Future 100 Club on their media moments of 2025
From industry launches to cultural phenomena, we asked Future 100 Club members to share the media moments that defined their year. Here’s what caught their attention in 2025.
Bonita Samuels, senior associate director, inclusive planning and culture lead, JAA
“My media moment of 2025 was Spotify’s first-ever Wrapped Campaign. It instantly reminded me of why I fell in love with culturally grounded advertising in the first place, it had that same electricity as Nike – Nothing Beats a Londoner.
“It felt rooted in real people and real places, not a surface-level idea of London. It showed the industry what happens when brands step outside generic narratives and actually invest in cultural accuracy and lived experience.
“But what really cemented Spotify for me this year was their Notting Hill Carnival activation. So many brands show up at Carnival in ways that feel extractive or disconnected. Spotify didn’t do that, their approach felt intentional, collaborative, and respectful of the culture.
“It proved they weren’t just using London culture for creative inspiration; they were willing to show up in culture, with the right partners, in the right way. Together, those two moments told a bigger story: that when a brand truly commits to authenticity, not just performatively but structurally, the work resonates both in the industry and in the community.”
Future 100 Club on their favourite Media Leader coverage from 2025
Mitchell Cocker, founding partner, Piqniq
“The standout media moment of 2025 has to be the breaking news of a potential Sky-ITV acquisition. It feels like such a significant reset of the UK media & broadcasting landscape and hopefully the moment that the UK media market finally confronts the scale of change needed to survive the ongoing challenge from the tech giants across the pond.
“Right now, the deal raises more questions than answers, but it has sparked vital conversations with clients and agencies about what we want the UK media landscape to become. Whatever happens next, we need to ensure UK broadcasters and streamers are no longer placed at a competitive disadvantage in their home market, in turn protecting home grown businesses, talent and high quality domestic content for the future.”
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Colin Horan, strategic partner, FMCG, Bauer Media Outdoor
“With so much noise around AI, and screen-fatigue, the Oasis summer reminded us of the power of the real-world shared experience. Of course, the cultural moment went way beyond the gigs themselves, and we witnessed some brilliant examples of brands leaning in — from the Adidas collabs and pop-ups stores, to the wonderful playful OOH executions from Specsavers and many more.”
Natalie Fox, head of client sales and new business, Guardian News & Media
“The industry really upped its Christmas ad game this year. I love how John Lewis captured nostalgia and the emotional bond between a dad and his son perfectly; while the unlikely pairing of Keira Knightley and Joe Wilkinson for Waitrose – and the supporting Pie-Max execution (that’s turning the IMAX into a pie), was pure silliness and brilliance.”
Tim Bond, associate director, media, Ipsos
“Personally, I spent the whole year anticipating the release of Wicked: For Good. I’ve been a musicals junkie most of my life and Wicked is a family favourite, so seeing how this was transformed for the silver screen is something we could hardly wait to get to see the culmination of.
“I think one of the biggest moment in the industry was also later in the year with the acquisition of Warner Bros Discovery by Netflix. Exactly what this means for the future of cinema, streamers, advertisers, and (of course) the content-consuming public is still yet to be clear – but it’s a massive moment that looks set to shift the movie and TV landscape completely.”
Sarah Pettitt, senior group business director, UK & INTL, Seedtag
“I was fortunate enough to go to Cannes for the first time this year and my media moment of 2025 was undoubtedly the Advertising Association’s Trust in Advertising Roundtable at Cannes Lions, expertly chaired by Matt Bourn. Bringing together brilliant thinkers such as Tash Witmey, Jane Ostler, Ryan Uhl and Karin Seymour, the session sparked a powerful discussion on the critical role trust plays in advertising today and the responsibility we all share in rebuilding and protecting it.
“The depth and honesty of the conversation directly shaped the 10-point checklist featured in the forthcoming book Trusted Advertising: How to Harness the Value of Trust in Your Brand, authored by Matt Bourn and James Best, which captures and expands on the insights that emerged in Cannes.”
Matt Wilké, head of commercial partnerships, Media Plus
“My media moment of 2025 has been the sudden, industry-wide reckoning with data quality and the realisation that ‘precision media’ cannot survive on legacy assumptions. The shift from ‘more signals’ to ‘better signals’ became unmistakable this year.
“Agencies, brands, and even platforms finally began to admit that clean datasets, and transparent measurement frameworks matter more than scale alone. The result was a palpable change in how we talk about effectiveness. For me, this was the first time in years it felt like the industry collectively paused, reflected, and has begun to course-correct toward something healthier and more accountable.”
Lisa Boyles, head of go to market and media, giffgaff
“Hitting publish on the giffgaff ‘Responsible Marketing Manifesto 2.0’. It was a real labour of love for the first part of the year, and has landed really well in the industry – being shared by Ad Net Zero, ISBA, Conscious Advertising Network and more. I continue to be surprised by how many people have read and make reference to it. It is our blueprint of best practice and commitment to continue iterating and doing better. We’re already planning what we need to do to be ready for 3.0 in 2027!”
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James Fleetham, director of advertising, Guardian News & Media
“Netflix’s Adolescence provided an entry point into one of the most urgent conversations of our time. Media is at its most powerful when it gets everyone talking about the same thing, at the same moment. Adolescence delivered that in spades. The social media x society x advertising debate is complicated, and quite frankly too binary.”
Caroline Ayling, marketing director, JAA
“Perhaps being rather self-serving, launching the Alliance of Media Independents in January this year was a highlight. Not so much the (re)launch of a collective of independent media agency powerhouses that accounts for over £1.56bn in billings, but the fact that since our launch some 11 months ago we have grown from 16 agencies to over 30, launched a highly competitive partnership with ITV and have our first headline effectiveness event in the offing in the new year means that the indie movement is not only alive and well but thriving!”
Davina Barker, sales director, DCM
“Disney’s commitment to a $5 Billion investment in UK and Europe film production.”