Up North happened on Thursday 13th June 2024 and we were joined by 30 speakers across two stages. We curated a speaker line-up like no other and were joined by the likes of REFY, Lounge, Luxe Collective, TikTok Shop, Swoop Finance, Google, Meta and more.
Up North Speakers
Meet the speakers
Ben Gallagher
Co-Founder – Luxe Collective
Ben Gallagher, a 23 year-old entrepreneur, is the co-founder of Luxe Collective, a fashion business that sells luxury goods for less than comparable brands. Ben is on a mission to build the biggest brand in the pre-loved market in the UK and his current main focus for the company is scaling their teams/operations and increasing the awareness of what they offer through marketing avenues such as organic and paid social content, emails, events and personal branding.
Session: How to properly understand social media in less than 30 minutes
Ben will take us through the ins and outs of social media, explain his business journey to date and then we’ll open up the floor for an audience Q&A where you can ask all social, business and entrepreneurship questions.
Sonia Hussain
Brand Manager – Lounge
Sonia is an experienced brand marketer with a background in Organic & Paid Social, Campaign Management, PR, and Influencer Marketing – currently Brand Manager at Lounge, previously Bravissimo. Passionate about building purpose-driven brands, growing and nurturing communities that feel like they belong, and creating beautiful brand moments. Sonia’s career kicked off working in organic social where she loved the buzz of creating content, seeing how it landed, and being able to connect with customers instantly. Moving on to Bravissimo she honed her craft in social, increasing their Instagram following by 128%, working with influencers and brand partners including the Oti X Bravissimo collection. Now, supporting women worldwide to feel comfortable and sexy at Lounge by driving forward campaigns, bringing them to life through production, and leading the PR strategy.
Session: Why brand building matters now more than ever
In an ever changing digital landscape more and more brands are being popping up it’s more important than ever to stand out in saturated markets, we’ll take a look into how you can build your brand for the long term rather than the short term while remaining budget consicous.
Key takeaways:
- Kick starting a career in brand marketing
- Brand building in a digital landscape
- Nurturing a community
Elle-Louise Wilmot
Founder – Truly Twenties
Elle is the proud founder of Truly Twenties, a community crafted to support individuals navigating the rollercoaster ride of their twenties. In 2021 she successfully secured a coveted spot on TikTok’s first ever graduate program. Fast forward to 2023, and she left the company deciding to redirect her focus toward nurturing her own venture and deepening her expertise in social media. Elle’s journey is a testament to the transformative power of social media. She’s harnessed social media platforms as powerful tools for both professional growth and career acceleration. Reflecting on her trajectory, she wholeheartedly believes that without leveraging social media in the ways she did, she would be five years behind my current position, both in terms of opportunities and knowledge
Session: How you can elevate social media through community and connection
If you’re an ambitious, creative person who has felt or is feeling stuck in their career, this talk will show you how using your community and a bit of creativity can help you open doors you wouldn’t have thought possible and supercharge your career growth. My aim is to have everyone believing that no person or job is out of reach due to the power of social media. I’ll be speaking from my own unconventional career journey, looking back at the sliding door moments that completely accelerated my career from marketing in the nuclear energy industry, to working at TikTok, to freelancing with dream clients whilst running my own online community.
Jimmy Rippon
Global Head of Search – Swoop Finance
Jimmy is a search specialist working in digital for a decade across all marketing disciplines, with a particular focus on SEO and SEM. After earning his stripes in a number of startups in the UK, Germany, and Australia, as well as consulting to corporations like Volkswagen and Diageo, Jimmy now heads up Swoop’s global search function, empowering SMEs to make informed and confident financial decisions.
Session: Scaling SEO internationally: 6 mistakes I’ve made so you don’t have to
Embarking on any international SEO expansion programme can be daunting; where do you start? What do you prioritise? Learn from my many failings and learnings expanding scaleups into multiple markets and get an idea of how to approach your own international SEO journey. Understand why long-term planning is key, why assumptions can be disastrous, and how to gain a competitive advantage against your rivals.
Broghan Smith
Fashion Retail Key Account Lead – TikTok Shop
Broghan is an award-winning digital sales expert delivering success across Key Account Fashion Retailers for TikTok Shop. He’s instrumental in shaping and developing TikTok Shop as a platform as they look to ignite social commerce and lead into a space of true innovation and excitement within the global ecommerce market.
Session: An introduction to TikTok Shop
David White
Content Marketing Director – connective3
David has led PR and outreach strategies for some of the globe’s biggest brands. With a background in business management and marketing, David has a deep understanding of the wider marketing mix and how this contributes to our clients’ bottom line.
Session: The new era of link uilding: Navigating the ‘Messy Middle’ with digital PR
Isa Lavahun
Freelance Search Strategist – Lavly Ltd
Isa is a seasoned search strategist with over 15 years of experience in all things off-page SEO. With a diverse background spanning beauty, fashion, food, travel, and lifestyle sectors, Isa has consistently crafted data-driven PR strategies that elevate brand awareness and engagement. Isa’s expertise lies in integrating PR narratives with SEO objectives, ensuring that stories resonate with audiences to dominate search results. Passionate about empowering PR professionals to harness the power of SEO, Isa is dedicated to bridging the gap between these two disciplines.
Session: The future of PR: Why bridging the gap between PR and SEO is the only way forward for PR professionals
The lines between PR and SEO are blurring. SEOs are increasingly winning PR briefs by leveraging data and content to secure high-value placements. In this talk, I will explore the merging of PR and SEO, highlighting why SEO specialists are increasingly taking ‘PR’ business. I’ll uncover the hidden SEO potential using PR tactics and discuss how to identify missed opportunities. I’ll also offer insights into strategies for converting PR initiatives into successful link-building campaigns.
Key Takeaways:
- Learn how to transition into using SEO-driven PR strategies
- Find hidden link-building opportunities using PR skillsets
- Track the SEO impact of your PR to show real value
Rosa Mitchell
Business Director – connective3
With over ten years’ experience in digital PR and content creation, as Business Director, Rosa oversees connective3’s Manchester office, managing a large team of creative professionals. In her career, Rosa has worked across a variety of different projects, from stand-alone campaigns to long-term strategic roadmaps, for brands including Nike, Manchester Metropolitan University, Stena Line, and Ann Summers. She combines her analytical skills with her love of creativity to create concepts that work for many industries, including e-commerce, finance, law, and travel.
Session: Supercharging your business performance with a fully connected approach
Janis Thomas
Managing Director – Look Fabulous Forever
Janis is an expert in marketing, ecommerce and customer experience. She’s grown diverse ecommerce and subscription businesses from Birchbox to Playboy. She has held senior roles across ecommerce, digital media and entertainment. She is now Managing Director at Look Fabulous Forever, the innovative DTC cosmetics and skincare brand designed to meet the needs of older women.
Session: The value of older consumers in ecommerce
More brands are talking about diversity, but how many still focus on millennials and Gen Z? Over 65s are the fastest growing customer group in ecommerce and many have a more secure income than their younger counterparts. Tricia Cusden launched Look Fabulous Forever to meet the needs of the older women that so much of the beauty industry overlooks. Janis covers:
• Why you should be thinking about inclusivity rather than exclusivity
• You are not your customer: overcoming your biases
• How to understand your customer and leverage that insight
Ella Wright
Social Media and Content Manager, NEOM Wellbeing
Ella will be on our Digital Bites track covering: You’ve been told you need UGC for social? Here’s where to start
UGC is one of the hottest topics currently and we’re all being told we need it for everything from your organic social plans to your website’s product pages. But… where do you even begin?
We’ll be covering why UGC actually makes a difference and how it can benefit each marketing channel, including best practice tips to follow for success.
Charl Geoghegan
Head of Brand Marketing – Refy
Charlotte is
Session: The Power of People & The New Era of Influence
Why customer advocacy should be at the centre of your marketing strategy and how to foster advocacy with a 360 marketing strategy
Key takeaways:
- What is “influence” in 2024
- Why customer advocates are the new era of influencers (performance vs. traditional creators)
- Why this doesn’t mean you should stop spending with creators & across marketing as a whole
- Where to focus that spend in order to drive advocacy within your wider community
Luciana Beker
Strategic Partnerships Manager – Google
Session: Put Google AI to Work for You
Marketing is at an inflection point, with the acceleration of AI and the departure of third-party cookies this year. While our core role as marketers is the same, the way we do it is changing. Let’s talk about how to Put Google AI to Work for You to drive profitable growth for your business. Reach the right customers at the right time, with unprecedented scale and effectiveness.
Key takeaways:
- Measurement: Measure and prove success, in a privacy-first way.
- Media: Reach the right customers at the right time, with unprecedented scale and effectiveness.
- Creative: Build relevant creative at scale and speed.
Itamar Blauer
Senior SEO Director – StudioHawk
Itamar will be on our Digital Bites track covering: From silos to synergy: How to unify digital marketing teams
Keira Penney
Head of Creative, Girls in Marketing
Session: Elevating every corner of your career with creativity
Join Keira Penney, Head of Creative at Girls in Marketing, for a session on ‘Elevating Every Corner of Your Career with Creativity.’ From innovative problem-solving techniques to crafting a unique personal brand, you’ll learn how to apply creative thinking to advance your career. Keira will share practical tips, real-world examples, and actionable strategies to help you unlock your creative potential and transform your career.
Claire Stanley-Manock
Paid Media Director
Session: The dark art of persuasion
In all walks of marketing, creativity and messaging are a major factors in performance. This session explores what makes us tick and how we can lean into this as marketers to make our product or service the chosen one, with actionable takeouts.
Steve Paine
Marketing Manager
Session: Best of women’s fashion SEO – Trends, leaders, analysis
Women’s Fashion SEO is about having visible content where the search trends are. Be it “Naked Blazers” or “All Day Drinking Outfits” there’s no room for sniggers or raised eyebrows because it’s all business. – Visibility Leaders. Steve will discuss some trends and leave you with some insider tips and a list of blueprints that you can learn from.
Up North is happening on 13th June at Victoria Warehouse in Manchester, you can find out more here.
