In our latest “offline” edition, we catch-up with Helen Freeman, Search Lead at Domino’s, and discover her take on the industry’s biggest opportunity in 2026, her fascination with board games, her favourite Domino’s pizza and much much more!
Why a career in digital marketing?
Like most people, I pretty much just fell into it. I studied German at university and truly had no set plan for what I wanted to do after graduating. But a local digital agency stood out to me at a languages careers fair, as they were one of the few tech-focused businesses that had come along and seemed to genuinely value my skillset.
At the time I didn’t understand what they did at all! But I knew I wanted to work with lovely, genuine and motivated people who I could learn from and grow with. Thankfully that’s been my experience in all my jobs to date, so I think I backed a good horse!
Next Event: Digital PR Strategy & Search Performance
What’s your personal favourite Domino’s Pizza?
Texas BBQ has been my go-to for a long time, but one of the Domino’s perks is pizza in the office so I’ve definitely broadened my horizons since joining. My current fixation is the Mexicana Mayo dip from our new Chick ‘N’ Dip range.
What’s the biggest opportunity for digital marketers in 2026?
There are plenty out there, but personally I’d say the key to unlocking an edge is working out how to wield your business data to get a leg up on the competition. What do you know about your customers and your market that nobody else does? Fuelling your strategy with those qualitative and quantitative insights will set you apart. It’s not easy and requires world-class collaboration, but the payoff is worth it.
What has been the biggest challenge in your role over the last 12-months?
Measurement, 100%. Both the amount and rate of change in the landscape have made it much harder to tie impact back to specific channels/workstreams. But testing is playing a huge part in helping to navigate through that. Domino’s is an incredibly data-driven business, so I’ve had the opportunity to work with and learn from some genuinely brilliant colleagues. Ultimately, challenges keep things interesting!
How do you switch off?
Anything outdoors really, I’m lucky to live somewhere with plenty of nature on the doorstep so getting out for walks is always good!
I’m a keen (though not particularly skilled) gardener, and I’ve also recently got back into reading fiction. The Girl Who Saved The King Of Sweden by Jonas Jonasson is my current read.
AI – What do you love? What do you dislike?
Day to day I find it a useful tool for helping to break down challenges and speed up some time-consuming tasks. I’m a problem solver at heart, so being able to free up time and headspace to tackle the things that actually matter is always a win in my book. Getting AI assistants to play devil’s advocate has been handy for flagging potential banana skins and checking any blind spots too.
In terms of dislikes though, I hate that we don’t seem to have learned any lessons from the rise of social media and how that impacted us as individuals and societally. I think we’re going to see a real impact on critical thinking skills, particularly amongst age groups who are growing up with AI at their fingertips. Plus, the lack of regulation is something that really bothers me, and I think we will feel the repercussions of that in future.
Fun fact about you?
I have a completely out of control board game collection – I think it’s at about 60 games now. I briefly tried to instigate a one in one out system, but that didn’t last long at all.
Favourite album of all-time?
Piano Man by Billy Joel was the one that played on repeat in the car when I was growing up, so I’ll always have a soft spot for that.
What boxsets (TV Series on any service) are you loving at the moment?
I’ve just finished the second series of Fallout – I’m a big fan of the video game and the adaptation for TV has been excellent! Now currently working my way through Paradise, which has me hooked.
What has been your proudest career achievement to-date?
I have some solid performance wins under my belt, but it’s always the times when I can have a positive impact on the people around me that feel most meaningful. The role I’m in now has been great for that, as it’s allowed me to bring people together to learn from each other and grow as a team.
Any time I get the opportunity to promote someone it’s such a highlight, obviously for them and their journey, but to have played a part in their development is very rewarding for me. I genuinely love being a manager – I’ve had some great leaders myself, so I really just want to pay that forward.
About Helen…
Helen Freeman is a performance-driven search leader with a deep love of problem solving and collaboration. Having started her career in PPC and later specialising in SEO, she now heads up Search at Domino’s Pizza UK & Ireland, aligning paid and organic strategy to drive holistic growth across their 1,300+ stores on web and app.
With experience both agency‑side and in‑house, her background spans a wide range of verticals, partnering with leading brands across retail, professional services, healthcare, energy, B2B software, and more.
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