What is the biggest opportunity for advertisers in digital marketing in the next 12 months and why?

Three main opportunities across the full digital mix. Firstly, maturation of first-party data strategies. As third-party cookies continue their slow exit and privacy regulation tightens across the UK and Europe, the brands that have invested in building direct relationships with their audiences. It's not a new conversation, but slow unless Brands add tangible value and string personalisation, you will miss out. Second, Retail Media. The convergence of first-party shopper data with programmatic buying is fundamentally changing how we connect media spend to real purchase behaviour. The challenge is standout and how to make this not only functionally beneficial to consumers but also deliver brand equity, Third, you have to be socially native in your Marketing approach in communication channels. This means are far more sophisticated and deeper relationship with Influencers and Social communities, not only those you pay to play but those you build.

What is the most exciting aspect of attending Programmatic Pioneers Summit?

The calibre of conversation between people who have similar challenges. There's no shortage of content in this industry, webinars, posts, etc., but a genuine connection in the real world is always going to be a huge value. This event tends to attract people who are actually making decisions and living with the consequences, which makes the conversations far more useful.

What has been yours or your company's most impressive achievement this year and why?

In 2026 I’ve been working with a range of businesses in start-up and growth mode, and what's struck me most is the energy in the room. The passion, the optimism, the absolute focus on what needs to happen today - not tomorrow, not after another presentation, today. These teams aren't paralysed by legacy thinking or institutional caution. Challenges will inevitably come, but that mindset, combined with the structural agility that comes with being earlier in the lifecycle, means they're better placed to adapt and push through. Being part of that has been genuinely energising and a reminder of what is possible with glass-half-full thinking.

What technology are you most excited about at the moment and why?

AI applied to media planning and optimisation but not the hype version. I'm talking about the practical application of machine learning to make faster, better-informed decisions about where and how budgets are actually spent. Cutting waste, improving targeting precision, identifying patterns in performance data. None of that needs to come at the cost of creative impact, in fact, when it's done well, it frees up the thinking time and budget headroom to invest more meaningfully in the creative work that actually builds brands. The two should complement each other, and the businesses getting that balance right are already pulling ahead.