YMS NYC: Our first speakers have landed

YMS NYC is back, baby. Get ready to dive headfirst into the hottest youth trends of 2025 with two days of youth marketing inspiration and need-to-know insights.

Pion’s Youth Marketing Strategy event is an immersive digital marketing conference like no other. Across the event, we bring together the biggest names in youth marketing, explore the latest insights, and dive deep into the world of Gen Z and Gen Alpha trends.

This is a must-attend event for marketers in the US: learn how to harness young people’s spending power, build world-class connections, get inspiration from leading brands, and return to the office with fresh ideas to help you prepare for the future. 

In this blog, we reveal our first speakers and highlight some of the great sessions on offer. 

YMS NYC: Speaker reveal 

Jenny Haggard, Global Thought Leadership Lead, Spotify

Jenny Haggard leads Global Thought Leadership as part of the Business Brand Marketing Team at Spotify. Obsessed with all things culture, Jenny uses proprietary and partner data to create deeply human and culturally nuanced content and experiences that help marketers navigate the future. 

In her role, Jenny analyzes trends, tests hypotheses, crafts content, builds GTM plans, and after almost 10 years at the company, is still trying to figure out how to turn on private mode while listening to her Guilty Pleasures playlist. 

Catch Jenny in our Harnessing the Podfluencer: Engaging Gen Z Through the Power of Podcasts session, where we delve into the rise of podfluencers and uncover how brands can tap into this burgeoning platform to foster genuine relationships, amplify their message, and resonate with the next generation of consumers.

Shayna Macklin, Director, Brand Strategy, Social Commerce + Social Media, Playboy

Shayna has over a decade of experience in marketing across Social Strategy, Influencer Programming, Performance Marketing, and Product Branding. She’s worked both in-house and on the agency side in entertainment, beauty, and CPG space with brands ranging from UTA, Conair, Landry’s, Whisps, HP, Samsung, IKEA US, Rainbow Shops, and more. 

Recently, Shayna joined legacy company Playboy leading their social strategy rebrand and spearheading their first ever affiliate and social commerce program. 

You can hear from Shayna in our Playboy 2.0 - Modernizing an Iconic Brand for New Audiences session, where we hear how the Playboy team is embracing a change in marketing strategy to showcase the impact of creator programs and the strategic partnerships that are turning this brand around.

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Paula Perez, Social Engagement & Community Growth Specialist, Oatly 

Paula’s introduction to veganism and environmentalism stemmed from the Instagram and YouTube food worlds, which is when she realized how effective social media is when it comes to fueling social movements. 

This led Paula to designing her own major at NYU Gallatin, where she dug deep into the intersection of media, social movements, purpose marketing, climate, and food systems. She currently gets to combine all those interests in her work on the community team at Oatly!. 

Topics of interest for Paula include: driving climate action on social media, Gen Z activism, anti-consumerism and degrowth, the decentering work movement, TikTok. 

Catch Paula in our Social Strategy Unwrapped: Why Scaling Up Shouldn’t Mean Toning Down session, where we discuss what it’s really like to be one of the most unique voices on social media, focusing on tone of voice, audience engagement, superfans, real-time interactions and what social listening really means 

Jack Adler, Founder & CEO, Out2Win Sports

Jack Adler is the Founder & CEO of Out2Win Sports, a software enabling brands & agencies to build more effective influencer marketing partnerships with athletes. The platform leverages AI and data analytics to help brands make more informed decisions regarding which athletes best fit their campaign goals.

Jack was recognized by Front Office Sports as a top sports business leader under age 25 and was awarded Student Entrepreneur of the Year at Syracuse University in 2023.

Catch Jack on our Why Sports Are Trailblazing in Their Approach to Creator Partnerships panel, where we discuss the power of sports partnerships, how athletes are moving from performers to creators, and how your brand can tap in. 

Eva Wohiren, Sr. Content Strategist, New York Knicks 

Currently based in New York, Eva is working as a Producer/Editor and Content Strategist. She has a passion for news and pop culture, and a natural curiosity to seek more information, which is what led her into the world of journalism. 

Over the last three years, Eva has developed a deep understanding of Meta products and the operations required to drive impact from an internal and external point of view. She drove the editorial strategy that shaped Facebook News video curation in 2020, as well as Facebook’s first curated trending content recommended generator in 2022.

Currently, Eva is Senior Content Strategist for the New York Knicks. 

You can hear more from Eva on our Why Sports Are Trailblazing in Their Approach to Creator Partnerships panel, where we discuss the power of sports partnerships, how athletes are moving from performers to creators, and how your brand can tap in. 

Emery Barnes, Associate Manager, Brand & Creative, DoorDash

Emery Barnes is a Sports & Entertainment Marketer currently based in NYC. He's a first-generation Liberian-American and Chicago native, with an untiring passion to seed culture into brands—through sports, music, entertainment, fashion, and art.

With over seven years of experience in Marketing & Advertising, Emery has led global marketing campaigns & programs for Fortune 500 Brands including DoorDash, Anheuser-Busch, Samsung, Coca-Cola, and P&G.

Catch Emery on our Why Sports Are Trailblazing in Their Approach to Creator Partnerships panel, where we discuss the power of sports partnerships, how athletes are moving from performers to creators, and how your brand can tap in. 

Morgan Decker, Director of Marketing, Andie Swim

Morgan has worked in marketing for the last 10 years and specializes in growth marketing, retention, and brand across industries for companies spanning from pre-seed funding, all the way to Fortune 500s. Currently, she is Head of Marketing at Andie, a female-founded swimwear brand. 

Morgan is a creative individual who has a passion for abstract thinking, concrete analysis, and innovative storytelling. 

Hear more from Morgan in our The Transition to Zalpha and What that Means for Retail Brands session, where our panel shares what the transition to Zalpha really looks like, how young consumers are shaping the ecommerce and in-store trends of the future, and which strategies are winning over this demographic.

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Unrivalled content to drive your marketing campaigns

Want to know more about how to market to Gen Z? Want to supercharge your strategies?

Then this is the event for you. 

Packed with Gen Z insights, YMS NYC is home to unrivaled content and the hottest topics shaping youth culture today. From TikTok and Instagram trends to the products and services shaping Gen Z’s purchasing decisions, our tracks have been carefully curated to inspire and inform you.

Here’s what’s in store for 2025’s YMS NYC agenda… 

Trends & Culture Chat

Discover what’s trending and how your organization can stay culturally relevant at our Trends & Culture Chat track. 

From music, sport, and gaming to social impact and the causes young people are passionate about, this is THE place to explore why youth culture should be at the heart of your campaigns. 

Gen Alpha & What’s Next

Introducing a brand new track for 2025!

There’s a new kid on the block, and you need to be prepared. They’re loud, opinionated, and a bit of an enigma. 

Introducing: Gen Alpha. 

At this track, we’ll be sharing what we know about Gen Alpha and how they’ll be doing things differently. 

Shopping & Spending with Zalpha

What do next-gen consumers want from their online or IRL shopping experiences, and how are brands tapping in? 

Discover the strategies fuelling the shopping habits of Gen Z on this track, learn how to build brand loyalty, and find out what inspires Gen Z’s purchasing decisions. 

Plus we’ll be looking at Alpha’s spending habits. 

Creators Lounge

Work smarter not harder on your influencer marketing strategy. 

In the Creators Lounge, you’ll hear from the brands and creators that have been testing, learning, failing, and winning. 

Next Level Tech

Get ready to be inspired by new tech, strategies, and solutions for a next-gen audience. 

Explore how brands are driving innovation with AI, virtual worlds, and immersive experiences. 

Social Media Conversations

Keep up with the ever-evolving pace of the social media landscape for these digital natives. 

Discover new ways to build, measure, and grow communities on the platforms Gen Z consumers love. 

Innovation on Campus

Delve into your student marketing strategy and learn how to keep it fresh. 

At this track, we’ll show you who’s disrupting the landscape right now, and give you the lowdown on what college students really want from on-campus advertising. 

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‍Have we caught your attention? Want to network with the best and learn from the brightest at the youth marketing event of the year? Tickets from YMS NYC are available now.