The NDS was back in full swing
At Hallam we were proud to bring together some of the brightest minds in marketing for this year’s Nottingham Digital Summit. The event was full of ideas, challenges and inspiration, and our speakers gave the audience plenty to take back to their own organisations. Here are some of the standout lessons from five of the talks.
Oliver Yonchev | AI: Killing Creatives or Giving Them Superpowers?
Oliver Yonchev asked a question many of us are already wrestling with: is AI killing creativity or giving it superpowers? His argument was that technology should be invisible. The most effective use of AI is when it fades into the background and gives people space to focus on emotion, storytelling and taste. For those worried about their future roles, Oliver was blunt. If you are not very good at your job, you may struggle. But if you are good, the world belongs to you. His advice was to start experimenting now. Use AI to support inspiration, production and distribution, but remember that the human touch is what sets great work apart.
Mel Barfield & Ben McKinney | Copy Academy: 3 ways to shorten the gap
Mel Barfield and Ben McKinney brought the audience practical insights from Copy Academy. They explained how brands can shorten the gap between audience interest and action. Trust is built quickly through tone of voice, curiosity and reciprocity. Promises should always be met with delivery, otherwise credibility is lost. They reminded us that generosity in business pays back, whether through content that helps, or through amplifying the voices of others. Perhaps the most memorable line from their talk was that you do not need to be the best. You need to be the favourite.
Stephen Kenwright | Are you the hero of your story?
Stephen Kenwright turned attention to the way agencies tell their own stories. He asked whether businesses are really the hero of their own narrative and pushed the audience to define who they are truly here for. Choosing which customer to hero, then letting them shine in content and storytelling, creates stronger connections than talking only about yourself. He also warned that many agencies are burdened by too many layers and poor feedback loops, which slows everything down. Sales, he said, is simply the execution of your strategy in the field each day. It is not a separate function. His message was clear. Orient your market, advertising, product and sales activity around the customer, not yourself, and remember that taste ultimately lies with the people you serve.
Wensy Antoli | The B2B Video Revolution
Wensy Antoli spoke about the B2B video revolution. Video, she argued, has become the new language of business. With 154 billion video views on LinkedIn each year and growth of more than a third annually, B2B buyers are hitting play. What matters is not information but storytelling. Video allows brands to build human connections, bring in expert voices and create content that is memorable and inspiring. The science is also on video’s side. Viewers retain far more of what they see than what they read, and message retention can be as high as 95 percent. For Wensy, the lesson is simple. If your brand is not already thinking in video, you are already behind.
Tom Capper | Brands, SEO and the Helpful Content Update
Tom Capper brought things back to search. His focus was on brands, SEO and Google’s Helpful Content Update. He pointed out that while brand authority is not a ranking factor, it is playing a huge role in how content performs. Some brands are punished more for poor performance than others are rewarded for excellence, which makes consistency essential. He spoke about the balance between Domain Authority and Brand Authority, suggesting that the ratio can help predict which brands will win or lose under the new update. The challenge, he argued, is not to game the system but to make a mindset shift. Measurement and brand are no longer secondary in SEO, they are at the centre.
The common thread
What connects all these talks is a recognition that the digital world is shifting quickly. Technology is reshaping creative work, audiences are demanding more trust and connection, and the signals that drive growth are changing. The message from the stage was that success comes from combining human creativity with smart use of technology, understanding your audience deeply, and committing to consistency in execution.
