The Marketing Track at the 2026 UWEBC Annual Conference explored the updated and elevated role of the four P’s of marketing: product, price, place, and promotion. Through real examples and practical takeaways, four speakers examined how these foundations are evolving to help brands strengthen customer relationships, deepen engagement, and create measurable growth.
The track opened with Sri Kantamneni, Executive Vice President and Chief Information & Digital Officer at Schreiber Foods, presenting Pricing with Intelligence: Turning Market Signals into Better Decisions.
Sri explored how data and technology can help organizations understand consumer behavior and make more informed pricing decisions. He emphasized the importance of translating consumer signals into repeatable analytical processes while identifying potential risks. At the center of this work is a clear understanding of customer value, and a commitment to directing investment toward what the data demonstrates is valuable.
The second session welcomed Kikora Mason, Communications Leader and Cultural Strategist, to present The New Promotional Mix: Balancing Competing Expectations.
Kikora examined a familiar communications challenge: the same message can reach audiences with very different expectations of an organization. She shared her CLEAR framework and explored how the promotional mix must account for trust across stakeholder groups, particularly when communications affect business outcomes or public perception. Her central takeaway offered a useful distinction: every stakeholder deserves the same truth, but each audience may need a different message to understand its relevance.
Next, Allison Murn, Brand Growth Consultant at Illuminating and Adjunct Professor at the University of Minnesota, presented The Growth Imperative: Reinventing Brands for New Generations.
Allison placed sustaining meaningful customer relationships at the center of brand strategy. She emphasized that brands must deliver meaningful core benefits, communicate a clear purpose, and offer distinct competitive advantages. Successful brand reinvention requires understanding how customer relationships form, and continuing to earn customers’ attention and loyalty as their needs and expectations evolve.
The Marketing Track closed with Michael Belot, SVP Business Operations & Chief Real Estate Development Officer at the Milwaukee Bucks, presenting From Brand to Destination: When Place Becomes a Marketing Strategy.
Michael explored the power of place as a valuable driver of engagement, encouraging organizations to consider how physical destinations shape customer experiences and deepen connections with a brand. Thoughtfully designed places give people reasons to gather, participate, and return, extending the relationship beyond a single product or transaction. His session highlighted how making place a part of a brand’s strategy can strengthen customer relationships, expand its reach, and drive business growth.
There’s even more to explore beyond these highlights! If you attended the conference, head back to the virtual portal to revisit the conversations, watch sessions you missed, and download presentation materials. Weren’t able to be there? A Digital Pass gives you access to the ideas and insights shared throughout the day.
Written by Laura Mahowald, UWEBC Marketing