About Smart Moves, Big Wins
We gathered at Clockwise Office, Leeds for our second instalment of the Digital Leaders’ Collective, a sharp, no-nonsense session focused on what the smartest marketers are doing differently right now.
The theme of the event, Smart Moves, Big Wins was built around substance over slogans. Whether it was using AI to automate workflows, understanding how search is evolving, or unpacking the realities of budget forecasting, every speaker brought practical takeaways, not just theory.
The event, had voices from Cox Automotive, Evergreen and our own team at Black Lab. Our Director, James Starkey takes a look at how the afternoon unfolded.
Budget Efficiency That Works – Dan Saunders
Kicking off the session, Dan Saunders from Evergreen walked us through how performance teams can get smart with forecasting, particularly when budgets are under pressure. Sharing a practical framework for forecasting ROI upfront, not just retrofitting results after the fact. His approach? Start with clear inputs, model realistic outcomes, and arm your marketing team with the numbers they need to have grown-up conversations with the C-suite.
But it wasn’t all spreadsheets and certainty.
Dan also challenged the room to consider the value of top-of-funnel activity; the brand-building work that doesn’t always come with a neat return attached. In a world obsessed with attribution, it was a powerful reminder: not everything that counts can be measured, and not everything that’s measured really counts.
The Realities of AI and Search – Rhys Haberfield
Black Lab’s SEO Executive, Rhys Haberfield delivered a grounded but eye-opening talk on how search behaviour is changing. He asked the question: AI vs Copywriting, Who Wins the Content War?
Spoiler: it’s not either/or.
Rhys outlined the rise of AI Overviews, the role of LLMs in organic visibility, and the mechanics behind Retrieval-Augmented Generation (RAG). He showed how today’s content needs to be readable for humans and retrievable by machines—especially with the way Google now serves AI summaries.
Key points included:
- The shift from keyword targeting to intent clusters
- The need to “chunk” content for visibility across AI-led search
- The enduring role of first-party data for driving visibility and retargeting
It was a straight-talking session, full of insight and nothing as scary as it would seem.
Breaking Into AI: A Panel Discussion That Got Practical
After a quick break, we brought together a panel to unpack how AI is being applied in the real world—not the hypothetical future. Chaired by, James, the panel included:
- Jim Kerr, Group Marketing Director at Cox Automotive
- Nick Bardsley, Performance Marketing Director at Black Lab
Together, they tackled the big question: what does AI actually help with today? Their answers were clear and experience-led:
- AI isn’t replacing marketers, it’s removing friction. Admin, analysis, and iteration are all getting faster.
- The secret? Know your problem before you reach for a tool. Then start small and build.
- Prompting is becoming a core skill. Jim shared his RISE framework for crafting effective prompts:
- Rationale, Input, Steps, Evidence
- Platforms like Claude, Gemini and Co-Pilot were highlighted, but the advice was to test what works for your business needs, not just follow the hype.
Nick shared examples of how AI has helped streamline vehicle ad feed creation and advanced Google Ads scripts , turning what used to take hours into minutes.
Jim highlighted how tools like Otter and Co-Pilot are helping his team get back time and focus on bigger strategic decisions.
In Summary: Practical Over Performative
This session wasn’t about hype. It was about how AI, automation and data are changing how we work—quietly, but significantly. From Dan’s approach to ROI forecasting to Rhys’ SEO insights and the panel’s toolkit of real-world use cases, the message was clear:
- Test early.
- Stay human.
- Be ready.
Thanks again to our speakers and to everyone who joined us at Clockwise. If you missed it, keep an eye out, we’ll be announcing the next Digital Leaders’ Collective event very soon. If you’re interested in attending or speaking at a future event, we have more details over on the Black Lab Events Page, or pop James a quick message.
