There are just 4 weeks standing between us and our digital advertising conference in Bath. And if you haven't already seen, the full programme for the day has now been released. Featuring Google, Facebook, Hitwise, Adapt Worldwide and several of SearchStar's shining lights, it's sure to be an event full of leading insight and sage advice.

New to our events is speaker Charlotte Plastow, customer success manager at leading market insight, data and analysis powerhouse, Hitwise. To get a better idea of the insight she’s sure to deliver on the day, we sat down (emailed from afar) to discuss her role and the trends shaping advertising today.

If the below sounds like something you might want to hear more about, Charlotte will be speaking at our full-day advertising conference on October 17th in Bath. And if that wasn’t enough, you can read our full interview with Google speaker, Roxanne Brownlee, by clicking here >>>

1. In not too many words, please tell us what you do…

As a Customer Success Manager at Hitwise, I work with clients on how best to implement Hitwise data in their strategic and tactical decisions.

Our team embeds digital analytics across different functions of an organisation to help inform product decisions, digital marketing channels and ecommerce strategies. All the while, our data offers a view of the wider industry and how trends could have an impact on their business.

2. Can you give us the Hitwise elevator pitch?

Hitwise data explains what has happened online, why through behavioural insights, and how best to grow market share and sales. Our rich and granular data sets allow us to understand and engage different types of digital consumers, through benchmarking, segmentation, channel mix and campaign lift capabilities.

3. What, in your opinion, is the stand-out trend shaping digital advertising today?

I would say it’s the constant evolution of how consumers interact with brands across different channels, and how advertisers need to stay on top of this. The consumer journey is increasingly shifting offline to online, and it’s not just for search and browsing decisions. We are seeing a higher share of purchases and transactions for higher-ticket items occurring across different industries.

With this shift, touchpoints have increased and new ones are emerging, such as more searches within walled garden sites and purchases happening in almost real time as campaigns take place.

One great example of this was the I Saw It First’s partnership with Love Island, where the contestants’ wardrobes were available onsite as each episode aired. A perfect example of making the customers’ purchase journey as seamless as possible.

4. Do you consider Amazon to have joined Google and Facebook in advertising’s top-tier? Either way, why?

Top tier agencies have announced a 20-30% move of their digital ad spend from Google to Amazon, suggesting that Amazon is becoming a search engine in itself. We have seen Amazon’s conversions are the highest amongst certain categories, putting it firmly at the forefront of consideration on where to put ad spend.

However, this isn’t across the board, so decisions need to be made on a category by category basis on where the best ROI will come from. So, Amazon may not have joined the advertising goliaths yet, but the gap is certainly closing.

5. Finally, what do you see as the biggest challenge facing advertisers today? What threat should brands have their eye firmly trained upon?

On top of the others mentioned previously, another question being posed to businesses is whether they should take a side in their advertising.

After the initial backlash of their decisive advertising Nike saw a positive uplift in their market share, this was also the case for Gillette and their “toxic masculinity” campaign. The challenge comes from the management of risk and whether that will encourage growth for your brand or make no impact at all.


If the above sounds like something you might want to hear more about, Charlotte will be speaking at our full-day advertising conference on October 17th in Bath. And if that wasn’t enough, you can read our full interview with Google speaker, Roxanne Brownlee, by clicking here >>>