The Whole Marketer podcast

Episode #34. Shopper Marketing is the technical skill explored in this episode. As marketers, we have all felt the impact from lockdown and how the purchasing journey has changed for consumers this past year; but what can you do to adjust your shopper marketing plans for now, and if/when will normality return?

Joining Abby is shopper marketing expert Hamish Clarke. Having previously worked for many years with household brands such as Nestlé, Pladis and Treasury Wine Estates, Hamish founded and now runs Klynk Ventures and Epic Snacks, championing challenger and drinks brands. In this episode Hamish shares the changing landscape of in-store marketing, what appeals to retailers, where he would recommend marketers invest from a shopper perspective and why investing in relationships is so important.

Episode #33. This episode's soft skill for marketers – particularly marketing leaders – is empathy. To discuss how the needs of employees have changed and therefore why being an empathetic leader is a necessary skill to get the best out of your team, Abby is joined by a truly inspiring guest expert, Katy Leeson. Katy is a huge advocate for empathy, honesty and sharing vulnerability, which she talks about in her popular podcast 'I shouldn't say this but'. As Managing Director of Social Chain, Katy tells Abby her experience of supporting her agency throughout lockdown, her career journey, clarity on her values and her own personal definition of success. A fantastic conversation, not to be missed!

Episode #32. 'How to make an impact' is the soft skill for marketers in this episode. Many of us will know it's not only 'what you say', but 'how you say it' that conveys your message. But have you ever thought about exactly what impact you'd like to leave your audience after you've left the room and aligning your body language, vocal qualities and content to meet that? Abby's guest expert is the Impactologist, Martin Brooks who is a communications coach, author, fellow trainer at CIM and will be releasing his card deck "Body Language Decoder" in October. He shares what qualities make an impact, knowing your audience's 'hot buttons' and the secret trick to have up your sleeve to create impact that sets you apart.

Episode #31. This episode is both a technical and a soft skill as we discuss procurement & agency management, in order to develop great partnerships with your agencies. Think procurement is just about haggling prices...? Think again! Abby's guest to discuss all the benefits of involving procurement early on and to support your ways of working with agencies is Tina Fegent – procurement expert with over 25 years experience in procurement, both client-side and agency-side, and who now has her own consultancy with clients including Amazon, PepsiCo and SSE. Tina discusses the role of great procurement to support you strategically, what to think about with your remuneration model and tips for client-side marketers to develop a great relationship with your agency.

Please note there are some minor sound quality issues on this episode.

Episode #30. This episode is one that we're frequently asked to cover and Abby is delighted to have an awesome guest to talk about it... The topic is 'marketing challenger brands on a shoestring' and Abby's guest expert is Julia Kessler, co-founder of challenger soft drink brand Nix & Kix. Julia shares valuable insight into where their limited investment has maximum impact and what she does to gain clarity on who her target consumers are. Plus, how to fail fast (and learn from it) and the importance of packaging for your consumers to begin their brand experience.

Episode #29. Fulfilment in the workplace is the personal understanding topic in this episode and is very close to Abby's heart as a large part of The Whole Marketer concept. Fulfilment is the emotive feeling we get when we're edging towards our goals and dreams... doing our life's calling and purpose. And the secret is that you can define what gives you fulfilment, to know what to work towards and on. Abby is joined by guest Victoria Fox, CEO of AAR group to discuss fulfilment, as Victoria shares her own experience in pausing to reflect then choosing a career path that enabled her to be her true self at work. Victoria and Abby discuss "healthy selfish" to take time to understand yourself, identifying your values and what this means for your marketing career.

Episode #28. This week's topic is of leadership and personal understanding– Belonging. Belonging in the workplace is a feeling that you are appreciated for who you are and encouraged to be yourself. Joining Abby are Pearl&Dean CEO Kathryn Jacob OBE, Mediacom's Sue Unerman and coach Mark Edwards, who together recently collaborated on their book 'Belonging'. They discuss diversity, the need to train your people to improve their emotional intelligence, to develop empathy and what you can do to support the people around you. Not only will you have a stronger team with more rich and diverse thinking, but as a marketer, the empathy you develop is also fundamental for understanding your consumers.

Episode #27. 'Being' is the topic in this episode, with the focus on Leadership and personal development to understand the leader (and person) you want to be. Joining Abby is popular Leadership practitioner, author, speaker and coach Ben Renshaw, who has worked with giants such as Unilever, Coca-Cola and Sky. Encompassing the true spirit of becoming a 'whole marketer', Ben shares his qualities of good leadership - that it is not a 'to do' list but a way of being - and how you can apply this through inspiration, curiosity and intent.

Episode #26. This episode's technical skill is sustainable marketing and looks at what we as marketers can do to take charge and drive the sustainability agenda. This special episode features three guest experts (and 3 good friends who are also fellow… fellows of CIM ; ) and co-authors of new book Sustainable Marketing: Gemma Butler, Dr Geraint Evans and Michelle Carvill. As marketing experts, they embarked on a journey to educate themselves on how to lead a sustainable organisation and talk to Abby about what they discovered, how you can get started and just how critical marketing is in being a catalyst for change.

Episode #25. This episode discusses the competencies that today's marketers need to thrive. Joining Abby in this enjoyable and enlightening conversation is Ritchie Mehta, CEO of the School of Marketing. Hear Ritchie's thoughts on why the role of the marketer really comes to life in times of turbulence and the holistic skills you need to be the growth engine of the organisation across the 4Ps (not just comms). Plus why we need to attract new, diverse talent to our industry beyond the stereotype of promotions and comms.