Digital Marketing From The Coalface

Welcome back to this episode of Digital Marketing From the Coalface, where Julie and Dave discuss topics ranging from the power of specific messaging to the changing landscape of online search, before wrapping up with a surprising real-world use case for AI.   But first, we dive yet again into the "Search Everywhere" Phenomenon. Digital Marketing strategists have been saying it for months now, Google's dominance is shifting as audiences under 44 are now using five or more platforms to conduct searches. Platforms like TikTok, YouTube, and AI overviews are increasingly being used for discovery. We've been using them as well, from finding local restaurants to B2B competitor research, so don't be too quick to discard TikTok as an unfit place to share about your business: your audience might well hang out there.   We then proceed to air our grievances with the pricing models of major SaaS platforms like HubSpot and Unbounce, whose business models we have always found questionable. We compare said models to "drug dealers" who hook users with free or cheap starter tiers, only to hit them with massive price leaps (e.g., jumping from £20 to £300+ a month) the moment they need to scale. In a previous podcast episode, we discussed the power of MCP servers, which might well save companies quite a fair amount of money by bypassing certain SaaS services. Standing out in the age of AI is exhausting, and with the rise of AI agents creating an "ever-decreasing circle" of content and Reddit bots speaking to other bots, we highlight why maintaining a unique brand tone of voice is more important than ever. If you want to avoid producing generic "slop," your distinct branding is your best defence. That is why you should also tap into the power of plain English messaging. Julie discussed a recent piece of research proving that concrete, specific phrases are significantly more memorable than abstract corporate jargon. We dissect a real-world example of an engineering company claiming to be "leveraging our specialist capability", or whatever that means. Listen now to discover why you need to rethink your website's homepage, re-evaluate where your customers are searching, and maybe even start using AI for, say, your weekend marathon prep!

Are you a CMO or CTO struggling to align your marketing strategy and tech stack with the rapid rise of AI? In this week's episode of Digital Marketing from the Coalface, Dave and Julie unpack three massive shifts disrupting the B2B landscape.   First, let us introduce you to "SaaS-mageddon". We explore why major SaaS company share prices have dropped and how AI agents like Anthropic's Claude are fundamentally changing software licensing. By using Model Context Protocol (MCP) servers to seamlessly pull data across platforms like HubSpot, Xero, and Monday, companies, like yours, may drastically reduce the number of expensive SaaS user seats they need. Letting AI handle the "busy work" might be the future of entreprise tech stacks and that could positively impact your software budget.   Next, we break down the transition from traditional SEO to Answer Engine Optimisation (AEO). If you think blogging is dead, think again: new research reveals that 62% of AI citations actually come from blog posts. The purpose of content has possibly shifted to attract bots and agents rather than just direct human traffic, but we also explore why user-generated platforms like Reddit, YouTube, and LinkedIn have become the "new backlinks" for Large Language Models, too. Optimising for AI discovery is no longer optional.   Finally, we challenge your B2B targeting strategy with this simple question: are you marketing to the buyer or the specifier? Using the construction industry as an analogy, Julie explains why focusing your budget on the transactional buyer (the building contractor) is a waste of money if you aren't influencing the specifier (the architect) who actually dictates which brand must be used...    

Welcome back to Digital Marketing from the Coalface, where Dave and Julie tackle the real-world frustrations and shifting landscapes of today's digital marketing. From the relentless stalking of aggressive (and nonsensical) retargeting ads to navigating complex Google Ads recommendations, this episode is packed (we hope) with candid, ground-level insights for marketers trying to cut through the noise and optimise their budgets. We first unpack how relentless ad frequency, like being stalked across the internet by motorcycle mounts or receiving bizarre Amazon recommendations, crosses the line from a helpful nudge into "digital annoyance". Drawing on our own experience, we discuss how Google representatives often promote automated AI features designed for high-volume B2C campaigns, and why applying these broad algorithms to highly specific, low-volume B2B campaigns can quickly deplete your budget. We also get the opportunity to remind every listener that "don't make me think" is still the ultimate rule in web design. Learn why high-value PPC campaigns require landing pages with strong social proof, a lack of confusing clutter, and exactly one clear call to action.

Welcome to episode 169, where Julie and Dave mull over the catastrophic mistakes engineering and B2B companies make when building their marketing teams, and how to control MarTech chaos. But first, are you searching for a marketer who can handle high-level strategy, SEO, video editing, event management, and... customer complaints? We've got bad news for you... Julie came to this episode prepared and breaks down real-world, absurd job descriptions that demand a "Swiss Army knife" marketer - somebody who is supposed to be good at everything, but is probably a master of none. They explain why expecting one person to handle both strategic planning and tactical implementation across platforms like HubSpot, WordPress, Canva, and Figma is a guaranteed recipe for producing "halfbaked" results and causing high employee turnover. Here's the uncomfortable truth: if you expect a single hire to act as an entire marketing department, and even support office admin, you set both the company and the employee up for inevitable failure. If you think through your hiring decision, and provide back up from a multi-disciplinary agency with strategic, creative, video, development and content expertise, you end up with the resource you need. But that's not all Julie and Dave talk about in this episode. They also mention how to tackle the operational nightmare caused by fragmented software systems, overlapping tool functionality, and the dangerous reality of junior employees leaving the company with the keys to vital social media accounts. Listen to find out how to stop setting your marketing efforts up for failure and start building a strategy that actually works!  

Noticing a drop in organic traffic even though your rankings haven't changed? You're not alone. With Google AI overviews now triggering on 48% of all search queries, organic click-through rates are dropping by 61% when these overviews appear. To put it simply, users are getting their answers directly from AI, eliminating the need to click through to your website.   In this episode of Digital Marketing from the Coalface, Dave and Julie explore the 2026 remix of the classic debate: Is SEO dead? Together, they dive deep into the necessary pivot towards "search everywhere optimisation".   For tech and engineering brands, the goal is no longer just ranking on page one of Google; it is ensuring your brand and products are cited by AI engines like ChatGPT and Perplexity.   So, what are the new rules of content, and how to prevent AI from simply hoovering it up? Might the answer lie in injecting unique company insights, hyper-specific geographic data, and proprietary case studies that AI cannot replicate? Who knows!   What about the very real anti-AI content backlash? The discussion also focuses on how to leverage AI for rapid data analysis without producing unreadable, mass-produced content.   It's all very confusing, but that's no reason to let AI run wild with your website. You have to start positioning your engineering or tech firm to win in the era of AI search.

Welcome back to Digital Marketing from the Coalface with Dave and Julie. In this episode, we dive deep into the rapidly shifting landscape of AI in search engines and internal operations, hopefully bringing practical insights for businesses trying to stay ahead of the curve.   Whether you are navigating high-intent B2B lead generation or looking to streamline your internal tools using AI, this episode covers the tactical realities of digital marketing today. We start by sharing our early thoughts on Otterly.ai, a new tool designed to track how often your brand or website is cited in AI engines like ChatGPT and Perplexity. We also talk about how Google is now experimenting with placing search and shopping ads directly within AI Overviews and "AI Mode". What does this mean for advertisers, and why are ads appearing next to AI snippets showing strong early conversion signals? We try to answer these questions. We share our experience using Google AI Max and how it failed us miserably. We confirm that B2B ads for niche industries still need human oversight to perform well and not waste budgets away. And more AI in marketing-related topics! Listen now to stay ahead of the AI curve in your digital strategy!

Are you selling "global solutions to world-class problems"? If so, please stop. Your marketing messaging is likely confusing your buyers and costing you leads.   In this episode of Digital Marketing from the Coalface, Dave and Julie dives into the marketing challenges faced by tech, industrial, and engineering companies. They explore why highly technical companies often fall into the trap of listing off features rather than focusing on the actual outcomes their clients want to buy.   If your marketing materials can't pass the "So what?" test, this episode is for you.   In this episode, they cover: The "So What?" Test for Technical Messaging: why relying on jargon and lazy buzzwords like "solutions" is destroying your pitches, and how to effectively position your firm as a "safe pair of hands". Should Engineers Run Your Marketing?: let's discuss the crucial balance between highly practical engineering teams and marketing professionals. Learn why your best technical minds make incredible subject matter experts, but shouldn't be left alone to run the marketing strategy. The Myth of the Marketing "Unicorn": Why hiring a single marketing manager to handle strategy, content, paid advertising, and video editing is an impossible expectation. Navigating Complex B2B Sales Cycles: Why ROI is incredibly difficult to track across an 18-month engineering sales cycle, and the hidden dangers of pausing your marketing budget when times get tough. AI Workflows for Tech Leaders: Practical tips for using Google's NotebookLM to distil massive technical documents into audio summaries, and how to supercharge Claude using Zapier integrations to automate your inbox and calendar. Overcoming Imposter Syndrome: A candid chat about navigating intimidating corporate boardrooms, class backgrounds, and dealing with the feeling that you're going to be "found out". Whether you are an engineering director looking to better understand your marketing department, or a tech CEO trying to refine your company's core message, this episode offers practical, no-nonsense advice to help you communicate your true value.   Brought to you by Red Evolution (a proud B Corp in case you missed that part).

In this episode of Digital Marketing from the Coalface, Dave and Julie explore the breathtaking speed at which AI is transforming both marketing strategy and backend technical workflows.   Both agree that traditional keyword stuffing is officially a relic of the past as search queiries get longer and more complex and search engines get smarter. But what does transitioning to Generative Engine Optimisation (GEO) entail, and how do B2B comapnies make sure they get cited by AI engines like ChatGPT, Claude, and Gemini?   It might be time to learn how to shift focus toward solving specific customer pain points by creating highly authoritative content clusters for niche industrial topics, in order to capture the high-intent audience you dream of turning into loyal customers.   Dave and Julie also discuss getting more insight into "zero-click" AI searches by exploring Google Search Console's new filters to measure the true impact of your branded search and reputation.   And before this episode comes to an end, they take the time to chat about the technical implementation of AI agents that are rapidly replacing traditional manual workflows.   Whether you are mapping out customer intent for LLMs or building the technical infrastructure to automate your business operations, this episode highlights why breaking down the silos between marketing and tech is crucial for the modern engineering firm.

In episode 164 of Digital Marketing from the Coalface, we cut through the online nonsense to explore what marketing actually is, and what it isn't. Fed up with self-proclaimed LinkedIn "gurus" making up their own definitions, we break down the fundamentals to prove that marketing is a strategic process, not just the "colouring in department".   So buckle up! In this episode, we cover the official definition and an explanation of the "Marketing Mix" (the 4 Ps: Product, Price, Place, and Promotion). Discover why advertising, PR, and branding are actually just subsets of the "promotion" piece of the puzzle and not whatever rubbish you are reading on LinkedIn. We also question why companies run by engineers often get marketing completely back to front by building a clever product first and trying to force it onto an audience, rather than listening to the marketplace to identify a gap. We also share real-world examples of marketing in action, from a local window cleaner who perfectly tapped into high market demand, to the recent struggles, closures, and brand tarnishing of major Scottish companies. As usual, we share AI industry updates! We take a quick look at the latest AI news, including ChatGPT's new ad tiers, Claude's clever anti-ad Super Bowl commercial taking a dig at OpenAI, and some frustrating user-experience bugs Dave has experienced with Anthropic's credit system. Since we're celebrating B-Corp month, we share reflections on a recent B-Corp gathering at the Scottish Parliament and discuss our hopes for building a stronger local B-Corp community to help other businesses balance purpose with profit. Tune in for an unfiltered, highly practical discussion on business strategy, and make sure to subscribe so you don't miss our next episode, where we'll be tackling the rapidly changing world of keyword research and schema markup for AI search engines.

In this episode of "Digital Marketing from the Coalface," Dave and Leslie explore the critical shift in how AI models and AI-powered search engines process and index video content. Moving beyond simple metadata, AI models now "tokenise" video, analysing visual frames and audio streams to extract technical data and sentiment.   High-fidelity video production is no longer just an "aesthetic choice" but a data integrity requirement to ensure AI accurately interprets complex products and engineering solutions.  The discussion also focuses on the strategic risk of "Brand Drift" a phenomenon where AI models, lacking sufficient and up-to-date high-quality data, begin to hallucinate technical specifications or fill knowledge gaps with obsolete data or competitor information.   To avoid the pitfall of AI hallucinating facts about your brand, and in order to allow to speak about your business with authority, your business needs to guide and correct the AI narrative about your brand. Relying on video production is a powerful way to feed AI models with plentiful relevant information.  

In this episode of Digital Marketing from the Coalface, Dave and Julie explore the counter-intuitive reality of B2B growth: why receiving fewer clicks often signals a healthier strategy than chasing high-volume traffic.   They discuss the "Mark Kermode Effect"—a bizarre algorithmic failure where YouTube's AI confused Dave with the famous film critic based on their glasses and grey hair, driving thousands of irrelevant views that immediately bounced.   For engineering and tech leaders focused on efficiency, Julie and Dave also dive into practical applications of generative AI in operational workflows. Dave shares his experience using Claude Code to rapidly prototype and update internal resource management software, allowing non-developers to fix issues and run test plans via GitHub.   Finally, they look at how NotebookLM is transforming how technical data is consumed, turning dense structural engineering reports on infrastructure into engaging audio summaries.    

In the first episode of the year, Julie and Dave unpack the shifting realities of online marketing and business software. They dive into the idea of the "great decoupling," exploring how AI-powered search tools like ChatGPT are disrupting the long-standing relationship between SEO and website traffic. The conversation also takes a critical look at AI-driven advertising, questioning its efficiency—especially for niche B2B markets where, for now, hands-on, manual management still comes out on top. The episode taps into a common frustration many businesses face: investing heavily in software without seeing meaningful returns. From Red Evo's perspective, technology alone isn't the answer. Julie and Dave make the case for prioritising human experience and expertise over fully automated solutions, emphasising that even the most powerful tools require skilled guidance to deliver real value. The takeaway? Investing in software is smart—but investing in the expertise needed to use it effectively is smarter.

We finally managed to record a new episode and we promise to properly ressurect the podcast in 2026. In the meantime, we hope you enjoy our 2025 recap where we break down the seismic shifts in digital marketing that are actively reshaping how B2B buyers operate in complex sectors, including engineering, tech, renewable energy, and oil and gas. Discover how tech leaders are leveraging platforms like Claude and Gemini as highly productive coding agents for JavaScript and PHP, sounding boards for strategic planning, and tools for rapidly building minimum viable products (MVPs).   We also explain why blocking AI from crawling your site is a strategic mistake, and how doubling down on Google's E-E-A-T (Experience, Expertise, Authoritativeness, and Trust) is the only way to build the brand authority required to survive.   We also cover how generalist marketing doesn't work for highly technical B2B industries. We share the results of our own agency's pivot to exclusively serving industrial and tech businesses. Learn why demonstrating deep expertise in your specific niche—whether you manufacture heat exchangers or develop wind farm monitoring software—removes buyer "risk" and helps you win higher-value contracts!   Listen to the full episode now to ensure your industrial brand remains visible, authoritative, and profitable in 2026.

Are your buyers finding your complex engineering solutions through traditional search, or are AI bots intercepting their queries first? In this episode, Dave and Cam dive into the rapidly evolving landscape of digital visibility. They tackle the strategic dilemma of the modern web: should your technical documentation and web pages be written for human context, or structured as strict problem-solution data to be crawled and served by AI snippets? They also touch upon the topic of understanding how AI evaluates and uses your proprietary content, and why it is more important than ever, before exploring how the new Insights tab in Google Search Console will soon allow businesses to track exactly how often their content is being featured in these AI-generated answers. For tech decision-makers who manage infrastructure and vendor relationships, the episode also addresses a highly relatable industry pain point: the frustrating disconnect between technology marketing claims and realistic performance. The biggest threat to your business isn't necessarily your direct competitors, but failing to adapt to AI—and how partnering with specialised firms can strengthen your market position. Tune in to this episode to ensure your digital strategy is as robust and forward-thinking as the engineering solutions you provide.

In this episode Cam has more thoughts on AI and despite the title, it is moderately interesting. From deep discussions on artificial intelligence's inability to read the room to passionate rants about deceptive software pricing, the duo covers the good, the bad, and the outright manipulative sides of the digital landscape. Key Topics Covered in this Episode: Google Ads & AI Judgment: Dave and Cam discuss Google's move toward using AI to crawl landing pages and judge their relevance to determine ad quality scores. Dave and Cam question whether AI can truly understand human context and nuance—such as distinguishing the search intent of a high-level procurement officer from that of a detail-oriented engineer. Cloudflare vs. AI Web Scrapers: A deep dive into Cloudflare's new "pay to crawl" feature, which aims to charge or block AI companies that scrape creative content to train their models. They explore the ethical line between using AI as an enhancing tool (like coding assistants or NotebookLM) and generative AI that simply steals from uncredited creators to mash up content. Safe vs. Edgy B2B Design: Does Business-to-Business marketing have to be literal and boring? The duo debates whether B2B landing pages should use "safe" imagery (like people pointing at a whiteboard) or take an "edgy" approach to spark curiosity. Dave argues for bold choices, suggesting an image of someone getting punched in the mouth to visually represent a Mike Tyson quote about strategy falling apart. Whether you want to know if your B2B brand is brave enough to be "edgy," need to protect your website's content from AI bots, or just want to hear a righteous rant about manipulative software pricing, this episode is packed with relatable insights and signature agency banter.

In this episode of Digital Marketing from the Coalface, Dave is joined by a brand-new co-host, Cameron (Cam), who bravely jumps straight into the podcasting deep end. With Stu off adventuring in his camper van, Dave and Cam use Cam's strong B2C background to explore the fascinating differences, and surprising crossovers, between Business-to-Business (B2B) and Business-to-Consumer (B2C) marketing strategies.   Key Topics Covered in this Episode: The Reality of AI in Copywriting & Coding: The duo discusses how AI is phenomenal at literal tasks, like writing 800 lines of heavily commented code in seconds, but still needs a skilled human touch to truly capture a brand's creative tone of voice. Dave also shares some hilarious AI translation fails—including a chatbot sounding like Dick Van Dyke attempting British slang—and praises AI tools like NotebookLM. B2B Risk Aversion vs. B2C Experimentation: Why are B2B engineering and tech firms so reluctant to embrace social media? The hosts discuss how B2B companies are terrified of ruining their professional brand perception with a single bad post. As a result, they often act as "followers," waiting to see competitors take the leap before trying new platforms. Overcoming the "Coloring-In Department" Stigma: The real-world challenges of convincing "old school" B2B decision-makers—who believe deals are only won on the golf course—to see the value in digital marketing, compared to the fast-moving, big-budget B2C world. Demystifying TikTok & TikTok Shop: Cam breaks down the mechanics of TikTok Shop and explains how it solves a marketer's biggest headache: attribution. By keeping the entire browsing and purchasing journey inside the app, it offers incredibly accurate data tracking. They also debunk the myth that TikTok is only for teenagers, noting its massive user base of 30 to 55-year-olds and its incredible potential for educational B2B content. Content Strategy & Metal Detecting: Why you absolutely must avoid "self-indulgent" video content with long, flashy music intros. The hosts discuss the perfect balance of using bite-sized, short-form video to pique audience interest before driving them to longer, high-value content. High Volume vs. High Value: The stark contrast between B2C campaigns targeting tens of thousands of impressions, and B2B search campaigns hunting for highly specific, low-volume keywords where a single good lead can result in millions of pounds of work.

When it came to the time to record this episode Dave was struggling to get enthusiastic. However, Stu beat him into submission, and this is the end result. In this highly conversational and organically flowing episode of Digital Marketing from the Coalface, hosts Dave Robinson and Stuart Harrison let the "stream of randomness" fly to uncover some surprisingly deep insights into marketing, business strategy, and human behaviour. What starts as an episode that nearly didn't happen quickly evolves into a fascinating discussion on psychology, problem-solving, and the unvarnished realities of client management.   Key Topics Covered in this Episode: "Moving Away" vs. "Moving Towards" Strategy: The hosts break down the difference between formulating a strategy to reach a visionary goal versus a strategy built simply to escape a current bad situation—hilariously likening the latter to running away from an escaped lion. They discuss why sometimes, "anywhere other than here is better" is a perfectly viable starting point. Risk Aversion vs. Marketing Experimentation: Dave and Stuart compare the highly risk-averse nature of the engineering and nuclear sectors to the necessary "experimental approach" of digital marketing. They discuss why companies must embrace A/B testing and accept that not every marketing risk will go exactly to plan. The "Awful Website" Dilemma: The tricky situation of landing a new client whose website is simply too broken for a quick cosmetic fix. Stuart shares a brilliant consulting trick: establishing agreed-upon "design principles" with the client to objectively prove a website needs a total rebuild, completely depersonalising the negative feedback. The Psychology of Uncertainty: Drawing on Rory Sutherland's theories on train travel and the success of Uber, the duo explores how human beings hate uncertainty far more than they hate waiting. They connect this behavioural science directly to our industry, explaining how "snake oil" SEO agencies exploit this fear by offering impossible page-one Google guarantees. Sports Psychology & "Pink Elephants": A deep dive into why the human brain cannot process negative instructions. From Chris Waddle's infamous missed penalty to parents telling toddlers "don't run on the grass," the hosts explain the physics of neural pathways, why you must visualise success, and how to apply positive framing directly to your website's Call to Actions. The Clickbait Epidemic: Finally, Dave and Stuart share a brief, relatable rant on the desperate, unregulated, and intrusive state of modern clickbait advertising. Packed with relatable banter, golf analogies, and a healthy dose of industry skepticism, this episode proves that sometimes the best digital marketing advice comes from simply externalising your problems and talking them out. Tune in for the laughs, and stick around to find out why you should never try to not think of a pink elephant!

In this episode of Digital Marketing from the Coalface, hosts Dave Robinson and Stuart Harrison dive into the undeniable power of maintaining a highly credible online presence.   They explore why your website is essentially a highly sophisticated "shop window" for your business, sharing real-world examples of how investing in a quality website and relying on strong social proof—like video and written client testimonials—can turn casual online strangers into highly lucrative, unsolicited leads.   Beyond website fundamentals, Dave and Stuart explore a fascinating range of topics blending digital marketing with behavioural science, account-based marketing, and modern career development.   Key Topics Covered in this Episode: How to Sell Services Digitally: Stuart discusses his recent paradigm shift regarding selling services online. He explains the challenge of moving away from generic corporate platitudes to truly uncovering why clients value your service, and how to authentically articulate those differentiators through a distinct tone of voice. The Right (and Wrong) Way to do Account-Based Marketing (ABM): Dave and Stuart dissect the frustrating influx of generic "lead generation" spam they receive daily. They emphasize that successful ABM requires doing the "hard yards" to research your target audience and genuinely understand their needs before reaching out. Behavioural Science & Stoicism in Business: Drawing inspiration from Steven Covey's Seven Habits of Highly Effective People, Dave and Stuart discuss the importance of focusing your energy strictly on your "circle of control" and "circle of influence" rather than wasting time on the "circle of concern". They also touch on the rising popularity of Stoicism online and the profound behavioural science insights found in Rory Sutherland's book Alchemy. Plus, the usual banter: Including the great Red Bull vs. Aldi's "Red Thunder" debate, and why intelligent people are often the biggest worriers. Whether you are trying to refine your company's digital messaging, understand the psychology of your buyers, or simply want to stop stressing over things outside of your control, this episode is packed with practical, relatable insights.

In this episode of Digital Marketing from the Coalface, hosts Dave Robinson and Stuart Harrison tackle the double-edged sword of Artificial Intelligence in marketing, the frustrations of public sector procurement, and the rapidly changing role of salespeople in the engineering and tech sectors.   From hilarious AI blunders to deep dives into B2B sales strategy, Dave and Stuart break down what actually works in today's digital landscape—and what is just filling servers with garbage.   Key Topics Covered in this Episode: The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly of AI: discussing the risk of using AI just to churn out high volumes of low-quality content. However, Dave and Stuart also highlight genuinely impressive tools like NotebookLM that are revolutionising content creation by turning dry source material into engaging, conversational audio. Along the way, Dave shares some laugh-out-loud AI failures, including completely fabricated quotes and a chatbot's bizarre attempt at using British slang. Public vs. Private Sector Bidding: Dave and Stu express their shared frustration with impersonal public sector RFPs (Requests for Proposal), where dozens of companies might blindly bid for the same small contract. They discuss the controversial trend of heavily weighting "social value" over technical and financial ability in contract scoring, and why they strongly prefer the relationship-driven, problem-solving approach of the private sector. The Modern Salesperson as a Consultant: In the engineering and tech spaces, the traditional sales "order taker" is becoming obsolete, as buyers now do most of their research online. The hosts explore how modern salespeople must act as problem-solving consultants, deeply understanding their organisation's capabilities to identify and solve issues clients didn't even know they had. The Challenge of Tech Sales: They highlight the difficulty of hiring salespeople who genuinely understand complex engineering, the risk of sales teams overpromising to clients, and why creative and technical companies must stop giving away their expertise for free just to win a bid. Client Wins & "Engineer Reactions": A behind-the-scenes look at a recent, highly successful rebranding project for a Somerset-based engineering client, featuring the hilariously cautious, perfectly reserved way that engineers express their excitement over creative work. Whether you are trying to navigate the flood of new AI tools without losing your brand's authentic voice, looking to revamp your B2B sales team, or just want to hear two industry veterans vent about the pains of procurement, this episode delivers practical advice wrapped in their trademark banter.

In this episode of Digital Marketing from the Coalface, Dave introduces his new co-host, Stuart Harrison—a former physicist and nuclear industry veteran turned business development director. With a career spanning from asset ownership to the supply chain, Stuart helps bridge the gap between complex engineering concepts and the commercial necessity of clear storytelling.   From discussing the unique challenges of marketing in the nuclear sector, an industry that arguably "missed a trick" by allowing its narrative to be defined by its association with weaponry rather than its incredible energy density, to debating the reality of "greenwashing" versus genuine environmental impact, Dave and Stuart compare the concrete footprint of Hinckley Point to wind farms, before visualising the efficiency of nuclear fuel—where a single Coke can's worth of material could power an individual's lifespan energy consumption.   In short, Dave and Stuart discuss how the nuclear industry has gotten its messaging wrong, and how it should be addressing that.

Well the after party following episide 150 went on, quite literally, for seconds which meant recording this episode was all a bit of a blur. Needless to say Alex rants about AI, in a different way, and Dave does his best to calm him down by taking the p**s.

The big deal with some digital marketing is it's ability to stalk the right audience and only pop up to annoy them, and nobody else. But it's broken and gets it spectacularly wrong. There's also a lot of self congratulatory drivel with this being Episode 150.

Alex tells us about how someone with whom he'd had several conversations and had a meeting on the calendar with them that day sent him a "Hey, we think you're a good fit for what we're selling" message. Such an abysmal fail. We obviously talk about other stuff as well.

Ever had service that felt like the company providing it just couldn't be arsed? We discuss that in this episode. We also thank super fan Amy AGAIN, and recommend the best curry you can have delivered to your house anywhere in the UK, no really, it's simply the best.

Marketing, messaging and signalling are all important aspects of your business. But with digital marketing it's easy to send out all the wrong signals. Also, Dave gets all excited about getting FTTP broadband and super fan Amy gets a namecheck!

As marketing becomes ever more embedded in AI and data are we getting to the point where people think that being able to use the tools is the clever bit? Because it isn't. We also discuss digital stalking and being bombarded with emails from people who want to do all our work for us.

In this episode, ALEX and Dave discuss dishonesty in business (and politics) and get into why playing it safe with your marketing might not be the smartest approach. We also discussed inauthenticity and finished off with a little anecdote about our local council phoning it in.

This week we have a rather nice time discussing faking it till you make it - or not - gated content and why people are so angry all the time. We also wander off and discuss the Chancellors' CV, more fake it till you make it, and whatever else takes our fancy.

It still surprises us how many great businesses are floundering with or even failing to engage with the opportunities presented online. We discuss that as well as the usual politician bashing and drivel.

This week Julie Mitchell-Mehta joins Dave for a chat about digital marketing stuff that's amused us, bemused us and annoyed us. There's the usual unrelated chatter and, thankfully, no Alex.

Marketing seems to attract self proclaimed gurus who spout utter nonsense. Well there's none of that here with these two clueless idiots.

In our first episiode of 2025 we talk about playing it safe, being like all the rest and then just wang on about all sorts of things. In other words, it's more inane drivel from Alex and Dave.

In our final stream of consciousness of 2024, we talk about Google struggling, Alex being rubbish at quizzes and more other stuff than is good for us.

In this episode, we talk about inbound marketing, awful HubSpot sales reps, fantastic HubSpot software, politics and anything else that came into our tiny little heads. Vive La difference!

Rory Sutherland said that we choose certain brands, not because we think they're the best, but because we think they probably won't be sh*t. We loved this idea and talk about it and plenty of other things - some of them marketing related - in this episode of the show. We enjoyed it, we hope you do too.

This episode is excellent and gives a (mostly) non-technical overview of the work of some of our dev team. We talk about things such as being given third-party designs to work with and some of the challenges the devs face in their day-to-day endeavours to create the outcomes our clients need.

Google perhaps means well, but their Ads Platform is now so complex, that following their advice will almost guarantee your bank account empties while your sales pipeline also remains empty. Anyway, Alex has got things to say about that. We also discussed the pressure agencies are under to deliver, why not assigning enough budget is a false economy, AI - obviously oh and our journey towards BCorp certification.

We got it wrong and an engagement went badly. In this episode we unpick that and discuss why hiring a specialist then telling them what to do is dumb. We also unpick a "12 Steps" type SEO help list we were sent and turn it into plain English.

In this episode, we discuss how easy it is to get online marketing wrong and how to avoid doing that. We also, as usual, wander off into politics and other inane nonsense. If you like listening to Alex and Dave make it up as they go, this is for you. If not, go metal detecting or something.

I some niches it's hard to find meaningful data to help with your content marketing initiatives. It's some thing we come across and in this episode, alongside the usual drivel, we discuss the techniques we deploy. It's way more enjoyable than this p**s poor introduction makes it sound.

This week, amoung all the usual drivel, we discuss the tendency for businesses to create what amounts to digital landfill in their desperate attempt to create "useful content". Also, Dave tells us why he's feeling down in the dumps and Alex, for once, rocks up semi-prepared, with actual notes.

Good agencies really want, and I mean REALLY want, the work they do for you to add tangible value. They want the content they create to rank in searches, they want the videos they produce to pursuade strangers to do business with you, and they want the creative work they do to present the best possible version of your organisation. If you don't think your agency are doing this, stop wasting their time. Now, I know this sounds blunt but nobody is winning when there's no trust. In this episode, we discuss what makes agencies tick and why trust is vital for success.

This week we're chatting about what a pain it can be to inherit an awful website and digital footprint and have to make do and mend rather than start over and do it properly. We also talk about customer relationship management systems and why they are so great.

In this episode, we talk about some free tools you absolutely should be using, how to price something that can't be defined and social media moderation. We also talk about the Olympics and some politics, obviously.

We often speak to clients who think they know what they need, but on close inspection don't. We discuss ways to avoid wasting time trying to create a brief when you're unsure what you need. We also discuss Google Search Console data and why it's so wrong - but still useful.

Success online requires stoicism. You're going to succeed sometimes, and you're going to fail sometimes. Expecting to fail and dealing with failure is just part of the digital marketing puzzle and something we're happy to admit to. We also discuss retainers, PPC, measuring less and lots of other things we deal with at the coalface of digital marketing.

In this episode Alex rambles on a bit but finally makes a good point - we think, you decide. We also discuss being consistent with your content. Then, weirdly, we get into some political chat.

The leaking of confidential documentation from Google has shone a light on the tech giant and suggested they have been economical with the truth about how their search engine works. In this episode, we chew it over looking for real world usable take aways. We talk about some other stuff as well.

If you run a business your website should almost certainly generate enquiries or leads. If it doesn't, this episode of our podcast will give you the high-level guidance you need to turn things around. We've spoken about the component parts a lot, with this episode we've pulled it all together into a handy guide. We've also got a great blog post on the subject which you can find by Googling "how to build a lead generation website".