Last night saw the fourth instalment of Manchester DM — and with it, another round of genuinely useful talks, proper conversations, and the kind of honesty that’s hard to find in a webinar or polished conference session.
We kicked off with Abi Bellion-Carey, Head of Paid Media at Overdrive Digital, whose talk “B2B More Like Boring 2 Boring – Bringing Life Back to Your B2B Campaigns” pulled no punches. Abi broke down exactly why so much B2B content falls flat – and what to do instead. From knowing who you’re actually trying to reach (and why), to using trends in a smart way (yes, even TikTok), to making room for personality in even the driest of sectors, it was a brilliant reminder that B2B doesn’t have to mean boring.
Next up, Henry Smith, Head of SEO at Dark Horse, tackled “Stop Selling SEO Like It’s PPC.” His talk explored why SEO and PPC need to be measured differently, why we do both a disservice when we report them in the same way, and how to frame SEO’s longer-term value for stakeholders who are used to more immediate results. There was plenty in there for client leads, strategists and anyone who’s ever had to explain why SEO takes time.
Closing the evening was Paddy Moogan, Founder of The New Leader, with “The Effective Manager Framework: Four Core Skills That 82% of Managers Don’t Have.” Taking a step back from pure channel talk, Paddy’s session focused on what makes a good manager – especially in digital, where people often end up leading teams without any formal leadership training. From coaching to feedback to setting clear expectations, it was one of those talks that had people scribbling notes and quietly nodding along.
The Q&A at the end brought out some great discussion around team structures, reporting challenges and career development – and, as always, the post-event drinks turned into a mini strategy session in themselves.
It’s been great to see Manchester DM grow over these last few months – not just in numbers, but in the quality of conversation and the mix of people turning up. Agency, in-house, freelance, junior, senior – everyone’s got something to share, and that’s exactly what we set this up for.
We’ll be back again in two months with a new line-up and fresh topics. In the meantime, if you’ve got an idea for a future talk or want to get involved, just give us a shout.
Thanks again to Abi, Henry and Paddy for a cracking line-up – and to everyone who joined us for another full room and a great night.