Artificial intelligence and new media platforms are reshaping what consumers expect from brands, including how they think about personalization, authenticity and responsiveness. These changing expectations are also forcing marketers to rethink how they build trust.
Students learned first-hand how marketers are responding to this shifting landscape at The Expectation Gap: Marketers, Consumers, and AI in a Time of Rapid Change, a one-day conference organized by the Association of National Advertisers Educational Foundation (AEF) in collaboration with DePaul’s Public Relations and Advertising (PRAD) program. Held on October 1, 2026 on DePaul’s Loop campus, leaders from major brands including Mars, Sara Lee, Sprout Social, and Bank of America provided real world strategies on how marketers are responding to changes in technology, consumer expectations and brand decision-making.
“The AEF conference provided valuable insights about artificial intelligence (AI) and its role in the communications industry,” shared Tia Laury, a PRAD graduate student and attendee.
“While many are against AI, the speakers addressed the evolution of new technology in communications as a tool to help professionals become even more proficient.”
Presenter Sarah Reinecke, SVP of Salty Category at Mars, revealed how the heritage brand is adapting its strategies for a media environment where consumers increasingly encounter brands through creators and nontraditional channels. Johnni Rodgers, CMO of Sara Lee Frozen Bakery, illuminated the ways AI is optimizing the decision-making process with AI-enabled “synthetic consumers” that enable marketers to address research questions in hours rather than weeks. An emphasis on the responsibility that comes with adopting new technology was the focus of SVP and Digital Director at Bank of America Terez Stewart’s presentation, encouraging marketers to build in steps to verify AI tools, source data, and outcomes into their processes while considering how those outcomes best serve their customers.
“The AEF Conference really helped paint a holistic picture for how students & professionals should be thinking about AI, shared Josh Smith, a Digital Marketing graduate student. Smith appreciated how the conference helped draw connections between recent technology innovations and how companies are responding. “This short-term innovation window we're in will call for rapid analysis, adoption, assessment, and impact, and it's a race that can only be won by those of us who chose to lean in and take risks. The beauty of it all is that none of us have seen this technology before, so opportunities are endless, and the canvas is ours to paint.”
Along with the DePaul community, students and faculty attended the conference from the University of Illinois, Loyola University, Northwestern and Michigan State, creating a robust learning community for the day. “As a DePaul University graduate student myself, I received answers to questions that will assist my growth as a professional and was able to share my input on the student perspective of today's marketing world,” shared attendee and PRAD student Valeria Ruiz. “I absolutely hope to return to this conference next year!”
The Expectation Gap conference marks the second year of an established partnership between PRAD and AEF, which connects higher education with the advertising and marketing industry, and emphasizes PRAD’s commitment to experiential learning and professional engagement.
These efforts have earned PRAD regional and national recognition, including the 2026 Skyline Award for Best College/University Communication Program/Department from the Public Relations Society of America Chicago Chapter for the second consecutive year. Nationally, PRAD was named the Outstanding Education Program twice, in 2022 and 2018, and ranked among the top five 12 times.