MAD//Fest 2026: London's Hottest Marketing Conversations (In More Ways Than One)

From cloud strategy and customer intelligence to trusted first-party activation, here's what stood out from three packed days at MAD//Fest.

If Cannes Lions is advertising's global meeting point, MAD//Fest has become its London equivalent.

The timing certainly helped. Just a couple of weeks after Cannes, the industry came together again, this time under another heatwave. While the sunshine did its best to test everyone's resilience, the air conditioning inside the Disruption Stage deserved its own round of applause.

For the AUDIENCES team, it was another brilliant few days. We spent time with customers, partners, publishers, agencies and brands, caught up with familiar faces and met plenty of new ones. Between the conversations, the panels and the water queues, one thing became increasingly clear: customer intelligence has firmly moved into the centre of the marketing conversation.

When Marketing Starts Driving the Cloud Conversation

We started MAD//Fest by taking to the Disruption Stage for "The CMO Just Hijacked the Cloud Strategy – Why Customer Intelligence is Becoming Marketing's Most Valuable Asset."

Rob McLaughlin was joined by Hannah Fisher, Chief Marketing Officer at Saga, and Matt Pilgrim, AdTech & MarTech Partner, EMEA at Snowflake, for a discussion on how customer intelligence is changing the relationship between marketing and technology.

Not long ago, cloud strategy was firmly the domain of IT. Today, CMOs are increasingly driving those conversations because customer data has become one of the most valuable assets a business owns. The panel explored how brands are moving beyond simply storing first-party data and towards activating it securely inside their own cloud environments using native technology. Rather than moving data between platforms, organisations are looking for faster, more trusted ways to turn customer intelligence into measurable marketing outcomes. A special thank you to the brilliant marketing guru Hannah and the data legend Matt for bringing such honest, practical perspectives to the discussion, and to our wonderful moderator Rob for keeping the conversation flowing with fantastic energy.

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Trusted Data, Real Activation

On day two, we were delighted to be invited by Experian to join "First-Party Data Isn't the Problem. Activation Is." Brilliantly hosted by Debbie Oates, Experian, Rob joined Sandy Ghuman, EasyJet, or a fast-paced discussion exploring one of the biggest opportunities facing marketers today.

The panel focused on a simple truth: brands don't have a data problem. They have an activation problem.

While organisations have spent years investing in customer platforms, cloud infrastructure and first-party data strategies, less than 3% of media spend is informed by first-party data. The challenge isn't collecting more information, it's making the data brands already have usable, turning it into meaningful customer signals and activating those signals across media at scale.

One of the highlights was hearing Sandy's perspective from the front line. His experience reinforced that the real challenge isn't technology alone; it's connecting insight with execution in a way that's trusted, measurable and commercially valuable.

We're also incredibly excited about what's ahead with Experian. Watch this space.

The Best Conversations Weren't Always On Stage

As always, some of the most valuable discussions happened between the sessions. Across hundreds of conversations there was a common thread. Organisations have invested heavily in cloud infrastructure and first-party data. Now they're looking for ways to unlock its value without adding more complexity.

That's exactly where independent technology is finding its place.

Increasingly, brands want the flexibility to activate customer intelligence across their existing technology stack rather than rebuilding it. They want neutral infrastructure. They want faster activation. Most importantly, they want ownership of their customer intelligence. Those are exactly the conversations we love having.

Why AUDIENCES Shows Up

MAD//Fest isn't just another date in the events calendar for us, it's where we hear directly from the marketers, partners and brands shaping what's happening next. It's where existing relationships become stronger and ideas turn into integrations and customer outcomes.

It's also a chance to contribute to the discussion. Whether that was sharing the stage with Snowflake, Saga and Experian, catching up with customers or meeting new brands exploring first-party activation for the first time, every conversation reinforced something we've believed from the beginning.

The next generation of marketing won't be built on moving more data, it will be built on activating it better.

A huge thank you to everyone who stopped for a chat, joined one of Rob's sessions or shared their perspective over the three days.