The Marketing Society podcast

Episode #149. Today's topic is an area of personal understanding, enabling you to take the reins of your career so that it's happening for you, not to you. We're discussing purpose driven careers, packed with advice for how to make choices that enable you to be successful and fulfilled in your career and life as a whole. Joining Abby is her guest and experienced marketing leader, Megan Harrison. Having worked on many iconic brands such as Huggies, Durex, Warburtons and Carex, Megan's is now CMO at Grocery Aid, a charity with a long history of helping grocery workers through tough times, providing financial, emotional and practical support. In this episode, Megan shares her definition of a purpose driven career, the choices she's made in her personal career journey and why, and the questions to ask yourself when choosing your next role. Plus, her career highs and lows and advice for marketers of tomorrow. 00:00:00 Welcome and Introduction to Brand Purpose 00:03:41 Definition of Purpose 00:04:40 Megan's Personal Journey to Identify Purpose 00:05:54 Career Choices and Purpose Alignment 00:09:13 Career Transitions 00:12:25 Advice for Early Career Professionals 00:15:40 Looking For Your Next Role 00:20:13 Red Flags 00:23:07 Connection to Brand Challenges 00:25:05 Cultural Values in Organisations 00:27:14 Career Highs and Lows 00:30:57 Advice for Future Marketers Host: Abigail Dixon FCIM/ICF | LinkedInGuest: Megan Harrison FCIM | LinkedIn The Whole Marketer podcast is here to support and empower the people behind brands and businesses with the latest technical tools, soft and leadership skills and personal understanding for a fulfilling marketing career and life as a whole. For more info go to www.thewholemarketer.com

Welcome to “In my humble opinion”, a podcast collaboration between The Marketing Society and Publicis Groupe UK that creates a space for marketing leaders to discuss their opinions on topics affecting our industry which they think about but may not always say out loud. You will hear industry leaders and experts talk about their views and opinions on deliberately provocative subjects such as the impact of technology on brands and consumers, the future of our industry, the generational divides, diversity and inclusion and more.You're joining us for episode 5 '‘In My Humble Opinion... Getting to great work is hard work'.Featuring Karen Martin, CEO at BBH in conversation with Michelle Spillane, Managing Director Marketing at Paddy Power.They explore the challenging journey from good to great advertising, discussing how truly exceptional creative work doesn't just inform but transforms. Michelle shares insights on building a culture of creative bravery, leaving space for unexpected magic in the production process, and why investing in great work delivers the best ROI possible.Whether you're a marketer, creative, or brand leader, this conversation offers valuable insights on building creative partnerships built on trust rather than control. Connect with our guests: Karen Martin, CEO at BBH LinkedIn ProfileMichelle Spillane, Managing Director Marketing at Paddy Power LinkedIn ProfileDon't forget to subscribe, rate, and review our podcast!Our industry is filled with many brilliant minds with thought provoking views, we can't wait to bring them to you, our next episode of “In my humble opinion” will be coming soon and find our series of content of the same name over at The Marketing Society website here.

Episode #148. The technical skill in this episode is brand purpose, providing marketers with the clarity on why their brand exists internally and externally, motivation for the whole organisation to get behind and creating a north star to focus on - whether that's strategic or tactical choices or how to bring this to life. Joining Abby is her guest Helen Jeremiah, Global Vice President for Croda, a company that makes specialised ingredients for beauty, personal care, and home care products. Having previously worked at Boots and Walgreen's Alliance Group, Helen is an experienced marketing leader who has worked across multiple disciplines including marketing, customer strategy, global marketing, global brand marketing, product development, insight and inclusivity. In this episode, Helen shares her definition of brand purpose and its significance beyond profit, authenticity, the importance of internal engagement, and agency partnerships to bring to life. Plus, her career highs and lows and advice for marketers of tomorrow. 00:00:00 Welcome and Introduction to Brand Purpose 00:03:03 Importance of Internal Engagement 00:04:48 Advice for Redefining Brand Purpose 00:07:08 Aligning Brand Purpose with Values 00:09:22 Multifaceted Nature of Brand Purpose 00:10:21 Stakeholder Engagement for Alignment 00:13:49 Measuring Brand Purpose Impact 00:16:43 Internal Perception of Brand Purpose 00:18:28 Helen's Personal Drive for Purpose 00:23:43 Agency Collaboration for Fresh Perspectives 00:25:49 Career Highs and Lows 00:31:51 Advice for Future Marketers Host: Abigail Dixon FCIM/ICF | LinkedInGuest: Helen Jeremiah | LinkedIn The Whole Marketer podcast is here to support and empower the people behind brands and businesses with the latest technical tools, soft and leadership skills and personal understanding for a fulfilling marketing career and life as a whole. For more info go to www.thewholemarketer.com

Following the presentation of Future Leader of the Year 2024 at The Marketing Society Annual Dinner in November 2024, Lauren Groves, Head of Marketing Conversion & Partner at ITV is in conversation with James Townsend, EMEA CEO at Stagwell. Lauren discusses her career growth and future goals as well as covering topics such as leadership beyond marketing and teamwork, creating safe spaces and learning from failure and of course touches on innovation and the impact of AI in her work.Find out more about The Marketing Society Awards here https://www.marketingsociety.com/Global-40th-Awards

Episode #147. Social proof is the technical topic featured in this episode as we delve into the benefits of collaborating, trialling and testing with consumers and influencers in real-time and how to get started with social proof to help build communication ideas, propositions, campaigns and products. And the all-important internal buy-in and confidence for concepts and much more… Abby's guest in this episode is Michael Goldstein, founder of Fragment, a comms strategy led agency that drives growth through helping brands capitalise on the chaos of modern marketing. Previously he was global head of communications strategy at DDB, and before that held leadership roles at Mccann, R/GA and The &Partnership. In this episode, Michael shares his definition of Social Proof, why marketers should build ideas out in the world and how to get started with testing. Plus examples of integrating social proof to shape creative campaigns and working with influencers. Plus his career highs and lows and advice for marketers of tomorrow. 00:00:00 Welcome and Introduction to Social Proof 00:02:58 Defining Social Proof 00:04:03 Traditional vs Collaborative Process 00:06:32 The Rapid Nature of Cultural Changes 00:08:07 Testing and Iteration in Marketing 00:09:40 Challenger Brands and Flexibility 00:10:26 Consumer Product Brands and Creators 00:12:18 Building a Feedback Loop 00:17:30 Using Social Proof in Agency Work 00:19:11 Case study: Repositioning a Brand 00:21:35 Cultural and Emotional Impact 00:24:16 Community-Built Brands 00:25:43 Embracing Chaos in Marketing 00:27:11 Career Highs and Lows 00:31:21 Advice for Future Marketers Host: Abigail (Abby) Dixon FCIM/ICF | LinkedInGuest: Michael Goldstein | LinkedInThe Whole Marketer podcast is here to support and empower the people behind brands and businesses with the latest technical tools, soft and leadership skills and personal understanding for a fulfilling marketing career and life as a whole. For more info go to www.thewholemarketer.com

In this episode, the second of our greenwashing mini-series we chat to Guy Parker, Chief Executive of the UK's Advertising Standards Authority (ASA), about green claims and the role of responsible advertising in sustainability. Guy explains that the ASA's mission is to, “make sure that ads are legal, decent, honest and truthful. We care about ads not misleading people, not harming them, not offending them and being socially responsible.” Guy highlights that with rising concerns about climate change, the ASA is focused on environmental claims balancing the need for businesses to communicate sustainability efforts without misleading consumers.We discuss the line between greenwashing (exaggerated or false claims) and greenhushing (staying silent due to fear of backlash), and how Marketers can absolutely tread the middle ground between the two. Guy emphasises how businesses should communicate sustainability progress— modestly and precisely, “being a bit more modest in the claims and being a bit more kind of real world in terms of what this means for your customers and your prospective customers, can actually go a very long way.” Focus should be on tangible, near-term actions rather than distant net-zero targets.Most greenwashing isn't intentional - it stems from lack of education and understanding. Guy points out that Marketers must know the rules and follow the guidance, (ASA's codes, CMA's Green Claims Code), collaborate cross-functionally with sustainability teams to ensure accuracy and make use of the breadth of ASA resources (rulings, guidance, and free training), to avoid pitfalls. There is information and knowledge out there for everyone and it's all very accessible. Guy's message is clear, businesses must keep talking about sustainability, but do so, responsibly. Tune in as we talk to Guy about:The green claims and advertising landscape.The need for organisations to be transparent and share their sustainability journeys.Why less is more when it comes to green claims - specific, evidence-backed claims are safer.Keep communicating, silence helps no one - we need to talk about it to drive change.Where greenwashing complaints can come from and, how to make a complaint.Why strategies and processes are needed.What resources and guidance are available to support Marketers and organisations considering making green claims. For resources check out the ASA's CAP Advertising Guidance, their training and their recent rulings - all of which can be found here. And, if you're looking to upskill your team with the green claims landscape - be sure to check out our 3 hour Greenwashing 101 short training course via our Sustainable Marketing Training Hub. More in this mini-series to follow with conversations still to come with ClientEarth and Fanclub PR. Stay tuned. ________________________________________________________________________About us…We help Marketers save the planet.

Episode #146. Today's episode discusses the necessity of DEI and how as marketers we have a responsibility to reflect and shape the world around us – particularly as research* shows younger generations trust brands more than governments for being ethical and competent. Abby's guest is Ali Hanan, founder and CEO of Creative Equals, an award winning organisation driving the new ROI - Return on Inclusion - for people, businesses and the planet. Ali set up Creative Equals after finding she was one of the few women in creative leadership through most of her 20 year career and the company works with clients such as PepsiCo, Reckitt, Abi InBev, H&M Group, McDonald's, Mars, Wrigley and more for inclusion-first marketing strategy and creative. In this episode, Ali shares her definition of DEI, the business case for DEI (supported by stats & facts), 5Rs for positive impact of DEI, navigating backlash and confronting unconscious biases and stereotypes. Plus her career highs and lows and advice for marketers of tomorrow. *Edelman Trust Barometer surveyed over 32,000 respondents in 28 countries. 00:00:00 Welcome and Introduction Defining DEI 00:04:25 Marketing as a Force for Good 00:09:00 Representation in Advertising 00:11:44 Inclusive Insights 00:14:04 Navigating Backlash in Marketing 00:19:12 Co-creation with Communities 00:21:05 Understanding Personal Biases 00:24:36 Identifying Bias in Teams 00:27:23 Researching Campaign Ideas 00:28:49 Benefits of Inclusive Marketing 00:30:07 The Impact of Trust in Brands 00:33:37 Career Highs and Lows 00:35:15 Challenges Facing DEI Initiatives 00:39:26 Advice for Future Marketers Host: Abigail (Abby) Dixon FCIM/ICF | LinkedInGuest: Ali Hanan | LinkedIn The Whole Marketer podcast is here to support and empower the people behind brands and businesses with the latest technical tools, soft and leadership skills and personal understanding for a fulfilling marketing career and life as a whole. For more info go to www.thewholemarketer.com

In our 100th episode of Can Marketing Save the Planet we kick off our ‘4 part mini-series on greenwashing and navigating green claims' with Cecilia Parker-Aranha, Director of Consumer Protection at the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA).Cecilia joined us back in 2021, and so it was great to have her join us again to discuss the evolving landscape to provide an up to date understanding of where we are with greenwashing. Since the publication of the Green Claims Code in 2021 significant progress has been made however, challenges remain. Cecilia tells us that since we last spoke, the CMA has taken action against misleading claims in sectors like fashion and fast-moving consumer goods prompting businesses to reassess their environmental messaging. She highlights how technology can be used to aid businesses in tracking supply chain data, but the human part remains crucial to ensure claims are accurate and not misleading. We discuss how consumers are increasingly distrustful of green claims and how now is the time for organisations to focus on making sure what they are saying is accurate and evidence-based. Cecilia again explains that the CMA's role is not to punish but to guide organisations toward compliance through education and support. However, under the Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act, everyone needs to be aware that the CMA can now impose fines directly and these can be up to 10% of global turnover for breaches and - breaches including misleading green claims. Cecilia explains, “so from April this year (2025), we'll have the power to reach our own decisions on whether or not a business has breached consumer law. The second thing is that at the moment there aren't any financial penalties for breaches of consumer law, at least those pursued through the civil route. Again, from April this year, it will be possible for the CMA to impose financial penalties on businesses who break the law.”Cecilia stresses the importance of collaboration between marketing and sustainability teams to ensure there is clear, accurate communication. She recommends that Marketers test claims with consumers to avoid misinterpretation and ensure transparency. Sharing so much knowledge and advice in this episode Cecilia believes Marketers should start by measuring their impact and build claims from solid evidence. And, this isn't just for those organisations operating in the UK, and as many organisations sell into other countries, she advises ensuring alignment with global standards like the EU Green Claims Directive. Tune in and listen as we talk to Cecilia about: The current green claims landscape as we progress through 2025What organisations and Marketers should be thinking about when considering making green claimsWhere to go to stay informed and up to dateDigital products passports and how they align with green claimsThe use of technology in supporting green claims The need for Marketing teams to work cross-functionallyWhy it's important for organisations to talk about what they are doing For resources check out the CMA's Green Claims Code and on their website you'll find lots of information, such as - what has happened in cases and what advice and agreements were reached. These real world cases further provide guidance on the changes organisations need to consider to ensure they are being responsible when making green claims. More in this mini-series to follow with conversations with the ASA, ClientEarth and Fanclub PR. Stay tuned.

Episode #145. Marketing Culture is the holistic topic discussed in this episode, the what, how and why your marketing function works day-to-day. Defining your marketing culture is the key to unlocking not only the fulfilment and motivation of your team but its thinking and work, which often includes your company values, behaviours, beliefs, routines and rituals, philosophy and approach, processes and ways of working, org structure and how your people bring this to life through their skills, behaviours and mindset. Joining Abby to discuss marketing culture is her guest Abi Willstead, Head of Brand and Marketing Excellence at Specsavers, where she focuses on helping strengthen the brand and empowering their global marketing team to thrive in their roles, supporting brilliant outcomes for customers and increasing the number of lives they can change through better sight and hearing. In this episode, Abi shares her definition of marketing culture, the 5Cs of Specsavers culture, empowering teams, creating space for innovation, and involving the entire team in defining and evolving the marketing culture Plus her career highs and lows and advice for marketers of tomorrow. 00:00:00 Welcome and Introduction to ‘Marketing Culture' 00:03:44 Key Ingredients of Marketing Culture 00:06:59 Five Cs of Specsavers' Culture 00:08:03 Importance of Psychological Safety 00:10:05 Embedding Values in Daily Work 00:16:11 Continuous Improvement and Learning 00:19:55 Core Skills Driving Specsavers' Marketing Approach 00:24:21 Empowerment in Marketing Culture 00:24:57 Evolving Marketing Practices 00:27:51 Involving Teams in Change 00:30:13 Career Highs and Lows 00:35:47 Advice for Future Marketers Host: Abigail (Abby) Dixon FCIM/ICF | LinkedInGuest: Abi Willstead | LinkedIn The Whole Marketer podcast is here to support and empower the people behind brands and businesses with the latest technical tools, soft and leadership skills and personal understanding for a fulfilling marketing career and life as a whole. For more info go to www.thewholemarketer.com

Welcome to “In my humble opinion”, a podcast collaboration between The Marketing Society and Publicis Groupe UK that creates a space for marketing leaders to discuss their opinions on topics affecting our industry which they think about but may not always say out loud. You will hear industry leaders and experts talk about their views and opinions on deliberately provocative subjects such as the impact of technology on brands and consumers, the future of our industry, the generational divides, diversity and inclusion and more.You're joining us for episode 4 ‘In My Humble Opinion... There's nothing more valuable than an idea that moves the world'.Featuring Lisa Delaney, Regional Head of Marketing & Lifestyle – Europe at Cathay Pacific, and Alison Hoad, Chief Strategy Officer at Publicis London.They dive deep into how global ideas and campaigns can create lasting impact, exploring everything from Barbie to Spotify Wrapped, and sharing insights from Cathay Pacific's Move Beyond platform.From leveraging cultural moments to creating meaningful brand partnerships, they discuss how global campaigns are reshaping customer engagement and brand building. Connect with our guests: Lisa Delaney, Regional Head of Marketing & Lifestyle – Europe LinkedIn ProfileAlison Hoad, Chief Strategy Officer at Publicis London. LinkedIn ProfileDon't forget to subscribe, rate, and review our podcast!Our industry is filled with many brilliant minds with thought provoking views, we can't wait to bring them to you, our next episode of “In my humble opinion” will be coming soon and find our series of content of the same name over at The Marketing Society website here.

Round and round and round it goes, where it stops nobody knows… and that's a really good thing if it means it doesn't end up in the unmanageable waste landscape we humans have created for ourselves. In our 99th episode we're joined by Neda Hashemi and Andrés Olivia from the Ellen MacArthur Foundation where we explore why Marketers are key facilitators in the transition to a circular economy. Neda and Andrés talk about their latest research and explain the different ways that the circular economy can future-proof and scale businesses, drive efficiencies, reduce emissions and help to ease the burden we place on biodiversity and the planet. Andrés explains that their are many different ways to implement circularity, “the first one is about selling access rather than ownership for example, a washing machine, what if you rented it instead of owning it? We also have monetising of product through life extension for example selling repair services. And finally, and this is the last resort, once products are no longer fit use, reuse or repair can they can be recycled and turned into new products?”Neda and Andrés share how B2B is leading the charge when it comes to circularity, but in the B2C world, whilst there is plenty of innovation - it is not scaling at the levels required. A reason for this Neda explains is “the demand isn't happening because behaviours are not consistent.” She goes to say, “don't be intimidated by the concept of the circular economy and circularity, all need to do is understand the simple premise of what the business model entails, which again, they have been doing forever and inject their creativity and human understanding into it. And then the potential is huge for them to engage with it.”It's not rocket science, when you remove the word circular economy and focus on what people value and want, then there's plenty of scope to unlock the opportunities. Tune in to hear us talking about how:Bringing in the marketing function as problem solvers and the key communication interface between the brand, the organisation and the consumer is key.The role of education and how Marketers are critical in driving this.The key areas coming out of the research including their “Four Action Pathways”How Marketers can make circularity desirable, irresistible and remove the barriers for adoption.The ‘Why' we need to build a circular economy.How focusing on upstream demand should bring in multiple perspectives to take the innovation forward and bring everybody together to organize themselves around the common objectives.Metrics – from circular sales to increased loyalty and lifetime transaction values. Core resilience of the business is often not brought into the business case for circularity. For more information and resources visit the Ellen MacArthur FoundationThe Marketing Playbook for a Circular Economy you'll find here.________________________________________________________________________About us…We help Marketers save the planet.

Episode #144. The personal understanding topic explored in this episode is Growth Mindset - a belief system that people adopt where they believe that their qualities, skills, abilities and situation can change and grow, and through hard work, it's possible for these to develop and improve. Discussing Growth Mindset with Abby is her guest Charlotte Langley, Chief Marketing Officer at Bloom & Wild. Having previously worked at L'Oreal, Charlotte joined Bloom & Wild at the start of 2020 to head up the evolution of Bloom & Wild's brand and communications, including the development of their ‘Care Wildly' creative platform. In this episode, Charlotte shares her definition of Growth Mindset, pushing through fear, creating a network for support, how growth mindset impacts her leadership style, energy for growth mode and her tip when worries and anxiety creeps in. Plus her career highs and lows and advice for marketers of tomorrow. 00:00:00 Welcome and Introduction to ‘Growth Mindset' 00:03:10 Embracing Fear and Asking for Help 00:05:06 Leadership and Growth Mindset 00:07:47 Navigating Change in Marketing 00:09:42 Building a Knowledge Bank and Networking 00:13:32 Adapting to Changes 00:18:44 Growth Mode 00:22:41 Confidence and Imposter Syndrome 00:25:40 Learning from Others 00:27:03 Reflecting on Personal Growth 00:30:13 Acknowledging Anxiety and Organising Thoughts 00:36:13 Career Highs and Lows 00:39:06 Advice for Future Marketers Host: Abigail (Abby) Dixon FCIM/ICF | LinkedInGuest: Charlotte Langley | LinkedIn The Whole Marketer podcast is here to support and empower the people behind brands and businesses with the latest technical tools, soft and leadership skills and personal understanding for a fulfilling marketing career and life as a whole. For more info go to www.thewholemarketer.com

“It's fair and square - every square essentially helps you hit three ESG metrics with a single product.”In this episode of the Can Marketing Save the Planet podcast, we are joined by Rob Cobbold, Founder and CEO, of the brilliant organisation, Native - a platform which allows people, groups, communities and organisations of all sizes to protect the planet – one square at a time! The platform enables the purchase of ‘squares' from a range of terrestrial or marine habitats including rainforests, mangroves or coral reefs. Rob talks us through why he founded Native, “we're an evolution I suppose on binary one-dimensional carbon markets. We're trying to do things with a bit more transparency, a bit more holistically, and a bit more fairly as well.” We discuss the fact that when it comes to protecting the environment, how we are all responsible.We discuss the importance of decarbonisation, but also the reality that carbon isn't tangible, you can't see it and you can't connect to it and this creates a challenge when it comes to understanding and engagement. Rob tells us that we, (humans) have a very ‘left-brain bias', “we like to break things down into their parts so that we can manipulate them, control them and make use of them.”We talk about the unique features of Native and the fact that you can view your square(s) in real time, watching them grow and evolve. However, Rob also talks about the fact that you can also see the reality of what is happening in the places you're investing in… - “in the map of our first project in the Solomon Islands, you can see the forest, and you can also see active logging, just 50 kilometers away.” It's both exciting and sobering.Rob has so may plans for Native when it comes to how people and organisations can get involved; from everyone being able to drive positive impact and take action - seeing the impact of their investment in real-time, through to employee engagement programmes, gifting, gamification and overall creating a big talking point - bringing friends, family and partners on the journey with you.From as little as just £3 per square - there is no way you won't be motivated to buy a square or two (or more) by the end of this episode. Indeed, we're already ‘in' –and so if you invest, do let us know!Tune in and listen as we talk to Rob about:Native – the platform, it's purpose and why it's truly ‘fair and square'Why it is so important that we all take responsibility about protecting the planetHow Native enables organisations to hit the environmental (E), Social (S) and Governance (G) all in one solutionWhy transparency and fairness is critically importantHow going beyond carbon brings impact to life - (literally)The need for better stories and engagementThe need to measure impact in different waysThe need for better more accessible funding across a broader range of projectsFor more information about this nature based solution visit Native And to connect with Rob to find out more and discuss your ‘squares' - connect via LinkedIn.________________________________________________________________________About us…We help Marketers save the planet.

Welcome to “In My Humble Opinion”, a podcast collaboration between The Marketing Society and Publicis Groupe UK agencies that creates a space for marketing leaders to discuss their opinions on topics affecting our industry which they think about but may not always say out loud. You will hear industry leaders and experts talk about their views and opinions on deliberately provocative subjects such as the impact of technology on brands and consumers, the future of our industry, the generational divides, diversity and inclusion and more.Episode 3 - In My Humble Opinion...Retail is changing, powered by data and tuned by media' - where we dive deep into how retail media is transforming the relationship between retailers and brands. Featuring Susie Moan, Chief Data Officer at Currys, and Andy Barratt, Head of Retail Media at Currys, in conversation with Ben Foulkes, Commercial Director at Epsilon. They discuss how retail media is transforming the relationship between retailers and brands, exploring Currys Connected Media's journey and the exciting opportunities ahead. From leveraging customer data to creating meaningful brand partnerships, they discuss how retail media networks are reshaping the future of retail marketing and customer engagement. Follow Susie Moan on LinkedIn hereFollow Andy Barratt on LinkedIn hereFollow Ben Foulkes on LinkedIn here------Don't forget to subscribe, rate, and review our podcast!Our industry is filled with many brilliant minds with thought provoking views, we can't wait to bring them to you, our next episode of “In my humble opinion” will be coming soon and find our series of content of the same name over at The Marketing Society website.

Episode #143. Today's topic is a technical and leadership skill exploring building and leading brands with soul, which doesn't just arise from the company strategy or tactical execution but from the passion, love, and responsibility of the leaders and people in the business.  Abby's guest who is passionate about this topic and author of ‘Building Brands With Soul' is Siew Ting Foo. An impactful and influential marketing leader, Siew Ting is named consecutively, six times as Asia's most purposeful and influential CMO, and named Asia and China's top woman leader, having worked on brands including Unilever, Mars, Diageo, Fonterra and most recently, HP. In this episode, Siew Ting shares her definition and characteristics of brands with soul and why it's important, the five pillars, human-centric leadership, global brands to local markets and how she connects to her team through ‘Friday emails'. Plus Siew Ting's career highs and lows and advice for marketers of tomorrow. 00:00:00 Welcome and introduction to ‘building brands with soul' 00:03:45 The Five Pillars of Brands with Soul 00:05:13 Writing the Book for future leaders 00:06:29 Why is Human Centricity important 00:09:15 Siew Ting's Personal Discovery and Purpose 00:11:00 First 100 Days Framework 00:15:21 How to Create Global Brands with Local Soul 00:19:49 Building Internal Belief 00:22:27 Authentic Leadership through Friday Emails 00:25:51 Personal Career Highs and Lows 00:27:36 Advice for Future Marketers Host: Abigail (Abby) Dixon FCIM/ICF | LinkedInGuest: Siew Ting Foo | LinkedIn Siew Ting Foo will be part of The Marketing Society's Global Conversation How CMOs can build Brands with Soul, a Virtual event covering many of these topics discussed, on 27 February 2025 - find out more hereThe Whole Marketer podcast is here to support and empower the people behind brands and businesses with the latest technical tools, soft and leadership skills and personal understanding for a fulfilling marketing career and life as a whole. For more info go to www.thewholemarketer.com

The Buy Side is our regular series talking with brand side marketers about sport and sponsorship. Our guest is Richard Deane, who's career includes running sponsorship programmes at Standard Life Investments, Abrdn and Investec across Ryder Cup, British and Irish Lions and many other major sports properties. The Buy Side is sponsored by the Two Circles intelligence platform KORE. More than 900 brands, venues, and sports organisations trust the Kore platform to manage partnerships and assets and measure their impact with real-time insights. Through Fan Intelligence and Partnerships Intelligence, Two Circle's Kore platform unites sponsors and properties with solutions that help enhance the fan experience, drive smarter decisions, and enable marketing and operations teams to spend time where it matters.Learn more at twocircles.com.Unofficial Partner is the leading podcast for the business of sport. A mix of entertaining and thought provoking conversations with a who's who of the global industry.To join our community of listeners, sign up to the weekly UP Newsletter and follow us on Twitter and TikTok at @UnofficialPartnerWe publish two podcasts each week, on Tuesday and Friday.These are deep conversations with smart people from inside and outside sport.Our entire back catalogue of 400 sports business conversations are available free of charge here.Each pod is available by searching for ‘Unofficial Partner' on Apple, Spotify, Google, Stitcher and every podcast app.If you're interested in collaborating with Unofficial Partner to create one-off podcasts or series, you can reach us via the website.

“The more people bring AI in-house the better it will be for the environment”…“You've got to spend the money to take advantage of the opportunity – and you can say but AI is free, but it isn't - that's just bad AI”…“AI allows us to do the art of marketing without marketing” …A slightly longer episode this week, but boy is it an interesting one! In this episode of Can Marketing Save the Planet we bring together two of the biggest conversations in the world today; AI and sustainability to find out if they are friend or foe. Joined by tech futurist Dan Södergren and sustainability guy, Russ Avery, we discuss questions around, is business and society responsible enough to use AI? Why AI policies a must for organisations - and, how can Marketers use AI in an informed and meaningful way?As with any big subject matter we jump straight into the challenges and opportunities. When it comes to challenges we of course go straight to the environmental impact where Russ explains, “AI -driven data centers are projected to consume 90 terawatt hours annually by 2026, which will be a 10 -fold increase from 2022 levels, which is only three years ago. And for context, that's equivalent to the energy uses of some entire countries.” Only part of the story - but something we should all be aware of as we all look to AI and how it will increasingly become more prevalent in our lives. Dan agrees that energy is definitely something we need to be aware of, but more importantly, “it's more the fact of what you do with it. En-masse if you just take it out by itself and you add it on to the marketing you're doing, then yes, by its very nature, you're going to be creating more problems because you are going to be using more energy. But on the whole, he believes AI can make the world a better place (caveat - if the good guys use it). The ‘fifth industrial revolution' also comes up a lot in this conversation, but you'll need to tune in to find out more.We talk about the need for more education, upskilling and awareness. Training is another area that we keep coming back to. Russ talks about the need for education and using AI responsibly, “we should not be using AI for socially useless mundane purposes' – Take note Marketers! Dan agrees that education and understanding is critical if we want to be more productive and less wasteful. Both share hints, tips and ways we (Marketers) can all be using AI more effectively. Russ believes that Marketers can use AI effectively if they “lean into their curiosity and understand the foundations of what you are using”, he goes on to explain, “I would just encourage Marketers to learn about the fundamentals of AI because it can only benefit your understanding how these things work and how they actually came about”.Dan talks about the need for better prompt engineering, an understanding of language models and, the need for culture change, moving away from specialisation and IP to considering, “how does your organisation incentivise not just the use of AI, but actually incentivise the best practice use of AI? Say I've created a great prompt, what's in it for me to share that knowledge with the rest of the team? Now, that's something we've never really had.”There is simply too much in this episode to summarise here in a way that does it justice, you'll just need to tune in and get your pens and pads ready….and then click on the links in the show notes to take advantage of the offers from Dan…we certainly will be.Tune in and listen as we talk to Dan and Russ about: The challenges and opportunities around AIThe ethics...

Episode #142. Connecting with your Consumer is the focus of today's episode, an evolving technical and soft/human skill for marketers to develop as our human understanding continues to deepen and evolve through societal and technological advancements. Abby's guest to discuss is Toby Horry, Global Brand and Content Director at Tui, responsible to Tui's re-brand and the recently much talked about first Tui Christmas ad. Prior to Tui, Toby worked at Tesco as Digital Marketing Director, part of the Brand Turnaround team, tasked with rebuilding trust in the Tesco brand and in the agency world as planner for AMV BBDO and MD of Dare. In this episode, Toby shares his definition of what it means to connect with your consumer, the challenges of mass targeting, skills and behaviours marketers need to connect with audiences, marketing to global audiences, and lots of examples of connecting from brands such as Tui, Nicorette, Tesco and Fiat. Plus Toby's career highs and lows and advice for marketers. 00:00:00 Welcome and Introduction to ‘Connecting with consumers' 00:02:23 The Importance of Understanding Customers 00:03:40 Changes in Marketing Communication 00:05:56 Consumer Expectations 00:07:25 Skills Marketers Need in Order to Connect 00:09:59 Insights from Nicorette Campaign 00:11:46 The Role of Concise Marketing Briefs00:14:09 Global Marketing Considerations 00:20:03 Customer-Centric Ideas 00:23:23 Insights from TUI 00:27:32 Creativity and Agility 00:29:10 Toby's Career Highs and Lows 00:31:29 Advice for Future Marketers Host: Abigail (Abby) Dixon FCIM/ICF | LinkedInGuest: Toby Horry | LinkedInThe Whole Marketer podcast is here to support and empower the people behind brands and businesses with the latest technical tools, soft and leadership skills and personal understanding for a fulfilling marketing career and life as a whole. For more info go to www.thewholemarketer.com

Welcome to “In My Humble Opinion”, a podcast collaboration between The Marketing Society and Publicis Groupe UK agencies that creates a space for marketing leaders to discuss their opinions on topics affecting our industry which they think about but may not always say out loud. You will hear industry leaders and experts talk about their views and opinions on deliberately provocative subjects such as the impact of technology on brands and consumers, the future of our industry, the generational divides, diversity and inclusion and more.Episode 2 - ‘In My Humble Opinion...more brand experiences should be buyable.' where we discuss why brand experiences should be shoppable in today's digital landscape. They explore how the traditional marketing funnel is transforming, why brand equity and commercial performance go hand in hand, and how companies can create seamless shopping experiences across multiple touchpoints.Amanda Farmer, Chief Executive Officer of LeSHOP, sits down with Kate Narbrough, Global Brand Director at Nomad FoodsFollow Amanda Farmer on LinkedIn hereFollow Kate Narbrough on LinkedIn here------Don't forget to subscribe, rate, and review our podcast!Our industry is filled with many brilliant minds with thought provoking views, we can't wait to bring them to you, our next episode of “In my humble opinion” will be coming soon and find our series of content of the same name over at The Marketing Society website.

Episode #141. Today's personal understanding topic is about owning your marketing career so that it is fulfilling to you, and the steps you can take to be proactive and intentional to move towards your ideal role. Abby's guest to discuss this is David Brewerton, Growth Marketing Director of Monzo. Initially starting his marketing career in digital marketing, David broadened his marketing roles to have more strategic impact and has worked with brands such as Tesco Mobile, Metro Bank and now Monzo. In this episode, David shares his definition of owning your marketing career, perception as reality, the art of giving and receiving feedback, his story of finding an ideal role after redundancy and the value of building your profile and making connections. Plus David's career highs and lows and advice for marketers of tomorrow. 00:00:00 Welcome and Introduction to ‘Owning your Career' 00:02:12 Defining Career Ownership 00:03:55 Perception as Reality 00:06:11 Why Personal Branding is Valuable 00:08:52 The Importance of Authenticity 00:14:27 Feedback as a Tool for Growth 00:17:52 David's Approach to Securing a New Role Following Redundancy 00:22:35 Building a Profile Online 00:27:24 Proactive Career Ownership 00:37:13 Mapping Career Goals and Vision 00:39:15 Finding Your Tribe 00:41:27 Learning from Experience 00:41:40 Advice for Marketers of Tomorrow Host: Abigail (Abby) Dixon FCIM/ICF | LinkedInGuest: David Brewerton | LinkedIn The Whole Marketer podcast is here to support and empower the people behind brands and businesses with the latest technical tools, soft and leadership skills and personal understanding for a fulfilling marketing career and life as a whole. For more info go to www.thewholemarketer.com

THINK EQUAL is our Equality, Diversity and Inclusion initiative led by The Marketing Society. THINK EQUAL aims to drive diversity and inclusion across the marcomms industry in the MENA region. Through training, events, mentoring, policy changes, content and more. We aim to provide tangible activity that will make an impact and a difference now.Our regular THINK EQUAL podcast shines a light on an inspiring female leader who is dedicated to levelling the marcomms playing field. Kicking off the new year, THINK EQUAL Project Director, Leanne Foy met Peter Jacob, Managing Director MENAT, Current Global. The communications industry thrives on diverse perspectives, yet achieving gender equality requires more than good intentions. Male allies play a crucial role in fostering an inclusive workplace where women can excel. In this episode, we explore how male leaders can champion equality through listening, action, and accountability.Discover the power of self-education, the impact of micro-actions, and the importance of transparent promotion practices. Learn how cross-generational allyship sustains progress and why calling out bias is essential to change workplace dynamics for the better.Highlights include:Calling out bias: The critical role male leaders play in challenging workplace inequalities.Micro-actions that matter: Supporting female leadership and advocating for diverse lifestyles.Building trust through transparency: Clear promotion criteria and succession planning.Tune in to explore actionable strategies for male allies and their impact on advancing gender equality. A note from THINK EQUAL We are stronger together, than we are alone. And that's why we want the marcomms industry to come together to make a difference. Every single person who makes up our brilliant industry can make an impact. Want to get involved? We'd love to hear from you. Whether that's through donating your time on our working committee, or putting your hand up to run an event or training session, you may have some suggestions of speakers to add to our speaker library, or have a venue you want to provide for free. Contact us at Thinkequal@marketingsociety.com

Episode #140. We're starting the new year with a technical topic on Marketing Excellence, to inspire and empower high performance for all marketing leaders and those in their care who are growing the brands and businesses of tomorrow. Joining Abby is her guest Sue Warren, Head of Marketing Capability at Sky. Sue worked on brands such as Unilever, Telewest and Virgin Media before joining Sky and after a decade in various marketing, strategy and planning roles, is now developing structured marketing excellence programmes to upskill and energise the entire marketing function in Sky. In this episode, Sue shares her definition of marketing excellence, the development and implementation of Sky's marketing excellence programme, it's impact on the output and creativity of the marketing function and the importance of embedding marketing excellence long-term, not just delivering training. Plus Sue's career highs and lows and advice for marketers of tomorrow. 00:00:00 Welcome and introduction to Marketing Excellence 00:03:25 What is Marketing Excellence? 00:05:36 Benefits of a Structured Marketing Excellence Programme 00:06:35 Beyond Marketing Training – Empowerment and Investment 00:10:08 Creation and Drivers Behind Sky's Marketing Excellence Programme 00:17:26 Methods, Processes and Behaviours of Marketing Excellence 00:23:35 Leadership and Accountability 00:25:42 Impact on Marketing Performance and Engagement 00:28:55 Lessons from the Journey 00:32:09 Sue's Personal Career Highs and Lows (00:32:09) 00:38:21 Advice for Future Marketers Host: Abigail (Abby) Dixon FCIM/ICF | LinkedInGuest: Sue Warren | LinkedInThe Whole Marketer podcast is here to support and empower the people behind brands and businesses with the latest technical tools, soft and leadership skills and personal understanding for a fulfilling marketing career and life as a whole. For more info go to www.thewholemarketer.com

“We need to get back to classic marketing – what matters to our audience is a must. Even those people who don't ‘buy into' sustainability – up to 70% of them are actually engaged in sustainable behaviours – they just don't label it as sustainable….”In this episode were joined by Denise Hicks, Global Climate Lead at strategy and insights consultancy, C-Space. We were particularly interested in a very soon to be published piece of research titled, ‘The S Word'.Denise shares insights from the research findings, highlighting the ‘dysfunctional love triangle' that exists between brands, their stakeholders and regulations and the tensions and frictions which are causing trust issues.We explore some of the key highlights from the research (due out January 2025), Denise reveals, “consumers are frustrated, the problem is stuff – there is too much stuff and brands / manufacturers need to start taking responsibility”. She also talks about, “the increasing amount of skepticism at all level at the ways the S word is used for commercial gain”.Denise shares some brilliant examples of brands who are showing up in this space and engaging with their customers however, whilst they have sustainability high up on their agendas, they aren't leading with it – rather they are leading with good old fashion marketing tactics around what benefits their customers. The fact they are also sustainability focused is an added benefit.Denise explains, “the need to get back to classic marketing – what matters to our audience is a must. Even those people who don't ‘buy into' sustainability – up to 70% of them are actually engaged in sustainable behaviours – they just don't label it as sustainable.” Sustainability paralysis is very real, the need for strong listening, insights and learning about what truly matters to audiences has never been greater. This episode is a MUST LISTEN TO for all Marketers….packed with plenty of food for thought!Tune in and listen as we talk to Denise about: The importance of research.Sustainability paralysis and why it is very real.Why it is so important to understand the views of everybody and where they are at.The need to drive mutual benefit and work together collectively.How regulation plays an important part - but we can't just wait for it, all stakeholders need to keep moving forwards.Why brands / Marketers need to be asking - is sustainability a big part of our identity as a brand?The need to meet your audiences where they are at and focus on what matter to them – elements which aren't necessarily sustainability related.What it means to behave more responsibly and asking what's the role of responsible products and services in achieving a ‘better life'.This really is a fantastic episode to wrap up all our 2024 conversations. Tune in, enjoy it, share it - and of course, share your comments.Find out more information about C-Space and the work they do. Connect with Denise Hicks - and you can register to receive The S Word research once published.We've got plenty more terrific conversations coming in 2025. Stay tuned… and here's to more.____________________________________________________________About us…We help Marketers save the planet.

Episode #139. Today's focus is on Personal Understanding, which is a fundamental pillar of the Whole Marketer philosophy and what we believe is the key to having a fulfilling marketing career and life as a whole. Abby's guest to discuss the benefits of developing your personal understanding is Kirsten McPherson. As Marketing Director at Mondelez, Kirsten is responsible for heading up two of the UK's top brands, Philadelphia and Dairylea. Her previous experience includes Procter and Gamble, where she spent more than a decade working on an array of billion-dollar brands, driving global change initiatives such as Always ‘end period poverty'. In this episode, Kirsten shares her definition of personal development and its importance for leadership development, her formula for personal energy, implementing ‘prison Fridays' and the role of community and mentoring in developing your personal understanding. Plus Kirsten shares her advice for career highs and learnings, and advice for marketers.00:00:00 Welcome and Introduction to Personal Understanding 00:02:07 What is Personal Development? 00:05:03 Personal and Professional Growth and Leadership 00:07:56 Kirsten's Formula for Personal Energy 00:08:19 Purpose, Motivation and Confronting Limiting Beliefs 00:13:17 The Importance of Coaching 00:15:33 3 Key Areas for Marketers 00:16:14 The Concept of "Prison Fridays" 00:21:59 The Role of Community in Personal Development 00:25:19 Creating Community Initiatives at Mondelez 00:29:23 Advice for Starting Community Initiatives 00:30:46 Kirsten's Career Highs and Learnings 00:34:24 Advice for Future MarketersHost: Abigail (Abby) Dixon FCIM/ICF | LinkedInGuest: Kirsten McPherson | LinkedInThe Whole Marketer podcast is here to support and empower the people behind brands and businesses with the latest technical tools, soft and leadership skills and personal understanding for a fulfilling marketing career and life as a whole. For more info go to www.thewholemarketer.com

In a sports industry obsessed with data and measurement, brand is the great intangible asset, the bit of the balance sheet that remains largely opaque, which is why it's so important. But mention brand in the vicinity of fans or the football media and there's a row. It's no surprise that the kit launch genre has evolved during this period, growing in importance and sophistication (and cost). Homeground is one of the hottest creative agencies working in sport today. The London based company has pioneered the kit launch video. Working with Adidas, they are the people behind some of the most outstanding recent work in this area, from Manchester United, Arsenal, Aston Villa to name a few. We talk with creative partner Rachid Ahouiyek, formerly of Iris, McCann and Wieden+Kennedy, and Polly Barnes, new business director also formerly Iris and is founder of the Women's Rugby Association. Click on the showreel to see the work referenced in the podcasthttps://www.homeground.london/work

THINK EQUAL is our Equality, Diversity and Inclusion initiative led by The Marketing Society. THINK EQUAL aims to drive diversity and inclusion across the marcomms industry in the MENA region. Through training, events, mentoring, policy changes, content and more. We aim to provide tangible activity that will make an impact and a difference now.Our regular THINK EQUAL podcast shines a light on an inspiring female leader who is dedicated to levelling the marcomms playing field. This month, THINK EQUAL Project Director, Leanne Foy met Lisa Welsh, Chief Operating Officer at Burson META. Perfectionism often whispers, "not good enough," leaving many stuck in cycles of overwork and self-doubt. But what if we could channel that drive into something more empowering? In this thought-provoking episode, Lisa explores how to transform perfectionism into excellence by setting meaningful goals, celebrating progress, and showing up in ways that truly make you proud. Discover how to set meaningful goals, celebrate progress, and confidently show up in ways that align with your values and bring you pride—all while avoiding burnout.Highlights include:Breaking free from perfectionism: shifting from "not good enough" to showing up with confidence.Setting realistic, joyful goals that motivate rather than overwhelm.Practical techniques to celebrate wins and embrace progress—starting with "messy first drafts."Tune in to discover how to transform perfectionism into excellence and find joy in every step of the journey.A note from THINK EQUAL We are stronger together, than we are alone. And that's why we want the marcomms industry to come together to make a difference. Every single person who makes up our brilliant industry can make an impact. Want to get involved? We'd love to hear from you. Whether that's through donating your time on our working committee or putting your hand up to run an event or training session, you may have some suggestions of speakers to add to our speaker library, or have a venue you want to provide for free. Contact us at Thinkequal@marketingsociety.com

Businesses need to be asking themselves – “What could this business be, redesigning it from the ground up?” Start with the opportunity as opposed to the challenges.We know communication and engagement is critical to driving change, a su bject we have explored many times on the podcast, but there's always something new to learn. Hence why we really enjoyed meeting Laurence and Graeme from Litmus Sustainability to talk more deeply about a subject which is very close to our hearts. Setting up their business with the aim of helping creative and ambitious organisations integrate sustainability into the core of what they do, Laurence and Graeme are working across a wide range of areas with communication playing a vital role. The need to focus on the long term vision, understand the short term wins and, navigate the challenges and confusion when you're told one thing is good (e.g. offsetting) - and then finding out it's bad, are all part of the complex learning curve when it comes to sustainability. Graeme talks about the need to level up your game, he explains, “businesses need to do something really exciting that capture people's imaginations, so thinking what could this business be, redesigning it from the ground up.” An approach and way of thinking which drives long term vision and opportunity to do something unique, as opposed to starting with the challenges.We discuss the need for climate skills and how mobilising an army of climate champions can drive hope and motivate people who then often go on to become experts in the field (of sustainability). Laurence, talks about the fact that technical expertise isn't always the most impactful thing. He explains, “the greatest climate skill I think is communication, one piece of research into what makes a great sustainable leader revealed it's skills like collaboration, negotiation, influence and effective communication, once engaged this is what brings great ideas which can be uses on the ground”. And of course these are all key traits of Marketers. We delve deep into communication with both Laurence and Graeme sharing many insights and examples...a great conversation and source of knowledge for Marketers everywhere. Tune in and listen as we talk to Laurence and Graeme about: The barriers to sustainability – ‘it's not easy being green'.How businesses are integrating sustainability into the core of what they do and as a result taking their organisations forward.The 9 principles of effective climate communication - taken from their work and evidence of what works for different people and psychologies. The need for Marketers to start and change the conversations.The difference between communication and engagement.How communicating and influencing other people has a much greater impact than acting alone.How we need to level up our knowledge about good communication and link it back to the core values of what drives a person's behaviour.What your unique superpower is in bringing ‘good' to the world.For more information you can contact the team via : https://litmussustainability.com/Connect on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/litmus-sustainability/Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCvMk_MGGoooRGnfn3uzcb9ADr Graeme Heyes was also involved in a piece of work with a local community group looking to embed Doughnut Economics across Greater Manchester through engagement with communities. You can find out more here:

Episode #138. Creativity is the skill featured in this episode, however being creative is not a department or a job title; it's a skill and mindset that every marketer can harness to keep evolving in pursuit of new, innovative ways to solve problems. Joining Abby is Kevin Chesters, a marketing strategist with over 25 years of experience both agency and client-side, including being the former Head of Strategy at BT and CSO of W+K London, plus Dentsu, McGarryBowen and Ogilvy. Kevin's first book, 'The Creative Nudge' was an Amazon best-seller and he shares the concepts from his book in this podcast. In this episode, Kevin shares his definition of creativity, ‘nudge theory' where small changes can lead to significant impacts, 9 behaviours to rediscover your creativity and how marketing leaders can create an environment for creativity. Plus Kevin shares his advice for reviewing creative respectfully and his career highs and lows. 00:00:00 Welcome and Creativity in Marketing 00:02:00 Defining Creativity 00:03:32 Why is Creativity vital to stand out? 00:06:09 Kevin's Nudge Theory Explained 00:08:12 Nine Behaviours to Rediscover Creativity 00:15:12 How to Create Conditions for Creativity? 00:17:56 Being Willing to Challenge the Status Quo 00:21:56 Creativity and Human Evolution 00:24:51 How to Review Creative Ideas? 00:33:12 Reviewing Creativity and Giving Feedback 00:37:29 Kevin's career Highs and Lows 00:48:18 Advice for Marketers Host: Abigail (Abby) Dixon FCIM/ICF | LinkedInGuest: Kevin Chesters | LinkedIn The Whole Marketer podcast is here to support and empower the people behind brands and businesses with the latest technical tools, soft and leadership skills and personal understanding for a fulfilling marketing career and life as a whole. For more info go to www.thewholemarketer.com

From the power of storytelling to culture, mental wellbeing influencing developments to physical wellbeing and the power of impact. Speakers from The Marketing Society Changemakers Impact Conference in Dubai in 2024 joined us for insights into what they shared in their sessions, why marketing matters to them and why events like our conference from The Marketing Society are so important.Thank you to our guests Gernot Friedhuber, Chief Executive Officer, Grace GroupAnnie Arsane, Head of Business Marketing, TikTok METAP Kiran Haslam, Chief Marketing Officer, Diriyah Company Steve Chantry, VP, Growth - Innovation - Marketing, West + East Emerging Markets, KraftHeinzAimee Peters, Regional Head of Brand, Partnerships and Wholesale Marketing, MENAT, HSBCThank you to Pineapple Audio Production and Multitude FZEFind out more about The Marketing Society here and browse more of our content on our content hub.

“We don't 'speak for young people, we let them be the voice and share their perspective.”We keep coming back to the S – ‘social and societal impact' in many of our conversations with clients, leaders and marketers, we're discussing the role of business, both in how they operate and what they are doing for society. In this episode of the podcast we have a chat with the brilliant Kian Bakhtiari, Founder of The People, a Gen-Z consultancy. We were keen to know more about the work Kian does both with the youth generation and businesses, how he brings those worlds together (which is very much needed). Kian explains, “We've applied such a narrow lens to how business can be done, how marketing can be done that we've lost track of the opportunities and all the ways that we can create a more flourishing society and more sustainable future.” Kian tells us about how the younger generation feel and think about the world they are growing up in, making the point, “Wealth inequalities are a bigger determinant of your future than your education and how hard you work.” Kian and his teams bring Gen Z insights into the boardroom, they want to close the gap between as he says, “those who make the decisions and those whose lives are impacted by the decisions”, opening up opportunities to share knowledge and insights both ways and, and create a space to explore how we can change business.A new author, Kian has recently published his book, ‘Marketing for Social Change – How to Turn Purpose into Business and Social Impact' , a book which explores and asks the question – What is the role of marketing in the 21st century? Like us, Kian firmly believes that marketing has a significant role to play and if harnessed in the right way can accelerate social change. “We need to find ways to bring business and communities together.” When asked how he would measure social impact, Kian shares, “There are lots of different lenses on social impact- start by being neutral, then bring in meaningful connection and impact.” “Start small – it can be really overwhelming at a system level. What is something you can do today which might have an impact and go from there.”Tune in and listen as we talk to Kian about:The importance of the role of marketing in driving positive impact on society.Why he wrote his new book ‘Marketing for Social Change' and what he learnt.Thinking about the way things are done, outside the ways things are currently done.The work he does with the youth community and, diverse communities.Understanding what businesses want from the future.What unifying factors young people are finding challenging.Social impact and how we can approach it and measure it.For more, follow and connect with Kian here: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kianbakhtiari/And to find out more about The People and the work they do - here https://www.thepeople.work/Kian talks about Earth Watch -and more can be found here: https://earthwatch.org.uk/And check out his new book here: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Marketing-Social-Change-Purpose-Business/dp/1398616842________________________________________________________________________________About us… We help Marketers save the planet.

The Buy Side is Unofficial Partner's regular series talking with brand side marketers about sport and sponsorship.Today's guest is Willem Dinger, global head of sport and entertainment partnerships at Unilever.The Buy Side is sponsored by KORE Software the global leader in engagement marketing solutions. More than 900 brands, venues, and sports organisations trust KORE's tools and platforms as a source of truth to manage partnerships, assets and measure impact, with real-time insights. Through Sponsorship Management and Evaluation, Ticketing, Fan Engagement, Data Management and Analytics, KORE unites corporate sponsors, properties, and their fans with solutions that help enhance the fan experience, drive smarter decisions, and enable marketing and operations teams to spend time where it matters.Learn more at KORESoftware.com or follow them LinkedIn or Twitter.Unofficial Partner is the leading podcast for the business of sport. A mix of entertaining and thought provoking conversations with a who's who of the global industry.To join our community of listeners, sign up to the weekly UP Newsletter and follow us on Twitter and TikTok at @UnofficialPartnerWe publish two podcasts each week, on Tuesday and Friday.These are deep conversations with smart people from inside and outside sport.Our entire back catalogue of 400 sports business conversations are available free of charge here.Each pod is available by searching for ‘Unofficial Partner' on Apple, Spotify, Google, Stitcher and every podcast app.If you're interested in collaborating with Unofficial Partner to create one-off podcasts or series, you can reach us via the website.

Episode #137. Today's episode is a holistic topic on how the breadth and depth of marketer's roles are continuing to evolve as we move towards leading the long-term commercial agenda, understanding the advancements in science and neuromarketing for how consumers make decisions and adopting AI into our everyday lives. Abby's guest is legendary marketing leader, Margaret Jobling, Group Chief Marketing Officer at NatWest Group. Before joining NatWest in 2020 and implementing agile ways of working, “Tomorrow Begins Today” brand platform and the NatWest partnership with team GB for the Paris Olympics in 2024, Marg has spent the majority of her marketing career in FMCG categories, working on some iconic brands such as Lynx, Dove, Radox, Cadbury, Dairy Milk and Birds Eye, as well as Director of Marketing for British Gas. In this episode, Margaret shares her definition of the role of marketing today and how it has evolved, the art and science of marketing, learnings as a CMO, marketing in the age of AI and building trust and authenticity with consumers in a digital environment. Plus Margaret's career highs and howlers, and advice for marketers of tomorrow. 00:00:00 Welcome and why we need evolving skills in marketing today 00:03:13 Defining of the role of Marketing 00:05:40 Key shifts in marketing 00:06:42 Impact of technology on customer interactions 00:10:05 What are the skills required for modern marketers 00:11:27 The future of marketing with AI and building trust 00:20:53 Skills Margaret looks for when hiring marketers 00:24:56 Building relationships with stakeholders 00:28:14 Experimentation, Curiosity and Continuous Learning 00:31:16 Margaret's Career Highs and Howlers 00:36:31 Advice for marketers of tomorrow Host: Abigail (Abby) Dixon FCIM/ICF | LinkedInGuest: Margaret Jobling | LinkedInThe Whole Marketer podcast is here to support and empower the people behind brands and businesses with the latest technical tools, soft and leadership skills and personal understanding for a fulfilling marketing career and life as a whole. For more info go to www.thewholemarketer.com

In this episode, the seventh in our series on Entrepreneurial Thinking, host Ruth Fittock speaks to Holly Rix, Marketing Director at Typhoo Tea. In the last 6 months Typhoo Tea have embarked on an ambitious mission to become the ‘Tony's of Tea' (to do for tea what Tony's Chocolonely have done for chocolate), fully transforming to become a mission centric challenger brand. They speak about taking risks in completely transforming a household name brand, the challenges of communicating ‘purpose' and talking about dark and difficult issues, progress over perfection and the importance of expecting the best.Our host - The Marketing Society Member Ruth FittockRuth has almost 20 years experience building brands- from start-up to scale up, launch to acquisition. She's helped U.S brands (vitaminwater, popchips) launch and scale in the UK and grown brands from scratch here too (Simply Roasted Crisps). Ruth has recently started a new consultancy- Tomorrow Brands, to help the purpose-driven global brands of tomorrow launch in the UK.Our guest - Holly RixHolly has 18 years brand building experience – from blue chip to start up and scale up challenger brands in between, across FMCG including drinks, healthcare and wellness. She helped grow method (cleaning products) in the UK and has a particular passion for purpose brands. Now she's turned her attention to Typhoo, turning it into the Tony's of Tea.You can read the key takeaways on this think piece too---Find out about the latest The Marketing Society events here and if you're not a member yet, what are you waiting for? Find out about how to join here.

“When it comes to food systems, Marketers can be the most valuable in providing extraordinary consumer insights so that assumptions are not made in what people want.”To maintain food security, food systems need to change. They need to be more sustainable, less impactful on the planet, healthier and way less wasteful. But, there is still a huge amount of education and awareness that needs to happen if people are to truly understand why food systems are at risk and, how we choose what we eat really does matter. In this super informative episode, we were joined by Ali Cox, CEO and Founder of Noble West, an agriculture and food ingredient marketing agency taking on a big challenge. Ali believes that, “the biggest challenge is that consumers (in the USA) are confused. Research shows that people make their food choices based on price, taste and availability – climate is a very distant fourth.” Socioeconomic factors are definitely a challenge, however how we market food also needs to change. Ali shares with us her experiences both as a fifth generation farmer herself and the experiences of the farmers and organisations she works with. Truly passionate about ingredients and telling great stories, Ali wants the food industry to play the role it should be playing in educating and being part of the solution when it comes to tackling the enormous challenges around food security. Ali shares so many examples of projects she has worked on and the brands she believes are getting their marketing right. We explore the need for shared value and the importance of meeting people where they are at.Tune in and listen as we talk to Ali about: Imperfect food and the difference between food loss and food waste.The significant business opportunity being missed when it comes to waste.Why upcycling is the future.Whether we really need so many options when it comes to food?The need to tell the origin stories and why we should absolutely want to know where our food comes from.How Marketers need to understand what people really want so that they can bring those insights back into their organisations.For more, follow and connect with Ali here: https://www.linkedin.com/in/alicox/And to find out more about Noble West and the work they do - here https://wearenoblewest.com/About Can Marketing Save the Planet… We help Marketers save the planet.

In this episode, the sixth in our series on entrepreneurial thinking, host Ruth Fittock interviews Amelia Christie-Miller, the founder & CEO of Bold Bean co. - one of the most exciting food and drink brands in the UK at the moment. In this conversation they cover how their North Star of ‘bean obsessed' has had a powerful impact at every level of the business, the power of community and how sometimes the magic is found in by challenging conventional wisdom and going against the grain. Our host - The Marketing Society Member Ruth FittockRuth has almost 20 years experience building brands- from start-up to scale up, launch to acquisition. She's helped U.S brands (vitaminwater, popchips) launch and scale in the UK and grown brands from scratch here too (Simply Roasted Crisps). Ruth has recently started a new consultancy- Tomorrow Brands, to help the purpose-driven global brands of tomorrow launch in the UK and is an advisor for Bold Bean having supported them with their marketing for the last year. Our guest - Amelia Christie-Miller, the founder of Bold Bean Co, a fast-growing jarred bean brand that's transforming the perception of beans in the UK. Launched in 2021, they now are sold in national supermarkets, have a Sunday Times Bestselling cookbook and over 100k followers on instagram.You can read the key takeaways on this think piece too---Find out about the latest The Marketing Society events here and if you're not a member yet, what are you waiting for? Find out about how to join here.

Episode #136. This episode is a personal understanding topic for working parents to help you gain fulfilment in your life as a whole - navigating the reality of being both a marketer and a parent and what you can do to balance both worlds when work and home life collide. Joining Abby is her guest Rachel Morris, an Exec business coach, co-founder of Motion Learning and best-selling author of ‘Working Mother', a book inspired by Rachel's decades of expertise and practice coaching new parents as they leave and return to work. In this episode, Rachel shares her definition of working parents, challenges faced particularly by mothers, insights on setting boundaries, self-care, and the emotional struggles during transitions like maternity leave. Plus Rachel's advice for working parents. 00:00:00 Welcome and challenges faced by Working Parents. 00:02:21 What is a Working Parent? 00:04:01 Rachel's motivation for writing ‘Working Mother' book. 00:09:46 Common emotional patterns experienced by working parents. 00:10:41 Overwhelm during maternity leave preparation.00:12:40 Fear and anxiety in new parenthood. 00:16:58 Challenges of returning to work. 00:20:21 Why you should set boundaries. 00:25:54 Understanding what gives you energy. 00:32:53 Empowerment to gain clarity and direction. 00:37:17 Finding fulfilment to gain balance. Host: Abigail (Abby) Dixon FCIM/ICF | LinkedInGuest: - Rachel Morris MNCIP, PCC - | LinkedInThe Whole Marketer podcast is here to support and empower the people behind brands and businesses with the latest technical tools, soft and leadership skills and personal understanding for a fulfilling marketing career and life as a whole. For more info go to www.thewholemarketer.comNews and events: The Marketing Society Global Conference: Changemakers Impact. November 13th in Central London  Hear from visionary speakers, gain cutting-edge insights, and connect with fellow changemakers who are reshaping our industry and society.  Tickets are limited, so secure your place now. Book your ticket here and prepare to ignite your potential. The Marketing Society Global Conference: where ideas spark, connections form, and impact begins. See you in London!

It's the final episode in our mini-series on sustainable leadership and in this episode we're joined by Professor Chris Marquis. Chris talks to us about his experience studying, writing about and working with organisations on sustainability. Author of, “Better Business: How the B Corp Movement Is Remaking Capitalism,” we explore Chris' first experience of B-Corp, a movement setting new standards for how business should operate. Chris believes we can learn a lot from B-Corps, “we should be studying B corporations, companies that are putting the social at their core.”We discussed the critical component of the internal pieces which need to happen to “align with the idea of mindset and leadership,” but aren't necessarily “the remit of just the leaders around ability and driving the impact.” As has been a consistent theme throughout this mini-series, “leadership can happen anywhere.”So, if you are looking to find out more about the B-Corp movement, are curious about what steps you should consider or, want to explore internal engagement and sustainable leadership a bit more, then tune in and have a listen!Join us on this episode as we talk to Chris about:The B-Corp processThe B-Impact Assessment (link below)The challenges of being a leader todayKey skills of a sustainable leaderThe importance of internal communication and engagementThe need to be accountable to a broader set of stakeholdersFor more, follow and connect with Chris on LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/christopher-marquis/B Impact Assessment - can be accessed here: https://www.bcorporation.net/en-us/programs-and-tools/b-impact-assessment/Thanks to Chris for a great episode to conclude our Sustainable Leadership mini-series. Stay tuned for more episodes and mini-series, we've got a packed schedule. And if you love the podcast, do share with colleagues, peers and friends.

Episode #135. Today's topic is a technical skill on copywriting and its critical role in driving action and building brand trust. Joining Abby to discuss is seasoned copywriter Dave Harland aka the Word Man. A naturally entertaining storyteller, over the past two decades Dave has built a notable career in persuasive writing that captures attention for brands such as Google, Jaguar, Tesco and Castor. He is a regular speaker at industry events and also has a LinkedIn following of almost 100k people who enjoy his witty stories - particularly leading scammers down rabbit holes and challenging bad actors on the internet. In this episode Dave shares his definition of copywriting, 3 effective copywriting principles, when brands get it wrong, empathy for your audience, copywriting tips and brand success stories. Plus Dave's career highs and lows and advice for marketers. 00:00 Welcome and why the art of copywriting is so important for marketers. 05:44 How being entertaining converts consumers into loyal fans. 07:52 Ryanair excels at self-deprecating, entertaining branding. 13:16 Brands misuse clichés and jargon which impacts consumer engagement.18:56 Empathy is crucial for effective copywriting skills. 22:20 Knowing what is interesting to your audience. 26:50 How to improve your writing skills. 31:37 How Dave turned a career low into university writing opportunity. 36:46 Dave's career high and advice for marketers. Host: Abigail (Abby) Dixon FCIM/ICF | LinkedInGuest: Dave Harland | LinkedInNews and events: The Marketing Society Global Conference: Changemakers Impact. November 13th in Central London  Hear from visionary speakers, gain cutting-edge insights, and connect with fellow changemakers who are reshaping our industry and society.  Tickets are limited, so secure your place now. Book your ticket here and prepare to ignite your potential. The Marketing Society Global Conference: where ideas spark, connections form, and impact begins. See you in London! The Whole Marketer podcast is here to support and empower the people behind brands and businesses with the latest technical tools, soft and leadership skills and personal understanding for a fulfilling marketing career and life as a whole. For more info go to www.thewholemarketer.com

Episode #134. Today's topic is Agency Partnerships – what makes a great client-agency relationship and perspective from both sides of the fence. Joining Abby to discuss is Richard Robinson, awarded "One of the ten most influential Leaders in Digital & Tech" (BIMA) and Campaign A-List 2024.  Richard is highly experienced in the client (McDonalds, Coca-Cola) and agency (Publicis Worldwide) world and as an intermediary and consultant for both at Xeim Engage and Oystercatchers. In his latest role as Executive Director of Ingenuity+ and Exco member of The Ingenuity Group, UK's largest connector of brands with agencies, Richard specialises in connecting the Marketing World. In this episode, Richard shares the two fundamentals of a great agency partner, the role of account handling, all agency ‘rules of engagement', quality of briefing, plus insight from Ingenuity+ ‘Redefining the pitch' report and why Richard is excited about the future of his new role. Read a copy of Ingenuity+ report mentioned in this episode: Ingenuity + Redefining The Pitch (ingenuitylondon.com)Host: Abigail (Abby) Dixon FCIM/ICF | LinkedInGuest: Richard Robinson

As we continue to discuss and explore the role of leadership in our ‘Sustainable Leadership' mini-series, what better than to gain the viewpoint from someone with sustainability at the core of everything they do. This led us to Kevin Dunckley, Chief Sustainability Officer at HH Global. Kevin's passion for what he does is crystal clear and we loved our conversation with him talking about the practicalities of being a hands-on CSO - what's involved, where the challenges lie and more importantly, unearthing the opportunities. Kevin shares, “the sustainability strategy for our organisation is my responsibility - along with my team, what that looks like and also how it comes to life with our clients.” We further explore the stakeholder chain and how important it is that everyone is aware and knows the role they play in driving the agenda, from supply chain partners to clients, customers and colleagues.There's a critical role internal engagement plays, an area Kevin has been placing a lot of focus on, driving collaboration and enabling invaluable different perspectives. Kevin explained, “everything's interconnected in terms of sustainability. Something goes wrong over there and the ripple effect can be huge. Likewise, if something goes right the ripple effect can be really positive. You have to kind of de-compartmentalise it and put it in buckets in your head, so it doesn't feel as daunting. But, you don't have to do it alone.” Driving internal engagement and ensuring everyone understands the objectives and direction of the sustainability agenda should be a priority for every organisation. From driving progress through to shaping a culture that's inclusive and makes people want to work for you has got to be at the top of the list. And as we discuss, this is an area we see missing so often - organisations focus on outward facing agendas, yet missing the critical internal piece.We take a deep dive into this and so much more, so headphones on.Join us on this episode as we talk to Kevin about:What you can achieve if you mobilise all your employees and stakeholders.How enormous capacity and capability is unlocked when everyone is armed effectively and engaged through shared knowledge and bringing people together.The role of marketing as creative problem solvers. The need for a common language between sustainability and marketing to minimse the risk of greenwashing and maximise understanding. How every function has sustainability in their role.What you need to be a sustainable leader.Tune in and have a notepad and pen ready! For more, follow and connect with Kevin on LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/kevindunckley/Another great episode in our Sustainable Leadership mini-series. One more to come. Stay tuned. And if you love the podcast, do share with colleagues, peers and friends.

Episode #133. Strategy is the technical skill explored in this episode, with a lens on simplifying the process to ensure marketers have not only the vision and clarity for where you want to take your brand or business, but also ensuring you have the actionable plan to get you there. Discussing simplified strategy is Abby's guest, Alice Benham - entrepreneur, business & marketing strategist and fellow podcaster as host of ‘Starting the conversation' podcast. Alice works with small businesses to grow their brands online and recently published her book ‘The Digital Marketing playbook'. In this episode Alice shares her definition of strategy, ensuring strategy is actionable, simplifying the process in 3 steps, the buyer's journey, content as value, push and pull, urgency & scarcity and examples of small businesses successfully building their brand online. Plus Alice shares her career highs and lows and advice for marketers. Host: Abigail (Abby) Dixon FCIM/ICF | LinkedInGuest: Alice Benham | LinkedIn This episode is sponsored by House of Performance Need to up your game in PPC, Paid Social or Display? House of Performance are a team of passionate marketeers growing ambitious brands through paid media. For a free mini audit, get in touch with the team at https://houseofperformance.co.uk/wholemarketer News and events: The Marketing Society Global Conference: Changemakers Impact. November 13th in Central London  Hear from visionary speakers, gain cutting-edge insights, and connect with fellow changemakers who are reshaping our industry and society.  Tickets are limited, so secure your place now. Book your ticket here and prepare to ignite your potential. The Marketing Society Global Conference: where ideas spark, connections form, and impact begins. See you in London! The Whole Marketer podcast is here to support and empower the people behind brands and businesses with the latest technical tools, soft and leadership skills and personal understanding for a fulfilling marketing career and life as a whole. For more info go to www.thewholemarketer.com

THINK EQUAL is our Equality, Diversity and Inclusion initiative led by The Marketing Society. THINK EQUAL aims to drive diversity and inclusion across the marcomms industry in the MENA region. Through training, events, mentoring, policy changes, content and more. We aim to provide tangible activity that will make an impact and a difference now.Our regular THINK EQUAL podcast shines a light on an inspiring female leader who is dedicated to levelling the marcomms playing field. This month, THINK EQUAL Project Director, Leanne Foy met Khaled Ismail, Strategic Advisor, Investor, CEO TOUGHLOVE Advisors and Chairman of The Marketing Society. In today's fast-paced world, the mindset you choose can make all the difference in how you navigate challenges and opportunities. The Victor vs. Victim mindset is a powerful concept that distinguishes between two approaches to life. The victor mindset sees challenges as opportunities for growth. The victim mindset views the world as being against them. In the workplace, this mindset shift is all about self-awareness, and the victor mindset plays a crucial role in helping you achieve your goals.In this thought-provoking episode, Khaled explains how adopting the victor mindset can help you build rapport, achieve success and consciously shift from a victim mentality to a victor mentality. By making this shift, you can transform obstacles into stepping stones toward personal and professional growth.Highlights include:Why the victor mindset is essential for success and goal achievement.How to build stronger connections at work by using a victor approach.Practical tips for consciously shifting from a victim to victor mindset.This episode is a must-listen for anyone looking to embrace a more empowered approach to challenges!A note from THINK EQUAL We are stronger together, than we are alone. And that's why we want the marcomms industry to come together to make a difference. Every single person who makes up our brilliant industry can make an impact. Want to get involved? We'd love to hear from you. Whether that's through donating your time on our working committee or putting your hand up to run an event or training session, you may have some suggestions of speakers to add to our speaker library, or have a venue you want to provide for free. Contact us at Thinkequal@marketingsociety.com

Episode #132. The focus of this episode is wellness for marketers, and the importance of prioritising your wellbeing not only for your health but to also ensure you have the energy to thrive in our fast-paced and challenging – yet rewarding - profession. Abby's guest to discuss wellness is EY's Chief Marketing Officer, Rebecca Hirst. Rebecca is an award-winning marketer who has worked on some of the biggest global brands including Samsung, Coca-Cola and Kimberly-Clark. This topic of ‘wellness' is a particular passion point for Rebecca as, alongside her marketing career, she has a post grad in Nutrition and historically even set up a health coaching business to help other marketers and highflyers to incorporate wellness into their day-to-day. In this episode, Rebecca shares her definition of wellness, rest and restore for marketers, her own journey to setting up ‘Glorious Wellness' and practical tips for real world wellness and how you can role model this for others. Plus her career highs and lows and advice for marketers.Host: Abigail (Abby) Dixon FCIM/ICF | LinkedInGuest: Rebecca Hirst | LinkedInThis episode is sponsored by House of Performance Need to up your game in PPC, Paid Social or Display? House of Performance are a team of passionate marketeers growing ambitious brands through paid media. For a free mini audit, get in touch with the team athttps://houseofperformance.co.uk/wholemarketer News and events: The Marketing Society Global Conference: Changemakers Impact. November 13th in Central London  Hear from visionary speakers, gain cutting-edge insights, and connect with fellow changemakers who are reshaping our industry and society.  Tickets are limited, so secure your place now. Book your ticket here and prepare to ignite your potential. The Marketing Society Global Conference: where ideas spark, connections form, and impact begins. See you in London! The Whole Marketer podcast is here to support and empower the people behind brands and businesses with the latest technical tools, soft and leadership skills and personal understanding for a fulfilling marketing career and life as a whole. For more info go to www.thewholemarketer.com

Welcome to “In My Humble Opinion”, a podcast collaboration between The Marketing Society and Publicis Groupe UK agencies that creates a space for marketing leaders to discuss their opinions on topics affecting our industry which they think about but may not always say out loud. You will hear industry leaders and experts talk about their views and opinions on deliberately provocative subjects such as the impact of technology on brands and consumers, the future of our industry, the generational divides, diversity and inclusion and more.You're joining us for episode 1 ‘In My Humble Opinion...nobody ever got fired for buying the safest brands.'In this episode, we're joined by Billy Hamilton-Stent, Chief Strategy Officer at Publicis Pro, and special guests Mimi Turner and Jann Schwarz from Marketplace Innovation at LinkedIn Marketing Services. They dive deep into the often-overlooked importance of brand in B2B marketing and purchasing decisions.Our guests also touch on the challenges of measuring brand impact in B2B marketing and the need for a more holistic approach to B2B marketing strategies. Whether you're a B2B marketer, sales professional, or business leader, this episode offers valuable insights into the power of brand in driving B2B growth and success.About our guests:Billy Hamilton-Stent, Chief Strategy Officer, Publicis ProOne of the founders of Publicis Pro, Billy has 25 years experience in the fields of research, brand and marketing communications. As Chief Strategy Officer he is responsible for brand and messaging development, client planning, developing audience insights and generating creative marketing campaigns. Billy also heads up Publicis Pro B2B Lab, our B2B AI platform.Connect on LinkedIn here.Mimi Turner, Head of Marketplace Innovation, LinkedIn Marketing Solutions and Senior Fellow, The B2B Institute at LinkedIn.Connect on LinkedIn hereJann Schwarz, Senior Director, Marketplace Innovation, LinkedIn Marketing Services and Senior Fellow, The B2B Institute at LinkedIn.Connect on LinkedIn hereLinks mentioned in the episode: Mimi shares this LinkedIn Blog Post Brand Value Blog PostMore content from The Marketing Society and Publicis Groupe UK agencies can be found here. Don't forget to subscribe, rate, and review our podcast!Our industry is filled with many brilliant minds with thought provoking views, we can't wait to bring them to you, our next episode of “In my humble opinion” will be coming soon and find our series of content of the same name over at The Marketing Society website.

Continuing with our Sustainable Leadership mini-series, in this second episode we're joined by the brilliant Jon Miller, author and Partner at Brunswick Group, leading their Sustainable Business Practice. We wanted to catch up with Jon to talk about a subject which led him to co-author the book, The Activist Leader.Join us as we dive into the activist mindset and how anyone can becoman activist leader, something business and the world needs right now. Jon shares five key archetype activist leaders, what they are and how they show up – something all our listeners can explore and find out which Activist Leader archetype you are. Jon states that “there is more than one leader in an organisation and having the spirit of activism is what creates you as a leader, and that is the animating force of leadership – the definition of leadership.” Leadership isn't just for the c-suite, when it comes to people and planet, we can all (and should) be leaders.The need for more than one activist leader and connecting them is fundamental to progress and change, Jon talks about “pockets of activism” which can be found all around organisations, and how input from these activist leaders is critical to commercial imperatives and enabling the long-term sustainability of a business. Every organisation needs to be asking, “what are the consequences of not doing this?”We could have talked to Jon for hours, he shares so much of his experience as well as giving great examples of brands, leaders and action. Tune in and have a notepad and pen ready! Join us on this episode as we talk to Jon about:How organisations are inextricably part of the big issues, and how they can be part of the solutions too. The five key archetype activist leaders – which one are you? How to find your activist leaders. The role of marketing and the need for strategic rigour and creative courage. ·How Marketers are bad at marketing themselves. Learning how to think ‘systems' in order to drive progress.How Marketers can change the conversation.For more, follow and connect with Jon on LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/jonmillerxx/Visit The Activist Leader website for more info on finding out about his book and the 5 archetypes.Open for Business - The initiative supporing LGBTQ rightsAnother great episode in our Sustainable Leadership mini-series. More to come. Stay tuned. And if you love the podcast, do share with colleagues, peers and friends.________________________________________________________________________________About us… We help Marketers save the planet.

Episode #131. Today's episode is a personal understanding topic on finding your ideal role; looking beyond the job title for a role that plays to your strengths and values and is fulfilling for you. Joining Abby to discuss ideal roles and shining a light on hiring practices in the marketing is profession is Lauren Spearman. Lauren is a seasoned marketing professional with over 17 years of experience with brands such as Sky, Benefit Cosmetics and MADE.com. Now thriving as a freelance Brand Consultant, Lauren uses her growing platform on TikTok to champion pay transparency and improved recruitment practices in the marketing industry through her candid insights and advocacy efforts. In this episode, Lauren shares her definition of an ideal role, green and red flags hiring practices, salary transparency, interview tasks, advice for hiring managers, giving and receiving feedback when job searching. Plus career highs and lows. Download your free workbook on how to find your ideal role here Resources and free support - The Whole Marketer Host: Abigail (Abby) Dixon FCIM/ICF | LinkedInGuest: Lauren Spearman | LinkedInThis episode is sponsored by House of Performance Need to up your game in PPC, Paid Social or Display? House of Performance are a team of passionate marketeers growing ambitious brands through paid media. For a free mini audit, get in touch with the team at https://houseofperformance.co.uk/wholemarketer News and events: The Marketing Society Global Conference: Changemakers Impact. November 13th in Central London  Hear from visionary speakers, gain cutting-edge insights, and connect with fellow changemakers who are reshaping our industry and society.  Tickets are limited, so secure your place now. Book your ticket here and prepare to ignite your potential. The Marketing Society Global Conference: where ideas spark, connections form, and impact begins. See you in London!

This episode, the fifth in our series on entrepreneurial thinking, and how it can benefit a brand of any size, is about ‘no preconceptions' or in the words of our guest, Nick Saltarelli- founder of hit Canadian chocolate brand Mid-Day Squares, ‘No one in history has ever done anything great by following how it's always been done' It's a fascinating conversation, as Nick talks about entrepreneurship, disrupting a category, lifting the curtain and sharing EVERYTHING and how they ‘act like a band instead of a brand' to build true brand fans.Our host - The Marketing Society Member Ruth FittockRuth has almost 20 years experience building brands- from start-up to scale up, launch to acquisition. She's helped U.S brands (vitaminwater, popchips) launch and scale in the UK and grown brands from scratch here too (Simply Roasted Crisps). Ruth has recently started a new consultancy- Tomorrow Brands, to help the purpose-driven global brands of tomorrow launch in the UK.Our guest - Nick Saltarelli- founder of hit Canadian chocolate brand Mid-Day Squares,Nick is an entrepreneur driven by the belief that every company should try to take an unaverage path, a vision that led him to co-found Mid-Day Squares with his wife, Lezlie and brother in-law Jake. Together, they're redefining the chocolate industry by blending manufacturing innovation with bold, authentic branding. Nick's mission is simple: marry art and data to build an iconic, rule-breaking brand. Period.You can read the key takeaways on this think piece too---Find out about the latest The Marketing Society events here and if you're not a member yet, what are you waiting for? Find out about how to join here.

Episode #130. Season 8 begins with a soft skill on being human and the importance of ‘humanness' particularly for marketing leaders - being authentic, honest and open in order to build relationships with your team and connect more deeply with your customers and consumers. Joining Abby is Dom Dwight, former Marketing Director and now Director of strategy, insight, product innovation and diversification for Taylors of Harrogate – best known for Yorkshire Tea, the UK's number one tea brand. In this episode, Dom shares his marketer's definition of being human, humanness for brands and marketers, the role of AI to free up space for marketers to be more human, vulnerability and imperfections, leadership learnings and psychological safety for marketing teams and agencies. Plus Dom's career highs and lows. Host: Abigail (Abby) Dixon FCIM/ICF | LinkedInGuest: Dom Dwight | LinkedInThis episode is sponsored by House of Performance Need to up your game in PPC, Paid Social or Display? House of Performance are a team of passionate marketeers growing ambitious brands through paid media. For a free mini audit, get in touch with the team at https://houseofperformance.co.uk/wholemarketer The Whole Marketer podcast is here to support and empower the people behind brands and businesses with the latest technical tools, soft and leadership skills and personal understanding for a fulfilling marketing career and life as a whole. For more info go to www.thewholemarketer.com

It's another mini-series and this one is all about leadership, something which is incredibly important as we come together and take on the biggest challenge humanity has ever faced (and nope, we're not being overly dramatic). Sustainable leadership is about making a positive impact, contributing to society and the environment and, driving long-term performance for business. Sustainable leadership is a big role and a role which is open to everyone, something you'll discover as we go through this 4-part series. To kick things off, we're joined by Karen Hamilton, former Global VP for Sustainability at Unilever. Karen spent over 30 years at Unilever and worked alongside Paul Polman who believed, “sustainability can be part of the way that we fix the business”. Karen played a key part in driving the organisation to ‘make sustainable living commonplace', deliver the the Unilever “Sustainable Living Plan” – a 10 year plan with 50 time-bound targets. Karen shares how this was the start of the journey to change the organisation. Throughout this episode, Karen generously shares her wealth of knowledge and experience, talks about the different approaches she took, how sustainability was cascaded through such an enormous network of people and gives some great practical examples. Join us on this episode as we talk to Karen about:Karen's role and journey at UnileverHow to mobilise and engage a global network of employees and suppliers Why transparency is so important when it comes to communicating your sustainability agendaThe role of ambition when it comes to sustainabilityWhy we all need a leadership mindsetThe role of marketing in driving sustainabilityFor more, follow and connect with Karen on LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/karen-hamilton-a1393a27/A great first episode in our Sustainable Leadership mini-series. More to come. Stay tuned. And if you love the podcast, do share with colleagues, peers and friends.________________________________________________________________________________About us… We help Marketers save the planet.

THINK EQUAL is the new Equality, Diversity and Inclusion initiative led by The Marketing Society. THINK EQUAL aims to drive diversity and inclusion across the marcomms industry in the MENA region. Through training, events, mentoring, policy changes, content and more. We aim to provide tangible activity that will make an impact and a difference now.Our regular THINK EQUAL podcast shines a light on an inspiring female leader who is dedicated to levelling the marcomms playing field. This month, THINK EQUAL Project Director, Leanne Foy met Reema Al Shammasi, Marketing Director at Mastercard.Learning to say no is as important as knowing when to say yes. While saying yes can open doors, overcommitting can lead to burnout and diminish the impact of your agreements. Many women struggle to say no due to fear of judgment or appearing uncommitted, but understanding the art of saying no is essential for maintaining balance and focus. In this thought-provoking episode, Reema shares why it is crucial to identify your priorities and confidently decline tasks or opportunities that don't align with them. Saying no not only protects your well-being but also enhances the value of your contributions when you do say yes. Highlights include:Why saying yes too often can lead to burnout and reduce the effectiveness of your commitments.How to identify what's truly important to you and confidently say no to anything that doesn't align with your goals.The importance of building confidence: The ability to say no with confidence can prevent overcommitting and foster a healthier, more focused work-life balance.This episode is a must listen for anyone who has ever struggled with saying no! A note from THINK EQUAL We are stronger together, than we are alone. And that's why we want the marcomms industry to come together to make a difference. Every single person who makes up our brilliant industry can make an impact. Want to get involved? We'd love to hear from you. Whether that's through donating your time on our working committee or putting your hand up to run an event or training session, you may have some suggestions of speakers to add to our speaker library or have a venue you want to provide for free. Contact us at Thinkequal@marketingsociety.com

In the final episode of our ‘greening your marketing activity' mini-series, we caught up with some of our original guests to the podcast, Ollie Deane and Guy Jones from The GoodNet, the ethical intelligence company, focusing on helping ethical brands and products grow. The Goodnet firmly believe that advertising can do good in the world and, we agree with and support their mission!Ollie and Guy shared their journey since last coming on the podcast a couple of years ago, sharing what is happening in the media space. They introduced us to GoodIQ, their intelligence tool which measures sustainability metrics. They share their advice on what brands, agencies and Marketers need to be considering when it comes to making ethical media choices which not only support their organisations sustainable agendas, but help their audiences lead better, more sustainable lives. Join us on this episode as we talk to Ollie and Guy about:Ethical media, sustainability and advertisingGoodIQ, their media planning and measurement tool Being more sustainable with your marketing spend and how to measure the resultsUpcoming regulations and how they are driving focus and conversations Whether ads are driving more awareness and sustainable behaviour in line with changing market needs?For more information about The Goodnet and GoodIQ - visit https://wearethegoodnet.com/And to connect with them on LinkedIn - Ollie Deane and Guy JonesA great final episode in our greening your marketing channels mini-series. We did cover a few more areas in our latest book too - so you can always pick up a copy for more practical solutions.________________________________________________________________________________You'll find the Podcast on all the usual pod platforms - and also on The Global Player and via The Marketing Society. If you love it, do share it and spread the word. Talking about climate change and the role we play is one of the most important things we can do. So join the conversation. We're all in this together.Our podcasts are recorded purely via online conferencing platforms, we apologise for any minor sound quality issues.