This year’s Media360 Challenge invites five industry Rising Stars to compete in the ultimate contest of ideas and creativity. 

Each Challenger will have just five minutes to deliver a persuasive pitch, making a compelling case for why their chosen medium is the greatest at fostering collaboration. 

Prepare to cast your vote for the champion at the end!

A preview to Newsworks’ ground-breaking study into the importance of attention for advertising effectiveness, with Lumen and Peter Field 

Moderated by Debate Mate

• How does Gen Z’s unique worldview challenge traditional media narratives? Are their experiences reshaping industry standards? 
• Work ethics: Are their demands for flexibility and purpose in the workplace revolutionary or unrealistic? 
• Are Gen Z pushing the industry towards a more equitable and inclusive landscape? 
• What strategies should media companies adopt to nurture Gen Z talents effectively? Are current training programmes sufficient?

*During the debate sessions, speakers are assigned opposing positions to present diverse perspectives. They aren’t necessarily advocating for their personal views or the beliefs of the brands they represent, but rather contributing to a balanced discussion that encourages deeper conversation and critical thinking. 

• How can the media industry move from sustainability commitments to measurable action?
• Strategies to reduce carbon emissions across advertising supply chains
• Ensuring transparency and accountability in sustainable media investments
• How can brands, agencies, and media owners work together to drive lasting change?

In this session, Kiran and Adam will share how early-stage insights can transform campaign outcomes—moving from guesswork to creative confidence. 

Expect actionable takeaways, real-world examples, and a fresh perspective on what makes creative truly work in today’s fragmented media landscape.

Purple Goat helps to bring to life the simple yet incredibly powerful steps brands and agencies can take when approaching media planning and strategy.

Using a mix of client and agency insights, and inclusive best practice - they look to cut through complexity and demonstrate with real world examples.

They will explain the powerful commercial rationale that means inclusive planning drives powerful growth opportunities.

Discover how Lloyds Bank broke new ground in gaming, delivering market-leading attention and redefining how a financial brand can show up in unexpected places. Hear how creative strategy, smart media choices, and bold thinking helped them stand out - and what it means for the future gaming opportunities.

Learn some essential ways to support mental wellness for both you and your team. Katrina Urban and Emma Pratt from NABS, the industry's mental wellness charity, will lead this practical and interactive workshop, ensuring that you'll come away from the session feeling more confident to support yourself and those around you.

The antidote to misinformation is trusted journalism – where editorial controls protect audiences and advertisers.

In this quick-fire session, Sarah Jones (Sky Media), Adam Foley (Bountiful Cow) and Gideon Spanier (Campaign) – three founding members of The News Alliance – will discuss why advertisers should care about investing in trusted news environments.

From the effectiveness of advertising in news to the importance of supporting trusted journalism, this interactive talk will present the opportunities available to advertisers and challenge the misguided belief that news is not safe.      

*The News Alliance was launched in March as a cross-industry coalition of media businesses that support and promote trusted news and journalism. The alliance champions the benefits of advertising in news environments across TV, radio, magazines and news brands to advertisers and agencies.

Ad Net Zero will present an interactive session with specific examples demonstrating how better business means more sustainable business. Packed with tips and insights, delegates will see how they can glean competitive advantage from reducing the environmental impact of their Operations, Advertising Production, Media Selection, Events, and through the products and services they advertise. If you want to know how to future proof your business for the next 3-5 years and learn what better, sustainable practice looks like, then please attend this session. When that next procurement brief lands on your desk, asking what you can do about sustainability, you’ll know what to say, and more importantly, what to do!

 The examples presented will be applicable whether you are an Advertiser, Agency, or Media Owner. The session will also include a special preview for Media360 delegates of the Global Media Sustainability Framework v1.2 which is being publicly released at Cannes in June with the goal to help decarbonise media planning worldwide. There will also be a behind-the-scenes look at the Every Brief Counts campaign which is being successfully piloted with Ad Net Zero supporters.