Call To Action

This week we dug out our knickerbockers and legged it up the fairway to catch an ex-golf pro with one of the strongest drives in the industry, Di Wilkins. She joined the agency Critical Mass 21 years ago and never left. As CEO, Di has created a genuinely special work culture rooted in Canadian values and best showcased by an avalanche of industry accolades this year, including Best Agency to Work For and Employer of the Year. Di explains that what she lacks in polish, she makes up for in heart. And we guarantee that after this episode there’ll be a queue of Call to Action listeners from here to Canada vying to be her friend. You can listen to her talk candidly on the benefits of being “absolutely clueless", the silliest thing she’s done with a JPEG, pioneering customer-centricity before it was vogue and a whole lot more. ///// Di: Follow Di on LinkedIn.   Critical Mass: On the Twitter. On the Facebook. On the LinkedIn. On the Instagram. On their Website. Book Recommendations: She’s also recommended a few of the 100+ books a year she reads for you to enjoy: The Great Alone Kristen Hannah The Three Year Swim Club Julie Checkoway I heard you paint houses Charles Brandt *Di dedicates her show to a rock-star of Critical Mass, Isabella Rodrigues. Di would love Isabella to know that thousands of Critical Massers are behind her, as is everyone here from the Call to Action team.* /////

This week we’ve got our large sea-going vessel out of dry dock once again to go across the pond to catch Dr. Stefanie K. Johnson; author, speaker and professor of Management at the University of Colorado Boulder’s Leeds School of Business.    Stefanie has come a long way since discovering in her first jobthat a children’s ball pit is the most disgusting place on earth. She is now one of the world’s leading authorities on improving diversity and inclusion in business and has published over 70 journal articles and book chapters for the likes of Harvard Business Review and Journal of Applied Psychology.    Stefanie has achieved stellar coverage with media giants such as The Economist, The Guardian, Time and CNN, while her learning partners on diversity and inclusion include Netflix, Starbucks and P&G, amongst many other household brand names.   She talks to us on defining bias, the ABC’s of how to break it, how businesses can improve diversity and inclusion, leadership, her life as a professor, swing dancing at a Mexican wedding and a whole lot more. ///// Stefanie: Follow Stefanie on LinkedIn. On the Twitter. And on Instagram. You can pre-order her new book Inclusify. Watch Stefanie's brilliant talk at Nudgestock 2019. Stefanie’s website. Book Recommendations: The Person You Mean to Be by Dolly Chugh Good to Great by Jim Collins Alchemy by Rory Sutherland  /////

This week we’ve laid bait of Guinness and Rosé to snare the man who launched his agency from his front room whilst sitting in his pants, the day after he called his old boss a ‘cock’. It can only be Paul Mellor.   Taking the piss out of the industry whilst on the piss with our podcast host Giles, it’s a wonder how they actually finished with a fully recorded episode. Paul takes us on a riotous ride on how he went from working in a coleslaw and potato salad factory (yep, you heard that right) to running one of the best brand and ad agencies in London. Topics and targets rattled through also include; why advertising is shit and how it can be better, Pot Noodles, how brands can achieve genuine stand out by risk taking, and the wildly successful ‘Take Fucking Risks’ speaker series Paul founded, with guests like Bob Hoffman, Dave Trott, Cindy Gallop, and Grace Dent.   The first Call to Action podcast to require a health warning, the fumes from this episode alone could damage your liver whilst also serving as a slap about the face to start you smashing up anything bland and beige, and to just start taking some fucking risks. ///// Paul: You can follow him on LinkedIn. And his agency Mellor&Smith on the Twitter. And we’ll give you their website for a full house.   Book Recommendation: Life’s A Pitch – Then You Buy by Don Peppers Creative Blindness by Dave Trott One Plus One Equals Three by Dave Trott Creative Mischief by Dave Trott Damn Good Advice by George Lois Nobody Wants to Read Your Sh*t by Steven Pressfield /////

This week we’ve only caught a cold (well, it is that time of year), but much more excitingly we’re putting out a bite-size Call to Action pod blast to exclusively announce details of our very first live Call to Action podcast event. It’s like a cranked-up Question Time, taking place in a pub to booze-fuel the debate and replacing the politicians with talented peeps who aren’t afraid to tell it like it is. Join us for a riotous and fun night for our first-ever live event. It will be a cocktail of much-loved regular Call To Action pod features alongside lively debate of hot 2019 topics in the marketing and advertising industry, all in an amazing and intimate venue. We’re laying on a pub-grub buffet and a couple of free drinks, all covered under the cost of a ticket, while everyone also gets a Call To Action goodie-bag to take away too. Think you have a question to stump our panel? They’re well up for a challenge, so submit questions by emailing hello@calltoaction.co or dropping us a message on the usual Call To Action channels. The panel in need of questions to get stuck into is: Vikki Ross The forthright and exceptionally talented copywriter and founder of #copywritersunite, Vikki travels the world telling businesses how to talk. Paul Mellor Notoriously mouthy, Paul is a professional rule breaker and co-founder of the agency Mellor&Smith and creator and compère of the Take Fucking Risks events. Brian Macreadie One of the best and most vocal B2B Marketers in the country. Brian has over 12 years’ experience as a head of marketing, has worked for Telcom giants like AT&T and has nabbed over 60 Industry Awards. Kirsty Montgomery A remarkably honest jargon destroyer, Kirsty is a Director of CRM who has worked for the likes of Staples, Sky, Hilton and Hunkemöller, giving the panel further client-side chops. Ryan Wallman Known as Dr Draper in the Twittersphere, Ryan is a master Creative Director and Head of Copy who specialises in healthcare, and will be making a Jedi Force ghost style cameo. For tickets, and full details, head over to the Pubcast event listing. ///// TIMINGS ///// Doors open at 6:00pm. Time to grab some grub and a drink and settle in. No admittance after 6:30pm, no matter how hard you bang on the door. There will be plenty of time at the end for a mingle or ‘networking’ if you want to call it that.

This week we’ve travelled to a galaxy far, far away to ensnare Brian Macreadie; B2B Marketing’s self-styled Yoda.   Brian’s stellar career includes a period as Marketing Director for Media and Sport at Getty Images,marketing communication roles at large telecoms companies such as AT&T, and over 12 years’ experience as head of marketing at several international law firms. More highly decorated with medals than Ryan Giggs, Brian has over 60 prestigious B2B industry awards,and is so highly thought of that he often sits on the judging panels themselves, including being 3-times judge at the B2B Marketing Awards.   He talks to us on his time in the Defence sector, his move to Marcoms, the pressures faced working in B2B, his encounters with the Sith (Digital Snake Oil Merchants), tips on how to write B2B marketing emails the B2B client-side impression of agency side, tips for briefing agencies and a whole lot more. ///// Brian's Links: Brian on LinkedIn Brian on Twitter Brian's Website Archived article What do client side marketers look for when working with an agency? The 4 brand lessons I learned from 19 topless northern men by Brian The Undercover Economist by Tim Harford With thanks to our good friend, the supremely talented Ollie Mines for his golden toned recital. /////

We’ve tracked a trail from London to Sydney and back again this week, to catch our latest podcast guest Jane Evans. Many are billed as being ‘brutally honest’, but Jane wrote the rule book on “not giving a f*ckery.” Jane has worked for some of the biggest agencies on the planet, including JWT and Ogilvy, before setting up her own agency Giant Leap, where clients included Revlon, Maserati and a bevy of beer breweries. But arguably her greatest work is being done now, running Janee; a part-advertising agency, part-activist organisation that is fighting for gender equality and diversity in advertising and society, and giving a voice to a new breed of superwomen. She talks to us candidly on this, the heyday of the Ad Industry in Australia, how Martin Sorrell then f*cked it all up, what makes great ads work, why modern beer ads don’t work, being a Mum, and a whole lot more. ///// Jane and Uninvisibility: Jane on Twitter Jane's Website The Uninvisibility Project Instagram @Uninvisibility Twitter @Uninvisibility Uninvisibility on Facebook Jane Evans on LinkedIn Book Recommendation:  Business As Unusual by Anita Roddick    Jane dedicates her show to the amazing Verna Wilkins, founder of Tamarind Books. Here is one of the publications that the pioneering Verna wrote herself. /////

This week we’ve gone over The Pond to catch Designer, Author, Speaker, Teacher and all-round cool dude and professional hell-raiser, James Victore. Part Yoda part Darth Vader, his often-controversial yet striking work is exhibited all around the world, including at the Museum of Modern Art in New York, and has appeared on the covers of Esquire and Time Magazine. He’s also worked for clients such as Adobe, Mailchimp and Moet & Chandon, and recently captured all his learnings in his new book, Feck Perfuction. He talks to us on his early career, designing posters, designing book jackets, his influences, his creative Texas retreat, his workhorse typefaces, what to do with shit clients, having a "God damn opinion", and a whole lot more, so go have your ears bent now (in a good way). ///// James Online: Instagram @JamesVictore Twitter @JamesVictore Website  James Links/Books: New York City Department of Probation project case study  Victore or, Who Died and Made You Boss? by James Victore Feck Perfuction: Dangerous Ideas on the Business of Life by James Victore  Consider the Lobster by David Foster Wallace  This is Water by David Foster Wallace /////

This week we’ve snuck up The Mersey, Viking raid style, to nab Liverpool’s finest anti-bullshitcopywriter, Dave Harland. Having massive fingers hasn’t held back Dave from writing magic copy. He talks to us on how he made the bold move to working freelance after a 10-year stint at Park Group Plc, (ending up as Head of Copy), his early job as a football reporter, how his fascination with writing persuasive copy developed, his key tips for writing good copy and plenty more besides.   A massive fan of Liverpool F.C, Alan Partridge and Scrabble, as well as being a talented poet, the podcast includes a stunning reading of Dave’s poem ‘Dogs’, written for his Nan when he was aged just 13. Lend us your ears. You won’t be disappointed. ///// Dave Harland Links: Twitter @wordmancopy Dave’s LinkedIn Dave’s website Dave Plugged: Tom Albrighton’s website #copywritersunite Dave's Books: One Plus One Equals Three by Dave Trott Creative Blindness by Dave Trott Predatory Thinking by Dave Trott Now Try Something Weirder by Michael Johnson  /////

This week we’ve pinpointed the exact location of what3words CMO Giles Rhys Jones for a good chinwag. Awarded the Cannes Lion Grand Prix for Innovation, Giles talks at length about this amazing global addressing phenomenon that is used by entities as diverse as pizza delivery companies and emergency services, as well as some of the world’s largest automobile companies like Mercedes and Audi. Giles also reveals nuggets of interest from working agency side at Saatchi & Saatchi and Ogilvy, where clients included HP, Unilever and British Airways, as well as what it takes to set up an agency, the secret for getting good press coverage, and a whole lot more. Go listen, sit back and enjoy. ///// Company what3words Books The Messy Middle by Scott Belsky Alchemy by Rory Sutherland Giles Gymnasium LinkedIn Profile Instagram Profile Article What3words: The app that can save your life (BBC) The Blogfather discovers W3W in June 2015 /////

This week we’ve caught the world’s only Global Tech Ethnographer and the woman that made Qualitative Data sexy; Tricia Wang. She created that job title herself, as part of always looking to question then smash convention throughout her career. Her fieldwork has featured in publications such as TechCrunch, Wired and The Guardian, she’s worked with Fortune 500 companies, and is a go-to keynote speaker, having stolen limelight at the likes of IBM, Proctor & Gamble, Nike and TED. She chats very openly to us on her early career, Ethnography, Big and ‘Thick’ Data (that’s the sexy part), her now-infamous period at Nokia, the current state of marketing, diversity and inclusion, and a whole lot more! Go listen, as this podcast redefines the term ‘unmissable’. ///// Social @TriciaWang Twitter @TriciaWang Instagram Slack Ethnography Hangout Book Recommendations So You Want to Talk About Race by Ijeoma Oluo How to deconstruct racism, one headline at a time by Baratunde Thurston Mismatch: How Inclusion Shapes Design by Kat Holmes Invisible Women: Exposing Data Bias in a World Designed for Men by Caroline Criado Perez New Dark Age Tech by James Bridle Coders by Clive Thompson Non-Bullshit Innovation by David Rowan Leadership and the Art of Growing Up by Jerry Colonna Talks The human insights missing from big data by Tricia Wang, TedxCambridge The End of an Error: How Marketing Mistook Clicks for Customers (and how we can get them back) by Tricia Wang, at Nudgestock 2019 The ABCs of Breaking Bias by Dr Stefanie K. Johnson, at Nudgestock 2019 Article Marketing Research. Make some time for it. It needn’t be costly, you just need the right approach by The Blogfather, Gasp. /////