A journey through impact: Lessons from the Marketing Society's Changemakers Conference

Our team attended The Marketing Society’s first Changemakers event in Scotland. This year’s theme was impact, and it was cleverly weaved throughout the speakers’ approaches to brand building, purpose and influence. Here’s a look back at the day.

Discovering the Power of Impact: An Opening Challenge

CEO of The Marketing Society, Sophie Devonshire opened the event with a challenge that left a lasting impression. She reminded us that marketing isn’t just about selling.

Her icebreaker asked us to tell a stranger about someone who’s influenced our careers—a small act that pushed us out of our comfort zone and made me reflect on how we, as people or brands, can be that moment of influence for somebody else. It reminded us of the power as individuals and as a collective that has brought us together, setting the perfect tone for the day.

From political persuasion to brand influence

Listening to Fergus Mutch, Managing Partner at True North speak on politics and marketing was like peeling back the curtain on how public sentiment is shaped. To kick off the first session, he talked about the drivers of political influence through a journey of social movements, geopolitical events and regulatory changes. His glimpse into political campaigns revealed something fundamental: effective persuasion is about connecting deeply and authentically with people.

The US presidential campaign sees candidates delivering targeted messages to segments of their audience while sometimes, strategically or not, alienating others. These messages are repeated to persuade Americans that the future one candidate is presenting is better than the other.

In marketing, we know to think from the perspective of our audience and to meet them where they are – physically and digitally. Fergus emphasised that what wins elections is the 3Ps- policies, perception and populism. Perception is where communications come in, influencing the potential for campaign policies to be embraced by the people as beneficial for society.

Fergus challenged us to think of every message as a campaign and to, through these campaigns, be champions for sustainability and equality. The magnitude of this impact is not reserved for elections of world leaders – we too, in the messages we send out as marketers have the power to persuade and shape beliefs and behaviours.

Jacob Wright on Aesthetic Impact: Moving Beyond Words in a Visual World

Jacob Wright argued that in today’s visually driven world, a coherent aesthetic speaks louder than words. His insights into how consumers subconsciously process imagery make me think of how we often rely on words to “sell” a brand, sometimes forgetting the impact of visual cues. In client presentations, marketers often use a bunch of words to describe how their brand identity will look. Could this be more effectively articulated as a collection of imagery instead?

Jacob introduced the “Exactitudes” project, in which portraits are compiled into a book, creating a “striking visual record of more than three thousand neatly differentiated social types”. The photographer groups people who share a similar aesthetic, and in a Brady Bunch style collage, look almost identical. We all immediately recognised the “aesthetic” of the groups. How would you describe these types?

He also shared the example of “Vacation,” a sunscreen brand that embodies an 80s beach vacation aesthetic in an otherwise uniform industry.

Are we, as marketers, paying enough attention to the aesthetics that make a brand memorable?

The B Corp Movement: Authenticity and Accountability in Business

The B Corp panel, featuring our Co-MDs Rowan and Svein, along with Nathalie, Managing Director of Muckle Media, Ally, Managing Director of Material, and Pete, Director of Always Be Content, offered a transparent look into the journey of becoming and being a B Corp.

Each panellist shared how certification has become a strong asset, especially in building trust with clients and attracting like-minded talent.

More brands are now mandated to work with suppliers with sustainability standards, making B Corps an easy checkmark. B Corp certification is tool that drives loyalty, and attracts talent and clients who share similar values. Our audiences want more than just products and services – they’re looking for people they can trust.

The panel emphasised the tangible benefits to employer brand and workplace culture, by way of connecting like-minded people who consider a bigger picture, and have a sense of responsibility for their own impact.

Some key tips from the panel

• You may already be doing many of the required actions, but recording is the most difficult part. Get ahead of documenting metrics from miles of travel to hours of volunteer work. Rationale partners with climate action partner Seedling to support tracking our carbon emissions.
• The ‘Environment’ standard commonly gets the most attention, so this is often where businesses begin their B Corp journey.
• Engage your team and establish a committee with a designated lead, BUT keep in mind that tracking and following through is a lot of work, so ensure they have the support they need to stay motivated.

Reinventing the Customer Experience with Octopus Energy

Chief Product and Marketing Officer Rebecca Dibb-Simkin’s talk on Octopus Energy was a masterclass in customer-centric innovation. Considering cost of living concerns related to energy prices, she took us through how Octopus broke through those negative connotations with something engaging and even fun.

From “Wheels of Fortune” for meter readings to publicly responding to customer feedback on social, Octopus has crafted a brand that feels both personal and impactful. What stood out to me was that every employee, even the CEO, is involved in customer service, fostering a brand culture rooted in accountability. If a customer has an issue, anyone can immediately go into the system to make adjustments. This is in stark contrast to the experience of sitting on a frustrating customer support call going nowhere, for far too long.

Rebecca’s principles reflect decentralised structures despite Octopus Energy being a large company including high autonomy and low process and “moving faster than you can ever imagine”. When asked by the audience for an example of a project that took the longest to action, she answered “six weeks”.

Deliveroo’s Evolution to Meet Consumer Needs

The conversation between Deliveroo’s Head of Corporate Comms, Michelle Lavipour, and Head of Consumer at Smarts, Emma Falvey on Deliveroo’s growth was a window into a brand that’s constantly adapting to consumer needs.

Deliveroo looked at search data and realised people needed last minute gifts and DIY supplies. So, they added companies like ScrewFix and local florists to their merchants available for delivery.

Their approach to loyalty programs and retail integration show how brands must evolve to remain relevant. It was clear that being reactive to consumer trends isn’t enough; a brand must also be proactive, anticipating needs.

They’ve also leaned into being a founder-led company, featuring a personal side of their CEO in videos like TopJaw’s recent collaboration in the Deliveroo office. Their current focus is on the busy student segment, immersing themselves into college campuses and listening to what this demographic values most – convenience and diverse taste profiles.

In We Are Futures CEO Mark Fawcett’s session on Gen Z as the real changemakers, he described them as a generation that demands transparency and action. Brands can no longer merely tell their stories – they must embody them through real action.

Even when they aren’t the end-user, Gen Z can make or break a brand, making other consumers think twice about their implicit support of a brand.

Key takeaways

• Gen Z are influential emerging adults and they can easily turn brands into heroes or villains – they are influencing everyone.
• Silence is political – they will assume brands are doing nothing or even worse, hiding something.
• They believe in their agency to create the world they want to see – a true changemaker. Young consumers put pressure on brands to help build this vision.
• This generation has different priorities than the last – including skill development, optimism for change and a demand for brands to “storydo” before they “storytell.”

Their 4 key characteristics

• Interests – They’re widely varied and are stimulation seekers.
• Values – Their heightened awareness of persistent inequality shapes their socially-focused values.
• Emotional state – As inheritors of tough economies and social issues, they are less confident and more anxious.
• Aspirations – Job satisfaction and happiness are bigger priorities than money.

From this, engage with them by accelerating their skills, embracing empathetic co-creation, inviting their input into product development and messaging, nurturing their optimism, joining them in the fight for fairness, empowering their impact, amplifying their voices and proving their progress. Have their advocacy work for your brand, rather than against it.

Diversity in Creative Talent: The UNLOCKED Internship Programme

Their eight principles include firing themselves if they don’t create “fame-building work” in six months and my favourite:

Andrew Tindall’s Compound Creativity: Why Consistency Wins

In slight contrast to Fergus’ talk on persuasion and Kevin’s advocacy for entertainment, LinkedIn legend Andrew Tindall said that,

Andrew and System1 completed a five-year study of 4000+ ads across channels. He says that ‘Consistent Creative Foundations” consist of:

• Consistent insight-driven positioning (one that works)
• A long-running creative idea
• Consistency in creative team or agency tenure.

This looks like consistency in characters, celebrities, brand assets, tone of voice and a commitment to slogans and soundtracks. Creative quality is linked to fewer agency changes and more consistency while more consistency allows teams to strengthen their understanding of the brand over time, which in turn leads to higher creative quality. In other words, creative longevity and stability in agency relationships directly influence campaign success.

He explains that consistent brands are making more effective advertising because of:

• Processing fluency and cognitive ease
• Memory encoding and mental availability
• Familiarity bias and mere exposure effect
• Creative darwinism – survival of the effective
• Resource focus and creative efficiency

The responsibility of AI and Data Privacy

Andrew then joined Lawyer Murray Cree, and Head of Digital Marketing Anneli Ritari-Stewart to chat about the intricacies of AI in marketing, and the obligation to keep customers safe.

The panellists highlighted a critical aspect of AI: that every interaction – every piece of data fed into the system – becomes part of its learning process. Confidential or proprietary information could inadvertently inform responses generated for other users.

Anneli underscored the immense responsibility for industries like banking to safeguard customer data and privacy. One way to increase security when using AI is to use tools in a “closed loop” so that the information entered doesn’t get put into external ecosystems.

At Rationale, we’ve developed a set of strict AI principles and actively update them through a dedicated working group as more information on risks and security emerge. For instance, we never use AI to generate new content. As we develop our policy, our use of AI is minimal, until we are sure that client information and the quality of our work can be protected.

Finding Bravery in Creativity and Leadership

The day closed with David McQueen’s empowering talk on bravery in leadership. He shared some personal stories about overcoming fears with things as mundane as getting his nose pierced or his recent tattoos. Consulting for big organisations on their structure and management, he noted how surprisingly common it is for people to not know how to actually solve problems and, by extension, overcome the fears that hold them back.

He shared his description of a “BRAVE” leader—Bold, Resilient, Agile, Visionary, and Ethical. Then, he asked us to reflect on moments in our own lives where we didn’t pursue something because of fear. Do you have anything – small or big – you’ve been meaning to do but haven’t taken the leap to do it?

Challenging us to be a little bit braver, he offered a three step framework.

• Think strategically – break down what you want to do and why you want to do it. What will you need to do it? What is standing in your way?
• Learn to problem-solve – what are the steps needed to overcome the things standing in your way?
• Make a decision – to do it or not, depending on your strategic analysis and evaluation on how realistic it is to solve the problem.

Inspiration, Insights, and a Call to Impact

Events like these allow us to hear from others, outside of our own circles and expand on what we think we know. These diverse perspectives are important drivers of growth, for each of us to become more impactful in the work we do.

Campaigns invite people to form and re-form attitudes. The imagery we put out communicates how certain groups see or should see the world. The words we send out challenges norms and affect real behaviour.

The conference re-energised the power we hold as marketers to create real impact. From visual storytelling to authenticity, the sessions underscored a shared mission: to leave a legacy of brands that reflect the best of what we can offer the world. The greatest takeaway was a simple yet profound one: our work matters.

This conference was a reminder of our shared potential to shape the future, one story, one campaign, and one act of courage at a time.