MAD//Fest London 2026 has drawn to a close after three sweltering days in Brick Lane, bringing together thousands of marketers, brands, agencies and technology companies to debate the trends shaping the industry’s future.
While artificial intelligence dominated the agenda once again, this year’s conversations felt noticeably more mature. Rather than asking what AI might do, speakers and delegates focused on how it can deliver genuine business value without sacrificing creativity, authenticity or the human relationships that underpin great marketing.
Alongside AI, creator marketing, retail media and the growing importance of emotional brand connections emerged as recurring themes.
We caught up with some of the industry’s top leaders to find out what stood out for them from this year’s festival…
Suzanna Chaplin, CEO & Founder, esbconnect
“As always, MadFest featured a brilliant line-up of inspiring speakers – almost too much to take in if I’m honest. I caught lots of great sessions but still had FOMO for some of the ones I missed.
“And boy was it hot. I can’t be the only person wondering whether it would make sense to stage the event earlier in the year.”
“Lots of talk about AI – good and bad. Good is the way it is streamlining processes and taking care of a lot of the grunt work, freeing people up for more strategic thinking. Bad is the sea of AI slop out there – a reminder that no matter how pervasive AI becomes, there is still a need for human creativity.”
Max von Weber, Founder & CEO, adnomaly
“I love the laid-back vibe you get at MADFest, but while the atmosphere is relaxed, the content is top drawer. I learned so much from the sessions I attended, and it was especially useful to find out more about companies that are not so familiar to us in Germany.
“I expected AI to drown out all other conversations – I’m happy to report that it didn’t.
“MadFest is great because it is so different, compared to other industry events, with a very informal vibe and tons of great content to dive into with real hands-on insights from top brands and agencies.
“I was pleasantly surprised not to hear too much about AI, and found it useful to learn more about a lot of companies that are not so well-known on our home turf of Germany.”
Sandra Wagner, CEO, AuraVeo
“This year’s MAD//Fest theme, ‘The Human Touch’, couldn’t have been more timely. The conversations inevitably centred on AI capabilities, but the real takeaway was different: true technological transformation is built on human architecture and emotional intelligence, not raw data points.
“AI excels at surfacing deep insights, but it lacks the contextual nuance to execute on them. The real opportunity for brands is bridging that gap to build a smooth partnership between human teams and AI agents.
“That hybrid approach is how brands move past the hype and deliver genuine business outcomes.”
Simon Shaw, CEO & Founder, Fifty
“MAD//Fest delivered exactly what you would hope for: a broad mix of innovation, ideas, creativity, challenges and practical solutions, packed into three very hot and sweaty days.
“Inevitably, AI was front and centre, but what stood out was how much the conversation has moved on. It felt less focused on the technology itself, and much more on how we use it to create better human understanding, stronger engagement and more meaningful experiences.
“Whether the discussion was about technology, creative, media or insight, the same question kept coming up: how can marketers use AI to build more authentic connections with consumers, rather than making those interactions feel more automated or less personal?”
Manal Saho, Regional Business Growth Consultant, Preciso
“Events like MADFest are a great way to hear real-world stories of success – and sometimes failure, for those brands brave enough to share the things they got wrong before they got them right. It’s a melting pot – this year, literally! – of ideas, trends, innovation, and new partnerships,
“It was interesting to see how AI had moved beyond the hype this year, with several presentations detailing how companies are using it and the lessons they are learning. As someone pointed out, when everyone has access to the same AI tools, it can be difficult to spot the difference. The difference lies in the human element and the creativity that lies within all of us.
“But it wasn’t all about AI. The fact that retail media and the creator economy had their own stages this year was testament to how important these channels now are.
“And what’s really fascinating is that you just know that next year, there will be something else on marketers’ radar – we just don’t know what it is yet.”
James Taylor, CEO & Founder, Particular Audience
“From a retail media perspective, the message that came across loud and clear from Madfest was that brands need to understand the algorithms powering their retailers’ shelves – knowing which questions to ask and critically comparing retailers’ architectures will define performance through the AI reset.”
Charlotte Wells, Strategy Director, Reach plc (headshot)
“MAD//Fest has been everything you’d hope for, with brilliant weather, a fantastic atmosphere, and the media and advertising community coming together in force to share ideas and inspiration.
“What struck me most from the opening sessions was Newsworks’ Heather Dansie’s compelling demonstration of why news brands are essential for cultural relevance, which was backed by clear evidence of the ROI that comes from being part of this.
“Elliot Millard from Thinkbox also built on that theme with his discussion on seven lenses of cultural impact: an insightful framework with practical, actionable takeaways for marketers.
“It’s been an energising festival, reinforcing the value of working together as an industry to learn, connect and challenge thinking.”
Christoph Berg, Founder and CEO, MINT Square
“For me, MAD//Fest highlighted two clear themes. First, AI has become an execution conversation rather than a hype conversation.
“Agencies are now focused on embedding AI into everyday processes to improve efficiency, automate repetitive tasks and free up more time for strategic and creative work. Second, independent agencies had a strong presence throughout the event. It reflects growing demand for specialist expertise, agility and closer client partnerships.
“As technology becomes more accessible, these qualities are becoming increasingly important differentiators, allowing independent agencies to compete on expertise, adaptability and the value they create for clients.”
Andy Squire, RVP EMEA Brave
“MadFest always reminds me what an incredible industry we work in – one that is, for sure, dominated by technology, but also driven and guided by some super-smart people. It’s a privilege to soak up the insights you get at every single MADFest session.
“AI dominated proceedings and it’s clearly now touching all aspects of the industry, from data and targeting to creativity and media, especially with the advent of agentic planning and buying, which will secure the future of media in an AI-centric world.
“The other strong theme for me was a recognition that advertising is changing. Consumers don’t want to be pitched or sold to; they want to engage in a proper two-way conversation with brands they trust, which is fuelling the massive surge in interest in, and uptake of, influencer and creator marketing.”
Dan Best, SVP, Clients, DAIVID
“The standout presentation I caught at this year’s MAD//Fest was from Richard Robinson at Ingenuity+, who shared findings from a survey of marketing leaders about their lead agencies. The stat that really stuck with me was that only 12% of marketing leaders said their agency’s use of AI has improved creative effectiveness, the lowest-rated benefit measured.
“Put plainly, for a lot of brands today, AI isn’t making the creative any better. That’s a useful reality check and a massive open goal amid all the hype.”
Ben Dimond, Managing Director, Parallel UK
“I always love MadFest’s festival vibe. The laid-back atmosphere really encourages people to open up and talk to each other.
“AI dominated this year’s event, as it did last year, but I think we’ve moved beyond the hype phase to one where people are talking about the real-world applications they’re using it for.
“I’m even more excited about next year’s event though, where I hope we’ll hear people talking about how they are using AI not just to speed things up or do things cheaper, but to build new applications, new platforms, new solutions that wouldn’t be possible if AI didn’t exist.”
San Sareen, Regional Vice President (EMEA), impact.com
“As expected, there was a strong focus on AI, and I was pleased to hear a lot of people talking about how much it relies on the human element – I think this is often forgotten.
“Another area of focus for this year’s event was the creator economy – something that’s very close to my heart. Brands are now really embracing creators as a key plank of their marketing strategy.
“At one presentation I went to, I learned that Unilever is now working with 300,000 creators and influencers. Stop and take that number in for a minute – 300,000, and that’s one of the biggest FMCG/CPG companies in the world.
“And with new tactics and new channels come new rules. Through creators, brands are learning to engage with consumers in a more intimate, more human way than ever before, nurturing them, rather than simply trying to drive them from the top to the bottom of the funnel as quickly as possible.
“The other great thing about MADFest, as with any in-person event, is the human contact – the opportunity to hear and share new ideas, see what brands in diverse industries are doing and connect with colleagues from across the entire adtech ecosystem.
“There’s nothing like it.”
Julia Linehan, CEO, The Digital Voice
“There were nothing but positive vibes at MADfest this year, with an emphasis on emotion, happiness, and joy, in line with the event’s tagline of ‘The Human Touch’.
“For all the hype around AI, it’s human connections that really count, and there were lots of new ones made at the event.
“I really enjoyed the session on fan-driven virality and creator-powered culture from Charlotte Tilbury, and I loved hosting Blazing Challenges in the Female Leaders’ Club – a fun session that took a deep dive into the industry’s biggest challenges, from inbox overload to the programmatic stealth tax.
“Let’s keep the good vibes going for the rest of the year!”
Tom Ingoldby, Senior Account Director/Head of sport, Velvet
“Sport is having a moment. LIONS Sport at Cannes, and now a whole area dedicated to it at MAD//Fest this year. Unsurprisingly, with the World Cup in full swing, football dominated much of the agenda.
“There was plenty of discussion around how brands can make the most of the tournament, and what they’ll do differently next time, whether that’s the next World Cup, the Women’s World Cup or the Olympics. But there was a recurring theme: very little was said about what happens in between these huge tentpole moments.
“As a brand or an agency, you can’t just turn up once every four years. The ones building the strongest reputations are consistently contributing to the wider conversations around sport, sharing a point of view, building credibility and demonstrating they understand the culture their clients want to be part of.
“That consistency doesn’t just build trust with clients and prospects. It also builds authority with the AI platforms that buyers are using to research agencies. The more consistently an agency contributes to these industry conversations, the more likely it is to be discovered and recommended when those buying decisions begin.
“Big tournaments create attention but trust is built in the months and years between them.”
Danny Holmes, Consulting Partner, Media and Agency, Experian Marketing Services
“One of the standout themes to emerge from MAD//Fest this year was measurement.
“As marketing budgets come under increasing scrutiny, the ability to demonstrate genuine business impact has never been more important. Marketers need more than traditional metrics like reach, impressions and clicks, to understand whether their media investment has driven tangible commercial outcomes.
“That’s why solutions that connect ad exposure to real transactional spend are becoming so critical. By bridging media exposure with verified spend data, marketers can move beyond assumptions to a clear, measurable view of campaign impact. This creates a more robust foundation for optimisation, investment decisions and future planning.
“As media continues to evolve across TV, digital, audio and beyond, measurement must evolve with it. The platforms and partners that can help brands prove the value of every media investment will be the ones best positioned to win marketing budgets in the years ahead.”
Courtney Durkin, Agency Audience Solutions, OnAudience
“As this was my first MAD//Fest, I really wasn’t sure what to expect. Looking back on a week in the searing heat, I can say that the experience really emphasised what I love about this industry.
“Despite the soaring temperatures, the event provided the perfect opportunity to make new, meaningful connections, while catching up with familiar faces.
“The one thing we all shared, despite the desire to get close to some industrial fans, is the passion and energy this industry thrives on. While many of my conversations centred on the evolving world of audience solutions, I walked away with a broader perspective on where the wider industry is headed.
“That continuous learning and evolution is exactly why these events are so essential and why I love what I do–and it was wonderful to see that same passion in such abundance in other delegates.”
Check out this handy guide: How is AI working in advertising?