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Marketing Over Milkshakes

RevWise

Marketing Over Milkshakes is a podcast that goes behind the job titles of leading voices in affiliate marketing. The show explores the evolution of affiliate marketing, performance marketing, influencer partnerships and AI-driven commerce, helping ecommerce brands unlock one of the internet’s fastest-growing marketing channels. Brought to you by award-winning affiliate growth agency RevWise, each episode breaks down how affiliate programs, publisher partnerships, TikTok Shop, creator commerce and data-driven e-comm strategies drive scalable revenue and long-term brand growth.

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  • 21 episodes
  • fortnightly
  • Avg 1 hr 25 min
  • English

Episodes 21

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  • S1 · E19
    Thursday · 1 hr 58 min

    TikTok Shop Growth Strategy: Sebastian Nelson on Affiliate Marketing, Creator Content and Social Commerce

    How can ecommerce brands scale TikTok Shop sales through affiliate marketing, creator partnerships and high volume content? Sebastian Nelson, Co Founder and CEO of Cruva, joins Marketing Over Milkshakes to explain how successful TikTok Shop brands recruit affiliates, build creator communities and turn performance content into scalable revenue. After generating six figures from a viral candle warmer, Sebastian built Cruva to solve the creator outreach, affiliate management and competitor research problems he faced as a seller. Sebastian reveals why follower count has little influence on affiliate sales, how brands can develop loyal creators and why the best TikTok Shop programmes combine compelling offers, strong commission structures and personal relationships. He also explains the role of creator tiers, competitor intelligence, live shopping data and content volume in driving GMV. Sebastian also explores the future of social commerce across TikTok, Meta and YouTube Shopping, before sharing how one viral video rescued his ecommerce business from debt and shaped the creation of Cruva. In this episode, you will hear: How TikTok Shop affiliates generate revenue for ecommerce brands Why follower count has little impact on affiliate sales performance Building creator communities, loyalty programmes and performance tiers Creating compelling product offers and commission structures Recruiting, managing and retaining high performing affiliates Using creator feedback and customer data to improve TikTok Shop strategy How competitor intelligence helps brands identify successful content Estimating competitor GMV, sales volume and creator performance Using bundles and exclusive products to protect retail agreements Balancing creator freedom with brand safety and content control Measuring the TikTok Shop halo effect across Amazon and Shopify Why brands can benefit from running TikTok Shop at break even Repurposing TikTok creator content for Meta advertising How TikTok Shop helps challenger brands compete with established companies The future of TikTok Shop, Meta, YouTube Shopping and social commerce Key Moments: 0:00 – Sebastian Nelson on TikTok Shop, AI and social commerce 5:01 – Why close customer relationships shaped Cruva 6:52 – How TikTok Shop affiliates generate revenue for brands 8:33 – How Cruva simplifies affiliate research, outreach and management 9:01 – The viral candle warmer that inspired Cruva 12:41 – Why affiliate follower count rarely predicts sales performance 15:18 – How smaller brands can build loyal creator partnerships 17:43 – Creating affiliate communities and performance tiers 20:38 – Competitor intelligence and TikTok Shop revenue estimates 25:45 – Capturing live shopping data and analysing sales performance 28:06: How customer behaviour influences Cruva’s product development 31:58 – The future of YouTube Shopping and social commerce 35:37 – Why Meta will develop stronger affiliate commerce tools 40:32 – TikTok’s ambition to become an everything app 46:30 – How TikTok Shop gives challenger brands greater opportunities 50:36 – Protecting retail agreements with bundles and exclusive products 54:50 – Managing creator freedom, brand safety and content control 58:03 – Handling AI videos and unsuitable affiliate content 1:00:03 – How leading brands produce thousands of creator videos 1:03:28 – The content volume required to generate millions in GMV 1:07:45: Measuring the TikTok Shop halo effect across Amazon and Shopify 1:11:42 – How TikTok Shop can reduce Amazon and Meta advertising costs 1:16:16 – Turning TikTok creator content into Meta advertising 1:25:43 – Entrepreneurship, social commerce and opportunities for young creators 1:31:06 – Choosing a co founder with complementary strengths 1:46:31: How one viral video rescued Sebastian’s business from debt 1:51:44 – Avoiding shiny object syndrome and focusing on proven growth 2:00:14 – The biggest TikTok Shop opportunity brands are missing

  • S1 · E18
    September 17 · 1 hr 40 min

    Will AI Kill Google? Krystian Szastok on ChatGPT Search, AI SEO and the Future of Marketing

    What happens to brands when consumers stop searching Google and start asking AI what to buy? SEO and AI expert Krystian Szastok, Founder of Robot Zebra and former architect of the SEO division at Jellyfish, joins Marketing Over Milkshakes to explore how ChatGPT, Google AI Overviews and generative AI are changing search, ecommerce, affiliate marketing and digital marketing. Krystian explains why traditional SEO alone is no longer enough, why brands need to build visibility across the wider internet and how mentions, reviews, affiliate placements, digital PR and third-party recommendations can help AI systems understand which businesses and products deserve to be recommended. The conversation explores the shift from traditional search engine optimisation towards AI search optimisation, AI visibility and LLM discoverability, including how brands can improve their chances of appearing in ChatGPT, Gemini and AI-generated search results. They also look further ahead at the rise of AI shopping agents, clickless checkout, social commerce, TikTok Shop and a future where AI could automatically choose products, book hotels, answer emails and make increasingly important decisions on behalf of consumers. Krystian also explains why businesses that ignore this shift risk being left behind, how AI could reshape white-collar jobs and agencies, and why human strategy, judgement, creativity and accountability may become more valuable as automation accelerates. In this episode, you will hear: Why AI search could become the biggest change to marketing since Google How ChatGPT is changing traditional consumer search behaviour Why Google AI Overviews are reducing clicks to websites How brands can increase visibility inside ChatGPT, Gemini and AI search Why brand mentions, reviews, affiliates and digital PR matter for AI citations How third-party consensus can influence AI product recommendations Why smaller brands have both a huge challenge and opportunity in AI search How SEO agencies need to evolve for generative AI and LLM search Why businesses delaying investment in AI visibility could struggle to catch up How AI shopping agents and clickless checkout could change ecommerce The role of TikTok Shop and social commerce in an AI-led future Which white-collar jobs are already being disrupted by artificial intelligence Why strategy, creativity and human judgement still create competitive advantage The best- and worst-case scenarios for an AI-powered society Key Moments: 0:00 – The “Godfather of AI” and the future of search 2:08 – Krystian Szastok: SEO, Jellyfish, Robot Zebra and artificial intelligence 3:19 – What has changed since ChatGPT launched? 9:56 – Is AI already taking sales and traffic away from Google SEO? 13:31 – How brands can rank and get recommended in AI search 17:40 – Why third-party mentions and consensus influence AI visibility 18:51 – The AI opportunity for affiliate marketing, PR and publishers 24:56 – Google AI Overviews and the decline of traditional organic clicks 33:14 – Why brands that ignore AI could be left behind 34:59 – Why AI is a revolution rather than another marketing evolution 40:18 – AI shopping agents, automated purchasing and clickless checkout 48:13 – When will AI completely change the ecommerce customer journey? 59:08 – TikTok Shop, social commerce and the future of online shopping 1:02:11 – Will AI replace white-collar jobs and marketing agencies? 1:06:29 – The best and worst possible futures for artificial intelligence 1:22:08 – The one question Krystian would ask about the future of AI 1:31:08 – Why human judgement, strategy and accountability still matter

  • S1 · E17
    September 3 · 2 hr 3 min

    Is This The End of Nespresso? CoffeeB and the Single-Serve Coffee Revolution

    Can a new coffee system disrupt the single-serve coffee market by removing the pod completely? James Newitt joins Gary Winter for this episode Marketing Over Milkshakes to explain how challenger coffee brand CoffeB plans to take on the coffee giants with a capsule-free alternative to traditional single-serve coffee. CoffeeB replaces plastic and aluminium capsules with patented Coffee Balls: compressed roasted coffee protected by a plant-based coating and designed to break down after brewing. James’ entrepreneurial story began long before CoffeeB. He helped turn beef jerky from a niche US snack into a mainstream UK supermarket category, building Wild West Beef Jerky, supplying Costco, Tesco and Sainsbury’s, competing against Jack Link’s and creating a licensing partnership with the Sidemen. He also shares lessons from selling his meat snacks business, negotiating a multi-million-pound exit, launching challenger brands and understanding whether consumers are genuinely ready for innovation. In this episode, you will hear: How CoffeeB is disrupting the traditional coffee pod market How Coffee Balls remove plastic and aluminium capsules Securing the exclusive UK and Ireland CoffeeB licence 700,000 machines and 220 million Coffee Balls already sold in Europe Building Wild West Beef Jerky and the UK meat snacks category Competing against global FMCG giant Jack Link’s The Sidemen licensing partnership and creator marketing Selling a multi-million-pound business and lessons from the exit Why market timing can determine whether innovation succeeds Launching CoffeeB through influencers, Amazon, retail and experiential marketing Key Moments: 0:00: CoffeeB and the scale of global coffee pod waste 04:37: James Newitt: CoffeeB, Wild West Beef Jerky and challenger brands 06:37: How James secured the UK and Ireland CoffeeB opportunity 15:16: 700,000 machines, 220 million Coffee Balls and CoffeeB technology 18:05: Why coffee capsule waste creates a huge consumer opportunity 22:39: Why Nespresso faces a challenge moving beyond coffee pods 33:10: How America inspired James to launch a UK beef jerky business 49:58: Starting Wild West Beef Jerky from a bedroom and landing Costco 1:03:42: Building UK manufacturing and a supermarket meat snacks category 1:09:54: The Sidemen licensing deal and creator-led FMCG marketing 1:24:07: The multi-million-pound exit James would negotiate differently 1:35:42: Launching CoffeeB with influencers, Amazon and retail growth 1:40:51: Supermarkets, hotels and CoffeeB’s expansion strategy 1:53:45: James Newitt’s biggest business lesson and regret

  • S1 · E16
    August 20 · 1 hr 32 min

    Affiliate Marketing Growth, Global Expansion and Publisher Strategy: Alona Malinovska on Scaling Ecommerce with Webgains

    How can ecommerce brands use affiliate marketing to enter new markets, reach valuable customers and build scalable revenue without committing huge budgets upfront? Alona Malinovska, Managing Director of Webgains UK, joins Marketing Over Milkshakes to explain how affiliate networks connect advertisers with publishers and why human expertise remains essential as affiliate technology and artificial intelligence develop. Drawing on 13 years in performance marketing, Alona discusses affiliate programme management, publisher recruitment, customer acquisition, conversion strategy and the service first model behind Webgains. The conversation explores the publisher types attracting serious attention, including CSS affiliates, closed communities, cashback platforms, loyalty programmes and influencer partnerships. Alona also explains how brands can assess incremental affiliate revenue, customer lifetime value, average order value and the influence publishers have across the ecommerce sales funnel. Alona shares practical insights from Webgains’ international growth across China, Germany, Eastern Europe and Latin America. She reveals how one carefully planned trip to China helped Webgains secure more than 20 new clients, why Chinese ecommerce brands need local European marketing expertise and how affiliate marketing allows businesses to test international expansion with controlled costs. In this episode we talked about: How affiliate networks connect ecommerce brands with publishers How Webgains supports more than 1,800 brands and 250,000 publishers across 150 countries Why affiliate marketing operates as a commercial model rather than one fixed marketing channel How brands can tailor affiliate programmes around growth, cost control, customer acquisition and brand protection The rise of CSS affiliates and their value for growing ecommerce businesses How closed communities, newsletters, apps and private social groups are changing influencer marketing Why artificial intelligence should amplify affiliate managers and human expertise Leadership, mentorship, imposter syndrome and building support systems for employees Key Moments: 0:00: Why Chinese ecommerce brands are actively seeking European affiliate partners 02:39: Alona Malinovska’s journey through paid search and performance marketing 07:02: How Webgains connects 1,800 brands with more than 250,000 publishers 10:14: Why affiliate marketing can be difficult to explain 14:03: The responsibilities of a Managing Director at an international affiliate network 17:31: Supporting employee wellbeing and company culture during remote working 19:21: Returning to Webgains and stepping into senior leadership 23:09: Mentorship, reverse mentorship and learning from younger employees 28:00: Recruiting ambitious and curious people for a changing industry 32:43: How closed communities are reshaping affiliate and influencer marketing 38:00: Understanding incremental affiliate sales through real customer behaviour 41:18: How publisher authority influences every stage of the customer journey 45:16: Why consumers may show greater loyalty to publishers than individual retailers 50:28: The ideal brands for Webgains and international affiliate expansion 52:15: Helping Chinese ecommerce brands enter the UK and European markets 57:11: How Webgains tested an in person event strategy in Shenzhen 1:03:01: The pace, ambition and business culture Alona experienced in China 1:09:15: Moving Chinese ecommerce revenue from Amazon to direct consumer websites 1:14:27: Testing new markets through performance based affiliate partnerships 1:20:54: Why brands still need specialist affiliate marketing expertise 1:21:53: The damaging assumptions brands make about discounts and cashback 1:25:32: Smartphone addiction, screen time and digital wellbeing 1:31:00: The growth opportunity brands can unlock through experimentation

  • S1 · E15
    August 6 · 53 min

    How Wowcher Survived the Daily Deals Boom: Alexis Harrison on Affiliate Marketing, Mystery Holidays and Modern vs Traditional Media

    How did Wowcher survive the collapse of the daily-deals boom, become a household-name ecommerce brand and turn £99 mystery holidays into a viral sales phenomenon? In this episode of Marketing Over Milkshakes, we sit down with Alexis Harrison, Chief Marketing Officer at Wowcher, to unpack how the business uses performance marketing, brand advertising, affiliate partnerships, customer data and conversion optimisation to sell thousands of deals every day. If you are looking to unlock the internet’s fastest growing marketing channel, connect with the team at RevWise https://revwise.com/ Alexis explains how Wowcher built national brand awareness through the iconic television advertising, she reveals how Wowcher’s £99 mystery holidays work, why the concept repeatedly goes viral on social media and she takes us behind the scenes of Wowcher’s affiliate marketing strategy, the value of long-tail content publishers, product sampling and creator partnerships. In this episode: How strong brand awareness, commercial agility and conversion optimisation helped Wowcher survive the decline of the daily-deals market. Why consumers are increasingly prioritising experiences over purchasing more physical products. How Wowcher’s £99 mystery holidays became a viral ecommerce product selling thousands of packages. Why nurturing content publishers, affiliate partners and emerging creators can create valuable long-term revenue. How product sampling, publisher credit and authentic reviews strengthen affiliate marketing campaigns. How Alexis Harrison progressed from commercial analyst to CMO at 35 while managing leadership, maternity leave and working motherhood. Key Moments: 0:00 – Alexis Harrison on Wowcher’s brand growth, affiliate marketing and becoming CMO at 35 1:20 – Marketing Over Milkshakes live with Wowcher CMO Alexis Harrison 3:35 – How Wowcher became a household-name deals, gifting and experiences brand 5:49 – Alexis Harrison’s journey from commercial analyst to Chief Marketing Officer 6:40 – Wowcher or No Wowcher: mystery holidays, unusual products and bizarre experiences 11:15 – The swingers hotel deal that generated so much traffic it crashed Wowcher’s website 13:02 – Discovering the data, ROI and customer lifetime value behind ecommerce marketing 13:39 – The daily-deals boom and how the market changed after Groupon 14:38 – Why Wowcher survived while other daily-deals businesses disappeared 16:33 – Why consumers are prioritising holidays, experiences and family days out 18:43 – Customer loyalty, personalisation and following shoppers through different life stages 20:37 – How Wowcher’s £99 mystery holidays work 23:10 – The organic social media post that sent Wowcher’s mystery holidays viral 25:00 – Expanding the mystery concept into family holidays and designer products 25:52 – Women in senior leadership and the realities of returning from maternity leave 30:29 – Why a family-first company culture helps parents succeed at work 34:10 – The value of internal mentors, external coaching and authentic public speaking 37:47 – Becoming a mentor and helping employees progress in their own careers 38:49 – How Wowcher built a diverse affiliate marketing programme 41:14 – Why brands should invest in smaller content publishers before they become major affiliates 42:43 – Product sampling, publisher credit and creating authentic affiliate content 47:25 – Becoming Chief Marketing Officer at 35 after returning from maternity leave 48:29 – Why Wowcher should have moved beyond linear television sooner 50:43 – Making leadership decisions when forecasts and assumptions contain uncertainty 52:25 – Alexis Harrison’s appearance on ITV’s The Big Audition 53:10 – The biggest AI and productivity opportunity most brands are currently missing

  • S1 · E14
    July 23 · 1 hr 14 min

    How BLD BRO Built a Multi-Million-Pound DTC Skincare Brand: Tariq Kazemi on Community-Led Growth, Viral Marketing and Customer Retention

    How do you turn a small Instagram support community into a multi-million-pound DTC skincare brand with more than 100,000 customers? In this episode of Marketing Over Milkshakes, we sit down with Tariq Kazemi, Co-Founder and CEO of BLD BRO, to unpack how a community created to challenge the negative narrative around baldness became one of the UK’s most exciting men’s skincare and ecommerce brands. If you are looking to unlock the internet’s fastest growing marketing channel, connect with the team at RevWise https://revwise.com/ In this episode: How BLD BRO grew from a small Instagram community into an award-winning DTC skincare brand serving more than 100,000 customers. Why bald positivity, male confidence, customer research and purpose-led brand positioning helped BLD BRO create products specifically for bald men. How one Meta video ad, word-of-mouth marketing and strong customer retention helped scale the business, with repeat customers generating around 50% of revenue. How BLD BRO used LADbible talent, viral social content, TikTok, ITV advertising, PR, Bald Fest and celebrity partnerships to build national awareness. Why the founders turned down Dragons’ Den and approached Amazon, retail expansion, profitability and cash flow with long-term discipline. Key Moments: 0:00 – BLD BRO on reaching 100,000 customers, multi-million-pound revenue and 50% repeat sales 01:18 – Tariq Kazemi’s BBC, Times Radio and Good Morning Britain media blitz 04:03 – Building a men’s skincare brand around bald positivity, hair loss and mental health 05:26 – Introducing Tariq Kazemi, Co-Founder and CEO of BLD BRO 11:09 – How an Instagram community became a DTC skincare business 15:39 – Tariq’s ten-year hair loss journey and the fear surrounding male baldness 18:44 – Why self-acceptance and confidence are central to the BLD BRO brand 23:18 – Why helping men matters even when they never become customers 25:50 – Authenticity as BLD BRO’s greatest brand advantage and commercial limitation 27:05 – Global expansion and becoming the leading skincare brand for bald men 28:55 – Marketing differently to younger men and established bald customers 30:05 – Creating product-market fit for bald head skincare, SPF and shaving products 33:33 – The first Meta video ad, a failed Fiverr consultant and selling out the first product run 36:15 – Scaling beyond £1 million in revenue and adapting to Meta’s Andromeda update 38:45 – Why repeat customers generate around 50% of BLD BRO’s revenue 39:31 – Launching on Amazon and achieving rapid marketplace growth 40:20 – Why BLD BRO turned down an opportunity to appear on Dragons’ Den 43:01 – Hiring a former LADbible creator and transforming organic social media growth 45:18 – Turning a John Lewis-inspired YouTube advert into an ITV television campaign 47:13 – The impact of reaching eight million homes through TV advertising 48:12 – Retail expansion, payment terms, profitability and the danger of cash-flow growth 51:09 – How Bald Fest and Free Beer for the Bald became a viral community event 52:53 – The Bald Fest poster that was shared 23,000 times on Instagram 55:20 – Guerrilla marketing, celebrity partnerships and sending a bald man to a Turkish hair transplant clinic 58:44 – Running a UK ecommerce brand while living as a digital nomad 1:08:33 – Tariq Kazemi on leadership, trust and building a high-performing team 1:10:04 – BLD BRO’s biggest ecommerce mistake: product sizing, subscriptions and customer backlash

  • S1 · E13
    July 8 · 1 hr 37 min

    How To Turn Checkout Pages Into A Customer Acquisition Channel: Jack Davies on Affiliate Marketing, Retail Media and Post-Purchase Monetisation

    Can ecommerce brands turn their checkout confirmation page into a high-performing customer acquisition and monetisation channel? In this episode of Marketing Over Milkshakes, we sit down with Jack Davies, Head of Partnerships at Sovendus, to unpack the fast-growing world of affiliate marketing, checkout monetisation, retail media, post-purchase rewards and performance-based brand partnerships. If you are looking to unlock the internet’s fastest growing marketing channel, connect with the team at RevWise https://revwise.com/ In this episode: How Sovendus helps ecommerce brands, retailers and DTC businesses monetise unused post-purchase real estate through checkout rewards, customer offers and performance-based brand partnerships. Why the checkout confirmation page is one of the most overlooked revenue opportunities in ecommerce, affiliate marketing and retail media. How post-purchase rewards generate incremental revenue after transaction, without disrupting checkout journeys or damaging conversion rates. Why rewards-based activations sits at the intersection of affiliate marketing, retail media, customer acquisition, on-site monetisation and performance partnerships. How brands like Trainline, Just Eat, HelloFresh and Freddie’s Flowers use checkout offers to drive new customer acquisition. Why affiliate marketing is moving beyond last-click attribution into creator affiliates, influencer marketing, CSS, commerce content, first-party data and measurable ecommerce growth. Key Moments: 0:00 – Jack Davies on affiliate marketing, checkout monetisation and new customer tracking 8:27 – Introducing Jack Davies, Head of Partnerships at Sovendus 10:54 – How post-purchase rewards work 12:31 – How ecommerce brands monetise checkout pages and drive customer acquisition 13:39 – Trainline, app integrations and checkout pages as performance media 17:04 – Why brands are moving away from discounting, voucher codes and cashback 18:48 – Gift-with-purchase, subscriptions and lifetime value in affiliate marketing 20:14 – Checkout impressions, RPM and why post-purchase monetisation can outperform programmatic ads 21:48 – Why checkout monetisation can become pure bottom-line profit for retailers 23:25 – Closed-loop voucher offers, single-use URLs and fraud prevention 31:32 – Why affiliate managers struggle to sell checkout monetisation internally 39:21 – Retail media, relevance and matching offers to customer behaviour 40:49 – How quickly brands can see results from checkout rewards 44:24 – Brand safety, blacklists and controlling where offers appear 51:20 – Incrementality, new customer tracking and why affiliate attribution is misunderstood 58:06 – The reputation problem in affiliate marketing and why the industry needs better debate 1:01:02 – Should influencer marketing, creator affiliates and CSS sit inside affiliate? 1:10:10 – First-party tracking, affiliate networks and the future of affiliate technology 1:22:17 – How affiliate marketing has changed over the last decade 1:35:17 – The biggest opportunity most ecommerce brands are missing: checkout monetisation

  • S1 · E12
    June 24 · 1 hr 20 min

    How Nutriseed Turned TikTok Shop Into A £200K/Month Growth Channel: James Green on Creator Affiliates, DTC Growth and Scaling A Bootstrapped Health Brand

    Can TikTok Shop really become one of the most powerful growth channels for a direct-to-consumer brand? In this episode of Marketing Over Milkshakes, we sit down with James Green, Founder of Nutriseed, to unpack how a bootstrapped UK health and wellness brand went from kitchen table startup to a fast-growing DTC business using cold pressed juices, customer loyalty, creator partnerships, TikTok Shop, Amazon and performance marketing. If you are looking to unlock the internet’s fastest growing marketing channel, connect with the team at RevWise https://revwise.com/ James shares the full story behind Nutriseed’s growth, from his early career as a magician selling tricks in Hamleys, Harrods, Selfridges and Toys R Us Times Square, to launching a lifestyle magazine, building a health brand from scratch, and scaling Nutriseed through Groupon, ecommerce, cold pressed juice cleanses and repeat-purchase products. The conversation goes deep on how rising customer acquisition costs forced Nutriseed to rethink its entire growth model, why TikTok Shop became a major top-of-funnel awareness engine, and how aggressive creator sampling, affiliate content, live shopping and channel-specific product strategy helped the brand reach around £200,000 in TikTok Shop GMV in January alone. James also breaks down the hidden “halo effect” of TikTok Shop across Amazon, Meta ads, creator content and customer acquisition, including why brands need to stop judging TikTok purely as a last-click sales channel and start understanding how it drives discovery, trust and long-term customer value. Key Moments: 0:00 – James Green on TikTok Shop, rising CPA and Nutriseed’s £200K month 03:17 – Introducing James Green, Founder of Nutriseed 06:45 – From magician to entrepreneur: Hamleys, Harrods and Toys R Us Times Square 14:39 – Launching a lifestyle magazine and learning the realities of business 17:44 – How Nutriseed started from a failed business and a passion for healthy living 19:40 – Using Groupon to scale a superfood product into 14 European markets 21:28 – Moving from marketplaces to DTC and owning the customer relationship 22:26 – Building a vertically integrated health brand and manufacturing in-house 28:29 – Why rising acquisition costs forced Nutriseed to rethink growth 34:50 – How TikTok Shop became a top-of-funnel growth engine for Nutriseed 37:43 – Losing money on TikTok Shop but winning through Amazon and repeat purchase 41:16 – The three biggest tips for winning on TikTok Shop 43:03 – Scaling production to 24-hour operation to meet demand 43:42 – Turning creator affiliate content into Meta ads and lowering CPA 45:56 – Why live shopping could be the future of ecommerce 50:20 – What TikTok Shop agencies get right and wrong 54:28 – Which brands can win on TikTok Shop and why product strategy matters 1:01:29 – Building long-term creator relationships and ambassador communities 1:05:46 – Nutriseed’s 30,000-customer community and the power of DTC feedback loops 1:11:56 – The plan to reach £1M a month on TikTok Shop 1:15:46 – Leadership, honesty and managing through difficult growth periods 1:19:14 – Why TikTok Shop is still the biggest opportunity most brands are missing

  • S1 · E11
    June 10 · 1 hr 39 min

    How AU Vodka Became The UK’s Fastest-Growing Drinks Brand: Charlie Morgan on Viral Product Drops, Celebrity Marketing and Building A Cult Brand

    How did two young founders from Swansea turn a gold vodka bottle into one of the most recognisable drinks brands in the UK? In this episode of Marketing Over Milkshakes, we sit down with Charlie Morgan, Co-Founder of AU Vodka, inside the brand’s incredible Swansea HQ to unpack the story behind one of the most explosive growth journeys in British drinks, ecommerce and culture-led marketing. If you are looking to unlock the internet’s fastest growing marketing channel, connect with the team at RevWise https://revwise.com/ Charlie shares how AU Vodka started with just 2,000 gold bottles, no major marketing budget, and a simple belief that the brand had to look, feel and behave differently to every other alcohol company in the market. From early struggles selling a premium vodka nobody had heard of, to the breakthrough launch of Black Grape, the Charlie Sloth partnership, the ecommerce explosion and the relentless problem-solving that took AU from hundreds of thousands in revenue to tens of millions, this is a proper founder story. Charlie also breaks down the Tango collaboration, selling 3 million cans in three days, why AU cans have become the UK’s best-selling ready-to-drink alcohol brand by volume, and how product taste, cultural relevance and customer obsession have helped AU compete with some of the biggest drinks brands in the world. The conversation also covers the infamous Eden Hazard ball boy moment, working with names like Snoop Dogg, Jake Paul, Fredo and the future of RTDs, international expansion, building a global brand from Swansea, and why the biggest opportunity for food and drink brands may still be direct access to their customers. Key Moments: 0:00 – Charlie Morgan on AU Vodka, viral growth and the Tango launch 6:50 – Launching AU Vodka with 2,000 gold bottles and no marketing budget 11:10 – How flavoured vodka, Charlie Sloth and Black Grape changed everything 18:03 – The Fredo campaign, COVID growth and AU’s £43.3m revenue year 25:23 – Scaling through chaos, supply chain problems and hands-on leadership 31:08 – AU Tango, selling 3 million cans and becoming a major RTD alcohol brand 35:48 – The Eden Hazard ball boy story and building a legacy beyond it 46:04 – Turning AU Vodka from a Swansea brand into a global drinks business 51:23 – Taste, flavour development and building customer loyalty in drinks marketing 53:37 – Influencers, ambassadors, Snoop Dogg and authentic brand partnerships1:04:00 – Jake Paul, Tommy Fury and the viral AU Vodka tattoo campaign 1:17:23 – Liquid on lips, sampling strategy and why product taste drives growth 1:23:10 – How AU became the UK’s number one ready-to-drink alcohol brand 1:28:36 – Creating a new vodka category instead of chasing drinks industry trends 1:31:51 – Why AU rejected fake heritage and changed vodka marketing 1:36:16 – Growing AU Vodka globally and the ecommerce opportunity for food and drink brands

  • S1 · E10
    May 27 · 2 hr 1 min

    James Little and Hannah Wharrier Reveal How They Built Affilifest To Become The Glastonbury Of Affiliate Marketing

    James Little and Hannah Wharrier are the founders of Affilifest, the UK affiliate marketing event bringing festival energy, community and creativity into a traditionally corporate conference world. Hosted at Dreamland Margate, Affilifest has become one of the most talked-about events in the affiliate and performance marketing industry, combining serious business networking with rollercoasters, tattoos, beach breakfasts, live panels, karaoke, brand activations and a completely different approach to industry events. If you are looking to unlock the internet’s fastest growing marketing channel, connect with the team at RevWise: https://revwise.com/ James and Hannah break down how Affilifest started, why they chose Dreamland Margate, how they built a standout event brand, and why memorable experiences create stronger business relationships than bland conference rooms. They also explore the wider affiliate marketing landscape, including cashback incrementality, publisher discovery, cookie consent, ICO guidance, AI tools, media mix modelling, Women in Affiliate, leadership, personal branding and why brands need to think differently about partnerships. We will be doing an episode of Marketing Over Milkshakes live from Affilifest, so if you would like to be in the audience live, get you tickets to at www.affilifest.com/register James and Hannah share: How Affilifest became one of the UK’s most talked-about affiliate events Why Dreamland Margate became the home of Affilifest How “festivalisation” is changing affiliate marketing conferences Why memorable experiences create better business relationships Why Affilifest is free for advertisers and publishers How AI is helping founders, events teams and affiliate businesses move faster Why Women in Affiliate became one of Affilifest’s proudest projects Why brands need better ways to discover new and innovative publishers Key Moments: 00:00 - Affilifest, Dreamland and the festival energy 03:17 - Work hard, play hard and affiliate industry culture 07:14 - Introducing James Little and Hannah Warrior 08:39 - Building the UK’s most talked-about affiliate event 09:43 - The story behind the matching tattoos 13:11 - How the idea for Affilifest started 16:44 - Taking Affilifest to the USA and Australia 17:06 - Why affiliate events matter to new agencies 19:49 - Keeping Affilifest free for brands and publishers 22:09 - Hannah’s journey from Affiliate Summit to AffiliateFest 24:06 - Why Dreamland Margate became the home of Affilifest 29:07 - Why work events should feel like Glastonbury 30:55 - Making events fun and valuable for business 35:10 - Bringing Affilifest to Manchester 36:45 - Brand roundtables and putting advertisers first 39:08 - Using ChatGPT to find event speakers 41:05 - The business model behind events 43:15 - Building a culturally confident brand 44:13 - Creating bold event formats that build brand 45:37 - Why not everyone has to like your brand 47:24 - Designing events for the next generation 53:28 - Platforming new affiliate industry voices 56:35 - Why Affilifest does not sell sponsored talks 57:26 - Using AI to improve live events 1:09:07 - James on TopCashback and cashback marketing 1:15:15 - The debate around cashback incrementality 1:18:05 - ICO guidance, cookies and cashback tracking 1:21:35 - Why better tracking can increase conversions by 30–40% 1:25:22 - Why passion matters in affiliate marketing 1:30:00 - How Hannah’s fiance used ChatGPT for engagement proposal 1:32:34 - How AI helps startups move faster 1:38:41 - Launching Women in Affiliate 1:42:16 - James’ proudest AffiliateFest moment 1:45:11 - Personal style, confidence and standing out 1:51:23 - Why Hannah changed her mind about panels 1:53:51 - What leadership really means 1:57:45 - The biggest opportunities brands are missing 1:59:37 - Why brands need better publisher discovery

  • S1 · E9
    May 13 · 1 hr 53 min

    Sole Supplier CEO George Sullivan on How Sneaker Culture Became Performance Marketing and What AI Means for Fashion Publishers

    Can a sneaker publisher become one of the most powerful brand growth partners in ecommerce? In this episode of Marketing Over Milkshakes, we sit down with George Sullivan, Founder and CEO of The Sole Supplier to explore how sneaker culture, streetwear, affiliate marketing, community, content and AI are reshaping the future of performance marketing. If you are looking to unlock the internet’s fastest growing marketing channel, connect with the team at RevWise https://revwise.com/ George built The Sole Supplier from a personal obsession with trainers into one of the UK’s most influential sneaker and streetwear platforms, reaching millions of consumers every month and driving more than £350 million in tracked GMV for retail partners. In this conversation, George shares how his love of hip hop, Air Force Ones and sneaker culture became the foundation for a media, commerce and community business that now sits at the intersection of content, cultural influence and performance. We go deep on why George believes the term “affiliate” no longer reflects the value publishers like The Sole Supplier create, why brands need to think beyond last-click attribution, and how culturally authentic publishers can influence demand long before a customer converts. George also explains why The Sole Supplier now positions itself as a brand growth partner, how content franchises, community and app-based first-party data are shaping the next phase of the business, and why AI will not replace human-led inspiration, cultural credibility or authentic product discovery. Key Moments: 00:00 – George Sullivan on The Sole Supplier, sneaker culture and affiliate marketing 06:00 – From recruitment to building a sneaker and streetwear publisher 10:00 – Air Force Ones, Jordans, Timberlands and the evolution of sneaker culture 18:45 – Why streetwear consumers now value outfits, quality and cost per wear 22:34 – How The Sole Supplier drives ecommerce sales without holding stock 25:29 – Why affiliate marketing needs a rebrand beyond vouchers and cashback 29:43 – The Merrell campaign, 180% sales growth and untracked publisher influence 33:38 – Why brands need marketers who understand youth culture and streetwear audiences 36:41 – Building a culture-led, data-led marketing team at The Sole Supplier 41:49 – Leadership, self-esteem and psychological safety in a fast-growth business 48:47 – First hires, founder mistakes and lessons from scaling The Sole Supplier 51:56 – Financial discipline, budgets and navigating ecommerce market pressure 58:45 – Why George believes affiliate should become brand growth marketing 1:01:55 – Cultural growth, partner marketing and the future of affiliate networks 1:06:48 – How global brands limit publisher growth through affiliate budgets 1:10:37 – TikTok Shop, halo effects and measuring ecommerce influence 1:15:26 – Affiliate revenue, fixed-fee brand partnerships and publisher monetisation 1:16:29 – Trend or Trash, This Not That and The Sole Supplier’s content franchises 1:17:17 – The Sole Supplier app, first-party data and in-app community strategy 1:18:40 – AI commerce, human taste and why cultural inspiration still matters 1:20:00 – ChatGPT shopping, CPA checkout and the future of AI ecommerce 1:23:11 – ChatGPT, Google, Claude and the changing AI search landscape 1:25:00 – AI influencers, brand credibility and cultural risk for fashion brands 1:31:00 – Content, community and commerce as the future of publisher platforms 1:32:30 – Reddit, bots, LLM citations and the trust problem in AI search 1:35:40 – Why brands are paying publishers for LLM visibility and AI discovery 1:39:09 – AI fear, bad incentives and apocalypse-style marketing content 1:43:41 – George’s childhood, ADHD, business growth and personal reflection 1:47:11 – Dale Carnegie, The Power of Now and leadership lessons 1:50:45 – Why unified marketing teams are the biggest opportunity for brands

  • S1 · E8
    April 29 · 1 hr 35 min

    CJ’s Linda O’Connell: Does Affiliate Marketing Need a Rebrand? How Influencer Commerce Became Performance Marketing and What AI Means for Publishers

    Is affiliate marketing overdue a rebrand? In this episode of Marketing Over Milkshakes, we sit down with Linda O’Connell, Senior Vice President of UK and Ireland at CJ, to explore how affiliate marketing, influencer commerce, content publishers and AI-powered discovery are reshaping performance marketing. If you are looking to unlock the internet’s fastest growing marketing channel, connect with the team at RevWise https://revwise.com/ Linda has spent more than 20 years at CJ, one of the biggest and most established affiliate networks in the world, helping brands grow through performance-led partnerships across retail, travel, tech and ecommerce. In this conversation, she shares her perspective on how the affiliate industry has evolved from voucher codes and cashback into a far broader ecosystem that now includes influencers, content commerce, card-linked offers, creator partnerships and AI-driven product discovery. We go deep on why the term “affiliate” may no longer reflect the true value of the channel, why brands should stop treating affiliate as a silo, and how the smartest marketers are now using it as a strategic growth lever across the full customer journey. Linda explains how CJ thinks about connected commerce, why publishers are becoming even more valuable in an LLM-driven world, and how content sites are increasingly shaping what consumers discover through AI search experiences. KEY MOMENTS: 00:00 – Why affiliate marketing may need a different name 01:10 – Linda’s background, Dublin life and the CJ introduction 06:16 – Linda O’Connell’s 20-year journey at CJ and the scale of the business 07:36 – How big CJ is, major global brands and what makes long-term client retention work 10:00 – Why the best affiliate partnerships behave like extensions of the brand team 13:30 – Building a senior leadership career while raising three boys 15:10 – Being the first woman at CJ to go on maternity leave and shaping family policies 18:53 – International growth, relocating back to Dublin and making career progression work 21:28 – Stepping into leadership, remote management and overcoming imposter syndrome 23:53 – Balancing work, motherhood and identity beyond your career 26:02 – Burnout, overwork and why unplugging matters for high performers 27:55 – The early days of CJ, startup energy and the evolution of affiliate marketing 30:04 – How publisher types changed from voucher codes to a much broader partnership mix 32:43 – Why networks helped build the affiliate industry and still drive innovation today 35:25 – Consumer behaviour, influencer growth and the changing role of publishers 37:12 – What CJ means by connected commerce 39:18 – Why many brands still misunderstand affiliate’s role in the wider media mix 40:57 – TikTok Shop, halo effects and how one channel can improve performance elsewhere 45:00 – Amazon, attribution and why brands need to follow customer behaviour 47:53 – How CJ trains teams to communicate an evolving performance marketing story 50:00 – CJ’s global footprint, growth markets and expansion opportunities 54:00 – CGU, industry events and why relationship building still matters 1:02:31 – Women in Affiliate, representation and supporting female leadership 1:07:13 – Imposter syndrome, ambition and advice for women building careers in the industry 1:09:43 – Should influencer marketing now sit inside affiliate? 1:12:05 – Affiliate’s reputation problem and why the industry may be its own worst enemy 1:15:00 – Why Linda sees affiliate as performance marketing, not just last click 1:18:37 – The rise of content commerce and why publishers matter more than ever 1:22:55 – AI search, LLM citations and how content publishers are winning visibility 1:24:46 – ChatGPT, monetisation and why affiliate could play a major role in AI commerce 1:25:49 – Quick fire: career growth, leadership and what brands are still missing 1:32:45 – The single biggest opportunity most brands are overlooking right now

  • S1 · E7
    April 16 · 1 hr 53 min

    Redbrain CEO Jared Owen: How Google Shopping CSS Drives £1BN+ in Sales, Why Most Brands Misunderstand Cannibalisation and What AI Means for Ecommerce

    What if one of the biggest untapped growth opportunities in ecommerce was hiding in plain sight inside Google Shopping? In this episode of Marketing Over Milkshakes, we sit down with Jared Owen, CEO of Redbrain, to unpack how CSS, Google Shopping, affiliate attribution and AI-driven product discovery are reshaping ecommerce growth for brands and retailers. If you are looking to unlock the internet’s fastest growing marketing channel, connect with the team at RevWise https://revwise.com/ Redbrain is one of the biggest success stories in the affiliate and performance marketing space. The business processes billions of product offers every day, works with over 12,000 retailers, is eBay’s largest CPA partner in Europe, and last year alone drove more than £1 billion in sales through Google for its retail partners. Jared explains how Redbrain evolved from a price comparison and content arbitrage background into one of the most important players in comparison shopping services, and why CPA-led Google Shopping is still widely misunderstood by brands. We go deep into the real mechanics of CSS, including what comparison shopping services actually do, why the “no cannibalisation” pitch is often oversimplified, how brands should think about cost of sale versus incrementality, and why transparency matters more than ever. Jared also shares sharp insight into feed optimisation, attribution, affiliate innovation, Google’s dominance, AI-powered commerce, LLM search behaviour and why brands need to stop relying solely on marketplaces like Amazon if they want to build long-term customer value. KEY MOMENTS: 00:00 – Selling helicopters, £300k watches and the scale of Redbrain 01:05 – Introduction to Jared Owen, Redbrain and £1BN+ in Google-driven sales 02:32 – The Redbrain origin story and Doug Scott’s startup-style environment 06:46 – What Redbrain actually does and how CSS works in Google Shopping 10:23 – The European legislation that opened Google Shopping to CSS partners 15:11 – Cannibalisation, incrementality and the truth about CSS performance 22:19 – What makes Redbrain different from other CSS providers 23:39 – Transparency, dashboards and solving the CSS black box problem 24:53 – Why some retailers can scale without running their own Google ads 32:53 – Why too many CSS partners can damage performance 36:11 – How Redbrain decides whether a retailer is worth testing 39:18 – Expensive products, luxury clicks and strange things sold through the model 45:27 – AI, trust, creators and the future of ecommerce discovery 50:17 – LLMs, product research and what happens next to search traffic 55:19 – Will Google still dominate product search in 10 to 15 years? 58:33 – Where the affiliate industry fits into AI-powered commerce 1:00:18 – Why outcomes-based marketing is becoming more important than ever 1:06:16 – Attribution problems, GA4 and why affiliate still gets misunderstood 1:13:50 – Why CSS should sit closer to the internal paid media team 1:17:01 – Hiring, customer success and scaling Redbrain’s growth 1:18:28 – Leadership, pressure and the reality of being a CEO 1:30:09 – When CSS does and does not work for retailers 1:34:20 – Amazon dependency, brand-owned growth and the future of ecommerce 1:52:03 – The single biggest opportunity most brands are still missing

  • S1 · E6
    April 1 · 56 min

    How AI Will Reshape Affiliate Marketing and Partnership Growth with Anthony Clements, Country Manager (UK) at Impact

    Affiliate marketing is entering its biggest transformation in over a decade. In this episode, we sit down with Anthony Clements, Country Manager at Impact, to explore how partnership marketing, influencer commerce and AI-driven discovery are reshaping the affiliate ecosystem. If you are looking to unlock the internet’s fastest growing marketing channel, connect with the team at RevWise https://revwise.com/ Drawing on more than 20 years in the industry, Anthony breaks down the three major shifts that have defined affiliate marketing so far, from search and desktop commerce, to mobile and social, and now the next wave: agentic AI and large language models changing how customers search, discover and buy online. The conversation goes deep on why last-click CPA models no longer tell the full story, how creators and content publishers drive value beyond clicks, and why brands must rethink how they measure and reward performance marketing. We also explore Impact’s role as one of the world’s leading partnership marketing platforms, operating across 20+ countries and processing billions of partner touchpoints annually. Topics include creator monetisation, influencer marketing, loyalty and referral models, AI-powered discovery, attribution challenges, and what ecommerce brands need to do now to stay competitive as search traffic declines and AI-driven commerce accelerates. KEY MOMENTS: 00:00 – The Evolution of Affiliate Marketing & Rise of Agentic AI 04:02 – Personal Reputation and Industry Reflections 06:47 – Impact’s Technology and Marketing Philosophy 08:32 – Growth and Challenges in Influencer & Creator Marketing 12:34 – Referral and Loyalty Marketing Insights 15:04 – Professionalisation and Major Shifts in Affiliate Partnerships 22:51 – Future-Proofing Affiliate & Influencer Attribution with AI 24:11 – Building Sustainable Teams & Leadership in Affiliate Marketing 34:58 – Case Studies: Scaling Influencer Marketing and Transactional Insights 36:03 – Rethinking How We Measure Marketing Value 46:07 – Compliance, Curiosity & Industry Pitfalls 48:16 – Navigating Uncertainty & Career Growth 54:40 – Advice for the Next Generation of Leaders

  • S1 · E5
    March 18 · 1 hr 29 min

    Will AI Change Shopping Forever? Pocket-lint Founder Stuart Miles on Affiliate Marketing, AI Commerce and the Future of Digital Publishing

    What does the future of shopping, media and affiliate marketing actually look like in an AI-driven world? In this episode of Marketing Over Milkshakes, we are joined by Stuart Miles - founder of Pocket-lint and Squirrel - to unpack the evolution of affiliate commerce, publisher monetisation, tech journalism, AI in media, and why trust is still the most valuable asset in digital publishing. Having spent more than 20 years at the heart of the tech industry, Stuart has seen it all up close - from the launch of Google and the rise of the iPhone to conversations with Steve Jobs, Elon Musk, and some of the biggest names in global technology. He now brings that experience into Squirrel, a platform helping publishers automate product feeds, price comparison, affiliate links, and commerce content at scale. The conversation explores how publishers can survive in a world of zero-click search, AI-generated content, shrinking editorial teams and changing consumer habits. Stuart explains why editorial trust, storytelling, and real relationships still matter more than ever, even as AI transforms how people discover, compare and buy products online. In this episode, we cover: The journey from Pocket-lint to building Squirrel How affiliate marketing has changed for publishers Why trust is the foundation of commerce content The real future of AI shopping and AI-assisted buying journeys What publishers need to do to survive Google zero-click search Why storytelling will matter more in the age of AI The difference between good AI use and bad AI use Founder lessons on decision-making, resilience and momentum What brands are still getting wrong about outreach, PR and relationships Key Moments: 00:00 – Intro to Stuart Miles, Pocket‑lint, big tech names (Steve Jobs, Elon Musk) and the future of tech and media 05:38 – From Pocket‑lint to Squirrel: how Stuart built and sold a global tech publisher then launched affiliate tech for publishers 13:19 – Inside Squirrel: 30,000 product feeds, 13 billion offers and fixing classic affiliate problems like dead links and bad pricing 21:29 – Trust, honest reviews and content strategy: avoiding clickbait, bad influencer habits and the programmatic race to the bottom 32:24 – PR vs commerce content: how publishers monetise with affiliates while still serving readers and brands 39:10 – How publishers really use AI: good vs bad use cases in journalism, writing and operations 43:26 – Meeting Elon Musk and Steve Jobs: what top founders teach us about focus, decisions and product 48:03 – Founder mindset: resilience, failing fast, making decisions and letting go as your business scales 51:53 – Future of devices and AI: AR/VR, companion hardware, quantified self and how AI will reshape shopping 59:17 – AI in commerce and discovery: boring repeat buys vs emotional purchases and the lasting role of publishers 1:05:51 – AI coding, no‑code tools and why senior human expertise still matters in development 1:20:12 – Personal lessons: being nice, long‑term relationships, leadership as removing obstacles and networking without an agenda

  • S1 · E4
    March 5 · 1 hr 35 min

    From Sacked Founder To £200M IPO! How Martin Higginson Was Fired By His Board After Creating A £200M IPO… And Why He Is Now Building Huddled PLC to Take on Amazon!

    How do you get fired from your own company after building a £200M IPO business… and then start again? Chairman of Huddled PLC, Martin Higginson shares how he went from launching Britain’s biggest-selling BMX magazine at 20…to scaling a mobile business to a £200 million valuation…to pioneering surplus-led e-commerce with Huddled PLC to take on Amazon! This episode of Marketing Over Milkshakes is a masterclass in entrepreneurship, marketing fundamentals, arbitrage thinking and founder resilience. If you are looking to unlock the internet’s fastest growing marketing channel, connect with the team at RevWise https://revwise.com/ Martin shares lessons from four decades of building, scaling, exiting - and rebuilding. With businesses across publishing, telecoms, premium rate competitions, mobile content, gaming, student accommodation and e-commerce it is clear how Martin has created the level of success that has resulted with his appearance on The Sunday Times Rich List. You’ll hear how Monster Mob reached a £200m valuation, what really happened when he was fired from his own company, why most founders “self-harm” successful businesses, and how Huddled PLC is now tackling surplus retail, logistics arbitrage and the cost of living crisis. In this episode you will hear: Building and selling Britain’s biggest BMX magazine before age 21 Why strict business plans can kill startups The power of arbitrage in telecoms and digital businesses Scaling Monster Mob to a £200m valuation Getting fired from your own company and rebuilding Premium rate competitions and early internet monetisation The Scottish Telecom IPO and the dot-com era Founder psychology: loneliness, pressure and resilience Why entrepreneurs struggle to let go Surplus retail and the Huddled PLC model E-commerce logistics, Amazon conditioning and next-day delivery How small brands can survive against Amazon Reducing retail waste while protecting margin partnering with the likes of Temu Building cooperative-style scale in modern e-commerce Key Moments: 00:00 Vegas, affiliate marketing and early premium rate competition stories 06:52 From photojournalist to launching Britain’s biggest BMX magazine 15:41 Selling his first business at 20 and lessons from early exit 18:30 The men’s magazine idea that came before its time 22:30 Premium rate competitions: the breakthrough revenue model 28:30 Outmanoeuvring competitors and scaling nationally 30:27 From weekend revenue to telecom acquisition talks 35:27 Demon Internet, arbitrage and early ISP economics 40:02 Why timing beats ideas: Malcolm Gladwell & infrastructure lessons 42:53 Avatars, online casinos and being too early to market 45:15 Launching Monster Mob and scaling to £200m valuation 48:45 Getting removed from his own company 52:23 Super Casino: live interactive TV before its time 01:02:11 Huddled PLC: surplus retail and the cost of living opportunity 01:12:57 TikTok, deal communities and performance marketing engine 01:18:33 Logistics arbitrage and competing with Amazon 01:24:10 Founder psychology: the loneliness of leadership 01:27:25 Why most entrepreneurs self-sabotage successful businesses 01:32:54 The biggest marketing opportunity brands are missing

  • S1 · E3
    February 19 · 1 hr 41 min

    CCO of Sykes Cottages, James Shaw: Building a £200m UK Holiday Brand, Saving Millions with AI Advertising, and How To Go Viral on TikTok

    The UK leisure travel and holiday rental market has transformed dramatically over the last decade - driven by digital demand, staycation trends, and portfolio-level brand strategy. In this episode of Marketing Over Milkshakes, Group CCO James Shaw shares insight from within Sykes Holiday Cottages, one of the UK’s most recognised holiday rental brands, and its parent organisation, Forge Holiday Group; which manages 30,000 units, serving 3,000,000 customers annually, generating £200 million in revenue. You will hear about building modern travel brands for sustainable growth in the leisure and tourism space - combining performance marketing, DTC strategy and data modelling, as well as a detailed breakdown on how the adoption of AI in advertising campaigns has driven CPA’s down by 40%! In this episode, you will hear: Scaling established travel brands in competitive domestic tourism markets Portfolio growth across multiple travel businesses Performance marketing in high-ticket leisure sectors Balancing brand equity with digital acquisition Using AI across advertising and marketing to drive CPAs down Protecting margin while expanding reach Leading growth at group level across multiple brands The evolution of UK staycation demand Long-term travel industry strategy vs short-term booking spikes Key Moments: 0:00 – From Sykes Cottages to Forge Group: brands, scale and acquisitions 06:37 – The origin of Sykes Holidays: Clive Sykes, Yorkshire kitchen table and early growth 09:34 – Obsessing over “magic moments”: guest experience, reviews and NPS in travel 12:48 – TV ads and brand building: taking Sykes from 12% to 65% brand recall 16:24 – AI-powered TV campaigns: cutting production costs and smarter media buying 18:12 – Rational marketing: stacking highest-ROI channels and dropping what doesn’t work 21:34 – Vivid Stay: AI video walkthroughs for every holiday property at scale 25:05 – The AI journey: 70% staff adoption, AI Guardians Guild and legal framework 29:39 – Proving ROI: sprint times, chatbot deflection and AI efficiency targets 32:46 – Clickless checkout and agentic commerce: preparing for ChatGPT / Gemini bookings 36:41 – Developing conversational search for UK holiday cottages 41:51 – Competing in LLM search 46:03 – TikTok strategy: micro-influencers, viral Sykes content and social commerce 52:03 – Gavin & Stacey cottage and VIP stays: turning properties into viral moments 55:13 – Private equity, PPC and scaling Sykes: from 5,000 to 30,000 properties 01:00:50 – Skin in the game: betting life savings on Sykes 1:08:52 – Cranfield “SAS for the mind”: leadership, EQ and brutal 360 feedback 01:14:08 – Hiring for culture: curiosity, competitiveness and mindset 1:20:29 – How James structures his week: 5:30am routine, family time and energy management 01:34:57 – Best leadership book: Good to Great and the 4 Disciplines of Execution 01:39:51 – Defining leadership: creating an environment where success is inevitable

  • #2
    February 5 · 1 hr 28 min

    How Freddie’s Flowers Scaled a Profitable Subscription Business With Perishable Products… One Of The Hardest Challenges in DTC

    Scaling a subscription business with perishable products, tight margins, and zero room for forecasting errors is one of the hardest challenges in modern performance marketing. In this episode of Marketing Over Milkshakes, we’re joined by James Newman, Head of Performance Marketing at Freddie’s Flowers, one of the UK’s most successful subscription-first DTC brands, to break down how they’ve built a highly disciplined, data-driven growth engine across performance, affiliates, influencers, and brand partnerships. Freddie’s Flowers pioneered a subscription-only model in a category dominated by gifting, using predictable demand to reduce flower waste from an industry average of ~40% to under 5%. But behind the brand is a sophisticated growth machine built around LTV modelling, blended CPA targets, creative testing, and forecasting accuracy. If you are looking to unlock the internet’s fastest-growing marketing channel, connect with the team at RevWise https://revwise.com/ In this episode, you will hear: Why Freddie’s Flowers committed to a subscription-only model (and why it worked) How to scale customer acquisition with perishable products and next-day delivery The role of LTV modelling in setting CPA targets by channel and partner Why blended CPA beats single-channel attribution How Freddie’s evaluates affiliate marketing, gift-with-purchase, and brand partnerships The real economics behind influencer marketing in subscription businesses How coupon attribution works in a cookieless world Why forecasting accuracy is critical to profitable growth How upper-funnel Meta ads stabilised CPAs and unlocked scale The difference between volume growth and profitable growth Lessons retail brands can learn from subscription businesses Why creative strategy is becoming the most important growth lever in performance marketing Key Moments: 0:00 – How Freddie’s Flowers cuts flower waste with a low‑wastage subscription model 1:55 – Freddie’s Flowers cargo bikes and how the street sales rep model works 3:23 – Origin story: door‑to‑door sales to a flower subscription business 6:15 – Why Freddie’s went subscription‑only and refused one‑off orders for years 8:35 – Introducing James Newman, Head of Performance Marketing at Freddie’s Flowers 11:39 – Dangers of artificial growth, brand contraction and over‑reliance on one Meta creative 13:48 – Building a diversified channel mix: affiliates, influencers, Meta and partnerships 17:23 – Managing a perishable subscription: forecasting, SKUs and holiday sell‑out strategy 23:13 – How Freddie’s measures influencer performance with coupon codes and blended CPA 26:42 – Multi‑touch attribution: blended CPA, GA4, platform data and post‑purchase surveys 28:08 – CAC, LTV and the ‘trip’ model that underpins Freddie’s subscription economics 31:56 – Predictive LTV by channel and partner using early retention and customer signals 36:53 – Why subscription brands must avoid chasing volume at the expense of LTV 39:19 – Blended CPA and upper‑funnel Meta ads to expand reach without spiking costs 44:20 – Creative strategy on Meta: hooks, concepts and avoiding ad fatigue 46:47 – What retail brands can learn from subscription businesses about LTV and discounting 49:41 – Using influencers and UGC as a creative engine for paid social at Freddie’s 54:12 – Gift with Purchase (GWP) partnerships as a major scalable acquisition channel 57:12 – Balancing CPA, offer value and host merchant requirements in GWP programs 1:01:19 – Why GWP favors subscription brands and how Freddie’s sets CPA caps 1:04:08 – James’s career journey from PPC and data to brand‑side growth leadership 1:10:26 – Brand tracking, awareness vs consideration and the case for gifting at Freddie’s 1:12:28 – Measuring out‑of‑home and TV with surveys, geo‑lift tests and blackout periods 1:20:21 – Events, networking and staying current in performance and affiliate marketing

  • #2
    February 5 · 1 hr 16 min

    Awin CEO Adam Ross on The Future of Affiliate Marketing; AI, Influencers, CPA Models & Scaling a Global Network

    In this episode of Marketing Over Milkshakes, we sit down with Adam Ross, CEO of Awin, one of the world’s largest affiliate marketing networks, powering partnerships for brands like Nike, Samsung, Etsy, Vodafone and thousands more. Adam shares a rare, behind-the-scenes look at how affiliate marketing has evolved from early paid-search arbitrage into a multi-channel, AI-ready performance ecosystem - and what brands, agencies, and creators need to do to stay ahead. If you are looking to unlock the internet’s fastest-growing marketing channel, connect with the team at RevWise https://revwise.com/ What you’ll learn in this episode: How affiliate marketing really works (and why it’s a payment model, not a channel) Why CPA-based incentives outperform CPC in AI-driven shopping How influencers and creators fit into modern affiliate strategies The hidden brand-building value of affiliate programs most brands ignore How to scale a company from 15 to 1,400+ employees without losing culture The leadership lessons learned from growing a global tech business Why AI shopping assistants need affiliate monetisation models How brands should measure upper-funnel influence vs last-click sales The future of affiliate networks, retail media, and creator commerce What most brands are getting wrong about performance marketing today This episode is essential listening for anyone working in: Affiliate marketing / Performance & growth marketing / Influencer & creator partnerships / eCommerce & DTC / Retail media / AI-powered commerce platforms Key Topics Covered: Affiliate marketing explained CPA vs CPC advertising models Influencer marketing through affiliates AI shopping assistants & monetisation Scaling SaaS and marketplace platforms Leadership, hiring, and company culture Performance marketing strategy Attribution, measurement & incrementality Brand vs performance balance The future of digital commerce Key Moments: 0:00 – CPA, AI & the Future of Affiliate Marketing 04:20 – Lighthearted Start: Milkshakes, Personal Preferences & Show Setup 05:35 – From Dentist to CEO of Awin 08:16 – Scaling Awin from 15 to 1,400 Employees & the 50-Person Tipping Point 11:18 – Landing Currys & Other Enterprise Brands: Big-Deal Bids That Changed the Company 14:08 – Acquisitions, Telco vs Retail & Entering the US Market 18:21 – Global Expansion Playbook: Organic vs Inorganic Growth in New Markets 19:20 – Hiring, Promotion & Spotting Leadership Potential in a High-Growth Company 23:49 – Should a CEO Be Hands-On With Product and Tech? 26:16 – What Is Affiliate Marketing Really? Payment Model, Publisher Types & Early Arbitrage 31:29 – Tracking Innovation: Awin’s MasterTag & the Evolution of Tech Partnerships 33:06 – Influencers, Retail Media & the Next Wave of Affiliate Growth 39:59 – Measuring Upper-Funnel Value & Paying Influencers Fairly 45:22 – AI Hype vs Reality: Awin’s AI Assistant “Ava” and Natural-Language Affiliate Campaigns 48:26 – Monetizing AI Shopping: Why CPA Beats CPC for AI Recommenders 50:41 – Company Culture, Remote Work & Building Trust at Scale 56:37 – Obsession, Continuous Learning & Using X/Twitter as a Learning Tool 58:28 – Parenting in the Age of Screens: Kids, YouTube, Money & Financial Literacy 1:05:43 – Dublin to London: Life, Family & Why London Still Feels Special 1:07:14 – Quickfire Round: Must-Have Apps, Imposter Syndrome, Leadership & Brand Opportunities

  • #1
    February 5 · 2 min

    Welcome to Marketing Over Milkshakes

    Marketing Over Milkshakes is the podcast that gets behind the job titles of some of the leading players in the affiliate and performance marketing space. This show explores the evolution of the affiliate sector, performance marketing, influencer partnerships and AI-driven commerce, helping ecommerce brands unlock one of the internet’s fastest-growing marketing channels. Bought to you by the team from award-winning specialist affiliate growth agency Revwise, each episode breaks down, in detail, how modern affiliate programs, publisher partnerships, TikTok Shop, creator commerce and data-driven e-comm strategies can drive scalable revenue and revolutionise brand growth. If you are looking to unlock the internet’s fastest growing marketing channel, connect with the team at RevWise https://revwise.com/

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