Shelf Impactors™ Podcast SEASON 4 - EPISODE 3Green Washing Podcast Hosts: Lisa Hastings from SGKMark Grey from Blue Nectar Design Overview In this conversation, Mark and Lisa delve into the complexities of sustainability and greenwashing, exploring how brands communicate their environmental practices and the impact on consumer trust. They discuss the evolution of sustainability in marketing, the challenges of recycling, and the importance of transparency in brand communications. The conversation...
Jul 08, 2025•30 min•Season 4Ep. 3
Shelf Impactors™ Podcast - SEASON 4 - EPISODE 2 Embracing AI Podcast Hosts: Lisa Hastings from SGK Mark Grey from Blue Nectar Design Overview In this conversation, Lisa and Mark explore the evolving role of AI in the creative industry, discussing past fears, current tools, and future implications. They emphasize the importance of embracing AI as a collaborative tool rather than a replacement, while also addressing concerns about authenticity, job displacement, and the need for ongoing adaptation...
Jul 01, 2025•35 min•Season 4Ep. 2
Shelf Impactors™ Podcast - SEASON 4 - EPISODE 1 Big vs Small Design Agency – Which is Better? Podcast Hosts: Lisa Hastings from SGK (large global agency) Mark Grey from Blue Nectar Design (smaller, bespoke agency) Both Mark and Lisa have previously worked at a mid-sized agency that scaled up significantly over a 20 year period. In this first episode back heading into season 4, Mark and Lisa dive into the juicy subject of Big Agency vs Small Agency. Is growth inevitable? Mark and Lisa discuss the...
Jun 24, 2025•32 min•Season 4Ep. 1
#S3E16 Shelf Impactors™ Guest Episode - Anneli Hansson with Lisa Hastings Lisa has an extremely insightful conversation with Anneli Hansson, one of Sweden's top Brand Strategists, discussing how Anneli forged her own path within the world of strategy. KEY AREAS OF DISCUSSION: 1. HOW DID ANNELI GET INTO BRAND STRATEGY 2. THOUGHTS ON HOW THE DESIGN INDUSTRY AND CLIENTS ARE EMBRACING STRATEGISTS NOW MORE THAN EVER. --------------------------------- Anneli Hansson: Website - wwww.annelihansson.com E...
Nov 28, 2023•41 min
#S3E15 Shelf Impactors™ 'Wanna be a Freelancer?' with Mark Grey and Lisa Hastings. SO YOU'RE THINKING ABOUT TURNING FREELANCE? Mark and Lisa unpick what it is to be freelance designer, discussing the highs and the lows. 1. WHAT IS A FREELANCER? - What does it the term mean to Mark and Lisa? 2. EXPERIENCES OF BOTH BEING AND USING FREELANCERS - Mark and Lisa share their experiences of the world of Freelancers 3. JUGGLING FREELANCE WORK AND YOUR OWN CLIENT WORK - Mark discusses how he manages both ...
Sep 22, 2023•44 min
#S3E14 Shelf Impactors™ Guest Episode - Chris Do with Lisa Hastings Lisa catches up with one of our favourite globe trotting guests Chris Do. Following on from our Shelf Impactors convo with Chris (2 years ago!), Lisa grabs a quick update chat in with Chris discussing what's he's up to right now and his thoughts around: KEY AREAS OF DISCUSSION: 1. WHAT CHRIS BEEN UP TO SINCE WE LAST SPOKE? 2. BEING VULNERABLE Is being vulnerable essential in todays world to connect with people better? Can we be ...
Aug 15, 2023•37 min
#S3E13 Shelf Impactors™ 'Chat GPT - Where are we going?' with Mark Grey and Lisa Hastings. CHAT GPT What is it? What have we tried? What is it good for? Will it remove the role of writers, researchers? Smart answer no - it is just a tool. 1. HAVE WE ADOPTED CHAT GPT YET? - Are we seeing a place for it in the creative tool box - How are we using it right now? 2. THE SOCIAL GENERATIONS OF THE WESTERN WORLD - As 'Gen Z' are likely to be the power used of this technology from the outset, just who ar...
May 23, 2023•26 min
#S3E12 Shelf Impactors™ 'Creative Culture Trends for 2023 and beyond' with Mark Grey and Lisa Hastings. CULTURE TRENDS Shelf Impactors like to look forwards and see what is inspiring the design world. This time Mark and Lisa talk culture. 1. NEW REALITIES… - The rise of Meta - how credible will this space become? - Will we all be living in a Meta world soon - as tech immersion advances we see this new phase of 'phygital' - physical meets digital. 2. CREATOR COMMUNITIES - Creatives are ever curio...
Mar 11, 2023•45 min
#S3E11 Shelf Impactors™ 'Food and Drinks Trends for 2023 and beyond' with Mark Grey and Lisa Hastings. BRAND NEW YEAR - Means BRAND NEW Trends... Mark and Lisa discuss what they're anticipating and noticing in the world Foods and Drinks for the coming year: 1. SPACE FOOD - To infinity and beyond - What will be we packing in our outer galactic hampers? 2. CBD products - Will we see the CBD drinks grow in the NO/LOW Category 3. FOOD AND DRINK BRANDS IN THE METAVERSE - Pixel flavour?! - How will vi...
Feb 04, 2023•39 min
#S3E10 Shelf Impactors™ Guest Episode - John Dalziel with Lisa Hastings Lisa takes the reigns in this podcast episode and is joined by the inspiring guest, Marketing Strategist - John Dalziel We all want to BE BRAVE From creatives coming up with the wackiest ideas - social media wanting us all to be GAME CHANGERS - Businesses saying they think and act Brave. 1. BRAVERY Define... 2. ARE YOU BRAVE? Lisa and John discuss their brave moments! 3. ARE BRANDS LOSING THIER BRAVE HEART? In the middle of ...
Jan 09, 2023•44 min
#S3E09 Shelf Impactors™ 'November Challenge Update' with Mark Grey and Lisa Hastings. 1. NOVEMBER CHALLENGE UPDATE - Lisa and Mark discuss their challenges for November and how they're tracking: • Mark - Carnivore diet for the month (AGAIN!) and 1x30 minute sketch per day (based on our word of the day)! • Lisa - Cold showers daily for the month and 1x15 minutes per day creative writing (based on our word of the day)! 2. FOOD TRENDS FOR 2023 (Setting the scene for the next podcast) Mark and Lisa ...
Nov 21, 2022•39 min
#S3E08 Shelf Impactors™ 'Design Awards - are they worth it?' with Mark Grey and Lisa Hastings. 1. OUR THOUGHTS ON DESIGN INDUSTRY AWARDS - Do they favour big names over boutique design houses? 2. WHY ARE DESGIN AWARDS IMPORTANT? - Do they add value to the designer/ agency 3. WHY WE SHOULD NOT DESIGN JUST FOR AWARDS - Unproductive approach to design brief - Compromised goals 4. NOVEMBER CHALLENGE - Mark and Lisa define their challenges for the month of November --------------------------------- S...
Oct 17, 2022•36 min
#S3E07 Shelf Impactors™ Guest Episode - Matt Essam with Lisa Hastings How to market yourself as a creative and win those dream clients! KEY AREAS OF DISCUSSION: SALES AND MARKETING (For Creative Agencies) 1. DEFINITIONS Marketing, Sales, Branding, let’s just pull them apart - why they need each other to survive. 2. A BIT DEEPER Freelance v Agency - what is holding great talent back from attracting new clients? Is it just about winning business, earning the most money, doing great work - and how ...
Sep 26, 2022•52 min
#S3E06 Shelf Impactors™ 'Creative Networking - Do's and Don'ts' with Mark Grey and Lisa Hastings. 1. HOW IMPORTANT IS NETWORKING IN OUR INDUSTRY? – What does networking mean to us – What are our experiences 2. BUILDING YOU CURRENT NETWORK – How to keep you network informed, interested and engaged – Our advice on network building 3. QUALITY OVER QUANTITY – When first starting to build a network - how do you chose between quality over quantity? 4. 5 KEY WAYS TO NETWORK - Some insights and recommen...
Aug 18, 2022•41 min
#S3E05 Shelf Impactors™ 'I want it NOW!' with Mark Grey and Lisa Hastings. 1. THE WORLD OF NOW!… - Digital shopping is getting faster and more targeted - Digital commerce continuously adapting - Shopping within social media - The impact - death of the Highstreet, buy now pay later 2. CONNECTED TV! - TV shows using shoppable content - linking viewers to retailers via onscreen prompts - Could services like Netflix look to offer on-screen buying. 4. MAKE IT EASY AND PEOPLE WILL BUY - In consumer te...
Jul 06, 2022•42 min
#S3E04 Shelf Impactors™ Guest Episode with Simon Dixon - DixonBaxi with Lisa Hastings How to Inspire Optimism and Change Mindsets KEY AREAS OF DISCUSSION: 1. DIXONBAXI STUDIO LIFE The studio and the work beyond it... 2. CREATIVE SAVES THE WORLD Thinking beyond what exists, pushing through the uncomfortable, where you don’t know what the answer is - are the most exciting or rewarding down the line. Do you think Creativity saves the world? What got you into the industry - and what are you aiming t...
Jun 13, 2022•45 min
#S3E03 Shelf Impactors™ 'Agency Adaption' with Mark Grey and Lisa Hastings. 1. AGENCIES ADAPTING TO CHANGE - Are Design/ Creative Agencies adapting and changing to serve the new world or working for their teams - What do you offer your teams - - Are talent pools being lost/ losing out due to industry inconsistencies? - What can agencies offer to entice teams back into the workplace 2. IS THERE A RIGHT OR WRONG WAY? - What are our experiences of this over last two years since Covid - What would l...
May 20, 2022•48 min
#S3E02 Shelf Impactors™ 'Mindfulness 2.0' with Mark Grey and Lisa Hastings. Mark and Lisa reach back 3 years to when they last spoke about Mindfulness (S1EP09). They cover some old ground and discuss if their perceptions have changed on some of the key focusses for Mindfulness: SLEEP, NUTRITION, DAILY ROUTINES, RESEARCH/ READING, & MENTORS! 1. MINDFULNESS 2.0 - Have you attitudes changed? Has the Pandemic caused us to overthink? - Is Mindfullness now taking away our productivity? - POST PAND...
Mar 29, 2022•44 min
#S3E01 Shelf Impactors™ Guest Episode with Alexis Vera - VP Creative & Strategy at SGK with Lisa Hastings - The Metaverse. The Metaverse supports a whole new virtual economy - for businesses as well as driving connection - between friends, families - getting better connected across global spaces. KEY AREAS OF DISCUSSION: 1. INTO THE METAVERSE - This is a term that has been gaining traction - let’s break it down (both have our definitions) 2. WHY IS THE METAVERSE IMPORTANT? - The metaverse is...
Mar 08, 2022•39 min
#S3E00 Shelf Impactors™ 'SEASON 3 - Introduction' with Mark Grey and Lisa Hastings Welcome to Shelf Impactors™ Podcast Season 3 --------------------------------- Shelf Impactors™ Podcast: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/shelf-impactors Lisa Hastings: Website - www.lisahastings.me Twitter - @shoebox20 Instagram - @shoebox20 LinkedIn - Lisa Hastings Mark Grey: Website - www.bluenectardesign.co.uk Twitter - @bluenectar LinkedIn - Mark Grey
Mar 08, 2022•1 min
#S2E25 Shelf Impactors™ Guest Episode with Alexis Vera - VP Creative & Strategy at SGK Another great Guest Episode - Lisa hosting solo and talking to the vivacious Alex Vera about current upcoming trends within the beverage/ drinks sector KEY AREAS OF DISCUSSION: 1. SOBRIETY - Rise in non drink drinking (how will this play out when we go back to socialising) 2. INNOVATION - How do we celebrate this return to humanity and connection - innovation in drink space? 3. HEALTHY FIXING - linked to S...
Jan 06, 2022•39 min
#S2E24 Shelf Impactors™ '2021 Round Up - Blurred Lines' with Mark Grey and Lisa Hastings Our brief round - up for 2021 KEY AREAS OF DISCUSSION: 1. LIFE CATCH UPS - WFH Blues? Missing the studio vibes! 2. STAND OUT DESIGN PROJECTS FOR 2021 3. DESIGN AGENCIES WORKING OUT HOW BEST TO COMMUNICATE INTERNALLY - How are design agencies communicating internally in the newish age of remote working who's doing it best and how? 4. PLANS FOR 2022 - New Shelf Impactors pod plan underway with new structure an...
Jan 04, 2022•44 min
#S2E23 Shelf Impactors™ Guest Episode with Mr Goodvertising Thomas Kolster It’s another guest episode - Acclaimed Ted speaker and Change Activator Thomas Kolster joins us fresh from a Panel Debate on Purpose & Sustainability for Brands. Author of The Hero Trap (available at thomaskolster.com) joins Lisa to discuss the role of Purpose and Branding. KEY AREAS OF DISCUSSION: 1. BRAND PURPOSE - We’re all striving for purpose - what is it, do brands need one to make change happen? 2. THE HERO TRA...
Nov 16, 2021•49 min
#S2E22 Shelf Impactors™ 'Mark and Lisa's, 'Who What and Why'' with Mark Grey and Lisa Hastings This one's is ALL ABOUT US! KEY AREAS OF DISCUSSION: 1. WHO ARE WE 2. WHAT ARE WE ABOUT 2. WHY ARE WE DOING THIS WHO - Is Mark Grey/Lisa Hastings WHAT - Do we do - where did we start and what do we position ourselves as now WHY would anyone care - do we have some mighty big scary goals Squiggly careers What have been some of our challenges? What are we scared of, or passionate about? ------------------...
Oct 29, 2021•55 min
#S2E21 Shelf Impactors™ 'Digital & Sustainability' with Lisa Hastings and guest Richard Gearing DIGITAL SUSTAINABILITY --------------------------------- Lisa Hastings: Website - www.lisahastings.me Twitter - @shoebox20 Instagram - @shoebox20 LinkedIn - Lisa Hastings Richard Gearing Website - LinkedIn - Richard Gearing Mark Grey: Website - www.bluenectardesign.co.uk Twitter - @bluenectar LinkedIn - Mark Grey
Sep 30, 2021•39 min
#S2E20 Shelf Impactors™ 'Heroes Mentors and Influencers' with Mark Grey and Lisa Hastings MENTORS & INFLUENCERS We live in a world where online education is abundant, we all have influences in our careers, do we have life coaches too? Should we. Let’s talk about who you go to for inspiration, who has shaped and influenced your career to date? The villains are in there to - who pushed you where you did not want to go? KEY AREAS OF DISCUSSION: People in our lives/ careers who have influenced u...
Aug 05, 2021•53 min
#S2E19 Shelf Impactors™ 'Interview with Chris Do - Founder of The Futur' with Mark Grey and Lisa Hastings In this fantastic episode we have another great guest on the pod - the great Chris Do. As well as being the owner of thousands of cool caps, Chris is an Emmy award-winning designer, director, CEO and Chief Strategist of Blind and also the founder of The Futur — an extremely successful online education platform with the big hairy audacious goal and mission of teaching 1 billion people how to ...
Jun 10, 2021•1 hr
#S2E18 Shelf Impactors™ 'What's in a Job Title' with Mark Grey and Lisa Hastings Do you own what you do? There are a LOT of random titles used now especially in our industry - are you an Educator, an Innovator, a Creative Director, a Strategist, a Digital Guru… does it matter in a world where FLEXIBILITY and SKILLING UP are crucial to survival? KEY AREAS OF DISCUSSION: 1. EXPERIENCE v TITLE The big debate - what is your title, what does it mean to you? Is it different in different companies? Wha...
Apr 12, 2021•47 min
#S2E17 Shelf Impactors™ 'Passion and Purpose' with Mark Grey and Lisa Hastings 2020 saw the rise of side hustles - people forced to do alternatives to survive. Bold Pivots and Purpose In a year when many of our passions were banned, stalled or cancelled (think gym/events/getting together/travel) why passion is more important, and your purpose. KEY AREAS OF DISCUSSION: 1. PASSION - Creatives are pretty passionate - envied by many - but does our passion become our burnout? - What are our passions,...
Feb 26, 2021•53 min
#S2E16 Shelf Impactors™ 'WTF... 2020' with Mark Grey and Lisa Hastings RIP 2020 - Mark and Lisa recap the year of Shelf Impactors and focus on Brands & Innovation for the future. KEY AREAS OF DISCUSSION: 1. TRANSPARANCY - The year where consumers demanded the truth, honest brands and relevancy. 2. SUSTAINABILITY - A growth area that may have been placed to one side momentarily but something every consumer is very conscious of and shows strong interest flowing into 2021 3. VIRTUAL ECONOMIES -...
Dec 28, 2020•43 min
