This year’s POSSIBLE event was the largest and most ambitious yet. With more than 7,500 people flocking to Miami Beach there was a lot of noise and it wasn’t always easy to find the signal – especially in the Fontainebleau lobby where decibel levels exceeded 90. Whether you were there or not, I’m here now to strip out the extraneous and extravagance so we can zero in on the insights and implications.
1. Humans crave interaction.
In a world of AI, people still want to be around other people. Our CEO Bill Wise captured this well in his #WiseWords video, talking about how relationships matter more than ever. The Mediaocean cabana was a hospitality hub for our team and our partners to meet, greet, and simply be human.
2. Agents everywhere and intelligence nowhere.
The Miami skyline at night was a sight to behold. In his second #WiseWords video, Bill talked about how Thomas Edison didn’t win because he invented the light bulb—it was because he developed the electrical grid that all the bulbs could plug into. The same goes for AI. Agents are amazing but without the grid they are useless. Mediaocean provides the grid for AI in advertising.
3. Agents are for deliverables. Humans are for decisions.
Another take on the nuance around agents—and agency—came from Shelly Palmer. He declared that AI is tremendously powerful when it comes to deliverables and execution but humans are required to make the key decisions that agents act on.
4. IDK is A-OK.
Terry Kawaja of LUMA Partners reminded us that those who are being honest about AI prognostications are the ones who are saying, “I don’t know.” There is still so much we have yet to understand and infer so we need to remain open and agile.
5. Advertising is not a zero-sum game.
One of the more entertaining sessions was Digital Fight Club where 2 leaders take on different sides of a topic and debate in front of judges and an enthusiastic crowd. In a stunner, Terry took down Michael Kassan of 3CV arguing that AI will hurt the value prop of agencies. But, in the end, everyone agreed that, unlike DFC, advertising is not winner-take-all and there’s plenty of room for all parties to carve out utility.
6. Content is still king and Creators are not queens.
Issa Rae, of Insecure fame, graced the stage to discuss how social and mobile has changed the way content gets green-lit in Hollywood and how creators hold the keys to the kingdom. It’s no longer about big glossy productions but rather quick gritty bites that fit the format. As an example, she’s launching a new show on TikTok that will be a scripted series with brand integration as the primary monetization vehicle.
7. Trust is tantamount.
Jeff Green, CEO of The Trade Desk, joined Michael on stage to talk about trust and transparency against the backdrop of DSPs and SSPs battling it out to converge the supply chain. He put out a call for companies to stop exploiting supply chain inefficiencies in an effort to line their own pockets. And he bemoaned the maniacal focus on cost savings in an era of AI, instead offering value as a more critical metric.
8. Mental health matters and puppies always provide.
We hosted “Paws-sible” with our partners at Pinterest and the cutest little puppies to raise awareness and funds for a local animal shelter. Beyond doing good, we helped everyone feel good with a much-needed brain break between running from session to session and meeting to meeting.
9. Sometimes the answers you need are just on the horizon.
For Possible attendees on the beach, there was a message in a bottle—er, on a boat—providing guidance on how to manage the heat emanating from the sun and objectionable content alike. SPF is more than just a sunscreen, it’s a safety filter for your ads and we were promoting our Protected partnership with Basis to drive—er, steer—the point home.
10. Bigger isn't always better.
Whether we’re talking about Large Language Models or industry events, size doesn’t always matter. Despite drawing such a big crowd across a sprawling venue, Possible was intentional about curating experiences to meet whatever attendees were looking for—from learning and listening to noshing and networking. Kudos to Christian Muche (pictured above) and team for building a community that draws the best and brightest minds in marketing from around the world for what truly has become a must-attend annual tentpole.
Looking forward to 2027!
