Adam’s too humble to blow his own horn, so we’ll do it for him.
If you only listen to one marketing podcast religiously, it should be his: ‘Let’s Talk Marketing’.
Quite simply, Adam gets the best global thinkers and deep-dives on the issues we all grapple with every day. They’re so good we’ve listened to some editions a couple of times.
Matt’s previously been grilled by Adam as a guest on the EchoJunction podcast, so we thought we’d turn the tables and ask him some questions instead.
In all seriousness, if you want to be inspired and challenged by the best marketing brains on the planet, wrap your ears around this podcast. You won’t regret it.
What do you do?
In two words, management consulting. I’m a Director within Ernst & Young’s (EY) Advisory business in Sydney, within the ‘Customer team’.
We help companies transition to customer-centric business models and become trusted organisations to their customers. I have a particular focus on marketing technology.
I joined EY at the beginning of 2019 after it acquired my previous employer Plaut IT Australia.
I joined Plaut as their CFO but also built a separate brand within the business called “EchoJunction”, which focused on marketing technology.
I’ve always had an entrepreneurial gene and had a particular passion and interest in the rapidly changing media/marketing landscape. So, when the opportunity came to develop a new business plan at the intersection of marketing and IT, I jumped at the chance.
Tell us about the podcast you produce
I launched the EchoJunction podcast and blog in 2015 prior to the start-up launching. The blog didn’t survive, but I still produce the weekly podcast, which is now called ‘Let’s Talk Marketing’ and sits under the EY banner.
As a newcomer to podcasting, I got lucky as some big names agreed to come on the show in the early episodes – and from there it went from strength to strength.
The EchoJunction podcast had over 100,000 downloads based purely on word of mouth, as we spent nothing on marketing. And its big brother, Let’s Talk Marketing, is kicking even bigger goals.
It’s hard to name just a few, but notable guests to date have included Professors Mark Ritson and Byron Sharp, authors Seth Godin, Jay Baer, Joe Pulizzi, Joe Jaffe and Mitch Joel, local CMOs from major brands like Suncorp, Visa, Kellogg’s and Sport Australia, as well as local thought leaders Gavin Heaton, Trevor Young and Mark Pesce. In terms of other big cheeses, Rory Sutherland from Ogilvy is coming soon!
I love the podcast format; unlike writing (hence the end of the blog!). I could produce audio anytime anywhere as I find the media/marketing/tech landscapes so fascinating to discuss. Its been an honour to meet such great industry leaders and learn along with the audience.
What mantra are you living by this year?
“Just get things done.” We are all busy. We all face multiple distractions. The internet can be both a great saver and a great waster of time.
What’s the most important thing marketers can do to drive commercial outcomes?
Stay relentlessly focussed on the customer. That’s so easy to say, but it’s much harder to follow through as businesses get larger and more complex, and enterprise friction can lead to internal focus and naval gazing.
The marketing team need to drive the brand and customer experience end-to-end, bringing the supporting enterprise along the journey.
What’s a cracking book you’d recommend or podcast you swear by?
I just read ‘Alchemy: The Surprising Power of Ideas That Don’t Make Sense’ by Rory Sutherland and it’s truly sensational.
My Favourite podcast would be ‘The Beancast’ by Bob Knorpp, a weekly panel discussion on marketing news.
And I’ve heard of this podcast called Let’s Talk Marketing from EY that’s meant to be pretty good too!!!
Who are your go-to thought leaders, and why?
I think life and business are generally nuanced, so I don’t have a single focal point or approach but prefer to stay abreast of a range of perspectives.
Having been lucky enough to interview (and read books by) so many brilliant leaders, my philosophies on marketing and business have undoubtedly been influenced by a number of people.
In no particular order, I try to keep in touch with everything from Mark Ritson, Seth Godin, Byron Sharp, Tom Goodwin, Jillian Ney and Scott Brinker; but there are many many others.
A UK analyst Richard Stacy flies under the radar more broadly but is a truly brilliant thinker (I’ve hosted him on the podcast a number of times).
The ability of LinkedIn and Twitter to curate content around topics and thematics is very helpful to ensure a range of perspectives are seen, rather than just seeing the echo chamber of people you already agree with.
Our favourite qu: What’s your top beer or wine recommendation?
I’m from Leeds so would still have to say Tetley’s Beer. Yes, it’s warm and hand pulled but I miss it greatly! A more practical answer for down under would be Coopers Pale Ale.
