Helen Saul, European Brand Manager at lastminute.com, and a graduate of French and Management (2014), has recently launched a Marketing podcast which has gone global.

Mad Influence interviews experts from the Marketing industry who use their power for good, and Helen has spoken to a variety of influential people who are all creating positive communications and contributing to social change.

Since launch, Mad Influence has hosted people from diverse backgrounds aged 25-78 years old. Helen has interviewed guests ranging from the Head of Communications at UN Women, to the director of an agency dedicated to including people with disabilities in more campaigns.

Creating the podcast has given Helen the chance to connect with listeners in over 25 countries and interview some guests that she was inspired by during her Lancaster days. As an undergraduate doing an advertising module, she studied the critically acclaimed work of Jean Kilbourne. The podcast has enabled Helen to join the likes of 'Time' and 'The Oprah Winfrey Show' in interviewing the renowned academic about the representation of women in advertising, which will be aired in an upcoming episode.

The ability to listen to stories and form human connections is the thing that makes Mad Influence most special to Helen. In the series so far, she has spoken to people who have faced life-changing circumstances, such as surviving a bomb blast and a coma, or caring for a mother suffering from alcoholism. All of them have proved that sometimes the most difficult times in life can be what motivates us and drives people to make positive change in the world.