This time on Pipeline Brew, host Matt Hummel sits down with Laura Goodey, Founder & Partner of Story & Tellers, to explore her marketing journey and what led her to start her own agency. With over two decades of prior experience advising global powerhouses like Oracle, Riverbed, and Vodafone, Laura has always placed audience understanding at the core of her strategies. She dismantles the outdated "content is king" approach, arguing instead that true marketing excellence emerges from deep empathy and genuine connection with your users.
This time on Pipeline Brew, host Matt Hummel sits down with Laura Goodey, Founder & Partner of Story & Tellers, to explore her marketing journey and what led her to start her own agency. With over two decades of prior experience advising global powerhouses like Oracle, Riverbed, and Vodafone, Laura has always placed audience understanding at the core of her strategies. She dismantles the outdated "content is king" approach, arguing instead that true marketing excellence emerges from deep empathy and genuine connection with your users.
Laura’s philosophy emphasizes the critical importance of creative boldness and strategic flexibility, encouraging marketers to assert their value within organizational structures. Her unique agency model, Story & Tellers, stands out by pairing teams tailored to each of their clients’ specific needs. Laura and Matt also explore topics such as the dynamic between brand and demand marketing, and how modern marketers can create strategies to cut through the noise.
Laura’s story serves as both a practical guide and an inspirational call to action for marketing professionals seeking to elevate their craft beyond mere transactional interactions. Stay tuned in to hear where Laura loves to travel and her advice for those wanting to explore Berkshire, England.
—
Guest Bio
Laura Goodey, Founder and Partner of Story & Tellers, brings over 20 years of expertise to her role as a strategic marketing partner for B2B businesses. Her impressive client roster included global giants like Oracle, Riverbed, and Vodafone. Laura's passion for marketing, which began during her college years, blends her fascination with people, art, and storytelling to craft powerful marketing strategies.
At the heart of Laura's innovative approach lies empathy-based marketing, where she places customer and audience insights at the forefront of her work. This method allows her to create resonant campaigns that truly connect with target audiences.
—
Guest Quotes
“ People were often told over time that content is king, but it absolutely isn't. The audience is and always will be king. They've really got a choice whether they engage with you and it's up to us to make the messaging interesting, relevant, and valuable enough for them to think about what it is that the client's trying to say. And also, you're not competing with your competitors. You're really competing with all of life. So the tasks that people have got to do, the problems that they have, all the things that are bringing them fear and worry, joy and happiness in their life. And I think once that clicks and you realize how precious that attention is, you really understand the scale of the task at hand.”
“ The noise is increasing, unfortunately. In terms of what's driving it, obviously technology is a huge factor. It's been a gift in a lot of ways, but a big by-product has been this urge for everybody to just talk and talk and talk. When actually what they need to be doing is to connect to their audience in a more meaningful way to understand them.”
“ I think businesses do have a lot of stories to tell. They've got stories about their purpose, stories about what they can do. [Stories] of their customers, their people, what makes them different. So it really feels like an area where clients do need the most help.”
—
Time Stamps
00:00 - Episode Start
01:00 - Ice Breaker
03:21 - Laura’s Background
05:42 - Audience is king
07:15 - The art of collaboration
09:35 - Be bold
12:02 - The origin of Story & Tellers
14:49 - Adjusting to the world around you
16:40 - Why you can't solve market noise by just shouting louder
20:08 - Empathy based marketing
22:46 - Brand vs. Demand
27:36 - Advice for organizations wanting to leverage an agency
28:55 - What's on Tap
—
Links