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This week, all it took was a blue tick and the gall of a Gary Vee groupie to lure our latest guest from the shadows. It’s a man with a brilliant marketing brain and alarmingly dirty mind, John Lyons.  John has shed loads of experience in marketing strategy, campaigns and promotions for agencies, start-ups, and huge brands. And he’s currently living the miniature brick-building dream as Senior Loya...

We’ve sent out our largest trawler into the (Quiet) Storm and landed ourselves a bumper super catch this week as we snare ad land power couple Rania and Trevor Robinson OBE. Rania and Trevor are the CEO and ECD respectively of Quiet Storm; a creative marriage of ad agency and production company. Rania has worked magic on accounts and strategy for some of the world’s biggest brands, including Harib...

We’ve lurked in the long grass by the canal and nabbed consultant, mentor, and music-geek Jess Gregson for a chinwag as she visits her houseboat this week. An optimistic, pragmatic, and friendly soul from Sheffield, Jess is the founder of Extra Brain , where she uses her experience to help business leaders come unstuck. She is also the founder of Open to everyone. Closed to racism , an initiative...

This week, baited by a Bedouin birthing blanket, we caught big thinker and bestselling author, Paul Feldwick. The man behind one of our favourite all time ad campaigns, Paul worked at the legendary agency BMP on some of Britain’s most famous brands for over 30 years. His latest book ‘Why Does the Pedlar Sing?’ explores why selling and entertainment go hand in hand and was described by Rory Sutherl...

All it took was a curly-wurly and a whiff of Hooblahoo to snare bumbling, bestselling author, Andrew Boulton, this week.  A senior lecturer on copywriting and creative advertising at the University of Lincoln, Andrew has over a decade’s scribbling experience writing for big brands, tiny brands, and even a man who carved dolphins out of cheese. Andrew talks to us on tonnes of topics, including bein...

This week we’ve laced up our hiking boots and traversed the trails of North Carolina to track down Founder and CEO of Indie Consulting, Molly Baker, for a chinwag.  Molly is a digital marketing pro both client-side and agency-side chops, including a tasty stint at Ben & Jerry’s. Over the past 3 years she’s built a fully remote team of boffins around the world who agree that nothing is more val...

This week we’ve got our longship out of dry dock and nipped North to Nyhavn to snare Danish marketing activist and author, Thomas Kolster.  Hell-bent on making businesses put people and the planet first, Thomas is a branding and sustainability professional, the founder of the global Goodvertising movement, and the author of two books, Goodvertising and The Hero Trap . He talks to us about joining...

Summer is over, so we’re migrating south (well, to Bristol) to catch a Bird not afraid to ruffle some feathers: one of the all-time greats in the world of copywriting, Drayton Bird.  A man who could fill The British Library twice-over with his stories of mayhem and misadventure, Drayton was dubbed the man who “knows more about direct marketing than anyone in the world” by David Ogilvy and, at 85 y...

This week we’ve ditched the Dolmio and danced across the pond to sniff out Brooklyn’s master meatball maker and talented designer, Victoria Rosselli.  Victoria is a freelance Art Director and Designer based in New York. She’s also a Pitch 100 Superwoman and co-founder of Our Silent Partner, a collection of crowdsourced work designed to give voice to the silent mental health struggles of creatives....

There’s a Freaky Friday/Trading Places film vibe to this episode, as JP Castlin puts the boot very much on the other foot to volley a tonne of tough posers to the outspoken founder and Creative Director of Gasp, and this show’s usual host, Giles Edwards.  A “wonderful overachiever”, he’s also the creator of ISOLATED Talks and has collaborated on two #1 best-selling books. He believes in “proper (t...

We flogged an old, precious ad book on Amazon for three grand and just about covered a one-way ticket t’Blackpool (cheers privatisation) to nab one of the most outspoken voices in ad land: copywriter, Creative Director and author, Steve Harrison.  He’s bagged more Cannes Lions in his discipline than any other Creative Director in the world, and his book “How to do better creative work” became the...

We’ve set tripwires to snare the Jimmy Choo’s of the freelance community’s very own Anna Wintour, the editor of Freelancer Magazine, Sophie Cross.     An OG freelancer with over 15 years’ marketing experience, Sophie launched her very own 100-pages of glossy printed freelance goodness earlier this year.    She talks to us her first cheese-related jobs, thinking she wasn’t creative enough for marke...

This week we’ve laid bait of crisp apple strudels and schnitzel with noodles to snare Munich-based performance artist, Marcus John Henry Brown, to talk on a few of his favourite things.    Hisüber-talented creative chops have conjured up “performance hacks”, a keynote format that disrupts conference proceedings, delighting and shocking audiences across the world.    Marcus gives us the lowdown on...

We’ve masqueraded as a bellboy and snuck into the G-Suite to catch freak in the (Google) Sheets and designer turned creative strategist, Izzi Hays, this week.  An awfully loud introvert, Izzi Rascal is bonkers for a tricky problem and is currently breaking industry moulds and bolstering their strategy chops at MultiAdaptor. They chinwag to us on their accidental shift from design to strategy, empa...

This week we’re leading the frontline charge against marketing B.S. by catching and conscribing the fiery Frenchman and frère from another mère, Louis Grenier.    Quite simply one of the most maverick marketers on the planet, Louis’ mega-successful marketing podcast, Everyone Hates Marketers, has over 1 million downloads and interviews industry giants like Seth Godin and Mark Ritson.     Lend us y...

This week we’ve cast a spell to catch one of the most talented strategists in Middle-earth the UK, ad land’s answer to Gandalf, Richard Huntington.    A high-octane brand strategist, Richard has been leading his merry band of creatives and hobbits to the edge of The Shire for nearly 30 years. Richard is currently Chairman, Chief Strategy Officer, and part of the furniture at Saatchi & Saatchi....

We snuck aboard a streetcar and cruised down Castro Street to catch the Bay Area’s finest Creative Director and Pitch 100 Superwoman, Laurel Stark Akman, this week. Laurel leads creative marketing efforts for The Sims at EA and is the mind (and heart) behind “world changing” and “industry bettering” work, including mental health initiative, Our Silent Partner, and diversity boosting portfolio comp...

We’ve posed as a jester in the throne room of the Burger Kingdom to nab the recently abdicated and most influential CMO and brand genius in the industry; the mind behind the Mouldy Whopper, Fernando Machado.   A global marketer with enough Lions to rival Joe Exotic, Fernando has recently tucked into a new role as CMO at Activision Blizzard. At the time of recording, Fer was CMO at Restaurant Brand...

It’s lights out and we’re off with Red Bull Racing alumni, David Granger, in the driver’s seat, this week.    David got his wings managing the international digital and social strategy for Red Bull, its Formula One teams and for companies in aviation, fashion and music including the Wu-Tang Clan.    So protect ya neck as David brings da ruckus on reading ‘F1 for Dummies’ (twice) before joining Red...

We’ve taken cover in the jungle and laid bait of some intriguing research in the wild to snare planner, pattern spotter and people watcher, Sarah Benson, this week.     Currently a Senior Planner at adam&eveDDB, Sarah is an exceptionally talented strategic mind with 12 years’ experience making telly ads, creating brands and finding out what people really think.    She chats to us on being fire...

This week we’ve laid bait of a pint and picture round to snare sharp thinker, pub quizzer and Strategy Director at Wunderman Thompson, Will Humphrey. A lifelong problem solver with experience across Advertising, PR, CRM and Digital, he’s devised award-winning strategies for the likes of O2, Budweiser, NatWest and Land Rover and is a huge advocate for mentoring junior folk in the industry. He talks...

We lurked in the waters of Loch Lomond to catch Strathclyde’s top dog in data for a natter; independent analytics consultant, Andrew Willshire.    Andrew is the Founder of Diametrical, a Strategic Analytics Consultancy. He has over a decade of experience in media analytics and his expertise includes marketing mix modelling, media optimisation, segmentation and market analysis.    This pod is packe...

We’ve gone all in with a pair of Jacks to bluff and catch journalist and broadcaster Harriet Minter this week.   Harriet is an expert in female leadership, working from home and accidental autoerotic asphyxiation. After a hugely successful stint at The Guardian, founding a first-of-its-kind Women in Leadership editorial section, Harriet’s latest foray into writing, Working from Home: How to Build...

This week we’ve laid bait of fried chicken and Guinness to snare the recently rebranded Stockholm strategist who now has a new name and manifesto, JP Castlin.     JP is an independent strategy and complexity management consultant who shares his views on strategy in Marketing Week, The Drum, the IPA’s EffWorks, his own no-nonsense talks across the globe, and his hugely popular annual manifestos.   ...

This week, by order of the Peaky Blinders, we’ve slipped into Small Heath and taken up a table at The Garrison to catch the best Brummie Tommy since Tommy Shelby, Tommy Mason.    An exceptionally talented designer, Tommy is Founder and Lead Designer of Studio Mason, a digital and branding studio based in Birmingham. An experienced creative specialising in UX, UI and branding, he was nominated for...