Rocket Fuel: Youth Marketing

Ulrich “Uli” Baer is a professor at New York University and the author of the book “What Snowflakes Get Right.” Born in Germany when it was still divided, Ulrich Baer made a last ditch effort to live out his days in the U.S, and succeeded. After throwing away his return ticket, Uli worked odd jobs before spending 3 years at Berkeley University, acquiring a BA from Harvard, then a PhD from Yale. Mo...

Anna Bassi is the Editor-in-Chief of The Week Junior: a digestible current affairs magazine for children published by Dennis Publishing. Having gained a weekly readership of 93,000 despite launching a mere five years ago, The Week Junior has quickly become ‘Britain’s fastest growing children’s magazine,’ Junior’s aim is to empower children to be more informed, curious and engaged through their cur...

Jonty Archibald is the principal of the Global Academy: a university technical college designed to equip young people for a career in the media and entertainment industries. Though still in its infancy, the Global Academy has already redefined what a school is and can be. Global provides 14-19 year olds accessibility to study oft reserved for university subjects, such as computer science, digital...

Lee Kirton is the Marketing and PR Director for Bandai Namco Enterainment, UK & Ireland. The technologies powering video games aren’t the only facets of the industry constantly on the precipice of evolution. Indeed, as the medium developed as a resource for learning, problem-solving and interactivity, so did its appeal for more compelling and captivating marketing.. Lee Kirton has been on the...

Louise Richardson is the Director of Marketing, Europe at Pinterest. Once an “idiot 21-year-old rocking up to London” - her words, not ours - Louise Richardson has cemented herself as an inexpendable asset, and unabashedly raging fan, of Pinterest. With her formative years being spent at the likes of Mindshare and Snap Inc, Louise brings a razor sharp knowledge of the social media landscape w...

Kara Goldin is the founder and CEO of Hint Inc: a US-based healthy lifestyle company specialising in beverages. Unbeknownst to her at the time, Kara Goldin began developing the blueprint to Hint’s success after being diagnosed with gestational diabetes. Needing a healthy alternative to sugary juices and sodas, she began experimenting with her very own DIY beverages from her kitchen. Today, Kara he...

Darren Moorcroft is the CEO of The Woodland Trust: a conservation charity dedicated to maintaining and populating forestry. The Woodland Trust is the UK’s biggest woods conservation charity. They stand up for woods and trees by harnessing the power of big data; creating woodlands that last for generations to come. Last year alone, with the help of schools, youth organisations and families, the TWT...

Josh Benge is the Brand Engagement Manager for KFC, managing social media, gaming and partnerships. Needing no introduction, KFC (Kentucky Fried Chicken) is one of the biggest quick service restaurants in the world. KFC is located in 150 countries, and has over 900 restaurants in the UK and Ireland alone.  Over the course of 5 years, Josh Benge has carved out a niche for himself at KFC, attai...

Tom Burns is the co-creator of SiTC: the biggest YouTube convention in the UK. At a point in time that now seems so long ago, “Summer in the City” was but the makeshift name given to a gathering of 300 YouTube enthusiasts, meeting in a field, playing ukulele and eating cake. Now rebranded, and accommodating Winter in the City, SiTC (Social in the City) is the biggest YouTube convention in the UK....

Lucy Loveridge is the Global Head of Talent at GLEAM Futures. GLEAM Futures is the most prolific digital-first talent agency in the UK, representing some of the biggest influencers and online personalities the space has to offer. Talent includes the likes of Zoella (Zoe Sugg), Grace Beverley, Louise Pentland, Marcus Butler and winner of Love Island 2020: Paige Turley. Since its conception in...

Chris Stokel-Walker is a tech and internet culture journalist. Last year, Chris published his seminal book “YouTubers: How YouTube Shook Up TV and Created a New Generation of Stars," discussing the history of the platform and the effects it has had on society. He joins us this week to expand upon the title, as well as discuss the rise of TikTok, emerging platforms, and the role of tech during quar...

Kim Palmer is an entrepreneur and the founder of Clementine: an app designed by women for women. Until founding Clementine, Kiwi Kim Palmer had a self-professed non-linear career; working for Lloyds Bank, Tesco, and a handful of startups. She was hardworking and creative - data-focused before data and algorithms were the norm - but her journey became disrupted by severe anxiety and panic attacks....

Nazleen Karim is a television producer for Monkey Kingdom. After graduating from Durham University, Nazleen pivoted away from academia to begin a role with The BBC. Though initially entailing sterile admin work, it catalysed a career within the entertainment industry, allowing Naz to work on household name shows such as Celebrity Big Brother, Gogglebox, Strictly Com Dancing and Made In Chelsea. Mo...

Drew McIntyre is a WWE Superstar and the current WWE Champion. Beginning his journey to world renowned wrestler at just age 15, Drew was initially signed to WWE at the precocious age of 21 and welcomed by legendary WWE Chairman Vince McMahon as “future world champion”. Mr McMahon was right, of course, but not before Drew was sensationally fired for, as he confesses, a big ego and not pulling his w...

David Lloyd is radio consultant, archivist and enthusiast. Having dedicated 35 years to the platform he fell in love with at just six-years-old, David Lloyd shares the lessons he’s learned from working with various commercial and public radio networks.  Topics of discussion include: the media landscape, the similarities between radio and podcasts, BBC radio, the future of radio, today's youth...

Badoo is a chat and dating app that implores its users to "date honestly." It has over 460 million users across 190 countries. Natasha Briefel is the UK Brand Marketing Director at Badoo. Fascinated with marketing from a young age, pitching to the likes of Nokia and Ribena at just age 16, she now finds herself managing the brand of one of the world’s biggest dating apps. Topics of discussion inclu...

Welcome to Rocket Fuel: Lockdown Special. This week on the podcast we assess how the media and marketing industries have been affected by the coronavirus, gaining insights from the likes of: Natasha Briefel, the UK Brand Marketing Director at Badoo, illustrating how the pandemic has affected online dating. Lucy Loveridge, the Global Head of Talent at GLEAM, talks how talent are adapting amid the p...

Adam Boita is the Marketing Director for NCS (National Citizen Service): a summer development programme for young adults in the UK. NCS is a programme that provides the opportunity for 16-17 year olds to flourish at a myriad of group-based activities and events designed to develop personal and interpersonal skills. The programme concludes with the participants devising and actioning a community pr...

Formerly an international footballer, ‘Bex Smith is now the executive director of women's game at COPA90, ‘the world’s largest independent football media business.’ Kiwi by blood, American by birth, Rebecca Smith began her eclectic career as New Zealand’s national team captain. She enjoyed a varied career as a professional footballer for numerous teams, even competing in the ’08 Olympics, before t...

Jo Ruxton is the founder and director of Plastic Oceans UK; a non-profit dedicated to educating people on the perils of a plastic polluted ocean.  A Plastic Ocean is an iTunes and Netflix chart-topping documentary designed to make the public more ocean literate. Though it was released four years ago, it continues to make waves in the environment debate. Jo produced the film as a result of see...

Free focus is one of the UK’s biggest digital talent agencies. Co-founded by Mark Walker and James Hancock just 4 years ago, Free Focus has quickly become one of the most prolific talent agencies in the UK. Built on an ethos of trust, transparency and hard work, they have developed a roster of talent including best-selling authors, presenters, musicians, and online personalities. James began his m...

Ruth Wright is the former editor in chief at creative agency Abbott Mead Vickers (AMV), an Extinction Rebellion volunteer, and has recently joined VSO: a charity dedicated to eradicating poverty. Informed by her extensive career in media and marketing, Ruth Wright brings an eclectic toolkit to fighting the climate crisis. She is a speaker, activist and spokesperson who believes that we should “act...

Futurist Mark Stevenson advises corporations on how they can get the most out of the future. Using his eclectic background in theatre, stand-up comedy and information technology, Mark instigates positive change for social justice issues and the climate. He realises that, whilst we are all individuals, we are also nodes in a network, which is why we have more power than we often realise - not just...

Ally Owen is the founder of Brixton Finishing School, an organisation dedicated to helping those from disadvantaged backgrounds into the creative industries. From its inception in 2017, Brixton Finishing School set out to be a disruptor to the creative industries; challenging issues of diversity by being more inclusive to those of BAME heritage and economically disadvantaged backgrounds. BFS provi...

Ben Ebbrell is the founder of SORTED, an award-winning YouTube channel dedicated to food. Co-founded by school friends Ben Ebbrell, Mike Huttlestone, Jamie Stafford and Barry Taylor ten years ago, the collective destabilised what it meant to a player in the food industry, and continue to be pioneers in the digital space to this day. The now sixteen person team creates highly produced videos for th...