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TMC Presents: The Marketing Clubhouse
Outdoor isn't Old School with Tom Horton
In this episode of The Marketing Clubhouse, we’re joined by Tom Horton, Marketing Manager at Phantom Billstickers - New Zealand’s street poster powerhouse.
While most brands chase screens and scrolls, Phantom Billstickers is doubling down on large-scale wall takeovers, tactile media, and creative activations that stop people in their tracks.
We unpack why OOH still delivers unique value in a digital-saturated world, how sustainability is shaping Phantom’s positioning, and how physical campaigns can spark online momentum. This is a conversation about creative constraint, brand storytelling in public spaces, and why offline media might be more powerful than ever.
What we cover in this episode
- Why OOH and street posters are seeing a resurgence in a digital-first era
- What types of campaigns work best in physical public spaces
- How Phantom communicates sustainability credentials without sounding performative
- Designing poster campaigns that spark UGC and social momentum
- Turning creative constraints into bold activation ideas
- How to measure ROI and impact in outdoor media
- Balancing national scale with hyper-local cultural relevance
You should listen if you’re a marketer who lives in dashboards and performance metrics and want to rethink the role of physical media, or you’re curious about how offline can amplify digital - not compete with it.
This episode is a reminder that not everything powerful lives behind a screen.
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10. Being Seen Isn't Enough with Lara Acosta
50:50||Season 1, Ep. 10In this episode of The Marketing Clubhouse, we sit down with Lara Acosta - LinkedIn-first personal brand strategist and one of the platform’s fastest-growing creators. Lara went from unknown student to industry authority by treating content like a long-term asset, not a side hustle. We talk about the difference between visibility and memorability, why personal branding in 2025 is less about influence and more about leverage, and how to build something sustainable without pretending to be someone you’re not. This conversation is equal parts mindset and mechanics - from why most people start for the wrong reasons to what “day one” actually looks like depending on where you are in your career. What we cover in this episode The shift that made Lara realise personal branding could change her life Why chasing visibility without clarity leads to being forgotten The real risk of not building a personal brand in 2025 (even if you love your job)How to know if you’re building a brand for the wrong reasons Lara’s SLAY framework - and how to apply it when you think you have nothing interesting to say What consistency actually looks like when you’re busy, tired, and doubting yourself How to decide what parts of your story to share - and what to keep private You should listen if… You’ve thought about building a personal brand but feel behind. You’re visible but not memorable. Or you secretly know your story could open doors, but you’re still hiding behind a logo. Whether you’re a student, mid-career marketer, or senior leader who’s never posted, this episode breaks down how to start strategically - without becoming an influencer caricature.
9. From Invisible to Influential with Kathryn Sandford
26:58||Season 1, Ep. 9In this episode of The Marketing Clubhouse, we’re joined by Kathryn Sanford, a personal brand coach for senior women professionals who helps her clients move from feeling invisible to being influential. Kathryn works with women who’ve built decades of experience - yet quietly question their relevance, confidence, or visibility. We unpack why confidence can shrink as experience grows, what’s happening in our brains when we start to reframe how we see ourselves, and why personal branding feels so uncomfortable (especially if you’ve been a long-time LinkedIn lurker). Kathryn shares practical rewires for self-doubt, how to show up authentically without turning into a “tech bro thought leader,” and why believing your story privately matters before telling it publicly. What we cover in this episode • Why many women redefine themselves by titles - and the first mindset shift required before posting online • The neuroscience behind self-reframing and how it changes how we show up • Why personal branding feels “icky” and the mental effort required to push through • How to handle workplace self-doubt when colleagues notice your visibility • The risk of outsourcing your story — and what we lose when we do • Patterns Kathryn sees in women who successfully reinvent themselves mid-career You should listen if… You’re a senior professional who feels like your experience isn’t translating into visibility, you’ve thought about showing up on LinkedIn but keep hesitating, or you’ve quietly wondered, “Who am I to talk about this?” This episode is a powerful reminder that confidence isn’t about volume - it’s about belief. And that it’s never too late to reclaim your voice.
7. Turning Strategy & Storytelling into Scale with Michaela Egbers
37:27||Season 1, Ep. 7In this episode of The Marketing Clubhouse, we’re joined by Michaela Egbers, a marketer who’s spent the last decade helping startups, scale-ups, and creative brands turn strategy and storytelling into real growth. From being the first marketing hire at Icehouse Ventures to now leading marketing at Ideally, Michaela shares what it takes to build credibility, community, and cut-through in crowded ecosystems.This conversation explores how strong storytelling scales across founders, investors, marketers, and researchers and why retention, purpose, and clarity matter just as much as acquisition. It’s a practical, thoughtful look at how modern marketing works when you’re building for the long term.What we cover in this episodeHow to balance credibility and aspiration when storytelling for founders, investors, and scale-upsWhy retention and community marketing are critical—and what CMOs can learn from ecosystem-led brandsThe role of copywriting across the full funnel, from first touch to long-term engagementHelping startups evolve from product-led pitches to purpose-driven brands without losing commercial focusThe difference between ecosystem marketing and product marketing and how to avoid diluted messagingWhich marketing metrics actually matter when scaling platforms, communities, and modern SaaS brandsYou should listen if you're a marketer, startup founder, or brand leader looking to scale your impact through storytelling, strategy, and community.
6. Marketing Trust in a High-Stakes Category with Catherine Emerson
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5. How To Build An Aspirational Brand In An Unexpected Category with Fiona Cortis
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4. How To Market When You're Broke And Busy with Stu Lees
28:15||Season 1, Ep. 4This week on The Marketing Clubhouse, we’re joined by Stu Lees - better known as The Shoestring Marketer. Stu shares how founders and small business owners can market effectively with almost no budget and very little time. From how to spend just four hours a week on marketing, to real-world week-by-week plans for tradies and market stall owners, this episode is packed with practical frameworks you can actually use.He covers: How to market effectively with almost no budget and very limited timeHow to structure just 4 hours a week of marketing for maximum impactThe biggest time and money mistakes small businesses are makingThe only metrics that actually matter when you’re on a shoestringHow to test and scale ideas quickly without wasting moneyPlus, Stu takes on The Brief and our classic Elevator Drop 0 where he’s challenged to turn a Te reo Māori daily planner into the next big thing in 60 seconds.If you’re a founder, solo operator, or marketer trying to do more with less, this episode is for you.
3. How To Think Like A Journalist And Build Like A Founder with Simon Pound
43:06||Season 1, Ep. 3Welcome back! In this episode of The Marketing Clubhouse we sit down with Simon Pound, Managing Partner at Previously Unavailable, the creative venture studio behind some of New Zealand’s most distinctive and enduring brands. With a background that spans journalism, storytelling, investing, and building companies from scratch, Simon has a rare ability to turn big, bold ideas into brands people genuinely care about. If you think brand is just “a logo and some colours,” Simon will be the first to tell you you’re missing the point. We unpack: Why brand is strategy - and why so many businesses still treat it like decoration What marketers can steal from a journalist’s toolkit to sharpen stories and shape strategy How to navigate the messy middle where creativity meets budgets, stakeholders, and commercial reality The unique strengths (and blind spots) of New Zealand’s brand-building mindset When trends like collabs become powerful tools, and when they’re just noise The real role AI will play in shaping originality and future brands What timeless brand principles still matter, no matter how fast everything moves And the one repeatable habit every in-house marketer should start tomorrow And of course, Simon takes on The Brief before jumping into The Elevator Drop, pitching a campaign for… a glow-in-the-dark coffee machine. Yes, it’s as good as it sounds.If you want smart, grounded, commercially savvy brand thinking from one of Aotearoa’s top creative minds, this episode’s for you. 🎧 Tune in and take notes, because Simon’s serving up clarity, conviction, and brand-building principles you can put to work tomorrow.
2. The Human Advantage: Kindness, Storytelling & the Future of Marketing
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