Festival Day 2

Talk 1: Festival Lowdown with Alex Jenkins

My first session was the Festival Lowdown with Alex Jenkins from Contagious. He went over some of the top campaigns that have already won awards. A few things that stood out to me were that AI is everywhere right now, but it's just a tool, not the solution; and creators are leading in health and wellness by being genuine, sharing their own stories, and maintaining authenticity. He also provided pitching tips, such as being clear, staying calm, and backing everything up with solid data.

Talk 2: The Social Playbook with Sephora

Then I headed to The Social Playbook at the Creator's Rooftop with Brent Mitchell from Sephora, who discussed how their creator strategy works. Brent emphasized that they focus on long-term partnerships with individuals who genuinely align with the brand. 90% of their content is made by creators, and it performs way better because it actually feels real. The biggest takeaway I got was that people want content that entertains and doesn't feel forced. Between my next talk, I met Christi Lukasiak from Dance Moms, which was unexpected and crazy to me (and, of course, I had to ask for a picture!)

Talk 3: Live Workshop with Robyn DelMonte (GirlBoss Town)

Next was my absolute favorite part of the day— Robyn DelMonte's live workshop. I've followed her forever, so it was cool to hear her talk and actually pitch ideas to her. My group came up with a campaign called "Retreat: Twitch IRL"—kind of like Love Island meets gaming summer camp. That moment alone made my day.

Talk 4: The Love Issue with Cosmopolitan

After that, I went to one of the tents for the Love Issue talk with the Cosmopolitan team. They broke down how their new strategy is all about creating content for the platform, rather than trying to drive traffic elsewhere. They explained how they're now focusing on more raw, real, relatable storytelling because it's more personal and appeals better to their Gen Z audience.

Talk 5: Advertisers vs Creators with Alix Earle

My last talk was the Advertisers vs Creators: Who Really Built Poppi's $2 billion Sale with Alix Earle. It was all about how they built a brand through creators. Alix started out just posting her life, and it grew because it was real and consistent. The talk thing made me think about how smart long-term creator partnerships really are, especially when it's a brand the person actually uses. I also got to say hi to Alix after and take a selfie with her. My classmates and I kept telling her we went to Miami, and she threw up the "U".

Right after that, we went to get in line for the awards show, where we casually saw Bethenny Frankel and Campbell Puckett (Pookie) walking around the festival. After the awards show, we all went back and got ready for the day ahead!!

Click above to watch my DIML