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This week we’ve snuck up The Mersey, Viking raid style, to nab Liverpool’s finest anti-bullshitcopywriter, Dave Harland. Having massive fingers hasn’t held back Dave from writing magic copy. He talks to us on how he made the bold move to working freelance after a 10-year stint at Park Group Plc, (ending up as Head of Copy), his early job as a football reporter, how his fascination with writing persuasive copy developed, his key tips for writing good copy and plenty more besides.   A massive fan of Liverpool F.C, Alan Partridge and Scrabble, as well as being a talented poet, the podcast includes a stunning reading of Dave’s poem ‘Dogs’, written for his Nan when he was aged just 13. Lend us your ears. You won’t be disappointed. ///// Dave Harland Links: Twitter @wordmancopy Dave’s LinkedIn Dave’s website Dave Plugged: Tom Albrighton’s website #copywritersunite Dave's Books: One Plus One Equals Three by Dave Trott Creative Blindness by Dave Trott Predatory Thinking by Dave Trott Now Try Something

This week we’ve pinpointed the exact location of what3words CMO Giles Rhys Jones for a good chinwag. Awarded the Cannes Lion Grand Prix for Innovation, Giles talks at length about this amazing global addressing phenomenon that is used by entities as diverse as pizza delivery companies and emergency services, as well as some of the world’s largest automobile companies like Mercedes and Audi. Giles also reveals nuggets of interest from working agency side at Saatchi & Saatchi and Ogilvy, where clients included HP, Unilever and British Airways, as well as what it takes to set up an agency, the secret for getting good press coverage, and a whole lot more. Go listen, sit back and enjoy. ///// Company what3words Books The Messy Middle by Scott Belsky Alchemy by Rory Sutherland Giles Gymnasium LinkedIn Profile Instagram Profile Article What3words: The app that can save your life (BBC) The Blogfather discovers W3W in June 2015 /////

This week we’ve caught the world’s only Global Tech Ethnographer and the woman that made Qualitative Data sexy; Tricia Wang. She created that job title herself, as part of always looking to question then smash convention throughout her career. Her fieldwork has featured in publications such as TechCrunch, Wired and The Guardian, she’s worked with Fortune 500 companies, and is a go-to keynote speaker, having stolen limelight at the likes of IBM, Proctor & Gamble, Nike and TED. She chats very openly to us on her early career, Ethnography, Big and ‘Thick’ Data (that’s the sexy part), her now-infamous period at Nokia, the current state of marketing, diversity and inclusion, and a whole lot more! Go listen, as this podcast redefines the term ‘unmissable’. ///// Social @TriciaWang Twitter @TriciaWang Instagram Slack Ethnography Hangout Book Recommendations So You Want to Talk About Race by Ijeoma Oluo How to deconstruct racism, one headline at a time by Baratunde Thurston Mismatch: How Inclusion Sha

This week we’ve caught The King in the North. Nope, it’s not Jon Snow, but one of Sheffield’s finest, Lee Davies. OK, he may not actually rule the North, but he’s certainly one of the most talented designers and creative directors in any part of Westeros the UK, for that matter. He modestly calls himself ‘a right mess’, but growing up in a cultural backwater in Cheshire didn’t hinder him rising up to design great work for the creative brand communications agency Peter & Paul for 12 years, where clients have included the likes of Channel 4, Unilever and the V&A. He lets us know all the details about his way of working, what makes for an effective creative process as a designer, brand identities, his passion and talent for writing, Behavioural Science, Signalling, Sheffield and a whole lot more. Any budding designers, or anyone who simply wants their company or agency to produce better creative work, should bend their ear hither now. ///// Instagram Peter & Paul Twitter Peter & Paul Twit

This episode is the most eagerly anticipated ‘Part 2’ since The Godfather movie series, as we resume our chat with The Don of Behavioural Economics in 2019; the one and only Rory Sutherland. Rory Sutherland is a copywriter-turned-behavioural science expert and torch-bearer, and Vice Chairman of Ogilvy UK. He’s been President of the IPA, Chair of the Judges for the Direct Jury at Cannes, and has entertained millions via his unrivalled TED Talks. Rory writes regular columns for The Spectator, and is the author of two books: The Wiki Man and the recently published Alchemy, The surprising Power of Ideas which don't make Sense. He talks on subjects even more wide ranging than Part 1, including: Nudgestock, Shakespeare as a behavioural economist, Psychological hacks for parents, Comedy, The Pratfall Effect with Vicars, Sloe Gin, and a whole lot more. ///// Rory's Links (complete version available in Part 2 to follow) Twitter: @RorySutherland Alchemy: The Surprising Power of Ideas That Don't Make Sense by Ror

This week we’ve caught the uniquely and multi-talented author, poet, and podcast presenter, Giles Paley-Phillips. Giles is the award-winning author of children’s books including The Fearsome Beastie and Little Bell and the Moon, and talks to us on his motivations for writing, how he got published, and also some tips for those who have their own dreams of being a writer. He delves into his role as a co-host on the British Podcast Awards nominated ‘Blank’ podcast alongside comedian Jim Daly, where stellar guests have included Gary Lineker and Louis Theroux. He also very generously and openly talks about his childhood, how his career developed, and his time on the road in a rock band, including a performance at the Glastonbury festival. Go listen and enjoy! ///// Episode Links Twitter: @eliistender10 BLANK podcast One Hundred and Fifty-Two Days by Giles Paley-Phillips The Fearsome Beastie by Giles Paley-Phillips Little Bell and the Moon by Giles Paley-Phillips So You’ve Been Publicly Shamed by John Ro

This week we’ve caught Ogilvy UK’s and Behavioural Science’s finest, Rory Sutherland. It’s an hour of Rory. What do you expect? If it’s a jam-packed, entertaining chinwag on all things advertising, marketing and psychology then come tuck in. For those for whom this will be a first dose of Rory, he is a copywriter-turned-behavioural science expert and torch-bearer, and Vice Chairman of Ogilvy UK. He’s been President of the IPA, Chair of the Judges for the Direct Jury at Cannes, and has entertained millions via his unrivalled TED Talks. Rory writes regular columns for The Spectator, and is the author of two books: The Wiki Man and the recently published Alchemy, The surprising Power of Ideas which don't make Sense. He talks to us on a ton of topics, including; Direct Marketing, Measurement, Efficiency V’s Effectiveness, the state of the modern Ad Agency, Harry Potter, and the need to establish marketing as its own form of unique science. ///// Rory's Links (complete version available in Part 2 to follow)

This week we’ve caught Wiemer Snijders. A Dutchman with a famous banana, Wiemer is one of the most prominent figures at the forefront of Marketing Sciences. Currently a Partner at The Commercial Works, he recently published Eat Your Greens: Fact-Based Thinking to Improve Your Brand’s Health, which features contributions from 35 of the world’s top marketers, including the likes of Byron Sharp, Mark Ritson and Bob Hoffman. Listen to him talk on how the scientific approach is helping to turn around marketing, the possible root causes of the lack of long-term strategic thinking in the industry, and a whole lot more. ///// Wiemer's Links: Twitter: @wiemersnijders Eat Your Greens by Wiemer Snijders The Mind Is Flat by Nick Chaker Bad Science by Ben Goldacre It’s A Little More Complicated Than That by Ben Goldacre How To Lie With Statistics by Darrell Huff Naked Statistics by Charles Wheelan Economics Facts And Fallacies by Thomas Saul Factfulness by Hans Rosyln Progress by Johan Norberg The Consuming

Listen to how we nearly lost one of the finest strategic minds in the industry to the ski instructing game. Murray Calder learnt his craft managing internationally renowned Scotch Whisky brands like Macallan, Highland Park, and The Famous Grouse, and his first job in the industry saw him do everything EXCEPT marketing, giving him a great grounding and a fundamentally important first lesson.   He’s been with MediaCom Edinburgh since 2006, where he is currently Strategy Director, and numerous honours bestowed on his bonce include a period as Chairman for the IPA in Scotland. He also now dabbles in wood block printing and typesetting, so plenty to lend your ears to. Listen and enjoy. ///// Twitter: @ScotStratGuy LinkedIn: Murray Calder Culture series by Iain M Banks The Makery Dunbar website The Makery Dunbar Instagram /////

Armed with a fishing pole and a tasty bait of Hemmingway, we caught none other than Glenn Fisher.  Arguably the most famous person to be born in Grimsby (by default), Glenn became a copywriter after a number of years working in the local council. For over a decade he worked with Agora, a multi-million pound international financial publisher, as Head of Copy. He is now freelance, focussing on coaching aspiring copywriters, and has recently published his first book, The Art of the Click, which explores direct-response copywriting, which has received glowing endorsements from some of the best… including previous Call to Action guests Vikki Ross and Richard Shotton. ///// Sophie's World by Jostein Gaarder The Art of the Click by Glenn Fisher History of Western Philosophy by Bertrand Russell Great Leads: The Six Easiest Ways to Start Any Sales Message by John Forde Books by Dave Trott, Milan Kundera and Paul Auster /////

After traversing lakes, vast boreal forests and glaciated mountains, we finally caught up with the charismatic Fredrik Hallberg. Being born in the most boring town in Sweden, Köping, propelled Fredrik to leap into the world of computers, and ultimately the internet, just to find something interesting. Fast forward in time, and he is now a seasoned Marketing Strategy Director and Management Consultant with more than 20 years of experience consulting Fortune 500 companies, digital start-ups, tech giants and domestic brands. A popular speaker at many public seminars and lectures, Fredrik has also just taken a brand spanking new position as a Partner at The Commercial Works alongside Wiemer Snijders, curator and editor of the brilliant ‘Eat Your Greens’. He talks to us on marketing strategy, brand purpose, the problem with online advertising, how important David Hasselhoff was to him in early life and a whole lot more! ///// Books by (Amazon Links): Bob Hoffman Dave Trott Byron Sharp Daniel Ka

Catching Vikki Ross was no mean feat; she's here, there and everywhere. One of the best copywriters in the business, Vikki specialises in Branding and Tone of Voice, running workshops all over the globe, and creating voices for some of the UK’s biggest brands, including The Body Shop, Sky, ITV, and Virgin Media. She dedicates time to mentoring budding copywriters and is a very vocal champion of the art of copywriting itself. Vikki says; “Copywriting will take you further than you imagined – into people’s homes, onto high streets and on shoots around the world…” ///// Vikki Ross A Big Life in Advertising Mary Wells Lawrence  How To Write Better Copy by Steve Harrison Persuasive Copywriting by Andy Maslen  Hey Whipple, Squeeze This! by Luke Sullivan  The Copy Book by D&AD Ali Hanan / Creative Equals / Creative Equals Conference For Creative Girls Who's Your Momma? @VikkiRossWrites #CopywritersUnite #CopySafari Gasp (The Blogfather) Context. The Devil is in the Detail Buildin

This week’s podcast guest Eaon Pritchard was a tough catch, seeing as he is based in Melbourne and all, but that didn’t stop us collaring him for a chat. He’s a self-proclaimed ‘advertising douchebag’, but that does him a disservice, as Eaon has worked as an ad creative and planner for over 20 years, firstly in London and now over in Oz. He also lectures, consults, and writes regularly for WARC and other ad industry publications, while his spectacular and highly-praised book on advertising, ‘Where Did it All Go Wrong?’ caused R/GA’s Head of Strategy Rob Campbell to declare; “Eaon is funny and insightful. I hate him.” ///// Eaon Pritchard: Twitter: @eaonp Where Did It All Go Wrong - Adventures At The Dunning Kruger Peak Of Advertising The Stupidity Paradox: The Power and Pitfalls of Functional Stupidity at Work by Mats Alvesson The Triumph of Emptiness: Consumption, Higher Education, and Work Organization by Mats Alvesson Business Bullshit by Andre Spicer Intuition Pumps And Other Tools for

Published author, poet, public speaker and Starcoms’s Head of Strategic Innovation, Amy’s led media and marketing strategies for some of the world’s biggest brands, including the BBC, Unilever, and Nando’s. Her first foray into writing, with the modern-day fairy tale, The Little Girl Who Gave Zero Fucks, was a stonking success; storming to the top of the charts on Amazon. Amy’s also been listed as one of the most influential and innovative people in UK digital media by the likes of The Drum, while her career has taken her to Asia and back again, and she is rightly a vocal champion for smashing gender inequality in our industry, and beyond. /////  Amy Kean: Twitter: @Keano81 The Little Girl Who Gave Zero Fucks Website The Little Girl Who Gave Zero Fucks (Amazon) The Chimp Parodox by Prof Steve Peters Amy's Shots Column Selling to the Subconscious: Should more markers use 'Dreamvertising'? The Drum article Gasp: Dreams. The Final Advertising Frontier? /////

We’ve caught award-winning author, artist, public speaker and former QI head elf Stevyn Colgan for our latest podcast. Stevyn’ career started with 30 years in the Met Police Service, where he quickly landed up in the intriguingly named, ‘The Problem Solving Unit'; using lollipops to deal with noisy, rowdy night-clubbers was but one ingenious (and highly effective) idea he introduced. An expert problem solver, he’s given TED talks on this subject, amongst other top gigs, including the Edinburgh Festival, Latitude and Ogilvy’s behavioural science centrepiece Nudgestock. /////  Stevyn Colgan: Stevyn’s Website Twitter: @StevynColgan Why Did the Policeman Cross the Road TED talk Perfect Pitch Nudgestock 2017 The Drunkard’s Walk: How Randomness Rules Our Lives by Leonard Mlodinow Problem-Oriented Policing by Herman Goldstein Thinking, Fast and Slow by Daniel Kahneman Nudge: Improving Decisions About Health, Wealth and Happiness by Richard H Thaler Gasp: Gasp Agency Website Sending Scru

Hot on the heels of our maiden podcast, we collar JP Hanson.  He is the CEO and co-founder of Rouser, an international strategic consultancy firm headquartered in Stockholm, where he works making client brands better, not just bigger, and stresses that his singular goal is to build client profit.  If this wasn’t enough, he contributes to outlets such as The Drum and the IPA’s EffWorks, and is increasingly delivering entertaining, no-nonsense talks across the globe, as well as being a qualified lawyer. The Rouser Manifesto, built on; ‘Strategy First, tactics Later. Brand Always’, is something we regularly dive and dip into at Gasp, so we are box-of-frogs excited that our kindred spirit is on the podcast. /////  JP Hanson: Twitter: @RouserJP The Rouser Manifesto: A Proposal for How to Get Marketing Back to the Boardroom The Drum His methods still matter – a response to ‘David Ogilvy must die’ The Halo Effect by Phil Rosenzweig How Brands Grow by Byron Sharp Eat Your Greens by Wiemer Snijde

In our maiden episode we catch Richard Shotton. Increasingly known as the author of The Choice Factory, a best-selling book on how to apply findings from behavioural science to advertising, Richard also operates as a consultant, speaker and trainer.  A choice choir of industry legends have collectively sung praise for his book, most notably Rory Sutherland, Dave Trott, Mark Ritson and Phil Barden, with the latter referring to it as “catnip for the industry”; which explains why one of our Account Managers likes to rub it all over himself when he arrives every morning.  /////  Richard Shotton: Twitter: @rshotton Buy The Choice Factory on Amazon Mumbrella Brand Purpose Article 14 Books on Behavioural Science that Marketers Should Read Behind the Scenes in Advertising, Mark III: More Bull More Irrationality: The enemy within Paperback by Stuart Sutherland Gasp: Gasp Agency Website Contact/submit a question to the Show: hello@calltoaction.co Our articles on Brand Signalling and Online R