We are the world’s marketing effectiveness company.

March is the month for Marketing Festivals so we’ve curated a list of the most Effective things to look out for.

You would need to be living under a rock or in a permanent wifi black spot to have missed the multitude of schedule announcements from several notable Marketing Festivals recently. 



To help cut through the clutter and leave some time for the day job The Effectiveness Partnership has compiled a list of things to look out for. It’s not exhaustive, although catching all of it may be exhausting – but this list is designed to help filter some topics and speakers that we think will deliver – Effectively! 




(All times in GMT)

Lions Live: The New Creator’s Toolkit (1st-5th March 2021)

Has actionable career advice and skill-sharpening creative lessons from a collection of leading practitioners.

Register free: https://lionslive.canneslions.com/

Monday 1st March


13.40 – Get Hooked on Curiosity – The Gateway Drug to Creativity: Greg Orme,
London Business School and Author of ‘The Human Edge’

5 practical, science-based tips and techniques on how to grow the human superpower of curiosity.



15:30 – Discover Your Creative Drivers: Todd Henry

50 years of research and deep analysis of over a million stories to share what truly drives creativity, engagement, and brilliant work.

Tuesday 2nd March

13:50 – CMOs in the Spotlight: Lubomira Rochet, L’Oreal
Answering the hottest questions of 2021 so far.

Wednesday 3rd March

13:15 – A Message to the Community: Jim Stengel

The state of the state lecture – on skills gained and skills needed to be gained in the creativity community.

Thursday 4th March

13:01 – Embracing Your Authentic Self: Dentsu CEO Jean Lin 

Sharing stories from Taiwanese coffee shops in her childhood, around the globe, to playing on her home piano in Shanghai today, Jean Lim will showcase how to ensure life and work aren’t mutually exclusive.

Market Research Society Impact Conference (16th-18th March)

5th iteration of this leading annual conference.

https://www.mrs.org.uk/ (£ Fee applies)

Tuesday 16th March

10.20 – Keynote lecture: Sir David Spiegelhalter OBE, University of Cambridge

The creation and communication of statistical data through the Coronovirus crisis under scrutiny.



12.20 – CMO Agenda: Tamara Rodgers, CMO, GSK Consumer Healthcare



14.40 – Case Study A question of privilege: when older, white, middle-class
 interviewers are just not right for the job.



15.00 – Keynote interview: Sir Keith Starmer, Leader of the Labour party

Thursday 18th March

13.20 – Next Generation evidence – lessons from United States, Australia, and China

What lessons can we learn from the variety, velocity, veracity and volume of data around the world?

The Festival of Marketing (23rd-25th March)

A 3-day Festival dedicated to ’empowering you to make better decisions’ sub titled ‘The Bottom Line’

https://www.festivalofmarketing.com/agenda (£ Fee applies)

Tuesday 23rd March

12:00 – Long term planning in the age of uncertainty: Katie McAlister, CMO, TUI;
Abigail Comber CMO, Debenhams

Adopting two-speed strategy to deal with short-term disruption without losing sight of the bigger picture.



12:35 – Building the perfect brand research plan: Mark Ritson, Founder Marketing
Week Mini MBA

An expletive-filled but practical dissemination of what the ideal brand diagnosis looks like.

Wednesday 24th March

10:50 – How to… use econometric modelling: Dr Grace Kite, Gracious Economics and
 TEP consultant

How econometric modelling can enable a clear comparison of the costs and benefits of different marketing choices.



12:20 – The CEO view: What your boss wants from you.

How CEOs see effective marketing and marketing leadership with: 

Nick Robinson, CEO, Kerry Foods,
Emma Woods, CEO, Wagamama, 

Russell Parsons, Editor-in-Chief, Marketing Week and Festival of Marketing.


Thursday 25th March

09:40 – Myth Busting: The metrics that matter, and those that lead us astray: 
Jerry Daykin, EMEA Senior Media Director, GSK Consumer Healthcare

Are measures of ‘engagement’, ‘viewability’ or even ‘clicks’ really helping us optimise our marketing? Or do they lead us down a dark path? Exploring what is and isn’t a meaningful measure of success. 



12:20 – Marketing For Sceptics: Bob Hoffman, Ad Contrarian

An alternative view on what successful marketing looks like. 



13:45 – Why marketers must not rely on ROI

Nikki Vadera, Marketing Director, Henkel,

Sorin Patillinet, Global Marketing Insights Director, Mars,

Ann Constantine, Head of Insight & Marketing Effectiveness, Direct Line Group,

Charlotte Rogers, Features Editor, Marketing Week on the limitations of ROI, 
how this might be damaging long-term brand growth, and what you could be doing to more effectively measure marketing’s impact.



16:05 – Why Share of Search is more than just a metric: James Hankins, Consulting
 Strategist & Founder, Vizer Consulting

If you missed the IPA session last year here is another opportunity to hear the techniques, the watchouts, the validations and the extended implications of share of search as a metric.