Taking place Tuesday, 26 May at The Venue in Melrose Arch, the fifth annual conference will feature nine of the industry's biggest innovators and influencers from the corporate and agency sectors, including recipients of the 2025 New Generation Awards, who collectively earned over 40 accolades. 

 

Real Content That Delivers Real Results

Stephen Paxton, Founder of the New Gen brand, says, "This event will provide marketers with industry insights and analysis, and the confidence to enhance their go-to-market strategies for 2026. Attendees can also look forward to practical strategies from selected keynote speakers who will share insights, success stories and the tools, technologies and methods behind some of the most impactful campaigns of 2025."

"The marketing landscape is shifting rapidly in 2026 into a maturity era, centered on retention, lifetime value and AI-driven, data-informed systems. To stay competitive, this event will help marketers adopt agile strategies, use AI tools to improve efficiency, and prioritise authentic, high-quality content. This evolution requires combining human intelligence and technology to drive culturally relevant and innovative marketing. We are ready to realize AI’s potential this year and to discuss the progress, strategies and transformative results achieved through its effective use," adds Paxton.

Registration is from 07:30 to 08:30, and the event ends at 17:00.

Speaker Line-Up

Tamryn Taylor, Head of Marketing: Demand Generation: Beauty Well-Being & Personal Care, Unilever South Africa.

  • Topic: The Earned Economy: Why Culture-Powered Communities Are the Growth Engine of 2026: How brands can pioneer new paths to growth by embedding themselves in culture through socially designed ideas powered by human intelligence and technology.

Darren Morris, CEO, Lucky Hustle (Former South African World Boxing Champion, Ludumo Lamati, will join Morris on stage).

  • Topic: Using Creativity Superpowers to Change South Africa: This talk challenges the industry to stop waiting for permission and briefs, and start using our creative superpowers to actively change South Africa. 

Mondre Bremner, Senior Manager: Digital Channels Strategy / Integrated Marketing and Experience, Nedbank.

  • Topic: Why Editorial Content Matters… Or Is It Really That Deep? How advancements in AI have challenged editorial content delivery and the priorities reshaping the brand and marketing landscape.

Carni Wilkens, Chief Growth Officer, Dentsu SSA. 

  • Topic: We Are Human After All: The Transparency Gap: As our technology world shifts from copilots to decision-makers, performance depends on how transparent we are with machines.  

Ryan McFadyen, Co-Founder, HYH Group and Head of Strategy.

  • Topic: Growth After the Algorithm Breaks: As AI floods feeds with infinite content, people are switching off, tuning out ads, muting brands and moving back to what they trust:

Joint session: Olivia Matterson, Head of Innovation and Sydney Rheeder, Creative Innovation Lead, TBWA \ SA, part of Omnicom Advertising Group (OAG).

  • Topic: CES 2026: Key Shifts from the Vegas Consumer Electronics Show: CES offers key signals on how brands are navigating emerging technologies, and how consumer behaviours and expectations are shifting as a result.

Emilio Warmberg, Regional Sales Manager, Blue Robot Group, Main Event Sponsor.

  • Topic: Moving from Passive Exposure to Active Engagement: This keynote, will explore the growing body of research showing why active attention is becoming the most valuable currency in digital marketing, what brands actually lose when they optimise purely for reach, and the hidden cost of campaigns built around passive exposure.

Clare Trafankowska, Executive Head of Media and Digital Marketing, FNB. 

  • Topic: From Personalisation to Permission: The Next Era of Customer Relevance: Rethinking relevance in an AI-powered world — shifting the focus from accuracy to authenticity, from optimisation to earned trust. 

Key Takeaways

Cultural Capital and Community

  • The Mandate: Move beyond "engaging" with culture to shaping it. Brands must transition from passive observers to active community architects to secure long-term loyalty.
  • The Metric: Meticulously audit the ROI of community-led growth against traditional top-of-funnel spend to prove the value of high-affinity networks.

Operationalising AI and Tech

  • Content Redefined: AI isn't just a tool for efficiency; it's a total recalibration of customer expectations. We explore how to set new benchmarks for speed and relevance without eroding brand voice.
  • The Human-AI Fusion: High-impact growth requires the synergy of machine intelligence and human intuition. We focus on the "Human-First" framework: using tech to amplify, not replace, radical transparency.

The New Trust Economy

  • Permission-Based Personalisation: Moving from "creepy" data tracking to earned relevance. The next era is defined by the transition from invasive personalisation to explicit consumer permission.
  • The Credibility Crisis: Automation alone is a race to the bottom. Growth now depends on "Authentic Credibility" — sparking genuine dialogue that survives the skepticism of a tech-saturated market.

High-Velocity Growth and Performance

  • Data as Lifeblood: Hardwiring data into the full lifecycle — acquisition, activation and retention — to ensure every dollar spent is an investment in relevance.
  • Attention as Currency: Reach is a vanity metric; Active Attention is the true gold standard. We analyse the hidden "decay cost" of campaigns built solely on passive exposure.

Purpose-Driven Actionability

  • Courageous Creativity: Moving past "purpose-washing" to tackle societal issues with measurable impact. This is about creativity that solves problems, not just occupies ad space.
  • The Scalability Framework: How to scale global impact and technical execution without losing the "craft" that makes a brand unique.

For more information, visit www.newgenawards.co.za. You can also follow the New Gen Awards on Facebook, LinkedIn, X, or on Instagram.

*Image courtesy of contributor