Leadership Lessons with Chris Loy, Director and Digital Lead at Stonehaven
Daisy Hughes, Senior Consultant at Hanson Search, sat down with Chris Loy, Director and Digital Lead at Stonehaven, to explore the evolving landscape of digital communications in an AI-driven world. With a background in data-led campaigning and deep experience in the political and corporate arena, Chris shares his insights on the latest digital trends, how AI is reshaping audience engagement and what it takes to cut through the noise. From the resurgence of trusted channels to the rise of Substack and the changing role of influencers, Chris offers a sharp, on-the-ground view of what’s working now and what communicators need to watch next.
How did you get into digital communications?
I’d always had an interest in websites and social media and when I began my first job after university (where I completed dual degree in Journalism/Business) in a busy press office at the Queensland Policy Service we were looking to find new ways to engage more directly with influencing public opinion. We were doing all of the media role and then also expanding out to do the digital communications as well. This was highlighted by delivering vital safety updates during a statewide flooding national disaster where the ability to reach people quickly on social media was vital.
When I got to the UK I took on a more focused digital role at Heathrow helping to lead on their amplification and engagement around a BBC live documentary Airport Live. It’s clear no matter the channel, digital or not, the same principles for campaigning apply – you’ve got to find content that engages people quickly and meets their values as well as a way to reach them effectively. It’s worth saying the offline work, like engaging with key commentators and stakeholders, to help drive the online conversation is just as important.
What do you think are the most significant digital trends currently shaping the communications industry?
The competition for attention on digital channels has never been tougher. Algorithms are shifting constantly, often making it harder to get traction from simple link clicks. There’s a flood of generic, AI-generated content that’s on every feed. At the same time, users are changing how they engage. We’re seeing a move toward smaller, more private digital spaces – think WhatsApp groups, private Instagram accounts and Facebook.
Interestingly, some of the more traditional, authoritative channels are making a comeback in terms of value for money (though I wouldn’t include X). Alongside that, we’re seeing really smart, micro-targeted campaigns, working with influencers in smaller groups, or placing display ads next to relevant, trusted content on news websites. Substack deserves a special mention too, as it’s become an influential platform in UK policy circles and is powering a resurgence in individual, monetised journalism.
With the rapid advancement of AI and machine learning, how do you think these technologies will impact the digital communications landscape?
We’re already seeing the impact of these technologies, though much of it so far has been very basic. Anyone on LinkedIn for example will have seen the glut of mass-produced, unoriginal, content being created that’s poor quality and with unengaging formats. LinkedIn and other channels are trying to react to this at the moment but are struggling to keep up.
The real value will come from people who start with a strong creative idea and a clear understanding of their audience, and then use AI to do things faster or smarter, not use AI to come up with the ideas.
Where we’ve found AI genuinely powerful is in audience segmentation. We can now build incredibly nuanced targeting models, drawing on billions of datapoints, that go far beyond the old-fashioned demographic assumptions.
How has the rise of social media platforms and influencer marketing changed the way brands approach digital communications?
With so many social media platforms and with algorithms changing constantly, brands have had to raise the bar. It’s about quality over volume. Content has to capture attention straight away and compete with everything else shouting for a user’s attention.
People increasingly tune out the noise and turn to commentators they already trust, voices that reflect their own views, or ones which have built credibility over time. For some influencers, that’s meant decline. For others, it’s elevated their personal brand with businesses, brands and governments. We now see fragmented audiences across platforms, each with its own tone, pace and expectations.
How has the integration of AI technologies transformed the way Stonehaven develops and executes digital campaigns for clients?
AI has really elevated our work in data and voter insight. We can now dig deeper into people’s real values and opinions and more importantly, why they think the way they do. That allows us to segment audiences more intelligently, not just by age or geography, but by mindset, values and intent. From there, we can shape campaigns that are far more tailored, messages that truly resonate with those audiences we are targeting. And because we’ve built such a strong foundation in data, we can deploy these campaigns across traditional and digital channels with real precision and impact.
What are some of the biggest challenges you face when implementing AI-driven solutions in digital marketing, and how do you address them?
The biggest challenge is ensuring you have the right data, ideas and creative direction to feed into the AI. If you’re using poor data and content that doesn’t resonate, or worse yet, data that is fundamentally flawed, your output will be just as weak, if not actively misleading. Worse still, you might build an entire campaign on flawed foundations. AI is brilliant for the idea generation phase, mining data and producing outputs at scale, but it only works if you know what you’re doing.
Do you believe AI can effectively replace human creativity in communications, or will it always remain a tool to enhance the creative process?
I think it will always be a tool to enhance creative process and that’s exactly where it adds most value. We’re already seeing the limits of relying on AI alone, a sea of bland, predictable content that mimics what’s gone before.
At the end of the day, two things matter most. First, audiences crave novelty, they quickly lose interest in the same things. It’s the dopamine hit of something new, exciting or different that drives real engagement. That’s hard to generate with a tool that’s only trained on what already exists. And secondly, humans are far better at making unstructured, unexpected connections between ideas, something AI still struggles to replicate.
Whether you’re hiring top Digital talent or considering your next career move, our team would be delighted to support you.
Daisy Hughes is Senior Consultant and Head of Digital, partnering with top PR agencies, FTSE 100 companies, and innovative start-ups to connect them with exceptional digital talent.
Hanson Search is a globally recognised, award-winning talent advisory and headhunting consultancy. Our expertise lies in building successful ventures worldwide through our recruitment, interim and executive search in communications, sustainability, public affairs and policy, digital marketing, and sales.
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