On Brand with ALF & Rory Sutherland

Having read Economics at Cambridge, ex-Procter & Gamble marketer, Greg Jackson, explains the success behind Octopus, recently certified as a Which? Recommended energy provider for the 7th year in a row.Innovative technology, great marketing and superb customer service are integral to the Octopus success story. Among the many amazing revelations in the chat with Rory, Greg points out that 65% of UK households have a car, an increasing number of which are EVs, and the battery in an EV can power a house for between 3 and 5 days. You'll hear about the Octopus Power Pack and the Fan Club - technical and marketing ideas that have helped Octopus achieve around 8 million customers in 18 countries. This is an essential listen.If you want to do business withthe UK’s leading brands Request an ALF Insight demo. To book your seat at the ALF Awards 2024, click here.

Simon Peel has worked for, among others, MediaCom, Mindshare, 20th Century Fox and Adidas. Now he's Vice President of Global Marketing for the healthcare brand Haleon born out of GSK, Novartis and Pfizer.In our Top Two Challenges, Simon describes the challenges facing both Haleon and the sector as a whole as being similar; through advertising, the need to create an emotional connection between the consumer and the brand in order to differentiate from retailers' own brand. As Rory says, price is key and sometimes you don't wake up with a 50p headache it's a £2.80 headache! The guys discuss marketing procurement and testing. Has the spreadsheet taken over?Also under consideration, placebos, the dumb principal (sic), Sir Patrick Valance gets a shout as does RADIO with Rory saying he never heard a radio campaign that didn't work and yet it's often the bit that gets cut from the budget.If you want to do business with the UK’s leading brands Request an ALF Insight demo.

Lena Jüngst explored product development at University in Germany and turned a bachelor thesis into a product - air up® - non-flavoured water that tastes flavoured. Lena explains how it works to convert Rory and reveals that around 80% of what we perceive as flavour is actually derived from what we’re smelling. With this relatively new drink product, while you drink plain water, you experience taste. No sugar. Just science! The brand, initially launched direct to consumers in Germany, is becoming available globally. Rory and Lena discuss the marketing strategy for the product and Lena reveals how they are slowly moving into above the line advertising. There's no rush however, because the product is doing remarkably well as a D2C brand.If you want to do business with the UK’s leading brands Request an ALF Insight demo.Now you can nominate your business development heroes and attend the ALF Awards 2024 click here.

Yusuf Chuku is Executive Vice President, Strategic Planning & Commercial Impact at NBCUniversal. The guys explore how clients can best tap into the content-audience relationship and discuss partnerships, storytelling, branded content and the constant pressure to innovate and stay relevant to audiences. Fandemoniums? How does NBC Universal grow and access fandoms? Yusuf also responds to our regular Top Two Challenges - what is the biggest advertising challenge for global television & media companies? And what is the most pressing challenge for NBC Universal? If you want to do business with the UK’s leading brands Request an ALF Insight demo.Now you can nominate your business development heroes and attend the ALF Awards 2024 click here.

Charlotte Lock has had an illustrious career embracing the BBC, Tesco, Co-op, Asda, McCann and now the John Lewis Partnership where her experience in behavioural economics and partnerships is helping to develop the group’s offering. In this episode she joins Rory to discuss data driven customer insight and brand experience, along with segmentation in a variety of areas. Plus, Charlotte talks us through this year's John Lewis Christmas ad, their first created by Saatchi & Saatchi.  And in the Top Two Challenges, Charlotte reveals what she believes is the biggest challenge facing John Lewis and the most pressing issue for the retail sector as a whole. If you want to do business with the UK's leading brands. Request an ALF Insight demo. To nominate your business development heroes and attend the ALF Awards 2024, click here.

In this episode, Rory meets Jasper Martens, the Chief Marketing Officer at Pension Bee.Pension Bee launched in 2015 after CEO and Co-Founder, Romi Savova, who had previously worked at Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley, had difficulties transferring her own pension. Jasper reveals that many of their over 1 million new customers didn’t realise the tax benefits and contributions that come from having the right pension arrangements and why Pension Bee is now on a mission to make the process easier to understand and keep track of.With brand awareness in the UK now over 50%, Jasper explains the biggest marketing challenge for Pension Bee and why they've sponsored a Premier League football team.In the Top Two Challenges, Jasper talks about the future challenges for Pension Bee and the pension industry as a whole.Quite apart from the marketing insights revealed, this conversation will give you food for thought about your own pension arrangements.If you want to do business with the UK’s leading brands, request an ALF Insight demo.