What’s on your plate right now?

Planning for next year? Hitting those huge targets (and getting that bonus)? Developing your team? Broadening your network?

Sound familiar? We know. It's why we created this conference.

Marketers, media owners and provocateurs come together to share brilliantly simple ideas that you can action in the next 12 months to help your brand grow.

No fluff. Lots of fun.

More info here. Not that you need it.

Agenda - 19th September 2019

8:30 AM - Registration and refreshments

Caffeine and croissants. Is there a better way to start the day?

45 min

9:15 AM - Welcome and housekeeping - Martin Woolley and Parry Jones, CEO and COO - The Specialist Works

15 min

9:30 AM -

Marketing's Room 101 – Dominic Mills, industry commentator, Mediatel columnist and former Campaign editor

From in-housing to purpose, from 'cagencies' to green media, marketing is awash in buzzword terms and phrases. Some have value. Some are mere snake-oil – and need to be consigned to Room 101. Journalist and industry commentator Dominic Mills picks five buzzwords to keep and five to bin.

20 min

9:50 AM - Five principles of success - David Lawson, Managing Director at AO.com

David will share the innovations that have helped AO.com stay ahead of the online curve.

20 min

10:10 AM - How can you make your advertising more effective? - Ilaria Pasquinelli, Brand and Marketing Director at WARC

Ilaria will discuss the current trends in effective marketing, including themes from this year's Cannes Lions Creative Effectiveness winners.

20 min

10:30 AM - Not dead just different – Sam Ball, Creative Consultant and co-founder of Lean Mean Fighting Machine

Sam will show how a simple change of mindset, in this forever changing business, will have you high fiving your way through 2020.

20 min

10:50 AM - Refreshments

Get that sweet sweet caffeine fix.

30 min

11:20 AM - Choose a buzz session

1) Can OOH drive response? - Rebecca Callaghan, Account Director at JCDecaux

This session will explore how to use out of home (OOH) advertising to drive response. What does good creative look like? What data do you need? Can it really drive customers online and get them to sign up? Hear the answers to these questions and real examples of OOH in action.

2) Having a social purpose - Katie Kersen, Group Strategy Director at Hearst UK

As consumers increasingly choose to do business with companies that share their values, it’s more important than ever for brands to have a social purpose. Katie will be taking you through three of Hearst’s biggest editorially driven purpose initiatives; male mental health, body positivity and sustainability.

3) Three mistakes brands make when using influencers – Jason Freeman, Director of Consumer Law at the Competition and Markets Authority and Jessica Brennan, Influencer Marketing Manager at The Specialist Works

Jason and Jess will be discussing the biggest mistakes brands make when using influencers to promote their products. Discover the traps to avoid, what's important to remember (and what's not) and how to put your customer first.

4) Closing the reality gap – Mark Pingol and Kate Jacobs, VP and Associate Director at Savanta

In this session Matt and Mark will share how Dr. Martens used science to inspire behaviour change in their customers.

5) ATTENTION: the metric that matters – Seema Hope, Research and Insights Director at Dennis and Annett Pecher, Director at Emotional Logic

Eyeballs are important, but how can your brand leave a lasting impression? How can you ensure you stay front of mind with your consumers? Come and hear why attention is the metric we should be focusing on, and how print media can be used to deliver it. Be prepared for a live experiment or two!

More added every week!

25 min

11:50 AM - Machine learning myth busting - Caroline Worboys, data expert, investor, advisor, COO at Outra

What does Machine Learning actually mean, and why should brands care? Caroline will share how you can take advantage and realise some quick wins in 2020.

20 min

12:10 PM - Brands and TV sitting in a tree - Sam Olive, Planning Controller, Thinkbox - in partnership with Channel 4, Sky and ITV

This talk looks at some of the many reasons Brands love TV, how this love can evolve into Marriage with extraordinary possibilities and how this union is spawning some of the most exciting, varied and ground breaking programming we have ever seen.

20 min

12:30 PM - Lunch

1hr 45 min

2:00 PM - Q&A with Dominic Mills

Chaired by Parry Jones, COO at The Specialist Works

2:25 PM - Choose a buzz session

1) The power of storytelling – Sean O’Dwyer, founder of John Junior Consulting and former Head of Marketing at OVO Energy

Sean will share how he brought OVO Boost’s brand and performance marketing together through the power of great storytelling. In this session you’ll learn how to structure a funnel, define your USP and win customers’ hearts and minds.

2) 50 shades of grey – Row Draper, Head of Print Media at The Specialist Works

Brands are missing out on an untapped, engaged and affluent audience: people aged 50+. Why is this? Join Row for a session that dispels the myths surrounding this group and learn why you shouldn’t lump people who were born in the 60s in with those who were born in the 40s.

3) Leave your opinions at the door: The power of data-driven creative – Andy Cooney, Commercial Director at Croud

Traditionally creative decisions have been largely opinion-based. But now, with machine learning-driven image recognition techniques, we can analyse creative features at scale and uncover what is really driving results. In this session, Andy will explore the tools available and the exciting opportunities this offer marketers looking to take a more data-driven creative approach.

4) Personalisation: How to get ahead in 2020 - Rhys Jackson, Chief Technology Innovation Officer at Rocket Mill

It’s a hot topic for many businesses, but few can execute personalisation in ways that are truly meaningful and advantageous to their customers. In this session Rhys will show you five things to do now that will set you up for 2020.

5) There’s no such thing as loyalty, until you take it apart – Stuart Evans, Business Strategy Advisor at Rubicon Insight

Most brands know that keeping a good customer costs less than finding a new one. But understanding whether any ‘loyalty’ initiatives actually generate positive ROI is harder. In this session Stuart will break down ‘loyalty’ and help you create initiatives that motivate your customers to behave more profitably.

6) The art of persuasion: How to accelerate marketing ROI with behavioural insight – James Sandberg, founder of Customer Devoted

The UK government use behavioural insight to maximise tax collections and the biggest brands in the world use it to drive the ROI of their marketing investments. Sounds out of reach? It's not if you understand the principles that drive decision making. By following the simple principles that James presents in his session, you’ll be able to increase the persuasiveness of your marketing.

25 min

2:55 PM - Tech for Change: Purpose driven marketing - Osagie Samuel, Creative Director at The Specialist Works

With growing animosity towards tech companies, Alibaba Cloud wanted to show the world that tech can be a force for good. But how could they share this message when tech scandals were hitting headlines daily? Osagie will tell the story of how he and The Specialist Works’ creative team transformed Alibaba Cloud’s corporate and social initiatives into a purpose-led marketing campaign – and the jaw dropping results they achieved.

20 min

3:15 PM - The empathy delusion - Andrew Tenzer, Director of Group Insight at Reach

Humans are cognitive misers, driven by emotion and intuition. And marketers are only human. We're naturally good at empathy, right? Andrew will argue that the marketing industry has no special aptitude for understanding others, and he'll share the steps you can take to reconnect with the mainstream.

20 min

3:35 PM - Refreshments

Get that sweet sweet caffeine fix.

30 min

4:05 PM - Diversity of thought and its importance in media - Cephas Williams, founder of 56 Black Men and Drummer Boy Studios

There are more self-proclaimed progressive brands than ever before, and yet marketers still manage to create campaigns that don’t connect with the black community or it's intended audience. Through the lens of his successful 56 Black Men campaign, Cephas will explore why this is still happening and what steps you can take to stop it.

20 min

4:25 PM - Stop, look and listen – Dr Tamara Russell, Clinical Psychologist at Psyched Global and Director of the Mindfulness Centre of Excellence

Our lives are driven by tech, and this has led to more business growth than ever before. But there’s a darker side. Our focus has been hijacked and our ability to manage emotions has dwindled. Tamara will share the true cost of tech, how you can use it more consciously and why our human qualities – curiosity, compassion and courage – can be the solution.

20 min

4:45 PM - Don't be a lazy leader, build a Superteam - Sophie Devonshire, CEO at Caffeine Partnership and author of Superfast: Lead at Speed

How can you and your team thrive in a world that isn't slowing down for anyone? Bestselling author Sophie Devonshire will share advice from 100 global leaders on how you can lead and build effective teams in a Superfast world.

20 min

5:05 PM - Close - Martin Woolley, CEO - The Specialist Works

5 min

5:10 PM - Street feast and drinks

Food, booze and grooves.

2hrs 20 min

7:30 PM - Finish

Carriages