Agilita Digital founder delivers guest lecture at the University of Huddersfield

Alex Humphries, founder of Agilita Digital, recently returned to the University of Huddersfield to deliver a guest lecture to third-year marketing students, sharing practical insights from more than a decade working in digital marketing.

The session formed part of the Creative Consultancy Project module, delivered by Dr Janna Wood, Senior Lecturer in Events Management, Marketing and Business. The module challenges students to work in groups on a live client brief, developing a full communications strategy and presenting their recommendations as part of their final assessment.

Around 25 students attended the session, studying on the Marketing BA (Hons) and Business and Digital Marketing Management BA (Hons) programmes.

Alex’s lecture, titled “Demonstrating Value: From Assumptions to Evidence,” focused on one of the most important, and often misunderstood, aspects of modern marketing: how consultants define, measure and demonstrate value for clients.

Bridging the gap between theory and practice

During the session, Alex drew on his experience working both in-house and agency-side across a range of sectors. Over the course of his career he has worked on campaigns and projects involving brands such as TUI, Hunters Estate Agents and Floorstore Group, alongside numerous small and medium-sized businesses across the UK.

The talk explored some of the most common traps marketers fall into early in their careers, including confusing strategy with tactics, mistaking activity for progress, and relying too heavily on rigid campaign planning.

“Marketing is often taught through structured planning frameworks,” Alex explained during the session.

“In reality, campaigns rarely behave as neatly as the plans suggest. Once real data starts appearing, assumptions get challenged and the direction often changes.”

A key theme of the lecture was the importance of evidence-led marketing, where decisions are shaped by real performance data rather than internal opinion or assumptions.

From assumptions to evidence

The session also introduced students to principles inspired by Agile working, which emphasise flexibility, collaboration and continuous improvement.

Rather than committing to rigid long-term campaign plans, Agile thinking encourages marketers to test ideas early, measure performance and adjust strategy as new insights emerge.

Alex explained that this approach allows marketers to learn faster and make more confident decisions as campaigns evolve.

“Marketing campaigns almost always begin with assumptions,” he said. “The important thing is whether those assumptions are tested and refined once real data becomes available.”

Throughout the lecture, students were encouraged to think critically about what “value” actually means in a marketing context.

Rather than focusing purely on activity metrics such as impressions or engagement, Alex encouraged the group to focus on outcomes that support a business’s commercial goals.

“Value isn’t activity,” he told the students. “It’s progress toward a defined commercial outcome.”

Understanding value in different business contexts

To illustrate this point, the lecture explored how different organisations define marketing success depending on their objectives.

For an eCommerce retailer, value might mean increasing revenue or improving conversion rates. For a local service business, the priority might be building awareness within a specific geographic area or increasing the number of enquiries coming through the website.

By encouraging students to think in terms of commercial objectives rather than channels or tactics, the session reinforced the importance of strategic thinking in consultancy work.

A real-world case study

To bring the theory to life, Alex shared a case study from Agilita Digital’s work with Church’s Performance Cars, an independent performance car and motorcycle dealership.

While the dealership had no difficulty selling vehicles, the business needed help sourcing quality stock from owners looking to sell.

By analysing previous marketing activity and shifting the strategy towards intent-driven search campaigns, Agilita Digital helped significantly increase enquiries from vehicle owners looking to sell directly to the dealership.

Within the first three months of activity, the campaign delivered a 573% year-on-year increase in “Sell Your Vehicle” enquiries, demonstrating the impact of aligning campaign objectives, channels and measurement.

The example showed students how clearly defining the problem, testing assumptions and tracking the right metrics can transform marketing performance.

Returning to Huddersfield

For Alex, the opportunity to return to the University of Huddersfield as a guest lecturer was a full-circle moment.

He studied Broadcast Journalism at the University between 2011 and 2014 before moving into digital marketing and launching Agilita Digital in 2025.

“It was great to come back and speak with the students,” Alex said.

“The Creative Consultancy Project module is very similar to the kind of work marketing consultants deal with in the real world. Hopefully the session helped connect some of the theory they’re learning with the realities of working with clients.”

Guest lectures from industry practitioners play an important role in marketing education, giving students exposure to current thinking and practical examples from professionals working in the field.

For Agilita Digital, the session also reflects the company’s commitment to sharing practical marketing knowledge and supporting the next generation of marketers entering the industry.