The Marketing Society's Digital Day Series 2025 brought together marketing leaders across five global hubs - Scotland, Singapore, UAE, England and Hong Kong, to explore the rapidly evolving intersection of technology and marketing. What emerged was a remarkably consistent set of insights that challenge conventional thinking and point toward a more integrated future. Head of Brand and Communications at The Marketing Society, Rachel Letham brings together the common themes and the differences across our global community. Read on for links to photographs, highlights videos and regional reports.
Five Universal Themes
Themes and ideas coming out from the global The Digital Day series
The End of Brand vs Performance Debates: Across every hub, speakers demolished the false choice between brand-building and performance marketing. The data is unequivocal: brands that blend both approaches (typically allocating 30-60% to brand-building) see ROI increases of up to 90%. The most successful marketers have moved beyond this artificial divide.
AI as Augmentation, Not Automation: From London's "cognitive revolution" to Dubai's agentic AI systems, every hub emphasised AI's role as a collaborator that amplifies human creativity rather than replacing it. Success requires technical fluency married with emotional intelligence - machines handle scale, humans provide strategy and soul.
Entertainment as Essential: Whether discussing TikTok's dominance, gaming's $193 billion market, or social media strategy, entertainment value emerged as non-negotiable. In an attention economy where 94% of Gen Z associate social media primarily with entertainment, brands must embed in culture rather than interrupt it.
Measurement Revolution: Traditional last-click attribution and short-term metrics came under fire across all hubs. The shift toward longer measurement windows, attention metrics, and holistic brand impact assessment is accelerating, with successful marketers moving beyond vanity metrics to understand true customer lifetime value.
Experimentation Culture: From Glasgow's "fail fast and learn fast" philosophy to Singapore's emphasis on calculated risks, every hub stressed creating environments where teams can experiment boldly. The most successful organisations expect most attempts to fail while learning systematically from each iteration.
"We're not just building brands anymore. We're building belief systems"
Dino Myers-Lamptey The Barber Shop
Each location brought unique perspectives: England positioned current changes as a "cognitive revolution" where AI becomes both tool and customer. Scotland showcased purpose-driven innovation, particularly in gaming for social good. Singapore emphasised strategic data thinking over data hoarding. Hong Kong championed integration over isolation with their "ditch and do" philosophy.The UAE led on agentic AI and service transformation opportunities.
"When anyone can get any answer, the most valuable currency is asking the right question." - Alex's perspective on the evolving role of AI and the importance of human curiosity and critical thinking in the age of artificial intelligence.
Alex Brunori G42
The Path Forward
The consistent message across our global community is clear: the future belongs not to those chasing every technological trend, but to leaders who thoughtfully integrate new capabilities with marketing fundamentals. Success requires balancing rapid experimentation with strategic patience, technical adoption with human insight, and automated efficiency with authentic connection.
We're witnessing not a battle between technology and humanity, but learning to use technology to become more human in our marketing. The brands that will thrive are those that create meaningful human moments while leveraging AI's exponential possibilities - holding both technological advancement and fundamental human needs in perfect tension.
The Digital Day Global Series proves that while marketing's tools are evolving at unprecedented speed, its core purpose remains unchanged: creating authentic connections that drive business growth through genuine human understanding.
Read the reports from the global series
The Digital Day Scotland
A review from Mike Alexander, Account Director - Planning and Growth, Muckle Media
See the highlights videos
