By Randy Davidson, Founder & CEO of Georgia Entertainment
Last night I attended a private dinner at Marcel in Midtown Atlanta with some remarkable leaders shaping culture and media right now. Around the table were Jennifer Palacios, Sami Pastron and Steve Cohen of UTA, Lina Polimeni, the Chief Marketing Officer at Lilly, Josh Harris, Chance Wright, Bo Flynn, Bryce Hall, Michelle Rubinstein, Richard Suckle and a few others.
It was one of those conversations that stays with you. A $800 billion global brand sitting with creators, investors and storytellers talking about truth, humanity and the future of storytelling.
Lina has been with Lilly for 21 years. In a world where C-suite tenures are shrinking, that kind of longevity says something. It reflects trust, performance and, most importantly, vision. They are funding creative work that shines a light on real health journeys and the lived experience of illness and resilience. Stories.
This builds on what I saw earlier in the day at BRANDWEEK Atlanta where hundreds of brands and agencies gathered to talk about how to show up more meaningfully for the audiences they serve. The panel with Lilly was one of the most compelling conversations of the week. It focused on purpose in practice. Today’s healthcare consumer are active participants shaping their own journeys. The brands earning trust are meeting them where they are, speaking their language and engaging in ways that feel human and truthful.
Example: Tribeca Studios and Lilly have taken this even further with a new filmmaker incubator designed to support rising directors as they bring authentic health stories to the screen. Rather than worry about whether a pill bottle appears in a scene, Lilly is investing in representation, dignity and nuance. They are leaning into data from USC Annenberg that showed how rarely film and television accurately portray people living with disease. Their response was action. Funding. Mentorship. A path that leads to a major activation at Tribeca in 2026.
On a macro level, when stories portray health experiences with accuracy and empathy, the whole ecosystem benefits. Patients feel seen, stigma shrinks, culture shifts and trust increases. A company like Lilly won’t force its name onto a screen to benefit from a culture that better understands care. The value rises when understanding rises.
Think of Home Depot elevating the value of skilled labor and craftsmanship in media without logo moments, but by expanding pride, awareness and aspiration across the trades. You do not need the brand in every frame to benefit from the rising tide.
What struck me most at that dinner was how aligned the room felt around the same principle. Influence today is about credibility and contribution. And the people who will shape this next era in storytelling are the ones who treat truth as a strategic asset.
Georgia hosted this conversation. That matters.
