It’s the final ep of MVP and Mike Drysdale is joined by the one and only Meg Coffey, Founder of State of Social (kind of the reason we’re all here) and MD of marketing consultancy Coffey & Tea. When you spend time with Meg—at her iconic SoS event or just for this time we have together on the blue velvet chair—you will immediately feel her unrelenting ambition. Meg’s passion for this industry (and life in general) is contagious and her insights around the Metaverse, personalisation, and privacy are the valuable perspectives you pressed play for. 

When it comes to SoS, Meg talks about the event’s Welcome to Country, a 20 per cent growth in numbers, and her ability to find people with unique ideas that draw a crowd. 

For the final round of Mike’s quickfire questions, Coffey speaks about the cultural and social ramifications of a world transformed by social media and rapidly changing trends. She contemplates Facebook’s charmless shift to the Metaverse and the unfortunate fate of Instagram. Without giving away the whole chat, Meg also speaks candidly about her lack of filter and quest for perfection.

Coffey’s insights are a perfect way to cap off what has been a revelatory series of interviews, showing how these really are marketing’s most valuable perspectives.

______

“You don’t have to like what I think, you don’t have to agree with what I think, but for some reason I don’t have a filter.”

“From the very get-go of the event we will get your brain thinking differently.”

“I say yes to pretty much everything… because you just never know, you just never know.”

_____

Meg Coffey/CEO State of Social:

Website: https://coffeyandtea.com/team/meg-coffey/ 

Twitter: https://twitter.com/TexanMeg 

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

Mike Drysdale/Dear Storyteller:
Website: https://dearstoryteller.com/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/dear_storyteller/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/MikeDrysdale_

State of Social:
Website: https://stateofsocial.com.au/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/state_of_social/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/state_of_social

This week on MVP, David Ray, Reddit’s Country Manager for Australia, sits down with Dear Storyteller GM Mike Drysdale to dive deeper into the topics he covered at State of Social. The two discuss the way Reddit differs from the battleground of other social platforms, admiring how it harnesses the power of community to create positive social media spaces.  

During their conversation, we discover that David’s focus on community extends past the digital world, as he shares his belief that the pandemic and political climate has strengthened Australia’s own sense of community. He then goes on to contemplate his journey as a young entrepreneur and writer, and credits his mentors for helping him navigate the industry. The episode is also dotted with David’s advice for brands looking to interact with Reddit, detailing how they can use it to connect with their audience.

To round out the episode, David answers Mike’s quick-fire questions, describing everything from his favourite sock brand and appreciation for Garmin watches to his desire to hang out with Stephen Colbert. Throughout the episode, David offers practical advice and insight into Reddit’s capabilities, while taking an in-depth exploration into the way community has influenced every one of his ventures. 

—

“Where Reddit flourishes and provides a much more positive role in the world is [by giving] people the ability to set their own rules about what they want engagement to be.”

“When it comes to brands themselves, I think the most important thing [to know] is that the communities can smell a rat...They know what's genuine and what's not.”

“The word ‘community’ is a positive one.”

—

David Ray/Reddit Australia:
Website: https://www.reddit.com/
LinkedIn: https://au.linkedin.com/in/daveray99

Mike Drysdale/Dear Storyteller: 
Website: https://dearstoryteller.com/ 
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/dear_storyt... 
Twitter: https://twitter.com/MikeDrysdale_ 

State of Social: 
Website: https://stateofsocial.com.au/ 
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/state_of_so... 
Twitter: https://twitter.com/state_of_social

In this week’s episode of MVP, Andrés López-Varela, General Manager of Storyation, meets up with Dear Storyteller GM Mike Drysdale to dive deeper into the controversial ‘quantity over quality’ concept he championed in his State of Social workshop. Andrés explains how quality can no longer be at the expense of quantity, suggesting that content will simply get drowned out if it’s not consistently posted.

The two go on to explore the ideas of ‘maximum volume possible’ and ‘mental availability’, where Andrés suggests that by increasing content output we will have a better chance of understanding and catering to audience demand. The conversation also covers the shifting attitudes towards search engine UX and the way that Google’s stronghold over the search engine market share is bound to falter amid the emerging trend of ‘crowd-sourced search engines’. 

To finish up, Andrés answers Mike’s quickfire questions, expressing his passion for narrative-driven podcasts and a small-time doughnut brand’s unapologetic branding. In this episode of MVP, Andrés gives a subversive take on the demands of a rapidly changing social media landscape and shares unique strategies for rising above the noise. 
 

—

“If you’re posting once a day… You’re never going to win anything on the internet that way.”

“If you’ve got to make a choice and trade-off between quality and quantity, you must choose quantity.”

“They’re going to those crowd-sourced channels to get answers from people they trust rather than some random algorithm on Google.”

—

Andrés López-Varela/Storyation:

Website: https://storyation.com/

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

Twitter: https://twitter.com/hackjack

Mike Drysdale/Dear Storyteller:

Website: https://dearstoryteller.com/

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

Twitter: https://twitter.com/MikeDrysdale_

State of Social:

Website: https://stateofsocial.com.au/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/state_of_social/?hl=en

Twitter: https://twitter.com/state_of_social 

In this week’s episode of MVP, Aussie actor and director Myles Pollard joins Dear Storyteller GM Mike Drysdale for an exploration into the ideas he shared at State of Social. They discuss the parallels between the marketing and acting disciplines, focusing on the way we might be able to communicate more effectively by learning how to feel comfortable in uncomfortable situations.

The McLeod's Daughters star goes on to explain his belief that humans gravitate towards fallibility, and mistakes can be endearing depending on how you react to them. He brings this point home with a story about 'the one that got away'; an audition for Lord of The Rings. He then delivers his own quasi-tourism pitch for Western Australia, revealing his beguiling ability to communicate in a powerful and persuasive way.

Finally, Mike discovers some fascinating insights during the quickfire question round, uncovering Myles’s admiration for Barack Obama’s public speaking, the way he forged his path within the communication space, and his love of the classic Swatch.This episode reveals the unique understanding Myles has for both the acting and marketing worlds, and highlights the way public speaking skills can be used to cut through the noise and communicate a message quickly and effectively.

—

“I think actors are pretty good at consolidating messages and connecting with messages authentically and quickly.”

“What I’m trying to help marketers with is the idea that it’s okay to be uncomfortable.”

“The skill of being able to actually take your attention off yourself and be really interested in what people have to say … is actually really powerful.”

—

Myles Pollard:
Website: https://mylespollard.com.au/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mylespollard/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/pollardmyles

Mike Drysdale/Dear Storyteller:
Website: https://dearstoryteller.com/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/dear_storyteller/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/MikeDrysdale_

State of Social:
Website: https://stateofsocial.com.au/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/state_of_social/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/state_of_social

In this episode of MVP, Susannah George, founder and CEO of Urban List, joins Dear Storyteller GM Mike Drysdale to discuss the key takeaways from her speech at State of Social. Susannah shares the strategies she uses to build a strong, passionate team and explains how her decentralised workforce retains a collaborative and supportive culture.

During their conversation, Mike uncovers several of the ingredients that Susannah has used to create the 2021 Media Brand Of The Year, including a non-hierarchical structure, focus on creativity and content strategy, and consistent communication through the Slack app. They also delve into the wisdom of author Patrick Lencioni and how his ‘ideal team player’ framework transformed her leadership methodology. 

And in a particularly insightful session of quickfire questions, Susannah reveals a surprising business person she would like to spend time with, gives a valuable book referral for fellow founders, and passionately explains why the news media bargaining code is not championing the future of independent media. It’s an episode filled with eloquent and deeply considered thoughts, and one that sheds light on the incredible success that can be achieved - both personally and within a company - by putting your employee experience first. 

—

‘It doesn’t matter what your title is. It’s the quality of your idea and your willingness to learn.’

‘I love people. I love the opportunity to connect with people and over time I’ve recognised that it’s [when you’re] willing to share your own guts and grit and ugliness and shadow that the greatest connections come.’

‘Our employee proposition is right there in our brand proposition. So, our brand proposition is ‘Good life, Good company’, so if you’re going to put it out there that overtly, you better be a good place to be.’

—

Links:

Susannah George/Urban List:

Website: https://www.theurbanlist.com/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/susannah.george/?hl=en

Mike Drysdale/Dear Storyteller:

Website: https://dearstoryteller.com/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/dear_storyteller/?hl=en

Twitter: https://twitter.com/MikeDrysdale_

State of Social:

Website: https://stateofsocial.com.au/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/state_of_social/?hl=en

Twitter: https://twitter.com/state_of_social

This episode of MVP spotlights a decidedly different perspective on marketing, with Dr. Holly Ludeman of the Livestock Collective joining Dear Storyteller GM Mike Drysdale for a chat after her speech at State of Social. They discuss the way Holly used authentic storytelling to give the agricultural industry a voice and go over the challenges she faced both within the industry and from external sources.

Holly explains why she was so determined to reframe the often-controversial world of live export and details the steps she took to succeed, including promoting the unheard stories of people in the industry and creating ‘agricultural influencers’. She also opens up about her fears in the face of an imminent media ‘scrum’, predicts future innovations for transparent ESG information, and shares her belief that any unacceptable behaviour on social media – no matter the side – needs to be called out.

To finish up, Mike shoots Holly some quickfire questions and discovers her sentimentality for a pair of RM Williams boots, need for one-on-one interaction as opposed to online tutorials, and loyalty to the clothing brand Camilla. This episode highlights how vital it is to be part of cultural conversations in your industry and gives insight into the way social media can be used to create trust and acceptance.

—

“That care and passion comes through in agricultural people. You don’t need to get them to say what you want them to say. You just need to ask them the right questions.”

“An open book can’t be rewritten. Whereas at the time, starting this project, the book had been written for us. And it was awful.”

“I was just a veterinarian and a service provider, but I could just see that we were so behind in the communications space.” 

—

Links: 

Holly Ludeman/Livestock Collective:
Website: https://www.thelivestockcollective.com.au/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/holly.vet/?hl=en
Twitter: https://twitter.com/holly_vet?lang=en

Mike Drysdale/Dear Storyteller:
Website: https://dearstoryteller.com/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/dear_storyteller/?hl=en
Twitter: https://twitter.com/MikeDrysdale_ 

State of Social:
Website: https://stateofsocial.com.au/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/state_of_social/?hl=en
Twitter: https://twitter.com/state_of_social 

In this episode of MVP, Managing Director of Nextdoor Australia, Jennie Sager, joins Dear Storyteller GM Mike Drysdale backstage at State of Social for a closer look at building communities and real-life connections. They explore the reasons why Nextdoor’s community-based app grew during the string of calamities known as 2020 and discuss its transformation from a needs-based to a wants-based platform.

The conversation goes on to cover the wondrous results of multi-generational communities and Jennie shares some insight to counter the idea that ‘community life is collapsing in Australia’. Also, with a career that’s spanned multiple global media companies (think: Twitter, ABC, MTV), Jennie has plenty of wisdom to share about building something from scratch and creating rapid growth. 

Lastly, Jennie responds to Mike's classic quickfire questions, uncovering her love of podcasts, a surprising prized possession, and Mike and Jennie’s mutual love for the ever-quotable Seth Godin. In this episode, Jennie’s down-to-earth and compassionate approach serves as a refreshing tonic in an industry that can often err towards creative self-interest. Her antidote (and one you'll commit to memory on the other side of this chat), is community.

—

“People kind of became reclusive and were indoors more and online more, but I think at the same time people realised the value of personal connection and that’s something that hasn’t changed now that we’re out the other side.” 

“There was a great post from a 90-year-old in Australia a couple of months ago where she literally said in her post ‘I can’t believe I’m on an online platform, I don’t even use the internet, my daughter had to help me, I’m 90 years old, but I just want to connect with the local community.” 

“Just figuring out, where can I make this really resonate with people and then listen to their feedback. I think people forget to listen. Just listening in to those super-engaged users and taking that on board and going, ‘hey these are people that instantly latched onto our product, we’ve got to figure out a way to serve this better.” 

—

Links:

Jennie Sager/Nextdoor:

Website: https://au.nextdoor.com/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nextdoor/?hl=en

Twitter: https://twitter.com/thejenspot

Mike Drysdale/Dear Storyteller:

Website: https://dearstoryteller.com/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/dear_storyteller/?hl=en

Twitter: https://twitter.com/MikeDrysdale_

State of Social:

Website: https://stateofsocial.com.au/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/state_of_social/?hl=en

Twitter: https://twitter.com/state_of_social

In this episode of MVP, Lead Thinker and CEO of Thinkerbell, Adam Ferrier, takes to the blue velvet lounges with Dear Storyteller GM Mike Drysdale to delve deeper into the fascinating perspectives he shared within his State of Social keynote speech. The two industry rebels delve into the power of a less-is-more philosophy, exploring everything from Elon Musk and Weetbix to the beauty of imperfection.

During their conversation, the pair muse about reconciling customers’ mental and physical availability with ‘doing less’ and choosing not to over-process advertising. They investigate why brands must ensure an idea resonates internally before sharing it externally, before discussing how brands can publicly lean into their imperfections. Does the societal trend towards authenticity open doors for new brand stories? 

The podcast closes with Mike shooting Adam a series of rapid-fire questions to discover what inspires him and which brands have managed to get under his skin. It’s an episode packed with forward-thinking ideas and references to impactful brand work - the perfect hit of branded entertainment inspiration.

—

“If you do really good marketing, then it’s everything. It’s business; it’s business strategy. Every single touchpoint should be building or reinforcing a brand or a brand message.”

“We have a thing called negativity bias, where we pay more attention to negative stimuli than positive stimuli. Everyone knows that, everywhere; except for marketers. Marketers and brands are obsessed with presenting a glib, superficial image of themselves.”

 —

Links:

Adam Ferrier/Thinkerbell:

Website: https://thinkerbell.com/

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

Twitter: https://twitter.com/adamferrier

Mike Drysdale/Dear Storyteller:

Website: https://dearstoryteller.com/

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

Twitter: https://twitter.com/MikeDrysdale_

State of Social:

Website: https://stateofsocial.com.au/

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

Twitter: https://twitter.com/state_of_social

Welcome to The Marketer's Most Valuable Perspective, a podcast by State of Social and Dear Storyteller.

A creative job description for marketers might say “we notice things for a living”. We’re observers, researchers, experimenters and strategists captivated by exploring all the levers that influence human decision making.

Those hidden insights supercharge our strategies and lead to client success. But in a constantly evolving marketing landscape, new technologies, platforms, and trends are popping up every single day. So which vantage point offers the best perspective?