Marketing impact. Facts, with receipts

Synthetic data in focus

Research can be a costly and time-consuming process - especially in the fast-paced world of product innovation. In this session, Paul McCormick from Empathy Lab by EPAM will introduce Synthetic Audiences, an AI-driven research accelerator that uses synthetic audiences to simulate real-world user testing.

In ctrl or out of touch? The ninth P of marketing revealed

Marketers used to own the data conversation. Now AI is shaping the customer journey and consent is happening everywhere, not just on your website. Yet while 79% of CMOs say they are comfortable with their use of consumer data to power AI-driven personalization, 59% of consumers say otherwise - exposing a widening trust gap. In this exclusive first look at research from The Drum and Usercentrics, we reveal the ‘ninth P of marketing’ and how it can help brands close that gap. Discover how to turn trust into your most powerful growth driver, and why it’s the key to staying in ctrl, not out of touch.

Closing the credibility gap

For years, marketers have chased attention and awareness, often at the expense of credibility. But new research shows that consumers now treat credibility as a non-negotiable – and they’re quick to walk when brands fall short. In this keynote, Nonsense's Strategy Director, Tom Primrose, shares findings from the 2025 Brand Credibility Index and shows how credibility drives not just consideration but conversion, loyalty and advocacy. He’ll reveal what today’s audiences see as credible, how customer experience can become a brand-building tool, and what CMOs can do to “beast the basics” in low-trust sectors.

Show me the media money

Who has the toughest gig in modern marketing? The Media Director has to be up there. With such a fragmented media marketplace offering so many media options ranging from the humble billboard to the not so humble social influencer learn where smart brands are going to be spending their marketing money in 2026?

The Rebels with a cause

The Drum loves marketers and marketing that breaks the rules. The Rebel 50 powered by WeTransfer Advertising is The Drum's ranking of the world's 50 biggest marketing rule breakers. In this session we'll hear from the brand marketers who push the boundaries, take the risks and deliver the results we'd all like to see? Find out why not playing by the rules can often pay dividends.

If AI is conscious… now what for advertising?

Advertising has always relied on unconscious humans: emotional, distracted, persuadable. But as we outsource decisions to AI agents - and those agents grow more aware, autonomous, and recursive - the industry faces a new buyer: one that may be conscious. In this provocative talk, futurist Danielle Dodoo explores what happens when emotional manipulation stops working, and why advertisers must rethink influence in a world where attention, identity, and agency no longer belong to humans alone.

The view from Visa

Personal finances have never been a more emotive subject than today 2025 as world economics shift as a consequence of social and political factors hitting many people in the pocket. Visa's European VP of marketing chief Alexey Bokov joins The Drum Live to talk all things financial marketing from balancing trust and innovation to personalization, partnerships and performance-driven marketing.

Under the influencers

Have the rules changes in 2025? With major brands and companies spending more now on social and influencers what does that mean for the future of advertising and media? Our panel of advertising experts and social specialists look to the future.

On stage with ABBA Voyage

ABBA Voyage in London has been a phenomenon since its launch in May 2022 taking live entertainment to a whole new level. We speak to ABBA Voyage chief commercial officer Jaki Ellenby about marketing such a unique premium event brand and how selling a loved legacy brand like ABBA is very different to selling food or fashion.

Mark Ritson debuts his latest column

Mark Ritson takes to the stage to share his latest column, focusing on the collapse of Amazon Fresh’s grocery experiment. He reflects on how the industry was swept away by “techno porn,” the overhyping of innovation, and highlights the lessons marketers should learn about timing, scale, and sticking to what a brand does best.

Show me the funny

We look back at the funny ads that wouldn’t get made today for fear of offending people and hear from brands and creatives on how to approach humor in advertising without crossing the line. Brands can learn why they should invest in humor, take it right up to the line like Paddy Power, but always pull back before crossing it.

Fireside: Sir Martin Sorrell

In this scene-setting keynote, Sir Martin Sorrell offers a state-of-the-nation address for the marketing industry, reflecting on where it’s heading post-Omnicom-IPG merger approval. He’ll explore the future of holding companies in an AI-driven world and ask whether the traditional model can still thrive. Expect unfiltered insights from a man who reshaped the agency landscape - and thoughts on how he’d do it differently if starting all over again

Day 2: Editorial conference

Imagine - you are a Drum journalist for the day. What stories or topical issues would you pitch in to The Drum's editor Cameron Clarke? Listen in as our invited guests adopt the role of marketing journalists to pitch and discuss the topical stories they'd like to cover if they were in The Drum's editorial team. Prepare to have your say.

How TGI Fridays is bouncing back

In 2024 the TGI Fridays restaurant chain went in to administration, but a last-minute deal saw the brand and 51 of its UK restaurants rescued. On July 4th - Independence Day - the brand was officially rebranded, re-positioned and relaunched. Learn from TGI CMO, Rhiannon Scarlett, the role marketing is playing as the brand looks to return to its former glory as one of the UK's favorite US-flavored restaurants.

Fireside chat: Jarrod Moses

Founder of United Entertainment Group and new agency The First Darrin, Jarrod Moses joins us to talk about why he feels advertising needs more humour and why alongside Curb Your Enthusiasm star JB Smoove have launched The First Darrin.

Mark Ritson and John McCarthy take the stage

Meet The Drum's new regular columnist - Mini MBA founder Mark Ritson - as he speaks to The Drum's opinion editor John McCarthy to talk about his new monthly opinion column, discuss content ideas with attendees and he'll also lift the lid of The Drum's Rebel 50 - our new ranking of the planet's most innovative and rebellious marketers.

AI panel: The Great AI Showdown

In this live showdown of machine minds, we put four of the world’s leading AI platforms - ChatGPT, Gemini, Perplexity and Claude – through their paces. Each will tackle the same marketing challenges, prompts and questions in real time. You’ll judge their responses and vote for the sharpest, smartest and most surprising AI. Who will win the battle of the bots? You decide. Let the AI face-off begin.

Fireside chat: Matt Hancock, former UK Culture & Health Secretary

As former Health Secretary, Matt Hancock was responsible for managing comms and public health messaging during the biggest health crisis to hit the UK in recent times - the Covid-19 lock down. In this fireside chat, we'll hear how he managed communications in the early days of lock down and how he approached his daily briefings. Now back in the marketing industry with address specialists BBS, Matt will share his thoughts on how marketing has changed during his 25 years away and how targeting and direct mail are evolving in the digital age.

What next for the holding companies?

There's lots happening in the global advertising holding companies as Omnicom and IPG prepare to merge and rumours persist that other major groups are planning on joining forces to face a marketing future destined to be governed by AI, data and automation. So, what does this all mean if you are a brand using one of the agencies owned by IPG, Omnicom, Stagwell, Publicis, WPP, Havas and Dentsu? Our panelists will share their views on what the future holds for the holdco model and what the agency your brand is using in the coming years will look like.

Day 1: Editorial conference

Imagine - you are a Drum journalist for the day. What stories or topical issues would you pitch in to The Drum's editor Cameron Clarke? Listen in as our invited guests adopt the role of marketing journalists to pitch and discuss the topical stories they'd like to cover if they were in The Drum's editorial team.