What's it like to chat with the Ad Contrarian, Bob Hoffman? You're about to find out, as we get down to business discussing hypocrisy and the fundamentals in the marketing and advertising industry.

🚨 This episode uses explicit language 🚨

🎥 Prefer to watch the conversation?

We've got a link for you: https://youtu.be/OAHVU-MWFDg

This episode covers...

• Making an impression
• The importance of being skeptical
• Building your brand
• and His book, The Three Word Brief 

About Bob...

Bob is a writer and speaker. He has written seven books about advertising, each of which has been an Amazon #1 seller.

Before leaving the advertising business, Bob had been the chief executive of two independent ad agencies, and the US operation of an international agency.

Bob's blog, The Ad Contrarian, was named one of the world's most influential marketing and advertising blogs by Business Insider.

His commentary has appeared in the BBC World Service, The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, MSNBC, The Financial Times, The Australian, New Zealand Public Broadcastng, Fox News, Sky News, Forbes, Canadian Public Broadcasting, and many other news outlets throughout the world.

Bob has served on the boards of the Advertising and Marketing International Network, the Foundation for Osteoporosis Research and Education, and the PGA Foundation of Northern California. He spent one year as Special Assistant to the Executive Director of the California Academy of Sciences.

Resources mentioned in this episode:

• The Ad Contrarian Newsletter
• The Three Word Brief - Bob Hoffman
• The Long and Short of It - Les Binet & Peter Field
• A Complete Unknown - Film

People to watch in the space:

• Dave Trott
• Mark Ritson
• Byron Sharp
• Karen Nelson-Field
• Orlando Wood
• Brian Jacobs

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📚 Get your copy of the latest ABM in APAC Report here: https://xgrowth.com.au/abm-report/

Hosted & Produced by Shahin Hoda, Allysa Maywald & Alexander Hipwell, from xGrowth.

🚨 We would love to get your questions, ideas and feedback about Growth Colony, email [email protected]

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Join Vinnie and his chat with Head of Marketing for ANZ, and ESG Specialist of OneAdvanced, Brynne Beetge, to uncover how ABM can bridge the gap between Sales and Marketing.

This episode also covers...

• The importance of relationship building in all roles
• How to deal with rejection as a salesperson and marketer
• Why Environmental, Social & Governance (ESG) is important

About Brynn...

Brynn Beetge is the Head of Marketing for Australia and New Zealand and an ESG Specialist, with over a decade of leading marketing across consulting services, SaaS, financial services, commercial real estate, and renewable energy.

He specialises in driving brand growth, partnerships, and ESG integration through ABM, channel partnerships, brand management, and PR.

Holding a diploma in ESG, Brynn is passionate about leading teams and using data-driven insights to optimise growth and brand positioning. With extensive experience in stakeholder management and leadership, he drives strategic relationships to support sustainable growth.

Resources mentioned in this episode:

• Produce Marketing Alliance
• Fiona Tipping
• Serena Leith

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📚 Get your copy of the latest ABM in APAC Report here: https://xgrowth.com.au/abm-report/

Hosted & Produced by Vinnie Romano, Allysa Maywald & Alexander Hipwell, from xGrowth.

🚨 We would love to get your questions, ideas and feedback about Growth Colony, email [email protected]

Or fill out this Google form: https://forms.gle/ybDTyjEreR1WiUg16

And for all our other socials visit: https://mtr.bio/xgrowth

Shahin is joined by CEO of VOLTAGE, Corey Morris, to discuss his book, The Digital Marketing Success Plan and the creation of Corey's START framework.

This episode covers...

• How to avoid misalignments
• Large Language Models (LLM) and SEO
• How to build a solid strategy for your tactics to actually work
• Impostor syndrome and the future of AI

About Corey...

Corey is author and founder of Digital Marketing Success Plan™ and the President/CEO of VOLTAGE digital agency. He has spent 20 years working in strategic and leadership roles focused on growing national and local client brands with award-winning, ROI-generating digital strategies. His industry leadership, client success, and community-focused work made him recipient of the KCDMA 2019 Marketer of the Year award.

In addition to leading VOLTAGE, he has served as an officer on the global trade association board. He also previously led a local initiative in Kansas City founding the KC Search Marketing Conference and prior to that co-hosted a local marketing and tech radio show.

He is currently a contributor to Search Engine Journal, Search Engine Land and Forbes, among other publications. He speaks throughout North America on SEO and digital marketing topics including at SMX and Digital Summit events.

Corey has created the START Planning process featured in his new Amazon best-seller book, the Digital Marketing Success Plan which you can find at thedmsp.com.

Resources mentioned in this episode:

• Sell with Authority Podcast
• Rand Fishkin
• Wil Reynolds

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📚 Get your copy of the latest ABM in APAC Report here: https://xgrowth.com.au/abm-report/

Hosted & Produced by Shahin Hoda, Allysa Maywald & Alexander Hipwell, from xGrowth.

🚨 We would love to get your questions, ideas and feedback about Growth Colony, email [email protected]

Or fill out this Google form: https://forms.gle/ybDTyjEreR1WiUg16

And for all our other socials visit: https://mtr.bio/xgrowth

Shahin is joined by VP of Platform Ecosystem at HubSpot and the man behind the MarTech 5000 supergraphic, the Godfather of MarTech, Scott Brinker.

This episode covers...

• Composable tech stacks
• The role of AI Agents in workflows
• ‘Service as a Software’ (not your usual SaaS model)
• And the future for marketers in this space

About Scott...

Scott Brinker, dubbed the "Godfather of MarTech" by AdAge, has been analysing marketing technology and its impact on marketing organisations for more than 16 years as the editor of the chiefmartec.com blog.

He serves as VP Platform Ecosystem at HubSpot, helping to grow and nurture the company's community of technology partners. He also authored the best-selling book Hacking Marketing and co-authored the recent best-seller The New Automation Mindset.

Resources mentioned in this episode:

• Ethan Mollick
• OfferFit

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📚 Get your copy of the latest ABM in APAC Report here: https://xgrowth.com.au/abm-report/

Hosted & Produced by Shahin Hoda, Allysa Maywald & Alexander Hipwell, from xGrowth.

🚨 We would love to get your questions, ideas and feedback about Growth Colony, email [email protected]

Or fill out this Google form: https://forms.gle/ybDTyjEreR1WiUg16

And for all our other socials visit: https://mtr.bio/xgrowth

Shahin is joined by ANZ Regional VP of LogicMonitor, Caerl Murray, to chat about the nuances of developing a go-to-market strategy in ANZ as well as how to approach building a strong, successful team.

This episode also covers...

• How to achieve messaging alignment between marketing and sales teams
• How to stand out to your customers
• And how team sport can help you approach business resilience and motivation

About Caerl...

Caerl Murray is an accomplished technology leader with over 20 years of experience in IT operations, cloud computing, and sales management across various industry verticals. Currently serving as the ANZ Regional Vice President at LogicMonitor, he is responsible for driving business operations and strategic growth in the region. Under his leadership, LogicMonitor’s observability platform empowers organisations to enhance visibility across their technological landscapes, enabling them to focus on innovation rather than troubleshooting.

Prior to this role, Caerl was the ANZ Sales Director at Alibaba Cloud, where he led a team dedicated to helping customers navigate the cloud ecosystem, particularly in Asia and China. His extensive experience also includes serving as National Sales Manager at Ricoh IT Services, where he managed a team of 16 sales professionals, focusing on strategic planning and business growth.

With a Bachelor of Economics from the University of Sydney and a Graduate Certificate of Management from the Macquarie Graduate School of Management, Caerl combines academic expertise with practical experience. His career is marked by a commitment to customer success and a passion for leveraging technology to drive business results.

Resources mentioned in this episode:

• Mindset - Carol Dweck
• The Brutal Truth - Brian Burns

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📚 Get your copy of the latest ABM in APAC Report here: https://xgrowth.com.au/abm-report/

Hosted & Produced by Shahin Hoda, Allysa Maywald & Alexander Hipwell, from xGrowth.

🚨 We would love to get your questions, ideas and feedback about Growth Colony, email [email protected]

Or fill out this Google form: https://forms.gle/ybDTyjEreR1WiUg16

And for all our other socials visit: https://mtr.bio/xgrowth

Legendary author of The Time to Win, and business growth advisor, Jay Baer, joins Shahin in this chat about how speed sells.

People value their time more than ever which means that there is value to being fast in this industry. Whether it's replying to a client or even getting a project completed earlier than expected, every effort that can be completed sooner rather than later will always prevail. Learn all the tips and tricks on accelerating your B2B success in this 50-minute episode.

About Jay

A 7th-generation entrepreneur, Jay has written 7 bestselling business books, and created 6 multi-million dollar companies. He has consulted for more than 700 brands, including Nike, Oracle, IBM, and the United Nations.

An inductee into the professional speakers hall of fame, Jay was voted the world’s #1 Global Guru for online marketing, and #2 Global Guru for customer experience.

In his spare time, he is the second most-popular tequila influencer and educator on the planet.

Resources mentioned in this episode:

• Procrastinate on Purpose - Rory Vaden
• The Time to Win - Jay Baer
• Tequila

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🗞 Join our newsletter: https://forms.gle/NaN6W8qj1qQsfpTe9

📚 Get your copy of the latest ABM in APAC Report here: https://xgrowth.com.au/abm-report/

Hosted & Produced by Shahin Hoda, Allysa Maywald & Alexander Hipwell, from xGrowth.

🚨 We would love to get your questions, ideas and feedback about Growth Colony, email [email protected]

Or fill out this Google form: https://forms.gle/ybDTyjEreR1WiUg16

And for all our other socials visit: https://mtr.bio/xgrowth

Shahin is joined by CEO of ReadyTech, Marc Washbourne, as they chat about the origins of ReadyTech and how you can move up your market too!

What to expect in the episode...

• The challenges you face when you grow
• The transition strategies you can implement
• The team dynamics to make it in the enterprise market
• ReadyTech’s brand evolution

Marc Washbourne is the Co-Founder and CEO of ReadyTech (ASX:RDY), a global vertical SaaS powerhouse that has achieved remarkable growth since its inception in 1999.

With over 25 years of leadership in business and technology, Marc is responsible for shaping ReadyTech’s strategy and vision for excellence – guiding a team of 500+ ReadyTechers, delivering mission-critical technology solutions to 4,600+ customers.

Recognised for his expertise, in 2020 Marc also joined the board of the Federal Government’s Digital Skills Organisation, with a focus on advocating for digital skills in Australia and contributing to Australia's Skills Reform agenda.

Outside of work, Marc enjoys spending time with his wife and teenage children, and staying (very) active. He’s completed the 100km Trailwalker event five times and helped to raise over $100,000 for Oxfam, and in 2023 he also led an expedition to Mount Everest Base Camp to raise funds for Pankind, the pancreatic cancer foundation.

Resources mentioned in this episode:

• 20VC Podcast
• All-In Podcast
• The Rest Is Politics
• Drive - Daniel Pink
• Elon Musk - Walter Isaacson
• Going Infinite - Michael Lewis

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🗞 Join our newsletter: https://forms.gle/NaN6W8qj1qQsfpTe9

📚 Get your copy of the latest ABM in APAC Report here: https://xgrowth.com.au/abm-report/

Hosted & Produced by Shahin Hoda, Allysa Maywald & Alexander Hipwell, from xGrowth.

🚨 We would love to get your questions, ideas and feedback about Growth Colony, email [email protected]

Or fill out this Google form: https://forms.gle/ybDTyjEreR1WiUg16

And for all our other socials visit: https://mtr.bio/xgrowth

Remarkable human, Guy Kawasaki, joins Shahin to tell us about his new book, Think Remarkable, and how Guy's findings can be implemented in not only marketing but in your own life too.

About Guy

Guy Kawasaki is the chief evangelist of Canva, author of Think Remarkable, host of the Remarkable People podcast, and adjunct professor of the University of California, Santa Cruz. He was the chief evangelist of Apple, Mercedes Benz brand ambassador, and trustee of the Wikimedia Foundation. He has also written The Art of the Start 2.0, The Art of Social Media, Enchantment, and twelve other books. Kawasaki has a BA from Stanford University, an MBA from UCLA, and an honorary doctorate from Babson College.

Resources mentioned in this episode:

• Think Remarkable - Guy Kawasaki
• Guy Kawasaki's Remarkable People
• If You Want to Write - Brenda Ueland
• David Aaker

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🗞 Join our newsletter: https://forms.gle/NaN6W8qj1qQsfpTe9

📚 Get your copy of the latest ABM in APAC Report here: https://xgrowth.com.au/abm-report/

Hosted & Produced by Shahin Hoda, Allysa Maywald & Alexander Hipwell, from xGrowth.

🚨 We would love to get your questions, ideas and feedback about Growth Colony, email [email protected]

Or fill out this Google form: https://forms.gle/ybDTyjEreR1WiUg16

And for all our other socials visit: https://mtr.bio/xgrowth

Head of Marketing of Finastra, Joerg Klueckmann, joins Shahin to chat about finding the balance between being a creative and data-driven marketer in the B2B space.

What to expect in the episode...

• How to sell creative to leadership
• How to build a great creative team
• Using AI as a co-pilot

With more than 20 years of leadership experience, Joerg transformed global marketing organisations across the B2B software industry to become integrated, high performing and digital-first.

He believes in focus, simplicity and the courage to be different.

Joerg enjoys a good espresso and rides his mountain bike with passion.

Resources mentioned in this episode:

• Play Bigger
• Own the Room - Amy Jen Su
• Marketing Artificial Intelligence - Paul Roetzer
• Impromptu - Reid Hoffman

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🗞 Join our newsletter: https://forms.gle/NaN6W8qj1qQsfpTe9

📚 Get your copy of the latest ABM in APAC Report here: https://xgrowth.com.au/abm-report/

Hosted & Produced by Shahin Hoda, Allysa Maywald & Alexander Hipwell, from xGrowth.

🚨 We would love to get your questions, ideas and feedback about Growth Colony, email [email protected]

Or fill out this Google form: https://forms.gle/ybDTyjEreR1WiUg16

And for all our other socials visit: https://mtr.bio/xgrowth

Stephanie McCredie, Senior Director for Top Accounts & Account-Based Marketing, Asia Pacific at Salesforce, joins Shahin in the episode to chat about AI in ABM.

With AI being all the rage at this time, you've probably been using generative AI in your strategies and projects.

But are you using AI to its full potential?

This episode also covers...

• How to use AI for account selection
• Including AI in the customer journey
• Refining messaging and offers using AI
• Where AI won't play a role

About Stephanie...

Stephanie is proud to lead a team focused on amplifying customers’ trailblazing stories and creating mutual and sustainable customer value through account-based marketing experiences for some of Australia and New Zealand's leading organisations. 

With over 20 years of experience in B2B marketing, her leadership roles include pioneering ABM at IBM Australia and helping large corporate clients and startups grow across culturally diverse global markets in Asia Pacific, Latin America, Central Eastern Europe, Middle East, and Africa.

Stephanie believes that great customer experiences are fundamentally about a human connection that can be enhanced and supported by innovative and predictive technology.

Resources mentioned in this episode:

• Any Ordinary Day - Leigh Sales
• Salesforce Marketing AI Solutions

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🗞 Join our newsletter: https://forms.gle/NaN6W8qj1qQsfpTe9

📚 Get your copy of the latest ABM in APAC Report here: https://xgrowth.com.au/abm-report/

Hosted & Produced by Shahin Hoda, Allysa Maywald & Alexander Hipwell, from xGrowth.

🚨 We would love to get your questions, ideas and feedback about Growth Colony, email [email protected]

Or fill out this Google form: https://forms.gle/ybDTyjEreR1WiUg16

And for all our other socials visit: https://mtr.bio/xgrowth