AIMS 2025: The Event for Atlanta’s Marketing Community
On November 19, 2025, Atlanta’s vibrant marketing community united under one roof for the first-ever Atlanta Integrated Marketing Summit (AIMS) — a remarkable experience that turned inspiration into action, focused on meaningful connections, and highlighted incredible leaders from UPS, Kellanova, Edible Brands, and Papa Johns who are actively pushing the industry forward.
In partnership with the largest leading marketing organizations in Atlanta - AMA Atlanta, AAF Atlanta, PRSA Georgia, Fuse, and the Marketing AI Pulse Community - Setup ideated and hosted AIMS 2025, and the results were incredible.
“The Setup team consistently creates outstanding opportunities to engage with Atlanta’s marketing community, gain fresh insights, and build valuable connections that strengthen my professional network.”
This wasn’t just another industry conference or summit. AIMS was a call to collaboration, a celebration of connection, and a powerful reminder that marketing is strongest when disciplines converge.
“Very different from the usual ATL events...in a very positive way. I def enjoyed chatting with people that I normally would not cross paths with...a true integrated experience. Totally enjoyed it!”
The Inception of AIMS
AIMS was created to break the silos across the marketing landscape, from PR pros and creative minds to martech experts and brand leaders. At Setup, we believe in the power of human connection, and our Founder and CEO, Joe Koufman, created AIMS “to unite our community, foster new connections, and share practical insights from across the spectrum.” Read more about it here.
AIMS 2025 was our answer to fragmentation, and ideally the AIMS community will be a living, breathing network designed to spark cross-functional ideas and long-term partnerships. The Atlanta Integrated Marketing Summit is our commitment to building a more unified future for Atlanta marketing and a chance for marketers to be a part of something bigger.
“AIMS created the kind of momentum that encourages marketers to think bigger and move with intention. The conversations were thoughtful, the insights were practical, and the energy in the room showed how ready this community is to shape what comes next in marketing.”
Keynotes | Kellanova, UPS, Edible Brands, Papa Johns
The AIMS stage was home to four marketing leaders redefining what excellence looks like in a fast-changing world:
Differentiated Brands: Winning in a Hyperconnected World
Julie Bowerman | Chief Marketing Officer | Kellanova
Julie Bowerman kicked off the speaker lineup sharing strategic examples of how she and her team worked on initiatives to evolve and shape their business.
She emphasized the role of data in sharpening brand focus, sharing how Kellanova has embraced a bold mix of cultural relevance and creative risk-taking to cut through. For marketers trying to stand out, Julie’s insight was invaluable.
Some key points from Bowerman’s keynote:
1. Full-Funnel Thinking Is Non-Negotiable
Bowerman made it clear that modern marketers can no longer stop at top-of-funnel brand awareness. Because of retail media, consumer behavior and purchasing has changed, and brands need to invest in a full-funnel approach.
Her strategic overhaul at Kellanova focused on connecting every stage of the journey, from inspiration to purchase, using smarter investment, data, linking, and performance models. Brands need to be thinking from end-to-end, asking, “How does a shopper perceive our brands in a digital environment and an in-store environment?”
2. Deep Audience Segmentation Drives ROI
The Kellanova team moved far beyond broad demographics to craft messaging based on behavior, household composition, and purchase history. They looked at the “granularity of audience segments and data.”
“We don’t only look at buyers, but buyer segments... we go much, much deeper. And when we do that, we’ve seen about a 25% bump in ROI by really tailoring our media message.”
3. Bold Content Wins
Bowerman emphasized that standout ideas require not only creativity but a system-wide shift (especially for legacy companies) filled with getting everyone on board through education, training, and conversations. The edible Pop-Tarts mascots, influencer collabs, and brand partnerships that led to bold creativity was backed by structure.
“We worked really closely for several months with our legal team… breaking down processes and long approval times to be more responsive.”
4. Relevance Requires Cultural Agility
Kellanova’s campaigns showed how quick pivots, from responding to pop culture (Jerry Seinfeld’s Unfrosted film) to real-time influencer partnerships, create breakthrough engagement.
“We’ve got people on my social team whose whole job is just surfing the social networks and really understanding what’s popping in culture so we can be quickly responsive.
No Mailing It In: Leading with Authenticity in Every Message
Deisha Barnett | President, Global Communications & Brand (CCO) | UPS
Deisha Barnett brought soul and strategy together in a stirring session about leading with authenticity.
She revealed how UPS navigated internal and external transformation, including their stance during key cultural moments. Her team didn’t wait for the perfect playbook; they led with values, clarity, and humanity.
Some key points from Barnett’s fireside chat:
1. Storytelling Remains Important
Despite shifts in platforms, speed, and audience expectations, Barnett stressed that the core of communications still relies on the timeless RACE model she learned early in her career:
“The fundamentals are pretty consistent and sound… Research, Action, Communicate, and Evaluate.”
She emphasized that while the channels evolve, the discipline behind great storytelling remains the same.
2. Brand Trust Comes From Purpose, Pride, and Protecting the Brand
Barnett explained that UPS’s legacy and cultural strength are rooted in deep internal pride and commitment, not just external marketing:
“Moving our world forward by delivering what matters — the purpose is very personal for each of us.”
With nearly 490,000 employees connected to that purpose, she said trust is strengthened daily through consistency and innovation. And, as a leader, she needs to be living that truth and promise daily, setting an example for the community.
3. Authenticity Requires Discipline, Plain Language, and “No Corporate Speak”
Barnett doesn’t just talk about authenticity, she operationalizes it through training, team rituals, and non‑negotiable standards.
She shared two of her core storytelling principles:
“Authenticity is a valuable currency.”
“Corporate speak is the devil. Keep it real. Use conversational language like an actual normal human.”
Her team reinforces this human-centered authenticity through plain‑language training, Axios Smart Brevity training, and twice‑weekly content reviews.
4. Utilizing AI to Amplify Work
Barnett embraces AI as a creative accelerator, not a replacement for judgment:
“Chatty G is my homegirl… she is smart, she knows everything.”
But she cautioned that younger professionals who rely on AI without foundational skills risk losing critical thinking: “How do we make sure that talent… understands the long way?… AI may not always be a straight up copy and paste… it may need some massaging.”
Her team now uses AI for content creation, internal tools, and even an AI‑generated UPS podcast.
Beyond the Pizza Box: Building a Brand Engine That Delivers Growth
Shivram Vaideeswaran | SVP, Brand Marketing | Papa Johns
Shivram Vaideeswaran opened the second half of the afternoon with a fireside chat to talk about how he is driving brand innovation for Papa Johns.
Papa Johns is full of excitement right now. They understand their audience and are continuing to provide a high quality experience and product mixed with fun and whimsy and love and care.
Some key points from Vaideeswaran’s fireside chat:
1. Brand Health Is the Business Driver
“I am obsessed with our brand health tracker.”
Vaideeswaran emphasized that looking at what is working and what is not working is important. They obsessively track metrics like quality perception, value scores, and operational consistency aren’t just vanity indicators, they directly correlate to sales performance and loyalty. For Papa Johns, tracking brand health through a holistic scorecard is foundational to strategic decisions, from campaign development to product launches and operational efforts.
2. Integrated Marketing Starts in the Test Kitchen
“It first always starts with the consumer.” Once they have a good understanding of what the consumer needs, it fuels ideas throughout the organization to meet those needs.
From insights to innovation, Vaideeswaran walked through how cross-functional collaboration, from culinary teams to CRM, media, social, multiple channels and departments, and franchisees, brings an idea to life. The brand’s latest offer, The Grand Papa, was born from trends around shareability and backed by rigorous operational planning and storytelling.
3. Paid Social Is Underrated (and Highly Effective)
“Paid social is a very underrated channel... It gives us the opportunity to put more messaging out there and be more targeted with it.”
Papa Johns leans heavily into paid social to segment audiences by need state—value seekers, novelty hunters, and quality-focused customers—offering tailored messages that go beyond a “spray and pray” approach and deliver performance rooted in brand storytelling.
4. There’s No Performance Without Brand
“Your bottom of the funnel doesn’t work if no one knows what your product is.”
Vaideeswaran pushed back on the outdated divide between brand and performance marketing. Whether you’re selling pizza or software, brand visibility and emotional connection fuel conversions. Brand is the backbone of performance.
Controlled Chaos: The Strategy Behind Disruption
Thomas Winstanley | EVP & General Manager | Edible Brands
Thomas Winstanley closed out the summit by taking us behind the curtain at Edibles.com, sharing how his team entered the hemp-derived wellness space with smart strategy and bold experimentation. His talk showed how innovation isn’t about throwing everything at the wall, it’s about making calculated, creative bets.
His session reminded the audience that great marketing sometimes means operating at the edge of comfort, and loving the chaos that comes with it.
Some key points from Winstanley’s keynote:
1. Limitations Breed Creativity
Winstanley reframed regulated marketing as a strategic advantage. With roots in pharma, alcohol, and cannabis, he’s learned how to thrive within limits. The launch of edibles.com embraced hemp’s legal gray zones, navigating policy, press, and stigma to build consumer trust. His goal? “Take what [Nancy Reagan] did, but do the opposite… and make this feel more accessible.”
“Red tape is not always a restriction, it’s an opportunity if you look at it with a certain light.”
2. Understand the Consumer
One of Winstanley’s key strategies is normalizing THC. Rather than marketing intoxication, edibles.com focuses on relatable use cases—sleep, stress, pain, or replacing a glass of wine. “Step one: make it feel like it belongs next to a bottle of wine…” Their visuals, messaging, and product assortment aim to remove fear and stigma and bring cannabis into everyday lifestyle moments.
3. When Doors Close, Gain Trust
Operating in a category that can’t advertise on Meta or Google and where even the brand name “edibles.com” is banned, Winstanley and team are forced to get creative. Earned media, press kits, policy lobbying, and “fun but not funny” messaging all serve as pillars of their strategy. “Even though these are federally legal products, Meta still doesn’t want to play ball… So we focus on building trust, not just selling.”
4. Make it Easy on the Consumer
Thomas invoked a Steve Jobs mantra to describe how edibles.com curates products. Rather than just DTC THC gummies, their platform is positioned as a trusted, lab-tested marketplace. “We do the homework so you don’t have to.” That includes top brands in chewables and beverages, creating a white-label alternative to dispensaries that simplifies access and demystifies cannabis.
“Give the people what they want… then introduce them to what they didn’t know they needed.”
Marketer Matchmaking in Action
We wanted to be sure that people left with more than just notes, so we partnered with sponsors to provide engaging activations.
The Marketing Match Lounge sponsored by SWARM and an AI-powered photo moment from Reply created dozens of unexpected moments of connection. We fashioned the Lounge after our Setup #MarketersBreakfast speed-dating events so that marketers could connect on relevant topics with as many people as possible in a short amount of time. Each table was hosted by a resident expert with one of our partners as a facilitator. Attendees discussed how teams are segmenting KPIs and experimenting with formats, to navigating trust, community building, and AI implementation in today’s fast-moving marketing landscape.
The Reply photo moment also allowed people to break the ice and connect over silly images and dancing.
Marketers walked away from AIMS with notes, inspiration, new collaborators, job leads, agency partners, mentors, and joy.
Laughter in the lobby and serious note-taking during sessions...The vibe was electric.
“[Setup’s] stated goal was to bring the Atlanta marketing community together, it was a smashing success. I was shocked at how many other attendees I knew, and I met some other great folks throughout the day.”
AIMS worked because it was intentional and focused on the attendees’ experience. We truly believe in the power of human connection and saw the power of connection in real time from heartfelt testimonials to on-the-spot LinkedIn connections. The feedback is clear: marketers are hungry for spaces like this — real, human, high-energy spaces that break silos and build bridges. In our CMO Spotlight series where we interview key marketing leaders, we have heard several CMOs share that their favorite quote is, “If you want to go fast, go alone. If you want to go far, go with others,” and that could not be more true for today.
So a heartfelt, deep thank you to all the sponsors (The AJC + AJC Ads, REPLY, SupplyHouse, SWARM, Causal, and Truelio), partners, speakers, and attendees for a successful first-ever AIMS. Atlanta showed up and showed what’s possible when our disciplines unite.
If you were there, thank you. If you missed it, don’t worry…this is just the beginning. The future of AIMS is bright, and the next chapter is already unfolding. Check out all the photos from the event here!
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Let’s keep building a better-connected marketing community — one bold step, one firm handshake, and one kind smile at a time.
On November 19, 2025, Atlanta’s vibrant marketing community united under one roof for the first-ever Atlanta Integrated Marketing Summit (AIMS) — a remarkable experience that turned inspiration into action, focused on meaningful connections, and highlighted incredible leaders from UPS, Kellanova, Edible Brands, and Papa Johns who are actively pushing the industry forward.