Explorez tous les épisodes du podcast Leading Conversations

Barry sat down with WACL President Claire Sadler and Juliet Simpson fresh from the Festival of Talent in Edinburgh — and it's one not to miss.

WACL - Women in Advertising and Communications Leadership - are on a mission to accelerate gender equality across marketing, media and advertising.

From inspiring the next generation of talent, to redefining what great leadership actually looks like to pushing for 50% female CEOs— the conversation with Claire and Juliet covers it all.

The latest episode of the Leading Conversations podcast was recorded live at the recent Marketing Society Scotland's Navigate (formerly known as Digital Day) in front of a packed auditorium at the Glasgow Science Centre.
 
It was a day of actionable inspiration and practical conversations, bringing together Change Leaders, industry experts, and the people shaping marketing’s digital and technological evolution whilst redefining business, brand growth, and customer experience. As is now tradition, guest host Paul Borthwick was joined on stage by some Rising Stars of the Marketing Society's Future Leaders' Advisory Group (FLAG).

In this episode, Barry talks to Vicki Miller, CEO of Visit Scotland and Marie Owen, Founder & CEO of LS Productions about Scotland championing Scotland.  Despite their varied roles and career journeys to date, their inspiring stories intertwine and illustrate their passion for our small but mighty, beautiful country.

The latest episode of Leading Conversations is out now. In Episode 39, Barry is joined by Kate Bremner and Julie McConnell for a deep dive into the world of B2B marketing - breaking down the complexity of long sales cycles, the principles behind great marketing, and why adaptability is more important than ever. The conversation spans analytics, evolving buyer behaviour and the role of AI - with a powerful reminder to use AI as “an assistant, not an assassin.”

The latest episode of our Leading Conversations podcast is out now and it's a good one....  Barry has a candid conversation with George Shepherd about his varied career in advertising, spanning 35 years working all over the world on behalf of blue chip brands including Heinz, Kelloggs, KFC, Lego, Star Wars, Nike and the BBC. 

George tells stories from the creation of his company Red Spider, to lock ins at Lego and the inspiration behind the Advertising course that he has curated at Napier University, inspiring the next generation of talent.

This special episode was recorded live at the Marketing Society Scotland's Changemaker conference in Edinburgh. Barry was joined by Ian Duncan and Kathryn Strachan, as they explored how marketers can embrace AI innovation responsibly and what it means for ethics, trust and creativity.

In this special episode of Leading Conversations, recorded live at Lane’s 'AI in the Third Sector' event at Edinburgh’s Everyman Cinema, Barry takes to the stage with a panel of sector leaders to unpack the reality of AI beyond the hype.

Josiah Lockhart (Changeworks), Judith Turbyne (Children in Scotland), John Fitzgerald (SCVO), Lora Vernon(VOCAL) and Declan Mair (Worldwide Cancer Research) share honest perspectives on the opportunities, challenges and ethical dilemmas AI brings to the Third Sector.

With nearly 70 people in the room, this episode captures the energy, debate and inspiration of an afternoon that showed how AI can move from buzzword to strategy. 🎧

In the latest episode of Leading Conversations, Barry meets Ian McAteer, until recently the Chairman of The Union agency - a man of many stories, industry anecdotes, nicknames and wise words.

Ian candidly shares his story from his early days as a barrister, to landing a role at Saatchi and Saatchi, co-founding The Union in a park and subsequently buying a Church, infamous agency parties, why his wife calls him "Heinz 57" and how he recently led transition for The Union to become an Employee Owned Trust.

In the latest episode of Leading Conversations, Barry meets the copywriting legend that is Gerry Farrell.  Their conversation meanders from Gerry’s unconventional start in advertising to making some of the most famous adverts in Scotland over the last few decades.

Amongst many other things, Gerry reminisces on the perfect three-word Irn-Bru brief (“Out Christmas Coke”), how Caledonia was note-perfect for that famous Tennent’s ad, how he received a testimonial from a knight of the realm - and the importance of ‘filling your bin’ - an important lesson for aspiring young creatives…

The latest episode of the Leading Conversations was recorded live at the recent Marketing Society Scotland Digital Day. We were joined by some inspirational speakers from leading brands, platforms and agencies, who shared their learnings, insights and exciting new technologies to a packed auditorium at the Glasgow Science centre. Barry Fearn was joined on stage by some Rising Stars of the Marketing Society, future leader members to reflect on the discussions of the day and to share their own key take outs and learnings.

Barry meets Craig Black, the artist renowned for his innovative 'Acrylic Fusion' technique.  They talk about Craig's initial career in professional football, his chance meeting with his school art teacher that led to his career as a typographer, share stories of London and coming back to Scotland where Craig had his eureka moment, which ultimately led to the launch of his unique Acrylic Fusion technique, originally inspired by his wife Ally's workout leggings!

Barry is joined by the Marketing Society Scotland Star Awards Chair, Kirsteen Beeston and Andrew Dobbie from MadeBrave. They discuss their experiences, learnings and tips for success in creating and curating award-winning entries for this years Star Awards, being held in Glasgow on June 12th 2025.

Barry Fearn Leads the Conversation with the incomparable genius of David Eustace. David is a Scottish photographer and director, known for his fashion, celebrity and art photography. Over his vast and eclectic career to date, David has lived and travelled all over the world on shoots and exhibited his art in both private galleries and public museums.His fascinating story traverses from his early days serving as a prison officer, developing his passion for photography, 90's pop culture, leading campaigns for the likes of Anthropologie and Panasonic, all leading to a crescendo as he curates the most incredible fantasy dinner line up to date.

Barry talks to Nicki and John Denholm from Denholm Associates about their experience over the last two decades in shaping careers over these years. They discuss the entrepreneurial spark which led Nicki to start the business, how they separate (or indeed don't separate!) the professional from the personal when it comes to work and family, their challenges along the way on both their independent and their collective career journeys to date, the importance of having a strong employer brand and 'seeing beyond the CV' - how skills hiring and future promise is now essential in the talent spotting field, as opposed to focusing on past experiences and tenure.

In this episode, Lane Chief Exec, Ali Findlay caught up with Laura Brady of Worldwide Cancer Research and Kirsteen Campbell of Scottish SPCA to chat about the importance of brand salience in the charity sector.  Charities have traditionally used vision, mission, and values in their brand strategies, but future brand leaders now talk purpose, proposition, and personality. We chat about how brand purpose, in particular, has influenced their brand evolution.

Barry talks to Julie Keough from Scottish Power and Petra Cameron from Natwest about "The Power of Partnerships". With the Olympics at the forefront of the topical agenda and Natwest (tag) a proud partner of Team GB, collectively they discuss what best practice look like when it comes to developing successful partnerships - including but not limited to: brand alignment, budget, adding value, reciprocity, evaluation, stakeholder management - and not forgetting, fun!

In this 'special' episode of Leading Conversations, Barry talks to Stuart Mackenzie and Hazel Alexander from C&C Group about all things Tennent's.They cover a varied range of topics from the history of Hugh, the wit, warmth and humour behind the Tennent's brand, the challenges and opportunities in attracting the next generation of consumers and their latest campaign: 'Get to Germany'.

In this special episode of Leading Conversations,
Barry sits down with Glen Gribbon to discuss his varied portfolio career in marketing which has spanned many sectors and experiences including promotions, property, pets and even pomegranate juice.

We also chat about his experience in helping non-profits grow and his wealth of knowledge about the world of whisky, which has led to his current role as CEO of Bladnoch distillery. 

In this episode, Barry talks to Nathalie Agnew and Pete Martin, founders of award-winning agencies Muckle Media and Always be Content.They discuss their journeys to recently becoming B-Corp certified companies and what this means to them and their teams.  Tune in to hear their points of view on balancing profit with purpose, greenwashing, whether agencies who work with fossil fuel companies should be allowed to be B-Corps and 'daring to care'.

A shared experience and exploration of how best to support marketers returning to work after a maternity leave. How having conversations, rather than making assumptions, could lead to the best outcome returns.

In this special episode of Leading Conversations, Barry speaks to Benny Higgins, a recent recipient of an Honorary Fellowship from the Marketing Society Scotland, about a wide range of subjects including his long and illustrious career in banking, his love of football, his passion for the arts, poetry and topically, what commonality is shared by Robert Burns and Marketing.

In the latest episode, Barry reminisces with Lane's Ian 'Fletch' Fletcher and Dentsu Creative's Mark Gorman on the significant transformations witnessed in the Advertising industry since they started out their careers in the 80s and 90s. Tune in to hear their stories from crafting briefs on typewriters to unforgettable TV shoots, while exploring agency tribes and staying ahead of the latest trends in advertising technology.

Host Barry Fearn talks to Gavin Bell, owner of performance agency Yatter and Liam Hall, Performance Director at Lane Media, about the current trends in Performance Media channels. They discuss how this years changes in both Google & Meta are unprecedented, whether Black Friday has ‘eaten itself’ and what changes they see on the horizon as they look ahead to 2024 and beyond.

In this episode of Leading Conversations, I talk to Jenny Emslie Owner & CEO of Sunshine: The Social Agency, and Barrington Reeves Creative Director & Founder of Too Gallus. Chatting about what inspired them as young agency founders. As well as some of the challenges faced as they've grown their businesses and the exciting opportunities they see for the future.

We've all heard the phrase "Having it all" but what does it really mean, where does it come from, and does it still have a place in today's world? Guest host Sallie Bale, Strategist at Lane, along with guests tech industry expert Melinda Matthews and Head of Marketing, Brand Homes Scotland at Diageo Alan McGarrie, discuss what the phrase means to them, and whether they think it still has mileage today. Or is it time to retire the phrase altogether? Have a listen and see what you think about "Having it all".

In this episode, Barry is joined by Lisl Macdonald and Thorranze Cheung for a fascinating talk, discussing their respective experiences working in marketing in both the East and the West of the world and their unique takes on what Cultural Fluidity means to them.

Tune into our latest episode of Leading Conversations, recently recorded live at the Marketing Society’s Digital Day, where a number of inspiring speakers from various corners of the vast digital spectrum shared their learnings, insights and exciting new technologies with a packed auditorium at The Glasgow Science Centre.

In this episode, Barry leads the conversation with Lynsey Fusco from The Royal Edinburgh Military Tattoo and Shona McCarthy from the Edinburgh Fringe Festival Society.They openly discuss some of the key challenges currently faced by our cultural attractions, as well as the opportunities ahead for their unique, globally-renowned brands.

In the latest episode of the Leading Conversations podcast, Barry talks to David Cotter from Edrington and Sarah Baillie from StudioLR about the differences and similarities between Intrapreneurs and Entrepreneurs. They discuss examples of Intrapreneurial thinking, whether being an Intrapreneur is nature vs. nurture and how new ideas can help businesses grow from within.

In this episode, Barry talks to Gill Wylie from Frame and Vic Milne from Leith about Planning & Strategy. They discuss some of the planning & strategy myths, delve into the mystique and debate whether there is an optimum balance of instinct & intuition vs. theory and try and ultimately try and simplify what it actually is - and therefore also isn’t.

In this episode, Barry talks to Iain Valentine and Ian Duncan about all things Web 3.0 - they cover everything from the Metaverse to NFTs, delving into discussion as to where physical and virtual realities collide.

In this episode, Barry delves into the hot topic of Employer Brands with guests John Botia and Steph Halliday. The trio discuss what an Employer Brand really means and the increasing importance of having an authentic employer brand.

In this latest episode, Barry talks to India Morrow and Kirsty Chalmers about their respective experience in marketing Food brands, alongside their status as Future Leader members of the Marketing Society. They share some lessons learned so far in their careers along with some insight to the challenges they currently face and how they are helping to support their brands.

In the UK our workforce is about 30% women over 50. And many of them will be going through the menopause. So why don’t we talk about it? Ali Findlay, Chief Executive of The Lane Agency guest hosts this episode of the Leading Conversations podcast and is joined by Diane Burke from Calmac and Emily Hayes from News UK, to discuss and encourage open and honest conversation, as well as the creation of a positive language around making the working world a better place for women during this life stage.

In the first episode of series 2, Barry is joined by Jim Kelly from Story and Maddy Sim from Carat, for a topical conversation around Marketing in a Recession. They share advertising stories and insight from previous recessions and discuss what related lessons they have learned in their careers so far.

Barry is joined by Frankie Coia and David Craik live on stage from the Marketing Society Digital Day in Edinburgh, in a lively discussion called the 'Hoverboard Test'. The panel discuss which contemporary digital and technological advancements are here for good vs. short-term fads.

In episode 6, Barry talks to Claire Prentice and Jill Walker from the Scottish Government. We talk about their respective careers in from their agency start up experience to roles in social and health marketing. We revisit the early days of the coronavirus pandemic and how the Scottish Government, with the help of their agencies, quickly adapted to working from home and agile decision making processes.

In episode 5, I'm joined by Christian Arno and Olly Davies as we discuss the broad, but piping hot topic of sustainability – from Christian's determined focus on climate change following his Dads arrest, sustainable tourism in the Cairngorms, to how bad bananas are and greenwashing vs. bona fide impact investing...... And lots more in our candid conversation on what climate change and sustainability means to marketers, business owners and leaders in all types of industries.

In this episode of Leading Conversations, Barry speaks to Cara Chambers from International Beverage and Rod Gillies from Whyte and Mackay about their experience in the drinks marketing industry. Our chat ranges from big budget beer brand advertising, to the opportunities and challenges that the pandemic has created in the eCommerce drinks market and of course, who is coming along for to our fantasy drinks night out. Please listen responsibly!

In this episode, Barry leads the conversation with Ian Greenhill from Studio Something and Paul Mason from Go Forth about their unconventional paths into the advertising industry. Barry, Ian and Paul chat about their early experiences, inspirations and some of the people who helped them shape their early careers - as well as some of their favourite campaigns from recent years. Enjoy! 🎙

In this episode, Barry talks to Janice Hutchinson from ICAS and Mick Doran from Noggin the Brain People about Mental & Brain Health. Tune in for some first hand insights to their conversation around some of their own learnings and experiences from the last couple of years.

In this episode of Leading Conversations, I welcome Pam Scobbie from John Doe & Ali Findlay from the Lane Agency, who have been running their successful marketing agencies for more than 10 years.

Today we talk about everything from the spark which inspired them both to start their agencies, some challenges faced as they built their businesses and some of the opportunities they foresee on the horizon as the last couple of years of events have accelerated both technological and cultural change within the marketing landscape.

This trailer introduces the Leading Conversations podcast series, brought to you by the Marketing Society Scotland and the Lane Agency. Over the series, we’ll be speaking to a number of senior leaders within the Marketing industry in Scotland, discussing a wide range of topics - from the trials and tribulations of starting and building a successful marketing agency, to marketing innovation within the drinks industry, the hot topic of sustainability and marketing in a pre and post Covid world.

This podcast series highlights the creativity, passion, resilience and success of some of our talented industry colleagues.