The Whole Marketer podcast (Abigail Dixon)

Episode #70. The second in our special series on ‘Burnout’, this episode focuses on a marketer’s experience of burnout, what they’ve learned and practical advice on keeping balance and energy when you feel burnout creeping up.

Abby’s guest expert is Kyrsten Halley, a passionate Marketing Director, experienced in working on healthier brands including Ryvita and Samworth Brothers’ new plant-based brand The Flavourists.

In this episode, Kyrsten shares her experience of burnout, tips that helped her recovery and relatable and relevant advice to fellow marketers to look after ourselves in our fast-paced industry.

This podcast is sponsored by Labyrinth Marketing  www.labyrinthmarketing.co.uk 

The Whole Marketer podcast is here to support and empower the people behind brands and businesses with the latest technical tools, soft and leadership skills and personal understanding for a fulfilling marketing career and life as a whole. For more info go to www.thewholemarketer.com 

Episode #68. Flexible working is this episode’s personal understanding topic for marketers - how we balance work and life, not only for ourselves to make time for all aspect in our lives, but also for those in our care.

Flexible working is the ability to define our working patterns that fit around our life as a whole. Post pandemic, we have proven to many employers that where we work and when, for many, doesn’t reduce our productivity, yet can improve our work-life balance.

Abby’s guest for this episode is Claire Low, Marketing Director at Mondelez, with years of experience on major household brands including Cadbury and Hovis.

Claire shares her own experience of asking for flexible working, when & why to ask for flexible working, and how remote working brought her closer with her team. Plus, career highs and lows and advice for marketers.

This podcast is sponsored by Labyrinth Marketing  www.labyrinthmarketing.co.uk 

The Whole Marketer podcast is here to support and empower the people behind brands and businesses with the latest technical tools, soft and leadership skills and personal understanding for a fulfilling marketing career and life as a whole. For more info go to www.thewholemarketer.com 

Episode #49. This episode is a technical skill on consumer-centric marketing. Consumers now hold more power; the increase in choice and advancements in technology and logistics means that they can access products and services from almost anywhere. Businesses thriving today are investing in truly understanding their consumer at a deep-rooted emotional level and putting the needs of their consumers first.

Joining Abby is Nick Rabin ex-client side marketer turned consultant and the newest affiliate consultant to join the Labyrinth Marketing team. During this episode Nick shares how to be a consumer centric organisation (the 4Cs), understanding your consumers beyond the usual demographics and the dangers of assumptions vs facts.

Episode #19

This episode explores the key skill of creativity; what it is and how brands and individuals can cultivate it to answer real business challenges. In conversation with Labyrinth’s very own Shelford Chandler, Abby explores the importance of tapping into our creative core (which we all have!) with Shelford imparting his creative wisdom through actionable tips and advice. With a raft of creative experience working with some of the world’s biggest brands, Shelford shares insights and stories of brand creativity brought to life.

Sponsored by Labyrinth Marketing

www.labyrinthmarketing.co.uk

Host Abigail Dixon @thewholemarketer https://www.linkedin.com/in/abigailcdixon/

Guest LinkedIn

https://www.linkedin.com/in/shelford-chandler2018/

https://www.shelfordchandler.co.uk/

Episode #24.  This episode is a soft skill about being entrepreneurial – the ability to identify new strategic opportunities and having courage to challenge and take risks to solve them creatively and quickly. Abby’s guest in this episode is Mary Wilson; as Global Marketing Director for Lil-Lets and having worked on other challenger brands, she knows the importance of entrepreneurship. Mary and Abby discuss what is an entrepreneurial mindset and why marketers need it, plus how to challenge constructively without annoying or alienating (and the skills and behaviours you need to do so) to elevate yourself, your brand and your organisation.

Episode #77. The role of marketing capabilities is the focus of this episode, an important topic for marketing leaders and those in their care who need to be continually evolving and abreast of new trends and techniques in our fast-paced industry. 

In this episode, Abby and her guest Denise Dewar discuss why marketing capabilities are more than training and upskilling, and how to embed a marketing mindset throughout your whole organisation. 

As Global Lead for Marketing Capabilities at Novartis, Denise is responsible for developing strategies and people to become more customer centric. 

Denise has 20+ years’ experience in consumer and healthcare, and talks about the difference in marketing across the sectors and what the future of marketing means to her. Plus, the commonalities of successful marketing leaders and Denise’s career highs and lows. 

This podcast is sponsored by Labyrinth Marketing  www.labyrinthmarketing.co.uk 

The Whole Marketer podcast is here to support and empower the people behind brands and businesses with the latest technical tools, soft and leadership skills and personal understanding for a fulfilling marketing career and life as a whole. For more info go to www.thewholemarketer.com 

Episode #25. This episode discusses the competencies that today’s marketers need to thrive. Joining Abby in this enjoyable and enlightening conversation is Ritchie Mehta, CEO of the School of Marketing. Hear Ritchie’s thoughts on why the role of the marketer really comes to life in times of turbulence and the holistic skills you need to be the growth engine of the organisation across the 4Ps (not just comms). Plus why we need to attract new, diverse talent to our industry beyond the stereotype of promotions and comms.

Episode #60. A holistic view of the skills that marketers need to have today, to grow the brands of tomorrow, is the topic of today’s episode – all the technical skills, soft skills, leadership qualities and level of personal understanding you need to grow.

Joining Abby to talk about marketer’s development is James Delves, Head of PR & Engagement at Chartered Institute of Marketing (CIM).

In this episode, James shares the results from recent CIM studies - from CMOs, to marketers entering the industry – on how they feel about their roles, skills gaps, future trends and how the pandemic has changed people’s opinions of marketing.

An insightful episode on the holistic skills marketers need to enjoy the breadth of role that marketing offers, and how, whatever your level, you can stay on top of evolving trends in our fast-paced industry.

Booking now open - The Whole Marketer training course, certified by CIM, is a holistic programme created by Abigail Dixon, that combines the latest technical marketing skills, soft and leaderships skills and the personal understanding to have a successful and fulfilling career in marketing and life as a whole.

For more details and how to book see https://www.cim.co.uk/training/list-courses/the-whole-marketer/

Resources mentioned in this episode:

• BBC video: https://www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/articles/zy4fsk7
• Impact of Marketing 3: https://my.cim.co.uk/media/73552/impact-of-marketing-3.pdf
• Digital Skills gap: https://www.cim.co.uk/newsroom/research-digital-skills-in-decline-during-pandemic/
• CMO50 report: https://my-local.cim.co.uk/media/73581/cmo50-report-2022.pdf
• CIM Newsroom (for access to all the latest CIM news and research): https://www.cim.co.uk/newsroom/

Episode #59. This episode is a technical skill on Insight. As marketers you may always be on the lookout for consumer insight, but how do you know you’ve got it and crucially, do you know what to do with it?

Abby’s guest expert is Helen Edwards; columnist at Marketing Week, a marketing academic (PhD in Marketing, MBA London Business School), author, teaching Fellow at London Business School and Director of consultancy Passionbrand, having worked with brands for over 25 years.

In this episode, Helen shares what is and isn’t true insight, the 4 characteristics of true insight and how/when you don’t always need a new one. Plus her career highs and lows and advice for marketers.

Episode #20. In this Episode, the role of the CMO is explored with guest Pete Markey, Chief Marketing Officer of TSB. Pete has enjoyed huge success with companies such as British Gas, the Post Office and More Th˃n insurance (which led to him winning the Marketing Society’s Marketer of the Year award). He talks to Abby about his career highs and lows, why CMOs need to become an artist, scientist and politician, and what makes a great CMO in today’s climate. Plus hear about Pete’s “goldfish moment” (it’ll make sense when you listen!) and why you need one.

Guest Pete Markey

https://www.linkedin.com/in/petermarkey/

Host Abigail Dixon

https://www.linkedin.com/in/abigailcdixon/

Sponsored by Labyrinth Marketing

www.labyrinthmarketing.co.uk

Episode #58. Work/life balance is the personal understanding topic in this episode. As marketers, we can often feel overwhelmed with the growing breadth of our role to be the voice of our consumer and lead the commercial agenda. But making time for what brings you joy outside of work that plays to your values, is so important to fuel the energy and stimulation you need in your role - and creates harmony for a fulfilling life as a whole.

Abby’s guest expert is Nina Holdaway, ex-client-side for brands such as Unilever and Heinz before growing consultancy Brand Learning, now part of Accenture; where Nina leads her team of experts in building the capabilities of people and organisations to deliver customer-centred growth.

In this episode, Nina shares her definition and tips for work/life balance. Plus her passion for mentoring and career highs and lows.

Episode #38.  This episode covers a personal development topic for marketers – Imposter Syndrome. Although it has become somewhat of a buzzword, imposter syndrome was identified by psychologists as when an individual doubts their skills, talents and accomplishments with constant fears of not being good enough and being ‘found out’. Joining Abby in this episode are the founders and hosts of the Imposters Club podcast - Sinéad Kennedy Krebs and Melissa Murdock. They share why feeling imposter syndrome is not your fault, the 5 types of imposter syndrome and that it could actually be your superpower if you recognise how it manifests and how to stop it holding you back.

Episode #34.  Shopper Marketing is the technical skill explored in this episode. As marketers, we have all felt the impact from lockdown and how the purchasing journey has changed for consumers this past year; but what can you do to adjust your shopper marketing plans for now, and if/when will normality return?

Joining Abby is shopper marketing expert Hamish Clarke. Having previously worked for many years with household brands such as Nestlé, Pladis and Treasury Wine Estates, Hamish founded and now runs Klynk Ventures and Epic Snacks, championing challenger and drinks brands. In this episode Hamish shares the changing landscape of in-store marketing, what appeals to retailers, where he would recommend marketers invest from a shopper perspective and why investing in relationships is so important.

Episode #14. Behavioural Science is the topic discussed in this episode; a skill that relatively still less known within in its use in marketing, but there are clear benefits, as discussed in this podcast. Abby is joined by Kate Socker, founder of Twigged Innovation who uses behavioural science to uncover the ‘why’ of consumer behaviour and not just the ‘what’. Listen to hear where behavioural science has evolved from, what it means for marketers and 4 reasons to incorporate it early into your strategic and innovation process.

Sponsored by Labyrinth Marketing

www.labyrinthmarketing.co.uk

Host Abigail Dixon @thewholemarketer https://www.linkedin.com/in/abigailcdixon/

Guest Kate Socker

https://www.twiggedinnovation.com

linkedin.com/in/katiesocker

Sponsored by Labyrinth Marketing www.labyrinthmarketing.co.uk

Host Abigail Dixon https://www.linkedin.com/in/abigailcdixon/ Guest Anthony Fletcher :linkedin.com/in/anthony-fletcher-3b766a27

Episode #63. Today’s s episode is focused on Marketing Leadership. Leadership skills include not only the practical side of management (resource, capability frameworks, PDPs etc) but the human side. Today’s marketing leader needs to feel authentic to be yourself but also be the type of leader that is needed by your organisation and those in your care.

Abby’s guest expert is Ian Hepburn, UK Marketing Director for Evergreen Garden Care, and also has a background in FMCG, including Mars, PepsiCo and Kraft foods. Ian is known for balancing the need for results with forward-thinking and developing, caring and challenging the people in his care.

In this episode, Ian discusses the role of marketing leadership, the importance of integrity, his process for building strong teams and career highs and lows.

Episode #43. Challenger brands is the topic in this episode: exploring differences in marketers’ technical and soft skills needed vs established brands. Challengers are brands that enter a category but push against an existing concept or competitor to address pain & gain points of the consumer.

Abby’s guest is Lottie Unwin, ex P&G, ex-Head of Marketing at Propercorn and now Founder of the Copy Club marketing community - supporting over 3000 (and growing) marketers who are under pressure delivering entrepreneurial marketing in fast-growing challengers and start-ups.

In this episode Lottie shares the difference between a challenger and entrepreneurial brand, the mindset and skills to lead a challenger brand, career high and lows and why challenger and entrepreneurial marketers can benefit from marketing communities.

Episode #11. The topic in this episode is a technical skill - Brand Measurement. Joining host Abby to share practical tips and advice is Richard Bambrick, Global Senior Insights Manager at Pentland Brands (Speedo, Mitre plus more). Richard shares the importance of brand tracking as a tool for marketers to understand consumer behaviour and demonstrate impact, as well as some great advice for what you should/shouldn’t be tracking as a KPI.  Plus why marketers should be sceptical and develop their skills in critical thinking to challenge market research.

https://www.linkedin.com/in/rbambri/

Bamboozled.co

Sponsored by Labyrinth Marketing

www.labyrinthmarketing.co.uk

Host Abigail Dixon @thewholemarketer https://www.linkedin.com/in/abigailcdixon/

Episode #69. You asked and we listened… today’s topic is much requested from our listeners – it’s ‘burnout’. Unfortunately, burnout in the marketing industry is not uncommon, which is why Abby wanted to dedicate several episodes to this important topic, starting with this episode.

Burnout is the physical or emotional exhaustion that occurs when your body no longer wants to function. It is more extreme than being tired; it is when you have been under such chronic and prolonged stress for too long, that even simple tasks begin to feel impossible.

In this episode, Abby is joined by Maggie Supernova, a former marketer turned Burnout Prevention and Recovery Coach, who specialises in Yin Yoga, Meditation and Mindfulness - which she utilises in her coaching programmes.

Maggie shares her own experience of burnout and how she now helps others as a burnout coach. Plus Maggie shares who is more prone to burnout, understanding where you are in the cycle and what you can do to look after yourself.

This podcast is sponsored by Labyrinth Marketing  www.labyrinthmarketing.co.uk 

The Whole Marketer podcast is here to support and empower the people behind brands and businesses with the latest technical tools, soft and leadership skills and personal understanding for a fulfilling marketing career and life as a whole. For more info go to www.thewholemarketer.com 

Episode #50. Diversity and inclusivity is the topic in today’s episode and why it’s important for marketers to understand and represent all our consumers across a range of ethnicities, religion, disabilities, gender, LGBT+, neurodiverse and social backgrounds so that they feel accepted and belong.

Abby’s guest expert is Sherice Anibaba, Global Head of Brand at Speedo and previously worked at Britvic and Innocent.
In this episode Sherice shares personal experience and actionable advice for how marketers can increase diversity and inclusion.

Plus why it’s a necessity tool for marketers, why it should start at ideation - not just in comms and how to be authentic in representing minority groups.

Episode #39. Innovation is the technical skill featured in this episode. Innovation for marketers is the development of new or changed products or services that delivers solutions to consumers' pain and gain points and efficiencies based on insight. Abby is joined by Kevin Verbruggen an experienced marketer, previously head of innovation at Weetabix plus Kellogg’s, Cadbury and California Prunes. In this episode, he provides lots of practical advice on the skills needed throughout the innovation process, true innovation vs renovation, the importance of an innovation strategy, why innovation doesn’t stop at the launch and more...

Episode #46. The topic in this episode is purpose-led marketing. Many passionate marketers are becoming more aware of how their skills can be used to benefit and impact society as a whole, beyond profits.

Abby’s guest expert is Anna Mullenneaux, co-founder of two amazing purpose-led platforms:

Pimp My Cause is a service that matches smaller charities with little marketing resource to experienced marketing volunteers. More recently Anna created the Marketing Kind, a membership community focused on helping marketers use their skills to create change for good.

In this episode Anna talks about the rise of purpose-led marketing, how Pimp My Cause and Marketing Kind started and how rewarding it can be to get involved – the chance to give back, be creative, learn new skills and support a cause you’re passionate about.

For more information see:

https://www.pimpmycause.org/

https://www.marketingkind.org/

Episode #65. Agency partnerships is the technical and leadership skill for marketers in this episode. Due to the increasing breadth of our role, we really need our agencies to be our partner in developing and executing the long-term strategic plan. But what is the best way of working to ensure your agency is equally invested in success and move away from a supplier relationship?

Gareth Turner is Abby’s guest in this episode. Currently Head of Marketing at Weetabix group, Gareth has almost 25years experience in marketing including for brands such as Bulmers and Arla.

In this episode Gareth shares his experience working with agencies, plus findings from his client-agency survey for best mutually beneficial collaboration, challenge and support.

This podcast is sponsored by Labyrinth Marketing  www.labyrinthmarketing.co.uk 

The Whole Marketer podcast is here to support and empower the people behind brands and businesses with the latest technical tools, soft and leadership skills and personal understanding for a fulfilling marketing career and life as a whole. For more info go to www.thewholemarketer.com 

Episode #90. ‘No Bullsh*t Leadership’ is topic of this episode, based on the #1 book by Abby’s guest, Chris Hirst. Winner of Business Book of the Year Award 2020 and Financial Times Business Book of the Month, Chris’ approach is based on over a decade of experience as former CEO of agencies Havas Creative and Grey London.  

Chris has written this book to de-mystify leadership so that it is not just for the chosen C-suite elite… He believes anyone can - and should - learn leadership skills, whether they lead 4 people or 40,000. 

In this episode, Chris shares how he defines leadership, the power of culture and the impact of the leader in individual teams. Plus career highs and lows. 

Please note this episode contains explicit language. 

Host: Abigail (Abby) Dixon FCIM/ICF | LinkedIn

Guest: Chris Hirst | LinkedIn

The Whole Marketer podcast is here to support and empower the people behind brands and businesses with the latest technical tools, soft and leadership skills and personal understanding for a fulfilling marketing career and life as a whole. For more info go to www.thewholemarketer.com 

This podcast is sponsored by Labyrinth Marketing  www.labyrinthmarketing.co.uk 

Episode #80. Marketing competencies is the topic featured in this episode; a topic we’ve covered previously but we believe it’s important to hear different perspectives from leading marketers across a broad range of sectors. 

Abby’s guest in this episode is Raj Kumar who brings his wealth of marketing experience from the financial services & tech industries. Raj’s previous roles include Experian, Nokia and Siemens and during his time in his most recent CMO role at Aviva, Raj’s leadership has been recognised through many awards, including Campaign’s Top 10 Marketers 2021 and Power 100 List 2021, and Marketing Week’s top 100 marketers 2021.  

In this episode, Raj discusses the role of marketers and how the skillset has changed (and in some ways lost its way) over the past 20 years. He shares his most important skillsets for marketers, tips for creating a culture of support and development for his teams as we all his career highs and lows. 

This podcast is sponsored by Labyrinth Marketing  www.labyrinthmarketing.co.uk 

Host: Abigail Dixon FCIM/ICF | LinkedIn

Guest: Raj Kumar | LinkedIn

The Whole Marketer podcast is here to support and empower the people behind brands and businesses with the latest technical tools, soft and leadership skills and personal understanding for a fulfilling marketing career and life as a whole. For more info go to www.thewholemarketer.com 

Episode #84. This topic is Inclusive Marketing and the impact that marketing to a diverse audience can have for your organisation and society as a whole. 

As marketers, we have the power to be change-makers; influencing what society thinks, feels and does, but we also have the responsibility that comes with it. Inclusive Marketing means developing empathy and being open to continuous learning and listening in order to build deep-rooted connections with all our consumers. 

Abby’s guest expert on this topic is Jerry Daykin, Head of Global Media at Beam Suntory. An experienced marketing leader for brands such as GSK, Diageo and Cadbury, Jerry is passionate about diversity and inclusivity and has published a new book Inclusive Marketing: Why representation matters to your customer and your brand. 

In this episode, Jerry shares why he believes inclusive marketing and diversity in your team is important, how more progressive advertising representing gender, race, LGBT and class can drive better performance, and his 4 phase framework featured in his book. Plus career highs and lows, and advice for marketers of tomorrow. 

Host: Abigail Dixon Abigail (Abby) Dixon FCIM/ICF | LinkedIn

Guest: Jerry Daykin Jerry Daykin | LinkedIn

Inclusive Marketing: Why Representation Matters to Your Customers and Your Brand: Amazon.co.uk: Daykin, Jerry: 9781398607316: Books

The Whole Marketer podcast is here to support and empower the people behind brands and businesses with the latest technical tools, soft and leadership skills and personal understanding for a fulfilling marketing career and life as a whole. For more info go to www.thewholemarketer.com 

This podcast is sponsored by Labyrinth Marketing  www.labyrinthmarketing.co.uk 

Episode #82. Today’s episode is a technical skill - Promotional Marketing.

Promotional marketing is a powerful tool aimed to influence a purchasing transaction, often at a point of purchase. Many of us associate it with traditional, short-term sales promotion techniques such as coupons, prize draws, on-pack promotions... but many brands today are applying it more creatively to create meaningful brand building events, experiences, user-generated content and long-term campaigns.

Joining Abby is her guest award-winning, promotional marketing expert Andrew Rae. Working with clients including Air BnB, Ferrero, Mondelez, Molson Coors and Ocado, Andrew’s previous roles include MD of the IPM before starting his own agency Another Way.

In this episode, Andrew shares how promotional marketing has evolved to create brand connections on a more personal level. He discusses why promotional marketing shouldn’t be the last part of an integrated campaign and examples of how it can build more long-term engagement.

Plus Andrew’s career highs and lows and advice for marketers approaching a recession.

This podcast is sponsored by Labyrinth Marketing  www.labyrinthmarketing.co.uk 

Host: Abigail Dixon FCIM/ICF | LinkedIn

Guest: Andrew Rae | LinkedIn

The Whole Marketer podcast is here to support and empower the people behind brands and businesses with the latest technical tools, soft and leadership skills and personal understanding for a fulfilling marketing career and life as a whole. For more info go to www.thewholemarketer.com 

Episode #1. In this episode, Abby discusses the soft skill of Resilience for marketers with the awesome human Alice Ter Haar – People Strategy & Development Manager at Deliveroo and founder of Bad Ass Unicorn personal development. Join their uplifting conversation where Alice shares her 5 pillars of resilience, plus the importance of knowing your values to increase your resilience and fulfilment in these uncertain times.

Sponsored by Labyrinth Marketing

www.labyrinthmarketing.co.uk

Host Abigail Dixon @thewholemarketer https://www.linkedin.com/in/abigailcdixon/

Guest: Alice Ter Haar

https://www.linkedin.com/in/alice-ter-haar/

The Whole Marketer podcast is here to support and empower the people behind brands and businesses with the latest technical tools, soft and leadership skills and personal understanding for a fulfilling marketing career and life as a whole. For more info go to www.thewholemarketer.com 

#Ep57. Culture and hybrid ways of working is the soft skills topic for marketers in this episode.

As a result of the pandemic many of us have continued the trend to work flexibly either with hybrid models or working from home – but how can we keep our teams connected and the culture alive when not together?

To discuss this with Abby is Tamara Littleton, CEO of agency The Social Element. Founded 19 years ago, the agency has always had roots in remote working to attract great talent and grow quickly.

In this episode, Tamara shares her tips on maintaining organisational culture, pros and cons of hybrid working plus her career highs and lows including the insight to create Polpeo – specialists in social media crisis simulations.

Episode #76. The focus of this episode is goal setting, an area of personal understanding. Goal setting is a valuable tool for marketers, not only to accomplish achievements in your career but for your life as a whole.

To be truly meaningful and fulfilling, the key is that your goals are based on your values, you have clarity on what you’re working towards and that they are connected to your ‘why’.

Discussing goal setting in detail is Abby’s guest Max Hoppy - Co-founder of Bind, a passionate marketer who helps others overcome their fear of speaking and an advocate of setting goals.

In this episode, Max outlines his process for creating goals - both for career and in his personal life – mindset, habits and his goals and progress for this year. Plus his career high and lows

This podcast is sponsored by Labyrinth Marketing  www.labyrinthmarketing.co.uk 

The Whole Marketer podcast is here to support and empower the people behind brands and businesses with the latest technical tools, soft and leadership skills and personal understanding for a fulfilling marketing career and life as a whole. For more info go to www.thewholemarketer.com 

Episode #89. Entrepreneurial leadership is the topic explored in this episode – how leaders in medium-sized or corporate businesses can harness the mindset, agility and skills of an entrepreneur, in order to scale growth. 

Joining Abby to discuss the qualities of an entrepreneurial leader is Claire Koryczan, Founder of Imagine Beyond, which supports leaders to strengthen their entrepreneurial leadership and personal understanding. 

In this episode, Claire shares her 12 qualities of an entrepreneurial leader, the power of curiosity and how you can use an entrepreneurial leadership style to energise and empower the development of your people.   

Host: Abigail (Abby) Dixon FCIM/ICF | LinkedIn

Guest: Claire Koryczan | LinkedIn

The Whole Marketer podcast is here to support and empower the people behind brands and businesses with the latest technical tools, soft and leadership skills and personal understanding for a fulfilling marketing career and life as a whole. For more info go to www.thewholemarketer.com 

This podcast is sponsored by Labyrinth Marketing  www.labyrinthmarketing.co.uk 

Episode #47. This episode is about the evolution of the marketer’s role and competencies; reflecting on the changes in the marketing profession, evolution of skills and key developments that have shaped the industry.

Joining Abby is Russell Parsons, Editor in Chief for Marketing Week and Festival of Marketing. Having worked at Marketing Week - a leading publication in our industry - for over a decade, Russell is well placed to share his observations of our industry changes.

In this episode, Russell shares how marketers are expected to know more today, doing more with less budget, the rise of the conscious consumer and the watchout of short-term efficiency vs long-term effectiveness.

Episode #88. Series 5! We’re kicking off this new season with a technical skill – brand transformation - but when approached with a Whole Marketer mindset, a true brand transformation requires holistic skills, as we know creating a plan on paper is one thing and successfully leading and delivering it is quite another. 

Brand transformation is when a brand goes through significant change in order to regain, strengthen or accelerate its growth. It requires vision, bravery, conviction and buy-in from across the whole organisation - from strategy to operations, culture and tactics. 

Abby is joined by guest expert Andrew Geoghegan who is 1 year into his position as Chief Marketing Transformation Officer at PZ Cussons. Previously Andrew was Global Consumer Planning Director at Diageo and has been recognised as one of Marketing Week’s leading FMCG marketers in their annual Top100 list.   

Andrew shares his journey so far to turnaround the brands in his guardianship, his approach to transformations and on a personal level what he has learned about himself in this new chapter. 

Host: Abigail (Abby) Dixon FCIM/ICF | LinkedIn

Guest: Andrew Geoghegan | LinkedIn

The Whole Marketer podcast is here to support and empower the people behind brands and businesses with the latest technical tools, soft and leadership skills and personal understanding for a fulfilling marketing career and life as a whole. For more info go to www.thewholemarketer.com 

This podcast is sponsored by Labyrinth Marketing  www.labyrinthmarketing.co.uk 

Episode #72. Season 4 returns with this episode covering a personal understanding topic – imposter syndrome.

Abby is joined by Rita Clifton CBE, legendary marketer, speaker, writer and practitioner in brand strategy and business leadership. Rita started her career in advertising, becoming Vice Chair and Strategy Director at Saatchi & Saatchi before a series of chair and portfolio non-exec roles including Bupa, Nationwide Building Society, WWF and most recently, John Lewis.

In this episode, Rita discusses how to embrace feelings of imposter syndrome and harness it to give you extra drive, which she writes about in her latest book ‘Love your imposter: be your best self, flaws and all’. Plus, stories of her lived experience in her past roles and career highs and lows. Not to be missed!

This podcast is sponsored by Labyrinth Marketing  www.labyrinthmarketing.co.uk 

The Whole Marketer podcast is here to support and empower the people behind brands and businesses with the latest technical tools, soft and leadership skills and personal understanding for a fulfilling marketing career and life as a whole. For more info go to www.thewholemarketer.com 

Episode #6. This episode focuses on Social Media – a technical skill that has truly changed the landscape for marketers to build greater connections and insight with your consumers and customers, when done well. Abby’s and Social Media expert guest is the awesome Michelle Carvill, successful author of 4 books including #getsocial and director of Carvill Creative agency. Discuss the the true benefit of social media for B2C and B2B brands, who’s doing it well (and why), how to utilise as a form of insight, how to improve your social media presence by improving internally first and how to avoid the pitfalls of simply broadcasting or ‘ filling the feeds’ to get the maximum impact from your social media strategy.

Sponsored by Labyrinth Marketing

www.labyrinthmarketing.co.uk

Host Abigail Dixon @thewholemarketer https://www.linkedin.com/in/abigailcdixon/

Guest: Michelle Carvill

https://www.linkedin.com/in/michellecarvill

www.Carvillcreative.co.uk

Episode #35. The technical skill in this episode is creative brand strategy... the basis and stimulation for great creative output from your agencies. It’s a creative solution to a business problem that tells the brand story in a way that’s understood both internally and externally. Joining Abby to discuss the role of creative brand strategy for marketers and the skills of a good strategist is Caroline Morell Bøstrup Asmussen. Caroline is an award-winning independent strategic consultant working with some of the biggest global network agencies as well as directly with brands client-side, particularly in fashion. In this episode Caroline shares the personal skills she believes make a great strategist, her approach to translating the commercial objective into a creative brief and why being humble and a great listener really is a strategist’s superpower.

Episode #33.  This episode’s soft skill for marketers – particularly marketing leaders – is empathy. To discuss how the needs of employees have changed and therefore why being an empathetic leader is a necessary skill to get the best out of your team, Abby is joined by a truly inspiring guest expert, Katy Leeson. Katy is a huge advocate for empathy, honesty and sharing vulnerability, which she talks about in her popular podcast ‘I shouldn’t say this but’. As Managing Director of Social Chain, Katy tells Abby her experience of supporting her agency throughout lockdown, her career journey, clarity on her values and her own personal definition of success. A fantastic conversation, not to be missed!

Episode #16. Global Leadership is the marketing skill discussed in this episode. Joining Abby with some valuable advice for marketers who are responsible for global growth is Shweta Harit, Global Brand Vice President of Evian. Shweta’s extraordinary career spans over two decades working for multinationals including Unilever, Kellogg’s and Danone. In this episode she shares the importance of listening to your local markets and local culture vs global structure. Plus her advice for marketers to act like a founder, bring your whole self to work and drilling down to find out why some campaigns work in markets and not others.

Sponsored by Labyrinth Marketing

www.labyrinthmarketing.co.uk

Host Abigail Dixon @thewholemarketer https://www.linkedin.com/in/abigailcdixon/

Guest  Shweta Harit 
linkedin.com/in/shweta-harit-1678394

Episode #26.  This episode’s technical skill is sustainable marketing and looks at what we as marketers can do to take charge and drive the sustainability agenda. This special episode features three guest experts (and 3 good friends who are also fellow… fellows of CIM ; ) and co-authors of new book Sustainable Marketing: Gemma Butler, Dr Geraint Evans and Michelle Carvill. As marketing experts, they embarked on a journey to educate themselves on how to lead a sustainable organisation and talk to Abby about what they discovered, how you can get started and just how critical marketing is in being a catalyst for change.

Episode #15. This episode’s technical skill is Agile Marketing – a mindset and process, that is rising in popularity, which is based on creating smaller autonomous cross-functional teams to address customer problems efficiently in a test and improve culture. Abby’s guest is ex Santander Head of Marketing and consultant Rachel Chapman at RBC future focus, who answers my burning questions on the agile marketing approach and it’s benefits, how to recruit the right teams and how to get started.

Sponsored by Labyrinth Marketing

www.labyrinthmarketing.co.uk

Host Abigail Dixon @thewholemarketer https://www.linkedin.com/in/abigailcdixon/

Guest Rachel Chapman

https://www.linkedin.com/in/rachchapman/

Episode #45. NEW Series 3 – Leadership with impact through self-awareness is the topic in this episode – how great leadership that leads and inspires starts with knowing yourself, what you’re like to be around and how others experience you.

Joining Abby is Sara Tate, recent CEO of Top 10 advertising giant TBWA London, multi-award-winning both as an agency and leader. Sara is passionate about culture and organisational change and the co-host of self development podcast the Rebuilders.

In this episode Sara shares her definition of leadership and the importance of self-awareness (not only for your own leadership style but also bridging gaps between your intent vs the impact it has on others around you). Plus why 360 reviews and personality tools can be useful to start conversations about self-awareness amongst your team.

This podcast is sponsored by Labyrinth Marketing  www.labyrinthmarketing.co.uk 

Host: Abigail (Abby) Dixon FCIM/ICF | LinkedIn

Guest: Dr Grace Kite | LinkedIn

The Whole Marketer podcast is here to support and empower the people behind brands and businesses with the latest technical tools, soft and leadership skills and personal understanding for a fulfilling marketing career and life as a whole. For more info go to www.thewholemarketer.com 

Episode #54. Programmatic Marketing is the technical skill in this episode. Programmatic marketing is the machine automated, real-time bidding to place ads to relevant and targeted audiences. It is audience-led targeted advertising using data to focus on the person or place, rather than a particular keyword.

Joining Abby is James Kenny, head of programmatic marketing at Search Laboratory. He works with a variety of clients to manage their display, video, audio, native and paid social activity.

James explains what is programmatic marketing and how it works, pros and cons, how to use it within your strategy and his advice for marketers of tomorrow.

Sponsored by Labyrinth Marketing

www.labyrinthmarketing.co.uk

Episode #32.  ‘How to make an impact’ is the soft skill for marketers in this episode. Many of us will know it’s not only ‘what you say’, but ‘how you say it’ that conveys your message. But have you ever thought about exactly what impact you’d like to leave your audience after you’ve left the room and aligning your body language, vocal qualities and content to meet that? Abby’s guest expert is the Impactologist, Martin Brooks who is a communications coach, author, fellow trainer at CIM and will be releasing his card deck “Body Language Decoder” in October. He shares what qualities make an impact, knowing your audience’s ‘hot buttons’ and the secret trick to have up your sleeve to create impact that sets you apart.

Episode #3. Business Acumen is the key skill explored in this episode as Abby invites the amazing Emma Heal to share her expertise – as the ex Managing Director of Graze (the UK’s no.1 healthy snacking brand) and now MD and partner of Lucky Saint, she knows how to grow commercially successful brands. Emma talks passionately about ensuring commercial and brand teams are united in their purpose, why your team should share your P&L and how to be open about the return on investment (ROI) for short-term payback and long-term brand building.

Sponsored by Labyrinth Marketing www.labyrinthmarketing.co.uk

Host Abigail Dixon https://www.linkedin.com/in/abigailcdixon/ Guest Emma Heal :https://www.linkedin.com/in/emmaheal/

Episode #51. The technical skill focus in this episode is Brand Love, a concept developed by Marc Cox which is centred on the principle that brand love starts from within the organisation; passionate employees who authentically deliver the company values, company behaviour and customer relationships will create memorable customer experiences, which in turn drives sales.

Abby’s guest expert to share more on his concept is Marc Cox, author of “The business case for Brand Love” and founder of Company Spirit - supporting organisations to build equity beyond transaction, through experience and their employees.

In this episode, Marc shares why what the company is saying and doing should be in sync, the importance of experience and what this means for you as the organisation’s marketer.

Episode #30.  This episode is one that we’re frequently asked to cover and Abby is delighted to have an awesome guest to talk about it... The topic is ‘marketing challenger brands on a shoestring’ and Abby’s guest expert is Julia Kessler, co-founder of challenger soft drink brand Nix & Kix. Julia shares valuable insight into where their limited investment has maximum impact and what she does to gain clarity on who her target consumers are. Plus, how to fail fast (and learn from it) and the importance of packaging for your consumers to begin their brand experience.

Episode #21. This episode focuses on the skills that the next generation of marketing leaders need as a whole, but with a particular focus on personal development. Abby is joined by the legend that is Sherilyn Shackell, founder and global CEO of The Marketing Academy, who provide scholarships and mentoring programmes to the brightest in our industry to step change the ability of our marketing leaders from around the world. Sherilyn shares her inspirational story of why she was driven to start The Marketing Academy, what you will gain from the programmes and how you can apply. This episode will leave you feeling pumped and ready to take on anything!

Episode #79. ‘Life by design’ is this episode’s personal understanding topic for marketers and entrepreneurs. For Abby, life by design means actively making choices on how you live your life – your work, projects and past-times – so that your life is happening for you, not to you. 

Joining Abby is her guest Jodie Cook; entrepreneur, athlete and author, whose experience founding and selling her agency led her to write The Ten Year Career, a four-step process by which entrepreneurs can map their journey and plan their next move. 

In this episode, Jodie shares some great exercises to get you thinking about how to prioritise and filter what’s important, what gives and drains your energy and acknowledging our biases that can prevent our growth mindset. Plus, Jodie explains her four-step entrepreneurial process and her career highs and lows. 

This podcast is sponsored by Labyrinth Marketing  www.labyrinthmarketing.co.uk 

Host: Abigail Dixon FCIM/ICF | LinkedIn

Guest: Jodie Cook | LinkedIn 

The Whole Marketer podcast is here to support and empower the people behind brands and businesses with the latest technical tools, soft and leadership skills and personal understanding for a fulfilling marketing career and life as a whole. For more info about training programmes, coaching, workshops and clarity for leaders, go to www.thewholemarketer.com 

Episode #9. This episode is about you the marketer and embracing your personal values to have the most fulfilling marketing career and life. Taking the time to understand your values, how they affect the type of company/brand you want to work for and your leadership style can be a valuable exercise; one that host Abby has personally benefitted from. Abby is joined by entrepreneur Alex Hirst, who shares his story of how his values inspired a new ‘workstyle’ concept of flexible freelance working with his business as co-founder of The Hoxby Collective.

Sponsored by Labyrinth Marketing

www.labyrinthmarketing.co.uk

Host Abigail Dixon @thewholemarketer https://www.linkedin.com/in/abigailcdixon/

Guest: Alex Hirst

https://www.linkedin.com/in/alexhirst/

https://hoxby.com

Episode #67. Performance Marketing is the technical skill in this episode.

Performance marketing relates to trackable and measurable paid digital campaigns, heavily focused on ROI. Specifically, where you can plan, execute and see the direct conversion, and then use this data to inform future campaigns.

Abby’s guest expert is Kat Sale, co-founder of House of Performance - a consultative agency whose purpose is to help ambitious brands maximise their return on investment through performance marketing (PPC, Paid Social, Display etc).

In this episode, Kat defines and gives great examples of Performance Marketing, where and how to use it, and how you can sync data across the full customer journey. Plus Kat’s personal career highs and lows.

This podcast is sponsored by Labyrinth Marketing  www.labyrinthmarketing.co.uk 

The Whole Marketer podcast is here to support and empower the people behind brands and businesses with the latest technical tools, soft and leadership skills and personal understanding for a fulfilling marketing career and life as a whole. For more info go to www.thewholemarketer.com 

Episode #53. ‘Data to create impact’ is the technical skill in this episode. As marketers’ roles are evolving to be the voice of the consumer and lead the commercial agenda, we need to have a variety of quality data sources to allow us to both monitor effectiveness but also use to mine to develop customer insight.

Abby’s guest expert on this topic is Mark Phibbs, currently VP of Marketing at Cisco and also has a rich background working in tech companies. He also leads a consolidated centralised insight and analytics function.

Mark shares his advice for marketers to utilise data and why he believes we should know our customers better than everyone else in the business. Plus his honest and relatable career highs and lows.

Episode #27.  ‘Being’ is the topic in this episode, with the focus on Leadership and personal development to understand the leader (and person) you want to be. Joining Abby is popular Leadership practitioner, author, speaker and coach Ben Renshaw, who has worked with giants such as Unilever, Coca-Cola and Sky. Encompassing the true spirit of becoming a ‘whole marketer’, Ben shares his qualities of good leadership - that it is not a ‘to do’ list but a way of being - and how you can apply this through inspiration, curiosity and intent.

Episode #81. ‘Setbacks’ is the personal understanding topic featured in this episode. 

Setbacks are events and experiences that can occur at any point in our lives, that throw us off course at the time, and even though they happen to all of us, they can affect us in different ways; whether that’s our confidence, outlook, perspective, relationships or performance at work etc.  

Having the understanding and resilience to process, learn and grow from these setbacks is a great skill for marketers, in our challenging yet rewarding industry. 

Returning to the podcast is previous guest from episode 45, Sara Tate. Sara left her role as CEO of TBWA last year, to pursue a role as a consultant and leadership coach and also co-authored her book The Rebuilders: Going from setback and comeback in business and beyond. 

In this episode, Abby and Sara discuss some of the tools and frameworks covered in her book to deal with setbacks and practical advice on managing and accepting change. 

This podcast is sponsored by Labyrinth Marketing  www.labyrinthmarketing.co.uk 

Host: Abigail Dixon FCIM/ICF | LinkedIn

Guest: Sara Tate | LinkedIn

The Rebuilders: Going from Setback to Comeback in Business and Beyond eBook : Tate, Sara, Vogt, Anna: Amazon.co.uk: Books

The Whole Marketer podcast is here to support and empower the people behind brands and businesses with the latest technical tools, soft and leadership skills and personal understanding for a fulfilling marketing career and life as a whole. For more info go to www.thewholemarketer.com 

Episode #71. Our third in a special series on ‘Burnout’, this episode focuses on another passionate marketer’s story of their experience and recovery from burnout.

Abby is joined by Emma Bisset, ex agency-side marketer now working in a rewarding third sector (charity) role as Marketing Officer at Age Scotland.

In this episode, Emma shares her experience of burnout, the work/life balance that led to it and some internal reflection on her personality drivers that led to her pursuit of perfectionism. Plus, her tips for ensuring we factor time for rest and re-energise, in our challenging yet rewarding industry.

This podcast is sponsored by Labyrinth Marketing  www.labyrinthmarketing.co.uk 

The Whole Marketer podcast is here to support and empower the people behind brands and businesses with the latest technical tools, soft and leadership skills and personal understanding for a fulfilling marketing career and life as a whole. For more info go to www.thewholemarketer.com 

Welcome to The Whole Marketer podcast. Our host Abigail Dixon, Founder and Director of Labyrinth Marketing, is passionate about supporting and empowering the people behind the brands and businesses, to step change their growth. In each podcast, she along with her subject matter expert guest, will discuss a key skills; technical, soft or an area of personal development to support your growth as marketers in today's challenging yet fulfilling profession.

Episode #10. In this episode, Abby’s guest is legendary bestselling author, keynote speaker and Coach Peter Docker (co-author of Find Your Why alongside Simon Sinek and david mead). The episode focuses on Commitment – how we as humans are driven by love or fear, the difference between your purpose and declaring your commitment and how this impacts on you as a human and your personal journey of growth and fulfilment in life. But also some key take-outs for marketers are how you can lead and be trusted especially when your commitment is being tested under pressure.

Sponsored by Labyrinth Marketing

www.labyrinthmarketing.co.uk

Host Abigail Dixon @thewholemarketer https://www.linkedin.com/in/abigailcdixon/

Guest: Peter Docker

https://www.linkedin.com/in/peterdocker/

https://www.whynotunlimited.com

Episode #55. This episode’s topic is Long-term strategy, a key technical skill for marketers. Long-term strategy has never been more important, as we emerge from 18months of pandemic to regroup and look forward to where we are going to take our brand's business but also to play our part in important issues such as climate change, global trust and the inequality crisis.

To discuss long-term strategy in a post-covid world, Abby is joined by Eleanor Winton, founder of Foresightfully consulting and author of The Disruption Game Plan.

Eleanor addresses the marketer’s role in planning for innovation vs risk, the behaviours, mindset and energy levels marketers need when developing strategy, plus an exercise for you to try to identify uncertainty for your long-term scenario planning.

Episode #29.  Fulfilment in the workplace is the personal understanding topic in this episode and is very close to Abby’s heart as a large part of The Whole Marketer concept. Fulfilment is the emotive feeling we get when we’re edging towards our goals and dreams... doing our life’s calling and purpose. And the secret is that you can define what gives you fulfilment, to know what to work towards and on. Abby is joined by guest Victoria Fox, CEO of AAR group to discuss fulfilment, as Victoria shares her own experience in pausing to reflect then choosing a career path that enabled her to be her true self at work. Victoria and Abby discuss “healthy selfish” to take time to understand yourself, identifying your values and what this means for your marketing career.

Episode #64. Advertising is the technical skill discussed in this episode. Advertising style has changed significantly due to technology, our lifestyles and the increased understanding of how the brain works… and even more so since the pandemic as many brands increase their digital presence. But are we becoming less effective and if so, what can we as marketers do to create a greater emotional connection with our consumers?

Joining Abby to discuss is award-winning advertising researching legend, Orlando Wood - Chief Innovation Officer of System 1 Group, IPA Fellow, speaker and author of Lemon and Look Out.

In this episode, Orlando shares his views on effectiveness in advertising, the change in style, appealing to the left or right hemisphere of the brain and how marketers can get it right.

Episode #37. Experiential marketing is the technical discipline in today’s episode. Here to explain why experiential is more than sampling or a bolt-on to a brand campaign is Lucy Gillions and Jo Curtis, founders of Jackanory agency. They share with Abby their passion for experiential to tell brand stories in an immersive, sensory experience and advancements in measurement techniques to demonstrate effectiveness and ROI. Plus, the impact of the pandemic (personally and for their industry) and the future of hybrid experiential with real life and digital audiences... even after Covid restrictions.

Episode #2. This episode’s topic and skill is the Holy Grail for most marketers - building brand connections and meaningful experiences with your consumer.  Talking to Abby is the creative wizard and founder of Meredith Collective, Meredith O’Shaughnessy. Meredith shares the importance of brand experiences (with some great examples) and why experiences will still matter for marketers in a post Covid-19 world. Plus,using your gut instinct and "inner crazy" to harness your curiosity.

Sponsored by Labyrinth Marketing: www.labyrinthmarketing.co.uk @labyrinthmarketing
Host: Abigail Dixon https://www.linkedin.com/in/abigailcdixon/ @wholemarketer
Guest :Meredith O'Shaughnessy
https://www.linkedin.com/in/meredithoshaughnessy/

Episode #41. The technical skill in this episode is Digital Transformation. For Marketers, this includes the adoption of technology across all areas of the business which can improve and enhance the products, services and experience to meet the needs of the consumer.

Today’s guest expert is Paul Frampton, leading digital and media marketer, President of Control V Exposed and ex Group CEO Havas Media. Talking to Abby, Paul shares leadership advice on navigating change, trends, focussed curiosity and advice from his career highs and lows. Plus why leaders shouldn’t outsource all your understanding of technology to agencies.

Episode #83. ‘Purpose for organisations’ is the holistic skill for marketers explored in this episode.

Purpose is the reason for a brand or organisation to exist beyond making money – evoking an emotional response from your consumers, benefitting all of your stakeholders and providing a higher reason or cause to contribute to society as a whole.

Abby’s guest is strategic marketing consultant, author and founder of The Agency of the Future, Paul Skinner. Through his consultancy work and other social ventures such as co-founding Marketing Kind, Paul champions purpose and using marketing as a force for good.

In this episode, Paul discusses purpose for enterprises, which is the focus of his new book – The Purpose Upgrade: Change your business to save the world, change the world to save your business.

Paul shares why purpose is so important to our human nature, the benefit of defining, reviewing and upgrading your purpose and the need for marketers to create meaningful purpose for all stakeholders of your organisation.

Plus Paul shares his advice for marketers. More information about Paul’s book can be found here The Purpose Upgrade by Paul Skinner

The Whole Marketer podcast is here to support and empower the people behind brands and businesses with the latest technical tools, soft and leadership skills and personal understanding for a fulfilling marketing career and life as a whole. For more info go to www.thewholemarketer.com 

This podcast is sponsored by Labyrinth Marketing  www.labyrinthmarketing.co.uk 

Episode #42. This episode discusses the skills marketers need for today and tomorrow and the value of being in a marketing community for support.

Joining Abby is Joe Glover, Founder of the Marketing Meetup – a welcoming community of over 20,000 ‘positively lovely’ marketers coming together to listen, learn, meet, and share knowledge.

In this episode Joe shares his views on the role of marketing, and skills & mindset for today’s marketers. Plus how the Marketing Meetup was formed, how it’s changed his life and his career highs and lows.