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Stuart O'Brien

Join Coca-Cola, Kurt Geiger, The Lalit & more at the Digital Marketing Solutions Summit
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Don’t miss the chance to join senior marketing executives from Coca-Cola, Kurt Geiger, The Lalit and more this Summer.

We are gathering together key marketing professionals for the Digital Marketing Solutions Summit, taking place on May 14th at the Hilton, Canary Wharf, London.

In addition to a day of business networking, you will get the latest insights and advice on trends in the sector via a series of seminar session.

Lunch and all refreshments are included with your free ticket.

Register today and join fellow marketing professionals from:

Abbott
Albion Capital
AutoRek
BNP Paribas
BT Wholesale
Ceva Sante Animale
CitySprint
Clifford Chance
Coca-Cola European Partners
CompareTheMarket
CV Villas
Department of Education
Envigo
Express Gifts
Fairfax & Favor
Fitch Learning
Fuel Card Services
Harbour Hotels
Hodder Education
Hyatt Place Heathrow
Interstate Hotels & Resorts
Jagex Studios
Kettle Foods
Kurt Geiger
Luxdeco
Macmillan Cancer Support
Magnuson Worldwide
Mitel
National Accident Helpline
Orange Business Services
Ralph & Russo
Royal Canin
Royal Mail
Send a Cow
SHL
SofaSofa
Softomotive
Tate & Lyle
Tenancy Deposit Scheme
The Berkeley Group
The Lalit London
The Sofa & Chair Company
The SR Group
Trend Micro
West Midlands Trains

Don’t miss out on this unique opportunity! Simply register your VIP place here.

For more information, contact Katie Bullot on 01992 374049 or email k.bullot@forumevents.co.uk.

Alternatively, if you’re a digital marketing solutions provider and would like to showcase your products and services at the event, contact James Howe on 01992 374067 or email j.howe@forumevents.co.uk.

GUEST BLOG: How best to market your business with a mix of channels
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Your business’s success could come down to the marketing strategies you choose. In a bid to get your business up and running and continuing to grow, marketing is crucial. It can be used to help you inform, sell, engage and sustain. But, what exactly should you be doing? Here, alongside Lookers, who sell Transit Connect vehicles, we look at some of the options available…

Leaflets

An extremely cost-effective advertising method is by using leaflets. Leaflet distribution, according to research, is a much more memorable form of advertising, with nine out of 10 people remembering door-drop mail they’ve received. This form of marketing can send your customers the message you’re intending to get across from as little as 5p per household. It also enables you to get customers engaging with your business.

Potential customers and clients are more likely to keep your leaflet if you choose a simple design that includes your business’s name, logo, telephone number, email address and the service(s) you are offering, potential customers or clients are more likely to keep a hold of your leaflet, thus meaning they’ll always have a hard copy on hand. To fully engage the reader, consider including a coupon or discount code so they are tempted to use your product or service.

Banners

Make the most of any new venture by including outdoor banners. Doing so can help direct the attention of passers-by to your business in a relatively cheap manner. Research has found that the majority of a local business’s regular customers live within a five-mile radius of where you are based, so your banner could possibly be viewed by a single customer 60 times in a week.

Vehicle wraps

Any time you’re in your vehicle you’re likely to have spotted a car or van that has a company’s logo plastered all over it. This is because it can turn your transport into an all-year-round marketing machine. Even if you’re parked up, members of the public can still engage with your brand. It doesn’t matter how big the company is either, as all sizes can benefit from this, although for smaller businesses this would be a relatively cheap way to get their brand or product noticed every day.

According to figures by the Outdoor Advertising Association, a vehicle wrap is actually the cheapest cost-per-impressions form of advertising. Naturally, a television advert is most expensive, with costs of close to £40 per thousand impressions during primetime. Radio is cheaper, but can still cost in the region of £10 per thousand impressions for a 30 second slot. Vehicle wrap, however, can cost as little as 30p per thousand impressions and has a much longer shelf life.

Social media

It’s possible to both pay for campaigns on social media and use the platform for free. In January 2018, the UK had 44 million active social media users, representing 66% of the population. Of course, not all users will be potential customers or clients, but that is a phenomenal outreach for a free service. This is why a company, no matter what the size, should fully utilise this tool. One way to interact and engage is by running competitions and giveaways.

Realistically, the type of marketing you go for will depend on your budget. However, you certainly shouldn’t scrimp on how much you set aside as its worth could be crucial to your business succeeding and growing. The above options should definitely help with your quest if you deliver it correctly.

Sources

https://movingtargets.com/blog/business/why-marketing-is-so-important/

https://www.directletterboxmarketing.co.uk/why-are-leaflets-so-effective/

https://www.statista.com/statistics/507405/uk-active-social-media-and-mobile-social-media-users/

http://blog.quizclothing.co.uk/12-days-of-quizmas/

Consumers warm to brand data handling post-GDPR
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Two in five consumers (41%) say they are more comfortable and confident that brands are handling their data correctly due to the introduction of the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR).

In addition, fewer people find themselves often questioning how a brand got their data in the first place than a year ago, according to the DMA’s ‘Consumer email tracker 2019’ report.

The research delves into consumers’ perceptions and preferences – when it comes to the channel most (59%) prefer brands to get in touch through email. In 2018, consumers believe they received less email than ever before, estimating this at around 57 per week to their personal inboxes – down from 73 in 2017 – and less than half of these (44%) are from brands.

In addition, consumers estimate they’re signed up to receive email messages from around nine different brands, which has also declined from 12 in 2017. The DMA says the figures are a potential by-product of the new laws and consumers’ belief they have more control over the marketing emails they receive.

Rachel Aldighieri, MD at the DMA, said: “Despite the challenges that the GDPR may have brought to marketers and their organisations, it has clearly had a positive impact on consumers. The fact that so many of the people we surveyed said the new rules have made them more confident about how brands treat their personal data should be seen as a very positive step. This year’s report highlights the power of email to be at the heart of brands’ communication with customers, being the central channel that others can then be built around. However, it’s fundamental that marketers combine convenience and relevance, building relationships based on transparency and trust.”

Phil Draper, Chief Marketing Officer at dotdigital, which helped pull together the data, said: “Creating powerful, two-way relationships with consumers should be at the core of all modern marketing strategies. It’s what consumers want, and what marketers are working to deliver. The fact that brands have reduced the number of emails they’re sending is an indication that brands are focusing more on delivering relevant and interesting content.”

Unsubscribe doesn’t have to mean unsubscribing

The most predominant reason for unsubscribing from a brand’s email programme is receiving too many messages (59%), followed by the information no longer being relevant (43%) and not recognising the brand (43%). Most people (70%) take action via the brand’s website or the button within an email, with 40% expecting to never hear from that brand (via email) again or only receive transactional emails (23%).

However, almost one in five expect to be taken to options where they can change their email preferences (9%) or to some form of survey (7%), offering marketers the opportunity to retain that customer by changing their approach or, at the very least, better understand why they’re leaving.

When offered this opportunity for control, around a third (36%) say they would like to reduce the frequency of emails they receive or specify the products/services they hear about (31%) – two of the key reasons they may have clicked unsubscribe in the first place.

Marcus Gearey, Chair of the DMA Email council’s research hub and Analytics manager, Zeta Global, added: “The management of the inbox is an attempt to maximise utility and minimise disruption. The right message of the right value still wins: too many of the wrong one makes it difficult to get that consumer to change their mind that your brand belongs in their spam folder rather than their inbox.”

Emarsys and Persado team up for campaign automation
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Persado and Emarsys customers are now be able to generate, test and serve their marketing campaigns in minutes using a combined platform that the partners claim takes a fraction of the time of a traditional setup.

Through the joint API, Emarsys campaign results will flow back into Persado, giving clients access to quantitative and qualitative analysis on the variables that impact performance.

Happy Socks used the system last year for its Black Friday campaign, which is being held up as a the poster boy of the collaboration.

“This integration is incredibly exciting because both Persado’s and Emarsys’ technologies are critical for driving success. Emarsys gives us freedom to easily setup and test campaigns, and Persado helps us empower our messages by generating the perfect language to improve our content’s performance and relevancy,” said Marc Verschueren, Director of Online Marketing and Sales at Happy Socks. “Coming out of our recent Black Friday campaign, we saw an average open rate uplift of 21 percent, and an average click-through-rate uplift of 37 percent. These technologies helped us stand out by taking more risks and thinking outside the box, all without worrying about missing the mark.”

“Today’s CMOs are bombarded with solutions claiming to drive ROI, so identifying the technologies and offerings that provide real value has become increasingly difficult. Marketing teams need products that intelligently achieve results and close the gap between goals and outcomes,” said Assaf Baciu, Co-Founder & SVP of Product and Engineering, Persado. “Through this partnership, we are uniting our strengths in automation, AI-powered predictive insights and analysis to add mathematical certainty to the development of creative while eliminating burden. We are thrilled to work together to give marketers the confidence they deserve.”

“We know that poor attempts to tailor communications will turn customers off. Marketers therefore rely on smart technology to automate and personalize communications across channels, at scale and often in real-time,” said Dave Littlechild, Global Head of Partnerships & Alliances at Emarsys. “This partnership helps us bridge the technology adoption gap that stands between a marketer and his or her ability to profitably driving more revenue. We are excited and look forward to the future as partners.”

The integration of Persado within Emarsys is available to clients now.

Do you specialise in Email Marketing solutions? We want to hear from you!
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Each month on Digital Marketing Briefing we’re be shining the spotlight on different parts of the print and marketing sectors – and in March we’ll be focussing on Email Marketing.

It’s all part of our ‘Recommended’ editorial feature, designed to help marketing industry professionals find the best products and services available today.

So, if you specialise in Email Marketing solutions and would like to be included as part of this exciting new shop window, we’d love to hear from you – for more info, contact Chris Cannon on c.cannon@forumevents.co.uk.

Here are the areas we’ll be covering, month by month:

Mar – Email Marketing

Apr – Digital Printing

May – Social Media

Jun – Brand Monitoring

Jul – Web Analytics

Aug – Conversion Rate Optimisation

Sept – Digital Signage

Oct – Brochure Printing

Nov – Creative & Design

Dec – Online Strategy

For more information on any of the above topics, contact Chris Cannon on c.cannon@forumevents.co.uk.

Network your way to success at the Digital Marketing Solutions Summit
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Join the likes of BNP Paribas, Coca Cola and West Midlands Trains at the Digital Marketing Solutions Summit on May 14th in London.

Simply register your VIP place here for the opportunity to:

  • Meet new suppliers and discover innovative solutions – and you’ll be provided with a bespoke itinerary of pre-arranged meetings, based on your own individual requirements
  • Learn new tips and discover insight via a series of seminar sessions
  • Network with like-minded senior marketing professionals

You’ll be joining representatives from the likes of:

BNP Paribas
CitySprint
Clifford Chance
Coca-Cola
CompareTheMarket
Harbour Hotels
Interstate Hotels & Resorts
Kettle Foods
Macmillan Cancer Support
Orange Business Services
SofaSofa
Softomotive
The Berkeley Group
The Lalit London
Trend Micro
West Midlands Trains

… and many more

We have a limited number of VIP places. Simply click here to register your place.

For more information, contact Katie Bullot on 01992 374049 or email k.bullot@forumevents.co.uk.

Alternatively, if you’re a digital marketing solutions provider and would like to showcase your products and services at the event, contact James Howe on 01992 374067 or email j.howe@forumevents.co.uk.

IAB responds to EU privacy complaints
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The Internet Advertising Bureau (IAB) Europe has responded to complaints filed by campaigners with Data Protection Authorities (DPA) in the UK, Ireland and Poland, which make specific reference to the IAB OpenRTB Protocol and IAB Europe Transparency and Consent Framework (TCF).

The complaints allege that programmatic advertising using real-time auctions are inherently incompatible with EU data protection law. The premise of these challenges is based on communication between IAB Europe and the European Commission, from April 2017.

At the time, these conversations were part of a dialogue around the planned implementation of GDPR and revisions to the ePrivacy Directive.

IAB Europe was asked to provide details of potential challenges that would be faced within the digital advertising ecosystem, to ensure regulations developed were appropriate for use and could be implemented without limitation across the entire value chain.

The limitations identified at that time focused on how notice and choice could be given to consumers regarding the use of their data for targeting purposes. These limitations have since been addressed by the development of the Transparency and Consent Framework and IAB Consent Management Platform (CMP) by IAB Europe.

IAB Europe says it remains engaged with the European Commission and regional DPAs on behalf of members and the broader digital advertising industry, and adds that a similar dialogue has been attempted with the instigators of the complaints.

The IAB statement read: “These claims are not only false but are intentionally damaging to the digital advertising industry and to European digital media that depend on advertising as a revenue stream.

“IAB Europe has consistently tried to outline the counter arguments and correct information, mentioned above, to the claimants. However, they have consistently chosen to ignore the facts, bringing more inaccurate information to support their case. Their errors of omission could therefore be characterised as either misrepresentations or just fabrications.”

Click here to read the full statement from IAB Europe.

Consumers want personalised experiences at retail and shop accordingly
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Customers want to shop wherever and whenever they want with the benefits of both the digital and physical retail environments, according to a study by Boston Retail Partners.

The study found that 79% of consumers indicated that personalised service from a sales associate was an important factor in determining at which store they choose to shop.

Consumers understand that receiving personalised service requires retailers to identify them. While this has been the normal standard online or via mobile, identifying the customer in the store is a little more difficult and not as common.

Most retailers who identify customers in the store use the customers’ mobile phone as the identification tool paired with a combination of beacons, WiFi, MAC address, etc.

While 64% of consumers are comfortable with retailers identifying them via their mobile phone when they enter a store, as long as it means they are offered a personalized experience, only 37% of retailers are able to identify their customers prior to checkout.

The Boston Retail Partners report says customer identification is a requirement for any type of personalisation of the shopping experience – if a retailer can’t identify the customer until she is at the checkout then it’s too late to empower the associate to influence the current purchase decision.

Ken Morris, Principal at Boston Retail Partners, said: “Without early identification of the customer, retailers miss critical engagement opportunities to deliver a personalised customer experience and increase sales. And in today’s crowded and highly competitive market, personalization is a critical component for optimizing the customer’s shopping experience.

“The customer has spoken and she wants a personalised shopping experience in the store, how are you going to provide her that experience?”

GUEST BLOG: Gauging the return on investment available from marketing
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According to figures published by Google in its Car Purchasing UK Report in April 2018, £115.9 million was invested in direct mail and online display by UK car dealers during 2016 alone.

While automotive manufacturers often have a substantial marketing budget available to them though, this is not always a luxury to firms when they are looking at their marketing campaigns.

Due to digital visibility not usually coming cheap due to the increased interest in online platforms, VW service providers Vindis takes a look at whether such investments are indeed worth the cost…

The automotive industry

Within Google’s Drive To Decide Report, which was created in association with TNS, a discussion took place about how the auto shopper of today is more digitally savvy than previous generations. In fact, over 82% of the UK population aged 18 and over have access to the internet for personal reasons, 85% use smartphones and 65% choose a smartphone as their preferred device to access the internet. These figures show that for car dealers to keep their head in the game, a digital transition is vital.

Research online will also be carried out by 90% of auto shoppers, the same report goes on to reveal. 51% of buyers starting their auto research online, with 41% of those using a search engine. To capture those shoppers beginning their research online, car dealers must think in terms of the customer’s micro moments of influence, which could include online display ads – one marketing method that currently occupies a significant proportion of car dealers’ marketing budgets.

Of the entire UK Digital Ad Spending Growth throughout 2017, eMarketer claims that the automotive industry accounted for 11% of the total. This placed the industry in second place behind the retail sector. The automotive industry is forecast to see a further 9.5% increase in ad spending in 2018.

As many car purchases still occur on the forecourt though, what effect is online having on influencing the decisions of auto shoppers? 41% of shoppers who research online find their smartphone research ‘very valuable’. 60% said they were influenced by what they saw in the media, of which 22% were influenced by marketing promotions – proving online investment is working.

Across the automotive sector, traditional methods of TV and radio continue to be the most invested forms of marketing. In the last past five years though, it is digital that has made the biggest jump from fifth most popular method to third, seeing an increase of 10.6% in expenditure.

The healthcare industry

An entirely different set of rules are followed for marketing when it comes to the healthcare sector. This is generally because it is restricted by heavy regulations. The same ROI methods that have been adopted by other sectors simply don’t work for the healthcare market. Despite nearly 74% of all healthcare marketing emails remaining unopened, you’ll be surprised to learn that email marketing is essential for the healthcare industry’s marketing strategy.

Email is used by approximately 2.5 million people as a primary form of communication. The use of email has also increased in value and usage over the past few years. This means email marketing is targeting a large audience. For this reason, 62% of physicians and other healthcare providers prefer communication via email – and now that smartphone devices allow users to check their emails on their device, email marketing puts companies at the fingertips of their audience.

Those in the healthcare industry should see online marketing as another platform that will make for worthwhile investment as well. This is especially the case when you consider that one in 20 Google searches are for health-related content. This could be attributed to the fact that many people turn to a search engine for medical answer before calling the GP.

According to data from the Pew Research Center, a search engine will be the starting point of 77% of all health enquiries. What’s more, 72% of total internet users say they’ve looked online for health information within the past year. Furthermore, 52% of smartphone users have used their device to look up the medical information they require. Statistics estimate that marketing spend for online marketing accounts for 35% of the overall budget.

Don’t forget the appeal of social media marketing either. Whilst the healthcare industry is restricted to how they market their services and products, that doesn’t mean social media should be neglected. In fact, an effective social media campaign could be a crucial investment for organisations, with 41% of people choosing a healthcare provider based on their social media reputation! And the reason? The success of social campaigns is usually attributed to the fact audiences can engage with the content on familiar platforms.

The fashion industry

The success of many fashion retailers will depend on their investment online. This point is underlined by the fact online sales in the fashion industry reached £16.2 billion in 2017! This figure is expected to continue to grow by a huge 79% by 2022. So where are fashion retailers investing their marketing budgets? Has online marketing become a priority?

Almost a quarter of all purchases in December 2017 were tied to ecommerce. This is according to the British Retail Consortium, as online brands such as ASOS and Boohoo continue to embrace the online shopping phenomenon. ASOS experienced an 18% UK sales growth in the final four months of 2017, whilst Boohoo saw a 31% increase in sales throughout the same period.

Next, Marks and Spencer, and John Lewis are just three of the well-known brands in the industry to have invested millions into their operations and marketing efforts online. Such tactics aimed to capture the online shopper and drive digital sales. John Lewis announced that 40% of its Christmas sales came from online shoppers, and whilst Next struggled to keep up with the sales growth of its competitors, it has announced it will invest £10 million into its online marketing and operations.

It also seems that many shoppers aren’t willing or interested to head to the high-street in order to shop. Instead, they like the idea of being able to conveniently shop from the comfort of their home, or via their smartphone devices whilst on the move.

In research carried out by the PMYB Influencer Marketing Agency, 59% of fashion marketers increased the budget they had available for influencer marketing last year. In fact, 75% of global fashion brands collaborate with social media influencers as part of their marketing strategy and more than a third of marketers believe influencer marketing to be more successful than traditional methods of advertising in 2017 – as 22% of customers are said to be acquired through influencer marketing.

The utilities industry

Comparison websites are now being used by so many consumers when they are trying to find the right utilities supplier for their needs. These websites could be the key to many suppliers acquiring and retaining customers.

Comparison websites often spend millions on TV marketing campaigns, which are then watched by so much of the nation. Therefore, it has become vital for many utility suppliers to be listed on comparison websites and offer a very competitive price, in order to stay in the game.

Compare the Market, MoneySupermarket, Go Compare and Confused.com are currently the four largest comparison websites. These companies are also among the top 100 highest spending advertisers in the UK, but does that marketing investment reflect on utility suppliers?

The difference between a high rate of customer retention for one supplier and a high rate of customer acquisition for another supplier can be determined through comparison websites. If you don’t beat your competitors, then what is to stop your existing and potential new customers choosing your competitors over you?

Instead of customer acquisition, British Gas has altered its marketing goals towards customer retention. Whilst the company recognise that this approach to marketing will be a slower process to yield measurable results, they firmly believe that retention will in turn lead to acquisition. The Gas company hope that by marketing a wider range of tailored products and services to their existing customers, they will be able to improve customer retention.

A loyalty scheme offering discounted energy and services has received a £100 million investment. This scheme focuses on the value of a customer, their behaviour and spending habits over time to discover what they are looking for in the company. The utilities sector is incredibly competitive, so it is vital that companies invest in their existing customers before looking for new customers.

Digital should be a key focus for those in the utilities sector too. 40% of all searches in Q3 2017 were carried out on mobile, and a further 45% of all ad impressions were via mobile too – according to Google’s Public Utilities Report in December 2017. As mobile usage continues to soar, companies need to consider content created specifically for mobile users as they account for a large proportion of the market now.

Concluding thoughts

Online marketing investment should be seen as very important for some industries, such as the fashion and automotive sectors. With a clear increase in online demand in both sectors that is changing the purchase process, some game players could find themselves out of the game before it has even begun if they neglect digital.

The picture grows even more for sectors such as the utilities industry. Whilst TV and digital appear to remain the main sales driving forces, it’s more than just creating your own marketing campaign when comparison sites need to be considered. Without the correct marketing, advertising or listing on comparison sites, you could fall behind.

The average firm is expected to allocate a minimum of 41% of their marketing budget to online strategies during 2018. This is according to webstrategies.com, with this figure expected to grow to 45% by 2020 too. Social media advertising investments is expected to represent 25% of total online spending and search engine banner ads are also expected to grow significantly too – all presumably as a result of more mobile and online usage.

Where do you stand when it comes to investment into marketing strategies? If mobile and online usage continues to grow year on year at the rate it has done in the past few years, we forecast the investment to be not only worthwhile but essential.

Sources

https://pmyb.co.uk/global-fashion-company-influencer-marketing-budget/

https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/the-uk-clothing-market-2017-2022-300483862.html

http://uk.fashionnetwork.com/news/Online-is-key-focus-for-UK-fashion-retail-investment-in-2017,783787.html#.WrOjxOjFKUk

http://www.mobyaffiliates.com/blog/retail-accounts-for-14-2-of-digital-advertising-spending-in-the-uk-in-2017/

http://www.thisismoney.co.uk/money/bills/article-2933401/Energy-price-comparison-sites-spend-110m-annoying-adverts.html

http://www.thedrum.com/news/2017/03/28/british-gas-shifts-acquisition-retention-marketing-know-the-value-keeping-the-right

https://www.independent.co.uk/news/business/news/uk-companies-online-advertising-spend-10-billion-more-last-year-2016-pwc-a7678536.html

https://www.webstrategiesinc.com/blog/how-much-budget-for-online-marketing-in-2014

https://www.kunocreative.com/blog/healthcare-email-marketing

http://www.evariant.com/blog/10-campaign-best-practices-for-healthcare-marketers

https://getreferralmd.com/2015/02/7-medical-marketing-and-dental-media-strategies-that-really-work/

Join BNP Paribas, Coca-Cola and Macmillan at the Digital Marketing Solutions Summit
By:
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The Digital Marketing Solutions Summit is entirely FREE to attend, taking place on May 14th 2019 at the Hilton Canary Wharf in London.

Simply register your VIP place here for the opportunity to:

  • Meet new suppliers and discover innovative solutions – and you’ll be provided with a bespoke itinerary of pre-arranged meetings, based on your own individual requirements
  • Learn new tips and discover insight via a series of seminar sessions
  • Network with like-minded senior marketing professionals

You’ll be joining representatives from the likes of:

BNP Paribas
CitySprint
Clifford Chance
Coca-Cola
CompareTheMarket
Harbour Hotels
Interstate Hotels & Resorts
Kettle Foods
Macmillan Cancer Support
Orange Business Services
SofaSofa
Softomotive
The Berkeley Group
The Lalit London
Trend Micro
West Midlands Trains

… and many more

We have a limited number of VIP places. Simply click here to register your place.

For more information, contact Katie Bullot on 01992 374049 or email k.bullot@forumevents.co.uk.

Alternatively, if you’re a digital marketing solutions provider and would like to showcase your products and services at the event, contact James Howe on 01992 374067 or email j.howe@forumevents.co.uk.