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As folks shake the sand from their luggage after Possible 2026 and we walk away the Brand Challenge winner, we’re more motivated than ever to help brands solve the greatest challenges they’re facing. Today, many marketers are seeking to escape mediocrity, make a bigger impact, and not lose their way in the process. From the Brand Challenge stage to the challenges brands face, let’s dive into the moments that made a splash at Possible 2026.
Winner of the 2026 Brand Challenge Innovation Award
Going into the event, Adora was thrilled to be a finalist in the Brand Challenge. While a plethora of platforms and solution providers entered the competition, only a handful of finalists were invited to pitch on the Innovation Stage, which showcased the most groundbreaking movers in digital marketing.
We’re proud to have taken the win and be acknowledged by the panel as the most innovative marketing solution in the competition. We’re also thankful to have met so many other fantastic providers throughout the competition, particularly the Bedrock team who have developed agentic tools for media buying at agencies.
When more players tackle the real challenges marketers face every day, the whole ecosystem benefits, and we’re thankful for the Brand Challenge giving a spotlight to incredible companies excelling in this pursuit.
Challenge 1: Escaping Mediocrity
Conferences like Possible are a great opportunity to pause and reflect, breaking the rhythm of the day-to-day to envision what could be. Indeed, many marketers shared that they are seeking to break from a pattern of mediocrity that often emanates from hedged bets, post-mortems, and uncertainty.
The line that stuck with us most came from Jon Evans: "What's the cost of doing boring ads?" He cited the stat that 50% of ads generate no emotional reaction at all. That’s half the media dollars and half the creative effort generating zero impact for the brand. The missed potential is staggering.
Nicole Parlapiano, CMO at Tubi, pushed it further: "All this work to make mid campaigns that don't move the needle is a waste of energy."
The cost of mediocrity is often invisible until it's too late. You don't see the campaigns that didn't land — you see the spend, the timeline hits, the deliverables shipped, and miss that none of it moved anything. The bias toward "safe" expression is a bias toward an expensive kind of failure.
Challenge 2: Embracing Bold Moves
So how can teams escape the allure of safety and go bold? One thread ran through nearly every panel: the hardest part of bold work isn't the execution. It's getting teams to stay open to big ideas before the practical concerns close in.
Jon Evans framed it as playing the angel's advocate — find ways to make it work first, as you can always cut later. Nicole Parlapiano put it more bluntly: "First round of creative, don't get in the tactical. Stay in the big idea space. Avoid the early negativity around big thinking."
And Marisa Thalberg at Catalyst captured what it looks like when teams actually do this: "Now we are talking about being unapologetic about who we are."
That's the reframe. Not "be bolder" as a vague directive — protect the space where bold ideas can breathe in the first place.
Challenge 3: Speed with Stability
Of course, going bold cannot be at the expense of the brand’s DNA. For any marketer who has been burned by the “move fast and break things” mantra, it’s far better to move fast while building from a solid foundation.
Vinny Rinaldi at The Hershey Company put it as cleanly as anyone: "If you don't pour a concrete foundation, your house falls down. AI needs to be built around the brand."
Marisa Thalberg picked up the same thread from the CMO chair, stating, "As CMO, you have a responsibility to steward the voice of the brand." Nicole Parlapiano made the stakes personal: "Our necks are already on the line, might as well do it right."
The takeaway: the answer to "how fast can we ship?" isn't a number. It's "as fast as the foundation lets us." Anyone selling speed without that conversation is selling a liability in-waiting.
So, What’s Possible?
That's the question the event keeps asking. Our answer, after a week of conversations: a lot. For the marketers who are willing — to push past the perceived safety of mediocrity, embrace a bold mindset, and build on a solid, sustainable foundation — real, rapid, and unforgettable outcomes are possible.
