A DigiBix adventure with Kate Welch

It’s an all too common scenario these days: you receive an invitation to an event that sounds amazing, you RSVP and add the date to your calendar, you arrive on the day … and then it happens. The speakers begin, and suddenly, you realise that the event is just one big, thinly veiled sales pitch. Ugh!

This, my ecommerce loving friends, was the situation that Blueleaf founder and CEO Adrian Lomas found himself in, time and time again. Dismayed by it all, he turned his discontentment into inspiration … and brought DigiBix to life.

Ever curious to know more, we (the marketing pandas) got in touch with marketing extraordinaire Kate Welch, the lady behind the event ...

Marketing Pandas (MP): Tell us about Digibix ...

Kate Welch (KW): DigiBix is a retailers-only event and it’s all about sharing knowledge in a safe and relaxed environment. It was created to simply add value for retail professionals by giving them a chance to learn from, and share with, others working within the sector. For each event, we have 2 speakers; they’re there to inspire and get people motivated for the open forum. We carefully review job titles and interests before inviting people to join us at each event simply because we want everyone to be able to contribute and get something out of the day. 

MP: What can people expect from a typical DigiBix event? 

KW: A typical morning with us begins with a leisurely breakfast; a great chance to mingle and meet new people. Following on from this, our speakers take to the stage, each with a 20 minute slot. This gets everyone warmed up and ready to take part in the open forum, which was a recent addition to the format, we tried it and it was a great success so we’ve decided to keep running it.Chaired by our MD, Rob Smith, this part of the event provides everyone with a chance to discuss their experiences, and share bugbears and solutions in a room full of like-minded people. The best thing about the open forum is that people don’t just talk about their own brands – they discuss their feelings on what other brands are doing too, giving additional insight into things from a consumer perspective as well. 

The one thing that you can always bank on when attending a DigiBix event is the fact that it will always finish at 11am. We appreciate just how busy everyone we invite is, so the one thing that we’re really strict about is our 2 hour time limit. 

MP: What type of speakers can people expect to see?

KW: Our speakers are always linked to online retail, but we like to mix things up and bring together as many different viewpoints as possible. Past speakers have come from large multichannel brands like Tesco and Whistles, and small retailers and pure plays. Sometimes it’s the smaller brands that are doing the most innovative things simply because they have to be more dynamic to compete. 

MP: How do you decide on the theme for each event?

KW: We take direction from our clients, DigiBix attendees and the market in general. We look at the types of questions that people are asking us, current issues and trending topics, and what’s happening in our own pitches and meetings. After each event, we send a feedback survey out too; this helps us understand more about the topics and new developments that people are thinking about. 

MP: ... last question! What do you like most about DigiBix? 

KW: What I like most about DigiBix is that, with it being retailers-only and having a deliberately smaller audience (35-40), it has a really friendly, boutique feel. Everyone chats and the chats are interesting and open because you're not stuck in a sales pitch. The chocolate brownies served in the break aren't bad either. 

... mmm, chocolate brownies! What a thought to leave us with, eh!

Big thanks to Kate for taking the time to chat with us. Keep an eye on our events page to learn more about upcoming events, and be sure to get in touch if you have more questions. Wondering how you can get yourself on the guest list? If you work for a retail brand, head on over to the DigiBix website and register your interest. Please be aware that, if you register and you don’t work for a retail brand, you won’t be invited to any of the events!