This week, we joined the creative industry's annual pilgrimage to Shoreditch for MAD/FEST London 2026.

Set against the backdrop of a sweltering London heatwave, the event spanned three days of talks, activations, workshops and networking at one of the capital's most iconic venues, The Old Truman Brewery. 

Across packed stages and lively conversations, one thing became clear: in a world of infinite choice and constant distraction, growth is less about shouting louder and more about connecting more meaningfully. The future belongs to brands willing to embrace change, challenge convention and create genuine value for the people they serve.

Navigating a fragmented media ecosystem

A particular highlight was seeing journalist and broadcaster Louis Theroux interviewed by BBC’s Katie Derham, exploring the importance of empathy, nuance and responsible storytelling in an increasingly polarised media landscape, particularly amid the rise of toxic online content. 

The conversation highlighted how today's audiences consume a mixed media diet, gathering information, opinions and entertainment from an ever-expanding range of sources, platforms and creators. For brands and storytellers, this makes building trust more challenging - and more important - than ever. Showing up consistently, and with a clear purpose of what your brand stands for, is imperative. 

Building brands at the speed of culture

Cultural fluency emerged as a critical driver of brand relevance throughout the festival. As trends, conversations and consumer behaviours evolve at an ever-increasing pace, brands that fail to stay connected to culture risk quickly falling behind. 

Heather Dansier of Newsworks explored how brands that fail to keep pace with culture risk becoming irrelevant in an increasingly fragmented world, while Yana Yarmova from e.l.f Beauty stressed the importance of having zero distance from your community. Rather than simply marketing to consumers, e.l.f Beauty listens to its audience to shape everything from product development to brand campaigns, reinforcing the idea that successful brands are built with their communities, not just for them. 

The connection economy

“In a world of constant noise and distraction, the ability to truly connect with another person has become a competitive advantage - not just personally but professionally.”

Relationship expert Paul C Brunson explored the importance of human connection,  introducing his framework for "holding space", demonstrating how presence, active listening and trust have become valuable professional skills, as well as personal ones.

One recurring theme from the week was the acknowledgement that consumers have become increasingly fatigued by digital interactions, so it is essential for brands to look for new ways to reach communities and foster genuine connections; with one opportunity lying in creating spaces for people to come together through experiences.

The ‘Date My Mate’ initiative by NICE Drinks and Drink Local demonstrated this shift in action, using products as a catalyst for real-world interaction rather than simply driving online engagement. Similarly, DJ AG reflected on how genuine participation and shared experiences have fuelled the growth of his community.

Breaking free from binary thinking

In one of the event’s most interactive sessions, Annie Bartley and Harriet Phillips from I Am Female encouraged attendees to challenge assumptions, reject binary thinking and embrace nuance. Their ‘Queer Thinking’ framework urged marketers and creatives to question every brief, explore alternatives beyond the obvious and create space for more authentic, original ideas.

“When you see A or B, look for C.”

The desire advantage 

A major theme was the importance of building desire over attention. Havas' Mark Sinnock and Mindscope’s Lea Karam challenged marketers to rethink traditional brand building, arguing that visibility - which has been made easier for brands to gain through the rise of AI - should not be confused with desire, and that visibility alone does not drive growth. Instead, brands should focus on creating attraction, affinity and attachment, shifting emphasis to the consideration stage of the customer journey, where consumers actively make decisions. 

Ben Richards from The LEGO Group and Studio MacArthur’s Claire MacArthur also challenged brands to stop forcing customers down predefined journeys. Inspired by the concept of ‘desire paths’, the unofficial routes people naturally create, the session argued that great design should support how people actually behave rather than how brands want them to. 

Be helpful, or don’t show up at all

The brands that stand out are those that provide genuine value in moments of need rather than interrupting consumers. Uber Advertising explored how real-world behaviour is becoming an increasingly important signal for marketers: 

‘We always ask ourselves: how can we add value within the moment, not interrupt the moment?’

Embrace AI, but walk before you can run

Of course, AI continued to dominate discussion, but with a greater focus on responsible implementation, with emphasis firmly on getting the fundamentals right. Sainsbury's Marketing Director Radha Davies stressed how “getting the plumbing right - like your data and analytics - is important, before you launch something glossy like personalisation.”

The future belongs to human-centred brands

If there was one message that echoed across MAD/FEST 2026, it was that growth today is less about shouting louder and more about connecting more meaningfully.

Whether through building communities, staying close to culture, creating desire or designing around real human behaviours, the most successful brands will be those that put people at the centre of every decision. In an increasingly fragmented and fast-moving world, attention may be abundant, but trust, relevance and genuine connection remain hard won.

For marketers, designers and brand leaders alike, the challenge is clear: move beyond simply reaching audiences and focus on creating experiences, products and stories that people actively want to be part of. Because in a world of infinite choice, the brands that thrive won't be those that demand attention, but those that earn it.

We left feeling inspired as ever and are already looking forward to attending again next year.