In this episode Kerry talks to Lizzie Donaldson Founder of Berry and Laurie MacPherson, Career Coach & LinkedIn Mentor about how to get mentoring right. There is a rising demand for support in career development within Scotland’s marketing & business community, Lizzie and Laurie talk to us about what you can expect as a mentor and mentee, how to set yourself up for success, and which type of program might be right for you.

Laurie Macpherson, Career and LinkedIn Mentor.

With a background mentoring teams in retail and travel, Laurie moved into the careers space in 2015 and has supported hundreds of people to plan and take the next steps in their career, including many marketers! She specialises in supporting women at mid and senior level to find roles that are rewarding, whatever that means to them. In addition, she has run mentoring programmes on behalf of Skillfluence and delivered business mentoring as an associate of Connect Three. She is currently running the 4th round of the WiSA mentoring programme for Skillfluence, having matched and supported many successful partnerships over the past three incarnations of the programme.

Lizzie Donaldson, Founder & Director of Berry; Mentoring, Management & Legal Services Company.  

Qualified in 2009 as a Lawyer in Scotland and has practiced employment law since then; moving in-house in 2012 and headed up in-house global employment legal teams in Diageo, Conde Nast and Nokia so has lots of experience of working alongside the Marketing team!  Lizzie is a mentor to many lawyers in her personal network and believes in everyone having access to mentoring opportunities.  She created Berry so that mentoring is done meaningfully in organizations, with membership groups and in diversity programs to help level the playing field.  She consults with the programme coordinator and trains mentors and mentee populations. 

Lizzie’s LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lizzie-donaldson/

Laurie’s LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lauriemac/

This Will Pass To, book recommendation: https://www.amazon.co.uk/This-Too-Will-Pass-Professional/dp/1911246410

The Squiggly Careers podcast: https://open.spotify.com/show/6t6vYEeYl3Kmdd0AE6v3xj?si=8beb40ae896d4d30

In this episode Kerry talks to Calum Prentice, Amazon Lead for AFG Media/ Morphsuits.  We hear how Calum has progressed his career in the Amazon space and become specialist in this space. Calum tells us about the benefits of getting Amazon right, but also some of the pitfalls if you’re not using best practice. Amazon is arguably the most powerful selling platform and we wanted to pick up some do’s and don’ts from someone deeply integrated in the space.

You can follow Callum on LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/calum-prentice/

Here are some of the recommendations Calum shared during the episode:

Serious sellers from Helium 10 - https://open.spotify.com/show/31CTCHQGSghLavsf0otYQq

In this episode Kerry talks to Oli Norman, CEO & Founder of ITISON. We hear about the evolution of this brand spanning 20 years, the changes in the market, in social media and the effect this has on the hospitality industry and D2C brands, as a whole. Oli shares some thought-provoking and insightful insights into his method of brand creation.

Oli recommends we listen to Professor Scott Galloway, Prof G Markets  https://open.spotify.com/show/7syF2ry9j6nqYc656WHBA7?si=1cc1f617294d4893

In this episode Kerry talks to Gordon Ross, Head of Marketing & Salary Sacrifice at Gofor.  We hear about his career path through B2B marketing, navigating new ways of working and progressing through some highly regarded organisations in this field.

Gordon’s LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/gordonross1/

John Niven, O Brother: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Brother-John-Niven/dp/180530058X

The Rest is Politics: https://open.spotify.com/show/1Ysx8g1Iw42gESAtegrFaH

The Rest is Politics US: https://open.spotify.com/show/1OY3nyGYqjIO4aWMW2feLy

Useful LinkedIn AI account:  https://www.linkedin.com/company/how-to-ai-guide/

Hubspot blog: https://blog.hubspot.com/

In this episode, Jamie sits down with Craig Campbell, a well-known name in the SEO industry, to explore the power of networking. Craig shares how he has built a network of successful individuals who have helped him reach new career heights—and how he’s now paying it forward by helping others grow in the digital marketing space.

We dive into why networking is crucial in today’s competitive landscape, how to connect with the right people, and the mindset needed to leverage your network for success.

We’d love to hear your thoughts on this discussion—leave your feedback and share it with your network!

You can find more information on Craig here:

https://www.youtube.com/@CraigcampbellseoUk

https://www.linkedin.com/in/craigcampbell0302/

https://www.craigcampbellseo.com/

In this episode, Kerry talks to Hazel Berryman & Holly Martin about their careers in the whisky industry. We discuss some of the challenges they faced entering into the industry for the first time, the preconceptions we hold of this industry sector and the strides that are being made to make one of Scotland's largest exports a more inclusive place to work. 

We would love to hear your thoughts of this discussion, please leave your feedback and share it with your network. 

Here are some links to the recommendations we discussed: 

Made By Mama's on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/4OZPAPDvYFc0ag51EqPTbN

Psychopedia on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/2LBNRJG9B8vrruJNAuHsxp 

Lin Anderson author: https://booksfromscotland.com/bfs-author/lin-anderson/

Squiggly Careers on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/6t6vYEeYl3Kmdd0AE6v3xj

Julia Chapman book series: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/17593777.Julie_Caplin 

In this episode of The Scottish Marketing Network Podcast, David Proctor and John Bruce share their journey through the ever-evolving e-commerce industry.

From adapting to the growing consumer demand for convenience to leveraging data-driven marketing strategies, they offer valuable insights into customer journeys and optimising the right e-commerce platforms.

Whether you're a seasoned professional or just starting out in the e-commerce space, this episode is packed with practical advice and actionable tips to help you thrive in today’s competitive market.

Jamie & Ryan talk about digital marketing and strategies for Q4 and the important of following big brand moves with their digital marketing strategies. We cover personal brand, Tik Tok, important dates, remaining authentic and more.  

Dawn Ferguson, Corporate Experience Manager at CVH Spirits tells us of her story from the police force, to the charity sector into various admin and events role, to now leading VIP experiences for one of the most prestigious drinks brands in Scotland. This is a refreshing and interesting story, reminding us that your efforts and determination can and will take you as far as your academical accolades.

Kerry had a great conversation with Dawn and thoroughly enjoyed her fresh approach and confidence when it comes to trying new along your career journey. We hope that this gives our listeners the confidence to go ahead and push themselves out their comfort zone.  

“Work out who your people are, test and learn, and ditch the jargon.”

We would love to hear your comments on this episode and feel free to connect with Dawn on LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/dawn-ferguson-34849294/

Links

https://www.ourwhiskyfoundation.org/ is a programme for women looking to get into whiskey, Dawn was a mentee within this programme and tell

Dawn recommends we tune into Elizabeth Day https://www.elizabethday.org/podcasts

Welcome to our first episode of TSMN Pod! In this first episode, we introduce our hosts: Chris Lowden; Jamie Ockrim & Kerry McFarlane. 

We have taken this opportunity to explain the format of this series and what you can expect in future episodes. 

As always, we appreciate your support and value your feedback.