On Wednesday, October 5th 2022, Google x Relevance joined forces to hold the exclusive “Adapt to Thrive: Roadmap to a winning YouTube strategy” event at Relevance HQ. We were joined by a line up of distinguished speakers from Google and C-level executives from leading businesses in Greece. Together, we explored how brands can emerge stronger in the current climate by leveraging the immense opportunities of Youtube & Google Display Solutions.  From global and local trends to advances in automation, our speakers explored the latest tools and market trends that businesses can tap into to gain an edge, resiliently meet their challenges and adapt to thrive.
 

As we enter Q4, a period with enormous business promise in conditions of uncertainty, now is the time for businesses to transform pressing challenges into opportunities in uncertain times. Our special guest of the night, Suzanne Claassen, Director of Central Eastern Europe Google, opened the night’s discussions by drawing attention to how we can support each other through the macroeconomic conditions that we’re currently facing. Describing Google’s long standing relationship with Relevance, she emphasized the invaluable role of close partnerships in preparing for the challenges ahead.

Moving from the broader economic picture to the consumer insights businesses are looking to, Panos Lambrakos, Head of Sales at Google, touched upon consumer trends in periods of crisis. As purchasing power drops, keeping in mind shifting consumer trends and the economy’s ability to bounce back is key to devising an adaptive, resilient and long-term business strategy. Where the challenge lies, so does the opportunity. As captured incisively by Ayrton Senna: “You cannot overtake 15 cars in sunny weather - but you can when it’s raining.”

To keep pace with changing consumer habits, businesses should tighten the alignment between marketing metrics and business priorities, use privacy-first measurement and relevant first-party data, and leverage automation solutions to optimize their marketing mix and capture in-market demand.

The challenges posed by regulation, privacy concerns and browser changes mean that data based on third-party cookies is becoming less reliable by the day. As more changes kick in, activating First-Party data is key to ensuring business growth. Businesses that have already shifted to first-party data sources have improved their cost-efficiency over companies with limited data integration.

By leveraging the whole spectrum of Google’s solutions, brands can ensure they don’t miss out on creating or converting demand. There are always people at the various stages of the purchase journey: an always-on full funnel strategy can allow businesses to meet any consumer’s needs, no matter where they are in the path to purchase.

We had the pleasure of hearing from well-known YouTube Content Creator Marianna Garifallidi, who shared her journey from filming amateur videos as a hobby to reaching more than 100m average views on her YT channel. Sharing tips on how to create winning YouTube content, she emphasized the importance of resonating with viewers and highlighted a number of tips & tricks for creating engaging YouTube content.
 

Throughout the night, speakers also emphasized the importance of defining a strategically relevant and powerful content territory, leaning into emotional levers, creating participation through immersive experiences and building closer connections by pushing beyond expected conventions through video.

Joined by four of our clients, Avis, Funky Buddha, Apifon, and Zackret, we heard from their own case studies, which identified strategies and tools they adopted to drive business growth. While each case study adopted its own strategy, the key to their collective success was that they placed YouTube at the center of their digital approach.

Wrapping up the event, we held a party on our rooftop with live music bringing together clients, colleagues and partners to reflect on the event’s key insights, kickstart new conversations, and celebrate the night’s success.

We would like to thank our distinguished speakers for their dynamic presence and invaluable contributions:

Suzanne Claassen, Director of Central Eastern Europe Google

Angelos Galanakis, Head of Agency Sales (Greece, Bulgaria, Cyprus & Malta) Google

Panagiotis Lamprakos Mpregiannis, Head of Sales (Greece, Bulgaria, Cyprus & Malta) Google

Konstantinos Stroumpakis, Founder & CEO Apifon

Konstantinos Skliris, Regional Client Partner and YouTube GR Lead Google

Thomas Siolas, Marketing & Communications Senior Manager Avis

Anna Tsoni, Account Manager (Greece, Bulgaria, Cyprus & Malta) Google

Alexandros Schizas, Agency Development Manager

Marios Sideris, Marketing Director Zakcret

Chara Tsoureka, Marketing Director Funky Buddha

Philip Alkalai, Senior Account Manager (Greece, Bulgaria, Cyprus & Malta) Google

Nikos Broumas, Managing Director Reach

Marianna Garifallidi, YouTube Content Creator