The event where hospitality marketers get honest.
No slides. Just good conversation.
The Big Debrief is part therapy session, part industry chin-wag, part reality check, designed for the people who are always “on”, always delivering, and rarely given the space to reflect.
Join us for a morning of real talk, shared trauma, light-bulb moments and the kind of peer support you can’t get anywhere else. We open with speakers sharing the stories setting the tone for an open, judgment-free conversation.
What follows is an unfiltered group conversation with the room about the realities of hospitality marketing: the pressure, the wins, the wobble moments, the things we wish someone had told us sooner. You’ll laugh, you’ll breathe out, you’ll feel seen. And you’ll walk away with new connections who feel more like colleagues than strangers.
If you’ve ever wished for a space to talk about the messy, human side of marketing… this is it.
OUR SPEAKERS
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Levelling up Sales & Marketing to top-tier energy. Jonathan will bring a combined sales and marketing lens to a conversation many in the room will recognise: doing the hard yards to earn respect, influence and understanding with operations and finance. Drawing on a career spanning fine dining, pubs, hotels, FMCG, food tech and employee brand (including Hospitality Rising), plus 11 years leading marketing at JW Lees, Jonathan has seen Sales & Marketing deliver standout results and also be misunderstood, underinvested or undervalued. He’ll share insight where lack of understanding and influence consistently surface as the biggest frustrations. Expect a candid, therapeutic discussion about elevating the function, strengthening the S&M partnership, and changing how the rest of the business sees and works with Sales & Marketing.
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Jen will talk openly about the difficulty of trying to instil a sales and marketing culture inside businesses that aren’t fully receptive to it, and the toll that disconnect can take on both performance and personal confidence. What happens when expertise is brought in but not truly empowered, affects business results and the people doing the work. She'll cover how to navigate it without losing your voice or your self-belief. Jen has spent 20 years in hospitality, from senior in-house roles at Red Engine and Be At One to strategic consultancy with brands including MJMK Restaurants, Big Fang Collective, Individual Restaurants and Nell’s Pizza.
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Big-impact marketing for little businesses and how to justify it. Zoe will talk candidly about making marketing decisions when budgets are small, scrutiny is high, and every pound has to be explained. This isn’t about theory or best practice, it’s about how to stand your ground, build a case for marketing investment, and have the uncomfortable conversations with founders, finance teams and stakeholders who want certainty in an uncertain world. Expect honest insight into defending priorities, choosing what not to do, and proving value when you don’t have big budgets, big teams or perfect data to hide behind.
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Hospitality Insurgent at People on Purpose and the MC for our tour
The agenda:
9am - 9.30am - arrival, check-in, get comfy
10am - our speakers take to the stage to unpack their top challenges
10.20am - We open the floor to unfiltered conversation in the room
11am - Brunch is served (please select your brunch dish at the checkout)
12.30pm - Event closes
Included with Your Ticket:
Tea and coffee refills all morning
Networking with your peers
Access to the speaker session and opportunity to contribute to the wider discussion
Goody bag
A delicious brunch and juices
Expensable receipt is provided
LOCATION
Bill’s Spinningfields, 3 Hardman Square, Manchester, M3 3EB