Marketing Room 101

In this episode, host Ben Norman is joined by Kate Waters, Director of Client Strategy & Planning at ITV and a leading voice on the effectiveness of TV advertising.Kate has spent over 20 years at ITV and works with many of the UK’s biggest advertisers, helping them understand how to get the most out of TV in an increasingly complex media landscape.She is widely recognised for her work championing the power of TV effectiveness, her contributions to industry thinking on attention, emotion, and profit, and for helping brands translate evidence from bodies like the IPA into practical marketing decisions.Despite being one of the busiest people in advertising, Kate is also involved with both ⁠WACL⁠ and ⁠Purpose Disruptors⁠.In this conversation, Kate and Ben cover:Why it’s difficult to leave a job when you’re a co-founderHow a single day with ⁠Fiona Parashar⁠ changed Kate’s careerThe relationship between creative and media, and why ITV is a wonderful playgroundfor a strategistWhy TV is both the same and completely different today as it was 20 years agoHow Tesco doesn’t let its size stop it from being a great advertiserHow McDonald’s hits the nail on the head every single timeHow Google and ITV’s partnership shows the benefit of brand values coming togetherWhy TV is as good at activation as it is at brand building, and why we need to think about marketing performance… not performance marketing5.5 reasons why smaller brands shouldn’t rule TV outWhy ROI should be banished, and how it pushes brands towards efficiency over effectivenessWhy John Bartle’s “imaginative repetition” is the greatest definition of great advertisingPlus, how Kate almost killed the Milky Bar Kid, and why we need to bring back Morrison’s singing oven gloves.⁠Connect with host Ben Norman⁠ or subscribe to avoid missing new episodes of Marketing Room 101

In this episode, host Ben Norman is joined by ⁠Tom Roach⁠, VP of Brand Strategy at ⁠Jellyfish⁠ and one of the biggest names in creative effectiveness.In his 25 years in the industry, Tom has held top positions in leading agencies like BBH, adam&eveDDB and Leo Burnett, leading strategy for brands including the BBC, McDonald’s, Sainsbury’s, Lloyds Bank, KFC and Weetabix, whilst picking up Gold and Silver IPA Effectiveness Awards along the way.In this time, Tom has become well known for his contributions to the field of creative effectiveness in advertising, and in this conversation he and Ben cover…How Tom got a job from a blog postThe danger of false dichotomies in advertising, including Long vs Short (and why Gusto gets it right), Brand vs Performance (and the case for ‘and’ over ‘or’), Creative vs Non-Creative (as if it’s a choice), and AI vs Human (and how humans have always needed to use tools)Twin-axis creative consistency (and why you need both)The snake oil salespeople saying everything is dead (like SEO and TV)Freud’s ‘narcissism of small differences’ (the one thing Tom managed to teach Les Binet)How most marketing best practice is sales collateral, not science (according to Paul Feldwick)How social media could be amplifying division in marketingBrighter futures for juniors in the creative industryHow AI is creating new roles for the next generationThe best brothers question yet⁠Connect with host Ben Norman⁠ or subscribe to avoid missing new episodes of Marketing Room 101

In this episode, host ⁠Ben Norman⁠ is joined by ⁠Marketing Architects⁠ Chief Marketing Officer, host of ⁠The Marketing Architects Podcast⁠, Triathlete, former Junior Olympics competitor, and all-round marketing effectiveness fiend, ⁠Elena Jasper⁠.Elena is best known for championing TV’s role in the modern media mix, whilst challenging outdated and inaccurate thinking that overlooks the potential power of TV for brands today.Elena and Ben discuss advertising’s obsession with short term results, why TV can do both the long and the short, and why we need to stop putting channels in boxes.Elena then busts some common marketing myths before deciding to banish the Performance vs Brand debate, whilst explaining why B2B and B2C aren’t really that different after all, why Brand might have a brand problem, and why we shouldn’t be so afraid of AI.Before leaving, Elena makes the case to bring back the belief in reach and having a little more fun, then Ben remembers some bad boots on a Swiss mountain, and Elena recalls a big Olympic moment.

In this episode, host Ben Norman is joined by Steve Harrison, the 18x Cannes Lions-winning copywriter, creative director, and author, described by Campaign as ‘the greatest direct marketing creative of his generation’.In recent years, Steve has become known for more than just his award-winning creative work. He has also challenged the creative industry’s abandonment of its commercial responsibility to clients, arguing that “the industry has drifted from commercial selling to social activism, at the expense of economic relevance.”Ben and Steve discuss his latest book, ⁠Adland’s Progressive Gaze: How UK Advertising Lost Sight of the People and Things That Matter Most⁠, and how the demise of purpose has led to the rise of the Progressive Gaze.Steve then makes the case for banishing the politicisation of the advertising industry and explains why the obsession with diversity and inclusion might be making the industry less diverse and inclusive, as well as why so many people are afraid to challenge the Progressive Gaze.Ben and Steve also discuss the challenges facing the working class in marketing, why Steve still feels impostor syndrome after five decades in the industry, and what he wouldn't do with £3,000.

In this episode, host Ben Norman is joined by analyst and adviser to the media, technology and creative industries, Ian Whittaker, who, having gained over 20 years’ experience in the world of finance as an Equity Research analyst (including winning CityAM’s Analyst of the Year… twice), now brings a unique perspective to business in the marketing world through his consultancy Liberty Sky Advisors, and his subscription briefing for senior leaders, The Bigger Picture.Ben and Ian discuss the importance of marketers stepping back from spreadsheets and dashboards to see the wood for the trees, how to speak the language of the boardroom, and why we need to be more concrete in quantifying results.In a complicated landscape, Ben doesn’t ask Ian to predict what will change for marketers throughout 2025 and beyond, but instead asks what isn’t likely to change. Spoiler alert: He believes people, and agencies, still have a place in the world of AI.Ian explains why agencies need to refocus on their core competencies and fight on their own battlefield, instead of trying to fight the tech giants on their turf, and then chooses to banish ‘overquantification in marketing’ before returning ‘understanding a client’s business’ to the industry.Ian also explains what the Vietnam War can teach us about misguided metrics, what we can learn from Sun Tzu about the Tech vs Creative battle, and why future war historians might look back at the present day with interest.

In this episode, host Ben Norman is joined by ‘that guy thatbuilt that Tony’s brand’ - Arjen Klinkenberg (or ‘Klink’ as he is known) - who created the first Tony’s Chocolonely wrapper design in just 10 minutes and gave up his day job to join the ‘impact-first’ chocolate business as Creative Director and Brand Guru for almost 20 years, before setting up his creative brand consultancy ‘Klink’ earlier this year.Klink and Ben discuss creativity in unexpected places, why small disruptive start-up teams need a shared idea of where they want to go, if they want to be the ‘mosquito in the room’, and why having no idea what you’re doing, can be the biggest advantage of all.Ben asks Klink about the balance between personality and purpose, before Klink makes the case for the execution of shelf wobblers in an unexpectedly impassioned rant, and the return of novelty and nonsense in your product and communications.Finally, Ben’s brother admits to some undeclared corporate benefits, Klink swears a lot and Ben talks about penguins.

A special episode of Marketing Room 101, to celebrate the Tony's Chocolonely 8th December advent drama.⁠Click here⁠ to find out more about the issues of unfairness and exploitation in the chocolate industry.

In this episode, host Ben Norman is joined by perhaps the friendliest man in advertising - Nick Eagle - the photographer from Sheffield, Yorkshire, whose relaxed and down-to-earth approach has led him to shoot huge campaigns for iconic brands like The BBC, Paddy Power, and Manchester United across the globe.Nick and Ben recall the worst shoot ever and discuss the challenges and joys of the unexpected situations commercial photography creates. Nick also explains why, after years of working with heroes and national treasures like Erling Haaland, Clare Balding, and Anthony Joshua, he believes the real skill in photography is not in pressing the button, especially when shooting portraits.Nick shares why shooting his local football club, Sheffield United, stands alongside working on Sky Sports’ biggest ever out-of-home campaign as one of his proudest moments. He also makes the case for prioritising quality over efficiency in image making, discusses why he thinks AI is similar to VAR in football, and explains why meeting in person is always worth the effort.Finally, Ben’s brother recalls a chicken being thrown through a window, Nick talks about a man in a skip, and Ben declares his love for rubbish working men’s clubs in nondescript places.

In this episode, host Ben Norman is joined by Lindsey Clay, CEO of Thinkbox, the UK’s marketing body for commercial TV, and perhaps the industry’s most passionate voice for the power of television advertising. Before joining Thinkbox, Lindsey worked at some of the UK’s leading agencies including McCann Erickson and JWT, and today she continues to shape the industry as a Fellow of the Marketing Society, an Honorary Fellow of the IPA, and a proud member (and former President) of WACL.Lindsey and Ben discuss the industry’s obsession with technology, why that’s coming at the expense of creativity, and what’s changed in TV in the 20 years since Thinkbox was created, before discussing the problem of gender equality in senior leadership, and what needs to change to get a 50/50 gender split amongst CEOs.Ben presents Lindsey with some common myths from self-proclaimed tech gurus and TV critics, before Lindsey makes the case to temporarily banish advertising on Meta, why brands need to think before they invest and what would really needs to change to create a level playing field. Finally, Lindsey has a good old sing-song, Ben reminisces over Chicken Tonight and Linsey regrets pregnant paintballing.Links discussed in the episode:Channel 4 – Mirror on MasculinitiesThinkbox – Context EffectsThinkbox - Nickable ChartsThinkbox – TV Masters Training

In this episode, host Ben Norman is joined by marketing effectiveness and analytics expert Tashan Nichols who works with some of the biggest and most successful brands in the UK as a director at ⁠Magic Numbers⁠, on top of hosting ⁠Magic Works training courses⁠, coaching others, supporting Diversity, Equity and Inclusion causes and, of course, winning tonnes of awards (like The Media Leaders Future 100, Media Week’s 30 under 30 and Campaign's star player for the7stars two years in a row, 2022 and 2023).Tashan explains what’s so magic about numbers, and how to spot good numbers versus bad, or more accurately, how to pay attention to the right numbers at the right time based on what you want to do.They also dispel myths around poor analytics, including the danger of the last click attribution obsession and why we need to banish marketers seeing measurement as a bolt on or an afterthought. Tashan and Ben also discuss how to build the life you want through a blended career, rather than just settling for a 9-to-5, how to balance evidence with creative magic, and why it takes a village to raise a campaign. Plus, Tashan compares building a brand to baking a cake, tells us why advice from their grandma changed their life, and becomes the first person to say both ‘pedagogy’ and ‘coffee & walnut’ in Marketing Room 101.

In this episode, host Ben Norman is joined by author of The Art of Client Service, Robert Solomon, who, over four decades in the marketing industry, has garnered a reputation as world’s leading authority on making better advertising by building stronger relationships with clients.Robert demystifies the often-misunderstood world of client service, outlining what it actually is (including the art and science of doing it well) and why removing it will be a big loss for agencies, but a huge loss for brands and clients… for example, would Apple’s iconic 1984 advertising campaign have ever happened without great client relationships? Robert and Ben look at what account managers can do to win back their authority, including the importance of trust and wisdom.Plus, Ben goes on a rant about sandwiches, Robert talks tipping, and explains why the client service discipline is a bit like Levi’s jeans.

In this episode, host Ben Norman is joined by underdog advertising’s perennial trouble-maker, Paul Mellor - co-founder of ⁠Mellor & Smith⁠ - the ad agency that gets underdogs noticed.For the past 20 years Paul has helped brands like Paddy Power, Brooks Running, Hotels.com and Fat Lad at the Back get noticed by troubling the market-leading big dogs.Paul and Ben discuss the difference between big dog and underdog brands, why the biggest brands have it easy, and what underdogs need to do to punch above their weight.Paul makes the case to banish underdogs acting like market leaders, and explains why better, braver advertising is the only option available to them.They also discuss the difference between essential critical thinking and pesky problem spotting, how to find the ‘one thing’ to grow your underdog and the joys of loitering (instead of just relying on data).Plus, Paul rants about marketers who do everything they can to avoid thinking, he becomes the first person to say ‘Bonza’ in Marketing Room 101 and he decides that the ultimate underdog is actually an eel.Download your copy of ⁠13.5 Ways to Grow Your Underdog Brand ⁠

In this episode, host Ben Norman is joined by Jordan Stachini, who describes herself as an ROI obsessed marketer who loves a Guinness and doesn’t do ‘fluffy’.Jordan is the owner and founder of ⁠Co&Co⁠, the agency in Manchester she set-up at 30 years old and just one month before the Covid-19 pandemic stuck.Jordan talks about the journey she’s been on since ‘accidentally’ setting-up an agency, the benefits of choosing stability over speed and the difference between the privilege of stress and the danger of burnout. She also outlines how marketers can be ROI obsessed without killing creativity (and what they can learn from Surreal).Into Marketing Room 101 Jordan commits exclamation marks in pursuit of better writing and storytelling for brands.Jordan and Ben also discuss why (good) marketers need to stop fearing AI, and why a lack of common sense is the reason for most bland advertising.It also becomes clear Ben has no idea what his brother does for a living, while Ben and Jordan disagree about Manchester vs Yorkshire, but agree on North vs South.

In this episode, host Ben Norman is joined by one of the most decorated creative leaders in UK advertising, Mick Mahoney.Mick has led some of the world’s biggest agencies, working with some of the biggest brands from being Creative Director at BBH (including working on Jonnie Walker’s epic ‘The Man Who Walked Around the World’) to ECD at Havas Worldwide and Y&R London, then CCO Ogilvy. But more recently Mick has turned his attention towards helping more people to access creativity, understand it, and feel more confident using it. In doing so Mick has co-authored The Creative Nudge with previous guest Kev Chesters, he's developed the world’s first professional training programme for Creative Directors and released his debut solo book The Complete Creative Director. Mick turns out to be both the most unreasonable (in a good way) and unrestrained guest to enter Marketing Room 101. Ben and Mick discuss the new book, Mick’s stubborn refusal of home office equipment, why Mick has more energy today than 30 years ago and why he’s happy to give away his secrets.Mick then makes the case to banish five (yes five!) things, from brand value vinyls to problem spotters and pool tables.Mick also explains how pitching is destroying the creative industry and why it’s the agency’s fault, not the client’s. Ben is then put in a tricky situation and Mick decides he doesn’t want to murder his family.

In this episode, host Ben Norman is joined by the godfather of challenger brands and anti-dullness campaigner, Adam Morgan - who, in 1999, after years as a planner in top agencies (including as Planning Director at TBWA\Chiat\Day) - wrote the international best-selling challenger brand bible Eating the Big Fish and set up the consultancy he still runs today: eatbigfish.Adam and Ben discuss challenger brands and what’s changed for them in the past 25 years, as well as Adam’s recent work with Peter Field and Jon Evans on The Extraordinary Cost of Dull - uncovering the true cost of dull creative and media to brands and marketers.Plus, find out what The Four Horsemen of the Dullocalypse are and how to fight them, why cows are more interesting than advertising, why AI could be the saviour, and why Ben’s brother is a genius.

In this episode, host Ben Norman is joined by Louise Tullin, Marketing Director at ⁠55/Redefined⁠, an organisation dedicated to changing life and work for people over 50 for the better.Louise and Ben tackle the issue of age in marketing and advertising, looking at how and why the over-50s are being ignored and just how big of a problem it is, through to the commercial case, and why brands should see age as a path to growth, not a box to tick.Plus, what can brands learn from Dove and The Olympic Committee on how to include over 55s without turning off younger audiences? And what can Amazon, Cadbury’s and Gogglebox tell us about the power of including older people in humour?Louise also plugs a load of great books and talks about cats.Links to everything discussed in the episode –⁠Revolting Women by Lucy Ryan ⁠⁠Invisible Women by Caroline Criado Perez⁠⁠Bolder by Carl Honore⁠⁠Much More to Come by Eleanor Mills ⁠⁠Lifelife: Cat’s Protection Fostering Scheme ⁠

In this episode, host Ben Norman is joined by the fastest man in advertising, Nick Entwistle, who set-up ⁠One Minute Briefs⁠ in 2012 to encourage a faster, more instinctive approach to creativity.Over a decade later, the OMB community includes tens of thousands of creatives, producing hundreds of thousands of ideas for a huge list of brands, reaching millions of people across the world in the process.Since Lucozade provided the first branded brief, Nick and the OMB community have gone on to work with brands like Coca-Cola, Guinness and Task Rabbit, through to charities and public organisations including NHS, Missing People and WWF.Nick and Ben talk about the curse of overthinking and the power of committees to destroy great ideas, as well as the potential in communities to create them. Nick also makes the case for the lighter side of marketing, embracing silliness and the return of humour.Plus, Nick gives tips on how to end cyberbullying, names a piece of chalk, and Ben makes him do some quick maths.Learn more about Nick's business ⁠The Bank of Creativity⁠Learn more about ⁠Cybersmile ⁠

In this episode, host Ben Norman is joined by Dave Harland, probably the funniest person on LinkedIn, and proud writer of copy and creator of personality for brands great and small across the UK for over 20 years.Dave’s career in marketing has seen him work on both sides of the client/agency fence, both as a copywriter and journalist, until more recently setting-up shop as co-founder of ⁠Copy or Die⁠.Dave and Ben talk about the important side of humour and why it’s not just a laughing matter, they indulge in a spot of lazy advertising bashing and Dave presents an alternative way to build a brand through personality, humanity and lived experience.Plus, Dave makes the case for a lighter approach to heavy subjects (like epidurals), explains why he’s decide not to scam children, and paints a pretty unsettling picture of a cemetery.

In this episode, host Ben Norman is joined by Global Executive Creative Director (ECD) of Jellyfish, and founder of Good Girls Eat Dinner, Jo Wallace.Having made the move to LA in 2022 after 20 years in some of the UK’s most successful creative businesses, Jo and Ben discuss the differences between life and work in LA and London, why brands need to do the hard work to be single minded to avoid word salads, and how a braver culture of ‘yes’ could be the key to effectiveness.Jo also shares advice on how to tackle gender bias in senior leadership positions, why we need more female role models in the industry and how to actually do something about diversity.They also discuss miss-matched office furniture, someone’s uncle’s dog and London’s architecture.

In this episode, host Ben Norman is joined by a strategist, a speaker, a trainer, an author and a lecturer, which all happen to be the same person.Yes, Kevin Chesters has had some of the most important strategy jobs in the country, like Chief Strategy Officer (CSO) at Ogilvy and dentsu mcgarrybowen, plus senior roles at W+K and Saatchi & Saatchi and client-side strategy stint at BT.On top of that he wrote The Creative Nudge with business partner and good mate Mick Mahoney, as well as lecturing across several universities, training organisations across the country and fitting in the odd keynote or TEDx talk.In this episode Kevin and Ben discuss - Creativity, and why it’s often misunderstood Positivity, and why marketing needs more of itTyre kicking, and why we need to get rid of it Briefing, and how to get better at itAutism, and getting diagnosed with itPlus, Kev moans about moaners, reveals the answer to happiness and quotes a Korean proverb.

In this episode, host Ben Norman is joined in Marketing Room 101 by Gillian Clarke, a marketer with over 25 years experience working with some of the UK’s most loved FMCG brands, from Fox’s to Wham, Kit-Kat to Quality Street, and most recently Honey Monster cereal.In 2022, Gillian set up strategic consultancy Brave North which promises straight to the point marketing that works in the real world for brands large and small.Gillian and Ben discuss the importance of all the 4 Ps and why marketing can’t just be about the ‘promotional P’, Gillian makes the case for putting emotion back into advertising and the need to balance statistical rigour with gut instinct.The Honey Monster is also compared to a Georgian town house and takes down Tony the Tiger.

In this episode, host Ben Norman is joined in Marketing Room 101 by Laura Jordan Bambach.Perhaps one of the busiest people in the marketing world, Laura is Founder and Chief Creative Officer at ⁠Uncharted⁠, Founder of ⁠SheSays⁠ & ⁠Oko⁠, plus a speaker, author & artist.As one of very few female Chief Creative Officers Laura has bagged almost every award and accolade going, including being named one of Britain’s most influential people in the Debrett’s 500, as well as leading teams at Grey and Mr President to endless creative and effectiveness awards at the highest level.Further proving her boundless creative energy, Laura is also co-founder of SheSays, the global network supporting women in the creative industries as well as OKO and The Great British Diversity Experiment.Laura and Ben discuss setting up an all female creative agency, the power of creative community and the danger of confusing the easiest metrics to analyse, with the metrics that actually matter.They also discuss the comparisons between the dawn of AI and the birth of the world wide web, and Laura also decides she wants to be an axolotl with bat wings.

In this episode, host Ben Norman is joined in Marketing Room 101 by Nick Asbury, the creative copywriter with a rap sheet including 25 years of work for major brands, writing for Creative Review, Design Week and The Guardian, co-authoring the latest edition of ‘A Smile in the Mind: Witty thinking in graphic design’ and most recently, writing his stand-out book ‘The Road to Hell’, which outlines a case against brand purpose that Professor Byron Sharp described as ‘an antidote to shoddy thinking’.Nick and Ben discuss the origins of brand purpose, why it leads to bad marketing and the troublesome truth behind the ‘do well by doing good’ mantra. Nick also presents a better way for brands, agencies and advertisers, suggests a rethink for creative awards and doesn’t buy a pink Jaguar.Pick up your copy of The Road to Hell hereFind out more about Nick here

In this episode, host Ben Norman is joined in Marketing Room 101 by Owen Ensor, CEO of sustainable start-up Meatly - the first company in Europe to gain approval to sell cultivated meat (or lab-grown meat), and the first in the world to be approved to sell cultivated meat pet food. We’re talking real meat (not ‘like meat’), made without animals. In this chat, Owen and Ben discuss the fascinating journey that led Owen to enter such a fascinating industry, how Meatly went from underdog (there’s a joke in there somewhere) to world’s first, creating the brand and developing messaging, and why we need to rethink and re-regulate the way brands speak about the animals used to make their products.Owen also announces his love for a somewhat niche kind of 1960s advertising and brings Freddie Mercury back from the dead.Find out more at ⁠meatly.pet⁠

In this episode, host Ben Norman is joined in Marketing Room 101 by legendary advertising creative, Trevor Robinson OBE, founder of agency Quiet Storm, as well as Create Not Hate.From sofa surfing around London trying to break into the creative world to receiving an OBE for services to advertising and diversity, Trevor’s career is extraordinary and his insight invaluable.As a creative, Trevor has created highly entertaining and far-reaching work that’s almost certainly made anybody reading this laugh at some point – from the iconic 90s ad campaign ‘You’ve been Tango’d’ to Haribo’s kid’s voices in recent years.He makes the case that these, and most other great creative campaigns, wouldn’t exist without faith in creativity, and therefore decides to eliminate fear from the creative industry.Trevor and Ben also talk diversity in advertising, and how Create Not Hate isn’t about ticking boxes or meeting quotas, it’s about how diversity in a wider sense leads to better, more effective creative work.Find out more about ⁠Quiet Storm here.⁠Find out more about ⁠Create Not Hate here.

In this episode, host Ben Norman is joined in Marketing Room 101 by author, mentor and former agency owner Gareth Healey.For around half of his 30 years in the creative industry Gareth was CEO of his own 175 head-count marketing agency, with offices in Leeds and London, before exiting to focus on helping other marketing agency owners run their businesses better, grow their agencies and sell them, as well as writing his book - Stand Out or Die.With a hand and an ear in agencies of all shapes and sizes, Gareth makes his pitch to rethink agency pitching, introduces smarter pitching practices and explains exactly why doing so will benefit both brands and agencies and improve client-agency relationships.Find out more about ⁠Cactus⁠.Get your copy of ⁠Stand Out or Die⁠.

In this episode, host Ben Norman is joined in Marketing Room 101 by his first ever international guest. All the way from the USA, Christina Garnett is a fractional Chief Customer Officer and founder of Pocket CCO, who helps businesses to understand their customers better, to make them happier and to retain them for longer.Championing collaborative business culture and a customer-centric approach, Christina makes the case for destroying silos (in business, not agriculture) and creating a better culture for teams, as well as highlighting the power of a whole team aligned around the customer.She also uses a perfect Marvel related analogy and struggles to understand beans on toast.Find out more at Pocket CCO

In this episode, host Ben Norman is joined in Marketing Room 101 by Gareth Turner, a strategic consultant with almost 25 years experience running marketing for household names like Weetabix, John Smith’s and Lurpak, who founded Leeds-based consultancy Big Black Door in 2013.Gareth makes the case for putting strategy before tactics when planning brand activity, not jumping straight to specialisms and separating the creative idea from the execution. He also campaigns to end modern marketing slavery and laments a wonky floor.Find out more about Gareth here - ⁠bigblackdoor.com

In this episode, host Ben Norman is joined in Marketing Room 101 by Chris Norton & Will Ockenden, co-owners and founders of Prohibition, the award-winning PR and social media agency they set-up in Leeds in 2012, who have worked together for almost 20 years.Chris and Will make the case for a more authentic, human approach, be it in PR, social or influencer marketing, and why we need to do something about fake followers, and influencers backed by bots.Chris also has a rant about agency pitching, Will craves some company and Ben likes George Clooney.Find out more about Prohibition PR here and listen to Embracing Marketing Mistakes podcast here.

In this episode Ben Norman is joined in Marketing Room 101 by Taylors of Harrogate Strategy and Innovation Director, Dom Dwight. In recent years, along with his team, Dom has been responsible for some of the most effective, creative and entertaining advertising in the UK, most famously taking Yorkshire Tea to the category top spot whilst bagging almost every effectiveness award along the way. In this conversation at Taylor's Harrogate HQ, Dom makes the case for the death of dullness, and the return of the sort of advertising that inspired him to get into the industry in the first place, including those soundtracks that inspire a good old singalong.

Ben Norman opens the door to Marketing Room 101 for the first time. In this episode, he is joined by Paul Feldwick, an icon of British advertising with a career spanning 6 decades.As a strategist and planner Paul worked at London agency BMP for over 30 years, and led global strategy and training following the merger with DDB. Since leaving, he has written Anatomy of humbug and Why does the pedlar sing? (which Rory Sutherland described as ‘possibly the book I would most highly recommend to anyone in marketing.’ ) In this episode Paul and Ben talk about the power of showmanship, and why marketers need to entertain. Paul makes banishes the rotten brand onion and champions looking back at brand history, not just forward at the next big thing. If you haven't already, get hold of his books here...http://paulfeldwick.com/books/the-anatomy-of-humbug/http://paulfeldwick.com/books/why-does-the-pedlar-sing/