The Independent Media Agencies Australia (IMAA) has announced the speakers at its upcoming 2026 Indie-Pendence Day conference in Sydney and Melbourne.
The Sydney conference will be held on February 19 at HOYTS Entertainment Quarter, while the Melbourne event will be held on February 26 at Melbourne Cricket Ground’s AFL Dining Room in the Shane Warne Stand.
Both events, sponsored by News Australia and Tubi, will include a stellar line-up of leading marketers and strategists and are expected to set the 2026 momentum for the national independent media agency sector.
The Sydney event will commence with an Acknowledgement of Country, performed by NITV Editor-in-Chief and General Manager, Dan Bourchier, while news.com.au entertainment reporter and The Newsroom podcast host, Andrew “Bucky” Bucklow will MC both events.
In Sydney, futurist and Say Robots Founder, Katie Rigg-Smith, will present on “Fact, fiction or fad? Which are the futures that indies need to prepare for in 2026?” Rigg-Smith will dig into some of the big trends set to impact consumers in the next 12 – 24 months and what it means for indie agencies as they prepare for the year ahead.
Sean Aylmer, host of Nova Entertainment’s business podcast Fear & Greed, will present a general business outlook.
Little Black Book Managing Editor AUNZ, Brittney Rigby, and Managing Director Asia-Pacific, Toby Hemming, will deliver keynote speeches in Sydney and Melbourne respectively. Their presentation, Work built different: when creative excellence meets media intelligence, will explore the world’s best creative work, why it is effective and how indie agencies can support their creative partners to achieve excellence and effectiveness. Joining Rigby will be Alex Derwin, co-founder and chief creative officer at Rick Barry and Elle Bullen, creative founder at Hellions.
In Melbourne, JCDecaux presents finance expert Betsy Westcott discussing The 2026 Economic Outlook: What Indie Agencies need to know to stay ahead, while Headspring Founder Mark Byrne will delve into Escaping the Age of Average: How to Think Sharper, Work Smarter and Use AI Without Losing your Edge.
Discussions exploring AI will also be a key feature of this year’s conferences. In Sydney, there will be a panel that will include insights from oOh!media Chief Product and Marketing Officer, Bel Harper, BRAIVE AI agency founder, Matt Travers, Katie Rigg-Smith, expert chief marketing officer, Kathryn Illy, and Thinkerbell Partner and CEO, Margie Reid and moderated by Australian Centre for AI in Marketing Co-Founder, Louise Cummins.
In Melbourne, Thinkerbell Founder Adam Ferrier and Louise Cummins will engage in a thought-provoking fireside chat on AI, where it is at and where it is headed.
News Australia National Client Partnerships Managing Director, Lou Barrett, said: “News Australia and Tubi are thrilled to sponsor Indie-Pendence Day – the first event in the IMAA’s 2026 program.
“Following an extraordinary 2025 for the IMAA and its members, this event brings the independent agency community together to explore the economic outlook and the AI advantage needed to stay ahead. We were honoured to be recognised by IMAA members at the 2025 IMAA Awards as Digital Partner of the Year and Publishing & News Partner of the Year, and are proud to continue supporting the indie sector through this flagship event and the broader IMAA program.”
IMAA CEO, Sam Buchanan, said: “We are thrilled to announce the incredible line-up of leading marketing and technology experts for this year’s Indie-Pendence Day conference. We’ve been lucky enough to again secure some of the nation’s top thinkers in AI, creative, marketing and media to explore the future of the sector, and encourage fresh ideas for our members and media partners.
“Our annual Indie-Pendence Day conference is an important opportunity for us, as an organisation, to reflect on both our achievements to date, and what’s in store for the year ahead. Not only does the conference kick off our annual calendar, but in Sydney the event falls on February 19 – the date the IMAA first launched in 2020. Now more than ever, this date holds significance – it’s a chance for us to celebrate how far we’ve come, while also looking towards the future and what it holds for indie agencies across Australia.”
The 2026 Indie-Pendence Day conference will be held in Sydney on Thursday, February 19 and Melbourne on Thursday, February 26 from 9am to 12.30pm. Both conferences will be followed by networking sessions presented by Tubi.
The conference is available to all IMAA members and partner organisations.
