Cutting-edge trends and techniques in digital advertising pulled in professionals from a wide range of sectors as the latest edition of a free pan-Yorkshire forum focused on creativity.

The seventh of the Power Hour sessions presented by Hull-based agency 43 Clicks North was the first to attract a full house of over a hundred to Social in Humber Street, Hull.

Industry experts from Leeds, Middlesbrough and the hosts tackled the challenges around effective use of creativity in digital advertising. Contacts and clients from sectors including work space design, law, managed IT support and business membership organisations told of their takeaways from the event.

Mike Ellis, Managing Director of 43 Clicks North, announced plans to post the presentations online and develop a podcast service for people who missed out on tickets.

Dave Ellis, co-founder of Leeds-based agency Everything’s Fine, spoke about the quest to delivery thumb-stopping creatives – the ads that make people pause, grabbing the attention when the average user scrolls 300 feet of content a day.

Callum Devine, co-founder of cbsocial in Middlesbrough, highlighted the increasing importance of user-generated content, putting authenticity at the heart of a campaign and ensuring cost-effectiveness.

Tom Berridge, Head of Paid Media at 43 Clicks North, underlined the importance of innovation.

He said: “There’s no such thing as too much creative. Platforms evolve, companies grow, consumer behaviour shifts. There are a lot of challenges to overcome and the only constant is change. You need to revisit strategy as often as you can.”

Power Hour was launched by 43 Clicks North as a post-pandemic initiative to put top tech talent from East Yorkshire alongside some of the key players from bigger cities. All seven sessions have taken place at Social, with interest snowballing among people who work in digital marketing and the businesses they serve.

Georgina Barkworth, Marketing Manager at Chameleon Business Interiors, said: “This was my first Power Hour. I am very keen to develop my knowledge in marketing and specifically in advertising and this was a great opportunity to hear three industry experts from across the region and get their insight.

“It’s been fantastic listening to them, hearing things we already do and also picking up new ideas that we can try. I left with a bunch of ideas that I can take and run with, and that’s exciting.”

Joanne Brady, Digital Marketing Executive at Future Humber, added: “We like to support local events and marketing collaborations and from a personal point of view I always learn something new. It’s a good opportunity to reassure myself that we are doing the majority of it right which is never a bad thing!

!We knew a lot of the people here and many of them are Bondholders and it’s good to see them working together to expand their own knowledge.”

Mike said: “It’s all about building the digital community in East Yorkshire by connecting with top agencies across Yorkshire and beyond, bringing their expertise here and showing what we can do for them. There’s plenty of evidence that businesses in other sectors are applying the knowledge from Power Hour to develop their own digital marketing capabilities, and that’s a great outcome.”

The next Power Hour will take place at Social on Friday 7 October. To find out more and to receive a link to the latest presentations and podcast email Will Rudd at will.rudd@43clicksnorth.co.uk