Episodes
We can never stop finding new ways to achieve that all-important balance between life and work, so in this episode host ⁠Will Francis chats with an expert on the issue, with unique experience and insights into dealing with modern work pressures. Catherine Mooney works in the pyschological health team at a multinational social media company in Dublin and deals daily with employees, and their challenges, all over the world. Prior to that she worked with disadvantaged men and mental health...
Published 03/31/23
In this episode we look at how webinars can be included as part of your overall digital marketing strategy. Host Will Francis is joined by Hannah Scherer, head of marketing at webinar and events platform Big Marker to talk about how webinars and live or recorded events can help nurture your audience and enhance your brand value.  Hannah also featured on a DMI webinar on how to plan, run and evaluate your webinar marketing, available to view on our website. A full transcript of this episode...
Published 03/17/23
Unless you've been on the moon the last few months, you'll have heard lots about GPT and Chat GPT - the chatbot built upon it. But as a marketer, what does this hyper-acceleration in predictive AI actually mean for your job, the world of search, advertising and content, and how can it actually open new opportunities? This episode features digital transformation expert Clark Boyd and SEO expert Danny Richman chatting during the Q&A of our recent webinar on GPT, as well as tips and futher...
Published 02/24/23
A brand is every interaction someone has with your business. Your brand identity is one part of that. Host Will Francis chats with Jason Byer of Crowdspring about what businesses of all levels, B2B or B2C, need to think about when approaching their branding, elements of authenticity and trust, and trends he sees coming down the line - like personalization and the rise of artificially generated designs. Jason's top tips on getting started on your brand or rebrand: 1. Look at other brands out...
Published 02/03/23
On the first episode of this bright new year, host Will Francis welcomes Rhoan Morgan to the show. Rhoan is founder and CEO of the MarTech agency DemandLab, host of Revenue Rebels podcast and a monthly columnist for CMSWire. "Saying no is actually one of the most important things you have to learn because the agency will die unless you are quite specific and focused about what briefs you take on" Rhoan Morgan.  Working in marketing over several decades, Rhoan recounts how agency services,...
Published 01/13/23
Consultant, founder, strategist, and author Julie Atherton and customer relationship growth manager at Intercom Sean Gallagher join host Will Francis to tell us why Social Selling is more about value than sales. Julie and Sean discuss their original research, which Sean worked on while undertaking his master’s dissertation under Julie’s supervision. They also talk us through how a personal and company profile can complement one another, and how to go about starting meaningful relationships...
Published 12/09/22
It's here! Our roundup of 11 experts across digital marketing with their insights on what to look out for in 2023. Here's just some of the things they see coming up that marketers of all levels need to think about: the need to address cost of living crisis, a shift within infuencer marketing, social media going back to its roots and seeing some decentralization, further personalization and a push back to one-to-one interaction, data skills, the rise of super-apps, where is automation going,...
Published 11/25/22
How do brands know what their audience thinks or expects? By asking them, of course! That's the role of an insights expert like Katrina Noelle, founder of KNow Research . She joins Will Francis on the podcast to explain how that asking is done, and all that happens from that initial point of contact through to the all-important final insights - and even pearls - that come from the process. They chat about how market research has changed over the decades (short answer - customer expectations),...
Published 11/11/22
Email marketing has been around for a while, but it’s still the ideal channel to span the entire marketing funnel. And it’s free! In this episode, host Will Francis talks to Head of Digital Marketing at Drift, Caitlin Seele, on how we can integrate email marketing with all other strategies and keep it as part of the overall conversation. They chat about subject lines, smart scheduling, and A/B testing, as well as logistics of aligning internal strategies to nurture tactics throughout the...
Published 10/28/22
What are the top skills you need today for a successful digital marketing career tomorrow?  Should you be a generalist or a specialist? Is there still room for more traditional marketing skills? In this episode, host Will Francis chats with DMI's Chief Marketing Officer, Mischa McInerney about where she sees a clear need for marketing skills today, especially in roles that didn't exist 10 ago - e.g. in automation, omnichannel, CRO, data science. A recent survey by DMI of 500 CMOs saw similar...
Published 10/14/22
B2B marketing hardly comes to mind when discussing fun and creative practices in digital marketing. Is it because B2B marketing is just boring? Is there room for creativity in B2B marketing?  In this edited episode, Host Will Francis brings you some of the most creative and unusual B2B marketing practices mentioned during his previous chats with B2B marketing experts. Banks being cool, dentists using TikTok, and B2B influencer campaigns are some of the topics Will discusses with our experts...
Published 09/30/22
As we go back to the office or try out a hybrid working setup, staying productive while maintaining one’s mental health is as important as ever. In this edited episode, Host Will Frances brings you some of the best productivity tips and methods unearthed during his chats with some of our previous guests. Whether it’s using the Mind Map method, trying out Deep Work, or simply Eating (and Swallowing) the Frog, the tips from our experts Joe Williams, Alison Battisby, or Kevin Reid are as helpful...
Published 09/16/22
As modern marketers, we are swamped by numbers coming from all directions. How do we manage all this data, demystify it, and use it to our best advantage? Host Will Francis chats with Chris Penn to look at data from different and interesting angles. They talk about Regression analysis, using R and Python, GA4 and GDPR, along with lots of interesting real world metaphors! Chris also offers 5 key takeaways that any marketer can start using today. Chris is the co-founder and chief data...
Published 09/02/22
Are you making the shift to using videos on your social platforms? Have you started thinking about using TikTok but don't know where or how to start? In this week's episode, podcast host Will Francis meets social agency Simply Social who work around the clock to stay on top of trends for their clients. General manager Peter Shannon and Olive Maher offer advice on marketers looking to set started with TikTok, and keep going with it. Indeed if you're a brand starting on social media for the...
Published 08/19/22
Many marketers are still confused when it comes to regulations around data privacy. While GDPR is the best known data regulation, it has been a catalyst for other data privacy developments around the world, from California to Singapore and Brazil. Your business is only as compliant as the least trained person on your team, so ongoing training of existing staff is essential. In this episode podcast host Will Francis chats with Steven Roberts, a veteran of marketing who has made the shift into...
Published 08/05/22
Earlier this year, we looked ahead at some of the emerging trends and changes to monitor in 2022. It is now time to revisit and reflect on these insights as they have proven to be still topical and pressing as ever. So, join host Will Francis and 8 experts and practitioners across the industry to look at where digital marketing is at in 2022 and how it is responding to societal changes post-COVID. Will and the guests looked at issues around recruitment and upskilling and key factors regarding...
Published 07/22/22
With a war raging and an impending recession, many of us are reconsidering our career paths and/or development. So in this re-aired episode, you will get brilliant tips, key insights, and guidance on how to reflect on your career to make sure your career goals stay on track. Focussing on how to improve your personal or “soft” skills, Will and guests Morgan Cummins (director of TalentHub) and Paul Farrer (founder of Aspire) discuss the importance (or not) of values, getting support from...
Published 07/06/22
Ever considered how your business might benefit from using chat marketing? In this episode, host Will Francis meets Anna Tutckaia, head of marketing at ManyChat, to learn about where this fast-developing form of marketing is helping brands and customers. By building a chat platform on Facebook, Messenger or Instagram, you are essentially meeting your customers where they already are.   A full transcript of this episode is available on our website, where you'll also find all our other...
Published 06/24/22
Pack your suitcase out and get ready to explore a historic corner of eastern Canada! In this episode, host Will Francis chats with tourism marketer Neil McKenzie all about how he operates the Yarmouth & Acadian Shores site in beautiful southwestern Nova Scotia. Using CrowdRiff as a UGC aggregator they continue to explore an omnichannel approach to content as the tourism sector starts to open up fully in 2022. Neil is also a graduate of the DMI and explains how he benefitted from the full...
Published 06/10/22
This week's episode is an especially exciting one for us - it's the first to mark the June launch of our new Search Marketing course created in collaboration with Neil Patel. We're joined today by one of his expert team, Matt Santos, who is VP of Products & Strategy at Neil Patel Accel. He has a breadth of experience across organic and paid search and in this episode he brings his expertise to a clear explanation of SEO strategy and techniques, and how an omnichannel approach to SEO can...
Published 05/27/22
Digital accessibility is more than a catchphrase, or a legal requirement – it’s a mindset that brands and marketers need to be much more aware of and consider building into their strategy. In this week’s episode, host Will Francis meets with Mark Miller and Cori Perlander of leading US-based accessibility consultancy TGPi. Cori shares her experience of seeing and hearing the internet on a daily basis, and Mark – also the host of the TPGI podcast – explains the ideas behind WCAG, VPATs, and...
Published 05/13/22
Host Will Francis is joined by Avocado Social founder Alison Battisby to discuss how marketers can take full advantage of the rise of shopping within social media platforms. From Instagram, Facebook and Pinterest to TikTok, consumers are becoming ever more used to shopping in these environments and they look at brands that are doing it well, how to use videos and influencers, how to work with platform guidelines, and where it's all heading.  To see some of these examples in action, you can...
Published 04/29/22
In our 50th episode (!) we were delighted to be joined by Sheena Horgan of Drinkaware Ireland to discuss the differences, and commonalities, of nonprofit and corporate marketers. View the full transcript on our website. The Ahead of the Game podcast is brought to you by the Digital Marketing Institute and is available on our website, Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and YouTube.  Check out the DMI's extensive digital marketing library of ebooks, toolkits, podcasts, webinars, blogs, and more! Join...
Published 04/15/22
In this episode host Will Francis chats with Ewoudt Cloete, PhD about his transition from working in an agency environment to running a team inside one of Africa's largest retailers, MassMart (part of the Walmart family). Ewoudt also discusses his academic background, experience as a DMI student and gives us an insight into digital marketing in South Africa.  The Ahead of the Game podcast is brought to you by the Digital Marketing Institute and is available on our website, Apple Podcasts,...
Published 04/01/22
What are the traits and challenges of marketing within the pharmaceutical and healthcare space? Host Will Francis chats with David Hunter, veteran healthcare marker with Havas Lynx and now with his new venture, The Considered. They also look at how it worked to launch that agency's new brand during Covid.  The Ahead of the Game podcast is brought to you by the Digital Marketing Institute and is available on our website, Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and YouTube.     Check out the DMI's extensive...
Published 03/18/22