On 19 June 2025, The MarTech Summit made its Amsterdam debut at Hotel Casa, bringing together an exceptional community of marketing and technology leaders for a day packed with insights, networking, and big ideas.
With a sharp focus on Digital Transformation, Unified Data Profiles, Third-Party Cookies, MarTech Stack Strategy, and Customer Journey Alignment, the summit addressed the evolving relationship between technology, content, and performance.
We welcomed over 200 senior marketing professionals alongside more than 30 insightful speakers and 12 leading MarTech exhibitors. Attendees explored the latest trends in marketing technology, discovered cutting-edge innovations, and engaged in valuable exchanges of ideas and strategies.
We were proud to welcome delegates from a wide range of leading organisations, including Lotus Cars, EY, Calvin Klein, Decathlon, DPD, Tony’s Chocolonely, Vinted, TomTom, Worldline, bunq, Unilever, Transavia, Philips, Readly, and Crocs. Their presence helped transform the summit into a dynamic platform for meaningful connections, strategic insights, and future-focused conversations, shaping the next wave of MarTech innovation.
Over 85% of our attendees held senior leadership roles or higher, and more than 60% represented organisations with over 1,001 employees.
Summit Highlights
One recurring message from the day: put the customer at the centre—in strategy, data, and execution.
Paula Fong, Director of Growth Marketing at Booking.com, underscored this in her session on conversational marketing:
“Be customer-centric. Rely on data, not opinion.”
This snapshot suggests that while optimism leads, the AI journey must be accompanied by guidance and clarity. Overcoming fear and allowing AI to motivate your actions within your organisation will allow for your company to move with the AI tide, not against it.
Similarly, Ezgi Ozer, Consumer Engagement Lead at PepsiCo, shared how their post-cookie strategy is thriving:
“The post-cookie world isn’t a limitation. By investing in 1st-party data through platforms like Joy, we’ve built stronger, more direct relationships. Success lies in building trust and creating engaging, rewarding experiences.”
In the realm of digital transformation, Andjela Pasi of Waldom Electronics emphasized that transformation is as much about people as it is about tools:
“The real blocker often isn’t tech or budget—it’s cross-functional alignment. Joint KPIs and shared ownership between marketing, IT, and sales are essential.”
Content creation was another hot topic. Santiago Patino, Head of Marketing EU at Yokohama ATG, offered a practical shift:
“Treat your digital content like a conversation, not a monologue. Invite engagement with micro-interactions to make your audience feel part of the story.”
Anton Gorobets of Birda echoed this sentiment with a sharp reminder:
“You only get one shot to tell your story. Make it clear, honest, and grounded in what your users care about.”
On marketing automation, Alex Bloemendal of Zeeman highlighted the balance of tech and people:
“Personalisation scales when people and tech work in sync. Tools alone won’t unlock business value without collaboration and contextual relevance.”
Spotlight on Challenges
A dynamic discussion explored a persistent challenge: proving marketing impact. Audience members shared real-world struggles:
- Product-led companies often undervalue lifecycle marketing, even when retention is a core business issue.
- New tools may seem promising, but poor adoption limits ROI.
- Attribution remains elusive—especially across multi-touch journeys and siloed platforms.
- Reporting is slow, and measurement is rarely linear—making the role of Storytelling more vital than ever.
Insights from Leaders
Insights from Leaders
Several speakers shared powerful, actionable guidance throughout the day:
- Abhishek Sharma, QIAGEN: “Bridge the gap between MQL and SQL by layering in better qualification.”
- Michael Klazema, EY: “Understand where marketing operations add value and match AI use cases to the stages with the greatest impact.”
- Lara Applewhite, TomTom: “Great digital content often borrows from outside your sector. Don’t be afraid to look beyond your lane.”
- Heather Hurd, Zander Labs: “Storytelling is the bridge between tech, creativity, and business strategy. It drives relevance and trust.”
- Joana Tene, Whirlpool: “Keep your tech stack simple and use off-the-shelf solutions. Optimise content to scale efficiently.”
Looking Ahead
In a live poll, we asked how marketing and sales can better align to support the customer journey and drive revenue. The responses pointed to shared goals, improved communication, and the strategic use of AI.
Fittingly, our closing panel zeroed in on AI’s role in future-proofing marketing. Menno van der Eijk, CMO at Beter Horen (Amplifon), said it best:
“We’ve always used tech to meet customer needs. AI is simply the next big wave—ride it to exceed expectations.”
Thank You, Amsterdam!
We kicked off the day by asking attendees for one word or emoji to describe their mood. The most common answer? Curious. We hope the day satisfied that curiosity and sparked fresh inspiration.
Thank you to our speakers, partners, and every participant who made this event a success. We look forward to welcoming you back soon!
We’re beyond excited to have had the chance to connect with such a dynamic and engaged community. Let’s keep the momentum going! Follow us on social media and join The MarTech Community on Slack to stay in the loop on future events, updates, and opportunities to collaborate.
- Catch the recap here: The MarTech Summit Highlights
Future engagement
We extend our heartfelt thanks to all our partners and MarTech enthusiasts who attended and contributed to the outstanding networking and knowledge-sharing at the summit. Your participation was key to the event’s success, and we eagerly anticipate further collaboration and growth together.
The MarTech Summit Team is delighted to have hosted such an exceptional and interactive community once again. Stay connected with us for future updates by following our social media accounts!
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For those who missed the live sessions or wish to revisit them, access the BEETc On-Screen on our learning platform. Let’s continue to connect, learn, and innovate together.
To see more our upcoming summits in 2025, please visit: https://themartechsummit.com/events/
We hope to see you at our future events and let’s continue pushing the boundaries of what it means to be marketers together!
Stay tuned for updates!
By: Catherine Collinge | July 2025
