Live Nation's PR crisis thanks to Four Corners; Unlock agenda revealed
Welcome to a Tuesday update from Unmade.
Above the paywall, you’ll find the program announcement for Unlock, Unmade’s one-day conference exploring strategies for marketing within the night time economy.
Below the paywall, at the bottom of this post, is a coupon code for Unmade members to get a complimentary pass to Unlock. Plus, Live Nation faces the PR crisis of the week, courtesy of the ABC’s Four Corners program, and the Unmade Index slips.
If you’ve been thinking about upgrading to an Unmade membership, this is the perfect time. Your membership includes:
A complimentary ticket to all of Unmade’s events, including Unlock (October 31), Compass (across November), HumAIn (Q2 2025) and REmade (Q3 2025);
Member-only content like this post; and all of our paywalled archives;
Your own copy of Media Unmade.
Amex, Young Franco and SXSW boss Colin Daniels revealed for Unlock program as earlybird savings end tonight
Unlock curator Cat McGinn writes:
We can today reveal the program for Unmade’s Unlock conference, which explores how brands can harness the 24-hour economy to create deeper connections with customers, drive engagement, and unlock new marketing opportunities.
The nighttime economy is a rapidly growing sector, offering brands new and evolving opportunities to engage with hard-to-reach audiences. Staying ahead of these shifts is crucial for those looking to create meaningful, long term connections with their customers.
With insights and case studies from industry leaders, delegates will learn how storytelling, music, events and other live experiences can build brand loyalty, engage audiences, and deliver measurable ROI outside traditional 9-5 marketing strategies.
From the story of SXSW's journey to Sydney to measuring “return on experience (ROX),” to evolving Gen Z attitudes to leaving the couch, this event includes actionable takeaways and case studies designed for senior marketers, brand managers, creatives and media professionals. In consultation with our advisory board, the conference has been designed to offer practical strategies for brands to thrive in the night-time economy.
Unlock, which takes place in Sydney on October 31, is supported by the NSW Government and is co-located with the Office of the 24-Hour Economy Commissioner’s Neon Forum.
Reduced price earlybird tickets to Unlock expire at the end of today. Unlock takes place on October 31.
The Unlock program:
We built this city on rock and roll
This session covers how music, particularly live performance, can shape brand perception and resonate with younger audiences, focusing on scalable, shareable brand-artist collaborations. The panel will share success stories of brands collaborating with artists within the nighttime economy to unlock customer preference.
The panel will discuss how brands can work with artists to create live music experiences that are scalable, shareable and ownable - around the clock.
The panel:
Young Franco, DJ and music producer
Naysla Edwards, Vice President ICS Marketing, Amex
Adam Ireland, MD, BRING Universal Music For Brands
Bringing SXSW to Sydney
Colin Daniels, Managing Director, South by Southwest Sydney (SXSW) shares the challenges and triumphs of bringing SXSW to Sydney, highlighting its impact on the city's cultural and nighttime economy, and offering insights on collaborating with government, and event partnerships.
Keynote: Storytelling and Brand Experiences in the 24-Hour Economy
This session explores how storytelling can drive emotional connections and ROI in the 24-hour economy. Using case studies, it highlights how brands can create memorable experiences. After Four Pillars co-founder Matt Jones’ presentation, a panel will discuss real-world challenges and solutions, with audience participation.
Telling Stories: Shaping the Night-Time Economy
Discussing how to create engaging narratives for diverse audiences in the 24-hour economy, this session covers content creation across different time slots and perspectives from media on changing perceptions on NSW after dark.
Panellists include:
Alice Ellis, Editor in Chief, Australia, Time Out Media
Tahlia Phillips, General Manager, Concrete Playground
Viv Smith, Creative Producer, Elastic
The panel will be moderated by Matt Levinson, Head of Corporate Affairs / Culture Policy Lead, Committee for Sydney.
Becoming an Iconic Youth Brand
Almost every major brand wants to connect with young people, but few are willing to do the work required, employing outdated models of brand building to an audience they just don’t get. This session busts some simplistic myths and stereotypes of young people’s attitudes and behaviours, and explores how brands can become relevant with this audience by adopting a simple principle: cooperate with culture, don’t co-opt it. Learn how brands can use the night-time economy to show up where young people want to be, entertaining them rather than annoying them, and enriching their experiences rather than appropriating them.
Speaker: Eugene Healey, brand strategy consultant
Leadership Q&A: The Future of NSW’s 24-Hour Economy
A panel of leaders discusses future trends and global inspirations for the development of NSW's 24-hour economy and the role brands play.
Media means accountability. Today it’s Live Nation’s turn
Last year a satirical video featuring a comedian posing as a British MP went viral. The politician character, edited into a real TV news interview, argued that the UK government couldn’t possibly have averted a scandal because the media had not yet dramatised it.
In that case, it was the wrongful prosecution of postal workers. Despite the fact that the British postmaster scandal was all in the public domain, it only became a national conversation after it was dramatised as Mr Bates Vs The Post Office. (You can stream it in Australia on 7plus.)
Australia’s democracy has a similar system. Only in our case, it’s the ABC’s investigative show Four Corners.
Last night, Four Corners welcomed Live Nation to the PR spotlight.