Aran Chandran, Business Development and Marketing Executive at Turcan Connell, shares his top takeaways from this year's Amplify Marketing Festival.
As a new member to the Marketing Society, it was only a few weeks ago that Graeme Atha was giving me an introduction to the society and one of their flagship events, Amplify (which it did not take much convincing to persuade me to attend). Amplify 2025 was my first marketing conference, and I was excited to experience it and have the opportunity to connect with fellow marketers in Scotland and discuss the elephant in the room: AI and how it’s shaping the marketing industry.
The theme of this year’s festival was “Cutting through the noise,” which is so relevant in the current world of marketing where marketers are pressured to move at lightning speed to stay relevant and grab users’ attention. The day started with Sophie Devonshire, the Chief Executive Officer of The Marketing Society, giving an introduction. She emphasised that the best marketers are those who ensure their organisations remain focused on customers even in this era of fast-paced change, where trends pop up and die in the blink of an eye. The introduction was concluded by Michael Goldberg, Account Manager at Carat and Vice Chair of The Marketing Society Future Leaders Advisory Group, who stated, “What sets today apart is it’s about challenging conventions.”
The Ogilvy Lecture
The Ogilvy Lecture is all about preserving the legacy of self-claimed Scot and one of the most famous names in advertising, David Ogilvy. This year’s lecture started with Matt Waksman, Head of Strategy at Ogilvy Group, sharing the “What is the big idea” theory, which can help us assess if we have the big idea or if we should head back to the drawing board. A quote by David Ogilvy that stuck with me was, “Without a big idea, campaigns will pass like passing ships in the night.”
Following this, Orland Wood, Chief Innovation Officer at System1, delivered a very insightful presentation titled “Measuring the Magic,” which explored two schools of advertising: “showmanship” and “salesmanship.” Using the early advertising of the Moulin Rouge as an example, we discovered in today’s TikTok world, its all about putting on a good show to drive long-term return in brand awareness and growth.
The Amplify Debate
The morning session concluded with the highly anticipated “Amplify Debate” with the motion: "This house believes, to improve company culture and performance, marketing should lead the way back to the office." Arguing for this were Mark Fowlestone, Founder of Multiply, and Laura Brady, Director of Marketing & Fundraising at Worldwide Cancer Research. Arguing against the motion were Juliet Simpson, Founder of Stripe, and Peter Griffiths, Head of Brand Marketing at Calmac Ferries. The debate was chaired by Ian McAteer.
This was a very divisive debate, with the debaters possessing the presentation skills to run for public office. I also learnt how passionate everyone was on this topic (myself included), and ultimately there is no one-size-fits-all response to working from home or the office.
Nation Branding
After a very nutritious lunch, it was time for the presentation I was most excited for, due to my passion for travel: “A Nation Branding World Cup.”
During this session, the team from Brand Scotland taught us about the importance of nation branding in setting countries apart from each other. When done correctly, it reflects the values of the nation at home, which positively impacts the international view of a country. This is reflected in the branding of Scotland, which ranks 15th out of 50 nations for brand recognition.
“An effective nation branding strategy is one which captures the very essence of a place.”
We then reviewed the speakers’ favourite nation branding campaigns from across the world, where Iceland’s “Icelandverse” campaign; timely launched as the world was coming out of Covid and during the launch of Facebook’s Metaverse, was a fan favourite.
Cannes Lions Review
The afternoon continued with Cannes coming to Scotland for the annual Cannes Lions review with Julian Boulding, Founder & President of thenetworkone, and Franziska Gregor, Managing Director of Serviceplan in Berlin.
They dove into the top trends at this year’s Cannes Lions festival, covering topics such as AI vs humans and what differentiates us, the creator economy communities, and the importance of cultural marketing, celebrating different individual passions.
Celebrating Craft: A Copywriting Masterclass
Initially, If I had told you that I signed up to attend a copywriting masterclass at 4:30pm, I wouldn’t be surprised if you questioned my choice. However, this session kept me on the edge of my seat as Gerry Farrell, industry legend and Marketing Society Honorary Fellow, led a knowledgeable and engaging (he is honestly, funnier than some of the comedians at the Fringe) session on the 15 things he wished he had known when he started copywriting. This session was great for those wanting to refine their copywriting skills and for those interested in dipping their toes into the world of copywriting.
My takeaways
The festival concluded with an after-party of flowing drinks, street food, and entertainment at the Assembly Club Bar, giving people the chance to connect more socially and form new friends in the industry.
After a very insightful and engaging Amplify Festival, which began for me with “Measuring the Magic” of advertising and concluded with a legendary copywriting masterclass; my takeaways from the conference are that the rising trend of AI is revolutionising the way we work as marketers. While there is fear of it replacing us, there was a constant echoing of assurance that we are the only masters of humanising campaigns, ideas, and copy to be more relatable to real-life experiences, something AI might never be able to replicate. Additionally, to cut through the noise, we need to humanise campaigns and make them relatable to our target audiences; otherwise, our work will simply be passing ships in today’s night sky.
Aran Chandran
Business Development and Marketing Executive at Turcan Connell
