The Commercial Confidence Podcast

Nick Adams: Following the Shopper, Maximising the ROI!

In this episode of The Commercial Confidence Podcast, host Anthony Carr (CEO of Sellex) sits down with Nick Adams, a 20-year veteran of brand experience and shopper marketing. As the Founder of Sense Marketing, Nick has worked with global brands like Molson Coors, Unilever, and Ferrero, expanding his business into the U.S. and navigating major industry shifts.
From surviving the COVID-19 pandemic to reshaping the world of experiential and shopper marketing, this conversation is packed with invaluable insights on business resilience, marketing innovation, and the future of brand engagement.
🔹 What You’ll Learn in This Episode:
✅ How to build a resilient marketing agency – Lessons from the pandemic✅ The evolution of shopper marketing – Connecting brand and sales✅ Adapting to industry shifts – Maximizing ROI in a budget-conscious world✅ Behind-the-scenes of major brand activations – Nobu’s 30th Anniversary, TikTok events, and more!
🎧 Don't miss this insightful discussion with one of the industry's leading experts!
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📌 Timestamps:00:00 - Introduction & Meet Nick Adams02:15 - Founding Sense Marketing & Business Growth06:30 - Overcoming COVID-19 Challenges & Reinvention12:45 - Shopper Marketing: Trends & Evolution18:20 - Inside Major Brand Activations (Nobu, TikTok, Madrí Beer)25:00 - The Future of Brand Experience & Growth Strategies
💡 Memorable Quote:"The opportunity moving forward is truthfully as great as has ever been."

Mike Luck: Corporate to Business Builder - Helping Brands Win!

In this episode, we sit down with Mike Luck, founder and CEO of Curatyx, to explore his incredible journey from working at Marks & Spencer and Sainsbury’s to launching his own company in 2021. Mike shares insights into the world of sourcing solutions, including Curatyx’s exclusive agreement with Sainsbury’s to sell their products globally and their work with international retailers and brands.
He dives into key topics like category strategy, internal selling, and the challenges of exporting post-Brexit. Plus, Mike offers valuable advice on networking, differentiation in retail, and the importance of focus and continuous learning in business. Whether you're in retail, sourcing, or entrepreneurship, this episode is packed with insights you won’t want to miss

Sally Pritchett: Kindness Doesn't Come at the Expense of Profit!

In this episode of The Commercial Confidence Podcast Ant sits down with Sally Pritchett, CEO of Something Big, an employee-owned, B Corp-certified agency that has been making work better since 1998. With a mission to harness the power of creative communications for lasting progress and meaningful change, Sally and her team have partnered with over 250 organizations to transform workplace culture—proving that kindness and profit can go hand in hand.
As a leader of a Best Workplace®-recognized agency, Sally shares insights on how purpose-driven businesses can thrive without compromising success. From shaping workplace culture to navigating the ever-evolving world of work, this conversation dives into the power of leadership, communication, and values in building a business that truly makes a difference. Tune in for an inspiring discussion on driving meaningful change—one workplace at a time.

Ali Fisher: United For The Planet - Collaborative Strategies in Business Sustainability

In this enlightening episode of The Commercial Confidence Podcast, host Anthony Carr sits down with the visionary strategist and ideator, Ali Fisher. Known for her commitment to embedding Purpose, Sustainability, and DEI into the core of business progress, Ali shares her journey from corporate beginnings to becoming a beacon of change in sustainable business practices.
Tune in as Ali delves into her expansive educational background, including her certifications from esteemed institutions like Cambridge Judge Business School, Cambridge University Institute of Sustainability Leadership, and UCL. With a wealth of knowledge and experience, Ali unpacks the shortcomings of recent marketing practices in sustainability, revealing where they faltered and how businesses can learn from these lessons.
Throughout the conversation, Anthony and Ali discuss the influential mentors who have inspired their paths and the transformative books that have reshaped their perspectives on sustainability. Discover the collaborative strategies that Ali champions to create meaningful change and how her initiatives like The Creativity Bank Guildford are making a difference locally.
Ali’s dedication to sparking change is evident not only in her professional endeavours but also in her community involvement and charity work, donating 5% of all project fees. Join us for an episode filled with insights, inspiration, and actionable strategies to unite businesses for a sustainable future.
Whether you're a business leader, strategist, or sustainability enthusiast, this episode offers valuable perspectives on integrating sustainable practices into the core of commercial operations!

Brian Walmsley: Sustainable Business & Building your Legacy

In this episode of the Commercial Confidence Podcast, we hear from ReBorn Homewares Founder and CEO, Brian Walmsley. As a marketeer with a very clear sense of purpose around how we must make greater strides to address the challenges of climate change and sustainability, Brian has combined his brand building expertise from a career at Johnson & Johnson and the Homewares industry, to create ReBorn.
In collaboration with Brunel University and waste experts Biffa, ReBorn Homewares has removed 12 tonnes of waste packaging and 200 tonnes of carbon emissions. And that is only the beginning. Hear from Brian the ambitious role that Brian sees for ReBorn in the broader circular economy.
Brian shares his sources of Commercial Confidence – and how he and the team have used those to develop a fantastic partnership with the John Lewis Partnership.

Lindsay Forster: From Big Corporate Career to Building a Customer Centric Tech Business.

In this episode of the Commercial Confidence Podcast, we hear from Lindsay Forster, CEO of Shepper.  Shepper is revolutionizing the way retailers and brands collect insight on their performance in stores. Lindsay has taken all of her learnings from a 20+ year career in Marketing with businesses such as Lloyds and Aviva, to build a hugely customer-centric organization.
Lindsay shares her wisdom on how to make difficult strategic decisions with often partial information and limited resources – the challenge of many challenger businesses! Hear how Lindsay believes that people are you biggest asset, you can't do everything you want to do, few things in life are permanent and the worst thing is to make no decision. Lindsay talks about creating an environment where people are encouraged to take risks, it's easy to sell sail and course correct.

Guy Cuthbert: Curious, Thoughtful, Experimental & Humble.

In this episode of the Commercial Confidence Podcast, we hear from Atheon Analytics CEO, Guy Cuthbert. Here, Ant talks to Guy about the building of the Atheon business over the last 18 years. The UK retail landscape is amongst the most insight rich in the World. Guy shares fantastic insights in how brand owners need to operate to maximise sales and availability and how very often, global solutions to tacking sales data are not up to the standards required for developed markets, such as the UK.
As an introvert, Guy also talks about the need to overcome his challenges with speaking in public and presenting to achieve his career goals, his admiration for the preparation and persistence of the very best sales people.
Guy shares his blueprint for deep customer understanding – Be Curious, Be Thoughtful, Be Experimental, Be Humble,

Jon Evans: From CMO to Podcast Pro! Driving Confidence in Marketing & Sales

In this episode of the Commercial Confidence Podcast, we hear from celebrity CMO, Jon Evans. Jon and his team have successfully launched a 1m+ download podcast, The Uncensored CMO, whilst driving fantastic growth with their business, System1. System1 allows brand owners to “Create with Confidence”, just as Sellex is all about Commercial Confidence.
Jon has had a stellar career as a marketeer, working on brands including Lucozade, Pepsi, Brewdog and Juice Burst. But, as importantly, Jon has always adopted a mentality that the battle is won “ on the ground” not “up in the air”. Jon is a very sales-oriented marketer, as you will hear in this episode.
Join us as we talk about the 160 mentors Jon has made through the creation of his podcast, how he learned about the power of loyalty data as a real-time tool to measure brand health and how all marketers need to understand how the sales team operates better, and vice-versa.

Welcome to The Commercial Confidence Podcast

With over 20 years of experience in commercial consultancy, training, and change management, our mission is to instill Commercial Confidence in the industry we’re passionate about.
We are committed to empowering the future leaders of our sector to excel and succeed.
In every action we take, we prioritize a balanced focus on people, planet, and profitability—encouraging our clients to adopt the same holistic approach.
Our purpose is simple: to nurture growth in individuals and businesses alike.
Through our podcast, we share insights and inspiration from trailblazers across the consumer goods industry—brand owners, technology innovators, sales experts, marketers, and more. Each guest is a carefully chosen thought leader, challenging norms and driving progress in their fields.