What do pop-ups, playful giant handbags, and hyperlocal partnerships have in common?

They’re not stunts. They’re strategy.

Recorded LIVE at the Brand Advocacy Summit: London, this is the second of four exclusive episodes – straight from the stage.

Verity & Paul sit down with Pascale Montaner (VP of Global Marketing @ Kurt Geiger) and Louisa O’Connor (Managing Director @ Seen Presents) to dig into why the smartest brands are leaning hard into the experience-driven economy.

From transforming storefronts into storytelling tools, to building activations that speak louder than any ad ever could, this is the recipe for building real connection, loyalty, and long-term Advocacy.

What You’ll Learn:

• Why We Crave IRL Connection & What Brands Must Do to Earn It: Digital fatigue is real. With 80% of Gen Z reporting loneliness, brands that build real-world spaces of belonging – not just spectacle – are winning attention and loyalty.
  

• How Pop-Ups, Sensory Design & Surprise Drive Advocacy: From stained-glass storefronts to surprise bagel drops, today's most successful brand experiences engage all the senses (as per Louisa’s expert experience); and give people stories worth telling.
  

• Why Customers, Not Celebrities, Are the New Influencers: Kurt Geiger's approach is clear – invite your true brand fans in. They're more trusted, more loyal, and often more impactful than the biggest names on your PR list.
  

• How to Build Experiences That Translate Online (and Why That Matters): In a social-first world, IRL can feel like it matters most when it makes it to the feed. Learn how top brands are creating moments that live beyond the moment, without losing authenticity.
  

• The One Mistake Most Brands Make With Experience: Spoiler: it’s trying to please everyone. The result? Experiences that resonate with no one. Find out how to focus your intent and create memory-making moments that actually move people.
  

This isn’t about trend-chasing. It’s about experience as the new foundation of brand strategy.

This episode comes to you in partnership with Seen Presents; a global agency creating culturally resonant brand experiences & experiential campaigns. Designed to deliver impact, innovation, and lasting brand fame.

Learn more about the magic they’re making here: https://www.seenpresents.com/

Chapters

00:00 – Why Brand Experience Is the Strategy Now

02:39 – Loneliness, Digital Overload & the Rise of IRL Belonging

04:59 – From Elitism to Inclusion: Democratising Brand Events

07:17 – Trust, TikTok & the Rise of the Authentic Ambassador

09:12 – Building Sensory-First Experiences That Convert

11:05 – Turning Retail Into Storytelling: Inside Kurt Geiger’s Flagship Strategy

15:04 – Pop-Ups, Scale & Global Adaptation on a Budget

18:45 – Using Social to Amplify (Not Replace) Experience

20:14 – How to Make Your Digital Brand Tangible

22:08 – The Biggest Mistake Brands Make With Experiences

23:43 – Why Local Beats Luxury: Cultural Relevance Over Budget

25:20 – Getting Buy-In: How to Prove the ROI of Experience

28:50 – What Brands Overlook When Designing for Emotion

30:17 – When Experience Goes Wrong (& What to Do About It)

31:46 – The Role of AI in Accessibility & Personalisation

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Connect with Pascale & Louisa:

On Pascale’s LinkedIn

On Louisa’s LinkedIn

Harsh truth: everything you know about community is outdated.

Let’s get to the heart of a word marketers love to throw around, but rarely define.

This week, join us LIVE from the stage of the Brand Advocacy Summit: London — kicking off a four-part mini series from the day with a heavy hitter.

Verity sits down with Lucy Murray (Brand Director @ Free Soul), Emily Mitchell (Marketing Director @ Tropic Skincare), and Paul Hickey (Group Director @ SAMY Alliance), to unpack what brand love actually looks like in 2025.

Together, they cover:

• The 3 Truths Behind Community: From off-the-grid connections to consumer-run spaces, find out what today’s best brands know.

• Real Talk on Events, Activations & Intimacy: Smaller, meaningful events trump 400-person spectacles. You know this, so hear the real best practice for acting on it. When the time comes, scale doesn’t have to mean soulless, either.

• What Listening Actually Looks Like: Learn how Tropic’s 20k-strong ambassador base & Free Soul’s biggest Advocates guide product and marketing decisions – no red tape needed.

• Why Emotional Connection Still Wins: From Free Soul’s community-built retreats to grassroots wellness events (touching grass, wholly included), discover what keeps customers coming back.

• Social Listening with a Human Lens: Hear how SAMY Alliance challenges traditional sentiment tracking with one goal; to get under the skin of what audiences really think.

This one is for any brand that wants to build community beyond a hashtag & follow back.

No fluff. No filter. Just what works.

This episode is in partnership with SAMY Alliance; a global network of creative and data-driven marketing agencies helping brands grow through cutting-edge insights, human connection, and digital innovation.

You can learn more about these good folk here: https://samy.com/en/

Chapters

00:00 – What Is Community in 2025, Really?

03:48 – Free Soul’s Ground-Up Community Strategy

06:01 – When Wellness Events Build Real Belonging

08:56 – How Tropic Skincare Co-Creates With Its Ambassadors

10:27 – Listening Without Red Tape (And Acting On It)

12:15 – Why Social Listening Needs a Human Lens

14:01 – Tropic’s Infinite Purpose (And How It Drives Loyalty)

16:04 – Building Emotional Connection at Scale

18:35 – The Tangible Impact of Products Like Free Soul’s

21:33 – Personalisation & Segmentation That Actually Resonates

22:50 – Accountability: The Ultimate Signal of Community

24:27 – When Customers Speak To Each Other

27:00 – Copied Community Strategy? Blinkers On.

28:55 – Authentic Customer Stories: The Real Advocacy Engine

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Connect with Lucy, Emily & Paul:

On Lucy’s LinkedIn

On Emily’s LinkedIn

On Paul’s LinkedIn

There’s no brand magic without brand meaning.

The biggest names in beauty know this.

This week, Verity sits down with Coryn Brisbane (Brand & Marketing Consultant | ex-VIEVE, Charlotte Tilbury, Flannels, Glossybox) to talk brand values, internal Advocacy, and what happens when beauty brands scale too fast, too superficially.

With a powerhouse CV and a fierce belief in brands that live their values, not just listing them, Coryn’s sharing unmissable insider advice from the industry’s front-lines.

She’s led product launches, like Pillow Talk Mascara and Airbrush Bronzer. She’s scaled brands from startup to sell-out. But her insights go deeper than shade names and social content. This is about embedding brand from the inside out; and protecting it (flexibly) at all costs.

Hit play to learn how to:

• Challenge Surface-Level Values: Coryn breaks down how to tell if your brand pillars exist only on paper, or are actually embedded across the team.
  

• Build Employee Advocacy That Lasts: From EGC to onboarding, Coryn shares why Charlotte Tilbury got it right – and how to recreate that magic.
  

• Avoid the Short-Term Trap: See firsthand how chasing quick wins chips away at long-term trust (and what to do instead).
  

• Reframe the Role of Brand Teams: Brand isn’t a nice-to-have; it’s the function that unifies every customer touchpoint. Ignore it now at your brand’s future peril.
  

• Ask Better Questions, To Build Smarter Brands: The best marketers don’t just have answers – they ask the right questions. Start with “Why?”
  

If you’ve ever felt like your team’s running a hundred miles an hour without a clear direction, this one will hit home.

Listen. Challenge. Build Advocacy from the inside out.

Chapters:

00:00 – Why Team Advocacy Beats Surface Values

02:22 – Building Strategy from Brand Pillars

05:13 – What Brand Storytelling Should Really Do

08:20 – Employee Advocacy: What It Looks Like (When It Works)

11:31 – How Charlotte Tilbury Built Belief Internally

13:35 – The Danger of Chasing Short-Term Wins

15:15 – Staying True to Your Brand as You Grow

18:35 – The Influencer Myth That Still Hurts Brands

22:11 – How to Nurture Creators for the Long-Term

27:10 – Why Brand Teams Are Not “Nice-to-Haves”

31:20 – What Founders Get Wrong About Community

36:45 – Defining Community (And If You Even Have One)

39:10 – Turning Insight Into Product Innovation

42:46 – Decipher: A Case Study in Customer-Led Branding

45:08 – The Question Marketers Should Ask More Often

48:30 – The Real Way You Build Brand Advocacy

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Connect with Coryn:

On LinkedIn

What happens when you build brand love from the ground up – and actually mean it?

You get an approach that’s part Nike discipline, part Bugaboo heart, and it works.

Dives into the tactical how of scaling a brand through hyper-local community building, influencer relationships that last years, and turning your customer service team into your brand’s secret weapon.

Paul sits down with Jeanelle Teves (Chief Commercial Officer @ Bugaboo | ex-Nike) to unpack the brand’s standout growth in North America, hearing exactly how they’re rewriting the rulebook for consumer-first marketing.

Jeanelle’s expertise in blending brand heritage, innovation & Advocacy offers a masterclass in what today’s fashion, beauty & lifestyle brands should be laser-focused on.

Turn this one up to learn how to...

• Niche Down to Scale Up: Bugaboo’s local-first strategy is a sharp reminder that deeper beats wider. Jeanelle shares how focusing on key territories and growing real-world communities supercharges digital brand perception, and why brands spreading themselves too thin risk irrelevance.

• Build Advocacy That Outlasts Campaigns: From long-term creator relationships to micro-level community events, Jeanelle lays out why the future is loyalty over reach; and how Bugaboo turns everyday parents into lifelong Brand Advocates.

• Mine Your Service Team for Gold: Forget surface-level insights. Bugaboo’s customer service team solves more than problems – they’re shaping product development, content strategy, and sales. Jeanelle explains how integrating service into marketing unlocks growth most brands miss.

• Let Creators Lead, Their Way: Authenticity is more than a buzzword. Jeanelle breaks down Bugaboo’s philosophy of letting creators share stories their way – without rigid scripts – and how that trust translates into Advocacy that’s credible and contagious.

This is a rare look at what it really takes to build brand equity in a crowded market – straight from a leader who’s done it at the top.

Listen. Note-take. Implement.

Chapters

00:00 How Engagement Builds Real Community

02:06 Brand Lessons from the School of Nike

05:40 Designing Products Around the Consumer

09:52 Customer Listening: Where The Insight Starts

11:43 Making DTC Work

12:12 Bridging Customer Service & Product Innovation

17:13 What Modern Parents Really Want

20:52 Why Awards Still Shape Consumer Trust

22:32 Turning Advocacy into a Marketing Engine

24:31 Driving Community Through Local Events

27:01 The Impact of Personal Connection

28:32 Building Your Personal Board of Directors

30:13 How Strong Relationships Drive Loyalty

32:37 Meeting Consumers Where They Scroll

35:05 Localisation that Scales

39:31 Double Down on Core Communities

45:04 Sustainability as a Non-Negotiable Brand Value

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Connect with Jeanelle:

On Bugaboo's US Instagram

On Bugaboo’s Website

Disruption isn’t a claim. It’s a commitment.

This week, Verity sits down with Leah Uka (Chief Brand Officer @ Jewells) who shares how to build a brand that actually does things differently. From Combat Medic to Founder to global Brand Leader, Leah’s path defies the expected – and so does her approach to brand-building.

Jewells is set to reframe the jewelry space by making every product personal, every store unforgettable, and every customer a potential Advocate. Leah’s insights are razor-sharp; cutting through the noise around content, community, and scale to deliver real lessons for fashion, beauty & retail marketers.

Dive in. Unpack how to:

• Find Your First 10 Advocates & Grow from There: Leah explains why early believers are the backbone of any successful brand, and how to identify and nurture them from day one.

• Create Products That Do More Than Look Good: Jewells’ Memory Stacks are designed to layer meaning and memory – not just metal. A product strategy built on emotion, beyond aesthetics.

• Build an Omnichannel Experience That’s Worth Talking About: From scent to sound, Jewells’ in-store experience extends online – seamlessly. It’s about making every customer touchpoint memorable and Advocacy-ready.

• Scale at Speed, Without Cutting Corners: The myth of "selling out in five minutes"? Leah calls it bad planning. She’s lifting the lid on "community events” that don’t translate to revenue, too. This is how to build systems that support real, sustainable growth.

If you’re tired of copycat tactics and looking for original thinking, this conversation’s for you.

Listen in. Rethink what disruption should look like, when it’s done right.

Chapters

00:00 The Real Power of Brand Advocacy

02:10 Retail Disruption: What’s Changing Fast

08:07 A Career Path Like No Other

12:03 How to Build Trust in Emerging Categories

18:15 Engaging Advocates Who Drive Growth

20:05 Crafting a Consistent Global Brand

21:43 Delivering a True Omni-Channel Experience

23:39 How to Scale & Scale Fast

24:23 Making Customer Experience Seamless

25:51 Why Team Engagement Is Non-Negotiable

29:26 When Employee Advocacy Pays Off

30:32 The Must-Know Steps for Global Scaling

32:53 The Brands Breaking New Ground

34:11 Authenticity vs. Content Overload: Striking the Balance

40:40 What’s Fueling Excitement for New Launches

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Connect with Leah:

On Instagram

On LinkedIn

Affiliate links? No thanks.

Pop-ups over panels? Think again.

A content creator using AI to replace herself? Now we’re listening.

Season 2 of Building Brand Advocacy is officially in-swing.

This week, Verity’s in New York with Gigi Robinson – a Creator Expert, Social Specialist, Founder, Chronic Illness Advocate, and trusted partner to brands like Liquid IV, obé Fitness, and Stanford University (yes, really).

If you want a real-time pulse check on how creators are thinking (and how your brand should be collaborating) you won’t find a realer guide than Gigi.

The partnerships that worked in 2017? They don’t land in 2025. The best creators now expect co-creation, cross-platform collaboration, and a seat at the strategy table.

It’s time to ditch the playbook, and build something better.

Turn this episode on & up to learn how to…

• Bin the Conversion-at-All-Costs Model: Gigi breaks down why affiliate deals often miss the mark, and how misaligned incentives turn creators into unpaid salespeople. Instead: hybrid models, consent-first structures, and a focus on value over volume.

• Build with Creators, Not Just Through Them: The smartest brands are already collaborating before content hits the feed. When creators understand the “why,” they deliver work that moves people – not just products.

• Rethink the Role of Real-Life: Pop-ups get attention. Panels and curated dinners create Advocates. Learn why deeper, more intentional offline moments are the real unlock for connection.

• Use AI the Way Creators Actually Are: From replacing assistants to scaling content across five platforms from one idea, creators are using AI now. Marketers who embrace this shift can brief better, expect more, and move faster.

• Understand the Creator Lifecycle: Micro, macro, mega – it’s not a straight line anymore. Learn what marketers are missing when creators ‘grow out’ of their lane, and how to evolve with them instead of cycling them out.

This isn’t about more than content. It’s about connection.

This conversation will challenge you, while giving you the steps to start again, smarter.

Listen. Rethink. Build better partnerships.

Chapters

00:00 – Finding What Authenticity Really Looks Like

07:05 – The Creator Economy Has Only Just Begun

13:04 – Why Affiliate Models Are Missing the Mark

18:56 – How Brand-Creator Relationships Are Evolving

25:10 – AI, Live Shopping & the Future of Content

32:06 – What Brands Still Get Wrong About Advocacy

Rate & review Building Brand Advocacy:

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Connect with Gigi:

On LinkedIn

On Instagram

On TikTok

What’s rarer than viral growth, and more powerful than performance marketing?

Sustained Advocacy.

It’s what the brands on this show have built, and what this 100th episode is here to celebrate.

To mark the special milestone, Paul & Verity are looking back on the unforgettable moments, tactics, and truths from 100 conversations with the sharpest minds in brand building – the CMOs, Founders, and community-first Marketers behind some of the world’s fastest-growing names.

This is more than a recap. It’s a look ahead to where marketing is heading next.

Hit play to learn how to…

• Build With, Not For: Advocacy-first brands don’t sell at their audience – they co-create with them. From skincare brands embracing mixed-brand content to companies inviting creators into the strategy room, the path forward is participatory.

• Scale Without Losing Soul: From The Inkey List’s £100M+ brand honesty to Beekman 1802’s gamified kindness, the most loved brands lead with how they do things, not just what they sell. Culture isn't the garnish. It's the growth engine.

• Trade Vanity For Substance: Forget follower counts. Nanos & micros are winning: because they educate, convert, and care more. Real fans > rented reach. Brands like REFY, Never Fully Dressed, and Symprove are proving that depth leads to scale, when building trust.

• Make Your Tactics Transparent: Today’s marketers are done with vague playbooks. The best ones don’t just share philosophy – they share the numbers. Budgets, CAC, conversion rates, channel tests. It’s what the industry needs; a space for open, actionable learning.

Whether you’ve listened to one episode or all 100, this one marks a turning point.

Because the brands that will thrive in the next 10 years aren’t chasing trends. They’re building for Advocacy.

Press play. Learn from the best. Build what lasts.

Chapters

00:00 Kicking Off With A Vocal Warm-Up

01:10 What Brand Advocacy Really Means

02:26 Celebrating 100 Episodes of the Podcast

04:23 What 100 Episodes Taught Us

08:32 Why Tactical Marketing Matters

11:11 What Surprised Us

15:27 What’s Next & Why Feedback Fuels It

16:31 Episodes Worth Repeating

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Connect with Paul & Verity:

On Paul’s LinkedIn

On Verity’s LinkedIn

Why do polished brands stall, while real ones build Advocacy?

Because today’s consumers don’t want perfection. They want proof.

This week, Erica Cocilova (Chief Executive Officer @ Ethique Beauty) joins Verity in New York to unpack why substance, imperfection, and product obsession are the future of brand building. From rebrands & B Corp audits to salon takeovers that win over skeptics, Erica’s approach proves brand trust isn’t bought – it’s built.

Solid product, transparent leadership, and customer service that actually puts you in contact with the CEO? They’re the building blocks to scaling with integrity.

Rethink what brand love looks like, as you learn…

• How To Build Advocacy Through Service, Beyond Storytelling: Every customer DM, email, and piece of outreach gets a reply; and it’s personal. Real care builds real loyalty. It’s about accountability, not automation, when you build Advocacy this way.

• Ways To Turn IRL Conversations Into Scalable Content: From salon takeovers to consumer-led debates on hair washing habits, Erica shares how small, real-world moments are fuelling content that converts – and creating better educated, enthusiastic Advocates in the process.

• How To Audit Your Brand’s True Impact: Erica’s first move at Ethique was to strip back 20+ sustainability claims and anchor the brand to one: eliminating plastic. Learn how to run an impact audit that narrows focus, sharpens storytelling, and guides strategy.

• Advice For Taking Bold, Human Decisions In Public: Erica and her team didn’t hide behind the rebrand, they fronted it. Blogs, open Slack huddles; even customer support tickets answered by the CFO. Transparency isn’t a ‘for the sake of it’ tactic for Ethique, but is part of the team’s culture.

• Why Bridging Purpose & Product Should Be Seamless: Ethique’s haircare bars aren’t sustainable in spite of their format – they’re better because of it. Function & mission shouldn’t compete. They should compound.

This is what it sounds like when a brand listens, adapts, and leads without losing its soul.

Chapters

00:00 Turning Skeptics into Believers

03:30 Branding at the Crossroads of Sustainability & Efficacy

08:40 What It Takes to Become a B Corp

12:34 Staying Real with Brand Purpose

14:36 Building a Community That Advocates

18:42 Starting Real Conversations with Consumers

20:41 Why Inclusive Events Build Stronger Communities

23:39 Authentic Engagement Starts with Listening

24:36 How Brand Advocates Are Made

25:56 Why First Impressions Still Matter

27:12 Shifting the Consumer Mindset

28:34 What Legacy Brands Got Right

29:45 Direct-to-Consumer: What the Data Shows

32:52 Moving Past Fear to Innovate

36:14 Building Culture Through Transparency

37:26 Rebranding to Be Understood

39:36 Helping Consumers Choose Simply

41:53 Why Scalp Care Deserves the Spotlight

42:22 Getting the Brand Message Right

43:47 Advocacy Is Built on Connection

Rate & review Building Brand Advocacy:

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Connect with Erica:

Via her team @ Ethique

Via Ethique’s Instagram