What struck me most wasn’t just the creativity of the campaigns, but the common thread running through all of them: the brands winning right now are the ones that listen, respond, and take risks in real time.

Here are the biggest insights I took away from the Marketing Brew Summit in NYC — the ones I believe will define the next chapter of brand building.

1. Disruption Done Right: Duolingo’s “Unhinged” Playbook

If there’s a case study in how to capture cultural attention, it’s Duolingo. Manu Orssaud, their CMO, walked us through how they have embraced chaos, community, and a healthy dose of risk tolerance to drive exponential growth.

The “Duo death stunt,” a temporary app icon swap that spiraled into a murder mystery and eventually drew in Dua Lipa and MrBeast, delivered 1.7 billion impressions in two weeks. The team thrives on real time marketing, spinning up reactive campaigns like a faux move to China stunt when TikTok faced a ban. Within hours they had cameras rolling at Pittsburgh airport, sparking a surge in Chinese learners. Most importantly, Duolingo did not invent their brand persona out of thin air. They leaned into the memes their community had already created, turning “threatening Duo” into a cultural icon users love to hate.

What stood out for me: they stripped away bureaucracy. Approvals happen in short pitch meetings, legal sits in on TikTok brainstorms, and the emphasis is on freedom to move fast. It is a masterclass in what happens when you let community and creativity lead.

2. Building the Responsive Marketing Engine

From Kane Footwear, Apothékary, and Stagwell’s Sport Beach initiative, I saw a clear picture of where marketing teams need to evolve.

Flat, responsive structures are beating hierarchical ones. Servant leadership and diverse thinkers are replacing rigid command chains. Channel first strategy matters more than ever. TikTok demands four unpolished posts a day for testing, Instagram still thrives on curation, and email or SMS requires deep planning. Each channel plays a distinct role. AI is creeping in, but as a support system, not a replacement. Whether tagging 130,000 photos in a weekend or generating viral TikTok hooks, AI is best when it speeds up execution while humans maintain the creative edge.

Takeaway: speed is cultural currency. Brands that can test, learn, and pivot faster than the competition will own the conversation.

3. Gen Alpha and Boomers, The Overlooked Powerhouses

We talk so much about millennials and Gen Z, but the real opportunities lie with Gen Alpha and Boom X, the 55 plus group.

Gen Alpha is growing up in a co creation mindset. From Roblox to avatar design, they expect seamless online to offline integration and want to shape the brands they engage with. They already influence a large share of millennial parent purchases. Boomers and Gen X hold nearly half the world’s wealth but appear in only a tiny fraction of advertising images. When they do, it is often through outdated stereotypes. Meanwhile, their tech adoption is climbing and their influencer engagement rates can outpace younger generations.

Lesson for me: the future is not youth versus age, it is cross generational influence. Gen Alpha shapes household decisions, and Boomers drive spending. Together, they are reshaping the funnel.

4. Creativity plus Tech Equals Scale at Speed

MNTN, with Ryan Reynolds’ Maximum Effort agency, reminded us that speed to market is everything. Campaigns can move from text message to shoot to live in days, not months.

AI plays a role in utility ads that focus on features and offers, but true breakthrough ideas still come from human insight. For me, the reminder was this: AI is a force multiplier, but it cannot replace the spark of creativity that makes us laugh, share, or feel.

5. Community Is the New Funnel

From Sephora’s Beauty Insider program to Gamefam’s Roblox activations and FIFA’s mobile fan experiences, community building is no longer a nice to have, it is the strategy.

Communities thrive when brands offer authentic connections, not gimmicks. Exclusive access, like masterclasses, tickets, and VIP events, deepens loyalty. Cross industry collaborations, like beauty at sports venues or music in metaverse worlds, bring unexpected growth.

What hit me: community is not about managing audiences. It is about creating spaces where people feel they belong, and then letting them carry your brand into culture.

6. Measurement, With Humanity

One theme echoed across multiple sessions, stop chasing vanity metrics.

Impressions do not equal impact. Brand value is built over years, not in 24 hour dashboards. Simplicity and storytelling cut through better than over engineered targeting. While we have more tools than ever to measure performance, marketing is still, and always will be, about human connection.

Final Reflection

Walking away from the summit, I felt both grounded and energized. The future of marketing is not about choosing between brand or performance, creativity or AI, youth or experience. It is about weaving these together into responsive systems that listen, move quickly, and build with community at the center.

The question I am asking myself now, and the one I would challenge other marketers with, is this:

Are we building campaigns, or are we building movements?

The brands that do the latter are the ones that will thrive.