Everybody hates your brand

In today's episode, we talk to Jo Penn. Jo is VP of Client Growth and Partnerships at Bond Brand Loyalty and formerly was Managing Director at CRM agency Armadillo before they were bought out by Bond earlier this year.

We talk about the value of being part of a network versus independence, the challenges facing their clients, how they are integrating AI into their processes and a discussion on how the world of agencies has changed and what stubbornly remains the same.

External resources:

• Armadillo CRM - A Bond Company website - CLICK HERE

Audio-Visual assets:

• Imagery: Photo by Matthew Brodeur on Unsplash
• Music: Hot Thang by Daniel Fridell - CLICK HERE
• Music: Sick Man's Blues by Peter Crosby - CLICK HERE

In this new episode, we explore a part of the marketing mix that we have hitherto yet to cover – Sponsorship.

We are joined by Rory Natkiel. Rory has spent nearly 15 years in senior strategy roles at agencies including Iris and Sid Lee Sport, working with brands including adidas, Lidl and Tommy Hilfiger. 

He co-founded the Sponsorship Effectiveness Forum and authored The Sponsorship Effect, the largest statistical analysis of sponsorship effectiveness to date. He now runs Box Count – an agency that helps brands, rights holders and agencies make more confident sponsorship decisions (and defend them to the people who hold the budget). 

We talk about the role of Sponsorship in the marketing mix, how to apply modern marketing effectiveness thinking to it and his favourite sponsorship activity, amongst other things. NB this was recorded before the World Cup hence limited discussion of that event. 

External resources:

• Box Count website - CLICK HERE
• Rory's LinkedIn profile - CLICK HERE

Audio-Visual assets:

• Imagery: Photo by Matthew Brodeur on Unsplash
• Music: Hot Thang by Daniel Fridell - CLICK HERE
• Music: Sick Man's Blues by Peter Crosby - CLICK HERE

In this episode, we talk to Mark Sage. Mark is a Writer and Strategist who explores the Psychology behind loyalty and how brands can earn it. He’s got bags of practical experience in multiple markets, having worked on Nectar in the UK and Yuu Rewards in Hong Kong, from where he joined us for this podcast.

External resources:

• Mark's Medium Writing - CLICK HERE

Audio-Visual assets:

• Imagery: Photo by Matthew Brodeur on Unsplash
• Music: Hot Thang by Daniel Fridell. CLICK HERE
• Music: Sunday Morning Blues by Rymdklang Soundtracks. CLICK HERE

In the episode, we talk to Gianfranco Cuzziol. Gianfranco is a CRM and Personalisation Advisor, Speaker,  Author, Consultant and Educator. 

He’s worked both client and agency side, leading global CRM for brands like Aesop. We talk about CRM dos and don'ts, the role of AI and his recently launched CRMBA – a Mini MBA designed for CRM and Loyalty practitioners.

As an added extra, if you use the code "RobV20" you’ll get 20% off when you sign up for it.

External resources:

• CRMBA Website - CLICK HERE

Audio-Visual assets:

• Imagery: Photo by Matthew Brodeur on Unsplash
• Music: Hot Thang by Daniel Fridell. CLICK HERE
• Music: Sunday Morning Blues by Rymdklang Soundtracks. CLICK HERE

In this episode, we talk to Ian Reeves. Ian is the Managing Director of Flourish CRM, an independent, specialist CRM agency with offices in both Bristol in the UK and Dubai, where they create award-winning campaigns for clients like Nissan and Samsung.

We talk about how an agency like his is, if you’ll pardon the obvious pun, flourishing in the febrile world of huge holding companies like Omnicom and WPP and a martech sector that is undergoing extraordinary change.

External resources:

• Flourish website - CLICK HERE

Audio-Visual assets:

• Imagery: Photo by Matthew Brodeur on Unsplash
• Music: Hot Thang by Daniel Fridell. CLICK HERE
• Music: Don't Lie by Will Harrison. CLICK HERE

In today's episode, we talk to Antti Kangaslahti. Antti is a customer experience expert with over a decade of experience in top London agencies across a breadth of industries, including FMCG, technology, finance, telecoms, aviation, and education.

We chat about the role of expectations in customer experience, why signature human experiences still matter in an industry increasingly obsessed with AI, and his philosophy of "maalaisjärki” - practical, no nonsense and no hype countryside intelligence from Finland 🇫🇮 

External resources:

• Finntastico website - CLICK HERE
• Finntastico LinkedIn profile - CLICK HERE

Audio-Visual assets:

• Imagery: Photo by Matthew Brodeur on Unsplash
• Music: Hot Thang by Daniel Fridell. CLICK HERE
• Music: Sick Man's Blues by Eric Crosby. CLICK HERE

In this episode, we talk to Simon Spyer. Simon is an entrepreneur and data-driven marketer with experience at some of the best agencies in the UK. 5 months ago, he struck out on his own and started the company Data Agents. Their focus is on helping businesses to determine when and how to use agentic AI to unlock the most value possible. 

We cover what the right circumstances are for agentic AI to add value, how brands can ensure AI agents are controlled and some examples of brands using them well. 

External resources:

• Data Agents website - CLICK HERE
• 10 Agentic Use Cases That Actually Deliver - CLICK HERE

Audio-Visual assets:

• Imagery: Photo by Matthew Brodeur on Unsplash
• Music: Hot Thang by Daniel Fridell. CLICK HERE
• Music: Sick Man's Blues by Eric Crosby. CLICK HERE

In this episode, we talk to Rob Pellow, Executive Technical Director at the independent CRM agency Armadillo, based out of Bristol in the UK.  

Rob is an expert in the somewhat labyrinthine and opaque world of martech and we talked about that world, its current obsession with integrating AI and where he thinks the future is going.  

External resources:

• Armadillo's website - CLICK HERE
• Choice Hacking YouTube Channel - CLICK HERE

Audio-Visual assets:

• Imagery: Photo by Matthew Brodeur on Unsplash
• YouTube thumbnail imagery: Photo by ThisisEngineering on Unsplash
• Music: Hot Thang by Daniel Fridell. CLICK HERE
• Music: Don't Lie by Will Harrison CLICK HERE

This episode features an interview with Angela Harding. Angela is a veteran of the video games industry, having spent over 19 years working at Activision Blizzard. She held many roles there, including VP of EMEA for the legendary and enduring Call of Duty franchise.

But she moved on from that a year or so ago to co-found Inclusive People, whose mission is to empower technology organisations to unlock their greatest asset—their people!  

Join us as we chat through everything from how video games promotion has moved on into her latest venture and the real importance of diversity and inclusion in today’s world. 

External resources:

• Inclusive People website - CLICK HERE

Audio-Visual assets:

• Imagery: Photo by Matthew Brodeur on Unsplash
• Music: Hot Thang by Daniel Fridell. CLICK HERE
• Music: Don't Lie by Will Harrison CLICK HERE

In this episode, we talk to Adam Posner, founder of the loyalty consultancy The Point of Loyalty.

We cover the value of loyalty programs beyond the obvious, when a brand shouldn't have a loyalty program and how a brand's body language can really affect the success of its program. 

External resources:

• The Point of Loyalty website - CLICK HERE
• For Love or Money report 2025 - CLICK HERE

Audio-Visual assets:

• Imagery: Photo by Matthew Brodeur on Unsplash
• Music: Hot Thang by Daniel Fridell. CLICK HERE
• Music: Don't Lie by Will Harrison CLICK HERE