In this episode of Mind Your Business, David Pawsey sits down with branding strategist and marketing expert Sandra Peat for a deep dive into brand behaviour, customer experience, leadership, AI, and personal resilience.

Sandra shares insights from working with global brands including Red Bull, Grey Goose, Bacardi and Mars, while also opening up about rebuilding her career after breast cancer.

In This Episode

What is “Brand Behaviour”?

Sandra explains how modern branding goes far beyond logos and marketing campaigns. True brand strength comes from how a business behaves internally and externally.

Key themes include:

• Knowing exactly why your business exists
• Understanding who you serve
• Creating consistency between internal culture and external messaging
• Building communities, not just audiences

“Your brand is the experience people have of your business.”

Why Community Matters More Than Audience

A major discussion point is the shift from chasing audiences to building communities.

Sandra explains:

• Small businesses grow faster through advocacy and word of mouth
• “Fire starters” within your community can create disproportionate impact
• Smaller marketing budgets often force better creativity and clearer thinking

This section is packed with practical advice for founders, marketers and growing businesses trying to stand out without massive ad spend.

The Red Bull Branding Masterclass

Sandra shares behind-the-scenes insight from her time working with Red Bull and why the brand became such a global success.

Topics covered include:

• The genius of “Red Bull Gives You Wings”
• Aligning product truth with brand truth
• Building a company culture that fully embodies the brand
• Why Red Bull evolved into a media company, not just an energy drink business
• The power of owning events, content and communities

This is an especially valuable section for anyone interested in:

• Brand strategy
• Sponsorship marketing
• Content ecosystems
• Culture-led growth

Founder-Led Brands & Losing the Magic

David and Sandra explore why many founder-led businesses lose their identity after acquisition.

Using examples including:

• KIND Snacks
• Mars
• Coca-Cola

They discuss:

• Why founder vision creates momentum
• How large corporations often dilute brand culture
• The challenge of preserving authenticity at scale

AI, Marketing & Human Connection

One of the most thought-provoking parts of the episode focuses on AI and customer experience.

Sandra discusses:

• How AI can improve efficiency and personalisation
• The dangers of outsourcing empathy
• Why governance matters when using AI in customer service
• The importance of maintaining “cognitive sovereignty” and critical thinking

David shares examples of AI-generated LinkedIn comments and chatbot frustrations, leading to a wider conversation around:

• Authenticity
• Human interaction
• Emotional intelligence
• The future of communication

Featured brands discussed include:

• Klarna
• Starlink

Sandra’s Personal Story: Cancer, Recovery & Reinvention

Sandra also speaks candidly about:

• Being diagnosed with breast cancer in 2022
• Returning to work too early
• Redundancy during recovery
• Reinventing her career and priorities

This powerful section explores:

• Burnout and identity
• Health versus career
• Portfolio careers
• Redefining success

Leadership, Wellness & High Performance

The episode finishes with a fascinating discussion around:

• Meditation
• Journaling
• Walking meetings
• Yoga and strength training
• Sauna and cold-water immersion
• Nature and creativity

Sandra shares her daily routine and explains why mindfulness is essential for modern leaders navigating stress, pressure and constant digital distraction.

Key Takeaways

• Strong brands are built through behaviour, not slogans
• Community creates long-term growth
• Founder-led businesses often have stronger cultural clarity
• AI should enhance humanity, not replace it
• Customer experience depends on empathy and listening
• Wellness practices can directly improve leadership and creativity

Connect with Sandra Peat

Sandra recommends connecting with her on LinkedIn to learn more about:

• Brand behaviour consultancy
• Executive coaching
• Marketing strategy
• Leadership development

Ben’s work spans an incredible range of environments, from helping elite athletes perform under pressure to supporting business leaders, football teams and prisoners with mindset, breathwork and resilience.

David and Ben explore the science and psychology behind cold water therapy, why doing hard things can unlock confidence, and how discomfort can bring teams closer together. Ben also shares powerful insights from his work in prisons, where he uses breathwork, movement, journaling and cold water immersion to support mental health, emotional regulation and rehabilitation.

They also discuss Ben’s Crawley roots, his work with local football clubs including Crawley Town and Three Bridges, and why connection, vulnerability and small everyday interactions can have a much bigger impact than we realise.

A fascinating conversation about resilience, pressure, recovery, community and what it really means to help people.

In this episode, we cover:

Ben’s journey from personal trainer to performance coach

The benefits of cold water immersion for body and mind

Why elite athletes and business leaders both need mental resilience

How ice baths can strengthen team bonds Ben’s work supporting prisoners through wellbeing programmes

The importance of breathwork, movement and emotional regulation

What businesses can learn from sport, pressure and discomfort

Listen now on YouTube, Spotify and all major podcast platforms.

From the struggle to secure funding to the importance of testing an idea before investing too heavily, Fiona shares practical insight drawn from years of supporting startups across the UK. She explains why many founders hit the same obstacles regardless of location, what investors are really looking for, and why passion alone is not enough to build a sustainable business.

The conversation also dives into the unique barriers women founders still face, including confidence gaps, access to investment and the constant balancing act between business and family life. Fiona reflects on her own career journey too, including a difficult period working in South Africa and what that experience taught her about resilience, culture and finding where you truly belong.

This is an honest, thoughtful conversation about entrepreneurship, growth, leadership and the realities behind building a business in a changing world.

What you’ll hear in this episode

• Why access to funding remains one of the biggest challenges for startups
• The difference between grants, loans and angel investment
• Why founders need to validate demand before scaling
• Common mistakes that cause promising businesses to stall
• How to test a business idea quickly and affordably
• Why women founders often face extra barriers in business
• The role confidence, childcare and culture play in leadership
• Fiona’s personal story of career challenges, resilience and returning to the UK
• Why in-person connection and business communities still matter

Key takeaway

A great idea is not enough on its own. The businesses most likely to succeed are the ones that understand their customer, test demand early, plan properly for growth and stay adaptable when conditions change.

About the guest

Fiona Anderson is the Innovation Director at the Crawley Innovation Centre and also works independently as a consultant and mentor for early-stage businesses. With experience supporting startups across multiple regions and sectors, Fiona brings practical, grounded insight into funding, growth strategy and the realities of entrepreneurship.

Connect and learn more

To find out more about Fiona’s work and the support available through the Crawley Innovation Centre, connect with her on LinkedIn.

Follow Mind Your Business

If you enjoyed this episode, follow Mind Your Business on YouTube, Spotify and all major podcast platforms for more conversations with people from different industries sharing the challenges they’ve faced and how they’ve progressed in their careers.

Produced by deepsocial

deepsocial helps businesses create podcasts and turn each episode into a full content campaign, including blogs, whitepapers, LinkedIn posts, videos, shorts and more.

From journalism and copywriting to building the cult-favourite Bad Boy Running podcast, Jody shares how doing things differently helped him create a loyal audience and shape a distinctive approach to brand strategy.

A standout moment in the episode is Jody’s take on launching his book, How to Start a Cult. Rather than following a standard formula, he took inspiration from an unlikely source — Cliff Richard and the idea of the Christmas number one — turning the launch into a themed, community-powered campaign that rallied people behind it and made the whole thing feel like an event.

The conversation also digs into Jody’s refreshing view of marketing: that the most effective marketing is not bland, polished or designed to please everyone. It works best when it’s authentic, clear in what it stands for, and divisive enough to attract the right people while putting off the wrong ones. In Jody’s world, trying to appeal to everyone is usually the fastest route to being ignored.

David and Jody explore how Bad Boy Running grew by embracing humour, in-jokes, honesty and a clear set of shared beliefs — proving that strong communities are built less on constant content and more on consistency, identity and connection.

What you’ll hear in this episode

How Jody moved from journalism into brand strategy and challenger-brand messaging

The origins of Bad Boy Running and why its rough-around-the-edges style helped it stand out

Why strong positioning matters more than trying to please everyone

How authenticity and a willingness to be polarising can make marketing far more effective

What most brands get wrong about community building

The story behind Jody’s book launch and the unexpected Cliff Richard-inspired strategy behind it

Why consistency builds trust more than polished perfection ever will

How bold brands create belonging by being clear about who they are — and who they’re not for

Key takeaway

This episode is a reminder that great marketing doesn’t come from playing it safe. It comes from knowing what you stand for, saying it clearly, and building something people genuinely want to belong to.

Memorable theme from the episode

The best marketing is authentic and a little divisive.

Not because controversy is the goal but because clarity is. When you stop trying to win everyone over, you make it much easier for the right people to find you, trust you and champion what you do.

Links mentioned

How To Start A Cult | Build A Cult Brand | Home

https://howtostartacult.co.uk/

Bad Boy Running | Podcast and Community

https://badboyrunning.com/

The conversation also digs into Jody’s refreshing view of marketing: that the most effective marketing is not bland, polished or designed to please everyone. It works best when it’s authentic, clear in what it stands for, and divisive enough to attract the right people while putting off the wrong ones. In Jody’s world, trying to appeal to everyone is usually the fastest route to being ignored.

David and Jody explore how Bad Boy Running grew by embracing humour, in-jokes, honesty and a clear set of shared beliefs — proving that strong communities are built less on constant content and more on consistency, identity and connection.

What you’ll hear in this episode

• How Jody moved from journalism into brand strategy and challenger-brand messaging
• The origins of Bad Boy Running and why its rough-around-the-edges style helped it stand out
• Why strong positioning matters more than trying to please everyone
• How authenticity and a willingness to be polarising can make marketing far more effective
• What most brands get wrong about community building
• The story behind Jody’s book launch and the unexpected Cliff Richard-inspired strategy behind it
• Why consistency builds trust more than polished perfection ever will
• How bold brands create belonging by being clear about who they are — and who they’re not for

Key takeaway

This episode is a reminder that great marketing doesn’t come from playing it safe. It comes from knowing what you stand for, saying it clearly, and building something people genuinely want to belong to.

Memorable theme from the episode

The best marketing is authentic and a little divisive.

Not because controversy is the goal but because clarity is. When you stop trying to win everyone over, you make it much easier for the right people to find you, trust you and champion what you do.

Links mentioned

• How to Start a Cult
• Bad Boy Running
• Jody’s resources and framework via his website