AMA Indy President AJ Schneinder welcomes attendees to MARCON 2026 and gives exciting updates about what’s to come from AMA Indy.

Get to know your tablemates while you connect and share ideas.

Jessica Lopez-Liggett of Anthem Blue Cross Blue Shield delivers the keynote address for MARCON 2026.

Speakers: Emiley Matherly & Krista Marschand

Successful marketing lies at the intersection of creative thought and data-informed strategy. If the pendulum swings too far in one direction you get pretty pictures that don’t deliver. Too far the other, and data overload sets-in, forcing decisions that lack the human touch consumers crave. Finding the right balance is critical to getting the results clients need. In this tag-team session with the experts from Indianapolis-based Williams Randall Advertising, you’ll learn how creative teams should use research and data to help inform their creative approach. Once a new campaign is “in-market,” the analytics team tracks the results and can suggest areas where creative tweaks might be necessary to boost efficacy.

It’s especially important as search algorithms incorporate more AI and paid social platforms become more complicated to measure. Understanding the results of creative execution is critical.

Connect with our sponsors and vendors in the Exhibit Hall.

Speaker: Sandra Abi-Rashed

The most well-resourced projects still fail, not because of bad planning, but because of misaligned people. As AI and automation handle more of the technical side of execution, the human skills - trust-building, influence, cross-functional alignment, leading through ambiguity — are becoming the rarest competitive advantage. This session explores why execution is ultimately a people discipline, and how intentional mentorship is one of the most powerful (and most underused) levers for developing the leaders organizations need most.

Exhibit Hall open to all attendees.

Speaker: Adam Pintar

Discover the inspiration behind the the new brand identity of Indianapolis’s hometown team, the Indianapolis Indians!

Speaker: Ruthie Grigoletti

Marketing requests often arrive disguised as solutions. Stakeholders ask for a brochure, a website redesign, a social media campaign, or a video, but the requested tactic is not always the right answer. The most effective marketers know how to look beyond the request and uncover the underlying business goal, audience challenge, or organizational problem that needs to be solved. This session explores practical techniques for asking better questions, conducting more effective discovery conversations, and shifting discussions from deliverables to outcomes. Attendees will leave with a framework for evaluating requests, identifying root causes, and developing marketing strategies that solve real problems rather than simply producing more marketing activities.

Exhibit Hall open to all attendees.

Learn about the latest from AMA Indy and connect with fellow members.

Speaker: Jay Schemanske

“Marketing at the Speed of Trust” reframes modern marketing through a simple but powerful lens: trust is the invisible force that determines how quickly consumers move from awareness to action.

Trust underpins how people form opinions, change behavior, choose brands, and make purchase decisions. It’s the unspoken gateway that allows consumers to believe a product or service will fulfill a need and see themselves in the experience. Consumers are actively seeking credible proof – through reviews, transparency, consistent messaging and authentic customer experiences – before taking action. In the age of AI and increasing skepticism, understanding how to effectively and quickly build trust is more important than ever.

This session explores how trust is built across every touchpoint and invites marketers to look at their current communications through the “lens of trust” to accelerate the pathway to purchase.

AMA Indy President AJ Schneider recaps MARCON 2026 and ends the day on a high note!