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Smarter Marketer

Smarter Marketer

By: James Lawrence
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Hosted by James Lawrence - Co-Founder of Rocket Agency and B&T Marketer of the Year finalist, each episode features candid conversations with marketers, leaders and innovators on what’s really working in today’s fast-changing landscape. This is the definitive podcast for Australian Marketers.Copyright 2026 James Lawrence Career Success Economics Marketing Marketing & Sales
Episodes
  • 106. Digital Marketing in Australia in 2026 - Your Questions Answered w. Rocket Agency's Top Experts

    106. Digital Marketing in Australia in 2026 - Your Questions Answered w. Rocket Agency's Top Experts
    Mar 24 2026
    Episode Description: What would great marketing look like in Australia this year, especially when the rules are changing faster than most teams can keep up? In this episode, Rocket Agency’s top experts unpack the biggest shifts shaping digital marketing in 2026, from AI search and zero-click behaviour to rising costs, evolving content expectations and the growing importance of creative.Host James Lawrence discusses marketers’ most pressing questions with Mariano Di Lascio (Head of Digital), Joe Alder (Head of SEO), Leesa Mealing (Digital Creative Lead) and David Lawrence (MD). What follows is a practical, honest look at what’s working, what’s not and where marketers should be focusing next.Key Takeaways:Key trends shaping the Australian marketing landscape this yearIf zero-click search continues to grow, how should marketers measure SEO success differently?With AI-generated content flooding the internet, what does “good” content look like now?One AI use case that’s genuinely delivering ROI?With CPCs rising and competition intensifying, what are the first three levers you’d pull before increasing budget?If you’re leading marketing in 2026, what are you actually automating with AI, and what are you deliberately keeping human?LinkedIn for B2B: are most brands under-investing in creative, targeting, or measurement?Is the funnel broken or are marketers just running the same message at every stage?If you’re a lean team with limited budget, what’s the one channel and one capability you would prioritise this year?With Meta and Google controlling audience data, how much should brands invest in building owned channels right now?… and more pressing questions.Guests:Mariano Di Lascio leads a team of outstanding marketers at Rocket Agency across paid search and paid social channels. Together with the team, he has won some outstanding awards for client campaigns, including Best Integrated Campaign at APAC Search Awards, Best Integration of Search into Cross-Channel Marketing at Search Engine Land Awards and Best Integrated Campaign at Semrush Awards.Joe Alder is an award-winning SEO expert and has driven organic growth for global brands like Amazon, Coca-Cola, ANZ and Dulux through innovative strategies and data-driven insights. With over 20 industry award nominations, Joe is recognised as a leader in the field.Leesa Mealing is the Digital Creative Lead at Rocket, bringing over 15 years of experience across creative direction, art direction and design. She blends big-picture thinking with hands-on execution, shaping concepts while staying close to the work. Her background spans everything from branding and packaging to UI/UX, content and campaign production, and she’s just as comfortable leading a shoot as she is refining the details on screen.David Lawrence is the MD and Co-Founder of Rocket, an award-winning Australian full-service digital marketing agency. He is also the co-author of the Amazon #1 best-selling marketing book, Smarter Marketer. David has presented at several events, including Inbound Boston, Search Marketing Summit, Mumbrella360, CEO Institute, and various seminars and in-house sessions.Find Us Online:James Lawrence LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jameslawrenceoz/Smarter Marketer Website: https://rocketagency.com.au/smarter-marketer-podcastRocket Agency Website: https://rocketagency.com.au/Rocket Agency LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/rocket-agency-pty-ltd/Buy Smarter Marketer:Hardcover: https://amzn.to/30O63kgKindle: https://amzn.to/2ZqfCWmAbout the Podcast:This is the definitive podcast for Australian marketers. Join Rocket Agency Co-Founder and best-selling author, James Lawrence in conversation with marketers, leaders, and thinkers about what it takes to be a smarter and more successful marketer.
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    53 mins
  • 105. Building a Standout Brand in a “Boring” Category w. Cleancorp’s Lisa Macqueen

    105. Building a Standout Brand in a “Boring” Category w. Cleancorp’s Lisa Macqueen
    Mar 10 2026

    How do you market an ‘unglamorous’ business where your category doesn’t sell itself? And what does it take to build a brand that people trust and remember when your offering is not something buyers get excited about?

    Host James Lawrence sits down with Lisa Macqueen, CEO of Cleancorp, to unpack how she’s built one of Australia’s most respected service brands in one of the most commoditised categories there is - commercial cleaning. From personal branding and LinkedIn content that genuinely resonates, to building trust at scale through culture and customer experience, this conversation is a masterclass in doing the fundamentals exceptionally well.

    Key Takeaways:
    1. How to build brand influence in a “boring” industry where buyers see the service as a grudge purchase
    2. Why founder-led LinkedIn content can become one of the most effective marketing channels in B2B
    3. What happens when you deliberately position your brand differently from the rest of your category
    4. Why putting people at the centre of your marketing can strengthen both culture and client relationships
    5. The role authenticity plays in building trust with prospects before a sales conversation even begins
    6. How modern buyers research suppliers before they ever contact a company
    7. Why curiosity and experimentation are becoming essential traits for marketers in a fast-changing landscape


    Guest:

    Lisa Macqueen is the CEO of Cleancorp, a national commercial cleaning business servicing some of Australia’s most recognisable brands. With a background in sales and marketing across global hotel and resort businesses, Lisa brought a fundamentally different mindset into an industry long defined by commoditisation.

    Under her leadership, Cleancorp has grown into a people-first, values-led organisation, earning B Corp certification, national recognition as one of Australia’s best places to work and a reputation for doing things differently. Lisa is also a LinkedIn Top Voice, using her personal platform to share candid insights on building meaningful brands in unexpected places.

    You can follow Lisa on LinkedIn.


    Find Us Online:
    1. James Lawrence LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jameslawrenceoz/
    2. Smarter Marketer Website: https://rocketagency.com.au/smarter-marketer-podcast
    3. Rocket Agency Website: https://rocketagency.com.au/
    4. Rocket Agency LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/rocket-agency-pty-ltd/


    Buy Smarter Marketer:
    1. Hardcover: https://amzn.to/30O63kg
    2. Kindle: https://amzn.to/2ZqfCWm


    About the Podcast:

    This is the definitive podcast for Australian marketers. Join Rocket Agency Co-Founder and best-selling author, James Lawrence in conversation with marketers, leaders, and thinkers about what it takes to be a smarter and more successful marketer.
    Show more Show less
    42 mins
  • 104. B2B Marketing in 2026: Changing Buyer Groups, AI Search, Digital-First Audiences and More w. Green Hat’s Stuart Jaffray

    104. B2B Marketing in 2026: Changing Buyer Groups, AI Search, Digital-First Audiences and More w. Green Hat’s Stuart Jaffray
    Feb 24 2026

    If most B2B buyers already know who they’re going to choose before they even speak to sales, what does that mean for your B2B marketing strategy?

    In this episode of the Smarter Marketer Podcast, James Lawrence sits down with Stuart Jaffray, Managing Director of Green Hat, to unpack the latest findings from the APAC B2B Buyer Journey Research Report. With data from over 800 buyers across the region, the message is clear: the rhythm of B2B buying has changed under the current economic and technological conditions.

    Read Green Hat’s report: The APAC B2B Buyer Journey Research Report 2025

    Key Takeaways:
    1. What happens before a buyer speaks to sales, and why that’s where most decisions are actually made
    2. Why “demand generation” might really just be demand capture
    3. The changes in buying group size and timing, and what’s driving it
    4. How AI is accelerating first contact, even as buyers try to self-serve
    5. What a Millennial and Gen Z-led buying committee expects from your content
    6. Why ungating content is uncomfortable but increasingly necessary
    7. The one metric revenue teams should prioritise over MQLs


    Guest:

    Stuart Jaffray is the Managing Director of Green Hat, a specialist B2B marketing agency operating across the APAC region. He’s spent his career working at the intersection of brand, demand and revenue, helping complex organisations align marketing and sales around how buying decisions actually get made. Previously he has steered strategy and growth at global advertising giant Starcom and shaped premium brand experiences at BMW Australia, bringing a deep understanding of customer behaviour, brand positioning and commercial impact.

    With this blend of big-brand marketing and agency-led demand acceleration, Stuart brings a commercial and strategic lens to B2B growth.

    You can follow Stuart on LinkedIn.



    Find Us Online:
    1. James Lawrence LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jameslawrenceoz/
    2. Smarter Marketer Website: https://rocketagency.com.au/smarter-marketer-podcast
    3. Rocket Agency Website: https://rocketagency.com.au/
    4. Rocket Agency LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/rocket-agency-pty-ltd/


    Buy Smarter Marketer:
    1. Hardcover: https://amzn.to/30O63kg
    2. Kindle: https://amzn.to/2ZqfCWm


    About the Podcast:

    This is the definitive podcast for Australian marketers. Join Rocket Agency Co-Founder and best-selling author, James Lawrence in conversation with marketers, leaders, and thinkers about what it takes to be a smarter and more successful marketer.
    Show more Show less
    37 mins
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