As the heat of the day subsided into the early Palm Springs, Calif., evening, the inaugural Brandweek conference kicked off Sunday night with a keynote conversation between comedian, actor and brand marketing entrepreneur Kevin Hart and Adweek managing partner Danny Wright. The wide-ranging discussion charted the course of Hart’s meteoric career from sneaker salesman to CEO.

Hart noted that his experience as a struggling young comic spun off early key epiphanies about self-branding, audience intuition and authenticity that have helped guide his growing media and brand-marketing empire.

“I fell in love with getting laughter from what I wrote, but I realized that people were walking away … not knowing anything about me. I was a blur in the funny of the night,” Hart said. “You need a definition in your performance.”

Hart also touched on his passion for mentoring young comedians and comedy in general as a key force behind his Laugh Out Loud network, a web-based service he created in partnership with Lionsgate, as well as his intensely collaborative work ethic with brand partners such as Lyft, Mountain Dew, Nike and Old Spice.

The afternoon’s program then pivoted to Brandweek’s Challenger Brand track that featured eight executives shaking up traditional categories: Marci McCue, co-founder and CMO of Flipboard; Nicholas Horbaczewski, founder and CEO of the Drone Racing League; Cheryl Kaplan, co-founder and president of M.Gemi; ARTBIT partners Matt Sorum and Bill Tai; Glen Hartman, head of Accenture Interactive North America; Alexandra Williamson, chief brand officer at Bumble; and Michael Dubin, founder and CEO of Dollar Shave Club.

McCue, who underwent gladiator training this summer, found interesting parallels to challenger marketers who, like gladiators, have to be ready without hesitation for unpredictable moments and know the value of winning over a crowd. 

Horbaczewski, who is building a fast-growing futurist sport with the Drone Racing League, discussed the importance of asking, “Does this authentically connect to things that are relevant and important to consumers?”

Kaplan, whose company launches new shoe styles every Monday, spoke about how the data-informed rapid-supply-chain model M.Gemi has deployed has allowed it to get closer to customers' desires in real time—“when customers want things, we can react”—while staying true to old-world craftsmanship.

Hartman focused on creating empathy-infused activations for consumers and making meaningful and deliverable promises.

Williamson said Bumble has been able to carve out a growing niche in the dating and social connectivity space simply by demanding kindness and empathy in a reimagined model in which women make the first move.

Ending the afternoon’s agenda, Dubin addressed the evolving notion of masculinity and how Dollar Shave Club is pivoting to offer a more complete product line to address men’s grooming and wellness. He shared his latest creative on that and, as he is known do to, used humor to tell the story, much to the delight of the audience and with a few cringe-worthy moments thrown in for good measure.

Brandweek ended its first day with a live performance by Lauryn Hill.

James Cooper
Editorial director