The Places We'll Go Marketing Show

This episode was the most inspirational episode of The Places We'll Go Show so far, we were lost for words at how eloquently Cephas Williams spoke about the importance and urgency of people to take real action in order to move the black conversation forward, and start to build a positive reality for future generations of the black community. Cephas also spoke about "the power we hold as marketers, to reinvent the world we live in", and how big of an impact this can have on the black community if the right people cared enough to enforce change. Who is Cephas Williams? Cephas is the founder and photographer behind the ground breaking 56 Black Men campaign and Drummer Boy Studios. He previously studied architecture and started his first business in 2009. After taking a series of portrait photographs of 56 Black Men in hoodies, he launched '56 Black Men' as a campaign in the UK to change the narrative regarding black men in the media and as an introduction to a much wider conversation. Since launching the campaign on the 23rd of December 2018, it has had both a local and global impact, and has since been featured in The Guardian, The Metro, The Independent, on Channel 5, Sky News, BBC and Aljazeera amongst others, creating both a local and global impact. Cephas believes everyone should have a fair chance to change their narrative and so utilising his degree in Architecture, he created Drummer Boy Studios in 2017. Cephas set out to merge his passion for architecture and his passion for the community in a bid to create physical spaces that cater to those who often suffer the brunt of gentrification. The studio ran as a creative hub, a workspace with creative facilities; conducive for growth, innovation and collaboration for people interested in the creative sector including industries such as Music, Film, Media, Enterprise, Fashion and Gaming. Upon doing this, Cephas was confused as to why things like this were not being spotlighted in the media, after all the work and money and time put into creating this space within the community and the success it gained. He had also secured a partnership with BDP to become the official development partner for the business. Despite this, he was still facing opposition from people in the local council office and not being supported with the positive work being done. This pushed him to think about how many more Black men are doing great things but are never heard or spotlighted. Cephas started to question further, why is it that things like this never make headline news? And why the prevailing headline news about Black men was always surrounding knife crime or violence here in the UK. As a result he decided to create the 56 Black Men campaign to challenge the negative stereotypes of Black men in the media and spotlight positive achievements of the black men through the series or portrait images. In recent years Cephas has been successful in galvanising support for his businesses from key partners and industry leaders including companies such as Accenture, EY, O2 Telefonica and Clear Channel as well as people such as, Paul Polman (Ex CEO of Unilever), Simon Pegg and others. At this time Cephas is focused on a new message towards a wider Black British conversation through The Black British Network. In his recent public letter to his son titled Letter to Zion, Cephas explores a heart felt message and his thoughts around the much needed change we need to see in the world, with specific reference to the Black community and the need for us to come together to see long lasting change.

In this episode, Pano talks about his hunger for learning, the importance of believing in yourself and what he wants his legacy to be after a such an incredible career at Pret A Manger.  Who is Pano Christou? Pano is an experienced Executive with a demonstrated history of working in the retail industry. He is skilled in Service Operation, Food & Beverage, Operations Management, Customer Service, and Retail. Pano is also a strong business development professional with an Advanced Management Programme focused in Business/Leadership from Harvard Business School.

In this episode, we were joined by Richard Robinson, Managing Director of Xeim and Oystercastchers, who revealed his love for re-defining the rulebook, his passion for learning and the role mentoring has played in his life.  Who is Richard Robinson? Richard is Managing Director of Xeim Engage, incorporating Econsultancy and Oystercatchers, and committed to making good things happen between brands, agencies and talented folk. He was named as one of the ten most influential leaders in digital & tech by BIMA as well as being a Chartered Marketer. Richard is a specialist in accelerating modern marketing performance & digital transformation. Most days you’ll find him wrestling with some of the biggest strategic challenges facing the world’s best-known brands. Before his current role Richard worked internationally with The Coca-Cola Company, domestically with McDonald’s restaurants heading Adult and Family Marketing, and led Publicis Worldwide’s P&G business across EMEA. In parallel Richard is a multi-award winning diversity advocate and has been recognised as a ‘Male Agent of Change’ by the Women’s Business Council & Management Today, as well being ranked in the top 20 male advocates championing women in business by both the Financial Times and Yahoo Finance. Vice-Chair of The Ideas Foundation, and a board Member of Creative Equals, BAME2020 and Edcom (The European Institute of Education in Commercial Communications). Regular mentor for WhosYourMomma, BIMA, NABS & The Women's Sport Trust. When time allows Richard is a remarkably slow marathon runner.

In this episode, Richard talks about what he learnt throughout the pandemic, the importance of always learning and always balancing both work and home life.  Who is Richard Bon? Richard Bon is Managing Director of Clear Channel UK. He joined the company back in 2000 and subsequently progressed through various roles in the marketing, planning, and trading departments. He now sits on the company's European ExCo and as of 2020, he is additionally Commercial Lead for Clear Channel Europe. Richard has led the digital transformation of Clear Channel in the UK to expand the company's Digital Out of Home footprint. Digital now represents the majority of the company's revenues. Under his leadership, Clear Channel's digital estate has grown to over 5,000 screens. Including Adshel Live, the largest DOOH network, and Malls Live, the leading full video malls network in the UK. Richard is also spearheading the next phase of the company's growth including the delivery of automation and programmatic solutions underpinned by data. Richard hails from France. He is a proud family man, with a natural passion for vin rouge, food and cycling.

In this episode, Russell shared his view on where marketing is today and how it has changed since he entered the industry, how his career journey differed to most and what advice he would give to those just starting their career.   Who is Russell Parsons?   Russell is the editorial lead for the UK's most prominent marketing title and event. He is responsible for leading the content, editorial and strategic direction across several platforms for both brands, he has a track record of conceiving, developing and curating content for highly successful events, editorial products and commercial partnerships that meet the needs and exceed the expectations of the senior marketing audience and those of clients. Russell is also a trusted authority on marketing issues, he regularly hosts podcasts on the biggest issues in marketing, as well as delivers keynote speeches and regularly hosts and appears on panels at industry events.   Career highlights include:  • Rethinking and relaunching The Festival of Marketing as a digital event in 2020 and delivering its highest ever NPS score for content, helping the event exceed its delegate and commercial targets  • Helping steward Marketing Week to record audience satisfaction ratings and deliver a spike in commercial and subscription revenue in 2020  • Helping launch industry initiative School of Marketing, which aims to widen accessibility to marketing  • Winning the British Society of Magazine Editors' 'New Editor of the Year Award' in 2017  • Oversaw the ‘Brand of the Year’ winner in the PPA Digital Awards 2017  • Conceiving and presenting highly regarded sponsored podcast series such as ‘Marketing Week Meets' and ‘Marketing that Matters’

In this episode, Kathleen talks about the importance of relating her work back to psychology, owning who you are and grabbing life by the horns. Who is Kathleen Saxton? Kathleen Saxton is a Managing Director at MediaLink, who leads the firm’s operations in EMEA. An industry veteran with 25+ years of experience in sales, marketing, media and executive search, her remit is wide-ranging and spans business growth, agency selection, talent advisory and strategic consulting. Saxton joined MediaLink in 2020 from The Lighthouse, a talent advisory firm she founded in 2009 to provide executive talent and counsel to companies across the marketing landscape. Prior to founding The Lighthouse, Saxton held commercial leadership positions spanning organisations including Sky Television, Global Radio and Bauer and later held board positions within Omnicom, Publicis and Virgin. She is also the co-founder of Advertising Week Europe. Kathleen is a qualified and practicing psychotherapist and co-founder of Psyched Global, and as such applies psychology to all elements of her work. She sits on the board of NSPCC Childline and is an active member of WACL, the British Association for Counselling & Psychotherapy (BACP), and the UK Council for Psychotherapy (UKCP). She is also a regular industry speaker and a mentor for the UK government’s Speakers For Schools program.

In this episode Thomas reveals the secrets to successful marketing leadership, how he used imposter syndrome to fuel his ambition and the 12 power/value creation zone.   Who is Thomas Barta?   Thomas Barta is the world’s leading expert on marketing leadership.   A former marketer and McKinsey partner, he has conducted the world’s largest studies on marketer's success. No wonder some call him: The Marketers’ Coach.   He is the founder of the Marketing Leadership Masterclass, with Syl Saller, co-author: The 12 Powers of a Marketing Leader, fmr McKinsey partner & marketer, organizational psychologist, Marketing Academy leadership dean, Marketing Society Honorary Fellow.

In this episode, Jess Myers talks about the importance of loving the brand you work for, how mentoring influenced her career and how her childhood led her to becoming so successful.    Who is Jessica Myers?   Jessica is a member of the Metro Bank Executive Committee, having joined in November 2019 to build the Bank’s first-ever Brand and Marketing function. Her role focuses on shaping Metro Bank’s brand strategy, building transformational marketing capabilities, and investing in brand and marketing communications that exemplify the brand to drive business growth.    Jessica is a brand and marketing specialist, with a track record of leading brands through transformational change. Before joining Metro Bank she led the RBS Brand team, with responsibility across its 10 portfolio brands. Prior to this, she held various brand and marketing roles at Commonwealth Bank of Australia in Sydney and has also worked at American Express

In this episode, Carrie reveals what first made her launch Rise at Seven and what made her become such a successful marketer and entrepreneur.   Who is Carrie Rose?   Carrie Rose, 27 year old co-founder and CEO of leading search-first creative agency Rise at Seven. Rise disrupted the search industry just 18 months ago, winning Missguided on the spot without a pitch for presenting a search-first approach to creative. The story spread, attracting other disruptor brands that wanted a creative approach to their search strategies including Pretty Little Thing, My Protein, Made.com, Game, Playstation, ODEON and more.   Now a multi-million pound agency, we operate across London, Sheffield and US/ Carrie vlogs her journey building a global agency in public over on YouTube. She recently featured on campaign magazines 30 under 30 list and voted rising star by content marketing association.   Carrie co-founded Rise at Seven alongside Stephen Kenwright in June 2019 taking a lead on our creative content marketing offering, Digital PR and social media strategy. Having worked in SEO for over 7 years and won multiple awards for her creative campaigns and digital PR executions – Carrie spotted an opportunity and a gap to make creative work for search.

In this episode, Fran gives advice to entrepreneurs just starting out, why she started Lightbulb Sessions and what she wants her legacy to be   Who is Francesca James?   Francesca is the founder of the Great British Entrepreneur Awards and community. With a background in publishing and events, Francesca is passionate about telling the stories of entrepreneurs in an effort to support and champion their endeavours.   Founded in 2013, the Great British Entrepreneur Awards acknowledges the hard work and inspiring stories of entrepreneurs and businesses in the United Kingdom.   The Awards have celebrated some outstanding entrepreneurs who have gone on to become household names. Now with events in eight cities in Wales, England, Scotland and Northern Ireland, the awards receive around 3,000 applications annually.