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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Our members get access to educational events, social networking events, dinner club events, webinars, exclusive perks, and a private Slack network of marketers across Australia & New Zealand.

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In 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.

• How to balance credibility and aspiration when storytelling for founders, investors, and scale-ups
• Why retention and community marketing are critical—and what CMOs can learn from ecosystem-led brands
• The role of copywriting across the full funnel, from first touch to long-term engagement
• Helping startups evolve from product-led pitches to purpose-driven brands without losing commercial focus
• The difference between ecosystem marketing and product marketing and how to avoid diluted messaging
• Which marketing metrics actually matter when scaling platforms, communities, and modern SaaS brands

You should listen if you're a marketer, startup founder, or brand leader looking to scale your impact through storytelling, strategy, and community.

Become part of a community built for career progression, industry connections, real-world learning and all the marketing vibes!

Our members get access to educational events, social networking events, dinner club events, webinars, exclusive perks, and a private Slack network of marketers across Australia & New Zealand.

Follow us on Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/the-marketing-club-au-nz

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Find your membership options and subscribe to our newsletter at www.themarketingclub.com or get in touch at contact@themarketingclub.org

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In this episode of The Marketing Clubhouse, we’re joined by Cat Emerson, Chief Customer Officer at Kernel Wealth and one of the company’s very first hires. Cat shares what it really looks like to build a brand from the ground up in a fintech startup—far beyond the glossy startup stereotypes. From moving out of big corporate marketing roles into early-stage chaos, to realising that trust (not financial products) is Kernel’s true value proposition, this conversation unpacks the realities of marketing in a highly regulated, emotionally charged category. It’s an honest look at money, trust, and what it takes to grow a brand when the stakes are high.

• The reality of being an early startup hire and how it differs from the “startup glamour” narrative
• Transitioning from corporate marketing into a startup and what surprises most marketers
• Growing with the business: lessons from moving from early hire to Chief Customer Officer
• Why trust—not funds or features—is Kernel’s most important product
• Tackling money shame and deeply ingrained financial myths in New Zealand
• Finding creative marketing opportunities in a tightly regulated fintech environment

If you’re a marketer navigating a high-trust, high-risk category where getting it wrong really matters, this episode is for you. From anyone working in fintech, finance, or regulated industries, or for marketers who want a realistic view of what “building from scratch” actually looks like.

Become part of a community built for career progression, industry connections, real-world learning and all the marketing vibes!

Our members get access to educational events, social networking events, dinner club events, webinars, exclusive perks, and a private Slack network of marketers across Australia & New Zealand.

Follow us on Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/the-marketing-club-au-nz

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Find your membership options and subscribe to our newsletter at www.themarketingclub.com or get in touch at contact@themarketingclub.org

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In this episode of The Marketing Clubhouse, we sit down with Fiona Cortis, Head of Marketing at Blunt Umbrellas, to unpack how one of the most functional product categories has been transformed into a globally aspirational brand.

From leading Blunt’s bold 2023 rebrand to balancing long-term brand equity with performance marketing, Fiona shares practical lessons from building a Kiwi brand on the world stage. The conversation dives into metrics, creativity, AI, and the habits that help marketers build brands that actually last.

We unpack:

• How Blunt redefined umbrellas from a purely practical product into a stylish, emotionally driven brand
• Scaling a global brand across NZ, Australia, the UK and the US - without losing Kiwi authenticity
• Blending long-term brand building with short-term performance marketing (and why you need both)
• Using metrics to track brand health and digital performance in a data-led, realistic way
• When tactical activations like DOOH and weather-triggered ads work - and when they don’t
• The role AI plays in modern marketing teams, from creative experimentation to efficiency gains

This episode is for marketers who want to build brands that stand out in unexpected categories - without losing sight of performance.

If you’re navigating the tension between long-term brand building and short-term results, scaling a brand internationally, or trying to make “boring” products feel desirable, Fiona’s insights are practical, honest, and immediately useful.

You’ll walk away with clear thinking on how to balance creativity with data, experiment without gimmicks, and build resilient brands that last beyond the latest trend.

Become part of a community built for career progression, industry connections, real-world learning and all the marketing vibes!

Our members get access to educational events, social networking events, dinner club events, webinars, exclusive perks, and a private Slack network of marketers across Australia & New Zealand.

Follow us on Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/the-marketing-club-au-nz

Follow us on Instagram: @themarketingclub_aunz

Find your membership options and subscribe to our newsletter at www.themarketingclub.com or get in touch at contact@themarketingclub.org

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This 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 time
• How to structure just 4 hours a week of marketing for maximum impact
• The biggest time and money mistakes small businesses are making
• The only metrics that actually matter when you’re on a shoestring
• How to test and scale ideas quickly without wasting money

Plus, 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.

Become part of a community built for career progression, industry connections, real-world learning and all the marketing vibes!

Our members get access to educational events, social networking events, dinner club events, webinars, exclusive perks, and a private Slack network of marketers across Australia & New Zealand.

Follow us on Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/the-marketing-club-au-nz

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Find your membership options and subscribe to our newsletter at www.themarketingclub.com or get in touch at contact@themarketingclub.org

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Welcome 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.

Become part of a community built for career progression, industry connections, real-world learning and all the marketing vibes!

Our members get access to educational events, social networking events, dinner club events, webinars, exclusive perks, and a private Slack network of marketers across Australia & New Zealand.

Follow us on Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/the-marketing-club-au-nz

Follow us on Instagram: @themarketingclub_aunz

Find your membership options and subscribe to our newsletter at www.themarketingclub.com or get in touch at contact@themarketingclub.org

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Could kindness be the sharpest tool in your marketing strategy?

In this episode of The Marketing Clubhouse we sit down with Cassie Roma, a global thought leader in creative ideation, brand strategy, and digital innovation. She’s also the founder of First Movers Media; celebrated for her work with Air New Zealand, ANZ, NZME and more; and one of the most in-demand speakers, coaches, and storytelling powerhouses in the game.

Cassie’s the first to tell you: if marketing is just eyeballs and algorithms, it’s missing its soul. She builds brands that matter, not just trends.

We unpack:

• Why kindness is a competitive advantage (and what changes when teams lead with it)
• How to marry storytelling and strategy so brand narratives actually drive outcomes
• What Cassie learned moving from big-brand leadership roles to building her own consultancy
• How bringing your whole self elevates brand building
• The real difference between campaigns that hit and those that feel empty
• Where AI fits in human-first storytelling
• And how to build brand momentum that outlasts platforms, trends, and algorithms
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Plus, Cassie takes on The Brief and wraps up with The Elevator Drop, pitching a viral campaign for… a self-destructing phone that implodes if you’ve spent too long on social media. (Could you imagine?)

If you want grounded, creative, heart-forward advice from one of Aotearoa’s most influential storytellers, this episode’s a must-listen.

🎧 Tune in and take notes, because Cassie’s handing out clarity, courage, and high-impact marketing moves you can start using tomorrow.

Become part of a community built for career progression, industry connections, real-world learning and all the marketing vibes!

Our members get access to educational events, social networking events, dinner club events, webinars, exclusive perks, and a private Slack network of marketers across Australia & New Zealand.

Follow us on Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/the-marketing-club-au-nz

Follow us on Instagram: @themarketingclub_aunz

Find your membership options and subscribe to our newsletter at www.themarketingclub.com or get in touch at contact@themarketingclub.org

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What if your social media metrics don’t actually matter?

In this episode of The Marketing Clubhouse, we sit down with Julian Thomson, Partner & Head of Strategy at Mosh - the social agency famous for cutting the fluff and focusing on results that sell. Julian’s known for calling it how it is: if “engagement” isn’t paying the bills, it’s not working.

We unpack:

• Why marketing isn’t B2B or B2C anymore - it’s human to human
• How to turn that mindset into a content strategy that actually drives sales
• The real role social media plays in brand-building (and how big its slice of the marketing pie should be)
• The first 90 days every solo in-house marketer should focus on
• Whether giveaways are genius or lazy marketing
• And where AI fits into the future of social — friend or foe?

Plus, Julian takes on The Brief — our five rapid-fire questions — and ends with The Elevator Drop, pitching a viral campaign for a children’s storybook about robots.

If you want honest, practical advice from one of New Zealand’s top social strategists (and a few laughs along the way), this episode’s for you.

🎧 Tune in and take notes — because Julian’s giving you no-fluff, proof-driven marketing steps you can use tomorrow.

Become part of a community built for career progression, industry connections, real-world learning and all the marketing vibes!

Our members get access to educational events, social networking events, dinner club events, webinars, exclusive perks, and a private Slack network of marketers across Australia & New Zealand.

Follow us on Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/the-marketing-club-au-nz

Follow us on Instagram: @themarketingclub_aunz

Find your membership options and subscribe to our newsletter at www.themarketingclub.com or get in touch at contact@themarketingclub.org

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