PREVIEWING:
THE MEDIA + TECH STAGE
MAD//FEST 2026
In partnership with:
8 June 2026
As the media landscape evolves at pace, knowing where to invest, and what actually works, has never been more critical. This stage cuts through the noise to explore shifting spend, new formats, and the real impact of new tech on media and performance.
From CTV and attention to AI search and future predictions, expect practical insights and honest conversations about what’s worth your budget and what’s not.
Retail is the New Social Media.
What happens when you stop relying on social platforms and start investing in real-world experiences instead? Explore how Lush is using stores as spaces for discovery, advocacy and community while digital channels deepen and extend those relationships.
With Taniya De Abrew, Global Head of Digital Marketing & Programmes, Lush Cosmetics and Kasey Swithenbank, Head of Retail, UK&I, Lush Cosmetics
Media funnel in transition - adapting to growth ambition of major advertisers
Retail Media is maturing fast, but are the returns keeping up? Which networks are genuinely delivering and which are quietly losing budget share?
Is the brand vs. performance debate finally dead? Which channels are actually closing the loop and where is smart money moving as a result?
AI-native media buying is here, but who really wins? As algorithmic spend becomes table stakes, where does human strategy still command a premium?
With René Hisserich, Senior Director Media, Content & Digital Marketing, Mars.
From Screens to Spend: TV Measurement Done Properly
TV campaigns are still judged on reach and frequency - but that’s only part of the story. In a world of shrinking budgets and fragmented ecosystems, the way to win is to prove real business impact.
Tired of surface-level metrics? Want to track what’s actually driving growth? Then this session is for you.
Join Danny Holmes, Consulting Partner at Experian, and Panid Sarrami Froshani, Marketing Science Lead at Samsung Ads, for a practical session that walks step by step how to connect TV ad exposure to real-world outcomes.
From stitching fragmented signals to understanding incrementality, we’ll share exactly what it takes to move beyond outdated vanity metrics to a clear view of campaign impact.
From Back Office to Boardroom: Why Your CMO Needs to Speak to Your Affiliate Manager Today
For years, affiliate marketing has been viewed as a specialist channel focused purely on driving online sales and delivering efficient ROI. Rarely the most glamorous discipline in marketing, and rarely the team invited into strategic conversations.
But now, that's changing.
As AI reshapes how consumers discover products, creators become increasingly influential in purchasing decisions, and marketers search for more reliable ways to measure real-world customer behaviour, affiliate marketing is emerging as one of the most strategically important functions in the modern marketing organisation.
In this candid discussion, Susan Armstrong-Payne, Affiliate Marketing Manager at Boots, joins David Lloyd, Chief Customer Officer at Awin, to explore why affiliate teams are suddenly finding themselves at the centre of conversations about AI visibility, creator partnerships, customer intelligence and business growth.
From Insights to Impact: Creating a Culture of Marketing Effectiveness at Lloyds Banking Group
Many organisations struggle with fragmented views of marketing performance, driven by inconsistent data, tools and methodologies. In this session, Lloyds Banking Group shares how it moved beyond siloed measurement to build a joined-up, trusted framework - bringing together MMM, attribution and experimentation under a single approach.
We’ll explore key lessons from that journey, including aligning teams, simplifying complexity and building trust in the outputs - ultimately enabling more confident, data-driven decision-making at scale.
With Colin Smith, Senior Director, Marketing Solutions, Transunion and Ricky Watson, Senior Manager, Marketing Analytics, Lloyds Banking Group.
The Real Attention Gameshow
Join JCDecaux to hear about their latest research with Lumen which enables Out-of-Home planning with attention as a metric, and take part in an interactive live gameshow, where the audience can put your knowledge of media attention to the test, with a chance to win a big prize!
With Michelle Ashurst, Sales Director, JC Decaux UK and Nicola Claydon, Sales Director, JC Decaux UK.
BRAND
SPEAKERS INCLUDING:
Monzo keynote
Charlotte Ford, Senior Director of Brand, Content & Partnerships, Monzo delivers a keynote on the Media + Tech stage.
The effectiveness era: Unlocking the power of new agency partnerships
Marketing in 2026 sits at a turning point. After eighteen months of industry leading research across six waves of the Ingenuity+ CMO Leadership Pulse, involving 3,000 senior marketing leaders, we see a clear shift in how brands and agencies create value.
What started as a conversation about improving the pitch process has grown into a major opportunity for agencies to prove their worth as strategic growth partners. CMOs are now using pitches to find agencies capable of linking creative ambition with real business results. Our study data shows clear trends: brands are increasing investment and choosing partners who combine precision with bold, measurable ideas.
This session provides the ultimate blueprint for navigating the complexities of their agency ecosystem in 2026, offering actionable intelligence for brands and agencies alike.
With Richard Robinson, Executive Director, Ingenuity+.
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