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Tickets go on sale on May 7th. Join the waiting list to get first access to super earlybird tickets and all the info.
Line up - Main Stage
Line up - Main Stage
8:45AM Pastries, coffee and registration 🥐
9:45AM Welcome
9:55AM How To Grow A Following (And Why You Need One) - Jessie Hallett, Social Stream
10:20AM Beyond Gut Instinct: The Behavioural Science Secrets Behind Marketing That Actually Works - Shayoni Lynn, Lynn Group
10:50AM Fireside Chat with Tomos Grace, YouTube
11:15AM Networking and Coffee Break ☕️
11:45AM National Trust: Preserving Legacy While Engaging New Audiences - Danyele Higgins, National Trust
12:10PM Panel: What Brands Can Learn From Creators - Iwan Steffan, Cerys Atkin (Cardiff Lovelist)
12:35PM Yes! People Actually Use LinkedIn For Brand Marketing (Here's How) - Gus Bhandal
1:00PM Lunch and Networking 🍽️
2:30PM Storytelling That Sells, EGC and Viral Moments - Lucie Macleod, Hair Syrup
3:00PM Why Your Audience Don't Remember Your Message And The Simple Solution - Hannah Isted, HI Communications
3:30PM Networking and Coffee Break ☕️
4:00PM Digital Footprint: Do You Know Your Marketing's Environmental Impact? - Hannah Peckham, Zero
4:25PM To be revealed soon 👀
5:00PM Wrap Up and Networking Drinks 🥂
Line up - Breakout Room
Line up - Breakout Room
11:45AM Masterclass: Newbies Guide to Content Creation (English) - Cerys Davage, Unbalanced
12:10PM Panel: What You Need To Know About Building And Managing A Social Team - Seb Hains (Welsh Government), Dan Kelsall (BBC)
12:35PM Prove Social Media ROI In A Way Managers Will Actually Care About - Daniel Bagby, Meltwater
2:30PM Dosbarth Meistr: Creu Cynnwys - Ble i ddechrau? (Cymraeg) - Cerys Davage, Unbalanced
3:00PM Panel: Will This Get Past Legal? - Ilan Jones (Hugh James), Rob Light (Orchard)
*Agenda subject to change
Meet your SMC Cymru 2025 industry experts...
Meet your SMC Cymru 2025 industry experts...
A Sit Down With YouTube
A Sit Down With YouTube
Tomos Grace
Head of Media & Responsibility for Europe, Middle-East and Africa
YouTube
Tomos Grace
Head of Media & Responsibility for Europe, Middle-East and Africa
YouTube
What to expect?
What to expect?
The UK's digital content landscape continues to shift and user behaviour trends are evolving rapidly. So where does YouTube fit in? This session dives into how audiences are using YouTube today, what makes Shorts and Search so powerful, and how Welsh brands and creators can make an impact. We’ll also challenge assumptions about budget, audience, and language.
Whether you're a broadcaster, a business, or an independent creator, this is a session you won't want to miss.
Key takeaways:
Learn how YouTube Shorts and Search can grow your reach.
Get useful insights on how user trends can help you shape your future on YouTube.
Hear about how you can make Welsh and bilingual content stand out and get seen.
Get to know Tomos
Get to know Tomos
Tomos Grace is YouTube's Head of Media & Responsibility for Europe, the Middle-East and Africa. His team is responsible for driving YouTube’s strategy for the region, as well as leading the largest projects across News, Civics, Kids, TV and Sport. These projects range from the FIFA World Cup to the largest European elections. He is a member of the YouTube EMEA Leadership Team.
Before joining YouTube Tomos spent eleven years in Paris where he worked in Corporate Strategy at the Canal+ Group, managed channel negotiations for CANALSAT and was Head of Business Development (and occasional rugby commentator) at the Eurosport Group.
Tomos is originally from Cardiff where he attended Ysgol Glantaf.
Storytelling That Sells, EGC and Viral Moments
Storytelling That Sells, EGC and Viral Moments
Lucie Macleod
Founder and CEO
Hair Syrup
Lucie Macleod
Founder and CEO
Hair Syrup
What to expect?
What to expect?
Hair Syrup has been the brand on everybody’s feeds recently after founder Lucie’s appearance on Dragon’s Den in February 2025, an experience the brand more than successfully used as a launch pad to incredibly engaging and viral content, despite leaving the den with no investment from the dragons. Just as the brand takes a very transparent approach on social, Lucie will bring us into the thinking behind how the brand leveraged their Dragon’s Den experience to surge their socials and most importantly, boost business.
Key takeaways:
Are you sleeping on employee generated content? How to get started and why it works.
What good storytelling looks like on social media and how to find your story to share.
The content that works and the content to avoid in 2025.
Get to know Lucie
Get to know Lucie
Lucie Macleod is the founder and CEO of Hair Syrup, a successful hair care brand known for its all-natural, cruelty-free pre-wash hair oils.
Based in Pembrokeshire, Wales, Lucie began her entrepreneurial journey in 2019 when she was a university student at the University of Warwick. After struggling with her own damaged hair from bleaching and styling, she started researching and developing DIY hair treatments to improve her hair’s health. The oils she created worked so well that she shared her hair care routine on TikTok, where her content went viral, and she kept it that way.
This sudden popularity prompted Lucie to start selling her products, and in just a few months, Hair Syrup became a thriving online business. Today, her brand is stocked in major retailers like Boots, Superdrug, Urban Outfitters & Beauty Bay; Hair Syrup is a top 3 SMB merchant on TikTok and is on track to make £6.5 million in annual revenue by 2026 with the help of her growing team of 15+ people behind her.
Despite her rapid success, Lucie remains hands-on with her company, often helping with packaging and operations. She is passionate about proving that success can come from small, rural areas like Pembrokeshire, defying the expectation that entrepreneurs must move to big cities.
How To Grow A Following (And Why You Need One)
How To Grow A Following (And Why You Need One)
Jessie Hallett
Founder
Social Stream
Jessie Hallett
Founder
Social Stream
What to expect?
What to expect?
A fireside chat and frank conversation with Jessie Hallett about what actually works in audience building today. No fluff, just practical strategies to create engaged communities.
Key takeaways:
The content formats that actually grow your following.
Common growth mistakes even experienced brands make.
How you can turn passive followers into engaged community members.
Get to know Jessie
Get to know Jessie
Jessie Hallett is a wellness-focused social media influencer and the founder of a thriving social media agency based in Cardiff. With a passion for creating authentic online connections, she’s collaborated with major brands like Coca-Cola, Schweppes, Betty Buzz (Blake Lively’s brand), and BrewDog. Jessie is also the brand manager for Mimosa Rwm, the company founded by former Welsh international Alun Wyn Jones.
In addition to her professional success, Jessie is known for her candid sharing of her personal journey. After hitting rock bottom in 2022 - losing her job, facing repeated hospitalisations, and struggling with addiction - she made the life-changing decision to go sober in November of that year. Since then, she has experienced a remarkable personal transformation, including a 5 stone weight loss, while building a supportive online wellness community.
Her inspiring story has been featured in major publications like the BBC, Lad Bible, Daily Mail, and The Independent, where she uses her platform to motivate others on their own journeys of growth and healing.
Jessie’s social media agency continues to flourish, attracting top hospitality brands and high-profile clients, while she grows her own dedicated following.
Yes! People Actually Use LinkedIn For Brand Marketing (Here's How)
Yes! People Actually Use LinkedIn For Brand Marketing (Here's How)
Gus Bhandal
LinkedIn Trainer
Gus Bhandal
LinkedIn Trainer
What to expect?
What to expect?
LinkedIn is the world's largest business focused platform, with the membership having broken through the one-billion mark this year. Gus will be showing us how to harness the power of LinkedIn to grow our personal and company brands, and why it's important to get both right to create long-term, sustainable success on the platform.
Key takeaways:
What’s working (and what’s not working) on LinkedIn right now.
See examples of successful brand marketing on the platform.
Learn how brands should be using LinkedIn in 2025.
Get to know Gus
Get to know Gus
Gus is a LinkedIn trainer; social media specialist, a highly experienced marketing strategist, and founder of the digital marketing agency 'The M Guru'.
Gus has been in marketing since the late 90s and has seen a LOT of changes in the world of marketing, such as multi-channel advertising campaigns, the advent of social media, and the rapid rise of AI.
In particular, Gus has worked on LinkedIn marketing strategies and campaigns for a number of years and helped literally thousands of organisations - from sole traders to global corporations, across a range of sectors - to utilise, grow and create long-term sustainable success on the platform.
Beyond Gut Instinct: The Behavioural Science Secrets Behind Marketing That Actually Works
Beyond Gut Instinct: The Behavioural Science Secrets Behind Marketing That Actually Works
Shayoni Lynn
Founder and CEO
Lynn Group
Shayoni Lynn
Founder and CEO
Lynn Group
What to expect?
What to expect?
Drawing from cutting-edge research and real-world case studies, Shayoni demonstrates how small shifts rooted in behavioural science can dramatically improve campaign performance and nudge customers into taking action.
Key takeaways:
Learn how behavioural biases influence consumer decisions.
Discover practical techniques to ethically apply behavioral insights to your marketing campaigns.
The tweaks to shift your audience from disengaged to taking action.
Get to know Shayoni
Get to know Shayoni
Shayoni Lynn is CEO and Founder of multi-award-winning behavioural science and counter-misinformation communications consultancy, Lynn Group – a UK top 50 agency (Provoke SABRE Awards, 2025).
She is a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Public Relations (CIPR) and the Public Relations and Communications Association (PRCA) and is Chair of PRCA Cymru.
Shayoni is listed in the PRWeek Power Book (2021-Present) – the definitive list of the most influential and respected communications professionals in the UK. In 2025, she featured on three specialist lists – Top 25 most influential women in UK PR, Top 10 PR leaders outside of London, and Diversity, equity, and inclusion champion (as co-founder of Asian Communications Network).
Shayoni is a member of PRCA’s PR and Communications Board, founding panel member of CIPR's Behavioural Insights Panel, member of CIPR’s ESG Expert Panel, and member of ICCO’s Misinformation Taskforce, together with Council of Europe, The Trust Project, EACD, GWPR and EUPRERA.
Shayoni is co-founder and Chair of Board for the Asian Communications Network, alongside CEO of CommsRebel Advita Patel, and CEO of Curzon PR Farzana Baduel.
In 2025, Shayoni is leading (pro-bono) an industry-wide initiative to further understand gender equity in PR and Communications, supported by 100 practitioners, called ‘Break The Silence’, with Lynn Group providing primary research insights.
Shayoni has received the Mark Mellor Award for Outstanding Contribution to the Industry, as well as PRCA Awards for Outstanding Contribution during COVID-19 and Professional of the Year. In 2023, she featured in the Global 15 to Watch and Innovator 25 EMEA lists by PRovoke Media, in the Top 20 Global Indians list by Reputation Today, and was awarded the Institute of Directors (IoD) Start Up Director of the Year Award in 2023.
In Wales, Shayoni is a Trustee for the Institute of Welsh Affairs and an Independent Board Member for Active Travel Wales, supporting wider active and sustainable transport initiatives.
Why Your Audience Don't Remember Your Message And The Simple Solution
Why Your Audience Don't Remember Your Message And The Simple Solution
Hannah Isted
Founder
HI Communications
Hannah Isted
Founder
HI Communications
What to expect?
What to expect?
Warning: You’ll leave this session bursting at the seams with ideas and with new-found confidence in your social media marketing! In this practical talk, learn how to build a sustainable social media presence that doesn't eat up hours of your day. You'll walk away feeling refreshed with straightforward systems to maintain a consistent strategy and a renewed confidence in your social media work.
Key takeaways:
Why your audience aren't remembering your message and the simple solution.
How to save time with your social media marketing and get more from your content.
Practical tips to improve your marketing today.
Get to know Hannah
Get to know Hannah
Hannah Isted is the founder of HI Communications, supporting small business owners with their marketing.
She is the author of The Best 90 Days Ever, a book and marketing membership which shares a quick, daily prompt that shows businesses how to promote what they do in just 10 minutes a day and make it simple, easy and fun.
She has worked with hundreds of small business owners, helping them to increase their online presence through her membership, courses and workshops. In her email newsletter and podcast The Social Sunday, she shares marketing advice to help product and service businesses get out of their own way and consistently promote themselves.
What You Need To Know About Building And Managing A Social Team (Panel)
What You Need To Know About Building And Managing A Social Team (Panel)
Seb Hains
Head of Social Media
Welsh Government
Seb Hains
Head of Social Media
Welsh Government
What to expect?
What to expect?
A session specifically designed for managers and leaders. With social media becoming an ever-greater part of marketing strategies and the range of skills and experience required by those working in social changing and expanding rapidly, how should you structure your team and how does social media fit into wider content and/or marketing teams?
Key takeaways:
Recruitment priorities for building effective social media teams.
Tips on how to create a culture where junior staff are empowered to lead innovation.
Integration is key: How to ensure your social media team are not siloed.
Get to know Seb
Get to know Seb
Seb has worked in government comms for over 15 years and has been head of the social team for the past four.
He leads a brilliant team of overworked creative geniuses, spending every day with them turning pale policy into vibrant content people care about.
What You Need To Know About Building And Managing A Social Team (Panel)
What You Need To Know About Building And Managing A Social Team (Panel)
Dan Kelsall
Senior Head of Social, TV
BBC
Dan Kelsall
Senior Head of Social, TV
BBC
What to expect?
What to expect?
A session specifically designed for managers and leaders. With social media becoming an ever-greater part of marketing strategies and the range of skills and experience required by those working in social changing and expanding rapidly, how should you structure your team and how does social media fit into wider content and/or marketing teams?
Key takeaways:
Recruitment priorities for building effective social media teams.
Tips on how to create a culture where junior staff are empowered to lead innovation.
Integration is key: How to ensure your social media team are not siloed.
Get to know Dan
Get to know Dan
Dan has spent the last ten years at the BBC, currently as the ‘Senior Head of Social, TV’. Responsible for leading a 60-strong department of social media professionals in Strategy, Campaign, Publishing and Production teams, across a portfolio of 15 social media accounts that generate over 6 billion video views a year, in support of BBC iPlayer's UK under-35 objectives.
National Trust: Preserving Legacy While Engaging New Audiences
National Trust: Preserving Legacy While Engaging New Audiences
Danyele Higgins
Social Media Manager
National Trust
Danyele Higgins
Social Media Manager
National Trust
What to expect?
What to expect?
Infamous as the heritage charity preserving historic spaces since the 1800s, National Trust’s social media presence is anything but antiquated. Their viral content and tailored approach to each platform such as Instagram, Threads and TikTok shows us that even well-respected legacy brands can use social media to engage new audiences, tap into relevant trends and reach comms objectives with content fit for the digital age. And of course, we all want to know who comes up with the scone content on Threads (IYKYK).
Key takeaways:
How to tailor your approach to individual platforms and their specific culture and audiences while keeping true to brand voice.
How to make sure social media contributes to wider marketing goals.
How to come up with engaging content with a purpose.
Get to know Danyele
Get to know Danyele
Danyele is the Social Media Manager for National Trust, Europe's largest conservation charity, who have over 4 million followers across their accounts. Before joining NT, Danyele worked in communications and marketing for a wide range of non-profit and commercial organisations.
Prove Social Media ROI In A Way Managers Will Actually Care About
Prove Social Media ROI In A Way Managers Will Actually Care About
Daniel Bagby
Senior Director
Meltwater
Daniel Bagby
Senior Director
Meltwater
What to expect?
What to expect?
You know your social media work matters, but how do you prove it to the people holding the purse strings? This session will dig into the data that really counts: from performance metrics to social listening insights, helping to give you the confidence to communicate the impact of social media work in a clear and valuable way.
We’ll explore how to blend qualitative and quantitative data to build a compelling case for your content, your strategy and your team.
Key takeaways:
Learn which metrics actually matter when proving social media impact.
Understand the value of qualitative insights through social listening.
Leave with tools to confidently communicate ROI to managers and stakeholders.
Get to know Dan
Get to know Dan
Dan works with brands across EMEA to turn data into actionable insights. At Meltwater, he helps teams make sense of media, consumer, and market trends to support better decisions and stronger campaigns.
With a background in media intelligence and marketing analytics, Dan partners closely with clients to navigate complexity, uncover opportunities, and deliver real value from the data they already have. He is based at Meltwater's Cardiff office.
Masterclass: Newbies Guide to Content Creation (English session and Welsh session)
Masterclass: Newbies Guide to Content Creation (English session and Welsh session)
Cerys Davage
Podcaster
Unbalanced with Cerys Davage
Cerys Davage
Podcaster
Unbalanced with Cerys Davage
What to expect?
What to expect?
Whether you're early in your career or a seasoned comms pro wanting to learn the basics of content creation, this informative session will equip you with the know-how to produce engaging short-form video content for vertical placements. Worried this won’t be relevant if you’re not on TikTok? Vertical video placements can now be found on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, X, Bluesky, Pinterest, Snapchat and even Amazon… so if you want to understand what good video content looks like in the age of vertical video, this is for you.
This session will be held in English and also in Welsh.
Key takeaways:
Master the essentials of visual content that drives engagement.
Learn how to optimise content for vertical placements to grab your audience’s attention.
Learn content creation techniques that work across different social media platforms.
Get to know Cerys
Get to know Cerys
Cerys is a Cardiff-born podcaster and content creator, dedicated to showcasing what life is really like as a young person with a disability. Her podcast, 'Unbalanced,' covers topics that young adults go through, whilst providing an insight into a variety of people's lives with different 'life barriers', and proves that your disability does not define you. She is a passionate social media creator, and loves connecting with her community through this.
What Brands Can Learn From Creators (Panel)
What Brands Can Learn From Creators (Panel)
Iwan Steffan
Content Creator
Iwan Steffan
Content Creator
What to expect?
What to expect?
It's no secret that user-generated content is often more engaging and authentic than content brands produce themselves. So how do they do it? Get inside the minds of successful content creators as they reveal their secrets for audience connection and engagement in this candid panel discussion.
Key takeaways:
Why creator content performs better than brand content and how to emulate successful creator content as a brand in an authentic way.
Learn practical creative techniques to produce more authentic and engaging content that resonates.
Discover how to build genuine community around your brand using creator-tested approaches.
Get to know Iwan
Get to know Iwan
With over 210,000 followers on TikTok and 52 million video views in 2024 alone, Iwan Steffan is a leading Welsh content creator known for his gripping horror stories, as well as reviews of local businesses and films. His success online led to his own BBC iPlayer show – nominated for a New Voice Award and presenting work on S4C, including the BAFTA-winning series Sêr Steilio.
Without an agent or manager, Iwan has built his career entirely through the power of his digital presence. He also manages social media for businesses across Wales, Liverpool and Marbella, helping them to grow and engage online.
What Brands Can Learn From Creators (Panel)
What Brands Can Learn From Creators (Panel)
Cerys Atkin
Content Creator
Cardiff Lovelist
Cerys Atkin
Content Creator
Cardiff Lovelist
What to expect?
What to expect?
It's no secret that user-generated content is often more engaging and authentic than content brands produce themselves. So how do they do it? Get inside the minds of successful content creators as they reveal their secrets for audience connection and engagement in this candid panel discussion.
Key takeaways:
Why creator content performs better than brand content and how to emulate successful creator content as a brand in an authentic way.
Learn practical creative techniques to produce more authentic and engaging content that resonates.
Discover how to build genuine community around your brand using creator-tested approaches.
Get to know Cerys
Get to know Cerys
After spending 5+ years travelling and living in countries including Australia, France and the US, Cerys returned to her hometown of Cardiff and began documenting the hidden gems Cardiff and South Wales has to offer, with the goal of helping put Wales on the map.
Two years later, Cardiff Love List now boasts an impressive following of over 100,000 across five social media platforms, with notable collaborations including the Senedd, The Royal Mint and the Wales Millennium Centre - all while continuing to showcase the independent spots that make Cardiff the vibrant city it is today.
Alongside Cardiff Love List, she now uses her social media expertise to help other businesses boost their social presence through Love List Socials - partnering with clients across the UK to produce organic content that puts them in front of their ideal customers.
Digital Footprint: Do You Know Your Marketing's Environmental Impact?
Digital Footprint: Do You Know Your Marketing's Environmental Impact?
Hannah Peckham
Social Media Marketing Lead
Zero
Hannah Peckham
Social Media Marketing Lead
Zero
What to expect?
What to expect?
In today's climate crisis, minimizing the environmental impact of digital marketing is no longer optional but essential for responsible brands seeking to align with consumer values and regulatory requirements, but the first step? Understanding how our marketing contributes to climate issues in the first place.
Key takeaways:
What marketers need to know about sustainability and our industry's carbon footprint.
How our use of social media, marketing and AI impacts the environment.
The easy fixes and the long term changes we can start today.
Get to know Hannah
Get to know Hannah
Hannah Peckham is the Social Media Marketing Lead at Cardiff-based B-Corp, Zero, The Sustainable Money App.
Not afraid to fail, Hannah thrives in a space where bold storytelling and purpose-driven content matter. She champions Zero’s mission to make money a force for good - balancing creativity with performance, and heart with hard metrics.
With a consumer-first mindset and strong belief in data, she turns insights into action across the full marketing funnel - from building awareness to driving conversions.
Hannah’s experience is invaluable in shaping social strategy that delivers results, aligns with sustainability OKRs, and earns the confidence of business leaders when every marketing dollar counts.
Will This Get Past Legal? (Panel)
Will This Get Past Legal? (Panel)
Ilan Jones
Solicitor (Commercial)
Hugh James
Ilan Jones
Solicitor (Commercial)
Hugh James
What to expect?
What to expect?
Social media can often feel a bit like the wild west when it comes to the legalities of posting content. It’s fair to say that rights and legal considerations aren’t top of the consideration list for plenty of brands out there when they’re posting content, and plenty have either knowingly or unknowingly posted content which probably shouldn’t have been posted.
Legal considerations when posting on social media was one of the most requested sessions in our audience feedback last year, so we know this is a hugely important topic which needs to be discussed more.
We’ll demystify copyright, explore the hidden risks of everyday content like memes, and make sense of the legal obligations around influencer campaigns. You can expect practical tips to help you be aware of the day-to-day risks as well as real-world examples.
Key takeaways:
Tips on how to effectively manage the risk of posting different kinds of content on social media - when should you be seeking permission?
Protecting your own content.
How to stick to the rules when it comes to working with influencers.
Get to know Ilan
Get to know Ilan
Ilan is a solicitor in the media team at Hugh James. Before joining Hugh James, Ilan worked at S4C advising on a broad range of legal matters, including commissioning licences, partnership agreements and broadcast compliance.
Ilan advises production companies across the UK on a wide range of legal issues, including co-production agreements, filming location agreements, copyright and fair dealing issues, as well as delivering training to the sector. Ilan is a member of RTS and a professional member of PACT.
Will This Get Past Legal? (Panel)
Will This Get Past Legal? (Panel)
Rob Light
Director of Creative Productions and TV Programmes
Orchard
Rob Light
Director of Creative Productions and TV Programmes
Orchard
What to expect?
What to expect?
Social media can often feel a bit like the wild west when it comes to the legalities of posting content. It’s fair to say that rights and legal considerations aren’t top of the consideration list for plenty of brands out there when they’re posting content, and plenty have either knowingly or unknowingly posted content which probably shouldn’t have been posted.
Legal considerations when posting on social media was one of the most requested sessions in our audience feedback last year, so we know this is a hugely important topic which needs to be discussed more.
We’ll demystify copyright, explore the hidden risks of everyday content like memes, and make sense of the legal obligations around influencer campaigns. You can expect practical tips to help you be aware of the day-to-day risks as well as real-world examples.
Key takeaways:
Tips on how to effectively manage the risk of posting different kinds of content on social media - when should you be seeking permission?
Protecting your own content.
How to stick to the rules when it comes to working with influencers.
Get to know Rob
Get to know Rob
Rob is an experienced Content Director, Producer and Exec Producer with over 20 years experience in the industry. Rob specialises in producing content for broadcasters, as well as capturing commercial content for some of Europe's biggest brands, across linear and digital platforms.
Rob is an expert in creating engaging content and an advisor on creating and distributing content in an ethical, sustainable and legal way, ensuring compliance is adhered to whilst holding the highest creative standards.
Some of the brands and broadcasters Rob has produced content for include Visit Wales, BBC, S4C, Channel 4, British Gas, GE, Aston Martain, UEFA , AA, Airbus, FAW, Tata Steel, Guinness Book of World Records and SSE.
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