Marketing Unzipped

There are almost infinite things you could do in marketing. The difficult part is deciding what actually deserves your attention now.

In this episode of Marketing Unzipped, Rob Curtis explores his Next Sensible Step framework and why good strategy isn't simply a long list of channels, campaigns and ideas.

Rob explains why marketing decisions should follow the order Business → Strategy → Tactics, how to identify the constraint currently holding growth back, and why separating what you know from what you're assuming can completely change the decision you make next.

You'll also hear why changing a plan isn't necessarily evidence that the strategy failed, why sometimes the sensible decision is simply to keep going, and the five questions Rob uses when marketing starts to feel chaotic.

If your team has too many priorities, too many ideas or an ever-growing list of things it feels it should be doing, this episode will help you narrow the focus.

The question isn't always "What else should we do?"

Sometimes it's simply:

What deserves our attention now?

You probably don’t need another marketing tactic. You might actually need fewer.

Businesses are doing more marketing than ever. SEO, Google Ads, social media, email, content, video, AI and everything in between. But when you ask the simple question, “Why are we doing all of this?”, the answer can get surprisingly fuzzy.

In this episode of Marketing Unzipped, I explore why more activity doesn’t automatically mean more progress, and why adding another channel rarely fixes a strategy that doesn’t make sense in the first place.

I cover why marketing should start with the business problem, how to find the real bottleneck, why “we need more leads” isn’t always true, and why good strategy is often about deciding what not to do.

Most importantly, I introduce an idea I’ll keep coming back to throughout the podcast:

What is the next sensible step?

If your marketing feels busy, complicated or disconnected, this episode is a good place to start.

Less chasing tactics. More making better decisions.

rob-curtis.com | thepursuitagency.com | Mymarketr.io

Summary

In this episode of Marketing Unzipped, Rob Curtis explores the marketing genius of Leo Burnett, focusing on his five key lessons that emphasise the importance of emotion, simplicity, symbolism, drama, and sincerity in advertising. Burnett's approach transformed the landscape of marketing by prioritizing human connection over technical jargon, creating memorable brand characters and messages that resonate with audiences. The episode serves as a guide for marketers looking to enhance their storytelling and connect more deeply with their customers.

Takeaways

• Start with emotion, not logic, as feelings drive action.
• Make the product the hero by positioning it truthfully.
• Use symbolism to cut through the noise where words fade.
• Find the drama in even the simplest products.
• Speak with sincerity, not polish or perfection.
• Craft messages that resonate with human experiences.
• Every product has a story waiting to be told.
• Burnett's characters were shortcuts to emotional connections.
• Sincerity in marketing builds trust and engagement.
• Great marketing begins with understanding people and their desires.

The Pursuit Agency

Did you know, there are 5.9 million SMEs totally stuck with their marketing. And with MyMarketr.io, that ends now!

Tired of juggling tools, guessing strategies, or wasting time on content that goes nowhere? MyMarketr.io gives you the only thing you need to grow: Results, without the agency price tag.

Summary

In this episode of Marketing Unzipped, Rob Curtis explores the phenomenon of snackable content, which has emerged as a response to decreasing attention spans and the need for quick, engaging content. He discusses the effectiveness of micro content in capturing audience attention, strategies for creating impactful short-form videos, and the importance of balancing brevity with substance. The episode also highlights successful examples of brands utilizing snackable content and provides actionable tips for marketers looking to implement these strategies in their own businesses.


Takeaways

• The average human attention span has decreased to just 8.25 seconds.
• Snackable content is designed for quick consumption and engagement.
• Platforms like TikTok and Instagram have transformed content consumption habits.
• Brands that switch to short, focused content see increased engagement.
• Visuals are crucial in grabbing attention quickly.
• Authenticity and relatability are key to successful micro content.
• Subtitles are essential as many viewers watch videos without sound.
• Content should provide value and be memorable, not just quick.
• Using humor and cultural references can enhance engagement.
• Tracking performance helps refine content strategies.

Chapters

00:00 The Rise of Snackable Content
03:20 Why Snackable Content Works
05:35 Creating Engaging Micro-Content
08:56 Balancing Brevity and Substance
10:52 Examples of Successful Snackable Content
14:51 Building Your Snackable Content Strategy

Keywords

snackable content, micro content, audience engagement, marketing strategies, short form videos, social media, content creation, digital marketing, attention span, branding

The Pursuit Agency

Did you know, there are 5.9 million SMEs totally stuck with their marketing. And with MyMarketr.io, that ends now!

Tired of juggling tools, guessing strategies, or wasting time on content that goes nowhere? MyMarketr.io gives you the only thing you need to grow: Results, without the agency price tag.

Summary

In this episode of Marketing Unzipped, Rob Curtis delves into the principles of legendary marketer David Ogilvy. The discussion covers Ogilvy's unique background, his customer-first philosophy, the importance of research, and the need for clarity in marketing. Curtis emphasizes that Ogilvy's timeless strategies can be applied by anyone, regardless of their business size, to create effective marketing that resonates with audiences.

Takeaways

Ogilvy's approach is still relevant for modern marketers.
Respecting the customer is key to effective marketing.
Headlines are crucial; they should capture attention immediately.
Research should inform all marketing decisions, not guesswork.
Clarity in messaging builds trust with the audience.
Marketing should focus on benefits, not just features.
Avoid jargon; speak in plain language that resonates.
Testing and iteration are essential for successful campaigns.
Ogilvy's principles can be applied by businesses of any size.
Marketing should be about helping customers make decisions.

The Pursuit Agency

Did you know, there are 5.9 million SMEs totally stuck with their marketing. And with MyMarketr.io, that ends now!

Tired of juggling tools, guessing strategies, or wasting time on content that goes nowhere? MyMarketr.io gives you the only thing you need to grow: Results, without the agency price tag.

Influencer marketing isn’t dead—but its impact is. 

In this episode of Marketing Unzipped, Rob explores why today's audiences are rejecting polished, high-budget influencer campaigns in favour of something far more powerful: authenticity.

You’ll discover how the shift toward user-generated content, micro-communities, and personal brands is reshaping how we connect online. From emotional storytelling to trust-driven signals, this episode breaks down exactly what it takes to stay relevant in a noisy digital world.

👥 Learn how to:

• Build real community beyond vanity metrics
• Make your customers the hero with UGC
• Turn your personal brand into your biggest marketing asset
• Apply behavioural science to create magnetic marketing moments

Whether you're a founder, marketer or content creator, this episode gives you the strategies to thrive in a more human, less polished marketing era.

🎧 Listen now and rethink your approach to social.

Chapters

00:00 – The Decline of Influencer Marketing
02:10 – The Shift Towards Authenticity
07:03 – Building Communities and User-Generated Content
14:15 – The Power of Personal Branding
20:20 – Strategies for Modern Marketing
28:04 – The Future of Social Media Marketing

The Pursuit Agency

Did you know, there are 5.9 million SMEs totally stuck with their marketing. And with MyMarketr.io, that ends now!

Tired of juggling tools, guessing strategies, or wasting time on content that goes nowhere? MyMarketr.io gives you the only thing you need to grow: Results, without the agency price tag.

It's time for another episode of Marketing Unzipped. If you’ve been following the news in tech even loosely, you’ve probably heard a lot of noise around Google’s latest event — Google I/O 2025.

This year, Google made one thing crystal clear: Artificial Intelligence is no longer an add-on. It’s the foundation.

From the way we search, to the way we shop, to the way we create content — it’s all changing. And quickly. What really stood out — from a marketer’s perspective — wasn’t just the tech. It was the pattern. The direction things are heading. And what it means for how we show up in front of customers.

Google Search is no longer just about finding results. It’s answering for users before they ever click anything. You don’t even need to visit a website anymore — the AI tells you what you need to know right there in the search results.

New tools like Veo and Imagen let you generate full-blown video ads and product images just by typing a few lines of text. No cameras. No shoots. No design teams. Just AI and a vision.

The most subtle shift and maybe the most powerful is how AI is collapsing the traditional sales funnel. People are going from interest to decision almost instantly, and marketers? We’re often not even in the room when it happens!

Today I'm discussing all of these overviews and more when it comes to keeping your brand at the top of the results list!

The Pursuit Agency

Did you know, there are 5.9 million SMEs totally stuck with their marketing. And with MyMarketr.io, that ends now!

Tired of juggling tools, guessing strategies, or wasting time on content that goes nowhere? MyMarketr.io gives you the only thing you need to grow: Results, without the agency price tag.

Why do people pay more for the same cup of coffee just because it's served in a nicer cup? 

Why does a limited time offer suddenly make us want something we didn't even consider yesterday? 

If you've ever wondered why perfectly designed campaigns flow flat, while quirky, unpolished, those terrible ones, they just go viral, this episode will flip your assumptions completely. 

In this episode of Marketing Unzipped, we're talking about the psychology of choice!

Marketing is built on a strategy called Choice Architecture which is the idea that the way a decision is presented shapes the outcome, even if the options stay exactly the same, you're not changing the product, you're just changing the frame. 

Imagine that you're at a coffee shop. The menu offers a small coffee for £2, a medium for £3.50, and a large for £3.75. Most people will go straight for the large, not because they need more coffee, but because the price difference nudges them to think it's better value that medium option. It exists to steer the choice only and this kind of behavioural design works because people don't make purely rational decisions. We take shortcuts. 

Today we discuss all the ways that you can use that in marketing to grow your business! 

The Pursuit Agency

Did you know, there are 5.9 million SMEs totally stuck with their marketing. And with MyMarketr.io, that ends now!

Tired of juggling tools, guessing strategies, or wasting time on content that goes nowhere? MyMarketr.io gives you the only thing you need to grow: Results, without the agency price tag.

On today's episode of Marketing Unzipped we're talking about Answer Engine Optimisation or AEO. This is something that is quietly disrupting the way we think about SEO and it's a fundamental rethink of how visibility online actually works.

For the last two decades, search engine optimisation has shaped how we write content, structure websites, and compete for attention. But something’s shifted – subtly at first, now unmistakably.

People no longer search the way they used to.

We’re seeing a profound change in behaviour. Users aren’t just typing keywords – they’re asking full questions in natural language. And they’re not necessarily looking for pages anymore – they’re looking for answers.

This shift marks the rise of what could be the next evolution in digital marketing: Answer Engine Optimisation.

And it’s not a gimmick. It’s a direct response to a new wave of AI-native tools and platforms that are fundamentally changing the traditional search experience.

AEO isn’t about replacing SEO – it’s about modernising it.

Search Engine Optimisation still matters. But now it needs a strategic counterpart. A framework that recognises the growing role of AI in shaping what gets seen, quoted, and trusted.

That’s why Answer Engine Optimisation matters.

The Pursuit Agency

Did you know, there are 5.9 million SMEs totally stuck with their marketing. And with MyMarketr.io, that ends now!

Tired of juggling tools, guessing strategies, or wasting time on content that goes nowhere? MyMarketr.io gives you the only thing you need to grow: Results, without the agency price tag.

On today's episode of Marketing Unzipped, I have the pleasure of interviewing Fiona Scott of Scott Media.

Fiona and I have worked together since the early days of The Pursuit Agency and I couldn't wait to have her as a guest on the show because she has so much knowledge and wisdom to share and as you hear she's had an AMAZING career as a journalist before starting her PR business.

Scott Media isn't your normal PR agency. Fiona operates as a newsroom and is a journalist for her clients, writing their press releases and supporting them to make their businesses visible to the business world. I can honestly say working with Fiona is one of the best decisions I ever made. because when I go to football or meet up with family and friends they'll tell me about opening the paper and seeing me in it or logging onto the internet and there I am on a news website! And that right there is the power of PR!

Fiona shares about crisis management explaining what it is and giving an example that she had to spend a bank holiday weekend dealing with!

If you're looking for a PR partner who works with you in your business and you like what you hear and want to have a conversation head to www.scottmedia.uk or pop her an email at [email protected]

The Pursuit Agency

Did you know, there are 5.9 million SMEs totally stuck with their marketing. And with MyMarketr.io, that ends now!

Tired of juggling tools, guessing strategies, or wasting time on content that goes nowhere? MyMarketr.io gives you the only thing you need to grow: Results, without the agency price tag.