The Changemakers

You know when you’re scrolling through LinkedIn and someone just makes you stop? Well Ling Koay, Chief Brand Officer at Oneflow, is one of those people. She has a wonderful way of thinking and is so good at articulating her thoughts. As well as being kick-ass at her job, she’s a wonderful advocate of diversity and equality. We simply had to have her on the pod for the final instalment of our three-part ‘Women in Creative Leadership’ special.If you don’t know Oneflow already, please check them out via the link at the bottom. Their brand isn’t ‘normal’ for a B2B tech company, but it’s brilliant, unique, attention-grabbing and suits them to the ground. All the work of Ling and her team. Listen as Ling gives her views on what creativity is and techniques on producing new ideas. How people can find their superpowers. And how allowing them to be themselves will always make people more productive and happier.  This mini-series also aims to gauge the temperature of gender equality and diversity within the creative and marketing sides of the B2B tech industry. So we also hear Ling’s views on where we are in the fight for true equality. What more can be done, and how we as an industry can make sure that every talented female can climb the ranks into senior leadership positions.Timestamps:(03:33) How Ling started in copywriting and honing storytelling(05:26) The role of brand at Oneflow and their unique look(08:05) How brand is a competitive strategy(10:00) Leadership is how you interpret it and the 2%(13:05) The different between inclusivity in the Scandinavian tech industry and real life(19:25) Challenges of recruiting with diversity(30:06) Creativity is simple new ways to solve a problem(36:42) The routine to allow creativityFollow Ling on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lingkoay/ Oneflow are a company that provides the complete platform for digital contracts. Check them out here: https://oneflow.com/Don’t forget to subscribe and rate our show!Send us a message if you enjoyed this episodeIf you enjoy the chats then there are more ways to quench your thirst for creative inspiration in the world of B2B tech. 👉 Watch episodes on YouTube👉 Follow us on LinkedIn for regular snippets in your feed 👉 Visit our website for more in-depth thinking on topics👉 Subscribe to Beyond our monthly collection of insight, opinion and inspirationAnd finally please rate our podcast on Apple if you enjoyed it!✌️

Welcome to the second of our three-part ‘Women in Creative Leadership’ special. This mini-series aims to gauge the temperature of gender equality and diversity within the creative and marketing sides of the B2B tech industry. Where are we in the fight for true equality? What more can be done, and how can we as an industry make sure that every talented female has the opportunity to climb the ranks into senior leadership positions?Our second guest to discuss these crucial issues is Jess Ellis, Senior Director, Integrated Brand Marketing at Slack, a company that needs no introduction. We first met Jess during her time with our client, customer engagement platform firm Khoros. She has such an interesting background having held creative roles in sport, entertainment, retail and of course tech. Now she’s moved into a new role at Slack, we had to grab her for a chat about her thoroughly inspiring views on equality, team dynamics, values and leadership in the creative world – and much more.Timestamps:(03:24) – Jess’s background and career(06:21) – How she builds a team in today’s environment(09:42) – People are still feeling part of something when working remotely(10:50) – Leadership is an opportunity to provide opportunity, inspiration and empowerment for everyone(15:58) – How to inspire people creatively when working remotely(19:03) – If you feel there is a glass ceiling, you’re in the wrong company(22:18) – The opportunities to have a mentor and the benefitsFollow Jess on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jellisstudio/ Visit Slack here: https://slack.comDon’t forget to subscribe and rate our show!Send us a message if you enjoyed this episodeIf you enjoy the chats then there are more ways to quench your thirst for creative inspiration in the world of B2B tech. 👉 Watch episodes on YouTube👉 Follow us on LinkedIn for regular snippets in your feed 👉 Visit our website for more in-depth thinking on topics👉 Subscribe to Beyond our monthly collection of insight, opinion and inspirationAnd finally please rate our podcast on Apple if you enjoyed it!✌️

Welcome to the first of our three-part ‘Women in Creative Leadership’ special. This mini-series aims to gauge the temperature of gender equality and diversity within the creative and marketing sides of the B2B tech industry. Where are we in the fight for true equality? What more can be done, and how can we as an industry make sure that every talented female has the opportunity to climb the ranks into senior leadership positions?Our first guest to discuss these crucial issues is Larissa Schneider, Head of Marketing at Noname Security - leaders in API security. We first met Larissa during her time with our client, cloud computing firm Nutanix, whom she joined after they acquired her previous firm PernixData. The PernixData/Nutanix journey was a wild ride for Larissa, encompassing stints in Silicon Valley and her native Germany, an IPO, and a fairly rapid ascent up the leadership ranks. Now Larissa is a creatively driven leader at a company that is truly making waves achieving “unicorn” status only one year out of stealth. As you’ll hear, she is inspirational, wise and well worth listening to.Timestamps: (08:51) – Larissa’s background and career (12:48) – What inspired Larissa to get into marketing and the tech scene(15:30) – Thoughts on where the tech industry is in terms of equality and opportunities for female marketers(18:13) – How COVID enabled more opportunities for diversity through flexibility in remote working(23:18) – The hiring process and how a change in approach can reap rewards(27:09) – The role of mentors in her career Follow Larissa on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/schneiderlarissa/Don’t forget to subscribe and rate our show! Send us a message if you enjoyed this episodeIf you enjoy the chats then there are more ways to quench your thirst for creative inspiration in the world of B2B tech. 👉 Watch episodes on YouTube👉 Follow us on LinkedIn for regular snippets in your feed 👉 Visit our website for more in-depth thinking on topics👉 Subscribe to Beyond our monthly collection of insight, opinion and inspirationAnd finally please rate our podcast on Apple if you enjoyed it!✌️

Lindsey Selden is Creative Director, Brand at Sumo Logic - a SaaS analytics company on a mission to ensure its customers’ digital experiences are reliable and secure. Her role at the company encompasses brand, design, user experience, strategy, and marketing. There’s one thing that links all these together: people. Human beings with needs, feelings, and emotions that B2B tech brands so often fail to acknowledge and connect with.Listen as Dave and Lindsey discuss:How Lindsey’s acting background influenced her approach to authentic human connection Why empathy is so vital in brand design and communicationBuilding a community to engage your audienceApplying a creator-driven approach to B2B marketingThe questions to ask when hiring a creative teamTimestamps:(03:08) – Lindsey’s career journey so far(09:13) – What does Sumo Logic do? (10:14) – Lindsey’s acting background and how that influenced her approach to authentic human connection(12:44) – Storytelling in B2B marketing (15:53) - How emotion comes into play in B2B marketing(17:46) – Applying a creator-driven approach to marketing(18:41) – Cross-functional marketing teams(19:35) - The questions to ask when hiring a creative team(22:35) – Empathy in B2B marketing(24:14) – What kind of info makes personas valuable? (26:26) – Finding the balance between rational and emotional communication (28:51) – Tone of voice(31:57) – Surprise and delight in marketing(33:04) – B2B v. B2C marketing(41:19) – The project or campaign that Lindsey’s most proud of from her career to dateFollow Lindsey on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lindsey-selden/Don’t forget to subscribe to The Changemakers podcast for new episodes.Send us a message if you enjoyed this episodeIf you enjoy the chats then there are more ways to quench your thirst for creative inspiration in the world of B2B tech. 👉 Watch episodes on YouTube👉 Follow us on LinkedIn for regular snippets in your feed 👉 Visit our website for more in-depth thinking on topics👉 Subscribe to Beyond our monthly collection of insight, opinion and inspirationAnd finally please rate our podcast on Apple if you enjoyed it!✌️

Wei Kee is Client Services Director at…Shaped By of course! She leads our client services team (aka the beating heart of the agency) who look after the full lifecycle of our client projects. But there’s far more to client services than that. Onboarding new clients, making sure existing ones feel nurtured, supported, and valued, ensuring we deliver on all our promises to them…Wei and her team have a lot on their plates.Originally hailing from Singapore, we talk to Wei about her journey to Bristol, the nuts and bolts of what makes a great client-agency relationship, tips for both sides to keep it running smoothly, and of course Wei’s food Instagram gets a mention. Listen as we discuss: What makes a good client/agency relationship?How to choose a creative agencyThe pitfalls of treating your agency as a supplier rather than a partnerThe processes in place to ensure that every client feels as looked after and valued as possible How marketers can be better clientsTimestamps: (03:47) – Wei’s role at Shaped By(05:09) – Wei’s career journey so far(10:52) – What makes a good client/agency relationship?(16:14) – The pitfalls of treating your agency as a supplier rather than a partner(20:04) – How do you ensure every client feels as cared for and valued as possible?(25:42) – How can you be a better client?(29:40) – What’s a typical sticking point and how can you mitigate them?(36:59) – How different time zones can impact managing client relationships(44:16) – One project, campaign, or initiative that Wei is particularly proud of over any otherFollow Wei on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/wei-kee-5166a0a3/Check out Wei’s food Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mykeetchen/Don’t forget to subscribe to our Changemaker podcast for new episodes.Send us a message if you enjoyed this episodeIf you enjoy the chats then there are more ways to quench your thirst for creative inspiration in the world of B2B tech. 👉 Watch episodes on YouTube👉 Follow us on LinkedIn for regular snippets in your feed 👉 Visit our website for more in-depth thinking on topics👉 Subscribe to Beyond our monthly collection of insight, opinion and inspirationAnd finally please rate our podcast on Apple if you enjoyed it!✌️

Dmitry Shamis is Global Head of Creative at a company that really needs no introduction. But if you’re either from Mars or have been living under a rock for the past ten years, then HubSpot is a leading CRM platform that provides software for all kinds of businesses, from start-ups to enterprises. In his role as HubSpot’s Global Head of Creative, Dmitry leads a global in-house creative team of over 120 people. Although he has over a decade of experience building teams and providing creative solutions in the world of B2B, Dmitry doesn’t have a typical creative leader’s career trajectory, having started out in sports management before pivoting to web development. Listen as we discuss:Dmitry’s journey from sports management to creative leadershipThe importance of building relationships to create a strong creative teamFinding the balance between substance and flashSetting your brand apart with emotion and storytellingHubSpot’s Pirates of the Caribbean ad…Follow Dmitry on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dmitryshamis/Don’t forget to subscribe to The Changemakers podcast for new episodes.Send us a message if you enjoyed this episodeIf you enjoy the chats then there are more ways to quench your thirst for creative inspiration in the world of B2B tech. 👉 Watch episodes on YouTube👉 Follow us on LinkedIn for regular snippets in your feed 👉 Visit our website for more in-depth thinking on topics👉 Subscribe to Beyond our monthly collection of insight, opinion and inspirationAnd finally please rate our podcast on Apple if you enjoyed it!✌️

Lee is Director of Brand and Creative at Gong, a revenue intelligence platform used by over 2000 companies including Paychex, PayPal, Hubspot, LinkedIn, MuleSoft, Shopify, Slack, SproutSocial, Twilio, and Zillow. Our conversation comes at an exciting time creatively for Gong, having recently undergone a rebrand and ran a Super Bowl ad! We talk about the challenges and rewards of working in creative for a tech company, the reasoning behind Gong’s recent rebrand, and much more…Listen as we discuss:The importance of building a brand framework Why Gong chose to rebrand and the rebranding process How Gong’s creative team developed its Super Bowl ad Using storytelling to differentiate your marketingWhy B2B marketing doesn’t have to be boringTimestamps:(02:37) – Lee’s career to date(05:08) – The challenges of working in creative at a tech company(06:58) – What attracted Lee to his role at Gong? (08:25) – What was the reason for the Gong rebrand?(10:31) – Gong's rebranding process (11:42) - Limiting the number of rebrand decision-makers(12:22) - The evolution of logos in tech(14:26) – Gong’s Super Bowl ad(16:46) – Are B2B brands becoming more open to using humour in their marketing? (20:10) – Using LinkedIn to be provocative (24:05) – How challenging is it to create a visual identity that differentiates a brand in the marketplace? (28:32) – The importance of differentiating your brand (29:42) – Is there a set rebrand process or is every case different? (35:05) – A project or campaign Lee is more proud of than any other…Follow Lee on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/leemincy/Don’t forget to subscribe to our Changemaker podcast for new episodes.Send us a message if you enjoyed this episodeIf you enjoy the chats then there are more ways to quench your thirst for creative inspiration in the world of B2B tech. 👉 Watch episodes on YouTube👉 Follow us on LinkedIn for regular snippets in your feed 👉 Visit our website for more in-depth thinking on topics👉 Subscribe to Beyond our monthly collection of insight, opinion and inspirationAnd finally please rate our podcast on Apple if you enjoyed it!✌️

In this episode, we speak to a man who has bravely crossed the divide between sales and marketing. So are there similarities? What makes each department tick? How can they get on better? Ben is EMEA Marketing Director at SailPoint, a market leader in identity security for the modern enterprise.He has over 30 years of experience in customer and partner success within the Cybersecurity and Enterprise Software arena, and his work has taken him across Europe, the Middle East, Africa & America. Having worked at enterprise companies like Oracle and Symantec, as well as start-ups, it’s safe to say he knows his stuff. Tune in to hear Ben talk about his son wanting him to sponsor the England football team, how he bridges the gap between sales and marketing, being scared witless at accepting the role, building his knowledge, balancing intent intelligence with customer understanding, the power of un-gating your content and much more. Timestamps(00:46) - Who is Ben Bulpett (04:15) – Selling services and consultancy vs product and licenses (05:41) – The SailPoint journey (08:36) – Involving sales leaders on the marketing journey & getting buy-in(10:21) – Making the leap from sales to marketing leadership(15:02) – How the B2B buying process has changed the relationship between sales and marketing(17:33) – Balancing intent intelligence and understanding your buyer (19:47) – Un-gating your content increases demand and rapport(30:11) – How to build those close relationships with sales(32:41) – The benefits of immersing yourself in other areas of the business(38:58) – What is one campaign or project that you are most proud of?Follow Ben on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/benbulpett/Don’t forget to subscribe to our Changemaker podcast for new episodes.Send us a message if you enjoyed this episodeIf you enjoy the chats then there are more ways to quench your thirst for creative inspiration in the world of B2B tech. 👉 Watch episodes on YouTube👉 Follow us on LinkedIn for regular snippets in your feed 👉 Visit our website for more in-depth thinking on topics👉 Subscribe to Beyond our monthly collection of insight, opinion and inspirationAnd finally please rate our podcast on Apple if you enjoyed it!✌️

Frida Ahrenby is CMO at GetAccept, a digital sales room platform on a mission to radically redefine the way companies run sales. In her role, she’s responsible for the company’s global marketing strategy and execution in all markets.Having grown the marketing team from three people to 25 over the past two and a half years, our chat with Frida comes at a really exciting time for GetAccept. It’s a wide-ranging chinwag, covering category creation, personal branding, and - most importantly - the power of hyper-relevant customer personas.Listen as we discuss:How to create detailed customer personasLearning and evolving personas for your marketingHow brand creates demandEncouraging employee advocacy and personal brandingWhat makes an effective leader in the B2B SaaS worldFollow Frida on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/frida-ahrenby-215353/Don’t forget to subscribe to our Changemakers podcast for new episodes.Send us a message if you enjoyed this episodeIf you enjoy the chats then there are more ways to quench your thirst for creative inspiration in the world of B2B tech. 👉 Watch episodes on YouTube👉 Follow us on LinkedIn for regular snippets in your feed 👉 Visit our website for more in-depth thinking on topics👉 Subscribe to Beyond our monthly collection of insight, opinion and inspirationAnd finally please rate our podcast on Apple if you enjoyed it!✌️

Ardath is CEO & B2B Marketing Strategist at Marketing Interactions. She is a titan in the B2B marketing world with over 30 years of experience in business management and marketing as well the author of two books. It’s a journey that took her from starting as a consultant for her sister's marketing tech platform to now working with enterprise tech companies like Gong, Cisco Meraki and Dell Secureworks.Ardath helps them with the thorny issue of content marketing, specifically with the goal of creating something that resonates. She argues that technology has wrestled back the power of buyers to customers in the way they buy. You need to create deeper connections with customers and generate higher demand from qualified, sales-ready prospects thanks to highly targeted, hard-hitting, personalised communications.In this episode, we dive into the world of content and specifically what makes it good. We discuss how multiple pieces of it weave together to form a narrative that engages people and helps to drive momentum. Listen as we also discuss:How to break down internal silos and get different marketing teams all pulling in the same directionWhy we need to "get out of our own way" and create content that truly solves buyers' problems The art of connecting a specific problem to part of the buying processHow selling tech is different from selling services – a more contextual relationshipThe challenges at enterprise level of layers and approvals for marketingWhy you're giving your customers "whiplash" by separating out brand and demand-gen contentFollow Ardath on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ardathalbee/ Check out her Marketing Interactions blog: https://marketinginteractions.com/blog/ And lastly don’t forget to subscribe or follow our Changemaker podcast for new episodes.Send us a message if you enjoyed this episodeIf you enjoy the chats then there are more ways to quench your thirst for creative inspiration in the world of B2B tech. 👉 Watch episodes on YouTube👉 Follow us on LinkedIn for regular snippets in your feed 👉 Visit our website for more in-depth thinking on topics👉 Subscribe to Beyond our monthly collection of insight, opinion and inspirationAnd finally please rate our podcast on Apple if you enjoyed it!✌️