Episode #140. We’re starting the new year with a technical topic on Marketing Excellence, to inspire and empower high performance for all marketing leaders and those in their care who are growing the brands and businesses of tomorrow.  

Joining Abby is her guest Sue Warren, Head of Marketing Capability at Sky. Sue worked on brands such as Unilever, Telewest and Virgin Media before joining Sky and after a decade in various marketing, strategy and planning roles, is now developing structured marketing excellence programmes to upskill and energise the entire marketing function in Sky. 

In this episode, Sue shares her definition of marketing excellence, the development and implementation of Sky’s marketing excellence programme, it’s impact on the output and creativity of the marketing function and the importance of embedding marketing excellence long-term, not just delivering training.  

Plus Sue’s career highs and lows and advice for marketers of tomorrow. 

00:00:00 Welcome and introduction to Marketing Excellence  

00:03:25 What is Marketing Excellence?  

00:05:36 Benefits of a Structured Marketing Excellence Programme  

00:06:35 Beyond Marketing Training – Empowerment and Investment  

00:10:08 Creation and Drivers Behind Sky's Marketing Excellence Program  

00:17:26 Methods, Processes and Behaviours of Marketing Excellence 

00:23:35 Leadership and Accountability  

00:25:42 Impact on Marketing Performance and Engagement  

00:28:55 Lessons from the Journey  

00:32:09 Sue’s Personal Career Highs and Lows (00:32:09) 

00:38:21 Advice for Future Marketers 

Host: Abigail (Abby) Dixon FCIM/ICF | LinkedIn

Guest: Sue Warren | LinkedIn

The Whole Marketer podcast is here to support and empower the people behind brands and businesses with the latest technical tools, soft and leadership skills and personal understanding for a fulfilling marketing career and life as a whole. For more info go to www.thewholemarketer.com 

Episode #139. Today’s focus is on Personal Understanding, which is a fundamental pillar of the Whole Marketer philosophy and what we believe is the key to having a fulfilling marketing career and life as a whole. 

Abby’s guest to discuss the benefits of developing your personal understanding is Kirsten McPherson. As Marketing Director at Mondelez, Kirsten is responsible for heading up two of the UK's top brands, Philadelphia and Dairylea. Her previous experience includes Procter and Gamble, where she spent more than a decade working on an array of billion-dollar brands, driving global change initiatives such as Always ‘end period poverty’. 

In this episode, Kirsten shares her definition of personal development and its importance for leadership development, her formula for personal energy, implementing ‘prison Fridays’ and the role of community and mentoring in developing your personal understanding. 

Plus Kirsten shares her advice for career highs and learnings, and advice for marketers. 

00:00:00 Welcome and Introduction to Personal Understanding  

00:02:07 What is Personal Development? 

00:05:03 Personal and Professional Growth and Leadership 

00:07:56 Kirsten’s Formula for Personal Energy 

00:08:19 Purpose, Motivation and Confronting Limiting Beliefs  

00:13:17 The Importance of Coaching 

00:15:33 3 Key Areas for Marketers  

00:16:14 The Concept of "Prison Fridays"  

00:21:59 The Role of Community in Personal Development  

00:25:19 Creating Community Initiatives at Mondelez  

00:29:23 Advice for Starting Community Initiatives 

00:30:46 Kirsten’s Career Highs and Learnings  

00:34:24 Advice for Future Marketers

Host: Abigail (Abby) Dixon FCIM/ICF | LinkedIn

Guest: Kirsten McPherson | LinkedIn

The Whole Marketer podcast is here to support and empower the people behind brands and businesses with the latest technical tools, soft and leadership skills and personal understanding for a fulfilling marketing career and life as a whole. For more info go to www.thewholemarketer.com 

Episode #138. Creativity is the skill featured in this episode, however being creative is not a department or a job title; it’s a skill and mindset that every marketer can harness to keep evolving in pursuit of new, innovative ways to solve problems. 

Joining Abby is Kevin Chesters, a marketing strategist with over 25 years of experience both agency and client-side, including being the former Head of Strategy at BT and CSO of W+K London, plus Dentsu, McGarryBowen and Ogilvy. Kevin’s first book, 'The Creative Nudge' was an Amazon best-seller and he shares the concepts from his book in this podcast. 

In this episode, Kevin shares his definition of creativity, ‘nudge theory’ where small changes can lead to significant impacts, 9 behaviours to rediscover your creativity and how marketing leaders can create an environment for creativity. 

Plus Kevin shares his advice for reviewing creative respectfully and his career highs and lows. 

00:00:00 Welcome and Creativity in Marketing 

00:02:00 Defining Creativity 

00:03:32 Why is Creativity vital to stand out? 

00:06:09 Kevin’s Nudge Theory Explained 

00:08:12 Nine Behaviours to Rediscover Creativity 

00:15:12 How to Create Conditions for Creativity?  

00:17:56 Being Willing to Challenge the Status Quo 

00:21:56 Creativity and Human Evolution 

00:24:51 How to Review Creative Ideas? 

00:33:12 Reviewing Creativity and Giving Feedback  

00:37:29 Kevin’s career Highs and Lows  

00:48:18 Advice for Marketers  

Host: Abigail (Abby) Dixon FCIM/ICF | LinkedIn

Guest: Kevin Chesters | LinkedIn

The Whole Marketer podcast is here to support and empower the people behind brands and businesses with the latest technical tools, soft and leadership skills and personal understanding for a fulfilling marketing career and life as a whole. For more info go to www.thewholemarketer.com 

Episode #137. Today's episode is a holistic topic on how the breadth and depth of marketer’s roles are continuing to evolve as we move towards leading the long-term commercial agenda, understanding the advancements in science and neuromarketing for how consumers make decisions and adopting AI into our everyday lives. 

Abby’s guest is legendary marketing leader, Margaret Jobling, Group Chief Marketing Officer at NatWest Group. Before joining Natwest in 2020 and implementing agile ways of working, “Tomorrow Begins Today” brand platform and the NatWest partnership with team GB for the Paris Olympics in 2024, Marg has spent the majority of her marketing career in FMCG categories, working on some iconic brands such as Lynx, Dove, Radox, Cadbury, Dairy Milk and Birds Eye, as well as Director of Marketing for British Gas. 

In this episode, Margaret shares her definition of the role of marketing today and how it has evolved, the art and science of marketing, learnings as a CMO, marketing in the age of AI and building trust and authenticity with consumers in a digital environment. 

Plus Margaret’s career highs and howlers, and advice for marketers of tomorrow. 

00:00:00 Welcome and why we need evolving skills in marketing today 

00:03:13 Defining of the role of Marketing 

00:05:40 Key shifts in marketing 

00:06:42 Impact of technology on customer interactions 

00:10:05 What are the skills required for modern marketers 

00:11:27 The future of marketing with AI and building trust 

00:20:53 Skills Margaret looks for when hiring marketers 

00:24:56 Building relationships with stakeholders 

00:28:14 Experimentation, Curiosity and Continuous Learning 

00:31:16 Margaret’s Career Highs and Howlers 

00:36:31 Advice for marketers of tomorrow 

Host: Abigail (Abby) Dixon FCIM/ICF | LinkedIn

Guest: Margaret Jobling | LinkedIn

The Whole Marketer podcast is here to support and empower the people behind brands and businesses with the latest technical tools, soft and leadership skills and personal understanding for a fulfilling marketing career and life as a whole. For more info go to www.thewholemarketer.com 

Episode #136. This episode is a personal understanding topic for working parents to help you gain fulfilment in your life as a whole - navigating the reality of being both a marketer and a parent and what you can do to balance both worlds when work and home life collide. 

Joining Abby is her guest Rachel Morris, an Exec business coach, co-founder of Motion Learning and best-selling author of ‘Working Mother’, a book inspired by Rachel’s decades of expertise and practice coaching new parents as they leave and return to work.  

In this episode, Rachel shares her definition of working parents, challenges faced particularly by mothers, insights on setting boundaries, self-care, and the emotional struggles during transitions like maternity leave. 

Plus Rachel’s advice for working parents. 

00:00:00 Welcome and challenges faced by Working Parents. 

00:02:21 What is a Working Parent?  

00:04:01 Rachel's motivation for writing ‘Working Mother’ book. 

00:09:46 Common emotional patterns experienced by working parents. 

00:10:41 Overwhelm during maternity leave preparation. 

00:12:40 Fear and anxiety in new parenthood.  

00:16:58 Challenges of returning to work. 

00:20:21 Why you should set boundaries.  

00:25:54 Understanding what gives you energy. 

00:32:53 Empowerment to gain clarity and direction. 

00:37:17 Finding fulfilment to gain balance. 

Host: Abigail (Abby) Dixon FCIM/ICF | LinkedIn

Guest: - Rachel Morris MNCIP, PCC - | LinkedIn

The Whole Marketer podcast is here to support and empower the people behind brands and businesses with the latest technical tools, soft and leadership skills and personal understanding for a fulfilling marketing career and life as a whole. For more info go to www.thewholemarketer.com

Episode #135. Today’s topic is a technical skill on copywriting and its critical role in driving action and building brand trust. 

Joining Abby to discuss is seasoned copywriter Dave Harland aka the Word Man. A naturally entertaining storyteller, over the past two decades Dave has built a notable career in persuasive writing that captures attention for brands such as Google, Jaguar, Tesco and Castor. He is a regular speaker at industry events and also has a LinkedIn following of almost 100k people who enjoy his witty stories - particularly leading scammers down rabbit holes and challenging bad actors on the internet. 

In this episode Dave shares his definition of copywriting, 3 effective copywriting principles, when brands get it wrong, empathy for your audience, copywriting tips and brand success stories.  

Plus Dave’s career highs and lows and advice for marketers. 

00:00 Welcome and why the art of copywriting is so important for marketers. 

05:44 How being entertaining converts consumers into loyal fans. 

07:52 Ryanair excels at self-deprecating, entertaining branding. 

13:16 Brands misuse clichés and jargon which impacts consumer engagement. 

18:56 Empathy is crucial for effective copywriting skills. 

22:20 Knowing what is interesting to your audience. 

26:50 How to improve your writing skills. 

31:37 How Dave turned a career low into university writing opportunity. 

36:46 Dave’s career high and advice for marketers. 

Host: Abigail (Abby) Dixon FCIM/ICF | LinkedIn

Guest: Dave Harland | LinkedIn

The Whole Marketer podcast is here to support and empower the people behind brands and businesses with the latest technical tools, soft and leadership skills and personal understanding for a fulfilling marketing career and life as a whole. For more info go to www.thewholemarketer.com 

Episode #134. Today’s topic is Agency Partnerships – what makes a great client-agency relationship and perspective from both sides of the fence. 

Joining Abby to discuss is Richard Robinson, awarded "One of the ten most influential Leaders in Digital & Tech" (BIMA) and Campaign A-List 2024. Richard is highly experienced in the client (McDonalds, Coca-Cola) and agency (Publicis Worldwide) world and as an intermediary for both at Xeim Engage and Oystercatchers. In his latest role as Executive Director of Ingenuity+ and Exco member of The Ingenuity Group, UK's largest connector of brands with agencies, Richard specialises in connecting the Marketing World. 

In this episode Richard shares the two fundamentals of a great agency partner, the role of account handling, all agency ‘rules of engagement’, quality of briefing, plus insight from Ingenuity+ ‘Redefining the pitch’ report and why Richard is excited about the future of his new role. 

Read a copy of Ingenuity+ report mentioned in this episode: Ingenuity + Redefining The Pitch (ingenuitylondon.com)

Host: Abigail (Abby) Dixon FCIM/ICF | LinkedIn

Guest:  Richard Robinson🔥 | LinkedIn

This episode is sponsored by House of Performance 

Need to up your game in PPC, Paid Social or Display? 

House of Performance are a team of passionate marketeers growing ambitious brands through paid media. 

For a free mini audit, get in touch with the team at https://houseofperformance.co.uk/wholemarketer 

The Whole Marketer podcast is here to support and empower the people behind brands and businesses with the latest technical tools, soft and leadership skills and personal understanding for a fulfilling marketing career and life as a whole. For more info go to www.thewholemarketer.com 

Episode #133. Strategy is the technical skill explored in this episode, with a lens on simplifying the process to ensure marketers have not only the vision and clarity for where you want to take your brand or business, but also ensuring you have the actionable plan to get you there. 

Discussing simplified strategy is Abby’s guest, Alice Benham - entrepreneur, business & marketing strategist and fellow podcaster as host of ‘Starting the conversation’ podcast. Alice works with small businesses to grow their brands online and recently published her book ‘The Digital Marketing playbook’. 

In this episode Alice shares her definition of strategy, ensuring strategy is actionable, simplifying the process in 3 steps, the buyer’s journey, content as value, push and pull, urgency & scarcity and examples of small businesses successfully building their brand online. 

Plus Alice shares her career highs and lows and advice for marketers. 

Host: Abigail (Abby) Dixon FCIM/ICF | LinkedIn

Guest: Alice Benham | LinkedIn

This episode is sponsored by House of Performance 

Need to up your game in PPC, Paid Social or Display? 

House of Performance are a team of passionate marketeers growing ambitious brands through paid media. 

For a free mini audit, get in touch with the team at https://houseofperformance.co.uk/wholemarketer 

The Whole Marketer podcast is here to support and empower the people behind brands and businesses with the latest technical tools, soft and leadership skills and personal understanding for a fulfilling marketing career and life as a whole. For more info go to www.thewholemarketer.com 

Episode #132. The focus of this episode is wellness for marketers, and the importance of prioritising your wellbeing not only for your health but to also ensure you have the energy to thrive in our fast-paced and challenging – yet rewarding - profession. 

Abby’s guest to discuss wellness is EY’s Chief Marketing Officer, Rebecca Hirst. Rebecca is an award-winning marketer who has worked on some of the biggest global brands including Samsung, Coca-Cola and Kimberly-Clark. This topic of ‘wellness’ is a particular passion point for Rebecca as, alongside her marketing career, she has a post grad in Nutrition and historically even set up a health coaching business to help other marketers and highflyers to incorporate wellness into their day-to-day. 

In this episode, Rebecca shares her definition of wellness, rest and restore for marketers, her own journey to setting up ‘Glorious Wellness’ and practical tips for real world wellness and how you can role model this for others. 

Plus her career highs and lows and advice for marketers. 

Host: Abigail (Abby) Dixon FCIM/ICF | LinkedIn

Guest: Rebecca Hirst | LinkedIn

This episode is sponsored by House of Performance 

Need to up your game in PPC, Paid Social or Display? 

House of Performance are a team of passionate marketeers growing ambitious brands through paid media. 

For a free mini audit, get in touch with the team at https://houseofperformance.co.uk/wholemarketer 

The Whole Marketer podcast is here to support and empower the people behind brands and businesses with the latest technical tools, soft and leadership skills and personal understanding for a fulfilling marketing career and life as a whole. For more info go to www.thewholemarketer.com 

Episode #131. Today’s episode is a personal understanding topic on finding your ideal role; looking beyond the job title for a role that plays to your strengths and values and is fulfilling for you. 

Joining Abby to discuss ideal roles and shining a light on hiring practices in the marketing is profession is Lauren Spearman. Lauren is a seasoned marketing professional with over 17 years of experience with brands such as Sky, Benefit Cosmetics and MADE.com. Now thriving as a freelance Brand Consultant, Lauren uses her growing platform on TikTok to champion pay transparency and improved recruitment practices in the marketing industry through her candid insights and advocacy efforts. 

In this episode, Lauren shares her definition of an ideal role, green and red flags hiring practices, salary transparency, interview tasks, advice for hiring managers, giving and receiving feedback when job searching. Plus career highs and lows. 

Download your free workbook on how to find your ideal role here Resources and free support - The Whole Marketer 

Host: Abigail (Abby) Dixon FCIM/ICF | LinkedIn

Guest: Lauren Spearman | LinkedIn

This episode is sponsored by House of Performance 

Need to up your game in PPC, Paid Social or Display? 

House of Performance are a team of passionate marketeers growing ambitious brands through paid media. 

For a free mini audit, get in touch with the team at https://houseofperformance.co.uk/wholemarketer