Invitation to dynamic day of action
The Marketing Society’s Changemakers Conference will return to Edinburgh later this month to consider whether marketing needs a different kind of ambition, writes Alison Campbell.
For years, ambition in marketing has been measured by more.
More reach, more content, more campaigns. But as businesses deal with uncertainty, tighter budgets and the rapid rise of AI, that definition is starting to look a little thin.
Too much of business is stuck in incremental thinking, and marketing often undersells its own impact. So what should ambition look like now?
That’s the question at the heart of this year’s global Changemakers Conference, headlined by Jack Ryan, which The Marketing Society Scotland will host at the National Gallery in Edinburgh on Tuesday, 27 October.
Some of the answers to the question of ambition are about growth. Center Parcs is preparing to open its first Scottish site, near Hawick, and the company’s chief marketing officer, Sara Holt, will talk to conference on the topic of maintaining a well-known brand’s momentum forward without losing what people love about it.
DC Thomson’s Owen Wyatt will also attend to discuss how the long-established Dundee publisher decides what aspects of the business to protect, what to reinvent, and where to invest.
In addition, Lesley Morton, vice-president of global marketing at BYOMA, will inform attendees about how the skincare giant grew from a passion project in 2020 to a $300-million global beauty brand in just three years, and how the company maintained its focus expanding at that speed.
Others considering the question of marketing ambition are asking about how we get there. Founder and chief executive of Glow London Emma Harris, who led major change at Eurostar, will share how the cardiac arrest she suffered on a work excursion changed her way of thinking, and why slowing down can make marketing teams more effective.
Sharry Cramond, marketing director at M&S, will talk to delegates about keeping a heritage brand relevant through big change.
Some of the most interesting perspectives at the Changemakers Conference will come in five-minute bursts.
Andrew Dobbie of MadeBrave will tell the story of the Boston Cone, a daft Glasgow idea that became a global moment, and Anneli Ritari-Stewart of Royal London will reveal what competing as a Commonwealth medal-winning powerlifter has taught her about resilience.
What links all of the invited speakers is a shared view of ambition that isn’t about doing more for the sake of it. It’s about making better choices, backing bold ideas, looking after the people doing the work, and having the confidence to make a bigger case for marketing.
For Scotland’s marketers, that feels like a conversation worth having.
Tickets for the conference are still available online at marketingsociety.com/event/inspiration-changemakers-conference-2026-scotland
Alison Campbell is director for Scotland at The Marketing Society