
Sleeping Barber - A Marketing Podcast
Ready to rethink business strategy and supercharge your marketing game? Join hosts Marc Binkley and Vassilis Douros as they break down big questions at the crossroads of strategy, marketing effectiveness, and creative impact.
From real-world case studies to hot-off-the-press business news, each episode dives deep into how modern companies navigate complexity. Plus, interviews with global thought leaders bring you fresh insights and actionable strategies to drive growth and build unforgettable customer experiences.
This is your backstage pass to smarter thinking and better business results.
Latest episodes

May 26, 2022 • 1h 18min
SBP 008: Building Brand on a Small Budget, with Ian Barnard and Faisal Sidiqqui
The importance of 'brand' cannot be understated, while at the same time, the most significant barrier for marketers is budget. But what if we would tell you that you can build a brand with a small budget? In this episode of the Sleeping Barber, we welcome Faisal Sidiqqui and Ian Barnard to discuss their marketing guide on building a big brand on a small budget. It's a conversation that you won't want to miss.
Enjoy the episode!
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Our Guests:
Follow Ian on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ian-barnard-76a76251/
Follow Faisal on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mfaisalsiddiqui/
Get more information on their company: https://creativebusinesscompany.com/
Get your copy of Brand building on a small budget: https://creativebusinesscompany.com/big-brand-small-budget
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The Sleeping Barber Podcast:
Follow our updates here: https://www.linkedin.com/company/sleeping-barber/
Get in touch with our hosts:
Marc Binkley: https://www.linkedin.com/in/marcbinkley/
Vassilis Douros: https://www.linkedin.com/in/vassilisdouros/
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Timestamps
0:38 - Introduction to Faisal & Ian
3it's- Why the marketers should care about the 5:95 rule
5:45 - Why it’s hard for marketers to think about balancing short and long term results
8:33 - Why do small companies struggle with brand building commitments
9:49 - Brand marketers are partlydon'tlame for lack of confidence
12:44 - Emotional brand campaigns don’t have to make people cry
18:49 - Bothism matters for successful marketing
20:55 - Brand marketers often fail to articulate the value of brand marketing
21:58 - Brand marketers should learn more about performance marketing metrics
25:30 - Better metrics for brWhat'srketing
30:30 - Why video is helpful for small brands
33:21 - What’s the right length of a video?
37:56 - Unlocking value - how to build brand videos affordably
39:47 - the evolution of video from snackable short format to long format
41:17 - An abundance of digital video inventory creates many opportunities
42:48 - How the 2-4-5 content framework links to the stages of the funnel
44:55 - Brand performance is not an oxymoron
46:57 - Case Study: An example of a brand performance video at work
48:31 - Case Study: Brand performance video metrics
54:50 - Post-Pod discussion with V & Marc

May 12, 2022 • 1h 14min
SBP 007: Designing a career in marketing, with Dan White
We welcome to the show Dan White, author of two books, 'The Smart Marketing Book' and 'The Soft Skills Book.' We discuss our careers and how we've adapted throughout the years while also covering the importance of soft skills that can make you a successful marketer. We finish off our conversation by bestowing advice to our younger selves.
We hope you enjoy this episode!
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Our guest:
Follow Dan White on LinkedIn:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/danwhite1000/
Get your copy of The Soft Skills Book:
https://www.amazon.ca/gp/product/1911671545/
You can get more information on Dan's work below:
https://smartmarketing.me
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The Sleeping Barber Podcast:
Follow our updates here:
https://www.linkedin.com/company/sleeping-barber/
Get in touch with our hosts:
Marc Binkley: https://www.linkedin.com/in/marcbinkley/
Vassilis Douros: https://www.linkedin.com/in/vassilisdouros/
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Timestamps
0:45 - Introductions
03:45 - How did this idea come about.
05:11 - How did we get to where we are today.
12:50 - How to choose your career.
15:30 - Have you ever made a decision based on money?
21:24 - What are the soft skills that have helped you the most?
32:43 - The principles of good visual design
35:00 - The sales funnel
39:25 - What information should marketers spend time becoming more familiar with?
57:00 - Learning and development, how much is this on you or the company's responsibility?
1:04:30 - What has been your motivator to seek more?
1:08:40 - One piece of advice to your younger self.

Apr 28, 2022 • 1h 22min
SBP 006: A New Way to Think, with Roger Martin
Episode 6 is here and it's a special one for us. In this episode of the Sleeping Barber Podcast, we welcome back Roger Martin and discuss his latest book 'A New Way to Think.' We cover many topics like cumulative advantage, understanding human behavior, while discussing frameworks that can help build organizations that thrive. We are really excited about this episode, and we think you will really enjoy this one!
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Follow Roger Martin on LinkedIn:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/roger-martin-9916911a9/
Get your copy of A New Way to Think here:
https://www.amazon.ca/New-Way-Think-Management-Effectiveness/dp/164782351X/
Follow our updates here:
https://www.linkedin.com/company/sleeping-barber/
Get in touch with our hosts:
Marc Binkley: https://www.linkedin.com/in/marcbinkley/
Vassilis Douros: https://www.linkedin.com/in/vassilisdouros/
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Timestamps
0:42 - Quick Introduction to “A New Way to Think”
3:15 - Introduction to Roger
6:00 - Are we thinking about customers the right way?
10:02 - Learning to ask the right questions that inform strategy.
15:17 - Understanding Cumulative Advantage
22:00 - Making decisions based on loyalty vs. habit. The role of the subconscious.
28:37 - Understanding human behaviour in marketing
32:47 - Strategy - Planning - Execution vs. strategic planning.
38:47 - Strategic planning. How often?
41:05 - What counts isn't what's true. It’s what would have to be true.
46:00 - How to de-risk your campaigns
50:14 - Identifying problem statements vs. choice outcomes
54:58 - Creating discipline by identifying “what has to be true.”
59:35 - Knowledge work and decision factories
1:07 - Post-Pod discussion with V and Marc

Apr 14, 2022 • 1h 9min
SBP 005: Accounting metrics for marketers, with Dave Bunce.
Often, marketers are more likely to align with an organization's sales team; however, should they not be spending more time with another critical business unit, finance?
We welcome to the show Dave Bunce, CEO of Morphio, to discuss the language barrier between marketers and the accounting/finance departments. Dave's unique background in finance, operations and technology allows him to combine historically siloed functions to enable marketing teams to scale.
Join us as we dive into how marketers and finance professionals can work closer together, bridge the gap between the two disciplines, and ultimately drive more growth for their respective organizations.
Don't forget to tune into our post pod discussion, where we recap our discussion with Dave and outline our key takeaways.
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Learn more about our guest Dave Bunce, Morphio and its digital performance monitoring & insights tool.
Also, feel free to connect and follow and share our content. We are looking to build an engaged community!
Our podcast page: Sleeping Barber Podcast
Connect with your hosts: Marc Binkley, Vassilis Douros
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Podcast Timestamps:
0:42 - Intro to Dave Bunce
2:40 - Why is there a language barrier in the boardroom?
5:30 - What are tangible and intangible assets?
9:07 - Why is marketing viewed as an expense, and what can marketers do to help change that perspective?
14:20 - How post-mortems can help finance and marketing collaborate
18:40 - Why short-term ROI is a troubling obsession
25:40 - Creating a better budgeting process
31:19 - Why finance may have an issue with sales teams
33:20 - How future cash flows can help marketers get support for long-term brand building
36:35 - Why marketers need to understand present value and risk
39:12 - How finance builds budgets
40:35 - Why marketing should ask to join finance’s capital budgeting process
43:10 - What questions should marketers ask of finance?
46:45 - Financial metrics marketers need to know
49:58 - Trends marketers should keep an eye on
53:06 - V & Marc post-pod discussion

Mar 31, 2022 • 1h 20min
SBP 004: What is brand, who owns it and how to measure it.
What is a five-letter word that can mean different things to different people in an organization? A term so controversial that carries a lot of ambiguity but at the same time drives so much value for a company, product, service or even individual. If you guessed brand, you are right!
In this episode of the Sleeping Barber Podcast, we discuss 'brand.' We attempt to define it while also discussing key topics like who owns it, what is it and how to measure it. We also reflect on our conversations with previous podcast guests, Mary Kyriakidi, Chris Walker and Roger Martin, to help articulate our thoughts. We hope you enjoy it!

Mar 17, 2022 • 1h 20min
SBP 003: Strategy, shareholder value and Galaxy Quest, with Roger Martin
Renowned strategic advisor and author, Roger Martin, discusses strategy, shareholder value, SWOT analysis, short-termism in decision-making, and challenging established business models. They also explore the importance of understanding the system, making the world a better place, and the role of anomalies in scientific revolutions.

Feb 18, 2022 • 1h 4min
SBP 002: Demand Generation and Lead Generation for B2B, Chris Walker
In this episode, we sit down with Chris Walker, CEO and founder of Refine Labs, to discuss the nuances of B2B marketing. The importance of lead and demand generation, vanity metrics and much more! Don't forget to stick around till the end when we discuss the key learnings from our conversation with Chris. Enjoy the show!

Feb 13, 2022 • 1h 16min
SBP 001: Kantar's Work on Brand Equity with Mary Kyriakidi
In this episode, we pull the curtain back on Kantar's work in defining brand equity and how to measure it. We sit down with Mary Kyrikidi, who holds the position of global thought leader at Kantar, to discuss the nuances of brand equity, the "brand power secret sauce," and are companies genuinely customer-centric? Make sure you stick around to the end, where we spend time discussing the key learnings.

Feb 11, 2022 • 56sec
Sleeping Barber - A Marketing Podcast (Trailer)
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