Trendspotting and Influence: How brands tap into what’s next
From fashion to technology, next-gen consumers often set the tone for culture’s next big shift. By paying close attention to what captures their imagination-how they shop, share, and shape conversation-and how they reach them via the latest technology – marketers can spot movements before they hit the mainstream. Brands that lean in early don’t just stay relevant; they connect and engage more meaningfully.
Looking for the secrets to success? Well, these Future Is Female nominees are ready to share theirs. Join us as these leaders from across the industry share details on how they’re making progress in their careers while also helping effect change for women. Hear how they have broken barriers in their career and across the industry at large – and learn what you can do to help contribute to their efforts. Whether you’re a seasoned professional or fresh out of university, this thought-provoking discussion around female leadership will be sure to leave you feeling inspired and empowered.
with KERV, Peer39, Viant, Paramount Advertising, and Wurl as part of the Wurl CTV Summit.
Let’s be real: the way we buy ads on streaming TV is overdue for an upgrade. Join Wurl and friends for an afternoon of insightful conversation, fresh perspectives, and zero fluff – all about what’s actually working in CTV right now.
With top execs from brands, agencies, data platforms, streamers, and publishers onstage, you’ll hear directly from the industry’s leading minds shaping the next era of streaming TV.
with Kepler, Kantar, Butler/Till, and Wurl
Gaming is now bigger than music and movies combined, with 3B+ players worldwide and half the U.S. by 2025. For advertisers, the barrier to entry is gone – buying in gaming is as straightforward as other channels, but with access to the most active and influential audiences. This keynote will decode who playable audiences are, why they matter, and how the rest of the day will show just how easy it is to plan, buy, and measure in gaming.
From championship matches to creator showdowns, gaming events are now mainstream cultural tentpoles. The value for advertisers extends far beyond the competition itself-it lives in the content fans consume, the conversations that trend across social platforms, and the communities that rally around the action. This panel unpacks how brands can plug into this energy through event sponsorships like Twitchcon, live-streamed content, and fan-first activations-showcasing a case study on how these moments drive measurable business impact.
Gaming is the “social glue” of Gen Z, with 32% more likely than average players to log in just to hang out with friends. Yet, only 5% of media dollars flow into gaming. Why the disconnect? For years, advertisers saw gaming as a walled garden. But with new ad formats, targeting, and measurement tools, brands can now break through authentically. This session explores how communities power culture, why brands have historically struggled to connect, and how innovations are finally unlocking authentic engagement across the funnel.
Gaming is not a single channel, it’s an ecosystem spanning console, PC, mobile, esports, and UGC. For advertisers, the challenge is how to balance premium integrations with scalable, performance-driven media. This panel will explore where gaming fits in the broader media mix and how brands can measure success across channels. Panelists from Activision, Publicis Media, and Playstation. will share strategies for buying, scaling, and proving impact in gaming.
Gaming isn’t just about engagement, it’s about conversion. With billions of players worldwide, gaming is now one of the most powerful engines for commerce. From rewarded ads that drive direct purchases, to in-game stores and virtual items that blur the line between play and pay, the opportunity for brands goes far beyond awareness. This session will unpack how advertisers can move from impressions to transactions, exploring best practices in gamified commerce, purchase-triggered rewards, and shoppable moments inside player experiences. A brand case study will demonstrate how gaming activations translate directly into measurable sales impact.
Gaming doesn’t just entertain audiences, it engages them in ways CTV or social never could. The mechanics of play, goals, challenges, and rewards, activate the same motivators that keep people streaming shows or bingeing TikToks, but with deeper participation. That’s why gamified ads drive 2–3x higher brand recall than standard video and keep players engaged for minutes instead of seconds. This session will unpack how brands can harness the psychology of play to transform media from something audiences watch into something they do – turning attention into action and entertainment into measurable impact.
Beer, wine & spritzes • Gaming & ad talk • Your guide to the next happy hour and more!
What do Travis Scott, Daft Punk and Abba have in common? In addition to their legions of fans, they’re all using virtual performances to reach their fan base and expand their creative impact. Join Vivek Tiwary of Tiwary Entertainment Group, producers of plays with music giants like Jagged Little Pill (Alannis Morisette), American Idiot (Green Day), and Hamlet Hail to the Thief (Thom Yorke of Radiohead) among others, to discuss the state of virtual performances and the new Digital Artist Capture project, the ARK. Vivek will discuss working with talented artists, where the industry is going, and the ways brands and sponsors can begin planning to partner to reach their fan bases across the virtual world.
Want to know everything about the hottest emerging ecosystem out there? In a fireside chat, Jon Steinberg, a Managing Director in the Media, Entertainment and Sports Group at Lazard takes us through what you need to know. Whether it’s creator tools, creator businesses and marketplaces, this essential talk is everything you need.
There is perhaps no more challenging question confronting publishers than the path forward in the zero-click future of Google’s AI Overviews. In this session, we hear about one innovators’ ambition to attack this – Perplexity’s Head of Publisher Partnerships, Jessica Chan.
Join us for an illuminating discussion on the Private Equity view of the state of the media and advertising deal market, current investment themes, and AI’s impact on the industry with two of the industry’s leading investors, Lucy Dobrin from Providence Equity and Eric Franchi from Aperium Ventures moderated by Richard McDermott Managing Director Rosenblatt Securities media and advertising investment banking group.
The rise of AI in marketing is juicing startups’ mojo, as they see transformational new opportunities and disruption to incumbents. In this panel, we drill into that with two of the best in the field, Rembrand CEO/Founder (& newest director of The Trade Desk) Omar Tawakol, and Tom Chavez, Co-Founder and General Partner of startup studio super[set].
Google’s been found guilty of violating antitrust law in AdTech. What should be done? What’s likely? With the remedy trial fresh, we probe that with an all-star panel, including author/blogger/AdTech expert Ari Paparo, PubMatic CEO/Co-Founder Rajeev Goel, Magnite Chief Product Officer Adam Soroca, and Gannet Chief Legal Officer Polly Grunfeld Sack.
Learn to prompt like a pro with Mekanism’s AI Superstudio!
Discover how AI enhances creativity for leading brands. Gain a fundamental understanding of AI’s soul and science, then step into the creative director’s chair. Experience AI firsthand with a live, interactive demo, creating a movie in real-time. Explore practical applications, tech advancements, and human ingenuity essential for boosting productivity and creativity with AI.
Leading platforms, agencies, and strategies that have harnessed the awesome power of influencers and creators to move consumers in ways that no other medium can.
Considering investing in the creator economy? Or working with creators on a more regular basis? Our expert panel comprising investors, creators, entrepreneurs and bankers will tell you everything you need to know about trends in the creator space, what’s hot and not so you can work out how best to work in this market.
AWAccelerate is Advertising Week’s Global Startup program that provides education, business development and partnership opportunities to marketing and media-related technology companies across the globe. This year’s cohort will be businesses in the creator ecosystem.
Startups will have the opportunity to learn and network with the world’s top marketers, thought leaders and early-stage investors. In addition, participants have strategic amplification access to the Advertising Week Global platform and Startup Community. The innovation program connects startups to Advertising Week constituents around the globe including brands, agencies, media companies, investors and more.
Our 2025 program is open for all attendees!
The schedule for the day runs as follows:
2:40pm – AWAccelerate Opening Remarks
2:45 – 2:50pm – Startup Pitch: BranchLab – Mallory Wils, EVP, Enterprise Solutions, BranchLab
2:50 – 2:55pm – Startup Pitch: SWYM – Andrew Altersohn, Co-Founder & President, SWYM
2:55 – 3:00pm – Startup Pitch: Katch Data – Andrew Tight, Founder & CEO, Katch Data
AWAccelerate Briefing
3:00 – 3:25pm – Marketing AI Success Stories: Notes from the Field
Marketing AI – everyone’s talking about it, lots of people are experimenting, but is anybody s쳮ding in having an impact on their business? We’ll hear real life use cases from the makers of cutting age AI solutions as they highlight customer success stories you can relate to today. Join the founders of SWYM (AI media buying for digital advertisers) and Katch Data (creator AI for brands) as they discuss AI, where it’s going, and how you can get to ROI today!
Andrew Altersohn, President, SWYM
Andrew Tight, CEO, Katch
Jeremy Kagan, Managing Partner, Textbook
Mallory Wils, EVP Enterprise Solutions, BranchLab
Start Up Pitches
3:25 – 3:30pm – Cipher Cipher
Cipher Cipher is the legal library of trending sounds for social media. Sourcing music from the biggest labels in the world, Cipher provides brands and creators the tracks that truly boost engagement for short-form content. Make culturally relevant content, avoid lawsuits, and get on your customers’ feeds using real songs, rather than stock music.
3:30 – 3:35pm – Jam!
Jam! Our mission is to empower the artist and reward their audience. Through bridging the gap between artists and music listeners on a social platform, we are streamlining artist career growth, community-building, and monetization while simultaneously rewarding, engaging, and consolidating the music-fan experience like never before.
3:35 – 3:40p Start up Pitch 3 – Ranktify
Ranktify is a light-touch tool that puts the power of authoritative content creation, AI search, and search engine optimization (SEO) directly into the hands of its users. Ranktify’s software — with its proprietary algorithms and AI — analyzes content (regardless of topic or length) and offers an array of easy-to-implement recommendations to ensure creators are publishing high-quality and trustworthy content that’s rewarded by search engines and conversational Large Language Models (LLMs), including ChatGPT, Perplexity, Google’s AI Overviews and Anthropic’s Claude, as well as generates more revenue for its clients.
AWAccelerate Briefing
3:45 – 4:10pm – Change is a Constant: The Innovation Road Ahead
Technology and innovation continue to march forward even as AI and its impact sweeps across the industry. We’ll convene VC, founders and innovation experts investing in the future to discuss what’s next and how it will impact your business. No crystal balls, but we’ll predict the future based on where the smartest entrepreneurs and startups are placing bets.
Lynda Clarizio, Co-Founder and General Partner, The 98
Michael Browning, Founder, Unleashed Brands
Christian Tom, Co-Founder and CEO, AND Media
Moderator: Jeremy Kagan, Managing Partner, Textbook Ventures
4:10 – 5:15pm – Networking
Technology and innovation continue to march forward even as AI and its impact sweeps across the industry. We’ll convene VC, founders and innovation experts investing in the future to discuss what’s next and how it will impact your business. No crystal balls, but we’ll predict the future based on where the smartest entrepreneurs and startups are placing bets.
Lynda Clarizio, Co-Founder and General Partner, The 98
Michael Browning, Founder, Unleashed Brands
Christian Tom, Co-Founder and CEO, AND Media
Moderator: Jeremy Kagan, Managing Partner, Textbook Ventures
Changemakers: Challenge is a call to action for marketers to not only adapt, but to lead and drive the change that is needed in today’s world. This year’s theme is CHALLENGE – something we all face, from professional to personal. But challenge isn’t just an obstacle – it’s an opportunity. We’ll dive deep into the stories of those who have answered the challenge to change. You’ll discover fresh viewpoints, creative concepts and thinking that will help you excel, create positive impact and ignite your full potential.
Is it Time to Redefine the Role? The remit of the modern marketing leader is expanding rapidly – and so are the expectations from boards, CEOs, and teams. Once seen primarily as brand stewards and storytellers, today’s CMOs are being called to do much more: drive innovation, shape customer experience, unlock new revenue streams, and lead with data-driven foresight.
Gen Z is the most visible generation in advertising today, appearing in 93% of U.S. ads and 78% of U.K. ads. But despite their presence on screen, their stories often lack depth and relevance. Current portrayals focus heavily on friendship, family, and sport, while critical topics like mental health, self-image, and financial pressure are rarely shown. This is not a case of underrepresentation, but of misrepresentation.
An open and honest conversation that pushes past surface-level inclusion and explores how we can truly shift narratives when we question what we show, how we show it and who gets to tell the story. Working together on Amazon Prime’s series ‘On Call’, actor Rich Ting and showrunner Tim Walsh will share their story around the power of conscious relationships and how the care and attention to authenticity can also drive engagement.
The rise of the creator economy has reshaped how ideas spread, how communities form, and how culture is made. Now, with AI accelerating creativity and changing the rules of engagement, both creators and brands face a new challenge: how to stay authentic, relevant, and trusted in a world of infinite content.
In a world where marketers must respond to impossible deadlines, shifting trends, and constant disruption, challenge is the new normal, and improvisers are experts at thriving in the unknown. In this interactive keynote from Second City Works, we’ll explore how the foundational skills of improvisation can empower creative professionals to meet challenge not with resistance, but with readiness.
When it comes to money, trust is everything. Many consumers still turn to banks and credit unions over Big Tech, but challenger brands are reshaping what loyalty looks like. In this conversation we will explore how creativity, rapid experimentation, and agile thinking can help brands find new opportunities, empower customers, and stay relevant in a crowded market.
In our ‘Under the Spotlight’ series we invite top business leaders for an honest, no holds barred conversation in a relaxed and intimate setting. Provocative (where necessary) and searching, the aim is to dig deeper into their personal experiences to understand what lead them to becoming the person and leader they are today. We aim to uncover the untold stories, the challenges they have faced and overcome, brave decisions that had to be taken, and understanding how we as leaders can make a positive impact
AI and the Human Touch: A Candid Career Conversation
AI is rewriting the rules of advertising and media-but what does it mean for your career? In this 30-minute fireside chat, an exceptional young professional sits down with an industry leader to talk openly about how AI is reshaping creativity, the skills that matter most, and the ethical choices leaders can’t ignore. Expect real talk, practical advice, and a fresh perspective on thriving in an AI-driven world.
Respect isn’t just a “soft skill”, it’s a powerful business advantage. When organizations intentionally cultivate respect, they create an environment where ideas are exchanged freely, collaboration deepens, and innovation thrives. Leaders who model respect help teams navigate conflict constructively, reduce turnover, and build trust across all levels of the company. This session explores how respect, when woven into strategy, becomes a true catalyst for sustainable growth.
Great things happen when marketers get together. Grab a coffee, make new connections, and discover how your network can open doors you never knew existed. The Marketing Club of New York (MCNY) is here to help you advance your career and grow your inner circle (and membership is free!).
We’re living in unprecedented and drastic times in society and in our marketing industry – this deeply affects us personally and professionally. So it’s normal to feel anxious and overwhelmed about how this can impact your career now and in the future. But all is not lost – in this guided session you will be able to break through the 4th wall by reconnecting with yourself more meaningfully and engaging with your peers so that you can move forward more grounded and uplifted.
Created for Gen Z – a hands on, fast paced Career Mini Lab specifically for Entry & Early Career Professionals. Join us!
Ready to accelerate your career, but can’t get the right people in the room?
Join us for a dynamic, high-energy speed mentoring mixer, hosted by the Cultured Connections Community. We’re connecting ambitious mid-level professionals (7+ years’ experience) with accomplished C-suite and senior leaders from top brands and agencies.
AI is a big, weird, complicated chunk of technology made up of algorithms that learn by analyzing: What we think (via text) and what we see (via computer vision).
Because the data that makes AI ‘smart’ is either created by us or observed in our natural habitat, it’s also very easy to understand, if you look at it the right way.
From agentic AI and driving high-quality results from agents, to foundational models that manage anomalies and hold systems together.
Motivation fuels ambition, but it has a hidden downside: the more passionate you are about your career, the harder it is to switch off after hours. When work follows you home in your head, you don’t recover, leaving you drained the next day. This session reveals why effective recovery is critical and introduces science-backed strategies to quiet your mind, recharge fully, and sustain both performance and wellbeing.
A celebration of our Purpose, Produced winners, finalists, and the generosity of our agency partners. Hear from those behind the winning campaigns, and close the evening with networking and drinks.
