
15 May 2025 | Central London
RISE2025: The marketing conference for inclusive,
sustainable brands
A stellar one-day summit delivering essential skills, insights and tools for marketers to build inclusive, sustainable brands.
RISE2025: For Good and for Growth
Thursday 15 May 9.45am - 5pm
The Royal Horticultural Halls, Lindley Hall
Join best-in-class leaders at the UK's marketing summit dedicated to creating inclusive, sustainable brands that drive both social impact and business growth. After last year's sold-out event with 80+ industry brands, we're raising the bar again.
Hear from a stand-out lineup of game-changing leaders, experts and CMOs who will transform your approach to marketing excellence. Dive into cutting-edge sessions on inclusive AI deployment, taboo-breaking advertising, sustainability integration, responsible media for 2025, and the critical intersection of inclusion with creative effectiveness (with Effie UK) and creative excellence (with Cannes Lion).
You'll gain actionable skills, powerful tools, and growth levers to build not just a brand, but a legacy in London's most beautiful venues. Tickets sell out , so secure yours today to position your organisation at the forefront of marketing that delivers - for good and for growth. Comedy included.
* Please note this is for brand-side marketers and our talent programme partners and tickets are limited.
RISE SPEAKERS
Hear from:
Headliner: Sir Lenny Henry, comedian, author, broadcaster
John Amaechi OBE, Organisational psychologist and Founder of APS Intelligence
Tati Lindenberg, VP, Marketing at Unilever, Dirt is Good [OMO, Persil, Surf Excel, Breeze]
Vanessa Kingori OBE, Managing Director, Technology, Media, Telecoms at Google
Ruben Schreurs, Group CEO, Ebiquity, PLC
Grainne Wafer, Global Category Director, Beer, Vodka, Liqueurs, Convenience, Diageo
Jon Evans, CMO, Uncensored
Fiona Spooner, Managing Director, Consumer Revenue, Financial Times
Eleanor Thorton-Firkin, Head of Creative Excellence, IPSOS
Megan Crabbe, author Body Positive Power, broadcaster
Riyadh Khalaf, broadcaster, author, podcast host, and LGBTQ+ advocate
Frank Starling, Cannes Lions
Sophie Devonshire, CEO, The Marketing Society
Gemma Greaves, co-founder Nurture, Cabal
Richard Robinson, Executive Director, Ingenuity+
And more to come!
The Agenda
8:45am
9:20am
9:25am
9:40am
10:15am
10:20am
10:40am
11:00am
11:15am
11:35am
12:05pm
12:30pm
12:35pm
1:00pm
1:40pm
1:45pm
2:30pm
2:35pm
2:50pm
3:00pm
3:10pm
3:25pm
3:45pm
4:00pm
4:10pm
4:25pm
4:55pm
5:15pm
6:30pm
Breakfast and Registration
A sneak peek to kick of the day!
Tamryn Kerr, Founder, Hijinks Collective
Welcome
Ali Hanan, Founder, Creative Equals
Purpose, creativity, inclusion: why they matter to every leader
Sir Lenny Henry, comedian, author, broadcaster;
Vanessa Kingori OBE, Managing Director, Technology, Media, Telecoms, Google
Introducing the Ad Accessibility Network
Vanessa Vidad, Inclusion Hub Co-Lead, ISBA
Everyone’s invited to the celebration: how to innovate for inclusion
Gráinne Wafer, Global Category Director, Beer, Vodka, Liqueurs, Convenience, Diageo
Lucy Edwards, Blind broadcaster, journalist, author, content creator, and disability activist
Don’t Retreat, Reframe: playing the sustainability long game
Eleanor Thorton-Firkin, Head of Creative Excellence, IPSOS;
Samira Brophy, Senior Director, Creative Excellence UK, IPSOS
What no one is talking about: the bias in AI
Claire McHardy, Commercial Partner, Creative Equals
BREAK (20 minutes)
Harnessing Influence: Reaching New Audiences Through Representation
Host: Helen O'Donnell, Director of Development, BBC Studios;
Riyadh Khalaf, broadcaster, author, podcast host, and LGBTQ+ advocate;
Megan Crabbe, author ‘Body Positive Power’, broadcaster
What's keeping CMOs awake at night?
Richard Robinson, Executive Director, Ingenuity+
Claudia Nicholls, Chief Customer Officer, Simply Health
Ritchie Mehta, School of Marketing, ‘Places you’ll go’ podcast
Through the barricades: the impact of the paywall on consumer connection
Sara Denby, Former Head Unstereotype Alliance, UN Women
Facts, truth, trust: why responsible media matters
Ruben Schreurs, Group CEO, Ebiquity, PLC;
Fiona Spooner, Managing Director, Consumer Revenue, Financial Times
LUNCH (40 minutes)
Is social making us... social?
Shahnaz Ahmed, Director, Creative and Innovation, The Social Element
The Fishbowl: Let's talk about Adolescence...
Gemma Greaves, co-Founder Nurture&Partners
Inclusion Works: How inclusion can spark creativity, fuel creative excellence, and drive marketing effectiveness.
Debbie Tembo, Client Partner, Creative Equals
The Inclusion Imperative in Creativity: why diversity drives creativity and cultivates a thriving creative ecosystem.
Frank Starling, Chief DEI Officer, Cannes Lions
The Inclusive Advantage: how inclusion is more than just the right thing to do, but can drive marketing effectiveness and brand growth.
Rachel Emms, Managing Director, Effie UK
Inclusive Creativity that Wins: how embracing inclusion fuels creative excellence, insights straight from Cannes Lions
James Robinson, Global Head of Customer Success, LIONS, WARC & Contagious
Beyond Buzzwords: How to Harness Creative Excellence for Measurable Marketing Effectiveness & Meaningful Impact
Tati Lindenberg, VP, Marketing at Unilever, Dirt is Good [OMO, Persil, Surf Excel, Breeze]
Debbie Tembo, Client Partner, Creative Equals
BREAK (20 minutes)
Does age bias cut short our lives by seven years?
Louise Cohen, Global Marketing Lead, Haleon
“If they don't give you a seat, bring a folding chair “ - Tackling returnship bias for creatives
Emma Murphy, Communities Director, Creative Equals
Q&A: Inclusion for innovation: how to reach all of your audience
Sophie Devonshire, CEO, The Marketing Society
Feeling Seen: changing how we advertise to build resonance and relevance, through tackling harmful stereotypes
Jon Evan, Uncensored CMO
John Amaechi OBE, Organisational psychologist and Founder of APS Intelligence
Why It's Time to Balance the Mix in Music and Media
Nishma Robb, Founder, CEO, Glittersphere;
Becky Wixon, Founder, Balance The Mix, Creative Music Producer;
DJ Jamz Supernova; UNPLUGGED
AK Patterson, singer/songwriter
Wrap Up, and Drinks
FIN
the 2025 focus
Hear from inspiring keynote speakers, learn practical tools to apply tomorrow and gain insights on ‘how it’s done’ from our stellar line up.
We’ll look at leveraging inclusive AI, tackling taboos in advertising, the intersection of sustainability and inclusion, responsible media in 2025, the role of inclusion with creative effectiveness (Effie UK) and creative excellence (Cannes Lion), and to how to apply inclusion, sustainability and social impact along the entire value chain as a way to unlock growth within our talent, brands, products and all the audiences we serve within today’s marketing climate.
Why the marketing ‘Return on Inclusion’, sustainability and social impact is integral
Inclusive marketing is an economic and strategic pillar, woven into risk management, brand equity, consumer psychology, and workforce retention. Brands that integrate it well don’t just “do inclusion” - they're building a competitive advantage. How can you build inclusion into your businesses and brands to drive growth in innovation, creativity and profitability ? Hear from the experts.
Building a sustainable future
Sustainability is reshaping marketing as consumers demand genuine environmental and social responsibility. Businesses must go beyond greenwashing, integrating ethical sourcing, carbon reduction, and circular economy models into their strategies. Younger generations favour brands with transparent ESG commitments, making sustainability a key driver of trust and loyalty. What’s your strategy?
Shaping social impact through marketing strategies
Social impact strategies in marketing build trust, loyalty, and relevance by integrating diversity, equity, inclusion, and ethical practices. Consumers expect transparency, with brands showcasing real impact through data-driven storytelling and community engagement. Authenticity is key - so hear from brands who bring meaningful causes and diverse voices to strengthen brand identity, driving both positive change and competitive advantage in an increasingly values-driven marketplace.
Mitigating marketing backlash
Navigating polarisation has been named as one of the top challenges facing marketers. How should a brand respond in a moment of post-campaign controversy? In the world of cancel culture, we bring you a framework, learnings and takeaways to figure out which voices matter - and which ones don’t.
Inclusive AI
As we bring in AI into the marketing chain, how do we make sure it meets our business goals for inclusion? We explore this emerging topic along with a trailblazers in the AI space.
themes include
How to lead inclusion-first strategies for social impact and growth
Building smarter, safer more responsible media ecosystems
How to diffuse backlash in a divided world
Inclusion as a springboard for creativity
AI deployment: how is this built with sustainabilty and inclusion
Emerging dimensions of inclusion: accessibility, women's health and economic equity
Growing sustainably, the long-term strategy
thank you to our sponsors, industry, community and media partners
accessibility
Our London venue is wheelchair accessible and has a disabled bathroom. If you need further information, or require other accommodations, please let us know! emma@creativeequals.org