Read the key takeaways from three sessions at the 2026 PPA Festival. If you were a delegate, you can also watch the sessions on demand.
The human premium: curation vs automation
This session brought together trust leaders, publishers, and marketers to reveal why the part AI cannot touch – the human edit – is now your most valuable asset across all platforms. Discover how to leverage this to cut through the noise and to drive deeper engagement and positive ROI that advertisers bank on.
Speakers:
- Julian Payne, Chief Executive Officer, Edelman
- Cath Waller, MD Advertising, Immediate
Key takeaways
Optimism is in short supply
Edelman’s long-running Trust Barometer has made it a global authority on trust for decades. Today, outside pressures (the economy, geopolitical tensions, AI etc) are leading to polarisation of thought, which can deepen into grievance (resentment at the system), and then insularity (reluctance to trust those who are different). Anger and protest is giving way to disengagement and withdrawal.
Trust brokers have a role to play
In turning inwards from ‘we’ to ‘me’, people are placing more trust in neighbours, family, and peer networks. As many as 70% are unwilling or hesitant to trust people perceived as different. But this creates an opportunity for ‘trust brokering’ – the ability to surface common interests and create spaces where shared needs are met.
Maintain visibility to sustain connections
The louder you can signpost, the more you can draw people into your community. This means being visible across platforms, whether digital or in real life. Third places (clubs, organisations etc) are in decline so maintaining opportunities for positive connection around interests is vital.
Authority and credibility still count
With AI slop dominating social media feeds, younger generations are sensitive to content integrity and increasingly want verification. This underlines the value of established brands with strong authority. Advertisers are also strong on credibility and mitigating brand risk, with publishing brands valued for providing ‘clean’ environments. Turning full circle, LLMs are also calibrating for authoritative sources, reinforcing trust in publishers’ content.
*PPA Festival delegates have exclusive early access. PPA members will be able to view from 15 June.
Think like a retailer (because they’re thinking like us)
Speakers:
- Ben Peterson, Global Strategic Retail Media Manager, Just Eat Takeaway
- Diane Young, Co-founder, The Drum
- Poppy Nash, Managing Editor, Future
- Stefano Biondi, General Manager, Top Sort
- Victoria Rennie, CEO, GlobalData Media
Key takeaways
Ad spend is funnelling towards retailers
Commerce media – formerly known as retail media – grew 17.5% to £3.7bn in 2025. Closed-loop retail ecosystems tick boxes in terms of privacy concerns, the decline of cookies, and the normalisation of first-party data targeting. This is a new competitive set for publishers that offers advertisers exposure to buyers through a mix of owned-media inventory. Effectively, anyone with an audience can plug in ad-serving and analytics to become a media organisation.
Publishers must retain editorial integrity
Publishers deliver top-of-funnel engagement between retailers and audiences who are primed to buy. That engagement is built on trust, which stems from adhering to editorial principles, and this cannot be compromised. Integrity is the factor that underpins engagement and drives conversions.
Content must fit with the customer’s flow
In retail environments, audiences are intent-driven, following a path towards the point of purchase. By evolving towards becoming media owners, retailers must take great care to preserve this flow. Sponsored listings and opportunities for brands/media cannot disrupt their journey.
Get used to hearing about incrementality
Brand advertisers have become more discerning, which means they want to understand that spend delivers incrementality i.e. did it drive new sales, new customers, or brand switching – or would these outcomes have happened anyway? Retailers can build a picture through strong first-party data on purchase and behaviour over time, linking to signals of intent.
*PPA Festival delegates have exclusive early access. PPA members will be able to view from 15 June.
Why raising creator standards is good for business – and society
This session explored a new trust blueprint that bridges editorial authority and creator-led content, raising industry standards while supporting sustainable creator growth and building long-term brand loyalty and audience confidence.
Speakers:
- Dr Vee Kativhu, Founder & Director, Empowered by Vee
- Joe Friend, Director and Co-Founder, Pepper
- Robert Douglas, Content Creator/Business Owner
- Amanda Wigginton, Audience Strategy & Insight Specialist
Key takeaways
Working with influencers should be an editorial exchange
Publishers and creators share the same DNA: trust, expertise, and specialist communities. Partnerships work when both sides merge their brands deliberately – co-creating articles, or featuring creators on subscription pages – rather than treating influencer marketing as a ‘distribution channel with a human face’.
Brief for fit, not just campaign delivery
The partnerships that work are the ones where creators feel genuinely seen. Dr Vee said, “When I saw the brief, it was made for me.” Creators who feel chosen for the right reasons produce better content. Those who don’t, miss the mark – and so does the campaign.
Indirect measurement is where the real story lives
One campaign saw a 56% increase in brand search after a creator partnership; audiences were finding the brand through Google and AI tools, not direct click-throughs. Vanity metrics don’t capture how influence actually works in modern discovery.
Creators guard their audiences the way editors protect readers
Robert Douglas described turning down brand deals because he would have been “just feeding a machine that doesn’t really serve these people.” Publishers who treat this guardianship as an obstacle will get transactional partnerships. Those who respect it will get something closer to genuine advocacy.
Engage with the content after it goes live
“I’ve done so many campaigns where you post, the brand doesn’t follow you, doesn’t like, doesn’t reshare, doesn’t do anything,” said Robert Douglas. Audience trust is built in real time, and brands that disappear after commissioning undermine the very partnership they’ve paid for.
*PPA Festival delegates have exclusive early access. PPA members will be able to view from 15 June.
