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SXSW London Day 1: Signals & Reflections SXSW London kicked off today in Shoreditch, with Fleur Horner and Pip Black flying the TVE flag across a packed programme of talks, panels and conversations. Three themes stood out. 1)The Missing Men – The Male Midlife Majority Research presented by ELVIS, alongside Pete Wicks and Ben Curtis (Rexona, Unilever), highlighted a growing disconnect in how brands speak to men in midlife. As conversations around masculinity become increasingly polarised, a sizeable audience in the middle feels overlooked. The opportunity for brands isn't to shout louder, but to connect more authentically. One possible route back in? Humour. Comedy has long been one of advertising's most effective tools. The challenge now is finding ways to use it that feel relevant, intelligent and culturally aware. Which brands will be brave enough to reconnect with the generation raised on The Inbetweeners? 2) The A–Z of Youth Audiences A fascinating session hosted by Sophie Jones, featuring Dom H. (Yoto), Kate Wyn Jones, Sarah Boorman and Ife Okonkwo. Despite unprecedented access to content, Gen Alpha arguably has fewer shared cultural moments than previous generations. Where fandom was once built around collective experiences, today's media landscape is broader but increasingly fragmented. One insight stood out: deep fandom isn't built through access alone. It's built through shared experiences. Yoto appears to understand this well, creating products that parents trust while making children feel independent and in control. 3) Autonomous Rides Go Global Autonomous vehicles are no longer a future trend. They're becoming an infrastructure conversation. Hearing from Kaity Fischer at Wayve was a reminder that what once felt like science fiction is rapidly becoming reality. The bigger question isn't whether autonomous vehicles are coming, but how they'll reshape behaviours, expectations and the design of our cities. Having witnessed East London traffic this morning, we're increasingly open to the idea that the machines might be calmer than the rest of us. Day 1 takeaway... The common thread across all three sessions was behaviour. Whether it's overlooked audiences, emerging generations or transformative technologies, the winners will be the organisations that understand how people adapt, connect and find meaning in a changing world. Looking forward to seeing what emerges on Day 2.

In the thick of Black Friday, it is easy to treat brand and performance as two different worlds. But without a strong, consistent brand story running underneath, performance has nothing to amplify. It was made clear in our panel discussion: they only work at their best when they work together. When teams pull against each other, budgets splinter, messages dilute, and we default to discounting. A great brand makes people feel something. Performance turns that feeling into action. And the “multiplier effect” only kicks in when the same story carries through every message and channel. More from the conversation below. Gain access to full footage through this link: https://lnkd.in/eYakCEHm #GoFurther #MakeItHappen #Strategy #Innovation #Design #BreakfastEvent #BlackFriday #Effects #Discussion

Last week we brought senior leaders together for Brand Love Begins in the Boardroom: Building Brands and the Bottom Line, a morning of honest conversation about what really gets brand & marketing the seat it deserves. Big hits from the panel include: ➖ Read the room: Match your brand narrative to the moment. Is the business seeking stability or pushing for growth? ➖ Speak the language: Use the words and signals that unlock the board’s confidence (and avoid the ones that shut the conversation down) ➖ Win with alignment: When a shared story runs through the organisation - beginning with how people are onboarded - decisions accelerate and the business moves with more confidence We’ll be sharing more insights from the panel over the next few weeks. Stay tuned. #Strategy #Design #Innovation #GoFurther #MakeItHappen #Breakfast #Panel #CSuite #Marketers

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