The Radical Global Marketing Podcast

Chinese companies have become formidable competitors on the global stage, combining innovation, operational efficiency and competitive pricing to establish themselves in international markets. But as China's businesses move beyond exporting products towards becoming truly global brands, a new challenge is emerging: how to build trust, meaningful relationships and lasting relevance with audiences around the world.In this episode of The Radical Global Marketing Podcast, Steven Proud is joined by Chris Pereira, Founder and CEO of iMpact, a global communications and business advisory firm helping Chinese companies successfully expand into international markets. With more than two decades of experience working across China and global markets, including communications experience at Huawei, Chris brings a unique perspective on the challenges and opportunities facing Chinese businesses as they evolve from successful exporters into genuinely global organisations.A leading voice on the role of trust in international business, Chris is the author of Trust: The Golden Key to Chinese Enterprises' Globalization and Trust: The New Battleground for Chinese Companies Going Global. Through iMpact's 5R methodology, he has developed a practical framework for building the relationships with customers, employees, partners, investors and wider stakeholders that are essential to sustainable international growth.Steven and Chris explore why successful international expansion requires much more than competitive products and translated marketing campaigns. From the growing global influence of Chinese brands and culture to renewed opportunities for international businesses entering China, the conversation offers valuable perspectives on the evolving nature of globalization and what marketers around the world can learn from China's innovation, agility and competitive mindset.In this episode, we explore:The next phase of Chinese globalization: Why Chinese companies are moving beyond exports and price competitiveness to build sustainable international businesses and brands.Trust as a competitive advantage: How relationships with employees, customers, governments, media and local communities help establish credibility in overseas markets.Localization beyond translation: Why genuine market understanding, cultural relevance and community engagement are essential for international success.Building globally relevant Chinese brands: What examples from BYD, Pop Mart, Labubu and emerging Chinese food and beverage brands reveal about international branding and cultural influence.The future of global marketing: Why China presents renewed opportunities for international businesses, and what global marketers can learn from its innovation, agility and results-driven approach.

What happens when B2B marketing stops trying to capture attention and starts creating genuine connections?In this episode of the Radical Global Marketing Podcast, Steven is joined by Casey Cheshire, founder and CEO of Ringmaster, author of Marketing Automation Unleashed and a marketer with more than two decades of experience.Casey's route into marketing is anything but conventional. After eight years in the US Marine Corps, he built a career in B2B marketing and marketing automation before discovering a new passion for podcasting – and ultimately building a business around helping B2B brands use podcasts to create content, conversations and commercial opportunities.At the heart of the discussion is a simple idea: connection is the new currency. Steven and Casey explore why genuine conversations can be so powerful for B2B marketers, where technology and automation can get in the way, and why understanding your customer remains fundamental no matter how sophisticated the marketing toolkit becomes.In this episode...Steven and Casey discuss:Why genuine connection can be more powerful than transactional B2B marketingHow podcasts can build brand, create demand and strengthen customer relationshipsWhy marketing technology and automation should never replace understanding your customerHow AI is increasing content noise – and making human connection even more valuableWhy global marketers need to keep challenging what they think they know about their customersDo you really know your customer?Technology gives marketers more opportunities than ever to automate, measure and optimise what they do. Casey experienced that transformation first-hand through marketing automation, gaining the ability to demonstrate how marketing activity contributed to leads, customers and revenue.But more technology doesn't automatically mean better marketing.Casey found that many companies were using only a fraction of the capabilities of the technology they had purchased. Worse, marketers could become so focused on platforms, features and automation that they lost sight of the person they were actually trying to reach.The same problem applies to content. Whether a 17-page report has been painstakingly written by an expensive expert or generated in seconds using AI, the fundamental question remains the same:What question does this answer for your buyer?From go to market to connect to marketThis becomes particularly important for global marketers.Pain and intent may be universal, but the people experiencing them – and the way they choose to solve their problems – can be very different across markets, cultures and generations.A buyer persona created ten years ago may bear little resemblance to the person making the same purchasing decision today. And a persona developed for one market can't simply be assumed to work everywhere else.Casey's answer is deceptively simple: keep talking to people.For him, this is another reason podcasting has become such a powerful marketing tool. It creates a consistent reason for marketers and business leaders to have meaningful conversations with the people they want to understand.It also sits behind his latest concept, Connect to Market. Rather than simply taking a product to a market, Casey argues that businesses should think more deliberately about how they connect with the people within it – through podcasts, communities, partnerships and other human-first approaches.As AI makes it easier to create more content, more quickly, those genuine human connections may become more important rather than less.Because amid all the automation, algorithms and AI-generated noise, great marketing still begins with understanding another person.Resources mentioned in this episode:Casey Cheshire on LinkedInRingmasterRingmaster on LinkedInMarketing Automation UnleashedThe Hard Corps Marketing ShowSponsor for this episode...This episode is brought to you by Brandigo China.We are an independent marketing and communications agency based in Shanghai, China with 20 years of on-the-ground experience in China.At Brandigo China, we work with multinational clients to support their marketing and business growth efforts in China.

Marc Rust – Consequently CreativeWhat role can creativity and branding play in driving real business growth?In this episode of the Radical Global Marketing Podcast, Steven Proud is joined by Marc Rust, Managing Director of Consequently Creative, to explore how brand, creativity and storytelling can help businesses navigate transformation, build stronger cultures and ultimately create greater value.Marc's own relationship with marketing started at an early age. Moving to France at nine without speaking French, he found himself drawn to the advertising he saw on the streets, in subway stations and on television. Advertising became a window into both the language and the culture, and sparked a fascination with what Marc describes as the "magic" marketing can create.That fascination eventually developed into a career spanning both the creative and financial worlds, including roles within agencies and major financial institutions. Today, Consequently Creative brings those two worlds together, working particularly closely with private equity firms and their portfolio companies.Branding through business transformationA major theme of the conversation is what happens to a brand when a business itself is changing.Marc introduces the idea of "acquisition turbulence", the uncertainty that can spread through an organisation following an acquisition. While the financial case for a deal may be clear, employees can suddenly find themselves questioning what the change means for their roles, their company and its future.Without effective communication, that uncertainty can quickly affect culture and talent retention.Marc argues that this is where branding and marketing have a much bigger role to play than simply communicating a new name or visual identity. By explaining why a company was acquired, celebrating what made it valuable in the first place and creating a clear story about where the combined business is heading, marketing can become an important part of the transformation itself.In this episode...Steven and Marc discuss:Marc's unconventional introduction to marketing and creativityWhy finance and marketing need to work more closely togetherThe role of brand in private equity and portfolio company growthHow businesses can navigate "acquisition turbulence"Why internal audiences are critical during periods of transformationHow organisations can uncover and amplify what makes them differentWhy creativity can thrive in finance and other highly analytical industriesHow storytelling and shared values can help bring different company cultures togetherWhy brands need to be continually nurtured and evolvedHow AI is changing the creative landscapeWhy human ingenuity and taste could become even more valuable in an AI-driven worldMarc also shares a fascinating example of a technology company facing a significant identity and cultural challenge following an acquisition. Through workshops, listening and storytelling, his team helped uncover the disconnect between how employees viewed the organisation and where the business was actually heading, and helped create a story that people could understand, believe in and get behind.Don't be lazy with AIThe conversation finishes by turning to a subject no marketing podcast can completely avoid: AI.For Marc, the opportunity isn't simply about using AI to produce more content, more quickly. In fact, he warns against allowing automation to replace thought, creativity and judgement.As AI makes it easier to create work that is technically competent but increasingly predictable, Marc believes there is a growing opportunity for people who can bring genuine ingenuity, originality and human perspective to their work.He uses legendary music producer Rick Rubin to make the point. Rubin's greatest strength isn't technical proficiency, it's his ability to recognise what matters and know what to amplify.In other words, taste matters.And in a world where everyone has access to increasingly powerful creative tools, it may matter more than ever. 

In this episode of the Radical Global Marketing Podcast, host Steven Proud is joined by Harriet Gaywood, founder of Anoumis Communications, and one of the most experienced PR and communications leaders working in and around China today.With more than 25 years of international experience, Harriet has held senior communications roles across Asia, including Vice President of Public Relations and International Media at Chinese tech giant Huawei. She now works with leadership teams across the region, advising on strategic communications, reputation management, and media engagement in complex, global environments.In this wide-ranging conversation, Harriet shares hard-earned insights from decades working at the intersection of communications, geopolitics, technology, and culture, offering a candid perspective on what it really takes to operate effectively as a global communications leader in and around China.We also explore a very different side of Harriet’s story. She is the founder of Trailing Around Asia and a recently published author of Trailing Around Asia, Mud, Sweat and Beers, a deeply personal account of trail running, climbing, and pushing physical and mental limits across China and Thailand, often at frankly ridiculous distances and altitudes.Throughout the episode, Harriet discusses:What global communications leadership really looks like inside large Chinese organisationsHow international PR has evolved over the last 25 years, and where it’s heading nextManaging reputation, risk, and credibility across markets, cultures, and political contextsThe realities of training leaders and spokespeople across AsiaWhy endurance sports, resilience, and communications leadership have more in common than you might thinkThis episode is part masterclass in international communications, part personal journey, and a powerful reminder that the best global leaders are built through experience, perspective, and stamina.

In this episode of the Radical Global Marketing Podcast, host Steven Proud sits down with Tom Wells, Global Marketing Manager at Life Couriers, one of the world’s leading healthcare and life science logistics groups.Tom’s career is anything but typical. From studying music and diving deep into audio production and coding, to building a freelance digital career, running HR, and finally landing in global marketing. His journey is a masterclass in adaptability, curiosity, and saying “yes” to opportunities.Today, Tom helps steer the brand and marketing strategy for a business responsible for some of the most time-critical, life-saving deliveries on the planet, including stem cell transplants, radiopharmaceuticals, lab specimens, and direct-to-patient medical supplies.We explore how Life Couriers is unifying more than a dozen specialist companies into one global brand, why storytelling and internal alignment matter just as much as external communication, and how Tom approaches marketing in a sector where failure simply isn’t an option.Tom also shares insights on:How an unconventional career path prepared him perfectly for stakeholder-heavy, people-focused marketingThe unique challenges of building a brand in a highly specialised, deeply regulated industryWhy healthcare logistics is as human as it is high-techThe role of internal culture, communication, and trust when integrating teams across the worldThe future of the Life Couriers group, from advanced tracking systems to drones and global expansionHow AI fits into modern marketing without losing the human elementThis episode is a deep dive into a side of logistics most people never see, and a reminder of how marketing can shape brand trust in life-critical industries.

In this episode of the Radical Global Marketing Podcast, we sit down with Greg Savarese, founder and CEO of Sino Taste, a comprehensive food and beverage investment group shaping the future of coffee in China.Greg shares his remarkable 20-year journey in China, from co-founding a fast-casual restaurant group to pivoting back to his first passion: coffee. Today, Sino Taste operates across the entire coffee value chain, from sourcing and roasting to retail and wholesale, with bold plans to integrate even further by launching their own coffee farm in Yunnan.We explore how Greg balances his roles in strategy, business development, and marketing, and why brand storytelling is critical in China’s fast-evolving coffee scene. From premium positioning with Ocean Grounds to expanding into traditional and instant coffee segments, Sino Taste’s portfolio is designed to capture the diversity of Chinese coffee consumers.Greg also reflects on:The opportunities and challenges of building a vertically integrated F&B business in ChinaHow China’s unique food culture shapes consumer expectationsWhy coffee in China is still in its early growth stage, and why the next few years will be criticalThe role of marketing and storytelling in driving both B2C and B2B growthWhether you’re a marketer, entrepreneur, or coffee lover, this episode offers fascinating insights into building a modern brand in one of the world’s most dynamic markets.

In this episode of the Radical Global Marketing Podcast, co-host Steven Proud speaks with Shaheen Samavati, CEO and co-founder of Vera Content, a multilingual content agency based in Madrid.A former journalist turned marketing leader, Shaheen shares her journey from U.S. newspapers to Spain’s startup scene, and how she went on to build a team that helps global brands create authentic, multilingual content that resonates with audiences across cultures.Key talking points from this episode:From journalism to marketing leadership: How Shaheen’s background in business journalism shaped her approach to content creation and quality standards.Building Vera Content: The story behind founding her agency, and why “Vera” (Latin for “true”) reflects its values.Content at scale: Insights into processes, checks and balances, and why editorial rigor is crucial when creating multilingual content for international markets.The AI challenge and opportunity: How Vera Content uses AI to boost efficiency while keeping quality and strategy firmly human-led.Future of content marketing: Why brands must move beyond keyword stuffing and focus on unique perspectives, strategy, and authentic storytelling.Shaheen also shares practical advice for marketers working with content agencies, her perspective on AI adoption from clients, and the importance of maintaining journalistic care in branded content.

In this episode, we sit down with Katja Omlor, a passionate and experienced marketer who thrives on authentic storytelling and leveraging user-generated content to amplify brand messaging. At the time of this recording, Katja was the Global Product Marketing Director for Leica Geosystems, part of Hexagon, a world leader in premium measurement and survey equipment. She has since taken on an exciting new challenge as Director of Global & Corporate MarComs at Coltene Group, a global leader in dental equipment and consumables.With a career spanning B2B industries from industrial equipment to consulting, surveying, and now dental, Katja shares her insights on navigating the challenges of global marketing, aligning regional and corporate strategies, and the power of customer-driven storytelling.In This Episode, We Cover:The Challenges of Marketing a Diverse Product Portfolio – How to create compelling, consistent messaging when working with a vast range of highly technical products. The Role of Product Marketing – From developing a business case to product positioning, launch strategy, and eventual phase-out, Katja explains how product marketing drives commercial success. The Power of User-Generated Content – Why brands should embrace customer voices, even when feedback isn’t always perfect. Memory Generation in Marketing – A future-focused strategy that ensures brands remain top-of-mind, even when customers aren’t ready to buy. Balancing Global & Regional Marketing Needs – How to provide strategic guidance while allowing regional teams the flexibility to localize.Tune in now! Don’t miss this insightful conversation with Katja as she shares her marketing philosophy, career journey, and lessons learned along the way.

Katie Smith is the Founder and CEO of Wild Path Consulting and a Fractional CMO.Katie is a dynamic force who masterfully blends adventure with marketing expertise, transforming stagnation and chaos into clear strategic success. She joined us to share her incredible career journey and unique insights that will inspire and challenge how you think about marketing and leadership.Wild Path Consulting helps businesses that care about the future of our planet and its people to craft compelling strategies, build strong marketing teams, and remain flexible in how they position their products and services. With a focus on social impact marketing, Wild Path empowers companies to scale sustainably while making a positive difference. In this episode:Adventurous Beginnings: Learn how Katie’s diverse and adventurous career journey has influenced her ability to think creatively and tackle complex challenges, helping her become an expert at solving problems in innovative ways.Strategic Alignment for Success: Katie emphasizes the importance of aligning teams, goals, and strategies to achieve clarity, focus, and meaningful outcomes. She shares practical advice on breaking through organizational silos to create more cohesive and effective marketing strategies.Overcoming Stagnation and Embracing Change: Discover Katie’s approach to turning stagnation into momentum, using adaptability and bold decision-making to navigate through uncertainty and drive business growth.The Role of a Fractional CMO: Katie explains how fractional CMOs can bring high-level expertise to businesses on a flexible basis, offering the strategic direction needed to scale effectively without the commitment of a full-time hire.Finding Opportunity Amidst Chaos: Katie shares her philosophy on embracing chaos and uncertainty as opportunities for transformation, providing tips on how to reframe challenges into strategic advantages that lead to long-term success.

In the latest episode of The Radical Global Marketing Podcast, we sit down with Saul Hudson, Co-founder and Managing Partner of Angle 42.With decades of experience as a communications leader—most notably as General Manager, Americas at Reuters News—Saul specializes in helping cutting-edge technology companies craft compelling narratives that resonate with mainstream media, financial industries, and global audiences.Angle 42 is a strategic communications consultancy specializing in helping exponential growth technology companies achieve their goals. With deep expertise in bridging the gap between the technology sector, mainstream media, and financial industries, Angle 42 provides tailored advice to craft compelling narratives, educate audiences, and build credibility. Whether it’s blockchain, AI, or other frontier technologies, Angle 42 empowers businesses to transform complex ideas into powerful stories that drive impact and growth.In this episode:Educating the Market: Many blockchain and exponential growth tech companies face the unique challenge of being at the leading edge. Their products and services are often unlike anything seen before, requiring an educational component to their communication strategies to bridge understanding gaps.From Genius to Storytelling: While many technologists are bona fide geniuses in their fields, they may not excel at telling their stories. This is where strategic communication support becomes critical in translating complex ideas into compelling narratives.Building Bridges Between Worlds: Saul highlights the importance of connecting the tech sector with mainstream media and financial audiences, enabling innovation to be understood and embraced on a broader scale.Overcoming Communication Challenges: He shares actionable advice for tech companies navigating the ever-evolving media landscape, including how to stand out in a crowded space.Strengthening Media Relationships: Practical tips on how to foster trust and build lasting connections with journalists, helping to amplify brand visibility and credibility.