Call To Action

This week Glover’s in the air(waves), everywhere I look around, as we catch Joe from The Marketing Meetup for a positively lovely chinwag.   The kind of guy who gives marketing a good name, Joe Glover is the smile behind a growing community of marketers that’s currently 25,000 strong. At weekly events, his community hears from Oscar nominees, disabled rights champions, and marketing heroes such as Ritson, Rory, and many of the world’s best-known marketers. Lend us your ears as we talk Cantona, self-worth, salary, “inventing” the marketing funnel, how growth enables impact, why he never gives advice, shooting for the States when he should’ve shot for the moon, building a brand with love and kindness at its core, how he built the most welcoming community in marketing, and so much more. ///// Follow Joe on Twitter and LinkedIn Check out The Marketing Meetup Join their online or in person events And get your grubby mitts on their newsletter  Here’s Joe’s choice cut of TMM Talks to treat yourself to: Why your website visitors are not converting by Mary Owusu How to deliver great presentations, speeches and pitches by Max Hoppy How to break away from billable time and charge for creativity by Giles Edwards How to launch a business or project you love by Sophie Cross How to find the right marketing messaging by Diane Wiredu Thank you to everyone who has lent their ears and their brains for over 100 episodes of the Call To Action® podcast. It’s a real privilege. Please do share and review the podcast to help more marketers feel better about marketing. Timestamps (01:42) - Quick fire questions (04:25) - First ever job and first job in marketing (08:51) - Thinking he invented the marketing funnel (14:04) - Why he started The Marketing Meetup (16:25) - How he created a seriously welcoming community (24:16) - The origin of ‘positively lovely' (30:20) - The future of The Marketing Meetup (38:19) - Listener questions (48:38) - 4 pertinent posers Joe’s book recommendations are: The Escape Artist by Jonathan Freedland Man’s Search For Meaning by Viktor E Frankl  /////

This week, we took one giant leap to catch aspiring astronaut turned account manager, Faizan Ali.   Currently Account Director at VMLY&R, Faizan is a loud and proud advocate for account managers worldwide. Having cut his teeth at Saatchi, JWT, and Hogarth Worldwide, he shares stellar advice on LinkedIn on how to calm storms, massage egos and help sell the work.  Tune in for an out-of-this-world chinwag on all things account management; why it’s both extremely hard and very simple, the qualities of a good client partner, what to do when s**t hits the fan, why agencies need to realise what added value it brings, the best way to deal with client briefs, the wording of the job title itself, having a point of view, timesheets, job specs, ego and tons more.    ///// Follow Faizan on Twitter. And on LinkedIn for a choice cut of stellar account management advice.  Here’s a few to whet the appetite:  3 QUESTIONS IN 3 MINUTES As Account Managers, we wear many hats Listening is an Art GOOD ACCOUNT MANAGER vs GREAT ACCOUNT MANAGER Listen to Call To Action with Nick Ellis for tips on creative briefing, his “womb room”, making the world’s most boring advert for a sex toy client and loads more.  And here’s Nick’s talk from ZeeMelt on Account Management.  Thank you to everyone who has lent their ears and their brains for over 100 episodes of the Call To Action® podcast. It’s a real privilege. Please do share and review the podcast to help more marketers feel better about marketing.     Timestamps (01:42) - Quick fire questions (02:50) - Starting a social media agency at university  (08:57) - First account management role at JWT (10:41) - Why account management is extremely hard but very simple (13:00) - Agencies need to realise what added value account management brings (17:32) - Handling mess and politics as an account manager (20:40) - Dealing with client briefs  (26:30) - Account Manager or Client Partner? (28:20) - Listener questions  (34:28) - 4 pertinent posers  (38:56) - How to navigate problems to do with ego  Faizan’s book recommendations are:  Good Strategy Bad Strategy by Richard Rumelt  Me Talk Pretty One Day by David Sedaris  Strategy Is Your Words by Mark Pollard  /////

This week, we used a puff of smoke to catch pricing magician Blair Enns performing his favourite trick; making RFPs disappear.   Founder of Win Without Pitching and Author of The Win Without Pitching Manifesto and Pricing Creativity, Blair is dead set on getting creative businesses to price their work properly, single-handedly saving those who sell ideas for a living from giving them away for nada.  We pulled a ton of topics out of a hat including his early years in account management and new business, pitching and RFPs, generalist vs specialist agencies, value-based pricing, why your agency should have a portfolio of pricing models, pricing creatively, how to raise your prices with current clients (and not p**s them off in the process), search consultants, hissing cockroaches and loads more.    ///// Follow Blair on Twitter and LinkedIn  Check out Blair’s website  Get his books Pricing Creativity and The Win Without Pitching Manifesto Here’s the 2Bobs podcast  And listen to Blair’s new show 20% The Marketing Procurement Podcast  Strange Creatures: Pitches, Search Consultants, and Hissing Cockroaches by Blair Enns Consultative Selling: Beating The Odds by Tom Lewis  Thank you to everyone who has lent their ears and their brains for over 100 episodes of the Call To Action® podcast. It’s a real privilege. Please do share and review the podcast to help more marketers feel better about marketing.     Timestamps (01:52) - Quick fire questions (03:58) - Account management as a gateway drug into ad land  (09:38) - Doing new business remotely in 2000 (13:45) - The real problem with pitching  (21:44) - Value based pricing  (24:22) - Does the blame lie with agencies or clients?  (27:11) - Why pricing is a prison cell in your own mind of your own making (31:53) - Pricing as a creative act  (37:25) - The importance of presenting more than one price (43:28) - Listener questions  (50:36) - 4 pertinent posers  Blair’s book recommendations are:  $100M Offers by Alex Hormozi  The Boutique by Greg Alexander  The Business of Expertise by David C. Baker  /////

This week, we put pedal to the metal and found a new top gear, a Walter Geer III.    Sport-bike racer, track and field All-American, and seriously impressive fella, Walter is Chief Experience Design Officer at VMLY&R HEALTH, bridging tech, storytelling, design, and user experience to create innovative design solutions to health.  Walter hits top speed talking on a ton of tantalising topics like the lies he told people in awful suits, his early rich media roles at The New York Times and Myspace, why the best creatives are inquisitive, ethics around wearables, why chatbots are s***, being the second penguin in the water, why more brands need to understand that screwing up is OK, a tirade on timesheets and more.    ///// Follow Walter on Twitter, LinkedIn, and Instagram  Call To Action alumni Derek Walker was kind enough to link us up with Walter to record this episode. Go give his episode some kudos.  Thank you to everyone who has lent their ears and their brains for over 100 episodes of the Call To Action® podcast. It’s a real privilege. Please do share and review the podcast to help more marketers feel better about marketing.     Timestamps (02:08) - Quick fire questions (04:06) - First ever job and why he lied to people in awful suits   (06:29) - His early days in the rich media team at The New York Times (13:45) - Moving up the food chain to eat the problem sooner agency side   (17:52) - Working in health  (19:05) - What does a Chief Experience Design Officer do?  (22:49) - Data, ethics, chatbots and wearables  (29:33) - Listener questions  (37:46) - 4 pertinent posers  Walter’s book recommendations are:  It's Not How Good You Are, It's How Good You Want To Be by Paul Arden  What Lucy Taught Us by Walter T Geer Jr  /////

This week, we twiddled our Poirot-Esque moustache and put our egg-shaped heads together to track down and catch ad industry titan, Sara Tate, for a chinwag.   Sara is former CEO of TBWA London and, alongside Anna Vogt, penned The Rebuilders, a guide to building resilience and turning obstacles into opportunities. She talks to us on TV detectives, working in a teabag factory, being a nosy ninny, struggling early on in her strategy career, courier-related mini-mega cringes, writing about setbacks and resilience, the commonalities between our personal and professional lives, dealing with your mental inbox, moving into a leadership position, and tons more for your little grey cells to devour.  ///// Follow Sara on Twitter and LinkedIn  Pop a copy of The Rebuilders in your basket  And pour the pod version into your ears, pronto   Thank you to everyone who has lent their ears and their brains for over 100 episodes of the Call To Action® podcast. It’s a real privilege. Please share and review the podcast to help more marketers feel better about marketing.     Timestamps (01:45) - Quick fire questions (03:19) - First-ever jobs (06:05) - Being a strategist (and a nosy ninny) (13:35) - Writing about setbacks and resilience   (17:50) - Commonalities between our personal and professional lives (26:41) - How to focus on the now  (31:48) - Dealing with your mental inbox   (38:31) - The beginner’s mind  (46:03) - Listener questions  (52:37) - 4 pertinent posers  Sara’s book recommendations are: Grit by Angela Duckworth  What I Loved by Siri Hustvedt  /////

This week, we’re up all night to get Lucky General, Andy Nairn.   One of the world’s most respected brand strategists, Andy is a founder of one of the UK’s most successful agencies, Lucky Generals, and author of Go Luck Yourself. Boasting a client roster including Amazon, Virgin Atlantic and Yorkshire Tea, they’ve been shortlisted for Campaign’s Agency of the Year five years in a row.  Andy chats to us on manipulating the UK music charts, chopping thistles and weeding wild oats, working for David Abbott, giving out really bad legal advice, the early days of Lucky Generals, the rainbow laces campaign, defining, acknowledging and creating your own luck, why he hates big tables, and loads more. Feeling lucky? Click play.  ///// Follow Andy on Twitter and LinkedIn  Here’s Lucky Generals  Stack the odds in your brand’s favour with his book Go Luck Yourself  Or wait for the soon-to-be-released deck of cards version by emailing luckycards@luckygenerals.com Support Commercial Break  Listen Up by Andy Nairn on ISOLATED Talks  Thank you to everyone who has lent their ears and their brains for over 100 episodes of the Call To Action® podcast. It’s a real privilege. Please do share and review the podcast to help more marketers feel better about marketing.     Timestamps (01:46) - Quick fire questions (02:56) - First ever (slightly medieval) job (04:06) - His first agency job at AMV with David Abbott (11:06) - Why did he want to set up his own shop?  (12:47) - The chaotic story behind the name Lucky Generals  (15:04) - Early days at Lucky Generals and rainbow laces campaign  (18:38) - Defining luck  (23:10) - Practicing being lucky  (30:05) - Brands born lucky  (33:01) - Supporting Commercial Break  (37:21) - Listener questions  (46:15) - 4 pertinent posers  Andy’s book recommendations are: Run with Foxes by Paul Dervan  Brandsplaining by Jane Cunningham and Philippa Roberts  /////

We laid traps of tactics before strategy to lure Mark Ritson (and Ritdad) as he was reintroduced to mainland UK to unleash his Tasmanian devilish take on the industry, for Call to Action’s 100th episode.   He’s spent 25 years working as a marketing professor, has been a columnist at Marketing Week for over a decade, is a world-class speaker and has built, presented, and demolished marketing plans for some of the world’s biggest brands. Through his Mini MBA courses in Marketing and Brand Management, Mark has trained nearly 30,000 marketing marsupials across 60 countries, including 83.7% ish of …Gasp!     Mark chirps on being the rarest breed of marketing professor who loves (and actually does) marketing, getting aroused at Wacker Drive, being lured to la Maison LVMH, how the Mini MBA became his AirPods, what to do with woolly briefs, planning cycles, Pot Noodle’s purpose, pricing, and more, before piling on praise for the grumpy Byron Sharp in our feast of listener questions. So get your ears out and listen in. ///// Follow Mark on Twitter and LinkedIn  Become a better marketer with the Mini MBA in Marketing and Brand Management  Read Mark’s Marketing Week column  Here’s the Tone of Voice work …Gasp! did for the Mini MBA series  Thank you to everyone who has lent their ears and their brains for 100 episodes of the Call To Action® podcast. It’s a real privilege. Please do share and review the podcast to help more marketers feel better about marketing.     Timestamps (02:21) - Quick fire questions (05:50) - First ever job (08:45) - Professor or Marketer?  (11:10) - Getting aroused at Wacker Drive (13:30) - Landing the role at LVMH  (17:49) - Is marketing changing for the better?  (23:15) - Marketing Twitter vs the silent majority  (27:34) - Problems in marketing academia (36:19) - Why he isn’t really Mr Anti-Purpose  (37:54) - How to plan your marketing  (49:52) - Listener questions  (57:53) - A masterclass in pricing  (1:00:22) - 4 pertinent posers  Mark’s book recommendation is: Good Strategy Bad Strategy by Richard Rumelt  /////

Ahead of our 100th episode next week, one of the most outspoken and brilliant voices in ad land, Steve Harrison, dropped by …Gasp! HQ and tore up our usual script for a special bonus episode of Call to Action.   Copywriter, author, and great friend of the agency, Steve stuck the boot very much on the other foot and snared Giles to shoot the breeze on all things …Gasp!, with an extra dose of eloquent fire for good measure. It is Steve after all.  We chat on why we’re called …Gasp!, art director heroes, being a bunch of creatives who excel a strategy (and vice versa), turning down pitches and firing rude clients, turning 13, abusive voicemails from Sophie, the confidence crisis amongst agencies, our work for Langleys and Zen Internet, setting fire to the Leo Burnett offices, getting sued, selling the agency and tons more.  Tune in next Friday for our 100th episode with an extra special guest. It’s going to be mega. Ritson Mark my words.  ///// Follow Steve and Giles on Twitter  See what happened when …Gasp! turned 13  Check out our work with Langleys and Zen Internet  Here’s Jonathan Barnbrook  Watch Giles’s talk on breaking away from billable time   Over 80% of our team has completed at least one of Mark Ritson's Marketing & Brand Management Mini MBAs Timestamps (02:54) - Why we’re called …Gasp!  (04:46) - Art Directors and creative heroes  (09:30) - …Gasp!’s focus on strategy over tactics  (13:23) - Working for big shops or little shops?  (19:32) - Turning down pitches and firing clients   (32:00) - Moving away from the billable hour  (35:45) - Confidence crisis amongst agencies  (44:42) - A social purpose campaign that works for Zen Internet (52:10) - Setting fire to the Leo Burnett office; have we lost rock and roll creatives?  (59:00) - Our work, that worked, with Langleys  (1:08:43) - Would Giles sell the agency?  Giles & Steve’s Book Recommendations  A Smile In the Mind by Beryl McAlhone and David Stuart  The Art of Looking Sideways by Alan Fletcher  Can’t Sell Won’t Sell by Steve Harrison  /////

Let’s get ready to rumble! Grab your ringside seat for the second episode in our battle royale-style heavyweight series; They Might Be Right. It’s the boisterous brother of Call To Action that breaks up bundles in the pithy playground of Twitter.   Named in honour of Bill Bernbach’s famed jacket pocket card, we invite our challengers into the octagon of debate for a verbal slugfest, whilst being mindful and welcoming to the opinions of others.   This week’s motion is ‘Client-side or agency-side; a proper marketer could do both?’   And our challengers are:   Lee Grunnell. The top marketing director whose tweet sparked all this off, Lee is obsessed with applying the latest thinking from marketing leaders like Binet, Field, and Sharp to professional services. Gillian Rightford. Creativity champion and industry agony aunt, Gillian is Founder of Adtherapy, a management, skills development, and communication consultancy.   Tom Lewis. A Commercial Performance Improvement advisor to businesses, Tom, is ex-adland and now cuts his teeth in law and Private Equity.   It’s a judge's decision and YOU are the judge. Vote for the winner (or a split decision). ///// Here’s the Twitter spat that kicked it all off And the piece Lee wrote up to summarise it all; I’ll be Your Mirror (or What you Should Know if you’re Thinking About Joining an Agency)  Check out Gillian’s new offering to grow marketing & advertising talent, together; The School of Thought  Tom wants to share a couple of summaries of Michael Farmer’s book:  Agencies don't know what they are selling and don't know how to price it Madison Avenue Manslaughter And here’s the WFA talent research Gillian mentions  Timestamps (01:56) - Reminder of today’s motion  (02:18) - Opening statements  (06:10) - Royal Rumble  (06:42) - Agencies stifled by their own operating model  (08:10) - Fun things in ad land squeezed out by lack of commerciality  (12:06) - Lack of commercial skills underpins everything  (14:18) - Clients turning off the creative tap  (15:18) - The system is dysfunctional (21:15) - Making the briefs better (23:58) - Specialists vs generalists  (28:00) - Closing statements /////

We took a trip in a boat on a river, with tangerine trees and marmalade skies, to catch two girls with kaleidoscope eyes, Stefana Bosse and Jennifer Tessler, this week.  Stefana and Jennifer’s own personal experiences with psychedelics and inner work inspired them to found Alalaho, a series of psilocybin-assisted retreats offering a safe, legal environment for a psychedelic journey. Join us in the sky with diamonds as we explore tasty topics like mushrooms or truffles, their favourite Beatle, what Stefana’s dad thought of her taking a job in psychedelics, Alalaho and their psilocybin-assisted retreats, the benefits of doing inner work, the restorative role of psychedelics, being in a group versus a solo journey, the quick fix mentality, creativity, and a whole load more.     ///// Follow Stefana and Jennifer on LinkedIn  Check out Alalaho’s website for more on their safe and legal psychedelic retreats  And sign up to their newsletter here  Stefana dedicates this episode to Rafia Morgan and Turiya Hanover and urges you to check out The Path of Love  She also wants to shout out Rick Doblin from the Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies (MAPS) Timestamps (01:58) - Quick fire questions  (06:13) - Stefana’s first job in political activism (07:53) - What her dad thought of her taking a job in psychedelics  (08:40) - Jen’s first job and how they started working together   (10:35) - What is Alalaho and inner work?  (12:26) - Whether inner work always requires a retreat of sorts  (16:51) - The role of psychedelics in inner work  (20:17) - The collective group vs a solo journey  (26:41) - Can you stop people from falling back into learned behaviours?  (34:46) - The quick-fix mentality  (45:35) - Listener questions (50:15) - 4 pertinent posers Their book recommendations are: Awakening the Buddha Within by Lama Surya Das  The More Beautiful World Our Hearts Know is Possible by Charles Eisenstein /////