Exploring AI, authenticity, and email in an always-on world
The recent Intuit Mailchimp conference brought together some of marketing’s boldest minds for FWD: London – a high-energy, insight-packed conference at Magazine London. From the power of personalisation to the future of AI-fuelled creativity, the event explored how brands can drive deeper connections in an increasingly crowded digital world.
StrategiQ’s CRM Manager, Emily Berriman, was there to soak it all in. Here’s what stood out:
Email: The ultimate opt-in channel
Kicking things off, email marketing pioneer Dela Quist reminded us that email isn’t dead – it’s just ignored strategically. And that’s a good thing.
“Even no interaction is still a brand impression,” Quist noted. Whether it’s opened or not, each email reinforces your presence, nudging your audience forward. He stressed the importance of audience ownership in a world where algorithms dictate reach, and challenged marketers to focus on Monthly Active Subscribers – not just open rates – as true indicators of brand awareness and engagement.
His bottom line? Email remains unmatched when it comes to creating reliable, ROI-positive connections.
Creativity x AI: friend, not foe
In a panel featuring Andi Jarvis, Dave Birss, Joe Wicks, and Nishma Patel Robb, the focus shifted to AI’s role in creative. The consensus, which we support here at StrategiQ: AI should amplify human ideas, not replace them.
“Storytelling hasn’t changed. The stories have just become more personal,” said Birss. The risk with AI is that over-automation can dilute the emotion that drives real audience connection. Creativity, they argued, needs authenticity to stay meaningful – especially as brands scale.
Brand, burnout, and being real
A raw, real fireside chat between Fearne Cotton and Jamie Laing delved into brand-building without burnout. Their message was that in a culture obsessed with hustle, staying authentic is a competitive advantage – especially for Gen Z audiences craving community and connection. Not everything needs to be optimised. Not everything needs to be sold. Sometimes, stepping back is the best step forward.
Emotional targeting = commercial impact
Talia Wolf from Get Uplift took the stage to highlight the link between data, psychology, and conversion. Her Emotional Targeting Framework showed how asking the right questions – What does my customer fear? What do they want to feel? – can turn generic messaging into effective, high-converting journeys.
“People think they buy based on logic or price,” she said. “They don’t. They buy based on how they feel.”
Tom Goodwin’s wake-up call
Closing the day, Tom Goodwin urged brands to stop blending in. In a digital world of noise and sameness, playing it safe is no longer safe. He challenged the audience to use AI not to scale more mediocrity but to be radically more human.
“Email is a gift,” he said. “But only if we treat people like people.”
Final thoughts
From email to AI, emotional strategy to brand truth, FWD: London proved that the future of marketing isn’t just digital – it’s deeply human.
It’s not about more content, faster. It’s about meaningful connections, smarter storytelling, and bold ideas that put the audience first.
Just the kind of future we’re building every day at StrategiQ.