Digitalks is a digital marketing event held in Lisbon on April 22 and 23, 2025, in a TED Talks format: short talks followed by panel discussions. This edition brought insights on digital marketing for 2025 and beyond, with a strong focus on the use of AI in SEO and social media.
I could only attend the first day, but it was already worth it. It was my first digital marketing event of this size: even though I’ve worked in marketing for about 10 years, between moving from Brazil to Portugal and other missed opportunities, I’d never had the chance before. And if there’s one thing I learned the hard way, it’s that networking is a critical piece, precisely because I let so much of it slip by.
The networking mistakes I won’t repeat next time
I was talkative at Digitalks, but my lack of practice making connections cost me mistakes I promise not to repeat:
- Not preparing beforehand to know who was speaking, who the people in the coffee line were, and how to get the most out of each conversation. Today a single ChatGPT prompt would solve that in minutes, with a summary of each speaker and common ground to start a conversation.
- Not bringing equipment to record interviews with the speakers.
- Not taking photos or talking directly with the speakers.
- Not sitting with strangers at lunch, instead of sticking with people I already knew.
These mistakes held back a lot of the event’s networking potential, but the lesson carries over to the next edition.
There were a lot of good talks, but Dennis Yu’s was the most memorable of the first day, straight to the point of what I needed. For anyone who hasn’t heard of him:
Dennis Yu: The Highlight of the First Day of Digitalks
Dennis Yu, CEO of BlitzMetrics, was one of the event’s main highlights. In his talk “AI Warfare: Winning in SEO + Social in 2025,” Yu explored how artificial intelligence is transforming SEO strategies and social media, a topic we also cover in our guide on how to appear on ChatGPT and other AIs (AEO/GEO), offering valuable insights into how companies can adapt to these changes to stay competitive.
Marketing Innovation: Digital Strategies
Another memorable moment was the panel “Innovation in Marketing: The Strategies Digital Enables,” moderated by Tiago Senna. The panel featured:
- Marta Lousada (Perfumes & Companhia)
- Inês Saad (Endless Retail Media @MC)
- Miguel Simões (Galp)
- Daniel Risi (Sioux digital 1)
The speakers discussed how digital tools are enabling more effective personalization of marketing campaigns, improving the customer experience and driving business results.
Even though moderator Tiago Senna wasn’t a direct interviewee, he contributed some very interesting insights, bringing global market perspectives that only someone with substantial experience can translate into simple, impactful language.
The Origin of the Name SAPO, Told by Tiago Senna
I reached out to him afterward on LinkedIn. He was one of the founders of Portal SAPO, and I couldn’t pass up the chance to ask about the origin of the name. He was happy to answer:
“SAPO is an acronym for Serviço de Apontadores Portugueses Online [Portuguese Online Pointers Service] 🙂
There was also a concern about it being easy to type, s-a-p-o, functional in UX.
It came about on September 4, 1995, and Google came along later, on September 4, 1998 :)“
Networking and Diplomacy with Linda Pereira
Next up was Linda Pereira, a representative of Women in Tech, who led the special session “Networking and Diplomacy,” emphasizing the importance of interpersonal relationships in the business world. The session reinforced, in practice, everything I’d missed with my own networking mistakes at the event.
What stays with me from Digitalks Lisbon 2025
Three lessons for the next edition: research the speakers beforehand (today a single ChatGPT prompt solves that in minutes), bring equipment to record interviews and conversations, and sit down with strangers instead of sticking only with people I already know. On the content side, the first-day highlights were Dennis Yu’s talk, “AI Warfare: Winning in SEO + Social in 2025,” the panel on digital marketing innovation moderated by Tiago Senna, and Linda Pereira’s session on networking and diplomacy. Digital marketing in 2025 increasingly runs through AI applied to SEO and social media, and through relationships built face to face, something no tool can replace.