Sheffield DM Summer '24
A full day of expert talks and panels spanning all areas of digital marketing over two panels - grab your ticket for our biggest-ever event!
Your favourite Northern marketing festival is back!
Sheffield DM brings together an all-star lineup of agency- and brand-side marketing pros, and successful founders together for a one-day bonanza of knowledge bombs guaranteed to make you a better marketer.
With a new state-of-the-art venue and our biggest ever speaker line-up, we're taking this summer's event to the next level, hosting a stellar lineup of speakers and panelists across the day and welcoming hundreds of friendly marketers from all over the UK.
This year, we're moving up the road to The Wave, the University of Sheffield's futuristic new building.
Get a flavour of what's in store via the video below:
Why Should You Attend Sheffield DM?
Sheffield DM promises you a brilliant day of insights across all digital marketing disciplines: SEO, Digital PR, Content, Social, PPC, marketing strategy and more. Learn about everything from podcasting to AI, and developer relationships through to imposter syndrome in marketing.
Our events are welcoming to marketers from all walks of life: whether you're an in-house industry specialist, an agency-side all star, a student thinking about dipping your toes into marketing, or a business owner wanting to expand your knowledge.
By attending you'll get:
✅ A relaxed, friendly and fun atmosphere
✅ Engaging and inspiring talks filled will takeaways
✅ Opportunity to meet and make friends with like-minded people - networking without the ick!
✅ Space to have 1:1 chats, take a breather, or simply get a bit of work done between sessions
✅ Plenty of fun swag and interactive experiences with our sponsors
✅ Refreshments and pastries on arrival (what we're all really here for 🥐)
What you won't get is:
❌ Overly long Q&A sessions for the speakers
❌ A pushy, sales environment
❌ Minimal time to socialise
Sheffield and the North is a hotbed of marketing talent - our community's growth over the past five-and-a-half years from small-scale meetups at a train station pub to sold-out events proves that.
We're creating an annual marketing event the North can be proud of and which rivals those in the South. Plus, there's less travelling to do!
Didn't make it to last summer's event? Hear what attendees, speakers and sponsors had to say about Sheffield DM Summer '23 courtesy of these interviews by our official media sponsors LensGo:
Scroll down to see speakers already announced!
🎟 Sending the team?
Sending the whole gang and want to buy more than 5 tickets`? Drop us an email (hello@sheffielddm.co.uk) we can sort a bulk discount.
🎓 Students Discounts!
Student tickets are available at a heavily discounted £15 - please email hello@sheffielddm.co.uk from your .ac.uk email address so we can verify your student creds
🎗 Charity Tickets
We're also operating £15 charity tickets, so more of your money can go to good causes - email us at hello@sheffielddm.co.uk to nab one!
Having trouble with the embedded checkout below? Click here to checkout directly on Eventbrite.
Meet the Speakers
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Crystal Carter
Head of SEO Communications, Wix
Talk: “AI for Amplifying Actual Intelligence”
With over 15 years of digital marketing expertise, Crystal has collaborated with renowned brands such as Disney, McDonald's, and Tomy. Currently, she leads SEO communications at Wix and co-hosts the SERP's Up SEO podcast. Crystal excels in devising and executing strategies that enhance digital performance, fueling sales, engagement, and overall business growth. She specialises in identifying and implementing tactics that help businesses optimise digital activity and drive sales, engagement and growth.
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Paddy Moogan
Founder, The New Leader
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.”
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. Paddy is the Founder of The New Leader, an innovative training platform dedicated to empowering agency teams to excel as effective managers. Prior to this venture, he co-founded Aira, a leading performance marketing agency, where he dedicated a decade of his career honing his expertise in digital marketing and team leadership.
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Rejoice Ojiaku
SEO Manager, Nelson Bostock
Talk: “Optimising Your Personal Brand to Find Opportunities: Do's & Don'ts”
Rejoice is the SEO Manager at Nelson Bostock UNLIMITED and Co-Founder of B-DigitalUK, with a career in the industry since 2018. She is renowned as an award-winning advocate for Diversity and Inclusion, and is a respected global speaker within her field. Recently appointed as a judge for the Global Social Media Awards and the European Search Awards 2024, Rejoice continues to make significant contributions to the industry's recognition and advancement.
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Zoe Burke
Wedding Expert & Editor, Hitched
Talk: “The Original AI: Audience Insights”
Zoe Burke is a wedding and digital content expert with over a decade of experience in the wedding industry. She has worked for some of the biggest names in bridal, including Hitched, You & Your Wedding, and The National Wedding Shows. Zoe has a proven track record of creating effective content strategies that excel in both SEO and social media, consistently achieving high rankings and strong conversion rates. Zoe will be breaking down the value and importance of taking time to get to know your audience, rather than just using data from analytics tools, plus how to achieve this even if you're time poor.
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Fiona Bradley
Founder, FB Comms
Talk: “Creating Convert that Converts: Why Your Socials & Ads are Flopping”
In a saturated online space with 6,000 tweets a second, 30k hours of fresh YouTube content uploaded EVERY hour and 95 million Instagram posts a day, we need to stand out. You could have the best offering, a website that cost you an arm and a leg and a world-class ad setup. But if the content is crap, nobody will see it or act on it. Fiona's talk will present the best content strategy for 2024 and how to find, create and hone in on authentic content and UGC, scale content creation and make time for your own content. After expertly hosting the Trustpilot Paid Media Stage at our Summer '23 event, we're delighted to have Fiona back again this year in a speaking capacity. Paid Social specialist Fiona founded FB Comms in 2020, growing it from a successful freelance venture to a fully-fledged agency.
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Rachel Birch
Director, House Digital
Talk: “Outsourcing vs In-housing: Why Our Agency Seeks Out Clients Who Want To Bring Their Digital In-House”
Director at Lancashire agency House Digital, Rachel believes the traditional marketing agency model is outdated. She'll share why she believes the future is in in-housing and what that looks like for agencies and businesses. With Digital Marketing becoming more important than ever for a brands survival, how do agencies shift their proposition to support their clients in a way that is conducive to them achieving their goals?
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David White
Founder/Director of Content Marketing, connective3
Talk: “The New Era of Link Building: Navigating the 'Messy Middle' with Digital PR”
Digital PR is commonly viewed as merely a tool for link building to boost SEO. But, did you know you could build links and influence consumer decision-making at the same time? In 2020 and again in 2023, Google identified a crucial part of the customer journey known as the 'messy middle.' This phase occurs between initial interest and the final purchase, representing a complex stage where consumers decide on their preferences and purchases. Digital PR is not only effective for link building but can also serve as a strategic tool to decode the 'messy middle' and sway consumer decisions, thereby delivering tangible business outcomes as well as SEO visibility. David will explore strategies for unravelling the customer journey, discussing how Digital PR can both generate links and impact consumer behaviour, and presenting actionable tactics that any brand can implement to ensure their PR campaigns enhance SEO visibility and motivate consumer actions.
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Myriam Jessier
Performance Marketing Trainer & Consultant, PRAGM
Talk: “BigQuery Bliss”
Wish you could find a way to avoid GA4? Stuck endlessly waiting for Excel to churn through data? BigQuery may be for you. This talk offers a solid introduction to BigQuery's capabilities, complete with real-world use cases and some free SQL queries for immediate application. "I want to make sure people don't have FOMO or fears regarding this topic," says the trainer and consultant, who has over 15 years' experience in performance marketing. Myriam co-founded PRAGM, a leading technical SEO and Analytics consultancy, where she played a pivotal role in guiding businesses to optimize their digital presence and enhance their online performance. Building on her success and expertise in the digital marketing arena, Myriam has now embarked on an exciting new venture as the head of Neurospicy, an innovative agency dedicated to neurodiverse marketing.
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Fraser Andrews
Global Search Lead, Jaguar Land Rover
Talk: “Paid Media Panelist”
Fraser serves as the Global Search Lead at Jaguar Land Rover, where he plays a crucial role in managing both paid and organic search initiatives. With eight years of experience predominantly in agency roles before transitioning in-house, he specialises in client strategy and optimization across diverse industries. Outside of work, Fraser enjoys quality time with his family and pursuing his passion for pottery. Fraser will be lending his expertise to an insightful Paid Media Panel
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Akash Hashmi
Talk: “Mind over Metrics: Managing your Mental Health in Marketing”
From his beginnings as a freelance journalist for the BBC to taking on roles such as SEO Copywriter, Executive, Strategic Team Leader, Senior Account Manager, Lead, and Manager, Akash has amassed six years of comprehensive experience in both in-house and agency environments. His diverse career path has equipped him with a robust understanding of the digital marketing landscape and honed his skills in various facets of the industry. Additionally, Akash is a regular attendee at Sheffield DM events, reflecting his commitment to staying current with industry trends and continuously expanding his professional knowledge. This time, Akash will be delivering a talk on a very different but vitally important subject. He'll be sharing the actionable techniques and mindset shifts which have helped him achieve success in his SEO career while battling depression, anxiety and chronic illness. "I want to make it normal to discuss these topics if it's something you want to share, especially among peers," Akash says. "I think many other people going through similar things see them as a barrier to their success - both in work and general life."
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James Marriott
Founder/Podcast Strategist, Sound Media
Talk: “Podcasting is Dead: Long Live Audio Marketing”
With an extensive background in media, including significant freelance work with the BBC, James brings a wealth of knowledge and expertise to the table. He specializes in 'purposeful podcasting' at Sound Media, where he focuses on creating content that truly resonates with audiences. In addition to his work at Sound Media, James is the host of the Steel City Business podcast, a platform dedicated to showcasing the unique stories and successes of companies based in Sheffield. James is passionate about the power of audio marketing and its potential to drive brand engagement. "I'm absolutely thrilled to share my thoughts on why brands need to get on board the audio marketing train and ride it all the way to engagementville," he says.
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Charley Brennand
PPC Freelancer & Founder, The PPC Academy
Talk: “Paid Media Panelist”
A ballsy Lancastrian with a colourful backstory and a rowdy toddler, sharing their experiences in PPC with others to relate, connect and inspire. Through their talks, Charley hopes to show that perseverance, figuring it out and true grit are the main components to success, despite the ever-changing landscape we work in.
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Dale Olorenshaw
Head of Paid & Search, StrategiQ
Talk: “How To Integrate Your Paid Media & SEO Teams”
Dale, as the Head of Search & Paid Media at StrategiQ, brings over 11 years of extensive experience spanning diverse industries including automotive, health, beauty, entertainment, sports, and B2B sectors. He has led numerous successful campaigns across various channels, both nationally and internationally, encompassing SEO, Paid Search, Paid Social, Programmatic Display, and Video On Demand strategies, consistently delivering exceptional results for his clients. Dale will be sharing tips developed over years in the industry on how you can begin to integrate your Paid Media and Search teams to work closer together.
