Top of many speakers’ agendas was the IRL (in real life) future of brand worlds, specifically on-the-ground and phygital audience activations that swerve the hard sell, instead converting experiential awe into brand equity. Key insights focused on venue-audience-social media interplay, mining cultural heritage, and innovative out-of-home (OOH) digital advertising, including environmentally responsive billboards.

Spatial cinema (filmmaking and viewing presented beyond traditional 2D screens) is a booming sub-sector of the already swelling immersive entertainment market. Promising to be a transformative force for audiences looking for upgraded IRL movie experiences, notable directions span edutainment, psychological storytelling, and empathy-breeding social impact artworks – and ‘shared reality’ filmmaking igniting both entertainment and exhibition formats.

On the gaming track, attention frequently landed on the growing significance of ‘simulators’, aka ‘sims’ – games played at home closely replicating real-world environments and activities. Discussion ranged from ‘cosy sims’ based on mundane tasks offering gamers zen-like escapism, to AI-powered simulator universes destined to push game mechanics and architecture towards hyperrealistic virtual interactivity.

With Gen Alpha projected to command $5.46tn in global spending power by 2029 (Fortune, 2026), strategies for capturing their loyalty and tapping their fandom predilections headlined multiple sessions. Success-promising pathways included nurturing music superfans, turning traditional TV shows into edutainment attractions in Roblox, and the gaming and theme park add-ons turning UK-Australian animated TV series Bluey into a franchise.

Other discussions centred on the future of podcasting to capitalise on continually climbing listenership (619 million worldwide in 2025, up 6.8% year-on-year). Suggesting the audio-only era is long gone, key opportunities lie in live podcasting events with high production value, from festivals to arena tours, and “living room-isation” as podcasts hit TV streaming platforms.