Episodes

  • 162: Howard Ibach on why better briefs breed better results.

    162: Howard Ibach on why better briefs breed better results.
    May 2 2025
    This week we kept on adding more and more and more irrelevant attachments to our so-called brief, in order to earn ourselves a swift rebuke from the marketing world’s Brief Batman – Howard Ibach.

    Inventor of the Creative Brief Mastery program, Howard is on a mission to make marketing briefs more meaningful. An advocate for clear thinking, proper collaboration and the single minded-proposition, Howard has been helping marketers all over the world put their bad briefing habits to bed (and then press a pillow over their drooling faces). He’s also an instructor at the Association of National Advertisers’ Marketing Training and Development Centre, the author of the brilliant ‘How To Write An Inspired Brief’ and host of the ‘Brief Bros’ podcast – confirming his undisputed status as the industry’s beefiest brief brain.

    In this episode, Howard will pick the art of briefing down to its rickety bones, sharing his invaluable expertise on what the perfect brief should say, be and do.

    This episode is proudly dedicated to Tom Jordan.

    Follow Howard on LinkedIn.

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    Timestamps

    03:45 - Lessons from Stonemasonry
    06:14 - Path to Writing and Advertising
    08:36 - The Influence of Advertising on Howard
    12:29 - The Importance of a Good Brief
    16:12 - Issues with Copying Client Briefs
    19:49 - The Disconnect Between Clients and Agencies
    24:24 - Collaboration in Brief Writing
    32:13 - Commonalities in Effective Briefs
    46:02 - Banishment of Purpose Advertising

    Howards Book Recommendations are:

    Chew with Your Mind Open by Cameron Day
    Spittin' Chiclets by Cameron Day
    Stones & Sticks by Cameron Day

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    54 mins
  • 161: Adam Ferrier on why listening to your customers can be bad for your brand

    161: Adam Ferrier on why listening to your customers can be bad for your brand
    Apr 18 2025
    This week we have been exclusively watching 'Magic Mike', shaking a Magic 8-Ball and listening to '24k Magic' by Bruno Mars (which is just awful) in order to win the slightly nervous attention of Adam Ferrier, founder of Thinkerbell; the thinkers, tinkers and practitioners of ‘measured magic’.

    A psychology brain sat on top of some sturdy strategy bones, Adam is a rare voice of reason in the largely barmy brand world – as well as being the chief sceptic when it comes to the industry obsession with ‘the customer’. He’s also the author of more superb books, including ‘The Advertising effect: How to Change Behaviour’ and supplements all this talk-talking with some serious walk-walking through his work that brings marketing science and creative thinking together.

    In this episode Adam shares his expertise on brands who forget how to be brands, why every business problem is a behaviour change problem and the forgotten benefits of simply fitting in.

    This episode is very proudly dedicated to Anne Young.

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    Follow Adam on LinkedIn

    Timestamps

    09:16 - The impact of D&AD annuals on Adam's career choice
    11:19 - Transition from forensic psychology to marketing
    16:12 - The perils of customer obsession
    22:57 - Balancing brand and customer needs
    25:11 - The importance of consumer research


    Adam’s Book Recommendations are:

    Stop Listening to Your Customers by Adam Ferrier:
    The Advertising Effect: How to Change Behaviour by Adam Ferrier:
    Love's Executioner and Other Tales of Psychotherapy by Irvin Yalom:
    Existential Psychotherapy by Irvin Yalom:
    Here and Now: Tales from the Heart by Irvin Yalom:

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    42 mins
  • 160: Shane Stewart on how to build brands with fizz

    160: Shane Stewart on how to build brands with fizz
    Mar 28 2025
    This week we went around slurping muddy water from puddles in order to win the sympathy of Shane Stewart – brand man, running man and fizzy drink saviour.

    Chief brand brain at XOXO soda, Shane has built his career around launching and marketing drinks that do good stuff for your innards, while looking extremely cool on your outtards. Before shaking up the canned drink business with XOXO he helped create a large and loyal community of slurpers for Moju, a ginger and turmeric shot that’s a bit like unleashing a troop of helpfully energetic monkeys inside your tired old brain. And, as well as bringing better branded bubbly beverages to Britain and beyond, he’s even found the time to launch Step by Steppers, a marvellous running club designed to help people dealing with grief to feel less alone.

    This episode is very proudly dedicated to his Dad.

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    Follow Shane on LinkedIn and Instagram
    Step by Steppers Run Club

    Timestamps

    03:14 - Shane's Early Career in Hospitality
    05:08 - Cultural Significance of Pubs in the UK
    07:29 - Importance of University Experience Over Degree Choice
    08:50 - Shane's Interest in Brands and Marketing
    10:57 - Shane's Time in Australia and Farm Work Experience
    13:04 - Transition from Hospitality to Marketing
    14:40 - Working at Northern Block Ice Cream
    16:05 - Joining Moju and Creative Job Application
    18:22 - Continuous Learning and Mini MBA
    20:19 - Transition to XOXO Soda
    23:37 - Challenges and Opportunities in the Functional Soda Market
    25:21 - Product Range and Flavor Development at XOXO
    29:27 - Psychological Aspects of Product Taste and Health Benefits
    31:12 - Listener Questions: Startups vs. Big Brands
    34:47 - Listener Questions: Convincing Retailers to Stock Products
    39:42 - Introduction to Step by Stepper Run Club


    Shane's Book Recommendation is:
    The Chimp Paradox - Prof Steve Peters

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    55 mins
  • 159: Alex Smith on the battle to make business strategy better

    159: Alex Smith on the battle to make business strategy better
    Mar 14 2025
    This week we positioned our most powerful fan at the rear end of a corpulent bull in hopes of snaring the attention of legendary bullshit fighter, Alex Smith

    A strategist who’s set himself the mountainous task of extracting all the nonsense from business strategy, Alex is very much a breath of a fresh air in a field that can, at its worst, smell a lot like somebody’s done a poo… on a dead crab… in the drains of an abandoned laundrette… and then set it on fire. He is the author of a bestselling book on strategy, titled, with Alex’s typical disregard for fluff, No Bullshit Strategy. In those pages – and through Alex’s wildly popular LinkedIn posts – he makes a compelling case for businesses to look more closely at the decisions they make and wheedle out the ‘anti-strategic’ ones that are causing 99% of all pickles. So, in true Alex fashion, we probably could have just said something like ‘he helps businesses get stuff right, more of the time’ instead of all that nonsense about the crab and the laundrette. Ah well.

    This episode is dedicated to Alex’s wife who is the engine and foundation underneath everything.

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    Follow Alex on LinkedIn.

    Timestamps:
    (03:26) -     First Jobs and Failures
    (06:19) -     Reflections on Being Fired
    (08:53) -     Finding the Right Fit
    (10:46) -     The Challenge of Entering Advertising
    (12:24) -     Polishing the Pig: Agency Work
    (15:36) -     The Importance of Unique Value
    (19:08) -     Theory vs. Practice in Strategy
    (20:26) -     Defining Business Strategy
    (22:03) -     Value Generation in Business
    (24:16) -     The Role of Communication
    (28:04) -     The Hierarchy of Business Strategy
    (30:28) -     The Role of Founders in Strategy
    (32:10) -     Navigating Corporate Structures
    (36:15) -     The Myth of the Legendary Founder
    (40:05) -     Mediocrity vs. Strategy
    (42:58) -     Learning from Established Brands
    (45:11) -     Applying Strategy to Personal Business
    (47:30) -     The Shift from Freelancer to Entrepreneur

    Alex's Book Recommendations are:
    Zero to One by Peter Thiel
    Incerto Series by Nassim Taleb
    Elon Musk by Walter Isaacson
    Steve Jobs by Walter Isaacson
    The Matter with Things by Ian McGilchrist

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    1 hr and 5 mins
  • 158: Paul Dervan on a marketing future that embraces mistakes and machines

    158: Paul Dervan on a marketing future that embraces mistakes and machines
    Feb 28 2025
    This week we released AI from the punishment cupboard in which we’ve been keeping it in order to win the approval of author, marketing super-brain and AI believer Paul Dervan.

    As the Head of Brand Marketing at Miro, Paul has been busy bolstering his reputation as one of the industry’s smartiest pant-wearers when it comes to marketing effectiveness. Miro is just the latest stop in a marketing career you could only possibly describe as both distinguished and glittering (glittinguished?) and has seen Paul tackle the marketing challenges on behalf of everyone from O2 to Telefonica to the National Lottery in Ireland (scooping, along the way, the title of Ireland’s Marketer of the Year in 2022.) He’s also the author of Run With The Foxes, a superb book about marketing, mistakes and making much better decisions.

    This episode is very proudly dedicated to Peter Field. Peter has had a huge influence on Paul’s career both as a mentor and advisor.

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    Follow Paul on LinkedIn.

    Timestamps:
    03:45 - First Job and Proper Job
    05:10 - Early Career in Marketing
    07:34 - Career Path and Focus
    09:30 - Paul's Sweet Spot in Marketing
    11:00 - Writing the Book: Run with Foxes
    13:27 - Learning from Mistakes
    15:51 - Mistakes and AI in Marketing
    18:08 - Decision-Making Process
    20:40 - Classical vs. Modern Marketing
    22:22 - AI's Impact on Marketing
    25:06 - Practical Applications of AI
    30:05 - Advanced Uses of AI
    33:08 - Synthetic Research
    34:28 - Skepticism vs. Cynicism
    36:42 - Curiosity and Experimentation
    39:27 - Admitting Mistakes
    43:27 - Listener Questions: Embedding Chapter One

    Paul's Book Recommendations are:
    Ogilvy on Advertising – David Ogilvy
    The Anatomy of Humbug – Paul Feldwick
    Decoded: The Science Behind Why We Buy – Phil Barden

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    56 mins
  • 157: Patrick Freyne is here to save us from a Productive life

    157: Patrick Freyne is here to save us from a Productive life
    Feb 7 2025
    This week we shredded our vision board and fed it to some ornamental carp, purely to win the approval of author, critic and quite possibly the world first demotivational speaker, Patrick Freyne.

    Before becoming the enormously popular columnist and critic for the Irish Times, Patrick spent his 20s chasing the rock star dream. But while the life of big hair, hard drugs and tight trousers wasn’t to be, it did give Patrick the time and space required to be one of the creative world’s leading authors, thinkers and sense-talkers. His book ‘Ok, Let’s Do Your Stupid Idea’ is a glorious celebration of curiosity, experimentation and letting your heart lead the way. And now he’s on a mission to dismantle the cult of ‘Big P’ productivity and remind people that ‘maximising your potential’ is a poor substitute for living your life.

    This episode is dedicated to Patrick’s wife Anna Carey, who has been his biggest influence. She also has an amazing funny romance fiction book coming out later this year called Our Song.

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    Follow Patrick on X and Bluesky

    Timestamps:
    01:32 -     The Concept of Demotivational Speaking
    07:36 -     Patrick's Early Jobs and Musical Aspirations
    09:08 -     The Influence of Music on Patrick's Life
    12:04 -     The Importance of Curiosity in Career Paths
    15:18 -     Exploring the Idea of 'Stupid Ideas'
    17:14 -     The Impact of Burnout and Productivity Culture
    20:40 -     Finding Peace in Accepting Average Productivity
    22:37 -     Cultural Expectations and Work-Life Balance
    25:31 -     The Role of Technology in Productivity Anxiety
    30:17 -     The Dangers of Measurable Metrics
    32:03 -     Writing Techniques and Approaches
    36:30 -     The Importance of Rhythm in Writing
    39:01 -     Listener Questions: Generational Perspectives on Productivity
    42:57 -     Antidotes to Hustle Culture and Finding Balance
    45:27 -     Final Thoughts on Productivity and Well-Being

    Patrick's Book Recommendations are:
    The Fourth Time We Drowned – Sally Hayden
    Commonwealth – Anne Patchett
    A Visit from Lagoon Squad – Jennifer Egan

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    57 mins
  • 156: Tom Fishburne on why the best marketers are the ones who can laugh at themselves

    156: Tom Fishburne on why the best marketers are the ones who can laugh at themselves
    Jan 24 2025
    This week we deliberately trapped ourselves in a cartoon like the dude from A-Ha in order to cross paths with marketing’s MirthMaster 3000, Tom Fishburne aka The Marketoonist.

    Apart from your CEO accidentally getting trapped in his own futuristic private bathroom over the bank holiday weekend, the funniest stuff in marketing usually comes from Tom’s brain. The comic genius behind The Marketoonist, Tom has been skewering this highly skewerable business for years – giving a reassuring chuckle to millions of marketers along the way. As well as being a famous side-splitter he’s also an expert eye-opener, with his Marketoonist agency having persuaded mega brands like Google, Microsoft and even LinkedIn of the value of having (and giving) a laugh. And, in his bid to remove the ‘po’ from the face of marketing, he also shares his wit and wisdom as one of the industry’s most in-demand keynote speakers.

    This episode is dedicated to David and Claire Hyatt from Wales, as without these two Tom’s cartooning may never have transitioned from hobby to work.

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    Follow Tom on LinkedIn.
    Tom Fishburne's website here.
    The Marketoonist website here.

    Timestamps:
    02:14 - Quick Fire Questions with Tom Fishburne
    03:21 -     Tom's Career Journey: From English Major to Cartoonist
    07:00 -     Early Influences and Inspirations
    08:42 -     Observations and Humour in Prague
    10:09 -     First Office Cartoons and Their Impact
    13:49 -     Humour in Marketing and Business
    17:55 -     Finding Material for Cartoons
    19:06 -     The Role of Humour in Serious Topics
    23:21 -     Can Any Brand Embrace Humour?
    25:18 - Humour During the COVID-19 Pandemic
    27:50 -     Variety of Brands Tom Has Worked With
    29:54 -     Consistency of Human Nature in Humour
    30:41 -     Listener Questions: Balancing Satirical Humour
    33:28 -     Digital Transformation and Industry Jargon
    35:07 -     Listener Questions: AI and Humour
    38:07 -     Listener Questions: Humour Category at Cannes
    39:38 -     Listener Questions: AI vs. Human Comedians
    42:26 - Four Pertinent Poses: Advice to Younger Self
    43:23 -     Four Pertinent Poses: Banish One Thing from the Industry

    Tom's Book Recommendations are:
    Orbiting the Giant Hairball – Gordon MacKenzie
    School is Hell – Matt Groening

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    50 mins
  • 155: The mightiness of mininess with Gus Co-Founders Spencer LaVallee and Graham Douglas

    155: The mightiness of mininess with Gus Co-Founders Spencer LaVallee and Graham Douglas
    Jan 10 2025
    This week we shrank ourselves down to Dennis-Quaid-in-Inner-Space micro proportions to catch Spencer LaVallee and Graham Douglas, the co-founders of mega-successful micro creative agency Gus.

    Spencer and Graham lead a creative crew leaner than a wildebeest that got banished from its herd last Tuesday for repeatedly messing around. But size means little when you have big ideas, and the agency regularly rubs shoulders with the behemoths of the ad and marketing world when it comes to gongs and glory. From Gus being named Ad Age Small Agency of the Year, to their campaigns winning top honours at the likes of Cannes, Forbes and the New York Film Festival, Spencer and Graham are a testament that brains can beat brawn in this industry. Especially when those brains are inside the heads of a couple of fellas who’ve had such an interesting journey through it.

    This episode is dedicated to all the small but mighty creative agencies out there proving that size doesn't limit impact.

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    Follow GUS on LinkedIn
    Visit their website here.

    Timestamps:
    (01:54) - Quick Fire Questions with Spencer & Graham
    (03:26) -     Graham & Spencer’s Career Journey
    (10:35) -     Spencer's Inspiration from an Outdoor Ad
    (12:08) -     Working at Campfire and True Blood Campaign
    (15:54) -     Graham & Spencer's Partnership and Founding of Gus
    (18:56) -     Strategy and Creativity Silos in Agencies and Clients
    (20:32) -     The Importance of Singular Creative Statements
    (22:33) -     The Mural Test for Brand Platforms
    (24:56) -     Internal vs. External Brand Positioning
    (26:36) -     The Role of Simplicity in Branding
    (28:05) -     Optimism About AI in Creativity
    (30:01) -     The Threat of AI in Strategy and Research
    (32:29) -     Staying Small on Purpose
    (36:18) -     The Changing Shape of Agencies
    (42:18) -     The Gus Grid and Creative Strategy
    (43:13) - Breaking Norms with Back Market Campaign
    (44:48) -     Four Pertinent Poses: Advice to Younger Self
    (47:59) -     Banish One Thing from the Industry: Lack of Mentorship

    Spencer and Graham's Book Recommendations are:
    Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow by Gabrielle Zevin
    The Artists Way by Julia Cameron
    Essentialism by Greg McKeown

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    1 hr and 2 mins