The Northern Journey in Vegas
Adobe Summit 2025 was a special experience for me—my first as part of the Northern Commerce family. If you haven’t heard the big news yet, Project 3 was acquired last month by Northern, and we couldn’t be more excited about this new chapter (you can read more about it here). From hands-on sessions mixing nostalgic 8-bit graphics with CJA, to Ken Jeong cracking jokes during Adobe Sneaks, and a fierce competition in the F1 tire-changing contest at Summit Bash, the week was filled with great conversations and memorable moments.
Monday was Partner Day, where our team had an exclusive sneak peek at the key themes we’d be exploring throughout the week—think 8-bit graphics, cocktail mixology, and all the fun stuff in between. Networking with Adobe teams and our partner organizations set the perfect tone for the event. We wrapped up the day by feasting at Cañonita with the Northern team, and it was fantastic to finally meet team-to-team after the acquisition. It truly felt like the start of something exciting and meaningful for all of us.
Tuesday marked the official kick-off of the Summit, and the party was just getting started. Here are some of the highlights.
Look at us go! A breakfast meeting this good should count as a keynote. Teams Northern and Project 3 kicking off the day right at our hosted breakfast at Chica.
Keynote Highlights: Big Ideas from that Top Soda Company and Sneaks
Coca-Cola: Creativity + AI = The Future of Marketing
One of the most memorable keynotes for me at Adobe Summit was hearing from James Quincey, the Chairman and CEO of The Coca-Cola Company. He had this great mix of humor and honesty as he walked us through how Coke went from being a one-drink brand to a full-on Total Beverage Company. I loved the story about how, on day one as CEO, he showed up in jeans and drank something other than Coke—just to make a point that it was time to break out of old habits. He also gave us a peek at how Coke’s using generative AI to personalize point-of-sale displays and even create ad campaigns faster than ever.
But what really stuck with me was his caution about going too far with AI in marketing. As much as the tech can optimize and personalize, he pointed out that it can also get… a little creepy. People don’t want to feel like they’re being chased by an algorithm. His message was clear: creativity still matters. AI might help get content in front of people, but it’s the great ideas—the human ones—that actually make them stop and care. As he put it, “The best stuff is what people choose to let in.”
Coke meets creativity. Shantanu and James Quincy kicked off Day 1 with bold takes on digital transformation, AI, and—yes—jeans in the boardroom.
Adobe Sneaks: The Wild Side of Innovation
If Coca-Cola brought the classic wisdom, Adobe Sneaks brought the chaos—in the best way possible. Hosted by Ken Jeong, who was as unfiltered and hilarious as expected, Sneaks gave us a glimpse into Adobe’s experimental playground. It’s where engineers show off features that might make it into the product roadmap someday—and where AI gets a little weird, a little wonderful, and occasionally a little terrifying.
One of my favorites was Project SlideWow, which auto-generates a full, data-driven presentation from Customer Journey Analytics—complete with visuals, presenter notes, and a comparison of strawberry ice cream variants (yes, really). Watching Ken deliver a dramatic reading of strawberry flavor stats might’ve been the best accidental data storytelling moment of the entire summit. But beneath the laughs, the sneak previews raised serious questions: If AI can write the deck and deliver the story, where do we draw the line? Sneaks reminded us that while the future is automated, the magic still lies in how creatively we use the tools.
When Ken Jeong breaks down CJA with ice cream data, you listen. And laugh. And somehow leave knowing more than you did before.
Session Highlights: 8 Bit Nostalgia and Marketing Mixology
8-Bit Insights: The Customer Journey Analytics Tips and Tricks Arcade – S103
As someone who spent more than a few hours at my hometown arcade and playing Mario on the classic Nintendo as a teenager, this session hit me right in the feels. Trevor Paulson and Russ Whitchurch brought fun 8-bit energy and serious tips to the CJA Tips & Tricks Arcade. Think analytics meets old-school video games, complete with prizes, a leaderboard, and a full-on retro vibe. They even gave away an Adobe-branded Nintendo Switch!
Between rounds of Space Invaders-style games on the screen, they dropped some really sharp insights about Adobe CJA:
- Summary Data Sources: Finally, a seamless way to bring in marketing campaign costs, performance goals, and social metrics alongside behavioral data in CJA. The new Summary Data Source capability enables calculated metrics like ROAS directly within Workspace, and even TikTok metrics right alongside event data.
- Product Usage Dashboards: Ever wonder how your organization is actually using CJA? Now you don’t have to. The Product Usage feature provides internal usage analytics—project popularity, user activity, and most-used dimensions—right out of the box.
- Shared Metrics & Dimensions (rolling out soon) will be a lifesaver for big teams juggling multiple data views. This upcoming feature allows shared components to be reused and updated centrally, a major win for large teams.
- Derived Fields tips were next level—we’re talking bot filtering via SQL, user state change tracking, and even building pathing reports with emojis.
- And I’m officially obsessed with the new Journey Canvas. It’s essentially Fallout + Flow reports, reimagined with a visual builder that’s intuitive and dynamic.
The session was fun, fast-paced, and packed with takeaways I’ll be bringing back to the team. Easily one of my favorite moments of the Summit.
Distilling the Content Cocktail: Discover Ingredients That Convert – S104
This one felt like it was crafted just for a data nerd who loves a good cocktail metaphor. Jennifer Werkmeister from Adobe and Abhinav Saxena from Verizon walked us through how Adobe Content Analytics is changing the game—think of it as mixology for marketers.
The concept? Content is like a cocktail: a blend of ingredients that come together to (hopefully) convert. But unless you’re measuring each component—tone, color, placement, even camera angle—how do you know what’s actually working? That’s where Content Analytics comes in.
Some takeaways I’ll be stirring into strategy at Project 3:
- AI derived attributes offer incredible granularity—down to how specific colors and elements perform across different regions. For example, understanding how color choices impact performance in places like Utah versus California allows for more effective regional personalization.
- Perception IDs group visually identical images together, even when they appear under different URLs across the site. This makes it easier to track how similar creative assets perform in various placements, ensuring a more accurate measurement of their effectiveness.
- Accurate impressions are based on real viewability (75% in-window), not just page loads. Content Analytics now lets you track whether content was actually visible on the screen long enough to make an impact, ensuring more reliable performance metrics.
- And the cherry on top? We finally get to see what creative content actually drives conversions—not just clicks. Now we can measure the true success of different creative formats in driving key outcomes like sales or sign-ups, rather than just monitoring click-through rates.
Watching Verizon use this tool to discover that watches outperformed phones in terms of creative performance was wild. It showed us how Adobe Content Analytics can provide insights into which specific products, images, or themes resonate better with consumers, even when it’s not immediately obvious. This session wasn’t just informative—it gave us a preview of what’s next in creative performance measurement. And I’ll never look at a mojito the same way again.
Who knew watches could steal the spotlight? Verizon used Adobe Content Analytics to discover that watches were converting better than phones.
Summit Bash at Grand Prix Plaza: Tires, Tunes, and Good Times
A little friendly competition and some good laughs made Summit Bash at Grand Prix Plaza a perfect way to unwind. The tire-changing contest was a huge hit—lots of friendly competition and a great way to test your speed. The drinks were flowing, and the music from Gary Clark Jr. was on point. Known for his dynamic blend of blues, rock, and R&B, Gary’s performance brought a mix of soulful melodies that kept the us buzzing with energy throughout the night.
A special shoutout to one of our Project 3 clients, who set the 4th best time ever at the tire-changing contest—impressive! It was definitely a fun way to unwind after a busy day at the Summit. Looking forward to more events like this next year!
Gary Clark Jr. brought the soul, the swagger, and a setlist we’re still humming.
Wrapping Up & Winding Down
After an exciting, action-packed few days at Adobe Summit 2025, Thursday was all about taking a breather and focusing on follow-ups. We spent the day solidifying new connections and making sure that everything we learned and discussed during the Summit would lead to meaningful next steps.
Of course, we couldn’t resist a little downtime too. Some much-needed R&R was definitely in order after the hustle and bustle of the week. And when it comes to winding down, we made sure to enjoy ourselves—played a bit of craps for some fun, shared some laughs, and treated ourselves to some incredible plates at the Bacchanal. It was the perfect mix of relaxation and camaraderie.
All in all, it was an incredible week at Adobe Summit! As we return to our teams and projects, the takeaways from this event will undoubtedly help shape our approach to CDP strategy and MarTech innovation in the months ahead.
If you’re looking to build upon your own MarTech strategy, don’t hesitate to reach out to us for a free consultation or check out our analytics audit offer. And for even more takeaways from Summit (especially around data quality and monitoring), check out Sentinel Insights’ Adobe Summit recap.
Scotty vs. the slots. Testing his luck—because sometimes even MarTech pros need to let the data go and spin the wheel.
