Podcast
Building Brand Advocacy
Hosted by Paul Archer and Verity Hurd · EN
Building Brand Advocacy is a tactical marketing podcast exploring how the world’s most impactful brands grow.
Hosted by Paul Archer and Verity Hurd, the show explores the tactics and strategies behind modern brand building.
Each episode breaks down how category-defining brands, platform leaders, and industry insiders rewriting the rules of growth and the tactics, strategies, and decisions other brands can apply immediately.
This podcast is your marketing playbook.
28episodes
Episodes
Newest firstAll episodes
Building TRIP: How a Challenger Brand Conquered the Wellness Drinks Market
2w ago00:49:51Tap to summarizeIn this episode of Building Brand Advocacy, I sit down with Alice Ratcliffe, Head of Brand at TRIP — the wellness drinks brand rewriting the rules of brand positioning in one of the most crowded categories on the market.Alice pulls back the curtain on how TRIP went from scrappy challenger to a brand that commands culture, loyalty, and shelf space — and what it's really taken to scale that story into the US.In this episode, we cover:How to stand out in a saturated wellness & drinks marketTRIP's influencer strategy and why it's built differently to most other brandsIntegrating celebrities into your brand without losing authenticityThe real strategy for brand building in the USWhy employee advocacy is one of the most underrated tools in a marketer's arsenalHow to integrate AI for effective brand building in 2026The honest challenges of being the underdog and how to turn them into an advantageCHAPTERS00:00 The Polished Brand Problem02:03 Finding Branded White Space06:00 Regulation Into Advantage07:36 Always On Brand Building10:17 How To Earn Consumer Trust16:06 Creators Influencers Celebs23:25 US Expansion Playbook26:30 Approaching Employee Advocacy28:39 Scaling Without Gatekeeping29:51 Email List vs Community31:15 AI Vs IRL 33:36 Hosting Inclusive Brand Events35:50 Winning on TikTok Shop39:52 Global Growth and Accounts44:26 Powerful Founder Partnerships🔔 Subscribe to Building Brand Advocacy for weekly conversations with the people reshaping how brands grow.CONNECT WITH TRIPInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/trip.drinks/TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@trip.drinksFOLLOW USVerity: https://www.linkedin.com/in/verityhurd/Subscribe: www.youtube.com/@buildingbrandadvocacyInstagram: www.instagram.com/building_brand_advocacyTikTok: www.tiktok.com/@building.brand.advocacy
Transcribe →Is your brand engineered for advocacy? | The Advocacy Maturity Model
4w ago00:31:09Tap to summarizeIn this mastermind episode of Building Brand Advocacy, we break down the Advocacy Maturity Model, a strategic framework for diagnosing exactly where your brand sits on the advocacy spectrum and the precise steps to move from passive mentions to a fully activated community-led growth engine.Think of it as your strategic advocacy playbook, the kind of session your brand team needs to align on advocacy as a core brand lever rather than a marketing afterthought.Inside this episode:The 5 stages of brand advocacy maturity and how to identify which stage you're at right nowWhy most brands plateau at stage 2 and never break through to genuine brand loveThe structural shifts your team needs to make at each stage of the modelHow to turn community-led growth into a measurable brand assetThe metrics that actually matter when tracking advocacy momentumIf you’re a marketing leader trying to restructure your team's advocacy strategy, this episode gives you the framework to stop guessing and start growing with intention.🔔 New episodes every Wednesday — subscribe so you never miss an episode.FOLLOW USSubscribe: www.youtube.com/@buildingbrandadvocacyInstagram: www.instagram.com/building_brand_advocacyTikTok: www.tiktok.com/@building.brand.advocacyVerity: www.linkedin.com/in/verityhurd/
Transcribe →Grace Andrews: Why Your Employees Are Your Most Powerful Brand Asset in 2026
Apr 2200:37:16Tap to summarizeIn this episode of Building Brand Advocacy, Verity sits down with Grace Andrews to unpack the real shifts happening in social right now and what forward-thinking brands are doing to stay ahead in 2026 and beyond.Grace brings a sharp, strategic lens to one of the most underutilised growth levers in marketing today: employee advocacy. We go deep on why building brand growth from the inside out isn't just about brand culture but something much bigger.We then go onto discuss how to build an effective and experimental content eco-system as well as understanding how to navigate YouTube as long form presence is growing within the digital landscape. In this episode, we cover:The evolution of social trends shaping brand strategy in 2026A strategic framework for building genuine employee advocacyHow to drive real brand growth through your people not just your paid channelsEffective content experimentation strategies that actually move the needleWhy YouTube is the deepest, most underrated content channel for brand buildingThe trends smart brands are already preparing for in 2026/2027CHAPTERS00:00 Episode Trailer 01:30 Meet Grace Andrews02:23 2024 Trend Check 06:52 Employee Advocacy Basics09:20 Building The Employees Advocacy Infrastructure14:52 Ownership And Founder Role17:11 Incentivising Employee Advocacy19:22 Building A Content Experimentation System22:29Dummy Social Channels for Safe Testing24:09 Case Study of the Shameless Network28:48 YouTube vs Social Scrolling31:29 Where YouTube Fits into Teams33:48 Low Lift YouTube for Brands35:30 Future Creator Brand PartnershipsWhether you're a founder, marketing lead, or brand strategist — this conversation will change how you think about where your next wave of growth actually comes from.🔔 Subscribe to Building Brand Advocacy for weekly conversations with the people reshaping how brands grow.CONNECT WITH GRACEInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/graceandrewsss/YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@graceandrewsssTikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@graceandrews7FOLLOW USVerity: https://www.linkedin.com/in/verityhurd/Subscribe: www.youtube.com/@buildingbrandadvocacyInstagram: www.instagram.com/building_brand_advocacyTikTok: www.tiktok.com/@building.brand.advocacy
Transcribe →Why more brands should become entertainment first | The Red Bull Strategy
Apr 800:06:11Tap to summarizeIn this episode of Building Brand Advocacy, we're unpacking the seismic shift happening in marketing right now: is branded entertainment replacing paid ads? We dig into why the smartest brands are investing in long-form content, storytelling, and entertainment-led campaigns, and how this changes everything from team structure to ROI measurement.What we cover:Should brands have Global or local social media accountsThe perfect niche to scale strategy Branded entertainment vs paid adsThe Redbull playbookWhether you're a founder, a marketing lead, or a brand builder trying to do more with less — this is the episode that reframes where your budget should actually be going.🔔 New episodes every Wednesday — subscribe so you never miss an episode.CONNECT WITH PAUL & VERITYPaul: www.linkedin.com/in/paulkarcher/Verity: www.linkedin.com/in/verityhurd/FOLLOW USPaul: https://www.linkedin.com/in/paulkarcher/Subscribe: www.youtube.com/@buildingbrandadvocacyInstagram: www.instagram.com/building_brand_advocacyTikTok: www.tiktok.com/@building.brand.advocacy
Transcribe →Is Community The New Influencer? Founder of CLIQ Community App
Apr 100:48:11Tap to summarizeAre communities replacing influencers? In this episode of Building Brand Advocacy, Paul sits down with Nicola Gunby, co-founder of CLIQ, to talk about why the brands winning right now aren't chasing reach, they're building belonging.We go deep on the concept of the 'third space' and why it might be the most underutilised tool in your brand's growth strategy right now.In this episode we cover:The journey behind CLIQ and why Nicola built itWhat 'third space' communities are and why they matter for brandsWhat it actually takes to build real, lasting community (it's not what you think)How brands can use CLIQ as a community-building toolFrameworks for measuring community impact — beyond vanity metricsOnline vs IRL: which builds deeper brand loyalty?This one is essential listening if you're a CMO or marketing lead questioning where influencer budgets should actually go in 2025.CHAPTERS00:00 Introduction04:29 Community as the Third Place08:19 Where Brands Go Wrong with Community13:59 Cliq Brand Case Studies 19:21 Measuring Community ROI26:17 Measuring Community Event Demand28:30 Tap Into Existing Communities29:40 Samsung Community Case Study35:17 Online vs In Person Community 37:34 Sub Communities Strategy41:40 Geo Local Community44:18 Cringe Or Community🔔 New episodes every Wednesday — subscribe so you never miss an episode.CONNECT WITH NICOLAInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/nicolargunby/LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nicola-gunby/CLIQ: https://www.instagram.com/findyourcliq/
Transcribe →Why Every Brand Should Think Like a Creator | Sidemen's Manager Reveals All
Mar 2500:44:23Tap to summarizeIs influencer marketing dead? Jordan Schwarzenberger, the man behind the Sidemen's evolution from creators to a multi-million pound enterprise, thinks brands have got content eco-systems wrong. In this episode of Building Brand Advocacy, we break down why the smartest brands are ditching traditional influencer marketing and becoming organic content engines instead.Jordan reveals the exact content strategy that scaled the Sidemen from a YouTube group into a business empire and how any brand can steal from the creator economy strategy. We go deep on building a content hemisphere, why entertainment-first marketing beats ads, and how to turn community into customers through brand advocacy.In this episode we cover:Sidemen evolution from creators to an enterprise business.The opportunity for brands to become content engines.Why influencer marketing is dead.Why brands and 10 years behind in content and how to create a solution to get ahead.Whether you're a CMO, marketer or brand founder, this episode is your blueprint for building a content marketing strategy that actually compounds.CHAPTERS00:00 Introduction02:38 Building the LADBible Agency07:16 Scaling The Sidemen Businesses11:16 Defining A Content Infrastructure12:27 Side Plus Membership Model17:27 How Brands Should Be Working With Creators20:23 End Of The Transactional Influencer Model 23:04 Discovery IS Replacing Followers26:07 The Influencer Economy Collapse28:33 Traditional Campaigns Are Dead30:04 Monoculture To Micro Communities38:24 The CMO Playbook 41:40 Contribution Marketing To Serve Then Sell🔔 New episodes every Wednesday — subscribe so you never miss an episode.CONNECT WITH JORDANLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jordanschwarzenberger/Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jordanschwarz/TiKTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@jordanschwarzenbergerFOLLOW USVerity: www.linkedin.com/in/verityhurd/Subscribe: www.youtube.com/@buildingbrandadvocacyInstagram: www.instagram.com/building_brand_advocacyTikTok: www.tiktok.com/@building.brand.advocacy
Transcribe →How to Build, Scale & Actually Use AI in Marketing
Mar 1800:42:50Tap to summarizeAI for brands is already here. It’s making a shift and as marketing teams, we should be reactive. But the reality is that most brands are still figuring out where to start.In this episode of Building Brand Advocacy, we break down the real state of AI for brands right now. What's working, what's just noise and how to make AI work for YOU without losing the human touch that drives real brand advocacy.In this episode, we cover: The current state of AI for brandsHow to make AI work for you and your team todayHow AI will reshape marketing resources and team structuresPractical ways to use AI in your day-to-day work lifeUsing AI to create real efficiencies across your content and marketing opsHow to build, scale, and manage an AI team from scratchCHAPTERS00:00 Build Your AI Native Dream Team02:32 Manager of Infinite Minds03:54 Onboarding and Feedback Loop09:49 Future Proof Marketing Roles Form AI 15:14 Building AI Agents into Your Workflow22:30 Repurposing Content With Agents25:54 Scaling To 11 Agents31:58 AI Native Mindset Shift34:45 Create A Preference Sheet for AI38:34 Training Cadence And GrowthWhether you're a brand team trying to do more with less, or a marketing leader figuring out how to upskill your team, this episode is your AI starter kit.🔔 Subscribe to watch our new episodes every Tuesday.CONNECT WITH PAUL & VERITYPaul: www.linkedin.com/in/paulkarcher/Verity: www.linkedin.com/in/verityhurd/FOLLOW USSubscribe: www.youtube.com/@buildingbrandadvocacyInstagram: www.instagram.com/building_brand_advocacyTikTok: www.tiktok.com/@building.brand.advocacy
Transcribe →How To Build A Community-Led Brand From Scratch (If I Started Over) | Sophie Miller’s Masterclass
Mar 1100:23:15Tap to summarizeIn this mastermind episode, Sophie Miller (founder of Pretty Little Marketer) breaks down the exact tactical steps she’d take to build a high-engagement community from scratch in 2026.If you’re a brand, marketer or founder trying to turn followers into a real community engine, this episode is a step-by-step guide to catapult your community strategy.In this episode, you’ll learn:00:00 Introduction to community building 00:56 The Platform Strategy05:06 Step 1: Connection Point08:19 Step 2: Mission Sentence11:09 Step 3: Connection To You, Connection To Each Other16:24 Step 4: Thin Content🔔 New episodes every Wednesday — subscribe so you never miss an episode.CONNECT WITH SOPHIELinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sophiealicemiller/Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sophiemillerrrr/Pretty Little Marketer: https://www.linkedin.com/company/prettylittlemarketer/FOLLOW USSubscribe: www.youtube.com/@buildingbrandadvocacyInstagram: www.instagram.com/building_brand_advocacyTikTok: www.tiktok.com/@building.brand.advocacyVerity: www.linkedin.com/in/verityhurd/
Transcribe →Inside Trinny London, Benefit & MADE.com: The Truth About Building Brand Advocacy
Mar 400:41:58Tap to summarizeAre you building a real community around your brand or just spending budget on meaningless partnerships and vanity metrics? In this episode of Building Brand Advocacy, Verity sits down with marketing consultant Lauren Spearman who has worked with Global brands including Benefit Cosmetics, MADE.com, Trinny London to unpack what genuine advocacy looks like today vs. a decade ago and why most influencer strategies are still stuck in 2014.We go deep on how to move from fabricated, performance-led “community” to truly invested brand advocates who buy, refer, and defend your brand online.In this episode, you’ll learn:Evolution of brand advocacy over the last 10 yearsHow Benefit Cosmetics build a ‘warm’ brand through effective influencer strategies How to find organic advocacy in your existing community How to build real relationships with your influencer partners What went into creative authentic advocacy at MADE.comThe work behind Trinny London TribeCMOs, brand and social leads, and anyone tired of pouring budget into influencer campaigns that don’t convert into real advocacy, retention, or revenue, this episode is for you. CHAPTERS02:37 Netmums and Real Community06:24 Inside Benefit Cosmetics 12:20 Employee Advocacy in Action19:33 Benefit Mascara Maldives Launch21:37 Reframing advocacy at MADE.com24:52 Building the Advocacy at MADE.com30:28 Brand Advocacy vs Performance34:26 Treating Creators as True Partners37:26 Behind the Trinny Tribe Community40:36 Quick fire and Wrap Up🔔 New episodes every Wednesday — subscribe so you never miss an episode.CONNECT WITH LAURENLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/laurenspearman/Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/laurenspearman/TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@spearmanlaurenFOLLOW USVerity: www.linkedin.com/in/verityhurd/Subscribe: www.youtube.com/@buildingbrandadvocacyInstagram: www.instagram.com/building_brand_advocacyTikTok: www.tiktok.com/@building.brand.advocacy
Transcribe →How Glow For It Used TikTok LIVE to Make 6 Figures (Step-by-Step)
Feb 2500:05:41Tap to summarizeGlow For It didn’t just “do well” on TikTok Live, they drove 6-figures in revenue in a single live shopping stream. In this 5-minute masterclass, founder Daisy Kelly breaks down exactly how it happened and what every modern brand can steal from their TikTok strategy. In this episode, we unpack:How Daisy turned community obsession into real-time purchase intent The TikTok LIVE moment that tipped Glow For It into 6-figure territoryThe structure of a high-converting TikTok Live Shopping sessionWhy TikTok Shop is replacing traditional “influencer trips” for smart brandsThe mindset shift founders need to win in live commerceIf you’re a founder, marketer, or growth lead wondering how to turn views into live sales, this is your shortcut. Think of it as a behind-the-scenes launch debrief: no fluff, just what actually moved the needle.CHAPTERS00:00 Inside a Six-Figure TikTok Live01:24 The First 60 Seconds: Hooking Viewers with a Giveaway + Hero Offers02:24 The Offer That Made It Pop03:40 Behind-the-Scenes Chaos04:45 The Six-Figure Moment🔔 Follow us to watch our new episodes every Wednesday.CONNECT WITH GLOW FOR IT Glow For It TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@glowforitshop?lang=en-GBGlow For It Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/glowforitshop/FOLLOW USVerity: www.linkedin.com/in/verityhurd/Subscribe: www.youtube.com/@buildingbrandadvocacyInstagram: www.instagram.com/building_brand_advocacyTikTok: www.tiktok.com/@building.brand.advocacy
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