102: “Culture is only as strong as the worst behaviour it tolerates” with Sara Tate, former CEO of TBWA London

12/02/22 • 59 min

This week, we twiddled our Poirot-Esque moustache and put our egg-shaped heads together to track down and catch ad industry titan, Sara Tate, for a chinwag.
Sara is former CEO of TBWA London and, alongside Anna Vogt, penned The Rebuilders, a guide to building resilience and turning obstacles into opportunities.
She talks to us on TV detectives, working in a teabag factory, being a nosy ninny, struggling early on in her strategy career, courier-related mini-mega cringes, writing about setbacks and resilience, the commonalities between our personal and professional lives, dealing with your mental inbox, moving into a leadership position, and tons more for your little grey cells to devour.
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Follow Sara on Twitter and LinkedIn
Pop a copy of The Rebuilders in your basket
And pour the pod version into your ears, pronto
Thank you to everyone who has lent their ears and their brains for over 100 episodes of the Call To Action® podcast. It’s a real privilege. Please share and review the podcast to help more marketers feel better about marketing.
Timestamps
(01:45) - Quick fire questions
(03:19) - First-ever jobs
(06:05) - Being a strategist (and a nosy ninny)
(13:35) - Writing about setbacks and resilience
(17:50) - Commonalities between our personal and professional lives
(26:41) - How to focus on the now
(31:48) - Dealing with your mental inbox
(38:31) - The beginner’s mind
(46:03) - Listener questions
(52:37) - 4 pertinent posers
Sara’s book recommendations are:
Grit by Angela Duckworth
What I Loved by Siri Hustvedt
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Previous Episode

101: How to practice being lucky with Andy Nairn, Lucky Generals & Author of Go Luck Yourself

This week, we’re up all night to get Lucky General, Andy Nairn.
One of the world’s most respected brand strategists, Andy is a founder of one of the UK’s most successful agencies, Lucky Generals, and author of Go Luck Yourself. Boasting a client roster including Amazon, Virgin Atlantic and Yorkshire Tea, they’ve been shortlisted for Campaign’s Agency of the Year five years in a row.
Andy chats to us on manipulating the UK music charts, chopping thistles and weeding wild oats, working for David Abbott, giving out really bad legal advice, the early days of Lucky Generals, the rainbow laces campaign, defining, acknowledging and creating your own luck, why he hates big tables, and loads more. Feeling lucky? Click play.
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Follow Andy on Twitter and LinkedIn
Here’s Lucky Generals
Stack the odds in your brand’s favour with his book Go Luck Yourself
Or wait for the soon-to-be-released deck of cards version by emailing [email protected]
Support Commercial Break
Listen Up by Andy Nairn on ISOLATED Talks
Thank you to everyone who has lent their ears and their brains for over 100 episodes of the Call To Action® podcast. It’s a real privilege. Please do share and review the podcast to help more marketers feel better about marketing.
Timestamps
(01:46) - Quick fire questions
(02:56) - First ever (slightly medieval) job
(04:06) - His first agency job at AMV with David Abbott
(11:06) - Why did he want to set up his own shop?
(12:47) - The chaotic story behind the name Lucky Generals
(15:04) - Early days at Lucky Generals and rainbow laces campaign
(18:38) - Defining luck
(23:10) - Practicing being lucky
(30:05) - Brands born lucky
(33:01) - Supporting Commercial Break
(37:21) - Listener questions
(46:15) - 4 pertinent posers
Andy’s book recommendations are:
Run with Foxes by Paul Dervan
Brandsplaining by Jane Cunningham and Philippa Roberts
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Next Episode

103: Meet the man to thank for skippable ads on YouTube; Walter Geer III, VMLY&R HEALTH

This week, we put pedal to the metal and found a new top gear, a Walter Geer III.
Sport-bike racer, track and field All-American, and seriously impressive fella, Walter is Chief Experience Design Officer at VMLY&R HEALTH, bridging tech, storytelling, design, and user experience to create innovative design solutions to health.
Walter hits top speed talking on a ton of tantalising topics like the lies he told people in awful suits, his early rich media roles at The New York Times and Myspace, why the best creatives are inquisitive, ethics around wearables, why chatbots are s***, being the second penguin in the water, why more brands need to understand that screwing up is OK, a tirade on timesheets and more.
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Follow Walter on Twitter, LinkedIn, and Instagram
Call To Action alumni Derek Walker was kind enough to link us up with Walter to record this episode. Go give his episode some kudos.
Thank you to everyone who has lent their ears and their brains for over 100 episodes of the Call To Action® podcast. It’s a real privilege. Please do share and review the podcast to help more marketers feel better about marketing.
Timestamps
(02:08) - Quick fire questions
(04:06) - First ever job and why he lied to people in awful suits
(06:29) - His early days in the rich media team at The New York Times
(13:45) - Moving up the food chain to eat the problem sooner agency side
(17:52) - Working in health
(19:05) - What does a Chief Experience Design Officer do?
(22:49) - Data, ethics, chatbots and wearables
(29:33) - Listener questions
(37:46) - 4 pertinent posers
Walter’s book recommendations are:
It's Not How Good You Are, It's How Good You Want To Be by Paul Arden
What Lucy Taught Us by Walter T Geer Jr
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