The 2019 Teen Vogue Summit was held November 1-3, and I was fortunate enough to attend the Saturday (11/2) and Sunday (11/3) events as Press! Her Campus LMU members Rylie and Delanie were able to attend the Friday and Saturday events, so I have included their thoughts in this recap as well.
FRIDAY:
The Friday event was Work Immersions giving attendees the opportunity to go behind the scenes of some top LA companies and here from leaders changing their respective sectors.
I did not personally attend Friday’s session, but Rylie did and this is her recap of the event!
“I loved day one of the Teen Vogue Summit! Having never been before, I showed up with no expectations and a lot of curiosity. Friday’s Work Immersions were split up by attendee’s areas of interest. Since I made my decision to attend the Summit last minute, I didn’t actually get to visit my first choice companies. However, I’m almost glad it worked out this way – I got the chance to explore an area of the media industry I would’ve never otherwise been exposed to.
The first company Delanie and I visited was SWIM Social. SWIM launched in 2015 and is a social media agency that works with brands and celebrity talent. They pick and choose their clients based on whether or not they align themselves with SWIM’s mission: making a cultural impact through social media. Both Delanie and I found the SWIM session extremely interesting. The entire media industry is still so new – it’s crazy to see how it’s growing and progressing. Running social media accounts for different people and companies entails so much; scheduling posts, running analytics, working with Instagram’s algorithms, etc. After hearing from the women who run the show, we had the chance to dabble in the different things they do every day. Attendees were given two pictures and we had to come up with possible captions for the photos.
Not only did we leave with amazing goodies from the SWIM team, but we left chock-full of new knowledge about the media industry and how the connectivity it provides users will only continue to grow. Check out SWIM Social’s Instagram page to see two promotional videos Delanie and I were featured in!
Our second stop of the day was Metro PR – a full-service public relations and brand marketing agency, whose clientele is composed of celebrity talent, producers and production companies, brands, studios and networks, podcasts and podcast networks, live experiences and conventions, authors, and consumer technology. Metro PR not only creates content for its clients, but it also launches new media companies and events – they really do it all!
At Metro, we heard from the two women who run the company as well as two guest speakers and their publicist. The two guests were youtube influencers and just recently launched their own podcast. It was super interesting to hear how Metro PR had helped the influencers establish themselves and their brand. We also got to hear from different departments on how their day-to-day duties look like and what it’s like to work in the media industry today.”
SATURDAY:
Saturday was the Main Event of the summit! The day featured main panels as well as two separate tracks to choose from: Tastemaker and BossMoves.
Saturday began with breakfast – attendees could choose from 3 healthy food trucks! Breakfast was followed by a Main Event Panel hosted by Lindsay Peoples Wagner, Teen Vogue’s Editor in Chief. This Main Event panel included Debby Ryan, Karla Welch, Jackie Aina, and Aimee Song. After this panel, there was a short break before splitting into the Tastemaker and BossMove Panels.
Lindsay Peoples Wagner conversation with Aimee Song
I attended the Tastemaker track panels which began with Evan Rachel Wood, an actress (catch her on the big screen soon as a voice in Disney’s Frozen 2) as well as an activist. The next panel included four indigenous women representing Nike, discussing the way they bring their culture into their careers while making a difference in the fitness realm. The third panel was one of my personal favorites from the weekend, as it included big-name influencers Nikita Dragun, Rickey Thompson, Denzel Dion, Nabela Noor and Tess Holliday hosted by former Cheetah Girl, Adrienne Bailon-Houghton. They discussed their platforms as places to make a difference, learning to respect themselves by saying no, and tips to make it in the competitive world as an influencer. The final panel in the Tastemaker track included Sofia Carson, Liza Koshy, Danielle Macdonald and Joey King, who had a conversation about the culture in the entertainment industry including. They discussed their opportunities to work with up-and-coming females in the industry, like camera women and/or female directors.
We ended the Main Event day with conversations from Greta Gerwig and Florence Pugh (of Little Women), Busy Phillips and Demi Lovato. I personally loved seeing the trailer for Little Women and hearing them discuss the making of the film. I also really enjoyed Busy Phillips, as I just love her personality. I was super excited for Demi Lovato, but by the end of the summit, I noticed that the interviewers asked every interviewee similar questions each time – which led to repeated answers throughout the day. Unfortunately, this is what happened with Demi Lovato. As the last speaker after a long day of hearing from other speakers, it was a bit redundant but still amazing to listen in on her perspective. It was also Demi’s first real interview back after everything she went through last year! She’s come such a long way and it was an honor to hear her speak.
Overall, I really enjoyed the Main Event but it was definitely a lot of sitting and listening…so the day is pretty draining! Teen Vogue treated us very well though and offered attendees several booths to interact with and explore. These included an Instax Film set-up, Resume Headshots, Merch Section with Spray Painted Shirts (spray-painted on site), and an interactive mural!
Instax Polaroid Photo Wall
Interactive Mural
SUNDAY:
The Sunday event was a Wellness Event! More specifically, “Self-Care Sunday”. The day including a morning workout, brunch, and group meditation followed by a panel of speakers.
Upon arrival, we participated in a workout with Tone it Up’s Katrina Scott, which was my favorite part of this day, as I work in the health and fitness industry and have great respect for the company and community Katrina Scott has built.
Following our workout, brunch was available from the food trucks at the event. Then we were all urged to join in a group meditation session led by Eve Lewis Prieto of Headspace. I also enjoyed this portion of the day as it brought me focus and relaxation through a live Headspace meditation.
Sunday was wrapped up with a few speakers including an HBO Mental Health conversation, VSCO panel, Camila Coelho, and finally Sophia Bush.
The Sunday Wellness Event put me in the proper mindset to have an amazing week, and for that, I was so grateful!
Overall, I’m so grateful for the opportunity to attend the 2019 Teen Vogue Summit. I would encourage everyone to take the opportunity to attend this event in the coming years, as I found it informative, inspirational, and interactive. It was such a fulfilling experience and each day of the summit offered something unique!
Thank you again, Teen Vogue, for having me!