The Casla Podcast
Conversations with interesting people about the world of B2B.
Episode 7 | B2B PR with Caroline Voaden, B2B Communications Consultant and Founder at STORY Copywriting
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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