11 Questions with Neil Bedwell, Partner and President, LOCAL
At Program 11, we’re obsessed with relationships—how they start, how they grow, and what makes them last. We believe the best brands don’t just sell products; they build real, meaningful connections with their customers. That’s why we’re sitting down with some of the smartest minds in brand and marketing — clients, founders, and colleagues we admire — to get their take on what it really takes to connect.
This week, I spoke to Neil Bedwell, whose company LOCAL has pioneered Change Marketing™ — helping brands engage with employees meaningfully during times of growth and change. Neil is an expert orater, insightful leader, and a natural people-person, and he’s built a company rooted in building internal relationships so companies can thrive.
– Jenna
Co-Founder, Program 11
Neil,
1. Tell us how you introduce yourself when you’re at a conference. And then describe what you do for my mom.
I’m a marketing guy who co-founded a company that uses customer marketing to improve employee experience and drive change inside the world’s biggest brands. If I can switch the use case to talking to my lovely daughter when she was in elementary school: I’m like a doctor for companies. We try to make them healthier by helping them look after the people that work there better.
2. What was your dream job as a kid?
Racing driver. Still is. Still trying to be one.
3. If LOCAL had a dating profile, what would its bio say?
Fun fact: I've never had any kind of dating profile, but here goes… “We’re smart, successful, but more important than that, we have a soul. We really do give a shit.”
4. What’s a brand-customer interaction that has stuck with you—either one you led or experienced yourself?
When I lived in Amsterdam I saw this really cool brand activation at a music festival. There was the standard VIP line and then the big long line for everyone else. Spotters were trawling the standard line and picking out people to cut the line enter immediately through a special door. It was a caravan actually, that had the other side cutout to allow people to step through to a free bar and hang area before getting through into the main festival space. The brand was Converse and the spotters were just picking people wearing Cons. It took a while for people to realize what was going on, then the news spread fast and Converse sneakers—the low cost, everyman show—became the hottest commodity at the event. That one stuck with me more than much flashier, more expensive brand activations. I think because it was so thoughtful and authentic.
5. What’s the biggest “red flag” you see in how brands try to relate with customers?
Can I pivot that to employees as internal customers (which is LOCAL's founding belief)? It's that a paycheck equals ownership of that person. It doesn't at all. It actually equals only attendance. I'll be where you tell me when you tell me. That's it. All the meaningful stuff—like belief, pride, passion, creativity, collaboration—has to be earned on top of that. Every day.
“[The biggest red flag?] It’s that a paycheck equals ownership of that person. It doesn’t at all. It actually equals only attendance.”
6. How do you personally measure whether LOCAL is resonating with customers?
Whether they come back, tell others, and/or take us with them.
7. If you could give just one piece of relationship advice to a brand starting today, what would it be?
The same advice someone gave me in the very early days of my work in marketing. The only true advantage is a deeper knowledge of your customer. Not what they show you on social media but who they really are. What really matters to them. What they love, care about, worry about.
8. What kind of relationship do you want LOCAL to have with your clients: mentor, partner, advocate, friend, or expert? And why?
I always think of us as Gandalf, a strong mentor. We’re not the hero, not Frodo. It's not our job to carry the ring. We’re here to help our clients get stronger, braver, go further so that they can achieve their goals. Their success is our success.
9. What’s a brand that you admire for how they connect with their audience?
I love any brand that is authentic and true to its roots. One example that springs to mind from my life right now is Birkenstock. Somehow they are able to be relevant to my generation (Gen X) as lazy beach wear and to my daughter's generation (Gen Alpha) as must-have fashion. Different people and different applications, but same shoe, same color, same depth of meaning.
10. If you had to sum up your brand connection philosophy in a tweet, what would it be?
Well I don’t tweet but I get the idea. I’m going to shamelessly steal from Sir John Hegarty (thank you sir). If successful, a brand gets to claim a piece of the most expensive and exclusive real estate in the world. The corner of someone’s mind.
11. And if LOCAL had a tattoo, what would it say?
For LOCAL: Listen.
Listen to everyone. They are telling you everything you want and need to know. But most people don’t listen, they just wait for a pause so they can say what’s important to them.
For me: Just. Keep. Going.
90% of this entrepreneurial game is confidence and persistence.