The Long and the Short of It - Peter Field

In this episode I'm joined by Allison Ellsworth, founder of the fastest growing beverage brand in the US, Poppi.Poppi was started as Mother Beverage in 2018 (a nod to the raw, unfiltered apple cider vinegar used in the drink) but was rebranded after featuring on Shark Tank in the same year. Now, it's one of the biggest soda brands in the US, outselling Coke and Pepsi on Amazon. I speak to Allison about the journey of creating the brand, how influential TikTok was for their growth, their merch strategy and how they ended up buying a Super Bowl ad. This is a fascinating account of how a challenger brand can disrupt an industry in such a small period of time.Timestamps00:00 - Intro02:08 - Allison’s experience on Shark Tank05:56 - Funding and rebrand of Poppi10:36 - Launching the brand during COVID11:06 - Outselling Coke and Pepsi on Amazon12:33 - How big is the impact of Shark Tank13:45 - Growing the brand on social media17:02 - The influencer and social first marketing strategy19:45 - How Poppi’s marketing popup worked22:05 - Why Poppi invested in merch and launching in Target24:36 - Choosing which flavours to launch with Poppi28:04 - Approach to retail and growth29:27 - Breaking into a competitive market30:29 - Poppi’s Super Bowl campaign35:30 - The journey from 2 to 200 employees40:18 - How Allison hires at Poppi42:05 - The hardest part of the journey at Poppi44:07 - How Allison would start a new startup today

22 Jan 46min

Mr Bates vs The Post Office is a the most watched drama on ITV of all time. It's the extraordinary story of the greatest miscarriage of justice in British legal history, where hundreds of innocent sub-postmasters and postmistresses were wrongly accused of theft, fraud and false accounting due to a defective IT system. I speak to the producer of the show, Patrick Spence, to get a behind the scenes look at the drama, how it was discovered, how it was made and why the country rallied around Mr Bates.Timestamps00:00 - Intro01:09 - The story of Mr Bates05:33 - Having the film commissioned by ITV08:59 - How true was the drama12:04 - How big was the cover up at the Post Office14:12 - How did this scandal happen17:21 - Why some people pleaded guilty19:36 - How has the show impacted real people22:08 - Why no one has received compensation yet24:46 - What awards has the show won26:24 - The reaction from Fujitsu and the Post Office31:53 - How has the drama translated globally?

20 Jan 34min

Mark Abraham leads Boston Consulting Group’s Marketing, Sales & Pricing practice in North America. He also launched and leads the firm’s personalization capability. He has built some of the firm’s largest ventures and AI platforms, including Fabriq Personalization AI by BCG X, a personalization platform that accelerates personalization.Mark coauthored the book Personalized: Customer Strategy in the Age of AI, which helps executives learn how to put personalization at the center of their strategy, accelerate growth, and capture their share of the $2 trillion personalization prize.Timestamps00:00 - Intro00:49 - Why 2025 is the year of personalisation at scale01:38 - When personalisation goes wrong06:04 - Consumer data on our openness to personalisation07:48 - The $2 trillion opportunity10:08 - Who is doing personalisation well14:27 - The competitive advantage of speed and scale15:50 - How AI is driving personalisation forward24:15 - The 5 areas to build the framework for personalisation26:49 - How do you get information about your customer31:53 - What is the most useful intelligence to gather37:43 - How to make mass campaigns more targeted42:36 - Some of the barriers to personalisation50:19 - Why companies need to embrace AI53:25 - Parting advice to people on implementing personalisation

15 Jan 57min

It's our annual tradition to bring Sarah Carter and Les Binet, authors of How Not To Plan, onto the podcast to discuss the hot topics of the year and what marketers need to know in 2025. We've broken this episode into 8 key discussion points, including why consistent advertising is so effective, why the era of purpose is over and another year of the advertising industry needing to remember they are not the customer.00:00:00 - Intro00:00:55 - Reflecting on the agency’s year00:05:25 - Point 1: You are not the customer00:19:51 - Point 2: Ignore Price at your peril00:26:13 - Point 3: Consistency but not a lack of creativity00:42:08 - Point 4: Never forget the eyeballs00:50:48 - Point 5: Emotions aren’t just about making people cry00:55:08 - Point 6: Is the era of purpose over?01:00:38 - Point 7: Don’t just be in culture, stay in culture01:03:48 - Point 8: Don’t forget the power of Out of Home

8 Jan 1h 8min

Ed Smith leads the Amazon mass marketing team in Europe. In this episode we talk about how Amazon create such emotional advertising, how they make such huge decisions in their marketing and what Ed thinks about consistency within the Amazon brand.Timestamps00:00 - Intro00:48 - The top selling Amazon products at Christmas02:53 - Ed’s career journey to Amazon09:08 - Amazon’s sledging grannies campaign (age representation)14:49 - Why is Amazon’s advertising emotional21:10 - Being consistent with your brand24:39 - How Amazon make big decisions28:27 - Managing the demand side of Amazon29:30 - Amazon’s sustainability pledge35:12 - The role of influencers at Amazon38:56 - Culture at Amazon46:42 - Ed’s marketing predictions for 2025

6 Jan 51min

Uncensored CMO Reloaded. This episode was first published in May 2021.Rupert Howell is one of the founders of the iconic advertising agency HHCL & Partners. This is a bumper 2 hour episode, but I promise you it's worth it. We spend a lot of time actually talking about new business and the importance of winning pitches and growing customers. We also look at the campaigns that the HHCL created, where the ideas came from that inspired such iconic and effective work. And I think you'll find that quite revealing also how relationships are basically underpinned all of Rupert's success. Enjoy.We covered so much ground in this bumper 2 hour episode, so here's the list of what we touched upon:How Rupert made HHCL the best agency of the 90’sRuperts New Business Mantra – Honesty. Respect. Trust.Why saying ‘I don’t know’ and ‘we got it wrong’ is so importantHow the agency’s sole focus is Advertising but the Clients sole focus is the businessWhy new business should always be separate to the day to day account managementHow Rupert became ‘the finest new business director of all time’How to win a pitch even after you have lost itWhy the pitch process begins with the phone call and only ends when its announced in CampaignThe sole purpose of the pitch is to win and not to solve the clients business problemWhy HHCL had a strike rate of 65% for new businessWhat the company annual report can tell you for the pitch processWhy you should try and get your customer promotedHow Carling Black Label inspired the most successful Tango Advertising of all timeHow Tango destroyed Fanta and forced Coke to withdraw it from the marketHow a call from a Surgeon led to the Tango Slap commercial being withdraw from marketWhy the ‘4th Emergency Service’ transformed The AA and how the bold idea was sold inHow spending time with an AA team out on a call led to the ideaThe importance of winning your internal teams and why they matter as much as your customersInterrogating the product until ‘it confesses its strength’ Why the harder you practice the luckier you get is just as true for an agencyThe real hard yards of the start-up phase that meant not taking a day off in 3 yearsHow tabloids create controversy and how to respond to itWhy relationships are the secret to really succeeding in businessTurning down offers to sell the agency including a £1million bribeWhy HHCL accepted an offer from Chime with the support from Sir Martin SorrellWhy so few agencies ever succeed after being acquired by a networkWhy HHCL was never the same after Rupert left and why he would never go backThe importance of timing for Founders handing over to the next generationDealing with bullies, bribary and negotiating an exit from McCann with a boat & DB9 as consolationWhich celebrities are still speaking to Rupert after he left ITVWhy social media is driven by click bait and negative headlinesWhy you should give up the news, except perhaps local newsThe Pros and Cons of a British free pressHow to get a non-exec role

2 Jan 1h 52min

For a special Christmas edition of the Uncensored CMO, we've recorded a bonus episode of the Never Mind the Adverts podcast, featuring our good friend Orlando Wood. We talk about some breaking news, have some festive drinks and review some of the best Christmas Ads this year (yes, including that Coke ad). Enjoy.Timestamps00:00 - Intro01:10 - The news03:53 - Orlando’s Christmas Stocking Fillers09:06 - Drinks trolley12:38 - Review of the 2024 Christmas Ads16:45 - A break from the ads21:03 - Name that ad

23 Dec 202425min

Jess Myers CCO of The Very Group, returns to the podcast sharing the success of her role over the past year. We'll explore how Jess and her team navigates the crucial "Golden Quarter" leading up to Christmas, the importance of creative consistency, and the successes they've achieved by sticking with what works. Plus, we'll hear about the innovative launch of the Very Media Group and how their flamingo-themed campaigns resonate with customers.Jess also sheds light on balancing commercial objectives with customer experience, fostering collaborative relationships, and the unique challenges of her executive role. Whether it's optimizing holiday ads or championing a vibrant company culture, Jess’s insights are sure to inspire.Timestamps00:00 - Start01:07 - Jess’ custom merch for the podcast02:07 - Jess’ review of the year at Very04:28 - From Chief Marketing Officer to Chief Customer Officer - what’s changed06:17 - How marketers can thrive in the boardroom08:53 - Embracing “hun culture”12:35 - How important the golden quarter is for retailers15:46 - Why Very chose the run the same campaign at Christmas21:05 - Why short term is important in the Golden Quarter23:57 - Very's Flamazing Flamingos as a fluent device28:40 - Launching the Very Media Group31:03 - Launching House of Flamingo34:18 - Jess’ learnings from the last year at Very35:45 - Making the most out of your agencies39:29 - Closing thoughts

18 Dec 202441min