Tribeca X’s 2025 lineup: Bryan Cranston, Paris Hilton, and a year-round expansion

Tribeca X was originally a one-day affair. When it launched in 2016 as part of New York City’s iconic Tribeca Festival, it was a single-day slate of programming for the creative advertising industry, capped by an awards show recognizing best-in-class, storytelling-driven marketing. Then, in 2024, it doubled in size, expanding to two days of live programming.

For 2025, it’s jumping into its biggest expansion yet. Its core event will still welcome attendees June 9-10 at Spring Studios in New York City, bringing together “top talent from Hollywood, advertising, and business for two days of high-impact conversations and networking at the intersection of creativity, commerce, and culture,” it says.

But on top of that core event, it now plans to offer year-round programming during activations at the Toronto International Film Festival, the Emmys, Art Basel Miami Beach, and more.

“Tribeca X is scaling to meet the moment. Our year-round expansion positions Tribeca X as the leading platform where entertainment and marketing come together to shape what’s next,” Chris Brady, President and Global Chief Commercial Officer of Tribeca Enterprises, said in a statement. “Building on the strength of our signature two-day program at the annual Tribeca Festival, this year, we’re activating at global tentpoles like TIFF, the Emmys, and Art Basel Miami Beach to foster new opportunities for meaningful connection, creative experimentation, and industry impact with a highly influential community of marketing and entertainment leaders.”

As for what’ll happen during its two-day program, Tribeca X has booked panels with Hollywood legends including Breaking Bad star Bryan Cranston and media CEO/entrepreneur/Roblox enthusiast Paris Hilton, who’ll be onstage with Bruce Gersh, the President/COO of her company 11:11 Media.

Also confirmed to speak are:

• Steve Zahn and Rick Gomez, co-Founders of Macaroni Art Productions, and chef Ouita Michel, about “the incomparable production experience in Lexington and the episodic series YOU BELONG HERE“
• Kenneth Cole, “fashion icon and founder of the Mental Health Coalition, reflects on four decades of using fashion as a platform for storytelling, activism, and social impact”
• Lena Waithe, Emmy-winning writer, producer, and founder of Hillman Grad, “records a special live episode of her hit podcast Legacy Talk, exploring storytelling as a tool for preserving Black cultural memory and shaping inclusive narratives in Hollywood”
• Haider Rafique, CMO of OKX, and actor Chazz Palminteri present Mild Mild West, “a first-of-its-kind Western that fuses crypto and cinema in a groundbreaking cross-industry collaboration”
• Ynon Kreiz, Mattel CEO, on “scaling legacy through culturally relevant brand storytelling”
• Raja Rajamannar, CMO of Mastercard, “shares insights on how brands are transforming into experience curators by blending innovation, entertainment, and emotional connection”
• Todd Kaplan, Kraft Heinz CMO, on “evolving legacy brands through real-time, consumer-first marketing”
• Andrea Brimmer, Ally Financial CMO, on “championing equity and impact through bold investment in women’s sports”
• Lara Krug, Kansas City Chiefs Media and Marketing Officer, on “leveraging fandom and storytelling to redefine brand expansion”
• and Evin Shutt, 72andSunny‘s CEO, on “how optimism, purpose, and bold storytelling power a creative edge”

“In today’s ever-changing media landscape, brands have evolved from sponsors to storytellers,” Jane Rosenthal, Tribeca’s co-founder and CEO, said. “Tribeca X is a unique platform where creative visionaries and industry leaders converge to drive innovation, spark meaningful dialogue, and influence the cultural agenda.”

With these announcements, Tribeca X also announced its official selections for this year’s Tribeca X Awards, which will give nods in seven categories: Feature Film, Short Film, Episodic Series, Commercial Spot, Content Creator/Influencer Collaboration, Audio/Podcast, and Games & Immersive.

This year’s selections include marketing productions by Akris, Apple, Arc’teryx, Audible, BioWare, Brilliant Labs, British Airways Cityflyer, Coca-Cola, Delta Air Lines, Diageo, DIZA, Electronic Arts, Flonase, Fordham University, Haleon & Sensodyne, Human Rights Campaign, Invisalign, Kate Spade New York, Kenneth Cole, Louis Vuitton, Mejuri, Montefiore, Netflix, NFL, Nike, Oatly, Playstation Studios, Reporters Without Borders Germany (RSF), Sephora, Sesame Workshop, Shondaland, Supercell, UberEats, Uniqlo, Team Kentucky/VisitLEX, and Wicked/NBC Universal.

These companies’ nominated creative marketing content will be judged by a jury including Jenna Lyons, Partner at FundamentalCo; Chaucer Barnes, CMO at UnitedMasters Inc.; Kristine Segrist, Global Head of Consumer Marketing for Canva; Carrie Brody, VP of Business Development at Higher Ground Productions; Kyle Wasserman, Creative Executive for Apple TV+; and Don MacKinnon, co-founder and CEO of Hark Audio.

Folks interested in seeing all this go down IRL can get passes here.

Tribeca X is a Tubefilter partner.