It was an uncharacteristically sunny day in Glasgow as I hopped off my train and headed to the very impressive Glasgow Science Centre for The Marketing Society’s annual Digital Day - but it was a sign of things to come, as we all came away excited, apprehensive, but ultimately driven by what’s next.
CEO Sophie Devonshire⚡️ got the day rolling and reminded us to take the opportunity not only to learn, but also to connect and talk. She noted that we must all remember that fear is the enemy of creativity and ambition, and this sentiment was reflected by the inspiring speakers we saw throughout the day.
TikTok - The Biggest Meritocracy for Creators
The first speaker of the day was Dave Morrissey - Head of Lifestyle Retail & eCommerce at TikTok. He opened with a classic: answer this question correctly and I’ll give you a chocolate bar - and proceeded to launch Cadburys at successful attendees dotted across the auditorium. One such attendee successfully answered that TikTok was, in fact, not a social media platform, but an entertainment platform, with Dave challenging us to attempt to watch TV whilst scrolling on the app: ‘You’ll never manage it,’ he surmised.
The talk was fascinating, revealing more about the ever-evolving capabilities of TikTok Shop, a frank reflection on its ability to shift small to mid-sized items (with the hope that soon people would use the platform for more considerable purchases), and a fascinating look at the development of TikTok’s AI tool, ‘Symphony’. Dave left us in no doubt that TikTok continues to be a thought leader and innovator in this space, expressing that those not using the platform would soon be left behind.
Motorway, the Weather and ‘The Ugly Truth about Digital Transformation’
Naomi Walkland, Motorway’s CMO, was up next to tell us about her impressive career path from Bumble to heading up the team at the UK’s fastest-growing used car marketplace. Something that really stood out was AI implementation under Naomi’s watchful eye, with the platform leveraging the weather in the UK to recommend to customers and sellers alike when to take pictures of their cars to ensure images that would generate interest.
Following on was a panel discussion around ‘The Ugly Truth about Digital Transformation’ - a panel with representatives from Verity Relationship Intelligence and Kinesso - delving into the reality of this often-arduous process for companies. The question was raised: ‘How do we stop digital transformation from becoming a race to the middle?’ but the panel felt assured that through a creative approach and trust in their talented teams, there was still innovation to be had in this space. With spending on digital transformation set to increase hugely in the years ahead, it will be fascinating to see how AI will continue to support companies as they grow.
The Digital Underground
Bright Signals then hosted The Digital Underground, a quickfire highlight of some of the amazing challenger brands in Scotland doing incredible digital work. We had Alba Orbital's PocketQube, a mini, affordable satellite revolutionising access to space, and adopted by Princeton University for their research. Carl Barton from Fanbase (Techstars Sports ‘24) explained how their platform was creating excellent digital experiences for grassroots sports teams across the country.
But perhaps my favourite moment in this session - and perhaps the whole day - came from Jamie Bankhead , CEO of Konglomerate Games. This amazing company develops games to help address a wide array of issues, from educating the government on how town planning can impact obesity levels, to helping ‘gamify’ the breathing exercises of young children suffering from Cystic Fibrosis - making this crucial process enjoyable and ultimately improving the success of the exercise, and therefore their health. Such innovation left you thinking ‘this is why we do this’ - and I must applaud the team at Konglomerate Games for their wonderful innovation.
F1, The Chronically Online and AI Grannies
After a quick lunch, we entered the home stretch with an array of fascinating panels and further speakers.
The team at We Are Social took the stage to discuss how to build a brand ‘at the speed of social’ - exploring how quickly brands need to react to trends. We used to be able to enjoy an online trend (the Glasgow Willy Wonka experience comes to mind) for roughly 7–10 days, whereas these days, trends often last almost half that time. Toby Southgate and Mobbie Nazir guided us through how they’ve helped the likes of Activision and Amazon Music stand out in this rapidly changing environment.
Ben Hopkins and Morten Legarth , Creative Directors at Faith - VCCP Media , then talked us through how they curated one of the most viral moments of recent times in their development of Daisy, an AI granny whose sole purpose is to waste the time of scammers. Developed in collaboration with O2, Daisy took the internet by storm, ignoring sinister characters’ requests for her banking details, instead electing to tell them about her cat, Fluffy. (Check out the video if you haven’t already!)
And wrapping up the day was the deeply impressive Ruth Buscombe - a Race Strategist at Formula 1. You could hear a pin drop in the auditorium as she masterfully guided us through developments in one of the most digital-led sports in the world. When margins for error are measured in centimetres and milliseconds, it is fascinating to see how digital developments have revolutionised this sport.
There was a healthy scepticism throughout the day about where we’re headed from a digital perspective, and with the rapid developments in AI, everyone is quite rightly wondering what’s next. But I can’t help coming away from The Marketing Society’s Digital Day with a heaping dose of optimism and cautious excitement for what’s to come. One thing is for sure: there will be much more to discuss at Digital Day 2026!
