Hackathon
Thursday 8 October 2026
1-6pm
Earth Trust, Abingdon
This autumn we’ll be putting our heads together to tackle real marketing challenges from local charities and community projects. You'll choose a brief, join a team, and spend the afternoon letting your brain off the leash.
The stakes are low but the pay-off is high, as it’s a win for everyone. The brands bringing the briefs get a boatload of fresh ideas, while you get to stretch creative muscles that don't always see much action in the day-to-day – plus pick up new perspectives, tactics, and connections you can take back into your work.
As well as the hack sessions there'll be plenty of opportunities to chat and connect with other smart marketing minds, a headline talk packed with practical takeaways, and enough food and drink to keep the cogs whirring.
Think of this as your marketing playground. No pressure, no politics – just the freedom to chase interesting ideas and see where they lead.
Agenda
1.00-1.30
Register, then grab a brew and a chance to chat ☕
1.30 - 1.45
WELCOME HAPPY CAMPERS
1.45 - 3.40
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CHOOSE YOUR OWN ADVENTURE
We’ll fill you in on the brands and the challenges when you arrive, then you can pick which hack session you want to lend your brain to.
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CHOOSE YOUR OWN ADVENTURE
We’ll fill you in on the brands and the challenges when you arrive, then you can pick which hack session you want to lend your brain to.
3.40 - 4.00
A well-earned brain break 🤓
WELCOME BACK HAPPY CAMPERS
4.00 - 4.15
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We often treat data like a finish line – it’s something we gather up, report on, then file away. But it’s actually one of the best starting points for great content, as long as you know where to look.
So Cath McElroy and Sophie Moore from Bottle PR are going to take us on a quick-thinking, story-spotting journey turning raw survey data into creative content ideas.
Using real-time insights from the room, they’ll show how a single dataset can be pulled apart in different ways to surface the things people actually think, feel, and do – and how those patterns can be put to work across your comms and marketing.
You’ll leave ready to start picking out the useful bits in your data and turning them into content people will relate and respond to.
4.15 - 5.00
5.00 - 6.00
Drinks and toasted marshmallows around the campfire 🔥
Hear from happy campers
As one of the brands being ‘hacked’, this was a game-changer for us. I shared a challenge about one of our services and how it was causing us problems with clients. The group came back with a tonne of great ideas, and one in particular was the light bulb moment. 18 months later and this service has changed completely – and we now have more time, better margins, and happier clients!
David Reeves
Owner at Promote Enterprises
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The hack sessions are the Marketing Camp community at its finest. The rooms are supportive, the ideas come thick and fast, and both the attendees and the volunteer brands walk away with a genuinely useful set of new perspectives to take home. The sessions are eye-opening and always inspire fresh thinking, plus they're just seriously good fun.
Charlie Williams
Search and site strategy consultant
”
I always get so much from the MC hacks – they’re high-energy sessions that reframe marketing challenges for me. The wealth of expertise and the broad range of perspectives in the room mean I come away buzzing with thoughts for my own work. Every hack is a valuable opportunity which never fails to shake up my marketing thinking.
Alanna Clear
Head of Strategy at Made Clear Studios
”
Need to convince your boss?
Here’s everything you need to make the case for sending you (and maybe a few others on your team) to the hackathon.
Some very good questions
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Nope. Some of the people who come to our events are employed in marketing roles, or working as freelancers or consultants. Others are entrepreneurs or business owners who have to manage all their own marketing as well as running their companies. And we also get quite a few students and others who are keen to explore the industry. We don’t mind what your deal is - if you’re interested in marketing or comms, you’re welcome around the campfire.
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Nah. Just give us your name at the door (and as a back-up have your e-ticket ready on your phone) and you’ll be good to go.
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Sorry, no can do. The beauty and the brilliance of a hack session is found in the face-to-face conversations, and it would take one helluva tech set-up to make it a good experience for anyone Zooming in. So if you can’t make it in person, next best thing is to join us at an Outpost soon for some more great marketing chats.
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We’re staying put at the Earth Trust site all afternoon. The two hack sessions will be happening in different spaces, but in the same building, and we’ll be socialising in the courtyard right outside. Easy.
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You bet. Can’t have you getting hangry when you’re trying to problem-solve. You’ll need to grab lunch before you come, but after that you’re in good hands. From hot drinks and snacks to fuel the hacks to a bit of early evening booze around the campfire, it’s all taken care of as part of your ticket price.
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Sure can. Vegetarian, gluten-free, dairy-free - we’ve got you covered. When you book your tickets just let us know about any allergies or dietary reqs and we’ll sort it. Or get in touch on hey@marketingcamp.uk for any other questions or if you forget to give us the info when you book.
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We always deal with refunds on a case-by-case basis. If you ask us about cancelling your ticket more than two weeks before the hackathon, and you’ve got a genuinely good reason, then most likely we’ll say yes and we’ll sort a refund. But if you’ve just changed your mind, or you leave it too close to the day, then you probably won’t be able to get any money back.
