On the 10th July, 20 specialists in digital marketing shared their knowledge and experience at White City House. Alongside these presentations, requested, specialised 1-2-1 meeting took place between the experts and brands. A wide range of topics were discussed including CRM, AI and search engines aiming to optimise brands marketing potential.
How to win on Social Search
Jon Mowat, Managing Director at Hurricane says the days of the general search engines of google are dead and instead a new era of social searches is being ushered in by GenZ’s favourite medias of TikTok, instagram and shorts, revolutionising a need for new social search optimisation. In order to win at social search there are big things marketers need to know; attribution has become more important, the algorithm is key, especially looking at the engagement rate and total view time. Brands also need to be authentic to the platform with the content creator strategy being proven to bring results. Brands also need to find their niche where consumers will respond to certain marketing. Lastly, the scale and outreach is important with bigger the better through the use of micro influences showcased with Viori generating 8 million views.
View Jon’s presentation here
Innovation – How to discover business opportunities with a user focus
Sabrina Duda, Author, Speaker and Mentor at Smilings says every company wants to innovate and give value to the consumer, however, it is companies biggest mistake in the process when they don’t start with a problem possessed by the consumer which the company can innovate a solution to. Firms should follow the 2 step plan from this the firm can then innovate the solution. This plan is the blueprint for ikea where the problem was furniture was too hard to set up and consumers want nice homes, from the ikea came up with the solution of flatpack furniture which proved to be a great success. JTBD removes the guesswork allowing the company to focus on the job they are trying to accomplish leading to many successful business models. JTBD overall, is able to address customer needs and boost sales shown clearly with the successful snickers campaign of ‘you’re not you when you’re hungry’.
View Sabrina’s presentation here
Total Search – A human evolution
Search disruptors have appeared as far back as 1440 with the invention of the printing press but now in the 21st century search engines are progressing at a much faster pace for example in 2023 with the rise of AI. At first the disruptors were all criticised but now Dan McCarthy head of organic search at Hallam emphasises accepting the disruptors with the rise of the consumer engine and a new way for consumers to discover info which companies need to take advantage of. Hallam suggests total search needs to be optimised in order to capture demand as brands in the top 25% of web mentions earn over 10% more AI overview citations than the next quartile. This demonstrates the need to embrace AI in order to enhance brand search. Diversifying away from search engines to alternative platforms will allow brands to stay current and relevant in the everchanging 21st century.
View Dan’s presentation here
Post-Human Research: Is “good enough” insight good enough for growth?
Alec Barr, head of behavioural science and UX at Oliver is envisioning a world with loads of more research being done by AI synthetic agents controlled by humans. But the question is, is it possible to replace humans with agents? Alec showcased the use of synthetic personas in the use of research making it easier to generate harder to find target groups. But, can AI generated synthetic personas replace real customers? Alec said no, they add explanation power rather than evaluation semblance to bring about AI guided insights with a human being behind it. Making it possible for more and after research to optimise and know the customer target audience.
View Alec’s presentation here
What marketers need to know about CRM in 2025
B2B and B2C are as bad as each other when it comes to email marketing where CRM is treated like a tool rather than a function and email is overused and under-strategised. Instead CRM needs to be looked at as a marketing intelligence hub to create a cohesive, results driving machine with marketers at the centre. Email is one of the strongest channels if done well being able to manage the B2B relationship. For 2025 Beth O’Malley founder of Astral Digital laid out some rules for getting email right for CRM. First brands need to let go of attribution. Exclusion strategies need to be properly managed so as not to alienate the customer. Next, alignment needs to understand the full functions of business. And lastly, companies need to get audited. By getting CRM right this connects teams and the customer experience as good CRM makes everything more predictable and thus email marketing can be fully utilised.
View Beth’s presentation here