This event took place on 20 and 21 March 2024 and all registered delegates have been sent direct access details for the recordings. Please only book your place here if you missed the event the first time round.
Following on from last year’s success, our Strategic Marketing Conference was back for another year!
Where last year’s event helped us step back and consider the foundations of strategy development, this year we dived into the application of sector-leading insights.
At a time when budgets are tight, and charities are operating in an increasingly complex and demanding environment – your marketing strategy will be crucial. That’s why we were committed to delivering an event that will help you strengthen your strategy and elevate your marketing activities.
What’s New?
Based on your feedback, we ran this conference as a two-day event, which allowed more thought leadership, extended breathing room to reflect on the content, opportunities to connect with peers and guided space to apply theory to your own strategic work.
This year wasn’t just talk the talk, it was walk the walk.
What can I expect?
This conference bridged the gap between theory and practice, offering a combination of practical workshops, inspirational case studies, reflection exercises and trend sessions to help you look forward and make actionable plans.
Regardless of what stage your strategy is at – this conference helped you step away from the business as usual. It provided a dedicated space to learn, think strategically, channel your creativity and (re)approach the “doing” with a new mindset.
What did you learn?
- Trends: what’s happening within and outside the sector that impacts your marketing.
- Behavioural science: how you can better frame your marketing messages to encourage audience action.
- Metrics: what metrics and insights matter for your organisation right now to make the next best steps.
- Equality, Diversity and Inclusion: how to authentically embed EDI into your marketing.
This was not an event to miss. But don’t just take our word for it!
What our delegates said about SMC23:
“Superbly run online event, the best I’ve been to. Excellent mix of the speakers, all of whom considered the smaller charities as well as the bigger ones.”
“Lots of areas covered, plenty of interesting insight, virtual elements (presentations, chat etc) all worked really well. Great event!”
“Great breadth of presentations, and all really clear and well structured.”
Your ticket price includes access to:
- All sessions across the two days and beyond with our on-demand function, enabling you to catch-up on anything you missed!
- Peer-to-peer learning and knowledge share
- “Ask us anything” advice sessions with marketing experts from the sector
- A digital delegate bag packed with additional resources and further reading
Is this conference right for me?
From senior leaders, to those who are newly responsible for their charity’s marketing strategy, this conference is for all charity communications professionals who manage, or aspire to manage marketing.
All delegates will benefit from the practical approach, trends sessions and inspirational case studies as well as the opportunities to connect to others in the sector. It will cater for a range of budgets and team sizes (small to large).
To make it a collaborative learning experience, why not encourage your whole team to attend? Joining the event as a team will support you to take back key learnings and embed a strategic mindset at your charity together.
This event is also a perfect for freelancers, who work strategically with charities.
Day 1 | |
Welcome Adeela Warley @adeelawarley | |
Horizon scan. Sector trends. Informative. | Trendspotting: context and insights for 2024 Understanding the environment you are operating in is a vital step in developing your marketing strategy and creating impactful messaging. In this session, Cian pulls together the latest research with the general public to identify the most important trends to watch in 2024. Looking at giving, volunteering, trust and consumer trends beyond the charity sector, Cian will give you the context you need to engage with supporters and stakeholders in the most effective ways possible. Cian Murphy |
Data-driven. Practical. Meaningful metrics. | Making measurement count: choosing the right metrics for your strategy If you’ve ever wondered what metrics to focus on in your charity’s marketing strategy, then this session is for you. From aligning your overarching organisational strategy with your marketing strategy, right down to working out sub-sector-specific targets, this talk will give you a toolkit to determine the best route for your charity, no matter its size or area of focus. Diane Barrowsmith |
Digital. Experiences. Ethical. | Digital marketing for people and the planet Digital technology is at the heart of every charity’s comms strategy, helping raise awareness, raise funds and provide services to those in need. But how does our use of digital align with the mission of your organisation? In this talk you’ll learn about the significant environmental and social impacts of digital and how to use them as a lens to help you deliver more impactful digital experiences that truly serve the needs of people and the planet. Tom Greenwood |
Brand messaging. Brave marketing. Inclusive comms. | Brave messaging: why speaking up is the best option Sometimes we tell ourselves “if you don’t know what to say, say nothing”. But in a world where the parts of the media, government and even sport associations are spreading hate against the trans community, this can never be the right option. In this, we will discuss why it’s so important to the LGBTQIA+ community and the sector as a whole, that more charities vocally and visibly support and include trans people in their marketing and communications. Lucy Straker |
Insightful. Behaviour change. Creative comms. | From the insight out: behaviour change marketing to spark action Join Sinéad Molloy, head of strategic comms at Hubbub, a leading behaviour change environmental charity, for a power-packed 30-minute session. You’ll discover simple, time-efficient ways to understand your audience without breaking the bank, how to turn insight into a creative concept, and how to use behavioural science techniques to help change minds and behaviours. From the content strategy behind CoppaFeel!’s award-winning Self-Checkout tool to Hubbub’s viral litter bins that got ten million people talking rubbish, we’ll draw inspiration and actionable ideas from some of the sector’s most successful campaigns. Sinéad Molloy |
Strategic mindset. Framework. Successful cases. | Developing a powerful marketing strategy – lessons from business and academia There is no doubt that passion and purpose is at the heart of charity marketing communications, but how can we ensure the best impact and return on investment? Georgie Bradbury will demonstrate a problem-solving model that will help your charity to be strategic in the moment. Georgie will share how you can develop marketing plans using a method that has proven successful for business and academia. Sharing case studies from aviation to conservation, discover how you can create your marketing plans for success. Georgie Bradbury |
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Day 2 | |
Welcome Gemma Pettman | |
Authentic marketing. Inner workings. EDI | Embedding EDI into your marketing strategy- lessons from the front Devia is passionate about inclusion and has put it at the heart of her work in leading fundraising, communications and marketing teams at charities including Barnardo’s Girlguiding, RNIB and Scope and in her current role at HFT. She has worked on many awareness raising and perception-shifting campaigns in the disability sector such as Scope’s ‘#EndTheAwkward’, led the development of a BAME marketing strategy at Barnardo’s and the development of empowering campaigns for girls and young women such as ‘#KnowYourPlace’ at Girlguiding. In her talk, Devia will share what she has learnt about embedding EDI into marketing strategy, offering her top tips for how you can improve equality, diversity and inclusion across your marketing and communications. Devia Gurjar |
Marketing mix. Digital developments. Video gurus. | Practical workshop: making video integral to your strategic marketing mix Video can often be a bolt-on to the marketing mix or sit within the realm of a social media plan. This session will explore how to make best use of your video content to make a strategic difference to your organisation. We’ll explore how to build a solid plan for strategic video content and provide guidance on shooting your own, working with agencies, and collaborating with video influencers. Packed with top tips and tools to make video more impactful and more true to your brand, this session blends practical guidance, strategic advice and real-world examples. Chris Dessent @CreativeConcern Faith Bulleyment |
Storytelling craft. Impact. Strategic edge. | Power session: crafting stories that cut through the noise and inspire action AI means the internet is becoming flooded with generic content. Your organisation has something important to say, but how can you make your content stand out? By telling compelling stories that only you can tell. In this 10-minute power session, we’ll explore how to combine copywriting and creative writing techniques to craft stories that hook people in and spark action. Packed with practical tips and advice, we’ll also explore ethical ways to use social proof, urgency and structural techniques to make the biggest impact. Kirsty Boden-Stuart |
Accessibility. Inclusive brand. Tool tips. | Brand accessibility: become a more inclusive brand and increase your reach Want to increase your reach in a way that will also make sure you are a more inclusive brand? Brand accessibility could be the key to both of these things. Let us guide you through the key principles of brand accessibility and why it’s critical to your marketing strategy. Discover the essential tools to embark on a journey toward making your brand more accessible across your visual and verbal identity, as well as key marketing channels. Michelle Noel Lana Zoppi |
Trendspotting. Social Media. Changes | Navigating Social Media Trends Nothing seems to change faster than social media, from new features to trending stories. In this talk you will hear a summary of the latest social media trends and data-driven insights, with advice on how to stay in-the-know while avoiding shiny object syndrome and distractions. This talk will provide examples, actionable tips, inspiration and resources for all social media users in charities. Luan Wise |
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Headline Sponsors
At Creative Concern, we harness the power of communications as a force for good. We create brands and campaigns that matter for charities and other not for profit organisations, and for twenty one years we have been creating compelling communications to make the world a better, more sustainable place. We’re a creative and strategic communications agency with an experienced film production team who have extensive experience working across the charitable sector. At Creative Concern, we’re passionate about using our skills to activate change, and we believe great ideas and good values go hand in hand.
nfpResearch is a leading market research agency in the not-for-profit sector. We put information in the hands of charities, to help them to help as many people as possible. We’ve spent over 20 years helping charities and non-profit organisations better understand and connect with their stakeholders, highlighting the trends and attitudes around the sector, and giving charities the tools to make a bigger impact with the audiences who matter.
Studio Noel is a strategy and creative branding agency with a strong focus on accessibility. We work with charities and non-profit organisations, ensuring accessibility in their brand and communications through brand development, engaging design work, and training. Our work is consistently built on a strong strategic foundation because we believe that without it, the chance to create significant impact and positive change could be missed. Here’s where our unwavering commitment to accessibility comes in—a desire to make impactful and positive change.
Wholegrain Digital was founded in 2007 by husband and wife, Tom and Vineeta Greenwood, with the aim of helping positive organisations to thrive online. We wanted to see whether we could create a truly sustainable business using design and tech for good. For the last 17 years we have been using WordPress at scale for positive business, the public sector and charity. Our passion for sustainability has driven us to refine our process, become industry leaders in web sustainability and performance, helping to shift the industry towards a zero-carbon future.