After months of planning and anticipation, Mad//Fest 2025 is underway with thousands of delegates streaming through the doors at 9 am this morning (1 July).
Staged across the sprawling labyrinth of East London’s Truman Brewery Markets, this year’s festival promises three days of events, exhibitions, talks, and networking opportunities.
With temperatures forecast to reach 32 degrees in the capital, many delegates came dressed in shirts and t-shirts, while others carried fans and water bottles. By 9.30 am, the temperature had already reached 27 degrees.
The annual celebration of marketing and advertising will see hundreds of expert speakers take to the stage, sharing their thoughts and opinions on a range of topics that look set to shape the industry for years to come.
This morning will see a talk entitled Economic instability and AI by industry guru Sir Martin Sorrell.
Also on Tuesday morning, MAD//Fest and Cocreated launched a live business experiment where people who want to start a business will compete for up to £100,000 of investment.
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The session was hosted by Oliver Yonchev, founder of cocreatd; McVal Osborne, CFO at Crest Labs and Lara Acosta, founder of Literally Academy/LA Digital (image L-R).
The two-day challenge, titled ‘Dream It, Pitch It, Co-Create It,’ will see participants pitch their day-zero business ideas before the finalists develop their concepts live with industry mentors.
Other Tuesday morning highlights include:
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- Wake Up and Smell the Disruption: Innovation + Creativity in the Coffee industry, with Jane Aldridge, BEO Coffee, Nestle.
- Fever-Tree: Challenger mindset and building category by Camille Beaufils, global marketing director at Fever-Tree.
- Collab-o-rama: Duolingo’s unexpected partnerships for global success with Rebeca Ricoy, director of marketing LATAM and EMEA at Duolingo.
