Last month, we had the pleasure of attending Kantar IGNITE, held at the Royal Institute of British Architects - a day packed with bold ideas, laser-focused thinking, and 300+ of the industry's best minds.

The focus? Accelerating brand growth. But beyond the buzzwords and breakout sessions, it gave us a serious spark. Here’s our key takeaways:


Empathy drives impact

Nurofen reminded us that real emotional connection is where true brand power lies. It's easy to get caught up in performance metrics, but behind every click and conversion is a human being. So, we’re dialling up the empathy in our creative, making sure the heart leads the work, not just the data.

Brand equity > short-term wins

Kantar’s reminder that long-term creative thinking is often sacrificed for short-term ROI really hit home. We're doubling down on measuring what really matters; brand health, equity, and effectiveness over time. Even on tighter budgets, smarter tracking will mean stronger results.

Think like a founder

The idea that breakthroughs don’t just belong to startups stuck with us. Innovation comes from mindset, not just model. We’re bringing that founder energy into every brief; being bolder, braver, and backing ideas that challenge the norm. That goes for how we grow Refinery too.

GenAI is only as good as the team behind it

We heard loud and clear: it’s not about what AI can do, it’s about what we do with it. So we’re staying curious, levelling up, and making sure every corner of our team feels confident using it. Not just for productivity, but to enhance our creative potential.

Outsmart, don’t outspend

Suzuki’s approach showed us the power of strategic simplicity. Instead of throwing more budget at a problem, they focused on making a meaningful difference. We’re challenging ourselves, and our clients, to do the same.

Synergy sells

L’Oréal showed us how integrated thinking drives results across digital and retail. For us, that means tightening up the links between social, content, and commerce - especially as we explore the growing world of social and online shopping. A test-and-learn mindset is key.

Insight > instinct

Rory Sutherland reminded us that real strategy starts with real people. It’s not enough to guess what your audience wants, you have to know. So we’re digging deeper into human behaviour, listening more closely, and using that insight to fuel ideas that really resonate.

The Key Learning

Events like IGNITE are only as good as what you do afterwards - and we’re doing plenty. If you went too, we’d love to hear your biggest takeaway. And if you didn’t, we definitely recommend giving the event recap a scroll.

Want to discuss any of these learnings or how they could be actioned to boost your brand? Get in touch with us today.