Hello everyone and welcome back to the Marketing Freaks podcast!

In this week’s episode, I’m talking about the importance of having a plan. This sounds so incredibly obvious, and most of you will indeed have a plan. The problem usually comes with sticking to that plan. 

Stick around for a chat through how to a) write a better plan and b) how to stick to it! 

Oh - and if you haven’t yet subscribed or left us a review on Apple podcasts…please do, it makes such a big difference!

Welcome to this week’s episode!

I’m joined by Sophie Khan from our paid social team and we’re going to be talking about how to turn around a failing, or declining ad account. This is such an important topic, because no matter how good you are at paid media, at some point you are going to be faced with a challenging situation. 

To summarise what we cover:

• How to know ahead of time that you’re going to have issues (as much as is possible) and be in a position to react early
• What your first steps should be when you see performance declining
• What data to look at and how to assess what is going on
• Planning your next moves and being clear with your actions
• How to avoid knee jerk reactions and panic

Welcome back to the marketing freaks podcast!

This week I'm joined by Julia Arenson and we talk all things creative operations, building in-house agencies, running creative at Specsavers, agency vs in-house and a whole heap more. 

Throughout the episode Julia talks through her extensive experience of running creative operations, and details many of the lessons learnt along the way. 

If you enjoy this episode please do subscribe on your favourite podcast player!

Welcome to the third and final instalment our 3x part CMO series on the Marketing Freaks podcast!

In this final episode of the series, we're discussing how to communicate marketing at the board level. This is something that a lot of people new into their careers find challenging, and this episode is really designed to help!

We very much hope you've enjoyed this series, and if you have, please don't forget to subscribe for future episodes. 

Enjoy!

Welcome to the second instalment our 3x part CMO series on the Marketing Freaks podcast!

This week on the podcast, we are releasing not one BUT THREE episodes with the wonderful Lauri Joffe. 

In this second episode, we talk through the CMOs role in planning budgets, the finances behind marketing and how to set achievable yet ambitious targets to make sure you're moving the business forwards.

Enjoy!

Welcome to our 3x part CMO series on the Marketing Freaks podcast!

This week on the podcast, we are releasing not one BUT THREE episodes with the wonderful Lauri Joffe. 

Lauri has an amazing amount of experience as a CMO, working at Sears, American Freight and more.

In this first episode we discuss the role of a modern day CMO, the pressures of the role and what the priorities should be. 

Enjoy!

In this episode of the Marketing Freaks, Jon interviews Joshua Gonzalez, a former performer turned content and product marketing expert. They discuss the importance of injecting personality and creativity into brand content to stand out in a crowded digital space. 

Joshua shares insights from his career journey—from theatre and social media to cybersecurity marketing—highlighting how performance skills translate into effective storytelling and audience engagement.

They also tackle the challenges brands face in adopting bold creative strategies and provide practical advice for overcoming internal resistance. Joshua explores the role of experimentation in performance marketing, the importance of aligning sales and marketing for better lead quality, and how brands can stay ahead by adapting to platform changes and AI advancements.

Key Takeaways:

• Understand how experimentation drives unexpected growth in performance marketing.
• Gain insight into aligning sales and marketing for better lead quality.
• Discover how to overcome brand hesitation and push for creative, engaging content.
• Gain insight into using simple tools like smartphones and in-app editors to create high-quality video content.
• Learn how to generate compelling content ideas by drawing inspiration from trending media and proven successful strategies.
• Discover how to build a business case for bold creative ideas by leveraging internal champions and industry examples.

Welcome back to this week's episode on the Marketing Freaks podcast! 

This week we're discussing marketing secrets that will help you transform your marketing. Join us to find out what you need to do to make your marketing as effective as possible and see real business growth from your efforts. 

In particular, the world of performance marketing, PPC and paid social is awash with magic hacks and tricks. But do they really work and can they help your efforts?

Key takeaways:

• Silver bullets don't always exist, and chasing them can distract you from what really matters
• Consistency is really key and one of the biggest secrets. Find what works and repeat!
• Don't forget to test - having an experimentation mindset is really valuable for hunting down the opportunities that work

Enjoy and subscribe for future episodes!

In this episode of the Marketing Freaks podcast, Jon sits down with Kate Neuens, Senior Digital Marketing Manager at Frontegg, to explore the complexities of B2B marketing in businesses with long sales cycles.

Jon & Kate discuss the challenges of aligning marketing and sales, the impact of different lead generation channels, and practical strategies for overcoming pipeline stagnation. Kate shares her experience in optimising demand generation, leveraging data to improve decision-making, and implementing automation to streamline processes. 

Key Takeaways:

• Learn how to improve communication, collaboration, and shared accountability for pipeline success.
• Discover how to keep prospects engaged and moving through the funnel with targeted content and automation.
• Understand how these elements work together to fuel demand generation and long-term growth.
• Gain insight into how different lead sources impact conversion rates and how to align expectations with reality.
• Explore ways to use data and automation to prioritise high-value leads and improve efficiency.

Welcome back to the Marketing Freaks. It's been an extended break, but we're back to bring you industry insights from some of the key figures in the industry. 

In this episode of the Marketing Freaks podcast, Jon is joined by Paddy Moogan, consultant, agency leader, and author of The New Leader newsletter, to unpack what it really takes to be an effective manager. Stepping into a management role can be both exciting and daunting, yet many new managers receive little to no training when taking on this new responsibility. 

From developing self-awareness to balancing people leadership with commercial success, Paddy shares insights from his career, including lessons learnt from his own transition into management.

Key takeaways:

• Learn what the most underrated yet powerful skills in management.
• Discover how to develop self-awareness and use it to shape your leadership approach.
• Gain insight into balancing people management with commercial responsibility.
• Learn why most new managers don’t receive formal training, and what you can do to bridge the gap.
• Discover how to handle difficult conversations with confidence and clarity.
• Discover how to scale your influence and set your team up for long-term success.

Whether you're new to leading a team or looking to refine your leadership approach, this conversation is packed with valuable advice to help you navigate the challenges of management.

Welcome back to another short episode, with the topic for this one being the sometimes frustrating relationship between agencies and platform reps. 

In this episode we explore why this can get frustrating and, if as a client you seem to be getting conflicting advice, we talk about why this is the case and how to decipher what to take on board. 

Enjoy and please subscribe for more! 

In this episode we talk through the growth in AI or virtual influencers. 

We talk through what they are, how they are growing and what brands are so far getting involved in the use of AI influencers. 

What are your thoughts? Do you agree, or does the world of AI influencers freak you out a bit?

Welcome to the final episode of The Scale Up Season! 

In episode 167, Jon is joined by Steve Tannett, Director of Music Platforms at Marshall to discuss what it takes to turn an artist like Nova Twins into a Brit Award Nominee. 

Tune as Steve shares his experience and the transition from being the artist to being behind the record label, discovering artists and discover how the Marshall brand evolved from Amps to Albums.

Marketers and music enthusiasts alike will gain valuable takeaways from this conversation on building brands and nurturing talent.

Key Takeaways:

• Learn how Marshall has expanded beyond its iconic amplifiers to launch a record label.
• Gain insight into the financial realities of supporting emerging artists, particularly the long-term investment required for successful touring and fan base growth.
• Understand how digital platforms have democratised the music industry, allowing artists to distribute music independently, bypassing traditional gatekeepers.
• Explore the success story of Nova Twins, a band that signed with Marshall Records, leading to critically acclaimed success and major award nominations.
• Discover the value of staying true to your creative vision and product, with advice on marketing both music and other creative ventures.

Welcome to episode 166 of The Marketing Freaks Podcast. This week, Jon is joined by Erica Grubman, head of production at Mojo Supermarket, a Brooklyn based agency renowned for it's bold creative campaigns. 

Erica shares insights from her experience producing ads for major brands like Meta and Peloton, the evolving role of a producer in 2024, with a focus on balancing creativity, budget and performance marketing. 

We explore the complex KPI's for brand awareness campaigns, the "halo effect" of large scale activations and how budgets can be optimised for maximum impact. 

Key Takeaways:

• Learn how to navigate complex KPIs for brand awareness campaigns and understand how to measure their impact beyond just digital metrics.
• Understand the "halo effect" and how large-scale campaigns (like out-of-home or print) can increase brand recognition and lower acquisition costs in performance channels.
• Gain insight into video production optimisation, with tips on managing budgets and exploring creative alternatives to traditional high-cost approaches.
• Discover the evolving role of agencies in the marketing world, including how they help clients balance media spend with production costs for more effective campaigns.
• Explore how AI and technological advancements are reshaping the production landscape, streamlining processes, and allowing teams to focus on storytelling and strategic decisions.

In episode 165 of the Marketing Freaks Podcast, Jon is joined by Marianna Satanas, President of Hanro USA to discuss scaling a luxury brand and the challenges that come with it. 

Discover strategies for balancing growth with premium customer experience, the importance of high-quality content, and the unique challenges of luxury vs. mass-market brands. Marianna also dives into the differences between scaling and growth, taking calculated risks, and the power of data-driven decisions. 

Whether you're navigating the complexities of luxury retail or looking to refine your marketing approach, this episode is packed with valuable takeaways to help you scale smartly and sustainably.

• Gain insight into how to scale a luxury e-commerce business.
• Understand the difference between scaling and growth.
• Discover the importance of balancing ambition with achievable growth targets.
• Explore strategies for balancing customer retention with new acquisition
• Understand how to leverage technology to adapt and react quickly to market changes.

Welcome to episode 164 of the Marketing Freaks Podcast and the next episode in the scale up season.

In this episode, Jon is joined by Richard George, Global Head of Business Marketing at the London Stock Exchange (LSEG) to the unique challenges of B2B marketing in the highly regulated financial sector.

He shares insights from his 17-year career, From aligning marketing with business goals and driving revenue, to overcoming tracking challenges and simplifying complex products, Richard provides practical advice for marketers in highly regulated industries.

• Learn how to align marketing objectives with business goals, focusing on revenue, brand, and customer experience as key performance indicators in B2B marketing.
• Discover practical strategies for creating strong cross-team alignment and ensuring leadership clarity, including fostering accountability and consistent communication.
• Gain insight into the challenges of tracking and attribution in B2B marketing, and how customer data platforms (CDPs) and CRM integration can help overcome these obstacles.
• Explore the importance of balancing brand awareness with direct response efforts, especially in industries where the line between brand and performance marketing is often blurred.
• Understand how to simplify complex product offerings and navigate regulatory constraints, with examples of innovative marketing tactics like VR experiences used at LSEG.

To learn more about scaling your B2B business, download our free B2B business outcomes guide here: https://bit.ly/3XWhWie

Welcome to episode 163 and the next instalment of The Scale Up Season.

In this episode, Jon is joined by Natasha Crowe, Global Head of Marketing at Kraken, which powers Octopus Energy. Jon and Natasha discuss some of the key challenges in B2B marketing and the strategies that are driving growth in a competitive industry.

In the episode, Natasha Crowe provides insight into Kraken's approach to creative strategy, especially within the context of B2B marketing, how Kraken is navigating current economic challenges, optimising its marketing efforts, and staying ahead in an ever changing market.

From balancing brand building with direct performance tactics to leveraging technology for marketing success, Natasha provides actionable insights that any B2B marketer can apply to their own strategies.

Key learnings include:

• Learn how to strike the perfect balance between brand-building and direct performance marketing to drive sustainable growth.
• Understand the power of personalisation to create content that connects with high value prospects.
• Discover the power of Account-Based Marketing and how it fits into a comprehensive B2B strategy.
• Gain insight into prioritising the right marketing channels during economic uncertainty to maximise ROI.
• Learn ways to simplify complex tech solutions for your audience, making it easier to communicate value.
• Find out how to align marketing efforts with customer needs by reacting swiftly to market conditions and consumer behaviors.

Welcome to episode 162 of the marketing freaks podcast and the next installment in the scale up season. 

In this episode, Jon is joined by Yasmine Khan, a business psychologist who specialises in working with founders and senior leadership teams in high-growth companies. 

Yasmine shares insight into the overlooked human and psychological aspects of scaling a business and how mindset is a key driver of growth alongside tactics and strategies. 

Key learnings from this episode:

• Fear is the biggest barrier in professional and personal growth. Understand how to recognise and confront these fears to move forward.
• Discover how adopting a growth mindset can be the key to unlocking business success and overcoming fear of failure.
• Gain insight into the power of self-awareness and self-regulation for founders and leaders, particularly in recognising stress and burnout during high-pressure growth phases.
• Learn how aligning leadership teams and fostering collaboration can prevent conflict and stress, creating a cohesive environment that drives sustainable growth.
• Discover how micro feedback and real-time coaching play a crucial role in reinforcing employees' significance and driving continuous learning, without relying solely on formal training sessions.
• Gain insight into how confronting common fears can propel both personal and business growth.

Welcome back to episode 161 of the Marketing Freaks Podcast and the 4th episode in the Scale Up Season.

In this episode, Jon is joined by Arafa Heneghan, Director of Brand at AO to discuss the impact of brand investment and strategy in AO's growth. From creating a unified customer experience across all touchpoints to finding the perfect balance between brand building and performance marketing, Arafa shares insights into the tactics that senior marketers need to stay ahead. 

Discover how AO stays relevant with even the most functional products and learn why simplicity in messaging and internal brand alignment are critical for scaling success. If you're a senior marketer looking for actionable strategies to elevate your brand, this is a must-listen!

Key Takeaways:

• Gain insight into how AO uses a unified brand strategy across every customer touchpoint to build a consistent and memorable experience.
• Understand the distinction between brand building and performance marketing and how both are essential for driving long-term business success.
• Learn how to leverage simple, clear messaging to communicate the value of functional products without overwhelming customers with technical details.
• Discover how to measure success.
• Understand how to put the customers needs first to make even functional products seem more appealing. 
• The value in understanding the "so what"?

Welcome to episode 160 of the Marketing Freaks Podcast and episode 3 in the Scale Up Season! 

In this episode, Abi is back! Jon and Abi talk about the key "gotcha" moments that often impact the ability to scale, and how to tackle them. 

Key Takeaways:

• Why scaling up isn't just about increasing spend and the importance of having the appropriate structure across the business.
• The elements to consider that are potentially hinder your scaling efforts.
• How to set realistic expectations and align goals across departments.
• The importance of deciding when and where to scale.
• The common pitfalls which can limit scaling 
• The importance of being realistic about goals and maintaining flexibility to adapt strategies as needed

Welcome back to episode 159 and the second instalment in the Scale Up Season. 

This week, we're joined by Melina Palmer, applied behaviour economist, podcast host of the Brainy Business and Author. Melina's latest book "The Truth About Pricing" discusses how pricing isn't just about price and the psychological factors to consider to make your customers buy. Jon had the chance to chat with Melina about what drives consumers to buy, how business can tailor their pricing strategy for scale and how you might be the biggest hindrance to your sales. 

Key takeaways:

• How to focus on the psychological aspects and make it easier for people to buy from you.
• Learn how understanding and applying behavioural economics can provide businesses with a competitive edge in influencing consumer behaviour and driving sales.
• Discover practical pricing strategies and psychological pricing techniques that can help businesses scale effectively while enhancing perceived value.
• Understand the anchoring concept, how it can be applied and how it can heavily influence consumer perception of value and willingness to pay.
• Discover the power of experience and how pricing can be about the experience and perception of value.

This episode delves explores the often-overlooked importance of pricing strategy in business success, emphasising that pricing is less about the numbers and more about the psychological factors that influence consumer behaviour.

Melina shares her expertise, including the common misconceptions about pricing, the role of behavioural economics in setting effective prices, and how brands can strategically position themselves to either focus on quality or value. Melina provides practical examples and advice on how businesses can reframe their pricing strategies to maximise success.

Welcome back to episode 158 of the Marketing Freaks Podcast! We've taken an extended break, but we're back with the Scale Up Season. We will be inviting key individuals from brands that are currently and successfully scaling their business, mar-tech providers and digital marketing practitioners to join us on the sofa to share their knowledge. 

We're kicking off the new season with Jack Hayes, Head of Growth at Pooch & Mutt. As one of the UK’s fastest growing and most loved pet food brands Pooch & Mutt has grown over 400% in the last couple of years and Jack has been with the business during much of that time.

Jon will be talking to Jack about how businesses can utilise profit and loss statements to guide marketing decisions, set budgets and manage operations for growth.

Key Takeaways:

• Discover why integrating marketing spend with P&L is crucial for informed financial decisions and aligning business objectives.
• Find out why understanding business dependencies enhances performance marketing and resource allocation.
• Learn how effective negotiation and cost-saving measures can open up opportunities for increased marketing investment.
• Discover how transparent communication with financial directors enables strategic reinvestment of savings to drive growth.
• Gain insight into how embracing a collaborative, open approach to budget management improves decision-making and overall profitability.

Hi all and welcome back to another episode!

This week, we are talking about paid social for small business. So often, larger brands with the bigger budgets get all the attention, but running any marketing for a smaller business requires a different approach and to a certain degree, a different skillset.

Joining us for this episode is Jo Francis, Meta Ads specialist, who shares her advice on how to make the most of smaller budgets when running activity on paid social. 

Enjoy!

Hello and welcome to another bitesized episode!

This week we are talking about B2B marketing, and how to make your content stand out. Compared to most content efforts in the B2C realm, often B2B content is lacking in inspiration and fails to engage. 

Why is this the case and how should you go about fixing it?

Joining me for the episode is Cass Swallow, a B2B marketeer who's CV boasts brands including Virgin, eEnergy and more. 

Enjoy!

Welcome to episode 156 of the Marketing Freaks Podcast. In this episode we're joined by Will Wright, Senior Partnership Manager at Intuit Mailchimp, to explore the capabilities of Email Marketing and the key elements to consider when building a successful email marketing campaign. Gain practical insight into the potential of email marketing. 

We discuss various aspects of email marketing, such as integration into multichannel campaigns and how email marketing can be used at different stages of the buyer journey for both B2B and eCommerce brands. We’ll also discuss best practices, some of the common mistakes businesses make and some of the features and applications that businesses may not be taking advantage of. 

Key Takeaways:

• Integration and Multichannel Approach: Understand how email marketing can seamlessly integrate into broader multi-channel campaigns, amplifying reach and engagement across different platforms.
• Success Stories: Gain insights from real-life successful campaigns, illustrating the practical application of email marketing strategies in driving business objectives.
• Building and Engaging Audiences: Learn effective methods for generating first-party data and building email lists, while ensuring emails are engaging and relevant to target audiences.
• Automation and Personalisation: Discover the role of automation in streamlining email marketing efforts and leveraging personalization strategies to enhance campaign effectiveness.

Hello and welcome to this week's bitesized episode!

This time round, I'm joined again by Geoff Griffiths for a conversation about how to improve your time management skills.  Being able to effectively manage your time makes everything easier - it means you can prioritise and get what needs to get done completed, and ultimately free up your day to work on what matters. 

Really hope you enjoy this episode!

Welcome to episode 154 of the Marketing Freaks Podcast. In this episode, we're joined by Zack Wragg, Head of Global Optimisation and Development at Merlin Entertainments. 

Jon and Zack get into the detail around multiple challenges, from understanding and fulfilling customer needs, to managing the delicate balance between individual attraction brands and the overarching group brand, and the strategies employed to maintain global consistency while allowing for local adaptation.

Welcome to the first ever live episode of the marketing freaks podcast!

We're at the wonderful InOrbit conference in Slovenia and the topic for discussion is AI, the future of marketing and what that leaves for us humans. 

To help with the conversation we are joined by previous podcast guest Sam Lewis-Williams, Head of Marketing Automation at the FT and also open the session up for questions from the audience. 

This was so much fun to do and we hope you enjoy this special episode!!

Welcome to this week's bitesized episode!

I'm joined by my good friend Geoff Griffiths and this week we are talking through the topic of dealing with professional rejection. 

From pitching new business, applying for jobs and many other career related scenarios - we all have to be in a good place to handle it, but no one ever teaches anything on the topic?

Enjoy!

In this episode, Jon is  joined by Head of Ecommerce Media Europe at Lipton, Giovanni Pupo, to highlight the disparity between what is taught in higher education vs. the application and skills required to work within the Digital Marketing Industry. Is the curriculum outdated, or is it just focused on traditional marketing, rather than Digital Marketing? 

Graduates are often inducted into roles without any knowledge of how Digital Marketing Platforms work. We discuss the challenges graduates face when entering digital marketing roles without adequate knowledge, and how both employers and students can tackle them. 

Key Takeaways:

• Awareness of Disparities: Understanding the significant gap between what is taught in traditional university marketing programs and the practical skills needed for success in digital marketing roles.
• Challenges Faced by Graduates: Recognise the challenges that graduates face when entering digital marketing roles without adequate knowledge of digital platforms and strategies.
• Importance of Critical Skills: Learning about the critical skills and knowledge required for success in the digital marketing industry, including data analytics, social media marketing, SEO, and more.
• Differences Between Traditional and Digital Marketing: Understanding the differences between traditional marketing approaches and digital marketing strategies, and how these translate into today's market demands.
• Calls for Educational Reform: Hearing suggestions for how universities can better prepare students for digital marketing careers, such as updating curriculum content and incorporating more practical, hands-on learning experiences.
• Recommendations for Skill Development: Recommendations for courses and learning tools to develop digital marketing skills, providing actionable steps for both aspiring marketers and employers seeking to upskill their teams.

Welcome to our ShopTalk US collection of episodes, bringing you insights from some of the brightest minds in digital marketing, retail and ecommerce. 

In this episode, we talk to Sara Worland, SVP Brand, Million Dollar Baby Co.

Enjoy!!

Welcome to our ShopTalk US collection of episodes, bringing you insights from some of the brightest minds in digital marketing, retail and ecommerce.

In this episode, we talk to Alexa Fisher, Ecommerce Manager North America, Delognhi Group.

Enjoy!

Welcome to our ShopTalk US collection of episodes, bringing you insights from some of the brightest minds in digital marketing, retail and ecommerce. 

In this episode, we talk to Lauri Joffe, CMO, American Freight.

Enjoy!

Welcome to our ShopTalk US collection of episodes, bringing you insights from some of the brightest minds in digital marketing, retail and ecommerce. 

In this episode, we talk to Matt Smolin, CEO of customer loyalty business Hang.

Enjoy!

Welcome to our ShopTalk US collection of episodes, bringing you insights from some of the brightest minds in digital marketing, retail and ecommerce. 

In this episode, we talk to Poonam Goyal, Sector Head and Senior Research Retail Analyst, Bloomberg.

Enjoy!

Welcome to our ShopTalk US collection of episodes, bringing you insights from some of the brightest minds in digital marketing, retail and ecommerce. 

In this second episode, we talk to Patrick McIntyre, Head of Development, Krispy Kreme.

Enjoy! 

Welcome to our ShopTalk US collection of episodes, bringing you insights from some of the brightest minds in digital marketing, retail and ecommerce. 

In this first episode, we talk to Anna Farberov, GM at Pepsico Labs. 

Enjoy!

Too Good To Go is a brand focused on fighting food waste and having a social impact. Sustainability and social impact is a huge focus for brands as well as a key driver for many in the increasingly conscious consumer market. But how do you tell the difference between the brands that are authentic and those that are doing it for marketing purposes?

Jon and Vanessa Jefferies, Associate Director of Marketing at Too Good To Go, explore the intersection of sustainability, social impact, and brand authenticity. We delve into how businesses can authentically incorporate social impact, differentiate themselves in the sustainability space and maintain credibility whilst pursuing market leadership.

Key Takeaways:

• Understand how brands obtain and maintain authenticity and credibility whilst pursuing sustainability initiatives. 
• Understand how the social impact movement is having a positive effect.
• How consumers can distinguish between brands that authentically prioritise sustainability and those that may be leveraging it for marketing purposes.
• Approaches to effectively communicate a brand's social impact without appearing disingenuous or solely focused on marketing objectives.
• Insights into future trends and developments in the sustainability and social impact space, and how brands like Too Good To Go are positioning themselves to stay ahead of the curve.

Welcome back to the podcast!

In this week's mini bitesized episode, I discuss a few thoughts (from an employers perspective) on how to stand out in an interview and job application process. 

This is direct from my experience of recruiting for a small, specialised performance marketing agency. 

Hope this helps!

Welcome to episode 141 of the Marketing Freaks Podcast. This week, we're joined by Sam Lewis-Williams, Head of Automation at the Financial Times, to explore how both businesses and consumers navigate the abundance of content that we have access to, and how the Financial Times uses automation to deliver the right content to the right audience.

We delve into the different applications of automation at the Financial Times. Sam explains how behavioural data is changing the way that the Financial Times delivers content to their subscribers to create 1:1 experiences. 

Key Takeaways:

• Personalised Content Delivery: Listeners will understand how the Financial Times leverages marketing automation to deliver personalised content experiences to its diverse subscriber base, ensuring that the right content reaches the right subscribers at the right time.
• Content Curation with Automation: Sam will provide insights into the significant volume of content available at the Financial Times and how automation plays a crucial role in the selection and curation of content for individual subscribers, enhancing their overall experience.
• Shift to Customer-Centric 'Orchestration': Listeners will learn about the transition from traditional linear email-based campaigns to a more customer-centric 'Orchestration' approach, and why this shift is essential in the context of marketing automation at the Financial Times.
• Behavioral Data's Impact: Sam will explain how the use of behavioural data is revolutionising content delivery, leading to the creation of 1:1 experiences, making content recommendations more tailored and relevant.

Welcome back to another mini bitesized episode!

This week we're talking about the best ways to learn performance marketing, and how to get started and build your skills with both Meta Ads and Google Ads.

Hopefully this is useful for you if you're new to the field or just looking to build your understanding of how PPC or Paid Social works.

Enjoy!

Welcome back to the Marketing Freaks Podcast. This week, we're joined by none other than the OG of Facebook Ads, Jon Loomer!

In this episode we explore the incredible career of Jon Loomer, self proclaimed Facebook Ads nerd. Jon has built an incredible reputation within the Paid Media industry and founded The Power Hitters Club, an online community for advanced Paid Media practitioners to connect and share knowledge.  

We will delve into the evolution of Jon’s career, from how he went from a baseball loving philosophy major, to one of the key voices in Paid Media. By the end of this discussion, our audience should gain valuable insights on the importance of personal branding, leveraging your community and sharing your voice. As well as tips on content creation, growing a community and becoming one of the most influential “accidental marketers”.

Key Takeaways:

• The Importance of Personal Branding: Gain insights into how Jon built his personal brand and why it's crucial for professionals, especially in the marketing industry.
• Community Building: Learn the story behind the founding of The Power Hitters Club and how fostering a community of like-minded professionals can lead to knowledge sharing and career growth.
• Content Creation Strategies: Find out Jon’s approach to creating regular, impactful content, and how this can support anyone looking to establish authority in Paid Media.
• Overcoming Challenges: Learn about the challenges Jon faced in his career, especially when launching his first product, and how he overcame them to grow his personal brand & business.
• Work-Life Balance: Insights into how Jon maintains a balance between being a prominent industry voice and his family life.
• Future of Meta Ads: Gain insight into Jon’s perspective on where Meta Ads are heading in the current year.

Welcome to this week's bitesized episode!

We're super excited to be heading to Shoptalk in March where we'll be recording a load of interviews with some of the biggest brands in the world. As a bit of a warm up to that, we invited Joe Laszlo (the man behind the show agenda) on for a chat about how he curates the show's programme. 

Enjoy!

Welcome back to the Marketing Freaks Podcast. It’s a double helping of PPC pie as this week, Jon is joined by our Senior PPC Account Manager Vince Norris. Vince is fairly new to the Overdrive team, although he has hit the ground running and is by all intents and purposes, a genius and all things Paid Search.

Jon and Vince are here to discuss their thoughts on the future of PPC, from the shift from granular bidding to more reliance on machine learning, and our predictions and best practices for 2024. So if you’re currently running ads, or if you’re just getting started and want to know what’s going to generate the best results, tune in to episode 137. 

Key Take-aways:

• Humble beginnings: Where it all began and how PPC and Google Ads have changed over the years. 
• Commercial Airline Pilot vs. Fighter Pilot: Understand the different levels of campaign management and some fantastic analogies to describe them. 
• Best Practices for PPC in 2024: What can you be doing to ensure maximum performance and efficiency from your campaigns?
• Continuous Learning & Adaption: It’s no secret that the world of Digital Marketing is constantly moving, but Vince shares tips on how you can remain up to date with relevant information and ahead of the game. 
• The future of PPC: Jon and Vince share their predictions for the future of PPC and how practitioners can adapt. 

Welcome to this week's bitesized episode!

Join us for a conversation around common concerns and worries, and what we think the biggest challenges will be for performance marketing in 2024. We also get feedback from others to find out what other people in similar roles are concerned about. 

Do you agree? Send us your biggest concerns and we'll cover them in a future episode.

As always, thank you so much for listening and please do subscribe on your preferred podcast platform :)

Welcome to episode 135 of the Marketing Freaks Podcast. This week, we're diving into a topic that's both intriguing and a bit frustrating. Jon and Abi are sharing their candid thoughts on the gap we often see between flashy pitches and actual delivery. We're talking about the extreme lengths some agencies will go to just to make things seem better than they are in reality.

We’ve pulled out some of our favourite stories from the pitch vaults. Some from our own experiences and others are tales we've heard from clients. It's all about giving you the insights you need to make smarter choices about the agencies you partner with. Stay tuned, it's going to be a great episode!

Key-takeaways:

• Look past the flashy pitch: Find out how to dig into what's really being offered, not just how good it sounds.
• Who's actually on your team?: How to find out who you'll be working with day-to-day, not just the sales folks.
• Don't shy away from hard questions: Abi and Jon will guide you on what to ask to really understand what's on offer.
• Know your worth to them: Learn how to gauge where your business ranks in terms of importance to them, so you know how much attention you'll get.
• Cut through the jargon: Learn to spot when you're being sold a dream that's no different from what others offer. 

Hello and welcome to the first bitesized episode of the year!

This week we're talking about Google's plan to depreciate third party cookies in Chrome. What is actually happening, how does this impact our world of paid media and digital marketing, and what should you be doing to prepare for the change?

Welcome back to the first episode of 2024! In this episode, we’re diving into the ever-changing world of PPC with Indi Rai, Head of Acquisition at Ufurnish. Indi brings a wealth of experience from both agency and client-side perspectives, offering us a unique insight into the landscape of PPC & Performance marketing.

We're exploring everything from the development of PPC over the years, to the synergy between PPC and SEO. Whether you're from a startup or a big corp, you'll get insider insights on adapting strategies, harnessing automation, and the importance of creativity in digital marketing. Tune in for an episode packed with pro tips and real-world wisdom that'll give you an edge in your marketing game!

Key Take-aways:

• Evolution of PPC and Digital Marketing:  Gain insight into how PPC and digital marketing have evolved over the years, including the transition from granular, device-specific campaigns to more integrated strategies and the shift towards automated bidding.
• Adaptability in Marketing: Understand the importance of adapting to changes in technology and strategies in digital marketing, such as Google's Enhanced Campaigns and the increasing reliance on automation and data-driven decisions.
• Strategic Thinking in Large Corporations vs. Startups: Understand the unique challenges and strategies employed in PPC and digital marketing in large corporations versus startups, with a focus on budget management, resource allocation, and achieving efficiency.
• Data-Driven Decision Making: The shift towards a more data-centric approach in PPC, emphasising the importance of aligning marketing strategies with business growth, profitability, and understanding customer acquisition costs.
• Creative Aspects in Modern PPC: The evolving role of creativity in PPC campaigns in the age of automation, highlighting the importance of crafting effective ad content and strategically feeding data into automated systems.
• The Changing Role of PPC Practitioners: An understanding of how the role of PPC professionals has shifted from manual campaign management to leveraging automated systems and focusing on broader business impacts.
• Professional Development Advice for PPC Practitioners: Practical advice for individuals in PPC roles, especially in startups, on the importance of building industry networks, staying updated with trends, and understanding the broader marketing landscape.

Join us for this mini bitesized episode to chat through Elon Musk's tirade, what this means for us working in the world of paid social and what on earth is going on over at X! 

Have you changed your opinion on advertising on the platform, or if you are still seeing good results should you continue to advertise there? 

Enjoy!

Welcome back to the Marketing Freaks Podcast. In this episode, we’re diving into an often neglected yet crucial topic: What does it take to become a successful Marketing Leader? Jon is joined by Danny Denhard, a distinguished executive coach with plenty of skin in the game. Danny specialises in guiding CMO’s, VP's and Directors to enhance their career trajectory, team dynamics and overall company performance through his unique workshop based coaching. 

Quite often we see a pattern where professionals are taught to become competent managers and team leaders. However, there seems to be a gap when it reaches the upper echelons of leadership, such as CEO’s, CMO’s and CFO’s. It’s rare that these roles are supplemented with the necessary training to master executive leadership skills. 

Key Takeaways:

• Transitioning skills from practitioner to leader: Learn about the challenges markets face as they climb the career ladder, transitioning from practical roles to leadership positions and how this requires a different set of skills that they may not have been trained for. 
• Different types of intelligence required for leadership: Understand the importance of combining and balancing technical knowledge, emotional intelligence, work intelligence and political intelligence. 
• Effective communication & collaboration techniques: Gain insight on the importance of being able to effectively communicate and collaborate with other departments and how to adapt your language and approach to suit different audiences. 
• Continuous personal development: Learn the importance of being self aware, the need to for continuous learning and adaption as a leader, to shape your management style and become an effective leader.

Hello and welcome to the Black Friday / Cyber Monday special!

In this episode we talk about whether or not Black Friday is worth doing as a business, how it's going so far and what the common trends for this Q4 are looking like. 

We also pull out some key news items and take a look at Shopify's real time BFCM stats. 

Enjoy!

Welcome to episode 129 of the Marketing Freaks Podcast. Jon is joined by Ed Bolton, Partner Manager at Trustpilot to explore how businesses can harness the power of social proof, brand reputation, and user-generated content (UGC) to drive sales during peak buying seasons. We delve into the strategies and tactics that can be used, to help businesses thrive during their busiest times of the year. Gain valuable insights and practical tips on how you can leverage customer reviews within your marketing and customer engagement strategies, to boost sales over peak buying seasons.

Key Takeaways:

• The Importance of Social Proof: Understand how leveraging customer reviews, ratings, and testimonials can influence purchase decisions.
• Building a review strategy: How brands can automate the process of collecting reviews, making it easier for customers to leave feedback.
• Engaging with customers: Understand the importance of proactively engaging with customers by responding to reviews, both positive and negative. 
• Authentic Reviews: How to obtain reviews without impacting autenticity
• Leveraging reviews during peak seasons: How brands can prepare for peak seasons like Black Friday by having review processes in place, responding quickly to reviews, and showcasing reviews on their websites to build consumer trust.
• The value of finding impactful reviews: The importance of finding reviews that resonate with your target audience and strategically feature these reviews in marketing campaigns.

Welcome back to another bitesized mini episode! 

This week we're talking about the corporate game, how to win confidence and how to get buy in for future investment in your marketing activity. 

Simply being great at what you do is sadly not often quite enough. You need to be able to communicate clearly and build logical business cases in order to progress and grow your channels. 

Join this episode for some advice on how to go about doing just that. 

Enjoy!

Welcome to Episode 127 of the Marketing Freaks Podcast. This week, Jon is joined by Gemma Barter, the Digital Marketing Manager at Honest Burgers, to talk about about the strategic approach and tactics employed by Honest Burgers in leveraging online marketing to boost footfall into their restaurants. We uncover the key ingredients that make their marketing efforts so effective in driving foot traffic, customer engagement, and loyalty to their brick-and-mortar locations. 

Key Takeaways:

• Strategic Approaches: Gemma will share Honest Burgers' strategic approaches to integrating online marketing with offline activities. Gain a deeper understanding of how a well-thought-out strategy can drive customers to physical locations.
• Tactical Tips: Gemma tells us the specific online marketing tactics, tools, and platforms that have proven effective in increasing foot traffic and engagement in their restaurants. These practical tips can serve as actionable takeaways for businesses looking to replicate their success.
• Measuring Success: Gain insights into how Honest Burgers measures the impact of their online marketing efforts on offline activity. 
• Inspiration: Leave the episode inspired and equipped with knowledge and ideas to enhance your own online marketing strategies to drive offline activity for your businesses.

It’s spooky season, so in this bonus Halloween-themed episode we’re bringing you some tales of terror in the form of Paid Media Horror Stories. Jon is joined by Abi Carey, Head of Paid Social to delve into some of the most hair-raising mistakes made in performance marketing. They will not only highlight common blunders but also share a chilling account of their personal career horror stories and the invaluable lessons they've learned. Tune in for a frightfully informative discussion that will help marketers avoid the ghastly ghouls and enhance their performance marketing efforts.

Key Takeaways:

• Marketing Nightmares: Discover the common spine-tingling mistakes in performance marketing, and how to exorcise your campaigns of their demons. 
• Personal career haunts: Jon and Abi resurrect the ghost of their marketing past. Hear the terrifying tales of career mistakes and the lessons they’ve learned to avoid the same fate.

Performance Marketing Potions: Jon and Abi brew up potions and solutions strong enough to raise your performance marketing from the dead.

In this week's mini bitesized episode, we talk all things AI and paid media. 

Are the robots coming for our jobs, or is it that our job roles are just going through a major change? How can we use AI to be more efficient, get better results and ultimately earn more revenue for our clients?

We talk through all of the above and also get a new snapshot opinion from Nick Boyce on the matter!

Welcome back to Episode 123 of the Marketing Freaks Podcast. During this episode Jon and Abbey, Associate Director at Builtvisible explore the relationship between digital marketing and user experience (UX) in today's competitive landscape. By delving into the strategies, examples, and insights shared by Abbey, we will gain a deeper understanding of how seamless UX and effective digital marketing converge to create impactful customer journeys.

Key Takeaways from this episode:

• The importance of the customer Journey: Gain a clear comprehension of what the customer journey entails and why it is a pivotal component of successful digital marketing efforts.
• Integration of Digital Marketing SEO and UX: Understand how Digital Marketing, SEO and UX overlap, and how each aspect must intertwine for a successful online presence. The goal is to create content that not only ranks well but also provides a great user experience.
• Measuring Customer Journey Success: Practical methods for effectively measuring and assessing the success of customer journeys.
• Enhancing Conversion Rates: How improved UX directly influences the success of pay-per-click (PPC) advertising campaigns, showcasing the potential for higher conversion rates through strategic UX enhancements.

Guidance for Businesses: Actionable advice and best practices for businesses seeking to elevate their customer journey and enhance their UX, contributing to improved brand perception and customer satisfaction. 

Join us in this bitesized episode to talk through agency fees, what you SHOULD be getting for your money, and why they are worth paying. 

Clearly every business and situation will be different, but selecting the right agency should provide a vast amount of value for your business, way beyond a simple exchange of cash for resource. 

Nick Boyce dials back in for his opinion on the matter, having worked in multiple client-side and agency roles.

Hope you enjoy!

Welcome back to the Marketing Freaks Podcast.  In this episode, Jon is joined by Nancy Harhut, a leading expert in the world of behavioural science in marketing and creativity. During this episode, we delve into the fascinating world of behavioural science and how it can be harnessed to enhance marketing strategies. We will explore the key principles and techniques of behavioural science that marketers can apply to captivate and engage their target audiences more effectively. Through Nancy's expertise, we provide valuable insights and actionable takeaways for marketers looking to leverage the power of human behaviour in their campaigns.

Key takeaways:

• Understanding of Behavioural Science: Gain a clear understanding of what behavioural science is and how it relates to marketing.
• Psychological Triggers: Learn about specific psychological triggers and biases that influence consumer behaviour. Discover how these triggers can be applied strategically to create more effective marketing campaigns.
• Practical Applications: Understand how behavioural science can be applied within a marketing strategy to drive consumer engagement and boost sales.
• Actionable Takeaways: Receive practical tips and actionable advice on how to integrate behavioural science principles into marketing campaigns. Nancy Harhut will provide guidance on where to start and how to measure the effectiveness of these strategies.

Join us for this mini, bitesized episode where we talk through what makes a bad pitch process, what makes a good pitch process, how to find the best agency partner for your business and a whole heap more!

Welcome back to episode 119 of the Marketing Freaks Podcast. This week Jon is joined by Duarte Garrido, VP of Growth Marketing at vault.io, to discuss how to navigate restrictions in highly regulated organisations. 

Duarte's journey began in the kitchen as a chef, but he later transitioned to journalism before venturing into the world of marketing. His career took him to companies like Sky, Philip Morris International, Coca-Cola, and Standard Chartered Bank. What stands out in his journey is his knack for thriving in industries where creativity is often stifled by strict regulations.

Key takeaways:

• Creativity in Highly Regulated Industries: Discover strategies for fostering creativity within industries with strict regulations.
• Resilience and Adaptability: Understand the significance of resilience and adaptability in marketing roles, particularly when dealing with challenges.
• Accountability in Marketing: Explore the concept of accountability in marketing, focusing on measurable results and aligning marketing with business goals.
• Launching New Brands and Products: Uncover strategies and challenges in launching new brands and products, with a focus on demand generation and success measurement.
• Effective Use of Intent Data: Learn the importance of utilizing high-intent signals and intent data to identify potential customers and drive lead generation.
• Alignment of Marketing, Sales, and Customer Success: Understand the value of aligning these teams and using shared KPIs to achieve growth.

Understanding the Business: Gain insights into the importance of understanding the broader business context to make a more significant impact in marketing.

Join us for another bitesized episode where I'm talking GA4. 

Is it really as bad as everyone thinks, why is everyone so frustrated with it and what are some of the positives?

I'm also joined by Nick Boyce for his opinion on the matter.

Enjoy!

Welcome back to the Marketing Freaks Podcast. In this episode, we dive deep into the fascinating journey of renowned Luxury Travel Brand, Oxford Ski Company with its founder and CEO, Rupert Longsdon. We explore the inception of the business, the pivotal role of marketing in fostering growth, and valuable advice for aspiring entrepreneurs. We uncover the evolution of marketing strategies, the significance of a well-balanced marketing mix, and Rupert’s perspective adapting during challenging times.

Key takeaways:

• Practical Advice for New Founders: Gain insights into the mindset, strategies, and approaches that can pave the way for successful business establishment and growth.
• Momentum through marketing: Trace Oxford Ski Company's marketing evolution from its early activities to current success, offering practical lessons for startup branding and momentum building.
• Adaptability in Crisis: Discover firsthand how to reshape marketing strategies in response to challenges.
• Founder's Marketing Wisdom: Discover key aspects of marketing's role in business success, guiding entrepreneurs to prioritize efforts and make informed decisions.

Join us for the first episode in a series of mini, bitesized episodes. 

In this episode, Jon talks through the importance of gathering the right data and information to help you make better decisions and prioritise the right actions. Find out what the best data to review is, how to find and gather the information, and how to identify the biggest improvements for your marketing efforts. 

All I Want for Christmas Is a Flawless Digital Marketing Strategy: Your Guide to Q4 Success

You’re most likely thinking that we’re crazy, talking about Christmas Campaigns in September (this podcast was recorded in July too)… but there is a method to our madness. Q4 and Christmas present a golden opportunity for eCommerce retailers to capitalise on heightened consumer spending. However, the key to making the most of this season lies in meticulous planning of your digital marketing strategy. Which means for us, Christmas always comes early.

Below we delve into the key elements that can lead to a successful digital marketing campaign during this critical time. From early preparation and accurate tracking to creative authenticity and a strategic approach, each component plays a pivotal role in your quest for Q4 success.

Start planning early: Even though it might seem early, it's important to start planning for Q4 and the holiday season well in advance. Waiting until October or November can lead to last-minute panic and missed opportunities

Account Hygiene and Data Accuracy: Ensure that your tracking and data points are correct in your analytics and advertising platforms. This includes verifying that your tracking is accurate and pulling through the right data.

Segmentation and Campaign Structure: Consider how you want to segment your campaigns and ad sets, especially for Advantage Plus shopping campaigns, which can have multiple creatives. Plan your campaign structure ahead of time to avoid last-minute changes.

Creative Strategy: User-generated content (UGC) and authentic, relatable creative are key. Consider using UGC-style content or create authentic-looking ads with a clear brand presence. Avoid generic Black Friday-themed ads that lack brand identity.

Learning Periods: Understand that platforms like Meta Ads require a learning period for optimisation. Start your campaigns early to collect data and optimise before the peak season.

Differentiation and Targeting: Consider whether to participate in Black Friday, and if you do, think about how to position your products differently based on your audience and product category. Be strategic in your approach, and don't feel obligated to follow the same tactics as everyone else.

Building First-Party Data: Focus on building up your first-party data through lead generation campaigns. Offer value to users, such as discounts or freebies, to entice them to sign up and join your email list.

Maintaining Brand Identity: While offering promotions and discounts, don't compromise your brand's identity. Ensure that your Black Friday creative still reflects your brand's style and messaging.

Campaign Consistency: Avoid creating brand-new campaigns specifically for Black Friday. Instead, modify existing campaigns to incorporate Black Friday promotions. This approach minimises approval and learning periods.

Preparation for Q4: Remember that Q4 involves more than just Black Friday and Christmas. Plan for the entire holiday season, as costs rise and competition increases.

Christmas, or more specifically Q4 is often peak trading for the majority of eCommerce retailers, and digital marketing plays a pivotal role in shaping your success. By planning your Q4 and Christmas digital marketing strategy well in advance, you set the stage for a profitable season. A well-prepared strategy not only maximises your chances of success but also enhances your brand's reputation and customer loyalty. So, take the reins, plan ahead, and reap the rewards of a festive season well-executed.

Evolving Landscape of Paid Media: Navigating the User Journey and Scaling Success

Over the past few years, Paid Media has undergone significant advancements and become an essential tool for businesses to effectively connect with and captivate their desired audiences. However, the landscape of Paid Media is constantly developing, and businesses need to continuously adapt to stay ahead of the game.

A notable change is the growing importance of understanding the user journey beyond the initial click on an ad. In the past, marketers may have considered their job done once they successfully drove traffic to a landing page or website. But now, that's just the beginning of the story. What happens after the click is just as crucial, if not more so, in ensuring a campaign's success.

To truly capitalise on Paid Media campaigns, marketers must have a clear understanding of what happens after a user clicks on an ad. This involves tracking user behavior, analysing their interactions, and identifying potential pain points or barriers to conversion. By gaining insight into the user journey, marketers can optimize the entire conversion process, creating a seamless and engaging experience that leads to higher conversion rates.

Another significant change in the world of Paid Media is how marketers view campaign plateaus. In the past, a plateau might have been seen as a sign of failure or stagnation. However, experienced marketers now recognize plateaus as signs of a well-oiled machine that has achieved a certain level of efficiency and success and an opportunity to explore new markets, test new audiences, or expand into new territories. Scaling a successful campaign to reach a broader audience can lead to significant growth and increased revenue.

The world of Paid Media has evolved, and marketers must adapt their strategies to navigate this ever-changing landscape successfully. Understanding the user journey beyond the initial click and optimizing the conversion process are now vital components of a winning strategy.

Don't let your Paid Media campaigns plateau or miss out on potential growth opportunities. Contact Overdrive Digital today to supercharge your performance marketing strategy.

Welcome back to the Marketing Freaks Podcast. In this week's episode Jon is joined by founder of Profitspring, Byron Marr. Byron got into Paid Media through promoting bands on Facebook and discovered a natural affinity for data driven creativity. Having worked agency side, client side, and now running his own consultancy business, Byron has a wealth of experience. 

In this two part mini series, Jon and Byron delve into the changes that have taken place in the world of Paid Media over the years, discussing both the good and the bad. They explore how the industry has evolved and what marketers need to focus on today. During part one Byron shares his thoughts on the rise of automation, the importance of data management and strategic decision-making.

Welcome back to the Marketing Freaks podcast! In this week’s episode Jon is joined by our Head of Client Services, Dan to delve into the pressing challenges many businesses are faced with during the current economic climate. They shed light on how this has an effect in the digital marketing industry today and explore strategies to maximise efficiency in the face of tightened budgets.

In these uncertain times, businesses across the globe are grappling with economic hardships. Clients are understandably seeking ways to optimise their marketing efforts and ensure every penny spent delivers the utmost impact. 

A lot of businesses are questioning “Do we just turn everything off?” The simple answer to that is no! Here’s why:

One of the key things to factor in during these challenging times is that by keeping your paid media campaigns running, you are maintaining visibility. It’s also a good time to switch that fearful mindset into a “let's seize this opportunity” mentality. 

Welcome back to the Marketing Freaks podcast! In this week’s episode Jon is joined by our Head of Paid Social, Abi Carey to discuss how and why we have reworked our service offering at Overdrive Digital. 

Jon and Abi run through why changing our service offering is the best thing we can be doing for our clients right now, the ever changing industries we work in and the changing way in which you can achieve real success in your digital marketing platforms.

So why are we changing it up? Well basically, if you aren’t considering what happens after your paid clicks, you are missing the bigger picture and leaving revenue on the table.

Don't get us wrong, there's always room for enhancing campaign structures or switching up your audiences, ads and ad copy. However, have you ever really delved into the performance that unfolds after someone clicks on your ad? Have you explored how to improve your conversion rate? Have you delved into the checkout and shopping behaviour reports to unravel why someone drops off? 

Welcome back to the Marketing Freaks podcast! In this week’s episode we are discussing a slightly different topic… Jon is joined by our Senior Paid Media Executive Halli Biggs, who at the end of last year, experienced a potentially life changing injury.

In this episode, we'll explore some of the concerns Halli was faced with, as well as the essential steps and strategies for successfully navigating the return to work after an injury, empowering you to regain your confidence and thrive in your professional and personal life once again.

Life can sometimes throw unexpected challenges our way, and one of the most challenging hurdles to overcome is an injury that disrupts our ability to work. Whether it's a work-related incident or an unfortunate accident outside of the workplace, the road to recovery can be arduous. 

Welcome back to the Marketing Freaks podcast! In this week’s episode, Jon is joined by our Head of Paid Social Abi Carey to talk through what business factors you should be taking into consideration in paid advertising.

In the ever-evolving realm of digital marketing, paid media campaigns have emerged as a game-changer for businesses seeking to expand their reach and drive tangible results. However, achieving success in this space requires a keen understanding of various business factors that can influence your outcomes. 

In order to fuel growth and maximise your returns, you should ensure that you strike a clear balance between profitability and growth by carefully evaluating your margins and finances whether that's for your business or for a client. 

Welcome back to the marketing freaks podcast! In this week’s episode, I’m joined by Halli from our Paid Social team to talk through the importance of having a good creative brief. 

When it comes to running campaigns on social, creative is clearly a hugely important part of the mix. As such, if you’re working with external partners or other teams within the business, ensuring they know exactly what you need is imperative.

Hi all and welcome to episode 107 of the Marketing Freaks podcast!

In this week’s episode, Jon is joined by our Head of Client Services Dan Lifton to delve into the significance of working with the right digital marketing agency, both from a business perspective and on a personal level. 

In today's fiercely competitive digital landscape, businesses and individuals are striving to unleash the full potential of online platforms. However, navigating this complex terrain can be overwhelming. This is where finding an agency to assist can be your guiding light, empowering you to achieve your goals.

So what should you look out for? A reputable digital marketing agency should possess a diverse range of expertise. What you/your business needs to decide is whether those skills align with your goals. If that's SEO, PPC, Paid Social, content creation or analytics, you need to consider their industry experience and whether they have worked with businesses similar to yours. 

Hi all and welcome to episode 106 of the Marketing Freaks podcast!

In this week’s episode, Jon is joined by Overdrive’s Senior Paid Media Account Manager Abi Carey to discuss the valuable lessons we’ve learnt so far since setting up our very own e-commerce business, The City Scooter and how they can be implemented to propel our clients business endeavours to new heights.

One of the best ways we can understand the pressures and stresses our clients go through day to day as a digital marketing agency is by putting ourselves in their shoes. So, why did we decide to go to the extreme and set up an e-commerce business as a team? It’s simple. 

In order to acknowledge those trials and tribulations that e-commerce businesses experience daily, there is no better way to learn than by being able to fully immerse yourself into it. Not only did learning on the job offer practical application of knowledge, but it also allowed our whole team to tap into new skills, contextual understanding and adaptability.

Hi all and welcome to episode 105 of the Marketing Freaks podcast!

In this week’s episode, Jon is joined by our very own TikTok genius and Senior PPC Executive Rosie Toone to discuss TikTok, what it is and the power of the platform within digital marketing.

If you've been living under a rock and haven't heard of TikTok, let us enlighten you! TikTok is like a wild party where everyone is showing off their best dance moves, lip syncing to their favourite music, and sharing their life hacks with the world. It's a platform where you can find everything from hilarious pranks to cooking tutorials to adorable pet videos. And the best part? It's all wrapped up in videos of a variety of short lengths that are addictive and easy to consume.

So, why is TikTok such a hit? Well, for starters, it's designed to be highly personalised. The app's algorithm learns about your preferences and surfaces content that is tailored to your interests. This means you're constantly discovering new creators and content that you'll love.

Hi all and welcome to episode 104 of the Marketing Freaks podcast!

Over the last two episodes, Jon is joined by Harry Thuillier, co-founder of Oppo Brothers, the award-winning British ice cream and healthy snack brand that has taken the market by storm.

If you haven’t yet listened to last week's episode yet, you need to! (and you can do that by clicking here). It was a truly inspiring conversation where Harry and Jon discussed the Oppo Brothers journey, from concept through to being stocked in some of the UK’s largest supermarkets as well as the difficulties that arose along the way. 

In this week’s episode, they dive into the marketing and brand development that took place when starting out the Oppo Brothers venture.

With their business model focussing around wholesale and getting large chain supermarkets to stock their products in order for Oppo Brothers to succeed, Harry and Charlie were aware that they needed to create a distinctive product that was going to add value to those stores.

Hi all and welcome to episode 103 of the Marketing Freaks podcast!

Over the next two weeks, Jon is joined by the truly inspiring Harry Thuillier, co-founder of Oppo Brothers, the award-winning British ice cream and healthy snack brand that has taken the market by storm.

If you haven't heard of the Oppo Brothers, you're missing out on an exhilarating story of entrepreneurship and success. So let us be the ones to enlighten you…

In this week’s episode, Jon and Harry discuss the journey from their Oppo Brothers concept through to being stocked in some of the UK’s largest supermarkets. They also go over some of the difficulties that Harry and his brother Charlie were faced with when starting out in their new business.

Hi all and welcome to episode 102 of the Marketing Freaks podcast!

In this week’s episode, Jon is joined by our Head of Client Services Dan to discuss not only the importance of data, but being able to understand and report your data effectively by looking at the appropriate metrics for your product.

Data is the fuel that drives digital marketing. Without it, we wouldn't be able to measure the success of our campaigns, make informed decisions, and improve our results. But with so much data available, it's easy to pollute your view and be led by the wrong metrics. 

One of the common things we see in the industry is overcrowded reporting and it’s important to understand that to be able to effectively report results, you need to be able to identify the right metrics to track. Unfortunately, we often see that businesses are making marketing and advertising decisions based on irrelevant information and not only is this a huge waste of money, but they’ve then missed out on results.

Hi all and welcome to episode 101 (Not the Dalmatians movie) of the Marketing Freaks podcast!

In this week’s episode, Jon and our Paid Social whiz Abi Carey continue to discuss other potential reasons as to why your ads might not be working and why, as well as providing ways to improve the performance.

In the previous episode, Jon and Abi went over some of the common things we see within the digital marketing agency when it comes to poor performing ads, whether it’s creative design being too complex or simply not utilising what is available when it comes to ad strategy i.e. creating UGC style content. In this episode, we dive deeper into reasons that may not have even crossed your mind before…

Although it may be controversial (especially coming from a performance agency), and really quite daunting to come to terms with, one thing we flag to our clients is that they are not spending enough on automated campaigns. We understand this can be a bitter pill to swallow for most and we aren’t trying to tell you to spend more money if your results aren’t looking good.

Hi all and welcome to episode 100 of the Marketing Freaks podcast!

Over the next two weeks, Jon is joined by our very own Abi Carey and are focussing on ad performance & do’s and don'ts in ad creation. They discuss some of the potential reasons as to why your ads might not be working and what changes you can make within your business to rectify this.

During this week’s episode, Jon and Abi talk through some of the common misconceptions when it comes to ad creation. 

One of the biggest obstacles we often come across at Overdrive Digital is the ad creative. Previously content was designed to be more sleek and professional, however, relying on content like this nowadays can be seen as a huge error. 

Hi all and welcome to episode 99 of the Marketing Freaks podcast!

During this week’s episode, Jon is joined by the wonderful Anastasia Roumelioti to talk about how defining the right corporate values for your business enables you to steer your marketing efforts, sales and growth in the right direction.

Every company has its own culture which is a large part of the DNA of a business and by utilising core values within a business, you’re providing your team with the tools and knowledge to carry out day-to-day activities effectively. 

It’s important that these values align with the objective in terms of what the business aims to achieve and they should be there to help create a framework in conducting business. So what are the common mistakes people make when setting their core values? 

One of the main errors we often come across is the vagueness that some values have and their lack of authenticity. When core values are set in place, it's crucial that they are both actionable and memorable. This then means that all employees will not only remember them along the way, but will also take action in relation to that value. 

Hi all and welcome to episode 98 of the Marketing Freaks podcast!

During this week’s episode, Jon and the Analytics wizard Barbara Pezzi, discuss the benefits in investing in expert advice from outside of your organisation.

If you haven’t tuned into our podcast recently, this episode is part of a three part mini series with Barbara discussing all things GA4; from pros and cons to migration within the new platform (which in our biassed opinion, are really worth a listen!)

So are you and your company feeling confident that you have all of the correct tracking set up with GA4 when the migration takes place in July 2023?

One of the common things we hear in the industry is “We’ve always done things this way” but that doesn’t necessarily mean it's the right way.. Are you currently tracking too much data? So now you’re left with a mass of information that doesn’t necessarily make sense or equate to any hard figures but is just there for the sake of being… There?

Hi all and welcome to episode 97 of the Marketing Freaks podcast!

In this week’s episode, Jon and the incredible Analytics guru Barbara Pezzi, dive into what to expect when migrating from Universal to the new GA4 platform.

In the previous episode, Jon and Barbara discussed a few of the pros and cons with GA4 and the teething problems that you are likely to come across when learning the new platform. 

As most will know, Universal Analytics will no longer be available from July 2023. The unfortunate likelihood is that there are still a lot of people/companies that won’t be aware of these changes and what effects it will have on your business.

So it’s vital that if you plan on utilising the new GA4 platform, that you gain as much knowledge as you possibly can before you get stung and lose all your data from Universal Analytics.

Welcome to the first part in a new mini series with our good friend and analytics genius Barbara Pezzi!

Over the next three weeks we’re going to be focussing on Analytics, covering off GA4 and other great advice to help you make more sense from your data.

In this first episode we catch up on GA4 and look at where the product is at now ahead of the retirement of Universal Analytics this summer.

I think everyone will now be aware of the fact that Universal Analytics is retiring this summer, which means anyone wishing to continue using Google Analytics will effectively be forced to migrate over their reporting to GA4.

Hi All and welcome back to the Marketing Freaks podcast! In this episode, Jon, Chris & Rosie discuss the importance of landing pages and why they are a crucial element to obtaining conversions within paid media. 

It can be a common misconception that ads are the solution to all problems and by pumping money into paid media, you’re guaranteed to gain conversions. Although ads play a vital part in this process, if your final stage in the funnel (the landing page) is not up to scratch, it can equate to high bounce rates and wasted spend.

So how do you know whether your landing page is the reason that conversions are low? This is where the importance of analysing the metrics and data comes into play. If you have a high CTR, you’re likely to be targeting the right people and are successfully pushing the traffic through to the right place. But if you notice that the conversion rate is low, it's likely that the landing page is the cause of this issue.

Hi everyone and welcome to episode 94 of the Marketing Freaks podcast! In this episode, Jon and Dan go over everything you need to know and ask when you’re looking for a new digital marketing agency to work with. 

When you go into a sales process as a client you can be bombarded with reasons to work with that particular agency, but it's crucial to think about a few of the following questions before you make the final decision as to whether you want to create a partnership or not.

Who is going to be working on your account and will you have direct contact with those people? Not only will this give you a better understanding of who will be in your account day-to-day but it will also give you the confidence to know who to contact with any questions, should you need to.

Ideally, when you enter a partnership with an external company, you aim to maintain this relationship for a longer period of time to allow your business to have some consistency and for you to be able to see whether there is progression within the account. So, it’s important to lay everything out on the table from that very first meeting in order to know whether it's going to work for you and your business. 

Hi all and welcome back to the Marketing Freaks podcast! In this episode, Jon and Abi talk through some of the successes we’ve had in paid social and provide a realistic overview of what has worked well and why.

With Paid Social being such a noisy space, it can be easy to avoid being experimental with your digital marketing in fear that you’ll get lost in the abyss and waste not only energy and time, but money. This is where having the right mindset comes into play, and it can make a huge difference. 

As a business, we’ve found that testing really is key to any and every account if you want to be successful in increasing performance.

So what do we mean in “having the right mindset”? Well, it’s simple. Sometimes you need to step away from your screen, sit with your team and brainstorm. We have found this so beneficial in Overdrive Digital, and this is where a lot of our brilliant ideas come from. 

Welcome to episode 92 of the Marketing Freaks podcast! In this episode, we’re going to be talking through our predictions for paid social in 2023. 

In such a fast moving space it can often be really tricky to know what’s coming. However, we can make a sensible start by reviewing data from the previous year, looking at what’s working well now and also review some of the bigger industry trends. 

If you’re working in performance marketing and would like a view on how to get the most out of paid social this year, we really hope this one is useful for you!

With iOS14 being such a huge moment with Meta Ads, 2022 felt very much like the year that everyone re-adjusted their strategies and rediscovered the best ways to drive performance forwards. 

Hi all and welcome back to our podcast! 

In this week’s episode, Jon and Abi talk through potential ecommerce barriers - what they are, and how to avoid them. 

Regardless of how spectacular the product that your marketing is, it is key to ensure that the buying process is just as brilliant. 

There are so many factors you need to take into consideration - especially between the moment someone clicks on your ad through to the final purchase. However, if any one of those elements is off, it can lead to minimal conversions and wasted spend.

Hi all and welcome to episode 90!

In this week’s episode, Jon and Chris discuss all things paid media in B2B. 

They go over the differences of running B2B campaigns compared to B2C, as well as best practices you should be utilising for getting the best results possible. When it comes to talking paid media, B2B tends to be a little bit unloved, so we wanted to give it the attention it deserves!

When starting out with a new client that's wanting to run a B2B campaign, it’s important to get an understanding of not only the customer, but the buying cycle, the motivations behind buying, what the sale process looks like and general research on your client. This will allow you to proactively optimise for the best results!

Hi all and welcome back to our podcast!

In this week’s episode, I’m joined by Dan and we’re catching up on something that should be at the forefront of your mind, yet so many forget - how agencies and clients should work together.

So let’s talk about relationships. When working with your clients or an agency, it’s important to remember that you’re a partnership and it’s essential to be aligned in what you want to achieve. 

This way if there are any differences, you can solve these from the get-go or make any adjustments necessary. It’s all about being 100% on the same page right from the start, but also having transparent and open communication.

Welcome to the first episode of 2023! To kick the year off, we’re going to be going back over the basics of using negative keywords to cut your wasted spend.

Although a basic task, it’s amazing how often this gets missed. Additionally, there are ways you can approach the job which will make your life far easier and the job a lot more efficient. 

For this episode, I’m joined by the brilliant Rosie from our PPC team to talk you through how she does this on her accounts.

Welcome to the last episode of 2022! 

This week I’m joined by Sophie from our paid social team and we’re going to be discussing the importance of having a testing plan for your paid social activity. 

If you’re running Meta Ads (or any paid media activity at all!), then we highly encourage working on a plan to detail exactly what you are going to be experimenting with. 

Take a listen to this episode to find out how to approach your planning, what needs to be included in your plan and also some of our experiences from the clients and accounts we work on.

Hi all and welcome to episode 86!

This week, I’m joined by Dan and we’re talking through the forthcoming changes to Meta Ads’ terms and conditions. Whilst this sounds like an extremely dry conversation, a lot of people have been freaking out and we wanted to work out why!

Hi all, and welcome back to part two of Abi’s podcast takeover! If you missed part one where we talked through the story of Overdrive Digital, definitely check that one out here. 

In this week’s episode we talk about why we decided to launch our own ecommerce brand, thecityscooter.com and some of the brilliant benefits we’ve seen since doing it. 

Hello all and welcome back to the podcast! 

In this week’s episode Abi takes the reins and interviews Jon about the story behind Overdrive Digital and some of the highlights we’ve had as a business over the past six years.

Over the past eighty or so episodes we’ve spoken to many brilliant business founders and talked through their stories, but we’ve never taken a look within and spoken about ours. We thought it was about time we fixed that!

Hello and welcome to episode 83 of the Marketing Freaks podcast! 

In this weeks’ episode we’re discussing how important it is to step back from platform metrics, look at the bigger picture and check in on performance beyond the click that your ad receives.

In summary, there are many moving parts that impact the performance of your ad campaigns, and to be effective, we have to be aware of them!

Welcome to episode 82 and this week we have another brilliant guest joining the podcast, Robert Craven. 

Robert is a digital agency expert, well respected author and keynote speaker and managing partner of GYDA who run peer to peer masterminds for independent agencies. 

In this episode we talk through the importance and value of practicing what you preach and putting your money where your mouth is!

It’s no secret that many advertisers on social have found 2022 tough. Combine the platform changes with a cost of living crisis, increased competition and massively skewed year on year data - it’s not been easy.

However, there is still hope and we’re seeing strong performance on Facebook Ads across a number of different sectors. It’s just harder to come by. In this episode I chat with Abi on the mindset needed to make big performance improvements, and how we tackle the challenge here at Overdrive.

Welcome to episode 80 of the Marketing Freaks podcast! 

This week I’m joined by Rosie from our PPC team and we’re talking about how to approach accounts that have extremely high CPCs in the hundreds of dollars per click.

If you’re faced with a similar situation and wondering where you should start, take a listen to this episode for some excellent advice from Rosie.

Enjoy!

Hello all and welcome to episode 79 of the Marketing Freaks podcast. In this week’s episode we continue with our ‘My Business Story’ series, speaking to co-founder of digital PR agency JBH, Jane Hunt.

Hi all!

In this week’s episode I’m joined by Abi Carey to talk about Q4, how to get prepared and what we foresee the challenges being this year.

Really hope you find this one helpful, and if you do, please make sure you subscribe for future episodes!

In this episode I’m joined by Sophie from our paid social team, to talk through the topic of account turnarounds. 

No matter how good you are, everyone working in paid media will at some point be faced with an account that has either gone a bit stagnant, or perhaps inherited an account that just isn’t performing as well as it should. 

So how should you approach these situations? Take a listen to this week’s episode to find out!

Welcome back to the podcast!

In this week’s episode, we’re speaking to Daria McBride, Digital Marketing Manager at Hush. We talk through her role managing paid media at Hush, how that compares to previous agency side roles and also her experience of in-housing paid media.

In this week’s episode I’m joined by yet another brilliant guest and good friend of mine, Phil Ingram. 

Phil started working in sales in the late 80s and is now CEO of a gaming company in Hong Kong. So, how has marketing changed over that time? 

Take a listen to the episode to find out!

Welcome back to another instalment of our ‘My Business Story’ mini series of interviews. 

This week we’re speaking to Callum McKeefery, founder of reviews.io. We chat with Callum about the story behind reviews.io, but also his experience in business prior to that.

One of the really great things about this podcast is meeting new people and having great conversations. This episode truly does encapsulate that, with a completely open chat through Callum’s experience in business.

Hello and welcome back to another installment in our ‘My business Story’ series. In this week’s episode we speak to Amelia Sordell, personal branding expert and founder of Klowt.

If you’re interested in how building your personal brand can contribute to a growing business, check out this episode for Amelia’s advice!

If you’ve spent any time at all on LinkedIn, you’ve probably come across Amelia. With well over 100,000 followers and posts that generate huge levels of engagement, I wanted to find out what the reality of getting to that point was like.

Not only do we talk about the positive impact having a strong personal brand can provide, we also talk through some of the potential downsides and how much hard work it is to start getting traction. 

Really hope you enjoy this episode!

Hello all and welcome to episode 72 of the Marketing Freaks podcast! This time we’re back with a very special guest Dan Roche. 

With over a decade of experience in performance marketing including roles at WeBuyAnyCar and On The Beach, it was great to get Dan’s take on what it’s like managing PPC in-house compared to being agency side.

Within the episode we talk about the day to day side of working in house, Dan’s experience’s of being pitched to by agencies (good and bad) and some of the lessons he’s taken through to his own performance marketing agency. 

If you work in-house on PPC there’s a ton of great advice, but also some really useful insight for anyone working within an agency from the other side of the coin.

Having known Dan for quite some time now, it was also a brilliantly fun catch up! Genuinely hope you enjoy this episode as much as I did recording it!

Enjoy!

Hello all and welcome to episode 71 of the Marketing Freaks podcast!

In this week’s episode, I speak to our PPC account manager Chris Llewellyn to discuss weekly PPC optimisations. We talk through the types of activity you should be looking at, the importance of having a plan but also the need to remain adaptable.

If you have a search around for information on how to approach paid social, you’ll be met with thousands of resources detailing the latest and greatest fancy strategies you can use. 

But rarely do we hear from the frontline team members that keep the day to day running, or even those who are starting their journey in paid social. 

For this episode we’re fixing this and speaking to one of our latest recruits, Halli Biggs who was brave enough to join the podcast to talk through her experiences.

In the first episode of our series, we speak to Molly Baker from Indie Consulting, a full service digital marketing consultancy based in the US. 

Within the episode we talk about Molly’s journey to setting up the business, the challenges of running a full service agency and also the pros and cons of having a remote team spread across the US.

Huge thanks to Molly for making the time to join the podcast and for a great chat!

Finding the right objectives for your business has always been tough, but for several reasons it’s harder now than it ever has been. 

Firstly we’ve seen HUGE changes on the platforms in the past 12 months and secondly, comparing year on year is extremely difficult for many businesses due to out of character trading through the pandemic. When the goal posts have moved so much, knowing what you should be aiming for is hard!

The positive side of this is that if you can pin down a fresh set of benchmarks that you know make sense for your business, you immediately have a competitive advantage due to being able to scale with confidence.

Following on from last week when we discussed ways to look after your mental wellbeing in the workplace, this week we are talking about how to make sure you are constantly learning and improving in your role.

I’m joined by Abi who does an amazing job of running our wonderful Paid Social team, to chat through her thoughts and experiences on the subject of self-improvement.

We’re well aware that a topic such as this can be awash with vague advice, buzzwords and tips on how to manifest your success. Of course that’s completely fine if those approaches are your bag, but we tried our best to focus instead on practical lessons learnt from growing our teams here at Overdrive.

Welcome to episode two with our wonderful guest Lisa Pratt. If you didn’t catch it, in the first episode we talked about how to make sure your marketing stands out from the crowd and gets your message across clearly. Well worth a listen!

In this episode we’re tackling a different, but very important topic; wellbeing in the workplace.

Welcome back to the Marketing Freaks podcast and the first of two episodes with our very special guest Lisa Pratt. 

For those who don’t know, Lisa is the Digital Marketing Lead at Girlguiding and comes with a wealth of marketing experience. 

In this first episode we talk through how to make sure your marketing cuts through the noise, how to get your message across clearly, and how to stand out from the competition.

A big thank you to Sophie who joined the episode for the conversation and for all her input on the topic! 

A big part of our conversation was around the importance of being clear and intentional with how you plan your spend. We also discuss the danger of having ‘unlimited’ budgets; even when triggered by performance metrics it is always good to have some clear goal posts set. 

We also cover the importance of continuing testing, and making sure that you have a portion of your budget allocated to new activity. Once of the biggest risks is remaining static with your approach, so always having some budget set aside to test new tactics will ensure you are always moving forwards.

Really hope you enjoy this episode and please do let us know by leaving us a review!

What this episode covers:

• The importance of being intentional with your spend
• How to plan your budget allocation
• Setting aside testing budgets
• Sophie’s tip of the week!

It’s no secret that there is a general trend of costs increasing on Facebook Ads. However, in recent months many advertisers have been reporting larger than usual increases and big spikes in CPM. 

Remember, no matter what campaign type you are running be that traffic, engagement or conversions…what you are actually paying for is the cost per thousand impressions (CPM).

In this episode I chat with Dan (Head of Client Services) about what we are seeing within the accounts we manage, and how to navigate the challenge of increased CPMs. 

What this episode covers:

• Why is CPM so important to monitor?
• What we are seeing on our accounts
• How to manage your way through increased costs
• Dan’s tip of the week!

Welcome to the third and final episode in our three part series on analytics. 

The big reason behind wanting to run this series is that so many people struggle to get the most from their data, and with a large amount of change happening in the analytics world, getting to grips with your approach to analytics has never been more important.

A huge thank you to the brilliant Barbara Pezzi for her insights across the series, and we genuinely hope it’s been useful. If it has, please do take the time to subscribe and rate the podcast on Apple Podcasts - it makes a big difference, we really appreciate it and would also love to hear what you think.

Welcome back to part two of our analytics mini series with good friend of Overdrive Digital and all round analytics legend Barbara Pezzi.

In this episode we talk about how to approach analytics with the right mindset, and how to interpret the wealth of data presented to dig out insights that will make a true difference to your business. 

Unless you’ve been hiding under a rock, you’ve probably heard about the forthcoming retirement of Universal analytics and the move to Google Analytics 4. 

Although the news has spread far and wide, there is a lot of confusion as to what this means for digital marketers and what you need to do about it.

In this, the first part of a three episode series on Analytics, I sit down with Barbara Pezzi to get an overview of GA4.

Moving slightly away from our usual discussion points on paid media strategies & tactics, in this episode we explore the topic of how to land your first job!

Joining me for this episode is Louisa McNally, who joined our paid social team a couple of months ago. Very bravely, she agreed to have a chat and share some advice from her recent experience of job hunting.

If your line of day to day work involves Google Ads, you’ve probably heard of Performance Max campaigns. 

Performance Max campaigns are Google’s latest move into fully automated campaign types, allowing (in theory!) advertisers to set up quickly and start generating results. 

In this episode I talk to Chris from our PPC team to give you the lowdown on what they are all about, how to get started and a view on what we’ve seen from our initial testing.

Back in February we ran a webinar discussing social media marketing trends for the year ahead, with the excellent Rochana Shrestha from Monzo and Lisa Prattfrom Girl Guiding making up a brilliant panel.

As part of the session there were a number of questions for Lisa and Rochana on the topic of careers. What this turned into was a super informative part of the session with some amazing and honest advice from both Lisa and Rochana!

This episode features that specific part of the Q&A, so if you are looking to get started in the world of digital marketing or are looking for new opportunities, definitely give this one a listen!

What this episode covers:

• Why getting to know GTM is so important
• How to get started
• How to implement and debug your tracking
• Dan’s tip of the week!

This episode covers:

• Key learnings in paid social from last year
• Our predictions for 2022
• What we are seeing work well right now
• Ellie's tip of the week

What this episode covers:

• The difference between great looking ads and ads that sell
• How to monitor and optimise ads for improved conversions
• Our approach to creative testing plans
• Cat’s tip of the week!

Join us for part two of our interview with analytics legend Barbara Pezzi!

What this episode covers:

• Common analytics mistakes
• How to understand your data
• The future of analytics

As always, I really hope you enjoy this episode and find it useful! Do subscribe here and we’ll see you later this week for part 2 :)

What this episode covers:

• What Swarm Markets is all about
• Being the world’s first licensed DiFi platform
• Gaining cut through in the press
• PR tactics for launching your product

What this episode covers:

• What are special ad categories on Facebook?
• What does the approval process look like?
• Recommendations for advertisers

What this episode covers:

• Why interest audiences are so important now
• How to use Google Analytics to find new ideas
• Other methods we use for finding new audience targeting

What this episode covers:

• How to re-think personal branding
• Why some people just shouldn’t do it
• How to get started / what to consider
• A live rinsing of my personal brand

Enjoy! 

If you want an inside view on just what it’s like to run a rapidly growing ecommerce business, this one is for you!

Thanks so much to everyone that’s been listening in and watching our recent episodes. It really is very much appreciated, and as always the full video version is available on YouTube here. 

What this episode covers:

• History of the The Fish Society 
• Jeremy’s background
• How ecommerce is managed at the board level
• A CEO’s view on digital marketing

Enjoy!

What this episode covers:

• A quick recap on iOS14
• What we’ve seen so far
• Our recommendations

What This Episode Covers:

• Background on Noels channel
• How it all started
• The shift from full time employment to YouTuber
• How the business model works

What this episode covers:

·      What Avery & Brown is all about

·      The power of networking

·      Why networking is a bit of a dirty word

·      How to generate business from LinkedIn

What this episode covers:

• Keiran’s background in business
• Swyft’s insane growth
• Lessons learnt through rapid growth
• Challenges scaling manufacturing through a pandemic

This really is a brilliant story and I could have chatted for hours - I genuinely hope you enjoy this as much as I did. 

If you do enjoy the episode, please do subscribe. It makes a huge difference and is hugely appreciated!

What this episode covers:

• What’s going on – recent changes
• The impact on advertisers
• A recap on iOS14
• What we need to do about it as advertisers

What this episode covers:

• Lauren's background in business
• How and why mindset is important for growth
• How to set clear intentions for your day
• Being more productive!

What this episode covers:

• What we feel makes a good vs. bad marketing campaign
• Some of our favourite recent examples
• Some of our least favourite examples

Enjoy!

What this episode covers:

·      How to plan your approach to marketing in China

·      Some of the biggest mistakes companies make

·      What platforms are available / the options you have

·      What sort of budgets you should be considering

Enjoy!

What this episode covers:

• What direction we see paid media going in
• Strategies and areas to focus on
• How to plan for differing circumstances

If you enjoy this episode, please do let us know and don’t forget to subscribe for more!

What this episode covers:

• Robbies background in video production
• How his YouTube channel has grown
• How brands can make more of video
• Advice for anyone looking to grow their audience on YouTube

What this episode covers:

• What the carmats.co.uk project is all about
• Pre-launch activity and getting setup
• Getting the all-important first orders
• Which marketing channels have been the most effective
• The future of carmats.co.uk

Hope you enjoy the episode as much as I did making it, and please do subscribe for future episodes!

What this episode covers:

• Jay’s background and entrance into the world of podcasting
• Where the value lies in podcasting
•  How to get the maximum value from your efforts
• Where to start
• Equipment recommendations

What this episode covers:

• James’ background in publishing
• How marketing for subscription services differs
• What channels work well for driving growth
• How other areas of the business support subscriptions

Thank you to everyone listening in and if you enjoy the episode please do consider leaving a review on Apple Podcasts and subscribing on Spotify.

 Enjoy!

What this episode covers:

• Background of Morning Brew
• What makes Morning Brew so successful?
• How has the marketing channel mix evolved?
• How to measure genuine growth activity 
• Advice for anyone looking to grow their email channel

Enjoy!

What this episode covers:

·      Why call tracking is often confused

·      How to get setup and some of the options available 

·      How call tracking works

·      Call data trends across various sectors

Enjoy!

What this episode covers:

• Spencer’s background
• The Agencynomics story
• What makes a good agency / client fit
• Finding cultural fit
• How to find the right agency for you

What this episode covers:

• GPMDs 20-year story
• Highlights / lowlights of 20 years in business
• How to recruit A players
• Operations and software
• The future of ecommerce

Thanks again to Mark for making the time and hope you all enjoy this one!

What this episode covers:

• Why account structure is so important
• How to plan and map out your structure
• Our starting point
• How CBO impacts things
• How to group your audiences
• The importance of naming conventions

What this episode covers:

• Neal’s background and history with marketing
• The growth of influencer marketing
• How to approach social & influence
• Micro influencers
• Easy ways brands can get started

Enjoy!

Here’s what we cover:

• Performance we’re seeing on paid social
• Performance we’re seeing on PPC
• Current trends on the platforms
• Recommendations based on what’s working

What this episode covers:

• Jacks background and combination of agency vs. in-house experience
• How brands and agencies need to work better
• Key focus points of an in-house role at a growing ecommerce brand
• The role of content in ecommerce

What this episode covers:

• Pros and cons of working remotely
• Recruitment benefits
• How the costs / office savings work out in practice
• Challenges to working remote
• Advice for remote team management

What this episode covers:

• Account planning - what to prioritise first, how to decide on the best structure
• Account structure – why account structure matters and how to decide what’s best for you
• Avoiding shiny objects – not getting distracted!
• Tracking performance – how to understand what’s working and how to review performance

What this episode covers:

• How to start the planning process and understand what your business needs
• How to manage the risk of any platform migration
• How to research your options
• How to select the right partner for the job

What this episode covers:

• Why Alison decided to niche down on the music sector
• Who Alison works with – what type of artists / what stage of their careers?
• Live music is obviously struggling in the Covid world – how has this impacted the sector?
• What’s working well for music artists when it comes to marketing
• Where should independent artists start when it comes to marketing?

What this episode covers:

• Shifting your marketing to a rapidly changing sector
• Amanda’s journey on Twitter
• Being a working parent in lockdown
• Marketing “would you rather”

What this episode covers:

• Our new name
• How to review budget distribution
• Tools to monitor spend and help with decisions
• The importance of prioritising your goals

Welcome to the first podcast episode under our new name!

Within this episode we cover:

• The newly launched Facebook Shops
• Advertising trends since lockdown
• How to make the most of video within your campaigns

Enjoy!

What this episode covers:•What messaging is working now on PPC•What creative is working on paid social•How brands should plan and test messaging and creative•What tools are available on each platform for testing ad creative and messaging•How the approach differs from PPC and paid social•How to measure and prove success

For this episode I’m joined by Britney Muller, Senior SEO Scientist at Moz. Many people will know Moz for their tool suite, guides and educational content. Moz’s beginners guide to SEO is often a first step for people entering the industry, but how is this balanced against offering a more advanced view and looking at the future of SEO?Digging into how SEO is approached at Moz and Britney’s take on how to mix actionable beginner advice and more advanced information was fascinating. Over a 30-minute chat we talk about how SEO is changing and what brands need to focus on when setting their strategies for the future.In this episode we cover:•Britney’s background and entrance into SEO•How to keep up to date with SEO when working inhouse•The future of SEO – where things are headed•How to compete against Google’s own products in the search results•Areas to focus on when starting SEO for a new brand

The world of devops and marketing are often viewed as completely separate units, however there’s a huge need to improve conversations between the two teams. In this episode I talk with Stephen Thair, founder of the DevOpsGroup to talk through exactly this issue and how and why these silos need to be broken down.Stephen has a wealth of experience of working in the field of devops and since founding DevOpsGroup in 2013 they’ve provided support for the likes of SkyScanner, Asos, Admiral and more.Throughout the 30-minute chat Stephen throws in some fascinating examples of how devops and marketing need to communicate to drive better results. If you’re interested in the operations side of digital marketing then this is well worth a listen!Do also check out their online resources to find out more on the topic of devops.What this episode covers:•What is devops and why is it an important consideration for brands•How and why marketing teams need to consider devops•Why internal teams need to communicate better to improve performance•Plenty of amazing examples!

As you can expect, we’re seeing wildly different performance depending on the platform and sector in question. If you’re looking to sense check what you’re seeing and get a few ideas on how to respond then check it out.Unlike our previous episodes, this is the first time we’ve recorded an internal one without an outside guest – if you enjoy the format let us know and don’t forget to subscribe for more!What this episode covers:•Current performance that we’re seeing•PPC and paid social trends•What’s working well as a response on each platform•Some of the positive / negatives we’re seeing•What we're looking forward to about going back into the office

This time round I sit down with Mehul Garg, CMO on-demand from begargantuan.com. Mehul has a wealth of experience working with start-ups, typically working to fuel the growth between series B and series C funding rounds. Mehul’s experience includes brands such as Touchnote, Photobox, 8fit and many more.Within this episode we cover topics such as assessing growth potential, approaches to spend, and what is required from an implementation standpoint. What I really wanted to dig into was that last point. It’s one thing writing a plan, but getting things moving and making it happen is another ball game. If you’re interested in marketing at high-growth organisations this is definitely one for you!What this episode covers:•Mehul’s background in marketing•The role of a CMO in a fast growth business•Assessing growth potential•Implementation and making things happen•Team structures and who is needed

In this episode I speak with video strategist Phil Nottingham and discuss how brands should approach video, how video should be measured and some of the bigger mistakes we should try and avoid.This turned out to be an excellent chat with a ton of useful advice. If you’re looking to put more time into video or are re-assessing your approach this is well worth a listen!What this episode covers:•Common mistakes made with marketing video•How to measure performance and business impact of video•Tactics for video distribution and the differences in platforms•How to define your video strategy•How to get started with video

For those of you who aren’t aware of the tool, Supermetrics is a connector that links up services such as Google Sheets and Google Data Studio to platforms like Facebook Ads, Twitter Ads, Hubspot and more. This enables you to build customised reports and dashboards that update automatically. In this episode of the podcast I join Anna Shutko, Product Marketing Manager at Supermetrics to discuss the product and the plans for their future. Here’s what the episode covers:•Anna’s background in marketing•How Supermetrics has grown over the past few years•Marketing highlights from Supermetrics’ growth•What marketing tactics have proved themselves to work•Plans for marketing Supermetrics in the future

This time round myself and Ellie went to see Harry Hugo, co-founder of Goat to find out what it's like growing the worlds' largest influencer marketing agency.For those unfamiliar with Goat, they've gone from a blank slate to over 120 people across three global offices in just five years. One year ago, Goat decided to invest a serious amount of effort into producing their daily vlog - a brilliant piece of marketing that provides a behind the scenes view on life at Goat.Really hope you enjoy this episode! As always, please do subscribe for more episodes.

This time round I sit down with new business expert Ben Potter to discuss how agencies can improve business development. I first came across Ben by reading his work on Econsultancy and then on LinkedIn, and loved his honest take on how agencies market themselves.In the agency world where buzzwords are far too frequent and almost every business says the same things, Ben’s down to earth view on how businesses should position themselves was hugely refreshing.Not only should this be useful for people working in biz dev roles, but with so many great pieces of advice on positioning and defining purpose there’s something in this for everyone. Plenty of inspiration in here for new ideas for the new year!Here’s what we cover:How agencies should work on defining their positioningBiggest business development challenges agencies facePitching – is it worth it and how to approachHow clients can get the most from any agency selection process

Welcome back to another episode!Ever since I started using Google Tag Manager I’d always end up on Simo Ahava’s blog and as with many people, his work became the first port of call when trying to figure something GTM related out. If you haven’t heard of Simo before, he’s the world’s foremost expert in Google Tag Manager and analytics. Beyond his consulting work and the blog, Simo also runs development agency 8-bit-sheep based in Helsinki, Finland.Having followed and read his work for years it was a real pleasure to sit down and chat about all things analytics and tag manager. What transpired was an excellent conversation about not only the need for accurate data, but more so about how teams and organisations need to look at improving communication between silos to better their approach to analytics. If you’re working as a contractor, agency side or on an in-house team – there are so many great nuggets within this conversation and hopefully you’ll enjoy it just as much as I did putting it together.What this episode covers:- Simo’s background and how his blog has grown- Typical analytics issues organisations face- Team structures to maximise the use of analytics within an organisation- How improved communication between teams can help to solve the majority of analytics issues

The task of client servicing is clearly vital to any successful agency business, however it’s a role that can be approached in many different ways with no clear right or wrong. At the same time it’s a pretty under discussed topic and one that I really wanted to explore.To discuss this topic I sat down with a great friend and former colleague Geoff Griffiths, MD at Builtvisible. The idea was to talk through client servicing in general, discuss ways in which agencies can approach the role, but also how clients can work with their agencies to get more from the relationship.With a productive and fruitful relationship between both parties being the key to success, hopefully this proves to be a useful discussion whether you’re working agency or client side.Having worked closely with Geoff for quite a few years, I genuinely couldn’t think of anyone better to have this conversation with!What this episode covers:General approach to client servicingRoles & responsibilities within client servicingWhat clients can do to strengthen their agency relationshipsWhere to start when you’re looking to review your client servicing functionHow client servicing has changed as Builtvisible has grown as a business

In this episode I sit down with Rachel Clay, Head of Social Media & Influencer Marketing and London agency Matter of Form.The topic of influencer marketing is a fascinating one right now – it’s a channel that almost every brand is keen to explore, however very few people truly understand the discipline or have the experience to successfully make an impact. Add in a large dose of scepticism from the press over the past 12 months and there’s definitely plenty to talk about!For those wanting to get a better understanding of what influencer marketing is all about in 2019, this is definitely worth a listen!Within this episode we cover:What is influencer marketingWhy is Instagram such a great fit for influencer campaignsHow to research, assess and select talentWhat brands need to be aware of

Stephen Pavlovich is founder of conversion rate optimisation specialists conversion.com. In this episode we sit down to talk through CRO and how website owners, ecommerce managers and marketers alike can start to improve their conversion rates.Within this episode we cover:- General status of CRO and how things are changing- Common challenges with CRO- How to get started with CRO – what to think about first- Frameworks for running your own experiments- How to research what to test and how to test it

If you’ve attended Brighton SEO in the past you’ll know just how much effort they put into making the event an amazing experience. Getting a behind the scenes view on how they do this was fascinating and well worth a listen.Within the episode we cover:- How Brighton SEO started- The early stages of growth- The marketing behind each event- Speaker selection process- Some of the struggles along the way

In this episode we talk to JD Prater from Quora about how to reach new audiences via their platform. Within the episode we discuss:- Quora Ads targeting- Placements and ad formats- Ad creative- Quora ads support

In this episode we speak to paid media legend Susan Wenograd for a conversation about all things Facebook Ads.As part of our chat we cover off:Common errors with Facebook AdsFacebook analyticsCampaign budget optimisationHow Facebook Ads is changingEnjoy!

In our second episode we talk to LinkedIn Ads genius AJ Wilcox. If you're advertising on LinkedIn this is a must listen!Within the episode we cover topics such as:Audience targetingBiddingCreativeAccount structures and approach

In our first episode we talk to musician (and good friend) Steve Jones about how he used Facebook Ads to grow his band Brother Strut. They've achieved amazing things including selling out venues such as Koko, Ronnie Scotts and the Jazz Cafe. Since then, Steve's founded a platform for musicians called Beatchain. Check out this episode for a fantastic use case of Facebook Ads!