​CTRL+ALT+Culture brings together a series of afternoon conversations exploring how culture, identity, and data shape modern marketing. Through candid discussions with industry leaders, these sessions examine how brands move beyond rigid categories and surface-level inclusion to better understand audiences, allocate investment, and drive meaningful growth.

​For sponsorship inquiries: 📧 sales@unpluggedcollective.com

​Note: An Advertising Week badge is not required to attend Unplugged State of Mind events.

​12:00PM - CULTURAL ARBITRAGE: FROM CULTURAL INFLUENCE TO ECONOMIC OWNERSHIP

​Wall Street calls it arbitrage: recognizing something the market has undervalued and capturing the spread when it sells at full value. Advertising has done it with culture for decades. Black and brown creators originate the sounds, language, and aesthetics that brands monetize at scale, yet capture remarkably little of the value they create. This conversation examines the shift from influence to ownership. What happens when culture-makers build the agencies, platforms, products, and production companies designed to turn cultural power into enterprise value? This is bigger than equitable creator pay. It is about who owns the infrastructure and the upside.

​12:45PM - MARKETING WHEN TIME MOVES FASTER THAN EVER: CULTURE AT THE SPEED OF NOW (presented by Mark Allen & Co)

​Consumer behavior, culture, and technology now move faster than most marketing plans. By the time a campaign launches, the assumptions behind it may already have changed. But the answer cannot be chasing every trend or rebuilding the strategy every six months. This conversation examines how leading marketers create brands, teams, and operating models that can respond quickly while remaining grounded in a clear identity. Where should marketers move faster, what should remain consistent, and how do they distinguish meaningful change from noise?

​1:30PM - THE CREATOR ENTERPRISE: WHEN TALENT BECOMES THE MEDIA COMPANY

​The biggest creators are no longer simply talent. They are companies with employees, sales teams, product lines, distribution, and P&Ls. Creator agency-of-record deals now reach seven figures, while a generation of aspiring creators is discovering that the job they want is really entrepreneurship. This conversation examines what building a creator enterprise actually requires, from the people doing it: creators who own their businesses, the operators helping them scale, and the brands shifting real budget from one-off campaigns toward deeper commercial partnerships. When the talent owns the audience, the production, and the distribution, the traditional media relationship changes completely.

​2:15PM - FIRST FOLLOWERS: WHY QUEER CONSUMERS ARE THE MARKET’S LEADING INDICATOR

​Queer audiences do not simply respond to culture. They often spot it, shape it, and build its language before everyone else catches up. Yet most media plans still reduce them to a segment or a Pride-month line item. This is a consumer base with roughly $1.4 trillion in US spending power, and one that responds decisively when brands retreat. This conversation treats queer consumers as a leading indicator of where the wider market is headed. What are they adopting, rejecting, and redefining now that the rest of the industry will not recognize until 2028?

​Click Here for the Full Agenda

​Cannesversations is our quick hit interview series featuring leaders across brands, agencies, publishers, and platforms. Hosted by Mike Richter and Stephanie Beach. Have something to say? Submit a Thought Leader

​🚨 A Quick Note About Space:
We’d love to welcome everyone with open arms (and an extra-large dance floor), but space is limited. This RSVP lets you raise your hand for the experiences you’re most excited about. From there, we’ll send out formal invites to confirm attendance. We promise—it’s nothing personal, just physics.