The Places We'll Go Marketing Show
Sep 3, 2026 · 43 min · 13 segments
What does it take to build a distinctive brand in a low-interest category like insurance? And how might AI completely change the way insurance is bought? In this episode, we sit down with Ed Birth…
Ed BirthGuest
Ritchie MehtaHostMark EvansHost
So as you said there, things that are different and things that are the same, Give us a little bit of insight into some of those nuances there that you've seen through those different sectors and what you take away in applying it to insurance today.
I think what you see as an agency person or as a suit and account person talking to the clients, you see what good client thinking is and what a well-managed brand is.
And then you can go, well, what are the great ones doing? The great ones are usually brilliant communicators.
They usually got a clarity and simplicity about their objectives and their purpose.
And so I I think by osmosis rather than design, you just absorb what, you know, if you're listening and you're curious, you absorb what good brand leadership is.
So I never planned to, oh, I'm going to do 20 years, then go and be a head of brand somewhere.
That wasn't the plan particularly, but I think I absorbed a hell of a lot from that experience.
As you were talking there about the nuance between agency and brand, it reminded me of that little study that was done around briefing, where brand side people think that their briefs are amazing, while the agency side people think completely the opposite.
Actually, a lot of clients agree that their brief is bad as well, which is pretty damning.
universally accepted completely it's one of the one of the bits of experience i i try and bring to my colleagues so often the client gets out of the agency what they put in and it's easy to say but clients just don't don't realize that they they have this sort of um particularly on the creative side they think of them as a supplier and i'll treat them a little bit like the um you know the firm that provides my my event stand and my pencils and things like that where actually people particularly, you know, in media as well, but particularly in the creative side of the business, are basically not in it because they want to make money in most cases.
And if you can be the client that they can stretch themselves on and do brilliant category-changing work on, that is the ultimate win-win.
You talked about examples of good brand leadership, but you've then been able to apply.
So without naming any names or compromising yourself, I'd love to hear what a really rubbish client does, because many do see agencies as suppliers to beat up.
So as you said there, things that are different and things that are the same, Give us a little bit of insight into some of those nuances there that you've seen through those different sectors and what you take away in applying it to insurance today.
I think what you see as an agency person or as a suit and account person talking to the clients, you see what good client thinking is and what a well-managed brand is.
And then you can go, well, what are the great ones doing? The great ones are usually brilliant communicators.
They usually got a clarity and simplicity about their objectives and their purpose.
And so I I think by osmosis rather than design, you just absorb what, you know, if you're listening and you're curious, you absorb what good brand leadership is.
So I never planned to, oh, I'm going to do 20 years, then go and be a head of brand somewhere.
That wasn't the plan particularly, but I think I absorbed a hell of a lot from that experience.
As you were talking there about the nuance between agency and brand, it reminded me of that little study that was done around briefing, where brand side people think that their briefs are amazing, while the agency side people think completely the opposite.
Actually, a lot of clients agree that their brief is bad as well, which is pretty damning.
universally accepted completely it's one of the one of the bits of experience i i try and bring to my colleagues so often the client gets out of the agency what they put in and it's easy to say but clients just don't don't realize that they they have this sort of um particularly on the creative side they think of them as a supplier and i'll treat them a little bit like the um you know the firm that provides my my event stand and my pencils and things like that where actually people particularly, you know, in media as well, but particularly in the creative side of the business, are basically not in it because they want to make money in most cases.
And if you can be the client that they can stretch themselves on and do brilliant category-changing work on, that is the ultimate win-win.
You talked about examples of good brand leadership, but you've then been able to apply.
So without naming any names or compromising yourself, I'd love to hear what a really rubbish client does, because many do see agencies as suppliers to beat up.
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