The Internal Comms Podcast

Episode 45 – Sharing the magic

The life and career of this week’s guest has been a literal roller coaster.

Mark Webb fell into PR and media relations by chance, after spotting a job ad for the new Eurodisney theme park (later Disneyland Paris) while on his way to work another season as a ski rep.

His impulsive decision to apply for that post has shaped much of the following 30 years.

After experiencing the famous Disney magic as an A-list guest liaison, escorting the likes of Michael Jackson around the park, Mark took that sense of excitement with him into more conventional comms roles with David Lloyd Leisure and Dixons Carphone.

It was as Head of Group Social Media for Dixons that he embraced and mastered the power of Twitter as a comms tool to humanise a brand. But it was during those same years that he was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis.

Adopting an overwhelmingly positive attitude, Mark resolved to live life to the full, whatever MS throws at him.

Now Head of Comms at Shift.ms – a charity and social network for MSers – Mark is a public speaker and tireless campaigner, raising funds and awareness about this progressively debilitating condition.

We guarantee you’ll be entertained, touched and inspired by his conversation with Katie, although ‘inspiring’ and ‘inspirational’ are terms Mark would rather you didn’t use to describe him. Re-Mark-able, perhaps?

If you have any thoughts or comments on this episode, please share them using the hashtag #TheICPodcast. And make sure you’re following us @abthinks

Jump to

More of a meander: Mark’s unconventional route into comms [04:32]

Caught up in the magic: lessons from Disney on how to develop a world-class brand [12:09]

Formative experiences: crisis management and early Twitter adoption [15:59]

Numbness, confusion, acceptance: dealing with an MS diagnosis [21:10]

Finding the positives in a degenerative disease [26:08]

No guilty cheque: Dixons Carphone’s empathetic response to Mark’s condition [29:36]

“Tweet in your own voice”: how Mark netted his CEO a huge Twitter following [32:49]

The power of LinkedIn: how an online eulogy went viral [39:09]

A social network for good: Mark’s work with Shift.ms [42:17]

Interesting and authentic: the building blocks of a successful online support community [47:10]

Inspiration porn: battling lazy and negative perceptions of disability [48:54]

We could be more coherent: strategies for amplifying the voice of the disabled community [54:30]

Born lucky: how living with MS has affected Mark’s outlook on life [59:03]

Control what you can control: advice for the anxious [1:02:31]

Quickfire questions [1:07:25]

Links from this episode

Connect with Mark on Twitter, Instagram and LinkedIn

Read his blog, One Man and His Catheters

Learn more about his charity work with Shift.ms

Watch the two Shift.ms films Mark mentions in this episode: Gallop and Sidecar

Listen to Tim Harford’s podcast More or Less

Read Michael J Fox’s three autobiographies: Lucky Man, Always Looking Up, and No Time Like the Future: An Optimist Considers Mortality

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The highlight reel – nuggets of wisdom from Season 1 and 2 of The IC Podcast

January 29, 2020

Since the launch of The Internal Comms Podcast, host Katie Macaulay has interviewed more than 20 fascinating guests from the world of IC and beyond. Now, as we gear up for Season ...

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Episode 20 – Advocacy in action

December 18, 2019

Katie’s guest this week is Keith Lewis, UK Social Media and Social Business Manager for Zurich Insurance – one of the world’s largest insurance groups with 55,000 employees i...

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Episode 19 – The appliance of neuroscience

December 4, 2019

Katie Macaulay’s guest this week is a neuroscientist with extensive experience in the field of organisational change. Hilary Scarlett began studying the brain in 2009 after read...

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Episode 18 – Editing organisations

November 20, 2019

In this episode we get up close and personal with someone who helps improve the way we communicate at work. Mike Klein worked as a political consultant in the US, but for the past...

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Episode 17 – Black Belt Thinking

November 6, 2019

As individuals, this week’s guests have impressive CVs. Sue Dewhurst is an experienced internal communicator who, for many years, has been training and coaching thousands of lea...

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Episode 16 – A Passage to India

October 23, 2019

With this podcast now reaching listeners in 50 countries worldwide, host Katie Macaulay has chosen to go international for this episode. Her guest is creative services entrepreneu...

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Episode 15 – The Power of Two

October 8, 2019

This week, Katie meets Claire Hyde and Louise Wadman, joint heads of IC at KPMG UK. Possibly the most senior IC job share in the country, Claire and Louise have more than 45 years...

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Episode 14 – How to start a movement

September 24, 2019

Katie’s guest this episode is Nita Clarke – whose services to employee engagement have earned her an OBE from the Queen. Nita has a long and fascinating career. She co-authore...

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Episode 13 – A check-up with the IC doctor

September 11, 2019

The Internal Comms Podcast is back with a new series of fortnightly conversations with leading lights from the world of internal communications, engagement and leadership. AB Mana...

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Season 02 Trailer

September 6, 2019

Season two of The Internal Comms Podcast is almost here!

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Episode 12 – Listen and learn: insights from 30 years in IC

July 24, 2019

In this extra special bonus episode of The Internal Comms Podcast, the tables are turned on Katie as she takes the spotlight as an interviewee. Posing the searching questions is J...

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Episode 11 – Putting the soul back into Patisserie Valerie

June 25, 2019

For this special bonus episode of The IC Podcast, Katie interviewed Paolo Peretti, Managing Retail Director of Patisserie Valerie, in front of a live audience at AB Thinks Live, ou...

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Episode 10 – Internal comms at the sharp end - recorded at IoIC live

May 21, 2019

For the final episode of season one, Katie Macaulay travels to Bath for IoIC Live and interviews two of the conference’s speakers, Martin Fitzpatrick and Matt Batten. Both Marti...

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Episode 09 – How to win colleagues and influence people

May 7, 2019

Social influencer marketing is a new and rapidly growing means of getting your message out to your audience. It’s changed the face of advertising and has everyone from up-to-the-...

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Episode 08 – The Joy of Work

April 23, 2019

Katie’s guest this week is an extremely versatile communicator. In his day job as European Vice President of Twitter, Bruce Daisley has overseen the development of one of the wor...

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Episode 07 – What social purpose (really) means

April 9, 2019

Running the UK’s largest retail and financial services network with more branches than all of the UK’s banks and building societies put together, the Post Office is at the hear...

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Episode 06 – The craft of communication

March 27, 2019

In episode six, Katie travels beyond the boundaries of internal comms to find out how to write more engagingly, tell better stories and use humour to deliver your message. And who ...

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Episode 05 – Learning comms lessons from PR

March 13, 2019

In episode five, Katie aims to find out what internal communications can learn from external communications. So she sits down with ‘mister public relations’, Stephen Waddington...

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Episode 04 – What it means to be the voice of IC

February 27, 2019

The Institute of Internal Communication (IoIC) is the voice of the IC profession – dedicated to strengthening confidence, credibility and community. And on 12 March, the IoIC cel...

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Episode 03 – What the State of the Sector report means for IC

February 13, 2019

Episode three lands as Gatehouse’s latest State of the Sector report is published. Katie invites Jenni Field, a tireless, high-profile personality of the IC landscape, to discus...

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Episode 02 – What it takes to be an IC leader

January 30, 2019

Even if you’re only vaguely familiar with internal communications, Katie’s guest in episode two will no doubt be a name you recognise. In a career spanning 30 years, Russell G...

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Episode 01 – How to thrive in IC

January 16, 2019

In the first episode of The Internal Comms Podcast, Katie meets Rachel Miller – a prolific blogger, educator, keynote speaker and one of the most respected voices in internal com...

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Trailer

January 11, 2019

An introduction to the new Internal Comms Podcast.

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