In a crowded entertainment landscape, data can help marketers understand audiences, but knowing which insights truly translate into business impact is another challenge. Ahead of The MarTech Summit London 2026, we spoke with Henry Foster-Reed, Director, Digital Marketing at Warner Bros., about connecting data, digital marketing and creative instinct to make smarter investment decisions and drive meaningful brand growth.
Quick Q&A with Henry Foster-Reed
Could you please give us a quick introduction of yourself and share a bit about your role at Warner Bros.?
I’m Henry Foster-Reed, Director of Digital Marketing at Warner Bros. in the UK. My role and my team span various disciplines across organic activations, paid media & data strategy. We work cross-divisionally & enable marketing teams to translate insights into actionable and impactful digital marketing excellence.
Why did you choose to participate in this summit?
It’s never not a good time to learn from peers across the industry, and I have a particular interest in what those outside of my immediate vertical are up to. The entertainment industry is more crowded than it’s ever been in terms of competition for eyeballs, and the proliferation of content creates challenges we need to overcome with smart marketing.
The topic I am speaking about is close to my heart, and I’m looking forward to sharing my perspectives and being challenged in equal measure.
I’m hopeful I might learn something tangible and applicable about AI as well.
Have you seen examples where the data told you one thing, but your marketing or creative instinct suggested something different? How do you decide which one to trust?
All the time. But ultimately, all decisions are the result of insights married with instinct. Data is never acted on in isolation, and that helps us protect against miss-guided decisions. So rather than choose between an insight and an instinct, we use both. We know, for example, the impact of franchise IP on certain brand health metrics, and the need to look deeper than we might for new titles. Understanding audience propensity for certain behaviours can also temper how closely you are led by trends in your marketing data. It’s all a balance.
When customers interact with your brand in so many different places, how do you know which marketing activity is really making an impact?
Digital Marketing is awash with metrics that are meant to tell a positive story, but can be disproved with some careful analysis. While no data source is ever 100% reliable, we know which are most trustworthy. I’m also a big believer in ruling out what we know doesn’t make sense – it’s often easier than identifying fully-fledged truths and can help refine investment. Keeping true business outcomes in mind at all times is key to considering the impact of marketing and how you optimise; there must always be a bridge between both sides.
As you look ahead to 2027, is there something new you’d like to learn, explore or challenge yourself with – professionally or personally?
Professionally, I think a lot about how we can better connect the various sources of insights and consolidate them into a singular narrative where possible. There’s always more to do here. We want to create a common currency across various digital disciplines that can bring teams together via a shared language.
Personally, as a general rule, I just want to be as curious as possible. There’s so much excellence in marketing, regardless of vertical, and I want to ensure I keep my eyes open to what inspiration we can take when trying new things.
Henry’s perspective highlights the importance of combining data with judgement rather than treating either as the complete answer. By challenging assumptions, focusing on trustworthy signals and keeping business outcomes at the centre, marketing teams can move beyond metrics that simply look positive and towards insights that genuinely influence decisions.
Join Henry Foster-Reed and fellow marketing leaders at The MarTech Summit London for the Panel Discussion [MarTech Data Insights] Transforming Data into Tangible Returns for Brand Growth, where he will explore how marketers can connect data, measurement and strategy to create greater commercial impact.
The MarTech Summit London – Smarter Stacks. Stronger Growth.
The MarTech Summit London returns this November as Europe’s flagship MarTech event, bringing together over 600 senior marketing, customer experience, digital, data and technology leaders for two days of practical learning, meaningful networking and forward-looking discussions on the future of marketing technology.
Designed for practitioners rather than product pitches, this year’s summit features more than 70 speakers, 30+ leading solution providers, and over 33 sessions across three stages, covering everything from AI-powered marketing and customer intelligence to first-party data, marketing operations, customer experience and revenue growth.
Whether you’re modernising your MarTech stack, scaling AI adoption or improving marketing performance, The MarTech Summit London is designed to provide practical ideas you can take back to your organisation.
Hosted once again at Convene 155 Bishopsgate, this closed-door summit creates an environment where senior decision-makers can openly discuss challenges, exchange ideas, and learn from one another.
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Last updated: October 2026
