Inspiring Futures - Lessons from the Worlds of Marketing and Advertising  cover image

Inspiring Futures - Lessons from the Worlds of Marketing and Advertising

Latest episodes

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Jun 7, 2022 • 1h 35min

Stevie Archer and Kevin Skobac - SS+K

This podcast episode features an interview with Stevie Archer- ECD and Kevin Skobac-Managing Director, Strategy- SS+KSS+K is part of the M&C Saatchi network and has been around for 30 years. It has a history of working in the political arena - including working for Obama in 2008. That political experience translates into a philosophy they describe as "thinking politically and acting creatively". In the conversation, we talk about the agency and how its philosophy manifests itself in the work and the discipline of strategy, how creative and strategy work together and discuss in detail their work for Icelandic Tourism. 
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May 17, 2022 • 49min

Kierstin De West- From Strategist, to Sustainability Researcher to Marketer

Kierstin De West is the Chief Marketing Officer of Alpha Foods.This podcast is the story of Kierstin's journey from ad agency strategist to brand marketer to running her consulting business and on to senior brand roles at Lululemon and Alpha Foods.In the episode, we talk about what she learned along the way,  what agency folks need to know about working client-side, why strategists make great marketers, and even how to market plant-based foods. 
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Apr 26, 2022 • 1h 1min

Nick Steel of HarrimanSteel- Two Decades as a Creative Independent

Nick Steel is the co-founder of the creative independent agency HarrimanSteel. The shop has worked with the likes of Uber, Seedlip, Tom's, Nike, Girl Effect, FootLocker, Patagonia and more. Nick founded the agency straight out of art school at 27 and was lucky enough to get Nike as his first client. In our conversation, we talk about his approach to the business, the importance of agency culture, and how the pandemic has shaped his thinking and that of the agency. 
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Apr 19, 2022 • 1h

The Current State of Social Media- Nikita Walia-Blank

The latest episode of Inspiring Futures features an interview with Nikita Walia- the founder and CEO of Blank.Nikita studied at NYU and went straight to work as a "digital native" on the coalface of social media. She's done stints at We are Social, Matte Projects,, King &Partners- before setting up her own agency. Our conversation takes on the ambitious challenge of exploring the current state of social media from a variety of different angles and perspectives. From the challenge of working in social media today, to the unrealistic demands and expectations of clients, to influencers and their current status, the emergence of new social channels, and the potential for new collaborative communities like DAOs.
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Apr 11, 2022 • 1h 7min

Thomas Papadopoulos- Possible Future

The podcast episode features an interview with Thomas Papadopoulos who is the CEO and co-founder of the Paris-based innovation consultancy Possible Future.Thomas spent 16 years in the consultancy industry, first at Accenture, leading the Accenture Interactive Digital practice in France, then as a Partner in charge of Digital Transformation at Infosys and finally as Managing Partner at Weave, developing the digital business practice to support the digital transformation of large corporations. His field of expertise covers multiple industries including FMCG & Retail.Possible Future is a consulting company dedicated to bringing innovation to market by harnessing the skills of engineers, designers, and business strategists. Its client roster includes- Richemont. Intermarche, Société Générale and it's part of the Cap-Gemini group. 
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Mar 31, 2022 • 59min

The Future of Emerging Art- Wayne Chang- Saatchi Art

Wayne Chang is the General Manager of Saatchi Art. Wayne is an emerging artist himself but also has significant experience in the web and e-commerce space- starting with Newsweek and with stints at Photobucket and DogVacay. Saatchi Art is the world's largest platform for emerging artists with 1.4 million artworks, from 94k artists, representing 110 countries. In our conversation, we talk about what emerging art and art are exactly, how the site functions and works with both collectors and artists,  the emerging NFT space, and Saatchi Art's efforts, and how Saatchi Art connects with its live event brand 'The Other Art Fair" to bring new collectors to the art market.
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Mar 29, 2022 • 53min

Post-Purpose- Thomas Kolster

Thomas Kolster is a former ad agency copywriter who when the climate conference came to his hometown, Copenhagen- asked himself some serious questions and went off to investigate how advertising could do more good. The result was the book "Goodadvertising" which was a bold attempt to change the role of advertising from just selling to being able to promote good. In 2020, Thomas wrote another book "The Hero Trap" which argues that brands need to understand how they can motivate people to change and become better versions of themselves. Thomas is a globally recognized keynote speaker featured at events like SXSW, TEDx, Eurobest, D&AD, Epica, ad:tech & Sustainable Brands, a columnist for publications including- Adweek, The Drum, The Guardian and several other publications and a regular judge at international award shows. 
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Mar 14, 2022 • 30min

Inspiring Futures- Ukraine- Lidiya Zabrodska- Strategist- Lviv

Lidiya is currently in Lviv and up until a week before the war began was working as a strategist at TBWA in Kyiv.In the conversation, we talk a little about her background and where her attention is focused right now- on the "Information War"- most advertising and marketing professionals who are not fighting are now working on the Information War and working together on specific assignments and issues relating to this war. In addition, to this work, Lidiya mentions the constant barrage of requests for contacts that she receives on social media be this help for refugees in Warsaw or transportation help for people in Ukraine. We talked about the help that those overseas can give she feels that obviously giving to help humanitarian efforts is critical, but she believes the biggest problem that needs the smartest strategic and creative minds to solve is communicating the real story to Russians. She even mentions the challenge within her own family which has cut ties with their relatives over the war.
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Mar 10, 2022 • 1h 1min

The Future of Transformation- Rachel Mercer and Mike Rigby- Proto

Proto is a consultancy that was founded just over a year ago by some of the leadership of R/GA.'s business transformation unit. In the episode, I talk with Rachel Mercer- the Chief Experience Officer, and Mike Rigby- Chief Design Officer.The conversation covers their background and experience, the types of work that Proto is involved with, and the importance of clearly defining your own brand and living its values.It's a fascinating conversation that shows how creativity can move upstream in the world of consulting and how a valuable mix of skills and experience can help clients shift and transform their businesses for the digital age and beyond. 
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Mar 9, 2022 • 53min

The Future of Purpose- Rob Holzer - Matter Unlimited

In a world where every marketeer is talking about purpose, it is interesting to find an agency that has been working in this domain for over a decade.In this episode, I talk with Rob Holzer- the founder and CEO of Matter Unlimited.Rob is something of a digital pioneer and was the co-founder of Syrup- a digital agency that worked with the likes of Puma and GE and got acquired by LBI.Matter Unlimited works with a mix of non-for-profits, foundations and large clients and it's the experience they have on the ground with the non-profits that helps inform how they advise and the strategies they create and build for brands.In a world of short-term projects, Rob is especially proud of his long-term client relationships including one that spans over a decade with Merck.

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