Mumbrella CommsCon 2025 roster grows with Keep Left, IKEA, McGrath Foundation, and more

The success to client-agency relationships and the importance of understanding culture will be dissected at Mumbrella’s CommsCon 2025, with two new sessions confirmed featuring leading experts from IKEA, the Sydney Opera House, and Sefiani, among others.

Mumbrella’s CommsCon Conference and Awards – which are returning once again at a brand new venue – will feature thought-provoking, industry-shifting sessions on the state of communications in today’s day and age.

In a new panel session moderated by Mandy Galmes, managing partner, Australia, at Sefiani, part of Clarity Global Group, comms experts will share how agencies can build relevance and value for clients in an increasingly fractured market.

Clients who would once outsource their comms needs are internalising the responsibilities, so how can agencies build strong client relationships when competing against the phenomenon of in-housing or the rise of ‘full-service’ competitors?

(L-R, clockwise): Mandy Galmes, Patricia Routledge, Jess Gooch, and Jackie Quilter

IKEA Australia’s head of comms, Patricia Routledge, the McGrath Foundation’s PR and comms director, Jackie Quilter, and Jess Gooch, director of strategic engagement and impact at the Sydney Opera House will dissect the key components for client-agency success and how agencies can add value and hep clients influence stakeholders to build relevance. They will also share how agencies can learn from one another – which is a core skill missing from the current landscape.

The panel will lift the lid on what clients really want from their partnerships, if agencies should diversify or specific, and if the agency village model works anymore.

Sticking on a similar theme, a session from Keep Left’s strategy director, Laura Agricola, and national director of PR, Tim Lele, will prepare delegates to keep up with how much culture and behaviour are changing the game.

In a world where the media has fragmented beyond all recognition and the rush to capitalise on influencer marketing has led to its over-commercialisation, diluting the authenticity that once made it so effective, go-to PR strategies are so rapidly losing power.

With the days of landing a story in a tier-one publication or sourcing a perfect ‘authentic’ influencer to make sales skyrocket long gone, clients need to rethink how they influence people.

To do so, they must first widen their understanding of influence and psychology. So, enter the cultural frame – a framework made up of family, peers, fashion, news, media, art, influencers, and authority figures. When viewed as a whole, it’s a powerful tool to understanding consumer behaviour, and ultimately, influence.

(L-R): Keep Left’s Laura Agricola and Tim Lele

Agricola and Lele will unpack the cultural frame and how PR professionals can utilise it, how PR can use psychology, cultural insights, and behaviours science to ensure effort influences with impact, and how to know if your brand is chasing trends of creating influence.

They will also reveal findings from a survey of 100 Australian comms experts, who divulged how they view the forces influencing their audiences.

The two sessions join a growing roster of the best-of-the-best in PR and comms, including Tinder Australia’s director of communications, Kirsty Dunn, and Poem’s Rob Lowe and Jess Cluff.

Third Hemisphere’s Hannah Moreno and Comms Declare’s Belinda Noble are also gearing up to discuss greenwashing in the communications industry, while alt/shift’s Elly Hewitt will dive deeper into using behavioural insights to supercharge PR strategies and creative campaigns.

Dena Vassallo, founder and CEO of SOCIETY is also due to speak to share the challenges agency villages face in fostering equitable relationships, and by extension, optimal results.

And when day turns to night, the Mumbrella CommsCon Awards 2025 will take place at the same location.

A celebration of all things excellent in the communications and PR sector, the first entry deadline for the awards ceremony – Friday, December 13 – is quickly approaching. For agencies planning on entering multiple categories, this is your opportunity to save $100 per submission.

Tickets to the CommsCon conference are available now. More information on the CommsCon Awards, including categories and entry criteria, can be found here. PR and comms experts ready to throw their names in the ring can access the entry portal here.

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topics 2025 Mumbrella CommsCon CommsCon Jackie Quilter Jess Gooch Keep Left Laura Agricola Mandy Galmes Mumbrella CommsCon Patricia Routledge Tim Lele

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