Ellie Norman with Rory Sutherland and Elfried Samba on finding fans and making them stay episode artwork

EPISODE · Mar 1, 2026 · 1H 33M

Ellie Norman with Rory Sutherland and Elfried Samba on finding fans and making them stay

from The Bottleneck Podcast · host Bottleneck Podcast

Ellie Norman — Chief Marketing Officer at Formula E and former Chief Communications Officer at Manchester United — joins Rory Sutherland and Elfried Samba to talk about her time at Honda and Virgin Media through to Formula One and now Formula E.Ellie explains how she walks into every room convinced she doesn't have all the answers, is always asking questions, and always learning.The conversation explores how constraint forces creativity, why brand defensibility matters more than impression counts, and how the creator economy is rewriting the rules of sports marketing.This episode unpacks what it really means to build fame, be easy to find, and be hard to leave — why she likes to hire people who are comfortable with uncertainty — and why common sense remains the rarest skill in any marketing department.Follow RoryInstagram: @rorysutherland_clipsTikTok: @RorysutherlandclipsX: @rorysutherlandLinkedIn: in/rorysutherland/Follow ElfriedInstagram: @elfriedsambaLinkedIn: in/elfriedsamba/https://www.butterflyeffect.xyz/Follow Ellie NomanLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ellietory/X: https://x.com/EllieMNormanhttps://www.fiaformulae.com/enA Sassy+ original podcast series

Ellie Norman — Chief Marketing Officer at Formula E and former Chief Communications Officer at Manchester United — joins Rory Sutherland and Elfried Samba to talk about her time at Honda and Virgin Media through to Formula One and now Formula E.Ellie explains how she walks into every room convinced she doesn't have all the answers, is always asking questions, and always learning.The conversation explores how constraint forces creativity, why brand defensibility matters more than impression counts, and how the creator economy is rewriting the rules of sports marketing.This episode unpacks what it really means to build fame, be easy to find, and be hard to leave — why she likes to hire people who are comfortable with uncertainty — and why common sense remains the rarest skill in any marketing department.Follow RoryInstagram: @rorysutherland_clipsTikTok: @RorysutherlandclipsX: @rorysutherlandLinkedIn: in/rorysutherland/Follow ElfriedInstagram: @elfriedsambaLinkedIn: in/elfriedsamba/https://www.butterflyeffect.xyz/Follow Ellie NomanLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ellietory/X: https://x.com/EllieMNormanhttps://www.fiaformulae.com/enA Sassy+ original podcast series

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Ellie Norman with Rory Sutherland and Elfried Samba on finding fans and making them stay

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This episode was published on March 1, 2026.

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Ellie Norman — Chief Marketing Officer at Formula E and former Chief Communications Officer at Manchester United — joins Rory Sutherland and Elfried Samba to talk about her time at Honda and Virgin Media through to Formula One and now Formula...

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