The Advertising Association’s LEAD conference will return to the Queen Elizabeth II (QEII) Centre in Westminster on 28 January 2027, run jointly with the Institute of Practitioners in Advertising (IPA) and ISBA, the body for UK advertisers, under the theme “Shaping advertising’s future”. The venue is a few hundred yards from Parliament, and LEAD is one of the main occasions on which the industry makes its case to policymakers.
Confirmed speakers include:
Tim Davie, Co-Chair, Creative Industries Council
Baroness Hazarika MBE, Times Radio Broadcaster
Andria Vidler, President, Advertising Association
Charlie Rudd, CEO, UK Creative Practice, Publicis
Damon Reeve, CEO, Ozone
Kate Rowlinson, CEO, WPP Media
The event will be hosted by Nina Hossain, Broadcaster and Journalist.
Ozone tops a sponsor list that includes Google and Meta
Ozone is headline partner, with Google, News UK, Meta and TikTok at gold level. Ozone, which is owned by UK publishers, competes for advertising budgets with Google, Meta and TikTok, which between them take most of the UK’s digital advertising spend. Its Chief Executive, Damon Reeve, is among the speakers.
Woodford sets a broad theme
Stephen Woodford, the AA’s Chief Executive, framed the event around pressures from every direction:
“Advertising is operating in a challenging environment, with rapid change across the board, from politics and regulation to technology, media and the economy.”
He added: “We want to look ahead, ask the difficult questions and equip our industry with the ideas and insight it needs to move forward.”
The release does not specify which questions. Likely candidates include AI answer engines diverting traffic from publishers, the competition regime’s treatment of the platforms and the cost of further advertising restrictions, each a live issue for at least some of the event’s sponsors.
Future Leaders joins LEAD at the QEII
Future Leaders will take place in the same venue immediately afterwards. It is aimed at professionals with four or more years’ experience across agencies, brands, media owners and technology companies. Woodford described it as a space “for the next generation of talent who will be shaping the industry in the years to come”.
Tickets for both events are on sale, with discounts for AA, IPA and ISBA members. You can buy tickets here for LEAD 2027 and Future Leaders.
No government speaker has been announced yet. The first line-up is drawn entirely from the industry.
