LBB AUNZ Teams Up With Alex Derwin, Elle Bullen For IMAA Indie-pendence Day Keynotes

LBB AUNZ's leaders and two top indie chief creatives will present on the intersection of creative excellence and media intelligence at Independent Media Agencies Australia's (IMAA)  upcoming Indie-pendence Day conference.

In Sydney on February 19th, LBB AUNZ managing editor Brittney Rigby will present alongside Rick Barry co-founder and CCO Alex Derwin. And the following week, on February 26th, Hellions' creative co-founder Elle Bullen will take the stage with LBB APAC managing director Toby Hemming in Melbourne.

A range of top marketers and strategists will appear at the annual event, run by the industry body for indie media agencies. They include Fear & Greed podcaster Sean Aylmer; finance expert Betsy Westcott discussing the economic outlook; and futurist and WPP AUNZ's former CSO, Katie Rigg-Smith, speaking on the futures for which indies need to prepare and the big trends set to impact consumers.

AI peppers the agenda. Headspring founder Mark Byrne will explore how to use AI without losing an edge. In Melbourne, Thinkerbell co-founder Adam Ferrier and marketer and Australian Centre for AI in Marketing co-founder Louise Cummins will participate in a fireside chat. And in Sydney, Louise will join Katie, Thinkerbell CEO Margie Reid, BRAIVE AI founder Matt Travers, and oOh!media's chief product and marketing officer Bel Harper for a panel discussion centred on AI.

"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," IMAA CEO, Sam Buchanan, said.

“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 19th -- 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.”

Both the Sydney and Melbourne conferences are sponsored by News Australia and Tubi, and will conclude with networking events presented by Tubi.

News Australia's national client partnerships managing director, Lou Barrett, said, "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.”