MyDCA South West 2025

It is certainly ‘different’ out there. Consumers are seemingly less likely to make impulse purchases. Employers are facing myriad increased costs. But it isn’t all bad news, many businesses are celebrating strong sales.  In my book, there is always a way to extract more from what we already have and to act more as a start-up would.

Being tactical, encouraging customers to spend with us rather than our competitors.  We can all achieve more with less by being agile, by being creative, by sharing insight, and in developing partnerships.

Not all businesses out there are as honest and squeaky clean as we’d hope. Therefore, it is fundamental that we take steps to understand the risks we face from the unscrupulous if we are to avoid literally having our product designs and branding stolen from us, and ACID is here to help with advice and resources to ensure your business is protected. This is one session that will resonate with many in the room who have fallen victim to counterfeiters or know of a business that has.

When you have been at the sharp end for decades as a marketer across many product categories, you have faced unimaginable challenges. In fact, nothing really phases you as you reach back into your experience, tweak and then apply what you did the last time the country was in crisis. Some boomed during the Covid lockdowns, others suffered but came into their own as the world ‘normalised’. None of today’s challenges are unique, BUT they need a stronger than ever response. Here is a list of some of the most productive things your business can do to acquire new customers, retain current customers, and reactivate past customers. From product to branding, positioning to promoting – exploring new marketing channels, finding potential partners, to exploring overseas markets. Both Allie and Amanda have worked with a range of upmarket British businesses and will share tips to help you elevate your brand, make it covetable, and differentiate it from the rabble.

Direct Mail is a very powerful yet underused marketing channel these days. The days of large volume mailings are gone. However, smaller more bespoke tactical mailings provide both a competitive advantage and improved customer lifetime value. The battle for the digital pound is very aggressive and becoming increasingly expensive.  If optimised most efficiently, direct mail can get your brand into the hands of the consumer far more effectively.

In this session, we will discuss how the different elements of a Direct Mail campaign can be optimised to ensure the most cost-effective way to reach your customers.

Including hints and tips on how to:

• Optimise data
• Optimise Format
• Optimise Postage
• Compliment other channels.

Return on marketing investment (ROMI) is the big, shiny metric that marketers strive to achieve. But why is marketing ROMI difficult to measure, and why do marketers get distracted by this metric?

Marketing is a complex field – not that we need to tell you that. With multichannel strategies, constantly evolving technologies, and the ever-changing consumer landscape, it’s no surprise that accurately measuring ROMI can be daunting. Tracking all that data and attributing it to specific marketing efforts is no easy feat.

But when there’s a will, there’s a way.  We’ll explore the key difficulties in measuring marketing ROI and provide practical solutions to help you overcome them.

How businesses can scale with a strategic B2B or D2C approach & capitalise on market trends

In this session, Craig will cover:

• The growth potential of the B2B and D2C markets
• The changing retail landscape and why eCommerce is essential
• The opportunity – Choosing B2B, D2C or Both (Hybrid)
• Implementing a scalable B2B or D2C eCommerce Solution
• The future of B2B and D2C – What’s Next

One trend our clients are finding is that the cost of online search for their brand terms is increasing. To combat this, clients are bypassing this with print and TV (QR codes, encouraging phone response) and also email newsletters that link directly to order pages – essentially driving direct traffic over search. This enables businesses to keep more control of their budget, be more targeted and have a clearer picture of their results from specific activity.

This session will explore how open datasets like Uber H3 and house price data can drive hyperlocal consumer insights and predictive analytics. Learn how to leverage these resources for market segmentation, trend analysis, and behavior prediction.

Marketing managers know SEO is critical—but proving its value to leadership is often easier said than done. In 2025, with rising attribution challenges and increasing competition, managers need to move beyond traditional metrics like rankings and ROI to focus on broader, more meaningful metrics.

This talk will cover:

• Highlighting metrics like visibility, engagement, and trust to tell a compelling story.
• Aligning your SEO strategy with business goals.
• Securing leadership buy-in and demonstrating the impact of your work.

Join our two panellists from very diverse local businesses – one from the world of paddle boarding & water sports, the other from a pie business which is continually rolling our new recipes. Both sell direct to consumers, have wholesale customers, and are constantly innovating online. They’ll discuss how social is working as compared with email marketing and how they deploy SEO, paid and organic, digital advertising and more.