Earlier this October, creatives across various industries descended upon Midtown, Manhattan for Advertising Week New York — four days of exploration, collaboration, and analysis of the trends that will drive our culture forward.
Whether it was Camilla Cabello performing, Claudia Oshry (@girlwithnojob) making us giggle, or TikTok experts spilling the secrets to going viral, the 20th anniversary conference left us wanting more. Here’s why AWNewYork should be on everyone’s radar — from students and marketers to brands and businesses.
It’s one of the biggest events of its kind
In terms of facts and figures, 4,000+ companies from across the globe — including Canva, Major League Soccer, Coca-Cola, and of course, Secret Media Network made their way to the Penn District, where over 550 content sessions took place and 15,000 attendees were ready to spark conversations.
Who knows what might possibly develop from those run-ins? We’re certainly looking forward to finding out.
There are creative and engaging onsite activations
Just in case you couldn’t tell from the statistics, the stakes were high for the 20th anniversary, and #AWNewYork exceeded our expectations.
Throughout the duration of the event, it wasn’t uncommon to walk by activations from Squid Game: The Experience or pick up tips and tricks from the pros at TikTok while venturing to various talks and gatherings, including ones with Al Roker, Law Roach, and Terry Crews. The list of notable attendees was as extensive as the schedule of panels, proving that four days was plenty of time to generate more than a few conversations.
And yes, even yours truly was amongst the familiar names at the event. Secret NYC stole hearts with a bold, taxi-yellow newsstand fully equipped with a local neighborhood guide — and adorable tote bags — that provided details on what to do, where to eat, and how to spend your time post-conference. (It was the least we could do as your eyes and ears of NYC.)
Wow Bouquet was kind enough to join forces with Secret Media Network to provide complementary floral arrangements in our signature yellow, while our friends at Irving Farm Coffee offered newsstand visitors a 15% discount on their morning cup of Joe.
The downtime activities are fantastic
At its core, the annual gathering inspires professionals to take the next steps in their careers, but make no mistake: the event was also an opportunity to sit in on engaging celebrity talks, decompress at relaxing yoga classes, mix and mingle over dinner and drinks, and wrap up with a party at Terminal 5. It was all business, but certainly a lot of fun, too.
But before wrapping things up, our VP of Secret Media Network, Miriam Cacho Sol, joined forces with Fever’s Michelle Yanikian, Brand Partnerships Director, to discuss finding authentic local experiences for our readers and followers through community involvement, strategic collaborations, and brand campaigns. As we say, “Don’t Google it, don’t TikTok it — Secret it!”
