A year ago, a digital world was created with the “House of Rethinkers”; this year, for the first time, Innovation Day connects the virtual with the physical event world in a no less innovative way. On 29 September, top speakers from business, politics and the media will discuss the future of brands, communication and innovation with guests from these sectors in keynotes and panel talks in the Munich House of Communication as well as in the digital space. The leading theme “A HUMAN-DRIVEN FUTURE. How the human being has a formative influence on the digital tomorrow” focuses on humans and their needs. In the evening the “CMO of the Year” award will be presented for the eighth time.

Munich, 11 August 2021 — Covid-19 has once again rapidly accelerated the digitalisation and development of technology. At the same time, the pandemic has shown that the human factor is gaining in importance and visibility. What is left is the recognition that the human being, despite technological progress, will always remain an essential and irreplaceable driver of innovation and advancement.

Consequently, this year’s 17th Innovation Day, which is hosted by the Serviceplan Group together with its partners REPUBLIC, Ad Alliance and Salesforce, shifts the focus to human beings and their needs. The programme addresses questions such as: What drives human beings? Which megatrends currently influence society and the economy? How are they useful for brands? And how will the human being have a formative influence on the digital tomorrow? The on-site programme will be led by journalist and moderator Wolfram Kons.

Top speakers will present insights on four megathemes

Entrepreneur and business mentor Tim Leberecht  will deliver the introduction to an inspiring exchange with a keynote on new humanism in the digital age. Afterwards, renowned speakers will present ideas and insights on the four current megathemes – Diversity & Inclusion, Healthification, Hybrid Thinking in Retail and New Work.

Hardly anyone can report as many exciting, surprising and visionary things about the workplace of the future as Raphael Gielgen. As Future of Work Life & Learn trend scout with Vitra, he explores the future of working and to this end travels the globe on the search for the “source code” of the work environment.

Ana-Cristina Grohnert, top manager and chairperson of the employer initiative “Charta der Vielfalt” (“Diversity Charter”), Tijen Onaran, entrepreneur, author, and one of the most high-profile faces for gender equality in Germany, as well as Emilia Roig, founder, bestselling author and director of the Center for Intersectional Justice, will speak on the theme of diversity & inclusion, the current status quo, its implementation in companies and what to watch out for in brand leadership.

Every brand, so goes the prognosis of many trend experts, will in the future become a healthcare brand because wellbeing and health have developed into central themes for clients. As so often happens, the crucial impetus comes from Silicon Valley. Thomas Schulz, SPIEGEL-correspondent and bestselling author, introduces future scenarios and fascinating facts.

Cate Trotter, founder and Head of Trends with the Insider Trends future agency, is considered to be one of the internationally most influential retail service experts. She provides impetus to the theme of Hybrid Thinking in Retail, which creates the perfect mix of on- and offline.

Other speakers will be announced nearer the time on www.innovationstag.de/en and on Facebook and Twitter using the hashtag #itag2021.

Hybrid event creates networking opportunities

The Innovation Day on 29 September brings board members, managing directors, brand managers and top consultants into conversation with one another – this year for the first time conceived as a hybrid event. In the process, the organisers will connect the event experiences of the on-site guests and the guests, who are taking part virtually via a live stream, in a creative way and will create wide-ranging interaction opportunities. Planned formats include a home office corner in the House of Communication to make one “feel at home” in an on-site event, the opportunity to express one’s views digitally directly on stage and a series of networking opportunities across both worlds.

CMO award night

The “CMO of the Year” award will be presented for the eight time on the evening of the Innovation Day. True to the motto, “by CMOs for CMOs”, the “CMO of the Year” council, consisting of 80 marketing experts from renowned Germany companies, will nominate potential candidates for the “CMO of the Year”. The assessment criteria are person, success, innovation, customer centricity as well as purpose & sustainability. An expert committee of specialist media partner Horizont will produce a top 10 from the nominated persons. The winner will finally be determined by the 20-strong “CMO of the Year Jury” in a sitting lasting several hours and will receive the coveted trophy among a limited group of people at the CMO Award Night on 29 September 2021.