Digital Bites October 2026 wrap up and slides

Let’s break down the talks, one by one

Iolanda Bastos, PR Strategist, Connective3 
Talk: You’re missing a trick if you’re not internationalising your PR campaigns 

Iolanda Bastos explored how brands can effectively adapt global campaigns across local markets using Adobe as a primary case study. She highlighted that strategies successfully executed in the UK do not automatically translate to other regions.  

Success relies on a shared core idea supported by local data and tailored local execution and ultimately, effective localisation goes beyond simply translating copy – it shapes the core story and execution to resonate with the specific audience in each market. 

View Iolanda’s slides here

Clare Anderton – CMO, My Expert Midwife

Talk: Trust issues: Growing and ecommerce brand people believe in

Clare Anderton discussed the rising cost and declining loyalty of consumer attention. Traditional growth models focused heavily on buying attention and discounting to convert. Clare detailed the difference between borrowed trust (creator endorsements, retail presence, awards) and built trust (in-house expertise, PR, authentic reviews, word of mouth). 

• Act like a creator: Brands were encouraged to speak like humans, remain honest, involve their audiences in product development, and prioritise unpolished authenticity. 

• Long-term thinking: Borrowed trust requires a sustainable strategy aimed at building lasting relationships rather than driving quick, temporary sales spikes. 

View Clares’s slides here

Chloe Perkins – Founder, Creator Cupid

Talk: Where is the creator economy is actually heading?

Chloe Perkins outlined how creators across various niches are moving past one-off sponsored posts to build their own businesses, communities, and intellectual property. Creators are taking control by owning their IP (such as Abby Yung’s collaboration with Pantene), owning their audience outside social platforms through run clubs or Substack, and owning a stake in businesses as strategic advisors or equity partners. 

Brands should shift away from viewing creators as temporary billboards. Instead, they should develop long-term ambassador models, explore revenue-sharing arrangements, and treat creators as serious business partners. 

View Chloe’s slides here

Elle Pollicott, Organic Search Director & Charlotte Sharpe, Head of PPC, Connective3

Talk: Are SERPs Disappearing or is real estate just moving to AI

Elle and Charlotte presented critical data showing how AI is fragmenting search behaviours across organic and paid channels. Informational queries are heavily affected, with 88% triggering AI Overviews and organic click-through rates falling by around 40% when these overviews appear. Meanwhile, paid ads are moving directly into AI-generated answers, driving a reliance on automation like Performance Max while reducing direct keyword control. 

To adapt, brands need to bridge organic and paid search strategies, focus heavily on trust and technical foundations, and optimise for the specific LLMs relevant to their core audience. 

View Elle and Charlotte’s slides here

Eliott Speed-Smith – Head of Social, PR & Activations, THG
Talk: Fireside chat

Elliot Speed-Smith addressed the challenge of declining organic reach and urged marketers to look deeper than surface level likes and comments. True engagement, he noted, involves measuring consumption time and carousel interactions rather than simple post likes. He emphasised that physical events and pop-ups should act as content engines, using tools like TikTok livestreams to connect in-person experiences with broader online communities. Finally, while AI can assist in translating and scaling international content, Elliot stressed that local cultural experts remain essential to ensure true relevance and nuance.

Joely Garland – Head of Marketing, Travelpack
Talk: Death of the default and embracing hyper-specificity

Joely Garland warned against the over automation of brand thinking, noting that relying on generic AI templates risks rendering a brand invisible. To counter this, Travelpack embraced raw, unfiltered traveller walkthroughs and staff insights. 

Demonstrating this principle, Joely shared how UK style aspirational storytelling failed to convert in India, where messaging required bolder visuals and an emphasis on paisa vasool (value for money). Brands must also have the courage to disqualify unsuitable audiences and accurately position products rather than overselling them (ie. avoiding misleading labels like “the Maldives of Europe” for Albania). 

View Joely’s slides here

Lewis Allen – SEO Manager, Represent
Talk: Hype doesn’t rank itself: How Represent wins search around every drop 

Lewis Allen focused on how brands often overlook the rich expertise within their own walls. By working backward from product development, brands can highlight garment technologists, designers, and athletes to create distinctive, trust-building content. Because consumers do not follow a linear purchase journey, authoritative and consistent brand information has to be available across every digital touchpoint where AI assembles brand data. 

View Lewis’ slides here

Georgina Williams – Founder, PLUSH
Talk: Beyond the corporate ladder: Taking the leap to build something of my own 

Georgina Williams delivered a reflective session on navigating career changes and evolving personal priorities. She explored how major life transitions, such as motherhood, often reshape what success looks like. Navigating those changes is a natural part of building something new, and life changes do not need to be paused for professional growth. 

“You can be proud of the career you’ve built and still be curious about what else is possible. Redefining success doesn’t mean wanting less. It means being more intentional about what you’re working towards.” 

View Georgina’s slides here

Kacee Fennelly – Senior Social and PR Manager, TalkTalk 
Talk: What’s more important when building a personal brand: skills, qualifications or visibility?  

Kacee Fennelly highlighted that technical skill alone is not enough; visibility plays a crucial role in who gets recognized and awarded opportunities. Personal branding develops through consistent daily behavior, interactions, and aligned online activity rather than rare, intense bursts of content. 

“Being good isn’t enough if no one knows you’re good. Consistency beats intensity.” 

View Kacee’s slides here

Natalia Baran – Head of Planning at Connective3
Talk: Right question, wrong answer – and why your algorithm needs context   

Natalia Baran illustrated how algorithms can function correctly while still optimising toward goals that yield little real business value. High drop-off rates, churn, and declining ROI alongside rising platform metrics are clear signs of misaligned targets. 

Marketers were encouraged to combine media insights, quantitative data, and consumer insights to form clearer hypotheses and balance short-term platform metrics with long-term customer lifetime value. Better performance begins by choosing meaningful goals and understanding the human behavior behind the raw numbers. 

View Natalia’s slides here

What’s next? Digital Bites is coming to London

We’re back with another Digital Bites on Thursday November 12, and this time, we’re going bigger than ever. For the very first time, we’re bringing the event to London so the southern marketing community can be part of what we’ve built. 

We’ve lined up an incredible mix of speakers, featuring industry leaders from Lloyds, TUI, CLIQ, DASH, Tuckshop, OpenAI, and our very own in-house experts. 

Grab your free ticket to Digital Bites London here.