- Impact Stage
- Insights Stage
09:00OPENING REMARKS
Charlotte Williams, Co-Founder, Brands&Culture
James Kirkham, ICONIC, Founder
09:105 HOT TAKES: WHAT THE F**K IS CULTURE?
…and what does it mean to move and shape culture? Hear from an eclectic mix of marketers, strategists and experts on what culture IS, HOW to navigate it, WHY it matters and WHAT good cultural insight and initiatives look like and HOW to lead, (not borrow or exploit) culture.
- What’s the difference between activating in and creating culture?
- Why do the WHY questions need to be asked?
- What are we getting wrong, as marketers?
- Why are we so obsessed with “youth” and “pop” culture?
- What is a brand’s role in culture? How can brands legitimately play a role in culture?
- What’s the difference between advertising and culture-led work?
Josh Proctor, Strategy Director, VIRTUE
Tom Rainsford, CMO, Beavertown Brewery
Perla Bloom, Global Comms Planning, Expedia
Charlotte Langley, Chief Customer Officer, Bloom & Wild
Oyin Akiniyi, Head of Cultural Conversation, Chivas Brothers
09:40CULTURE IS NOT (JUST) A MARKETING ISSUE: CULTURAL IMPACT AS A BUSINESS IMPERATIVE
A quick-fire, high-energy panel conversation with some of the most interesting and credible brand marketers in this space. Making the business case, influencing internal stakeholders and demonstrating the benefits of long-term cultural influence. How have they achieved extraordinary things year after year in an era of depleting budgets and a heavy focus on performance-led marketing?
Aaron Cole, Chief Marketing & Growth Officer, AA-X
Leila Fataar, Founder, Platform13
10:00HOW TO MAKE CULTURAL RELEVANCE AND CURIOSITY A CRITICAL MARKETING CAPABILITY
There’s a big difference between leaning into culture and leaning into culture correctly. And often, it depends on whether an organisation has the right competencies and capabilities, a high level of psychological trust and a commitment to cultural-led marketing.
- Is it possible to cultivate a culture of curiosity?
- How can you move from producing average to truly transformative culturally-led work?
- And how can you sustain momentum, investment and commitment to cultural-led approaches?
- In this session, you’ll hear from a brand leader who has created a marketing function which not only embraces but leads culture.
Natalie Lee-Joe, Head of Brand, Marketing and Community, DELLI
Nneoma Ulu, Cultural Partnership Director, Bacardi Martini
Lars Silberbauer, CMO, Nokia Phones
Ben Saul-Garner, Co-Founder, Attachment
10:30BREAK
11:00HOW TO CREATE CULTURAL VALUE THROUGH CELEBRITY BRAND PARTNERSHIPS?
Join Raf McDonnell, Founder of Talent & Brands (part of Atomic London), and Professor Green as they explore the cultural impact of celebrity brand partnerships. Drawing from real-world collaborations with brands like Puma, Gillette and Amazon, they’ll share how these partnerships create authentic connections, shape cultural moments, and discuss what happens when things don’t go to plan. With social media reshaping how brands engage, they’ll delve into the evolving role of celebrity in maintaining cultural relevance.
Professor Green, ,
Raf McDonnell, Founder of Talent & Brands, Co-Founder & Managing Partner, Supernova
11:20EARNING, NOT CHASING CULTURAL INFLUENCE. HOW TO SHAPE, RATHER THAN ATTACH BRANDS TO CULTURE – KEYNOTE
The brands that do it best are the brands that play a loooong game. Memes undeniably work in the moment – they can fuel short-term awareness, relevance and sales, but what does a cultural long-game look like? One expert will reflect on the duality of short-term, “transactional” cultural hijacking v. long-term brand transformation.
Peter Semple, CMO, Depop
11:40CODIFIED CULTURE: CREATING ORDER FROM CHAOS
How to systematically leverage the cultural opportunity The importance of culture for brands has never been so pronounced, but the amorphous nature of culture, alongside the changing dynamics of an increasingly fragmented landscape, means a more considered approach is urgently required. In this session Mark Murray Jones from OMD EMEA and Marlies Gebetsberger from Philips will explore an approach brands can take to navigate that complexity to leverage culture, unlocking growth and opportunity for brands and society alike.
Marlies Gebetsberger, SVP, Philips Personal Health Western Europe
Mark Murray Jones, Chief Strategy Officer, OMD EMEA
12:10AVOIDING THE CULTURAL MISFIRE – STAYING RELEVANT IN A POLITICALLY CHARGED WORLD
In this session hear how brands can navigate cultural shifts and social movements, and how to appeal to multiple generations, from Gen Z to Boomers, each with their unique cultural references.
Suzy Socker, Managing Director, Edelman
Andy Tomkins, Group Chief Marketing Officer, Virgin Active
Bianca Brown, Gen Z Lab, Edelman
George Leney, Director of PR and Communications, Samsung
12:40LUNCH
14:00OATLY 2.0: WHAT’S NEXT FOR THE PLANT-BASED MILK BRAND THAT COULDN’T KEEP UP WITH DEMAND
2014-2021 saw a hyper-growth trajectory for Oatly, with supply struggling to keep up with demand. At its peak, cartons of Oatly milk were selling for $100 on eBay. From its meteoric sales during the plant-based, vegan rage to a new post-pandemic age, hear how Oatly is adapting to a new cultural landscape without losing what made the brand so beloved by people globally. Get a masterclass on how to:
- Drive distinctiveness in a highly competitive and deeply politicised category
- Maintain your grassroots relationships and identity throughout stratospheric growth
- Keep your mojo alive, even when you’re being trolled by the multi-million dollar daily industry
Filip Nilsson, Executive Creative Director, Oatly
14:20SPORTS: HOW THREE UK AND CHELSEA FC MADE WOMEN’S GRASSROOTS FOOTBALL FRONT PAGE NEWS
Mat O’Brien, Executive Creative Director, Three Mobile
Nicole Pacitti, Sponsorship & Brand Activation Specialist, Three UK
14:40IMPACT & SOCIETY: CARBON SKID MARKS
Hear how and why Channel 4 devised Carbon Skidmarks, how it disrupted the ideality and why tone of voice and the power of comedy is so important to land purpose comedically. With a high-stakes campaign come high risks. Hear how these were managed and solved, what the impact of Carbon Skid Marks was and finally how it paid it forward to the community it serves.
Katie Jackson, Chief Marketing Officer, Channel 4
15:00BREAK
15:30PEPSICO – THE DORITOS SILENT CAMPAIGN: HOW TO SOLVE A PROBLEM AND SHAPE CULTURE
PepsiCo turned a simple consumer pain point into a creative opportunity with the ‘Silent Doritos’ campaign. The buzz generated by the campaign enjoyed 3.2bn earned reach, the biggest global Doritos gaming campaign ever. It received over 250 pieces of coverage, created a +76% uplift in on-target brand impressions and had over 200K organic social engagements. Doritos also recorded a +$50m sales growth.And the results amongst the gaming community were equally impressive. Interest in the Crunch Cancellation software drove more than 1.8m website hits to find out more and generated over 15K downloads in the first few weeks. And our Twitch Doritos emote was spammed more than 5.3m times!
Matt Watson, Executive Creative Director, Sips & Bites Europe, PepsiCo
15:50SHAPERS, CREATORS AND UNLIKELY CULTURE ‘MAKERS’ – WHAT’S NEXT?
We’ll hear from those at the forefront of popular culture. What are their predictions on the brands, people, ideas, identities and themes that will bubble up in the near future?
Kenny Annan-Jonathan, Creative Director, Crystal Palace FC
Tim Barnett, Strategy Director, LADbible Group
Mike Walsh, Marketing Director, LADbible Group
Robyn Landau, Co Founder, Kinda Studios
16:20CULTURE CAN’T BE TRACKED: HERE’S WHY
The complexity of culture can't be tracked. It's not about numbers on the board or who has the biggest social following. There’s an inherent tension between tracking the numbers and cultural credibility. Hear what cultural marketing specifically means to Emilie, how to produce world-class marketing campaigns.
Emilie Rose, Global Director of Cultural Marketing - EUROPE,
16:40HOW TO ALIGN CREATIVE EFFECTIVENESS WITH CULTURE-LED COMMUNICATIONS – LESSONS FROM TINDER
Hear from Tinder’s SVP of Communications on how Tinder inserts itself into cultural conversations to drive brand awareness and relevance. Focusing on examples from the Olympics 2024 (where Tinder wasn’t an official sponsor but still picked up a Gold medal for its coverage), “Ink Twice” tattoo coverage up campaign and encouraging Gen Z to vote in elections, this session will underline the importance of nuanced insight, consistency and brand values.
Leyla Guilany-Lyard, SVP Communications, Tinder
James Kirkham, ICONIC, Founder
17:00LET’S PARTY
DJ Arielle Free, ,
11:00Welcome to the Insights Stage from the Chair
Darren Smith, Co-Founder and Chief Creative Office, House of Oddities
11:05THE GREAT CULTURAL FLATTENING? WHAT EXACTLY IS HAPPENING TO CULTURE UNDER THE ALGORITHM?
In a moment that should be an unmatched explosion of cultural creation and experimentation (culture-makers have never had more opportunity, freedom, tools, access, connections and inspiration to create visibility around anything they can imagine)…why is fashion becoming more repetitive and derivative? Why do coffee shops all look the same? Why the epidemic of sequels and repeating franchises in movies, books and TV shows? Why is new music becoming less diverse?
Is life under the algorithm weirding the way we think about what culture is and how it’s created? And what are the implications for brands, creators, and consumers? Does a world that used to reward originality and risk now reward conformity and predictability? Join multi-award-winning brand strategist, author and board advisor Beth Bentley in conversation with LYST’s Katy Lubin, who has spent the past ten years building the world’s biggest and most intelligent machine-learning fashion shopping platform. What can we learn about life under the algorithm by looking at how we (and Katy’s 200 million users) choose to shop and dress?Beth Bentley, Co-Founder, Tomorrowism
Katy Lubin, VP Brand, Lyst
11:30THE CULTURE OF STORYTELLING: ENGAGE YOUR TRUE BELIEVERS
Storytelling is a powerful way brands can tap into and shape culture while creating loyal evangelists for the brand. But the stories they tell need to be organic to the brand and resonate emotionally with its audience. Cheryl Miller Houser provides a cultural storytelling framework participants can apply to all industries and platforms to foster connection, impact and growth. She illustrates her tactics through successful campaigns and audience engagement, leaving participants inspired to apply this cultural storytelling strategy to their own work.
Take-aways – learn about Cheryl’s cultural storytelling methodology to: · Tap into and shape culture in a way that’s organic to your brand · Create connection, community and long-term cultural relevance · Inspire and mobilise people to take positive actionCheryl Miller Houser, Founder, Creative Breed
14:00CONNECTING TO COMMUNITIES: HOW SAMSUNG’s STRATEGIC DIVE INTO SKATE CULTURE HELPED REACH THE UNREACHABLE
Reaching the next generation of consumers is increasingly difficult, with Gen Z known to avoid traditional media channels. Recognising the rising popularity of skateboarding among a younger audience, Iris and Samsung developed a strategic approach that would reach this protective and independent-minded community, which is notoriously hard to connect with.
By forging partnerships with Skateboard GB and key UK skateboarders, Iris and Samsung developed a platform to support and uplift skate culture. Eschewing traditional media buys, the campaign instead focused on building credibility and nurturing relationships through social platforms and influencers. This strategy was pivotal in leveraging skateboarding’s influence across sub-cultures such as music, fashion, art, gaming, and wellbeing, to authentically connect with a broader audience.
Rachel Byles, Head of PR & Partnerships, IRIS
James Hope-Gill, Chief Executive, Skateboard GB
Rachael Born, Managing Partner, Iris
14:30GAME ON: HOW UBER EATS SCORED BIG DURING THE EUROS WITH SNACK WARS
Join us for an insightful discussion on how LADbible placed Uber Eats at the heart of culture during the most competitive advertising moment of 2024. Discover how with the help of talent like Thierry Henry and Kate Abdo we cut through the noise of the Euros for a special ‘Snack Wars’ series that engaged with 17 million football fans in our campaign to drive real engagement and brand love. Don’t miss this opportunity to capture insights on how we create authentic and impactful entertainment that resonates with the social generation
GAME ON: HOW UBER EATS SCORED BIG DURING THE EUROS WITH SNACK WARS
Connor Suckling, Lead Creative Producer, LADbible
Sara Sharif, Senior Marketing Manager, Uber Eats
Dana Fletcher, Business Director, LADbible
15:00BREAK
BREAK
15:30LAST NIGHT A DJ SAVED MY LOAF: HOW AN UNLIKELY CULTURE CLASH OF FARMING AND RAVING BUILT A BRAND FROM THE GROUND UP
15 Years ago, Andy Cato – one half of Groove Armada – sold his publishing rights to buy a dusty farm in France. After 10 years of fails he figured out a way to grow regenerative wheat. Four years ago he launched Wildfarmed as a business that now works with hundreds of UK farmers and sells bread in Waitrose. From day one our theory was you can’t scare people into buying products that are good for the planet. We all grew up dancing in fields so we thought, ‘What if we treat the brand like an invitation to a rave?’ We have disco balls and soundsystems on our packaging. Andy writes the Regenerative Agriculture Standards handbook then DJs at Glastonbury via appearing on Clarkson’s farm. This is the story of how we made a cult brand from nothing combining farming, food and ecology with banging tunes and dancing.
James Cooper, Creative Director, Wildfarmed
Flo Heiss, Creative Director, Wildfarmed
15:50LOVE LETTERS TO LONDON: UNFILTERED
This isn’t just another talk on ‘culture’ with marketers talking to marketers. It’s a real, unfiltered look at the London we all need to know.
Join PIGEON by VIRTUE and three young creatives as they give it to you as it is – a photographic journey through the city as they see it. Where are people hanging out? What do they care about? What’s it really like being young in London today? Walk away with a new outlook on culture, for real this time.
Amy Davies, Global VP of Foresight VIRTUE Worldwide, Co-Founder of PIGEON
Abubakar Finiin, Founder, Kids of the Colony
Dagmar Bennett, Partnerships Director, Brixton Finishing School
Gabriella Turton, Creative Computing Student,
16:20Wrap Up from the Insights Stage
Darren Smith, Co-Founder and Chief Creative Office, House of Oddities
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