Episode #159. Our first episode of 2026 is a personal understanding and leadership topic on authentic leadership with advice from a senior marketer on key leadership skills and finding your style. 

Joining Abby is her guest David Enwright, Marketing Director at the Post Office and a long-time advocate for inclusive, human-centred leadership. With a career spanning HSBC, RBS, Allianz, and the Post Office, he has built a reputation for delivering commercial impact while creating environments where people feel safe, valued, and genuinely able to thrive. As a recognised role model for inclusive leadership, David leads with honesty and empathy, and brings lived experiences and candour to some of businesses most complex challenges. 

In this episode, David shares his definition of authentic leadership, the importance of deep active listening, trust and psychological safety, and how he has developed his authentic leadership style. Plus, David's career highs and lows and advice for marketers of tomorrow. 

00:00:00 Welcome and Introduction to Authentic Leadership 

00:02:47 Defining of Authentic Leadership 

00:05:00 David's Leadership Style 

00:06:25 The Importance of Deep Listening  

00:08:28 Creating the Right Environment for Conversations  

00:09:46 Arriving at an Authentic Leadership Style 

00:12:08 Learning from Mistakes and Personal Loss  

00:16:05 Recognizing and Preventing Burnout 

00:17:51 Building Psychological Safety and Trust  

00:21:11 Benefits of Psychological Safety  

00:23:09 Encouraging Bold Ideas and Growth Mindset  

00:24:47 David's Career Highs and Lows  

00:26:58 Advice for Marketers of Tomorrow

Host: Abigail Dixon FCIM/ICF | LinkedIn

Guest: David Enwright | 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.

Did you know The Whole Marketer is more than a podcast and book? We're your trusted partners for marketing capability and transformation, providing consultancy, training & workshops, speaking, coaching, mentoring and trusted advisory service.

Visit www.thewholemarketer.com to see how we support leaders to build marketing teams with the holistic skills to lead the long-term commercial agenda and deliver the true potential of marketing.

Contact hello@thewholemarketer.com to get in touch with Abby and the team

Episode #158. Today's episode is a technical skill on effective brand building and the considerations and competencies you need to build a brand; including the importance of clarity on your strategic choices and the movement you want to make through SMART objectives to ladder up to the commercial objectives. 

Abby's guest is experienced, award-winning marketing leader and friend of the podcast Andrew Geoghegan, Group Chief Marketing Officer at William Grant & Sons and ex PZ Cussons and Diageo. His paper on creating a culture of effectiveness at Diageo won Gold, Best New Learning, and Best Use of Data from the IPA and he has been recognised as one of the top 100 marketers by Marketing Week. 

In this episode, Andrew shares his experience of brand building and practical advice from his book 'Effective brand building' including organisational context when brand building, making strategic choices, meeting your consumer where they are and how to win/keep winning.  

Plus Andrew's highs and lows (since he last appeared on our podcast) and advice for marketers of tomorrow. 

Host: Abigail 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.

Did you know The Whole Marketer is more than a podcast and book? We're your trusted partners for marketing capability and transformation, providing consultancy, training & workshops, speaking, coaching, mentoring and trusted advisory service.

Visit www.thewholemarketer.com to see how we support leaders to build marketing teams with the holistic skills to lead the long-term commercial agenda and deliver the true potential of marketing.

Contact hello@thewholemarketer.com to get in touch with Abby and the team

Episode #149. Today's topic is an area of personal understanding, enabling you to take the reins of your career so that it's happening for you, not to you. We're discussing purpose driven careers, packed with advice for how to make choices that enable you to be successful and fulfilled in your career and life as a whole. 

Joining Abby is her guest and experienced marketing leader, Megan Harrison. Having worked on many iconic brands such as Huggies, Durex, Warburtons and Carex, Megan's is now CMO at Grocery Aid, a charity with a long history of helping grocery workers through tough times, providing financial, emotional and practical support. 

In this episode, Megan shares her definition of a purpose driven career, the choices she's made in her personal career journey and why, and the questions to ask yourself when choosing your next role. 

Plus, her career highs and lows and advice for marketers of tomorrow. 

00:00:00 Welcome and Introduction to Brand Purpose 

00:03:41 Definition of Purpose  

00:04:40 Megan's Personal Journey to Identify Purpose  

00:05:54 Career Choices and Purpose Alignment  

00:09:13 Career Transitions  

00:12:25 Advice for Early Career Professionals  

00:15:40 Looking For Your Next Role  

00:20:13 Red Flags  

00:23:07 Connection to Brand Challenges  

00:25:05 Cultural Values in Organisations  

00:27:14 Career Highs and Lows  

00:30:57 Advice for Future Marketers

Host: Abigail Dixon FCIM/ICF | LinkedIn

Guest: Megan Harrison FCIM | 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 #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 #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.

#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 #56. Authenticity is the leadership and personal understanding topic in this episode. 

Abby is joined by Marketing Week's Marketer of the Year – Keith Moor, to discuss the importance of authenticity and how being your best self at work and leading by example starts by knowing yourself, your personality and clarity on your values. 

Keith Moor is Chief Marketing Officer of Camelot, the operator of the National Lottery. Prior to this role Keith worked at Santander at the time of launching the new brand into the UK. 

In this episode, Keith shares his journey to greater personal understanding and what his purpose is. Plus, his career highs and lows – a must listen from such an inspirational marketer. 

Sponsored by Labyrinth Marketing

www.labyrinthmarketing.co.uk

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 #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 #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 #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 #51. This episode is an area of personal understanding – purpose and impact for marketers. We've covered purpose previously on the podcast but this episode also explores defining your purpose and then incorporating into storytelling for maximum impact.

Today's guest is Jeremy Connell-Waite, author, keynote speaker and Global Comms Designer at IBM, building compelling narratives for their clients.

In this episode, Abby and Jeremy discuss how to define your purpose, referencing Simon Sinek and Ikigai and reframing what gets you out of bed in the morning vs what keeps you up at night. Plus Jeremy shares his magic formula of great storytelling, stories vs business stories, his career highs and lows and advice for marketers of tomorrow

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 #148. The technical skill in this episode is brand purpose, providing marketers with the clarity on why their brand exists internally and externally, motivation for the whole organisation to get behind and creating a north star to focus on - whether that's strategic or tactical choices or how to bring this to life.  

Joining Abby is her guest Helen Jeremiah, Global Vice President for Croda, a company that makes specialised ingredients for beauty, personal care, and home care products. Having previously worked at Boots and Walgreen's Alliance Group, Helen is an experienced marketing leader who has worked across multiple disciplines including marketing, customer strategy, global marketing, global brand marketing, product development, insight and inclusivity. 

In this episode, Helen shares her definition of brand purpose and its significance beyond profit, authenticity, the importance of internal engagement, and agency partnerships to bring to life. 

Plus, her career highs and lows and advice for marketers of tomorrow. 

00:00:00 Welcome and Introduction to Brand Purpose 

00:03:03 Importance of Internal Engagement  

00:04:48 Advice for Redefining Brand Purpose  

00:07:08 Aligning Brand Purpose with Values  

00:09:22 Multifaceted Nature of Brand Purpose  

00:10:21 Stakeholder Engagement for Alignment  

00:13:49 Measuring Brand Purpose Impact  

00:16:43 Internal Perception of Brand Purpose  

00:18:28 Helen's Personal Drive for Purpose  

00:23:43 Agency Collaboration for Fresh Perspectives  

00:25:49 Career Highs and Lows 

00:31:51 Advice for Future Marketers 

Host: Abigail Dixon FCIM/ICF | LinkedIn

Guest: Helen Jeremiah | 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 #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 #48. Clarity is the topic of this episode, which is both a technical skill and area of personal understanding for marketers. Clarity is beneficial for personal and professional development – as a marketer to have clarity on strategic choices and where you want to take your brand, as a leader to give clarity to your team with communication and expectations, and as an individual, to have clarity on your values, strengths and what we bring to the world.

Abby's guest expert is Ross Farquhar, Marketing Director of Little Moons, recently awarded one of the top 100 marketers in Marketing Week. In this episode, Ross shares the importance of clarity and how to apply it within your marketing role, whatever level of seniority. Plus his career journey and how his breadth of roles (ranging from Cadbury, Wagamama and agency-side) have benefitted his career yet strengthened fundamental and transferrable marketing skills such as clarity.

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 #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 #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.

Episode #44. Series 2 finale – Marketing Leadership and the skills & traits of great marketing leaders are the focus of this episode. Joining Abby is Sophie Devonshire, CEO of The Marketing Society. As a marketer, entrepreneur, best-selling author of Superfast – Lead at Speed, award-winning consultant and now leader of the world-renowned marketing network and community, Sophie has valuable insight on skills and mindset of successful marketing leaders.

In this episode, Sophie discusses the role of marketing leaders as connectors and change makers, why the best leaders invest time to understand themselves, leading with velocity and the power of being in a marketing community.

Series 3 will be back later in the year, in the meantime please visit www.thewholemarketer.com for free resources, training programmes, coaching, mentoring and the Whole Marketer community.

Plus, The Whole Marketer book is now available in all good online and in-store book retailers.

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 #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.

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 #40. Empowerment is the personal understanding topic in this episode and an underlining principle of the Whole Marketer approach - to support and empower the marketers behind the brand or business.

Abby's guest is Mark Evans, exec level marketer at Direct Line as well as several non-exec roles and passionate about giving back to the marketing community.

In this episode, Mark shares his career journey from student to C-suite and how 'forced pivots' through redundancy allowed him time to reflect and build his personal understanding. As a marketing leader, Mark gives advice on empowering others to be the best version of themselves and why marketers should user their curiosity of consumers to apply to their own journey of empowerment.

Episode #147. Social Proof is the technical topic featured in this episode as we delve into the benefits of collaborating, trialling and testing with consumers and influencers in real-time and how to get started with social proof to help build communication ideas, propositions, campaigns and products. And the all-important internal buy-in and confidence for concepts and much more… 

Abby's guest in this episode is Michael Goldstein, founder of Fragment, a comms strategy led agency that drives growth through helping brands capitalise on the chaos of modern marketing. Previously he was global head of communications strategy at DDB, and before that held leadership roles at Mccann, R/GA and The &Partnership. 

In this episode, Michael shares his definition of Social Proof, why marketers should build ideas out in the world and how to get started with testing. Plus examples of integrating social proof to shape creative campaigns and working with influencers. 

Plus his career highs and lows and advice for marketers of tomorrow. 

00:00:00 Welcome and Introduction to Social Proof 

00:02:58 Defining Social Proof 

00:04:03 Traditional vs Collaborative Process 

00:06:32 The Rapid Nature of Cultural Changes 

00:08:07 Testing and Iteration in Marketing 

00:09:40 Challenger Brands and Flexibility 

00:10:26 Consumer Product Brands and Creators 

00:12:18 Building a Feedback Loop 

00:17:30 Using Social Proof in Agency Work 

00:19:11 Case study: Repositioning a Brand 

00:21:35 Cultural and Emotional Impact 

00:24:16 Community-Built Brands 

00:25:43 Embracing Chaos in Marketing 

00:27:11 Career Highs and Lows 

00:31:21 Advice for Future Marketers 

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

Guest: Michael Goldstein | 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 #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 #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 #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 #36. Planning is the technical marketing skill explored in this episode. As the pandemic has provided significant challenges for businesses, many brands and agencies turn to their agency planners for guidance; but how are planners responding to predicting the unpredictable?
Abby is joined by Callum Saunders, head of planning at Zeal Creative, overseeing all insight and planning & strategy work for brands including Nestle, Pringles, Kellogg's and Arla. In this episode, Callum shares the role of agency planners (internally and externally), how the role of agency planning has changed and trends to be aware of now writing your long-term strategy.

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 #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 #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 #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 #31. This episode is both a technical and a soft skill as we discuss procurement & agency management, in order to develop great partnerships with your agencies. Think procurement is just about haggling prices...? Think again! Abby's guest to discuss all the benefits of involving procurement early on and to support your ways of working with agencies is Tina Fegent – procurement expert with over 25 years experience in procurement, both client-side and agency-side, and who now has her own consultancy with clients including Amazon, PepsiCo and SSE. Tina discusses the role of great procurement to support you strategically, what to think about with your remuneration model and tips for client-side marketers to develop a great relationship with your agency.

Please note there are some minor sound quality issues on this episode.

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 #146. Today's episode discusses the necessity of DEI and how as marketers we have a responsibility to reflect and shape the world around us – particularly as research* shows younger generations trust brands more than governments for being ethical and competent. 

Abby's guest is Ali Hanan, founder and CEO of Creative Equals, an award winning organisation driving the new ROI - Return on Inclusion - for people, businesses and the planet. Ali set up Creative Equals after finding she was one of the few women in creative leadership through most of her 20 year career and the company works with clients such as PepsiCo, Reckitt, Abi InBev, H&M Group, McDonald's, Mars, Wrigley and more for inclusion-first marketing strategy and creative. 

In this episode, Ali shares her definition of DEI, the business case for DEI (supported by stats & facts), 5Rs for positive impact of DEI, navigating backlash and confronting unconscious biases and stereotypes. 

Plus her career highs and lows and advice for marketers of tomorrow. 

*Edelman Trust Barometer surveyed over 32,000 respondents in 28 countries. 

00:00:00 Welcome and Introduction Defining DEI 

00:04:25 Marketing as a Force for Good 

00:09:00 Representation in Advertising 

00:11:44 Inclusive Insights  

00:14:04 Navigating Backlash in Marketing  

00:19:12 Co-creation with Communities 

00:21:05 Understanding Personal Biases 

00:24:36 Identifying Bias in Teams  

00:27:23 Researching Campaign Ideas  

00:28:49 Benefits of Inclusive Marketing 

00:30:07 The Impact of Trust in Brands  

00:33:37 Career Highs and Lows  

00:35:15 Challenges Facing DEI Initiatives  

00:39:26 Advice for Future Marketers  

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

Guest: Ali Hanan | 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 #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 #28.  This week's topic is of leadership and personal understanding– Belonging. Belonging in the workplace is a feeling that you are appreciated for who you are and encouraged to be yourself. Joining Abby are Pearl&Dean CEO Kathryn Jacob OBE, Mediacom's Sue Unerman and coach Mark Edwards, who together recently collaborated on their book 'Belonging'. They discuss diversity, the need to train your people to improve their emotional intelligence, to develop empathy and what you can do to support the people around you. Not only will you have a stronger team with more rich and diverse thinking, but as a marketer, the empathy you develop is also fundamental for understanding your consumers.

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 #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 #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 #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 #23.  Welcome back! Series 2 kicks off with a relevant technical skill on Influencer Marketing. Social platforms have become even more important since the pandemic and Abby's guest expert to talk about its role for marketers is Lisa Targett from Tribe. Tribe has produced almost 15,000 campaigns to connect brands with everyday people through content – Waitrose, Unilever, TikTok to name a few. In this episode Lisa shares the evolution and future of Influencer Marketing and how marketers can use it to authentically connect with their true customers at scale, throughout the customer journey.

Episode #22. Marketing Leadership is the soft skill featured in this episode, as Abby is joined by Thomas Barta - Marketer, Masterclass course founder and Author of 'The 12 Powers of a Marketing Leader'. Thomas shares lots of wonderful, practical examples of challenges facing today's marketer and elaborates on some of 12 key skills from his book, including knowing how to influence, having a dream and building credibility. Plus why as a marketer you need to behave a bit more like the finance department, listen to find out why...

Thomas has kindly shared a worksheet to accompany this episode, please contact Vicki@labyrinthmarketing.co.uk for your copy.

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/tbarta/

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 #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 #145. Marketing Culture is the holistic topic discussed in this episode, the what, how and why your marketing function works day-to-day.  

Defining your marketing culture is the key to unlocking not only the fulfilment and motivation of your team but its thinking and work, which often includes your company values, behaviours, beliefs, routines and rituals, philosophy and approach, processes and ways of working, org structure and how your people bring this to life through their skills, behaviours and mindset. 

Joining Abby to discuss marketing culture is her guest Abi Willstead, Head of Brand and Marketing Excellence at Specsavers, where she focuses on helping strengthen the brand and empowering their global marketing team to thrive in their roles, supporting brilliant outcomes for customers and increasing the number of lives they can change through better sight and hearing. 

In this episode, Abi shares her definition of marketing culture, the 5Cs of Specsavers culture, empowering teams, creating space for innovation, and involving the entire team in defining and evolving the marketing culture 

Plus her career highs and lows and advice for marketers of tomorrow. 

00:00:00 Welcome and Introduction to 'Marketing Culture' 

00:03:44 Key Ingredients of Marketing Culture  

00:06:59 Five Cs of Specsavers' Culture  

00:08:03 Importance of Psychological Safety  

00:10:05 Embedding Values in Daily Work  

00:16:11 Continuous Improvement and Learning  

00:19:55 Core Skills Driving Specsavers' Marketing Approach  

00:24:21 Empowerment in Marketing Culture  

00:24:57 Evolving Marketing Practices  

00:27:51 Involving Teams in Change  

00:30:13 Career Highs and Lows  

00:35:47 Advice for Future Marketers  

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

Guest: Abi Willstead | 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 #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/

This episode explores the technical skill and value of brand purpose; what it is and how it manifests in an organisation. In conversation with Kim Gelling of Ella's Kitchen, Abby explores why brands who are focused on a 'greater good' find greater connection with their employees and consumers alike and how brands can embed purpose-led strategies that deliver. With plenty of tangible examples, this episode gives a real insight into how a hugely successful purpose-driven business is delivering value inside and out.

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/kim-gelling-1667137/?originalSubdomain=uk

https://www.ellaskitchen.co.uk/

Episode #17. This episode explores the technical skill of Omnichannel Marketing. To discuss what it is and the benefits of this approach for your marketing plan, Abby is joined by Jackie Scully of Think Publishing – a content creation agency. Jackie gives examples of who is doing Omnichannel well and why, and how to create great content in today's landscape. Plus Jackie talks us through her 5Ps model to build an ominchannel campaign.

Sponsored by Labyrinth Marketing

www.labyrinthmarketing.co.uk

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

Guest Jackie Scully

https://www.linkedin.com/in/jackie-scully-30a7449/?originalSubdomain=uk