By: Rachel Jacobs

This year’s POSSIBLE Conference at the Fontainebleau in Miami brought together over 5,000 attendees from across the advertising industry—including brands, agencies, and ad tech companies. That’s up from around 3,500 attendees in 2024. The event offered a pulse on where the industry is heading. For brands and agencies alike, it reinforced the need to stay nimble and experiment with emerging tech. 

With the increase in size, it seemed organizers were slightly caught off guard, as some talks ended up standing room only with limited seats snatched up ahead of highly anticipated sessions.

Notable speakers included businesswomen like Martha Stewart and Bobbi Brown, athletes such as Tara Woodhull and Flau’jae Johnson, and influencers like Camila Coelho. The wide range of speakers truly reflects the wide range of speakers and attendees, catering to diverse interests.

Some of my favorite sessions were “Teaming Up as a Force for Good” with NFL CMO Tim Ellis; “The Art of Thought Leadership: From Insight to Influence,” which was packed—people were even sitting on the ground—to hear great tips on how any company can benefit from thought leadership; and “Breaking the News – Reinventing Media & Marketing in a Story-Driven World,” led by former TODAY Show host Katie Couric, which offered a really interesting look at how storytelling is changing the way we think about media and marketing.

With international travel becoming more expensive and potentially more complicated due to visa requirements, it’s possible that in the coming years, POSSIBLE could evolve into a ‘mini-Cannes’ on this side of the pond.