Everybody hates your brand

In this episode, we talk to Simon Spyer. Simon is an entrepreneur and data-driven marketer with experience at some of the best agencies in the UK. 5 months ago, he struck out on his own and started the company Data Agents. Their focus is on helping businesses to determine when and how to use agentic AI to unlock the most value possible. 

We cover what the right circumstances are for agentic AI to add value, how brands can e...

In this episode, we talk to Rob Pellow, Executive Technical Director at the independent CRM agency Armadillo, based out of Bristol in the UK.  

Rob is an expert in the somewhat labyrinthine and opaque world of martech and we talked about that world, its current obsession with integrating AI and where he thinks the future is going.  

External resources:

• Armadillo's website - CLICK HERE
• Choice Hacking YouTube Channel - CLICK...

This episode features an interview with Angela Harding. Angela is a veteran of the video games industry, having spent over 19 years working at Activision Blizzard. She held many roles there, including VP of EMEA for the legendary and enduring Call of Duty franchise.

But she moved on from that a year or so ago to co-found Inclusive People, whose mission is to empower technology organisations to unlock their greatest asset—th...

In this episode, we talk to Adam Posner, founder of the loyalty consultancy The Point of Loyalty.

We cover the value of loyalty programs beyond the obvious, when a brand shouldn't have a loyalty program and how a brand's body language can really affect the success of its program. 

External resources:

• The Point of Loyalty website - CLICK HERE
• For Love or Money report 2025 - CLICK HERE

Audio-Visual assets:

• Imagery: Ph...

We're back. Sorry, it took a while! But we are back with a bang.

We talk to Amy Harman, Head of Customer Marketing at Hotel Chocolat. We cover the idiosyncrasies of retail marketing, the value of Loyalty programs, the pitfalls of discounting and also mental health in the workplace. 

Audio-Visual assets:

• Imagery: Photo by Matthew Brodeur on Unsplash
• Music: Hot Thang by Daniel Fridell. CLICK HERE
• Music: Shangri-La by Basixx C...

In this new episode, we talk to Natalie Howells - a copywriter, author, and all-round creative person. We cover two topics that are close to her heart.

Firstly, how to get the most out of your creative teams, the crucial role of briefing and what impact AI is having and will have on the creative process.

Secondly as the author of "Yeah, but how though? - Personal development for the Neurodivergent" we talk to her about the d...

We've been away for a while but we're back with Season 5 of Everybody hates your brand.

We talk to Tom Phillips. Tom has spent over 20 years in Strategy, working in some of the UK’s best marketing agencies with a focus on loyalty, CRM, and digital – so a man after my own heart. 

He’s worked on brands like BP, Virgin, Costa Coffee, Nespresso, Halfords and Hotel Chocolat and shares that expertise in this season premiere. 

Exter...

In this episode we dive into the fascinating and slightly terrifying world of AI with special guest Simone Blakers.

AI. You can’t move in marketing circles (or any business circles really) without someone mentioning AI and how it will help, hinder and/or take over everyones jobs. It’s a scary time for a lot of people but it also seems to be a big opportunity too.

Today we are talking about all of that with Simone Blakers of ...

In this episode, we go back to school by talking to Professor of Marketing  Yuping Liu-Thompkins.  Not content with being a Professor at Old Dominion University in the US, she is also the Founder and Director of Loyalty Science Lab whose mission is to create and promote cutting-edge scientific research on brand and customer loyalty. 

We talk about what drives loyalty, the value of loyalty programs, what loyalty program feat...

In this episode, we talk to Chad S White. Chad is Head of Research at the Oracle Digital Experience Agency,  Author of "Email Marketing Rules”, and contributor at marketing profs, CMSWire and Contributor. Basically, he is the voice of authority on email today.

You can hear us chat about Email personalisation, the role of channels, testing strategies and what he would choose to put in our marketing room 101. 

External resourc...

In this episode we look into what makes the Rapha Cycling Club a great loyalty program. We cover the psychology behind its structure, the community it has built, and how it is helping build their brand. 

External resources:

• Above Average YouTube Channel - CLICK HERE
• Rapha 500 YouTube video - CLICK HERE

Audio-Visual assets:

• Imagery: Photo by Matthew Brodeur on Unsplash
• Music: Hot Thang by Daniel Fridell. CLICK HERE
• Mu...

We made it to 50 episodes! Admittedly slowly but hey - we got there in the end. To celebrate this milestone Jen Clinehens returns to the podcast. The former co-host of the podcast for the first 30 or so episodes returns to talk CX, AI and Behavioural Science. 

We also cover building a business, Jen's entry in Marketing Room 101 and a discussion on Mark Ritson's view on US marketers. Which gets a little spicy.

External resour...

Season 4 has arrived and we start with a cracking episode. We talk to Susan Rose who is an expert in customer-centric retail strategy and customer behavioural segmentation. She has worked in this field since joining Dunnhumby in 1991, where she was part of the team that developed and launched the highly acclaimed Tesco Clubcard loyalty programme.

Since then she has founded multiple businesses including retail analytics spec...

We have our first returning guest to the show.

Mark Razzell was our first-ever guest in Episode 11 back in October 2020 when he was Director of Data and Insight at Clemenger BBDO in Melbourne, Australia.

And we’ve got him back because he has just launched a new venture called Critical Truth which is designed to shine the harsh light of the scientific method on the world of advertising and marketing agencies.

External resource...

In this episode, I talk to the Managing Director and Co-Founder of the marketing agency WDMP Craig Wheeler. We talk about how he started his agency, how they figured out the strategic direction over the years, the pitfalls of the pitch process and more. 

Audio-Visual assets:

• Imagery: Photo by Matthew Brodeur on Unsplash
• Music: Hot Thang by Daniel Fridell. CLICK HERE
• Music: Letters to Burn by Rockin' for Decades. CLICK HERE
...

In this episode, we talk to Mallika Kelkar, CRM and CX Senior Data Director at global marketing agency Iris Worldwide. We cover the tricky and sometimes seemingly impenetrable world of data analytics within Marketing. We take a journey through Experimental design, how to work with analysts and data scientists and the value, or otherwise of a dashboard.

Audio-Visual assets:

• Imagery: Photo by Matthew Brodeur on Unsplash
• Mus...

We're back in the world of interviews with a bang. Customer Experience (CX) has been a big focus for clients and agencies alike over the last few years. Luckily, we have an expert in the shape of Lucy Halley - the Executive Head of Strategy at agency Havas CX Helia - to guide us through it in this episode.

We cover what CX is, the role customer's expectations play in the perception of CX, the blockers to great CX and Lucy's...

In this episode, we talk about why marketers shouldn’t be afraid to cut their losses, the 'Rob Recommends' feature covers Mark Ritson's latest article and you get the chance to see my face on a webinar. Perish the thought. 

External links referenced:

• The Mark Ritson article. CLICK HERE
• The Webmart webinar. CLICK HERE

Audio-Visual assets:

• Imagery: Photo by Matthew Brodeur on Unsplash
• Music: Hot Thang by Daniel Fridel...