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The audience at Online Marketing in the AI Era, Google's London office, 21 September 2026
Red × Google Recap

Online Marketing in the AI Era — the recap

Six talks, one afternoon at Google's London office, 21 September 2026. Here is what the leisure industry learned — and what to do about it.

Read the full talks → Key learnings per talk
Held on
21 September 2026
Where
Google office, King's Cross, London
Talks
Six, all written up below

The one-line summary

AI didn't kill the funnel — it rewired how people discover places to go. The fishing pond of clicks is shrinking as travellers ask Gemini, AI Overviews and other AI assistants instead of scrolling results. The attractions and destinations that win are the ones that are known, cited and present — on video, in reviews and in AI answers — long before anyone types a search.

Six talks, in running order

What each speaker taught the room

The key learnings per talk, as presented on stage. Every talk is written up in full — read the intro on each page, then unlock all six articles with one short form.

Elias Malm · Co-founder & CEO, EpiMinds

The future of AI and the agency journey

  • Marketing is moving from "chat with one AI" to multi-agent systems: hundreds of specialised agents that analyse, plan and execute across the whole stack, with other agents checking their work.
  • Agents are already doing real work at scale — EpiMinds' agents manage $1.4B+ in ad spend for 1,000+ brands: cross-channel analysis in real time, campaign structures and creatives, and — in one case — installing and running Google's Meridian marketing-mix model in 27 minutes, replacing two months of manual work.
  • The next phase is autonomous agents with memory that wake up, schedule their own tasks, form hypotheses and self-improve — with the agency setting the rules and approving actions.
  • Three predictions for the next 12 months: LLMs become a commodity like electricity; talent consolidates around "engineer + exceptional marketer" profiles; you shouldn't compete with AI on repetitive work — oversee and train the systems instead.
  • Invest in what gets exponentially better as models improve: specialise in a niche, build AI-first and provider-independent, and own proprietary, self-learning data. Creativity, taste, UGC, brand, measurement and people remain human strengths.
Read the full article →

Joyce Dijkstra · Head of Organic Search & Vertical Evangelist Attractions, Red Online Marketing

Winning at SEO and GEO for leisure

  • Google is turning from a search engine into an answer engine: 68% of searches end without a click and organic traffic is the channel that suffers. Being found now means being the source AI cites.
  • GEO (Generative Engine Optimisation) builds on SEO, it doesn't replace it. Technical SEO and content remain the foundation; GEO makes that content visible in AI Overviews, AI Mode and LLMs.
  • New KPIs: AI citations, mentions, brand sentiment and share of voice per topic — alongside impressions. Split informational (branding) from transactional (conversion) content when setting goals.
  • Write for summarisation: key takeaway first, short paragraphs, clear headings, FAQs, tables, structured data, all content in raw HTML. Reviews are a key trust signal for AI.
  • Search happens in more places than ever — Google, AI models and social platforms (41% of Gen Z start on social). Red brings SEO, GEO and Social Search together as one discipline: Organic Search.
Read the full article →

Tijmen Pars · Head of Google Ads, Red Online Marketing

YouTube and branding in the AI era

  • Clicks are disappearing in the dream and plan phases: click-through on AI-answered queries is ~70% lower and CPCs are rising. The fishing pond gets smaller — so the click that does happen has to convert.
  • AI recommends what it knows. Known brands with strong branded search and trust signals get recommended; thin brand presence gets skipped. Branding is the new performance.
  • YouTube reaches ~80% of UK residents and plugs into the Google Ads ecosystem: accounts that add YouTube see up to 40% more branded searches and 1.2–1.6× higher performance ROAS.
  • Run branding on a separate, protected budget and judge it on its own timeline. Expect the echo effect: 20–50% of the impact lands in the weeks after the flight ends — never cut early.
  • Good video is non-negotiable (Google's ABCD principles): strong creatives deliver up to 49% more view time, up to 100% ROAS uplift and up to 125% more branded searches. Measure with Brand Lift and Brand Search Lift studies.
Read the full article →

Kamil Tavas · Agency Lead, Google

Travel insights and activation

  • Travellers research for 45 days on average, three in five are undecided, and queries are getting longer (+19% growth in 8+ word travel searches). They ask; they no longer just search.
  • Three information types fuel every trip: facts (price, availability, things to do), trends (inspiration) and validation (reviews, ratings). Validation peaks right before booking — 77% use Google or YouTube in that late stage.
  • The experiential travel economy is the growth engine: 60% of travellers pick a destination based on local activities; attractions and things-to-do outpace flights and hotels.
  • New travel ad formats now cover attractions, events, car and vacation rentals: Travel feeds in Search ads, Travel Promotion Ads and Booking links, all fed from the Things to Do Center. Upload your product feed now.
  • Ads inside AI Mode and AI Overviews are not available in EMEA yet — but structured feeds, first-party data (Customer Match) and AI Max / Performance Max are how you get ready.
Read the full article →

Zuza Politowicz · Go-to-market & AI, Google Cloud

The agentic AI era with Google Cloud

  • "AI is the water we swim in — agents are how we swim faster." The era of passive AI (ask → answer) is over; agents think, reason and execute.
  • Two kinds of agents: internal productivity (unify CRM, ticketing, docs, meeting notes and act on them) and customer experience (personalised, action-taking journeys).
  • Gemini Enterprise connects all your data sources — Google Workspace and non-Google systems like your CRM or POS — in one secure place where agents can work across them.
  • Leisure proof points: Virgin Voyages launched 50+ agents (28% YoY sales increase from AI-generated campaigns with "Email Ellie"); Karls Erlebnis-Dorf replaced spreadsheets with automated analysis for 80 users, saving ~160 hours a week.
  • Agentic AI is changing how travellers decide: inspiration, comparison, booking and upgrades in one conversation. Companies that make the most of their data will own that journey.
Read the full article →

Christina Mazza · Marketing Manager, Pairi Daiza

Launching Edenya

  • Edenya: 40,447 m² greenhouse, 230 animal species, 1,675 plant species, 88 resort rooms, 3 Guinness World Records, €230M investment, 7 years from vision to opening (6 February 2026).
  • Everything is made in-house — filmmakers, a YouTuber, press, CRM, web and app development — with partners such as Red Online Marketing for international reach (NL, DE, UK).
  • A four-phase launch plan: Teasing (mini-series, countdown, Brussels Airport) → Announcement (behind the scenes, international press trip, resort bookings opened — 30% of the first period sold before anyone had seen a room) → Opening (global ceremony, 150 media features, national TV in Belgium and France) → Reach (sustaining attention).
  • Lessons: pricing a €5/€7 supplement in "everybody's garden" caused pushback and needed explaining; details matter; visitor feedback is a marketing tool; a launch is the beginning, not the end.
  • Collecting data is easy, acting on it is the challenge. Build the relationship before, during and after the visit — from visitors to members (170k) to a community.
Read the full article →

Do this now

The shared action list from the Red talks

Eight things Joyce Dijkstra and Tijmen Pars asked every attraction, park, museum and destination in the room to start on this quarter.

  1. Shift SEO to Organic Search: from traffic to authority — measure AI citations, change your KPIs.
  2. Accept higher CPCs and lower ROAS as the new baseline and optimise within that reality.
  3. Strengthen ad creative quality: the click that does happen needs to convert.
  4. Add YouTube (and TikTok) as search channels, not just branding channels.
  5. Launch upper-funnel video campaigns on a separate budget to create demand — and wait for the echo.
  6. Activate first-party data: email, CRM, social organic; upload your product feed to Things to Do.
  7. Write for summarisation: takeaways first, short paragraphs, FAQs, structured data, raw HTML.
  8. Collect and answer reviews — reputation is a trust signal for AI.

Free access

Read all six talks in full

Fill in the short form once and every full article unlocks immediately, on this device. You'll also get a link by email to open them anywhere.

One form, all six talks. No spam — a link to the articles lands in your inbox so you can read them on any device.

You have full access. Also read: Elias: The future of AI and the agency journey · Joyce: Winning at SEO and GEO for leisure · Tijmen: YouTube and branding in the AI era · Kamil: Travel insights and activation · Zuza: The agentic AI era with Google Cloud · Christina: Launching Edenya

The afternoon in pictures

Google London, 21 September

Attendees at tables during Online Marketing in the AI Era at Google's London office, with Red Online Marketing and Google branding on the screens
Marketers from attractions and leisure networking in front of the Red Online Marketing and Google screens at Google London
Joyce Dijkstra, Head of Organic Search at Red Online Marketing, presenting SEO and GEO for leisure at Google London
Tijmen Pars, Head of Google Ads at Red Online Marketing, presenting YouTube and branding in the AI era
The audience of leisure marketers at Google London during the Red Online Marketing × Google afternoon
Christina Mazza of Pairi Daiza presenting the launch of Edenya at Google London

Where it happened: Google London, 6 Pancras Square, King's Cross, London N1C 4AG · Monday 21 September 2026, 13:00–18:00 · A Red Online Marketing × Google event, with speakers from EpiMinds and Pairi Daiza.

Good to know

Frequently asked questions

What was "Online Marketing in the AI Era"?

A free afternoon for marketers in travel and leisure, organised by Red Online Marketing together with Google at Google's London office (6 Pancras Square, King's Cross) on 21 September 2026, with six talks on AI, SEO/GEO, YouTube, Google travel ads, Google Cloud and the launch of Edenya.

Can I read the full talks?

Yes. Fill in the short form once and all six full articles unlock immediately, on this device. You'll also receive a link by email so you can open them anywhere.

Will the slides or recordings be shared?

The written articles are the official recap. Slides from partner speakers are shared at the speakers' discretion — contact events@redonlinemarketing.com.

What is GEO?

Generative Engine Optimisation: making sure your content is picked up and cited when AI systems such as Google AI Overviews, AI Mode and Gemini generate an answer. It builds on SEO rather than replacing it.

Who is Red Online Marketing?

A digital marketing agency specialised in travel and leisure since 2006, with offices in Utrecht, Cologne and Lille and 40+ clients across the Benelux, DACH and France.

Will there be a next edition?

We're working on it. Leave your details via the form and you'll be the first to hear.

About Red Online Marketing

The agency behind the afternoon

Red Online Marketing is a digital marketing agency for travel and leisure, founded in 2006, with offices in Utrecht, Cologne and Lille. We work with theme parks, zoos, museums, holiday parks, destinations and hotels across the Benelux, Germany, France and the UK.

Services: Organic Search (SEO, GEO and Social Search), Google Ads & YouTube, content, email marketing (Wander Journeys) and strategy.

Want to talk about any of this for your park, museum or destination? Email events@redonlinemarketing.com or visit redonlinemarketing.com.