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    Marketing

    Embracing Marketing Mistakes

    Welcome to Embracing Marketing Mistakes, the world’s leading irreverent podcast for senior marketers who are tired of the polished corporate b*llshit. 

    Join Chris Norton and Will Ockenden, founders of the award-winning Prohibition PR, as they sit down with industry leaders to dissect the career-ending f*ck-ups they’d rather forget. The show moves past any pretty vanity metrics to uncover the brutal, honest truths behind marketing disasters, from £30,000 SEO black holes and completely failed companies, to social media crises that went globally viral for all the wrong reasons.

    We don’t just celebrate the f*ck-ups; we extract the tactical blueprints you need to avoid them yourself. If you are a business owner, or a CMO looking for a competitive advantage that only comes from real-world experience, this is your weekly masterclass in resilience and strategy.

    • Listen for: Raw stories from top brands, ex-McKinsey strategists, and industry disruptors.
    • Learn from: The errors that cost thousands and the recoveries that saved careers.
    • Get ahead by: Turning other people’s nasty disasters into your unfair market advantage.

    If you have a story to tell and would like to appear on the show, tell us your biggest marketing mistake and drop us a line.

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    Copyright: © 2026 Embracing Marketing Mistakes

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    Latest Episodes:
    I Forgot to Book the Entire Afternoon Session of my Event. Jan 08, 2026
    Show notes

    Former marketing manager at Prolific North, Natalie Davidson, once accidentally invited 100 people to the wrong day of an event due to a rogue automatic reminder. She discovered the mistake while in the middle of briefing a speaker and was unable to access her laptop for an hour, causing major stress. Miraculously, no one showed up early. Either attendees remembered the correct date or no one had read the email. I did my best to reassure her it was probably the former.

    In this episode, we explore professional mistakes and failures that marketing professionals can learn from, offering listeners real-world examples of blunders and recoveries. Natalie shares two honest and revealing stories from her career in events management, showing how even the most organised professionals can make serious errors and still recover with integrity and resilience.

    • Forgetting to book an afternoon session for 30 people during a nationwide roadshow of events
    • Successfully recovering from the booking error by being honest with the venue and leveraging a good professional relationship
    • Setting up automatic event reminders for the wrong day, sending incorrect information to around 100 attendees
    • Managing crisis situations while actively engaged in other critical tasks
    • Finding humor in professional mistakes and using them as learning opportunities

    Send us Fan Mail

    Your competitors are being named by AI. Are you? One of our clients went from being named in 4 of 50 buyer prompts to 19 in 90 days. Book your free AI visibility check with Chris here. 👉 [Book free AI Visibility Check] 👈

    Subscribe to our newsletter
    The mistakes we see marketers make, every fortnight. 👉 [Subscribe here] 👈

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    EP 94: The Pink Batman Strategy: Finding Your Brand’s Inner Weird - Mark Terry-Lush Jan 06, 2026
    Show notes

    Mark Terry Lush spent thirty years chasing every opportunity. Big brands, wild projects, new cultures, he said yes to them all. The problem was that adaptability started to feel like progress, and it cost him focus on his own brand.

    In this episode, Mark shares what he learned from building everyone else’s success while neglecting his own. We talk about why versatility without direction can derail your career, how brands fall into the sea of sameness, and why personality matters more than features.

    He also tells a flying story that will make you rethink risk and resilience. If you’ve ever felt like you’re busy but not moving forward, this conversation will help you find clarity and build something that lasts.

    Send us Fan Mail

    Your competitors are being named by AI. Are you? One of our clients went from being named in 4 of 50 buyer prompts to 19 in 90 days. Book your free AI visibility check with Chris here. 👉 [Book free AI Visibility Check] 👈

    Subscribe to our newsletter
    The mistakes we see marketers make, every fortnight. 👉 [Subscribe here] 👈

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    How A Bird, A Lost Bag, And A Typo Taught Me To Safeguard My Marketing Career Jan 02, 2026
    Show notes

    Writer and freelance marketing expert Sarah Townsend joined the show on episode 43; she shared a set of moments from her career that are equal parts chaotic and unforgettable

    She talks about shouting “Look, a heron!” in the middle of a live training session and leaving her suitcase on the wrong train while travelling to a major conference. The most painful moment arrives when she reveals the mistake that cost her twenty thousand pounds after forgetting to invoice a client for ten full months. Sarah explains how ADHD influenced many of these chaotic moments and reflects on what each incident taught her about staying organised, keeping communication clear, and maintaining reliable systems.

    If you have ever felt embarrassed by an oversight or worried that you are the only one dropping the ball, this episode shows that every marketer makes mistakes and that each fail comes with a valuable lesson.

    Click on the link to listen to the full episode 43:
    https://www.buzzsprout.com/2206375/episodes/15707196

    Send us Fan Mail

    Your competitors are being named by AI. Are you? One of our clients went from being named in 4 of 50 buyer prompts to 19 in 90 days. Book your free AI visibility check with Chris here. 👉 [Book free AI Visibility Check] 👈

    Subscribe to our newsletter
    The mistakes we see marketers make, every fortnight. 👉 [Subscribe here] 👈

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    When Twitter Turned On Royal Mail Dec 23, 2025
    Show notes

    A single missing gesture can set the internet alight. We open up about a day when Royal Mail faced a fast-moving backlash over Paralympics stamps and how a quiet policy gap looked like a loud value judgment on social media. From the first surge of tweets to the uncomfortable hours stuck in monitoring mode, we walk through what happens when your team lacks the tools, approvals, and scripts to respond at the speed of the timeline.
    You’ll hear how the narrative formed in real time: honour given to Olympians, absence for Paralympians, and a rush of anger that framed the issue as dignity denied. We unpack why silence isn’t neutral, why a clear holding statement can stabilise a story, and how early Twitter’s velocity made every minute count. Along the way, we get practical about social listening, crisis playbooks, and the small operational choices, like pre-approved templates and escalation paths that create big advantages when things go sideways.
    We also talk about brand symbolism and equity. Commemorative stamps seem simple, but they carry cultural weight, and unequal treatment reads as exclusion. That’s why policy stress testing matters: diverse eyes, scenario planning, and checks for unintentional bias before a campaign goes live. If you work in comms, marketing, or customer care, you’ll find clear takeaways you can implement today: set up the tech stack, define who can speak when, rehearse the response flow, and protect your team with debriefs that turn chaos into learning.
    If this conversation helps sharpen your crisis plan, follow the show, share it with a teammate, and leave a quick review telling us the one change you’ll make this week.

    Send us Fan Mail

    Your competitors are being named by AI. Are you? One of our clients went from being named in 4 of 50 buyer prompts to 19 in 90 days. Book your free AI visibility check with Chris here. 👉 [Book free AI Visibility Check] 👈

    Subscribe to our newsletter
    The mistakes we see marketers make, every fortnight. 👉 [Subscribe here] 👈

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    I Booked The Billboards For The Wrong Week And Somehow Didn’t Get Fired Dec 18, 2025
    Show notes

    When Lisa, co-founder of Common People and strategist at Wavemaker Manchester, accidentally misbooked an out-of-home campaign linked to a BBC event, it was more than an embarrassing blunder back in episode 41.

    It became the moment she started questioning who really gets to thrive in advertising and media. In this episode, Lisa recounts that campaign mishap, a chaotic run of travel mix-ups, a painful pitch-room tumble, and the day she ended up crying at her desk. She then connects those experiences to a bigger issue: how class, confidence and unspoken office rules quietly shut working-class people out of the industry. Lisa shares practical ideas for change, from dropping unnecessary degree requirements and paying real living wages to simplifying recruitment tasks and making workplace norms explicit.

    This is a candid, funny and insightful conversation for marketers who want more relatable teams, smarter campaigns and fewer people feeling like they don’t belong.

    Click here to listen to the full episode 41.

    Send us Fan Mail

    Your competitors are being named by AI. Are you? One of our clients went from being named in 4 of 50 buyer prompts to 19 in 90 days. Book your free AI visibility check with Chris here. 👉 [Book free AI Visibility Check] 👈

    Subscribe to our newsletter
    The mistakes we see marketers make, every fortnight. 👉 [Subscribe here] 👈

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    EP 93: How Overinvesting in Performance Ads Cost Adobe's Andy Lambert £30k Dec 16, 2025
    Show notes

    What happens when you drop £30,000 on an influencer and the sign-ups never show?

    In this episode of Embracing Marketing Mistakes, Andy Lambert, co-founder of ContentCal, author of Spheres of Influence and now Principal Manager of Product at Adobe Express, unpacks two costly growth errors: overinvesting in performance ads and running a transactional influencer campaign that barely moved the needle.

    Andy explains why demand capture can look like growth until it suddenly stops, and how “pilot” influencer tests often fail because trust is not built in a week. He shares the practical reset that followed: tighter audience focus, creators who genuinely use the product, stronger community signals, and personality-led brand building that supports revenue over time.

    If your paid media efficiency is slipping, your influencer spend feels underwhelming, or you are trying to rebalance brand and demand, this episode will help you avoid the same expensive mistakes.

    Send us Fan Mail

    Your competitors are being named by AI. Are you? One of our clients went from being named in 4 of 50 buyer prompts to 19 in 90 days. Book your free AI visibility check with Chris here. 👉 [Book free AI Visibility Check] 👈

    Subscribe to our newsletter
    The mistakes we see marketers make, every fortnight. 👉 [Subscribe here] 👈

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    The Craigslist Sandwich Board Stunt That Misfired Dec 11, 2025
    Show notes

    When Director of Thinking and Creative PR Specialist Peter Freedman joined us for this episode 39, he unpacked the unusual marketing mistake he made while working with Craigslist.

    Tasked with satirising the rise of in-your-face shirt sponsorships, Peter sponsored a women’s football team in Battersea Park and put them in full advertising sandwich boards. The stunt was pretty clever, photogenic and completely impractical, yet it barely registered with any journalists.

    One even called it the most peculiar idea they had ever seen. Peter explains why the campaign fell flat, how it was simply too weird and not familiar enough, and what he learned from books like The Creative Curve and Contagious about the sweet spot between novelty and recognition.

    Marketers will hear a candid breakdown of why some ideas stay niche, why moderate innovation works better than pure shock value, and how to judge whether your next PR concept is different in the right way.

    Click here to listen to the full episode.

    Send us Fan Mail

    Your competitors are being named by AI. Are you? One of our clients went from being named in 4 of 50 buyer prompts to 19 in 90 days. Book your free AI visibility check with Chris here. 👉 [Book free AI Visibility Check] 👈

    Subscribe to our newsletter
    The mistakes we see marketers make, every fortnight. 👉 [Subscribe here] 👈

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    EP 92: What Ken Hughes’ 30-Foot Drop Teaches Brands About Loyalty Dec 09, 2025
    Show notes

    Ken Hughes spent 15 years chasing NPS scores, loyalty points and dashboards, only to realise his “loyal customers” were simply trapped by discounts and habit. Then he ignored two clear warning signs on his own roof, fell 30 feet and shattered 26 bones.

    That moment forced him to reconsider risk, fear and what real loyalty means for modern brands. In this episode, Ken explains why many brands confuse transactions with true connection, how data worship blinds marketers, and why emotion, humour and intimacy are now non-negotiable. He also shares how agentic AI will change buying decisions and what brands must do to stay in their customers’ heart space.

    If you are under pressure to prove ROI on every campaign yet still worry your brand is forgettable, this conversation will challenge how you think about loyalty.

    Send us Fan Mail

    Your competitors are being named by AI. Are you? One of our clients went from being named in 4 of 50 buyer prompts to 19 in 90 days. Book your free AI visibility check with Chris here. 👉 [Book free AI Visibility Check] 👈

    Subscribe to our newsletter
    The mistakes we see marketers make, every fortnight. 👉 [Subscribe here] 👈

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    Inside the Haircare CGI Mishap That Stopped a Campaign Dec 04, 2025
    Show notes

    As Creative Marketer Anil Manji joined the show, he reflected on an early-career incident that continues to guide his thinking today. We take you into this segment of episode 40, inside a haircare TV ad that reused legacy footage, layered on a week of pricey CGI to turn shampoo into conditioner, and accidentally created a texture that read like something no brand wants on primetime. The client’s blunt feedback changed everything, and once we heard it, we couldn’t unsee it either.
    We break down how efficient asset reuse can backfire when context and semiotics are ignored, why fluid simulations demand more than photorealism, and how a single freeze-frame can become meme fuel. From the first treatment to the final cut, we map the decisions that led us there: close-up hair shots, a convincing squeeze-to-palm animation, and the overlooked risk in colour, opacity, and flow. Then we show the fix that is warmer tones, micro-bubbles, altered angles, and strand separation which pulled the work back into brand-safe territory without losing impact.
    This conversation goes beyond one mishap. We talk perception checks, diverse feedback loops, and how to design review gates that ask, “What could this be mistaken for?” We dig into sunk-cost bias during CGI iterations, how to use cold reads at key milestones, and why creative teams should plan for what social media might clip and share. If you work in advertising, brand management, or production, you’ll get practical steps to reduce risk while keeping speed: better briefs for reused footage, early semiotic audits, and a culture where someone can say the awkward truth sooner.
    If this story helped sharpen your creative process, follow the show, share it with your team, and leave a quick review telling us your most unforgettable client note.

    Click on this link to the full episode 40.

    Send us Fan Mail

    Your competitors are being named by AI. Are you? One of our clients went from being named in 4 of 50 buyer prompts to 19 in 90 days. Book your free AI visibility check with Chris here. 👉 [Book free AI Visibility Check] 👈

    Subscribe to our newsletter
    The mistakes we see marketers make, every fortnight. 👉 [Subscribe here] 👈

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    EP 91: How AI Is Transforming SEO: Chris Attewell on Google, Bing and the Future of Search Dec 02, 2025
    Show notes

    This week on Embracing Marketing Mistakes, Chris Norton is joined by Chris Attewell, former CEO of Search Laboratory and now board advisor at Realise Advisory, to explore how AI is changing the future of SEO.

    Chris revisits his early years in digital marketing and explains how Search Laboratory moved from PPC into SEO, digital PR and integrated search. He breaks down how Google, Bing and ChatGPT are reshaping user behaviour, why brand authority now matters more than ever, and how AI overviews and multi platform search are shifting the mechanics of visibility.

    Together they unpack the North Star trap, where teams chase a perfect strategy instead of delivering value in stages, and how marketers can link content, PR, social, brand and search without falling into silos.

    Whether you work in digital, PR or brand, this episode gives you clear insight into how AI is transforming search and what it means for your marketing in 2025.

    Send us Fan Mail

    Your competitors are being named by AI. Are you? One of our clients went from being named in 4 of 50 buyer prompts to 19 in 90 days. Book your free AI visibility check with Chris here. 👉 [Book free AI Visibility Check] 👈

    Subscribe to our newsletter
    The mistakes we see marketers make, every fortnight. 👉 [Subscribe here] 👈

    Follow Chris:
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