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January 2026 - Happy New Year! |
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We have some exciting plans for 2026 – save the dates!:
In this time of industry change: sharing ideas, experience and success stories with other agency leaders is more important than ever before. Here are our major opportunities for you in 2026– please save the dates! |
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A note from our founder Julian Boulding...
All of us at thenetworkone would like to wish you a happy and successful new year. With the well-publicised problems of the agency Holding Companies, independents have a very special opportunity to increase their market share in 2026. And thenetworkone is here to help you – with agencies in more than 120 countries, worldwide. We also have an active engagement programme for indie agencies from all around the world: Indie Awards and the launch of our Social Media Marketing Trends Survey at the end of January: The Indie Summit, plus Adfest in March; and Cannes in June. But we know the world is changing and thenetworkone has some quite dramatic plans to be revealed soon. The world of marketing and communications has many new needs, opportunities and experts. Specialist advice is going to be more and more important for agencies to stay relevant to client needs and ahead of the game. No, we are not going to buy them and become a Holdco! Rather, we’ll be creating a series of partnerships and alliances to help all thenetworkone member agencies access their expertise. If there is any specific expertise that you feel you need, and don’t currently have – please do ask us. The first words on our website are: Let’s connect. You’ll be able to meet some of our new partners at the Indie Summit and on other occasions during this year. Stay tuned! |
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A question for you...What are you looking for in thenetworkone newsletter in 2026? |
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We all get a lot of content. So much landing in our inboxes every day.
This year, we want to make sure what we send you is genuinely useful, interesting, and worth opening.
For 2026, we would love to hear from you: what do you want more of in the thenetworkone newsletter? What actually engages you? And what opportunities should we be shouting about?
Drop your thoughts here. |
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The Indie Awards: LAST CHANCE TO ENTER! |
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This is your last chance to enter the only global platform in the world that just celebrating independent agencies and across all disciplines.
Judged by fellow indie agency leaders, no politics, no bias.
Enter now to gain the recognition you deserve and get genuinely useful feedback.
DEADLINE: 7th January 2026
All entries cost £350 GBP. For more information and to enter, please visit The Indie Awards website today.
For any questions, email alice.carr@thenetworkone.com! |
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Join us this January at The Indie Awards Ceremony |
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Whether you’ve entered, won, or are simply curious, this is the event to come along to this January...Tickets are just £50 - click here to get your ticket
Time: 5-7pm, followed by drinks and networking Location: The Hickman, 2 Whitechapel Road, London, E1 1FX, Hosted by Four Agency
Celebrate the best independent work from around the world, learn from your peers, see what it takes to win, spark new connections, and enjoy a great evening together.
With keynote - Social Media Marketing Trends 2026 unveiled...
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Every January, thenetworkone partners with our member agency Kurio, from Finland, to produce one of the most eagerly awaited reports in our industry: The Social Media Marketing Trends survey.
This year Jari Lähdevuori and Erika Danielsson from Kurio, Helsinki, will come to London to present their findings - a truly international view of the trends shaping social-first marketing - including the all-important question: “Why social-first?” and how agencies can answer it in a way that resonates with clients.​
This is the event not to miss this January 2026.
If you have any questions, please email alice.carr@thenetworkone.com |
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THE INDIE SUMMIT 2026 Tickets on sale now: here's why you should come... |
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10 years ago, The Indie Summit was born and this year, it becomes more relevant than ever.
Join us for a two day conference, custom designed for the owners and leaders of independent agencies across all Marketing and Communications media: paid, owned and earned.
At the Indie Summit, you’re not just attending, you’re in the room where the industry’s most important conversations happen. You will gain a deep understanding of what you need to know in the industry today, tailored to what it means for independent agencies, alongside a community that truly gets and supports you.
We will be gathering in Bangkok, Thailand from 15th to 17th of March 2026
We’re thrilled to announce that the next Indie Summit will take place on 15–17 March 2026 in Bangkok, at the iconic Lebua Tower Club. Take a look at how beautiful it is below!!
Early Bird registration ends soon so secure your place at the lowest price!
Add this truly special and important occasion to your calendars now.
Register for Indie Summit here .
Any questions? Email us at maddie.pluck@thenetworkone.com |
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The Indie Summit Agenda 2026 |
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Our industry is going through seismic change. Agency holding companies are losing ground fast. This is clearly an opportunity for independent agencies to seize their moment. However, they also face an uncertain future, as clients move business ‘in-house’ and AI, digital automation and machine learning are forecast to replace 30% or more of jobs for agency people. Right now, the challenge for agencies is to evolve rapidly and leverage the opportunities presented by AI, while simultaneously creating and demonstrating the value of their human talent. The 2026 Indie Summit conference will be 2 days of incredibly valuable insights and extremely practical solutions for every independent agency facing these challenges in 2026.
The conference has six themes: - Global perspective: a close look at how marketing and communications are evolving in the world’s biggest economies and population centres: US, China and now also India.
- “Supply-side growth”: what agencies can do to improve their management skills, to better use their resources and drive profitable revenue
- “Demand-side growth”: how agencies can use their creative talents, allied to modern technology, to create more compelling experiences for their clients’ end customers
- The human dimension of AI: inspirational examples and evidence-based analytics showing how – far from reducing the importance of human talent – the best agencies and using AI to maximise its value and its contribution to both clients’ and agency’s business success.
- Practical counsel from world-class contemporary experts on how to integrate the capabilities offered by AI, into their existing systems and processes – to meet their clients’ need for speed, flexibility, responsiveness and credible success metrics
- “Try before you buy”: How successful independent agencies are improving and enhancing their strategic, creative and technical capabilities through partnerships and alliances, rather than the more traditional, less flexible route of mergers and acquisitions
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Our First Speakers Announced....
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UK: Julian Boulding: President and Founder, thenetworkone
UK: Sarah Clay: Author, “Employee Advocacy on Linked In” UK: Calvin Innes: Fandom & Pop Culture Consultant
China: Nicky Wang: CEO, WE Red Bridge, Shanghai,
China: Ben Condit: Chief Strategy Officer 2015-2021 and Chief Executive Officer 2021 – 2025, Mindshare China.
Mongolia: Bolor Narantsatsralt: Chief Marketing Officer, Pizza Hut Mongolia
Australia: Kathryn Williams: Owner, KMint Profit Academy and Author, ‘How to sell your ideas..for a Profit’
Malaysia: Ted Lim: Independent Creative Consultant and Chief Creative Officer 2013-2020, Dentsu Asia Pacific Uruguay/Miami: Tomás Rodríguez and Diego Fabregas: Directors, Netcom Out of Homet Israel: Ravid Kuperberg: Partner & Trainer, MindscapesCreativity Singapore: Guan Hin Tay: Creative Visionary & author of "Collide: Embracing Conflict to Boost Creativity." |
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We will be heading straight from the Indie Summit to ADFEST and would love you to join us.
thenetworkone will be speaking at ADFEST, and we are organising shuttle transport from Bangkok to Pattaya for anyone attending both events—making it easy to come along together and arrive with familiar faces!
NOTE: Those joining us for both the Indie Summit and ADFEST will receive a 4,000 THB discount.
How to access the discount: Indie Summit participants should register for ADFEST as normal but do not make payment. Once registered, please let us know and we will contact ADFEST who will then reissue your invoice at the discounted rate of THB 35,000 (reduced from THB 39,000). |
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Spikes Asia
Our focus is on Adfest and the Indie Summit, but Julian is also planning to come to Singapore – please let julian.boulding@thenetworkone.com know if you will be in town and open to meet upon Thursday 12 or Friday 13 March! |
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Indie Forum and Cannes Lions 2026 |
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22nd-26th June, Cannes, France
We will all be back in Cannes next year and we would love to meet as many of you as possible during the week. As in 2023/4/5 we will hold an “Indie Forum”, with panel discussions, on controversial topics with the movers and shakers of leading independent agencies; followed by a happy hour of drinks and networking...
Announcement coming in January 2026! |
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Go from Potential to Proven with LIONS Learning
thenetworkone is proud to partner with LIONS Learning to bring you exclusive access to three world-class courses — developed in collaboration with Cannes Lions, WARC, and Contagious.
Each programme is designed to help you connect creativity with commercial impact and stay ahead in an ever-evolving industry.
Available Courses:
- Creative MBA – Build strategic leadership skills rooted in creative excellence.
- Contagious Creative Accelerator – Learn what makes ideas spread and brands stand out.
- Mastering Modern Media – Understand today’s media landscape and maximise effectiveness.
Take your creative marketing career — and your agency — to the next level.
Book your seat now!!! |
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AI in PR – between pragmatism, uncertainty and growing competitive pressure
We’ve partnered with member agency Newskontor on a global survey exploring how the PR and communications industry feel about AI.
See the media release and download you copy here.
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thenetworkone New Members |
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Rain, the Growth Agency from USA join thenetworkone!
A leading direct-to-consumer growth agency, Rain bring a fully integrated, performance-driven approach that seamlessly connects brand strategy, creative and production with advanced analytics and dynamic cross-channel media. Headquartered in Portland, Oregon, with 300 employees nationwide, they’re also behind HyperHer, a specialist practice unlocking the opportunity in women’s sports media. |
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Netcom OOH is an independent, global end-to-end out-of-home advertising company with over 30 years of experience helping major brands bring campaigns to life across multiple markets. With HQ in Miami, Netcom operates globally with offices and representatives across Asia, Europe and the US. They ensure for their clients end to end communication solutions through smart, cross-media strategies. We’re excited to welcome Netcom OOH to thenetworkone! |
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Welcome to Keenfolks to joining thenetworkone community as a member! They are a global AI-powered marketing agency that helps brands unlock growth by integrating data, technology, and customer experience with cutting-edge AI solutions, driving measurable business results for clients worldwide.
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thenetworkone Community News |
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Launchmetrics Performance Awards
Launchmetric's Performance Awards celebrates the definitive list of brands, agencies and talent shaping Fashion, Lifestyle and Beauty today. If you think your brand stood out this year, or know someone else who did? Submit your nomination now...
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Opportunity for 2026: international employee exchange |
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A fantastic opportunity to connect across the world, gain fresh perspectives, and give members of your team a truly global experience. If you are interested or think this could be a good opportunity for you or your employers, or want to learn more, please get in touch...
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Social Media Monthly Round Up
We are looking forward to hearing our keynote from Kurio on 28th January 2026 at The Indie Awards Ceremony and their insight into the social media trends for 2026.... buy your ticket here.
One Prediction: 2026 is set to be a year of bold, expressive creativity... Creatives around the world are calling time on overused visual clichés like generic minimalism, repetitive AI‑generated effects, rubberhose characters and Y2K throwbacks. The consensus? It’s time to move past 'blanding', safe aesthetics and embrace work with personality, craft, narrative and real human intention. See more here. |
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If you or your agency have a Thought Piece to share please contact maddie.pluck@thenetworkone.com
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