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Meet Our Proposed Panels for SXSW 2026
SXSW 2026 is right around the corner, and Edelman is in the mix with two thought-provoking panels and one more we’re excited to be part of. All four explore the trends transforming marketing, culture, and communications.
Your vote can help bring these vital conversations to the SXSW stage. To lock your vote in, simply login or create a SXSW account, and heart the sessions you're inspired by.
VOTE NOW 📢
Meet Our Proposed Panels for SXSW 2026
SXSW 2026 is right around the corner, and Edelman is in the mix with two thought-provoking panels and one more we’re excited to be part of. All three explore the trends transforming marketing, culture, and communications.
Your vote can help bring these vital conversations to the SXSW stage. Let’s make it happen.
Your Brand Is Being Impersonated Right Now: Building Real Trust in Synthetic Times
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Synthetic media has created a world where anything can be faked and anyone can be impersonated. Brands now face cloned voices, fabricated statements, and synthetic crises that can erupt in minutes. In this environment, credibility becomes the most valuable asset an organization owns.
This session reveals how to protect identity, navigate reputational risk in the AI era, and turn trust into a measurable advantage.
Speakers:
Oliver Hayes (moderator), Edelman Counter Disinformation Lead
Ben Colman, CEO and Co-Founder of Reality Defender
George Leney, Director of PR and Communications at Samsung Electronics Europe
Rebecca Skippage, Former BBC News Global Disinformation Editor, AI + Disinformation Expert, Consultant, Speaker
Breaking News: Your Anchor is Now a Creator
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Traditional media no longer decides what people see, believe, or care about. Creators do. News creators are breaking stories faster than newsrooms, shaping public opinion in real time, and redefining how audiences engage with information. They act as journalists, analysts, entertainers, activists, and trust brokers all at once.
This session explores how creators became the true power centers of the modern media ecosystem and what this shift means for truth, influence, and the future of journalism.
Speakers:
Julian Payne (moderator), CEO, Edelman UK
Sophia Smith Galer, Journalist and Creator
Max Foster, Journalist and Anchor for CNN International
Jo Burford, Head of Creators, UK, Ireland + Nordics, TikTok
Lotte Jones, Chief Commercial Officer, Caliber
Not Dead Yet: Your Brand's Biggest Blind Spot
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In the rush to capture Gen Z’s cultural capital, brands are leaving trillions on the table. There’s a socially active, digitally fluent cohort of consumers projected to spend $15 trillion annually by 2030—yet they receive less than 10% of marketing attention. So who are they? Consumers aged 55 and up. Edelman calls them the “Longevity Generation,” and they’re not retired, irrelevant, or invisible—they’re far from dead. In this provocative session, we’ll introduce marketers to creators in the 55+ age bracket, as they go tête-à-tête with the youth-obsessed status quo and reveal the biggest growth hack brands are missing in this economy.
Speakers:
Jackie Cooper, Global Chief Brand Officer & Senior Advisor, Edelman
Josh Duhamel, Actor
Jennifer Valentyne, Creator and Media Personality
Tracy Moore, Creator and Television Personality
Trend or Trash?
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Trendspotting is broken—and tired. In today’s culture, chasing memes isn’t a strategy, it’s a treadmill. In Act One, we’ll start with a high-energy download on the next generation of trendspotting powered by AI—tools and methods that help brands decode what’s driving culture and break free from the cycle of constant catch-up. Then for Act Two: brand leaders will react live to the week’s biggest internet obsessions on stage, pulling back the curtain on how top brands separate trend gold from internet noise. Spoiler: it’s not just better tools. It’s a mindset shift.
Speakers:
Andrew Dawson, Vice President, Global AI & Product, Edelman
Hannah Hickman, SVP, Social Strategy, Edelman
Melissa Yeung, Global Social Strategist, Duolingo
Wellness, But Make It Gen Z
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Gen Z is redefining wellness—demanding personalization, transparency, and tech-driven solutions. They're influencing older generations and reshaping how wellness is defined, accessed, and delivered. This panel explores how brands can meet these rising expectations using AI, data, and innovation.
Speakers:
Anusha Babbar, Senior Vice President, Unilever Wellbeing
Hanneke Willenborg, Chief Executive Officer, OLLY PBC and SmartyPants Vitamins
Amanda Edelman, Deputy General Manager, Chicago & COO, Gen Z Lab, Edelman
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Pushed to the Limit: A New Playbook for Trust in Sport
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Commercial ambition is reshaping the global sports calendar. More games, more travel, more exposure, more pressure. The system is growing faster than the people inside it can sustain. Burnout, overload, and declining welfare are increasingly visible to fans, and trust in sporting leadership is eroding.
This panel tackles the uncomfortable question facing every leader in sport today: What good is growth if it breaks the athletes who make the game possible?
Speakers:
Loulou Dundas (moderator), Senior Director, United Entertainment Group
John Mousinho, Head Coach for Portsmouth, former football player and Chair of the PFA (Professional Footballers’ Association)
Sebastian Ochs, Head of Global Partnerships, Allianz
Not Dead Yet: Your Brand’s Biggest Blind Spot
VOTE NOW
In the rush to capture Gen Z’s cultural capital, brands are leaving trillions on the table. There’s a socially active, digitally fluent cohort of consumers projected to spend $15 trillion annually by 2030 yet they receive less than 10% of marketing attention. So who are they? Consumers aged 55 and up. Edelman calls them the “Longevity Generation,” and they’re not retired, irrelevant, or invisible — they’re far from dead. In this provocative session, we’ll introduce marketers to creators in the 55+ age bracket, as they go tête-à-tête with the youth-obsessed status quo and reveal the biggest growth hack brands are missing in this economy.
Speakers:
Ethan Tuxford (moderator), Brand Director, Edelman
Jackie Cooper, Global Chief Brand Officer and Co-Founder of Edelman’s Longevity Lab
Dinara Sainsbery, Sr. Global Brand Director, Unilever – Dove
Mia Mauge, Model and Content Creator