A Mind for Marketing

Most senior marketers reach a point where their role changes. Execution matters less, and influence matters more. But influence isn't taught to most of us in university. You can have experience and strong ideas… and still struggle to get those ideas adopted across the organisation. In this episode, Ritchie Mehta brings a research-led view of how influence is developed. Drawing on interviews with hundreds of senior leaders, he explains why some marketers become trusted operators who shape decisions, while others plateau. We get into: Why influence inside organisations is less about persuasion and more about being a "trusted pair of hands". How to build that trust through small, testable initiatives that generate evidence. Why creating internal champions is the real signal of influence. The different ways careers evolve (Climber, Explorer, Creator) and how each path affects your ability to influence. Ritchie brings a pattern-based perspective grounded in real examples. The value of this episode is in how clearly it shows what influence looks like in practice, and how it develops over time. If you're responsible for shaping strategy and aligning stakeholders, this episode will help you understand where influence comes from. Get your Content Power Score. It's free!  Music: SigmaMusicArt Batumi, Adjara. Free for use under the Pixabay Content License

Most marketing teams don't have a talent problem; they have a decision-making problem. In this episode of A Mind for Marketing, I'm joined by Aysha Haynes, co-CEO of Flock Associates, a consultancy that helps brands untangle complex marketing ecosystems by clarifying roles and decision-making, so teams can perform at their best. Aysha takes a slightly different view on leadership. While many organisations focus on capability, or agency performance, her argument is simpler but harder to confront. When results are inconsistent, the issue usually sits upstream. We explore: Why strong teams still produce inconsistent results The hidden factors that slow marketing down How leaders move teams from reactive to intentional If you're responsible for performance, this is a useful reframe, because better marketing starts with better conditions for ideas to succeed. Get your Content Power Score. It's free! Music: SigmaMusicArt Batumi, Adjara. Free for use under the Pixabay Content License

Most transformation strategies fail because they focus on messaging rather than behaviour. In this episode, Christina Moore speaks with former Direct Line CMO Mark Evans about what it actually takes to turn around a declining business. After 20 consecutive quarters of decline, Direct Line didn't just change its campaign. It was rebuilt around customer truth, operational change, and internal belief. You'll hear how: Customer insight reshaped the entire experience, not just comms A single idea (Winston Wolfe) changed employee behaviour across the business Marketing earned credibility by proving commercial impact The result? 85% growth in motor quotes and a fundamental shift in how the organisation showed up. Get your Content Power Score. It's free! Music: SigmaMusicArt Batumi, Adjara. Free for use under the Pixabay Content License Audio Editor: Jake Wittlin

Who remembers your last campaign? No one?! That's the problem. In this episode, I speak with Paddy Gilmore, founder of HumourScope®, about why humour isn't a creative risk, it's a commercial advantage. A lot of marketing today is built to satisfy platforms. It hits the metrics. It looks good in a report. But in the real world? It's forgettable. Humour changes that. Not because it's "funny," but because it creates a reaction. And that's what people remember. We get into: Why humour makes brands easier to remember Managing risk without defaulting to safe work What Snickers and Volvo can teach us about growth Why this matters even more in B2B and serious categories If your marketing feels safe, there's a good chance it's being ignored. Music: SigmaMusicArt Batumi, Adjara. Free for use under the Pixabay Content License Audio Editor: Jake Wittlin Get your Content Power Score.  

If you're not measuring trust, you're missing what actually drives revenue. In this episode of A Mind for Marketing, Christina Moore speaks with social media strategist Katy Howell (Immediate Future) about why trust is becoming the most important KPI in marketing and how it directly impacts pipeline, and revenue. If you're a CMO or Marketing Director under pressure, this conversation challenges how you measure success and where your strategy might be falling short. You'll learn: Why trust, not virality, drives long-term revenue growth A practical three-layer measurement model that connects content to pipeline How AI search and answer engines (ChatGPT, Gemini, Perplexity) are reshaping discovery and vendor selection   Katy also shares a real-world example where a trust-led content strategy generated a £38M pipeline in 12 weeks, proving that trust isn't a soft metric.   This episode is for marketing leaders who want to move beyond surface-level metrics and build a content strategy that drives trust, influence, and measurable business outcomes.   Get your Content Power Score. It's free!   Music: SigmaMusicArt Batumi, Adjara. Free for use under the Pixabay Content License Audio Editor: Jake Wittlin

Imagine walking up to someone you've never met and immediately asking them for money. That's how a lot of marketing works today. In this episode of A Mind for Marketing, Christina Moore speaks with strategist Dot Oyebolu about why modern marketing needs to behave more like a relationship. Instead of competing for the small percentage of buyers already in the market, Dot argues that the real opportunity lies in engaging the much larger group of people who know they have a problem but haven't started searching for solutions yet. Dot explains why the shift from brand marketing to performance marketing has made many campaigns feel increasingly difficult to scale, and why successful marketing now requires a balance between awareness, consideration, and conversion. The conversation also explores Dot's Strategy Maker Engine, a structured approach to go-to-market planning that helps companies move from insight to execution. The framework shows how strategy should guide marketing decisions before campaigns even begin.

What does it take to create a charity campaign that truly changes minds? In this episode of A Mind for Marketing, Christina Moore speaks to communications consultant Vishnee Sauntoo about the strategy behind 'Second a Day', the Save the Children campaign that reached 10 million views in 48 hours and has since grown to nearly 79 million views worldwide They unpack why the campaign worked. By focusing on one clear message and grounding the story in emotional accuracy, the team reframed a distant conflict into something audiences could see, feel and recognise. The conversation goes deeper into modern charity marketing. How do you balance raw, real-time storytelling with dignity and consent? How do you work with influencers without exposing your organisation to unnecessary risk? If you're responsible for brand, communications or strategy, there are lessons here that go far beyond the charity sector.   Audio Editor: Jake Wittlin Junior Video Editor: Zhane Inko-Tariah Music: SigmaMusicArt Batumi, Adjara. Free for use under the Pixabay Content License Get your Content Power Score. It's free!

Katie Martell shares what makes a strong presenter/influencer for a brand, and why alignment is non-negotiable in B2B partnerships. In this episode of A Mind for Marketing, I'm joined by Katie Martell, marketer, speaker and one of LinkedIn's most recognisable voices in B2B. We unpack why follower count is a poor proxy for trust. You'll learn: Why human stories outperform product messaging The warning signs of ego-driven presenters How to assess values alignment before partnering with influencers If you're a senior marketer thinking about launching a show or collaborating with external voices, this conversation will help you avoid the most common mistakes. Audio Editor: Jake Wittlin Junior Video Editor: Zhane Inko-Tariah Music: SigmaMusicArt Batumi, Adjara. Free for use under the Pixabay Content License Get your Content Power Score. It's free!

Is your team publishing content, but your brand still feels invisible? This episode is for you. Christina Moore sits down with Patrick Collister, former Creative Director at Ogilvy and head of Google's creative think tank, Zoo, to unpack why modern marketing feels fragmented and reactive. With pressure on performance marketing metrics and short-term results, many CMOs have drifted away from what builds long-term brand equity. Big ideas! In this conversation, you'll learn: • Why most digital advertising is ignored, even when it's optimised • How creativity drives commercial growth and business transformation • What senior marketing leaders can do to create space for stronger ideas Patrick shares lessons from global brands like Cadbury and IBM, showing how creative thinking can rebuild trust and reposition a business. If you're a leader trying to balance short-term revenue targets with long-term brand strategy, this episode will challenge how you think about marketing effectiveness. A strong idea can reshape an entire business. Get your Content Power Score. It's free! Audio Editor: Jake Wittlin Junior Video Editor: Zhane Inko-Tariah Music: SigmaMusicArt Batumi, Adjara. Free for use under the Pixabay Content License

What do you do when your product is… the universe? In this episode of A Mind for Marketing, Christina Moore sits down with Cody Half-Moon, Chief Marketing Officer at Lowell Observatory, the historic Arizona institution where Pluto was discovered. Astronomy has a reputation for being dense and inaccessible. Yet Cody helped turn the wonders of the universe into a top-ranking podcast with a growing global audience. You'll discover: Why complex industries fail when they "talk at" audiences and how to simplify content without dumbing it down How co-discovery turns passive listeners into engaged communities The thinking behind launching Star Stuff What it really takes to get stakeholder buy-in for a new content channel. If you lead marketing in a complex category, this conversation will challenge your assumptions. Are you keen to find the same success as Cody? Take our assessment, the Content Power Score. It pinpoints exactly where your show's performance breaks down and what to fix first. It's free https://christina-nsan4ban.scoreapp.com/ Audio Editor: Jake Wittlin Junior Video Editor: Zhane Inko-Tariah Music: SigmaMusicArt Batumi, Adjara. Free for use under the Pixabay Content License

Most thought leadership is easy to ignore. In this episode of A Mind for Marketing, I'm joined by Mark Levy, a differentiation expert who's spent decades helping leaders and brands become memorable. This isn't an episode about posting more content. We talk about why chasing polish can kill good ideas and how originality can be a little messy. You'll hear: • How stories shape thought leadership more than opinions do • Why being "clear" beats being clever every time If your marketing feels busy but forgettable, this conversation will help you rethink how ideas take shape. Take our assessment, the Content Power Score. It pinpoints exactly where your show's performance breaks down and what to fix first. It's free https://christina-nsan4ban.scoreapp.com/ Audio Editor: Jake Wittlin Junior Video Editor: Zhane Inko-Tariah Music: SigmaMusicArt Batumi, Adjara. Free for use under the Pixabay Content License

In shifting landscapes, you aren't looking for theory. You want honest stories, practical steps, and lessons earned in the real world. If you need to solve messy problems or make bold calls, this is where those stories get told.