Graham, Kevin, and Phil discuss Phil's new book "Human First Marketing", which aims to address issues like ad desensitisation, homogenised content, and the modern consumer's desire for authenticity. Phil explains his motivation for writing the book and the key principles behind the "human first" approach.

Graham, who has been in marketing since the 1970s, acknowledges that some of the issues Phil raised have been around for a long time. The group discusses how marketing has evolved, with AI and automation playing a bigger role, and the need to find the right balance between efficiency and maintaining a human touch.

Phil outlines three key steps for implementing a "human first" marketing approach: 1) Deeply understanding the target audience, 2) Making the company's leadership and team more visible and accessible, and 3) Deploying an "employee advocacy" program to leverage the reach and influence of a company's own employees.

The group debates the merits of the traditional marketing funnel model versus Phil's "pinball" concept, where customers bounce around non-linearly. They discuss the pros and cons of each approach and how to best adapt to the reality of modern, fragmented customer journeys.

The group wraps up the discussion, acknowledging the value of the "pinball" concept and the importance of challenging assumptions. They express interest in exploring the ideas further, potentially by bringing in other marketing experts like Flint McLaughlin.

Graham founded Finely Fettled in 2014 to provide data from The UK High Net Worth Database to marketers targeting affluent and high-net-worth customers. He's the founder of MicroYES, a Partner for MeclabsAI, creating lead generation AI Agents & Workflows and introducing the MeclabsAI Platform. Graham also provides an Answer Engine Optimisation solution to get your website in shape to be found by LLMs.

Kevin specialises in finance transformation and implementing business change. He's the COO of GrowCFO, which provides both community and CPD-accredited training designed to grow the next generation of finance leaders. You can find Kevin on LinkedIn and at kevinappleby.com