Relevance & Reinvention: Real Talk at Advertising Week New York 2026

Every marketer at Advertising Week New York this year will be wrestling with some version of the same question: what keeps a brand relevant when audiences, channels and cultural moments shift so quickly?

The struggle is an ever-present throughline in the agenda, with sessions on seizing moments, storytelling, what makes creative endure, and more. Adora is heading to NYC to join that conversation on stage and off. Here’s what we’re most looking forward to.

Built Different & Driving Growth

What do a wellness brand, hotel loyalty program, a lifestyle brand, and an AI creative platform all have in common? They may all be built different and have wildly different audiences, but they’re all driving growth.

Join us for “Built Different: What Four Unrelated Brands Can Teach Each Other About Growth,” a special session hosted by Advertising Week on the Trends & Insights stage on Thursday, October 8th at 1:10pm EDT.

Speakers will include:

• Micheal Shiwdin, Group Vice President of Loyalty, Guest Engagement, and Strategic Partnerships at Wyndham Hotels & Resorts

• Alexa Raff, CMO at goop

• Stacey Warshaw, Head of Ecommerce & Digital Marketing at LoveShackFancy

• Marco Matos, CEO and Co-founder at Adora

The New Rules of Brand Relevance with The FQ

How does your brand move at the speed of culture and build relevance, not just in the moment but over time? The Female Quotient is hosting marketing leaders from Steve Madden, Atmosphere TV, and goop for a conversation exploring how they are building brands that endure.

The talk takes place at the FQ Lounge™ at Advertising Week. Learn more and RSVP directly on their site.

Other Sessions of Note

The AWNY 2026 agenda is packed with far more sessions than any one person can attend. Here are a few of the many we’ve bookmarked:

• Owning the Moment: Sports, Sponsorship, and the New Creative Playbook — on the Media Stage at 9:40am EDT on Monday

• Do You Even Lift? Inside the Relevance Barbell Era of Marketing — on the Great Minds Stage at 10:10am EDT on Monday

• Are Audiences Outdated? Why Occasions Are the New Audience — on the Insights Stage at 10:00am EDT on Monday

• Building Creative That Endures — on the Insights Stage at 12:30pm EDT on Monday

• The CMO Balancing Act: Influence, Impact and What Comes Next — on the Innovation Stage at 12:30pm EDT on Monday

• The New CPG Operating Model: Personalization for Channels, Devices, & Partners — on the Marketplace Stage at 4:20pm EDT on Monday

• Changing Habits, Changing Stories: Brand Storytelling for Social Commerce — on the Insights Stage at 4:30pm EDT on Tuesday

• Trust is the New Creative Brief: Talent & Storytelling in the AI Era — on the Marketplace Stage 11:40am EDT on Wednesday

• The Human Edge in an Agentic World — on the Tech Stage at 3:30pm EDT on Wednesday

• The Cost of Waiting, How Mature Challenger Brands Keep Their Edge — on The Tech Stage at 11:30am EDT on Thursday

• Can 5 Days Change the World? — on the Insights stage at 2:30pm EDT on Thursday
  
  

Every session on this list asks how brands stay meaningful to the people they serve, and that question is at the heart of the work we do to help marketers craft resonant creative. If you’re heading to Advertising Week New York, we’d love to keep the conversation going. Reach out to meet with Marco and the rest of the Adora crew on site.