Embracing Marketing Mistakes

Think your LinkedIn profile is just a digital CV? Think again. In this eye‐opening conversation with Louise Brogan (Founder, Brogan Partners; LinkedIn: Louise Brogan Ltd. – Video Content Marketing ) LinkedIn UK , author of Raise your Visibility on LinkedIn , we uncover the strategic approach that transformed her business from a failing craft shop to a thriving LinkedIn consultancy serving global c...

In this mini series where we take a look back to our guest's mistakes they have shared, we have Patrick Collister's marketing mistake. Everyone makes mistakes in their marketing careers, but few are willing to discuss them openly. In this refreshingly candid conversation, our guest reveals how a seemingly catastrophic career move - joining a French-owned direct marketing agency as creati...

Alexandra Galviz, better known as Authentic Alex, is a LinkedIn Top Voice and the co-creator of the global LinkedIn Local movement. At just 24, she was leading training for 350 people across 21 offices, while secretly battling imposter syndrome, burnout and the pressure of living a life that didn’t feel like her own. Her viral LinkedIn post about leaving the “pointy-top building by the river” mark...

Tamsin Daniel, a senior marketing professional and Head of Marketing at Firetree Chocolate, shares her embarrassing culinary f*ck up while supporting celebrity chef Meena Patak during a cooking show filmed in India.  What begins as an exciting opportunity quickly descends into chaos with illness and a fundamental misunderstanding about chickpeas. 🤣 • Becoming violently ill on day one after eating...

Only 26 percent of B2B brands see real results from thought leadership, even though 80% are actively producing it. In this episode, we explore why most strategies are falling short in a time when trust in media and corporations is at just 33 per cent in the UK. The biggest missed opportunity is clear. Employee-shared content delivers 561% more reach, is reshared 24 times more often, and drives eig...

Wellness initiatives in the workplace often sound ideal, but what happens when they demand more than businesses can give? In this Campaign Crunch mini-episode, we’re joined by guest Sadie Straw to unpack Joe Wicks’ Movement Hour campaign, which encouraged employers to give staff an extra hour off each day for physical activity. Despite 10,000 companies applying for a personal visit from Wicks, onl...

Back when Apple was rumoured to be about to launch the iPad, BBC presenter Spencer Kelly was already on air confidently predicting that the rumours were nonsense, because tablets were a stupid idea. Just six hours later, Steve Jobs proved him spectacularly wrong. In this episode, Spencer reflects on the mistake, the lessons it taught him about spotting genuine innovation, and why even the experts...

For Sarah Clay, that nightmare became her big break. Pre-pandemic, she was running a social media agency for hospitality brands. Then lockdown hit, and in the space of a week her market evaporated. Instead of wallowing, she made a bold pivot into LinkedIn training. That’s when she spotted the goldmine nobody was talking about: employee advocacy. Get your people talking about your brand on their ow...

Tired of marketing campaigns that miss the mark? Richard Shotton, bestselling author of "The Choice Factory" and "The Illusion of Choice," reveals why understanding human psychology is the secret sauce behind effective marketing. The gap between what consumers say influences them and what actually drives their behavior creates a golden opportunity for marketers who master behav...

Our host, Chris Norton, reveals his biggest career mistake when he joined a new PR agency as an account manager. What started as enthusiasm to impress his new employers quickly descended into a PR disaster when he prematurely distributed a press release about a new bar opening without client approval. • Background as a PR professional with experience in London before moving to Leeds • Eagerly took...

What does it take to market an iconic British agricultural product in today's digital world? Graham Clark, Director of Marketing at British Wool, pulls back the curtain on the fascinating journey of promoting this sustainable fiber to modern consumers. British Wool stands as the last remaining farmers' cooperative in the UK, representing approximately 30,000 sheep farmers across the nati...

Exploring professional mishaps in the world of media training, our guest expert media trainer, Guy Clapperton, shares candid stories from 20 years of journalism experience that reveal how technical difficulties, difficult clients, and embarrassing moments become valuable learning experiences. • A particularly memorable mishap involved conducting interviews from an unflattering camera angle focused...

When a high-profile fashion brand stumbles at launch, how do they rebuild customer trust? This fascinating episode dives into Molly Mae's clothing brand "Maybe" and their clever reputation recovery strategy following a quality control disaster that left customers disappointed. Our marketing experts Lauren and Becca unpack how the brand leveraged International Women's Day to rec...

Neville Hobson, a former Vice President of Corporate Communications, shares a near career-ending mistake when he accidentally published financial results for a public company 12 hours early by hitting "publish" instead of "schedule."  Quick thinking and a lot of panic led him to unpublish the content, reschedule it correctly, and immediately report the incident to the stock exc...

What happens when you mix two decades of digital comms experience with a brain wired for analytics, SEO and AI? You get friend of the show Andrew Bruce Smith.  He’s the founder of Escherman, a CIPR Fellow, and Chair of the AI in PR panel, not to mention a certified Google Partner who’s trained over 3,000 organisations. From global brands to government departments, he’s helped them all wrap their h...

The podcast explores notable professional mistakes and what can be learned from them. B2B Marketing expert Tom Basgil shares his experience organising a New Year's Eve fireworks event at Coney Island, where instead of the expected 500 attendees, 5,000 people showed up, creating major logistical challenges with insufficient facilities. • Event was planned at iconic Coney Island amusement park...

Let’s be honest, the PR world still loves a good-looking coverage book. A glossy spread in the national press, a namecheck in a podcast, a flurry of social mentions. It feels like success. But what’s it actually doing for the business? Not much, in most cases. For too long, we’ve let vanity metrics run the show – chasing likes, impressions and clippings instead of asking the tough questions: Did i...

Rachel Auty, head of marketing at Brew York, discusses the brewery birthday celebration that featured collaborations with international breweries like Lervig and Hidden Springs, creating six beers with a Eurovision tie-in called "Collabivision."  What seemed like marketing genius internally received a lukewarm public reception, teaching them valuable lessons about keeping messaging focus...

Rachel Massey, Director of Marketing at Huthwaite International, is a brilliant B2B marketing manager with deep experience in leading marketing operations and running fully integrated campaigns that actually deliver on business objectives. She’s worked across both large corporations and SMEs in a range of sectors, and always brings a sharp, strategic edge to everything she does.  Rachel Massey joi...

Moving fast in business means making quick decisions that can sometimes lead to significant mistakes, as Jack Sutcliffe, CEO of Powersheds, found out when their website was hacked due to an overly simplistic password. • Rapid decision-making is part of their business approach, which inevitably leads to some wrong choices • Poor decisions have included selecting the wrong systems and hiring staff w...

Chris Simmance, Founder of OMG Centre, opens up about the hard leadership lessons learned through emotional reactions to business setbacks and poor financial management in agency life. • Letting emotional responses to client departures negatively impact team management • Acknowledging how leadership mistakes create lasting negative impressions that can't be fixed with apologies • Taking busin...

Josh Lachovic, ex-startup founder turned growth agency founder, shares his journey from digital marketing roots to founding a wine startup that experienced meteoric growth during the pandemic, only to face the harsh reality when lockdown behaviors proved unsustainable. • Started in SEO and content writing at a PR agency, combining his tech background with writing skills • Moved to Pact Coffee befo...

Welcome to another Campaign Crunch episode where we take a look at trending campaigns, what they did and the results they gained. This podcast (presented by one of our Account Managers, Becca Quinlan) delves into one of the most fascinating PR campaigns of recent times - the introduction of Evie Pig to the Peppa Pig universe. From pregnancy announcement to birth, the Peppa Pig team crafted a maste...

This clip explores career mistakes and what people learn from them. Andrew shares a memorable blunder from his early journalism career when he nearly became part of the printing machinery at the historic launch of the Today newspaper in 1986. • Sent to cover the launch of the Today newspaper as his first press assignment • Instructed to get an exclusive interview with Eddie Shah • Climbed onto the...

Guy Utley from Tall Agency shares his journey from recognising his creative talents at school to founding a digital agency working with global brands like Lego and Shark Ninja, focusing on the critical importance of specialisation in marketing. • The value of using specialists rather than generalists - "I wouldn't use a painter to fix my roof"  • How Google's algorithm now prio...