In this episode of The Unicorny Marketing Show, Dom chats with Simon Carter, a marketing expert with a diverse background in industries such as financial services, utilities, and B2B. The conversation focuses on why marketing is often undervalued in organisations, touching on leadership, company culture, and the ongoing struggle for marketers to have a seat at the strategic table. Simon shares candid insights on how marketers can reposition themselves as vital to business success, offering lessons from his own career, from NatWest to Thomas Cook. Key topics: • The concept of marketing as a company's centre of gravity • The long-term vs short-term marketing debate and its impact on brand building • How marketers can elevate their role by owning the voice of the customer The conversation is essential for any senior marketer navigating the challenge of positioning marketing as a strategic business driver. About Simon CarterA commercially articulate senior leader, with a track record of helping businesses grow significantly in the digital world. With roles in both the permanent and interim market, leading organisations through significant change and transformation across a wide range of sectors – from Automotive to Retail, Financial Services to Utilities, Telco to Technology, Travel and Leisure to Education, and into the Third Sector – in both consumer and business-to-business roles, operating on both the client and agency side, in permanent and independent positions. A Liveryman with the Worshipful Company of Marketors, former weekly columnist for a Marketing magazine, Pro-Vice Chancellor for Coventry University, and a director of a 200-property Freehold company. Links Full show notes: Unicorny.co.uk  LinkedIn: Simon Carter | Dom Hawes  Sponsor: Selbey Anderson  Other items referenced in this episode: 81.The Unicorny Manifesto: Why 'phony wars' kill credibility 58. Battle of Beliefs: Does professional certification kill marketers instinct? With Paul Worthington The 95:5 rule by John Dawes  Marketing Trek: CSATs & NPS Are Garbage