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Call To Action

Call To Action

By: Giles Edwards
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 Feel better about marketing™ The go-to podcast for anyone trying to make sense of the world of marketing, business and beyond. In an industry that is a minefield of utter bollocks, we aim to capture our heroes and allies from the front line to have a chin-wag with.

It’s like Pokémon Go, with the single but vital exception that it’s not a short-term bandwagon of shite.

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Episodes
  • 165: Charlie Copsey on bringing fans experiences that aren’t f*ing boring

    165: Charlie Copsey on bringing fans experiences that aren’t f*ing boring
    Jul 4 2025
    This week we tried to arrange a VIP brand event for Call To Action® fans in an abandoned toilet brush factory, all just to prove our cool credentials to Charlie Copsey, the founder of Underground Fan Club.

    Having conquered the media mountain earlier in her career – working in TV, radio and film with the likes of Johnny Vaughan and her good pal Colin Murray – Charlie realised that her next great mission would be to rescue fan experiences from the desperately dull doldrums they were in at the time. From there Underground Fan Club was born – a studio devoted to producing more memorable, more believable and more exciting experiences between brands, fans and talent. At the heart of the mission is something many marketers bang on about with no clue, or care, about what it means in reality – authentic connections with your most valuable audience, something Charlie is already proving to be much more than the same old brand baloney. There’s an increasingly long line of brands queuing up for the Underground treatment but luckily for your ears and brains, CTA is nothing if not a queue jumper.

    In an episode that’s all about fans, super-fans, stan-fans and ceiling fans (not that one) we learn what it takes for your brand to actually mean something more to the people you’re doing it all for.

    This episode is proudly dedicated to Colin Murray.

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    04:09 - Studying Drama at Loughborough
    10:12 - Working with Johnny Vaughan
    12:28 - The Evolution of Fighting Talk and Live Events
    16:38 - Identifying the Gap: Connecting Talent and Fans
    17:52 - Building Underground Fan Club: The First Event
    20:32 - The Importance of Authentic Experiences
    22:21 - Navigating Brand Partnerships
    26:13 - Finding the Right Brand Partners
    28:05 - Balancing Involvement in Events
    32:29 - The Challenges of Running a Business

    Charlie’s Book Recommendations are:

    Careless People - Sarah Wynn-Williams
    Shoe Dog – Phil Knight
    Losing my Virginity – Richard Branson

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    50 mins
  • 164: Jo Living on how poker can make you better at business

    164: Jo Living on how poker can make you better at business
    Jun 20 2025
    This week we kept shouting things like HIT ME! TWIST! GO FISH! WHAT’S A SPADE? In order to win the professional attention, and personal sympathy, of Jo Living – founder of ‘poker for business’ consultancy Aces High.

    Having noticed that poker was less about bluff and bravado and more about strategy, empathy and teamwork, Jo realised it could be the perfect game for teaching people how to make smarter business decisions. From there she went on to run workshops teaching everything from communication and negotiation, to assertiveness and risk management, all done eye-to-eye through what she calls the ‘contact’ sport of poker.

    It’s an episode where we try very hard not to say things about ‘laying the cards on the table’ (but probably won’t succeed) covering everything from the real-world value of a poker face to the power of a timely pause.

    This episode is proudly dedicated to Adam Living.

    Follow Jo on LinkedIn.

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    Timestamps

    07:33 - Investment Banking Experience
    10:32 - Quarter Life Crisis
    15:47 - The Poker Environment
    18:15 - Poker as a Game of Strategy
    19:50 - Women in Poker
    22:39 - Parallels Between Poker and Business
    26:02 - Skills Developed Through Poker
    29:02 - The Power of the Pause
    31:37 - Identifying Leadership Traits
    37:13 - Getting More Women at the Table
    39:12 - Subtle Tells for Leadership

    Jo’s Book Recommendations are:

    Thinking in Bets by Annie Duke

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    48 mins
  • 163: Karen Dobres on a game-changing approach to women’s football

    163: Karen Dobres on a game-changing approach to women’s football
    May 16 2025
    This week we donned a smelly neon bib, distributed some tiny cones and shouted things like ‘THAT’S NEVER A PEN’ all in order to win the attention of Karen Dobres, one of the sporting world’s most genuine game changers.

    Advocating for equal budgets, facilities and recognition in women’s sport with all the tenacity of a crunching, shin-pad obliterating tackle, Karen is the co-founder of Equality FC and the Sistership Network. Her new book, soon to hit the shops, is called Pitch Invasion and tells the tale of her experiences as a feminist on the board of Lewes FC, the world’s first (hurray) and only (boo) equal football club. And, with all the creative energy of a box-to-box midfield dynamo, she’s also helped establish the #CallHimOut initiative, has served as a judge on the UN Women UK Awards, managed a counselling service at Polygram Records and, just because she could, helped arrange the installation of a statue celebrating bisexual female pirates.

    It’s an episode where we chatter ‘in and around’ all things relating to her hopes for women’s sport, the impact of equality on crowds and culture and the value of being an outsider.

    This episode is proudly dedicated to Marios Christos Sfantos

    Follow Karen on LinkedIn.

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    Timestamps

    06:10 - From Journalism Aspirations to Modelling
    08:45 - Transitioning to Counselling and Music Industry
    12:40 - Discovering Women's Football
    15:31 - Feminizing the Football Environment at Lewis FC
    18:14 - Impact of Equality on Crowds and Culture
    24:48 - Challenges Faced by Women in Football
    27:25 - Creating a Supportive Community through Football
    30:37 - Football as a Vehicle for Social Change
    32:06 - The Value of Being an Outsider in Football
    34:15 - Pitch Invasion: Karen's Book

    Karen's Book Recommendations are:

    A Room of One's Own by Virginia Woolf
    Why Men Win at Work by Jill Whitty Collins

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    45 mins
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