The Advertising Association promotes the role and rights of responsible advertising and its value to people, society, businesses and the economy. We represent UK advertisers, agencies, media owners and tech companies on behalf of the entire industry, acting as the connection between industry professionals and the politicians and policy-makers.

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The Advertising Association focuses on major industry and policy areas that have huge ramifications on UK advertising. This section contains our work around public health, gambling advertising, data and e-privacy, trust, the digital economy and more.

Credos is the advertising industry’s independent think tank. It produces research, evidence and reports into the impact and effectiveness of and public and political response to advertising on behalf of UK advertisers in order to enable the industry to make informed decisions.

Front Foot is our industry’s member network of over 90 businesses across UK advertising. It aims to promote the role of responsible advertising and its value to people, society and the economy through a coalition of senior leaders from advertisers, agencies and media owners.

We run a number of events throughout the year, from our annual LEAD summit to the Media Business Course and regular breakfast briefings for our members. We are also the official UK representative for the world’s biggest festival of creativity – Cannes Lions.

MBC Agenda Day 1, 9 July

/ April 18th 2024

The Brief – Inspiration and Planning

A good client brief is key to creating and delivering outstanding media plans. Over the course of this day, the most experienced planning minds in the business will both inspire you and give you practical advice on how to interpret a client brief and unlock the right strategic direction. We have a great brief for you to respond to. By the end of the day you should be equipped with all the tools you need to tackle it.


10:00 Coffee & Registration


10:30 Welcome from the Advertising Association

  • Sharon Lloyd Barnes, Commercial Director, Advertising Association
  • Suzanne Costello, Events Director, Advertising Association

10:45 The Art of Planning: The 3 Cs

In this practical session, Kat and Adam will explain how to understand and harness the three Cs – Culture, Commerce and Community to drive your media planning and strategy.

  • Adam Morton, Chief Product Officer, UM London
  • Kat Bozicevich, Managing Director, Manning Gottlieb OMD

11:10 Psychological Moonshots. Or why we can’t always solve the world’s problems with logic alone

Industry legend Rory Sutherland will share his unique perspectives on the role of creativity and psychology in marketing and how tiny changes can have enormous effects on the decisions people make.

Rory Sutherland, Vice Chairman, Ogilvy


12:00 Weird Séance

Amy believes that the weirder you are, the happier and more creative you are, too. Not only will this session cover the psychology and science of weirdness, you’ll explore techniques to take you outside of your everyday life. Be prepared to feel very strange, and totally energised!

Amy Kean, Author & Founder and Creative Director, Good Shout


13:00 Lunch


14:00 A Tutor’s Guide to Success in the MBC

Join veteran tutor Hamid as he guides you through everything you’ll need to succeed at MBC and have a brilliant time while you’re doing it.

Hamid Habib, Deputy MD, Havas Entertainment & Chief Experience Officer, Havas Media Group


14:25 How to Win in the MBC

Two members of last year’s winning syndicate will be sharing their tips and tricks both on how to win the coveted trophies and how to get the most out of your time on the course.

  • Sarah-Jane May, Account Director, Ocean Outdoor
  • Ollie Stokes, Agency Partner, TikTok

14:55 The Client Brief

The client brief, which will only be revealed on the day, will be presented, followed by Q&A


15:30 Refreshments and Syndicate Work


19:30 Dinner

View Day 2 agenda here