Digital DNA 2016

8th June 2016 St Georges Market, Belfast

MAJOR SPONSORS

digitaldna.org.uk / engage@digitaldna.org.uk @DigitalDNAHQ / #DigitalDNA

Advert To Come

WELCOME GARETH QUINN DIGITAL DNA FOUNDER @DigitalDNAHQ / #DigitalDNA

T

oday, you’re joined by an eclectic mix of business and technology professionals at the majestic St George’s Market for what is our most exciting and most impactful Digital DNA yet.

While the venue, speakers and many delegates are new to Digital DNA, the objective of what we can do remains the same; to help businesses and organisations grow by understanding the many and varied opportunities of digital.

The Digital DNA team has been working hard to bring you the biggest and best digital event that Northern Ireland has ever seen, and we’re extremely excited to welcome you to the heart of Belfast in the marketplace that was so critical to the success of the global trading megalith that was Belfast in the late 19th Century. A city which, as you will experience, is again making its mark and contributing significantly around the world.

Through our workshops, panel discussions, keynotes and opportunities to build genuine and valuable relationships, you will experience for yourself how Digital DNA allows you gain the knowledge and skills to grow your business. It will also provide you with an invaluable opportunity to meet with potential clients and strategic partners to practically help you grow your business.

Technology in Northern Ireland is thriving and this provides us with a fantastic opportunity to showcase what digital can deliver for businesses around the globe. I look forward to hearing how your experiences at Digital DNA 2016 will have a positive impact on your business.

Enjoy and thank you for being part of it.

Gareth Quinn Managing Director Digital DNA

WELCOME MIKE ROBINSON CTO DELOITTE DIGITAL @micro_binson

D

eloitte Digital is proud to be the headline sponsor of this year’s Digital DNA conference, which has gone from strength to strength over the past four years.

The event has helped organisations – from start-ups to market-leading businesses – to embrace new ways of working and technologies as a way to drive performance, transform attitudes and revolutionise their own culture and behaviours.

Digital DNA aims to inspire and inform businesses of all sizes to help them respond to the opportunities afforded by Digital as well as some of the perceived threats which can hold back even the most entrepreneurial of individuals.

Now in its fourth year, Digital DNA 2016 is set to be the biggest yet, with key note speakers from some of the world’s top digital brands.

Deloitte Digital is doing some of our most ground-breaking work right here in Belfast, where we have grown our team to almost 100 people. This group of creators is busy building innovative digital solutions for some of the UK’s largest organisations across multiple industries, helping our clients find their own disruptive advantage.

Belfast is becoming a vibrant hub for digital business and it’s our hope that hearing from the world class experts appearing at Digital DNA will act as a catalyst for inspiring talent, nurturing innovation and growing the technology sector and the wider knowledge economy.

We look forward to welcoming you to Digital DNA. The future is most definitely digital.

Mike Robinson CTO Deloitte Digital

PRINCIPLE SPONSOR

MAJOR SPONSORS

OFFICAL TRAVEL PARTNER

OFFICAL MEDIA PARTNER

PARTNERS

Schedule:

HELIX STAGE 09:00 - 09:30 Simon Hamilton MLA Minister for the Economy

Elizabeth Filippouli Global Thinkers Forum 09:30 - 10:00 Louise Phelan PayPal 10:00 - 10:30 Louise Guido ChangeCorp 10:30 - 11:00 Kieran Harte Uber Ireland & N Ireland 11:30 - 12:00 Sinead O’Sullivan AviOptix, Ex-Nasa, Harvard

Business School 12:00 - 12:30 John Beckett ChannelSight 12:30 - 13:00 Raj Samani Intel EMEA 13:00 - 13:40 Panel Discussion Hosted by Yvette Shapiro

The Art of Persuasion Gaining New Customers

while Retaining the Faithful.

14:00 - 14:30 Colm Lyon Pay with Fire 14:30 - 15:00 Andy Cotgreave Tableau Software 15:00 - 15:30 Peter Hughes Deloitte Digital Canada 15:30 - 16:00 Steve Webb Atlas 16:00 - 16:30 Georgina O’Leary AllState

UPSTART ARENA 9:30 - 9:45 9:45 - 11:45 11:45 - 13:30 13:30 - 14:00 14:00 - 15:00 15:00 - 16:30 16:30

upSTART Pitch Battle Pitch Battle Rod Schwartz Pitch Battle Pitch Battle upSTART

START BELFAST 2016

Welcome Address Heat 1 Heat 2 Clearly So Finalists Announced BELFAST 2016 Final Round Winner Annoucement powered by

START powered by

GOOGLE LAB 11:00 - 11:30

14:00 - 14:30

Audience: The New Digital Battlefield Google EMEA - Maria MacNabb 3 Reasons to Care About Video Content YouTube EMEA - Graham Barry

Digital DNA // 03

Workshops:

STUDIO ONE 09:30 - 10:30

10.30 - 11.30

12:00 - 13:00 13:00 - 14:00

14:30 - 15:30

15:30 - 16:30

Scaling Your Business to a Billion: Lessons From Successes & Challenges in Canada Canadian High Commission Cybersecurity: How to protect your business from Cybercrime - Proofpoint Cloud Computing & Office 365 - Xperience Group Enabling the Internet of Things in a Civic Environment Internet of Things Alliance Cybersecurity: Trust as a Competitive Advantage Deloitte Digital Increase Online Profits Using Artificial Intelligence & Statistical Analysis - IRP Commerce

STUDIO TWO 09:30 - 10:30

10:30 - 11:30 12:00 - 13:00 13:00 - 14:00

14:30 - 15:30 15:30 - 16:30

Creating An Online Audience Using PPC Loudmouth Media Digital Transformation in the Public Sector - Kainos Innovation - WTF? - MCS Group Do you want to Grow your Global Business Network?

Irish International Business Network The Value Of Data In Government - Tascomi The Notion Of The Sticky Floor: What Is Holding Women Back From Leadership? - Lean In Belfast

STUDIO THREE 09:30 - 10:30 10:30 - 11:30 12:00 - 13:00

13:00 - 14:00

14:30 - 15:30 15:30 - 16:30

The Alchemist - Demystifying Big HR data - Capita BlockChain - Deloitte Digital 10 Great Ways Content Marketing Can Transform your Digital Marketing Strategy - The Tomorrow Lab The Can of Worms: The Hidden Secrets of Delivering Successful UX Projects - Arekibo Facebook Advertising Secrets - Dokoo Digital Investing in R&D - Are You Getting The Credit You Deserve?

ASM Chartered Accountants

Speakers:

HELIX STAGE Louise Phelan

Kieran Harte

Louise Phelan is Vice President of Global Operations Europe Middle East and Africa for PayPal. She leads 2,600 people in Dublin, Dundalk and Berlin. She is also a non-executive Director at Ryanair, member of the Board of Directors of Voxpro and former President of the American Chamber of Commerce in Ireland.

Kieran Harte became General Manager for Uber in Ireland & Northern Ireland in March 2015.

Previously, Kieran has worked for some of Ireland’s best known digital brands including Daft.ie and IrishTimes.com. Originally hailing from Australia, Kieran has years of working with disruptive digital business models across the world.

Louise Gurdo

Sinead O’Sullivan

VP Global Operations | Paypal

CEO | ChangeCorp

Louise has established ChangeCorp throughout the world as a leader in innovative mobile services in emerging markets. Working directly with telecom operators, multinational corporations and local partners, Louise understands the intersection of commercial value and social impact for the betterment of people’s lives. She is also the founder of the Foundation for Social Change – a not-for-profit organisation that focuses on teaching women & girls life and business skills training.

GM | Uber Ireland & Northern Ireland

CEO | AviOptix, Harvard Business School Sinead is the CEO of AviOptix, a satellite and drone integration provider.

An aerospace engineer, she is also the Research Lead for the Space Generation Advisory Council on Space Technologies as well as a Research Fellow for the US Center for Climate and Security, specializing in space and drone capabilities. Sinead is currently at the Harvard Business School where she is looking at commercialization of advanced space technologies.

Speakers:

HELIX STAGE John Beckett

Founder | ChannelSight In 2000, Ryanair launched its website, with an online booking engine that Ryanair management believed would only be a small part of its business.

How wrong they were.

Within the first year of going live the website was handling threequarters of all bookings. That website was built by 17-year-old John Beckett. From then John continues to inspire, as CoFounder & CEO of ChannelSight. John is also the Owner, Managing Director of PSV Transport, BuyIreland.com & Director & Co-founder of Eirtight Technology.

Raj Samani CTO | Intel EMEA

Raj Samani is the Chief Technical Officer for Intel Security EMEA, having previously worked as the Chief Information Security Officer for a large public sector organization in the UK. Raj is an active member of the Information Security industry, through involvement with numerous initiatives to improve the awareness and application of security in business and society. He volunteers as the Cloud Security Alliance EMEA Strategy Advisor and is on the advisory councils for Infosecurity Europe, and Infosecurity Magazine.

Panel Discussion The Art of Persuasion: Gaining New Customers while Retaining the Faithful Hosted by Yvette Shapiro Belfast Telegraph

Nicola McCarthy

Senior Broadcast Journalist | Manchester City FC Nicola McCarthy is Senior Broadcast Journalist at CityTV. Her role involves presenting and reporting on all things Manchester City, with special responsibility for first team coverage.

Nicola joined the club as a broadcast journalist in May 2012 when City won their first Premier League title. Nicola is a graduate of Queen’s University, Belfast and Ulster University Before making the move to Manchester and has spent time at UTV, GMTV NI, Cool FM and Citybeat Radio.

Mandy Gilbert CEO | Creative Niche

Mandy Gilbert is founder and CEO of Creative Niche, a Toronto-based executive search, recruitment and temporary staffing firm focused in the digital, marketing, mobile, public relations, social media, advertising, and design space. In addition to Creative Niche, Mandy recently became Partner at RED Academy, a Vancouver-based digital media and technology school for the web designers, digital creators, developers and digital marketers of tomorrow which has also just opened its doors in Toronto.

Ryan Owens

Zack Nelson

In 2004, a newly graduated Ryan Owens joined the exciting start-up environment that was Google Ireland. Ryan began at the heart of the business in advertising, quickly moving into a Search Quality role, managing and growing Emerging Markets. Ryan then went on to establish and manage Ad Quality Operations in Google. Ryan is the loving father of two little boys and has learned that having cartoons on demand through Youtube helps keep the peace in and beyond the home!

Zack Nelson, from the YouTube channel JerryRigEverything, has turned a love of repairing, into the most viewed cell phone repair channel on the internet. His simple explanations and brief tutorials have helped millions of people with repairs of their own. Outside of YouTube, his ‘to-the-point’ style of teaching has created instructional and informational videos for manufacturers and factories around the world. His entrepreneurial spirit has turned a hobby, into a lifestyle. Just the way it should be.

Head of Customer Solutions & Innovation | Google EMEA

Mark Wright

CEO | Climb Online & BBC Apprentice 2014 Mark Wright is an influential entrepreneur and digital marketing specialist. After winning The Apprentice 2014, Mark founded and developed one of the UK’s fastest growing digital marketing agencies, Climb Online, in partnership with Lord Sugar. Having turned over an impressive £1.7 million in its first year of trading alone, Climb Online now boasts a national presence and works with over 230 businesses from across the UK and overseas, including renowned brands Groupon, Company Check and Be Wiser Insurance. By the close of 2016 the agency is set to double its first year turnover, making it the most successful business founded through The Apprentice platform.

YouTube Creator

Colm Lyon

CEO & Founder | Pay with Fire Colm Lyon is the founder and CEO of Pay with Fire and also founder and former CEO of Realex Payments. In 2009, Colm founded Fire Financial Services Limited with a mission to transform banking services by launching a new payment account. Colm has won numerous awards over the years for his contribution to business and was recently appointed to the Irish Government’s International Financial Services Industry Advisory Group.

Speakers:

HELIX STAGE Andy Cotgreave

Steve Webb

Andy Cotgreave is Technical Evangelist at Tableau Software. He helps people see and understand their data. He speaks at conferences globally and writes a column for Computerworld, Living With Data, as well as maintaining his own blog, gravyanecdote.com. Andy is well known as a provocative and original thinker in the field of data visualization. His knowledge of current and historical trends have been an inspiration for many.

Steve runs the EMEA team at Atlas, a Facebook company. Atlas, an adserving company was founded in 2001, when ad serving was in its infancy, and has helped advertisers navigate the digital ecosystem ever since. Prior to joining Atlas Steve worked at Google for nearly 10 years, where he had a variety of customer facing, business development roles most recently running the global relationship with Google’s largest agency network. He has been working in digital media since 2000 and can still remember dial-up, WAP, Myspace and Netscape!

Technical Evangelist | Tableau Software

Peter Hughes

Director Founder | Atlas

Partner | Deloitte Digital Canada Peter leads the Deloitte Digital Studio in Canada.

Based in Toronto, Peter has worked and lived in Australia, New Zealand, Chile and the United States. Peter specializes user experience design, responsive web and native mobile app development. Peter has a portfolio of well over 30 websites and mobile apps for some of the biggest brands in grocery, retail banking, insurance and telecom including: Loblaws (Canada, grocery), Cencosud Paris (Chile, Retail), EQ Bank (Canada, Banking), Sonnet (Canada, Online Insurance), Telstra (Australia, Telecom) and TD Bank (Canada, Banking).

Georgina O’Leary

Director: Innovation R&D | AllState Georgina has over 20 years’ experience in technology businesses from start-ups to Fortune 500 companies. Georgina earned a BSc (Hons) degree in Applied Computing from Waterford Institute of Technology and an MSc in Innovation and Leadership from Sheffield University. Georgina has also received honours from Trinity College, Dublin in their executive breakout program and added the art of design thinking to her skillset, which she is applying in her work to introduce Extreme Agile practices to Allstate.

Workshops:

STUDIO ONE 9:30 Scaling Your Business to a Billion: Lessons From Successes & Challenges in Canada With over 20,000 tech companies, Ontario has the 2nd largest tech ecosystem in North America, after California. OMERS Ventures, the venture capital arm of one of Canada’s largest pension funds with more than $65 billion in net assets, has played a leading role in fostering Ontario’s tech growth. It has also established OneEleven, a unique not-for-profit community of the most promising and sophisticated data-driven entrepreneurs and technology start-ups. Bilal Khan, Managing Director of OneEleven, and Aaron Rosland, High Commission of Canada, will lead an interactive discussion on the ingredients to building a billion dollar company, including investment, incubation and the pathway to international growth.

Aaron Rosland Canadian High Commission UK

Bilal Khan OneEleven

10:30 Cybersecurity: How to protect your business from Cybercrime Every day, your team works hard to help you meet your business objectives. In the process, they create massive amounts of valuable data, data that cybercriminals would love to get their hands on. Cybercriminals know that the best way to impact your business is to attack your most valuable resource – your people. Join us for the Cybersecurity Workshop in which our panel of industry experts will discuss tactics of organized cybercriminals targeting your company and your team. They will share practical advice for businesses seeking to implement or improve Cybersecurity and also provide examples of the types of threats you should watch out for.

Joshua Bass ProofPoint

Gavin Mc Williams Centre for Secure Information Technologies

Det. Chief Insp.

Douglas Grant PSNI Cyber Crime Centre

Richard Davis ProofPoint

Will Semple PWC

Workshops:

STUDIO ONE 12:00 Cloud Computing & Office 365 As technology evolves the demand for greater flexibility increases, including the desire for realtime access to business data to enable better productivity. Through the development of cloud technology, businesses are able to do more. In this workshop we will provide insight into the rapid pace of change in the IT sector and how you can leverage the latest technologies to ensure your business is not left behind. IT Managers from local businesses share their experiences and give practical advice for a painless transition.

Jonny Weir Xperience Group

Richard Kennedy Xperience Group

13:00 Enabling the Internet of Things in a Civic Environment There are few businesses that aren’t going to be affected in some way with the Internet of Things. It may be an opportunity for greater operational efficiencies, a chance to launch profitable new services, or perhaps to launch entire new products or companies. To understand the impact and opportunities requires an understanding of the architecture, technologies, protocols and conventions of this complex new ecosystem, and it’s still evolving. We believe that the best way for us all to make the most of this opportunity is to share knowledge, form partnerships and alliances, and operate as cohesively as possible.

Damien Callaghan Intel

Alan Taylor Aepona / Accelerite

14:30 Cybersecurity: Trust as a Competitive Advantage Building trust into digital systems means that security can be an enabler, driving new products and services and delivering value to an organisation. A sophisticated approach to cyber security, should not only be viewed as a cost, but an opportunity. Cyber security is today’s super-trend, caused by the rapid evolution of the threat landscape and also the convergence of a number of parallel trends (for example the increasing collaboration between analytics and cyber professionals, secure IoT based innovation or Blockchain for trusted identity management). This workshop will look at the evolving cyber security market, commenting on future trends and areas of convergence.

Stephen Wray Deloitte

Chris Meenan IBM Security

Gina O’Leary AllState NI

Raj Samani Intel Security

15:30 Increase Online Profits Using Artificial Intelligence & Statistical Analysis In e-commerce without statistics and machine learning the outcomes are subjective, however we have proven that you can remove guesswork with the right framework. This presentation will highlight the principle behind measuring e-commerce success using statistics, mathematical analysis and also artificial intelligence. AI is everywhere and everything in commerce will be headed this way in the next few years. We will demonstrate our DeepAgent artificial intelligence in action showing how an e-commerce business can use this exciting technology effectively to grow its online sales.

DanielLaughlin IRP Commerce

Workshops:

STUDIO TWO 9:30 Creating An Online Audience Using PPC People no longer go online – we live online.

Enhanced mobile technology means we now live in a 24/7, ‘always on’ environment and with this shift comes increased opportunities in Digital Advertising.

So how do you stand out from the competition and drive that perfect customer to your website? It all starts with recognising who your target audience is, and knowing the best Digital Advertising tools to reach them in those precious micro-moments in which they are searching for, or considering, your product/service.

In this workshop Mark Haslam, Managing Director of Loud Mouth Media, will give step-by-step advice on how to create the perfect online audience using Search, Display and Social Media Advertising. No matter your business or your budget, you will gain an insight into using intelligent online advertising such as behavioural targeting, strategic remarketing and custom audiences for a smarter, more cost-effective Digital Advertising strategy.

Mark Haslam Loud Mouth Media

10:30 Digital Transformation in the Public Sector Kainos has had huge success in delivering Digital Transformation in the Public Sector. This workshop will present two case studies that showcase our work.

Alan Morgans from DVSA and Deirdre Simpson from IFG (which forms part of Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs) will talk about their digital transformation journey with Kainos.

Sam Bolton Kainos

Alan Morgans DVSA

Workshops:

STUDIO TWO 12:00 Innovation - WTF? There are companies around the globe cranking out new innovations at an unbelievable rate, they are creating value for their customers and investing in real sustainable competitive advantage, so how do they do it? Innovation WTF? questions what innovation means to us, explores the key myths and presents some amazing and unusual case studies across Northern Ireland. How can a company shape and support a continuous wave of innovation? What are the necessary systems and processes critical to developing an innovative culture? Is it Big Bang or Building Blocks?

Barry Smyth MCS Group

Alistair Fee Queen’s University

Damian Cranney Big Motive

Niall McKeown Ionology

13:00 Do you want to Grow your Global Business Network?

This workshop is aimed at people who would like to extend their business network outside of Ireland by joining a vibrant, growing & proactive business network. A number of IIBN members from Northern Ireland plus the Dublin & London chapters will be present at the workshop and will talk briefly about the ways in which being part of IIBN has helped them professionally. As part of its work nurturing Irish entrepreneurs, IIBN runs a popular Future Leaders Programme.

The current cohort includes a number of young entrepreneurs and business people from Northern Ireland.

Mary McKenna IIBN

Tom Holmes Creative Brief

Siobhan Finn Cork Innovates

Tom Court London Irish Rugby Club

Susan Hayes Savvy Teen Academy

John Beckett ChannelSight

14:30 The Value Of Data In Government “The Value of Data in Government” workshop will examine how Government bodies can build on the concept of Big Data, and redefine it as ‘Valuable Data’; utilising joined up thinking between organisations to make more efficient use of the data available to them. In 2014, The Better Regulation Delivery Office (BRDO) commissioned the Health and Safety Laboratory (HSL) to undertake a project that would act as a demonstrator of the possibilities and benefits of sharing compliance and risk data across government. During our workshop, Joe Januszewski, Data Scientist from the Health and Safety Laboratory will provide an overview of the project, the outcomes, and examine his recommendations on what could be achieved next.

Rick Hassard Tascomi

Joesph Januszewski Health and Safety Laboratory

15:30 The Notion Of The Sticky Floor: What Is Holding Women Back From Leadership?

Bringing together great minds from all corners of industry our panel host Sarah Travers of Bespoke Communications will explore the Notion of The Sticky Floor – What is really holding women back from leadership. Is it right below their feet? The notion of the sticky floor is when women hold self-limiting beliefs, assumptions, and behaviours that can curb their ability to achieve their career goals and bring their greatest gifts and value to their teams and organization. It’s sure to deliver inspirational insights through conversation. The panel host will welcome questions from the audience to make it a truly interactive debate.

Joris Minne JPR NI

Nicola McCarthy MCFC

Sinead O’Sullian AviOptix

Damian Cranney Big Motive

Elizabeth Filippouli Global Thinkers Forum

Louise Guido Change Corp

Workshops:

STUDIO THREE 9:30 The Alchemist - Demystifying Big HR data The Alchemist – the successful business data scientist. The successful alchemist turns base metal into gold. A HR manager who has mastered the use of analytics can do much the same; turning everyday HR information into invaluable business insights. The very best are considered wizards! - whether it be for creating the elixir of life or for turning reams of numbers into strategy changers. In this workshop, Capita’s Barry Shannon will explain what we mean by big data and HR analytics, and will help you understand where the opportunities for your organisation lie. Barry will share data on what other organisations think they are doing – and what they could actually be doing! And he will provide tips for becoming an accomplished data alchemist.

Barry Shannon Capita HR Solutions

10:30 BlockChain Deloitte Digital Ireland showcase their Bank of Ireland Blockchain prototype and Deloitte Digital UK showcase their Smart Identity concept.

Fiona Hyndman

Maxine Glennerster

Lory Kehoe

Workshops:

STUDIO THREE 12:00 10 Great Ways Content Marketing Can Transform your Digital Marketing Strategy In this workshop, attendees will see 10 examples of content marketing that has helped to deliver exceptional results online across a range of industries. You’ll find out the growing importance of content marketing in modern digital marketing, and how to use content to shape your own digital strategy. The workshop will also go through the various stages of both a digital marketing and content marketing strategy, while also giving you 6 questions you need to ask before you embark on digital marketing activity so you can better meet your customer’s needs online.

Nial Toner The Tomorrow Lab

Andi Jarvis The Tomorrow Lab

13:00 The Can of Worms: The Hidden Secrets of Delivering Successful UX Projects With 20 year’s experience working with global brands creating consumer products, Martin Casey understands what makes for succesful digital engagments. In this presentation he will take you through the do’s and don’ts of successful UX projects from the customer perspective.

Martin Casey Arekibo

Workshops:

STUDIO THREE 14:30 Facebook Advertising Secrets Dokoo Digital has helped businesses generate millions of pounds in sales via Facebook ads. From small businesses who have never made an online sale to large, multi-nationals Dokoo has worked with them all regardless of size, sector and advertising budget. If you want to find out how your business needs to be using Facebook ads then this is an unmissable workshop for you. We will share our case study of Source BMX, the largest BMX retailer in the world and explain how Facebook ads has enabled them to increase sales online.

Andy Hill Dokoo Digital

15:30 Investing in R&D - Are You Getting The Credit You Deserve?

Research & Development Tax Relief was first introduced in 2000. Since then, the additional relief and repayable credits available have become progressively more generous as the Government has recognised the benefits of supporting innovation. Despite R&D Tax Relief being so well-established in the tax legislation, potential R&D claims are still often overlooked, either due to misconceived perceptions of what constitutes qualifying R&D expenditure, or inadequate professional advice. Our Workshop will help demystify the R&D Tax Relief Claim process and outline the kind of projects where qualifying R&D expenditure is being incurred. Local IT entrepreneur, Kevin Donaghy, from AuditComply, will join us to give us a client’s perspective of the process and how making claims has benefited his business.

Caroline Keenan ASM Accountants

Dr Kevin Donaghy Audit Comply

Leanne Hillock ASM Accountants

FLOORPLAN EY ENTREPRENEUR OF THE YEAR

MAIN ENTRANCE OXFORD STREET

STUDIO

1

REGISTRATION AREA

EXHIBITOR ZONE

START BELFAST 2016

CHILL OUT ZONE

HELIX STAGE

EXHIBITOR ZONE

STUDIO

2

STUDIO

3

DIGITAL PICNIC

GOOGLE LAB

Belfasts cultural marketplace trading in a digital world Written by Matthew O’Connor

Digital DNA’s change of venue was a challenging decision for many reasons.

We have grown exponentially over the past four years and we needed to have somewhere which emanated what we were as an event.

We want to share knowledge and build relationships in a setting that promotes this and what better place than the birth place of modern day market trading in the heart of Belfast.

Constructed more than a century ago in 1896, it is the last remaining covered Victorian Market in Northern Ireland and remains part

of the the impressive heritage of Victorian covered markets across the UK. It was the beating heart of Victorian Belfast where traders declared the best prices for their goods against their competitors and vied for the attention of consumers. Now its grand, impressive architecture remains a focal point in modern Belfast amongst the tall, steel office blocks that surround the Belfast’s Victorian heritage.

Its resurgence in recent years as the weekend market for Belfast’s expanding hospitality and tourism industry has cemented the demand for locally sourced and produced goods for tourists and locals alike. It’s this kind of marketplace that Digital DNA has created for the business community by

allowing consumers and traders alike to learn and expand on the knowledge of each other and to build steadfast relationships through networking. Digital DNA was created over a few pints in a bar not too far from St George’s Market. We hope to create the same opportunities for businesses across the world to share that moment to create something influential.

The Latin motto, ‘pro tanto quid retribuamus’ meaning ‘for so much what shall we give in return?’ remains inscribed on the roman archways above the entrance and we believe as Digital DNA’s marketplace gets underway, it will be this idea of giving and receiving that will remain key to the lasting success of the digital marketplace in Northern Ireland. We plan to

continue our attainment in bringing businesses, providers and experts together to foster learning, innovation and business growth.

At Digital DNA we are so excited to organise and deliver the first ever event of it’s kind at St. Georges Market. We are phenomenally proud to get the opportunity to bring both local and international businesses, creative thinkers, leaders and innovators through the gates of history at St George’s and we will do this iconic venue proud by creating an exciting and inspiring experience that encourages learning and establishes connections.

Matthew O’Connor Marketing Manager, Digital DNA

EXHIBITORS

360 Agency

Specialists in Virtual Tour and Virtual Reality solutions Web: www.thisis360.com Twitter: @ThisIs360Agency

Adhaus Media Ltd

Strategic Media | Sound Advice Media:Sponsorship:Digital:Recruitment Web: www.adhaus.co.uk Twitter: @AdhausLtd

Aepona

Taking the mystery out of developing IoT applications Web: www.aepona.com Twitter: @Aepona

Allstate Northern Ireland

Employing the best technologists to deliver innovative software Web: www.allstate.com/ni Twitter: @AllstateNI

ASM Accountants

R&D Tax Relief – Get Paid To Innovate Web: www.asmaccountants.com Twitter: @ASMAccountants.com

Barclays Bank

Supporting Businesses and Entrepeneurs In Northern Ireland for over 20 Years.

Web: www.barclays.com

Blue Monkee Digital

Improving the Return on Investment from your Digital Marketing spend Web: www.bluemonkee.com

Chartered Institute of Marketing

Developing & supporting marketing teams, leaders & the profession Web: www.regions.cim.co.uk/Ireland/home Twitter: @CIMinfo_Ireland

Capita

Belfast based, Capita are providers of complete Payroll & HR services Web: www.capita.com Twitter: @capitaplc

Capture Innovations

Biometrics-Facial&Fingerprint based Attendance Software&Access Control Web: www.captureinnovations.co.uk Tel No: (02890) 342717 Twitter: @CaptureCIS

Citation Ltd

Support when you need it most.

Web: www.citation.co.uk Tel No: (0161) 6674149

Digital Screen Displays Digital Screen Displays

DSD specialise in digital signage hardware and software solutions Web: www.digitalscreendisplays.ie

EXHIBITORS

Intact Software

ERP software that is easy to change to & easy to stay with.

Web: www.intactsoftware.com Twitter: @IntactSoftware

Lexus Belfast

The only official dealership in Northern Ireland for Lexus vehicles.

Web: www.charleshurstgroup.com/lexus

MCS Group Invest Northern Ireland Web: www.investni.com Twitter: @InvestNI

Leading Specialist Recruiter in IT & Digital Web: www.mcsgroup.jobs Twitter: @MCSGroupBelfast

Minprint Ltd IRP Commerce

£1 billion + online sales transacted through our ecommerce platform Web: www.irpcommerce.com Twitter: @IRPCommerce

Design, Print, Display Web: www.minprint.co.uk Twitter: @minprint

Digital Screen Displays

Digital Screen Displays are digital Signage experts.

Operating throughout Ireland & Northern Ireland. Call our Sales Team today on

+353 42935 9400

Hotel Lobby / Meeting Rooms / Welcome Board Menu Board / Info Point / Upsell to existing customers

www.digitalscreendisplays.ie

EXHIBITORS

Made By Mint

Your Ideal Creative Partner for Brand, Digital and Print Web: www.madebymint.biz Twitter: @madebymint

MXA Digital

A digital marketing agency, specialising in SEO, PPC and Social Media.

Web: www.mxadigital.com Twitter: @mxadigital

NORIBIC / ACE CREATIVE

European tailor made acceleration programme to help innovative start-ups grow.

Web: www.noribic.com/www.acecreative.eu Twitter: @NORIBIC

Payescape

Revolutionising UK Payroll Web: www.payescape.com

Seedrs

NIAVAC Ltd.

Professional Commercial Audio Visual (AV) Solutions for Install & Hire Web: http://www.niavac.com/ Twitter: @niavac

Europe’s Largest Equity Crowdfunding Platform Web: www.seedrs.com Twitter: @seedrs

EXHIBITORS

Speed Motion Films

Specialists in visual storytelling for social media, commercial and TV Web: www.speedmotion.co.uk Twitter: @speedmotionfilm

Sync NI

Sync NI is the leading media outlet for NI’s Tech & Biz Industries Web: www.syncni.com/members/home Twitter: @syncni

Tableau Software Web: www.tableau.com

Spiral Hosting & IEDR

Get online with Spiral Hosting and IEDR Web: www.iedr.ie & www.spiralhosting.ie Twitter: @IEDR_dot_ie / @spiralhosting

Tascomi

Digitally Transformational Software Solutions for Local Government Web: www.tascomi.com Twitter: @tascomi

SQS

Your strategic software quality partner Web: www.sqs.com Twitter: @SQS_GROUP

The Foundry

Startup Hub | Co-working | Private Offices | Meeting Rooms | Mentoring Web: www.thefoundrybelfast.com/ Twitter: @teamfoundry

WeDoo Concierge

Northern Ireland’s First Premier Personal & Business Concierge Service Web: www.wedooconcierge.com Twitter: @wedooconcierge

ORTUS

The Ortus Group / Flex

Language Services

Business Advice & Training | Translation & Interpretation Services Web: www.ortus.org Twitter: @OrtusBusiness

The Tomorrow Lab

Connecting you to your customers Web: www.thetomorrowlab.com Twitter: @thetomorrowlab.com

UK Trade & Investment

UK Trade & Investment (UKTI) is the government organisation helping UKbased companies to sell their products and services overseas, and bringing high quality foreign direct investment to the UK. Web: www.gov.uk/ukti Twitter: @BritEmbDublin

EXHIBITORS

Visit Belfast

Visit Belfast is the official tourism marketing agency for the city.

Web: www.visitbelfast.com Twitter: @visitbelfastbiz

Xperience Group

Inspired Information Technology Web: www.xperienceitsolutions.co.uk Twitter: @XperienceGroup

The Digital DNA Awards will take place as part of our renowned After Party. They celebrate outstanding work, recognise those who are pushing the boundaries of technology to make a measurable and significant difference to the world.

JUDGES Ryan Owens - Head of Customer Solutions & Innovation, EMEA Nuala Murphy - Malone Marketing Consultancy Gareth Tollerton - CTO Total Mobile Ainsley Hirst - Senior Manager, Allen & Overy Mike Williams - Art Director, Delotte Digital

AWARD CATEGORIES BEST USE OF E-COMMERCE

This category embraces the full stack – design, functionality, process, task completion and UX and ultimate contribution to business growth.

THE SHORTLIST DigitalPrinting.co.uk / Gordons Chemist / Suki Tea

BEST DIGITAL INNOVATION

Judges are looking for evidence of how digital innovation can play a major role in creating competitive advantage and enabling growth in global markets within a specific project.

THE SHORTLIST Arc-Net / Glistrr / Spacehop

BEST USE OF SOCIAL MEDIA

Recognising the impact of social media, this category will showcase and reward the best use of social media through a specific campaign or consistently across the business/organisation demonstrating strong engagement and measurable results.

THE SHORTLIST Cancer Fund for Children / CosyRoof / The MAC

BEST USE OF DATA

Demonstrate how the harnessing of data can achieve valuable competitive advantage, such as lead generation, retention, engagement and improved efficiency.

THE SHORTLIST AllState / AziMap / ESRI Ireland

TECH FOR GOOD

This award is for the best use of technology for social impact. This could be at technology partnership or an initiative ran by an individual, company, organisation or public sector body to help affect a positive change in society through the use of technology. This award is open to all sectors.

THE SHORTLIST eCadets / RepSelfie / Tamhi

BEST TECH INNOVATION IN THE THIRD SECTOR

The Voluntary, Community and Social Enterprise Sector is increasingly adopting digital and tech solutions to achieve their goals. This award is a recognition of those efforts and is exclusively open to Voluntary and Community Groups, Social Enterprises and Charities.

THE SHORTLIST Healthy Living Centre / NOW / Specialisterne

BEST USE OF DIGITAL MEDIA IN TOURISM & HOSPITALITY

This award will recognise those businesses and organisations that are having an impact on the tourism and hospitality sector through the harnessing of digital media. Applicants will typically have harnessed such elements as digital communications, advertising and marketing.

THE SHORTLIST Love Belfast / The Gobbins / Titanic Belfast

BUSINESS PERSONALITY OF THE YEAR

The winner will have an outstanding track record, outline their unique approach to innovation and demonstrate how they have developed talent and contributed to the local economy.

THE SHORTLIST Clare McGee / Jill Robb / Wayne Denner

MOST IMPACTFUL TECH MULTINATIONAL

DIGITAL TEAM OF THE YEAR

This category rewards the collaboration of great minds to do great things. It could be any kind of team, Design, UX, Content etc.

THE SHORTLIST Christies Direct / Fathom / ICan

This award recognises how a global business can deliver positive impact on their industry by investing in Northern Ireland and making a significant contribution to the local economy.

THE SHORTLIST Allstate / ESRI Ireland / Proofpoint

BUSINESS OF THE YEAR

NEWCOMER OF THE YEAR

With a maximum of ten years’ professional experience, the winner will detail their journey to outstanding success. We want inspiring details on how you’ve successfully overcome obstacles, identified new opportunities explaining the role technology has played in your own personal success.

THE SHORTLIST Duane Fitzsimons / Leanne Ross / Matt Beatty

This is an opportunity to showcase the most successful and innovative use of technology in the past 12 months.

THE SHORTLIST Arc-Net / Engage / Loud Mouth Media

START BELFAST 2016 powered by

The Start Up Event at Digital DNA Belfast where startup companies pitch for a £50,000 prize!

THE UPSTART TIMELINE

9.30am Welcome Address 9.35am Kim Pham, Frontline Ventures 9.45am Pitch Heats - Session 1 11.45am Pitch Heats - Session 2 1.00pm Sean McAllister, Plotbox 1.30pm Rod Schwartz, Clearly So 2.00pm Diane Roberts, Start Planet NI

Michael Murphy, Wonka Lab 2.10pm Frank Webster, Seedrs

Pitch Announcement

Pitch Finalists announced 3.00pm Pitch Finals 4.00pm Conor Wilson, Sproose 4.30pm Closing Address 4.40pm Pete Hempsall, Deloitte Ventures

Winner announcement

JUDGES

Eleanor McEvoy - Budget Energy PeteHempsall - Deloitte Ventures Mary McKenna - IIBN Kerry Ritz - MassChallenge Kim Pham - Frontline Ventures Rishi Chowdhury - IncuBus Ventures Andy McCartney - Whitespace Ventures Frank Webster - Seedrs Michael Murphy - WonkaLab Sean Duffy- EY Entrepreneur of the Year Programme

£50,00 0 Prize

PITCHING STARTUPS

PlayTank Stormburst Haute Elan Effy Helpful Peeps Wireless Fitness Kompas Stop my Craving Hub Controls

Orca Money Glistr Yedup Elemental Software Reposit Kudos Health Knight Systems Science Pod Gecko

Tixserve Count Open Profit Bees Case Study Ninja Jump Cut Media + Ace Creative’s 5 Start Ups

Blogging For Customers Written by Leanne Ross

Blogging sounds like hard work, but with free tools like WordPress or articles on Facebook and LinkedIn, it’s never been easier to become an expert voice in your industry.

Hubspot reviewed data recently from 5,000 online businesses and found that 85% had increased website traffic from content creation within 7 months.

How? Well creating content helps with two of the three main elements of Search Engine Optimisation - relevance and authority.

What To Blog?

Luckily, finding out what people want to know is free. You can use Google’s auto-complete function to find out the most popular questions and then answer them: • T-shirts for women • T-shirts for men • T-shirts for dogs You can do this research smarter with AnswerThePublic, a website that pulls the answers together for you. Questions, reworded, often make the best blog headlines - which are also vital to catching an audience’s attention.

Data Mining

You can utilise Google further with a “search operator” in between terms e.g. “How to * your industry” or search for “magazine + your industry” and look through old articles for inspiration.

It’s also a good idea to check sites like Buzzfeed and Buzzsumo for your keywords, to find popular stories you can “borrow” ideas from. Likewise visit online forums like Reddit.

You don’t have to become a content machine, but if you want to taste a small bite of the success of new brand publishers like ASOS and Cisco, then it isn’t as hard as it looks.

Just remember it’s not about selling. It’s about looking at your customer journey and providing engaging and useful content at every stage for potential buyers.

Content Calendars

- The key to success is to plan.

- Plans can be as simple as a calendar in a spreadsheet.

- Populate this with every key date you can find including holidays and entertainment/sporting events through to funny “Days of the Year.”

- Then input your blog articles and your sales pitches.

- You will soon see no blank spaces and feel confident that your social media marketing won’t burn out.

Blogging Return on Investment

Blogging has lots of benefits from giving your brand personality, creating content for your channels, positioning you as an expert in your field and increasing your website visitors.

But for wider business benefits too, a consistently-published library of well-written blog posts will be working for you even when you’re not working.