In this week's episode of Building Brand Advocacy, Beth & Michael, founders of Slice social media agency, break down their 5-Step Social Strategy: Discovery, Storytelling, Challenge, Problem-Tension-Goal, and Solution. Plus, why the "Fast & Slow" approach to social is the framework that separates brands that win from brands that just post.

This is an episode designed to give you direction in social media, to integrate a purpose into your posting and work strategically to reach your end objective. 

In this episode, we cover:

00:00 Introduction 

05:15 The 5-Step Social Media Strategy

06:45 Step 1: Discovery

20:06 Step 2: Storytelling through strategy 

29:24 Step 3: The Challenge

33:39 Step 4: Problem, Tension, Goal 

34:50 Step 5: Solution 

44:17 The Fast & Slow Approach To Social 

🔔 New episodes every Wednesday — subscribe so you never miss an episode.

CONNECT WITH BETH & MICHAEL

Beth: https://www.linkedin.com/in/betheleanorthomas/

Michael: https://www.linkedin.com/in/michaelrichardcorcoran/

Slice Social: https://www.slice-social.com/

FOLLOW US

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Paul: TikTok: ⁠www.tiktok.com/@building.brand.advocacy⁠

Verity: www.linkedin.com/in/verityhurd/

In this weeks episode of Building Brand Advocacy, we invite the CMO of Cannes Lions to join us ahead of the festival to unpack what's actually shifting in advocacy, creator marketing, and how the Lions are judged in 2026. plus hard strategies for measuring community, elevating marketing in the boardroom, and driving real ROI.

In this episode, we cover:

• What to expect from Cannes Lions in 2026 

• What’s changing in advocacy & creator marketing

• The Lion judgement process at Cannes

• Opportunities for CMOs to elevate marketing in boardrooms 

• How to effectively measure community 

• The next generation of CEO & CMO’s

• Building community through credibility 

Chapters

00:00 Welcome and Guest Intro

01:36 How Cannes Lions Has Evolved

05:20 CMO Pressure and Priorities

09:05 How Cannes Lions Judging Works

15:12 Proof Creativity Drives Growth

18:31 Merging Brand and Performance

22:14 Boardroom Alignment and Metrics

29:31 How to Measure Community Impact

34:19 The CMO of 2030

39:25 You Cannot Buy Attention

42:28 AI and Creative Possibility

45:01 Cannes Week Wrap Up

🔔 New episodes every Wednesday — subscribe so you never miss an episode.

CONNECT WITH ILARIA

LinkedIn: https://uk.linkedin.com/in/ilariapasquinelli

FOLLOW US

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Instagram: www.instagram.com/building_brand_advocacy

TikTok: www.tiktok.com/@building.brand.advocacy

Paul: TikTok: ⁠www.tiktok.com/@building.brand.advocacy⁠

Verity: www.linkedin.com/in/verityhurd/

In this live episode of Building Brand Advocacy, Verity sits down with Manuel Albuquerque, founder & CEO of Prime Tag, to unpack the AI revolution reshaping the creator economy from the inside out. 

From the real pressures facing time-poor marketing teams to the problems AI is actually solving (and the myths it's not), Manuel brings the entrepreneur's perspective that brand builders need right now.

In this episode, we cover:

• Manuel’s journey to entrepreneurship in the influencer space

• The time poor pressures of marketing teams

• How AI is influencing the creator economy 

• The problem that AI is solving for marketing teams

• Busting AI myths around the creator economy 

If you're navigating influencer strategy in an AI-first world, this one is essential listening.

CHAPTERS

00:00 People And Data First

01:18 Creator Economy Boom

01:59 From Basketball To Tech Startup

04:08 The Influencer Stigma Debate

05:24 Current Status: Bad Data And No Time

06:38 AI Mindset Myth

09:02 Augmented Intelligence Not Artificial Intelligence

10:42 Myth Busting Rapid Fire

12:17 How AI Is Changing Business Models

15:29 Finding Effective Creator X Brand Matches

16:45 Brand Advocacy Advice

🔔 Subscribe to Building Brand Advocacy for weekly conversations with the people reshaping how brands grow.

CONNECT WITH MANUEL

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/manuelvicalbuquerque/

PrimeTag: https://www.primetag.com/

FOLLOW US

Verity: https://www.linkedin.com/in/verityhurd/

Subscribe: www.youtube.com/@buildingbrandadvocacy

Instagram: www.instagram.com/building_brand_advocacy
TikTok: www.tiktok.com/@building.brand.advocacy

We’re back with another mastermind episode. This week, Grace Andrews takes us through her 5 step framework for building a high performance content engine, from identifying content signals (before selecting platforms) to measuring success metrics that are relevant to you and your brand.

In this episode, we cover:

07:05 Step 1: Identifying Content Signals 

11:47 Step 2: Approach To Content Formats

26:31 Step 3: The Platform Specific Strategy

28:43 Step 4: Where Creators Fit Into Your Content Strategy

32:56 Step 5: How To Measure For Success 

🔔 New episodes every Wednesday — subscribe so you never miss an episode.

CONNECT WITH GRACE

Instagram: ⁠https://www.instagram.com/graceandrewsss/⁠

YouTube: ⁠https://www.youtube.com/@graceandrewsss⁠

TikTok: ⁠https://www.tiktok.com/@graceandrews7⁠

FOLLOW US

Subscribe: ⁠www.youtube.com/@buildingbrandadvocacy⁠

Instagram: ⁠www.instagram.com/building_brand_advocacy⁠

TikTok: ⁠www.tiktok.com/@building.brand.advocacy⁠

Paul: TikTok: ⁠⁠www.tiktok.com/@building.brand.advocacy⁠⁠Verity: ⁠www.linkedin.com/in/verityhurd/

In this episode of Building Brand Advocacy, I sit down with Alice Ratcliffe, Head of Brand at TRIP — the wellness drinks brand rewriting the rules of brand positioning in one of the most crowded categories on the market.

Alice pulls back the curtain on how TRIP went from scrappy challenger to a brand that commands culture, loyalty, and shelf space — and what it's really taken to scale that story into the US.

In this episode, we cover:

• How to stand out in a saturated wellness & drinks market

• TRIP's influencer strategy and why it's built differently to most other brands

• Integrating celebrities into your brand without losing authenticity

• The real strategy for brand building in the US

• Why employee advocacy is one of the most underrated tools in a marketer's arsenal

• How to integrate AI for effective brand building in 2026

• The honest challenges of being the underdog and how to turn them into an advantage

CHAPTERS

00:00 The Polished Brand Problem

02:03 Finding Branded White Space

06:00 Regulation Into Advantage

07:36 Always On Brand Building

10:17 How To Earn Consumer Trust

16:06 Creators Influencers Celebs

23:25 US Expansion Playbook

26:30 Approaching Employee Advocacy

28:39 Scaling Without Gatekeeping

29:51 Email List vs Community

31:15 AI Vs IRL 

33:36 Hosting Inclusive Brand Events

35:50 Winning on TikTok Shop

39:52 Global Growth and Accounts

44:26 Powerful Founder Partnerships

🔔 Subscribe to Building Brand Advocacy for weekly conversations with the people reshaping how brands grow.

CONNECT WITH TRIP

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/trip.drinks/

TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@trip.drinks

FOLLOW US

Verity: https://www.linkedin.com/in/verityhurd/

Subscribe: www.youtube.com/@buildingbrandadvocacy

Instagram: www.instagram.com/building_brand_advocacy
TikTok: www.tiktok.com/@building.brand.advocacy

In this mastermind episode of Building Brand Advocacy, we break down the Advocacy Maturity Model, a strategic framework for diagnosing exactly where your brand sits on the advocacy spectrum and the precise steps to move from passive mentions to a fully activated community-led growth engine.

Think of it as your strategic advocacy playbook, the kind of session your brand team needs to align on advocacy as a core brand lever rather than a marketing afterthought.

Inside this episode:

• The 5 stages of brand advocacy maturity and how to identify which stage you're at right now

• Why most brands plateau at stage 2 and never break through to genuine brand love

• The structural shifts your team needs to make at each stage of the model

• How to turn community-led growth into a measurable brand asset

• The metrics that actually matter when tracking advocacy momentum

If you’re a marketing leader trying to restructure your team's advocacy strategy, this episode gives you the framework to stop guessing and start growing with intention.

🔔 New episodes every Wednesday — subscribe so you never miss an episode.

FOLLOW US

Subscribe: www.youtube.com/@buildingbrandadvocacy

Instagram: www.instagram.com/building_brand_advocacy

TikTok: www.tiktok.com/@building.brand.advocacy
Verity: www.linkedin.com/in/verityhurd/

In this episode of Building Brand Advocacy, Verity sits down with Grace Andrews to unpack the real shifts happening in social right now  and what forward-thinking brands are doing to stay ahead in 2026 and beyond.

Grace brings a sharp, strategic lens to one of the most underutilised growth levers in marketing today: employee advocacy. We go deep on why building brand growth from the inside out isn't just about brand culture but something much bigger.

We then go onto discuss how to build an effective and experimental content eco-system as well as understanding how to navigate YouTube as long form presence is growing within the digital landscape. 

In this episode, we cover:

• The evolution of social trends shaping brand strategy in 2026

• A strategic framework for building genuine employee advocacy

• How to drive real brand growth through your people not just your paid channels

• Effective content experimentation strategies that actually move the needle

• Why YouTube is the deepest, most underrated content channel for brand building

• The trends smart brands are already preparing for in 2026/2027

CHAPTERS

00:00 Episode Trailer 

01:30 Meet Grace Andrews

02:23 2024 Trend Check 

06:52 Employee Advocacy Basics

09:20 Building The Employees Advocacy Infrastructure

14:52 Ownership And Founder Role

17:11 Incentivising Employee Advocacy

19:22 Building A Content Experimentation System

22:29Dummy Social Channels for Safe Testing

24:09 Case Study of the Shameless Network

28:48 YouTube vs Social Scrolling

31:29 Where YouTube Fits into Teams

33:48 Low Lift YouTube for Brands

35:30 Future Creator Brand Partnerships

Whether you're a founder, marketing lead, or brand strategist — this conversation will change how you think about where your next wave of growth actually comes from.

🔔 Subscribe to Building Brand Advocacy for weekly conversations with the people reshaping how brands grow.

CONNECT WITH GRACE

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/graceandrewsss/

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@graceandrewsss

TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@graceandrews7

FOLLOW US

Verity: https://www.linkedin.com/in/verityhurd/

Subscribe: www.youtube.com/@buildingbrandadvocacy

Instagram: www.instagram.com/building_brand_advocacy
TikTok: www.tiktok.com/@building.brand.advocacy

In this episode of Building Brand Advocacy, we're unpacking the seismic shift happening in marketing right now: is branded entertainment replacing paid ads?

We dig into why the smartest brands are investing in long-form content, storytelling, and entertainment-led campaigns, and how this changes everything from team structure to ROI measurement.

What we cover:

• Should brands have Global or local social media accounts

• The perfect niche to scale strategy

•  Branded entertainment vs paid ads

• The  Redbull playbook

Whether you're a founder, a marketing lead, or a brand builder trying to do more with less — this is the episode that reframes where your budget should actually be going.

🔔 New episodes every Wednesday — subscribe so you never miss an episode.

CONNECT WITH PAUL & VERITY

Paul: www.linkedin.com/in/paulkarcher/

Verity: www.linkedin.com/in/verityhurd/

FOLLOW US

Paul: https://www.linkedin.com/in/paulkarcher/

Subscribe: www.youtube.com/@buildingbrandadvocacy

Instagram: www.instagram.com/building_brand_advocacy
TikTok: www.tiktok.com/@building.brand.advocacy

Are communities replacing influencers? In this episode of Building Brand Advocacy, Paul sits down with Nicola Gunby, co-founder of CLIQ,  to talk about why the brands winning right now aren't chasing reach, they're building belonging.

We go deep on the concept of the 'third space' and why it might be the most underutilised tool in your brand's growth strategy right now.

In this episode we cover:

• The journey behind CLIQ and why Nicola built it

• What 'third space' communities are and why they matter for brands

• What it actually takes to build real, lasting community (it's not what you think)

• How brands can use CLIQ as a community-building tool

• Frameworks for measuring community impact — beyond vanity metrics

• Online vs IRL: which builds deeper brand loyalty?

This one is essential listening if you're a CMO or marketing lead questioning where influencer budgets should actually go in 2025.

CHAPTERS

00:00 Introduction

04:29 Community as the Third Place

08:19 Where Brands Go Wrong with Community

13:59 Cliq Brand Case Studies 

19:21 Measuring Community ROI

26:17 Measuring Community Event Demand

28:30 Tap Into Existing Communities

29:40 Samsung Community Case Study

35:17 Online vs In Person Community 

37:34 Sub Communities Strategy

41:40 Geo Local Community

44:18 Cringe Or Community

🔔 New episodes every Wednesday — subscribe so you never miss an episode.

CONNECT WITH NICOLA

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nicolargunby/

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nicola-gunby/
CLIQ: https://www.instagram.com/findyourcliq/

Is influencer marketing dead? Jordan Schwarzenberger, the man behind the Sidemen's evolution from creators to a multi-million pound enterprise, thinks brands have got content eco-systems wrong. In this episode of Building Brand Advocacy, we break down why the smartest brands are ditching traditional influencer marketing and becoming organic content engines instead.

Jordan reveals the exact content strategy that scaled the Sidemen from a YouTube group into a business empire and how any brand can steal from the creator economy strategy. We go deep on building a content hemisphere, why entertainment-first marketing beats ads, and how to turn community into customers through brand advocacy.

In this episode we cover:

• Sidemen evolution from creators to an enterprise business.

• The opportunity for brands to become content engines.

• Why influencer marketing is dead.

• Why brands and 10 years behind in content and how to create a solution to get ahead.

Whether you're a CMO, marketer or brand founder, this episode is your blueprint for building a content marketing strategy that actually compounds.

CHAPTERS

00:00 Introduction

02:38 Building the LADBible Agency

07:16 Scaling The Sidemen Businesses

11:16 Defining A Content Infrastructure

12:27 Side Plus Membership Model

17:27 How Brands Should Be Working With Creators

20:23 End Of The Transactional Influencer Model 

23:04 Discovery IS Replacing Followers

26:07 The Influencer Economy Collapse

28:33 Traditional Campaigns Are Dead

30:04 Monoculture To Micro Communities

38:24 The CMO Playbook 

41:40 Contribution Marketing To Serve Then Sell

🔔 New episodes every Wednesday — subscribe so you never miss an episode.

CONNECT WITH JORDAN

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jordanschwarzenberger/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jordanschwarz/

TiKTok:  https://www.tiktok.com/@jordanschwarzenberger

FOLLOW US

Verity: www.linkedin.com/in/verityhurd/

Subscribe: www.youtube.com/@buildingbrandadvocacy

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TikTok: www.tiktok.com/@building.brand.advocacy