1.    2024 is the year of? 

For myself, it’s the year of 3Bs: Bigger, Bolder, Better. For the industry, I think we will keep seeing the shift from pure performance marketing into a balanced view of long-term brand building.

2.   Who is your hero from the marketing and advertising world? Why?

I've worked with many wonderful people, but the person who really influenced me personally was Zoe Howorth, who lead the Coca-Cola marketing team when I worked there. She has a great approach to balancing long-term brand building with gaining traction in the short term with retailers and customers. She's also been a great support and mentor to me throughout the years. As a leader she was in perfect measures tough, fair, inspiring and supportive.

I also do enjoy Mark Ritson for cutting through marketing jargon and self-created complexity!

3.   What was the last ad your saw that made you buy something?

Suri sustainable toothbrush. Great example of the complexity of attribution models! I saw several Instagram ads and never reacted, I saw an influencer talk about it, I mentioned it to a friend who happened to own one and loved it - so I bought it without ever clicking through the ads.

4. What’s your all time favourite advert/campaign and why? 

I would be so proud if I could have a part in creating something as long lasting and impactful as Dove Real Beauty. I remember when it came out and the way it really changed my own thinking about how women are ‘supposed to look like’ and compare themselves to airbrushed images. A campaign with purpose and staying power.

Dove's Campaign for Real Beauty was voted by Ad Age as the number 1 campaign of the 21st Century.

5. Fortune favours the bold - how is your brand being bold and cutting through the noise?

One of Lucky Saint’s most powerful assets is a well crafted, distinctive tone of voice leaning into the religious, harking back to beer brewing heritage which started in monasteries, which raises an eyebrow or corner of your mouth and is unique and ownable.

Our mantra is ‘Break rules. Honor traditions’ - this directs the thinking towards doing unexpected things for a beer brand, like being The Official Beer of Dry January by Alcohol Change UK as we were again this January.

6. What keeps you awake at night?

What comes next! There’s always something new to solve in a scale-up challenger business, so you can’t rest on your laurels. In the past 12 months we’ve opened a pub, launched a new product, expanded internationally.. I always feel like we should be doing something seismic, and do it first.

The Lucky Saint pub in London

7. Given the advances in AI, do you have a job in 5 years time?  

Yes – someone has to be the boss of AI! In all seriousness, I do believe AI will change and evolve our job roles, but human intervention will still be needed. AI will solve mundane tasks to release our brain power to more useful work.

8. Which established brand continues to inspire you? 

Nike continues to get it right and stay relevant throughout the years. I read Shoe Doctor over holidays (it had been on my list for ages and I finally got to it), and found it a very inspiring story of creating a completely new category and tapping into a shift in consumer behaviour early on.

9. Which challenger/game changing brand should we all have our eyes on?

Not quite a small challenger brand anymore, but a behemoth which took on the old guard in energy fast; I’ve been very inspired by Octopus Energy, especially after hearing their founder tell the story at an event a few months ago. Focusing on consumer problem he himself experienced, he started a business and disrupted a category which was struggling for differentiation and created a global format for success. Their marketing is very customer centric and effective.

10. What is the most underrated superpower in marketing?

Can I name two?

Commerciality. Understanding marketing as a lever for business performance and how to express that to shareholders is crucial in order to protect your budgets.

Team leadership. You can’t do anything alone, you need to be able to collate an A-team around you, and to inspire them to do the best possible work, together as a team.

And finally...

11. What are you speaking about at MAD//Fest in July? 

I’ll be sharing insights into how we do and think about challenger brand marketing at Lucky Saint – how a small brand won Brand of The Year against global super brands like McDonald’s, British Airways and Mattell.

MAD//Fest London is back in July (2,3,4) at The Old Truman Brewery. Book your ticket now!