Strategy Sessions

Evolved is the leading UK performance marketing agency in Newcastle Upon Tyne. I am joined by co-founder, Ian McIntosh and Head of People, Sinead Hall. This episode is all about people, marketing, growing businesses and our exciting new partnership. In this episode we discuss: The amazing story of how Evolved went from 2 people to 60 in just 8 years Why you need to trust your team and encourage them to take risks Importance of allowing people to learn from their mistakes Sinead starting her position as Head of People at the start of Covid Developing an elite high performance culture Why Evolved implemented the 4 day working week and the results from this Hustle culture and burnout Eximo x Evolved exciting partnership Evolved awards for marketing and culture Learning from mistakes we made in our careers Ian McIntosh Ian has worked in search marketing for 15 years and is the co-founder of Evolved & Upshift.  Evolved are now a leading UK performance marketing agency, employing 60 people with headquarters in Newcastle Upon Tyne. Find Ian on LinkedIn  Find Evolved on Twitter Sinead Hall Sinead Hall, Head of People at Evolved Search (circa 3 years). Leading on all things people and culture to deliver “the” employer of choice environment within the UK. My role focuses on everything from making sure people take holidays all the way through to coaching and supporting them into their C-suite seat. Evolveds values and culture are the most important aspect when it comes to delivering on our strategy. Without fantastic people in the right roles we wouldn’t achieve the results for our clients that we do. I genuinely believe that if you do right by your people they will do right by your business and that’s why I make sure we put our people first. Find Sinead on LinkedIn  Book Recommendations The Five Dysfunctions of a Team: A Leadership Fable by Patrick M. Lencioni  Andi Jarvis If you have any questions or want to talk about anything that was discussed in the show, the best place to get me is on Twitter or LinkedIn. If you don’t get the podcast emailed to you (and a monthly newsletter) you can sign up for it on the Eximo Marketing website. Make sure you subscribe to get the podcast every fortnight and if you enjoyed the show, please give it a 5* rating. Andi Jarvis, Eximo Marketing.

Mike Stevens is the author of The Direct To Consumer Playbook, consultant and entrepreneur. In this episode we discuss: Mike’s career that ended up with him writing the book about DTC How DTC is evolving Products and if DTC has to be better than the alternatives Managing the rising customer acquisition costs that are hitting DTC margins Picking up the phone and why you never lose money talking to customers The over-reliance on data The impact of lowering barriers to entry on DTC brands When DTC should become retail and multichannel What role does community play in DTC brands and if they can exist without it? The importance of vertical integration and why some companies stay away from it Mike Stevens  Mike Stevens has played key roles in two of the most iconic start-up challenger brands in recent years: innocent smoothies and Peppersmith confectionery. At innocent, he built and ran their supply chain for six years before becoming a country manager. In 2009 he co-founded Peppersmith. Peppersmith was set up to kick the confectionery industry into the 21st century. Mike was CEO and scaled the business before selling the company in 2018. In addition to writing The Direct To Consumer Playbook,  Mike advises, mentors and consults for start-up and scale-up businesses. He is based in Poole, Dorset, UK. Find Mike on LinkedIn  Other Links The Direct to Consumer Playbook: The Stories and Strategies of the Brands that Wrote the DTC Rules https://amzn.to/3AcQnWu Ritson on the Strategy Sessions with strong opinions on DTC https://eximomarketingstrategy.com/strategy-sessions-podcast-with-mark-ritson/ The DO Lectures https://thedolectures.com/ Andi Jarvis If you have any questions or want to talk about anything that was discussed in the show, the best place to get me is on Twitter or LinkedIn. If you don’t get the podcast emailed to you (and a monthly newsletter) you can sign up for it on the Eximo Marketing website. Make sure you subscribe to get the podcast every fortnight and if you enjoyed the show, please give it a 5* rating. Andi Jarvis, Eximo Marketing.

Pritesh is the Managing Director of Accenture Song.  In this episode we discuss: Who Accenture Song are and what they do Managing the rebrand from Accenture Interactive to Accenture Song Streamlining dozens of companies under the new brand Managing the human implications of a rebrand The benefits of merging data and creativity The new brand of CMOs and how they need to be literate in both data and creativity The challenges of working around client silos to launch new work Knowing when you have enough data Marketing being “more than just the wrapping paper, but about what’s inside the box too Challenges for marketers coming into a recession Running a creative agency with an IT background The lessons from Gillette and P&G at the start of his career Building diverse teams and new thinking What Alex Ferguson taught Pritesh about leadership Managing mental health Pritesh Gadhia Pritesh has spent 20 years working in the digital space and has been involved in some of Accenture’s biggest digital transformations in the UK and Europe. He joined Accenture Digital back in 2014 when it was first set up to develop the company’s experience technologies. Following Accenture’s restructure in March 2020, Pritesh was appointed to lead Accenture Interactive in the UK, now Accenture Song. Pritesh is passionate about initiatives which champion Diversity and Inclusion and Mental Health issues in the workplace and has implemented multiple programmes which address these areas. His personal hero is Alex Ferguson and he draws on his management style in his current role. Find Pritesh on Twitter and LinkedIn Everything Else The human paradox: From customer centricity to life centricity Accenture Song rebrand Zaid Al Qassab talking about depression in Campaign Magazine. He was also a guest much earlier than this on the Strategy Sessions. Andi Jarvis If you have any questions or want to talk about anything that was discussed in the show, the best place to get me is on Twitter or LinkedIn. If you don’t get the podcast emailed to you (and a monthly newsletter) you can sign up for it on the Eximo Marketing website. Make sure you subscribe to get the podcast every fortnight and if you enjoyed the show, please give it a 5* rating. Andi Jarvis, Eximo Marketing.

Peep is the founder of CXL, Speero, Wynter and the host of How to Win with Peep Laja podcast.  Peep’s intro to his podcast says “I don’t do fluff, I don’t do filler, I don’t do emojis” let’s see if we can be friends.  In this episode we discuss: Is the story the strategy? What happens when some idiot hijacks your LinkedIn posts The lessons from the How to Win podcast Being competitor aware but customer obsessed How Wynter was born The common mistakes B2B organisations make in messaging Being an early mover in a number of markets Why CXL was rebranded Plans for CXL Live Peep Laja   Peep does a lot of thinking about B2B strategy, competing, and winning. After working in software development, marketing and sales, he became an entrepreneur in 2007. Peep was mainly focused on general marketing consulting (SEO, PPC, CRO, content marketing), until he specialized in conversion optimization and was recognized as the most influential name in the business back in 2016. Since has focused more on business strategy. Since 2011, Peep has built 3 companies: CXL, Speero, Wynter. Find Peep on LinkedIn, Twitter, How To Win podcast Book Recommendations The Road Less Stupid by Keith J Cunningham  Everything Else CXL Live tickets and details https://cxl.com/live/ JP Castlin on the Strategy Sessions and his newsletter, Strategy in Praxis Andi Jarvis If you have any questions or want to talk about anything that was discussed in the show, the best place to get me is on Twitter or LinkedIn. If you don’t get the podcast emailed to you (and a monthly newsletter) you can sign up for it on the Eximo Marketing website. Make sure you subscribe to get the podcast every fortnight and if you enjoyed the show, please give it a 5* rating. Andi Jarvis, Eximo Marketing.

Jane Maher is the Head of Marketing for FREE NOW in Ireland, having joined the company in December 2021. In this episode we discuss: This history of free now and why it’s more than a ride hailing app The challenge facing marketing in a competitive space Brand v performance marketing The roll of CSR for Free Now How you balance global and local marketing Dive into the marketing strategy process at Free Now The pleasures and challenges of being number 1 in the market Your take on the value of education A Word From Our Sponsor This episode is sponsored by Learn Inbound. One of the best marketing conferences in Ireland returns to Dublin on Thursday 27 October 2022 after a Covid break. Learn Inbound is where marketers go to thrive and the team behind the event are putting together an amazing line up of speakers. Already confirmed is Jono Alderson, Head of SEO for Yoast and he’ll be joined by some of the world’s best digital marketers. One piece of bad news… Andi will be hosting the event! A limited number of super early bird tickets are available for €175 +VAT (reduced from €449) and include full access to all the talks, exhibition area, lunch, coffee & drinks and access to After Party. What you need to know: Single track conference Aviva Stadium, Dublin Thursday 28 October, 9am-5pm Super Early Bird tickets are €175 +VAT Get your tickets here. Now, back to the show… Jane Maher Jane is responsible for the development and execution of FREE NOW’s marketing strategy and campaigns across the Irish market. She also identifies key opportunities to grow the FREE NOW brand as the market leader in the multi-mobility space and implement best-in-class driver and passenger engagement initiatives. As a member of FREE NOW’s senior leadership team, Jane will contribute to the strategic direction of the company and its ambitious goals concerning environmentally friendly transport, micro-mobility and driver-centricity. Jane has over 10 years’ experience across multiple B2B and B2C functions. She is experienced in a diverse range of communication and marketing disciplines including digital, global marketing, business development and partnership management. Before joining FREE NOW, Jane worked with premium spirits company William Grant & Sons for over 8 years fulfilling roles in the US & UKI in global brand management, commercial development & local marketing management. Find Jane on LinkedIn, Twitter, Instagram  Book Recommendations Simon Sinek Start With Why Andi Jarvis Find me on Twitter or LinkedIn.

Lily Hecht-Leavitt runs marketing at Rootine, a US-based DTC brand. Gil David is the founder of a performance marketing agency specialising in scaling DTC brands. Unsurprisingly, this ep is about growing DTC brands. In this episode we discuss: The role of brand in growing DTC brands The challenges of using Meta (that’s Facebook and Instagram to old folk) to build sales Impact of Apple’s iOS update on Meta advertising Why ROAS is a flawed metric and what should replace it The impact of discounting and should brands do it TOPTIPS for DTC brands coming into Black Friday and Christmas A brief look at NFTs and their future The challenges of band reputation and when using famous influencers A Word From Our Sponsor This episode is sponsored by Learn Inbound. One of the best marketing conferences in Ireland returns to Dublin on Thursday 27 October 2022 after a Covid break. Learn Inbound is where marketers go to thrive and the team behind the event are putting together an amazing line up of speakers. Already confirmed is Jono Alderson, Head of SEO for Yoast and he’ll be joined by some of the world’s best digital marketers. One piece of bad news… Andi will be hosting the event! A limited number of super early bird tickets are available for €175 +VAT (reduced from €449) and include full access to all the talks, exhibition area, lunch, coffee & drinks and access to After Party. What you need to know: Single track conference Aviva Stadium, Dublin Thursday 28 October, 9am-5pm Super Early Bird tickets are €175 +VAT Get your tickets here. Lily Hecht-Leavitt Lily is an accomplished digital and ecommerce business strategist. After getting her MA at Georgetown she entered the digital world of startups. She has helped build successful D2C startups developing their online presence through performance marketing strategy, paid acquisition channels, conversion rate optimization, social media growth and content strategy, affiliate and influencer marketing, digital campaign management, sponsored content and podcast buys, email retention, partner and athlete relationships, and team leadership. She is also heavily connected in the professional sports space having worked with athletes and agents spanning all sports over the past nine years. Find Lily on LinkedIn, Twitter Gil David Gil is known as one of the world's leading authorities on Facebook Ads but has a well-rounded experience having spent over 15 years in sales, marketing and business management roles after graduating from the prestigious Lancaster University Business School with a BSc Hons Degree in Marketing. He has over 8 years' experience running Facebook Ads and specialized in performance marketing since setting up the Run DMG agency in 2017. In the 5 years since, he has worked with a range of brands but the agency now focuses more on scaling eCommerce/DTC clients. Brands he has worked with include Benetton, Telefonica, TUI, Crooks & Castles, Ford, Toyota, Kaspersky and many more. Gil also regularly speaks at events and delivers bespoke Facebook Ads training to businesses and agencies.  Find Gil on LinkedIn, Twitter

Adrian is Chief Marketing Officer for Harlequins, one of the oldest rugby clubs in the world. In this episode we discuss: The amazing story of Harlequins last season The role that culture plays in growing an organisation The growth of women’s rugby and how that’s helping the Quins brand Selling out games, memberships and hospitality and the problems (yes, probelsm) that causes Moving some games to Twickeham to build the brand The role the marketing funnel plays in selling rugby tickets Harlequins Amazon Prime documentary Working at The FA and how they use research to build the brand Woriing at UEFA and how commercially focused they are in marketing the game Working at the Cricket World Cup and managing the chaos of the final Starting a career at P&G in sales Lessons of brand building from P&G Adrian Wells Adrian is Chief Marketing Officer for Harlequins, one of the oldest rugby clubs in the world. Based in Twickenham, the home of rugby, he is responsible for all marketing, communications, ticketing and supporter experience for the club. With a background in sales and brand management from P&G, he has built a career in sport working at The FA, UEFA, Cricket World Cup and now rugby Find Adrian on LinkedIn  Important Links Prep to Win on Amazon Prime  No Woman No Try on Amazon Prime  Digital Marketing Strategy Course My Digital Marketing Strategy Course in partnership with the University of Vaasa in Finland is available now via Teachable for just €249. It’s perfect for small business owners, entrepreneurs and those who want to get a better understanding of what marketing strategy is and how to embed that strategy across an organisation. Sign up for the programme here: https://univaasa.teachable.com/p/digital-marketing-strategy Andi Jarvis If you have any questions or want to talk about anything that was discussed in the show, the best place to get me is on Twitter or LinkedIn. If you don’t get the podcast emailed to you (and a monthly newsletter) you can sign up for it on the Eximo Marketing website. Make sure you subscribe to get the podcast every fortnight and if you enjoyed the show, please give it a 5* rating. Two years ago, this was the first episode with Jen Hoffman. https://eximomarketingstrategy.com/make-marketing-saas-y/ Andi Jarvis, Eximo Marketing.

Emma Mondolino is the Head of Nextdoor Create, the sales marketing and strategy group at Nextdoor. She talks with Andi about marketing v strategy, what true ‘hustle’ means and what it’s like working for a hypergrowth start up. In this episode we discuss: 1. The advertising trend towards hyperlocal and what that means for brands 2. How brands can adapt and thrive with hyper local advertising 3. Competitors… Who does Nextdoor compete with? 4. How Nextdoor has evolved during the last five years 5. How could Nextdoor evolve in the next five years following the IPO 6. With a product built around local, does Nextdoor change each country? 7. What’s the difference between marketing and strategy? 8. The lessons from working at Pinterest and Twitter Emma Mondolino Emma Mondolino is the Head of Nextdoor Create, the sales marketing and strategy group at Nextdoor. Currently she’s focused on creating value for brand partners by building bespoke creative campaigns. Before she joined the Nextdoor team, Emma worked at Pinterest in both Sales and Marketing. Prior to her time there she was a foundational member of the Brand Strategy team at Twitter. Find Emma on LinkedIn Important Links Careers at Nextdoor Book Recommendations Setting the Table: Lessons and inspirations from one of the worlds leading entrepreneurs by Danny Myers The Art of Possibility: Transforming Professional and Personal Life by Rosamund Stone Zander, and Benjamin Zander. Digital Marketing Strategy Course My Digital Marketing Strategy Course in partnership with the University of Vaasa in Finland is available now via Teachable for just €249. It’s perfect for small business owners, entrepreneurs and those who want to get a better understanding of what marketing strategy is and how to embed that strategy across an organisation. Sign up for the programme here: https://univaasa.teachable.com/p/digital-marketing-strategy Andi Jarvis If you have any questions or want to talk about anything that was discussed in the show, the best place to get me is on Twitter or LinkedIn. If you don’t get the podcast emailed to you (and a monthly newsletter) you can sign up for it on the Eximo Marketing website. Make sure you subscribe to get the podcast every fortnight and if you enjoyed the show, please give it a 5* rating. Andi Jarvis, Eximo Marketing.

Mark Ritson is one of the world's most respected marketing and brand strategists. Mark runs the Mini MBA in Marketing and Brand Management. He’s a columnist for Marketing Week. Prior to that he was a consultant for LVMH and a stack of brands you’d know. And Prof at the world’s top business schools. He’s not short of opinions either. In this episode we discuss: What’s the Mini MBA about and where did the idea come from What’s the difference between the brand management and marketing MBA courses What common mistakes marketers make and how do you fix them? Brand purpose… is it EVER useful? WTF is humaning all about (read Andi’s take on this shambles) Why can’t marketers do pricing? What the Mini MBA teaches us about pricing Sum up the DTC revolution in one word Will Tesla be the biggest thing in the car world or is it overhyped? What’s driving Netflix’s push to stop password sharing Mark’s views on Byron Sharp Why move from the remotest place in England to the remotest place in Australia Mark Ritson Mark has a PhD in Marketing and spent 25 years working as a marketing professor at London Business School, University of Minnesota, Melbourne Business School, MIT Sloan and SMU, winning a shit ton of prizes along the way. He’s worked as a global brand consultant for clients that include Baxter, Loewe, McKinsey, Subaru, Donna Karan, Westpac, Shiseido, Flight Centre, Johnson & Johnson, De Beers, Sephora, Benefit, Amgen, Ericsson, Jurlique, Cloudy Bay and WD40. For thirteen years he was the in-house brand consultant for LVMH - the world's largest luxury group - working in Paris with senior executives from brands like Louis Vuitton, Dom Perignon and Hennessy. He’s written for Marketing Week for over 20 years, winning Columnist of the Year at the PPA Press Awards, the highest award for magazine journalism in the UK, four times and the British Society of Magazine Editors Business Columnist of the Year twice. Find Mark: LinkedIn and Twitter Important Links Mini MBA  My Digital Marketing Strategy Course My Digital Marketing Strategy Course in partnership with the University of Vaasa in Finland is available now via Teachable for just €249. It’s perfect for small business owners, entrepreneurs and those who want to get a better understanding of what marketing strategy is and how to embed that strategy across an organisation. Sign up for the programme here: https://univaasa.teachable.com/p/digital-marketing-strategy Andi Jarvis If you have any questions or want to talk about anything that was discussed in the show, the best place to get me is on Twitter or LinkedIn. If you don’t get the podcast emailed to you (and a monthly newsletter) you can sign up for it on the Eximo Marketing website. Make sure you subscribe to get the podcast every fortnight and if you enjoyed the show, please give it a 5* rating. Andi Jarvis, Eximo Marketing.

Areej is Head of SEO at Papier where she focuses on all things technical and on-site SEO. She is the founder of the Women in Tech SEO community which is a support network aimed for women in the Technical SEO field. In this episode we discuss: Where the idea for Women in Tech SEO came from The stress and joy of hosting a conference (alongside a full time job!) Lessons and learnings from the biggest WTSEO event The challenges of race in marketing Will we ever be ‘done’ with diversity Moving from agency to in house SEO Running SEO from a big brand in a hyper competitive space The challenges of managing SEO for a VC funded start up Why the tech rather than marketing team may be the natural home for tech SEO Areej AbuAli  Areej is Head of SEO at Papier where she focuses on all things technical and on-site SEO. She is the founder of the Women in Tech SEO community which is a support network aimed for women in the Technical SEO field. She has been in the industry for the past 8 years and has spoken at conferences such as SMX, BrightonSEO and MozCon. Find Areej on:  Her website, Women in Tech SEO, Twitter, LinkedIn  Important Links Women in Tech SEO Digital Marketing Strategy Course My Digital Marketing Strategy Course in partnership with the University of Vaasa in Finland is available now via Teachable for just €249. It’s perfect for small business owners, entrepreneurs and those who want to get a better understanding of what marketing strategy is and how to embed that strategy across an organisation. Sign up for the programme here: https://univaasa.teachable.com/p/digital-marketing-strategy Andi Jarvis If you have any questions or want to talk about anything that was discussed in the show, the best place to get me is on Twitter or LinkedIn. If you don’t get the podcast emailed to you (and a monthly newsletter) you can sign up for it on the Eximo Marketing website. Make sure you subscribe to get the podcast every fortnight and if you enjoyed the show, please give it a 5* rating. Andi Jarvis, Eximo Marketing.