At the closing main room event at Consumer 360 in Orlando, which focused on innovation and branding, Fortune’s Adam Lashnisky moderated a discussion between, Bob Lutz, retired Vice Chairman of GM, and author Malcolm Gladwell.

In its journey to rebuild its brand in a differentiated and relevant manner, Walgreens has achieved milestones that offer other retailers important lessons in brand building. Kim Feil, CMO, Walgreens describes the practices that helped rebuild the brand.

Identifying clear paths to purchase in the context of consumer demand and advertising was the focus of a Nielsen panel discussion led by Adam Lashinsky, Senior Editor at Large at Fortune Magazine.

The American consumer is changing. Uneven population growth, a growing base of older consumers with new needs, changes in household spending, a declining percentage of households with children and particularly increased ethnic diversity mean that manufacturers and retailers need to rethink how they invest their marketing dollars.

With more consumers using smartphones and connected devices like the iPad, there is no avoiding the importance of mobile apps. Apps are responsible for 56 percent of all smartphone activity according to data shared by Jonathan Carson, CEO of Telecom at Nielsen, during Nielsen’s Consumer 360 conference.

Retailers and manufacturers are caught between shrinking margins due to rising commodity costs and price sensitive consumers. In this scenario, retailers and manufacturers need to collaborate and find creative ways to spend promotional dollars that result in true market expansion and category growth.

Women across the world are expanding beyond traditional roles to influence decisions in the home, in business and in politics. Marketers have a massive opportunity to better connect women with the products they buy and the media technologies they use to make a positive impact both in their lives and in the bottom line.

Adam Lashinsky, Senior Editor at Large at Fortune Magazine moderated a panel discussion at Nielsen’s Consumer 360 with Mike Brennan, COO Peapod; Anne Jones, VP, Business Development, Kimberly-Clark and Steve Nave, SVP and GM, Walmart.com.

Marketers who only focus on the traditional 25-54 age demographic are missing about 58 percent of the U.S. population, overlooking growth opportunities as baby boomers age and those under 25 wield increasing influence over household spending.

IDEO, a design and innovation consulting company, has helped many global businesses innovate thanks to their fresh look at consumers. Tom Kelley, the firm’s general manager, spoke on new ways of thinking to help brands better connect with consumers.