My Top 5️⃣ Marketing Podcast Episodes
What can we learn from successful brands such as refurbed, Too Good To Go, Weleda, Frosch and the ToU? I spoke with their marketing-leaders and here are my key-learnings from our conversations.
🤫 Pssst, I have a secret: You can already get your Super-Early-Bird-Tickets for the 4th edition of my Simple & Sustainable Marketing Academy. Until November 1st 2024 you can save 25% on your ticket. There will be only 20 places available. More than 80 participants from 11 nations already learned with me. Tickets start at € 185 🔔
I mostly write deep dives about marketing strategies here.
But I've also been recording my own podcast for over 14 months.
There are now 34 interviews with international experts on marketing, strategies and sustainability.
And today I would like to share some key learnings with you from the 5 most listened to episodes.
The result is an exciting list with lots of practical tips on sustainability and marketing that has inspired me a lot.
I hope you too!
If you want check out all other interviews on my podcast, here is the full list.
With exciting people from brands such as VAUDE, Greenpeace, SAP, followfood, Fairphone, Recup, Kiki Milk and many more.
🔋 “Rethinking what new means” - Alexandra Kleemann
Head of Markets and Brands at refurbed
I spoke with Alexandra Kleemann about refurbed, a marketplace for refurbished electronics. She describes how the brand aims to make the circular economy accessible to consumers and companies alike.
One of the biggest challenges in marketing is educating consumers to differentiate between used and refurbished products. Here, Refurbed relies on transparency to create trust, for example by offering a 12-month guarantee and a 30-day return period.
“Price and environmental benefits drive first-time buyers, but trust and a smooth customer experience turn them into repeat customers.”
Alexandra emphasizes that Refurbed offers the dual benefits of sustainability and lower price, which particularly appeals to first-time buyers.
Further highlights from our conversation:
The importance of emotional marketing at eye level
How recommendations and reviews gain trust
The positioning between price and sustainability
Refurbed's collaboration with schools and institutions
Different approaches for B2B and B2C customers
⚫️ Our conversation about Refurbed - Apple Podcasts
🟢 Our conversation about Refurbed - Spotify Podcasts
🐸 "A company that takes care of the future" - Florian Iro
CEO at Erdal (Frosch)
In an interview with Florian Iro, I talk about how sustainability is deeply rooted in the company, which is known for its ecological cleaning products. Frosch has managed to close both the biological and technical cycles of its products and uses 100% recycled plastic for its packaging, for example.
Florian explains how Frosch has successfully positioned itself in the market through transparency, authenticity and sustainability. A key aspect of marketing is that organic products must offer the same performance as conventional products - otherwise the product will not be bought.
“If a company doesn’t make money, it won’t participate in environmental efforts.”
He emphasizes the importance of honest communication and the need to appeal to consumers emotionally in order to create a “love brand”.
A particularly exciting insight: Frosch has a sustainability bonus system. Environmental targets are integrated into managers' targets and bonus regulations. This additional incentive makes managers even more likely to make sustainable decisions.
More highlights from our conversation:
Frosch wants to tell its stories through more storytelling
The focus is on product performance
The challenge of price pressure in the sustainability segment
Building an emotional connection to cleaning products
Successful marketing by building on problems and solutions
⚫️ Our conversation about Frosch - Apple Podcasts
🟢 Our conversation about Frosch - Spotify Podcasts
🎓 "Educating future change makers" - Christina Gaither
Head of Marketing & Communications, Tomorrow University
In my interview with Christina Gaither, she sheds light on her role as a brand storyteller for the young educational institution, working strategically to convey the university's values in clear, emotional messages. She explains how she builds trust with potential students through targeted digital campaigns and personal interactions.
The focus is on sustainable education and the promotion of changemakers who pursue the goal of developing sustainable solutions and bringing about positive change in the world.
"Good marketing is about creating a personality for the brand—it’s like following a friend, you want to know their story."
She also talks about the challenges of building trust as the university is still relatively new and finding the balance between theory and practice. It is particularly important to keep messages simple and clear in a crowded market in order to stand out effectively.
Five more highlights:
The power of a strong vision
Building trust as a young brand
Sustainability as a central point of the strategy
The need for simple messages
Personalized and community-driven marketing
⚫️ Our conversation about the Tomorrow University - Apple Podcasts
🟢 Our conversation about the Tomorrow University - Spotify Podcasts
🍉 "Ideas have to be simple" - Carl-Emil Jensen
Global Director of Creative at Too Good To Go
I have known Carl-Emil since my time at Too Good To Go and we now have a friendship and a regular exchange about our marketing topics. In our podcast episode, we talk about how the brand of the app against food waste has achieved great success through creative storytelling.
He talks about the benefit of simple and understandable ideas that encourage consumers to save food and describes how gamification elements can encourage engagement.
“The idea has to be simple enough to explain in a sentence.”
Carl-Emil also emphasizes that creativity will play a crucial role in our sustainable future: Finding innovative solutions to global challenges and giving consumers an active role in the fight against food waste.
Further highlights from our conversation:
Too Good To Go's most successful campaign
Morality and emotion in marketing messages
How important “foolish” ideas are in the creative process
What problem the app solves for consumers
Sustainability without sacrifice
⚫️ Our conversation about Too Good To Go - Apple Podcasts
🟢 Our conversation about Too Good To Go - Spotify Podcasts
🪻”Growth with Responsibility" - Lars Zirpins
Chief Marketing Officer at Weleda
In this episode, Lars Zirpins, CMO of cosmetics brand Weleda, shares how the company's mission is deeply rooted in sustainability. It goes back to the founders' more than 100-year-old vision of holistic health that combines human well-being with nature.
“Sustainability is deeply ingrained in our DNA; it’s in every cell of our organization.”
I particularly like how he emphasizes Weleda's approach of thinking holistically about sustainability. For example, the company goes so far as to build facilities that have as little impact on the environment as possible. They achieve this by using local clay and wood for construction and prioritizing biodiversity throughout the project.
Lars also describes the challenge of finding the balance between profitability and sustainability and explains what lies behind Weleda's strategy of “growth with responsibility”.
A few more highlights:
From love brand to soul brand
The challenge of remaining authentic
Storytelling and innovation as the key to differentiation
Adapting the traditional brand to young platforms such as TikTok
Mastering the art of marketing for an umbrella brand
⚫️ Our conversation about Weleda - Apple Podcasts
🟢 Our conversation about Weleda - Spotify Podcasts
Need more inspiration?
In the next post, I'll write about what is probably the most famous oat milk in the world:
🌾 Oatly
How did the brand become so successful?
How do they communicate sustainability in marketing?
And what can we learn from them?
Until then, I hope you enjoy listening to the podcast.
Thanks for reading along,