Christian Thrane is the Managing Director of Marketing at EE and BT's Consumer Division. The merger of the two companies in 2016 has opened many opportunities. Christian, who joined just before lock-down, has been charged with setting out the new offerings for both existing and new customers. Service to the consumer is at the top of his agenda and on his watch this has improved on every level since the merger. Rory quizzes Christian about the focus of EE’s service with four areas addressed, Home, Game, Work and Learn. He also asks why, after a decade, they have stopped using Kevin Bacon in vis ..read more

Having read Economics at Cambridge, ex-Procter & Gamble marketer, Greg Jackson, explains the success behind Octopus, recently certified as a Which? Recommended energy provider for the 7th year in a row. Innovative technology, great marketing and superb customer service are integral to the Octopus success story. Among the many amazing revelations in the chat with Rory, Greg points out that 65% of UK households have a car, an increasing number of which are EVs, and the battery in an EV can power a house for between 3 and 5 days.  You'll hear about the Octopus Power Pack and the F ..read more

Simon Peel has worked for, among others, MediaCom, Mindshare, 20th Century Fox and Adidas. Now he's Vice President of Global Marketing for the healthcare brand Haleon born out of GSK, Novartis and Pfizer. In our Top Two Challenges, Simon describes the challenges facing both Haleon and the sector as a whole as being similar; through advertising, the need to create an emotional connection between the consumer and the brand in order to differentiate from retailers' own brand. As Rory says, price is key and sometimes you don't wake up with a 50p headache it's a £2.80 headache! The guys discuss ma ..read more

Charlotte Lock has had an illustrious career embracing the BBC, Tesco, Co-op, Asda, McCann and now the John Lewis Partnership where her experience in behavioural economics and partnerships is helping to develop the group’s offering. In this episode she joins Rory to discuss data driven customer insight and brand experience, along with segmentation in a variety of areas.   Plus, Charlotte talks us through this year's John Lewis Christmas ad, their first created by Saatchi & Saatchi.    And in the Top Two Challenges, Charlotte reveals what she believes is the biggest chal ..read more

Rory is joined by Milka Privodanova, VP Head of EMEA of Pinterest to talk about the online platform which they describe as 'personal media' rather than social. Milka outlines how the user experience of Pinterest is a positive and natural environment for advertisers and how almost everything you see on Pinterest is available to buy. Food, beauty, fashion and home décor are all hugely popular but the company is also experiencing success in the areas of travel, financial services and entertainment. In the Top Two Challenges, Milka shares what she believes is the biggest challenge for Pinte ..read more

As we head towards one million electric cars on Britain’s roads, Marketing Director Nic Thomas discusses Nissan’s drive towards a totally electric range in 2030. Nic addresses the ‘charging’ challenge faced by the whole EV industry and why he’s calling for destination charging to be legislated.  Nic also discusses some of the exciting engineering and design benefits of Nissan EVs - imagine your office on wheels! - but also why timing is proving to be the main marketing challenge for Nissan. Plus, Nic and Rory talk about the cost of car batteries, ‘range anxiety’ and single pedal driving ..read more

Nicola Hamilton, Senior Director of Branding & Communications at GoCardless, outlines how businesses can get paid more easily and conveniently by using their service. She outlines that the challenge for GoCardless is the inertia of companies not realising how much money and time they can save by moving away from outdated, manual methods to automated, online payments. As someone who's worked in the industry for over 15 years Nicola counsels that fintech companies now need to focus on profitability more than growth. If you want to do business with the UK’s leading brands,&nbs ..read more

in 2018, Finn Lagun went on Dragon's Den but failed to convince Peter Jones & Co to invest in his home delivery pasta business. Now the business has a multi-million pound turnover and is majority owned by the pasta giant Barilla. Rory quizzes Finn about moving from 'pasta through your letter box' to a business which has now expanded into retails outlets and offers fully prepared takeaway delivery. Plus in our 'Top Two Challenges' feature, Finn shares his thoughts on the biggest challenges facing Pasta Evangelists and also the direct-to-consumer food industry in general. If you want to do ..read more

Rory Sutherland is joined by Khartoon Weiss, Global Head of Agency & Accounts at TikTok. Since launching in 2016, TikTok has seen a meteoric rise to success, currently boasting 1.2 billion monthly users across the globe.  Rory and Khartoon discuss the unique elements of the platform that make it so appealing and examine how brands can harness the existing creativity and community to engage users and achieve the ultimate goal of marketing - changing behaviour.  Plus in our 'Top Two Challenges' feature, Khartoon shares her thoughts on the biggest hurdles facing both TikTok and s ..read more

Rory meets Tim Keaveney, Co-Founder of Homethings, a challenger brand offering sustainable household cleaning products delivered direct to your door.  As a winner of Sky’s Zero Footprint Fund, Tim reveals their plans for their first TV campaign and discusses how perceptions are changing about the efficacy of ‘green’ products. Plus, in the Top Two challenges, Tim shares the biggest issues facing both Homethings and the home care sector in general.  If you want to do business with the UK’s leading brands, request an ALF Insight demo. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/pr ..read more