Arrive early to check in, grab a coffee and settle in before we begin.

Welcome to Brands&Culture London 2026. Before we dive in, we zoom out – exploring the biggest cultural moments of the year. Get ready for two days packed with thinking, frameworks, and inspiration to help you navigate how brands can make, shape, and define culture. Let’s go!

Speakers:

– Charlotte Williams, Co-Founder & Chief Content Officer, Brands&Culture
– Mia Powell, Founder, MAMAMIA

In 2026, culture rarely begins in boardrooms or brand campaigns. It starts in messy, uncomfortable conversations people are having in real life. In this opening talk, Cultural Commentator & Creator Zara McIntosh explores how the topics society whispers about become the cultural signals shaping what comes next – and what brands must learn if they want to stay relevant in a world where creators often lead the conversation.

Speakers:

– Zara McIntosh, Cultural Commentator & Creator, “Taboo on the Bus”

Short-termism is winning the budget argument. But is it winning the business one?
Every marketing budget is under pressure. Short-term growth dominates the agenda. And brand building… that ‘takes too long’. So how do you make the case for cultural marketing and why should your business care?
We’ll delve into effective brand strategies, lessons learnt and the uncomfortable truth that the brands winning long-term aren’t just spending smarter, they’re thinking differently. Expect evidence-based insights, and practical proof points you need both for C-suite conversations and for the work you and your team create.

Speakers:

– Tom Rainsford, Founder, Giffgaff, and formerly Marketing Director, Beavertown Brewery

Modern dating is increasingly shaped by culture, communities and shared experiences. From niche social groups to fast-moving cultural trends, the signals of attraction are evolving beyond the swipe. In this session, OMD and Tinder will explore how these shifts are redefining how people connect – and what they mean for brands looking to show up authentically in the moments and communities that matter.

Speakers:

– Paolo Lorenzoni, Vice President EMEA Marketing and Board Member, Tinder
– Mark Murray Jones, Chief Strategy Officer, OMD EMEA

Two forces are reshaping how consumers discover and choose products. Creators now drive culturally fluent, community-led advocacy. At the same time, AI is reshaping discovery.
In this session, Selina Sykes, VP Marketing Transformation and Social-First, Beauty & Wellbeing at Unilever, will explore how to turn cultural credibility into desire at scale. From digital twins in the content supply chain to creator-partnership systems and the role of LMM – she’ll share practical insights to help you rethink your marketing approach for today’s discovery landscape.
Hear best-practice examples from Dove and Vaseline, where social-first execution is aligned with AI-powered systems. You’ll leave with clear, actionable takeaways to help you design ideas and purchase pathways that reflect how people actually discover and choose products today.

Speakers:

– Selina Sykes, Vice President Marketing Transformation and Social-First, Beauty & Wellbeing, Unilever

Take a break, recharge and connect with other attendees.

Devotion is the scarcest resource in culture today. And every brand is competing for it. Fandom is what it looks like when people actually give it.
When brands show up inside that relationship – credibly, culturally, at scale – they stop being ads and start becoming part of the culture itself.
So what does it actually take to get there? Join Spotify, Unilever, JBL, and Ben Foster (The Fozcast) as they tear apart what real fandom means for brands – and what it takes to earn a place in it. Walk away with practical tools to help you drive cultural credibility at scale.

Speakers:

– Simon Jenkins, Global Head of Creative Intelligence, Spotify Advertising
– Ashley Goldie, Senior Media & Content Lead, Personal Care UK & Ireland, Unilever
– Sam Williams, Head of Culture & Partnerships, EMEA, JBL
– Ben Foster, Former Professional Footballer and Host of The Fozcast Podcast

Every brand wants to “tap into culture”, but how much responsibility comes with that power? Join us for a provocative and dynamic debate around these questions:

– When do brands have the right to play in culture and should they ever really own the cultural discourse?
– Understanding the nuance between cultural participation vs. cultural appropriation
– Who owns culture? The thin line between collaboration and colonisation 

Be part of the debate with our live voting technology.

Speakers: 

– Katie Jackson, Chief Marketing Officer, Channel 4
– Oyin Akiniyi, Global Brand Director, Chivas Brothers
– Charlie Smith, Chief Brand Officer, NOTHING

Moderator: 

– Sam Shaw, Strategy Director, Canvas8

Discover the foundational rules that are turning relevance into results for one of the UK’s most unexpected icons. From identifying authentic spaces to play, to shaping partnerships that convert, if you’re looking to turn cultural participation into remarkable brand impact, this session offers both the thinking and the proof.

Speakers: 

– ​​Charlotte Kernohan, Director of Brand, Jet2
– ​​Nick Wright, CEO, Havas Play

From new trends emerging overnight, to nano-communities disrupting what brands take for granted, and generative AI accelerating the volume and speed of cultural production – it’s not easy to invest in one idea when culture keeps fragmenting at pace. Hear from the Senior Director, Brand + Creative at Depop – a brand that is culture, not one that merely borrows from it. In this session, you’ll get practical tools and insights to move away from reactive tactics and fully embrace the long-term culture game. This is a guide to earning a place in culture – not chasing it at all costs.

Speakers: 

– Steve Dool, Senior Director, Brand + Creative, Depop

Join this session to discover what it takes to succeed in a low-interest category and turn the ‘uncool’ into a confident and culturally relevant behaviour. Hear from the CMO of the UK’s most loved alcohol-free beer, Kerttu Inkeroinen, whose leadership helped the brand cut through the extremely competitive drinks market. In this session, you won’t get tactics for short-term, reactive wins – but a unique opportunity to see how a brand moved from niche to mainstream through a long-term approach and the trust that being part of culture is your ultimate competitive advantage today.

Speakers: 

– Kerttu Inkeroinen, CMO, Lucky Saint
– James Kirkham, Founder, ICONIC

We’re calling out missed opportunities and laying out the roadmap for what’s next. From ‘blink and you’ll miss it’ trends to the next gaming-level revolution, four Gen Z voices explain how brands can stop being ‘background noise’ and start leading the narrative. We’ve got the receipts; does the industry have the vision? Join us as we dive into the deep-seated values and emerging behaviours that will move the needle for 2026.

Speakers:

– Mia Balogun, Global Brand Marketing Coordinator, The Walt Disney Company
– Aaron Wallace, Account Executive, AKA UK
– Chris Njoroge, EA MSc Brand Leadership graduate
– Amerie Tagle, Marketer, The Marketing Academy Foundation

Moderator:

– Lianre Robinson, CEO, The Marketing Academy Foundation

The CMO of the UK’s fastest-growing major snacking business, PROPER Snacks, Sandie Dilger, shares how optimism and foresight can turn emerging threats into commercial opportunity. Join this session to hear how the brand navigates seismic shifts in food and snacking – from the rise of GLP-1s and the move towards personalised nutrition, to TikTok-driven behaviours like Fibremaxxing. You’ll leave equipped with tools to stay calm and keep driving marketing effectiveness, especially when fast-changing forces put unpredictable pressure on your brand.

Speakers:

– Sandie Dilger, CMO, Proper Snacks

Through powerful spoken word poetry, Joe Bellman explores how culture, memory, and emotion shape the brands we never forget. Blending personal narrative with cultural insight, this performance invites audiences to reflect on the moments that move us, and why the most meaningful brands begin as feelings long before they become strategies.

Speakers:

– Joe Bellman, Spoken Word artist & Storyteller

In today’s cultural landscape, where brands are constantly vying for relevance, sports and entertainment offer unparalleled avenues to deeply connect with passionate consumer audiences and build enduring brand love. Join brands as they dissect the strategies for building and safeguarding brand reputation through authentic engagement in these influential spaces.
From leveraging the star power of athletes to creating immersive fan experiences that ignite passion, discover how to move beyond superficial endorsements and cultivate a brand legacy. Learn how to navigate the nuances of sports and entertainment culture, avoid missteps that can damage your brand, and build a reputation that consistently wins the hearts and minds of consumers.

Speakers:

– Pablo Dopico, Director ad:s Growth, Sportradar
– Danielle Lee, Director Brand & Marketing, Metro Bank (UK)
– Garreth Hayes, Senior Marketing Director, Indeed

Moderator:

– Charlie Copsey, Founder, Underground Fan Club

Take a break, recharge and connect with other attendees.

Fan culture can’t be purchased but it can be built, amplified, or lost if a brand shows up for the wrong reasons. In Act One, Mastercard’s Joy Campbell, VP Sponsorships, Partnerships & Experiences UKI, and Octagon’s Executive Creative Director, Lizi Hamer go head-to-head on what authentic cultural investment actually looks like.
Because the game has changed: today’s elite athlete isn’t just an ambassador waiting to be activated, she’s a founder, a media channel, and a brand in her own right. Act Two, Octagon VP and Women’s Sport Expert, Jaime Bivona gets candid with one of the sport’s most compelling voices on the difference between a partner who genuinely gets it and what the next era of athlete-led culture looks like from the inside.

Speakers:

– Lizi Hamer, Executive Global Creative Director, Octagon
– Jaime Bivona, Vice President, Octagon
– Joy Campbell, VP of Sponsorships, Partnerships & Experiences, Mastercard UKI
– Carly Telford, Former England Goalkeeper, Commercial Manager, Chelsea FC Women

For a long time, gaming was considered a subculture. Then it received recognition as a mainstream cultural force. Now we are beyond that. Gaming is driving mainstream. Brands all over the world see the potential in gaming, but often the subcultures, the channels and the unique language of gamers mean it feels hard to know where to start.
In this session, Dan Green, VP of International Marketing at Activision Publishing, and Emma Franklin-Wright, Senior Director of Entertainment at Burson, draw on over 20 years of combined experience across the world’s biggest gaming franchises including Call of Duty, Spryro, Crash Bandicoot and Tony Hawk Pro Skater to give you five cheat codes to level up in culture and succeed in gaming campaigns.

Speakers:

– Emma Franklin-Wright, Senior Director, Entertainment, Burson UK
– Daniel Green, VP, International Marketing, Activision Publishing

Three marketers take to the stage to share what culture means to them – on a more personal level. Each speaker has five minutes to deliver a short “confession” about the cultural worlds that shape who they are, from music, sport and gaming to art and unexpected passions.
Together, they then explore how being in culture as humans influences the decisions they make as marketers – from the work they champion to the strategies they believe in. This is Brands & Culture breaking out of the marketing bubble and reminding us that the strongest cultural thinking starts well before the slide deck.

Speakers: 

– Gareth Morgan, Head of Global Brand, Revolut
– Gastón Tourn, Chief Growth Officer, Oddbox

Moderator: 

– Maisie McCabe, UK Editor, Campaign

Arrive early to check in, grab a coffee and settle in before we begin.

Get behind the scenes to explore what it really takes to inspire culture-led marketing practices. From the strategic inputs that shape upstream thinking to the creative execution that brings it to life. Hear from Izzie and Jo, who are part of a multi-disciplinary team working to infuse a culture-led mindset into one of the world’s largest and most influential FMCG organisations.
In this session, you’ll find out how to make the most of the powerful intersection of marketing, insights, and creative capability. Discover how these disciplines come together at PepsiCo to build brands with genuine cultural meaning and relevance – from core proposition to creative expression.

Speakers: 

– Izzy Macdonald, Head of Culture Capability, Global Insights, PepsiCo
– Joanna Delaney, Head of Strategy, Sips & Bites, PepsiCo

A fast, opinionated session where trends go on trial.
The internet moves fast, and brands do not always keep up. We cut through what is actually landing in culture and what is already losing momentum, calling it in real time: cool or cringe. No jargon, no forcing it, just a reality check on what works and what really does not.

Speakers: 

– Jo Burford, Head of Creator Marketing for EMEA, Edelman and Guests
– David Maclean, Account Director, Edelman
– Chanté Joseph, Writer, Presenter and Content Creator
– Bernard Garby, Fashion Broadcaster, Public Speaker & Media Consultant

Consumers trust creators more than brands. So what happens when creators stop just influencing culture and start building the companies that define it?
This session explores the modern playbook for building a business on trust and community, offering lessons for any brand that wants to achieve true cultural relevance.

Speakers:

– Gracie Schram, Head of Strategic Creator Initiatives, Epidemic Sound
– Victor Bengtsson, CEO, Sidemen Entertainment
– Max Fosh, Creator

In a world shaped by accelerating AI, economic uncertainty, political tension, and cultural polarisation, consumer expectations are more fragmented than ever. Beyond products and price, people are seeking meaning, trust, and value – but what those concepts mean varies dramatically across cultures. This session explores how cultural intelligence helps leaders go beyond what AI can optimise or analyse about surface-level trends, to understand what consumers value, fear, and aspire to – today and in the years ahead.
Drawing on case studies from global brands, the author of “Brand Global, Adapt Local”, Katherine Melchior Ray, shows how the most successful global companies listen for cultural signals beneath the data – and use them to anticipate consumer needs rather than react to them. She explores why value is cultural, how trust is built differently across markets, and how brands can navigate diverse societies without losing relevance or credibility.

Speakers: 

– Katherine Melchior Ray, Marketing Faculty at UC Berkeley Haas School of Business; President of Globe Ally Consulting

Take a break, recharge and connect with other attendees.

In 2013 Supercell became one of the fastest-growing gaming companies in history, launching two breakout global hits with tiny teams. Now, over a decade later, Clash of Clans is heading into year 14 – growing again through community-first thinking, unconventional marketing, and a refusal to chase short-term hype. Hear from David Edwards, Product Marketing (Clash of Clans), on how Supercell rebuilt momentum without following the rulebook – and what any brand can learn about earning relevance, sustaining fandom, and building brand value over time.

Speakers:

– David Edwards, Product Marketing, Clash of Clans, Supercell

In a world where ideas emerge, combine, and evolve at the speed of the feed and the pace of the prompt, the biggest threat to brands isn’t AI itself – it’s sameness.
Drawing from Dentsu Creative’s 2026 Trends Report: “Generative Realities”, Pats McDonald, Dentsu Creative Global Chief Strategy Officer, explores what our emerging relationship with culture and technology means for brands trying to build meaningful difference. Join her as she shares what the anti-algorithm movement, and the yearning for analog experiences alongside our growing dependence on AI companionship, mean for your culture-led strategy.
In this session, you’ll discover practical strategies for brands navigating the algorithmic era, and how they can leverage emerging technologies to design intentionally for difference, not scale for sameness.

Speakers:

– Patricia McDonald, Global Chief Strategy Officer, Dentsu Creative

In an era obsessed with data, optimisation and algorithms, culture is still created the same way it always has been: through instinct, taste and conviction. Drawing on two decades of shaping hits with artists like Lily Allen & Pink Pantheress, Future Cut explore why the most impactful ideas rarely come from analytics and how brands can learn from music to lead culture instead of chasing it. This talk reframes “gut feeling” as a quantifiable strategic advantage, showing why niche is the new mainstream, and why the future belongs to those brave enough to trust their instincts before the data catches up.

Speakers:

– Tunde Babalola, Record Producer, Future Cut
– Darren Lewis, Record Producer, Future Cut

Hear from a brand that approaches its role in culture as an opportunity to build movements – challenging the growth-at-all-costs model many brands still operate under. Join Patagonia’s Senior Marketing Manager, EMEA, Jelle Mul, as he shares what it takes to embed environmental activism and product impact into a company’s structure, rather than treating it as a communications or ESG exercise.
Discover what it really means to be comfortable with polarisation, to make trade-offs most brands avoid, and to play the long game while others chase short-term cultural wins.

Speakers:

– Jelle Mul, Senior Marketing Manager EMEA, Patagonia

The strongest brands in culture don’t start with campaigns – they start with internal culture. This session explores how values, behaviours and team dynamics shape how brands show up externally, and why getting it right on the inside is key to earning relevance on the outside.

Speakers:

– Michael Williamson, CEO, Wrexham AFC
– Ashley Wray, Mindfulness Coach + Consultant, ashleywray.co

Hear the success story behind essence – the #1 beauty brand on TikTok and part of cosnova – proving that long-term creator relationships outperform short-term influencer marketing.
In this session, Annika Spitz, Team Lead Community Experiences at cosnova, shares the tools and strategies behind building thriving community ecosystems – from co-creation and loyalty programmes to immersive brand experiences. She’ll be joined by a TikTok creator and a SuperFan to explore why culture-led marketing starts with strong relationships: with creators who collaborate with your brand and fans who champion it.
You’ll leave with practical tools to build creator partnerships that are more authentic, higher-quality and deeply embedded in culture.

Speakers:

– Annika Spitz, Team Lead Community Experiences, cosnova
– Fabian Buggel, Creator, fabiansbeauty
– Julia Elsner, Creator, Giulinka

In the age of social influencers, audiences do not follow reach; they follow relevance. Communities reward real, relatable stories. We buy from ‘people like us’. The commercial question for 2026 is simple: whose stories get told, and who gets left out? Hear from inclusion expert Ali Hanan at Creative Equals and culture-led marketing strategist James Pearson at Arla Foods James Pearson at Arla Foods as they share effectiveness data proving empathy is a growth driver.
In 2026, with HFSS regulation, cost-of-living pressures and changing family dynamics reshaping food choices, relevance is everything. Arla’s work in building culturally resonant partnerships and community-led platforms shows how deeply human stories drive trust, distinctiveness, and sustained commercial impact.
You’ll leave this session with a clear understanding of why the brands winning today look more like Bad Bunny than Sydney Sweeney.

Speakers:

– Ali Hanan, Founder and Executive Director, Creative Equals
– James Pearson, Senior Digital Marketing Strategist, Arla Foods
– Dr Varaidzo (Vee) Kativhu, Girls’ Education Activist, Founder of Empowered By Vee & UN Young Leader

Take a break, recharge and connect with other attendees.

Join our culture quiz led by Word on the Curb’s Ndu Uchea, unpacking insights from their new Culture Index. Expect provocative questions, real conversations and a few surprises. Winner gets a special prize – and first access to the report.

Speakers:

– Ndu Uchea, CEO & Co-Founder, Word on the Curb

Homogenisation. “Enshittification”. Generic. Vanilla. As platforms optimise for engagement, algorithms increasingly shape what culture looks like, who creates it, and how it spreads. Culture is shifting at an unforgiving pace – filtered, ranked and amplified by systems designed to maximise attention.
– Where does this leave us as humans – innately wired to create, express and connect?
– Will algorithms erode authenticity and flatten cultural expression?
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And what role do brands have in ensuring that culture remains human, meaningful and truly connective?

Speakers:

– Manon Dave, Chief Product & Innovation Officer, Head of Future World Design, BBC R&D
– Ibrahim Kamara, Co-founder, GUAP
– Cheryl Miller Houser, Award-winning documentary filmmaker, Creative Breed

Moderator:

– Zoe Clapp, Founder, Above the Clouds Studio, previously at YouTube, Google, BBC Studios

Join this session for a behind-the-scenes look at how creator collaborations are shaping culture inside the gaming ecosystem. Just weeks ahead of Brands&Culture, Restaurant Tycoon 3 teams up with Chip Shop Diva – a creator who turns everyday culture into scalable IP – to create a moment designed to travel beyond the platform.
Hear from Chip Shop Diva, Rafael McDonnell (Talent & Brands) and William Van Rest (JEM Media Ventures) as they unpack what made this partnership resonate, how it was built for cultural impact, and what brands can learn about turning creator collaborations into strategies that go beyond content and drive real cultural relevance.

Speakers:

– William van Rest, Managing Director, JEM Media Ventures
– Destiny Harold, Content Creator, Chip Shop Diva
– Raf McDonnell, Agent & Founder, Talent & Brands

The most influential music movements rarely land at the top of the charts – and almost never follow a linear plan. They grow through communities, identity and long-term cultural memory, not short-term marketing tactics.
Join UMG’s Rebecca Jolly and Liz Chew alongside artist and composer Peter Gregson who has built cultural momentum and permanence through unexpected paths – in talking about true artistry and craftsmanship for cultural longevity.
As we enter an era of reaction against rampant internet slop, we unpack what brands can learn from the music industry about entering culture authentically, building fandom, and creating relevance that lasts beyond the moment.
Stay until the end for a special live performance.

Speakers:

– Rebecca Jolly, Senior Vice President, Universal Music Group
– Elizabeth Chew, Senior Director of International Marketing & Promotions, Universal Music Group
– Peter Gregson, Artist & Composer