In review: Breakthrough Week 2025

Last week, EssenceMediacom opened its doors for the annual Breakthrough Week - a coming together of the media industry’s brightest minds. Brimming with creativity and fresh thinking, the day saw a star-studded line-up of speakers from our agency, partners and clients take to the stage. 

Consumer behaviour is shifting at an increasingly fast rate. That’s why how we work with brands and partners is constantly evolving in anticipation and response to these changes. Breakthrough Week was a chance to bring that to the forefront and celebrate the brilliant work that continues to push the boundaries of creativity and innovation. 

Many thought-provoking insights and sessions transpired throughout the day, providing valuable insights and thinking for both UK and global clients. The day’s deliberately international perspective offered sessions that zoomed out to deliver globally relevant ideas, while many sessions also looked closely at the UK market and its needs. As such, the day was an effective consolidation of the interests of our global players with worldwide operations, and domestic partners with a focus on local marketing.

Here are just a few of the highlights.

The year ahead

Starting the day, our UK Chief Strategy Officer Richard Kirk, Managing Partner James Parnum, Strategy Partner Kelly-Star Baker and Strategy Director Jon Hildrew set the scene with some predictions for the year ahead.

With Gen Z and Millennials now spending more time looking for something to watch rather than watching any TV channel, media planners will need to plan the big screen like the small screen. They’ll also need to be more critical about the cost of data and technology needed to drive breakthroughs, with every £1 spent having to work 8% harder.

The role of retail media networks is also expected to grow, claiming a larger share of media plans than AV. At the same time, AI will also continue to cement its role in ad production, with an AI-produced campaign scoring 5 stars on system1.

Tap into the cultural zeitgeist 

Channel 4, ITV and Global also shared insight into what breakthroughs and challenges currently look like in the broadcasting landscape in the UK.

Channel 4’s panel with content creator Adeola Patronne and Gogglebox stars Pete and Sophie Sandiford discussed how to navigate the volume of video content, and how brands can stand out. Set against the backdrop of Channel 4 data, which showed that Gen Z’s brand loyalty lies with the digital platforms - with YouTube commanding 74%, Netflix 71% and TikTok 44% -  it’s clear that legacy broadcasters can’t ignore this shift. In the words of host Eve Thompson, Channel 4’s Senior Commercial Lead, TV’s future is “proactive dating and cross-species mating”, where content needs to exist in the digital world.  

Providing a fresh look at the volume of opportunities around women’s sport, ITV showcased the innovative partnerships with Google Pixel and Women’s Euros 2025 which integrates influencer content into the coverage to make the sport accessible to new and younger audiences.

Global, on the other hand, shared an inside look behind some of its recent breakthroughs from setting up the hugely popular news podcast the News Agents, to partnering with Greggs to launch The Jordan (a breakfast bap with ketchup, brown sauce and mustard!), in just a few days from the culinary delight making its debut on Capital Breakfast.

Towards a better customer experience 

We also touched on the technology behind breakthroughs, with Kenny Davies, Principal Architect, Agencies at Google Cloud, exploring how Generative AI is shaping the worldwide evolution of user interfaces (UI), enabling GenUI. 

The interfaces of the future will allow easy personalisation, making searching and receiving information more relevant, visual and enjoyable. It’s not just about the quality of the information but how it’s presented, paving way for a new way of engaging with search results and bridging the gaps between the search process and the actual end goal.

Another session took a deep-dive into customer interaction from a retail perspective, with Tesco’s team showcasing how best to apply retail data across multiple channels, and where AI, machine learning and predictive modelling can help drive the insights that deliver. 

Algorithms and search 

Something many speakers acknowledged was that today, regardless of the platform, dialogue is always on. 

Rob Gaige, Director of Global Insights at Reddit, discussed the platform’s growing user base, with half of the UK’s population now engaging daily. Reddit’s community-driven model fosters in-depth discussions, making it a valuable space for brands to experiment with long-form ads that tell richer stories. 

News UK outlined the critical role of human-verified news in the age of AI, while showcasing how AI can play a role in publishing and enable personalised news delivery to better support this crucial dialogue. 

Throughout the day, the sessions showed that while breaking through in the New Communications Economy is not always easy, it is possible. By listening to the audiences, finding the cultural moments that matter and capitalising on relevance, brands can continue to find exciting ways to connect with new audiences.