Uncensored CMO

Colleen DeCourcy is the Chief Creative Officer at Snap, having previously spent over a decade at Wieden+Kennedy as co-president and Chief Creative Officer, working on some of the largest brand accounts in the world. In this episode we talk about Colleen's time at W+K, some of her favourite quotes from Dan Wieden and how she's now tackling brand at Snapchat.Timestamps00:00 - Intro01:22 - Colleen DeCourcy background03:30 - Winning creative leader of the decade06:30 - Colleen’s tenure at Wieden+Kennedy13:50 - The TIME Interview18:39 - From retirement to joining Snapchat21:56 - The challenges of Snapchat26:49 - Creating happiness in social media30:02 - The 3D Chess of Being CCO and CMO at Snapchat36:12 - What’s it like working for Evan Spiegel39:07 - Advice to young marketers from Colleen DeCourcy

Scott Galloway is Professor of Marketing at NYU Stern School of Business and host of the Prof G and Pivot podcasts. In this episode Prof G lives up to the billing as the most uncensored guest on the podcast ever. We cover lots of ground, including his secret to success with Prof G media, what the #1 skill for all marketers should be, why brand is dead and how to build wealth. We recorded this episode as Scott releases his new book The Algebra of Wealth: A Simple Formula For Success, buy on Amazon UK, or US.LinksJon's LinkedInJon's TwitterWatch the Uncensored CMO on YouTubeTimestamps00:00:00 - Intro00:00:57 - 25 year overnight success00:01:28 - Scott’s biggest failures00:07:38 - How Scott scaled himself00:13:24 - Daniel Kahneman’s impact on Scott00:20:26 - How social media has a negative impact on the world00:28:45 - Scott Galloway on being late00:31:14 - The most important skill for a marketer00:33:32 - The Era of Brand is Dead00:40:19 - Scott’s new book opening Aurelius quote00:42:53 - The power of compound interest00:43:53 - Scott’s advice to young people00:48:33 - Growing your network grows wealth00:56:33 - What does the agency of the future look like?01:03:33 - How to get social media right01:04:50 - Why big firms should stop certification based hiring

Today we're talking about more Boom! and less bust with Scott Morrison, the inspirational, energizing coach that teaches marketing teams how to be more successful, how to turn around business, how to win pitches and more.Timestamps00:00 - Intro00:47 - Where did the name Boom come from01:31 - Scott’s background at Saatchi&Saatchi04:57 - What is Nike’s secret sauce09:48 - Scott’s career failures13:27 - Working on the Diesel brand17:37 - How to go from bust to Boom!40:11 - How to pitch to CMOs

Today we're talking about what makes a great CMO. One of the CMOs that I've admired throughout his career is Craig Inglis, who famously was a CMO for John Lewis for many years, making those ads that you saw at Christmas and really defining the genre of Christmas advertising.Timestamps00:00:00 - Intro00:00:50 - Craig’s marketing background00:02:25 - Craig’s biggest marketing failures00:09:34 - How to have a long tenure as a CMO00:13:24 - How to be a great CMO00:23:53 - Guessing the most emotional John Lewis ads00:28:50 - How to move from rational to emotional strategy in retail00:31:17 - How to sell in creative ideas to rational CEOs and CFOs00:36:00 - The business impact of Monty the Penguin for John Lewis00:38:50 - How John Lewis ads does long and short00:41:00 - Focusing on customer experience00:51:48 - From large consumer brands to B2B00:55:11 - Being the chair of the Marketing Society01:00:34 - Working for The Entertainer

One of my favourite campaigns of all time is "Should've Gone to Specsavers" an idea that has completely transformed the Specsavers business. I speak to their CMO, Peter Wright and the MD of their in house creative team, Nicola Wardell, about how they've taken the idea and produced some of the best advertising on the System1 database.Watch the episode on YouTube.Timestamps:00:00 - Intro00:59 - How Peter and Nicola ended up on Guernsey03:02 - The Specsavers story04:37 - The secret to Specsavers’ success09:04 - Family owned vs corporate business10:38 - How the “should’ve gone to Specsavers” line was created14:17 - The world’s longest running straplines16:17 - The serious case for humour - Tower Block ad20:18 - Specsavers Vet Ad21:14 - A cross channel idea24:29 - Why Specsavers do all creative in house25:52 - How to attract talent to Guernsey29:23 - Being the client and the agency33:56 - Advice for creating an in-house team34:37 - Wear in vs wear out at Specsavers43:08 - Creating the culture at Specsavers50:14 - Launching the audiology business53:38 - How technology will shape the future of the business56:07 - Peter and Nicola’s proudest work

How does someone create advertising for a brand that is over 150 years old? That is exactly what Stephen O'Kelly has been tasked with as Global Brand Director at Guinness, one of the most iconic brands in the world. Recorded from the Connoisseur bar at the Guinness Storehouse in Dublin, this episode of Uncensored CMO is special. Not just because of how much history is involved in the brand, but the fact that Stephen is a fourth generation employee, carrying on the legacy of his family.

Vikki Ross is a copywriting expert. Having worked for some major brand in the past two decades, she knows a thing or two about branding and tone of voice. This episode is a copywriting masterclass. We start by delving into the principles of great copy, before looking at it in action with our very own Copy Safari (where we go out into the world to find real ads), and then round off by asking the big question; is AI going to replace copywriters?LinksEats, Shoots and Leaves bookElements of F*cking Style bookBland BookVikki's TwitterVikki's LinkedInTimestamps00:00:00 - Intro00:00:59 - How Vicki got into copywriting00:03:53 - Advice for people wanting to get into copywriting00:07:34 - Why are car ads so bad?00:09:39 - Is copywriting intimidating?00:11:26 - Why copywriters need a good brief00:14:50 - When copy goes wrong00:18:17 - The principles of great copy00:23:03 - This sentence has five words00:25:49 - Power of a six word story00:26:47 - #CopySafari00:30:13 - Prime - It’s Right Here00:31:58 - Nurofen and Nuromol00:35:28 - Why marketers should work with lawyers00:38:39 - Uber Eats - Just a tap away00:41:19 - Subway - Saver Subs00:43:00 - Lebara Mobile - Blady Blah00:44:27 - Sacla - Spaghetti You Won’t Forgetti00:45:56 - Monday.com - Meet your power suite00:47:32 - TFL - See it, say it, sorted00:49:42 - Greatest copywriting examples of of recent times00:52:00 - Vikki’s favourite campaigns she’s worked on00:55:05 - Will AI take copywriter’s jobs?01:03:28 - Advice for clients on copy

We're doing things a little bit differently this week. I've just recorded a webinar with Mark Ritson on advertising effectiveness with a very special guest, the VP for global marketing, Gui Ferreira from Mondelez. They are responsible for some of the epic Cadbury work that has scored right at the top of the System1 charts. We discussed what makes their advertising so good, what are the principles of advertising effectiveness and what can we learn?Watch the ads referenced in this podcast:Cadbury GarageOreo TwistTimestamps:00:00 Intro03:23 Why creativity matters04:31 Investing in creativity08:00 Being forced into short term tactics10:46 How to write a better brief14:45 Distinctive assets (Oreo Ad)20:10 Cadbury Garage Ad22:07 Orlando Chart23:21 Cadbury Generosity27:24 How Cadbury approaches creative development29:22 Data vs creative judgement32:53 How to measure creative40:15 Q&A

Today I'm joined by Mike Cessario, the founder and CEO of Liquid Death, a water brand worth $1.4b. With the use of creative brand marketing and punk aesthetic, Mike was able to break into the biggest beverage category in the US and disrupt market dominated by huge brands such as Coke and Pepsi. This is a truly inspirational story on how you can defy the odds, break convention, disrupt a category and do it all on a shoestring budget. If you're a challenger brand, this is a must listen.Timestamps00:00:00 - Intro00:01:10 - Mike’s background00:06:24 - Mike’s brandy startup00:10:33 - Navigating regulation00:12:46 - The benefits of being an outsider distrupting an industry00:14:57 - Coming up with the idea for Liquid Death00:19:30 - How to create an innovative brand00:23:48 - Selling the Liquid Death concept00:27:08 - Raising money for Liquid Death00:29:50 - Launching on Amazon00:30:52 - Generating demand in the early days00:31:46 - Figuring out distribution networks for the drinks industry00:35:45 - Why limited budgets helped Liquid Death grow00:44:11 - Why D2C was pivotal for Liquid Death00:46:12 - Liquid Death’s unique Super Bowl campaign00:49:54 - The power of the Liquid Death merch00:53:00 - Innovation for the future of Liquid Death00:54:15 - Scaling and exit00:56:02 - Having famous investors00:57:29 - Maintaining the challenger spirit01:01:58 - Mike’s advice to aspiring founders

As Chief Marketing Officer, Michelle Taite leads Intuit Mailchimp’s Marketing teams and is responsible for the business’ end-to-end brand, acquisition, performance, product, and lifecycle marketing activities globally in addition to Mailchimp's in-house creative agency Wink. Joining just after Mailchimp's $12b acquisition, Michelle had the task of integrating their marketing into the wider Intuit team.Intro00:00 - Intro00:48 - Starting out desigining sneakers02:39 - From New Balance to Unilever04:13 - Doing purpose work for Dove05:15 - Michelle’s favourite work at Unilever06:27 - From CPG to SaaS09:29 - What is Mailchimp and why is it successful11:06 - Staying close to the customer13:26 - How to market to marketers14:54 - Email is not dead16:15 - Integrating an acquired company20:40 - Performance vs brand marketing25:16 - How AI will enhance creativity29:20 - Mailchimp's distinctive assets33:21 - How marketing influences the product35:56 - How to market to marketers38:35 - Obsessing about the 95% not in market40:45 - Top CMO advice from Michelle

Jo Shoesmith is the Global Chief Creative Officer at Amazon. She leads lead brand creative, design, production, social, and brand identity functions, as well as agency partnerships, in the largest fixed marketing portfolio investment at Amazon. 00:00 - Intro01:04 - From rural Australia to Los Angeles01:58 - From agency to client side04:44 - That famous Jeff Bezos marketing quote05:50 - What does the Chief Creative Officer at Amazon do07:41 - Creating emotional, brand building advertising09:22 - Using the brand distintive assets10:33 - Creating inclusive advertising13:05 - Advice for writing a really good brief14:43 - Tenets to inform great creative15:45 - Benefits of having in house creative (and working with agencies)17:42 - Managing global creative teams19:36 - What’s it like making a Super Bowl ad22:42 - Innovation within Amazon24:12 - Making things happen in a huge business25:13 - Simplifying complex creative ideas28:23 - Work Jo is most proud of31:39 - How Amazon are using AI33:44 - Advice to a young Jo

Today I'm speaking with Whyte and Mackay Marketing Director Janice McIntosh and Mr President (their agency) CCO Jon Gledstone about the launch of their new campaign for The Woodsman brand. The "Well Earned" campaign score a whopping 4.8 stars on the System1 test and saw the launch of a brand character, Barry the Beaver, in a move that defies convention in the traditional Whisky category. From internal battles to hurdles presented by the regulators, both Whyte and Mackay and Mr President had to overcome some barriers to bring this campaign to life.Timestamps00:00 - Intro01:01 - Inventing The Woodsman01:42 - Creating a brand dominated by big players04:00 - Standing out in a product dominated category05:46 - Balancing demand and supply06:31 - Availablity of the brand07:11 - Overcoming perception barriers09:15 - Coming up with the “Well Earned” positioning13:06 - How to sell in breaking convention16:00 - How the agency helped sell the idea18:29 - Creating a new character20:02 - Characters vs Celebrities21:07 - Using humour in a traditional category23:23 - Creating a physical barry the beaver24:18 - The importance of craft in the ad26:07 - Staying on the right side of regulations28:23 - A good client agency relationship30:09 - How important is testing and data to back up creative decisions31:53 - The importance of mental and physical availability33:32 - The results35:01 - What’s next for the brand?

Bozoma Saint John is a Hall of Fame Inducted Marketing Executive, Entrepreneur and Author of her memoir, The Urgent Life. Her career has included roles as the Global CMO of Netflix, CMO of Endeavor, CBO of Uber, Head of Marketing of Apple Music & iTunes and Head of Music and Entertainment Marketing at PepsiCo.Follow BozInstagramLinkedInTwitter/XHer book - This Urgent LifeFollow JonJon's LinkedInJon's TwitterWatch the Uncensored CMO on YouTubeTimestamps00:00 - Start01:34 - Why Boz wrote such an emotional book05:02 - The reception to the book08:32 - Encountering Spike Lee13:32 - Making decisions based on intuition16:05 - Working for founder led brands20:36 - Leading marketing at large organisations23:55 - Managing the relationship with the CEO and CFO28:42 - Hire Boz, Get Boz - how to have confidence in yourself31:57 - Why you shouldn’t “play the game”33:06 - Dawn always comes; dealing with grief41:09 - Making the choice to change your life45:11 - From corporate jobs to entrepreneur48:24 - What’s next for Boz?

Today we’re diving deep into the high-stakes world of Super Bowl advertising with a very special guest—Ricardo Marques, the VP of Marketing for Michelob ULTRA. Ricardo, a veteran with 19 years at AB Inbev and the marketing maestro behind Michelob ULTRA's growth. He is here to share his playbook on how to score big during the most anticipated advertising event on American television.In this episode we get an exclusive look at how Michelob ULTRA prepares for the Super Bowl. Ricardo breaks down the importance of the Super Bowl as a platform, not just for audience reach but for creating conversations and excitement around the brand.But is Super Bowl advertising really worth the investment? Ricardo weighs in on the multifaceted approach to this question, assessing the creative, the conversion, and the long game of brand relevance. Key performance indicators, the intricate balance of novelty versus authenticity, and the seismic impact of this year's Super Bowl on Michelob ULTRA's growth trajectory are all on the table.Timestamps00:00 - Intro00:55 - Why the Super Bowl is such a landmark event for advertisers03:07 - Ricardo’s background03:56 - The best advertisers in Super Bowl history05:05 - Michelob’s Super Bowl history06:03 - Launch before game day, or on the day?07:23 - Michelob’s Ad for 202410:04 - Is a Super Bowl ad worth $7m?11:09 - KPIs for a successful Super Bowl Ad11:48 - How involved are distributors in the process12:50 - The 2024 Michelob ULTRA Super Bowl Ad with Leo Messi16:14 - The briefing process for a Super Bowl ad17:25 - Brand positioning for a more premium beer18:39 - The core ingredients for a successful ad21:02 - The impact of celebrities in ads22:46 - Advice for people making their first big budget campaign27:26 - Selling in the campaign internally28:52 - Tying campaigns into global events31:25 - Using AI in activations33:57 - McEnroe vs McEnroe36:35 - Lap Against the Legends38:14 - Blind man commentating on NBA game41:45 - How has the brand performed from the campaigns42:38 - The secret to sustained success as a marketer47:29 - Who is Ricardo supporting for the Super Bowl?

Today we're joined by Jessica Myers, CMO of The Very Group. Previously Jess was CMO at Metro Bank and has since made the transition to the highly competitive retail market. At Very, she has overseen the launch of a brand new fluent device; the pink flamingoes. The campaign featuring the new characters scored a whopping 5.7 stars on the System1 scoring platform, Test Your Ad, amongst the very best ads made this year.Timestamps00:00 - Intro00:52 - Jess’ background06:11 - Marketing academy fellowship07:13 - From big brand to challenger brand10:46 - The modern marketer11:57 - From finance to retail15:31 - Dealing with the challenges of joining a new business18:03 - Nailing positioning22:09 - Doing long term marketing in retail23:39 - Agency selection process for Very27:22 - Understanding your customer31:50 - The power of testing creative36:36 - The increasing standard of advertising38:28 - Creating a new fluent device - The Flamingoes43:20 - The future of the brand46:08 - Jess’ advice to aspiring marketers

Dave Kaufman is responsible for the marketing for one of the biggest tech bets of all time; the Metaverse. As Director of Global Marketing for VR and the Metaverse for Meta (formerly Facebook), it's fair to say Dave has a pretty sizeable task on his hands. He's no stranger to large marketing bets, having been on the marketing team for Google Glass, which ultimately failed. But sandwiched in-between working for Google and Meta, Dave worked for Obama's Whitehouse for the United States Digital Service.In this episode we discuss if the US is behind the UK in terms of marketing thinkers, why marketing education is overlooked, why Google Glass failed and what the future holds in terms of the Metaverse.LinksDave's LinkedInDave's viral LinkedIn articleJon's LinkedInJon's TwitterWatch the Uncensored CMO on YouTubeTimestamps00:00 - Intro00:58 - Dave’s favourite episodes of Uncensored CMO01:50 - Elon vs Mark in a fight02:31 - US vs UK marketing03:57 - How to not be full of sh*t in marketing09:16 - Was Google Glass a failure?15:50 - Launching the Meta X Rayban Sunglasses20:28 - Explaining the metaverse24:02 - How to quantify the success of the metaverse26:29 - When will the metaverse become mainstream?30:58 - Making virtual reality more familiar32:28 - Does tech have a marketing problem?38:20 - Working for founders46:39 - Working at President Obama’s Whitehouse53:35 - Working with low budgets56:47 - Dave’s bets for 2024

Today I'm joined by Antonia Wade, Global CMO at PwC and Author of The B2B Buyer Journey. This episode is a true B2B masterclass. We break down the importance of brand, reputation and relationships vs what people traditionally think is important in B2B. We also break down each stage of the marketing funnel to find out how best to reach them at every point in the buyer journey.LinksAntonia's LinkedInAntonia's BookJon's LinkedInJon's TwitterWatch the Uncensored CMO on YouTubeTimestamps00:00:00 - Intro00:01:10 - Antonia’s background00:06:01 - How does B2B and B2C differ?00:09:25 - How to reach B2B customers00:11:52 - Building B2B relationships00:17:30 - The importance of people in B2B00:20:53 - Why brand and reputation are so important00:24:43 - Why having an online presence matters00:29:39 - Marketing from cost centre to profit centre00:34:14 - Marketing at different stages of the buyer journey00:39:54 - Why people think B2B is boring00:46:30 - Why purpose has a bigger role in B2B00:48:38 - Stage 1: Reaching Horizon Scanners00:51:41 - Stage 2: Reaching Explorers00:55:18 - Stage 3: Reaching Hunters00:57:39 - Stage 4: Capturing the Active Buyer00:59:15 - Stage 5: Marketing post-purchase01:01:18 - How will AI transform B2B marketing

One of the most popular episodes of all time was my first with Sarah Carter and Les Binet, so I'm bringing them back to do a review of 2023. We talk about what makes Les cry and if AI is going to take over our jobs.LinksJon's LinkedInJon's TwitterWatch the Uncensored CMO on YouTubeTimestamps00:00:00 - Intro00:01:05 - Les’ favourite ads of 202300:04:45 - Sarah’s favourite Christmas ads00:07:15 - Wear out00:12:30 - Why familiarity breeds contentment00:17:42 - Have we rediscovered homour in 2023?00:19:47 - The role of purpose in advertising00:29:17 - Diversity and representation00:34:53 - Kevin the carrot and characters00:41:52 - Fluent devices and consistency00:49:01 - Why do John Lewis run christmas ads every year00:50:40 - How did the first ad to ever air score?00:52:51 - The highest performing advertising categories00:55:04 - Lowest performing advertising categories01:00:12 - Outperforming your category01:03:08 - US Superbowl vs UK Christmas01:04:02 - Les and Sarah’s thoughts on AI01:14:03 - How reliable is ESOV01:15:52 - MMM Models01:19:32 - The best performing Adam and Eve ad01:21:42 - Predictions for 2024

Now in this episode, we're talking about one of the most competitive markets in the world - insurance comparison. Anyone who's followed this market will know just how intense it is. And how do you build a brand when you don't have a product yourself, but you're selling someone else's product? Well, it's one of those situations where marketing is all important and advertising can make all the difference to your success.I'm catching up with Sam Day, who's been the CMO of confused.com, for the past 6 years, who successfully challenged this market and taken it from 4th to 2nd place on very limited budgets. So I want to find out from Sam the secret behind the success of the campaigns that he's run over the last few years, how he's transformed their business and what his plans are for the future.LinksJon's LinkedInJon's TwitterWatch the Uncensored CMO on YouTubeTimestamps00:00 - Intro03:53 - Sam’s advice to a young marketer06:27 - Sam’s greatest failure08:44 - Management and leadership advice12:27 - The secret to an extended CMO tenure19:41 - Getting c-suite buy in with data22:50 - Consistency24:26 - Marketing when you don’t have a product26:01 - Brand vs price28:43 - Why name the brand after the problem (confused.com)31:24 - Branding against one of the best branded characters of all time34:02 - Why there’s no silver bullet for success37:02 - Spontaneous awareness - how to win an effie39:50 - Selecting an agency42:01 - Great examples of populous advertising44:14 - How agencies should pitch to CMOs49:39 - What’s next for Sam Day

Today I'm revisiting episode 3, with Adam Morgan, founder of eatbigfish and author of Eating The Big Fish, The Pirate Inside and A Beautiful Constraint to find out what it takes to become a successful challenger. Adam shares his tips for creating a challenger brand, transforming your culture and the power of constraints to driving innovation.In this episode:Why being No.2 is betterHow he turned the anger of his project being shelved into a career-defining opportunityBeing turned down by Phil Knight and where the idea of a Challenger brand came fromThe importance of over-commitment and being obsessed with executionHow Tony’s Chocolonely have become a truly challenger brandHow to be a pirate in the navy without getting firedWhat you can learn from a catwalk show and how constraints can turn into your greatest advantageThe curse of data and how it leads us to a decline in creativityThe furtile zero and what to do with no budgetAdam shares his worst career momentWhy the meeting is never really the meeting and why the Japanese fall asleep in meetingsThe one thing Adam has never told anyone beforeFollow me:Twitter | @uncensoredCMOLinkedInContact me:Website | www.uncensoredcmo.comEmail – [email protected] Morgan:Twitter | @eatbigfishwww.eatbigfish.comEating The Big FishThe Pirate InsideA Beautiful Constraint

Today I'm joined by Phill Agnew, senior product marketer at Buffer and host of Nudge, the only podcast dedicated to consumer psychology, and the other podcast that regularly hits the top spot of the UK marketing charts. In this episode we share 5 behavioural science "nudges" and 5 marketing lessons that we've taken from our respective podcasts and careers.LinksNudge podcastJon's LinkedInJon's TwitterPhill's LinkedInPhill's TwitterTimestamps00:00 - Intro01:19 - How did Phill get into podcasting04:03 - Bonus Nudge - The Halo Effect06:29 - Nudge 5 - The Labour Illusion09:40 - Marketing Lesson 5 - The Power of Getting Fired13:25 - Nudge 4 - The Pratfall Effect19:26 - Marketing Lesson 4 - The Power of Purpose24:49 - Nudge 3 - The Curiosity Gap30:03 - Marketing Lesson 3 - Be Distinctive35:26 - Nudge 2 - Social Proof41:14 - Marketing Lesson 2 - The Power of Creativity45:10 - Nudge 1 - Fresh Start Date48:59 - Marketing Lesson 1 - The Power of Consistency

Today I'm joined by Susan O'Brien, who is the VP Brand at Just Eat Takeaway. Just Eat are famous for their ads with celebs such as Snoop Dogg and Katy Perry, but are even more well known for their catchy jingle "Did somebody say...?". In this episode we break down Susan's career and how to make such an effective campaign.Timestamps00:00 - Start01:16 - How Susan got into marketing03:43 - Freelancing07:30 - The secret to longevity as a marketer09:44 - The realities of being a CMO14:25 - The CMO’s view on Cannes16:44 - The “Did Somebody Say” campaign20:54 - The impact of audio branding24:11 - Operating in a fiercely competitive market26:01 - Choosing to invest in celebrity talent / Snoop Dogg29:06 - From Snoog Dogg to Katy Perry31:31 - Secret to an effective client agency relationship32:44 - Coming up with new ideas35:47 - Using your gut vs using the data39:35 - Advice to marketers in scale ups

Anselmo Ramos is the co-founder and Creative Chairman of GUT, a global independent creative agency with offices worldwide. He, along with his co-founder Gaston Bigio, opened GUT in 2018 with the goal of being the go-to agency for the world’s biggest brands, including Popeyes, Philadelphia Cream Cheese and Tim Hortons, among others, who are looking to do brave work and long-term bold brand building. Prior to co-founding GUT, Anselmo was the co-founder of award-winning global creative agency DAVID, and he was also previously the Chief Creative Officer of Ogilvy Brazil.Timestamps00:00:00 - Start00:01:04 - Why Anselmo is an ad nerd00:03:12 - Favourite Ogilvy quotes00:07:38 - Most proud of from time at Ogilvy00:17:20 - Founding the DAVID agency00:18:43 - Founding the GUT agency00:20:55 - Being an independent agency00:25:35 - Winning business in the early days00:30:30 - What makes a great CMO?00:33:00 - How to find good clients00:37:30 - Agency of the year00:40:59 - Stand out Grand Prix winners00:45:29 - The one line brief00:47:05 - Who else is doing great work?00:48:46 - Scaling while staying true to your values01:02:06 - Expansion

Vicki Maguire is the Chief Creative Officer at Havas London, responsible for some of the best ads of all time. Notably Asda's Elf ad in 2022 which is the happiest ad we've ever seen at System1, and the British Heart Foundation campaign with Vinnie Jones that literally saved lives.Timestamps00:00 - Start02:41 - Vicki’s background07:32 - How Vicki got into advertising11:53 - British Heart Foundation and Vinnie Jones20:30 - The Asda Elf Ad with Will Ferrell35:39 - Taika Waititi and Michael Buble campaign46:13 - Cannes Lions judging

Nancy King is the VP of Marketing at Airbnb. She leads Airbnb's global brand marketing team, performance marketing, marcom and social media teams. Prior to Airbnb, Nancy 20 years working across a mix of agencies, start-ups and as a founder of a strategy consultancy.Timestamps00:00 - Intro00:48 - Nancy’s background as a creative05:16 - What can people learn from both agency and client side experience07:08 - Origins of Airbnb08:42 - The phases of Airbnb09:54 - Losing 80% of the business overnight17:47 - Deciding to re-invest in advertising21:23 - The challenges of not owning your product25:03 - The best Airbnb ads26:52 - Making creative in-house rather than using agencies30:00 - The impact culture has on the work at Airbnb31:51 - Working in a founder-led business35:12 - How Nancy’s role has changed40:12 - Power of industry events42:00 - The most expensive Airbnb

Dr Iain McGilchrist is a psychiatrist, writer, and former Oxford literary scholar. McGilchrist came to prominence after the publication of his book The Master and His Emissary, subtitled The Divided Brain and the Making of the Western World. His work formed the basis of Orlando Wood's books on advertising, Lemon and Look Out.Timestamps00:00 - Intro01:09 - Iain McGilchrist background06:05 - Hasn’t the myth of the right and left brain been debunked12:48 - The changes in society based on right brained dominance16:36 - Are we seeing a left to left brained shift in society today?22:10 - How are the big discoveries made?24:39 - How understanding attention could change the world26:34 - How the left and right brains do things differently29:19 - Is attention crested by us or the world around us?31:18 - Can we train ourselves to be more right-brained?35:13 - AI asks Iain a question37:13 - How did Orlando Wood connect with Iain McGilchrist45:02 - Orlando’s most profound piece of Iain’s work

In this episode I'm joined by Tass Tsitsopoulos, Strategy Director, and Brandon Pracht, Managing Director for the McDonald's global advertising team at Wieden+Kennedy. I catch up with them to find out how they brought McDonald's swagger back with some of their most memorable and effective work in recent years, including the "Famous Orders" and "As Featured In" campaigns.Timestamps00:00 - Intro00:56 - The difference between UK and US agencies03:15 - How did Brandon get into advertising04:52 - What makes the culture special08:07 - How W+K won the McDonald’s account11:34 - Importance of connecting with real people12:52 - What happens after winning the pitch15:15 - What was the best McDonald's ad?19:19 - The "Famous Orders" campaign23:46 - The impact of the campaign27:00 - The financial results27:49 - Investing in long term having short term effects29:05 - The “As Featured In” campaign31:09 - Building fame36:03 - How to thrive with a client like McDonald's39:02 - What happens when things don’t do well41:44 - Advice for clients wanting to make great work

Josh Feldman serves as Global Chief Marketing Officer, NBCUniversal Advertising and Partnerships. Feldman is responsible for driving how the NBCUniversal’s Advertising and Partnerships division shows up in the marketplace, leading creative executions that span Upfronts and industry-first events. He oversees the entire Marketing and Content Partnerships group, comprising the division’s Commerce, Content and Talent Partnerships, Creative, Marketing, Strategic Initiatives, and Trade Marketing teams. This group operates the division’s full scale creative agency; leads NBCU’s development of an innovative suite of commerce solutions, such as One Platform Commerce; and furthers the company’s commercial innovation commitments.Previously, Feldman served as the division’s Executive Vice President, Head of Marketing and Advertising Creative. Prior to joining NBCUniversal, Feldman started his career at Turner Broadcasting, where he took on various roles including Senior Vice President & National Sales Manager, Vice President & New York Sales Manager as well as Account Executive, where he oversaw client relationships for Cartoon Network, Adult Swim, truTV, TBS and TNT. Timestamps00:00 - Intro00:35 - Josh’s Career Story02:50 - How does being creative help with sales04:17 - B2B strategies that make NBCU successful07:58 - Why Cannes is important to NBCU09:41 - NBCU’s iconic programming11:05 - The secret to building strong client relationships14:21 - Funnel marketing and the importance of end of funnel16:34 - The popularity of Bravo17:46 - BravoCon21:00 - The best brand activations at BravoCon22:51 - How brands can work with talent24:49 - Being a media partner for the Olympics27:59 - Josh’s advice on creativity and landing your message31:39 - Helping smaller brands

One thing we don't talk enough about on the Uncensored CMO is B2B. Specifically, B2B companies that are investing in their brand. One such company is Salesforce, who are a true force in the B2B tech world. I caught up with their EVP of Brand Marketing, Colin Fleming, a former Red Bull Racing driver, who gave us an insight into why their brand marketing has been so effective. From Super Bowl ads and partnering with Matthew McConaughey, to building recognisable brand characters and even creating their own huge event, Dreamforce.Links:Follow ColinFollow Jon Salesforce Example ad with Matthew McConaugheyTimestamps:00:00 - Intro01:44 - Colin’s life as a racing driver04:07 - From motorsport to marketing, what did Colin learn?06:01 - The Salesforce journey10:20 - The 95/5 rule in B2B14:30 - The payback of investing in brand15:27 - Investing in brand assets19:31 - Why is a B2B company doing a Super Bowl ad?21:26 - How Matthew McConaughey is involved in Salesforce23:37 - Thoughts on AI25:57 - Why Dreamforce is so big32:28 - Why do people go to conferences35:36 - Brand partnerships with Formula One41:53 - Colin’s advice for marketers

Tash Courtenay Smith is a serial entrepreneur, renowned digital marketing expert, and best-selling author. Starting out as a journalist for the Daily Mail, Tash went on to found Talk to The Press, the Notting Hill Shopping Bag Company, Luminositie and now runs Bolt Digital. Tash also runs D2C Live, an event bringing together the best minds in Direct-To-Consumer. This conversation with a true entrepreneur covers topics such as the state of D2C, building a personal brand and inspiring the next wave of entrepreneurial talent with Biz Kids.Timestamps00:00 - Intro00:45 - Starting out in journalism01:30 - What can marketers learn from journalism?05:03 - Why become a founder06:49 - The unforgiving life of a journalist10:37 - Challenges building and selling a business16:08 - Advice to new entreprenuers20:58 - What makes a good business to invest in?26:03 - The best approaches for scale ups30:11 - The turbulent D2C market34:24 - Cutting through the D2C noise36:00 - Which brands are nailing D2C?37:00 - Creating a D2C live40:13 - Writing and finding your own voice41:17 - Building a personal brand45:32 - The secret to a successful personal brand51:17 - Going viral53:44 - Biz Kids59:41 - Parting advice

The Gary Vee of Australia is back in the Uncensored CMO hot seat. That is, of course, everyone's favourite marketing professor, Mark Ritson. In this episode we talk about the best campaigns of the year, Mark's most popular articles and why he thinks the US is lagging behind the rest of the world.Watch Cadbury GarageTimestamps:00:00 - Intro00:31 - What’s going on in marketing in 2023?02:19 - Why US marketers are off the pace05:10 - Ehrenberg Bass and academic literature06:53 - Mark’s contradicting viewpoints07:23 - The Gary Vee of Australia08:42 - Jon made a top 100 list10:38 - Ritson’s biggest stories of the year12:33 - Guiness17:29 - The long and the short of it20:38 - Cadbury29:02 - Wear in vs wear out36:43 - Running the same ad vs running a variation of a campaign39:16 - Difference vs distinctiveness45:51 - Is authenticity overrated?48:12 - Do marketers use a brand’s history enough?57:43 - Quick fire round

Julia Goldin is the Global Chief Marketing and Product Officer for the world's no. 1 toy brand, LEGO. Prior to joining the LEGO Gin 2014, Julia was Global CMO at Revlon. She also had a 13-year career with Coca-Cola, where she held several senior global and regional marketing roles, including Division Marketing Director of Northwest Europe and deputy Chief Marketing Officer of Japan.Timestamps00:00 - Intro00:53 - Julia’s background01:57 - How did Julia become a CMO?04:46 - What’s the secret to being a successful CMO?07:51 - The secret to a long CMO tenure09:37 - Staying on top of trends11:30 - The LEGO mission and importance of plau12:24 - Why play can help work14:27 - Is working at LEGO as fun as it sounds?17:51 - Product innovation at LEGO20:02 - Collaborations and partnerships23:11 - The best LEGO advertising campaigns25:27 - The LEGO approach to sustainability27:07 - Working with agencies28:52 - Where should a CMO focus?30:59 - Julia’s marketing career advice36:23 - Getting the business to buy-in to marketing40:26 - What will be important in the future

Tom Goodwin is back for our first ever live event in London. As uncensored as ever, we cover all things digital transformation to the biggest myths in marketing, this time with some thought provoking questions from a live studio audience.Timestamps:00:00 - Start01:06 - Tom’s background03:21 - Why Tom kept getting fired05:08 - What technology will change our lives?08:34 - We don’t care about consumers10:21 - What opportunites are there?12:45 - Things that aren’t changing16:52 - Jingles18:02 - Are brands dead?20:32 - Questions20:53 - The online advertising emperor has no clothes25:38 - Why are brands not calling out social media companies?28:28 - Biggest barrier to deliver on digital transformation31:45 - Should marketers be more respected?37:04 - How important is trust?42:17 - Why did Tom keep getting fired?44:49 - Is there ageism in marketing?49:22 - Does not having kids make Tom more uncensored?

For a very special edition of the podcast (episode 100!) I'm joined by a very special guest, Rob Mayhew, TikTok sensation and Creative Director at Gravity Road. Rob's witty commentary on the industry comes in the form of his hugely entertaining short-form videos, which often go viral on TikTok and on LinkedIn. Having found himself between jobs during COVID, Rob dug into his comedy roots and started posting up to 8 videos a day on TikTok which have grown in popularity exponentially over the past few years. He now finds himself striking some impressive brand partnerships who all want a slice of his comedy gold.This episode covers the serious to the absurd. From Rob's story of how he got into the industry, to pitching a new British Airways ad to a special guest. I couldn't think of anyone better to have as guest 100.Watch some of Rob's TikTok's if you enjoy laughing.Timestamps00:00:00 - Start00:03:41 - Rob’s backstory00:07:32 - Rob’s comedy background00:09:39 - How Rob got into TikTok00:13:11 - Coming up with content ideas00:16:50 - Rob’s most popular TikTok00:19:25 - Landing a partnership with Pret00:21:12 - The ultimate sponsor00:23:34 - Jon’s pitch horror story00:30:06 - Finding Rob new sponsors00:31:17 - Pitching Nils Leonard Rob’s idea00:37:07 - Sponsor brainstorm00:38:51 - Cannes00:40:39 - Making a career switch at 4000:43:09 - Making a living from making online content00:46:47 - Why Rob called his new agency Dunning Kruger00:49:09 - Struggles of working for yourself00:50:03 - Who are Rob’s heroes00:53:47 - Dealing with inbound volume00:54:39 - Rob’s new book00:56:38 - Agency radio show00:57:34 - Jon’s favourite guests00:59:42 - What guest would Jon like on the pod?01:02:22 - Rob getting fired01:06:58 - The difference a good boss can make01:09:21 - Something Rob has never told anyone else before01:13:50 - How to be good on TikTok01:14:47 - How to make B2B sexy again

Advertising legend Sir John Hegarty returns to the podcast to discuss why he created a course focused on the business of creativity. If you've listened to the podcast before you'll know how important I think creativity is to drive business results, and so when Sir John announced he was creating this course, I had to get him back on the podcast to discuss.Learn more about the course here.About Sir John HegartyHe was a founding partner of Saatchi and Saatchi in 1970. And then TBWA in 1973. He founded Bartle Bogle Hegarty in 1982 with John Bartle and Nigel Bogle. The agency now has 7 offices around the world. He has been given the D&AD President’s Award for outstanding achievement and in 2014 was admitted to the US AAF Hall of Fame.John was awarded a Knighthood by the Queen in 2007 and was the recipient of the first Lion of St Mark award at the Cannes Festival of Creativity in 2011. John has written 2 books, ‘Hegarty on Advertising - Turning Intelligence into Magic’ and ‘Hegarty on Creativity - there are no rules’.In 2014 John co-founded The Garage Soho, a seed stage Venture Capital fund that believes in building brands, not just businesses.Timestamps00:00 - Intro01:37 - Why clients want to see ads05:52 - Sir John Hegarty’s top 5 ads06:47 - Ad 1: Audi - Villas07:41 - Ad 2: K Shoes - Creak08:41 - Ad 3: Levi’s - Launderette11:24 - Ad 4: Xbox - Champagne12:06 - Ad 5: Levi’s - Flat Eric17:16 - Has advertising got too serious?20:22 - The secret to pitching to a more rational audience23:58 - How to make the most of your agency relationship26:34 - Improving the brief29:45 - Have we lost the art of brand building?33:46 - The business of creativity39:39 - Collaborators on Sir John’s Course41:41 - The production of the course44:33 - The legacy of Sir John Hegarty47:26 - The format of the course48:15 - Why training is important50:29 - The case for creatives in leadership52:36 - How would Sir John Hegarty launch a new agency

Marketing waste is one of the biggest issues facing our industry. So when marketing legends Peter Field and Adam Morgan reached out to me to talk about their new work on the impact of dull advertising on brands, I immediately got them on the podcast.In this fascinating episode we discuss why you really can’t afford to bore your audience with your ads anymore. What have Adam and Peter learnt over 40 years about the actual cost of dull marketing to businesses, to brands and even to your career?And for those marketers really hellbent on safety, we discuss the role of danger and a new upcoming mastersclass in how to make the dullest ad ever.Linkshttps://thechallengerproject.com/lets-make-this-more-interestingwww.orlandonadvertising.comhttps://theexaminedlife.org/ - Stephen Groszhttps://business.linkedin.com/marketing-solutions/b2b-instituteTimestamps00:00 - Intro01:13 - Who is Adam Morgan?02:38 - The best challenger brands03:08 - Has being a challenger changed?06:25 - The legacy of the long and short of it11:01 - Who had the higher ranked Uncensored CMO podcast?11:45 - How Adam and Peter met12:26 - The inspiration for the extraordinary cost of dull15:24 - How are there effective, yet dull campaigns (big budgets is the answer)19:13 - The System1 Data on the cost of dull22:41 - Why is advertising so dull?26:21 - Why are the best marketing organisations trending towards more dull?27:29 - Making demonstratably unskippable ads30:55 - The role of danger and constraints in getting to great work33:05 - The % of B2B ads that are dull and the work The LinkedIn Institute is going to reverse this35:06 - How dull is approached in different categories39:01 - Orlando Wood’s current research41:48 - How will AI affect dullness45:27 - Which categories are doing a good job of being interesting?53:57 - Why we need a masterclass for dull

How do you create a brand in a sub-category where only a handful of major brands operate a product line, from scratch, having never worked in the industry before? Well, Luke Boase did exactly that when he founded Lucky Saint, the worlds first alcohol free only brand. From finding a brewing partner to create an enjoyable alcohol free beer, raising money from investors to almost losing the business during COVID, this episode has it all.Timestamps:00:00 - Intro01:23 - Life before Lucky Saint for Luke06:02 - Coming up with the Lucky Saint idea08:28 - Creating a new category09:59 - Why do non-alcoholic only?11:36 - Convincing breweries to get on board13:56 - Finding the perfect brewing partner17:07 - The ones who rejected Lucky Saint18:33 - The advantages of being a category newcomer20:27 - When did Luke go all in on Lucky Saint20:55 - Raising money24:35 - Starting over with the brand29:18 - Creating a non alcoholic beer that actually tastes good31:08 - Being a single beer brand33:15 - Some of Lucky Saint’s investors35:29 - Ad execs on the investor team37:07 - Working with Rankin40:06 - Naming the brand Lucky Saint41:35 - How Covid almost wiped them out47:25 - Creating their own pub “The Lucky Saint”50:06 - Alcoholic vs non-alcoholic beverages51:46 - Convincing people to try alcohol free beer57:21 - The secrets to Lucky Saint’s success

Long time returning guest Orlando Wood is back in the hot seat, talking all things advertising. We look back on his two IPA bestselling books, Lemon and Look Out, to discuss how the two sides of the brain attend to the world differently and how this impacts advertising both on TV and digital. We also discuss some of Orlando's favourite recent adverts and why he likes them.Timestamps:00:00 - Intro01:32 - Who is Orlando Wood02:50 - Orlando’s latest work03:54 - Is Orlando only talking about digital?05:18 - How to build brands through digital07:55 - How can advertisers achieve an effective message10:26 - "moto e azione"13:35 - Why Ian McGilchrist’s work was so profound for Orlando14:25 - Right-brain vs left-brain in advertising21:00 - Trends with left and right brained advertising22:24 - Is the change in advertising due to social media?24:13 - The impact of creativity on attention26:29 - How the choice of media can impact ESOV27:22 - Is humour making a comeback?31:32 - Fluent devices35:13 - Orlando’s favourite ads39:31 - Jon’s favourite recent ad43:31 - Orlando’s new course

Emily Kraftman is the Managing Director for UK & Europe for a brand who are disrupting a category no one else thought to, toilet paper. That brand is, of course, Who Gives A Crap. Their quirky nature, fun packaging and strong stance on sustainability are helping them make a dent in a big-brand dominated category. Emily has had quite the career, starting out working on Stella Artois, before leaving the corporate life to join a young Deliveroo to head up their "Rider Marketing" division. She's since made the switch from Marketing Director to Managing Director, learning to deal with all the challenges that come with the broader remit.Watch Who Gives A Crap new TV campaign "Uncrap the World'Timestamps:00:00 - Intro01:07 - Dealing with the challenges of a unique brand name03:26 - How Emily got into marketing05:27 - Emily’s time working on Stella Artois08:26 - How successful was Stella Artois’ innovation in cider?10:37 - From corporate brand to joining Deliveroo12:24 - Not fitting in after a career switch14:37 - Challenges of going from a safe work environment to a crazy one17:39 - The challenges of such fast growth19:40 - Brand positioning in a fast growing market21:35 - From Deliveroo to Who Gives a Crap24:13 - Who Gives a Crap Backstory27:17 - Why go into the toilet paper market30:24 - Power of purpose in marketing32:54 - From DTC to retail35:13 - Growing with small budgets37:20 - Why B2B can help when you have small budgets39:01 - Launching their first TV campaign42:22 - Transitioning from Marketing Director to Managing Director

The return of Uncensored CMO podcast legend Tom Goodwin. In this final flourishing episode recorded from Cannes Lions Festival of Creativity, in what has become our annual chinwag, we riff on everything from how advertising thinking can build big businesses to why marketeers invest in celebrities, despite the data not backing the value equation. What would our ideal Cannes festival look like? What would we do differently next year…. and where? And why we want to bring back the Tango Campaign!If you want more Tom, we'll be holding a LIVE Uncensored CMO at The Curzon Soho (not Scunthorpe) with the man himself, on 6th September 2023, discussing the 10 Biggest Myths in the Marketing Industry. Grab your tickets here -> https://system1group.com/uncensored-cmo-liveTimestamps:00:00 - Intro00:46 - What’s Tom been up to in the past year?04:30 - The state of Cannes06:10 - AI has it’s place07:22 - The power of re-using good creative15:26 - How AI can solve customer exeperience17:43 - Catergories that should be in Cannes19:43 - The Zero Budget Category21:11 - Cannes in Margate in February22:23 - Most fascinating relevations from the pod24:35 - The marketing bottom28:54 - The best work in Cannes31:10 - Working with budget constraints33:03 - When to invest in innovation34:16 - What Orlando Wood tells us about how art history can inform great communication strategy36:09 - Why are great adverts only made for the SuperBowl and Christmas…. And then not run for long enough?37:48 - Should you use characters or celebrities in your advertising?40:06 - Most impressive thing in Cannes45:06 - The Giant Cheeto at Cannes48:22 - Why we’ve stopped having fun in advertising54:00 - What will we be talking about at Cannes next year?Links:Winning Cheetos AdSuper Bowl insightsSystem1 analysis of the decline of humour

Nils Leonard is returning to the Uncensored CMO podcast after selling his agency, Uncommon to Havas. We discuss what's next, why he feels it's an investment not an acquisition, what AI means for creativity, culture and more.Timestamps00:00:00 - Intro00:01:11 - Selling Uncommon to Havas00:02:10 - What does partnering with Havas allow them to do?00:08:22 - How did the team react?00:09:50 - Expanding to the US00:12:22 - What’s changing?00:14:42 - Part 2: What’s new with Uncommon?00:16:33 - Keeping creativity alive00:19:20 - Is advertising dead?00:21:21 - Getting Chat GPT to write a new British Airways Strapline00:22:49 - Chat GPT writes an ad for British Airways00:24:46 - What car brand Nils would most like to work on00:27:01 - The work Uncommon actually did for British Airways00:28:52 - The importance of advertising internally00:29:59 - Making 512 different productions for BA00:32:13 - The power of simplicity00:34:26 - Making out of home powerful00:35:22 - What does AI mean for creativity?00:38:09 - Do CMOs understand the value of creativity?00:43:58 - Biggest problems we as an industry need to solve00:47:27 - Demonstrating the value of creativity00:50:57 - Creating culture in a growing agency00:55:11 - Power of generosity00:56:26 - Uncommon’s “faff tax”00:58:45 - The world’s #1 podcast by Jon Evans00:59:59 - 2 Uncommon stories01:02:51 - What what Nils do if he wasn’t running Uncommon?

In this episode, I am talking to one of the titans of our industry, someone who I think has had a bigger impact on our industry than perhaps anybody else. He is Sir Martin Sorrell founder of WPP, the biggest holding company in the world.He has since gone on to set up S4 capital, so now finds himself in the challenger position rather than the dominant player. I wanted to talk to Sir Martin about what he sees as the biggest challenges facing our industry today and what are the disruptions coming down the line that are going to shape our industry in the future?What's his advice to CMOs? What does CMOs need to care about and what should they be doing? What skills they need to deal with the challenges coming at them in the world today. And because this is a special edition recorded live at the Cannes Lions Festival, I wanted to ask him about AI.Timestamps00:00 - Intro01:11 - Background07:18 - How do you assess the state of creativity now?12:02 - what should CMO’s be concerned about?16:08 - How real a game changer is AI?18:34 - Do we lose creativity with AI?26:19 - What skills do marketing teams need to make the most of AI?29:01 - What will be the biggest disruption to our industry in the next 10 years?32:08 - What advice would Sir Martin give his younger self?39:35 - Ethical considerations about how advertising uses our personal data41:26 - Biggest decision Sir Martin regrets making43:01 - What was the secret to the growth of WPP?45:33 - Why start again after exiting WPP?46:21 - How close is Succession to the Murdochs?47:34 - Tell me something you’ve never told anyone48:50 - What would Sir Martin’s fantasy agency look like?

In a special live from MAD//Fest edition of Uncensored CMO, I'm joined by some of the country's top CMO's on a panel about riding the storm in retail. Very’s Jessica Myers, Alex Rogerson from Morrisons, Adam Zavalis (formerly Aldi) and Pete Markey from Boots join me on the panel.But, ladies and gentlemen, there is more! This is a double header of Uncensored CMO, as I also caught up with some people live on the floor at MAD//Fest, including Heineken CMO Michael Gillane and revealing some new research from System1, JCDecaux and Specsavers.Enjoy this bonus, bumper edition of Uncensored CMO.Timestamps:00:00 Intro01:06 MAD//Fest Live22:46 Break23:06 Michael Gillane30:33 System1, Specsavers & JCDecaux39:55 Outro

In a career that's spanned selling Tea to the British as Marketing Director at Twinings, to now CMO at the largest e-commerce business in Latin America, Sean Summers knows a thing or two about marketing (at all levels). I catch up with him at Cannes to discuss his career, what it's like scaling a business from $300m to $10b in revenue and what he thinks of the latest trends like AI.Timestamps00:00 - Intro01:04 - Why is Sean in Cannes?02:25 - What creates an award winning campaign?03:21 - How to make the most out of your agency06:41 - What is being a CMO actually like?10:01 - Marketing language / business jargon11:35 - The awful 360 campaign14:10 - Sean’s biggest failure20:16 - A tough time: running marketing teams in the UK23:25 - What is Mercardo Libre?26:08 - From $300m to $10b28:49 - Marketing for Mercado Libre31:36 - Working with very constrained budgets34:46 - Managing a multi-faceted company39:57 - Becoming a media owner42:08 - Learnings from running a media business44:19 - The importance of building an online brand offline46:16 - How the pandemic helped them48:06 - Sean’s thoughts on AI

Allessandra Bellini is the Chief Customer Officer at Tesco, the largest supermarket in the UK. Previously she's held roles at agencies, before 21 years at Unilever rising up through the ranks to some very senior positions. Tesco are a huge household brand to represent in the UK, and Allessandra and her team have created some exceptional work over the years, including the well received "Food Love Stories" campaign. We talk all about those campaigns, how they scored on the System1 database and what it takes to run such a large brand.LinksFollow JonWatch UCMO on YouTubeTimestamps:00:00 - Intro01:13 - Starting out in advertising03:18 - From creative agency to joining corporate Unilever05:24 - What do you learn in 21 years at Unilever?06:32 - Most challenging and most proud moment at Unilever08:16 - The secret behind uncomfortable conversations10:06 - What is Allessandra most proud of from her time at Unilever?11:26 - From Unilever to Tesco13:28 - How to get close to the customer in such a large organisation15:51 - What are the changed18:15 - Downtrading and uptrading20:44 - The power of Clubcard Data24:57 - Cost of living crisis: every little helps, right?27:47 - How to communicate price30:35 - How much to spend on brand vs activation32:14 - Doing both long and short term advertising33:41 - Food love stories41:11 - Ad 1: Food Love Stories: Eid Mubarak45:31 - Ad 2: Sue’s Crispy Pork Noodles49:43 - Ad 3: Helen’s Homecoming Lamb51:45 - Ad 4: Barbecue54:40 - Being president of the Ad Association

Tom Rainsford has been named as one of the Top 50 creative minds in the country. After a surprising start to his career (that still stands him in great creative stead even now), Tom has grown a challenger brand into a household name and now leads the Marketing at one of the coolest brands on the planet – Beavertown Brewery.What does Tom see as the magic ingredients for successful brand growth, why does he believe culture and fact-based emotion are they key and how is he going to top his show stopping MadFest opener from last yearDancing your way to a top job in marketingShould you do a marketing degree?The first kickstarter brand? David to Goliath on Giff Gaff: 10 years building a genuinely different business model - how to outsmart the big boysAre great brands emotional or rational?The problems with tech marketing are…..Watch your internal language doesn’t end up in your communicationsWhy Tom believes in In-housing: how to nurture creativity within a companyWhy creativity is not valued in business.The important questions businesses need to ask themselves about why their creative is wrongThe importance of Culture: Does pizza on a Wednesday help?Was COVID a blessing for marketeers?Art and advertising reflecting culture: A discussion about Orlando Wood’s Look OutWhy pubs can be the answer the growth.Beavertown Neck Oil: Jon and Tom drink at 11am!Has craft beer jumped the shark?Is consistency important in marketing after all?Why Logan (Robert Plants son) founded Beavertown and what’s it like working in Founder led businesses.Why Beavertown innovation works (according to System1)Why Tom wants you to steal his pint glasses.What makes Beavertown stand out?The importance of a stonking productShifting to Heineken ownership - have things changed?Ensuring innovation succeeds within a titan mothershipMadfest: How Tom is planning to top his mobile phone/trust gigHow culture delivers brand trust and helps brands ride the stormCan you learn to do what Derren Brown diss in a month?Why being a CMO can be a lonely affair.The importance of making more noise in bad timesDo people do good work when they are knackered?Marketing artists vs marketing scientistsThe biggest failure in Tom’s career (and what he learnt)The reward of messing upWhy the more senior you get the less you know.“To do” lists vs “to think” listsWhat everyone’s next big business question needs to be……

Live from Cannes, third time returning guest Rory Sutherland gives us his views on just how good this year’s Festival of Creativity is, what should be awarded, AI vs AI, what we should be looking for as marketeers in current trends and the value that behavioural science brings to creativity.He also talks about what he is looking forward to on the road to another great festival – Madfest, and why he is doing his Mad Masters course.What we covered in this episode:Why Rory thinks this Cannes Lions Festival is the most wonderful ever.The backbone that Rory thinks System1 and WARC bringThe Campaign for a new Behavioural Science AwardFestival of creativity or advertising?The brilliance of ABInbev brewers for bread campaignRory on re-writing the advertising rulesJon’s 5 most creative momentsWhat excites Rory about behavioural scienceRory’s definition of creativityThe story at the heart of Crocs growthShould there be a Cannes Lion for zero budget campaigns?Fashions in psychologyThe problem with chat GPT is……Outlier vs average impact on creativityThe value Artificial Inquisitiveness and Interestingly wrongPeople’s value in business vs automationSystem1’s learnings on AI creativity and innovationWhy brand partnerships should be awarded.Encouraging people to think more widely about what they should be testing.Does Rory think the world needs Apple Vision?Should Google have persisted with Google Glass?Why all Europeans report to distain automatic cars.Rory’s ideas for the tech world innovationWhen are people happy being happy cut off from fellow men?The most important economic thing about Zoom meetings.How Rory is plotting to get more cash for creative peopleWhy Rory keeps coming back on The Uncensored CMOThe value of “crap creativity” – why the obvious solution could sometimes be betterRory’s Road to Madfest - what he is looking forward to and why he is doing Mad MastersLinksFollow JonWatch UCMO on YouTube

In this episode I'm joined by three more effectiveness titans in my Cannes special coverage. Karen Nelson-Field, Rob Brittain and fan favourite Orlando Wood join me to talk about the triple opportunity of attention.

Following on from the IPA EffWorks and WARC session on the Terrace Stage in Cannes, I speak to effectiveness legends, Les Binet, Grace Kite and Tom roach to outline the big shifts in advertising effectiveness in the digital era, suggesting that we’re leaving the trough of disillusionment and moving onto the plateau of productivity.Register for the IPA webinar: https://ipa.co.uk/events-listing/the-3rd-age-of-effectivenessDigital once promised so much in terms of effectiveness, efficiency, tracking, and accountability. But the reality didn’t live up to the hype. And now we’re entering a new era - one where the best understanding about things have always worked are being blended with new ways of doing things, and the evidence suggests things are beginning to work better as a result. They challenge the narrative that creativity is declining and digital is the culprit. On the contrary, analysis of the ARC database shows effectiveness is improving in some places, (less so in others). It will also shine a light on brand-building in the platform world, specifically, creativity within the platforms. Tom talks about how clients, agencies and creators are getting to grips with the new environment, showcasing examples of effective creativity from around the world.

Lex Bradshaw-Zanger is the Chief Marketing & Digital Officer for L’Oréal South Asia Pacific, Middle East & North Africa Region. Prior to this role, Lex was the CMO for the UK & Ireland, held roles in the Western Europe Zone and was Chief Digital Officer for the L’Oréal Middle East and Africa Region. Prior to L’Oréal, Lex was with McDonald’s and Facebook. He is a recovered ad-man having spent over 10 years in the agency world, with both WPP and Publicis – his last role was Regional Director for Digital Strategy & Innovation for Leo Burnett MENA.