The Casla Podcast
Conversations with interesting people about the world of B2B.
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Episode 8 | AI in B2B Marketing with Jake Bird, Director at JI Marketing
We're joined by Jake Bird, Director at JI Marketing, a consultancy that bridges the gap between AI innovation and strategic marketing. Jake founded JI Marketing in February 2025, after working in B2B marketing for the best part of a decade.
In this bumper episode, Jake shares how he quickly recognised the major impact AI was going to have on B2B marketing (and particularly on how companies go about ABM), which led him to become Head of AI at the agency he was working for in 2023 - a role that he came up with and proposed to the company's directors.
Jake combines deep expertise in both B2B marketing and all things AI - a potent and rare combination of skills which makes him a huge asset to B2B companies and agencies looking to increase go-to-market efficiency and effectiveness.
Jake steers refreshingly clear of AI hyperbole and sensationalism: he recognises the transformational potential of the technology, while recognising that it isn't a silver bullet. He highlights the limitations of agentic AI, and provides specific examples of where AI can be deployed effectively and where it isn't so well-suited.
The biggest opportunity to leverage AI today, according to Jake, is simple: train your employees to use it effectively, and see a relatively quick and low-cost 10 to 15% improvement in productivity.
When it comes to content and marketing touchpoints, Jake is a strong advocate for quality over quantity - which is a view we share at Casla.
Episode Map
Section 1: The JI Marketing Origin Story - 0:32
Section 2: The State of AI in B2B Marketing - 5:44
• Unrealistic expectations of agentic AI - 5:51
• Why AI agents need to be treated as bottom up systems and processes, not top down - 35:07
• Why it’s important to get into the mindset of swapping in and out of different AI tools - 43:42
Section 3: What does the future hold for AI in B2B marketing - 49:30
Bonus Questions - 1:04:00
• If you could advise B2B businesses to do one thing in their marketing, what would it be? - 1:04:11
• What's your most contrarian take when it comes to B2B marketing? 1.06.10
You can find Jake on LinkedIn here.
Check out JI Marketing on LinkedIn here and visit their website here.
Episode 7 | B2B PR with Caroline Voaden, B2B Communications Consultant and Founder at STORY Copywriting
We’re joined by Caroline Voaden, B2B Communications Consultant and Founder at STORY Copywriting.
After close to a decade inside corporate PR, advising banks, SaaS companies, governments and the occasional scandal-prone CEO, Caroline realised that most comms were "painfully dull, strategically thin or written by people who’ve never had to calm a board".
Caroline is focused on creating clear, confident communication that builds brands when things are good, and protects them when they’re not.
In the episode we cover:
• What is B2B PR, in a nutshell
• How B2B PR has changed and how it will continue to evolve in future
• What's working and not working at the moment
• The importance of connecting your content strategy and PR efforts
• Can (and should) B2B PR be accountable for measurable impact on revenue
• What impact (if any) has AI had on B2B PR?
• Should brands focus on high volume content and PR efforts, or focus on fewer, bigger “moments”?
• How can small and medium-sized B2B businesses utilise PR effectively
You can find Caroline on LinkedIn here.
Check out STORY Copywriting on LinkedIn here and visit their website here.
Episode 6 | Building a growth team, maximising impact as a solo marketer, attribution, and AI, with Dan Mortimer at Nimble Approach
We’re joined by Dan Mortimer, Head of Marketing at Nimble Approach, a technology consultancy headquartered in Sheffield.
Early on in his career, Dan ran Norton Creative, a marketing agency formed as part of The Sheffield College, designed to help apprentices gain real world skills and experience working on live briefs for real companies. He has creative skills in video production, photography, design and websites, which he put to use at leading Sheffield agency Vivid Creative. Next, Dan led the marketing team for a HR Tech SaaS company, before moving to his current role at Nimble Approach where he is responsible for everything from strategy to delivery, utilising all the skills he has developed over his career.
In the episode we cover:
Being a solo marketer
• The pros and cons
• What Dan spends most of his time on
• Content creation strategies for a solo marketer
• How Dan has handled resourcing, including his sophisticated use of AI
• Events as a useful space to bounce ideas around when working solo
How Nimble Approach’s marketing and sales approach is evolving
• How the technology services market has changed over the past couple of years
• The tech boom levelling out after covid
• How Nimble Approach have adapted their go-to-market in response to the changes in the market and the company's rapid growth
How Nimble Approach are bringing sales and marketing together through a growth team
• It's advantages when it comes to targeting and messaging
• The occasional challenges of working in a joint team
• Winning high-value enterprise deals requiring “a village”
• Balancing people's own goals and targets in a joint team
Marketing at the moment
• What's working in B2B marketing
• Dan’s inclusion in Prolific North's Top Northern Brand Marketers 2024 list
• How Nimble Approach come up with propositions to take to market
• Dan’s most contrarian take when it comes to B2B marketing
You can find Dan on LinkedIn here.
Check out Nimble Approach on LinkedIn here and visit their website here.
Episode 5 | The Sheffield Digital story, the UK Tech Cluster Group and developing the Sheffield innovation ecosystem with Mel Kanarek at Sheffield Digital
We're joined by Mel Kanarek, Digital Economy Specialist and Director at Sheffield Digital.
Mel began her career in the music, fashion and consumer goods industries, but has always been far more interested in business to business and technology. In the early 1990s, Mel was able to combine these elements by working at a PR firm focused on B2B tech, experiencing the dot com boom and bust and Y2K.
In a wide-ranging career, Mel has been an agency MD, run her own business, and been involved in start-ups.
Mel returned to Sheffield in the mid-noughties and started to get involved in the city and wider region’s small business scene, using her marketing and business experience to help people develop and grow their businesses.
By doing this in and around Sheffield, Mel built a strong understanding of the local tech ecosystem, and that’s mostly what she’s focused on now. Though officially “retired”, Mel is still actively involved in the Sheffield, South Yorkshire and broader UK tech scene, particularly through her roles with Sheffield Digital and The UK Tech Cluster Group.
In the episode we cover:
Sheffield Digital
• The Sheffield Digital story and how the organisation came about
• How Sheffield Digital has evolved over the last (nearly) ten years
• The vision for the future of Sheffield Digital
The UK Tech Cluster Group
• What is the UK Tech Cluster Group
• How Mel got involved in representing South Yorkshire
• The purpose of the UK Tech Cluster Group
Sheffield Ecosystem
• Mel’s work developing the Sheffield technology, digital and broader business ecosystem, and her goals and some of the challenges she’s met
• The different components and players in the ecosystem
• Sheffield’s “marketing challenge”
• Mel’s view on what a thriving innovation ecosystem looks like, and how that story can be told
• What people should be excited about when it comes to Sheffield
Find Mel on LinkedIn here.
Find Sheffield Digital on LinkedIn here and visit their website here.
Episode 4 | Manufacturing, MBA and freelancing with Charlotte Allen at Millgate Connect
We're joined by Charlotte Allen, Marketing Manager at Millgate Connect.
Charlotte began her B2B marketing career at GE, before moving on to Atmospheric Water Generation manufacturer Hogen Systems. Earlier this year, she started a new chapter at Millgate Connect, the telecommunications branch of tech firm Millgate.
In the episode we cover:
Manufacturing
• What it's like to work as a marketer in the manufacturing sector
• Some of the idiosyncrasies and nuances to be aware of
• The main challenges
• How working as a marketer in manufacturing compares to working in tech
• The advice Charlotte would give to a budding marketer starting out in manufacturing
MBA
• Why Charlotte decided to do an MBA
• The most important thing Charlotte learnt from doing her MBA
• How completing an MBA changed the way Charlotte works day to day
• What Charlotte would recommend to other people considering pursuing an MBA
Freelancing
• What motivated Charlotte to start freelancing
• What kind of freelance projects Charlotte works on
• What Charlotte has enjoyed the most about freelancing
• How working freelance differs from working as an employe
Find Charlotte on LinkedIn here.
Find Millgate Connect on LinkedIn here and visit their website here.
All Episodes
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B2B content marketing with Maddy, Senior Marketing Manager at Jiminny
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Account-based marketing with Paola, Fractional Marketing Strategist at Piccinno Strategic Marketing
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B2B copywriting and content strategy with Tom, freelance Content Strategist and Writer
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Manufacturing, MBA and freelancing with Charlotte, Marketing Manager at Millgate Connect
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Developing the Sheffield innovation ecosystem with Mel, Digital Economy Specialist and Director at Sheffield Digital at Sheffield Digital
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Building a growth team, maximising impact as a solo marketer, attribution, and AI, with Dan, Head of Marketing at Nimble Approach
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B2B PR with Caroline, B2B Communications Consultant and Founder at STORY Copywriting
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AI in B2B Marketing with Jake Bird, Director at JI Marketing