BrainFuel

Alison Whitaker Stewart & Peter Dutton — localising We Are Undefeatable in Blackburn with Darwen

In this episode of BrainFuel, Ruth is joined by Alison Whitaker Stewart, Physical Activity Campaigns Lead at Together in Active Future (a Sport England place-based partner), and Peter Dutton, Senior Engagement Manager at the Richmond Group of Charities.

They share how they took the national We Are Undefeatable campaign and made it work locally — using real residents’ stories, strong system partnerships, and evaluation that goes beyond reach and impressions. This is a practical, behind-the-scenes look at what it takes to run a behaviour change campaign that actually lands.

The three things to do first when starting a local campaign: stakeholder buy-in, strategic alignment, and realistic resourcing

How they built community partnership by recruiting 16 local storytellers through trusted networks

How to link inspiration to action by signposting directly to local sessions and services

Why agile content wins (reels, WhatsApp-friendly edits, community-led tweaks)

How they measured impact with both numbers and qualitative insight

What “system change” looks like after the campaign goes live

85% said it showed people with health conditions can be active

87% said it showed being active helps you enjoy more of life

62% said it encouraged them to visit the campaign website

Stakeholders reported strong fit with local needs and priorities (including 73% saying it reflected local demographics)

The work helped trigger ongoing system activity (including funded local offers and continued partnership working)

Peter: bin “traditional before/after case studies” — the power is in lived experience, emotion, and solidarity

Alison: bin short-term thinking — campaigns work better when you can build, iterate, and keep going

To celebrate five years of Hidden Voices Heard, we’re hosting a free training event:

📅 26 March 2026
➡️ www.hiddenvoicesheard.com to save your spot.

Alison Whitaker Stewart & Peter Dutton — localising We Are Undefeatable in Blackburn with Darwen

In this episode of BrainFuel, Ruth is joined by Alison Whitaker Stewart, Physical Activity Campaigns Lead at Together in Active Future (a Sport England place-based partner), and Peter Dutton, Senior Engagement Manager at the Richmond Group of Charities.

They share how they took the national We Are Undefeatable campaign and made it work locally — using real residents’ stories, strong system partnerships, and evaluation that goes beyond reach and impressions. This is a practical, behind-the-scenes look at what it takes to run a behaviour change campaign that actually lands.

The three things to do first when starting a local campaign: stakeholder buy-in, strategic alignment, and realistic resourcing

How they built community partnership by recruiting 16 local storytellers through trusted networks

How to link inspiration to action by signposting directly to local sessions and services

Why agile content wins (reels, WhatsApp-friendly edits, community-led tweaks)

How they measured impact with both numbers and qualitative insight

What “system change” looks like after the campaign goes live

85% said it showed people with health conditions can be active

87% said it showed being active helps you enjoy more of life

62% said it encouraged them to visit the campaign website

Stakeholders reported strong fit with local needs and priorities (including 73% saying it reflected local demographics)

The work helped trigger ongoing system activity (including funded local offers and continued partnership working)

Peter: bin “traditional before/after case studies” — the power is in lived experience, emotion, and solidarity

Alison: bin short-term thinking — campaigns work better when you can build, iterate, and keep going

To celebrate five years of Hidden Voices Heard, we’re hosting a free training event:

📅 26 March 2026
➡️ www.hiddenvoicesheard.com to save your spot.

 In this episode of BrainFuel, Ruth is joined by Johanna Jefferies, Public Health Consultant and Associate Director at Hampshire County Council, and Jonathan Baker, Senior Insight Lead, to share how they’ve successfully embedded behavioural science into council and public health work in a way that’s practical, memorable, and genuinely usable.

Jo and Jonathan unpack what it really takes to roll behavioural science out across an organisation iincluding what didn’t work at first, what they changed, and why training alone is never enough. You’ll hear how Hampshire redesigned its approach to focus on real-world application, post-training support, and building confidence (not overwhelm).

We also dive into their personal behaviour change stories, the biggest myth they’d throw into Room 101, and the three ingredients they believe every council needs if they want behavioural science to stick.

Why “good training” isn’t the same as behavioural science actually being used in day-to-day work

Why councils need to apply behavioural science to how they embed behavioural science

Why training should focus on mechanism and practice, not just theory

The biggest blocker: behavioural science being seen as “for frontline behaviour change”, not strategic council work

Why follow-up support matters more than templates

Three ingredients councils can copy if they want behavioural science to scale internally.

If Jo and Jonathan could throw one thing into Room 101 forever, it would be this:

The idea that you can train people in behavioural science and then leave them to figure it out alone.

Even great training doesn’t translate into real practice without follow-up support, confidence-building, and early case studies that show it working inside the organisation.

To celebrate five years of Hidden Voices Heard (and our much-loved Behaviour Change Marketing Bootcamp training), we’re hosting a free event dedicated to just that 'Making Hidden Voices Heard' on:

📅 26 March 2026
➡️ Head to www.hiddenvoicesheard.com to save your spot.

In this episode of BrainFuel, Ruth is joined by Dr Paul Chadwick Chief Executive of the Behavioural Science and Public Health Network (BSPHN), clinical psychologist, and former Co-Director at the UCL Centre for Behaviour Change.

Paul shares what’s changing inside BSPHN, why the organisation is expanding beyond public health, and what it will take to embed behavioural science across the public sector in a way that’s practical, inclusive, and built for real-world complexity.

We also dive into Paul’s personal behaviour change story, why applied behavioural science can be a lonely job, and the big myth he’d send straight to Room 101…

Why BSPHN believes the question is no longer “Do we need behavioural science?” but “How do we make it happen?”

Why behavioural science must expand beyond public health because everything connects back to public health

The value of the applied behavioural science practitioner (and why their wisdom needs amplifying)

The four strategic pillars shaping BSPHN’s next chapter:

Community of practice

Capacity building

Advocacy

Partnerships

Why behavioural science should never be treated as something “only for PhDs”

How BSPHN is redesigning its approach to be more useful to practitioners and academics

Why we need to stop hunting for quick-win “magic fixes” and take complexity seriously

📌 Paul on moving from clinical settings into public health:

“The origins of the behaviours I was trying to change had their roots in people’s childhoods… shaped by social and cultural circumstances.”

📌 Paul on community:

“Being a behavioural scientist or applying behavioural science can be a lonely business.”

📌 The best Room 101 moment:
The Behavioural Science Unicorn — the myth that tiny interventions must always create massive cost savings to be “worth it”.

Paul would send this idea into Room 101:

The belief that behavioural science is only valuable when it produces simple, tiny, low-effort interventions with huge measurable impact and cost savings.

Yes nudges can be powerful.
But chasing mythical “unicorn wins” can stop teams from doing the deeper work of embedding behavioural science in systems, services, leadership, and culture.

Paul’s book: Do I Drink Too Much? 
A practical, psychologically-informed guide to reflecting on alcohol use and exploring a strategic break.

Paul also shares details of the upcoming BSPHN conference:

🗓 8–9 March 2026
🎯 Theme: Complexity — using behavioural science to make complexity more manageable (without dumbing it down)

Don't forget to register to x

Marketing & Psychology: Understanding Customer Behaviour with the ABC Approach

In this episode, Ruth Dale is joined by Luan Wise and Dr Tom Bowden-Green to explore their new book, Marketing and Psychology: Understanding Customer Behaviour with the ABC Approach — a practical, evidence-led guide for anyone working in marketing, communications, public health, or behaviour change.

This conversation bridges academic psychology and real-world practice, cutting through guesswork and pop psychology to show how behavioural science can be applied with confidence, clarity, and integrity.

If you work in comms, health promotion, social marketing, B2B or B2C, this episode is for you — regardless of whether “marketing” is in your job title.

Why this book needed to exist — and why now

How the ABC framework (Audience, Brand, Choice) helps structure behavioural thinking

Why behaviour change is about marginal gains, not silver bullets

The danger of guessing behaviour based on demographics alone

How to use personas properly (with evidence, not stereotypes)

Why marketers often are using behavioural science — without realising it

How academics and practitioners can (and should) work better together

What it really takes to turn a huge academic field into a practical, usable book

“There isn’t a silver bullet. Behaviour change is about marginal gains — lots of small shifts that add up to something meaningful.”
— Tom

“Most marketers are already doing behavioural science — they just don’t realise there’s evidence behind what they’re doing.”
— Luann

Over-simplified generational labels that flatten human behaviour

Algorithm-chasing instead of focusing on real people and real decisions

This book is officially on the reading list for the BrainFuel Book Club — a space for people who want smarter, evidence-led thinking without the academic fog or marketing gimmicks.

If you like books that make you better at your job, not just better at sounding clever, this one’s for you.

📖 Pre-order the book via Amazon 

🌐 Learn more at marketingandpsychology.com

💬 Connect with Luan and Tom on LinkedIn and follow their ongoing work and newsletter

If this episode sparked a new way of thinking, share it with a colleague or friend — and don’t forget to hit subscribe. It really helps 💛🔥

Final Episode of 2025

Guest: Stephanie Snow, Chair of CIPR Health
Theme: The future of health communications, behaviour change, and reputation as we head into 2026

We’re closing out 2025 with a thoughtful, energising conversation about where health communications is heading next. Recorded earlier this year but released now to harness the fresh start effect, this episode looks squarely at the realities communicators face as we plan for 2026.

Steph brings over 20 years’ experience across agency and in-house roles, and shares sharp insight on leadership, professional standards, and why communications has never been more critical—or more misunderstood.

“Reputations are long and hard to build, and very easily broken. Organisations that treat communications as a ‘nice to have’ rather than a strategic function are making themselves extremely vulnerable.”

1. Fragmented information ecosystems
Audiences now live in highly personalised, often invisible digital spaces. Conversations are happening in places communicators can’t easily see, track, or respond to—raising both reputational and ethical challenges.

2. Communications being undervalued in tough economic times
When budgets tighten, comms roles are often the first to go. Steph argues this is a false economy: organisations that cut strategic communications weaken their ability to manage trust, credibility, and long-term impact.

3. Behaviour change in an environment stacked against health
From junk food saturation to commercial determinants of health, communicators are trying to influence behaviour in contexts that actively undermine healthy choices—making strategy, not just messaging, essential.

4. The shift from strategic leadership to tactical delivery
Despite rising complexity, communications is still too often reduced to outputs rather than influence. Steph makes a strong case for reclaiming comms as a core leadership and decision-making function.

5. Skills, confidence, and professional development gaps
As roles evolve, so must capability. Ongoing CPD, ethical reflection, and peer learning are no longer optional extras—they’re how the profession stays credible and resilient.

Why eye contact still matters—even in a Zoom-dominated world

How being a “well-hidden introvert” can make you a better communicator

What health communicators can learn from aviation, failure, and pre-mortems

Why learning should feel energising, not like another item on the to-do list

How community, connection, and shared thinking protect against burnout

📘 Black Box Thinking by Matthew Syed
A powerful reminder that progress comes from learning rigorously from what goes wrong—and applying that thinking to campaign planning, misinformation, and reputation management.

As we step into 2026, this conversation is a call to take communications seriously again: as a profession, a strategic discipline, and a force for better health outcomes. It’s thoughtful, honest, and quietly galvanising.

If this episode sparked something for you, share it with a colleague and hit subscribe—it helps keep these conversations going 💛

Emergency Episode!

Host: Ruth Dale 
Guests: Ed Gyde, Katherine Knight, Ian Fannon

We rushed home from sunny Spain with too much excitement not to podcast about it. This episode unpacks the World Social Marketing Conference, its biggest sparks, freshest ideas, and the vibe shift happening across global behaviour change.

The event was bursting with:

Planet-saving ideas 🌍

New ways to boost agency + confidence 💪

Serious ✨community power✨

Big questions about equity + systems change 🏛️

Ed shared the Sky Girls campaign — an empowering pan-African platform helping girls say no to pressure and yes to themselves.

His energy:
👟 Less “don’t smoke”
🎮 More DJ booths, gaming, and real talk
💬 Real empowerment > behaviour nagging

Ed’s Big Thought:

“Create places and platforms where young people want to be - then the learning sticks.”

Her Beat the Streets programme has already inspired 2 million people to get active, connect, and build community agency.

🔥 Massive shift at the conference:
Climate change + inequality + health?
➡️ One and the same mission.

Catherine’s favourite learning:

Boosting builds people's capacity to choose change — together, not alone.

Bonus: we want a whole episode on Catherine’s disaster-prep flannel story. 🚿🧽 Pure gold.

Ian’s 3 B’s of brilliant behaviour change:
1️⃣ Building — long-term investment beats short campaigns
2️⃣ Boosting — focus on strengths + capabilities
3️⃣ Bonding — community + connection = magic ✨

His favourite takeaway:

“We strengthen the good already in communities - we don’t fix broken humans.”

✔ Elevate agency over persuasion
✔ Build movements, not one-off messages
✔ Climate + health + equity are intertwined
✔ We need practitioners and academics working side-by-side
✔ Behaviour change isn’t instant -invest in longevity

We nearly confiscated all bad PowerPoint slides forever…
… but the official Room 101 winner is:

🚫 Harm-reduction messaging that shifts responsibility onto individuals and deepens inequality.
👉 Behaviour change must tackle systems, not shame people.

Sunshine + tapas 🌞🍷

Inspiration + brilliant humans

A real sense of movement and momentum

A tribe found (but everyone’s invited)

Next stop? Montpellier 2026 🇫🇷
(We’ll race you to the plenary hall.)

Find Ed Gyde, Katherine Knight, and Ian Fannon over on LinkedIn 

This episode is your postcard from Spain - minus the sangria.
The spark is real. The movement is growing.
Health change is joy-change.

Let’s boost a better world. 💥\

This episode tells the story of a short break service for people with learning disabilities—re-imagined from the ground up.

Instead of asking families to imagine a different service, Caroline and her team showed them what was possible.

They took families and people with learning disabilities on visits to alternative short break providers: outdoor activity centres, community-based supports, spaces full of independence and joy rather than hospital-style care.

The visits revealed moments of trust, connection and delight that completely reshaped the service design—and shifted the focus from “safe respite” to aspirational, joyful breaks that feel like holidays.

We also explore Caroline’s deeply personal experience with weight loss medication, what it taught her about shame and biology, and how it strengthened her commitment to non-judgemental, inclusive design.

A rich, emotional and practical episode - full of behaviour change thinking for anyone working across health, care or commissioning.

“You don’t realise how limited your imagination is until someone shows you what’s possible.”

“You can fill in as many questionnaires as you like, but you don’t see the smile on someone’s face in a survey.”

“We weren’t trying to fix a ‘respite problem.’ We were asking, ‘What does a joyful break look like?’”

Invisible Women – Caroline Criado Perez

A sharp, essential read that reveals how system design often defaults to men—and how invisible data gaps create very visible barriers.
Perfect for anyone designing public health, social care or behaviour change programmes.

How to run co-design that produces real insight

Why showing beats asking people to imagine

The shift from “respite” to aspirational breaks

How field visits surface truths workshops never will

How robust involvement frees commissioners to lead boldly

Desired vs problem behaviours in behaviour change

Why paying people matters—practically and ethically

How privilege, hormones and biology shape health behaviour

Connect with Caroline on LinkedIn 

Check out Olovus

🔗 Behaviour Change Marketing Bootcamp – 10 December
Misinformation, AI and behavioural science for health communicators.

"Must Listen for Everyone Working in or On Individual Change projects or Campaigns"

Is blaming “individual willpower”  one of the industry’s most successful PR tactics.Why do our environments make the healthy choice so hard? And who profits when they do?

In this powerful episode of the Behaviour Change Marketing Bootcamp Podcast, Ruth Dale sits down with Louis Bird, Principal in Public Health and national obstacle-course racer, to unpack the commercial determinants of health and what they mean for the everyday choices we think we’re making freely.

Louis explains how industries like food, alcohol, tobacco, and fossil fuels shape our behaviour, our environments, and ultimately our health; often without us realising.

And what you can do it about it at Local Authority level.

This conversation shines a light on how power, profit and public health collide.

But all is not lost. Louis shares his work in Swindon with tips on what you can do too.

If you work in public health, health marketing, or behavioural science, this episode will change how you see your town, your life and the choices you make. 

Quote from Lewis

“When profit depends on harm, it’s not personal choice -  it’s structural design.”

Useful Links

Transport for London - Food Advertising Regulations - NIHR Impact Study  - Easy Read

Welcome to another episode of Brain Fuel! I’m so excited to share my conversation with Dr. Heather McKee, one of Europe’s leading lifestyle behaviour change specialists. Heather brings a wealth of experience in health psychology and digital health, and her insights are both practical and inspiring.

In this episode, we explore the science of sustainable behaviour change, the promise and pitfalls of digital health, and how to make real, lasting improvements in our lives and organisations.

Top 3 Takeaways:

Quote from Heather:
“What we feed the mind is ultimately what becomes our behaviours. Be careful of what your media diet is, because what you consume, consumes you.”

Book Recommendation:
Heather recommends “Good Habits, Bad Habits” by Wendy Wood for a deep dive into the science of habits, and also gives a shoutout to “Atomic Habits” by James Clear for accessible, actionable advice.

If you’re interested in behaviour change, digital health, or just want some inspiration for making positive changes in your own life, this episode is packed with insights and practical tips. As always, if you enjoyed the show, please like, share, or leave a review. And if you have a project or story to share, get in touch at [email protected] I’d love to hear from you!