Greg Hoffman

In this compelling, surprising, and dynamic talk, Greg Hoffman—the former Chief Marketing Officer at Nike—shares lessons and stories on the power of creativity drawn from almost three decades of experience at one of the world’s biggest brands. A celebration of ingenuity and a call-to-arms for brand-builders to rediscover the human element in forming consumer bonds, Greg gives us an insider’s guide to unlocking inspiration within a brand and building stronger emotional connections with consumers.

You’ll learn Greg’s three favorite guiding principles: creativity is a team sport; you should dare to be remembered; and you want to leave a legacy, not just a memory. These principles were the driving engine behind Greg’s work at Nike, where he defined the company’s brand voice and identity through storytelling and experiences. Every story was distinct, yet the result was always the same: a strong emotional attachment between products and people—quite literally emotion by design.

With fascinating stories about Nike’s famous campaigns, this talk reveals the philosophy and rules behind how to create an empowering brand that resonates deeply with people: you do it by unlocking the creativity within your organization and unleashing it out into the world.

The art of building powerful emotional bonds with your consumer starts from the inside out.

During his decades-long career at Nike, former CMO Greg Hoffman led a global brand team of over 2,000 employees in offices from Portland to Tokyo. As their leader, he personally demonstrated how to embrace curiosity and risk-taking, as well as created the internal systems to support it in his team. Used effectively, an organization’s operational side can empower creativity, he says.

In this talk, Greg unpacks insights about the best teams from the world of sport, sharing how their composition and playing style mirrors that of the most innovative organizations’ team management. “I don’t want anyone to feel like they’re alone when they’re trying to crack the creative code,” says Greg. If you think of any championship-level team, the only way to emerge from stagnation—be it in an epic sports game or creative output—is through teamwork. Audiences will come away from this talk with the courage to harness creativity and recognize their essential role in creating a culture of ideas.

“We’re in need of courage now more than ever,” says former Nike CMO Greg Hoffman. It’s no time to stay trapped within our comfort zone.

This talk is innovation brought to life. A practical methodology that feels both actionable and personal, Greg offers audiences the key to the kingdom of breakthroughs—how to embody innovation within the very structure of your organization, and unleash your team’s capacity for risk-taking.

If you don’t take risks, your brand’s potential will remain at a stand-still and you’ll never grow. But it isn’t just about getting a product to market: you need to build risk-taking into the DNA of your team. Greg shows how to incentivize your employees to take risks and think outside the box. When you get it right, innovation won’t just be a one-off experiment—it’ll be something you can repeat over and over again.

When you have an emotional bond with your consumer, you’re able to transport your brand beyond the product and leave a powerful, lasting legacy. Nike is a prime example: the company has mastered the art of speaking directly to their consumer, and staying authentic to their own voice, despite countless brand and influencer partnerships.

In this creative, actionable presentation, former Nike CMO Greg Hoffman reveals how your brand can do the same. “Our goal was to close the gap between the elite and the everyday athlete,” says Greg, of his work at Nike. “In the stories that we told, we wanted to make sure that consumers could see themselves.” Because if they do, that’s when they’ll be motivated to reach their personal goals. It doesn’t just sound good—it works. Nike’s Olympic Unlimited campaign about everyday athletes was the most remembered ad of the 2016 Games.

With any brand, in any industry, there exists the same potential for direct consumer engagement. Through the power of emotive storytelling, supported by real-world case studies, Greg shows you how to build a brand persona that will stand the test of time.

In this customizable workshop, Greg Hoffman draws on his experience as Nike’s Chief Marketing Officer to help groups of any size learn to build a culture of innovation and foster radical collaboration.

A compelling and thought-provoking speaker and facilitator, Greg reveals the 8 traits that help teams innovate like the world’s most creative brands: from “inclusive” to “memorable.” And he offers the 8 corresponding principles he’s developed over 3 decades at Nike, including “get outside yourself” and “play in the intersections.” Each of the 8 segments is accompanied by a unique exercise or reflection to get your teams thinking differently about collaboration, risk-taking, and leadership, getting out of their comfort zones in order to tap into radical new possibility. Participants will walk away empowered to build a culture of effective teamwork and groundbreaking leadership, no matter their role.