BrandMe at MAD//FEST '26
After two great days at MAD//FEST ’26 with the BrandMe team, I came away with one overriding thought (and a bucketful of reassurance). As AI makes creativity easier to produce, the work that truly stands out will become harder to create.
The magic ingredient?
Human creativity.
Even though the event speakers came at this from different angles, the link and the sentiment was the same.
Martin Sorrell’s take is that AI will reduce the cost of producing creative assets while simultaneously increasing the value of strategic thinking. This seems right. If everyone has access to the same technology the advantage won't come from producing more content. It will come from stronger ideas, better judgement, and deeper human insight.
Nils Leonard’s idea of "the weight of endeavour", that audiences instinctively feel when something has been made with care, conviction and originality, really stayed with me.
AI can accelerate execution. It can help us to explore more ideas, and to do so more quickly. But it can't replace the tension, curiosity, empathy and creative friction that is crucial to producing work that people remember.
This feels like an important distinction.
If AI gives everyone access to similar capabilities, then standing out becomes even harder. The brands that win won’t be the ones that simply create more, they will be the ones that create work grounded in human emotion, and that speak to culture rather than clicks.
We also asked Oli and Jess from our strategy team to share their favourite take-outs from Thursday at the festival.
Oliver Wall – Strategist
"I was lucky enough to visit MadFest on its final day, and it gave plenty of thought starters for strategists and brands looking to determine their longer-term strategies, not just great marketing tips.
Chief among them was the Sex, Beer & Brand Worlds chat with Asahi and Durex. The panel were discussing the development of brand worlds for companies that are restricted in how they can communicate with consumers. The takeaway was that brands need to be both rigid in their identity and flexible in their local executions. We’ve known for a long time that no one strategy is the right strategy for all brands, but the idea of a strong playbook, not a rulebook, and trust in local teams’ executions is the best way to reflect and entice consumers, instead of just pushing a global brand narrative and wondering why it doesn’t stick.
The whole day had amazing titbits to draw from and a great energy from a crowd of marketers eager to listen; there are definitely strategic nuggets of gold to uncover at future festivals."
Jess Jones – Strategist
"The theme for MAD//Fest centred on the depth of human touch. One thing that stuck with me was thinking local before global; a sentiment that puts consumers at the heart of brand strategy, not just the market. Brands are lived, not just seen. They’re experienced in nuanced, messy, human ways which are woven into everyday life. When brands capture that real story and spirit it creates implicit magic.
My favourite takeaway was that staying in hearts and minds isn’t just strategy, but there’s real poetry in it. Emotion is felt first and logic follows. After all people make the world go round."