Oliver Atkinson sits down with Dr. Gemma Calvert, Professor of Consumer Neuroscience, Nanyang Technological University and Co-Founder of Split Second Research, to decode how always-on dopamine loops, “digital amnesia,” and story structure shape attention, memory, and action, so your content sticks and drives behaviour.

Calvert maps three rewired systems, attention, memory, emotional regulation, and shows how constant interruptions (and our own self-interruptions) splinter focus, why the “Google effect” shifts recall from the head to the handset, and how teens speak more candidly to an AI interviewer than to adults. Her hooks playbook starts with movement, novelty, and ambiguity, think chimeric images that stop the brain, then earns permission for longer stories that embed in long-term memory. And her best metaphor? The shift isn’t reversible, the train has left the station, but brands can fit seatbelts: design for responsible scrolls, cue reminders, and build human, two-way relationships.

In a world where feeds deliver micro-rewards all day and single exposures rarely encode, long-form isn’t dead, it partners with snackable teasers to deepen immersion. Marketers, creatives, and leaders will leave with neuromarketing tools (eye-tracking, facial decoding, implicit tests) and a practical framework to architect recall ethically.

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Oliver Atkinson sits down with behavioral-science heavy hitter Richard Shotton to unpack the simple nudges, concreteness, distinctiveness, and smart pricing frames that help your ideas get noticed, remembered, and bought in B2B and consumer campaigns alike.

We dig into Richard’s new book, Hacking the Human Mind: The Behavioral Science Secrets Behind 17 of the World's Best Brand, referencing well-known brands as living case studies to show why distinctiveness beats differentiation and how context reshapes value, what you place next to an offer matters as much as the offer itself.

In a world of crowded feeds and content fatigue, the teams who apply behavioral science gain an unfair edge, earning attention, improving completion, and nudging real behavior change.

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Lydia Chan is joined by Braden Dragomir, filmmaker, story strategist, and founder of Untold Storytelling, to explore the intersection of authentic storytelling, brand strategy, and the science behind what makes stories stick.

Braden shares how he bridges authentic documentary storytelling with brand objectives and reveals why his team dedicates 60 percent of project time to strategy before filming begins, conducting extensive character research to find the most emotionally compelling stories rather than defaulting to safe choices like CEO profiles. He explains the science behind why our brains are wired for story and how conflict creates psychological questions that keep audiences engaged, resulting in his team achieving 60 percent completion rates on 15-minute brand documentaries.

The conversation covers practical approaches to measuring storytelling impact, including how customers who first encounter brands through storytelling are twice as cheap to convert as those from traditional marketing. Learn how brands like Yeti and Patagonia have built loyal audiences through patience and purpose—not quick wins.

Whether you're a content director, marketing leader, or communication professional struggling to convince stakeholders to invest in storytelling craft, this episode offers actionable insights on creating brand films that actually move audiences and deliver measurable results. 

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Oliver Atkinson sits down with neuroscientist and ad veteran Christopher Demetrakos to unpack “Gen 3” marketing, how aligning creative to cognitive traits sparks dopamine, cuts through the brain’s ad-blocker, and drives action, not just likes.

Chris breaks down why 95–99% of decisions happen non-consciously and how the brain’s natural ad-blocker (the reticular activating system) bins generic ads while trait-tuned cues slip through.

He also shared the case study that lifted revenue 56% in three months with one tiny framing change that did most of the work; you’ll find out which and why. He also reveals how a quirky soda spot beat a celebrity-crammed Alexa ad on immersion and action, and the simple category marker that made the difference.

With attention shrinking, and budgets under scrutiny, every wasted impression is expensive. Marketers, creatives, and leaders will learn how targeting cognitive traits lifts the actions that matter, clicks, sign-ups, and sales, by pairing the right cues with the right minds and measuring immersion to prove it.

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ICYMI: Lydia Chan sits down with award-winning documentary filmmaker and commercial director Eternal Polk to discuss brand storytelling, emotional marketing, and authentic audience connection. Eternal shares insights on cultural marketing strategy, building diverse creative teams, and why brands need a "Chief Curiosity Officer" to create campaigns that resonate. Essential for marketers, filmmakers, and brand strategists looking to craft impactful branded content.

Oliver Atkinson sits down with Dr. Imran Rashid, physician, author, and adviser to Denmark’s prime minister on digital well-being, to explore how brands can shift from chasing clicks to designing for intention, and why feelings, not claims, drive real behavior change.

Imran says authenticity has to be felt: trust lives in the body (think oxytocin), and one face-to-face moment lets the brain “fill in the blanks” on later video calls. He shares simple guardrails, treating people as humans, not “eyeballs”; ask “Why this? Why me? Why now?”; even consider a Chief Emotional Officer, and push for content that helps, not hooks. His metaphors stick: trying to replace human connection with screens is like watering a plant with a picture; be the “feely fish,” not just the “thinking birds.” He also highlights the Batman costume study, identity plus story boosts effort, and how data can predict churn well before it happens.

With platforms running the biggest A/B test in history and impulse-driven feeds shaping habits, the stakes are real: your creative choices influence attention, emotion, and health. Marketers, product designers, and creative leaders will leave with practical ways to build trust, and measure it, through humane stories and intentional design.

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In Part 2 of this two-part episode, Oliver Atkinson sits with Phill Agnew, host of UK's #1 marketing podcast Nudge, to unpack the behavioral science tricks that keep us hooked, whether it’s binge-watching, endless scrolling, or unforgettable branding.

Hear why a single shout of “polar bear!” jolts wandering minds back on track, and how Waitrose’s rainbow-stacked veg aisle proves the contrast effect you can steal for thumbnails and B2B palettes. 

Phill decodes the U.S. Office twin-plot rhythm, shows why MrBeast’s 1080p uploads outperform studio polish, warns against KPI-driven long-form that forgets to tell an actual story, and shares a brainstorm tweak that surfaces genuinely original ideas.

With attention spans shrinking and AI unleashing billions of bland posts daily, mastering these principles is survival-level work. Marketers, creatives, and leaders will leave ready to craft cuts, scripts, and series that earn deeper exposure, richer engagement, and lasting recall, no skyscraper budget required.

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In this two-part episode, Oliver Atkinson is joined by behavioral-science storyteller Phill Agnew, host of UK's #1 marketing podcast, Nudge Podcast, to show how psychology-laced narratives can supercharge your pitch and keep audiences glued.

Agnew proves the power of costly signaling with his now-legendary 60-kilometre trek, blisters and all, to keynote a conference, instantly elevating his message’s worth . He dissects the Labor Illusion, revealing why simply showing your “work in progress” makes content feel premium , and shares the one-word subject-line tweak (“this”) that lifted email opens 40 percent in client tests . 

A detour to Starbucks shows how banning baristas from speed-pouring four lattes at once actually boosted sales by signalling craft . Layer in the Pratfall Effect, strategically flaunting a small flaw to appear more human, and you’ve got a playbook of grab-and-go hooks for subjects, thumbnails, and video intros.

With feeds blasting hundreds of messages a day, these evidence-backed nudges give marketers, creatives, founders, and team leaders a low-cost lever for dramatic, measurable engagement gains.

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Oliver sits down with Orlando Wood, Chief Innovation Officer at System1 Group and author of Lemon and Look Out, to unpack how advertising has shifted from right-brain showmanship to left-brain salesmanship, and why that’s costing brands attention, memorability, and growth.

From Yorkshire Tea’s witty, character-led “Everything’s Done Proper” to the unsettling “stare” creeping into modern branding, Orlando shows how right-brain showmanship, story, character, humor, and music consistently outperform left-brain salesmanship, tight close-ups, on-screen commands, and cut-heavy edits. He explains how rebalancing the two can boost emotional connection, embed memories, and make both brand building and performance work harder across B2C and B2B.

With billions wasted on dull ads, the stakes are real: emotionally engaging creative amplifies extra-share-of-voice returns, reduces price sensitivity, and strengthens brand salience. 

For marketers, creatives, and business leaders, this episode delivers actionable insights on anchoring ideas in brand purpose, stress-testing creative through iterative sprints, and using automation to amplify, not replace, emotional storytelling.

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In this episode of Audience Connection, Lydia Chan sits down with Terrence Wiggins, Director of Global Marketing at Cook Medical's Vascular Division, to explore what it takes to build trust and tell authentic stories in one of the world’s most highly regulated industries, MedTech.

With over 25 years of experience, Terrence shares how effective marketing in healthcare goes beyond physicians to reach hospital executives, patients, and clinical staff. He explains how storytelling must adapt for each audience segment, whether it’s patient impact stories that humanize outcomes, clinical data that validates innovation, or economic tools that speak to hospital decision-makers.

The conversation dives into the balance between authenticity and compliance, highlighting how transparency and consistency earn long-term trust. Terrence also unpacks the interplay of data and emotion in storytelling, why innovation is central to brand perception, and how marketers can prepare for the future by focusing on personalization and proof-driven messaging.

If you’re interested in how to communicate with clarity in complex, regulated environments or how brands can foster deeper connections with audiences through authenticity and innovation, this episode is packed with insights.

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