Tom Foulkes (Former McLaren Global Head of Brand): Why Attention Isn’t Enough — The Real Battle Is Memory

About this episode

Tom Foulkes discusses the importance of brand memory over mere attention in marketing.

What happens when a brand captures millions of views but still struggles to be remembered? In this episode of The Unified Brand Podcast , we sit down with Tom Foulkes , former Global Head of Brand at McLaren and now Managing Director at HBI, to explore one of the biggest misconceptions in modern marketing: the belief that attention equals brand growth. Tom shares insights from leading one of the world's most iconic brands and explains why marketers need to stop obsessing over likes, shares, and impressions—and start focusing on memory, recall, and meaningful brand experiences. We discuss: ✅ Why social media metrics can be misleading ✅ The difference between attention and memory ✅ What McLaren taught Tom about brand recall ✅ How brands can become memorable at the point of purchase ✅ The role of storytelling, semiotics, and cultural cues in branding ✅ Why consistency matters more than marketing trends ✅ Distinctiveness vs differentiation in crowded markets ✅ Global branding lessons from McLaren and professional services firms ✅ What the branding industry still gets wrong today If you're a founder, marketer, or business leader looking to build a brand that lasts—not just a campaign…

People in this episode

Host: Elements Brand Management

Guest: Tom Foulkes

Topics covered

• brand memory
• marketing misconceptions
• social media metrics
• brand recall
• storytelling in branding
• global branding lessons

Keywords

• brand growth
• attention vs memory
• marketing trends
• distinctiveness
• cultural cues

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: McLaren, HBI

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