Uncensored CMO

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.

Work is fundamentally important to the quality of our lives and we are surrounded by more change and choice than ever before. Our careers have become far less predictable and increasingly 'squiggly'. In this episode I have a chat with Helen Tupper, co-founder of Amazing If and co-author of "The Squiggly Career: Ditch the Ladder, Discover Opportunity, Design Your Career".Subscribe to the podcast on YouTube ->Find out more about Helen:The Squiggly Career BookSquiggly Careers PodcastAmazing IfHelen's LinkedInWhat we covered in this episode:How Helen and Sarah started their business on napkinWhy the career ladder is not necessarily the path to success5 years of experimentation to develop the Squiggly businessHow Helen and Sarah went from starting The Squiggly Careers Podcast to 330 episodesHow to create a growth flywheel for your brand or business - making content more usefulWhy creating something of huge value for free is the key to B2B growth - remaining relevantTrusting in reciprocity - why helping people authentically is so important for growthWhy you shouldn't worry about your weaknessesThe Squiggly Careers Book - The 5 Key Skills you needThe importance of deliberately choosing what you want to be known forYour 2 week energy audit - How to discover your core skills and valuesJon and Helen's 12 month career high and why it matteredBuilding high trust teams and emotional safetyLess budget = happy teamsConfidence Gremlins and limiting beliefsTeaching yourself to draw on the positiveLearning how to fail.... and that this means for successThe pressure pedestal - we are not all Simon Sinek!Jon's advice on presentation skillsNetworking Events - how to reframe the fearFired? Redundant? How to get back into employment....fast!Why you should only share what you really care aboutHow curious career conversations will set you up well in you next jobCreating a constant flow of future job opportunitiesHow to use your mobile phone contacts to find the perfect roleRedefining the definition of progressionHelen shares whom Squiggly Careers is for and whom it can helpHelen's advice on crafting your best career storyFollow Jon:LinkedInTwitter

Edward Pilkington is the Chief Marketing & Innovation Officer at Diageo North America, managing a portfolio of the biggest brands in the world, including Guinness, Johnnie Walker, Baileys, Smirnoff and more. If theres anyone that understands how to run marketing for huge brands, it's Ed, and he certainly brings his wealth of experience to this conversation.

Nishma is responsible for leading brand and reputation marketing for Google in the UK. She has led many of Google’s acclaimed projects and campaigns including Digital Garage, This is My YouTube, the Google Executive Summit, Brandcast, ThinkwithGoogle and Be Internet Legends. Nishma is a Board Director at the School of Marketing and is proud to be a Fellow of the Marketing Society. Her accolades include Ad Age’s Woman to Watch, Europe (2018), Campaign A List (2017, 2018 and 2019), Drum Digerati and was recognised in the Hospital Group’s h100 list as one of the most influential and innovative people in the UK’s creative industry. When she’s not looking after her twins or at work, you’ll find her in sparkly shoes dancing in the sun or under the stars!Talking points00:00 Intro00:32 The inspiration behind MadWomen04:18 How Teletext was the Google before Google07:54 The responsibility of managing the Google brand12:20 How Google makes you look clever13:30 What search reveals about humanity16:08 "It’s Ok to Ask" campaign with Uncommon17:59 Why Marcus Rashford helping out with the campaign20:37 It’s not what we ask it’s what we do with the answers20:47 The role of humanity in Google's work24:05 Why we shouldn't just sell cheese26:01 How the Google Pixel phone makes technology accessible to new audiences30:17 CODA, How Google helped people understand the life of someone with two deaf parents34:02 How diverse advertising unites the audience36:40 Telling one person's story well39:40 Diversity and representation in media42:28 How technology democratises the ability for creators to get funded46:54 Creating the worlds first augmented reality brand48:00 Top tips for YouTube creators50:20 How creators and collaborators can grow your brand51:05 The role of AI to democratise tech53:13 Advice for advertisers using YouTube58:01 The surprising effectiveness of brand building style advertising in digital01:00:35 Nishma’s biggest ever failure01:02:36 Outro

Yusuf has worked across most flavors of planning and strategy making him one of the few genuine hybrid strategists. His experience spans a number of the world’s leading corporations including Microsoft, BMW, Samsung, Kimberley-Clark, Kraft and Verizon. He is currently EVP, Client Strategy at NBCUniversal. Early ambition to become a city traderFalling into media planningWearing trainers to workSelling the internet in 1995Crossing the creative and media divideWhy all things are not equalThe birth of planningWhy so many Englishmen end up in New YorkWhy 90’s sitcoms are still so popularThe power of stories to attract a global audienceThe special relationship between audience and programmingThe 3 aspects of Fandom98% of commercial airtime is as engaging as the contentPricing media based on emotionReflecting people identity on screenSatisfying cultural curiosityThe representation hierarchyThe diversity divided when people feel seenThe power of empathy to connect with audiencesHow empathy and sympathy are different things

Today I'm joined by one of the most influential and successful CMOs on the planet, Fernando Machado, of legendary Burger King fame. He went on to work at Activision and now is CMO at NotCo.Fernando is a creative genuis, he's been awarded many, many times I've started to lose count (over 200 Cannes Lions). I wanted to catch up with Fernando and find out what makes a great creative marketer, was that "Mouldy Whopper" campaign actually worth it, and why did they sponsor a low league English football team? We also talk about what is he doing now working for a plant-based company and how AI plays a crucial role for them.LinksFollow JonFollow FernandoWatch UCMO on YouTubeTopics covered:What makes an influential CMOThe culture that leads to award winning workThe importance of influencing an organisation QUOTEThe two hidden P’s of the CMOThe importance of a shared creative ambitionWhy shared values and purposes is so importantWhat it takes to create award winning work QUOTEWhy is takes time to build up the credibility to take risksWhy huge failures are similar to most campaigns QUOTEIf your creative isn’t noticed everything else is academicWhy attracting the best creative talent means committing to bold workThe more creative work you do the more creative you are likely to getWhen you have a smaller budget you have to get more creativeSharing the results for Mouldy Whopper in public to address the criticsWhere the idea for the Mouldy Whopper came from QUOTEWhat Fernando learnt at Activision BlizzardThe power of networking in finding a perfect roleThe biggest challenge facing NotCoWhy the best creative work gets done on small budgetsHow AI is accelerating the development of plant based productsHow AI beat the Nike design departmentHow AI created the most average Pizza advertWhy the brief matters when using AI QUOTEFrom curation to creative, why AI is a tool and not a replacement of the marketing functionWhy Notco is advertising old animalsThink of a colour that doesn’t existThe one piece of advice for marketers

Richard Warren has spent his career working in and growing agencies, but most recently has worked in house at one of the UK's largest banking group, Lloyds. In 2000 Richard founded DLKW as Director of Strategy, which grew to become the the UK’s largest independent agency, before merging with Lowe in 2010. As someone who has spent time on both sides, I wanted to catch up with Richard to find out how to make the most of the agency-client relationship.

Rebecca Dibb-Simkin is the Chief Product and Marketing Officer at Octopus Energy Group. Previously at British Gas, Rebecca has helped scale Octopus into an impressive challenger brand with over 50k customers and $10b in revenue.What we covered in this episodeResponding to a job ad written by Rory SutherlandFrom the tax department to marketingBeing rejected on graduate schemesPoetic job applicationsMarketing jargon that needs to be ditchedWhy being close to the customer mattersThe marketers role in the middle of the spiders webFrom energy industry giant to start upThe spontaneous moment that led to Octopus energyJon blags a speech on the Internet of thingsThe surprisingly short distance to the edge of our atmosphereThe cost advantage of green energyWhich energy sources are the cleanestThe tricky of balance of managing variable sources of energyAdvantages of smart energyHow octopus are helping with the cost of living crisisThe red tape holding us backHow to incentivise people to adopt wind powerThe 40,000 electric blankets helping people in crisisFrom 50,000 customers to 5 millionThe secret to seriously rapid growthThe Brewdog question that drives growthHow to handle 80k job applicationsKeeping the core management team togetherThe advantages of an in house agencyOutrageously good customer service with humansNow the octopus came aboutThe science behind animals as mascotsIn praise of simplicity and products that workRunning the same campaign over and over againThe role of industry awards

Jo Arden is the Chief Strategy Officer of Ogilvy UK, and she joins me on the podcast to talk all things strategy. What's involved, why it's important and how to make a career of it. Jo's experience is vast, not landing a "strategy" role until her 30's and since has had senior roles at Publicis•Poke and MullenLowe.Here's what we covered in our chat:How Jo got into strategyHer winding path from PR through business development and into strategyWhat does a Chief Strategy Officer do?The role of generosity in being a great CSOThe business case for involving your strategy team on a core business problemThe one question you should always ask your customer“Making your thinking as funny as possible”Why the winning ads in technology don’t take themselves seriouslyThe ‘good sense of humour’ approach to planning“If you aren’t having fun you aren’t doing great work”In praise of Dove and it’s purpose in advertising“If it didn’t sell it wasn’t creative”Why the industry loves a crisis narrativeThe crisis in creativity is more of a trend than a crisisCannes Lions role in creative exploration rather than effectivenessJon was left out of his own Cannes Lion winning partyThe one Campaign award no-one wants to winWhy Turkeys eat Lions for breakfast“The consumer is not a moron, she is your wife”The challenge of bringing the consumer into the roomThe importance of doing normal thingsSpending the most time out of the officeRabbits in the office and other fun things at OgilvyGenerating borderless creativityPutting pressure on the task and not yourselfHow to create an environment for creativity to happenWhat Jo would advise her 21 year old selfJon share his almost unbelievable imposter syndrome storyUsing the power of your network

Chaka Sobhani is Chief Creative Officer of Leo Burnett London. With 20 years of experience as an award winning director, writer and creative director, she has worked for the biggest broadcasters, brands and agencies worldwide. She hasn’t had a conventional advertising career, having spent over 10 years as a film maker and in television. Chaka was recruited by ITV to set up and ECD their first in-house creative agency, production company and design studio. She has worked on countless brands including McDonalds, Boots, Coca Cola & more.Watch the McDonalds ad.Talking points:Celebrating Campaign Creative Leader of the YearGetting rejected 200 times before breaking into the industrySetting up ITV’s in-house creative departmentLearning production techniques at ITVHow to make great work on a budgetWhat its like being a global Executive Creative DirectorHelping others being successfulGetting industry acclaim and audience success for McDonaldsWhere the ‘raising your arches’ idea came fromSystem1 Test Your Ad scores for McDonalds Raise Your ArchesThe subtle branding for McDonalds that stood outThe challenge of casting eye brow raisingHow Raise Your Arches became a Tik Tok sensationThe state of diversity and inclusion in the industryHow advertising doesn’t reflect the society we live inTreating diversity with the same passion as new businessTelling one persons story wellThe diversity dividend of representative advertising

Professor Jenni Romaniuk is the International Director of the world-famous Ehrenberg-Bass Institute and author of Building Distinctive Brand Assets and How Brands Grow Part 2 - revised. Jenni is a leading expert in brand equity, mental availability, brand health metrics, advertising effectiveness, distinctive assets, word of mouth and the role of loyalty and growth. Through her work at the Ehrenberg-Bass Institute she has advised many of the world’s biggest brands.Jenni is an engaging and entertaining keynote speaker that has presented her research at leading industry conferences globally. Her latest book Better Brand Health: Measures and Metrics in a How Brands Grow World, is for anyone who wants to get better at brand measurement and improve their brand health tracking.What we covered in this episode:The soft porn scam version of Jenni’s new bookThe one question Jenni hasn’t been askedPublicity over persuasionHow even academics don’t always have the right beliefsCan you have too many distinctive assets?How marketers over estimate the number of assets they haveWhy Ehrenberg Bass use an owl as their distinctive assetHow do you measure a distinctive assetDoes the time frame of measurement make a differenceThe difference between new and super light buyers for LucozadeBrand tracking on a small budgetWhy differentiation is the most surprising discovery by EBIWhat inspired the book Starting with the laws that shape how brands growThe important of asking the right questionsCalibrating your tracker for your brand sizeWhich definition of brand awareness to useThe importance of non-buyers to your trackersDesigning for the category not your own objectivesWhy brand awareness is a lot less stable than you thinkThe probabilistic nature of memory and why recall changesThe power of Donald Trumps hairTypes of brand attributes and the role they playHow many category entry points does a brand needMental market share and how to measure itDistribution points of the mindThe importance of share of mindJenni writes a song to brand loveHow to measure your marketing Some advice for Word of MouthThe role of physical availability on brand healthThe importance of physical availability to convert customersShopping distinctive assets

A return for podcast guest number 1, Richard Shotton, following the launch of his brand new book "The Illusion of Choice: 16½ psychological biases that influence what we buy"."Every day, people make hundreds of choices.Many of these are commercial: What shampoo to pick? How much to spend on a bottle of wine? Whether to renew a subscription?These choices might appear to be freely made, but psychologists have shown that subtle changes in the way products are positioned, promoted and marketed can radically alter how customers behave.The Illusion of Choice identifies the 16½ most important psychological biases that everyone in business needs to be aware of today – and shows how any business can take advantage of these to win customers, retain customers and sell more.Richard Shotton, author of the acclaimed The Choice Factory, draws on academic research, previous ad campaigns and his own original field studies to create a fascinating and highly practical guide that focuses on the point where marketing meets the mind of the customer.You’ll learn to take advantage of the peak end rule, the power of precision, the wisdom of wit – and much, much more."What we covered in this episode:Why the podcast 4.9 star rating is the best oneThe meanest tweet Uncensored CMO ever hadSocial proof gives you wingsWhy the new book has 16 ½ chaptersFeel free to ignore this chapter in the bookWhy biases affect professionals as well as consumersThe Russian tank effect and how AI can be misledHow AI design a better pair of Nike TrainersRecency, primacy and the peak end ruleHow behavioural science supports the laws of marketingJon ranks the biasesThe Zuckerberg t-shirt principle (red sneaker effect)Why breaking convention is associated with higher statusAlways use concrete phrases not fluffy marketing nonsenseThe more visual the phrase the easier to rememberRelatable stories beat cold hard statisticsTelling one persons story well is better than trying to represent a groupHow well can experts predict a successful Super Bowl AdExperts are trained to see novelty rather than broad appealWe are all rewarded based on sophistication and complexity rather than simplicityHow thicker paper led to more charity donationsWhy marketer can’t predict how well their own advertising will doProfessional forecasters are no better at predicting than the average personWhy freedom of choice leads to much greater perceived valueWhy we would rather suffer a loss if we now someone else has done betterAdverts aren’t trying to be funny anymore even though the funny ones workWhy making a joke would increase your tipsMaking it easy is the best way to make someone do somethingWe radically underestimate the impact of removing frictionRemoving friction beats customer benefits every timeHow to frame your pricing so people buy your preferred productWhat colonoscopies can tell us about the peak end ruleWhy ads with a peak end perform better overallLinksFollow JonFollow RichardWatch UCMO on YouTube

Les Binet and Sarah Carter are planning royalty. Starting out at the iconic BMP, the agency which evolved over time to become adam&eve today, they are the planners behind many famous campaigns. Not least John Lewis which lasted an impressive 14 years. A few years ago their popular myth busting column turned into the well known book ‘How Not to Plan’ taking conventional wisdom and turning it on its head. I catch up with the dynamic duo to pick their considerable brains on the topics they think marketers least understand.Talking points from this episode:The real godfather of effectivenessHow John Lewis changed ChristmasLes & Sarah pick a favourite adWhy vignette ads are a cop outWhat the John Lewis econometrics reveals about the campaignWhy you should make people feel something not show them feelingJon discovers the Long & the Short of itThe best way to really upset LesThat famous key visualCan you ever achieve both long & short at the same timeWhy consumers don’t give a s**tHow myth busting inspired the bookBeing turned down by Marketing WeekWhy there are more P’s than PromotionHow to involve planners earlyThe BMP Philosophy of planningHow not to get caught ShortWhy 60% of campaign results are long termHow not to be consistentKnowing what to change and when to change itWhat advertisers can learn from designersA little plug for Orlando’s fluent device workIt’s only advertising and no-one diedThe case for animals and musicHow not to make senseHow not to change your pricingWhy EPOS data switched spend from communication to price promotionDigital attribution is the new price promotionThe more detailed the measurement the worse the marketing has gotJon shares his only Effie case studyHow not to be differentWhy how you say something matters more than what you sayLes takes down the idea of loyaltyThe one topic which wasn’t covered in the bookFinding things to get angry about

In this episode I'm joined by Sam Conniff, the author of Be More Pirate, creator of Uncertainty Experts and stand-up comedian. I speak to Sam about what marketers can learn from the pirates (which is a genuinely interesting look back in time), how we can deal with uncertain times and find out what his best joke is in his new hobby, stand-up comedy.To win a copy of Sam's book, you just have to guess the number of books he's sold. Send me a message on LinkedIn with your guess.What we covered: Why hot pink is the colour of a punk rebellion Creating a challenger brand pirate operation inside a large soft drink company The fear and loneliness of the challenger Why piracy inspired a book about being an entrepreneur How today is like the golden age of privacy The forward thinking nature of Piracy that are relevant today How piracy is a creative rebellion Pioneering fair pay, equal relationships, insurance scheme, democratic process How the pirate flag became the worlds first super brand How ‘surrender or die’ was a very effective strap line Protecting the pirate brand guidelines The power of shared values in victory What do you do with no money Why values based results never materialised How fear drives decision making Navigating yourself off the map The pirates that work in the Navy How the pirate code ensured strong accountability The role of advertising in a post consumer society The fantasy of the ‘business plan’ compared to lived values What are you willing to fight for? The best modern day pirates How pirates end up becoming the navy Turning land-fill firehoses into luxury items The 5 Pirate Principles also known as the 5 ‘Rrrrr’s’ The upheaval that led to becoming an expert on Uncertainty What you can learn from gang members in prison How the pandemic was predictable The truth in most situations is ‘I don’t know’ There is discovery in doubt The profound impact of increasing your uncertainty tolerance Sam shares a surprising new talent

Nir Eyal is back for the second part of this 2-part Uncensored CMO series. This episode, we talk about the book that made him famous - Hooked - and how you can apply habit-forming techniques to your own marketing work.Some more about Nir:Nir Eyal writes, consults, and teaches about the intersection of psychology, technology, and business. Nir previously taught as a Lecturer in Marketing at the Stanford Graduate School of Business and the Hasso Plattner Institute of Design at Stanford. Nir co-founded and sold two tech companies since 2003 and was dubbed by The M.I.T. Technology Reviewas, “The Prophet of Habit-Forming Technology.” Bloomberg Businessweek wrote, “Nir Eyal is the habits guy. Want to understand how to get app users to come back again and again? Then Eyal is your man.”He is the author of two bestselling books, Hooked: How to Build Habit-Forming Products and Indistractable: How to Control Your Attention and Choose Your Life.

Why the AdContrarian decided to end his weekly newsletterThe irony of Bob getting an award for best speaker at an AdTech conferenceA surprising honour from Byron SharpThe freedom that comes from being an independentBob’s most contrarian ever statementThe shocking amount of personal data gather about every personHow the marketing industry is complicit in on-line tracking and division in societyThe issue of tracking and how we managed just fine beforehandWhy advertising works better when it isn’t personalThe primary role of advertising to create fame for the brandSystem1 data to show the value of Fame buildingWhy most people don’t care about your banner adHow targeting devalued creativityWhy AI will just lead us to more average creative workThe insanity of M&M’s withdrawing their characters in a moral stanceWhy the industry isn’t taking the failures of adtech seriouslyExplaining ‘programmatic poo’ and why it mattersThe 40,000 websites your ad appears onThe 9 billions ads that suddenly disappearedThe important distinction between ad impressions and viewsWhy only 9% of people actual see a banner adWhat happens when we start media buying based on attentionThe things your Gran could have told you about advertisingWhy your audience aren’t ‘buying into the conversation’Is my toilet paper pro Brexit?The scale of ad fraud and why it isn’t newsAd fraud is bigger than Coke or NikeThe scale of ad fraud funding criminal activityWhy low CPM’s drive the wrong behaviour in the digital worldHow 3rd party data only predicted gender 46% of the timeWhether its time for legislation to fix the issuesThe 3 things every marketer can do to helpWhat works in marketing doesn’t work in advertisingIntroducing the Marketing Bottom and what most marketers don’t knowWhy people buy what makes them feel goodHow Fame, Feeling & Fluency predicts successThe one topic we should be talking aboutThe case for being silly and having more fun

Nir Eyal writes, consults, and teaches about the intersection of psychology, technology, and business. Nir previously taught as a Lecturer in Marketing at the Stanford Graduate School of Business and the Hasso Plattner Institute of Design at Stanford. Nir co-founded and sold two tech companies since 2003 and was dubbed by The M.I.T. Technology Reviewas, “The Prophet of Habit-Forming Technology.” Bloomberg Businessweek wrote, “Nir Eyal is the habits guy. Want to understand how to get app users to come back again and again? Then Eyal is your man.”He is the author of two bestselling books, Hooked: How to Build Habit-Forming Products and Indistractable: How to Control Your Attention and Choose Your Life.What we covered in this episode:What motivated Nir to write IndistractableThe one topic that hadn’t been written aboutFocusing on what works in practice and not just in theoryHow the book helped work, life, family and healthWhy we get in our own wayWhat it’s like to see your own book on the shelfWho Nir really wrote the bookWhy yellow is the best colour for a book and podcastUnderstanding what causes distractionThe role of intent in separating traction and distractionWhy you shouldn’t write a to-do listFocus on what is important rather than easyHow work tasks can also be distractionThe internal and external triggers of distractionThe shocking 90% of distractions that come from within usHow we have to master our internal triggersThe secret hack of planning our time rather than to-do’sThe myth of will power of a depleting resource and the one group for whom its trueWhy you should avoid seeing yourself as a victimChanging the narrative we tell about ourselvesLiving to your own values rather than other peoplesMaking time for traction by turning values into timeBeing generous with your money and stingy with your timeThe importance of planning time for fun and interacting with peopleDividing work into reflective vs reactive workUsing your calender rather than email to determine your dayThe tyranny of the to-do listHow to a get to a higher level of team productivityUsing communication tools like a hot-tubHow to manage your bossThe role of culture in supporting its people to be IndistractableHow BCG changed their business cultureWork hard and go home – the lesson from SlackWhy focus is the superpower of the centuryHow to approach meetingsWhy 80% of meetings have no agendaThe surprising number for the optimum number of people in a brainstormThe only reason to have a meetingThe homework required before every meeting

Mark Ritson is back on the Uncensored CMO podcast, and he's more uncensored than ever. This episode brings his ever candid thoughts on the best ads of 2022, who f*cked up and who he's been most impressed by. Strap in for Ritson's Review of 2022.Watch Uncensored CMO on YouTube here.What we covered in this conversation:Biggest marketing cock up of 2022The 2022 new entry on Mark’s Marketing Bulls**t Top 10The biggest surprise of 2022Which brand impressed him the most in 2022Who taught him the most in 2022The short term pay off of long term brand buildingThe challenge of stagflation in 2023Why pricing is a big opportunity for MarketersThe importance of framing and communicating priceHave we passed the peak Christmas Ad yet?The strategy behind Aldi’s successful Christmas AdThe power of Fluent devices to connect short & longThe under leveraged power of music to drive effectivenessHow Coke Holidays are coming owned ChristmasHow doing less leads to moreThe one time a client changed agency and kept the creative the sameJon & Mark review the best ads of 2022 on the System1 databaseHow Cadbury hit 5 Star in only 10sec with hardly any productionThe power of consistency for CadburyHow the emotional response varies by categoryHow Kelloggs owned the breakfast categoryWhat Mark learnt about branding whilst writing articles for the BA magazineHow Go turkey made the Top 5 but remained forgettableHow to value the impact of the musicMark and Jon create the perfect advertHow agencies could guarantee a pitch win with System1When Jon lost out on a Hollywood DirectorWhy marketing is so often seen as a cost not an opportunityJon reveals the No.1 Ad of 2022 (excluding Christmas Ads)Jon reveals the Top 5 Advertisers of 2022How Magnum reflected older people so well in their AdvertisingMarks most famous MW column on Cannes and how it compares to System1 dataJon reveals the No.1 Advertiser of 2022Why simple beats clever every timeBrands are tiny and un-important in consumers lives

What does it take to be the CMO of an iconic British high-street retailer, like Boots? Pete Markey shares his valuable wisdom and insights from a career at the very top.What we covered in this episode:The difficult second album making Boots Christmas AdRediscovering the joy of Hall & OatesWhy Retailers are so good at making Christmas adsMaking people feel more festiveThe importance of escaping reality at ChristmasHow Boots landed on Joy as a proposition for BootsThe purpose of making gifting easier and more joyfulBeing CMO of a high st retailer during covid & recessionHow Boots is using pricing and Advantage card to help customersGoing from ‘good old Boots’ to ‘oh wow Boots’How Boots is using advertising to reflect the full diversity of societyThe importance of telling one persons story wellWising up and showing older people in a better lightHow ‘Summer be ready’ campaign reflected older people as part of the storyThe role of purpose and whether it can also deliver profit Never drink the kool aid on your own purposeHow to tell your brand story internally as well as externally Making the finance team your best friendBeing shortlisted for Brand of the year in two awardsThe power of Boots advantage card as a media channelMeeting the challenge of Black FridayBeing on the Campaign and Marketing Week Top 100 listsImpressing the kids with a Hollywood style photoshootThe secret to being a Top 100 CMOHow the reality of being a CMO is different to the perception Creating the framework for success and unleashing the talent The hidden P’s of Politics and PersuasionThe importance of non-marketing skill set for a CMOPete’s advice to the aspiring CMO – be curious, get trained & build your networkHow Jon got a job that was never advertisedThe hidden power of your networkWhat you should do right now to build your networkHow Jon accidentally ended up doing a speech at the wrong eventThe 100 day plan to meet 100 peoplePete’s aim to terrify himself via improvised comedy