It’s been a huge month here at Kia Ora Digital.
Not only did we relaunch our website with a fresh new look, but our team spent time at Retail Global (May 28th–30th) and the iMedia Retail Summit (April 30th–May 2nd) on the Gold Coast, Queensland.
Both events are a great chance to connect with other digital innovators and learn more about emerging trends in the industry.
We’re proud to be part of it all, showing brands how we can transform your business with our next-gen Blended Search and Revenue Forecasting technology!
Retail Fest
Our team has just come back from an amazing few days at Retail Fest.
This was a great opportunity to showcase our Blended Search Intelligence and new-look website:
- A fresh logo, powerful branding, and our next-gen service offering built exclusively for eCommerce brands.
- Blended Search – our signature strategy that unifies SEO, Google Ads, and Shopping, powered by LLMs and our proprietary Revenue Forecasting tech.
Dan says, ‘With our Blended Search Intelligence, we’re rewriting the rules of SEO, Paid Search, and Digital Marketing to pioneer a new era of integrated search performance.’
So What is Blended Search?
Blended Search is all about unlocking scalable growth through profit-first decision-making, cutting wasted ad spend, and eliminating channel cannibalisation.
It combines Organic Search, Paid Search (Google Ads & Shopping), and LLM-powered strategies into one seamless growth engine.
While some agencies raise millions, we built:
- A Blended Search strategy where SEO, Google Ads & Shopping work together
- AI + LLM-powered systems to predict and drive performance.
- Our own Revenue Forecasting Tech to project ROI before a single dollar is spent
And it’s working. Our clients are:
- Slashing paid search costs
- Growing organic revenue by 10x–50x
- Building brands that customers choose, not just click
We’re not just optimising ads or rankings; we’re unifying search channels and making profitability predictable. Ask us more today.
The Power of an SEO Revenue Forecast
Many retailers were also keen to learn more about our revolutionary Revenue Forecast.
It was awesome to hear the buzz around our SEO Revenue Forecasting tech, which shows exactly what keywords and pages are driving organic revenue and profit.
More and more brands are recognising just how powerful organic search can be when it’s treated as a profit lever, not just a traffic channel.
Our Revenue Forecast shows you exactly which keywords and pages are driving revenue. Think of it as a crystal ball for growing profit with confidence.
With a tailored Revenue Forecast, we can show you exactly how much extra revenue you could be making each month. It’s helping brands achieve 20x–50x ROI every month.
Retail Fest Highlights
Dan says, ‘After an exciting few days, I’m still buzzing from it all! The top takeaways for me:
- AI & LLM Search – It’s all anyone’s talking about. From optimising websites for LLMs to showing up in ChatGPT, there’s so much to unpack. If you missed our demo, get in touch and I’ll share the secrets to our 10x-50x ROI results! You don’t want to miss out on this.
- Value-driven conversations – Brands are increasingly focused on actionable insights that drive revenue and profit. Gone are the days of vanity metrics – it’s all about real growth.
- E-commerce optimism – A shift is happening, and it’s energising to see so many leaders embracing creativity and confident growth. The future of retail and digital marketing looks brighter than ever.
Plus, there were two incredible panels I was lucky enough to experience:
- Better Business: From Fck Ups to Fck Yeahs – A refreshingly real panel with Rosa-Clare Willis, Iain Calvert, Anna Samkova, and moderated by Nathan Bush. So much wisdom in the failures and the bounce backs.
- The Power of Personalisation – using data well isn’t just about conversions, it’s about experience. Intelligent, considered, and so relevant.
At our stall, brands also had the chance to spin our prize wheel to go in the draw to win $1000, just for fun.
Big thanks to everyone we connected with – from amazing brands to incredible partners. I’m already looking forward to what next year has in store! Bring on 2026!’
iMedia Retail Summit 2025
May also kicked off with the iMedia Retail Summit at the Sheraton Grand Mirage on the Gold Coast.
Each year, iMedia brings together some of the sharpest minds in retail and eCommerce for 3 days of big ideas, networking, and innovative discussions and presentations.
This year’s theme was Retail Unleashed: Own the Disruption, Lead the Future, with sessions covering advancements in A.I. and in eCommerce. Dan and Ireene were there to soak it all up.
Dan says, ‘This was my very first iMedia, and wow, it certainly lived up to the hype! Still buzzing and what an incredible few days it was on the sunny Gold Coast!
iMedia was the perfect opportunity to reconnect with agency and tech partners, meet some truly brilliant retailers, and soak up fresh insights from across the digital retail landscape.
The theme Retail Unleashed couldn’t have been more fitting. The conference featured thoughtful discussions of AI, omnichannel journeys, customer loyalty, and resilience in times of change.
Massive kudos to the iMedia team for putting together such a world-class event.’
iMedia Highlights
Some standout highlights from the event included:
- Retail Innovation Roundtables – Excellent discussions such as: “How can retailers use AI-driven personalisation to increase basket size and customer lifetime value?” and “What strategies can retailers adopt to compete with ultra-fast fashion brands without racing to the bottom on price?”
- Business Connect – ‘Like speed dating for business,’ says Dan. ‘Wild! 10 back-to-back convos in 10 minutes each. Fast, focused, and surprisingly fun.’
- Mind to Machine: When AI Agents Hijack Human Intent highlighted the shift retailers will need to make to include natural language search functionality within their sites.
‘AI is moving so incredibly fast!’ says Ireene. ‘With AI you’ll have the ability to “tell” AI search agents what you’re looking for and what budget you have to work with, then AI will give you options to choose from.’ - Supercharging Commerce Innovation with AI & Automation with tips from Shopify.
Dan says, ‘I’m excited to bring these learnings back into the mix at Kia Ora Digital and look forward to many more iMedias to come!’
We love the iMedia Summit. It was at last year’s iMedia in NZ that we first launched our Revenue Forecast, and we haven’t looked back since.
Mixing It Up
iMedia wasn’t all work and no play, though.
Dan came 8th in the Ultimate Networker board! ‘Let’s just say it brought out way too much of my competitive side,’ says Dan. ‘Not bad for a first-timer!
The team also arrived to enjoy drinks from the Shopify bar, and sessions were also broken up with fun activities. Dan put his cocktail skills to the test in a Mixology Masterclass, while Ireene got to rock her grilling skills in ‘BBQ Like a Pro.’ (We expect you guys to pull out these skills at this year’s Christmas party!)
All in all it was a great event, and we look forward to attending again next year.
The Wrap-up
A huge thank you to Retail Fest and iMedia organisers for putting on such great events!
For brands wanting to take their performance to the next level, get in touch with us to learn more about our Blended Search Intelligence or ask for your own Revenue Forecast.
Whether you’re curious about the future of search, scaling smart, or just want to see something completely new in action, say Kia Ora and partner with us today.