EARLY BIRD PRICING | Book before 27 March
PARELLEL SESSION
The Next Gen Effect
on Digital Marketing
Speakers
Warren Spence, Founder, Motor Brand Design
Wren Spence, Head of Business Growth, Motor Brand Design
Facilitator
Val Montagnana-Wallace, Director and General Manager, Hyphen
Date and Time | Thursday 21 May, 2:15pm - 3:00pm
A candid fireside chat and a practical mini-masterclass in one. Learn how next-generation ideas can unlock new opportunities, driving growth and innovation. Plus, using Motor Brand Design as the case study, take away practical tips to strengthen your organic social media strategy in your family business.
Motor Brand Design, a second‑generation, family‑owned creative agency known for its 'Refreshingly Upfront' approach, presents a dynamic session exploring how the Next Gen is reshaping digital marketing within family businesses. This session traces what unfolds when a long‑standing creative agency embraces next‑generation digital thinking.
Val Montagnana-Wallace will facilitate a fireside chat between Warren, the founder, and his son Wren, diving into the evolution of Motor Brand Design, the realities of bringing the next generation into a long-standing business, and how cross-generational collaboration has influenced growth, innovation and succession planning in a rapidly changing industry.
The conversation is followed by a practical 20-minute presentation on adapting organic digital marketing in family businesses, using Motor Group as the case study to highlight the positive effects of integrating social media strategies into family businesses. The session will provide actionable tips that you can implement immediately.
The next gen effect on digital marketing
To view the full speaker line-up at the Family Business Conference, click here.
About Warren Spence
Warren Spence is the founder and creative force behind Motor Brand Design, built from the ground up over the past 25 years into a globally awarded agency based in Melbourne with an international footprint. Known for his high energy, strategic instinct and relentless focus on client outcomes, Warren has spent decades helping brands sharpen their story, stand out in crowded categories and sell more.
His work spans FMCG, retail and brand activation across digital and print, with experience supporting both challengers and category leaders. Warren has played a key role in shaping brands for ALDI globally, alongside a wide range of major Australian and international businesses.
He has also contributed to the industry through five years on the AGDA Victorian council (including two as President), speaking at conferences and universities, and judging design awards. Outside of work, Warren is a proud dad, passionate cook, artist, and motorbike tragic.
About Wren Spence
Wren Spence is Head of Business Growth at Motor Brand Design. With a business degree majoring in marketing, Wren has spent the past three years leading business development while also overseeing the agency’s marketing, bringing a sharp commercial lens to every decision.
He manages a portfolio of 10+ Victorian clients, working closely with marketing and leadership teams to drive clarity, momentum and results.
Wren is passionate about helping brands win in their categories through strategic design outcomes. He applies Motor’s Motorway processes to unlock each brand’s unique DSP within the market, ensuring their positioning is distinctive, ownable and commercially effective. Outside of client work, Wren has built a strong personal brand on LinkedIn, sharing practical insights on branding, packaging and category behaviour with a community of 4,000+ followers.
Facilitator
Val Montagnana-Wallace
Director and General Manager, Hyphen
Val Montagnana-Wallace has an enthusiasm for language and stories that she has nurtured all her life. To begin with, this meant she wanted to be a librarian when she grew up. Later, it manifested itself in teaching, where she learned that there is truly no better place to learn how to manage competing priorities and the complex needs of people than in a primary school classroom.
Her career took a left turn after her husband and brother joined forces to found Bounce Books in 2006. Over time, her commitment to her family business grew until in 2019 she stepped into the role of general manager.
Since then, she’s discovered that what she loves about her work is exactly what she’s always loved – sharing her love of stories, and teaching (now mentoring, really).
She’s very proud of the role she plays managing and nurturing a team of extremely clever, creative and driven women, plus a raft of freelancers, to run upwards of twenty film, book and installation projects at any given time. (Don’t tell the others, but family business projects are her favourites, because they’re always the best stories.)
Above all, she loves working in a role where she can influence the direction and success of Hyphen – Stories, Well Told, as well as the fact that she seems to have become the grown-up version of what she always wanted to be when she grew up. Lucky her.