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  • NASA Challenge comes to NCI, with space enthusiast leading the mission

    NASA Challenge comes to NCI, with space enthusiast leading the mission

    The National College of Ireland will host this year’s NASA Space Apps Challenge, with Paola Vercesi as local lead.

    When Apollo 11 mission crew members Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin landed on the moon in July 1969 and took that giant leap for humankind, they pitched up in a crater known as the Sea of Tranquillity. For the astronauts on board and for the millions watching at home, this moment was anything but.

    For one small Italian girl watching on TV with her family, the excitement and wonder of this moment had such an effect as to become her first ever lasting memory.

    “It was kind of an imprinting for me,” Paola Vercesi tells SiliconRepublic.com. “From then on, I kept talking about space.”

    Over the next few years, 10 more astronauts landed on the moon. Vercesi says by the age of 5 she could recite the names of every one of them.

    She had her heart set on becoming an astronaut or astrophysicist. And then the realities of life hit harshly. As a teenager in Italy in the 80s, Vercesi was told her dream of going to space was unrealistic. “That happens to girls,” she says magnanimously.

    She ended up going down a different path altogether and studied political science at university.

    She first came to Ireland in the 90s. “When Dublin was a dirty old town,” she laughs, “and I loved it.” She has left a few times over the years, but her love for the place always brings her back.

    During her career, Vercesi has worked for the likes of Maserati, Ferrari, Amazon and Microsoft in various marketing, communications and data analysis roles.

    But space has remained her true passion.

    NASA Space Apps Challenge

    Since 2023, Vercesi has worked as the local lead and hackathon host in Dublin for the NASA International Space Apps Challenge – the world’s largest hackathon – held in October every year.

    Vercesi is excited to announce that this year’s Dublin event, which runs on 4-5 October, will be hosted at the National College of Ireland (NCI).

    NCI continues in the role, having been mission control for the last two years. And the team at NCI offer huge support for the event, Vercesi says.

    The two-day hackathon brings together a diverse group of innovators to use open data provided by NASA and partner space agencies, with the aim of creating solutions to “real challenges” faced on Earth and in space.

    “We welcome people from any background, any age, with willingness to interact with this data and information from space,” Vercesi explains. She emphasises that you don’t need to be a tech or data expert to get involved. People are often intimidated when they hear the word ‘hackathon’, she says, but they really shouldn’t be, as the challenges need all kinds of skills and perspectives.

    This year’s theme is ‘learn, launch, lead’, with a range of challenges set by NASA subject matter experts. Some of the challenges are very technical and some are more creative, Vercesi says. She finds it’s fascinating to see different teams come up with different solutions to the same challenge.

    People can sign up in teams, or by themselves and they will be assigned to teams.

    And there are mentors, including academics from NCI and University College Dublin, and data scientists from IBM on hand to support the teams.

    A local Community Choice Award will be presented to one project, and a judging panel will select one project to advance to the global judging stage. Just 10 teams from the thousands that take part globally – nearly 15,500 last year – will be invited to NASA HQ for a prize-giving ceremony and will have the chance to develop their projects with the support of NASA and partner space agencies.

    The Challenge has global collaborators such as Google and Microsoft that provide equipment for teams, but Vercesi says the local events also look for collaborators.

    She’s keen to appeal to Irish space companies to reach out to her and get involved with the event.

    Though Vercesi leads the event, there’s a whole team involved, and she highlights the work of Dr Athanasios Staikopoulos, assistant professor in computing at NCI, who she commends for his expert advice. He goes through all the challenges when they’re released, she says, and really helps them understand what is achievable for different teams.

    From left: Dr Athanasios Staikopoulos and Paola Vercesi at the NASA Space Apps Challenge 2024. Image: Paola Vercesi

    Vercesi says there is always a great vibe and energy at the events. “I love being in that environment.

    “I really learn so much from the participants and I really enjoy seeing how the projects come together.”

    Love at first data insight

    Vercesi first got involved in the Space Apps Challenge as a participant herself. ‘Data’ had become a real buzzword in marketing, she says, and she had obtained a postgraduate diploma in data analytics. Now she wanted to combine her communications and data skills.

    She worked on an Earth observation project for the Challenge, looking at how pollution diminished in northern Italy during Covid.

    Vercesi says she basically taught herself GIS (geographic information systems) overnight to work on the project. And then she says something you probably don’t here very often – she fell in love with GIS. Love at first data insight perhaps.

    She continued this infatuation with a certificate in GIS and digital mapping at Atlantic Technological University and will start a diploma in GIS at University College Cork in the autumn.

    Vercesi’s love of learning and passion for her work is infectious – an asset for any communicator.

    ‘The overview effect’

    I ask Vercesi what she thinks is the value of science communication. “I really think that communication is everything.” Science isn’t just something theoretical that happens in labs, she says. It’s informed by and informs the real world around us. And communication helps people understand the influence of that scientific work on their everyday lives.

    She gives the example of space (obviously). There are technologies we use every day such as Google Maps that wouldn’t exist if not for space science, she says.

    A tall man in an ESA t-shirt and a woman in a stripy dress stand next to each other smiling in a hallway.

    From left: ESA astronaut Luca Parmitano with Paola Vercesi at ESA Esrin Centre for Earth Observation in Frascati, Italy. Image: Paola Vercesi

    This is one of the things that drew Vercesi to the Space Apps Challenge. It helps people make the link between space and data, and how it can affect their daily lives, she says.

    “But there is something more individual, I think, more personal about space that I want to communicate.”

    Vercesi talks with something close to reverence about her visit to Houston, Texas last year to participate in the International Space University Space Studies Program – an intensive eight-week course to train people moving into space careers.

    While in Houston, she visited Space Explorers: The Infinite, an immersive virtual reality tour of space guided by real astronauts.

    “You see the Earth as the astronauts see it,” Vercesi says, showing me that she has goosebumps even now as she remembers the experience.

    “It’s the overview effect … it’s really something that touched me and I want to bring that feeling of belonging to the universe, to the Earth, to people. I want to communicate that.”

    Don’t miss out on the knowledge you need to succeed. Sign up for the Daily Brief, Silicon Republic’s digest of need-to-know sci-tech news.

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  • New Idiopathic Pulmonary Fibrosis Treatment Target Found

    New Idiopathic Pulmonary Fibrosis Treatment Target Found


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    Researchers at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai and collaborators have identified a previously overlooked protein, Epac1, as a key driver of idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF), a chronic and progressive lung-scarring disease. Their findings, demonstrated across cell cultures, preclinical models, and samples of human lung tissue, show that blocking Epac1 can slow the progression of the disease.  


    Published in the July 7 online issue of European Respiratory Journal, the work could pave the way for a new class of treatments to help patients with this currently incurable condition. 


    IPF is a progressive, often fatal disease in which lung tissue becomes thickened and scarred over time, making it increasingly difficult to breathe. With limited treatment options available today, researchers have been searching for new ways to intervene before irreversible damage occurs. 


    “We were motivated by the urgent need for new therapies,” says co-senior corresponding author Lahouaria Hadri, PhD, Associate Professor of Pharmacological Sciences, and Medicine (Cardiology), at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai. “We focused on Epac1 because we suspected this little-known protein might be doing more harm than previously thought in fibrotic lungs—and that turned out to be the case.” 


    Using lung tissue from IPF patients and healthy individuals, as well as both cellular and mouse models, the researchers found that Epac1 is significantly overactive in fibrotic lungs. When they genetically removed Epac1 in mice—or treated the mice and human lung tissue slices with a small-molecule drug known as AM-001, designed to inhibit the protein—they observed a clear reduction in lung scarring and fibrosis. 


    “This is the first time anyone has shown that Epac1 plays a harmful role in IPF and that targeting it with a drug can help,” says Dr. Hadri “We were especially encouraged to see these protective effects across all models we tested—from cells to mice to human lung tissue.” 


    Importantly, the study also linked Epac1 activity to another biological process known as “neddylation,” which is believed to be involved in how proteins are regulated in IPF. This discovery opens a new avenue for understanding the molecular underpinnings of the disease, say the investigators. 


    While encouraging, the researchers caution that this is early-stage, preclinical research. They say that much more work, including testing in larger animal models and eventual clinical trials, is needed before Epac1 inhibitors like AM-001 can be developed into a therapy for patients. 


    Still, they called the findings an encouraging step toward the development of targeted treatments that could slow or stop the progression of IPF, giving patients more time and better quality of life. Next, the team plans to test AM-001 in more advanced models and explore its effects on other lung cell types and molecular pathways. 


    “This research lays the foundation for a completely new treatment strategy,” says Dr. Hadri. “If successful, it could make a real difference for people with IPF, who currently have very few options.”

    Reference: Jankowski K, Lemay SE, Lozano-ojalvo D, et al. Pharmacological inhibition of Epac1 protects against pulmonary fibrosis by blocking FoxO3a neddylation. Eur Respir J. 2025. doi: 10.1183/13993003.02250-2024

    This article has been republished from the following materials. Note: material may have been edited for length and content. For further information, please contact the cited source. Our press release publishing policy can be accessed here.

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  • Fred Vasseur explains why Charles Leclerc’s self-criticism is both a quality and a fault

    Fred Vasseur explains why Charles Leclerc’s self-criticism is both a quality and a fault

    Ferrari team boss Fred Vasseur has described Charles Leclerc’s self-critical nature as both a “quality” and a “fault”, following the Monegasque’s post-Qualifying outburst at Silverstone last time out.

    Ferrari entered the British Grand Prix’s grid-deciding session off the back of encouraging displays in Free Practice, but ended it with low-key P5 and P6 grid slots for Lewis Hamilton and Leclerc respectively.

    Leclerc jumped on the radio to express his frustration over the outcome, swearing several times and even describing himself as an expletive after what he felt was a clear missed opportunity and messy final lap.

    Speaking in the media pen afterwards, Leclerc sighed: “Horrible. Nothing really to say, I think the pace was there for the front row but I eventually didn’t do the job when I needed to.”

    Given Leclerc’s track record of criticising himself, including his 2019 “I am stupid” radio message when he crashed during Qualifying in Azerbaijan, Vasseur was asked for his thoughts on the situation.

    “For probably 10 years or so, one of the qualities of Charles is that he is able to blame himself, and one of the faults of Charles is sometimes he’s blaming himself a bit too much!” Vasseur commented.

    “As a team, I appreciate a lot the fact that drivers can say, ‘Okay, my mistake’ – this is positive, because it’s not bringing the team in the wrong direction and they are human.

    “They are doing mistakes as everybody [does], and it’s good to have the drivers able to say this.”

    Given Leclerc’s follow-up assessment that he is “really struggling” during Qualifying this season and “not putting everything together”, Vasseur went on to explain how his driver has been approaching race weekends in recent times.

    “He did a real step forward in terms of race pace, perhaps also with the set-up of the car, and it’s all going into the direction to be more difficult for the Quali,” Vasseur said.

    “But I remember perfectly that two years ago we were telling him, ‘Charles, we are scoring points on Sunday, let’s be more focused on Sunday, let’s be more focused on the set-up on Sunday’, because it’s Sunday that we are scoring points.”

    Putting his perceived Qualifying struggles to one side, Leclerc leads new team mate Hamilton 8-4 in their mid-season head-to-heads, and holds 119 points to the seven-time World Champion’s 103.

    Leclerc and Hamilton’s combined efforts, meanwhile, have put Ferrari second to McLaren in the Teams’ Championship standings after 12 of 24 rounds.

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  • Developer says Apple is delisting its game without “clear justification”

    Developer says Apple is delisting its game without “clear justification”

    Long-running Italian indie developer Santa Ragione has criticised Apple for delisting its narrative game Wheels of Aurelia, despite the studio claiming the game is “fully functional” and “compliant with current technical standards”.

    “We announce with deep disappointment that our award-winning narrative game, Wheels of Aurelia, will soon be removed from Apple’s App Store following Apple’s recent decision to delist the game,” the studio said in a statement on BlueSky.

    “Despite multiple appeals and sincere efforts to seek clarification, Apple has not provided clear justification for this removal, citing only their policy to remove apps deemed ‘obsolete’ or ‘outdated’, despite the game being fully functional and compliant with current technical standards.”

    Wheels of Aurelia is an acclaimed experimental narrative game where players take a road trip across Italy in the ’70s with a variety of passengers.

    “We firmly believe that removing fully functional artistic works simply due to infrequent updates undermines the value and sustainability of games as cultural and artistic products,” continued the statement. “Like books, films, and music albums, video games represent complete creative works that do not inherently require continual updates beyond maintaining basic functionality.”

    The statement then pointed out that “enforced and unnecessary” updates are a significant financial challenge for smaller developers as they pursue new projects.

    The developer then turned its attention to the EU’s recent measures against Apple around the Digital Markets Act, which have resulted in extensive EU App Store changes.

    “Furthermore, Apple’s dominant position in digital distribution makes such practices especially troubling, reinforcing the importance of diversified ecosystems. We commend recent EU regulations designed to prevent monopolistic behaviours, fostering more fairness and plurality in the digital marketplace.”

    Wheels of Aurelia is available for free on the App Store as a result, with the studio wanting to give as many people the chance to play the game as possible before it’s delisted.

    GamesIndustry.biz has reached out to Apple for comment on Santa Ragione’s statement.

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  • At least 20 Palestinians killed in crush at food distribution site in southern Gaza | Gaza

    At least 20 Palestinians killed in crush at food distribution site in southern Gaza | Gaza

    At least 20 Palestinians have been killed in a crush at a food distribution site in southern Gaza run by the US-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation. It happened after GHF guards used teargas or pepper spray on hungry crowds arriving at the centre, Palestinian health authorities and witnesses said.

    Nineteen people were crushed and one stabbed in a “chaotic and dangerous surge” on Wednesday morning, GHF said in a statement. It did not respond to questions about the use of pepper spray or teargas by its staff at the site near Khan Younis.

    Fifteen people died from suffocation after teargas was fired at the crowd, the Gaza health ministry said in a statement.

    “All of the 15 arrived at the hospital already dead with obvious symptoms of lack of oxygen. You can see blue marks, vomit, blue lips, swelling faces – all symptoms of suffocation,” Dr Mohammed Zaqqout, the director of hospitals for Gaza, said. “We couldn’t save any of the 15 we received because they were already dead on arrival.”

    The deaths marked a grim milestone for Palestinians in a war where Israeli attacks have already killed more than 58,000 people, the majority of them civilians. On Tuesday 13 members of the same family, including seven children, were reported killed when an Israeli airstrike hit their home in eastern Gaza City. Some of the victims were left to die under the rubble, as the Israeli military prevented rescuers from approaching the scene for roughly eight hours with the use of drone strikes, local rescue workers and family members told the Haaretz newspaper.

    Israeli forces have killed at least 800 Palestinians while they were trying to access food since the GHF began operations in late May. Many of them were trying to reach a GHF distribution site. The deaths on Wednesday were the first at a site controlled by the organisation’s armed security guards. Gaza health authorities also said they were the first “due to suffocation and severe stampedes”.

    “This is a mechanism for killing,” Zaqqout said. “No one would risk his life unless he is starving and doesn’t care if he dies in the attempt to get something to eat. This is the worst kind of humiliation a human being can suffer.”

    GHF, a startup organisation with no experience of distributing food in complex conflict zones, says it bears no responsibility for deaths outside its perimeters. The Trump administration announced on Tuesday it would donate $30m (£22m) to the organisation, a move decried as “outrageous” by the Democratic senator Chris Van Hollen.

    Van Hollen referred to GHF as a “shadowy group at the centre of the scheme to replace humanitarian aid orgs in Gaza with mercenaries, leading to the killing of starving civilians trying to collect food”.

    “Taxpayers shouldn’t be paying for this outrage,” the senator said in a social media post.

    In one video posted on social media, which could not immediately be verified, a man described guards throwing teargas at crowds who were already out of breath from the race to get limited aid.

    “I was running like everybody else to reach the gate [to the site],” he said. “People were crushing each other at the gate and they [the guards] started throwing teargas at us.”

    GHF said it identified people with weapons in the crowd for the first time since starting operations, and confiscated one gun.

    It claimed, without providing details or evidence, that people with Hamas links “fomented unrest”.

    The organisation runs only four sites to feed 2 million people, in a territory where extreme hunger is widespread and food security experts have warned of looming famine. Food security experts say deaths are inevitable in a system with only four sites, which open for short, irregular periods, providing food for hundreds of thousands of desperately hungry people.

    Under the aid model run by the UN and major international humanitarian organisations, which fed Palestinians during nearly 20 months of war, there were more than 400 aid distribution points used to bring food into communities.

    Israeli authorities claimed they needed a new aid system because Hamas was diverting aid, but have not provided evidence to back up allegations that closely audited supply chains of UN and humanitarian agencies were compromised.

    Malak A Tantesh in Gaza and William Christou in Beirut contributed reporting

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  • Asim Munir’s unusual meetings with Zardari, Sharif stir coup speculation, again – Firstpost

    Asim Munir’s unusual meetings with Zardari, Sharif stir coup speculation, again – Firstpost

    The back-to-back meetings have, once again, stirred coup rumours in Pakistan’s political circles as Munir engages with the top leadership to replace the president

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    While earlier speculations on a military coup in Pakistan have not died down yet, Chief of Army Staff Asim Munir met Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Tuesday shortly after Sharif held a meeting with President Asif Ali Zardari at the latter’s residence.

    The back-to-back meetings have, once again, stirred
    coup rumours in Pakistan’s political circles as Munir engages with the top leadership to replace the president. According to a report by The Express Tribune, word of the town is that Islamabad is likely to invoke the 27th Amendment, followed by a resignation of President Zardari.

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    ‘Army has no interest in politics’

    The theory that military may take over the reins of the Pakistani government has been dismissed by Defence Minister Khawaja Asif, who has rejected media reports as lacking “credibility”.

    Talking to the Express Tribune, Asif confirmed that while the possibility of President Zardari’s resignation and a subsequent military takeover came up during the discussions between Munir and Sharif, he dismissed rumours and found claims made by Pakistani media “unfounded.”

    He said that Zardari was well aware of the meeting between Sharif and Munir. “Mr President was fully aware of the issue and expressed his full confidence in the government. It’s all kite flying,” Asif asserted.

    “Army chief has no interest in politics. He [Munir] doesn’t need anything,” he added.

    Sharif denies claims, too

    Last week,
    PM Sharif said, “Field Marshal Asim Munir has never expressed any desire to become the president, nor is there any such plan in the offing.”

    Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi also criticised what he called a “malicious campaign” targeting Pakistan’s civilian and military leaders.

    In a post on X, Naqvi suggested that foreign groups were behind the dissemination of these rumours and said the government knows who is responsible for pushing this narrative.

    With inputs from agencies

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  • Trump tariffs send chill through Greek peach harvest – Reuters

    1. Trump tariffs send chill through Greek peach harvest  Reuters
    2. EU threatens €72 billion tariffs on US goods amid Stalled Trade Talks  Ptv.com.pk
    3. In Trump’s game of chicken, the EU cannot afford to back down | Nathalie Tocci  The Guardian
    4. Statement by President von der Leyen on EU-U.S. trade  European Commission
    5. EU ‘holding back’ in search of tariff deal with Trump  Dawn

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  • Angelina Jolie seen with son Knox Jolie-Pitt in rare outing

    Angelina Jolie seen with son Knox Jolie-Pitt in rare outing



    Angelina Jolie seen with son Knox Jolie-Pitt in rare outing 

    Angelina Jolie, 50, was spotted cheering on her son Knox Jolie-Pitt, 17, at a Muay Thai tournament in Morro Bay, California, on July 12. 

    The event coincided with Knox’s birthday, as he and his twin sister Vivienne celebrated their 17th birthday on the same day.

    In a photo shared by an employee, Angelina was seen dressed in a full black outfit, complete with sunglasses, keeping a low profile while supporting her son. 

    Knox emerged victorious in the competition, making the day even more special for the mother-son duo.

    This isn’t the first time the Magnificent star has been seen with Knox in public recently. 

    In November 2023, she made a rare appearance with him at the Governors Awards, marking their first red carpet appearance together in three years.

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  • CVE-2025-6554 marks the fifth actively exploited Chrome Zero-Day patched by Google in 2025

    CVE-2025-6554 marks the fifth actively exploited Chrome Zero-Day patched by Google in 2025

    CVE-2025-6554 marks the fifth actively exploited Chrome Zero-Day patched by Google in 2025

    Pierluigi Paganini
    July 16, 2025

    Google released security patches to address multiple Chrome vulnerabilities, including one flaw that has been exploited in the wild.

    Google released fixes for six Chrome flaws, including one actively exploited in the wild tracked as CVE-2025-6558 (CVSS score of 8.8). CVE-2025-6558 stems from improper validation of untrusted input in Chrome’s ANGLE and GPU components.

    Clément Lecigne and Vlad Stolyarov of Google’s Threat Analysis Group reported the vulnerability on June 23, 2025. Google’s TAG team investigates attacks by nation-state actors and commercial spyware vendors. One of these threat actors likely exploited the issue in the wild.

    “Google is aware that an exploit for CVE-2025-6558 exists in the wild.” reads the advisory published by Google.

    Google also fixed the following vulnerabilities:

    • [$7000][425583995] High CVE-2025-7656: Integer overflow in V8. Reported by Shaheen Fazim on 2025-06-17
    • [TBD][427681143] High CVE-2025-7657: Use after free in WebRTC. Reported by jakebiles on 2025-06-25

    In early July, Google released security patches to address another Chrome vulnerability, tracked as CVE-2025-6554, for which an exploit exists in the wild.

    The vulnerability CVE-2025-6554 is a type-confusing issue that resides in the V8 JavaScript and WebAssembly engine.

    “This issue was mitigated on 2025-06-26 by a configuration change pushed out to Stable channel across all platforms.” reads the advisory. “Google is aware that an exploit for CVE-2025-6554 exists in the wild.”

    A type confusion vulnerability occurs when a program mistakenly treats a piece of data as a different type than it actually is, leading to unintended behavior. This mismatch can cause memory corruption, crashes, or allow an attacker to execute arbitrary code.

    Clément Lecigne of Google’s Threat Analysis Group discovered the vulnerability on June 25, 2025.

    CVE-2025-6554 is the fourth Chrome zero-day patched by Google in 2025. The IT giant also addressed these zero-day vulnerabilities this year:

    • CVE-2025-5419 – The vulnerability is an out-of-bounds read and write in the V8 JavaScript engine in Google Chrome prior. An attacker can exploit the flaw to trigger a heap corruption via a crafted HTML page. The flaw is actively exploited in the wild.
    • CVE-2025-4664 – The vulnerability is a Chrome browser vulnerability that could lead to full account takeover. Google is aware that an exploit for CVE-2025-5419 exists in the wild.
    • CVE-2025-2783 – The vulnerability is an incorrect handle provided in unspecified circumstances in Mojo on Windows. Kaspersky researchers Boris Larin (@oct0xor) and Igor Kuznetsov (@2igosha) reported the vulnerability on March 20, 2025. Google released out-of-band fixes to address the high-severity security vulnerability in the Chrome browser for Windows. The flaw was actively exploited in attacks targeting organizations in Russia.

    Follow me on Twitter: @securityaffairs and Facebook and Mastodon

    Pierluigi Paganini

    (SecurityAffairs – hacking, Google)


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  • Less Spray, More Sway: What BD Pros Can Learn from Brands at MAD//Fest

    Less Spray, More Sway: What BD Pros Can Learn from Brands at MAD//Fest

    Whether it was from brand-side speakers or the BD100 panel, the message was consistent: focus matters. Clear positioning, well-timed outreach, and sharp creativity make the difference between being noticed and being ignored.

    Here’s what stuck with us and how to apply it to your own outreach efforts.

    Innocent Drinks: Timing is Everything

    Speaker: Irem Alp Mainwaring, European head of brand + portfolio, Innocent Drinks.

    Key Insight: If you don’t know a brand’s planning cycle or pain points, don’t bother.

    Application for BD:

    • Research your prospect’s annual planning rhythms. For FMCG, summer planning might happen in March.
    • Don’t cold call unless there’s been a prior introduction. Be human, be considerate.
    • Solve real problems. Don’t pitch features, pitch fixes.

    Best fit for outreach: Strategy, insight, and innovation consultancies that can help shape early-stage planning.

    Avoid: Blanket outreach with no context – especially generic ‘thought leadership’ that lacks relevance.

    Bloom & Wild: Challenger Brands Win on Experience

    Speaker: Charlotte Langley, CMO, Bloom & Wild.

    Key Insight: Great brands obsess over experience – from unboxing to reminders that reduce mental load.

    Application for BD:

    • Lead with case studies around customer journey design, CX innovation, or loyalty experience.
    • Highlight how you’ve helped brands move from one-off purchases to rituals or ecosystems.
    • Showcase work that balances creativity with conversion and brand love with operational excellence.

    Best fit for outreach: Agencies specialising in CX, DTC performance, loyalty, or brand strategy.

    Avoid: Over-indexing on creative ‘ta-da’ moments without backing them up with consistent delivery.

    M&S: Be Unique, Be Ownable

    Speaker: Sharry Cramond, marketing director, M&S.

    Key Insight: 87% of ads are ignored. Your message must be unique, compelling, and most importantly, ownable.

    Application for BD:

    • Position your agency as the only one that can tell a certain kind of story.
    • Lead with brand platforms you’ve helped build that have stuck, scaled, and differentiated.
    • If you’ve worked on retail campaigns, show how you used authentic storytelling – not just noise – to drive fame.

    Best fit for outreach: Creative agencies, branded content specialists, and brand platform strategists.

    Avoid: ‘We do everything’ decks. Instead, double down on one distinctive way you help brands win.

    Shepherd Neame: Heritage Meets Agility

    Speakers: Tessa HIll, senior strategist, Thirst Craft; and Rose Davies, head of brands, Shepherd Neame.

    Key Insight: Even a 300-year-old brand can evolve – if it knows its story and listens to customers.

    Application for BD:

    • Show how you’ve helped traditional or heritage brands stay culturally relevant.
    • Highlight projects that combine design thinking with authenticity.
    • Lean into storytelling and place-based identity. Gen Z wants meaning, not just packaging.

    Best fit for outreach: Brand design, packaging, and storytelling agencies with experience in food/drink or hospitality.

    Avoid: Trend-chasing campaigns with no connection to the brand’s roots.

    TUI: From Performance to Brand – and Back

    Speakers: KMac MacGregor, chief commercial officer, Smartly; and Frans Leenaars, CMO, TUI. 

    Key Insight: TUI are shifting from performance-only to full-funnel brand building, but authenticity is non-negotiable.

    Application for BD:

    • If you’ve helped performance-heavy brands unlock upper-funnel growth, now’s the time to reach out.
    • Be cautious with AI and automation claims — TUI care about real experiences, not AI mockups.
    • Share work where real imagery and customer emotion led to results.

    Best fit for outreach: Integrated media, full-funnel creative or CX agencies.

    Avoid: AI-first or templated solutions that feel too artificial or impersonal.

    Jägermeister: Serve the Subculture

    Speakers: Christian Stindt (UK marketing director, Jägermeister), Peter Kennedy (UK marketing manager, Jägermeister), Andy Crysell (cultural strategist)

    Key Insight: The brand’s future lies in culture — music venues, nightclubs, independent scenes.

    Application for BD:

    • Lead with partnerships you’ve built in music, nightlife or grassroots culture.
    • Showcase your work supporting creators, not just selling to audiences.
    • Think about outreach not as selling, but joining a cultural movement.

    Best fit for outreach: Cultural strategy, experiential, or talent-partnership agencies.

    Avoid: One-size-fits-all campaigns or messages that talk at the audience, not with them.

    Vinted: Root It in Truth

    Speaker: Andrew Smith, Senior Director, Brand, Vinted

    Key Insight: Brand strategy should start with what’s defensible — not what’s aspirational.

    Application for BD:

    • Position your agency as a partner that helps brands unearth real, everyday motivations — then build strategic narratives around them.
    • Share how you’ve used insight to shift perceptions (e.g. ‘second-hand = smart’, ‘used = new again’).
    • Have examples of reframing tough truths into sticky brand platforms.

    Best fit for outreach: Strategic brand, repositioning, or insight-driven agencies.

    Avoid: Leading with sustainability alone unless it’s tied to everyday usefulness or desire.

    Beavertown: Create Talkability (and Stealable Pint Glasses)

    Speaker: Tom Rainsford, Marketing Director, Beavertown Brewery

    Key Insight: Brands win when they tap into cultural moments and make themselves physically or emotionally stealable.

    Application for BD:

    • Highlight work that’s had cultural impact — from shareable packaging to social-first brand behaviour.
    • Talk about campaigns that made people feel something or changed how they acted.
    • Bonus points for humour, honesty and emotional truth.

    Best fit for outreach: Culturally plugged-in creative agencies, brand experience shops, or social-first teams.

    Avoid: Pitches that over-intellectualise. Beavertown isn’t looking for theory, they’re looking for joy.

    Final Thoughts

    The biggest takeaway? Brands aren’t looking for more. They’re looking for meaning.

    Your prospecting strategy should reflect that:

    • Do your homework — on their planning cycles, pain points and platforms.
    • Lead with something ownable — not a services list, but a belief or approach.
    • Share case studies that speak to what they care about right now — whether that’s brand consistency, cultural relevance, or customer utility.
    • Cut the fluff. Be clear, be human, and offer value from the first line.

    In a world of AI-generated spam and generic outreach, the agencies that cut through are the ones that genuinely get the brands they’re speaking to.


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