MFA EX is expected to attract over 2,500 attendees across Melbourne and Sydney. Credit: MFA
Six up-and-coming media professionals will present ideas in five Inspiration X sessions at this year's MFA EX in Melbourne and Sydney.
Chosen by the MFA EX curation panel through a competitive selection process, the presenters all have less than eight years’ industry experience.
This year, for the first time, submissions required an audio or video component.
Each speaker will deliver a four-minute talk aimed at challenging conventional thinking and encouraging the media agency industry to "Dare to Change". Two will co-present, while the remaining four will speak solo.
Two Inspiration X sessions have been confirmed for MFA EX Melbourne on September 4, with emerging talent tackling themes around AI, communication and industry behaviour.
Eloise Russell, group experience director at Mindshare, will present Search Everywhere: Are we getting smarter or just lazier?
Her session will examine how generative AI is reshaping search behaviour and its cognitive side effects, including “intelligence hallucination”, digital amnesia, and overconfidence.
She will explore the implications for memory, creativity and decision-making.
Sam Bessell, strategy director, and Jan Janas, senior strategist at Atomic 212°, will present Seriously. Shut Up!, arguing that poor listening is holding the industry back.
The pair will unpack how a lack of active listening affects productivity, client relationships and professional development, and offer practical tools to improve how teams communicate.
The Sydney leg of MFA EX on September 18 will feature three Inspiration X sessions, with emerging media talent tackling industry blind spots around data, culture and performance metrics.
Business manager at Slingshot Media, Florence Gleeson-Cook, will present Data & Dragons, drawing parallels between the rise of romantasy fiction and media strategy. She argues that while perception often skews planning, data reveals overlooked opportunities, from Gen Z homeownership to consumer spending trends.
Partnerships manager at UM, Caitlin Watters, will deliver We sell culture in our plans. So why aren’t we better at creating it?
Her session will highlight the gap between cultural ambition and workplace reality, offering a practical roadmap for building intentional culture that improves retention and reduces burnout.
Media effectiveness manager at iProspect, Amartya Majumdar, will present Not all catfish live in rivers. Some live in your dashboards, exploring how the industry’s obsession with surface-level metrics can distort performance.
He will argue for a shift toward more meaningful, context-rich measurement.
“Inspiration X has become a standout favourite at MFA EX, with attendees consistently calling it some of the most compelling and energising content of the day," said MFA CEO, Sophie Madden.
"The quality of submissions this year was exceptional, making it no easy task to narrow it down to just five sessions. The final topics are sharp, relevant and thought-provoking, with just the right mix of humour and edge."
MFA EX is expected to attract over 2,500 attendees across Melbourne and Sydney, positioning itself as a key event for showcasing media’s role in driving change.
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