Olivia Mae Hanlon turned a one woman side project into Girls in Marketing, a global community of more than half a million marketers.

Now as co-founder of Passata, an AI productivity tool built to make work more personal and effective, she is redefining what balance looks like for modern founders and marketers.

In this episode, Olivia joins Adam Wright to talk about the realities of building a business around your passion, how to create a community that grows with its members, how to recognise the signs of burnout before it takes over, and how to find purpose again when your work becomes your identity.

This is an honest conversation about growth, leadership and the pursuit of balance in a world that celebrates busyness.

Connect with Olivia Mae Hanlon

LinkedIn | Instagram | Girls in Marketing | Passata

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In this episode of Beyond the Brand, Adam Wright and Matt Huntly chat with Rossana Doldi, Marketing and Strategy Director at Church & Dwight.

Rossana has shaped global brands across P&G, Reckitt, and now Church & Dwight, where she oversees everything from beauty icons like Batiste dry shampoo to trusted healthcare brands like Anusol, as well as intimate skincare products such as Femfresh.

She shares how her luxury roots inform mass-market creativity, how to drive attention in crowded categories, and how to reframe stories in even the most awkward spaces.

Key takeaways
▶ Emotional framing, humour, and simplicity are key to breaking through in ‘unsexy’ or taboo categories.
▶ Value doesn’t mean cheap. Consumers want a psychological ROI and actively mix channels to find it.
▶ Great campaigns repeat one clear message over time. Brands often lose attention by trying to say too much.

Why listen
▶ Hear how a leading FMCG brand leader balances global strategy with local creativity
▶ Learn how to adapt marketing strategies across different categories.
▶ Get practical examples of how to use humour and reframing in brand storytelling.
▶ Understand the role of AI in shaping trends, insights, and media planning (without losing the human)

One final thing....

If you enjoyed this episode, follow Beyond the Brand and leave us a review to help more marketers find the show.

In this episode of Beyond the Brand, Adam Wright and Matt Huntly sit down with Sara Gordon, general manager at Zoe and a specialist in brand positioning and growth.

From helping scale Bloom & Wild to advising global health tech teams, Sara shares how customer insight, clear positioning, and emotional relevance drive long-term success. This one’s full of smart, practical thinking about what really makes brands grow.

Key takeaways
▶ Positioning isn’t a tagline; it’s how your brand helps people make progress in their lives.
▶ Jobs to be done interviews are vital to uncover real customer motivations and struggles.
▶ Brands that win focus on emotional needs as much as rational ones, especially in crowded markets.
▶ Founders who talk to customers regularly build stronger products, teams, and cultures.
▶ True brand strength comes when positioning informs product, pricing, messaging, and market fit.

Why listen
▶ Get a clear, practical breakdown of how to run a jobs-to-be-done process.
▶ Hear behind-the-scenes stories from Bloom & Wild and Zoe’s growth journeys.
▶ Learn why positioning is central to commercial success, not just brand awareness.
▶ See how AI is reshaping customer research, and where it helps (and where it doesn’t).

Links & resources
▶ Sara Gordon on LinkedIn
▶ Zoe website
▶ Daily 30 from Zoe
▶ Jobs to be Done theory
▶ Zoe podcast

If you enjoyed this episode, follow Beyond the Brand and leave us a review to help more marketers find the show.