Digital PR training
Digital Bites Speakers 2025
Talk
The Power of simple: How abstract thinking can transform our communication
Helen brings over two decades of experience in building and operating large-scale businesses across the UK and internationally. Having worked with diverse teams and brands, she understands that culturally relevant content doesn’t happen by accident – it requires curiosity, creativity, collaboration, consistency, and above all, passion! As a speaker, Helen often shares how these core values have shaped her career and the businesses she’s led, helping them achieve profitable, and meaningful impact.
In this session, Helen will explore abstract thinking and how it can transform the way we approach digital marketing and communication. We’ll dive into the unique ways abstract thinkers solve problems, offering fresh perspectives on how we create and execute marketing strategies, while demonstrating how simplicity can foster stronger customer connections.
You’ll walk away with actionable insights on how to:
• Apply abstract thinking to make marketing strategies more intentional, distinctive, and memorable
• Streamline complex messages into clear, impactful communication
• Leverage simplicity to enhance brand uniqueness and resonance
• Overcome common business challenges by focusing on what truly matters
• Apply these principles to everyday communication to strengthen our connections
Talk
What got you here, won’t get you there: Why most managers are destined to fail and how to avoid being one of them
Paddy is Founder of The New Leader and works as an advisor to agency owners and senior leadership teams to help them navigate the world of agency life. He also works with agency teams who want to become more effective managers and leaders. Previously, he was co-founder and CEO of Aira for ten years, before stepping away in 2024. He also has a cockapoo called Rolo and is happy to do any Q&A about him.
For many of us, we become managers of teams because we are good at our core discipline, whether that’s SEO, PPC, Content Marketing, Digital PR or something else. We progress through the ranks and eventually end up being told that to take the next step, we need to manage a team. We’re thrown in at the deep end and expected to become effective managers overnight. In fact, 82% of managers in the UK aren’t given any formal training on how to be an effective manager. So, what do you do?
Whether you’re a new manager, an experienced one or not even sure if you want to be a manager in the future, Paddy will help you understand the classic mistakes that most managers make and what to do instead, with clear, actionable steps and takeaways.
The audience will learn:
- Concrete frameworks and processes for delivering effective feedback to teams and colleagues.
- How to avoid being a micromanager.
- How to structure a conversation that is difficult for you.
Talk
Liverpool FC, data & SEO: The winning formula for buy-in
Sanjay is the Head of SEO at HUB, an integrated performance agency with over 8 years of experience both agency-side and in-house. He has spent years working on brands on a local SEO scale to international sites. Sanjay’s background involves being able to identify solutions to complex technical issues and providing clear/concise recommendations to improve on-page performance.
Success in football—and SEO—relies on more than just having the right strategy. It’s about securing buy-in, proving the value of data-driven decisions and overcoming resistance to change. Inspired by the book “How to Win the Premier League”, this talk will explore how Liverpool FC transformed their fortunes through data models and strategic alignment—and how we can apply the same principles to win in SEO and digital marketing.
Talk
Climbing the ranks: Video SEO tips that’ll get you discovered
Elle has over nine years of marketing experience, creating and implementing SEO and content strategies for clients in a range of industries including fashion, travel, property, and finance. As our Head of Content Strategy, Elle manages a team of strategists and writers, ensuring that on-page content strategies are devised and implemented, to increase our clients’ rankings, traffic, and conversions.
The audience will learn:
- Why video needs to be incorporated into your content strategy
- How to conduct video ideation and keyword research across different channels
- Tips for optimising your videos across different channels, and utilising existing content on-site
Talk
Bridging brand & performance: Maximising impact in digital
Originally hailing from Ireland, Aidan has worked both agency-side and in-house across Dublin & Manchester in a range of paid media & performance marketing roles, working with start-ups through to international brands.
Aidan’s main focus is on integrating innovation with performance marketing strategies while ensuring that commercial objectives remain intact. This approach allows brands to leverage their business data to deliver a real impact and drive the results they’re after.
Both inhouse and agency-side, there is a tendency to prioritise performance marketing budget over brand due to clear ROI and immediate return. However, this leads to the tired cliché of an over-reliance on short-term tactics.
I’m going to explore how brand activity actually fuels growth across performance marketing, and how digital marketers can clearly amplify brand marketing’s impact and demonstrate results.
The audience will learn:
- How brand actually supports performance marketing: What to look out for from a digital standpoint and bring to the table to prove the necessity for brand campaigns.
- Capitalising on brand campaigns for performance: How to ensure your strategy is fully aligned across teams and really drive immediate return from brand activity
- And lastly, demonstrating brand value through performance data: After activity has finished up, how do you best demonstrate the long-term impact brand campaigns can have on performance marketing activity.
Talk
Why culture matters in international PPC
Timur is a proactive and data-driven marketer with two years of experience in paid media and digital marketing, working both agency and client-side. He has managed accounts across a variety of sectors, such as financial services, clothing, hospitality and healthcare, always striving to provide the best results for clients.
TBC
Talk
The power of why
How one little word can change your outlook on marketing. When you start questioning the “why” behind everything you do, the marketing becomes clearer. Do I jump onto this trend? Is this platform right for me? What do my audience want to see? It gets you to the heart of your brand’s purpose and reasoning behind your actions. In a world of digital overwhelm and constant updates, the ‘why’ can be really powerful tool.
Talk
Magic, machines, and the mess we’re in
Tom’s journey began as freelance video editor, working with the likes of the BBC Introducing and Festival Republic, since then he has branched out into creative producing and digital project management across B2B, HE and B2C sectors. He loves managing projects that merge data, digital and creative to provide a personalised user experience and generate insightful client results.
AI promised to free us from the mundane, yet somehow, instead of washing the dishes so we can make art, it’s making the art so we have nothing left to do but the dishes. In this talk, I’ll take you through the journey of building Merlin, Connective3’s AI business intelligence tool, and what we learned about where AI truly belongs, and where it doesn’t.
The audience will learn:
- The lessons learnt from bringing AI into a multimillion-pound creative business – what worked, what didn’t, and what we thought would be game-changing but turned out to be just another illusion
- Insights on how to use AI to enhance, not replace; where humans will always have the edge
- Why the real magic isn’t in the machine, but in how we use it.
Talk
How to respond to big tech’s deal with the devil
Patrick Reardon-Morgan is a B2B marketing data specialist at BT Group and an accomplished transformation agent. Patrick’s career is characterised by innovation and embracing change. Personalisation and relevance are at the forefront of his digital-first, customer-centric approach, in which he constantly explores, tests and implements new martech and adtech solutions to keep pace with the ever-evolving marketing landscape. Recently, he launched BT Business’s Marketing AI Taskforce, which aims to seize the long-term opportunities of AI both holistically and ethically. Alongside his marketing role, Patrick is a dedicated DEI champion. He is Chair of BT Business’s LGBTQ+ Inclusion Group, which supports the wellbeing and progression of queer professionals within the company, and he strives to practice intersectional feminism, anti-racism and anti-ableism in all aspects of his life.
We’re too reliant on Google and Meta. In many cases, they’re responsible for the bulk of our digital clicks and conversions. But what happens when the giants who promise reliable brand-safe results become their own brand safety concern? Lately, Silicon Valley has shown itself all too willing to ship AI products that aren’t ready, rip up content safeguards, and question the right of UK and EU legislators to regulate big tech. In this uncertain landscape, we as marketers must evolve and adapt as we always have. But change is hard – especially when it affects the bottom line. In this talk, I’ll look to our past to help navigate our future. I’ll discuss what it really means for an organisation to be ethical, and how to mitigate the risks of a changing online world.
The audience will learn:
- How to recognise the present digital marketing moment in its historical context
- About ethical reasoning and how to apply it to organisational decisions
- How to mitigate your reliance on Google and Meta with a diversified digital marketing strategy
Talk
Driving brand narrative through content creation in 2025
Jess is an ambitious marketer with a passion for creating thought-provoking content that tells a story. At Connective3, Jess plays a key role in growing social presence, producing and hosting Connective3 Unplugged, and organising marketing events, Digital Bites and Up North. With nine years of content creation experience and three years in marketing, Jess has built a strong portfolio across YouTube, TikTok, and Instagram. She has also collaborated with leading brands like easyJet, Color Wow, and Adobe, creating meaningful user-generated content (UGC).
In 2025, content creation is the driving force behind brand storytelling. This talk will break down the key differences between Employee-Generated Content (EGC) and User-Generated Content (UGC), and how brands can leverage both to build authentic connections and grow their audience. We’ll explore the evolving content landscape, the strategies leading brands are using to shape their narrative, and what it takes to stand out in an increasingly competitive space.
The audience will learn:
- The Power of EGC vs. UGC
- How to build an authentic brand narrative
- How to implement a winning content strategy
Talk
Driving brand narrative through content creation in 2025
Allen is a recent Multimedia Journalism graduate who joined the team as a Digital PR Executive. Allen’s experience began while studying his NCTJ, where he discovered a passion for storytelling. Also, as a freelance photographer, he loved to bring clients visions to life. As a PR Executive, Allen wants to gain insight into the industry, creating campaigns that deliver results, growing within the Connective3 team.
In 2025, content creation is the driving force behind brand storytelling. This talk will break down the key differences between Employee-Generated Content (EGC) and User-Generated Content (UGC), and how brands can leverage both to build authentic connections and grow their audience. We’ll explore the evolving content landscape, the strategies leading brands are using to shape their narrative, and what it takes to stand out in an increasingly competitive space.
The audience will learn:
- The Power of EGC vs. UGC
- How to build an authentic brand narrative
- How to implement a winning content strategy