Fightback: A business innovation podcast

In this episode, Robin has thepleasure of speaking with Alison Jones, Customer Director at Coop. A cornerstone of our high street since 1844, the Coop has encountered,andcruciallysurvived,many challengesover the years, largely thanks to itsclearly definedbrand purpose and values. Hear how those values helped support both colleagues and communities during the pandemic, how they’reactively taking the brand toa younger, health conscious, socially aware marketandhow the pioneering Coop Live Arena project in East Manchester ties innovation with those core Coop values around ethics, community member value and benefits.

In those heady days before lockdown, Robin spent some quality time with “girl crush” Margaret Jobling talking about the challenges of‘turning the oil tanker’that is British Gas‘into a speed boat’in her then role as CMO of Centrica(she’s now CMO of NatWest). How do youkeepa 200-year-oldinstitution as market leaderin a sector disrupted bynimble,tech-leadinnovative brands? How does a product first organisation pivot to become customer first? And how do you change the culture of such a large, complex business to embrace their ‘Here to solve’ mantra? All this and critical advice onpaw-rentingtwo very different dogs in this week’s episode of Fightback.

In this episode, Robin talks with CMO of Smart Tech at Vodafone Pamela Brown aboutthe challenge oflaunchingabrand newproductin apandemic;her hatred of the term “Internet of Things”; the fight to keep aheritagebusiness relevant in a hugely competitive market and her vision for the future oftelcosand smart devices. Pamela also shares why keeping calm, staying grounded and having fun are vital, especially in these difficult times.

With over 300 years of legacyproving both a blessing and a curse,Alex Naylor, MD of Communicationsat Barclays, is fighting on many fronts:with neo banks around CX;with other big retail banks for their very survivaland with the threat of financial services aggregators transforming customer relationships forever. In this episode of Fightback, Alex talks about the power of ideas, how creativity is about joining the dots in unexpected waysand how COVID has reinforced his belief in the art of the possible and the triumph of human endeavour in the hardest of times.

In this episode, Robin gets to chat with someone from herhome town! Robin and Ira Dubinsky, Director ofInnovationand Customer Experience at KFC, have afunandvery warm chat about food from home, wherehis inspirationcomes from,the importance of a true founders story,what modern customer experience should be and how to start a movement to get poutine on the menu at KFCs in the UK.

In the opening episode of Fightback Series 2, Robin has the pleasure of speaking with the inspirational Karen Blackett OBE. Karen juggles two extremely senior roles at Group M and WPP with being a single mum and championing diversity and inclusion throughout the industry. Here, Karen talks about how WPP is in an evolution not a fight; the key learnings about leadership in a pandemic, her hope for more equity in top global roles, how diversity is good for the soul and for the bottom line and why now is the time for every organisation to put race on their agenda if we are to achieve sustainable change. It’s a call to arms and a fantastic listen, and we can all learn something from Karen’s authenticity, passion and experience.

Get ready for Series 2 of Fightback with fascinating stories from marketing, innovation and business leaders at WPP, KFC, Barclays, Vodafone, Centrica and Co-op. First episode drops 20 October!

In this week’s episode, we have the pleasure of talking to Rachel Eyre of Sainsbury’s. As Head of Future Brands, Rachel and her team are bringing the best of startup food and drinks products to their 27 million weekly customers. We talkcrickets to kombucha, and how Sainsbury’s scale and depth of marketing experience is one of their greatest assets. We also hear who’s keeping her up at night and why being able to lead change might well be the most important skill for any innovator.

In this week’s episode of Fightback, Robin speaks with Stephen Scott (Scottie), Chief Digital Officer at Avios. They cover off a whirlwind of topics including how the loyalty sector is evolving, why Avios is moving to a product led organisation, where Agile and Design thinking fit into their evolving target operation model and why it’s better to go through people than around them to drive change. Oh and how Scottie is not quite ready to trust in electric aircraft for a safe landing!