ANA Calls on Marketing Industry to “Push Pause & Power Up” for the AI Future

September 17 Global Day of Learning will bring together marketing leaders from General Motors, Mastercard, LEGO, Duolingo, SAS, and others for practical training on AI agents, synthetic audiences, measurement and the future of marketing work

Key Takeaways

1. The ANA Global Day of Learning returns September 17, 2026, bringing marketers together for a full day focused on The Future of Marketing Work and the skills needed as AI reshapes the profession.
2. Marketing leaders and experts from General Motors, Mastercard, The LEGO Group, Duolingo, SAS, eos Products, PetIQ, and others will address how AI, changing consumer behavior, and new ways of working are transforming marketing.
3. The program includes hands-on training in building AI agents and custom GPTs, using synthetic audiences for marketing research, modernizing cross-media measurement, co-creation, and future-proofing marketer relevance.

NEW YORK, AUGUST 25, 2026 - As artificial intelligence rapidly changes how marketing work gets done, the Association of National Advertisers (ANA) is calling on the industry to put down the day-to-day work for one day and focus on building the skills marketers will need next.

On Thursday, September 17, 2026, the ANA will host its annual Global Day of Learning, an industry-wide learning event built around this year's theme, "The Future of Marketing Work."
From 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., marketing leaders, practitioners, and subject matter experts will participate in live master classes, workshops, and conversations examining the technologies, capabilities, and ways of working transforming the marketing profession.

The initiative is driven by the ANA Global CMO Growth Council and organized around priorities identified by marketing leaders from around the world.

"AI isn't simply giving marketers another set of tools. It's forcing us to reconsider what skills matter, where human judgment creates the most value and how the marketing organization itself needs to evolve," said Nick Primola, Group Executive Vice President at the ANA and leader of the Global CMO Growth Council. "Global Day of Learning is our opportunity to collectively push pause on the work immediately in front of us and power up for what's coming next. The goal isn't to predict the future of marketing. It's to give marketers practical ways to prepare for it."

Why is the ANA asking marketers to "push pause"?

Marketing organizations have spent the past several years operating through continuous disruption, from changing consumer behavior and fragmented media to rapidly evolving artificial intelligence.
The ANA believes keeping pace requires more than adopting new technology. It requires marketers to continually invest in their own capabilities.

Global Day of Learning is built around what the ANA calls "PTO - Personal Time ON": dedicated time for marketers and their teams to put down their everyday tools, step away from immediate deadlines, and focus on learning, growth, and skill-building.

The idea behind this year's "Push Pause and Power Up" call to action is not to slow the industry down, but to make sure marketers are prepared to move forward intelligently as the nature of their work changes.

How is AI changing marketing work?

This year's program moves beyond discussing the potential of artificial intelligence to give marketers practical experience using emerging AI tools.

In a hands-on workshop, Cord Silverstein, CEO of IntegrateAI, will teach marketing teams how to build and deploy their own Custom GPTs and AI agents using platforms including ChatGPT, Claude, Copilot and Gemini. Participants will build agents designed around their own day-to-day marketing responsibilities.

Another workshop will examine synthetic audiences, or AI-generated audience panels that marketers can use to pressure-test claims, messages, and creative concepts before moving into human research and in-market testing.

Led by Veronica Ripson, Head of Learning Experience at U of Digital, the session will take participants through a hypothetical product from claim to creative, demonstrating both where synthetic research can accelerate decision-making and where human input remains essential.

What skills will marketers need for the future?

Technology is only part of the challenge.

The Global Day of Learning program will examine how marketers can remain valuable as traditional roles, organizational structures, and approaches to marketing evolve.

Raja Rajamannar, former Chief Marketing and Communications Officer at Mastercard, will open the program with a keynote on why traditional marketing frameworks are being disrupted and what he describes as the emerging era of "Quantum Marketing."

Rishad Tobaccowala, Co-Founder of The Athena Project, will deliver a keynote on future-proofing marketer relevance, including the skills, habits, and ways of thinking professionals will need as AI changes both marketing organizations and individual roles.

Other sessions will explore transformation, challenger brands, B2B growth, partnership marketing, sustainability, and co-creation.How are major brands approaching measurement, creativity and growth?

The program will also feature senior marketing leaders sharing how their organizations are responding to specific changes already reshaping the industry.

• Shenan Reed, Global Chief Media Officer at General Motors, will discuss the future of cross-media measurement as audiences and media investment fragment across a growing number of platforms and AI-driven channels.
• Rahul Chopra, Vice President at Duolingo, and Eric Fulwiler, Co-Founder and CEO of Rival, will examine what challenger brands need to build relevance and sustain momentum at scale.
• Soyoung Kang, President of eos Products, and creator and entrepreneur Funmi Monet will explore how creator marketing is evolving from transactional endorsements toward deeper co-creation between brands and creators.
• Jennifer Chase, Chief Marketing Officer and Executive Vice President at SAS, will address how AI, technology, and changing customer expectations are reshaping B2B brand growth.
• Other speakers include Julia Goldin, Chief Product and Marketing Officer at The LEGO Group; Jissan Cherian, Chief Marketing Officer at PetIQ; Marc de Swaan Arons, Founder of the Institute for Real Growth; and Sam Monnie, Co-Founder and Co-CEO of Purpose Hive.

What is the ANA Global Day of Learning?

The ANA Global Day of Learning is an annual industry-wide initiative designed to give marketing professionals dedicated time for education, professional development, and skills-building.

Over the past three years, more than 20,000 marketing professionals and students from more than 100 countries have participated, learning from senior marketers and subject matter experts from across the industry.

The program is a cornerstone of the ANA's investment in developing the marketing profession and is aligned with the ANA Industry Growth Agenda and the priorities identified by the ANA Global CMO Growth Council.

When is the 2026 ANA Global Day of Learning?

Date: Thursday, September 17, 2026
Time: 9:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m.
Theme: The Future of Marketing Work
Format: Live master classes, workshops, and on-demand learning resources
Cost: Free for ANA members; $499 for non-members
Registration and the full agenda are available through the ANA Global Day of Learning website.

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About the ANA

The Association of National Advertisers (ANA) is the definitive voice of the marketing industry. Since 1910, we have set and advanced the agenda for marketing transformation, connecting over 1,600 member companies to an influential global network, insights and resources that drive growth. Our members represent 20,000 brands and $400 billion in annual marketing investment. Through industry-leading research, the CMO Growth Council, and our proprietary Growth Agenda and Practices, the ANA empowers marketers to shape the future of marketing and create lasting impact for their organizations and the industry.

About the ANA | Global CMO Growth Council
The Global CMO Growth Council is a partnership between the ANA and LIONS representing over 1,200 chief marketers worldwide. Chaired by Marc Pritchard, chief brand officer at Procter & Gamble, the leadership team includes 50 chief marketers from the world's top brands. Since its launch in 2018, the Growth Council has mobilized thousands of CMOs and industry leaders around the world to transform marketing into a force for economic growth and a force for societal good. It is a community of influential and distinguished marketing leaders addressing key issues facing CMOs, their companies, and all of the stakeholders they serve. Chief marketers hold a privileged responsibility to accelerate broad and bold initiatives that will lead to lasting benefits for their brands, their customers, and our global society.