It’s always fun picking out your favourite talks from the Festival of Marketing agenda.

One of the charms of the virtual format the Festival has been using over the past year is that with no concurrent sessions and everything available afterwards on demand, those delegates with enough stamina should be able to listen to every talk that takes their fancy.

This month’s event takes place from October 18th to 21st. The full agenda is over on the FoM website, with plenty of unmissable sessions, including Festival stalwarts such as Mark Ritson, Professor Byron Sharp and Dr Helen Edwards. Do take a look for yourself. In the meantime, I thought I would share the first three sessions I have bookmarked.

Building brands online and offline – and implications from the pandemic

Ogilvy vice-chair Rory Sutherland will tackle perhaps the biggest marketing question posed by the acceleration of ecommerce – how to build a brand online and off? In this talk he’ll be asking what the pandemic has changed for brands trying to drive growth and serve and anticipate customer needs. 9.30am – Day 1

Embrace capitalism! Are marketers running away from their true purpose?

Only this week, Prime Minister Boris Johnson started debate by attributing the success of the UK’s vaccine procurement to capitalism.

But has the world of marketing become squeamish about wealth creation, instead concerning itself with behaviour change rather than consumption? To find out, Marketing Week Editor Russell Parsons will be chatting to Sara Bennison, Chief Product and Marketing Officer at Nationwide, and Mark Sandys, Diageo’s Global Head of Beer, Baileys, Smirnoff & Captain Morgan. 4.00pm – Day 1

Low cost growth: Can you maximise effectiveness and drive efficiency?

Can marketers maximise opportunity and minimise cost? Hear from three fast-growing, digital-first brands familiar with the challenge of meaningful growth on a budget.

Marketing Week Features Editor Charlotte Rogers will quiz Shira Feuer, Chief Marketing Officer, Trinny London; Cheryl Calverley, CEO, eve Sleep; and Tom Wallis, Chief Marketing Officer, Gousto. 10.00am – Day 1

For more information about the agenda for The Year Ahead and to buy a ticket, make your way to the Festival of Marketing website.