For us, the highlight was on the ‘joy of creativity’ session, where we learnt that on average children laugh 300 times a day, whilst adults only laugh 17 times a day. The session, led by Dara Nasr, VP Global Sales at WeTransfer Advertising, was a powerful reminder that happiness and positivity drive more sales, and that exposure to creativity sparks curiosity.

Hearing also from Dan Whitlam, a Spoken Word Artist, on the brilliance of storytelling was a great reinforcement of our Storytelling service at The Media People. We believe in telling meaningful, authentic stories defined by their content, not by their frequency. In a climate where audiences are bombarded with around 6,000 – 10,000 ads daily, the importance of reaching and connecting with real people, and making a genuine impact, is more crucial than ever. We left the session proud of our creative storytelling offer, ensuring that wherever your story is told, it will be original, compelling, and effective.

IAB Engage 2024 was a brilliant celebration of the digital future, filled with optimism and creativity. It reminded us of the joy we find in our work and the profound impact we can have through the art of storytelling. We came away feeling inspired and with the reminder that as advertisers, we have the power to get our adults laughing again.