Episode 302 / Mat Thomas / Lexus UK / Senior Manager, Brand Strategy

Anyone can start a brand overnight, but how do you make it work and last? Brett Marchand, CEO of Plus Company, has picked the democratisation of brands as his shiny new object. In this episode, we talk about how the barriers have lowered when it comes to brand building, but how it's still as tough as ever to create meaningful marketing around it. Plus, find out how to come back after losing it all and some top data driven marketing tips.

Mat Thomas, Senior Manager of Brand Strategy at Lexus UK, discusses talks about the importance of data-driven marketing and continuous improvement. He shares why he finds Rory Sutherland's "Alchemy" influential, stressing the value of understanding psychology and consumer behaviour. And he explains Lexus's kaizen approach, focusing on continuous improvement through data-driven decisions - Mat's shiny new object. 

The power of stillness. That's the topic of this episode and the shiny new object chosen by Christine Maguire, Global Vice President, Commercial Business at Tripadvisor. Tune in to hear how Christine finds clarity and focus through stillness, as well as her top data driven marketing tips.

Emily Keller-Logan, Director of Global Marketing Strategy and Experience at Coursera, talks about how she uses AI agents to improve marketing effectiveness, while giving us her top data driven marketing tips. Focus on qualitative context to complement your data, and ensure it's answering relevant business questions. Hear all the details on the podcast.   

Marketing is changing: where we were trying to avoid bot traffic before, we're now increasingly having to optimise for AI and agentic systems instead. But, soon everyone's content will be similar, and it's where the human element will set us free, according to Katherine Freeley, Head of Media at Boehringer Ingelheim. Katherine comes back to the podcast five years since her last appearance, sharing why we should use AI to super charge our human capabilities and reflecting on how marketing has and will continue to change. 

Why are brands primarily advertising to young people when over 44% of purchasing power sits with GenX and Baby Boomers? Ageism is Christiana Courtright's shiny new object, and she explains why you're leaving serious money on the table by not targeting ads correctly and in an audience relevant way. Listen to our latest guest, Head of Digital Netherlands at Edelman, to get more top data driven marketing tips. 

Is using AI in social media content production and analysis cheating, or is it being smart and adding a human touch to make it authentic? Paola Rosciano, Social Media Manager at Remote, explains why AI in social media marketing is her shiny new object, as long as it's being used right. Find out how she sees AI tools changing the marketing landscape and listen to her top tips for better time management and getting more out of your data. 

Marketing and warfare can be similar, according to our latest guest Filip De Groeve, a Keynote Speaker, Pharmacist by training and Marketing Leader throughout his career. On the podcast, Filip shares his experience as former Marketing Director Benelux for Coloplast, his top data driven marketing tips, and why marketers need to find the story to connect with consumers.

Data driven marketing is just like sport for Nikita Kucheryavy - you need to train it, you need to have the right warm-up, and you have to develop good technique to get the most out of it. In this episode, he also shares the benefits of having pursued an international career within Mars Petcare, and tells us why he's picked retail media as a shiny new object.

How can marketers improve their understanding of customer demographics and increase the effectiveness of their qualitative data analysis? Tala's Victoria Lorenzana shares why using AI tools for customer feedback analysis is her shiny new object, explaining just how to do it.