2020 is a mere seven years out. Yet given the rate of change happening in the advertising and marketing world, it might as well be light years away. And the industry will likely look radically different from today.

It’s a future the most effective and innovative marketers are preparing for now, staying abreast of the new technologies, new platforms and new consumer media-consumption habits that spur evolution daily—and that are transforming how brands engage with customers.

The Wharton School at theUniversity of Pennsylvania, through its Future of Advertising Program, has jumpstarted thought leadership around that preparation with its“Advertising” 2020 project. It’s an ongoing effort to cull the expertise and perspectives from hundreds of academics, consultants, agency heads and marketing practitioners around what advertising could and should look like in the future.

To add dimension to the project, the Forbes CMO Network recently collaborated with Catharine Hays, executive director of the Wharton Future of Advertising Program, and Dr. Jerry Wind, the Lauder Professor and professor of marketing at Wharton, to gather together in one room CMOs from disparate industries to tackle the issues facing them now—as well as those on the horizon.

Participating in the day-long symposium were Gannon Jones, CMO, Global Nutrition Group,PepsiCo PEP -0.73%; Jim Speros, executive VP, Fidelity Communications and Advertising, Fidelity Investments ; Amy Love, VP of Brand & Demand,NetApp NTAP +0.91%; Dennis Owen, VP of marketing Americas, Cathay Pacific Airways; Camilla Papale, CMO, Douglas Elliman; Kim Wells, chief marketing and digital officer, Scottrade; Kristin Campbell, VP of global marketing at Michael Kors; and many others. Representing the “beyond-borders” scope of the research, Christine Heckart, executive VP of Strategy, Marketing, People & Systems, ServiceSource, joined the event via telepresence technology provided by Cisco.

To set the context, Hays invited CMOs in the room to share their top three challenges, which included brand management in a social media-driven world; global growth; maintaining relevance with core audiences; and securing top talent.

The centerpiece of the discussion was Wind, who—following a spirited and inspiring presentation the night before at the Barnes Foundation on marketing lessons from art—unveiled initial findings from the “Advertising” 2020 project, citing a checklist of best practices, some already being implemented by innovative leaders: AGILE CHOPS, for All Touchpoints Orchestration; Glocal; Insights from Data and Privacy/Permission; Live Newsroom Model; Extended (Opened) Innovation; Context; Human Emotion and Story; On-Demand; Prioritize Adaptive Experimentation; andSocial Impact.

“Advertising in 2020 will be much more relevant, actionable and valuable to the consumer,” Wind said.

He challenged the CMOs to think differently. “Why not brand the consumer segment rather than the product?” he asked, for example. Among his other calls to action: View constrains as a means to enhance, not diminish, creativity.

Bruce Rogers, Forbes chief insights officer, and Rick Segal, president worldwide and chief practice officer at gyro, advisor to the Forbes CMO Practice, also shared initial results from and goals for their shared project, the CMO Confidence Index, designed to gauge the sentiment and future plans for those with the ultimate marketing budget authority.

It all provided a rich context for an active and insightful discussion around the future of advertising—and implications for CMOs.

Watch how the day at Wharton School unfolded here.

Wharton School Studies the future of Advertising & Marketing