Agenda
Here’s what our 2026 agenda is looking like.
Agenda
Here’s what our 2026 agenda is looking like.
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Day 1
8.30am
Registration, tea & coffee
Welcome, you’re now part of The Drum’s editorial team! Grab a coffee, load up on some kcals and get ready for two packed days of learning and dynamic live content creation.
9.20am
Welcome to The Drum Live 2026
The Drum’s live 48-hour content sprint kicks off as Editor Cameron Clarke outlines what The Drum team has in store for in-person and virtual attendees over the next two days.
Cameron Clarke
Global Editor The Drum
9.30am
Fireside: Claudine Collins
From agency boardrooms to the media owner front line, Claudine Collins has seen the industry from every angle. In this fireside chat, she'll unpack today's fragmented media landscape, where traditional channels still create value, what prompted her recent move from media agency to media owner, and what it's really like working alongside Lord Alan Sugar on the BBC's The Apprentice.
Richard Draycott
Associate Editor & VP of Community Engagement The Drum
Claudine Collins
Chief Client Officer Mail Metro Mail (& BBC's The Apprentice)
9.55am
Panel: Editorial conference
Sit in on The Drum’s daily editorial conference with a difference – the difference being that instead of The Drum’s journalists discussing the day’s news agenda we’ll have special guests and marketing heavyweights highlighting and discussing the big stories of the day and issues they like to cover if they were a marketing journo.
Cameron Clarke
Global Editor The Drum
Jen Faull
Deputy Editor The Drum
Ajaz Ahmed
Co-founder Studio.One
Michelle Sarpong
Head of Activation the7stars
Sophie Devonshire
Chief Executive Officer The Marketing Society
10.25am
Research: 10 things consumers hate most about your brand
From charity donation guilt-trips at the checkout to impossible-to-find customer service numbers, modern consumers are drowning in brand frustrations. We count down the brand behaviors customers hate most and explores what they reveal about the widening gap between “customer-centric” marketing and real-world experience. Expect sharp debate around automation, loyalty schemes, AI chatbots, hidden fees, data overreach and the small moments of friction quietly destroying trust, reputation and long-term brand loyalty.
10.50am
Panel: The CEO/CMO confidence crisis
CEO confidence in CMOs has reportedly fallen to just 46% - a worrying signal for a profession that has spent years fighting for influence at the boardroom table. So where has trust been lost? And what must marketing leaders do to rebuild credibility with CEOs under pressure to deliver growth, efficiency and measurable business impact? This candid session brings together company CEOs to explore what they now expect from their CMOs, where marketers are falling short and which leadership qualities, commercial skills and behaviors matter most in today’s volatile business environment.
11.15am
Break
11.45am
Opinion
The Drum’s most provocative columnists are stepping off the page and onto the stage. Expect sharp opinions, fresh perspectives and no shortage of debate as one of marketing’s most distinctive voices unpacks the issues shaping our industry, challenges conventional thinking and shares the latest ideas driving discussion across the sector.
12.10pm
Debate - ‘This house proposes that brands are ignoring customer service over reliance on AI and automation is doing more harm than good.’
Trying to resolve a problem with a brand can often feel like navigating a maze of chatbots, endless menus and unanswered messages. Are companies deliberately making themselves harder to reach, or are automation and AI simply the price of scale and efficiency? In this Oxford-style debate, two teams argue whether technology is improving customer service – or quietly making it worse for the very people brands claim to serve.
12.40pm
Fireside: Channel 4’s Katie Jackson talks talkability & Tip Toe
Talkability has become one of marketing’s most coveted goals, but what separates genuine talkability from simply creating a talkability campaign? In this fireside chat, Channel 4’s Katie Jackson explores how the broadcaster is building affinity and audience engagement in new ways for hit shows like Tip Toe and how brands can leverage audiences more effectively to create meaningful reach, cultural impact and lasting conversations.
Katie Jackson
Chief Audience & Marketing Officer Channel 4
1pm
Lunch
2pm
Gameshow: Marketing Fortunes
What happens when one of television’s best-loved game shows collides with the world of marketing? Join two teams of industry heavyweights as they battle it out to guess the most popular answers to questions posed to our sample of marketers. Expect big laughs, bruised egos and afew uncomfortable truths as brands and agencies go head-to-head in this fast-paced, survey-powered game show inspired by Family Fortunes.
2.30pm
Fireside: Adam Field, Berghaus
Berghaus may be one of Britain's most recognisable outdoor brands, but in a fiercely competitive category it still faces many of the challenges of a challenger brand. Join Adam Field, Marketing Director at Berghaus, as he explores how marketers can drive growth without blockbuster budgets, from building a distinctive brand platform and smart partnerships to embracing AI, opening new retail channels and finding creative ways to cut through in an increasingly crowded marketplace.
Adam Field
VP Marketing Berghaus
2.50pm
How to start a cult
The most valuable brands in the world inspire cult-like loyalty. They give people an identity to belong to, a tribe to join, an enemy to rally against - and their customers repay them with the kind of devotion money can't buy and competitors can't copy. Most brands have cult potential. Few know how to unlock it. In this talk reveals the behavioural science behind cult brands and shares the five-principle framework her agency, 181st Street, uses to build them. You'll learn why most brands are fighting the wrong competitor, how the smartest brands hijack habits rather than create them, and what cult brands in the wild can teach every marketer about devotion. Fair warning: you may leave wanting to start one.
Sian Conway-Wood
Senior Managing Partner 181 Street
3.15pm
Insight: Straight Outta Branding - What marketers can learn from rappers
What can the world's greatest rappers teach brands about building audiences, creating loyalty and staying culturally relevant? More than you might think. Blending iconic hip-hop moments, nostalgic cultural references and sharp marketing insight, this entertaining keynote explores how artists have mastered storytelling, authenticity, community building and personal branding. Expect big beats, bigger lessons and fresh inspiration for marketers looking to make a lasting impact.
Rob Mosley
Founder/Strategy Partner Nonsense
3.35pm
Break
3.55pm
Insight: Who won the brand engagement World Cup?
The World Cup is no longer just a sporting event. It’s a live stress test for modern marketing. This session unpacks the biggest lessons brands learned from this year’s tournament, examining the campaigns that broke through, the sponsorships that fell flat and the new tactics reshaping sports marketing. From creator-led storytelling and reactive social strategies to AI-generated content, real-time personalization and fandom culture, we explore how brands fought for attention during one of the world’s noisiest media moments.
Charlie Wade
Chief Client Officer VML Live
4.20pm
Podcast Live: The Drum's 10 Questions with...
One guest. Ten questions. No slides, no jargon and nowhere to hide. Join The Drum for a live recording of its popular 10 Questions With... podcast series as we put a leading marketer, business leader or industry personality in the hot seat. Expect candid answers, surprising insights, personal stories and plenty of laughs as we uncover what really makes them tick.
4.40pm
Fireside: - The Hot Seat - A CMO's View From The Front Line
From navigating economic uncertainty and proving marketing's value to embracing AI, managing teams and keeping pace with changing consumer expectations, today's CMOs face no shortage of challenges. Join The Drum for a candid fireside chat with one of marketing's leading voices as we explore the biggest issues shaping the profession, the lessons they've learned and the solutions helping them drive growth, innovation and impact.
5pm
Closing remarks & drinks
After a packed day of conversation, inspiration and cogitation, The Drum team invites you to join us upstairs in The Drum Arms for some end of day relaxation and refreshment.
5pm
Hit the bar
Relax and network over a few drinks to bring day one to a close. But don’t drink too much – The Drum Live Day 2 kicks off tomorrow.
Day 2
8.30am
Registration, tea & coffee
Welcome to Day 2 of The Drum Live. You’re now part of The Drum’s editorial team! Grab a coffee, load up on some kcals and get ready for two packed days of learning and dynamic live content creation.
9.20am
Welcome to The Drum Live 2026
Day 2 of The Drum’s live 48-hour content sprint kicks off with Editor Cameron Clarke what Day 2 has in store for in-person and virtual attendees.
9.30am
Fireside
Join The Drum for an exclusive fireside chat with one of advertising's big names. From industry-shaping campaigns and boardroom decisions to leadership lessons and predictions for what comes next, this candid conversation will explore the challenges, opportunities and defining moments that have shaped their career. Expect sharp insights, honest reflections and plenty of behind-the-scenes stories from a leader whose impact has been felt across brands, agencies and the wider marketing industry.
Richard Draycott
Associate Editor & VP of Community Engagement The Drum
9.55am
Panel - Editorial conference
Sit in on The Drum’s daily editorial conference with a difference – the difference being that instead of The Drum’s journalists discussing the day’s news agenda we’ll have special guests and marketing heavyweights highlighting the big stories and issues of the day.
Josh Bullmore
Chief Strategy Officer (Creative Agencies) Publicis Groupe
10.25am
Panel: The AI marketing revolution - what's the real picture
The AI conversation has moved beyond experimentation. Marketing teams are now embedding AI across content creation, planning, research, strategic development and operations. But where is it truly delivering value? This panel brings brand leaders together to share how AI is reshaping their organisations, what they’ve automated, where human creativity still wins and how marketing teams are evolving to work alongside intelligent systems.
10.50am
Insight: Storytelling that keeps brands on track
Storytelling has always been marketing’s most powerful tool, but in an age of AI-generated content, fragmented media and declining trust, great stories matter more than ever. In this keynote, discover how brands can use authentic storytelling to build credibility, create emotional connections and turn audiences into advocates. Learn why the brands that win attention today are the ones that give people something meaningful to believe in, share and remember.
11.10am
Break
11.45am
Debate: ‘This house proposes that consumers don’t give a f**k if your brand wants to save the world because brand purpose is soooo over!”
For much of the last decade, brand purpose dominated marketing strategy, with companies championing social causes and positioning themselves as agents of change. But as economic pressure rises and consumer scepticism grows, many brands appear to be retreating from purpose-led messaging. Has purpose marketing simply run its course, or is it evolving into something more authentic? In this Oxford-style debate, two teams go head-to-head to decide whether purpose still drives brand value – or if the industry has moved on.
12.15pm
Fireside: The Hot Seat - A CMO's view from the front line
From navigating economic uncertainty and proving marketing's value to embracing AI, managing teams and keeping pace with changing consumer expectations, today's CMOs face no shortage of challenges. Join The Drum for a candid fireside chat with one of marketing's leading voices as we explore the biggest issues shaping the profession, the lessons they've learned and the solutions helping them drive growth, innovation and impact.
12.35pm
Panel: All media is commerce media - marketing's next big chapter
Commerce media has exploded into one of the fastest-growing sectors in advertising. But the ecosystem is evolving rapidly as new networks emerge and measurement becomes more sophisticated. Brand leaders discuss how commerce media is reshaping the path to purchase, the challenges of navigating dozens of retail networks and what the next phase of commerce media innovation will look like.
1pm
Lunch
2pm
Gameshow - The Next Generation Game
What will a marketer actually do in fifteen years’ time? In this live, AI-powered session, we’ll put leading platforms including ChatGPT, Gemini, Claude and Perplexity to work to help craft the ultimate future job description. Together with the audience, we’ll interrogate the machines to explore the skills, tools and mindsets tomorrow’s marketers will need as AI transforms research, creativity, strategy and decision-making. Expect surprises. And possibly a few existential questions.
2.30pm
Podcast Live: Slow the F*ck Down
Emma Harris and her Slow The F*ck Down Podcast hits the stage for a candid conversation with senior CMOs about the pressures reshaping modern marketing leadership. From burnout and always-on cultures to managing teams, creativity and personal wellbeing, this live recording will explore what it really takes to sustain high performance in an industry addicted to speed. Expect honest stories, practical lessons and a timely debate around whether marketing’s pace problem has finally gone too far.
2.55pm
Insight: From page to stage
One of The Drum’s revered columnists brings their latest thinking off the page and onto the stage. As brands prepare for the crucial final quarter of the year, this session will unpack the trends, tensions and opportunities shaping the marketing landscape right now. Expect sharp perspectives, practical takeaways and a few strong opinions on what marketers should prioritise and what they should stop worrying about.
3.15pm
Fireside: Selling the world’s most seasonal brand - Baileys
When an iconic brand sells the majority of its product in just a few short weeks, marketing becomes a year-round exercise in precision, planning and cultural relevance. Baileys reportedly shifts around 60% of its annual volume during the festive season, placing enormous pressure on marketers to get Christmas exactly right while still keeping the brand visible, desirable and commercially active for the other 11 months of the year. This session explores how the team balances long-term brand building with one of the most intense seasonal sales cycles in FMCG.
Hazan Aydin Yesilova
Head of Baileys, Great Britain Diageo
3.35pm
Break
3.55pm
Fireside Chat
The role of the modern CMO has never been more complex. From navigating economic uncertainty and accelerating AI adoption to proving marketing’s value in the boardroom, today’s leaders face challenges on multiple fronts. In this fireside chat, we sit down with a leading brand marketer to explore the biggest issues shaping their agenda, the lessons they've learned and the strategies helping them drive growth, innovation and impact.
4.20pm
Panel: Are the influencers killing PR?
As brands pour bigger budgets into creators, where does that leave traditional PR? From TikTok takeovers to Instagram endorsements, marketers are increasingly prioritising influencer partnerships over newspaper headlines and earned media coverage. But does a creator post really drive more impact than a front-page splash in The Sun? This session explores how influencer culture is reshaping communications strategies, redefining credibility and forcing PR agencies to rethink what influence truly means in the attention economy.
4.45pm
Fireside Chat
The role of the modern CMO has never been more complex. From navigating economic uncertainty and accelerating AI adoption to proving marketing’s value in the boardroom, today’s leaders face challenges on multiple fronts. In this fireside chat, The Drum sits down with a leading brand marketer to explore the biggest issues shaping their agenda, the lessons they've learned and the strategies helping them drive growth, innovation and impact.
5.05pm
Closing remarks & drinks
After two packed days of conversation, inspiration and cogitation, The Drum team invites you to join us upstairs in The Drum Arms for some end of day relaxation and refreshment.
5.25pm
Hit the bar
Relax and network over a few drinks to bring The Drum Live to a close for 2025.
