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A GROWTH SUMMIT FOR AMBITIOUS MARKETERS

The Great Convergence

How brands can win as the lines between brand and performance marketing blur

TUESDAY, 2OTH OCTOBER   |   2:00 PM TO 6:00 PM   |   SOHO HOUSE, MANCHESTER

idhl x stackadapt x trustpilot logos white - event landing page-1

Why this matters now

Marketing is entering an era of convergence. AI is reshaping discovery, customer journeys are becoming increasingly fragmented, and the traditional divide between brand and performance marketing is disappearing.
Organisations seeing the greatest success are those planning around customer behaviour, rather than individual channels.  
Join IDHL, StackAdapt and Trustpilot for an exclusive afternoon exploring how today's leading organisations are adapting to this new reality. 
Why attend?

Key challenges we'll explore:

  • AI search is changing how people discover brands

  • PR increasingly influences search visibility

  • Programmatic is becoming more audience and insight-led

  • Measurement is harder across fragmented journeys

  • Paid media often captures demand that brand activity created

  • Customers don't move neatly through a funnel 

What you'll learn

You'll discover how to:

  • Increase visibility across search, AI and emerging discovery platforms

  • Shape clear, credible brand perceptions across media, social, search, AI and customer experience

  • Turn attention and consideration into measurable commercial outcomes

  • Connect brand, PR, search, media and measurement into a unified growth strategy 

Who should attend?

This event is designed for:

  • CMOs

  • Marketing Directors

  • Heads of Marketing

  • Digital Leaders

  • Growth Teams

Particularly those looking to understand how search, media, reputation and measurement are converging, and what this means for future marketing strategy. 

Agenda
2:00pm | Arrival & Welcome

Join us for refreshments, meet fellow marketing leaders and connect with experts from across the industry.

2:30pm | Opening keynote: The Great Convergence

The Great Convergence: Be found, understood and chosen
Speaker: Chris Walsh, IDHL

Drawing on findings from IDHL’s latest State of AI Search research, Chris will explore how AI-powered discovery, changing search behaviour and increasingly fragmented customer journeys are reshaping the way brands compete. He will introduce the Found, Understood and Chosen framework, setting the scene for the afternoon’s discussions.

2:45pm | Found: Own the answer

Found: Own the answer
Speaker: Helen Green

Customers are asking questions across Google, ChatGPT, Gemini, Copilot, Perplexity and other AI-powered platforms. This session will explore how GEO builds on the foundations of SEO, how AI systems select and cite sources, and what brands can do to achieve consistent, accurate visibility across search and AI discovery. 

3:10pm | Understood: Shaping what your brand means

Understood: Shaping what your brand means
Speakers: Chloe Buchanan and Cheryl Crossley

Being visible is only the beginning. This session will explore how Brand PR, Digital PR, social, content and customer experience can work together to build a clear, credible and consistent understanding of your brand across every audience touchpoint. 

3:35pm | Refreshment break

An opportunity to continue the conversation, refresh and connect with other attendees.

3:50pm | Chosen: Understanding the preference gap

Chosen: Understanding the preference gap
Speakers: Rachael Higgins, Tom Walkden and Harry Lote, IDHL

A fireside discussion exploring how audience understanding, brand building, media investment and measurement work together to create preference. The speakers will consider how marketers can balance demand creation and demand capture, use audience intelligence more effectively and measure commercial impact beyond the final click. 

4:10pm | Closing panel: The convergence challenge

The convergence challenge
Moderator: Chris Walsh 
Speakers: Kyle Brogan, Chelsea Johnston and more to be announced

Bringing together perspectives from across the marketing landscape, our closing panel will explore what convergence means for strategy, investment and team structures. The discussion will consider how brands can connect channels around customer outcomes, balance long-term growth with immediate performance and make stronger decisions when no single channel owns the customer journey. The session will conclude with an audience Q&A. 

4:45pm to 6:00pm | Drinks & networking

Continue the conversation over drinks and connect with speakers, partners and fellow marketing leaders.
Meet the speakers
Kyle Brogan, IDHL

Kyle Brogan, Director of Client Performance, IDHL

Kyle Brogan is Director of Client Performance at IDHL, driving integrated search and performance marketing strategies across its multichannel offering. With over 20 years in the digital industry, he has progressed from placement student to director, specialising in paid media, affiliates and multichannel strategy. Kyle is passionate about long-term advertising impact, full funnel campaigns and building genuinely strategic client partnerships.

Cheryl Crossley, IDHL

Cheryl Crossley, Head of PR, IDHL

Cheryl Crossley is Head of PR at IDHL, leading the team to deliver impactful, integrated strategies that drive brand visibility and SEO performance. With over 15 years’ experience across in-house and agency roles, she has worked with a wide range of well-known brands and seen the evolution of PR into a more digital, data-led discipline. Cheryl is passionate about creative storytelling, measurement and the intersection of PR and search.

Tom Walkden, IDHL

Tom Walkden, Media Strategy Director, IDHL

Tom Walkden is the Media Strategy Director at IDHL, leading cross-channel strategy and planning to help clients turn ambition into clear, performance-led growth. With over 15 years’ experience in digital marketing, his background spans Google Ad Support, ecommerce and building websites from a young age. He is passionate about bringing brand and performance together, as well as evolving channels like Programmatic and CTV.

Helen Green, IDHL

Helen Green, Organic Search Account Director, IDHL

Helen Green is an Organic Search Account Director at IDHL, with over 9 years’ experience leading SEO strategy for global ecommerce brands. She leads on high-value accounts, delivering commercially focused strategies that go beyond rankings to protect and grow revenue. With experience across both in-house and agency environments, Helen brings a strategic, end-to-end perspective on organic search, focusing on what really drives performance: how sites are crawled, understood and trusted. 

Harry Lote, IDHL

Harry Lote, Analytics Integration Manager, IDHL

Harry Lote is Analytics Integration Manager at IDHL, specialising in data integrity and custom tracking solutions. He implements and optimises tools such as Google Tag Manager and GA4 to deliver accurate insights for paid campaigns and SEO performance. With over nine years of client and agency-side experience, Harry has worked with leading universities and cultural institutions across the UK.

Rachael Higgins, IDHL

Rachael Higgins, Head of Performance Media, IDHL

Rachael Higgins is Head of Performance Media at IDHL, leading the PPC team and shaping cross-channel strategy across the wider performance function. With over 10 years’ experience in PPC and integrated planning, she has worked across multiple sectors, with a strong focus on ecommerce. Rachael is passionate about cross-channel synergy and the role of measurement in driving effective strategies.

Chris Walsh, IDHL

Chris Walsh, Director of New Business, IDHL

Chris Walsh is Director of New Business at IDHL, leading revenue growth and new client acquisition. He oversees the new business team, shapes client strategy and drives pipeline performance across the agency. With more than 20 years in sales and digital marketing, Chris joined IDHL in 2015 and now sits on the Senior Management Team. Passionate about SEO, evolving media and AI.

In a more complex world, winning means being...

FOUND

Be visible in an AI-first world across search, social and emerging channels. 

UNDERSTOOD

Turn data, creativity and PR into deeper audience insight and relevance.

CHOSEN

Build brands that drive demand today and long-term growth tomorrow.

SECURE YOUR PLACE

Be part of The Great Convergence. 

Limited capacity. This is an invite-only event for senior marketing leaders. Register now to request your place. 

 TUESDAY, 20TH OCTOBER

2:00 PM - 6:00 PM 

SOHO HOUSE, MANCHESTER

A private members' club in the heart of the city.

The Orange Room, Soho House