The Marketing PodCAST

Featuring Ellie Smith (Marketing Strategy Consultant) What changes when you’ve sat on both sides of the table?In this episode, Ellie reflects on her move from in-house to agency life, and why client-side experience fundamentally changes how you show up as an agency partner. From navigating internal politics and compliance to anticipating stakeholder pressures before they’re said out loud, she unpacks what agencies often miss, and what great ones get right.An honest conversation about trust, senior credibility, making clients look good, and why understanding your client’s world is the real competitive advantage.Essential listening for agency teams who want to be more than just a supplier.

Featuring Alexander Costello (HubSpot Solutions Engineer)What if most of your business decisions are based on just 20% of the data available to you?Having attended HubSpot’s latest INBOUND conference in San Francisco, Al breaks down one of the event’s biggest messages: the hidden 80% of data sitting in conversations, calls, emails, tools and spreadsheets. And why ignoring it is holding B2B growth back.From AI-powered tools to smarter data models, this episode cuts through the hype to explain how HubSpot is helping teams unify data, eliminate guesswork and make better decisions, faster.If you’re still relying on dashboards that only tell part of the story, this one’s for you.

Featuring Ellie Smith (Marketing Strategy Consultant) and Emma Crofts (Head of Content & PR)Sustainability messaging is everywhere, and yet, audiences are tuning out. So how do B2B brands move beyond carbon claims, jargon and greenwashing accusations to tell stories that actually resonate?Recorded on the same day Ellie joined BusinessGreen’s Spotlight on Marketing panel on greenwashing, this episode digs into why sustainability communications have hit a wall. And how reframing the conversation around nature, transparency and commercial value can bring them back to life.From biodiversity and water risk to trust, regulation and proof, Ellie and Emma explore what credible, engaging sustainability marketing really looks like now, and why “nature-positive” isn’t just good ethics, but smart business.

Featuring Sara Burgess (PR Specialist, The Marketing Pod) and Mike Nicholls (PR Manager, The Marketing Pod)Another week, another headline-grabbing crisis. But while consumer brands are under constant scrutiny, are B2B businesses quietly assuming they’re immune?Recorded immediately following Brooklyn Peltz Beckham’s very public reminder of how fast reputations can unravel, this episode explores why B2B organisations can’t afford complacency. Sara and Mike unpack the reputational risks B2B brands face, how social media has changed crisis response forever, and what good crisis preparedness actually looks like, before things go wrong.A practical, no-nonsense listen for anyone responsible for brand, comms or leadership in a B2B organisation.

What’s hot and what's cool in content and PR right now - and which trends are most likely to last? In this episode, the Marketing Pod team discusses some of the PR lessons we’ve learned this summer, why accountability and authenticity are always so important (but especially crucial right now) and what B2B copywriters can gain from new AI tools like Chat GPT.

Purpose-led marketing has emerged in the last few years as a powerful way to highlight a company’s values and mission – as well as its impact on the wider community. But how can you make sure a company’s purpose is authentic? And what are the best ways to express purpose in a way that truly resonates with your audience? In this episode, the Marketing Pod team discusses the shift from product-driven to purpose-driven marketing, and what that means for B2B brands.

As the business to business marketing environment changes, pitch meetings with prospective new marketing agency partners are changing too.In this podcast episode Emma Crofts, Head of Content & PR at The Marketing Pod, is joined by Pod's Client Service Director Kate Garratt and Senior PR Specialist Sara Burgess, to discuss the questions they're being asked most right now, how they respond, and what they think it says about the way the world of B2B is evolving.A great listen if you're about to assess new marketing agencies, prepping for a pitch meeting, or just interested in all things B2B marketing.

The Marketing PodCAST returns with a new weekly format – who are we and why should you listen and subscribe? Each week, we'll be joined by guests, including our own wonderful B2B marketing experts to discuss hot topics, useful tips and the latest industry news.

Some say the best things come to those who wait but you won't have to - our new weekly podcast will feature the latest updates from our agency, along with discussions about the latest news, reviews and opinions on our weekly podcast.

Building a respected and resilient B2B brand is about so much more than getting your logo and website right. In this episode, Pod founders Jodie and Jen talk to sales and marketing specialist Glenn Smith about the role that internal culture plays in building successful B2B brands and why it's so important that employees buy into your overarching brand purpose.About Glenn Smith: Glenn is a B2B marketing specialist with extensive experience in the utilities sector. He was most recently Sales and Marketing Director for Wave Utilities, a leading national water retailer formed from Anglian Water and Northumbrian Water Group. Glenn was involved in the rebranding of Wave and in the roll out of their leadership development programme, which delivered cultural change right across the organisation. Find him at: https://www.linkedin.com/in/glenn-smith/

The events of 2020 have renewed focus on the power of digital marketing, and have also crystalised the need for brands to build stronger, more enduring relationships with their customers; relationships built on trust. In this episode, Pod founders Jodie and Jen talk to marketing and communications specialist Jason Riseborough about the changes he thinks are ahead in digital marketing, about trust and how recent digital trends might have eroded it and, more importantly, about the things B2B brands can be doing right now to restore it. About Jason Riseborough: Jason is a professional marketer with over 20 years experience, specialising in digital and online marketing across both B2B and B2C. He’s gained that experience heading up digital marketing teams at Capita, Arup Warner Leisure and E.On. Find him at: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jasonriseborough/

The Marketing Pod recently collaborated with B2B Marketing on research into the changing role of the CMO in B2B organisations. In this podcast episode, hear B2B Marketing’s Editor-in-chief Joel Harrison and The Pod’s founders Jodie Williams and Jen Hughes discuss some of the key findings of their researchHear about the key drivers behind major changes in business attitudes, including the impact of COVID-19 on B2B customer behaviour and how this has created an increased need for an experienced and empathetic marketer in the c-suite. As organisations are evolving to meet the altered expectations of their customers, so too is the role of the CMO, who is increasingly being called upon to provide crucial customer insight. In this  influential position, the CMO must create robust strategies which will enable business growth during difficult times. So, as the ownership of customer insight shifts from sales to marketing, our podcast panel asks: what should senior marketers be doing now to make sure they are ready to lead their businesses to success - and what skills, tools and technology will they need to gather around them during the coming years.

Every B2B business has had a different experience of Covid-19. As a global logistics business, GEFCO’s services have remained very much in-demand - but in recent months their primary focus has necessarily been keeping their people safe. It’s meant some significant operational changes, all of which have been made a little easier by meaningful support from HR and marketing.GEFCO has been extremely proactive in their use of marketing during the recent crisis, acting quickly to address the changing conditions brought about by Covid-19. So, we thought it would be great to catch up with their UK Head of Marketing Lydia Maule on how they have adapted their marketing strategy, to keep staff and customers connected and engaged.Hear Lydia talk to Pod’s Ellie about how GEFCO switched from in-person Innovation Days to podcasts & virtual events; how they’re still celebrating their staff and upholding their ethos as a people-first business, and the other ways in which GEFCO have used marketing to make sure their staff and customers feel confident and cared for.

The coronavirus pandemic has had a deep impact on the professional lives of B2B marketers (and inevitably their personal lives too).In this episode, The Marketing Pod’s co-founders share their experiences and thoughts on what marketing teams can be doing to keep communication flowing with audiences and each other. Their tips will help B2B marketers prepare and plan for the future, even while uncertainty remains.Jodie and Jen take a look at which opportunities are missing right now and discuss how marketing professionals can pivot activity to stretch their budgets and seek out value in new places, using digital marketing as a core focus.