Top global brands to talk ‘Daring to be Different’ at MAD//Fest

Disruptors, risk-takers, innovators, creative thinkers, people who deliver results - MAD//Fest London is back on 13-14 Nov at The Old Truman Brewery with the world’s top brands set to tackle this year’s ‘Dare to be Different’ theme.

4,500 leaders are expected to attend MAD//Fest, the award-winning invite-only marketing, advertising and disruption festival launched in 2018 to challenge the status quo of industry events. Speakers in 2019 include Mumsnet Founder Justine Roberts CBE, Google voice expert Wally Brill and Burger King CMO Katie Evans.

So why is Dare to be Different this year’s MAD//Fest theme?

Let’s forget about the media and tech for a moment. Look at culture and today’s defining issues like climate change, diversity, and global politics.

Organizations like Extinction Rebellion show an appetite for radical change. People want bold solutions to humanity's big challenges and they're more than happy to vote with their feet when they don't get what they want.

Our industry is no different. Clinging on to the past isn’t a sustainable option and it pisses people off.

Agency holding groups need to evolve and re-define their offer and structures - Sir Martin Sorrell doing it all again when he could be putting his feet up would suggest there's a need and opportunity.

Brands need to move on from marketing tactics that don’t work nearly as well as they did 5 years ago.

Tech firms must up their game when it comes to issues like trust, transparency and inappropriate content.

Whilst it’s fantastic to see the likes of The Guardian just about back in the black, the media industry isn't exactly in rude health.

Defying madness

Truth be told, we can’t keep on doing the same thing and expect different results. That’s the definition of madness.

Thankfully, we are seeing nimble, lean and profitable new agencies sail away from the doldrums, backed by a tail breeze.

There’s an army of brilliant client-side and agency marketers out there who are bravely defying convention and putting bold ideas, creativity, and innovation on the table.

The cauldron of tech continues to bubble away with new players and others falling by the wayside - just look at Scott Brinker’s latest martech map. Barely a week goes by when you don’t hear about a new start-up who thinks they can do it faster, better and cheaper than the status quo.

It takes a certain type of organization and person to dare to be different. Many aren’t geared up for taking risks, necks are on the line and people get fired when things go wrong.

So MAD//Fest London 2019 is a celebration of the brands, businesses, and people who are pushing the boundaries of innovation and leaving their footprint on culture, the economy and society and we’re excited to welcome the industry’s pacesetters to participate.