profit, and Starbucks' Lieberman on the company's business transformation. A full day is dedicated to AI. Organizers say 75% of attendees are brand professionals and 67% are director level or above, with registered participants from companies including Adobe, American Express, Chick-fil-A, Coca-Cola, Delta Air Lines, Etsy, Expedia Group, Georgia Power, Heineken, Hinge, IHG Hotels & Resorts, JPMorgan Chase, Kimberly-Clark, Land O'Lakes, Mars, Meta, Sony Pictures, Target, The Home Depot and Zoom.

What the Atlanta Agenda Signals About Marketing's Main Pressures

Why Reinvention and AI Now Sit on the Same Agenda

The speaker choices signal that brand-side marketers are under pressure to modernize legacy brands while adopting AI tools. Starbucks, Crocs and Mattel are each in different phases of repositioning, so their chief brand officers are not just discussing generic resilience; they are showing how companies are applying social commerce, unexpected partnerships and brand purpose to drive growth.

What the Attendee Profile Says About the Audience

The conference is not a broad industry gathering. With 67% of attendees director level or above, the program is aimed at decision-makers who can take AI training and brand strategy back into their organizations. The presence of companies such as Meta, JPMorgan Chase, Target and The Home Depot indicates the event is being used as both a learning venue and a peer-networking opportunity across consumer and financial brands.

How Brand and Marketing Leaders Can Use the Atlanta Program

  • Register before the Atlanta summit: Passes are available at event.adweek.com/brandweek_2026, and the code BRANDWEEK30 reduces the pass price by 30%.
  • Prioritize the AI day: The conference dedicates one full day to AI skills for marketing teams, which aligns with the stated need for usable AI capability rather than general awareness.
  • Use the peer benchmark: With 75% brand-side attendees and 67% director level or above, the value is weighted toward senior practitioner conversations, not vendor-heavy pitches.
  • Match sessions to immediate priorities: Crocs' social commerce session, Starbucks' transformation session and Ben & Jerry's purpose session each map to distinct brand problems: partnership-led growth, turnaround positioning, and values-led marketing.