Pop stars, glamorous actresses, business heavyweights, disruptive innovators – day one at Festival of Media LatAm 2015 (FOMLA), at The Ritz-Carlton Key Biscayne, had the lot.

M&M Global offers a guide to some of the most memorable moments for those who couldn’t make it to Miami.

1. Sir Martin’s call for optimism

Live via video link from New York, WPP’s chief exec Sir Martin Sorrell opened the festival by assuring the 1,200 delegates that, despite the economic troubles of markets like Brazil, LatAm remains at the forefront of clients’ minds.

“Latin America has not fulfilled the promise we anticipated three or four years ago, but to be fair the rest of the world hasn’t either,” said Sorrell. “These are short term stutters, and in the longer-term we will see a maintenance of that improvement.”

2. Digital influencers are the key to media’s future

Latin America’s most powerful digital influencers arrived in Miami to tell media and marketing executives what they can offer brands, including Venezuelan actress Gaby Espina and social media stars Juanpa Zurita and Juana Martinez Hernandez.

The message was heard loud and clear – right across the world: the hashtag for the group, #FOMLAInfluencers, was trending globally during the session, with over 50 million impressions, 410,000 interactions and an investment value of $5.1m.

3. And brands can now get influencers to pitch for business

Fullbottle chief executive Reed Berglund was joined onstage by L’Oreal marketer Maya Kosovalic to discuss a new platform via which digital influencers can pitch their creative idea and price to content-hungry brands.

Referencing L’Oreal’s partnership with fashion bloggers like Caroline de Maigret and Camila Coutinho, Kosovalic also said working with influencers can bypass issues around ad viewability.

4. LatAm’s media industry is keen to know more about Instagram

Instagram’s global director of development Daniel Habashi provided one of the most popular sessions of the first day. It should come as no surprise – Brazil is the second biggest market on Instagram with Spanish the second most used language on the social media.

“Don’t be scared of your brand being present in the creative,” he added. “Great craft will also always do well, I have seen some great campaigns being done entirely on iPhones.”

5. LatAm publishers no longer consider programmatic a threat

But they are not 100% convinced yet, either, according to Jose Luis Valdivelso Pinuaga, chief operating officer at Havas-owned trading desk Affiperf.

Addressing the Miami crowd alongside MediaMath chief revenue officer Erich Wasserman, in a session entitled ‘Who really holds the power?’, Valdivelso Pinuaga warned LatAm brands not to expect “miracles” from short-term programmatic trials.

6. We are in the age of contextual advertising

So said Dan Rosen, global advertising director at Telefonica. He offered delegates a three-step plan for how to achieve mobile marketing excellence – and it centred on embracing the creative potential of contextuality.

“Contextual used to be placing a press ad next to suitable editorial. All of that now needs to be underpinned by great data,” he said.

7. David Bisbal brought the house down

Latin American crooner David Bisbal brought FOMLA to a standstill by performing a couple of his biggest hits – it was standing room only for LatAm media executives wanting a glimpse of the performer.

Bisbal, who boasts millions of social media followers, concluded a session entitled ‘What next for media and music?’, in which Havas Media Group’s Damien Marchi and Universal Music Group’s Olivier Robert-Murphy discussed how brands can use artists to connect with new audiences.

8. And even Sofia Vergara wishes she was at #FOMLA15

‘Modern Family’ star Sofia Vergara, the world’s highest-paid actress, was shown on screen, sending delegates a special message as part of her business partner’s presentation.

Luis Balaguer, founder and CEO of Latin World Entertainment Talent, who has helped shape Vergara’s career, was joined onstage by Two Degrees Ventures CEO Mitch Kanner to discuss how the actress broke all media rules to generate unstoppable growth.