Uncensored CMO

How Sephora built brands through creators, partnerships and loyalty - CMO Zena Arnold

Jon Evans — Wed, 29 Apr 2026 01:00:00 +0100

Zena Arnold, CMO of Sephora, joins us to break down how one of the world’s most influential beauty retailers continues to set the standard for brand, community, and culture.

From standout branding to record-breaking product launches, Zena shares what’s behind Sephora’s success and how the business stays relentlessly close to its customers in a fast-moving category. We explore the rise of celebrity brands, the power of loyalty, and how Sephora works with creators through initiatives like the Sephora Squad.

Thank you to our sponsor, System1: https://system1group.com/

Timestamps

00:00 - Start
01:13 - Zena’s incredible marketing career
06:02 - Lessons that turned Zena into the marketer she is today
07:41 - What has made Sephora so successful?
10:01 - Why Sephora’s branding stands out
11:30 - What’s trending in the beauty category in 2026?
13:22 - How does Sephora stay close to the customer?
14:45 - The biggest brand launch in Sephora history
15:25 - How to pitch a beauty brand to Sephora
18:00 - How important are celebrity brands?
19:03 - Helping brands launch in Sephora
21:00 - The power of Sephora’s loyalty programme
25:09 - How Sephora attract new customers
27:02 - How Sephora uses creators effectively with the Sephora Squad
29:45 - How to measure the effectiveness of creators
31:12 - The exceptional advertising of Sephora
32:49 - How Sephora uses tech in their marketing
38:09 - Dealing with the speed of retail
39:00 - Creating conditions where you can fail and learn

Marketing in the age of AI with Adobe Enterprise CMO, Rachel Thornton

Jon Evans — Mon, 27 Apr 2026 01:00:00 +0100

Rachel Thornton, Enterprise CMO at Adobe, joins us to unpack how one of the world’s leading technology companies is navigating marketing in the age of AI. From brand building in B2B to launching complex software products, Rachel shares what it takes to drive growth at global scale.

We discuss the role of major events like Adobe Summit, how AI is transforming both the practice and perception of marketing, and why community and storytelling are becoming more important than ever. Rachel also explains how Adobe balances brand and product marketing, invests in partnerships like sports sponsorships, and what “agentic orchestration” actually means in practice.

Timestamps

00:00 - Start
01:39 - Rachel’s career and what makes a successful CMO
04:12 - The importance of brand in B2B
08:57 - The role of large events in B2B marketing (like Adobe Summit)
12:29 - The biggest changes AI have had in marketing
18:06 - How Adobe approaches community in their marketing
20:26 - How Adobe use AI in their marketing
22:53 - How Tesco use Adobe
24:22 - Adobe’s product launches at Summit 2026
26:50 - What does agentic orchestration mean?
28:33 - How to successfully launch new software?
29:58 - How Adobe addresses brand vs product marketing?
30:57 - Why Adobe invests in sports sponsorships
34:26 - The power of storytelling in sport
36:07 - The best advice Rachel has received

Nir Eyal on how belief can transform your life & your brand

Jon Evans — Wed, 22 Apr 2026 01:00:00 +0100

Nir Eyal returns to the podcast to discuss his latest book, Beyond Belief, and the powerful role belief plays in shaping our behaviour, relationships, and decisions.

From the difference between fact, faith, and belief to the surprising ways our perceptions influence what we see, Nir explains how beliefs can be consciously changed and why doing so can transform everything from personal performance to company culture.

We also explore the role of belief in branding, including how companies like Liquid Death use anticipation to disrupt entire categories, and why the most successful brands don’t just sell products they shape what people believe.

Thank you to System1 for sponsoring Uncensored CMO.
https://system1group.com/

Timestamps

00:00 - Start
01:44 - Why Nir wrote a book about belief?
05:57 - How powerful can belief be?
10:15 - Believing is seeing
12:44 - The three powers of belief
14:42 - The difference between fact, faith and belief
16:05 - How belief can affect relationships
17:10 - How to change your beliefs
25:52 - How powerful can beliefs be?
28:37 - The cautious power of placebo
32:59 - Why Liquid Death used the power of anticipation to disrupt water
35:59 - Why brand is so powerful
37:40 - How our beliefs literally shape what we see
39:42 - Why smart people are more unsuccessful
41:59 - How beliefs can improve company culture
42:57 - When should you quit?
47:08 - Why labelling yourself can be self-limiting
50:52 - How to build good beliefs

How to get the best performance out of your agency with Kory Marchisotto

Jon Evans — Mon, 20 Apr 2026 01:00:00 +0100

Today, Jon and Kory break down one of the most misunderstood relationships in marketing: working with agencies.

From treating agencies as a true force multiplier to fixing broken relationships, they share practical advice on how to get the best out of your partners, and what to do when things inevitably go wrong. This is a candid look at trust, expectations, and why the best results come when agencies feel like part of your team, not just a supplier.

Whether you’re managing an agency or working inside one, this episode will change how you think about the relationship.

Get Uncensored Renegades every week:

Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/uncensored-renegades/id1868870960
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/7qnkqq0XSpgif9A5ZNgSpX?si=f181c3a0e9af480c

Timestamps

00:00 - Start
01:20 - Why agencies can be a force multiplier
02:11 - How to fix a broken agency relationship
04:12 - How to set your agency up for success
08:36 - Bringing your agency into your company
13:42 - What to do when things go wrong with your agency
18:30 - Be tough in victory and gentle in defeat
20:17 - What is the cost of changing your agency?

Who Gives A Crap Founder on Challenger Lessons - Danny Alexander

Jon Evans — Wed, 15 Apr 2026 01:00:00 +0100

Danny Alexander, co-founder of Who Gives A Crap, joins us to share how a toilet paper brand became a global challenger business while giving away 50% of its profits to charity.

From launching with a viral crowdfunding campaign to capitalising on the global toilet paper shortage, Danny breaks down how the brand combined purpose, creativity, and strong fundamentals to stand out in a commoditised category.

We also discuss the realities of scaling a mission-led business, the differences between DTC and retail marketing, lessons from failed launches, and how to build a team and culture that lasts. A brilliant look at what it really takes to build a brand people care about.

Timestamps

00:00 – Start
00:29 – The founding story of Who Gives A Crap
02:55 – The benefits of having three co-founders
05:00 – Naming the company
07:07 – Innovating in packaging design
10:08 – The story behind the emergency roll
10:58 – Why they give away 50% of profits
12:53 – Convincing investors to support the mission
14:38 – The viral crowdfunding campaign
17:33 – Capitalising on the toilet paper shortage
22:45 – DTC vs retail marketing
24:36 – Most effective marketing campaigns
27:46 – Biggest challenges and failures
30:53 – A failed brand launch
37:08 – Hiring great talent
38:32 – The five values of Who Gives A Crap
41:14 – Advice for aspiring founders

How to find inspiration with Kory Marchisotto

Jon Evans — Mon, 13 Apr 2026 01:00:00 +0100

Today, Jon and Kory explore a simple but often overlooked skill: how to actually find inspiration.

From brands like Tony’s Chocolonely to supermarkets, subways, and even nature, they break down why the best ideas rarely come from inside your own company. Instead, inspiration comes from changing your environment, staying curious, and being open to unexpected moments.

If you’re feeling stuck, this episode is a reminder that great ideas are everywhere, if you’re willing to look for them.

Get Uncensored Renegades every week:

Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/uncensored-renegades/id1868870960
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/7qnkqq0XSpgif9A5ZNgSpX?si=f181c3a0e9af480c

Timestamps

00:00 - Start
00:32 - Why Jon is inspired by Tony’s Chocolonely
06:45 - Why you need to look outside your company for inspiration
08:35 - Finding inspiration in nature
10:54 - The importance of changing your context
12:56 - Getting inspiration in a supermarket
14:33 - Getting inspiration on the metro
16:57 - Why you need to be open to be inspired

Coke CMO’s lessons on advertising, innovation and surviving corporate politics - Walter Susini

Jon Evans — Wed, 08 Apr 2026 01:00:00 +0100

Walter Susini, former CMO of Coca-Cola Europe, joins us to share what it really takes to succeed inside one of the world’s most iconic brands. From the enduring power of “Holidays Are Coming” to the role of jingles and distinctive assets.

We also dive into innovation at Coca-Cola, including the lessons from Coke Zero and the failed launch of Coke Energy, and where brands often get innovation wrong.

But beyond marketing, Walter offers a candid look at the political reality of being a CMO, a theme he explores in his book Bullsh*t Inc., an unfiltered guide to how companies really operate behind the scenes. Drawing on decades of experience, he shares why performance alone isn’t enough, how decisions actually get made, and what it takes to survive and succeed inside large organisations.

Get Walter's book here:
https://www.amazon.co.uk/BULLSH-INC-Unfiltered-Survival-Corporate/dp/B0G6PVDM11

Sign up to our live event, The Calling, on April 21st here:
https://event.uncensoredcmo.com/events/uncensoredcmo/2044861

Subscribe to our newsletter, The One Thing:
https://newsletter.uncensoredcmo.com/

Listen to our new podcast, Uncensored Renegades:
Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/uncensored-renegades/id1868870960
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/7qnkqq0XSpgif9A5ZNgSpX?si=f181c3a0e9af480c

Timestamps

00:00 - Start
00:58 - Walter Susini’s career journey
02:38 - Why Coke ran the holidays are coming ads for so long?
05:51 - The power of distinctive assets for Coca Cola - especially jingles
08:34 - Why Pepsi used Coke’s polar bear
11:50 - What the data says about the Pepsi polar bear ad
15:41 - Why Walter is a “Professor of Practice”
18:10 - The failed launch of Coke Energy
21:29 - Innovation in the drinks industry: launching Coke Zero
23:32 - The sweet spot for innovation
25:53 - The political reality of being a CMO
34:00 - Why Walter’s book cover is yellow
37:11 - Why Walter wrote a book on corporate politics
40:29 - How to navigate the politics in a business
42:27 - Why you can still be fired if your performance is great
44:54 - Performance theatre beats actual theatre
47:15 - Why decisions don’t get made in meetings
47:57 - Why vulnerability and psychological safety are non-existent in business
49:33 - Dealing with buzzword hyperfocus
53:39 - How to survive the corporate jungle

The price of leadership: the sacrifices every CMO has to make

Jon Evans — Mon, 06 Apr 2026 01:00:00 +0100

Leadership at the top level doesn't come free it costs time, energy, and often the comfort of a predictable life. In this episode, Kory and Jon get honest about what it really takes to lead as a CMO: the personal sacrifices, the travel, the pressure, and the constant balancing act between work and home. From managing time zones on the road to the surprisingly powerful concept of strategic laziness, this is a candid look at what high-performance leadership actually demands, and how to make it sustainable.

Get Uncensored Renegades every week:

Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/uncensored-renegades/id1868870960
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/7qnkqq0XSpgif9A5ZNgSpX?si=f181c3a0e9af480c

Timestamps

00:00 - Start
00:39 - What sacrifices do CMOs need to make
04:37 - How to balance work with home life
06:36 - Managing time zone differences when you travel
10:41 - How to apply strategic laziness
14:15 - How to lead effectively under pressure from travelling

Rory Sutherland & Rawdon Glover - How Jaguar pulled off a design & engineering miracle

Jon Evans — Wed, 01 Apr 2026 01:00:00 +0100

Last year, I sat down with Jaguar MD Rawdon Glover to unpack one of the most controversial rebrands in automotive history. Now, the car is real and I got a chance to ride around the test track in it.

Joined by Rory Sutherland, we travelled to Jaguar’s HQ to experience the new car in prototype form. What followed was a conversation on whether this radical reinvention is genius or madness.

We dive into the thinking behind the design, the disappearing trade-offs between performance and comfort, and why Jaguar is deliberately challenging convention. Rory brings his trademark perspective on behaviour and perception, including how to rethink “range anxiety” and what makes a product feel truly desirable.

This is a rare look inside a brand attempting one of the boldest transformations in modern automotive history.

Timestamps

00:00 - Start
01:10 - What has gone into creating the new Jaguar?
04:00 - Balancing performance and comfort
05:43 - The power of choosing conflicting goals
07:51 - Why the new Jaguar is being tested on ice?
10:32 - How close is the concept car to the production car?
12:54 - Who is the target audience for the new Jaguar?
14:30 - The design process of the new Jaguar
18:41 - The Spirit of Jaguar Campaign
20:46 - Why the metrics for electric cars need to change
22:13 - Why the new Jaguar is a bargain at £130,000
25:34 - Will petrolheads like this car?
26:37 - Why electrification changes the paradigm of what’s possible
30:47 - Rory’s pitch for removing battery anxiety
33:08 - Why Ferrari and Lamborghini took different approaches to EVs
35:21 - Will the new Jaguar be a Waymo?
36:27 - How are Jaguar predicting demand for this car?
36:41 - How will Jaguar predict demand for the car?
37:57 - The marketing plan for the new Jaguar
40:57 - Is the residual value of electric cars a worry?
42:12 - Customisation options for the new Jaguar
46:03 - What would Rory do if he was in charge of Jaguar
49:26 - The decision behind the bold car colours

How not to get fired (from the world’s leading expert)

Jon Evans — Mon, 30 Mar 2026 01:00:00 +0100

Getting fired is one of the most humbling experiences in business, and one of the most instructive. In this episode, Kory and Jon get candid about the times they've been let go, what went wrong, and the hard-won lessons that followed. Jon in particular has a story or two to share (including getting fired twice in 18 months), and between them they unpack what it really takes to survive and thrive in high-stakes leadership roles.

Get Uncensored Renegades every week:

Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/uncensored-renegades/id1868870960
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/7qnkqq0XSpgif9A5ZNgSpX?si=f181c3a0e9af480c

Timestamps

00:00 - Start
01:22 - What Jon learned from being fired twice
03:35 - How not to get fired
08:20 - How to understand your boss (so you don’t get fired)
10:50 - Align yourself with the company, not just personal goals
13:11 - How Jon got fired for the second time in 18 months
16:12 - Are you the right person to work for a high growth company?
17:50 - Be careful where you get hired

How Zwift created a global fitness unicorn - Steve Beckett

Jon Evans — Wed, 25 Mar 2026 01:00:00 +0000

It’s not often you meet a CMO who helped build a unicorn from the ground up while creating an entirely new category. Steve Beckett, CMO of Zwift, joined as employee number five and played a key role in turning Zwift into the global sporting powerhouse it now is.

In this episode, Steve shares how Zwift balanced performance marketing with brand building, deeply understanding the acquisition metrics while making bold brand bets, including becoming the founding sponsor of the Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift. We also explore how the business scaled through COVID, the bold move to launch their own hardware, and the role brand played in raising capital.

This is a conversation about what it really takes to build a category-defining company and why the best CMOs understand both the metrics and the magic.

Sign up to our live event, The Calling, on April 21st here:
https://event.uncensoredcmo.com/events/uncensoredcmo/2044861

Subscribe to our newsletter, The One Thing:
https://newsletter.uncensoredcmo.com/

Timestamps

00:00 - Start
02:51 - Steve’s work with team Sky
05:05 - Learning about success inside Team Sky
07:09 - From Sky to employee number 5 at Zwift
08:36 - How Zwift invented the indoor training category
13:37 - The behavioural science behind Zwift
14:51 - Has anyone turned pro from riding on Zwift?
17:18 - How Covid impacted Zwift
23:11 - Growing at all costs vs profitability
27:28 - Whats it like working for a founder led startup
29:50 - How brand helped Zwift raise money
32:06 - From selling software to selling hardware
34:14 - Why Zwift sponsor the women’s Tour De France
38:09 - Advice on how to create a unicorn business

Why you need a personal board of directors [Uncensored Renegades]

Jon Evans — Mon, 23 Mar 2026 01:00:00 +0000

Companies have boards of directors to make big decisions, so why don't individuals? Kory does exactly this in her life, so she breaks down why she does it, how she chose the people to be a part of her board, and the kind of decisions they helps her make.

Get Uncensored Renegades every week:

Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/uncensored-renegades/id1868870960
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/7qnkqq0XSpgif9A5ZNgSpX?si=f181c3a0e9af480c

Timestamps

00:00 - Start
01:17 - What is a personal board of directors?
04:07 - When to use your board of directors
04:51 - What makes a good personal board of directors?
06:21 - How to choose your board
08:58 - The power of networking
11:41 - What not to do with your personal board of directors
12:37 - Finding people outside your industry
19:09 - Why you learn more deeper into your career

How Gymshark took on the sportswear giants - Carly Natalizia

Jon Evans — Wed, 18 Mar 2026 01:00:00 +0000

Carly Natalizia, Chief Commercial Officer at Gymshark, joins us to share how one of the UK’s most exciting brands continues to grow while staying close to its community. From starting her career in finance to leading commercial strategy at Gymshark, Carly offers a unique perspective on leadership, growth, and customer obsession.

We discuss Gymshark’s rise as a challenger brand taking on global sportswear giants, what it’s like working alongside founder Ben Francis, and how the business balances brand and commercial priorities. Carly also shares lessons on sustainable growth, executing big ideas, and how Gymshark keeps its finger on the pulse of its customers.

Sign up to our live event, The Calling, on April 21st here:
https://event.uncensoredcmo.com/events/uncensoredcmo/2044861

Subscribe to our newsletter, The One Thing:
https://newsletter.uncensoredcmo.com/

Timstamps

00:00 - Start
01:08 - How Carly went from finance to marketing
02:19 - Career advice to Carly’s younger self
04:09 - Why Carly moved from finance to retail and the differences between them
07:28 - The Gymshark story: taking on the sportswear giants
09:02 - What its like working for the UK’s youngest billionaire, Ben Francis
15:07 - Carly’s promotion from Chief Digital Officer to Chief Commercial Officer
16:01 - How Gymshark stay close to the customer
17:21 - How to be an effective leader in the c-suite at Gymshark
18:44 - How the Chief Commercial Officer and Chief Brand Officer work together
25:04 - How do you maintain sustainable growth
26:46 - Gymshark NYC store launch
29:25 - The success of Gymshark’s “We Do Gym” campaign
31:24 - How to execute great ideas well

The power of kindness with Kory Marchisotto [Uncensored Renegades]

Jon Evans — Mon, 16 Mar 2026 01:00:00 +0000

e.l.f. lives by the mission of being "a bold disruptor with a kind heart" a refreshing stance when disruption is rarely paired with kindness. Kory explains why kindness is at the core of how e.l.f. operates, what it actually looks like in practice, and what holds most people back from embracing it.

Get Uncensored Renegades every week:

Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/uncensored-renegades/id1868870960
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/7qnkqq0XSpgif9A5ZNgSpX?si=f181c3a0e9af480c

Watch the Uncensored CMO episode with James Watt:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rOp1CPZ0CNM

Links

Timestamps

00:00 - Start
00:53 - Being a bold disruptor with a kind heart
03:11 - The difference between being kind and being nice
08:02 - Why we should be kind to our competitors
09:30 - The science to kindness
10:56 - Why fear of embarrassment stops us being kind
17:02 - The power of kindness for your career
19:08 - Kindness doesn’t have to be big gestures

Canva CMO on the marketing strategies that built Australia’s largest private company - Zach Kitschke

Jon Evans — Wed, 11 Mar 2026 01:00:00 +0000

Zach Kitschke joined Canva as employee number five. Today, the company serves hundreds of millions of users worldwide.

In this episode, Zach shares the inside story of Canva’s growth, from the scrappy early marketing that put the company on the map to scaling a brand and product used across the world. We discuss the power of Canva’s freemium model, their bold “Make the Logo Bigger” campaign, and how the company approaches both brand and B2B marketing.

Zach also explains how Canva scaled from a team of five to thousands of employees, the leadership lessons he learned from the founders, and how AI is shaping the next chapter for the business.

Sign up to our live event, The Calling, on April 21st here:
https://event.uncensoredcmo.com/events/uncensoredcmo/2044861

Subscribe to our newsletter, The One Thing:
https://newsletter.uncensoredcmo.com/

Timestamps

00:00 - Start
00:53 - Being employee #5 at Canva
01:46 - The marketing that got Canva noticed at the start
03:50 - How big is Canva?
04:45 - The challenges growing Canva into a unicorn
07:26 - What makes good design according to Canva
09:24 - The freemium business model
11:46 - Why the Canva founders are giving away 30% of their wealth
13:21 - Do Canva invest more in product or brand?
14:41 - Canva’s make the logo bigger campaign
16:33 - How Canva approaches B2B marketing
18:59 - The AI tools that are driving Canva forward
22:19 - The most innovative things Zach has done as Canva CMO
24:58 - Zach’s tips for delivering a keynote
26:59 - Being a CMO scaling from 5 to 5000 employees
29:52 - How to run multiple business functions; HR, marketing, customer service
31:49 - What Zach has learned from the Canva founders
33:32 - How to define the cuture at Canva
35:39 - What’s next for Canva?
36:35 - What has made Canva so successul?

Lessons from sh*tty moments (and bosses) [Uncensored Renegades]

Jon Evans — Mon, 09 Mar 2026 01:00:00 +0000

Every week, Jon and Kory pull back the curtain on the messy, unfiltered reality of building a career on your own terms. Throughout their long and successful careers, they've had their fair share of sh*tty moments and even sh*ttier bosses. From Kory being literally barked orders at in her first job, to Jon being fired after just 3 months at his dream job. These are the moments that make you question everything. But they're also the moments that shape you. Tune in for the lessons, the laughs, and zero sugarcoating.

Get Uncensored Renegades every week:

Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/uncensored-renegades/id1868870960
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/7qnkqq0XSpgif9A5ZNgSpX?si=f181c3a0e9af480c

Watch the Uncensored CMO episode with James Watt:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rOp1CPZ0CNM

Timestamps

00:00 - Start
00:37 - Why sh*tty moments?
01:24 - Kory moment #1 - the fire that fuels you
04:20 - How to be a good boss
05:43 - Jon moment #1 - when to have the hard conversations
11:13 - Kory moment #2 - a lesson in de-escalation
16:28 - Jon moment #2 - impossible and unreasonable expectations
20:59 - Kory moment #3 - be careful of the bridges you burn
25:51 - Jon moment #3 - the power of being vulnerable

LinkedIn CMO on how to grow your profile, what skills are most in demand and B2B marketing strategies - Jessica Jensen

Jon Evans — Wed, 04 Mar 2026 01:00:00 +0000

Jessica Jensen, CMO of LinkedIn, joins us for a high-energy conversation on careers, personal branding, and the future of B2B marketing.

We dive into the latest job market data (it might surprise you), the skills employers are actively looking for, and how to grow your personal profile on LinkedIn (which could include posting with flamingo glasses). We also unpack the LinkedIn algorithm, handling negative comments, new features creators and brands should be using, and why B2B marketing absolutely doesn’t have to be boring.

Sign up to our live event, The Calling, on April 21st here:
https://event.uncensoredcmo.com/events/uncensoredcmo/2044861

Subscribe to our newsletter, The One Thing:
https://newsletter.uncensoredcmo.com/

Timestamps

00:00 - Intro
01:04 - Jessica Jensen’s backstory
02:02 - The benefits of being a marketer from a non-marketing background
02:42 - The difference between B2B and B2C according to LinkedIn
03:38 - How to build high-performing teams
06:32 - The data on the job market according to LinkedIn
10:02 - What skills are employers looking for?
12:04 - How do you build a personal brand on LinkedIn (when working for another company)
18:25 - 3 tips for building your personal brand on LinkedIn
20:04 - What is going on with the LinkedIn algorithm?
21:35 - How to make the most of an ever changing algorithm
23:16 - Does LinkedIn suppress posts based on gender?
26:14 - How to deal with negative comments on LinkedIn
28:00 - What new LinkedIn features should people be using?
30:48 - What features can brands use to make the most of LinkedIn
32:19 - B2B does not have to be boring
35:02 - LinkedIn’s billboards poking fun at AI
36:21 - How are LinkedIn marketing LinkedIn?
41:12 - How are LinkedIn helping younger people get into work
43:28 - Addressing the Open to Work badge stigma
44:17 - Advice to creators on LinkedIn

How innovation succeeds with Kory Marchisotto [Uncensored Renegades]

Jon Evans — Mon, 02 Mar 2026 01:00:00 +0000

How are great products created through innovation? Jon and Kory tackle this topic bringing entertaining examples from their careers, including the runaway success of e.l.f.'s Power Grip primer. So what's the key to innovation? Culture, constraints, and most importantly, being close to your customer.

Get Uncensored Renegades every week:

Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/uncensored-renegades/id1868870960
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/7qnkqq0XSpgif9A5ZNgSpX?si=f181c3a0e9af480c

Timestamps

00:00 - Start
01:04 - Why innovation is Jon’s favourite marketing topic
01:35 - Creating the cultural conditions necessary for innovation
04:25 - The measuring stick for innovation
06:23 - Why innovation fails
08:19 - The innovation of e.l.f.’s Power Grip Primer
15:09 - How constraint breeds innovation
20:07 - Innovation when you’re close to your customer

From idea to £25m exit - Jimmy's Iced Coffee Founder, Jim Cregan

Jon Evans — Wed, 25 Feb 2026 01:00:00 +0000

Jim Cregan built Jimmy’s Iced Coffee from scratch, spotting an untapped market, designing a product that stood out, and making its way onto the shelves of Selfridges in just 4 months.

In this episode, Jim shares the founding story, the thinking behind Jimmy’s distinctive “BottleCan” packaging, and how personal touches and relentless energy helped build a brand people loved. We also dive into retail strategy, going direct-to-consumer, treating suppliers as humans, and how the £25m exit to Britvic finally came together.

00:00 - Start
00:59 - The founding story of Jimmy’s Iced Coffee
06:04 - The iced coffee market at the time
09:44 - How Jimmy designed and packaged the product
12:21 - Why Jimmy’s is in “Cottles” or “BottleCans”
19:56 - How Jimmy’s got into Selfridges 4 months after launching
20:50 - Hustling their way into Whole Foods and other stores
26:58 - How Jimmy’s got a listing in Tesco
28:05 - Treating suppliers like humans
31:15 - Choosing to go Direct to Consumer in addition to retail
32:53 - Adding the personal details that matter
34:20 - How Jim marketed Jimmy’s Iced Coffee
39:39 - Jim’s advice to aspiring founders
41:57 - How the £25m exit to Britvic happened

What is Marketing? Part 2: Marketing is Poetry with Kory Marchisotto [Uncensored Renegades]

Jon Evans — Mon, 23 Feb 2026 01:00:00 +0000

How do you distil something as complex as marketing into something simple?

In this special episode of Uncensored Renegades, Kory delivers a powerful seven-minute poem (originally written as a pattern-disrupting acceptance speech) that captures the emotional weight, pressure, and responsibility of modern marketing leadership.

Born from a flash of inspiration at an AC/DC concert, the poem explores the trials of being a CMO, the burden of accountability, and the mental fortitude required to lead.

After the performance, Jon reacts candidly, unpacking the themes of ownership, bravery, and the uncomfortable truth that in leadership, pretty much everything is down to you.

Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/uncensored-renegades/id1868870960
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/7qnkqq0XSpgif9A5ZNgSpX?si=f181c3a0e9af480c

Timestamps

00:00 - Start
00:28 - Why marketing is poetry to Kory
02:25 - Where did Kory’s love for poetry start?
03:58 - How poetry makes complex things simple
04:56 - Why Kory wrote a poem and not an acceptance speech
12:29 - Kory Marchisotto’s marketing poem
19:43 - Jon reacts to Kory’s poem
21:04 - The power of mental fortitude
24:34 - Pretty much everything is down to you, and you alone
26:45 - You don’t have to have all the answers
28:05 - Seek out what you don’t know

Why Marketers Don’t Make the Boardroom - Thomas Barta

Jon Evans — Wed, 18 Feb 2026 01:00:00 +0000

Thomas Barta is one of the world’s leading experts on marketing leadership. A former McKinsey partner, CEO of the Marketing Leadership Institute, and co-author of The 12 Powers of a Marketing Leader, Thomas has studied what makes CMOs successful through the largest global research project of its kind, over 68,000 leadership assessments.

In this episode, we explore what CEOs really expect from CMOs, why so few marketers make it to the boardroom, and what needs to change if marketing is to lead growth again. Thomas shares practical tactics for building stronger CFO relationships, acting with more bravery, and avoiding the “safe” behaviours that quietly kill careers. A must-listen for any marketer serious about leadership.

Timestamps

00:00 - Intro
00:43 - How Thomas Barta got into marketing
02:24 - The surprising thing about marketing at the board level
03:52 - What is the CEO looking for a CMO to deliver
04:41 - Why are there so few marketers in the boardroom
08:38 - What tactics should marketers use to make sure they are delivering growth
11:20 - How can CMOs build the relationship with their CFO
12:53 - CMO Tenure - is it going up or down?
18:59 - What do CMOs need to change?
21:13 - Fitting in is the safest way to fail
28:11 - The bravery formula
29:48 - Why you need to act quickly
31:07 - Confessions of a CMO

How to win a Cannes Lion with Kory Marchisotto [Uncensored Renegades]

Jon Evans — Mon, 16 Feb 2026 01:00:00 +0000

With Cannes Lions deadlines looming, Jon and Kory dive into what it really takes to pitch, and win, at Cannes.

We recorded this episode on the final day of Cannes 2025, with Kory in the thick of e.l.f’s "So Many D*cks" campaign submission for both a Glass and Titanium Lion. With the experience fresh in her mind, she breaks down the realities of the process.

Jon brings a different perspective, reflecting on his own Bronze and Silver Lion wins from years past, and the hard-earned lessons that came with them.

This is an episode of the Uncensored Renegades podcast. We'll only be posting a few more episodes of Renegades on this feed. To hear episodes of this new show, subscribe in your podcast app of choice:

Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/uncensored-renegades/id1868870960
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/7qnkqq0XSpgif9A5ZNgSpX?si=f181c3a0e9af480c

Timestamps

00:00 - Intro

00:49 - The pitching process for a Cannes Lion

03:14 - The pitch process for a Glass Lion

06:51 - The power of the Pratfall Effect

08:39 - Pitching for a Titanium Lion

10:41 - Jon’s tips from winning his Silver and Bronze Lions

12:17 - Audience before content

14:14 - How to make your campaign interesting (and not dull)

16:25 - How e.l.f. makes their campaigns interesting

18:58 - How to hack your campaign; babies or animals

Syl Saller CBE on balancing life, leadership & making the right career moves

Jon Evans — Wed, 11 Feb 2026 01:00:00 +0000

Syl Saller CBE is one of the most respected marketing leaders of her generation. Former Global Chief Marketing and Innovation Officer at Diageo, Syl helped lead a FTSE 10 business with more than 200 brands across 180 countries. Today, she’s an executive coach and mentor, President of The Marketing Society, and works closely with C-suite leaders to develop the next generation of marketing leadership.

In this episode, Syl shares what the CMO role at Diageo is really like, how to build strong relationships with CEOs and boards, and how to navigate imposter syndrome, difficult conversations, and career-defining moments. We also discuss why she left Diageo, what she’d do differently looking back, and the leadership lessons she now passes on to others.

Timestamps

00:00 - Intro
00:53 - What’s a CMO role at Diageo really like?
02:56 - How to have difficult conversations
03:59 - Whats it like being on the board of Diageo?
05:04 - Working with Sir Ivan Menezes, legendary Diageo CEO
09:10 - How to foster a great relationship with your CEO
12:38 - How Syl Saller’s childhood shaped her into the leader she is today
18:57 - What would Syl Saller do differently in her career
21:29 - How to deal with imposter syndrome as a leader
25:31 - How to figure out your life and career plan
28:08 - The toolkit for planning success
31:40 - Why the challenging moments in life can have the best outcomes
34:17 - Maintaining a good work life balance with a senior job
38:51 - Why Syl left Diageo in 2020
40:11 - Why Syl Saller became a leadership coach after leaving Diageo
43:10 - Three bits of leadership advice from Syl Saller

What is Marketing? With Kory Marchisotto [Uncensored Renegades]

Jon Evans — Mon, 09 Feb 2026 01:00:00 +0000

This is an episode of the Uncensored Renegades podcast. To hear episodes of this new show, subscribe here:

Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/uncensored-renegades/id1868870960
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/7qnkqq0XSpgif9A5ZNgSpX?si=f181c3a0e9af480c

When you define any other business function, the answer is simple. What is finance? What is HR? What is IT?

When you ask, what is marketing? The answer is broad. Is it sales? Is it storytelling? Is it brand?

In this episode, Kory and Jon dig into some of the words used to define marketing and decrypt some of the findings.

Timestamps

00:00 - Intro
00:15 - Why is marketing hard to define?
04:35 - Why brand is so important
08:36 - How your brand shows up when hiring people
10:36 - The words that describe marketing
14:47 - Do marketers neglect the role of strategy?
17:25 - The most surprising words that define marketing
18:39 - The power of storytelling

How Brewdog built a £billion beer brand - James Watt

Jon Evans — Wed, 04 Feb 2026 01:00:00 +0000

The last time I spoke to today's guest, James Watt, he fired me. It's the first thing we talk about in the episode, but I have nothing but respect for the man who built Brewdog into the Unicorn it is today. Through their impressive marketing stunts, focus on product quality and immense speed of execution, Brewdog successfully took on the beer behemoths and solidified its place in the industry. In this episode we talk about why James made a mistake hiring an executive team (including me), how they convinced a bank to give them a loan in the global financial crisis and how he almost lost £50m to a Russian bank account. Now, James has launched a new venture, Social Tip, a new way brands can connect with consumers.

Timestamps

00:00 - Intro
00:58 - Why did James fire Jon?
01:56 - Being in the detail and close to the customer
06:07 - Brewdog founding story: how they got funding
08:54 - Why Brewdog is so passionate about making a great product
13:07 - How Brewdog won their Tesco listing
15:58 - How a Tesco listing transformed Brewdog
17:37 - The secret to an overnight success
20:22 - Why constraints led to great marketing for Brewdog
22:09 - Examples of Brewdog’s incredible marketing stunts
27:43 - Why James changed his name to Elvis
29:28 - Collaborating with copycats: launching ALD IPA
31:14 - When marketing stunts go wrong
33:28 - How James almost lost £50 million
37:48 - James Watt’s favourite business books
41:17 - How James Watt felt when he left Brewdog
43:01 - Leadership lessons from James Watt about scaling
46:05 - Dealing with public scrutiny
47:26 - Why James started his new business: Social Tip
54:03 - How to pitch your business to James Watt

Why you need to know your e.l.f.ing numbers with Kory Marchisotto [Uncensored Renegades]

Jon Evans — Mon, 02 Feb 2026 01:00:00 +0000

This is the first episode of the Uncensored Renegades podcast. To hear episodes of this new show, subscribe here:

Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/uncensored-renegades/id1868870960
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/7qnkqq0XSpgif9A5ZNgSpX?si=f181c3a0e9af480c

Know your e.l.f.ing numbers - it's your responsibility as a leader. Jon and Kory share stories of when this has helped them in roles, and share advice on how CMOs can be successful in getting more budget, taking bigger risks and, ultimately, grow the brand (for 25 consecutive quarters in Kory’s case).

Timestamps

00:00 - Intro
00:34 - You just do the cutting, sticking and colouring in
01:42 - Why knowing your numbers is so important for CMOs
05:25 - Making the case for long term marketing investment
08:10 - Why CMOs need to earn the right to take risks
12:05 - Managing internal politics in the c-suite
15:16 - Kory’s formula to create successful work

How SAS went from performance to brand - Jenn Chase

Jon Evans — Wed, 28 Jan 2026 01:00:00 +0000

Jenn Chase, CMO of SAS, joins us to share how one of the world’s most established AI and analytics companies is reinventing its brand. From launching SAS’s first brand campaign in 25 years to shifting the organisation from performance-led to brand-led thinking, Jenn walks through what it takes to drive meaningful change inside a founder-led business.

We also discuss how COVID reshaped the brand, why SAS is leaning into humour, the decision to sponsor Liverpool FC, and where AI is having the biggest impact on marketing today. Plus, Jenn shares leadership lessons, the skills every modern CMO needs, and how to build a great culture.

Timestamps

00:00 - Start
01:00 - What is SAS?
02:11 - Being a founder led business after 50 years
04:38 - Being at the company for 27 years
06:03 - How Jenn became CMO of SAS
07:57 - How COVID changed the brand forever
08:33 - Launching their first brand campaign in 25 years
09:22 - Convincing the business to switch from performance to brand
10:45 - Creating an effective relationship with the finance team
14:31 - What did the business think of the first brand campaign in 25 years?
17:22 - How did they manage the effectiveness of their brand campaign?
22:04 - Why their new campaign leans into humour
24:28 - Why SAS decided to sponsor Liverpool FC
27:06 - How to sell in a big idea to an organisation?
32:16 - Where is AI having the biggest impact in marketing?
36:25 - Leadership advice from Brene Brown
39:54 - Skills to be a successful CMO
42:59 - What creates a great culture
45:12 - How big of a change will AI search be
47:08 - The 95:5 rule

Why we need to embrace failure with Kory Marchisotto [Uncensored Renegades]

Jon Evans — Mon, 26 Jan 2026 01:00:00 +0000

This is the first episode of the Uncensored Renegades podcast. To hear episodes of this new show, subscribe here:

Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/uncensored-renegades/id1868870960
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/7qnkqq0XSpgif9A5ZNgSpX?si=f181c3a0e9af480c

Failure needs to be rebranded. Most see it negatively, but history shows great successes are followed shortly after failures. Jon and Kory tackle the stigma against failures, why we should embrace them across the organisations we work for. They also share their biggest failures in their career and what they’ve learned from them.

Timestamps

00:00 - Intro
01:54 - Why are we afraid to talk about failure?
04:07 - Why failures set you up for success
11:11 - Jon’s biggest failure
18:20 - Kory’s biggest failure

Confessions of a CMO with Mark Ritson

Jon Evans — Thu, 22 Jan 2026 01:00:00 +0000

After collaborating with Worldwide Partners on the Confessions of a CMO report (the anonymous report asking top tier CMOs what they really think about the state of the role), I thought I'd team up with the world's most opinionated professor to discuss some of the comments. We talk tenure, politics, management and more.

Timestamps

00:00 - Intro
01:04 - How the Uncensored CMO started
02:41 - How Confessions of a CMO originated
03:44 - The CMO tenure data
06:35 - Why the CMO role isn’t dead, it’s just changing
12:02 - The real 4 Ps of a CMO
18:57 - Becoming the Chief Mood Officer
22:16 - Why marketing needs to provide the meaning for the business
27:04 - Why CMOs need to combine data and storytelling
28:38 - Why CMOs need to create momentum
40:53 - Were there any surprises from the report?

About Worldwide Partners:

Worldwide Partners, Inc. (WPI), the world’s most collaborative agency network, enables growth through access, flexibility and partnership. With over 90 independent agencies in more than 50 countries, and experience in over 90 industry verticals, Worldwide Partners serves as a hub that harnesses the talent, expertise and diversified capabilities of the agencies within our network to reimagine growth for both brands and agencies.

Uncensored Renegades Launch Live from New York City with Kory Marchisotto

Jon Evans — Fri, 16 Jan 2026 06:00:00 +0000

Listen to the launch episode of my brand new show, Uncensored Renegades, co-hosted with Kory Marchisotto, CMO of e.l.f. and a previous guest on Uncensored CMO.

Listen to the new show here:

In Uncensored Renegades, we talk about the things most people are too afraid to discuss: being fired, failure, terrible bosses, and more.

Get to know your hosts, Jon Evans and Kory Marchisotto, hear why we started the show, and find out what’s coming next.

Timestamps

00:00 - Intro
01:06 - Background to Uncensored Renegades
01:59 - Why Renegades?
02:39 - The response to Jon’s launch post
05:48 - What topics will be discussed on the show?
08:47 - The partnership that led to the podcast
11:50 - Why the name “Renegades”?
13:54 - Getting to know Jon and Kory
27:45 - What do you do to recharge?
38:33 - Inspiring books
41:32 - Crowdsourcing topic ideas

Rory Sutherland on why luck beats logic in marketing

Jon Evans — Wed, 14 Jan 2026 01:00:00 +0000

Our most popular guest ever is back - Rory Sutherland returns for a wide-ranging conversation on why marketing works best when it embraces luck, spontaneity, and a little irrationality. From the dangers of confected outrage and self-censorship to the unfair economics of marketing, Rory challenges the industry’s obsession with logic, optimisation, and process.

We discuss why success is often misunderstood as skill rather than luck, the value of doing a few things irresponsibly, and why inefficiency can be a feature rather than a flaw. As ever, Rory connects behavioural science, creativity, and business reality in ways few others can.

Timestamps

00:00 - Intro
01:16 - How Rory deals with his new micro fame
03:12 - How Jon shut down the London Underground
07:04 - The problem with confected outrage
10:34 - How self-censoring is affecting creativity
12:10 - The power of spontaneity and luck in advertising
16:03 - The unfair economics of marketing
20:54 - Is success just luck?
23:12 - Spend 95% responsibly, and 5% irresponsibly
30:12 - Doubling down on what your competitors do badly
34:32 - Why so many businesses are no longer customer focused
35:29 - Inefficiency as a feature
37:08 - The power of herd mentality
43:26 - What marketers can teach the business world
48:13 - Why internal process is killing businesses
51:15 - Lessons from 200 years of The Spectator advertising
54:47 - Rory’s closing thoughts on marketing

How Not to Plan in 2026 with Les and Sarah

Jon Evans — Wed, 07 Jan 2026 01:00:00 +0000

Les Binet and Sarah Carter are back for our yearly special, tacking the biggest marketing stories of the year and what to focus on in 2026. We explore the power of consistency, disguised repetition, and why brands so often misunderstand campaigns. Les and Sarah explain why big brands can’t behave like small ones (and vice versa), how marketers can persuade businesses to invest more in the long term, and whether we’re seeing the end of the purpose era and a return to product-led growth. We also look ahead to the role of AI versus craft in advertising, and what the evidence suggests for the year ahead.

Timestamps

00:00 - Intro
00:38 - The year of consistency
05:26 - Disguised repetition
11:13 - Do we define campaigns wrong?
12:27 - Why you need to go big on your media spend
17:07 - Why big brands can’t market like small brands and vice versa
23:15 - How can you persuade your business to spend more
28:52 - Why don’t we do the long term work, despite the evidence
34:19 - Why everyone is wrong about CMO tenure
37:18 - Have we seen the end of the purpose era? (and the renaissance of product)
44:50 - AI vs craft in advertising

Politics, persuasion and podcasts - lessons from Jimmy's Jobs of the Future

Jon Evans — Mon, 05 Jan 2026 01:00:00 +0000

In this special crossover episode, we’re joined by Jimmy McLoughlin, host of Jimmy’s Jobs of the Future, to explore the intersection of politics, media, and marketing. Jimmy shares how he built one of the UK’s most influential political podcasts, landed interviews with the Prime Minister, and why big podcasts now rival traditional media in shaping public opinion.

We also compare the most impactful episodes from both shows, debate trust in marketing and politics, unpack why some of today’s biggest tech brands struggle with branding, and make the case for humour in advertising.

Timestamps

00:00 - Start
01:37 - How Jimmy McLoughlin became a podcaster
04:21 - How Jimmy got the Prime Minister of the UK on the pod
08:50 - The power of big podcasts
11:43 - Why can’t politicians be honest?
12:56 - The top 5 episodes of Jimmy’s Jobs of the Future
16:59 - The top 5 episodes of Uncensored CMO in 2025
21:25 - What episode has inspired Jimmy the most
23:27 - What episode has inspired Jon the most?
29:34 - What politician would Jon most like to interview?
30:33 - The danger of all the new podcasts being released
33:27 - The most untrustworthy professions; marketing and politics
34:39 - Webinars need a rebrand
35:56 - Why no marketer was involved with branding ChatGPT
37:27 - Monzo’s great marketing in 2025
39:33 - The serious case for humour in advertising
39:58 - The different types of happiness in advertising
41:46 - The shifting advertising landscape
46:13 - Approaching marketing like a politician
47:51 - Career advice in 2026 from Jimmy McLoughlin
49:20 - When politics and marketing collide

Never Mind The Adverts 2025 Review with Orlando Wood

Jon Evans — Wed, 31 Dec 2025 01:00:00 +0000

This week’s bonus episode comes from Never Mind the Adverts, hosted by Jon Evans and joined by returning Uncensored CMO guest Orlando Wood. Together, they look back on the biggest marketing stories, debates, and creative moments of 2025. Expect festive cheer, some interesting tipples, and a healthy dose of advertising showmanship.

Timestamps

00:00 - Start
00:41 - Starting with some festive cheer
02:04 - The big news stories from 2025
02:20 - The multiplier effect
03:51 - The creative dividend
05:05 - The Cost of Dull Media
07:17 - Les Binet Go Big or Go Home
09:22 - The Wild West of Influencer Measurement
13:00 - How the pause screen has become an advertising channel
14:30 - Sydney Sweeney, American Eagle and Jaguar - The Crisis
16:15 - Mergers and WPP
17:26 - Drinks Trolley Break
19:00 - Jon’s highlight - awards
20:12 - Orlando Wood’s highlight of 2025
21:46 - Rory Sutherland vs Scott Galloway
22:35 - Jon and Alix Earle in Cannes
23:52 - Jon cycles up a mountain with Zwift
25:12 - Becoming trustee for the History of Advertising Trust
26:42 - The History of Christmas Advertising with a special guest
33:10 - Who won Christmas in 2025?
34:27 - Aldi and Kevin the Carrot
35:18 - Waitrose’s strong Christmas showing
36:28 - The most viewed Christmas Ads on YouTube
37:25 - Amazon re-airing their Christmas ad this year
38:20 - The growth of Christmas Ads in 2025
39:47 - The right brained nature of the successful Christmas ads
40:51 - The Coca Cola AI Christmas Ad
43:23 - The Never Mind the Adverts Awards
44:02 - System1 Star of the Year
44:51 - System1 Turkey of the Year
45:32 - Name that ad

Why we all need to slow down in 2026 - Emma Harris

Jon Evans — Mon, 22 Dec 2025 01:00:00 +0000

Emma Harris spent a decade revolutionising Eurostar as its Marketing and Sales Director, leading the brand through years of success and navigating multiple crises. Now the Founder and Chief of Glow London, she works with clients around the world to build brands that are deeply connected to their people and culture.

In this episode, Emma shares her journey through marketing, leadership, and entrepreneurship, and the life-altering moment that forced her to rethink everything. After suffering a cardiac arrest, she reflects on ambition, burnout, and what really matters. We talk about building great teams, leaving safe roles to start something new, bouncing back from the hardest year of her life, and why slowing down might be the most radical, and necessary, leadership move as we head into 2026.

Timestamps

00:00 - Intro
00:52 - How Emma got into marketing
04:58 - What can sales learn from marketers?
07:36 - How to respond to a comms crisis?
12:17 - Lessons from a 10 year tenure at a company
14:14 - How to get the best out of your employees
16:49 - How to hire great people
18:14 - Why Emma left her safe role to setup her own agency
19:41 - Bouncing back from the worst year of your life
20:42 - Why Emma set up Glow, her agency
21:39 - Advice for being your own boss
22:34 - Emma’s life changing cardiac arrest
25:54 - Life lessons from almost dying
28:06 - Why you need to slow the f*ck down
33:58 - How we should approach the new year
37:04 - The power of accountability

Mark Ritson's Top Marketing Moments of 2025

Jon Evans — Thu, 18 Dec 2025 01:00:00 +0000

As has become a tradition, marketing professor Mark Ritson is back to break down his top 10 marketing moments of the year. We talk fighter brands, the president, Amazon's grannies, deepfakes, mergers and more in this snappy episode. There's nothing more to say - strap in and enjoy the opinionated marketing professor dropping some clangers.

Timestamps

00:00 - Intro
00:32 - Mark Ritson’s top 10 stories of the year
01:55 - 10. A big year for mergers
04:35 - 9. The painkiller vs the president
09:42 - 8. Tesla’s Fighter Brand Failure
12:56 - Mark Ritson’s advice to Elon Musk
23:05 - 6. Amazon brings back the grannies (compounding)
30:10 - Marketing Buzzwords of 2025
30:20 - Buzzword 1: Hyperpersonalisation
30:54 - Buzzword 2: Onmichannel Marketing
31:44 - Buzzword 3: Growth Hacking
32:38 - 5: The great Cracker Barrel crisis of 2025
39:06 - 4. Starbucks and their positioning
42:10 - 3: New CEOs chasing growth vs gimmicks
43:44 - 2. Deepfake Martin Lewis and fraudulent advertising
48:33 - 1: Maxi-miniflation

Is AI killing SEO? Semrush Spotlight with Andrew Warden

Jon Evans — Mon, 15 Dec 2025 01:00:00 +0000

Andrew Warden, CMO of Semrush, joins us to unpack how AI is reshaping search, and what it means for marketers heading into 2026. We discuss whether SEO is really “dead,” the biggest insights from Semrush’s new AI Visibility Index, and how different AI models surface and rank content across industries. Andrew also shares why brand and digital visibility matter more than ever, the growing importance of creators in AI-driven discovery, and practical advice for CMOs trying to stay ahead as search rapidly evolves.

This episode is brought to you by Semrush — your unfair advantage in digital brand visibility. From fast-growing teams to global enterprises, Semrush shows you where you stand, where you can win, and how to stay visible across AI Search and LLMs. With unrivaled data and real AI intelligence, Semrush helps you move faster, grow faster, and make sure your brand is the answer wherever customers ask.

Timestamps

00:00 - Intro
02:08 - How disruptive is AI for search in 2026?
04:19 - Is SEO dead now because of AI?
08:32 - Biggest surprises from Semrush’s new AI Visibility Index Report
11:04 - How different AI models treat different industries
13:05 - Understanding how AI ranks different sources
15:48 - Why content creators are important in the age of AI search
18:35 - Why you need to be failing fast in AI
21:10 - Why brand matters more in the age of AI
24:20 - Why digital brand visibility matters so much
26:28 - Advice for CMOs for getting on top of AI for search
30:21 - Is AI just making decisions for us?
33:19 - Why humanity, authenticity and emotion are more important than ever
36:12 - What is Semrush One?

Amazon Creative Masterclass with Jo Shoesmith Chief Creative Officer

Jon Evans — Wed, 10 Dec 2025 01:00:00 +0000

Jo Shoesmith, Chief Creative Officer at Amazon, joins us for a second time to reveal how one of the world’s biggest brands continues to make advertising that connects emotionally and stands the test of time. She shares what she’s learned moving from agency life to leading creativity inside a global giant, why Amazon still invests in traditional media, and the secret to ads that run for 3–5 years without losing impact.

We also discuss why right-brained storytelling works, the surprising insights about Gen Z, and how Amazon balances scale, agility, and creativity in the age of AI.

Timestamps

00:00 - Intro
01:21 - Learnings from going agency side to brand side
04:18 - How much does Amazon spend on advertising each year?
05:02 - Why Amazon still advertises using traditional media
06:21 - Why is Amazon’s creative so effective?
08:57 - Why Amazon’s advertising is so right brained
10:33 - Why Amazon make ads to run for 3-5 years
14:25 - Amazon re-airing the popular “Grannies” ad
17:00 - Why the industry is obsessed with youth
18:33 - The interesting numbers behind Gen Z and advertising
21:00 - Japanese Granny Ad from Amazon
23:07 - The only Cannes Lion Jon has ever won
26:11 - Using production to discover new stories
29:48 - Amazon’s CCO’s thoughts on AI and creativity
32:56 - Is AI used in the creative process at Amazon?
35:29 - How does such a big company stay so agile?
36:24 - What one thing has made the biggest difference for Jo?

The secret to Duolingo's social success with Zaria Parvez - Semrush Spotlight

Jon Evans — Mon, 08 Dec 2025 01:00:00 +0000

Zaria Parvez was the creative mastermind behind Duolingo's social media success, having joined the company in 2020 fresh out of University. 5 years later, and after 8 billion impressions, she's left for her next challenge - taking on the social media for Doordash. We speak to Zaria to find out what the secret to the viral success is, and how she plans to replicate this at Doordash.

Timestamps

00:00 - Start
00:34 - Why Zaria left Duolingo
01:32 - Why Zaria moved from Duolingo to Doordash
02:44 - Coping with a rapid career trajectory
04:58 - The big moments for Duolingo
07:00 - Can you plan virality?
08:30 - How important was it having Duo as a brand character
11:02 - Why Duolingo killed duo
13:23 - Sending Duo’s ashes to Dua Lipa
14:05 - What are the conditions that make a successful social media campaign
16:01 - How Zaria spots trends and turns them into content
17:41 - Thinking long term through a social media lens
19:39 - How to scale viral social media efforts
21:36 - Why who your boss is matters so much
22:52 - When things go wrong on social media
24:47 - Why Zaria built a personal brand
28:02 - What Zaria is hoping for in the future
28:59 - How is AI changing social media?
31:36 - Social media advice for podcasters
32:20 - How to cope with the intensity of working in social media
34:58 - The best marketers hate marketing
36:25 - Why you need to embrace boredom

Unilever Brand Building Masterclass with Esi Eggleston Bracey, CMO

Jon Evans — Wed, 03 Dec 2025 01:00:00 +0000

Esi Eggleston Bracey is the Chief Marketing and Growth Officer of Unilever. Esi joined the company in 2018 and has served as President of Unilever USA and CEO of Personal Care in North America. Prior to this, she led their $5 billion Beauty & Personal Care portfolio for North America as EVP and Chief Operating Officer which included responsibility for brands such as Dove, TRESemmé, Suave, Vaseline, Degree, Axe and more. There's a reason why this is a brand building masterclass

Esi has been recognised with many industry awards including being named as one of Forbes World’s Most Influential CMOs, a Forbes Entrepreneurial CMO 50, Women’s Wear Daily Marketer of the Year, ADCOLOR Legend, Ad Age Vanguard Award and more.

Timestamps

00:00 - Intro
00:54 - From P&G to Unilever, Esi’s career journey
03:09 - How important is breadth of experience as a marketer
04:54 - How to increase your marketing budget
07:45 - Why Esi has growth in her title and not just Chief Marketing Officer
08:36 - The most surprising thing about running 400 brands
10:37 - What skills do marketers need to be successful today?
12:08 - Esi’s thoughts of AI in marketing
17:14 - How to win the hearts of your consumer
19:48 - Unilever’s SASSY framework for winning hearts and minds
21:45 - Why we buy more when we feel more
23:27 - The secret behind the groundbreaking Dove marketing
26:45 - Why Uniliver are spending 50% of media on social and 20x spend on creators
29:18 - How the Vaseline Verified campaign took off
30:37 - Unilever’s framework for successful social media campaigns
32:29 - Applying the SASSY Framework to innovation
35:19 - Unilever’s collaboration with Crumbl Cookies
37:42 - How Unilever uses AI
39:45 - Which Unilever brand would Esi buy?
41:46 - The power of consistency
42:43 - How do you nurture the next $1b portfolio brand

How Diageo’s Joint Venture will transform Ciroc & Lobos 1707 - Nick Tran

Jon Evans — Wed, 26 Nov 2025 01:00:00 +0000

Nick Tran, is the CMO and President of First Round, leading Diageo’s new joint venture with Main Street Advisors to oversee two of the world’s most culturally driven spirits brands: Ciroc and Lobos 1707. Nick shares how he’s approaching brand reinvention vs continuation, why product innovation and cultural relevance are key, and what goes into long-term brand growth. We also touch on the future of social media, AI’s role in marketing, and what it takes to build a truly modern CMO career.

00:00 - Intro
00:36 - How the Diageo and Main Street Advisors partnership happened?
02:49 - The long term view for Ciroc and Lobos 1707
06:10 - The plan for Ciroc
08:57 - Reinvention vs continuation when transforming a brand
11:31 - Focusing on product innovation and serve for Ciroc and Lobos 1707
14:14 - Is alcohol drinking trending down?
19:00 - How do you become culturally relevant?
22:07 - Using the Liquid Death challenger mindset
24:08 - The role of celebrities and influencers for drinks brands
27:16 - Why Nick is investing in his personal brand
31:53 - What does it take to become a successful CMO?
37:04 - How Nick invests in other companies
41:59 - Nick Tran’s thoughts on AI
45:47 - Have we reached peak social media?
50:39 - Bonus Question

Nils Leonard: Don’t Confuse S**t Ads For The Death Of Creativity

Jon Evans — Wed, 19 Nov 2025 01:00:00 +0000

Nils Leonard, Uncommon Studio's co-founder and Creative Director is back, and the mic is hotter than ever. We're tackling why Uncommon is pushing the boundaries of out of home, including the divisive BA "Reflections" campaign, what Nils thinks of the energy in the US vs the UK, and why we have a lot of work to do if we want creativity to thrive in this country.

Timestamps

00:00 - Start
00:52 - How did Uncensored CMO end up at Uncommon Studios
02:33 - What just Jon want to happen as a result of this episode?
04:45 - What does Nils want to happen as a result of this podcast?
06:10 - Nils' advice to founders wanting to start an agency
07:51 - Uncommon’s work with The Ordinary
13:38 - Why Uncommon loves out of home
15:31 - Uncommon’s out of home work with British Airways
22:20 - Uncommon's B&Q out of home
26:51 - Uncommon's Hiscox work
29:55 - Uncommon’s EA work
32:51 - Uncommon’s JD Sports work turning the lens on the community
37:45 - British Airway’s safety video
43:40 - The culture of creativity in the UK vs US
46:40 - Why Campaign’s"Turkey of the Week" is a terrifying reflection on the UK
48:52 - WPP and creativity
51:28 - Who killed creativity?
53:53 - What Brits can learn from Americans to bring creativity back

Gary Vee on the most undervalued and overvalued media

Jon Evans — Wed, 12 Nov 2025 01:00:00 +0000

Entrepreneur, investor, and VaynerMedia CEO Gary Vaynerchuk joins us from Wine Library to share his unfiltered take on marketing in 2025. We cover everything from spotting consumer trends to staying authentic in the age of AI. Gary explains why generosity is his most powerful growth strategy, why the customer is always right, and which media channels are over or undervalued in 2025.

Timestamps

00:00 - Intro
01:03 - Being back at Wine Library
02:38 - Why the customer is always right according to Gary Vee
07:17 - Why Gary Vee doesn’t believe in luck
09:28 - How Gary Vee has managed to have so much reach
13:14 - The power of generosity
17:51 - Gary Vee’s advice on spotting trends
19:31 - Why you need to pay attention to the consumer
21:18 - What does good marketing look like according to Gary Vee
22:01 - Why social media is better than all other media channels
24:08 - Is TV advertising dead?
28:26 - Undervalued or overvalued: media channel edition
29:26 - Undervalued or overvalued: podcasts
31:34 - Undervalued or overvalued: LinkedIn
32:24 - Undervalued or overvalued: Email
33:26 - Undervalued or overvalued: sms/text
34:03 - Undervalued or overvalued: YouTube
35:29 - Undervalued or overvalued: search
38:39 - Undervalued or overvalued: TikTok
40:16 - Undervalued or overvalued: Twitter/X
42:29 - Undervalued or overvalued: New York Jets
44:54 - How do we maintain authenticity in the age of AI
49:00 - Gary Vee’s advice on how to execute on ideas

Unreasonable Marketing - lessons from the creator of the world’s #1 restaurant - Will Guidara

Jon Evans — Wed, 05 Nov 2025 01:00:00 +0000

Will Guidara is the author of Unreasonable Hospitality and co-founder of the world’s #1 restaurant, Eleven Madison Park. He joins us to share how lessons from hospitality can be a huge competitive advantage for your brand. We discuss the power of small but impactful gestures, intelligent naivety, the 95/5 rule and investing in the things that can’t be measured but make all the difference.

Will also reflects on the mindset that took Eleven Madison Park to the top, what businesses can learn from restaurants, and how applying unreasonable hospitality can turn any customer experience into something truly extraordinary.

Timestamps

00:00:00 - Start
00:00:57 - Will’s experience writing his book
00:02:11 - Getting 4 stars from The New York Times
00:04:43 - What marketers can learn from Unreasonable Hospitality
00:08:08 - Where did the term “unreasonable hospitality” come from?
00:14:13 - Why Will is fine being “The Dining Room Guy”
00:16:40 - Why Will added a beer sommelier - reverse benchmarking
00:20:29 - Intelligent naivety and the advantages of youth
00:23:30 - The power of small thoughtful gestures that make a lasting impact
00:27:22 - The 95/5 rule - how to succeed with things that cannot be measured
00:31:47 - Restaurant smart vs corporate smart
00:36:50 - Why you sometimes need conflicting goals
00:41:34 - Is the customer always right?
00:45:55 - Turning pain points into highlights
00:48:06 - How Will Guidara makes getting the bill a memorable experience
00:51:38 - Why nothing in the world can replace persistence
00:53:40 - Never waste a good crisis
00:56:52 - What Will would do at Cannes with no budget
00:59:56 - How Shake Shack kept 11 Madison Park going
01:00:48 - Which fast food chains does Will admire
01:03:51 - Hiring exceptional talent
01:06:17 - Getting siloed teams to work together in harmony
01:09:07 - What would you do if you knew you couldn’t fail

From Tech founder to solving the social media addiction crisis - Jess Butcher

Jon Evans — Wed, 29 Oct 2025 01:00:00 +0000

Jess Butcher MBE has built a career at the intersection of technology and consumer behaviour. She co-founded AR pioneer Blippar and has since turned her attention to a growing issue: how AI and social media are shaping our brains, behaviour, and wellbeing.

In this episode, Jess shares what she’s learned as a founder, why female entrepreneurs still struggle to access funding, and why she believes brands must take responsibility for the attention economy they help create. We discuss how “More Soul, Less Scroll” is encouraging healthier digital habits, and the practical steps companies can take to drive positive change.

Timestamps

00:00 - Intro
01:41 - Jess’ background as a female founder
05:56 - How Jon used Jess’ QR code startup
13:19 - Why Blippar ultimately failed
17:34 - The lessons from Blippar’s failure
21:30 - Why female founders struggle to get funding
25:50 - The characteristics of successful founders
31:15 - How AI is re-wiring our brains negatively
34:05 - Why social media is ruining our lives
40:09 - Why is this problem getting worse if we know about it?
44:17 - What ScrollAware is trying to do about the problem
48:38 - Which brands are taking responsibility for this problem best?
54:46 - Less Scroll More Soul sleeping bags

American Eagle’s Sydney Sweeney campaign - what really happened with CMO Craig Brommers

Jon Evans — Wed, 22 Oct 2025 01:00:00 +0100

Craig Brommers, CMO of American Eagle, joins us to go behind the scenes of one of the most talked-about campaigns of the year; Sydney Sweeney for American Eagle. Craig reveals what really happened, why the brand partnered with Sydney, and how they handled the extreme social-media reaction. We discuss the data behind the campaign’s success, the decision to pause before responding, and what the advertising press got wrong. Craig also shares lessons in brand leadership, navigating public scrutiny, and what it takes to be a successful CMO in 2025.

Timestamps

00:00 - Intro
00:35 - The Travis Kelce x American Eagle collaboration
01:51 - Why American Eagle partnered with Sydney Sweeney
03:21 - Did American Eagle know the campaign was going to explode on social media
04:24 - What caused the extreme reaction to the campaign?
06:08 - The System1 scores for the Sydney Sweeney x American Eagle campaign
08:11 - How did it feel seeing the campaign come under so much scrutiny?
11:50 - Choosing to pause instead of reacting immediately
13:41 - Dealing with the personal side of some of the comments
15:09 - The actual results of the Sydney Sweeney campaign
16:51 - The reaction vs the media buy - what was the impact?
18:11 - When Jon almost closed the London Underground with Amaretto
20:53 - Did the advertising press get it wrong about the American Eagle campaign?
22:14 - Craig’s advice for other marketers facing a crisis
27:15 - Will American Eagle continue to work with Sydney Sweeney?
28:31 - Are we entering a “Jeans Wars” era?
29:40 - The product strategy for American Eagle
30:51 - How important are celebrity endorsements in Fashion
31:45 - What are the elements for success for American Eagle
33:26 - 3 things that make a successful CMO in 2025
39:56 - What does a successful CMO look like?
40:44 - The one thing to remember from this conversation

David Droga: My greatest lessons from 37 years in advertising

Jon Evans — Wed, 15 Oct 2025 01:00:00 +0100

After an illustrious 37-year career in advertising, legend David Droga is stepping down as CEO of Accenture Song and retiring. Under his leadership, Song grew 8% to $20 billion in FY25, up from $19 billion the previous year. A fitting closing act for one of the industry’s most creative leaders.

In this second conversation with David, we reflect on his career, the lessons he’s learned, and what he would do if he were starting from scratch. From creativity’s place at the heart of business to the power of simple ideas, David shares the philosophies, failures, and insights that have defined his journey.

Timestamps

00:00:00 - Start
00:02:45 - Lessons from being CEO of Accenture Song
00:06:01 - Why creativity needs to be at the forefront of businesses
00:11:01 - How technology can enable creativity, rather than kill it
00:18:42 - What is David Droga most proud of leaving as his legacy
00:27:40 - What what David Droga do if he were starting from scratch
00:29:59 - What are the traits of David Droga’s favourite clients
00:34:59 - What trends are overrated and underrated according to David Droga
00:40:52 - David Droga ideas that never saw the light of day
00:43:58 - The business that almost came before Droga5
00:46:49 - The size of the idea is 50x more important than the budget
00:48:10 - Droga’s best campaign on a small budget
00:56:31 - Power of building on a campaign platform
01:02:06 - The power of simple ideas
01:07:48 - The most "Aussie" thing Droga has ever done

The behavioural hacks that create $Billion brands - Richard Shotton

Jon Evans — Wed, 08 Oct 2025 01:00:00 +0100

Richard Shotton, author of The Choice Factory and the newly released Hacking the Human Mind, joins us to explore the behavioural science behind the world’s most iconic brands. From Guinness’ 119.5 second pour to Red Bull’s unconventional rise, Richard explains the psychological shortcuts that drive consumer decisions. We cover why 4-star reviews beat 5-stars, the secret behind Liquid Death’s success, and how humour, jingles, and even “concrete expressions” can help brands stick in our minds.

Timestamps:

00:00 - Start
01:07 - Why Richard is launching a new book
02:54 - Why Guinness takes 119.5 seconds to pour
05:46 - Why a 4 star review is better than a 5 star review
07:50 - Why the Pratfall effect is so powerful
11:00 - Why Aperol Spritz has become so popular
18:18 - The behavioural science behind the Liquid Death success
21:06 - Why consistency works according to behavioural science
27:49 - Why Red Bull succeeds while defying convention
34:15 - The labour illusion; Dyson Example
41:03 - Why does the “You’re Not You When You’re Hungry” strapline work
43:01 - Why we need to use humour more
45:12 - Why has KFC dominated the fried chicken market?
49:41 - The secrets behind the success of Pringles
53:58 - Why jingles stick in our heads
58:23 - How Apple used “Concrete Expressions”

70 Years of TV Advertising - why it works & the best ads of all time - Carolyn McCall, ITV

Jon Evans — Wed, 01 Oct 2025 01:00:00 +0100

Dame Carolyn McCall OBE is the CEO of ITV, the UK’s biggest commercial broadcaster. She was previously CEO of The Guardian Media Group and easyJet, and currently serves as President of The Marketing Society.

This year marks 70 years of TV advertising, celebrated with the launch of the new report, Living Room Legends, which explores the best ads of the past seven decades.

Dame Carolyn joins Jon to discuss the report, why TV advertising is here to stay, and to reflect on some of the greatest ads of all time.

Timestamps
00:00 – Intro
00:42 – 70 years of advertising
02:11 – Carolyn’s vision for the future of marketing
04:15 – Why we need more marketers on boards
05:25 – How a CMO can become a CEO
08:15 – Overseeing the UK’s biggest commercial broadcaster
11:35 – How ITV is competing with global streaming giants
13:19 – How ITV collaborates with the streaming giants
15:15 – The recipe for a long-term hit TV show
17:37 – Is TV advertising dead?
22:47 – Is TV effective for Gen Z?
24:31 – The Living Room Legends report, celebrating 70 years of advertising
27:08 – The most emotional ad for Carolyn
28:06 – What ads have made Carolyn McCall laugh
29:10 – Advertising campaigns that have changed culture
31:42 – Airing an ad within 72 hours of Christian Eriksen’s cardiac arrest
32:23 – Which campaigns have improved over the years
33:34 – The best examples of romanticising the product
35:13 – Why more SMEs are advertising
35:52 – The future of TV advertising

How to become an extraordinary marketing leader - John Amaechi

Jon Evans — Wed, 24 Sep 2025 01:00:00 +0100

What separates an ordinary manager from an extraordinary leader? Psychologist, best-selling author, and former NBA player John Amaechi joins us to explore the qualities that define great leadership in today’s world. From self-awareness and vulnerability to empowering others and giving credit, John shares why intimidation fails, how to harness your personal value proposition, and why leaders must keep learning.

Timestamps

00:00:00 - Intro
00:01:17 - Reflecting on masculinity
00:03:42 - What does “ordinary” actually mean?
00:07:51 - Discovering your personal value proposition
00:09:24 - Going from functional manager to leader
00:15:03 - Misconceptions on leadership
00:17:16 - Is Trump having an effect on how we see leadership?
00:19:22 - Why intimidation is a terrible leadership tactic
00:23:14 - The importance of self awareness as a leader
00:29:56 - Do highly accomplished people lack self assurance?
00:32:58 - The desire to learn and having vulnerability
00:40:37 - The importance of giving people credit
00:44:22 - Accessing your library of experiences
00:51:53 - Reconising our own weaknesses
00:57:03 - The power of empowering others
00:59:41 - Do different generations lead differently?
01:02:49 - How to find time to learn as a leader

CMO masterclass & how to grow billion dollar brands with PepsiCo CMO Jane Wakely and Neil Barrie

Jon Evans — Wed, 17 Sep 2025 01:00:00 +0100

What makes a world-class CMO? In this masterclass, we’re joined by Jane Wakely, CMO of PepsiCo, and Neil Barrie, founder of 21st Century Brands, to explore the strategies that drive growth of billion dollar brands. We discuss why CFO partnerships matter, how to reappraise established brands, and why creativity, whether through celebrity campaigns or a giant Cheetos thumb, still drives results. Plus, Jane and Neil share practical lessons on making change happen inside complex organisations.

Timestamps

00:00 - Intro
01:28 - What are the attributes of a successful CMO?
07:57 - Why Neil created the CMO Thrive Guide
10:32 - Surprising things about Neil’s CMO research
12:44 - How Jane approached the first 90 days at PepsiCo
16:27 - The importance of the CFO and CMO relationship
22:22 - How marketers can influence the boardroom
25:44 - Managing over 20 $1b+ brands
27:52 - Navigating the complexity of a huge portfolio
32:25 - How large brands can “Stay Up”
34:49 - Why you should reappraise brands
41:05 - The impact of celebs in advertising
44:45 - Why the Cheetos giant thumb was effective
47:51 - PepsiCo’s involvement in Women’s sport
52:41 - How to make change happen in an organisation

Mark Ritson on why everyone is wrong about Sydney Sweeney, the 3 rules of creativity & why strategy always comes before tactics

Jon Evans — Wed, 10 Sep 2025 01:00:00 +0100

Returning guest and everyone's favourite marketing professor, Mark Ritson, is back. As usual, Mark comes out firing with some no nonsense advice to all marketers. He talks about AI taking over his Mini MBA, leaving Marketing Week, why pricing is the most important P and some rules for creativity. Sit back and soak up the knowledge from Mr Mark Ritson.

Timestamps
00:00 - Intro
01:06 - Why Mark Ritson sold Mini MBA
02:12 - Mark Ritson leaving Marketing Week
04:19 - Jon’s favourite AI use case
08:07 - Will AI take over Mini MBA?
11:38 - What marketers think is different to what customers think
12:58 - Mark Ritson on that Sydney Sweeney ad
16:15 - The Creative Dividend: what makes great marketing in 2025
27:45 - Why marketers need to be involved in the 4 Ps
30:30 - Why pricing is so important (and why marketers should be involved)
38:28 - The absence of strategy and what to do about it
42:38 - What has surprised Mark Ritson most in 2025
43:09 - Why AI is being marketed so poorly
49:58 - The power of synthetic data

Deliciously Ella: how Ella Mills turned her personal brand into a global success

Jon Evans — Wed, 03 Sep 2025 01:00:00 +0100

Ella Mills is the co-founder of Deliciously Ella, which began in 2012 as a simple blog sharing healthy recipes. What started online quickly grew into bestselling books, a #1 mobile app, and eventually a retail brand of healthy snacks. In 2024, Deliciously Ella was acquired for an undisclosed sum and today Ella is building her next venture, All Plants.

Her journey is inspiring, and in this episode we explore every milestone: from securing her first Starbucks listing, to navigating a failure that nearly sank the business, to proving how an “average” person can create a truly global brand.

Ella's podcast, The Wellness Scoop:
https://open.spotify.com/show/7F6YqGJ06UEuD7qG81tFHw

Timestamps

00:00 - Intro
01:01 - The Deliciously Ella founding story
06:16 - When did the Deliciously Ella blog start to take off
11:22 - Dealing with overnight attention and success
13:33 - How can an average student become so successful?
15:03 - How to nail a successful book launch
17:16 - Scaling a personal brand
21:08 - What’s it like running the business with your husband?
24:00 - Going from recipe blogs to making retail products
24:53 - How Deliciously Ella landed in Starbucks
33:18 - Building out the product range
35:04 - Behind every success is a bunch of failures
41:07 - Managing risk vs return when scaling a startup
45:29 - How to make products that are successful in retail
49:53 - Why Ella took over a new brand after selling Deliciously Ella
52:30 - Where is the plant based market headed?
56:22 - Why Ella started a podcast?

That s**t will never sell - Baileys inventor on how innovation works - David Gluckman

Jon Evans — Mon, 01 Sep 2025 01:00:00 +0100

David Gluckman, the man who invented Baileys and author of That S**t Will Never Sell, joins us to share stories from his legendary career in brand creation. From the birth of iconic drinks (including Purdey’s, Aqua Libra, Cîroc and Tanqueray) to lessons on creativity, innovation, and risk-taking, David reflects on what it really takes to bring bold ideas to life.

Timestamps
00:22 - The founding story of Baileys
04:32 - Naming Baileys
12:18 - How Purdey’s and Aqua Libra began
22:48 - Starting Cîroc and Tanqueray
33:26 - Principles of innovation

How brand can become your company’s greatest asset - Jonny Bauer

Jon Evans — Wed, 27 Aug 2025 01:00:00 +0100

Jonny Bauer has helped transform some of the world’s biggest brands, from revitalising Axe (Lynx for UK listeners) at BBH to building strategy from the ground up at Droga5. In this episode, Jonny shares why brand can become a company’s greatest asset, what he learned moving from agencies to private equity at Blackstone, and how to bring brand to the front of the P&L. Plus, how to win CEO buy-in, build long-term strategy, and the case studies that prove the power of brand-led growth.

Timestamps

00:00 - Intro
01:58 - Why we never celebrate the strategy behind good campaigns
04:03 - What Jonny is most proud of from his time at BBH
06:27 - Transforming Lynx / Axe brand
09:34 - Building strategy from the ground up at Droga5
15:23 - Best strategy outcomes at Droga5
17:47 - From ad agency to private equity
28:39 - Learnings from Blackstone on running a successful business
32:34 - How Blackstone approaches marketing
33:50 - How to bring the brand up to the front of the P&L
37:06 - How to get brand buy in from your CEO
40:11 - Leaving Blackstone to use this approach on other clients
47:17 - Successful case studies

Fernando Machado on turning creativity into a competitive advantage

Jon Evans — Wed, 20 Aug 2025 01:00:00 +0100

Fernando Machado is one of the world’s most celebrated CMOs, known for game-changing campaigns like Burger King’s “Moldy Whopper.” In this episode, Fernando shares the work he’s most proud of, why surprising campaigns cut through, and how creativity drives real business growth. We also discuss the most innovative non-advertising ideas from his career, what it takes to be an influential CMO, and his advice for startups looking to scale through bold marketing.

Timestamps

00:00 - Intro
01:30 - What campaigns has Fernando been most proud of throughout his career
07:57 - The Moldy Whopper Campaign
16:55 - Why surprising campaigns are effective
20:52 - The most creative non-advertising things in Fernando’s career
36:05 - How to be an influential CMO
41:46 - Fernando’s advice to marketing startups
51:39 - The Lions Growth MBA

The entrepreneur who raised $300m for charity after cheating death - Matt Pohlson, Omaze

Jon Evans — Wed, 13 Aug 2025 01:00:00 +0100

Matt Pohlson is the co-founder of Omaze, a platform that’s raised over £300m for charity through once-in-a-lifetime prize draws. Matt shares how a life-changing moment shaped his mission, the business model behind giving away luxury homes and cars, and why storytelling and consistent advertising have fuelled Omaze’s success. Plus, the challenges of the founder journey and his advice for aspiring entrepreneurs.

Timestamps:
00:00 - Intro
00:32 - Matt’s near death experience
03:08 - How a near death experience has changed Matt
06:56 - Omaze origin story
10:18 - Shifting from US celebrity to UK focused prizes
13:24 - Do Omaze buy the houses, cars and luxury items?
14:22 - The business model of Omaze
18:09 - Why storytelling is so important for Omaze
24:52 - Why Omaze make so many ads
28:16 - Omaze’s advertising success through consistency
31:27 - The most challenging parts of Matt’s founder journey
33:59 - Matt’s advice to aspiring founders

Jaguar relaunch - genius or marketing madness with Rawdon Glover, Jaguar MD

Jon Evans — Wed, 06 Aug 2025 01:00:00 +0100

Is Jaguar’s bold rebrand a stroke of genius or marketing madness? We sit down with Rawdon Glover, Managing Director of Jaguar, to unpack the strategy behind one of the most dramatic relaunches in automotive history. From pausing sales to redesigning the brand from the ground up, Rawdon shares how Jaguar is reinventing itself for a younger, electric-first generation and talks about the visceral response from the launch video.

Timestamps

00:00 - Intro
00:53 - Rawdon’s journey into the automotive industry
02:34 - A challenging time to be at the helm of Jaguar
04:03 - Deciding between evolution and revolution at Jaguar
09:05 - Why new car buyers are getting younger
12:23 - Making the decision to rebrand Jaguar
15:45 - Creating differentiation in the age of electrification
18:46 - Designing the new Jaguar
24:43 - What the Jaguar Owners Club think of the new car
27:27 - The polarising Jaguar launch video
33:14 - Dealing with the visceral reaction to the rebrand
36:22 - How Jaguar will launch the car
39:29 - Choosing to pause selling cars
41:28 - Waymo’s partnership with Jaguar
45:04 - When will the new Jaguar go on sale

Marketing the world’s most successful video games from Call of Duty to Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater - Tyler Bahl, Activision

Jon Evans — Wed, 30 Jul 2025 01:00:00 +0100

In partnership with NBCUniversal, we sit down with Tyler Bahl, CMO of Activision, to explore what it takes to market some of the world’s most successful games, from Call of Duty to Tony Hawk Pro Skater. Tyler shares insights on launching blockbuster titles, the evolving gaming landscape in 2025, and how livestreaming, esports, and AI are transforming the industry. Plus, lessons from 23 editions of Call of Duty, surprising audience insights, and working directly with icons like Tony Hawk.

Timestamps

00:00 - Intro
00:54 - Tyler’s time at Quibi
02:33 - State of the gaming industry in 2025
04:14 - Tony Hawk Pro Skater Surprise
05:35 - The demographics of the video game consumer
08:16 - How to launch a video game
10:47 - How live streaming and esports has transformed video gaming
14:10 - Ratio of male vs female video game players
16:28 - Is video game success due to the product or the marketing?
18:00 - The success and longevity of Call of Duty
19:13 - Maintaining marketing success after 23 editions of Call of Duty
20:36 - “The Replacer” campaign execution and success
22:21 - Measuring success
23:28 - How Activision do partnerships for game launches
25:35 - How Activision makes sports games
27:39 - Future sports games from Activision
29:42 - What impact is AI having on gaming?
31:40 - Working with Tony Hawk on the launch of the new game
32:46 - Lesson’s from Tyler’s career

Marketing secret sauce with Kraft Heinz CMO Todd Kaplan

Jon Evans — Wed, 23 Jul 2025 01:00:00 +0100

In this episode, produced in partnership with NBCUniversal, we sit down with Todd Kaplan, CMO of Kraft Heinz, to uncover the marketing “secret sauce” behind some of the world’s most iconic brands. Todd shares lessons from driving 21 quarters of growth at Pepsi, why simplicity beats complexity in marketing, and how he’s bringing an entrepreneurial spirit to Kraft Heinz. We also dive into working with agencies, building in-house creative, and what makes a truly great CMO.

Timestamps

00:00 - Intro
00:30 - Todd’s background
01:41 - How Pepsi achieved 21 consecutive quarters of growth
02:36 - Pepsi’s approach to innovation
04:22 - Battling short term vs long term in innovation
05:20 - From 18 years at Pepsi to joining Kraft Heinz
06:41 - Encouraging an entrepreneurial culture within Kraft Heinz
09:10 - Having an in house agency at Kraft Heinz
12:10 - Todd Kaplan’s tips for working with external agencies
16:28 - Why consistency of the brand is important for Kraft Heinz
18:55 - Creating marketing that actually works
24:39 - The best marketing is simple
27:44 - What makes a great CMO?

How Guinness became No.1, the power of sporting partnerships & the “Diageo way” to build brands - Grainne Wafer

Jon Evans — Wed, 16 Jul 2025 01:00:00 +0100

In partnership with NBCUniversal, we sit down with Grainne Wafer, Global Category Director (Beer, Vodka, Liqueurs) at Diageo, to explore how one of the world’s biggest drinks companies drives growth and builds iconic brands. Grainne shares the trends shaping the beverage industry, the transformation of Baileys, and how Diageo manages a portfolio of global powerhouses like Guinness. We also discuss the value of sports sponsorships, the rise of Guinness 0%, and why marketing effectiveness is always on tap.

00:00 - Intro
01:19 - What are the trends in the beverage industry?
03:25 - What are the up and coming portfolio brands for Diageo?
05:01 - How does Diageo manage brands internally?
06:30 - Is Diageo going to sell Guinness?
08:42 - What’s behind Diageo’s 17% YoY growth?
12:03 - Guinness sport activation with Rugby and Football
12:36 - How Guinness 0% is so close to the original
14:23 - Guinness’ sponsorship of Football and Rugby
16:26 - How to do measure the value of a sponsorship of the Premier League
17:39 - When the UK ran out of Guinness
18:08 - Sponsoring the Women’s Six Nations
21:44 - How Diageo broadly measures the impact of marketing
23:57 - Baileys celebrates 50 years
25:22 - How Baileys was transformed
27:23 - The Diageo way of brand building
31:38 - Grainne’s advice to CMOs

Why advertising is broken & how to fix it - Tom Goodwin

Jon Evans — Mon, 14 Jul 2025 01:00:00 +0100

To celebrate 200 episodes, Tom Goodwin is back on Uncensored CMO. He's got a pretty strong opinion on the state of advertising. It's broken, and we need to fix it. Tom lays out where he thinks it's all gone wrong for the industry and what we can do about it. As uncensored as ever, Tom brings an entertaining and fresh perspective on marketing. Strap in.

Timestamps

00:00 - Intro
00:50 - The state of advertising in 2025
02:40 - Why is the advertising industry not moving forward?
06:13 - Brand vs performance marketing
09:20 - What’s broken with marketing in 2025
11:54 - How to actually be customer centric
17:23 - Winning internal battles to allow long term work to thrive
21:18 - Is performance marketing fraud?
26:23 - How to make advertising better
33:02 - Are we valuing creativity enough

e.l.f’s $1Bn Rhode deal, 25 quarters of growth & the ‘So Many Dicks’ campaign - Kory Marchisotto

Jon Evans — Wed, 09 Jul 2025 01:00:00 +0100

In partnership with NBCUniversal, we sit down with Kory Marchisotto, CMO of e.l.f. Beauty, to unpack a 25 quarters of consecutive growth. From their bold “So Many Dicks” campaign to the $1B Rhode deal with Hailey Bieber, Kory shares how e.l.f. built a culture that fuels growth. We also dive into the power of creators and celebrities in beauty, partnerships with sporting icons like Billie Jean King and racing driver Katherine Legge, and the realities of leading as a high-growth, publicly listed CMO.

Timestamps

00:00 - Intro
00:40 - The last decade of Elf
01:35 - The Titanium and Glass Cannes Lions entry
03:01 - Elf’s “So Many Dicks” campaign
10:01 - The secret to 25 quarters of consecutive growth
13:36 - Building a culture that allows growth
17:03 - $1b Rhode deal
24:26 - How important are creators and celebrities in building beauty brands
26:37 - Collaborating with Billie Jean King
30:49 - Partnering with Katherine Legge, racing driver
34:16 - The realities of being a high growth, publicly listed CMO

Why AI will be a creative game changer - Simon Morris, Adobe

Jon Evans — Mon, 07 Jul 2025 01:00:00 +0100

Simon Morris is Adobe’s VP of International Marketing, joins us to share how Adobe is empowering creativity at scale. We discuss the impact of AI on marketing, why creativity will always need human skills, and how Adobe partners with brands like Real Madrid to build iconic campaigns. Simon also shares what makes a great marketing leader today, how to launch products successfully, and what’s next for AI and creators.

Timestamps:

00:00 - Intro
00:43 - The size of the Cannes activation for Adobe
01:38 - Simon’s marketing career
04:21 - Adobe’s CEO named creative champion of the year
05:46 - Where has AI had the biggest impact in marketing?
08:14 - Will AI replace creativity?
09:35 - Where will human skills be most required in the age of AI?
14:21 - How Adobe are their own customer
15:10 - What campaigns have been made with Adobe’s own software?
16:19 - How brands can work with creators?
17:59 - Freedom for creators vs sticking to guidelines
19:16 - How to successfully launch a new product
20:59 - Partnering with sports teams to build their brand (Real Madrid)
23:25 - Maintaining trust in Adobe AI products, with potential IP worries
26:16 - Whats the next thing in AI we need to pay attention to?
28:37 - Building a brand for long term when the world is increasingly short term
29:56 - What makes a great marketing leader today?

How to build a brand on TikTok - Sofia Hernandez

Jon Evans — Wed, 02 Jul 2025 01:00:00 +0100

In collaboration with TikTok, System1 have launched a new research paper called "The Long and the Short Form of It", explaining how brands can navigate and excel in this of this new world of short form content. In this episode I catch up with TikTok's Head of Business Marketing and Partnerships to discuss the research and help brands succeed on the platform.

Timestamps

00:00 - Intro
02:05 - Sofia’s marketing career
04:04 - Why B2B marketing needs to be more human
05:36 - TikTok’s marketing journey over the past 5 years
06:48 - How brands can use TikTok
10:47 - How brands can work with creators on TikTok
14:20 - How to make a TikTok that captures attention
18:18 - The TikTok economy
21:18 - Why authenticity pays off on TikTok
22:57 - How people can get started creating on TikTok
25:30 - Is TikTok just for teenagers?
26:51 - TikTok as an entertainment platform, not as a social media platform
27:54 - Romancing the creative vs proving the value
32:00 - Sofia’s leadership lessons

From CMO to CEO - advice from The Marketing Academy founder Sherilyn Shackell

Jon Evans — Wed, 25 Jun 2025 01:00:00 +0100

After 20 unhappy years as a headhunter, it took a near death experience for Sherilyn Shackell to launch The Marketing Academy, a non-profit organisation developing leadership talent in marketing. Launched in 2010, The Marketing Academy now helps marketers become CMOs and CMOs become CEOs. This episode, we focus on exactly how CMOs can get a seat at the table in the boardroom and all the traits they need to do this successfully.

Timestamps

00:00 - Intro
00:53 - How a near death experience led to the creation of The Marketing Academy
08:29 - Does trauma help founders?
11:27 - What is The Marketing Academy?
15:05 - How The Marketing Academy Fellowship helps CMOs become CEOs
20:08 - Why there needs to be CMOs on boards
27:03 - What CMOs can do to get on boards
35:36 - Why CMOs need to build their own profiles
39:23 - Why CMOs need to invest in relationships
44:16 - Why having a personal brand is a talent magnet
45:48 - The biggest fears and anxieties of CMOs
54:34 - What marketers can learn from the best CMOs in the world?

Live episode: Prof G vs Kory Marchisotto vs Rory Sutherland, a debate on brand, risk & the future of the CMO

Jon Evans — Mon, 23 Jun 2025 01:00:00 +0100

In a bonus live episode from Cannes, Professor Scott Galloway joins renowned CMO Kory Marchisotto (e.l.f. Beauty) and advertising legend Rory Sutherland to discuss three big topics: Is brand dead? Are we too risk-averse? And what is the future of the CMO?

Timestamps

00:00 - Start
00:26 - Is the era of brand dead?
13:54 - Do we need to make better advertising?
20:11 - How CMOs can approach risk
31:09 - The demise of the CMO

Startup masterclass - how Seedlip went from idea to Diageo exit in 3.5 years - Ben Branson

Jon Evans — Wed, 18 Jun 2025 01:00:00 +0100

Ben Branson is the founder of Seedlip, a non-alcoholic spirit brand he started in 2015, and sold 3 years later to Diageo. Jon speaks to Ben about the origins of the brand, how the grew so fast, what makes Ben such an impressive marketer (despite him not liking marketing) and how a brand goes from 0 to exit in such a short space of time. We also talk about Ben's new brands and his Hidden 20% charity.

Timestamps
00:00:00 - SIntro
00:01:01 - Where did the idea for Seedlip come from?
00:14:14 - Charging a high price
00:18:47 - How to push through the hard times
00:21:10 - What led to such large growth in the early days of Seedlip
00:24:29 - Planning for success vs making it up as you go
00:27:44 - The power of intelligent naivety
00:29:30 - Creativity within budget constraints
00:31:05 - From innovator to scale up
00:38:05 - Why did Ben Branson and Seedlip sell to Diageo?
00:40:26 - What Ben doesn’t like about marketing
00:41:25 - Why Ben is a masterful marketer
00:48:51 - The Hidden 20%: Ben’s autism story and charity
01:00:35 - Why Ben wants to close his charity, The Hidden 20%?

Brand isn't dead, the 95:5 rule & why AI is B2B's most powerful painkiller - Jon Lombardo and Peter Weinberg

Jon Evans — Wed, 11 Jun 2025 01:00:00 +0100

The B2B boys Jon Lombardo and Peter Weinberg return to the podcast for a third time, this time wearing their new distinctive assets. They go hard on Professor Scott Galloway, disagreeing with his "brand is dead" statement, suggesting that not only is brand not dead, it's alive, thriving and you need it for your brand to survive. They also give us an update on their synthetic research company, Evidenza, and what the future of brands look like in the age of AI.

Timestamps

00:00 - Intro
02:07 - How is Evidenza going?
03:36 - Why Evidenza have embraced distinctive assets
08:29 - Why Jon and Peter disagree with Scott Galloway on brand
17:20 - The future of brand in the age of AI
21:21 - The 95:5 rule reinvented
27:48 - Why brand efforts compound
30:00 - Why brand matters more in B2B than B2C
38:49 - The Evidenza jingle
41:03 - What marketing questions can now be answered with AI
55:17 - What is the future of AI for research

Airbnb on their big new innovation, in-housing creativity and brand led communication - Hiroki Asai

Jon Evans — Wed, 04 Jun 2025 01:00:00 +0100

I speak to Airbnb's CMO, Hiroki Asai, fresh off their 2025 Summer Release, where they announced their brand new "Services" and "Experiences" addition to the platform. This now positions Airbnb as the perfect alternative to a hotel when travelling. Hiroki touches on how they have launched this massive new innovation, why they do all their creative work in-house and rounds off with some poignant advice to marketers.

Timestamps

00:00 - Intro
01:42 - Joining Airbnb at the start of COVID
02:44 - Why Airbnb turned off performance marketing but invested in brand
04:01 - Airbnb’s origin story as told by their CMO, Hiroki Asai
06:31 - The importance of design for Airbnb
07:37 - Why all branding and advertising is done in house
17:36 - How the new launch helps Airbnb hosts
18:33 - What went into such a big launch
20:36 - Some of the notable Airbnb experiences
21:28 - The big redesign of the Airbnb app
23:59 - How Hiroki leads the marketing organisation
27:29 - How to launch a big product update
29:37 - Revamping the Airbnb host experience
31:45 - Hiroki’s advice for aspiring CMOs

The future of X: winning back advertisers, breaking the news & building the world’s most powerful AI

Jon Evans — Wed, 28 May 2025 01:00:00 +0100

Since Elon Musk acquired X (formerly Twitter) in 2022, the platform has undergone dramatic changes; slashing headcount, losing major advertisers, and redefining its identity. Now, under CEO Linda Yaccarino and marketing lead Angela Zepeda (formerly of Hyundai), X is staging a comeback. Angela joins Jon to discuss her leap from automotive to tech, rebuilding advertiser trust, and the bold vision of turning X into “the everything app.”

They cover the platform's role in breaking news, championing free speech, and why brands are flocking back.

Timestamps

00:00 - Intro
00:39 - From Hyundai to X: Angela’s leap
03:46 - Leading marketing when everyone has an opinion
05:56 - Free speech and platform identity
07:45 - Why news breaks on X
13:11 - X as a place to think differently
15:58 - The rise of sports on X
19:35 - Helping brands join the conversation
26:16 - Winning back advertisers
34:25 - What advertisers gain from returning
36:06 - How X markets itself
39:58 - The “everything app” vision
42:54 - Integrating Grok AI
47:20 - How advertisers can win on X

Mars Brand Building Masterclass with Rankin Carroll

Jon Evans — Wed, 21 May 2025 01:00:00 +0100

Rankin Carroll is the Chief Brand Officer at Mars, having joined the company in 2002. Mars is responsible for some of the most well-known advertising in the world, for brands including M&M’s, Twix, Snickers, Skittles, and more. Jon speaks to Rankin about long-term brand building vs. performance marketing, how to get the most out of agencies, and what it takes to build a portfolio of incredible brands.

Timestamps

00:00 - Intro
00:52 - Rankin’s career journey
05:49 - How the Chief Brand Officer role works at Mars
07:37 - Marketing mix spend at Mars – can you implement a fully earned strategy?
13:27 - Brand building vs. performance marketing
15:13 - How Mars stays so consistent with their marketing
19:06 - The power of consistency and longevity at Mars
24:55 - How agencies can get the most out of their clients
32:09 - How Twix became a $1 billion brand
38:41 - Own Goal Snickers AI campaign explained
40:43 - The dominance of M&M’s advertising in the System1 database
44:40 - The power of the M&M’s characters
48:04 - Rankin’s advice to young marketers

Chaos, Creativity & Courage - how Tubi took on the streaming giants - Nicole Parlapiano

Jon Evans — Wed, 14 May 2025 01:00:00 +0100

Nicole Parlapiano is the CMO of Tubi, an ad-supported streaming platform taking on the subscription giants. Nicole has previously had her own dating startup acquired by Match Group, before working in private equity, famously being Head of Marketing at WeWork during their crash and most recently VP Marketing for Tinder. Nicole is one of the most entrepreneurial CMOs on the planet, bringing a unique lens to brand building, embracing chaos and driving the business forward with marketing.

Timestamps

00:00:00 - Intro

00:01:06 - What makes an entrepreneurial CMO?

00:06:04 - Why Nicole embraces chaos / her career journey

00:11:34 - Nicole’s experience at WeWork

00:15:49 - Dealing with a leaked WeWork email

00:19:16 - Leaving WeWork for Tinder after the crash / how to successfully join a company as CMO

00:24:57 - Marketing’s role in private equity businesses

00:33:43 - Working with Mischief and what would you do if you weren’t afraid?

00:36:20 - Why Nicole joined Tubi (and the streaming wars)

00:38:04 - Working with Mischief to create a brave Super Bowl campaign

00:44:28 - The

00:47:53 - How Tubi markets to their advertisers

00:52:19 - The “Stubios” innovation for fan led content

00:58:33 - Getting creative ideas seen in a corporate environment

01:01:31 - How marketing can help grow the organisation

01:04:03 - Nicole’s advice to aspiring CMOs

How not to be boring in B2B, AI agents and lessons from F1 - Colin Fleming

Jon Evans — Wed, 07 May 2025 01:00:00 +0100

Colin Fleming is a returning guest, and the CMO of ServiceNow, a B2B company ripping up the B2B marketing playbook. It’s not the first time Colin has done this, having previously spent 13 years at Salesforce turning them into a brand to be reckoned with. In this episode I talk to Colin about their new brand campaign with Idris Elba, what the future of marketing with AI looks like and the biggest lessons a CMO can take from a former F1 racing driver.

00:00 - Intro
01:36 - What is ServiceNow?
03:03 - How well is the marketing role understood at ServiceNow
04:26 - How to position marketing for leadership
05:38 - How are B2B buying decisions made
07:49 - Dealing with losing 50% lead volume
10:22 - How Colin is building the ServiceNow brand?
12:00 - ServiceNow’s use of distinctive assets
14:21 - ServiceNow’s ads with Idris Elba
17:07 - Understanding Agentic AI
19:47 - AI agents use cases
20:37 - Why we shouldn’t fear AI
23:10 - The risks of AI agents
24:12 - How to make AI agents work together
26:04 - What skills will CMOs need to win in the next 5-10 years?
27:20 - 5 things B2B marketers are wrong about
29:10 - How ServiceNow are using personalisation at scale
31:53 - Why the data is so important for AI
34:13 - How Colin went from F1 to CMO
35:04 - Lessons from being a racing driver to marketing
36:06 - ServiceNow’s partnership with Aston Martin
37:43 - Most surprising lesson for Colin since he left Salesforce

Scott Galloway vs Rory Sutherland - is the era of brand over?

Jon Evans — Wed, 30 Apr 2025 01:00:00 +0100

In a world first, Scott Galloway and Rory Sutherland go head to head to talk about some of the biggest topics in marketing. They lock horns on Scott's controversial statement "the era of brand is dead" and why most successful companies don't advertise. You'll also hear the two disagreeing on the Jaguar rebrand, at which point Scott may or may not have called Rory sexy...

Timestamps

00:00 - Intro
02:15 - Be in an industry you get better at as you get older
05:41 - Does wealth redistribution need to change?
16:22 - Why the most successful companies don’t advertise
22:49 - The era of brand is over
30:39 - Scott’s fear for young men
35:52 - Scott and Rory discuss dating
40:56 - Was the Jaguar rebrand stupid?

Who killed Duo? How Duolingo built a brand on entertainment

Jon Evans — Wed, 23 Apr 2025 01:00:00 +0100

Today, I’m joined by James Kuczynski, Creative Director at Duolingo, and Dan Salkey, Founding Partner at Small World, for a conversation on how to build truly entertaining brands.

Fresh off their SXSW panel titled "Entertain or Die", named after a report by Small World, we explore how Duolingo has built such a standout brand, particularly through the rise (and death...) of their iconic mascot, Duo.

In the first half of the episode, I chat with James about Duolingo’s brand success, why they decided to "kill off" their beloved mascot, and how giving creative autonomy to their team has been key to their growth. In the second half, I speak with Dan about the most entertaining brands in the world today—and the specific traits you can apply to make your own brand more entertaining.

Download the Entertain or Die report here.

Timestamps

00:00 - Start
00:47 - Part 1: James Kuczynski from Duolingo
01:22 - James’ background in marketing
03:23 - How James joined Duolingo
04:18 - What is Duolingo
06:34 - How Duolingo has used gamification to help people learn languages
09:47 - How is AI enhancing Duolingo?
11:20 - Is AI a threat to Duolingo?
12:13 - Why Duolingo created “Duo”, their mascot
15:47 - How the Duolingo owl evolved
17:56 - Duolingo’s April fools plans
20:00 - Why Duolingo killed off their mascot
23:57 - The results of Duo killing their mascot
25:08 - How partnerships have played a role in the success of Duolingo
28:02 - How Duo is bigger than A-list celebrities
29:26 - How Duolingo built such a huge social media following
32:08 - The importance of being in-house for growing Duolingo
33:17 - How Duolingo hires social media talent
34:34 - The thing that makes Duolingo stand out
36:32 - Part 2: Dan Salkey from Small World
37:15 - Why Small World created the Entertain or Die report
38:57 - How they identified the most entertaining brands on the planet
39:30 - What brands are the most entertaining?
40:41 - Why the most boring categories have most space to innovate
42:35 - The entertainment gap
44:07 - How can brands be more entertaining?
49:54 - Final advice on how brands can be more entertaining

Dan Ariely: the hidden forces that shape your customers' decisions

Jon Evans — Wed, 16 Apr 2025 01:00:00 +0100

In this episode, we deep dive into the irrational world of customer behaviour with legendary behavioural economist Dan Ariely. Dan reveals why we’re all predictably wrong, how tiny invisible cues can radically change price perception, and why effort makes things feel more valuable. We also unpack the real reason people fall for misinformation, how to rebuild trust in broken industries like insurance, and why letting customers choose their own price might just be your smartest move. If you want to understand what truly drives decisions — and how to use that insight to become a better marketer — this one’s unmissable.

Timestamps:

00:00:00 - Intro
00:00:50 - The story of Dan Ariely’s half beard
00:07:53 - Dan’s painful introduction into behavioural science
00:11:46 - Reaction to Jon’s house tragedy
00:15:11 - The hidden truths revealed by social science
00:21:43 - Invisible vs visible motivation
00:29:20 - How Dan would change insurance companies
00:33:30 - Lemonade insurance example
00:35:39 - Why the human brain is a vintage Swiss Army knife
00:38:08 - How context radically changes price perception (the relativity effect)
00:45:01 - Why you should let your customer choose their own price
00:47:11 - Why economists donate the least to charities
00:49:58 - Why effort greatly increases your price perception
01:00:06 - The real cause of misinformation and why it isn’t what you might think
01:12:18 - What will be Dan Ariely’s new book?
01:13:38 - Why we are so afraid of mistakes

Rory Sutherland on why marketing is the answer to economic growth

Jon Evans — Wed, 09 Apr 2025 01:00:00 +0100

Rory Sutherland returns to the Uncensored CMO podcast, tackling the economic crisis with his signature wit and wisdom. As ever, he offers a refreshingly unconventional perspective on the world’s biggest problems — and marketing’s role in solving them.

In this episode, Rory explores why marketing is more like a casino than a science, how to capitalise on your competitors’ blind spots, and what his unexpected TikTok fame has taught him. Expect laughs, left-field insights, and the kind of brilliantly bizarre anecdotes only Rory can deliver.

Timestamps

00:00 - Intro
01:03 - Are we looking in the wrong place for growth?
05:33 - Should we slow down our adoption of AI?
09:08 - What marketers and the police have in common
14:40 - Marketing is a casino
17:42 - The most transformative behavioural science insights
19:47 - Take what your competition are doing badly and double down on it
26:20 - Fame is a luck multiplier
32:43 - Why AO add bears to every order
37:19 - How Rory would boost growth in the economy?
47:13 - What has Rory been profoundly wrong about and why

Prof G on AI eating itself, social media rage & the end of the CMO

Jon Evans — Wed, 02 Apr 2025 01:00:00 +0100

Scott Galloway (Prof G) has returned to the Uncensored CMO podcast for a second time, in a special live episode. Galloway is Professor of Marketing at NYU Stern School of Business and host of the Prof G and Pivot podcasts. He joins Jon in a special live episode in London and lives up to his billing as the most uncensored guest of all time. Scott takes big swings at the advertising industry throughout the episode - despite the audience of CMOs - claiming that the days of the CMO are numbered. He continues with his damning commentary on why the era of brand is dead, why rage is the new sex, why young men are in trouble and what marketers need to do in the age of AI.

Timestamps

00:00 - Intro
02:15 - How does Scott deal with the online negativity?
09:00 - Why the CEO saviours of social media won’t be turning up
16:13 - Scott’s thoughts on the Adolescence Netflix show
23:51 - Why marketers need to do the hard things
27:56 - How does Prof G assess a business opportunity
33:36 - What corporate employees can learn from entrepreneurship
40:22 - Why the CMOs days are numbered
47:33 - How should marketers approach AI
56:06 - What things has Prof G been profoundly wrong about

Thank you to System1 for making the live event possible.

Credits

Host: Jon Evans
Executive Producer: James McKinven
Director: Kerry Collinge
Event management: Lara Zwirn, Gen Norris
Social media: Sam Price
Event graphics: Colin Jenkinson
Production: Kinura

AI agents - personalisation, productivity & performance with Adobe, ServiceNow and IBM

Jon Evans — Mon, 31 Mar 2025 01:00:00 +0100

Live from Adobe Summit in Las Vegas, in this bonus triple header, Jon speaks with Colin Fleming (ServiceNow), Stacy Martinet (Adobe) and Billy Seabrook (IBM) about the hot topic in marketing today, AI, and what a new wave of agentic AI technology means for marketers.

Timestamps

00:00 - Intro
00:51 - Part 1: Colin Fleming
01:51 - The things people don’t understand about B2B marketing
03:32 - How AI is having an impact on marketing
05:29 - ServiceNow’s relationship with Adobe
06:21 - Advice to marketers to stay on cutting edge of AI
08:47 - Part 2: Billy Seabrook IBM
09:17 - Where are we on this AI journey
11:31 - Principles of an effective campaign using AI
13:02 - How effective has AI been for IBM
18:16 - What’s next when AI at scale becomes the norm?
21:08 - AI: a threat or an opportunity?
22:06 - Part 3: Stacy Martinet
22:33 - Stacy’s role at Adobe
23:18 - What makes great marketing for marketers?
24:12 - Communicating all the changes in marketing (specifically with AI)
25:15 - What is Agentic AI and what are it’s use cases?
28:27 - How technology is used to enhance creativity
30:31 - Tips on how to utilize agentic AI
31:43 - How to future proof our marketing
32:48 - What goes into creating an event like Adobe Summit

Forbes guide to being an influential CMO - Seth Matlins

Jon Evans — Wed, 26 Mar 2025 01:00:00 +0000

Seth Matlins is the Managing Director of the Forbes Forbes CMO Network, where he oversees the annual Forbes World's Most Influential CMOs List, the Forbes Entrepreneurial CMO 50 List, the Forbes CMO Summit, the Forbes European CMO Summit, and an expanding marketing content portfolio. Seth is an award-winning marketer, who has spent a career in and advising the C-suite of dozens of the 100 most valuable brands globally.

Timestamps

00:00 - Intro
00:45 - Seth’s new podcast
02:58 - Why are there not enough CMOs becoming CEOs
05:28 - Marketing needs much better marketing
07:36 - Seth’s career history
08:00 - Working jobs that have never existed before
11:41 - Scars from being a failed entrepreneur
13:24 - Making unexpected connections between fields
18:23 - Why organisations need to trust their marketers
20:26 - What makes a CMO influential
26:29 - Everyone is a brand manager
28:35 - How CMOs can be more influential
35:13 - The world’s most entrepreneurial CMOs
41:12 - What makes a CMO entrepreneurial
46:22 - Doing a lot with little
47:02 - What is changing for CMOs in 2025

Oreo’s playful positioning, bold innovation and brand partnerships - Eugenia Zalis

Jon Evans — Wed, 19 Mar 2025 01:00:00 +0000

Today Jon talks with Eugenia Zalis, CMO for one of the most iconic sweet brands in the world, Oreo. We talk about their "stay playful" positioning, incredible brand collaborations (with the likes of Coca-Cola and Post Malone) and some of the interesting innovations the brand has worked on.

Timestamps
00:00 - Intro
00:46 - Eugenia’s marketing journey
01:33 - What can we learn from the Unilever approach to marketing?
02:27 - How Dove turned into the brand it is today
05:42 - How Eugenia started with Oreo
06:33 - The “stay playful” positioning
09:49 - The best way to eat an Oreo cookie
11:08 - Managing a 110 year old brand
12:14 - The Oreo playbook for marketing in different regions
15:18 - Oreo’s collab with Coca-Cola
18:49 - Oreo’s approach to innovation
21:14 - System1 testing on Oreo innovations
23:40 - Innovations from around the world
25:23 - The surprising Coca-Cola collaboration
25:52 - Oreo’s SuperBowl ad in 2024
28:34 - Winning a Cannes Lion for a tweet
30:34 - Why is humour not used more
35:37 - Oreo x Post Malone collab
38:07 - Creative process for collabs
39:02 - How to lead a $4.5b organisation
43:57 - Advice to aspiring CMOs

Cadillac’s re-launch of an iconic car brand for a new era

Jon Evans — Wed, 12 Mar 2025 01:00:00 +0000

Cadillac is an iconic American brand who are navigating the shift to electrification in the automotive industry and have partnered up with 72andSunny to launch their brand new campaign “Let’s Take the Cadillac. So today, Melissa Grady Dias, CMO of Cadillac, and Marianne Malina, President of 72andSunny join Jon to talk about working with a new agency and launching their first campaign together.

Timestamps

00:00 - Intro
03:53 - Marianne’s background
06:49 - How to manage a brand like Cadillac
08:34 - How EV’s are changing the industry
13:53 - How do you change your marketing for EVs
15:08 - Insights and inception of “Let’s Take the Cadillac”
17:56 - Developing the “Let’s Take the Cadillac” campaign
21:41 - How to launch a new car
23:39 - Building the campaign for different formats
25:42 - 72andSunny and Cadillac’s first campaign together
28:11 - Challenging the conformity in car advertising
30:48 - Why brand is so important for car purchasing
32:31 - Leading the marketing agenda inside a big org like General Motors
34:24 - In car Cadillac Car-aoke
35:22 - Melissa’s song
36:13 - Coolest feature about Escalade IQ
38:37 - Creating a luxury experience
39:27 - Choosing your car as CMO of Cadillac
40:57 - Creating a premium vehicle
42:53 - Thoughts on the Escalade IQ

Rob Mayhew on the untapped creator opportunity in B2B, London vs New York and using social media as a brand

Jon Evans — Mon, 10 Mar 2025 01:00:00 +0000

Rob Mayhew joins Jon for bonus episode, talking about his big move to New York City, becoming a full-time content creator and how brands can work with creators like him effectively.

Timestamps

00:00 - Intro
01:39 - Why Rob moved to NYC
04:20 - Rob’s new YouTube show
05:47 - London vs New York for marketers
08:00 - Rob’s approach to content in 2025
11:00 - Rob’s view on the future of the social platforms
14:17 - How System1’s ad testing works
17:27 - Rob’s funniest posts on LinkedIn
18:46 - Rob’s process for making content
20:16 - Any trends that are different in the US than UK
21:43 - Thoughts on the creator economy
23:09 - The Poppi vending machine backlash
24:22 - How does Rob plan his content?
25:18 - Different audiences for TikTok and LinkedIn
25:38 - Rory Sutherland’s TikTok
26:48 - Power of B2B content creation

Rare Beauty: the story behind the success of Selena Gomez’s make up brand - Katie Welch

Jon Evans — Wed, 05 Mar 2025 01:00:00 +0000

Rare Beauty is a brand built on the inclusive approach to beauty set by their celebrity founder, Selena Gomez. They've taken the US market by storm and so I'm speaking to their CMO, Katie Welch, about how they've done it. From strong positioning and making a difference in mental health across their customer base to growing a strong presence on social media (with a little help from their founder with over 400m Instagram followers), Rare Beauty is a wonderful success story of a challenger brand.

Timestamps

00:00 - Intro
00:50 - Katie’s career background
07:46 - How Katie joined Rare Beauty
11:09 - The challenges of launching a startup beauty brand
14:19 - The positioning of Rare Beauty
16:21 - New guest host interruption
16:58 - Being true to the brand positioning
19:48 - Being a purpose led brand
22:47 - Addressing the pressures of social media
26:27 - Building the Rare Beauty brand on social media
28:22 - How involved does Selena Gomez get in the Rare Beauty brand
29:57 - The secret to a successful product launch for Rare Beauty
33:00 - Dealing with the growth challenges of a scale up
40:36 - Evolving the Rare Beauty community
42:24 - What’s next for the Rare Beauty brand?
42:47 - Being an entreprenuer in a startup
45:09 - Katie growing her own social accounts

Yum! CMO on cultural relevance, being innovative & creative risk taking (Taco Bell, KFC, Pizza Hut) - Ken Muench

Jon Evans — Wed, 26 Feb 2025 01:00:00 +0000

This episode is a QSR masterclass. Ken Muench is the CMO of Yum! brands, who own Taco Bell, KFC and Pizza Hut. I speak to Ken about how he started the agency that got acquired by Yum! (The Collider Lab) and his journey to being the CMO of such a large group of brands. We also talk about how all CMOs within Yum! are encouraged to swing big to make impactful campaigns and drive innovation within their brands. Ken is also the co-author of "R.E.D Marketing: The Three Ingredients of Leading Brands" which breaks down why Relevance, Ease and Distinctiveness are essential for QSR brands.

Timestamps:

00:00 - Intro
01:07 - Ken’s career background
03:44 - In-house vs agency creative
06:39 - Taking bigger swings
07:46 - The secret to the success of The Collider Lab
12:06 - Food is fuel vs experience
14:42 - Why Ken wrote the book: R.E.D Marketing
17:29 - The R.E.D framework
20:51 - How brands grow
23:58 - Why “ease” is an untapped opportunity for marketers
28:26 - The power of distinctive assets
30:31 - Changing the Taco Bell strapline to Live Mas!
32:52 - How Yum! brands approach innovation
37:14 - How Yum! brands innovation scored
41:29 - What happens when innovation goes wrong
44:10 - Saucy by KFC
47:47 - The innovators dilemma
49:44 - Taking chances: KFC FCK campaign
51:48 - Ken’s favourite moments as Yum! CMO
53:01 - How to be a successful CMO at such a large brand
55:44 - What makes a great CMO

Creativity & Consistency: driving growth for the worlds largest beer brands - Marcel Marcondes

Jon Evans — Wed, 19 Feb 2025 01:00:00 +0000

Marcel Marcondes is the CMO of AB InBev, who run the largest portfolio of beer brands in the world. Stella Artois, Corona, Michelob Ultra and Budweiser are all under the marketing leadership of Marcel. Through creativity and consistency, AB InBev have produced some of the most effective campaigns of the past few years, often topping out the System1 charts. This has led to Marcel and his team to win some incredible awards, including WFA marketer of the year (Marcel) and most effective marketer of the year by the Effies (AB InBev).

Timestamps

00:00 - Intro
00:48 - Marcel’s journey to running the biggest portfolio in the world
03:51 - The global beer brands Marcel oversees
04:27 - How to manage such a large portfolio of brands
07:04 - Being the most effective marketing team for the past 3 years
09:39 - The Olympics partnership
13:08 - How important is creativity to deliver effectiveness
16:35 - How to demonstrate the power of marketing internally
18:10 - Why campaign consistency is so important for AB InBev
21:25 - The most effective ad by AB InBev
22:39 - Having 4 brands with Super Bowl ads
24:53 - Stella Artois 2025 Super Bowl ad with David Beckham
30:20 - Michelob Ultra at Super Bowl
33:29 - Executing a campaign across platforms
36:18 - The relationship with creative agencies
40:07 - Marcel’s advice to CMOs

A masterclass on business productivity with Nir Eyal

Jon Evans — Mon, 17 Feb 2025 01:00:00 +0000

I think one of the biggest problems facing us today is the amount of distraction in our lives. Social media feeds, unnecessary meetings, huge inboxes full of emails you didn't really need. All these things are grabbing our attention and taking us away from doing what we're supposed to be doing.

In this episode I'm talking to Nir Eyal, who's the author of a brilliant book called Indistractable, which is all about how we can reclaim our attention to focus our energy around the things that really matter. Now, as marketers, we can have a massive impact on our brands and our business, if only we can focus our time and effort on the right things. So Nir is uncovering all the tips and tricks for how to do that and how to make sure you're more productive and less distracted.

Timestamps:

00:00 Intro
05:12 What is the source of distraction
07:06 How to deal with the internal triggers
12:50 Turning your values into time
18:14 Multi channel multitasking
20:06 Why we need to change meeting culture
26:20 Building a culture of indistraction in an organization
32:20 Imposter syndrome
34:53 Our perception of our quality of sleep
38:03 Luck is a belief set
42:12 Marketers are bad judges of marketing
44:06 Why successful people get more successful

How Pfizer made the highest scoring Pharma ad of all time - Susan Rienow

Jon Evans — Mon, 10 Feb 2025 02:00:00 +0000

The Super Bowl is the biggest advertising event of the year, with the biggest brands in the world flexing their advertising muscles (and budgets). A new entrant to the Super Bowl in 2024 was Pfizer, and they're back again this year with an ad that has blown the socks off the Pharma category. Their big game ad "Knock Out", scored 4.4 stars in System1 testing, also making it one of the best ads overall. I speak with Pfizer CMO, Susan Rienow about what it takes to create such a successful ad in the most competitive environment.

Timestamps

00:00 - Intro
01:20 - Susan’s successful career so far
03:19 - What Pfizer does and their mission
04:21 - The Covid vaccine rollout
06:29 - The role of insights for making business decisions
07:36 - Dealing with the complexities of different audiences
10:12 - Managing the impact of fair balance in advertising
14:51 - The role of Pfizer’s advertising
17:04 - Why have Pfizer gone all in with a Super Bowl ad
20:12 - The Pfizer Super Bowl ad in 2025
25:20 - What role does testing play for creating an effective ad
33:31 - The role of testing giving confidence to the board
37:39 - How tiny changes can make such a big difference
39:15 - How to evaluate the impact of a Super Bowl ad
41:22 - What makes a great CMO
46:40 - Advice Susan would give to young marketers

Samsung CMO on Tech Innovation, Flying Ostriches & Doing More with Less - Benjamin Braun

Jon Evans — Wed, 05 Feb 2025 01:00:00 +0000

Today Jon sits down with Benjamin Braun, CMO at Samsung Europe, for a fascinating conversation that spans from innovative tech demos to Olympic marketing strategies. Benjamin shares insights on Samsung's role as a 40-year Olympic sponsor, demonstrates the latest AI capabilities in Samsung devices, and discusses how the company balances long-term brand building with short-term sales goals. The conversation takes a personal turn as Benjamin opens up about his experience with dyslexia and how neurodiversity can be a strength in business leadership. From product innovation to marketing effectiveness in the boardroom, this episode offers a glimpse into the mind of one of Europe's leading CMOs and the future of consumer technology.

Timestamps
00:00:00 - Intro
00:00:50 - Why podcasts are now video
00:03:54 - Samsung’s approach to AI products
00:12:21 - Showing Samsung’s AI photo editing features
00:15:20 - The Samsung Galaxy Ring and the health benefits of tech
00:20:35 - The history of Samsung
00:22:47 - How Samsung have innovated in TV’s
00:27:37 - Having products across all price points
00:29:11 - What can marketers learn from being a Police Officer?
00:36:17 - The mini max approach to marketing
00:42:13 - Samsung sponsoring the Olympics
00:49:18 - The best Samsung ads
00:55:56 - How to be an effective CMO in a large organisation
01:00:37 - Put your CFO and CEO in the shoes of the customer
01:07:22 - How Benjamin manages his dyslexia as a CMO

The Attention Economy: Why not all reach is equal with Karen Nelson Field

Jon Evans — Wed, 29 Jan 2025 01:00:00 +0000

Dr Karen Nelson Field is a multiple returning guest to the podcast, talking about her book "The Attention Economy: A Category Blueprint" which takes an in-depth look into the dynamic world of marketing and advertising, unveiling the pivotal role that human attention measurement plays in the present and future landscape. In this episode we discuss the history of attention, how the platforms are manipulating our attention, why not all reach is equal, and, ultimately, what we can do about it.

00:00 - Intro
00:49 - Karen’s new book
01:42 - The history of attention
03:20 - The case for attention
04:17 - The difference between active and passive attention
09:37 - Linking attention to memory
11:30 - Linking attention to advertising outcomes
14:12 - The concept of attention elasticity
15:17 - How platforms are manipulating our attention
17:51 - How to measure attention
20:10 - Seen vs served
25:22 - How is the industry progressing?
27:21 - Is there a new metric we can use in place of CPM?
29:10 - How to buy media based on attention
31:25 - Karen’s new course
32:31 - How is Amplified Intelligence going

From Shark Tank to Super Bowl - the story of America's fastest growing beverage (Poppi) with Allison Ellsworth

Jon Evans — Wed, 22 Jan 2025 01:00:00 +0000

In this episode I'm joined by Allison Ellsworth, founder of the fastest growing beverage brand in the US, Poppi.

Poppi was started as Mother Beverage in 2018 (a nod to the raw, unfiltered apple cider vinegar used in the drink) but was rebranded after featuring on Shark Tank in the same year. Now, it's one of the biggest soda brands in the US, outselling Coke and Pepsi on Amazon. I speak to Allison about the journey of creating the brand, how influential TikTok was for their growth, their merch strategy and how they ended up buying a Super Bowl ad. This is a fascinating account of how a challenger brand can disrupt an industry in such a small period of time.

Timestamps
00:00 - Intro
02:08 - Allison’s experience on Shark Tank
05:56 - Funding and rebrand of Poppi
10:36 - Launching the brand during COVID
11:06 - Outselling Coke and Pepsi on Amazon
12:33 - How big is the impact of Shark Tank
13:45 - Growing the brand on social media
17:02 - The influencer and social first marketing strategy
19:45 - How Poppi’s marketing popup worked
22:05 - Why Poppi invested in merch and launching in Target
24:36 - Choosing which flavours to launch with Poppi
28:04 - Approach to retail and growth
29:27 - Breaking into a competitive market
30:29 - Poppi’s Super Bowl campaign
35:30 - The journey from 2 to 200 employees
40:18 - How Allison hires at Poppi
42:05 - The hardest part of the journey at Poppi
44:07 - How Allison would start a new startup today

Mr Bates vs The Post Office - the real story behind the drama with Patrick Spence

Jon Evans — Mon, 20 Jan 2025 01:00:00 +0000

Mr Bates vs The Post Office is a the most watched drama on ITV of all time. It's the extraordinary story of the greatest miscarriage of justice in British legal history, where hundreds of innocent sub-postmasters and postmistresses were wrongly accused of theft, fraud and false accounting due to a defective IT system. I speak to the producer of the show, Patrick Spence, to get a behind the scenes look at the drama, how it was discovered, how it was made and why the country rallied around Mr Bates.

Timestamps
00:00 - Intro
01:09 - The story of Mr Bates
05:33 - Having the film commissioned by ITV
08:59 - How true was the drama
12:04 - How big was the cover up at the Post Office
14:12 - How did this scandal happen
17:21 - Why some people pleaded guilty
19:36 - How has the show impacted real people
22:08 - Why no one has received compensation yet
24:46 - What awards has the show won
26:24 - The reaction from Fujitsu and the Post Office
31:53 - How has the drama translated globally?

The power of personalisation and how to deliver at scale - Mark Abraham, BCG

Jon Evans — Wed, 15 Jan 2025 01:00:00 +0000

Mark Abraham leads Boston Consulting Group’s Marketing, Sales & Pricing practice in North America. He also launched and leads the firm’s personalization capability. He has built some of the firm’s largest ventures and AI platforms, including Fabriq Personalization AI by BCG X, a personalization platform that accelerates personalization.

Mark coauthored the book Personalized: Customer Strategy in the Age of AI, which helps executives learn how to put personalization at the center of their strategy, accelerate growth, and capture their share of the $2 trillion personalization prize.

Timestamps

00:00 - Intro
00:49 - Why 2025 is the year of personalisation at scale
01:38 - When personalisation goes wrong
06:04 - Consumer data on our openness to personalisation
07:48 - The $2 trillion opportunity
10:08 - Who is doing personalisation well
14:27 - The competitive advantage of speed and scale
15:50 - How AI is driving personalisation forward
24:15 - The 5 areas to build the framework for personalisation
26:49 - How do you get information about your customer
31:53 - What is the most useful intelligence to gather
37:43 - How to make mass campaigns more targeted
42:36 - Some of the barriers to personalisation
50:19 - Why companies need to embrace AI
53:25 - Parting advice to people on implementing personalisation

How not to plan: what matters most in 2025 - Les Binet and Sarah Carter

Jon Evans — Wed, 08 Jan 2025 01:00:00 +0000

It's our annual tradition to bring Sarah Carter and Les Binet, authors of How Not To Plan, onto the podcast to discuss the hot topics of the year and what marketers need to know in 2025. We've broken this episode into 8 key discussion points, including why consistent advertising is so effective, why the era of purpose is over and another year of the advertising industry needing to remember they are not the customer.

00:00:00 - Intro
00:00:55 - Reflecting on the agency’s year
00:05:25 - Point 1: You are not the customer
00:19:51 - Point 2: Ignore Price at your peril
00:26:13 - Point 3: Consistency but not a lack of creativity
00:42:08 - Point 4: Never forget the eyeballs
00:50:48 - Point 5: Emotions aren’t just about making people cry
00:55:08 - Point 6: Is the era of purpose over?
01:00:38 - Point 7: Don’t just be in culture, stay in culture
01:03:48 - Point 8: Don’t forget the power of Out of Home

How Amazon built distinctive assets, compound creativity and a winning culture - Ed Smith

Jon Evans — Mon, 06 Jan 2025 01:00:00 +0000

Ed Smith leads the Amazon mass marketing team in Europe. In this episode we talk about how Amazon create such emotional advertising, how they make such huge decisions in their marketing and what Ed thinks about consistency within the Amazon brand.

Timestamps

00:00 - Intro
00:48 - The top selling Amazon products at Christmas
02:53 - Ed’s career journey to Amazon
09:08 - Amazon’s sledging grannies campaign (age representation)
14:49 - Why is Amazon’s advertising emotional
21:10 - Being consistent with your brand
24:39 - How Amazon make big decisions
28:27 - Managing the demand side of Amazon
29:30 - Amazon’s sustainability pledge
35:12 - The role of influencers at Amazon
38:56 - Culture at Amazon
46:42 - Ed’s marketing predictions for 2025

Reloaded: Rupert Howell co-founder of HHCL on creating the agency of the decade

Jon Evans — Thu, 02 Jan 2025 01:00:00 +0000

Uncensored CMO Reloaded. This episode was first published in May 2021.

Rupert Howell is one of the founders of the iconic advertising agency HHCL & Partners. This is a bumper 2 hour episode, but I promise you it's worth it. We spend a lot of time actually talking about new business and the importance of winning pitches and growing customers. We also look at the campaigns that the HHCL created, where the ideas came from that inspired such iconic and effective work. And I think you'll find that quite revealing also how relationships are basically underpinned all of Rupert's success. Enjoy.

We covered so much ground in this bumper 2 hour episode, so here's the list of what we touched upon:

How Rupert made HHCL the best agency of the 90’s
Ruperts New Business Mantra – Honesty. Respect. Trust.
Why saying ‘I don’t know’ and ‘we got it wrong’ is so important
How the agency’s sole focus is Advertising but the Clients sole focus is the business
Why new business should always be separate to the day to day account management
How Rupert became ‘the finest new business director of all time’
How to win a pitch even after you have lost it
Why the pitch process begins with the phone call and only ends when its announced in Campaign
The sole purpose of the pitch is to win and not to solve the clients business problem
Why HHCL had a strike rate of 65% for new business
What the company annual report can tell you for the pitch process
Why you should try and get your customer promoted
How Carling Black Label inspired the most successful Tango Advertising of all time
How Tango destroyed Fanta and forced Coke to withdraw it from the market
How a call from a Surgeon led to the Tango Slap commercial being withdraw from market
Why the ‘4th Emergency Service’ transformed The AA and how the bold idea was sold in
How spending time with an AA team out on a call led to the idea
The importance of winning your internal teams and why they matter as much as your customers
Interrogating the product until ‘it confesses its strength’
Why the harder you practice the luckier you get is just as true for an agency
The real hard yards of the start-up phase that meant not taking a day off in 3 years
How tabloids create controversy and how to respond to it
Why relationships are the secret to really succeeding in business
Turning down offers to sell the agency including a £1million bribe
Why HHCL accepted an offer from Chime with the support from Sir Martin Sorrell
Why so few agencies ever succeed after being acquired by a network
Why HHCL was never the same after Rupert left and why he would never go back
The importance of timing for Founders handing over to the next generation
Dealing with bullies, bribary and negotiating an exit from McCann with a boat & DB9 as consolation
Which celebrities are still speaking to Rupert after he left ITV
Why social media is driven by click bait and negative headlines
Why you should give up the news, except perhaps local news
The Pros and Cons of a British free press
How to get a non-exec role

Never Mind The Adverts Christmas Special

Jon Evans — Mon, 23 Dec 2024 01:00:00 +0000

For a special Christmas edition of the Uncensored CMO, we've recorded a bonus episode of the Never Mind the Adverts podcast, featuring our good friend Orlando Wood. We talk about some breaking news, have some festive drinks and review some of the best Christmas Ads this year (yes, including that Coke ad). Enjoy.

Timestamps

00:00 - Intro
01:10 - The news
03:53 - Orlando’s Christmas Stocking Fillers
09:06 - Drinks trolley
12:38 - Review of the 2024 Christmas Ads
16:45 - A break from the ads
21:03 - Name that ad

Fame, Feeling & Flamingos: how consistency helped Very hit new heights

Jon Evans — Wed, 18 Dec 2024 01:00:00 +0000

Jess Myers CCO of The Very Group, returns to the podcast sharing the success of her role over the past year. We'll explore how Jess and her team navigates the crucial "Golden Quarter" leading up to Christmas, the importance of creative consistency, and the successes they've achieved by sticking with what works. Plus, we'll hear about the innovative launch of the Very Media Group and how their flamingo-themed campaigns resonate with customers.

Jess also sheds light on balancing commercial objectives with customer experience, fostering collaborative relationships, and the unique challenges of her executive role. Whether it's optimizing holiday ads or championing a vibrant company culture, Jess’s insights are sure to inspire.

Timestamps

00:00 - Start
01:07 - Jess’ custom merch for the podcast
02:07 - Jess’ review of the year at Very
04:28 - From Chief Marketing Officer to Chief Customer Officer - what’s changed
06:17 - How marketers can thrive in the boardroom
08:53 - Embracing “hun culture”
12:35 - How important the golden quarter is for retailers
15:46 - Why Very chose the run the same campaign at Christmas
21:05 - Why short term is important in the Golden Quarter
23:57 - Very's Flamazing Flamingos as a fluent device
28:40 - Launching the Very Media Group
31:03 - Launching House of Flamingo
34:18 - Jess’ learnings from the last year at Very
35:45 - Making the most out of your agencies
39:29 - Closing thoughts

How Tony’s Chocolonely is breaking the mould with their Dean of Dopeness (CMO) Sadira Furlow

Jon Evans — Wed, 11 Dec 2024 01:00:00 +0000

In this episode, we're diving into a fascinating conversation with Sadira Furlow, known as the "Dean of Dopeness" at Tony's Chocolonely. We unpack Sadira's career journey from launching viral campaigns at PepsiCo to driving industry change at Tony's Chocolonely.

We'll explore her admiration for Tony's authentic mission, their innovative approach to storytelling, and how they're reshaping the chocolate industry. Sadira also opens up about her bold career moves, the lessons learned from transitioning between major brands and startups, and her commitment to making a meaningful impact.

Timestamps
00:00 - Intro
01:37 - How Sadira discovered Tony’s
02:01 - Why Sadira is known as the Dean of Dopeness
03:19 - Sadira’s role at Pepsi; Puppy Monkey Baby and Mountain Dew
13:06 - From PepsiCo to a fintech (Happy Money)
16:03 - Making an impact in a product-led organisation
18:24 - Writing your own redundancy case
21:09 - Why Sadira took a 9 month Sabbatical
23:51 - How Sadira got the role at Tony’s
28:11 - The commitment to being a change brand
29:55 - Working with constrained budgets
34:26 - The lawsuit for Tony’s look alike bars
38:27 - The Tony’s advent calendar that caused a stir
39:53 - Using fun and humour to tell a serious story
42:21 - In house vs agencies at Tony’s
43:17 - Tony’s collaboration with The Washington Post
44:25 - Custom branded Tony’s Chocolonely bars
45:46 - The most successful campaigns for Tony’s
47:45 - Where does the brand go from here?
49:55 - What has surprised Sadira most about the brand

Rory Sutherland on Jaguar: Madness or Marketing Genius?

Jon Evans — Mon, 09 Dec 2024 01:00:00 +0000

The marketing world has been dominated by the recent Jaguar rebrand. It's split opinion in the industry with many criticising the bold new approach with Jaguar's move to electrification. Rory Sutherland may be best positioned to give his thoughts on the change, as a six-time Jaguar owner and behavioural science expert. Rory comes at the rebrand with a more positive spin, suggesting that Jaguar needed to make a bold change in the new wave of electrification to save it's dying brand, and many of the critics have never owned a Jaguar and likely never will. As always, chatting with Rory is a lot of fun with many uncensored opinions.

How to scale a challenger brand with Tony’s Chief Chocolonely Douglas Lamont (ex Innocent MD)

Jon Evans — Wed, 04 Dec 2024 01:00:00 +0000

In the first of a two part special on one of my favourite challenger brands of all time, Tony’s Chocolonely, I speak with their Chief Chocolonely (CEO), Douglas Lamont. Douglas is an expert in Challenger Brands, having previously led Innocent Smoothie for 15 years, guiding them through their acquisition by Coca-Cola and subsequent scaling. In this episode, we'll explore the delicate balance between maintaining a strong mission and driving business growth. Douglas also shares insights into Tony's dedicated efforts to eradicate child labor, pay fair wages, and maintain transparency in their cocoa sourcing, all while making their chocolate appealing and fun for consumers.

Tune in next week for an interview with Tony's Dean of Dopeness, Sadira E. Furlow (aka their Chief Brand Officer), to find out exactly what it takes to grow a brand like Tony's.

Timestamps

00:00 - Start
01:38 - Douglas’ journey to CEO at Innocent Smoothies
06:36 - Lessons on how to scale up at Innocent
12:47 - Why Coke kept Innocent independent
15:03 - Innocent’s approach to launching new products
21:52 - Why Douglas moved to Tony’s Chocolonely
24:22 - Tony’s Chocolonely origin story
28:29 - Why is Tony’s chocolate so good
29:42 - The B2B side of Tony’s Chocolonely
32:56 - Is it more expensive to be a change brand?
34:03 - Balancing a serious mission with a fun brand
35:53 - Why Tony’s is so transparent
41:48 - Tony’s international expansion
44:38 - Challenges of being in the biggest retailer in the US
47:35 - Lessons as a CMO
51:33 - Creating the culture at Tony’s

Google Retail MD on the power of search and the secrets to why we watch YouTube - Sophie Neary

Jon Evans — Wed, 27 Nov 2024 01:00:00 +0000

In this episode, we dive into the fascinating world of digital retail and YouTube with our special guest, Sophie Neary, Retail MD at Google. We explore studies comparing rational and emotional advertising, uncover the power of YouTube in capturing audience attention, and discuss the vital role of creativity in ad success, even in the age of AI.

Sophie shares insights from her extensive career, including her pivotal role in transforming Boots' digital presence and launching successful campaigns like Fenty beauty. We'll also cover trends shaping the future of retail, such as the impact of Cyber Monday falling in December for the first time in five years and retailers leveraging "Fake Friday" to boost profits.

Additionally, we'll touch on the evolving dynamics of YouTube creators, the significance of emotional engagement in content, and innovative advertising strategies. Plus, we'll delve into the limitless curiosity driving the continuous evolution of Google Search and the role of AI in shaping marketing strategies.

Timestamps
00:00 - Intro
00:46 - Sophie’s career history
04:12 - Sophie’s time at Jack Wills
06:14 - Sophie’s job at Boots
09:26 - Top 2 retail trends from Google Search
11:50 - How Google Search has evolved over the years
18:12 - How to take advantage of insights from search
23:10 - What Google Trends tells us about Black Friday
29:51 - How retailers can go up against Amazon
31:48 - Is YouTube going to replace TV?
37:01 - Trends in formats for YouTube, short vs long
41:35 - How YouTube empowers creators (Chicken Shop Date)
47:19 - How advertisers can make the most out of YouTube
52:36 - Advice on how to grow a podcast on YouTube
55:00 - The greatest gift AI can give to humanity

The Power of Compound Creativity with Dom Dwight (Yorkshire Tea), Vickie Ridley (Lucky Generals) & Andrew Tindall (System1)

Jon Evans — Wed, 20 Nov 2024 01:00:00 +0000

In this episode, we're going to be talking about Compound Creativity, a new report by System1 in partnership with the IPA showing how being consistent with your creative compounds over time. I'm speaking with the author of the report, Andrew Tindall, who explains the core facets of the report and shares some fascinating statistics on the impact of creative consistency.

And in a double bill, I'm also joined also joined by Dom Dwight, from Yorkshire Tea, and Vickie Ridley, from their partner agency Lucky Generals. Yorkshire Tea have been putting the principles of compound creativity to practice over many years and have been hugely successful as a result. So not only are we talking about the data, we're also talking about the practice.

Download the Compound Creativity report here.

Part 1 with Andrew Tindall

00:00 - Intro
00:58 - Launching the Compound Creativity report
01:35 - Coming up with the right name for Compound Creativity
02:52 - The building blocks of consistency
05:13 - The value of being consistent
08:04 - How compounding helps wear in
09:25 - Power of fluent devices
12:14 - Collaborating with the IPA for the business effects data
15:00 - Don’t fire your agency
16:39 - The 5 most consistent brands

Part 2 with Dom Dwight and Vickie Ridley of Yorkshire Tea

18:29 - Intro to Lucky Generals and Yorkshire Tea
19:25 - Dom Dwight’s history with Yorkshire Tea
22:28 - Where did the “doing things proper” idea originate
25:31 - Narrowing 17 ideas down to 3
26:19 - How to use celebrities well in advertising
29:57 - Yorkshire Tea Ad with Sean Bean
32:06 - Yorkshire Tea Ad with Kaiser Chiefs
38:03 - How does the campaign work across channels
42:24 - Key to a successful client agency relationship
48:37 - The results of Yorkshire Tea’s compounding creativity
52:56 - Advice to clients to get the most out of their agency

Mark Ritson on the fall of Nike, KitKat’s perfect positioning and whether Liquid Death is more than just water in a can

Jon Evans — Wed, 13 Nov 2024 01:00:00 +0000

Mark Ritson is back on the podcast for a review of the most read stories this year. We debate if Liquid Death is more than just water in a can, why Nike’s focus on DTC was a mistake and what we can all learn from KitKat’s perfect positioning. Recorded in a pub in London, expect some uncensored opinions from everyone’s favourite marketing professor.

00:00 - Start
05:40 - Mark #5: Brand purpose doesn’t need a commercial excuse
14:13 - Jon #5: Liquid death article
21:15 - Mark #4: There's no such thing as performance branding
25:47 - Jon #4: Nike Winning isn’t for everybody
29:07 - Mark #3: KitKat's perfect positioning
34:33 - Jon #3: Compounding interest, relationships and creativity
39:55 - Mark #2: Why Liquid Death are running into trouble
45:42 - Jon #2: Outrage is the new s*x in marketing
48:32 - Ritson #1: Nike’s biggest mistake
52:44 - Jon #1: Airbnb’s focus on brand

The brands trying to change the world - Chris Baker, Serious Tissues & Change Please

Jon Evans — Wed, 06 Nov 2024 01:00:00 +0000

Chris Baker is an award-winning advertising and social change strategist turned entrepreneur. He is the Founder & CEO of Serious Tissues, a toilet roll brand that fights climate change and deforestation by planting trees with every sale. Over 1.2m trees have been planted in just three years. He is also the Co-Founder of Change Please, a coffee brand that has helped hundreds of homeless people off the streets by training them as baristas, and is available in 23 countries. Change Please was named the World’s Leading Social Enterprise in 2018 and in Marketing Week’s 100 Most Disruptive Brands in the World. He has spent 20 years working on the world’s biggest brands including Unilever, Pepsico, Boots, Sky and Alpro whilst winning over 100 strategic and creative awards along the way.

Find out more about Chris' book, Obsolete, here:
https://www.bloomsbury.com/uk/obsolete-9781399416658/

00:00 - Intro
02:09 - The premise of his book
04:27 - Why Chris called the book Obsolete
06:41 - Making positive change with small businesses
18:32 - Being inspired by change brands
21:53 - How to win against established brands
27:03 - The advantages of purpose
29:31 - How Chris started Change Please
32:48 - Measuring the impact of Change Please
36:28 - How change brands can be distinctive
40:14 - Why Tony’s Chocolonely are making an impact
42:06 - Putting change ahead of profits
47:06 - Applying a change mindset to other industries
49:37 - Making an impact commercially and with purpose
52:55 - How Serious Tissues started
55:53 - The power of partnerships
57:49 - Chris’ biggest takeaway from writing Obsolete

Social media masterclass in community and influencer marketing with Elfried Samba (ex Gymshark)

Jon Evans — Wed, 23 Oct 2024 01:00:00 +0100

Elfried Samba is CEO of Butterfly 3ffect. Samba immigrated from D.R. Congo to the UK at age 14 before rising to prominence in the Social media space through his work at global fitness brand, Gymshark.

Timestamps

00:00:00 - Intro
00:00:52 - Why Elfried Samba wears a hat
00:03:49 - Elfried’s dissertation on social media
00:10:23 - The skills most in demand in 2024
00:12:36 - Elfried’s early work at Gymshark
00:21:11 - The challenges of scaling up
00:26:23 - Elfried’s approach to personal growth
00:36:01 - How Elfried approaches finding talented people
00:41:59 - Why Elfried left Gymshark
00:49:26 - Scaling through influencers and community
01:00:52 - Power of personal brands

Mark Ritson reviews the highest scoring beer ads of all time (down the pub)

Jon Evans — Wed, 16 Oct 2024 01:00:00 +0100

Mark Ritson is back and has convinced me to record in a pub, talking about the top 10 beer ads of all time (while drinking beer) - what could go wrong? We break down some classic ads from Heineken & Stella, Super Bowl hits from Michelob & Sam Adams and round off drinking Britain's favourite pint.

Timestamps

00:00 - Intro
00:27 - The idea for the beer podcast
04:16 - Ad 10: Budweiser
08:24 - Ad 9: Budweiser
10:43 - Ad 8: Heineken
13:56 - Ad 7: Stella Artois
18:30 - Ad 6: Corona
21:46 - Ad 5: Michelob Ultra
25:17 - Ad 4: Carlsberg
29:10 - Ad 3: Sam Adams
36:36 - Ad 2: Guinness
46:05 - Ad 1: Heineken

Top 10 Ranking (with System1 Test Your Ad Report)

HEINEKEN DANIEL CRAIG VS JAMES BOND (5.6)
GUINNESS IN THIS TOGETHER (5.3)
BOSTON BEER SAM ADAMS YOUR COUSIN FROM BOSTON (4.9)
CARLSBERG THE SEAL (4.9)
MICHELOB ULTRA MESSI SUPERBOWL AD (4.8)
CORONA TINY UMBRELLAS (4.8)
STELLA ARTOIS REASSURINGLY EXPENSIVE (4.6)
HEINEKEN WATER IN MAJORCA (4.5)
BUDWEISER WHASSUP (4.3)
BUDWEISER OLD SCHOOL DELIVERY (4.2)

Building Britain's Most Iconic Brands - Kerris Bright (BBC)

Jon Evans — Wed, 09 Oct 2024 01:00:00 +0100

Kerris Bright is the Chief Customer Officer at the BBC. She was previously Chief Marketing Officer at Virgin Media.

She is a highly experienced leader, bringing a customer-centred, data driven approach to setting marketing strategy and executing with creative flair. Before Virgin, she held senior marketing positions at British Airways, ICI Paints and Unilever. While at British Airways, she spearheaded the development of ‘To Fly: To Serve’, a new purpose for the organisation and a multi-platform campaign and at ICI Paints she transformed the company from a ‘multi-local’ to global brand building organisation. After gaining a PhD in molecular neuroscience from the University of Sussex, she began her career in marketing as a graduate trainee at Unilever.

Timestamps

00:00:00 - Intro
00:00:26 - Why Kerris has a PHD in molecular neuroscience
00:04:04 - Getting marketing training at Unilever
00:09:56 - From Unilever to joining Dulux in crisis
00:18:33 - How marketers can work closely with commercial teams
00:22:12 - Purpose led campaigns
00:31:36 - Lessons from Kerris’ time in Private Equity
00:42:06 - From British Airways to Virgin
00:48:42 - Kerris’ role at the BBC
00:58:32 - The power of the BBC’s editorial independence
01:01:05 - Marketing the BBC
01:05:20 - How the BBC makes engaging content
01:08:13 - Kerris’ advice to aspiring marketers

How the NFL harnesses the power of emotion to drive record audiences - Tim Ellis & Glenn Cole

Jon Evans — Wed, 02 Oct 2024 01:00:00 +0100

The NFL is one of the biggest sporting entities in the world and it's reaching the biggest audiences it ever has. So in this episode, I'm joined by their CMO Tim Ellis, and Glenn Cole, co-founder of 72andSunny, their agency partner. We talk about the secrets behind a successful 7 year agency-client relationship, how to consistently make groundbreaking, emotional work, and what it takes to create a leading Super Bowl campaign.

Timestamps
00:00 - Intro
00:43 - Tim Ellis career journey
01:51 - How Tim met Glenn from 72andSunny
04:20 - Secret to a successful client agency relationship
08:21 - The compounding effect of a long term agency relationship
11:51 - Helmets off strategy
15:09 - You can’t make this stuff up campaign
17:40 - This is Football Country campaign
24:41 - Growing the audience for the NFL
27:22 - The Taylor Swift effect
34:32 - The growth of flag Football
39:30 - Growing the sport internationally
42:35 - How to make a great Super Bowl ad
49:07 - The power of emotion in advertising

An innovation masterclass; how Mauro Porcini created a culture of innovation at Pepsi

Jon Evans — Wed, 25 Sep 2024 01:00:00 +0100

In this episode, we're talking about one of my favourite subjects; innovation. And who better to talk about it with than Mauro Porcini, who's the Chief Design Officer at PepsiCo, who is also the author of “The Human Side of Innovation”. We talk about what it takes to make innovation that succeeds, and importantly, what characteristics of people can make innovation that works, (and he really knows, because if you've read the book, there are 24 characteristics that he talks about that are essential).

Timestamps

00:00 - Intro
00:56 - The office of Pepsi’s Chief Design Officer
02:56 - How Mauro got into design
07:01 - Why you need to focus on people when innovating
16:29 - Why so many innovations fail
23:17 - Hiring the right people to foster innovation
25:42 - Key characteristics of successful innovators
33:50 - How to inspire kindness, optimism and curiosity
40:27 - Finding the balance in character traits
47:58 - The ideal recipe for innovation
51:26 - How to cultivate happiness at work
55:10 - Fighting the dictatorship of normal
57:00 - Pepsi Rebrand

David Droga on fearless creativity, founding Droga5 and becoming CEO of Accenture Song

Jon Evans — Wed, 18 Sep 2024 01:00:00 +0100

Today I'm speaking with one of the most awarded creatives on the planet, David Droga, founder of iconic agency Droga5, and now CEO of Accenture Song, one of the largest creative groups in the world. Described by David himself as "therapy", this conversation spans topics from his start as life as a copywriter, how he created some of the most creative work on the planet and what it's like to transition from a creative to a CEO.

00:00 - Intro
01:58 - How David Droga got into advertising
07:36 - Working at Saatchi and Saatchi Singapore
12:19 - Pushing boundaries and making yourself uncomfortable
14:29 - Moving to Saatchi London
20:32 - Why David Droga started Droga5
25:55 - Droga5’s first campaign for Marc Ecko
31:23 - The first idea Droga5 presented: GE Olympics Campaign
38:30 - Droga’s Unicef campaign
43:25 - Droga’s Newcastle Brown Ale work
46:25 - Huggies Super Bowl Ad
48:44 - The Coinbase QR Code Super Bowl ad
52:22 - Characteristics of the best CMO’s Droga has worked with
56:23 - What it’s like being CEO of Accenture Song

Jon Evans Uncensored; what makes a great CMO and other lessons from 150 episodes with guest host Antonia Wade

Jon Evans — Wed, 11 Sep 2024 01:00:00 +0100

In this episode, Antonia Wade, CMO of PwC, turns the tables and interviews our usual host, Jon Evans. From tax intern to marketing podcast host, we delve into Jon's journey through entrepreneurial endeavours at Britvic, through to being fired at Lucozade to finding a successful role in B2B at System1. We also discuss lessons Jon has learned from 150 podcast episodes with CMO's, agency creatives, founders and more.

Timestamps

00:00 - Intro
00:43 - Jon’s journey from tax to marketing
10:18 - Deciding if you’re more suited to corporate or entrepreneurial life
12:35 - Why Jon got fired at Lucozade
17:15 - Traits of a confident CMO
18:35 - How do you go from tax to research?
25:21 - Why Jon chose Richard Shotton as his first guest
27:10 - Lesson’s we can take from COVID times
30:20 - What makes a great CMO
36:49 - Do emotional ads really work?
39:44 - Favourite campaign that didn’t perform well with System1
41:19 - Is winning a Cannes Lion worth it or not?
44:42 - How important is purpose in advertising?
48:37 - Is AI the saviour of creativity?
52:35 - What has Jon learned about leadership from Uncensored CMO guests?
56:25 - Who would Jon love to have on the podcast?
57:34 - Happy 50th Birthday Jon!

Sir John Hegarty & Orlando Wood on the next creative revolution

Jon Evans — Wed, 04 Sep 2024 01:00:00 +0100

Welcome to the 150th edition of the Uncensored CMO podcast. To celebrate, I'm joined by Orlando Wood, my colleague at System1 and author of Lemon and Look Out, with the legend that is Sir John Hegarty, iconic founder of BBH. Today we're talking about why they believe a creative revolution is necessary for the industry and why they are collaborating on a new course "Advertising Principles Explained" as the antidote.

Timestamps

00:00:00 - Intro
00:02:22 - Have Oasis created the most effective ad of all time?
00:16:13 - What can we learn from the history of advertising?
00:22:43 - The advertising landscape when John started BBH
00:28:04 - The next creative revolution - Advertising Principles Explained
00:32:32 - The scientific evidence for emotional advertising
00:38:38 - Who is doing the best, most effective advertising today?
00:41:58 - BBH work with Lynx / Axe
00:44:55 - Why we need more humour in advertising
00:49:32 - Advice to CMOs for selling in this approach
00:51:44 - When does Advertising Principles Explained launch?
00:54:42 - Campaigns that didn’t go well for Sir John Hegarty
00:57:11 - What role do planners have in the success of the creative
00:57:33 - How did they sell in flat Eric to Levi’s
00:58:34 - How to challenge clients to think differently
00:59:13 - What emerging trends will shape the future of advertising
01:00:05 - What skills will the CMO of the future need?
01:02:58 - What trend needs breaking today?

A Challenger Brand Workout with Gymbox Brand Director Rory McEntee

Jon Evans — Wed, 28 Aug 2024 01:00:00 +0100

Regular listeners of the podcast will know how much I love challenger brands, and Gymbox are one of the best examples of a challenger brand really shaping up their industry. Rory McEntee is the Brand and Marketing Director for the challenger Gym brand, and is responsible for some of the most creative campaigns (which have often come along with a side helping of legal letters) that have really put Gymbox on the map.

Timestamps

00:00 - Intro
00:45 - Rory’s marketing background
02:27 - Rory’s time at Paddy Power
08:18 - Why Rory joined Gymbox
10:11 - The Gymbox founding story
14:01 - Reframing how people see the gym
16:05 - Using your constraints to your advantage
25:15 - Using every touch point as media
35:11 - Being obsessed with execution
39:27 - Forgiveness not permission with your marketing
46:43 - Dealing with taking risks
48:56 - Why the Gymbox culture is so important
53:44 - How does the business of a challenger gym work

Brand of the year CMO on Innovation, TED talks and what B2B can learn from B2C - Rebecca Hirst

Jon Evans — Wed, 21 Aug 2024 01:00:00 +0100

Rebecca Hirst is the Chief Marketing Officer of EY UK, a TEDx Speaker and a winner of Campaign's 40 over 40. Before joining EY and making the switch to B2B, Rebecca was Marketing Director at Samsung and working on brands including Coca-Cola, Schweppes, Kellogg’s, Kleenex, Microsoft, IBM, United Airlines, Lufthansa and Star Alliance.

Timestamps

00:00 - Intro
00:54 - Winning Campaign’s 40 over 40
04:33 - Being a Ted Talk speaker
08:01 - Rebecca’s time at Samsung
13:08 - Why Jon loves being a challenger brand
17:08 - Working at Coca Cola vs Pepsi
23:00 - How Rebecca transitioned into a B2B role
25:46 - The power of compounding
32:03 - How is B2B marketing different to B2C?
37:36 - How to influence change at a large organisation
46:12 - How EY became UK’s strongest brand
52:14 - Rebecca’s advice to young marketers

Characters, humour & disasters: how GEICO changed the insurance game

Jon Evans — Wed, 14 Aug 2024 01:00:00 +0100

Michelle Moscone is the VP of Brand and Content at GEICO, one of the most famous insurance brands in the US. Michele's career has spanned from project management at some of the biggest agencies in the world to leading creative at an organisation where creativity is at its core. In this episode we talk about why humour is so important for advertising and why we're so afraid to use it.

Timestamps

00:00 - Intro
01:08 - Michelle Moscone background and career
08:18 - How Michelle landed at GEICO
11:20 - Why are there so many characters in insurance?
21:42 - When insurance goes wrong
32:34 - Why humour is so important
36:37 - Why are we afraid of humour?
41:16 - GEICO’s greatest hits
49:51 - How to get the best out of your agency
55:43 - Michelle’s favourite GEICO campaigns

The Mischief mindset behind the most creative agency in the US with Greg Hahn

Jon Evans — Wed, 07 Aug 2024 01:00:00 +0100

Greg Hahn is the Co-founder and Chief Creative Officer of Mischief. One of the hottest agencies in the world doing work for the likes of Tinder, Tubi and Coors Light. Previous to Mischief, Greg was the CCO of BBDO NY. During that time BBDO was recognized as the most awarded agency in the world by the Gunn Report. It was also named Agency of the Year at The One Show, ADC and The Webbys multiple times.

Timestamps

00:00:00 - Intro
00:01:10 - How did Greg Hahn get into the advertising industry?
00:02:42 - 14 years at BBDO
00:03:52 - Getting fired from BBDO
00:06:24 - From being fired to creating Mischief
00:11:08 - The extraordinary cost of being dull
00:14:11 - Why do so many companies play it safe?
00:16:36 - Winning a Grand Effie with Tubi
00:19:29 - The Mischief mindset
00:26:21 - The opposite of a good idea can also be a good idea
00:26:59 - How can you use you disadvantage as your advantage?
00:30:50 - How can you change the context and reframe things
00:34:10 - What would you do if you weren’t afraid
00:38:14 - How to make the best out of being fired
00:49:24 - What Mischief believes in
00:53:49 - How Mischief hires great people
00:55:29 - How does Mischief stay sharp as they grow?
00:56:29 - Choosing the right clients to work with
00:58:55 - What’s next for Mischief?
01:00:10 - Hardest part of growing and scaling Mischief
01:03:27 - Advice for starting an agency from scratch

How DoorDash built a $40 billion business in 10 years with Kofi Amoo Gottfried, CMO

Jon Evans — Wed, 31 Jul 2024 01:00:00 +0100

Kofi Amoo-Gottfried is the CMO of DoorDash, the premier local commerce platform valued at over $40 billion and dominates over 65% of the market for restaurant delivery. In his role as CMO, he is responsible for driving growth and engagement across all three sides of the marketplace. Prior to DoorDash, Kofi was VP of Brand & Consumer Marketing at Facebook, having previously served as the company’s Head of Consumer Marketing for internet.org.

Timestamps

00:00 - Intro
01:03 - What it’s like judging a Cannes lion
02:34 - DoorDash Valentines Day Campaign
04:54 - Kofi’s background
08:56 - Starting an agency in Africa for Publicis
13:41 - From agency to brand side
15:13 - Kofi’s role at Facebook/Meta
18:11 - From Facebook to DoorDash
20:23 - DoorDash backstory
28:10 - Navigating through COVID at DoorDash
33:24 - How DoorDash prepared to IPO
37:23 - How successful have DoorDash been post IPO?
39:12 - How DoorDash stay on top of innovation
44:41 - DoorDash’s Sesame Street Super Bowl ad
48:40 - DoorDash’s most recent Super Bowl campaign
54:00 - In house vs external agencies
55:51 - The culture at DoorDash

Olympics CMO on Olympic glory and a Paralympic legacy

Jon Evans — Wed, 24 Jul 2024 02:00:00 +0100

Greg Nugent was the CMO for the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games, one of the biggest events ever to take place. The entire world was watching as Greg’s work came to life. Before working on the Olympics, Greg oversaw the move of the Eurostar to St Pancras, which included creating the world’s longest champagne bar.

Timestamps:

00:00:00 - Intro
00:00:51 - How did Greg get into marketing
00:10:02 - Greg’s time at Eurostar
00:17:47 - The longest champage bar in the world
00:22:43 - Becoming the CMO of the London 2012 Olympics
00:29:49 - How the team was pivotal for putting on the Olympics
00:34:13 - The importance of the legacy of London 2012
00:37:53 - Why the Paralympics became so prevalent in 2012
00:45:38 - What happened after London 2012
00:50:37 - From Olympics to Rising Pheonix
01:01:05 - How to execute on big ideas - Magic and Logic
01:16:35 - The power of persistence
01:23:24 - Telling powerful stories about those with disability

How CMO’s get a seat in the boardroom and not get fired - Chris Burggraeve

Jon Evans — Wed, 17 Jul 2024 01:00:00 +0100

I often get asked why are there not more marketers on boards of companies? It turns out that only around 2.6% of board positions are filled by marketers, so I'm joined in this episode by somebody who really knows what it's like to be a marketer on a board, Chris Burggraeve. Previously he was the Global CMO of AB InBev, he's since been on many boards and has even written a book explaining the playbook for being a successful CMO on board.

Timestamps

00:00 - Intro
01:00 - Chris’ marketing background
01:43 - What makes a great CMO
05:08 - Making the case for marketing in the boardroom
09:48 - How many CMO's have a seat at the table
14:36 - Why every board should have a marketer
24:06 - Is there a language problem for marketers in the boardroom?
30:03 - Stakeholder outreach
37:00 - What makes a successful board member
40:00 - Skills that CMO’s need to retain a board seat
46:26 - How to find board seats to get on
49:44 - Chris transistion from large to small companies

From F1 to Manchester United: How marketing drives success in the worlds most elite teams - Ellie Norman

Jon Evans — Wed, 10 Jul 2024 01:00:00 +0100

Ellie Norman has been at the top end of some of the biggest organisations in the world, having held senior marketing roles at Formula 1 and Virgin Media. Most recently, Ellie has been the Chief Communications Officer of Manchester United, one of the most high-pressure jobs in the world. In this episode I talk to Ellie about what it takes to drive success at the very top of your game.

Timestamps

00:00 - Intro
00:48 - Celebrating Southampton FC
03:12 - Ellie’s marketing background
07:29 - Virgin Media campaign with Usain Bolt
12:09 - Why Ellie moved to Formula 1
15:12 - How Formula 1 owns the brand
17:51 - The Drive to Survive partnership with Netflix
25:59 - Moving to work for Manchester United
29:51 - Goals for the CMO of Manchester United
31:23 - When do people choose the club they support
32:59 - What role does social media play for Manchester United
35:01 - Dealing with scrutiny as a huge brand
37:10 - How Manchester United work with huge sponsor deals
41:39 - How do you do a great brand partnership
47:59 - Ellie’s one peice of advice for marketers

The Marketoonist on why humour is good for business - Tom Fishburne

Jon Evans — Wed, 03 Jul 2024 01:00:00 +0100

In this episode I speak with Tom Fishburne, better known as the Marketoonist. Tom likes to poke fun at our industry through his entertaining cartoons saying what we're all thinking. We recently had him join as as our cartoonist in residence at Cannes Lions, where he shared his experience through a cartoon each day. We also discuss some of Tom's greatest cartoons and why humour is good for business.

Timestamps

00:00 - Start
01:16 - How Tom Fishburne became a cartoonist
05:00 - Why is humour so important in the workplace
06:29 - Going full time as the Marketoonist
12:42 - Humour in the creative process
19:21 - Outdoor ads
22:30 - Discussing some of the Marketoonist’s greatest hits
23:17 - IoT cartoon
26:59 - Customer funnel cartoon
33:05 - Shiny new things cartoon
34:13 - Covid Cartoon
36:32 - AI cartoon
39:44 - The Marketoonist at Cannes
42:37 - Day 1 Cannes cartoon
45:39 - Day 2 Cannes cartoon
49:31 - Day 3 Cannes cartoon
53:46 - Day 4 Cannes cartoon
54:25 - Day 5 Cannes cartoon
57:59 - Jon’s own podcast cartoon

How e.l.f built a billion dollar beauty brand - Kory Marchisotto

Jon Evans — Wed, 26 Jun 2024 01:00:00 +0100

Kory Marchisotto is the Chief Marketing Officer of e.l.f Beauty, a beauty company that surpassed over $1b in annual sales. They're digital first brand builders, taking the internet by storm and connecting closely with their customers. In this episode we talk about why Kory invests heavily in their brand, how every employee is a shareholder and why they collaborated with Liquid Death.

Timestamps:

00:00 - Intro
01:15 - Kory’s background
06:11 - Founding story of e.l.f
08:39 - How do e.l.f make their products so affordable
11:30 - Why e.l.f are investing in brand building
15:15 - Staying close to your consumer
19:44 - Bringing customer insight into the business
21:23 - Staying agile as a large business
23:43 - Where have e.l.f invested marketing spend
27:28 - The e.l.f customer demographic
30:57 - e.l.f’ x Liquid Death collaboration
33:24 - e.l.f x Chipotle
37:01 - The e.l.f culture and why it’s important
41:00 - Kory’s advice to younger marketers
44:08 - Why Kory shares her learnings so much on LinkedIn

How Gymshark built a unicorn with influencers - Noel Mack

Jon Evans — Wed, 19 Jun 2024 01:00:00 +0100

We're again talking about one of my favourite topics; challenger brands. In this episode we've got one of the most successful challenger brands in the world, Gymshark. They're one of the original influencer and social media creative brands, growing to be Britain's fastest growing Unicorn. I'm joined by their Chief Brand Officer, Noel Mack, to give me the inside scoop on exactly how they did it.

Timestamps

00:00 - Intro
02:29 - Gymshark Origins
04:49 - How Noel Mack bet Ben Francis
07:59 - What is a Chief Brand Officer?
09:28 - How Gymshark do influencer marketing differently
15:17 - Growing the Gymshark community
20:38 - The benefits of being a newcomer
22:59 - Working at a founder-led company
25:36 - When Ben Francis met the Prime Minister
29:09 - The challenges of scaling up fast
37:21 - Launching the Gymshark flagship store in London
43:22 - What’s it like working with Ben Francis?
46:46 - Career advice from Noel Mack

B2B brand building in the era of AI with Jon Lombardo and Peter Weinberg

Jon Evans — Wed, 12 Jun 2024 01:00:00 +0100

Listeners of have shown me time and again that you want more B2B content, so in this episode I'm joined again by the Les and Peter of B2B, Jon Lombardo and Peter Weinberg (previously of the LinkedIn B2B Institute). We discuss why B2B marketing departments need to put their focus on building brands rather than talking about product features, why distinctive assets continue to be an essential part of any brand, and we find out what the B2B boys will be doing now they've left LinkedIn.

Find out more about Jon & Peter's new company here:
https://www.evidenza.ai/

Timestamps

00:00 - Start
00:49 - The Les and Peter of B2B
02:34 - The biggest B2B revelations
03:52 - Is B2B really different to B2C?
06:28 - Determining buying cycles
08:25 - The brand building opportunity in B2B
20:05 - Why B2B companies need to create fluent devices
30:48 - Why Jon and Peter left LinkedIn to start a new company
33:37 - What does Evidenza do
38:19 - Why AI-powered market research is going to be revolutionary

Cannes Lions CEO on the power of creativity, the creator economy and making connections - Simon Cook

Jon Evans — Wed, 05 Jun 2024 05:00:00 +0100

Every year, the advertising industry descend upon the south of France to meet up in Cannes over a glass of rosé to celebrate the power of creativity. So I thought it was about time that I caught up with the CEO of Lions, Simon Cook, to discuss why creativity matters.

The conversation ranges from how can you make the case for creativity in business while budgets are strained, to what you can expect this year from Cannes Lions.

Timestamps

00:00 - Start
01:37 - Origins of Cannes Lions
03:38 - The scale of Cannes Lions
05:19 - Creative marketer of the year
07:16 - State of the Nation research
09:30 - Friction between agencies and clients
12:47 - Jon’s two Cannes Lions with Lucozade
15:15 - The return of humour at Cannes
17:46 - Trends and themes for Cannes Lions 2024
18:39 - Will we see an AI category at Cannes?
20:01 - Big names at Cannes Lions 2024
21:14 - Cannes for creative effectiveness, or just celebrating the craft?
23:56 - Cannes embracing creators
25:27 - Jon’s pitch for a low budget category
27:57 - Advice on how to win a Lion
30:20 - How Simon Cook got the CEO job at Cannes Lions
32:40 - Challenges Simon has faced as CEO
35:09 - Dealing with criticism of Cannes Lions
37:02 - The Cannes Lions legacy
38:06 - Simon’s proudest moment

How Cadbury turned "Glass and a Half in Everyone" into one of the most effective campaign ideas in the world

Jon Evans — Wed, 29 May 2024 01:00:00 +0100

In this episode, we talk about one of my all time favourite brands, Cadbury. They're also one of the best performers on the System1 database, consistently creating five star work. To find out more about the work I'm joined by David Boscawen from VCCP, also known as Bosco, and Gui Ferreira who's recently joined Cadbury, bringing an outside perspective on what it means to take over an iconic brand with 200 years of heritage.

Timestamps:

00:00 Intro
00:46 Gui's background
03:27 David's background
04:20 How VCCP and Cadbury started working together in 2017
14:24 David and Gui's favourite Cadbury ads
21:08 Compound creativity and consistency
31:30 Key to a successful client agency relationship
39:55 How to write a good brief
47:03 Cadbury business results
49:41 Future of the Cadbury brand

From Hamlet to Haribo: the serious case for humour - Trevor Robinson

Jon Evans — Wed, 22 May 2024 01:00:00 +0100

In this episode, we're talking about a very, very serious topic. Humour. It turns out humour is not just funny, but it's good for business. In fact, humour in advertising is one of the most effective things you can do to make people remember you and buy your products.

I'm catching up with someone who knows all about humour. Trevor Robinson was the creative behind some of the most iconic and funniest ads of all time, including Tango from the 1990s. And I caught up with Trevor to find out more about what makes advertising funny, how do you do it, and what are the funniest ads of all time.

Timestamps

00:00 - Start
00:48 - How Trevor got into advertising
03:50 - Landing the Britvic client
05:49 - The Tango Ad
11:11 - Haribo kids ad
20:00 - You need to entertain for commercial gain
28:11 - The importance of talent
29:30 - How to direct a great ad
38:23 - Have we lost humour in the past few years?
41:48 - The funniest ads of all time

How Monzo used emotional advertising, a hot coral card & customer obsession to become Britain's best bank - AJ Coyne

Jon Evans — Wed, 15 May 2024 06:00:00 +0100

Monzo Bank has fast become Britain's favourite bank, offering a customer focused online banking approach that consumers were craving. When Monzo started in 2015 they managed to challenge the incumbent banks with their distinctive "hot coral" card and referral scheme. 9 years later they are an established brand in the category and AJ Coyne has been tasked with creating emotional advertising to help continue to grow their market share.

Timestamps

00:00 - Intro
00:44 - AJ’s marketing background
02:49 - What can clients learn from agencies
07:40 - AJ’s time at Klarna
09:48 - Taking the CMO job at Monzo
10:49 - The emotion of money
14:02 - Focusing on a world class customer experience
23:07 - Positioning Monzo as a bank in a sea of neo banks
24:09 - Monzo’s new brand campaign
27:22 - Embedding Monzo in culture
29:15 - Advice for being a young CMO
33:05 - How to deal with things going wrong
36:33 - Fostering creativity in an organisation
37:55 - How AJ is creating the Monzo culture
38:45 - AJ’s parting advice

Snapchat CMO on fixing social media, being creative leader of the decade and lessons from Dan Wieden - Colleen DeCourcy

Jon Evans — Wed, 08 May 2024 06:00:00 +0100

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.

Timestamps
00:00 - Intro
01:22 - Colleen DeCourcy background
03:30 - Winning creative leader of the decade
06:30 - Colleen’s tenure at Wieden+Kennedy
13:50 - The TIME Interview
18:39 - From retirement to joining Snapchat
21:56 - The challenges of Snapchat
26:49 - Creating happiness in social media
30:02 - The 3D Chess of Being CCO and CMO at Snapchat
36:12 - What’s it like working for Evan Spiegel
39:07 - Advice to young marketers from Colleen DeCourcy

Scott Galloway on the end of the brand era, monetising rage and how to create wealth

Jon Evans — Wed, 01 May 2024 06:00:00 +0100

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.

Links

Timestamps

00:00:00 - Intro
00:00:57 - 25 year overnight success
00:01:28 - Scott’s biggest failures
00:07:38 - How Scott scaled himself
00:13:24 - Daniel Kahneman’s impact on Scott
00:20:26 - How social media has a negative impact on the world
00:28:45 - Scott Galloway on being late
00:31:14 - The most important skill for a marketer
00:33:32 - The Era of Brand is Dead
00:40:19 - Scott’s new book opening Aurelius quote
00:42:53 - The power of compound interest
00:43:53 - Scott’s advice to young people
00:48:33 - Growing your network grows wealth
00:56:33 - What does the agency of the future look like?
01:03:33 - How to get social media right
01:04:50 - Why big firms should stop certification based hiring

From bust to Boom! How Red Bull, ITV and Lloyds supercharge their people for serious growth - Scott Morrison

Jon Evans — Wed, 24 Apr 2024 06:00:00 +0100

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.

Timestamps

00:00 - Intro
00:47 - Where did the name Boom come from
01:31 - Scott’s background at Saatchi&Saatchi
04:57 - What is Nike’s secret sauce
09:48 - Scott’s career failures
13:27 - Working on the Diesel brand
17:37 - How to go from bust to Boom!
40:11 - How to pitch to CMOs

A CMO Masterclass - how John Lewis redefined emotional advertising - Craig Inglis

Jon Evans — Wed, 17 Apr 2024 06:00:00 +0100

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.

Timestamps

00:00:00 - Intro
00:00:50 - Craig’s marketing background
00:02:25 - Craig’s biggest marketing failures
00:09:34 - How to have a long tenure as a CMO
00:13:24 - How to be a great CMO
00:23:53 - Guessing the most emotional John Lewis ads
00:28:50 - How to move from rational to emotional strategy in retail
00:31:17 - How to sell in creative ideas to rational CEOs and CFOs
00:36:00 - The business impact of Monty the Penguin for John Lewis
00:38:50 - How John Lewis ads does long and short
00:41:00 - Focusing on customer experience
00:51:48 - From large consumer brands to B2B
00:55:11 - Being the chair of the Marketing Society
01:00:34 - Working for The Entertainer

Should’ve gone to Specsavers, how a simple brand idea created a winning vision for the company - Peter Wright & Nicola Wardell

Jon Evans — Wed, 10 Apr 2024 06:00:00 +0100

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 - Intro
00:59 - How Peter and Nicola ended up on Guernsey
03:02 - The Specsavers story
04:37 - The secret to Specsavers’ success
09:04 - Family owned vs corporate business
10:38 - How the “should’ve gone to Specsavers” line was created
14:17 - The world’s longest running straplines
16:17 - The serious case for humour - Tower Block ad
20:18 - Specsavers Vet Ad
21:14 - A cross channel idea
24:29 - Why Specsavers do all creative in house
25:52 - How to attract talent to Guernsey
29:23 - Being the client and the agency
33:56 - Advice for creating an in-house team
34:37 - Wear in vs wear out at Specsavers
43:08 - Creating the culture at Specsavers
50:14 - Launching the audiology business
53:38 - How technology will shape the future of the business
56:07 - Peter and Nicola’s proudest work

How Guinness became Britain's favourite pint - Stephen O'Kelly, Global Brand Director

Jon Evans — Wed, 03 Apr 2024 06:00:00 +0100

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.

Copy that works, a copywriting masterclass with Vikki Ross

Jon Evans — Wed, 27 Mar 2024 06:00:00 +0000

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?

Links

Timestamps

00:00:00 - Intro
00:00:59 - How Vicki got into copywriting
00:03:53 - Advice for people wanting to get into copywriting
00:07:34 - Why are car ads so bad?
00:09:39 - Is copywriting intimidating?
00:11:26 - Why copywriters need a good brief
00:14:50 - When copy goes wrong
00:18:17 - The principles of great copy
00:23:03 - This sentence has five words
00:25:49 - Power of a six word story
00:26:47 - #CopySafari
00:30:13 - Prime - It’s Right Here
00:31:58 - Nurofen and Nuromol
00:35:28 - Why marketers should work with lawyers
00:38:39 - Uber Eats - Just a tap away
00:41:19 - Subway - Saver Subs
00:43:00 - Lebara Mobile - Blady Blah
00:44:27 - Sacla - Spaghetti You Won’t Forgetti
00:45:56 - Monday.com - Meet your power suite
00:47:32 - TFL - See it, say it, sorted
00:49:42 - Greatest copywriting examples of of recent times
00:52:00 - Vikki’s favourite campaigns she’s worked on
00:55:05 - Will AI take copywriter’s jobs?
01:03:28 - Advice for clients on copy

Ritson on Advertising Effectiveness with special guest Guilherme Ferreira VP Global Marketing Cadbury

Jon Evans — Wed, 20 Mar 2024 06:00:00 +0000

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:

Timestamps:

00:00 Intro
03:23 Why creativity matters
04:31 Investing in creativity
08:00 Being forced into short term tactics
10:46 How to write a better brief
14:45 Distinctive assets (Oreo Ad)
20:10 Cadbury Garage Ad
22:07 Orlando Chart
23:21 Cadbury Generosity
27:24 How Cadbury approaches creative development
29:22 Data vs creative judgement
32:53 How to measure creative
40:15 Q&A

How Liquid Death founder, Mike Cessario, created a billion dollar water brand

Jon Evans — Wed, 13 Mar 2024 06:00:00 +0000

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.

Timestamps
00:00:00 - Intro
00:01:10 - Mike’s background
00:06:24 - Mike’s brandy startup
00:10:33 - Navigating regulation
00:12:46 - The benefits of being an outsider distrupting an industry
00:14:57 - Coming up with the idea for Liquid Death
00:19:30 - How to create an innovative brand
00:23:48 - Selling the Liquid Death concept
00:27:08 - Raising money for Liquid Death
00:29:50 - Launching on Amazon
00:30:52 - Generating demand in the early days
00:31:46 - Figuring out distribution networks for the drinks industry
00:35:45 - Why limited budgets helped Liquid Death grow
00:44:11 - Why D2C was pivotal for Liquid Death
00:46:12 - Liquid Death’s unique Super Bowl campaign
00:49:54 - The power of the Liquid Death merch
00:53:00 - Innovation for the future of Liquid Death
00:54:15 - Scaling and exit
00:56:02 - Having famous investors
00:57:29 - Maintaining the challenger spirit
01:01:58 - Mike’s advice to aspiring founders

Creativity driven performance, CPG lessons for SaaS and the power of distinctive assets - Michelle Taite, Mailchimp

Jon Evans — Wed, 06 Mar 2024 06:00:00 +0000

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.

Intro

00:00 - Intro
00:48 - Starting out desigining sneakers
02:39 - From New Balance to Unilever
04:13 - Doing purpose work for Dove
05:15 - Michelle’s favourite work at Unilever
06:27 - From CPG to SaaS
09:29 - What is Mailchimp and why is it successful
11:06 - Staying close to the customer
13:26 - How to market to marketers
14:54 - Email is not dead
16:15 - Integrating an acquired company
20:40 - Performance vs brand marketing
25:16 - How AI will enhance creativity
29:20 - Mailchimp's distinctive assets
33:21 - How marketing influences the product
35:56 - How to market to marketers
38:35 - Obsessing about the 95% not in market
40:45 - Top CMO advice from Michelle

Amazon’s Chief Creative Officer on the power of emotional advertising, distinctive brand assets and delivering at speed

Jon Evans — Wed, 28 Feb 2024 06:00:00 +0000

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 - Intro
01:04 - From rural Australia to Los Angeles
01:58 - From agency to client side
04:44 - That famous Jeff Bezos marketing quote
05:50 - What does the Chief Creative Officer at Amazon do
07:41 - Creating emotional, brand building advertising
09:22 - Using the brand distintive assets
10:33 - Creating inclusive advertising
13:05 - Advice for writing a really good brief
14:43 - Tenets to inform great creative
15:45 - Benefits of having in house creative (and working with agencies)
17:42 - Managing global creative teams
19:36 - What’s it like making a Super Bowl ad
22:42 - Innovation within Amazon
24:12 - Making things happen in a huge business
25:13 - Simplifying complex creative ideas
28:23 - Work Jo is most proud of
31:39 - How Amazon are using AI
33:44 - Advice to a young Jo

How a new brand character challenged Whisky conventions to help The Woodsman double market share

Jon Evans — Wed, 21 Feb 2024 06:00:00 +0000

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.

Timestamps
00:00 - Intro
01:01 - Inventing The Woodsman
01:42 - Creating a brand dominated by big players
04:00 - Standing out in a product dominated category
05:46 - Balancing demand and supply
06:31 - Availablity of the brand
07:11 - Overcoming perception barriers
09:15 - Coming up with the “Well Earned” positioning
13:06 - How to sell in breaking convention
16:00 - How the agency helped sell the idea
18:29 - Creating a new character
20:02 - Characters vs Celebrities
21:07 - Using humour in a traditional category
23:23 - Creating a physical barry the beaver
24:18 - The importance of craft in the ad
26:07 - Staying on the right side of regulations
28:23 - A good client agency relationship
30:09 - How important is testing and data to back up creative decisions
31:53 - The importance of mental and physical availability
33:32 - The results
35:01 - What’s next for the brand?

Rising from the ashes: the inspirational story of overcoming tragedy with Bozoma Saint John (former Netflix CMO)

Jon Evans — Wed, 14 Feb 2024 06:00:00 +0000

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 Boz

Follow Jon

Timestamps

00:00 - Start
01:34 - Why Boz wrote such an emotional book
05:02 - The reception to the book
08:32 - Encountering Spike Lee
13:32 - Making decisions based on intuition
16:05 - Working for founder led brands
20:36 - Leading marketing at large organisations
23:55 - Managing the relationship with the CEO and CFO
28:42 - Hire Boz, Get Boz - how to have confidence in yourself
31:57 - Why you shouldn’t “play the game”
33:06 - Dawn always comes; dealing with grief
41:09 - Making the choice to change your life
45:11 - From corporate jobs to entrepreneur
48:24 - What’s next for Boz?

The secrets to Super Bowl success with Michelob ULTRA's Ricardo Marques

Jon Evans — Wed, 07 Feb 2024 06:00:00 +0000

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.

Timestamps

00:00 - Intro
00:55 - Why the Super Bowl is such a landmark event for advertisers
03:07 - Ricardo’s background
03:56 - The best advertisers in Super Bowl history
05:05 - Michelob’s Super Bowl history
06:03 - Launch before game day, or on the day?
07:23 - Michelob’s Ad for 2024
10:04 - Is a Super Bowl ad worth $7m?
11:09 - KPIs for a successful Super Bowl Ad
11:48 - How involved are distributors in the process
12:50 - The 2024 Michelob ULTRA Super Bowl Ad with Leo Messi
16:14 - The briefing process for a Super Bowl ad
17:25 - Brand positioning for a more premium beer
18:39 - The core ingredients for a successful ad
21:02 - The impact of celebrities in ads
22:46 - Advice for people making their first big budget campaign
27:26 - Selling in the campaign internally
28:52 - Tying campaigns into global events
31:25 - Using AI in activations
33:57 - McEnroe vs McEnroe
36:35 - Lap Against the Legends
38:14 - Blind man commentating on NBA game
41:45 - How has the brand performed from the campaigns
42:38 - The secret to sustained success as a marketer
47:29 - Who is Ricardo supporting for the Super Bowl?

The flamingo effect: how Very made their retail brand sparkle - Jessica Myers Very CMO

Jon Evans — Wed, 31 Jan 2024 06:00:00 +0000

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.

Timestamps

00:00 - Intro
00:52 - Jess’ background
06:11 - Marketing academy fellowship
07:13 - From big brand to challenger brand
10:46 - The modern marketer
11:57 - From finance to retail
15:31 - Dealing with the challenges of joining a new business
18:03 - Nailing positioning
22:09 - Doing long term marketing in retail
23:39 - Agency selection process for Very
27:22 - Understanding your customer
31:50 - The power of testing creative
36:36 - The increasing standard of advertising
38:28 - Creating a new fluent device - The Flamingoes
43:20 - The future of the brand
46:08 - Jess’ advice to aspiring marketers

Creating the Metaverse, lessons from Google Glass and the Whitehouse - Dave Kaufman, Meta

Jon Evans — Wed, 24 Jan 2024 06:00:00 +0000

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.

Links

Timestamps

00:00 - Intro
00:58 - Dave’s favourite episodes of Uncensored CMO
01:50 - Elon vs Mark in a fight
02:31 - US vs UK marketing
03:57 - How to not be full of sh*t in marketing
09:16 - Was Google Glass a failure?
15:50 - Launching the Meta X Rayban Sunglasses
20:28 - Explaining the metaverse
24:02 - How to quantify the success of the metaverse
26:29 - When will the metaverse become mainstream?
30:58 - Making virtual reality more familiar
32:28 - Does tech have a marketing problem?
38:20 - Working for founders
46:39 - Working at President Obama’s Whitehouse
53:35 - Working with low budgets
56:47 - Dave’s bets for 2024

A B2B marketing masterclass with PwC's Global CMO, Antonia Wade

Jon Evans — Wed, 17 Jan 2024 06:00:00 +0000

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.

Links

Timestamps

00:00:00 - Intro
00:01:10 - Antonia’s background
00:06:01 - How does B2B and B2C differ?
00:09:25 - How to reach B2B customers
00:11:52 - Building B2B relationships
00:17:30 - The importance of people in B2B
00:20:53 - Why brand and reputation are so important
00:24:43 - Why having an online presence matters
00:29:39 - Marketing from cost centre to profit centre
00:34:14 - Marketing at different stages of the buyer journey
00:39:54 - Why people think B2B is boring
00:46:30 - Why purpose has a bigger role in B2B
00:48:38 - Stage 1: Reaching Horizon Scanners
00:51:41 - Stage 2: Reaching Explorers
00:55:18 - Stage 3: Reaching Hunters
00:57:39 - Stage 4: Capturing the Active Buyer
00:59:15 - Stage 5: Marketing post-purchase
01:01:18 - How will AI transform B2B marketing

Les & Sarah’s big review of the year

Jon Evans — Wed, 10 Jan 2024 06:00:00 +0000

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.

Links

Timestamps

00:00:00 - Intro
00:01:05 - Les’ favourite ads of 2023
00:04:45 - Sarah’s favourite Christmas ads
00:07:15 - Wear out
00:12:30 - Why familiarity breeds contentment
00:17:42 - Have we rediscovered homour in 2023?
00:19:47 - The role of purpose in advertising
00:29:17 - Diversity and representation
00:34:53 - Kevin the carrot and characters
00:41:52 - Fluent devices and consistency
00:49:01 - Why do John Lewis run christmas ads every year
00:50:40 - How did the first ad to ever air score?
00:52:51 - The highest performing advertising categories
00:55:04 - Lowest performing advertising categories
01:00:12 - Outperforming your category
01:03:08 - US Superbowl vs UK Christmas
01:04:02 - Les and Sarah’s thoughts on AI
01:14:03 - How reliable is ESOV
01:15:52 - MMM Models
01:19:32 - The best performing Adam and Eve ad
01:21:42 - Predictions for 2024

How confused.com challenged the meerkats on smaller budgets - Sam Day

Jon Evans — Wed, 03 Jan 2024 06:00:00 +0000

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.

Links

Timestamps

00:00 - Intro
03:53 - Sam’s advice to a young marketer
06:27 - Sam’s greatest failure
08:44 - Management and leadership advice
12:27 - The secret to an extended CMO tenure
19:41 - Getting c-suite buy in with data
22:50 - Consistency
24:26 - Marketing when you don’t have a product
26:01 - Brand vs price
28:43 - Why name the brand after the problem (confused.com)
31:24 - Branding against one of the best branded characters of all time
34:02 - Why there’s no silver bullet for success
37:02 - Spontaneous awareness - how to win an effie
39:50 - Selecting an agency
42:01 - Great examples of populous advertising
44:14 - How agencies should pitch to CMOs
49:39 - What’s next for Sam Day

Reloaded: How to be a successful challenger - Adam Morgan (2020)

Jon Evans — Wed, 27 Dec 2023 06:00:00 +0000

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 better
How he turned the anger of his project being shelved into a career-defining opportunity
Being turned down by Phil Knight and where the idea of a Challenger brand came from
The importance of over-commitment and being obsessed with execution
How Tony’s Chocolonely have become a truly challenger brand
How to be a pirate in the navy without getting fired
What you can learn from a catwalk show and how constraints can turn into your greatest advantage
The curse of data and how it leads us to a decline in creativity
The furtile zero and what to do with no budget
Adam shares his worst career moment
Why the meeting is never really the meeting and why the Japanese fall asleep in meetings
The one thing Adam has never told anyone before

Follow me:

Contact me:

Website | www.uncensoredcmo.com
Email – jon@uncensoredcmo.com

Adam Morgan:

Top 10 marketing and behavioural science insights with Nudge host, Phill Agnew

Jon Evans — Mon, 18 Dec 2023 06:00:00 +0000

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.

Links

Timestamps

00:00 - Intro
01:19 - How did Phill get into podcasting
04:03 - Bonus Nudge - The Halo Effect
06:29 - Nudge 5 - The Labour Illusion
09:40 - Marketing Lesson 5 - The Power of Getting Fired
13:25 - Nudge 4 - The Pratfall Effect
19:26 - Marketing Lesson 4 - The Power of Purpose
24:49 - Nudge 3 - The Curiosity Gap
30:03 - Marketing Lesson 3 - Be Distinctive
35:26 - Nudge 2 - Social Proof
41:14 - Marketing Lesson 2 - The Power of Creativity
45:10 - Nudge 1 - Fresh Start Date
48:59 - Marketing Lesson 1 - The Power of Consistency

How Just Eat used celebrities and jingles to help them become market leader - Susan O'Brien

Jon Evans — Wed, 13 Dec 2023 06:00:00 +0000

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.

Timestamps

00:00 - Start
01:16 - How Susan got into marketing
03:43 - Freelancing
07:30 - The secret to longevity as a marketer
09:44 - The realities of being a CMO
14:25 - The CMO’s view on Cannes
16:44 - The “Did Somebody Say” campaign
20:54 - The impact of audio branding
24:11 - Operating in a fiercely competitive market
26:01 - Choosing to invest in celebrity talent / Snoop Dogg
29:06 - From Snoog Dogg to Katy Perry
31:31 - Secret to an effective client agency relationship
32:44 - Coming up with new ideas
35:47 - Using your gut vs using the data
39:35 - Advice to marketers in scale ups

No GUT no glory; from startup to Cannes Lions agency of the year in 5 years - Anselmo Ramos

Jon Evans — Wed, 06 Dec 2023 06:00:00 +0000

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.

Timestamps

00:00:00 - Start
00:01:04 - Why Anselmo is an ad nerd
00:03:12 - Favourite Ogilvy quotes
00:07:38 - Most proud of from time at Ogilvy
00:17:20 - Founding the DAVID agency
00:18:43 - Founding the GUT agency
00:20:55 - Being an independent agency
00:25:35 - Winning business in the early days
00:30:30 - What makes a great CMO?
00:33:00 - How to find good clients
00:37:30 - Agency of the year
00:40:59 - Stand out Grand Prix winners
00:45:29 - The one line brief
00:47:05 - Who else is doing great work?
00:48:46 - Scaling while staying true to your values
01:02:06 - Expansion

Creativity, Christmas and a Cardiac Crisis - Vicki Maguire, Havas

Jon Evans — Wed, 29 Nov 2023 06:00:00 +0000

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.

Timestamps

00:00 - Start
02:41 - Vicki’s background
07:32 - How Vicki got into advertising
11:53 - British Heart Foundation and Vinnie Jones
20:30 - The Asda Elf Ad with Will Ferrell
35:39 - Taika Waititi and Michael Buble campaign
46:13 - Cannes Lions judging

How Airbnb bounced back from losing 80% of their business with long term brand building - Nancy King

Jon Evans — Wed, 22 Nov 2023 06:00:00 +0000

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.

Timestamps

00:00 - Intro
00:48 - Nancy’s background as a creative
05:16 - What can people learn from both agency and client side experience
07:08 - Origins of Airbnb
08:42 - The phases of Airbnb
09:54 - Losing 80% of the business overnight
17:47 - Deciding to re-invest in advertising
21:23 - The challenges of not owning your product
25:03 - The best Airbnb ads
26:52 - Making creative in-house rather than using agencies
30:00 - The impact culture has on the work at Airbnb
31:51 - Working in a founder-led business
35:12 - How Nancy’s role has changed
40:12 - Power of industry events
42:00 - The most expensive Airbnb

The divided brain, attention and how we see the world - Dr Iain McGilchrist

Jon Evans — Wed, 15 Nov 2023 06:00:00 +0000

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.

Timestamps

00:00 - Intro
01:09 - Iain McGilchrist background
06:05 - Hasn’t the myth of the right and left brain been debunked
12:48 - The changes in society based on right brained dominance
16:36 - 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 world
26:34 - How the left and right brains do things differently
29:19 - 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 question
37:13 - How did Orlando Wood connect with Iain McGilchrist
45:02 - Orlando’s most profound piece of Iain’s work

The Mac is back: how Wieden+Kennedy gave McDonald's its swagger

Jon Evans — Wed, 08 Nov 2023 06:00:00 +0000

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.

Timestamps

00:00 - Intro
00:56 - The difference between UK and US agencies
03:15 - How did Brandon get into advertising
04:52 - What makes the culture special
08:07 - How W+K won the McDonald’s account
11:34 - Importance of connecting with real people
12:52 - What happens after winning the pitch
15:15 - What was the best McDonald's ad?
19:19 - The "Famous Orders" campaign
23:46 - The impact of the campaign
27:00 - The financial results
27:49 - Investing in long term having short term effects
29:05 - The “As Featured In” campaign
31:09 - Building fame
36:03 - How to thrive with a client like McDonald's
39:02 - What happens when things don’t do well
41:44 - Advice for clients wanting to make great work

How NBCU harnesses the power of entertainment; iconic shows, reality TV and the Olympics - Josh Feldman

Jon Evans — Wed, 01 Nov 2023 06:00:00 +0000

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.

Timestamps

00:00 - Intro
00:35 - Josh’s Career Story
02:50 - How does being creative help with sales
04:17 - B2B strategies that make NBCU successful
07:58 - Why Cannes is important to NBCU
09:41 - NBCU’s iconic programming
11:05 - The secret to building strong client relationships
14:21 - Funnel marketing and the importance of end of funnel
16:34 - The popularity of Bravo
17:46 - BravoCon
21:00 - The best brand activations at BravoCon
22:51 - How brands can work with talent
24:49 - Being a media partner for the Olympics
27:59 - Josh’s advice on creativity and landing your message
31:39 - Helping smaller brands

How Salesforce built the world's most successful B2B brand - Colin Fleming

Jon Evans — Wed, 25 Oct 2023 06:00:00 +0100

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:

Timestamps:

00:00 - Intro
01:44 - Colin’s life as a racing driver
04:07 - From motorsport to marketing, what did Colin learn?
06:01 - The Salesforce journey
10:20 - The 95/5 rule in B2B
14:30 - The payback of investing in brand
15:27 - Investing in brand assets
19:31 - Why is a B2B company doing a Super Bowl ad?
21:26 - How Matthew McConaughey is involved in Salesforce
23:37 - Thoughts on AI
25:57 - Why Dreamforce is so big
32:28 - Why do people go to conferences
35:36 - Brand partnerships with Formula One
41:53 - Colin’s advice for marketers

The state of D2C and nailing your personal brand; advice from serial entrepreneur Tash Courtenay-Smith

Jon Evans — Wed, 18 Oct 2023 06:00:00 +0100

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.

Timestamps

00:00 - Intro
00:45 - Starting out in journalism
01:30 - What can marketers learn from journalism?
05:03 - Why become a founder
06:49 - The unforgiving life of a journalist
10:37 - Challenges building and selling a business
16:08 - Advice to new entreprenuers
20:58 - What makes a good business to invest in?
26:03 - The best approaches for scale ups
30:11 - The turbulent D2C market
34:24 - Cutting through the D2C noise
36:00 - Which brands are nailing D2C?
37:00 - Creating a D2C live
40:13 - Writing and finding your own voice
41:17 - Building a personal brand
45:32 - The secret to a successful personal brand
51:17 - Going viral
53:44 - Biz Kids
59:41 - Parting advice

Mark Ritson on the best campaign of the year, Britain's favourite pint & why being different still matters

Jon Evans — Wed, 11 Oct 2023 06:00:00 +0100

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 Garage

Timestamps:

00:00 - Intro
00:31 - What’s going on in marketing in 2023?
02:19 - Why US marketers are off the pace
05:10 - Ehrenberg Bass and academic literature
06:53 - Mark’s contradicting viewpoints
07:23 - The Gary Vee of Australia
08:42 - Jon made a top 100 list
10:38 - Ritson’s biggest stories of the year
12:33 - Guiness
17:29 - The long and the short of it
20:38 - Cadbury
29:02 - Wear in vs wear out
36:43 - Running the same ad vs running a variation of a campaign
39:16 - Difference vs distinctiveness
45:51 - Is authenticity overrated?
48:12 - Do marketers use a brand’s history enough?
57:43 - Quick fire round

How LEGO used play time to unlock creativity - Julia Goldin, Global CMO, LEGO

Jon Evans — Wed, 04 Oct 2023 06:00:00 +0100

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.

Timestamps
00:00 - Intro
00:53 - Julia’s background
01:57 - 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 tenure
09:37 - Staying on top of trends
11:30 - The LEGO mission and importance of plau
12:24 - Why play can help work
14:27 - Is working at LEGO as fun as it sounds?
17:51 - Product innovation at LEGO
20:02 - Collaborations and partnerships
23:11 - The best LEGO advertising campaigns
25:27 - The LEGO approach to sustainability
27:07 - Working with agencies
28:52 - Where should a CMO focus?
30:59 - Julia’s marketing career advice
36:23 - Getting the business to buy-in to marketing
40:26 - What will be important in the future

The myths of marketing live with Tom Goodwin

Jon Evans — Wed, 27 Sep 2023 06:00:25 +0100

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 - Start
01:06 - Tom’s background
03:21 - Why Tom kept getting fired
05:08 - What technology will change our lives?
08:34 - We don’t care about consumers
10:21 - What opportunites are there?
12:45 - Things that aren’t changing
16:52 - Jingles
18:02 - Are brands dead?
20:32 - Questions
20:53 - The online advertising emperor has no clothes
25:38 - Why are brands not calling out social media companies?
28:28 - Biggest barrier to deliver on digital transformation
31:45 - 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?

TikTok sensation Rob Mayhew on turning his passion into a business

Jon Evans — Wed, 20 Sep 2023 06:00:00 +0100

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.

Timestamps

00:00:00 - Start
00:03:41 - Rob’s backstory
00:07:32 - Rob’s comedy background
00:09:39 - How Rob got into TikTok
00:13:11 - Coming up with content ideas
00:16:50 - Rob’s most popular TikTok
00:19:25 - Landing a partnership with Pret
00:21:12 - The ultimate sponsor
00:23:34 - Jon’s pitch horror story
00:30:06 - Finding Rob new sponsors
00:31:17 - Pitching Nils Leonard Rob’s idea
00:37:07 - Sponsor brainstorm
00:38:51 - Cannes
00:40:39 - Making a career switch at 40
00:43:09 - Making a living from making online content
00:46:47 - Why Rob called his new agency Dunning Kruger
00:49:09 - Struggles of working for yourself
00:50:03 - Who are Rob’s heroes
00:53:47 - Dealing with inbound volume
00:54:39 - Rob’s new book
00:56:38 - Agency radio show
00:57:34 - Jon’s favourite guests
00:59:42 - What guest would Jon like on the pod?
01:02:22 - Rob getting fired
01:06:58 - The difference a good boss can make
01:09:21 - Something Rob has never told anyone else before
01:13:50 - How to be good on TikTok
01:14:47 - How to make B2B sexy again

The business of creativity - Sir John Hegarty

Jon Evans — Wed, 13 Sep 2023 06:00:00 +0100

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 Hegarty
He 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.

Timestamps

00:00 - Intro
01:37 - Why clients want to see ads
05:52 - Sir John Hegarty’s top 5 ads
06:47 - Ad 1: Audi - Villas
07:41 - Ad 2: K Shoes - Creak
08:41 - Ad 3: Levi’s - Launderette
11:24 - Ad 4: Xbox - Champagne
12:06 - Ad 5: Levi’s - Flat Eric
17:16 - Has advertising got too serious?
20:22 - The secret to pitching to a more rational audience
23:58 - How to make the most of your agency relationship
26:34 - Improving the brief
29:45 - Have we lost the art of brand building?
33:46 - The business of creativity
39:39 - Collaborators on Sir John’s Course
41:41 - The production of the course
44:33 - The legacy of Sir John Hegarty
47:26 - The format of the course
48:15 - Why training is important
50:29 - The case for creatives in leadership
52:36 - How would Sir John Hegarty launch a new agency

The extraordinary cost of being dull - Peter Field and Adam Morgan

Jon Evans — Wed, 06 Sep 2023 06:00:00 +0100

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.

Links

Timestamps

00:00 - Intro
01:13 - Who is Adam Morgan?
02:38 - The best challenger brands
03:08 - Has being a challenger changed?
06:25 - The legacy of the long and short of it
11:01 - Who had the higher ranked Uncensored CMO podcast?
11:45 - How Adam and Peter met
12:26 - The inspiration for the extraordinary cost of dull
15:24 - How are there effective, yet dull campaigns (big budgets is the answer)
19:13 - The System1 Data on the cost of dull
22:41 - Why is advertising so dull?
26:21 - Why are the best marketing organisations trending towards more dull?
27:29 - Making demonstratably unskippable ads
30:55 - The role of danger and constraints in getting to great work
33:05 - The % of B2B ads that are dull and the work The LinkedIn Institute is going to reverse this
35:06 - How dull is approached in different categories
39:01 - Orlando Wood’s current research
41:48 - How will AI affect dullness
45:27 - Which categories are doing a good job of being interesting?
53:57 - Why we need a masterclass for dull

How Lucky Saint created the non-alcoholic beer category - Luke Boase, Founder

Jon Evans — Wed, 30 Aug 2023 06:00:00 +0100

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 - Intro
01:23 - Life before Lucky Saint for Luke
06:02 - Coming up with the Lucky Saint idea
08:28 - Creating a new category
09:59 - Why do non-alcoholic only?
11:36 - Convincing breweries to get on board
13:56 - Finding the perfect brewing partner
17:07 - The ones who rejected Lucky Saint
18:33 - The advantages of being a category newcomer
20:27 - When did Luke go all in on Lucky Saint
20:55 - Raising money
24:35 - Starting over with the brand
29:18 - Creating a non alcoholic beer that actually tastes good
31:08 - Being a single beer brand
33:15 - Some of Lucky Saint’s investors
35:29 - Ad execs on the investor team
37:07 - Working with Rankin
40:06 - Naming the brand Lucky Saint
41:35 - How Covid almost wiped them out
47:25 - Creating their own pub “The Lucky Saint”
50:06 - Alcoholic vs non-alcoholic beverages
51:46 - Convincing people to try alcohol free beer
57:21 - The secrets to Lucky Saint’s success

Orlando Wood on Advertising

Jon Evans — Thu, 24 Aug 2023 06:00:00 +0100

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 - Intro
01:32 - Who is Orlando Wood
02:50 - Orlando’s latest work
03:54 - Is Orlando only talking about digital?
05:18 - How to build brands through digital
07:55 - How can advertisers achieve an effective message
10:26 - "moto e azione"
13:35 - Why Ian McGilchrist’s work was so profound for Orlando
14:25 - Right-brain vs left-brain in advertising
21:00 - Trends with left and right brained advertising
22:24 - Is the change in advertising due to social media?
24:13 - The impact of creativity on attention
26:29 - How the choice of media can impact ESOV
27:22 - Is humour making a comeback?
31:32 - Fluent devices
35:13 - Orlando’s favourite ads
39:31 - Jon’s favourite recent ad
43:31 - Orlando’s new course

"Who Gives a Crap" on DTC vs retail, small budgets and their first TV campaign - Emily Kraftman, Managing Director UK

Jon Evans — Wed, 09 Aug 2023 06:00:00 +0100

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 - Intro
01:07 - Dealing with the challenges of a unique brand name
03:26 - How Emily got into marketing
05:27 - Emily’s time working on Stella Artois
08:26 - How successful was Stella Artois’ innovation in cider?
10:37 - From corporate brand to joining Deliveroo
12:24 - Not fitting in after a career switch
14:37 - Challenges of going from a safe work environment to a crazy one
17:39 - The challenges of such fast growth
19:40 - Brand positioning in a fast growing market
21:35 - From Deliveroo to Who Gives a Crap
24:13 - Who Gives a Crap Backstory
27:17 - Why go into the toilet paper market
30:24 - Power of purpose in marketing
32:54 - From DTC to retail
35:13 - Growing with small budgets
37:20 - Why B2B can help when you have small budgets
39:01 - Launching their first TV campaign
42:22 - Transitioning from Marketing Director to Managing Director

What the marketing industry is truly terrified of - Tom Goodwin

Jon Evans — Wed, 02 Aug 2023 06:00:00 +0100

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-live

Timestamps:

00:00 - Intro
00:46 - What’s Tom been up to in the past year?
04:30 - The state of Cannes
06:10 - AI has it’s place
07:22 - The power of re-using good creative
15:26 - How AI can solve customer exeperience
17:43 - Catergories that should be in Cannes
19:43 - The Zero Budget Category
21:11 - Cannes in Margate in February
22:23 - Most fascinating relevations from the pod
24:35 - The marketing bottom
28:54 - The best work in Cannes
31:10 - Working with budget constraints
33:03 - When to invest in innovation
34:16 - What Orlando Wood tells us about how art history can inform great communication strategy
36:09 - 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 Cannes
45:06 - The Giant Cheeto at Cannes
48:22 - Why we’ve stopped having fun in advertising
54:00 - What will we be talking about at Cannes next year?

Links:

Selling Uncommon, the death of advertising and a British original - Nils Leonard

Jon Evans — Thu, 27 Jul 2023 06:00:00 +0100

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.

Timestamps
00:00:00 - Intro
00:01:11 - Selling Uncommon to Havas
00:02:10 - What does partnering with Havas allow them to do?
00:08:22 - How did the team react?
00:09:50 - Expanding to the US
00:12:22 - What’s changing?
00:14:42 - Part 2: What’s new with Uncommon?
00:16:33 - Keeping creativity alive
00:19:20 - Is advertising dead?
00:21:21 - Getting Chat GPT to write a new British Airways Strapline
00:22:49 - Chat GPT writes an ad for British Airways
00:24:46 - What car brand Nils would most like to work on
00:27:01 - The work Uncommon actually did for British Airways
00:28:52 - The importance of advertising internally
00:29:59 - Making 512 different productions for BA
00:32:13 - The power of simplicity
00:34:26 - Making out of home powerful
00:35:22 - 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 solve
00:47:27 - Demonstrating the value of creativity
00:50:57 - Creating culture in a growing agency
00:55:11 - Power of generosity
00:56:26 - Uncommon’s “faff tax”
00:58:45 - The world’s #1 podcast by Jon Evans
00:59:59 - 2 Uncommon stories
01:02:51 - What what Nils do if he wasn’t running Uncommon?

Sir Martin Sorrell on the 5 biggest ways AI will change marketing

Jon Evans — Thu, 20 Jul 2023 06:00:00 +0100

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.

Timestamps

00:00 - Intro
01:11 - Background
07:18 - 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 data
41:26 - Biggest decision Sir Martin regrets making
43:01 - 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 anyone
48:50 - What would Sir Martin’s fantasy agency look like?

MAD//Fest LIVE - how to ride the storm with Britain’s leading retail CMO’s

Jon Evans — Fri, 14 Jul 2023 09:00:00 +0100

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 Intro
01:06 MAD//Fest Live
22:46 Break
23:06 Michael Gillane
30:33 System1, Specsavers & JCDecaux
39:55 Outro

From selling Tea to the British to Latin America's largest e-commerce business - Sean Summers, Mercado Libre

Jon Evans — Wed, 12 Jul 2023 06:00:00 +0100

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.

Timestamps

00:00 - Intro
01:04 - Why is Sean in Cannes?
02:25 - What creates an award winning campaign?
03:21 - How to make the most out of your agency
06:41 - What is being a CMO actually like?
10:01 - Marketing language / business jargon
11:35 - The awful 360 campaign
14:10 - Sean’s biggest failure
20:16 - A tough time: running marketing teams in the UK
23:25 - What is Mercardo Libre?
26:08 - From $300m to $10b
28:49 - Marketing for Mercado Libre
31:36 - Working with very constrained budgets
34:46 - Managing a multi-faceted company
39:57 - Becoming a media owner
42:08 - Learnings from running a media business
44:19 - The importance of building an online brand offline
46:16 - How the pandemic helped them
48:06 - Sean’s thoughts on AI

Marketing Britain’s largest supermarket in a cost of living crisis - Alessandra Bellini, Tesco

Jon Evans — Wed, 05 Jul 2023 06:00:00 +0100

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.

Links

Timestamps:

00:00 - Intro
01:13 - Starting out in advertising
03:18 - From creative agency to joining corporate Unilever
05:24 - What do you learn in 21 years at Unilever?
06:32 - Most challenging and most proud moment at Unilever
08:16 - The secret behind uncomfortable conversations
10:06 - What is Allessandra most proud of from her time at Unilever?
11:26 - From Unilever to Tesco
13:28 - How to get close to the customer in such a large organisation
15:51 - What are the changed
18:15 - Downtrading and uptrading
20:44 - The power of Clubcard Data
24:57 - Cost of living crisis: every little helps, right?
27:47 - How to communicate price
30:35 - How much to spend on brand vs activation
32:14 - Doing both long and short term advertising
33:41 - Food love stories
41:11 - Ad 1: Food Love Stories: Eid Mubarak
45:31 - Ad 2: Sue’s Crispy Pork Noodles
49:43 - Ad 3: Helen’s Homecoming Lamb
51:45 - Ad 4: Barbecue
54:40 - Being president of the Ad Association

MAD//Fest - From contemporary dance to craft beer revolution? - Tom Rainsford, Beavertown Brewery

Jon Evans — Thu, 29 Jun 2023 06:00:00 +0100

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 year

Dancing your way to a top job in marketing
Should 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 boys
Are great brands emotional or rational?
The problems with tech marketing are…..
Watch your internal language doesn’t end up in your communications
Why Tom believes in In-housing: how to nurture creativity within a company
Why creativity is not valued in business.
The important questions businesses need to ask themselves about why their creative is wrong
The 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 Out
Why 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 product
Shifting to Heineken ownership - have things changed?
Ensuring innovation succeeds within a titan mothership
Madfest: How Tom is planning to top his mobile phone/trust gig
How culture delivers brand trust and helps brands ride the storm
Can 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 times
Do people do good work when they are knackered?
Marketing artists vs marketing scientists
The biggest failure in Tom’s career (and what he learnt)
The reward of messing up
Why the more senior you get the less you know.
“To do” lists vs “to think” lists
What everyone’s next big business question needs to be……

Rory Sutherland, the Master of Madfest, on why behavioural science should get awards

Jon Evans — Tue, 27 Jun 2023 06:00:00 +0100

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 bring
The Campaign for a new Behavioural Science Award
Festival of creativity or advertising?
The brilliance of ABInbev brewers for bread campaign
Rory on re-writing the advertising rules
Jon’s 5 most creative moments
What excites Rory about behavioural science
Rory’s definition of creativity
The story at the heart of Crocs growth
Should there be a Cannes Lion for zero budget campaigns?
Fashions in psychology
The problem with chat GPT is……
Outlier vs average impact on creativity
The value Artificial Inquisitiveness and Interestingly wrong
People’s value in business vs automation
System1’s learnings on AI creativity and innovation
Why 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 innovation
When 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 people
Why Rory keeps coming back on The Uncensored CMO
The value of “crap creativity” – why the obvious solution could sometimes be better
Rory’s Road to Madfest - what he is looking forward to and why he is doing Mad Masters

Links

Cannes Lions - The Triple Opportunity of Attention with Karen Nelson-Field, Orlando Wood, Rob Brittain

Jon Evans — Fri, 23 Jun 2023 06:00:00 +0100

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.

Cannes Lions - The 3rd Age of Effectiveness with Les Binet, Grace Kite & Tom Roach

Jon Evans — Wed, 21 Jun 2023 08:13:37 +0100

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.

Digital 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.

Managing the biggest beauty brand in the world - Lex Bradshaw-Zanger, L'Oreal CMO

Jon Evans — Wed, 14 Jun 2023 06:00:00 +0100

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.

A marketers guide to a squiggly career - Helen Tupper, Amazing If

Jon Evans — Wed, 07 Jun 2023 06:00:00 +0100

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:

What we covered in this episode:

How Helen and Sarah started their business on napkin
Why the career ladder is not necessarily the path to success
5 years of experimentation to develop the Squiggly business
How Helen and Sarah went from starting The Squiggly Careers Podcast to 330 episodes
How to create a growth flywheel for your brand or business - making content more useful
Why creating something of huge value for free is the key to B2B growth - remaining relevant
Trusting in reciprocity - why helping people authentically is so important for growth
Why you shouldn't worry about your weaknesses
The Squiggly Careers Book - The 5 Key Skills you need
The importance of deliberately choosing what you want to be known for
Your 2 week energy audit - How to discover your core skills and values
Jon and Helen's 12 month career high and why it mattered
Building high trust teams and emotional safety
Less budget = happy teams
Confidence Gremlins and limiting beliefs
Teaching yourself to draw on the positive
Learning how to fail.... and that this means for success
The pressure pedestal - we are not all Simon Sinek!
Jon's advice on presentation skills
Networking Events - how to reframe the fear
Fired? Redundant? How to get back into employment....fast!
Why you should only share what you really care about
How curious career conversations will set you up well in you next job
Creating a constant flow of future job opportunities
How to use your mobile phone contacts to find the perfect role
Redefining the definition of progression
Helen shares whom Squiggly Careers is for and whom it can help
Helen's advice on crafting your best career story

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Managing the worlds largest drinks brands (Guinness, Johnnie Walker, Smirnoff & more) - Ed Pilkington, CMO Diageo NA

Jon Evans — Wed, 31 May 2023 06:00:00 +0100

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.

How Google put humanity into technology - Nishma Robb, Google UK

Jon Evans — Wed, 24 May 2023 06:00:00 +0100

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 points

00:00 Intro
00:32 The inspiration behind MadWomen
04:18 How Teletext was the Google before Google
07:54 The responsibility of managing the Google brand
12:20 How Google makes you look clever
13:30 What search reveals about humanity
16:08 "It’s Ok to Ask" campaign with Uncommon
17:59 Why Marcus Rashford helping out with the campaign
20:37 It’s not what we ask it’s what we do with the answers
20:47 The role of humanity in Google's work
24:05 Why we shouldn't just sell cheese
26:01 How the Google Pixel phone makes technology accessible to new audiences
30:17 CODA, How Google helped people understand the life of someone with two deaf parents
34:02 How diverse advertising unites the audience
36:40 Telling one person's story well
39:40 Diversity and representation in media
42:28 How technology democratises the ability for creators to get funded
46:54 Creating the worlds first augmented reality brand
48:00 Top tips for YouTube creators
50:20 How creators and collaborators can grow your brand
51:05 The role of AI to democratise tech
53:13 Advice for advertisers using YouTube
58:01 The surprising effectiveness of brand building style advertising in digital
01:00:35 Nishma’s biggest ever failure
01:02:36 Outro

How to really understand your audience - Yusuf Chuku, NBCUniversal

Jon Evans — Wed, 17 May 2023 06:00:00 +0100

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 trader
Falling into media planning
Wearing trainers to work
Selling the internet in 1995
Crossing the creative and media divide
Why all things are not equal
The birth of planning
Why so many Englishmen end up in New York
Why 90’s sitcoms are still so popular
The power of stories to attract a global audience
The special relationship between audience and programming
The 3 aspects of Fandom
98% of commercial airtime is as engaging as the content
Pricing media based on emotion
Reflecting people identity on screen
Satisfying cultural curiosity
The representation hierarchy
The diversity divided when people feel seen
The power of empathy to connect with audiences
How empathy and sympathy are different things

From Mouldy Whoppers to Old Age Cows - Fernando Machado, NotCo CMO

Jon Evans — Wed, 10 May 2023 06:00:00 +0100

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.

Links

Topics covered:

What makes an influential CMO
The culture that leads to award winning work
The importance of influencing an organisation QUOTE
The two hidden P’s of the CMO
The importance of a shared creative ambition
Why shared values and purposes is so important
What it takes to create award winning work QUOTE
Why is takes time to build up the credibility to take risks
Why huge failures are similar to most campaigns QUOTE
If your creative isn’t noticed everything else is academic
Why attracting the best creative talent means committing to bold work
The more creative work you do the more creative you are likely to get
When you have a smaller budget you have to get more creative
Sharing the results for Mouldy Whopper in public to address the critics
Where the idea for the Mouldy Whopper came from QUOTE
What Fernando learnt at Activision Blizzard
The power of networking in finding a perfect role
The biggest challenge facing NotCo
Why the best creative work gets done on small budgets
How AI is accelerating the development of plant based products
How AI beat the Nike design department
How AI created the most average Pizza advert
Why the brief matters when using AI QUOTE
From curation to creative, why AI is a tool and not a replacement of the marketing function
Why Notco is advertising old animals
Think of a colour that doesn’t exist
The one piece of advice for marketers

Mastering the client-agency relationship - Richard Warren, prev. Lloyds Banking Group & Lowe

Jon Evans — Wed, 03 May 2023 06:00:00 +0100

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.

From start up to £10 billion; building the ultimate challenger brand - Rebecca Dibb-Simkin

Jon Evans — Wed, 26 Apr 2023 06:00:00 +0100

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 episode

Responding to a job ad written by Rory Sutherland
From the tax department to marketing
Being rejected on graduate schemes
Poetic job applications
Marketing jargon that needs to be ditched
Why being close to the customer matters
The marketers role in the middle of the spiders web
From energy industry giant to start up
The spontaneous moment that led to Octopus energy
Jon blags a speech on the Internet of things
The surprisingly short distance to the edge of our atmosphere
The cost advantage of green energy
Which energy sources are the cleanest
The tricky of balance of managing variable sources of energy
Advantages of smart energy
How octopus are helping with the cost of living crisis
The red tape holding us back
How to incentivise people to adopt wind power
The 40,000 electric blankets helping people in crisis
From 50,000 customers to 5 million
The secret to seriously rapid growth
The Brewdog question that drives growth
How to handle 80k job applications
Keeping the core management team together
The advantages of an in house agency
Outrageously good customer service with humans
Now the octopus came about
The science behind animals as mascots
In praise of simplicity and products that work
Running the same campaign over and over again
The role of industry awards

Humour, purpose & beating imposter syndrome - Jo Arden, Ogilvy UK

Jon Evans — Wed, 19 Apr 2023 06:00:00 +0100

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 strategy
Her winding path from PR through business development and into strategy
What does a Chief Strategy Officer do?
The role of generosity in being a great CSO
The business case for involving your strategy team on a core business problem
The 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 seriously
The ‘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 narrative
The crisis in creativity is more of a trend than a crisis
Cannes Lions role in creative exploration rather than effectiveness
Jon was left out of his own Cannes Lion winning party
The one Campaign award no-one wants to win
Why Turkeys eat Lions for breakfast
“The consumer is not a moron, she is your wife”
The challenge of bringing the consumer into the room
The importance of doing normal things
Spending the most time out of the office
Rabbits in the office and other fun things at Ogilvy
Generating borderless creativity
Putting pressure on the task and not yourself
How to create an environment for creativity to happen
What Jo would advise her 21 year old self
Jon share his almost unbelievable imposter syndrome story
Using the power of your network

Eyebrow raising McDonald's advertising - Chaka Sobhani, Leo Burnett

Jon Evans — Wed, 12 Apr 2023 06:00:00 +0100

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 Year
Getting rejected 200 times before breaking into the industry
Setting up ITV’s in-house creative department
Learning production techniques at ITV
How to make great work on a budget
What its like being a global Executive Creative Director
Helping others being successful
Getting industry acclaim and audience success for McDonalds
Where the ‘raising your arches’ idea came from
System1 Test Your Ad scores for McDonalds Raise Your Arches
The subtle branding for McDonalds that stood out
The challenge of casting eye brow raising
How Raise Your Arches became a Tik Tok sensation
The state of diversity and inclusion in the industry
How advertising doesn’t reflect the society we live in
Treating diversity with the same passion as new business
Telling one persons story well
The diversity dividend of representative advertising

Better Brand Health - Jenni Romaniuk, Ehrenberg-Bass

Jon Evans — Wed, 05 Apr 2023 06:30:11 +0100

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 book
The one question Jenni hasn’t been asked
Publicity over persuasion
How even academics don’t always have the right beliefs
Can you have too many distinctive assets?
How marketers over estimate the number of assets they have
Why Ehrenberg Bass use an owl as their distinctive asset
How do you measure a distinctive asset
Does the time frame of measurement make a difference
The difference between new and super light buyers for Lucozade
Brand tracking on a small budget
Why differentiation is the most surprising discovery by EBI
What inspired the book
Starting with the laws that shape how brands grow
The important of asking the right questions
Calibrating your tracker for your brand size
Which definition of brand awareness to use
The importance of non-buyers to your trackers
Designing for the category not your own objectives
Why brand awareness is a lot less stable than you think
The probabilistic nature of memory and why recall changes
The power of Donald Trumps hair
Types of brand attributes and the role they play
How many category entry points does a brand need
Mental market share and how to measure it
Distribution points of the mind
The importance of share of mind
Jenni writes a song to brand love
How to measure your marketing
Some advice for Word of Mouth
The role of physical availability on brand health
The importance of physical availability to convert customers
Shopping distinctive assets

Feel free to ignore this podcast episode - Richard Shotton

Jon Evans — Wed, 29 Mar 2023 06:00:00 +0100

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 one
The meanest tweet Uncensored CMO ever had
Social proof gives you wings
Why the new book has 16 ½ chapters
Feel free to ignore this chapter in the book
Why biases affect professionals as well as consumers
The Russian tank effect and how AI can be misled
How AI design a better pair of Nike Trainers
Recency, primacy and the peak end rule
How behavioural science supports the laws of marketing
Jon ranks the biases
The Zuckerberg t-shirt principle (red sneaker effect)
Why breaking convention is associated with higher status
Always use concrete phrases not fluffy marketing nonsense
The more visual the phrase the easier to remember
Relatable stories beat cold hard statistics
Telling one persons story well is better than trying to represent a group
How well can experts predict a successful Super Bowl Ad
Experts are trained to see novelty rather than broad appeal
We are all rewarded based on sophistication and complexity rather than simplicity
How thicker paper led to more charity donations
Why marketer can’t predict how well their own advertising will do
Professional forecasters are no better at predicting than the average person
Why freedom of choice leads to much greater perceived value
Why we would rather suffer a loss if we now someone else has done better
Adverts aren’t trying to be funny anymore even though the funny ones work
Why making a joke would increase your tips
Making it easy is the best way to make someone do something
We radically underestimate the impact of removing friction
Removing friction beats customer benefits every time
How to frame your pricing so people buy your preferred product
What colonoscopies can tell us about the peak end rule
Why ads with a peak end perform better overall

Links

How not to plan - Les Binet & Sarah Carter

Jon Evans — Wed, 15 Mar 2023 06:00:00 +0000

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 effectiveness
How John Lewis changed Christmas
Les & Sarah pick a favourite ad
Why vignette ads are a cop out
What the John Lewis econometrics reveals about the campaign
Why you should make people feel something not show them feeling
Jon discovers the Long & the Short of it
The best way to really upset Les
That famous key visual
Can you ever achieve both long & short at the same time
Why consumers don’t give a s**t
How myth busting inspired the book
Being turned down by Marketing Week
Why there are more P’s than Promotion
How to involve planners early
The BMP Philosophy of planning
How not to get caught Short
Why 60% of campaign results are long term
How not to be consistent
Knowing what to change and when to change it
What advertisers can learn from designers
A little plug for Orlando’s fluent device work
It’s only advertising and no-one died
The case for animals and music
How not to make sense
How not to change your pricing
Why EPOS data switched spend from communication to price promotion
Digital attribution is the new price promotion
The more detailed the measurement the worse the marketing has got
Jon shares his only Effie case study
How not to be different
Why how you say something matters more than what you say
Les takes down the idea of loyalty
The one topic which wasn’t covered in the book
Finding things to get angry about

Why every marketer should be more pirate - Sam Conniff

Jon Evans — Thu, 02 Mar 2023 06:00:00 +0000

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

How to build habit-forming products - Nir Eyal, Part 2

Jon Evans — Wed, 15 Feb 2023 17:17:56 +0000

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.

AdContrarian on why online advertising is a scam - Bob Hoffman

Jon Evans — Wed, 01 Feb 2023 12:20:43 +0000

Why the AdContrarian decided to end his weekly newsletter
The irony of Bob getting an award for best speaker at an AdTech conference
A surprising honour from Byron Sharp
The freedom that comes from being an independent
Bob’s most contrarian ever statement
The shocking amount of personal data gather about every person
How the marketing industry is complicit in on-line tracking and division in society
The issue of tracking and how we managed just fine beforehand
Why advertising works better when it isn’t personal
The primary role of advertising to create fame for the brand
System1 data to show the value of Fame building
Why most people don’t care about your banner ad
How targeting devalued creativity
Why AI will just lead us to more average creative work
The insanity of M&M’s withdrawing their characters in a moral stance
Why the industry isn’t taking the failures of adtech seriously
Explaining ‘programmatic poo’ and why it matters
The 40,000 websites your ad appears on
The 9 billions ads that suddenly disappeared
The important distinction between ad impressions and views
Why only 9% of people actual see a banner ad
What happens when we start media buying based on attention
The things your Gran could have told you about advertising
Why your audience aren’t ‘buying into the conversation’
Is my toilet paper pro Brexit?
The scale of ad fraud and why it isn’t news
Ad fraud is bigger than Coke or Nike
The scale of ad fraud funding criminal activity
Why low CPM’s drive the wrong behaviour in the digital world
How 3rd party data only predicted gender 46% of the time
Whether its time for legislation to fix the issues
The 3 things every marketer can do to help
What works in marketing doesn’t work in advertising
Introducing the Marketing Bottom and what most marketers don’t know
Why people buy what makes them feel good
How Fame, Feeling & Fluency predicts success
The one topic we should be talking about
The case for being silly and having more fun

Indistractable: the marketer's secret weapon - Nir Eyal, Part 1

Jon Evans — Thu, 19 Jan 2023 10:24:22 +0000

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.

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 Indistractable
The one topic that hadn’t been written about
Focusing on what works in practice and not just in theory
How the book helped work, life, family and health
Why we get in our own way
What it’s like to see your own book on the shelf
Who Nir really wrote the book
Why yellow is the best colour for a book and podcast
Understanding what causes distraction
The role of intent in separating traction and distraction
Why you shouldn’t write a to-do list
Focus on what is important rather than easy
How work tasks can also be distraction
The internal and external triggers of distraction
The shocking 90% of distractions that come from within us
How we have to master our internal triggers
The secret hack of planning our time rather than to-do’s
The myth of will power of a depleting resource and the one group for whom its true
Why you should avoid seeing yourself as a victim
Changing the narrative we tell about ourselves
Living to your own values rather than other peoples
Making time for traction by turning values into time
Being generous with your money and stingy with your time
The importance of planning time for fun and interacting with people
Dividing work into reflective vs reactive work
Using your calender rather than email to determine your day
The tyranny of the to-do list
How to a get to a higher level of team productivity
Using communication tools like a hot-tub
How to manage your boss
The role of culture in supporting its people to be Indistractable
How BCG changed their business culture
Work hard and go home – the lesson from Slack
Why focus is the superpower of the century
How to approach meetings
Why 80% of meetings have no agenda
The surprising number for the optimum number of people in a brainstorm
The only reason to have a meeting
The homework required before every meeting

Mark Ritson's uncensored review of the best ads of 2022

Jon Evans — Wed, 04 Jan 2023 07:09:28 +0000

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 2022
The 2022 new entry on Mark’s Marketing Bulls**t Top 10
The biggest surprise of 2022
Which brand impressed him the most in 2022
Who taught him the most in 2022
The short term pay off of long term brand building
The challenge of stagflation in 2023
Why pricing is a big opportunity for Marketers
The importance of framing and communicating price
Have we passed the peak Christmas Ad yet?
The strategy behind Aldi’s successful Christmas Ad
The power of Fluent devices to connect short & long
The under leveraged power of music to drive effectiveness
How Coke Holidays are coming owned Christmas
How doing less leads to more
The one time a client changed agency and kept the creative the same
Jon & Mark review the best ads of 2022 on the System1 database
How Cadbury hit 5 Star in only 10sec with hardly any production
The power of consistency for Cadbury
How the emotional response varies by category
How Kelloggs owned the breakfast category
What Mark learnt about branding whilst writing articles for the BA magazine
How Go turkey made the Top 5 but remained forgettable
How to value the impact of the music
Mark and Jon create the perfect advert
How agencies could guarantee a pitch win with System1
When Jon lost out on a Hollywood Director
Why marketing is so often seen as a cost not an opportunity
Jon reveals the No.1 Ad of 2022 (excluding Christmas Ads)
Jon reveals the Top 5 Advertisers of 2022
How Magnum reflected older people so well in their Advertising
Marks most famous MW column on Cannes and how it compares to System1 data
Jon reveals the No.1 Advertiser of 2022
Why simple beats clever every time
Brands are tiny and un-important in consumers lives

Making iconic high street retailer, Boots, relevant again - Pete Markey, Boots

Jon Evans — Mon, 12 Dec 2022 15:26:47 +0000

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 Ad
Rediscovering the joy of Hall & Oates
Why Retailers are so good at making Christmas ads
Making people feel more festive
The importance of escaping reality at Christmas
How Boots landed on Joy as a proposition for Boots
The purpose of making gifting easier and more joyful
Being CMO of a high st retailer during covid & recession
How Boots is using pricing and Advantage card to help customers
Going from ‘good old Boots’ to ‘oh wow Boots’
How Boots is using advertising to reflect the full diversity of society
The importance of telling one persons story well
Wising up and showing older people in a better light
How ‘Summer be ready’ campaign reflected older people as part of the story
The role of purpose and whether it can also deliver profit
Never drink the kool aid on your own purpose
How to tell your brand story internally as well as externally
Making the finance team your best friend
Being shortlisted for Brand of the year in two awards
The power of Boots advantage card as a media channel
Meeting the challenge of Black Friday
Being on the Campaign and Marketing Week Top 100 lists
Impressing the kids with a Hollywood style photoshoot
The secret to being a Top 100 CMO
How 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 Persuasion
The importance of non-marketing skill set for a CMO
Pete’s advice to the aspiring CMO – be curious, get trained & build your network
How Jon got a job that was never advertised
The hidden power of your network
What you should do right now to build your network
How Jon accidentally ended up doing a speech at the wrong event
The 100 day plan to meet 100 people
Pete’s aim to terrify himself via improvised comedy

Lessons from Aldi's IPA Gold winning Kevin the Carrot - McCann

Jon Evans — Wed, 30 Nov 2022 00:01:00 +0000

As Christmas ad season is in full swing, I speak to the planning and strategy team from McCann Manchester, the agency that created Aldi’s Kevin the Carrot.

What we cover in this episode:

Why Darren and Jamie bring a life size Kevin’s to meetings
The benefit of doing strategy as a pair
Convincing a sceptical customer to shop at Aldi for Christmas
Taking inspiration from John Lewis the reigning king of Christmas
How the humble carrot being the big idea
Selling the idea into Aldi
Why they didn’t want to recreate a brand new campaign every year
The challenge to beat Kevin every year
Inspiration from light entertainment and why’s its harder than it looks
Sticking to what works whilst always finding ways to keep it fresh
How to balance Christmas, a cost-of-living crisis & Christmas
The importance of entertainment even in tough times
Jamie & Darren rate this years crop of Christmas ads
Beating the benchmark Coke Truck Index
How Kevin successfully leverages the Long and Short of it
Using System1 testing to screen for early stage ideas
Why the simplicity of the System1 metrics are so important
The case for testing a 4 min long animatic
How media is like renting a stage upon which to put on a show
The astonishing business results delivered by the Kevin campaign
Proving that being cheaper doesn’t mean you can’t be better
The power of combining fame and consistency
Wear in vs wear out on the System1 Test Your Ad database
Why we are over familiar with our own work vs the audience
How little attention advertising actually gets
The power of jokes you know the punchline to
Being lovably pirates rather than the navy
The powerful purpose being Aldi’s mission to make good food affordable

Advertising creativity in times of crisis

Jon Evans — Mon, 21 Nov 2022 17:04:26 +0000

The most returned guest in Uncensored CMO history, Orlando Wood, is back. He made a brief cameo last episode but I wanted to dive deeper into creative styles that work in difficult times and if you should re-use old creative.

What we covered in this episode:

How Hovis proved the power of wear-in with an almost 5 Star
Creative inspiration from an ad that is almost 50 years old
How the romantic era is reflected in the Hovis ad
The role of the right-brain in capturing attention
What covid taught us about creative wear-in vs wear-out
The accidental creative experiment that occurred during covid
Proof that ‘wear-out’ is a marketing myth
The difference in campaign length between the US and UK
How right-brained features perform better in recession
Why Christmas 2022 Advertising is the best yet
The role of nostalgia in difficult times
How Kevin the carrot delivers consistent 5 Star success
Great creative shouldn’t just be for Christmas
The power of fluent devices in advertising and re-using old work
Orlando’s top 3 tips for investing in a recession
How good advertising can support price increases in recession
How brand building helps you come out of recession better
Orlando’s top 3 tips for making creative work in a recession
Why focussing on character, incident and place make effective creative
The role of humour in difficult times

Ritson on Recession: what every marketer needs to know

Jon Evans — Mon, 14 Nov 2022 10:24:05 +0000

Storm clouds continue to gather over the global economy. With the latest quarterly UK GDP figures released on November 11 and the US and other parts of the world also bracing for a recession, this special recording of System1’s webinar dives into how brands can navigate tough times.

However, tough times also bring opportunity. As the late great F1 driver Ayrton Senna once said, ‘You cannot overtake 15 cars in sunny weather… but you can when it’s raining.’

In possibly the most comprehensive study of recession, Nitin Nohria found that 9% of companies come out of a recession in better shape than they went in.

We're joined by Professor Mark Ritson, brand consultant and creator of the Mini MBA in Marketing, and Orlando Wood, author of IPA best-selling books Lemon and Look Out, to understand how brands should approach this challenging period.

WATCH: The ad Orlando referenced: Hovis - Boy on a Bike

What we covered in this episode:

Which brands won and lost during covid
Why the CEO expects the CMO to step up in a crisis
The 4 issues that hold businesses back in a crisis
Why marketers must do their market orientation and get their strategy in place first
The over-whelming evidence that supports investing in a recession
What happens when brands go dark and why small brands suffer most
How ESOV can be more achievable in recession and what it means for the long term
The very strong business case for investment
The role of operational efficiency and innovation to help come out strongly
How to get your pricing strategy and communication right
Whether you should be changing your communication
Inspiration from a campaign that is as good today as it was 50 years ago
How right brained creative features are connecting better in recession
Why wear out is a myth based on thousands of ads on the System1 database
What we can learn from the current Christmas Adverts
The role of character fluent devices to make your advert more memorable
Top 3 reasons to invest in creative right now
Top 3 ways to make creative emotionally engagement and effective
Mark and Orlando answer some tough questions
Why marketing professors don’t teach how marketing actually works

How entertainment, brand mascots and creative testing delivered a winner for Tourism Australia - Susan Coghill

Jon Evans — Tue, 08 Nov 2022 14:22:20 +0000

Susan Coghill is the Marketing Director at Tourism Australia and they've got one of the best performing ads on the System1 database, with their new campaign "G'Day". But this wasn't without taking some risks, such as introducing a new brand mascot, getting high profile stars to feature and producing a 9 minute film.

Watch the ad here.

What we covered in this episode:

Why Susan has the best job in the World
How to set KPI’s for a tourism brand
Why Tourism Australia kept advertising through the pandemic
What System1 learnt about advertising during covid
Winning the only Effie for a travel company during lockdown
Planning ‘Come and say G’day’ a new global campaign to announce Australia is open again
Which distinctive assets are the most Australian
Creating Ruby Roo the new brand mascot
What we can learn from the Entertainment industry
Putting on a show rather than selling
Why it’s important to remember you are not the audience
Making a new version of Men At Work’s ‘Down Under’
The role of celebrities in making the ad more distinctive
Justifying spending $125m on the new campaign
How System1 testing gave confidence to make creative decisions
Getting a 4 Star in the animatic testing
How to reassure your stakeholder the creative will work
Inspiration from the best Christmas adverts
Adapting creative for different markets
The long term plan for Ruby
The decline of fluent devices and why you should use them
Whether Ruby will appear as a character in real life
Why we should all be more like Churchill the dog
Revealing the official countdown of the UK’s best advertisers

How the world’s best leaders lead with speed - Sophie Devonshire

Jon Evans — Tue, 01 Nov 2022 14:54:45 +0000

Sophie is the CEO of The Marketing Society and the author of Superfast: Lead at Speed, in which she offers insight into energy management, purposeful leadership, and keeping pace with breakneck innovation. She is also a passionate advocate of flex work as the future of effective companies, and regularly speaks about innovative approaches to balance business and family life. Her career began at Procter & Gamble and Coca-Cola Great Britain, Interbrand, and then Leo Burnett Dubai. She went on to become CEO of The Caffeine Partnership, an innovative consultancy helping leaders with purpose and pace. Most recently, in July 2020, Sophie became CEO of The Marketing Society, a global community of progressive senior marketers whose purpose is to empower brave leaders.

What we covered in this episode:

Why Sophie chose a career in marketing
The loneliness of the marketing leader
How the Marketing Society is creating a community
The importance of celebrating marketing's role in creating change
What inspired Superfast
The exhaustion that comes from the speed of information
How the best leaders manage to set the right pace
How to write a book and manage the day job
Which books inspired Sophie the most
The importance of managing your energy
The SHED technique to energy management
Understanding what energises your team
The times when you shouldn't go fast
The power of strategic laziness
How a clear business purpose can drive pace
How Lucozade Sport created a clear purpose around Made to Move
How the world's most successful business people make decisions
Why being too fast and too slow can be dangerous
Why being closer to your customer makes decision making easier
The importance of timing
How Jon failed to kill the QR code
Sophie's guide to whether the Metaverse will become a success or not
Why it's what you do with good luck of bad luck that really matters
What's next for the Marketing Society

Why reach-based media planning is broken and how to fix it - Karen Nelson-Field

Jon Evans — Mon, 24 Oct 2022 12:18:54 +0100

Professor Karen Nelson-Field is Founder and CEO of Amplified Intelligence, and Professor of Media Innovation at The University of Adelaide. Karen is a globally acclaimed researcher in media science, is a regular speaker on the major circuits, including Cannes and SXSW, and has secured research funding from some of the world’s largest advertisers. Her first book, Viral Marketing: the science of sharing, set the record straight on hunting for ‘viral success’. Her most recent book The Attention Economy and How Media Works explains the stark reality of human attention processing in advertising. Karen’s commercial work combines tech and innovative methodological design to look closely at attention metrics in a disrupting digital economy.

Listen to my first episode with Karen from Cannes.

What we covered in this conversation:

Reaction to Cannes Lion Triple Jeopardy talk
Karen’s career journey to now
Making the jump from Academia to Business owner
Why not all reach is created equal
How few people actually pay attention to your advert
The variability of time in view vs actual attention based on platform
The technology that allows attention to be measured
How the ESOV and reach based model are broken
The 2.5second rule and how memory is created
How repetition of advertising helps in low attention platforms
How attention has an elasticity based on the platform
The role of creative in attention rich platforms
The importance of adapting your creative based on the attention of the platform
How to approach media planning with attention in mind
Will wearable technology help improve attention measurement
Karen’s response to Byron’s recent comments on attention
What level of push back the focus on attention is getting
What’s coming next for Amplified Intelligence

Why all car adverts are the same - Kirsten Stagg, Skoda

Jon Evans — Wed, 12 Oct 2022 16:52:39 +0100

Now, a topic in this episode very close to my heart. Why are car ads all so bad? I spoke with Kirsten Stagg from Skoda, who's the UK Marketing Director and has made some pretty good ads herself. In fact, Skoda are responsible for the best ad on the System1 database. We also talk a lot about the move to electric vehicles, the biggest revolution since the combustion engine. How do we get more people into electric vehicles over from petrol? And what are the car industry doing to save the planet? So, no shortage of big questions in this episode.

What we covered in this episode:

Jon explains his failure to get a job in automotive marketing
How Kirsten got a job in the automotive industry despite not owning a car
How you actually pronounce Skoda and why they changed the use of it
Why VW changed their approach to brand building based on how people choose cars
Kirsten’s favourite VW advert of all time
Jon puts Kirsten on the spot about why all car ads look the same
Local insights vs global execution
The thinking behind ‘it’s a Skoda. Honest’
Why the Skoda cake advert is the best in the category
A ‘driver’s best friend’ and how Skoda inverted the relationship between car and dog
The biggest disruption in the automotive industry since the combustion engine was invented
Jon explains how he ended up meeting the director of HR at Daimler Benz who turned him down
How Mercedes have already made their last V8 engine
The role of concept cars in gauging potential customer interest
The barriers to EV adoption and how to overcome them
Kirsten gives the pitch for making the switch to an EV
How the EV is changing people’s brand perception and encouraging switching
Why very long-standing agency relationships have helped ensure strong creative work
Top tips for getting the best creative work from your agency
Why you should work with Directors who have low egos
The best ads Jon ever made were with up-and-coming Directors

Can marketing save the planet? - Leo Rayman, Eden Lab

Jon Evans — Thu, 22 Sep 2022 17:04:38 +0100

Leo is the founder of Eden Lab, a new kind of consultancy and venture studio, they don't just advise on how to win in the Net Zero future, they build it with you. He's the former CEO and Chief Strategy Officer of ad agency Grey London, founder of Grey Consulting, speaker, writer and start-up mentor.

He believes businesses can help shape the planet for the better. To do that he says we need to invent - and reinvent - companies for a post-carbon world. He scouts, designs and assembles new business models, products and services that actively create a better future for all of us.

What we covered in this episode:

The state of the industry
Why CMO spend so little time on comms
How to ask better questions
Solving every problem with a poster
Post Covid hybrid leaving do’s
The biggest challenges the world faces
Good intentions vs real action
The one mission to end all missions
What is stopping marketers making a difference
Climate change ignorance
Not all growth is green growth
Bridging the gap between sustainability and the consumer
Why fear and ignorance is holding us back
The £12trillion cost of saving the planet
How do we create the change we need to see
Why it’s time to commercialise sustainability
Moving from shame to seduction
The gap between consumer experience and sustainability
Why Backmarket models a customer centric approach
The importance of the green business model
The tension between costs of living crisis and doing the right thing
The power of an impossible brief
Why brands will be punished in the future for lack of green credentials
The future value of your customer book
What is your clean share of market
Putting creativity into the heart of the problem
Commercialising ESG to create change
Buying trainers for life
What every brand needs to do now

How a great culture led to creativity at KFC - Meghan Farren, KFC CMO

Jon Evans — Tue, 13 Sep 2022 14:55:31 +0100

Meghan Farren spent 10 years at KFC UK, spending the last 5 as CMO. What does it take to run a marketing department of one of the biggest consumer brands? What do you do when you run out of chicken as a fast food chicken joint? How do you change your strapline when it involves licking fingers during a global pandemic? And how a strong culture is pivotal for all this creativity to happen.

What we covered in this episode

Going back to KFC after a year - back to school vibe
The realness of working in a KFC restaurant
Research vs real world experience
How Meg got into marketing in the first place
From finance to marketing
How to transition industry
Experience vs action and impostor syndrome
How to nail a new job
Importance of culture
Hiring the best talent
Being close to the customer
Marketing week brand of the year
Power of consistency
The FCK campaign
How taking a big risk can pay off
How humour in a crisis can help
KFC’s many distinctive assets
How to do brand innovation well
Advice for aspiring CMOs

5 ways to make effective advertising - Jon Evans

Jon Evans — Tue, 09 Aug 2022 13:47:42 +0100

Now it's the summer holidays, and that means everybody's taking a well earned break from all their hard work. And that includes the Uncensored CMO, but producer James never wants to let me off an episode, And he said, why before you go away, why don't you just do a quick episode. So, I thought, why not do a little bonus episode?

It got me thinking, what subject do I know a little bit about that might be useful to my listeners? And, this is where I have to put my System1 hat back on, because what we do better than anybody else is advise people on how to make advertising that works. We like to frame that as how to make a five star ad. So in this special edition episode, I talk about why emotion and advertising matters and how I can prove it. And some of the tips that we give all our customers on how to make advertising that actually works.

What I covered in this episode:

The crazy amount of money spent on adverts
Why 50% are still a waste of money
The data for why your creative matters
Why Creative is your most important tool
Why emotional beats rational advertising
Why System1 was created
Orlando Wood and his masterpieces
- Lemon
- Look Out
Why we make decisions
ESOV and how creativity is an amplifier
The reason to pre test your advertising
Right brain vs Left brain advertising
The decline in creative effectiveness
The importance of Fluent devices
The 5 things that make a 5 Star ad
Why you should take no notice of awards
A shameless plug for System1

How to target the invisible powerhouse (over 50s) - Jeremy Hine, MullenLowe

Jon Evans — Wed, 03 Aug 2022 12:12:34 +0100

Do you think the advertising industry has a problem with age now? In my experience, the majority of marketing departments are run by people under 40. Sometimes the majority, even under 30, and that's reflected in creative agencies as well. I think that's a real problem because if you look at the statistics, people over the age of 55 represent the majority of people in the UK, they have enormous buying power, lost disposable income, and often a bit more time on their hands to spend it as well.

So it's such a shame that we as an industry are neglecting a very significant part of the population. Recently that MullenLowe have released a new report called "The Invisible Powerhouse", looking at the lives of over 50s and how we can market to them better. In this episode, I speak to MullenLowe UK CEO, Jeremy Hine, about the report and what we can do to address this problem.

What we covered in this episode:

52 year old Jeremy introduces himself
What inspired ‘The Invisible Powerhouse’ report on age diversity
Why age represents the greatest disparity in Advertising representation
How do older people feel about the way in which they are portrayed
The business case for people ‘Feeling Seen’ in advertising
Almost half the population are over 50 and own 70% of all assets
Why not all over 50’s are the same
The age people feel rather than the age they are
What segmentation by attitude reveals
Inspiration from the gear lever design in a Jaguar
The dominance of youth in the ad industry
How to brief to ensure older representation
The importance of seeing and understanding the older generation
Why Entertainment matters to an older audience
Inspiration from the Magnum campaign featuring older people
The value of spending time with older people
What we can learn from TikTok
The stereotypes of older people in advertising
Taking inspiration from Top Gun
Why women experience an even greater invisibility in advertising
How Mullen Lowe led the Governments covid response
How a crisis super charged creative work & collaboration
Where to get more help on marketing to an older audience

How marketing can fix the global economic crisis - James Hankins and JP Castlin

Jon Evans — Thu, 14 Jul 2022 09:30:54 +0100

A double header episode as I speak with JP Castlin and James Hankins on the back of their Cannes 2022 talk, in partnership with WARC, "The Gravity of e-commerce".

JP Castlin is an independent consultant who coined the term naturalized strategy-making and created the ABCDE framework. JP has been featured in Marketing Week, The Drum, WARC and more, and he also wrote "Strategy in Polemy". James Hankins is the founder of Vizer Consulting & Global VP Marketing Strategy and Planning at SAGE.

View JP & James' WARC report here.

What we covered in this episode:

How the pandemic inspired the Cannes collaboration
The one question everyone was asking at Cannes
What is driving the sudden adjustment in e-commerce valuations
Presenting straight after Gary V’s Cannes talk and our obsession with new things
The threat of Stagflation and how it will impact the economy
Returning to the 4 P’s for the solution to the problem
The gravity effect of e-commerce and the challenging cost efficiency
Defining the model as a shift from one-to-many from many-to-one
Why marketers are needed to solve this problem
The real cost of returning e-commerce products
The long and short effect of guaranteed returns
How Amazon mitigated the cost of product returns
Why marketers needs to see the whole picture to solve the puzzle
The Nike business model and how even they struggle to do e-commerce
Why growth-first companies like Uber Eats fail to make a profit
The Vegan Sausage roll principle and the challenge of second-hand car buying platforms
Why fulfilment capability is so critical for e-commerce businesses
Why Cinch are set up to beat Cazoo in the car e-commerce war
The importance of understanding your business model first
Using creativity to solve the most fundamental commercial challenges
What we can all learn from the Next annual report and their emergent strategy
The pivotal role of the CMO in a commercial crisis

From Saatchi copywriter to denim brand founder - David Hieatt, Hiut Denim

Jon Evans — Tue, 05 Jul 2022 13:23:29 +0100

Today we're joined by David Hieatt, founder of Hiut Denim Co., and The Do Lectures.

What we covered in this episode:

How to pronounce Hiut and its origins
What inspired David to start a jeans company
Pitching a business aged 14
Raised by wolves at Saatchi and Saatchi
Setting up their first business Howies
Surviving without pay for 6 years
How it feels to sell your business
The impact of having a dad in the merchant navy
The importance of making people feel something
Having a purpose and bringing your values to work
How to find your purpose
Why saving Britains biggest jeans factory inspired David to create Hiut
Coping with 6 months orders in one month
Why a newsletter is your most important communiction tool
Getting geeky about newsletter stats
Trying to beat your best newsletter
Writing a book in 30mins a day
Learning from Paul Arden
The importance of choosing your boss carefully
Focussing on being the most influential 30 person jeans company
Being better today than yesterday
Saving the planet with the No Wash Club
Coping with 3 years of repairs in 3 months after offering free repairs for life
The 88 hours it takes to win business
The inspiration behind the DO lectures and the irony of 'doing one thing well'
Don't just stand there, do something. Making change happen.
Selling tickets to Do lectures out in an hour
Talks from a cowshed in west wales

Cannes Uncensored with Tom Goodwin

Jon Evans — Mon, 27 Jun 2022 15:50:46 +0100

I've always had a bit of a love, hate relationship with Cannes. It's wonderful that we celebrate creativity with this event, but seeing how the festival rewards a certain type of creativity, particularly short term activation and purpose recently, I'm starting to wonder how effective Cannes Lions winners are in the real world.

So who better to talk to about this than Tom Goodwin, who isn't short of uncensored opinions, to find out what he really thinks of Cannes. Is it just a jolly for the industry? or is it something more?

-> Listen to my previous episode with Tom

Whether Web3 is the next big thing
How dis-interested we are in real people’s lives
The cost of luxury opinions
Having a seat at the Davos table
Why normal people do all the wrong things
How purpose has replaced creativity
Making good advertising that sells
How big tech stole the creative football
Comparing Cannes to previous years
How the Cannes experience can vary
The status symbol of Cannes passes
The future of travel to Cannes
Tom’s view on Gary Vee’s talk
Inventing the perfect Cannes
The case for seducing and entertaining

The triple threat to creative effectiveness - Peter Field, Orlando Wood, Karen Nelson-Field (Live from Cannes)

Jon Evans — Wed, 22 Jun 2022 11:57:30 +0100

For the 50th episode of Uncensored CMO, I'm live in Cannes to talk about the triple threat to creative effectiveness. Why effectiveness has been declining over the years, how attention has impacted mental availability and what we can do about it. Fresh off the stage at Cannes Lions 2022, Peter Field, Orlando Wood and Karen Nelson-Field talk us through what they're calling Triple Jeopardy.

From Peter Field himself: "Triple Jeopardy is three things: the withdrawal of money from brand and putting it into performance marketing and the short-term on a massive scale. That has drained the mental availability fuel supply, if you like"

What we covered in this episode

Karen, Peter and Orlando's triple jeopardy Cannes panel
How effectiveness has progressively declined throughout the years
What's causing the decline? Is it a focus on short term activation vs long term brand building?
Why are you calling this triple jeopardy?
Why short term activation is damaging mental availability
Measuring inwards vs outward
Why we need to change attention metrics
Active vs passive attention
85% of ads sit below the attention memory threshold
Viewablity metrics are failing us
How the elasticity of attention varies
So how do we solve this? How do we sustain attention?
Why we need more right-brained features in advertising
What captures attention?
Are you paying attention to this very message on this podcast? (and in these show notes?)

Sex, driving and how to be a CMO - Marg Jobling, NatWest CMO

Jon Evans — Tue, 07 Jun 2022 11:24:28 +0100

Margaret Jobling is the Group Chief Marketing Officer at NatWest. Margaret has spent the majority of her marketing career in FMCG, before to joining the utilities sector in 2014, as Director of Marketing at British Gas. At the beginning of 2016 she moved into a CMO role at Centrica, transforming the firm’s marketing capabilities across all regions. Then in 2020, joining NatWest as CMO.

In September 2020, Margaret was announced as one of Marketing Week’s Top 100 Most Effective Marketers for her work at Centrica.

What we covered in this episode:

How Marg went from laser chemistry to marketing
Blagging her way through her first job in marketing
Capturing an emotional response in a rational way
How to look smart giving creative feedback to an agency
The ABC of assessing a piece of creative
Why marketers face a much more complex context today
How marketing is like sex and driving
Using the language of business in the Board room
Why marketers should focus on customers and commercials first
The two hats every CMO wears
Creating a culture where people can test and learn
Inverting the pyramid and supporting the marketing team
Why the store manager is king
The power of showcasing what has gone wrong
Marg’s hidden showreel of what went wrong
Jon’s best training talking about his biggest failures
Why Marg wouldn’t go back to fast moving consumer goods
The importance of a consistent customer experience
How service sector and FMCG differ
Defining what marketing is
The inspiration behind ‘tomorrow starts today’
Why procrastination is the largest barrier to your success
What NatWest is doing to protect the climate
How banks can finance a greener economy
Which technology we should be paying attention to
Why not even the tech giants know what the future holds
If it saves time, money or effort it will work
What being in the Top 100 CMO charts does for Marg
Leaving the world in a better state than we found it

Tom Goodwin on the metaverse and other marketing nonsense

Jon Evans — Mon, 09 May 2022 11:18:35 +0100

Tom Goodwin is an author of a quote you might just have heard of: "Uber, the world’s largest taxi company, owns no vehicles. Facebook, the world’s most popular media owner, creates no content. Alibaba, the most valuable retailer, has no inventory. And Airbnb, the world’s largest accommodation provider, owns no real estate. Something interesting is happening."

He does other things too, like spending an immense amount of time on LinkedIn and writing some seriously impressive books - two of them in fact - Digital Darwinism 1 and 2 (out now in the UK).

What we covered in this episode:

From architecture to advertising
Coping with job rejection letters
Jon blags himself a job
The terrifying feeling of going solo
Being a Decathlete rather than sprinter
The importance of saying No
How the industry lost its way
Why customer service has been lost
The story behind THAT quote
Potential applications of the insight and its limitations
How we may be coming full circle
Why is better to leverage existing tech rather than gambling on new
The challenge of the Metaverse and how society will reject it
How technology should be making us more human not less
Technology as augmentation rather than replacement
Why nothing new has happened in the past 8 years
The power of Nowism vs Futurism
The biggest barriers to innovation inside larger corporate businesses
Where the next big innovations should be
The ‘in the office’ auto reply
Tom’s new book is out now

Links

When The World Zigs, Zag - Sir John Hegarty, BBH

Jon Evans — Mon, 25 Apr 2022 06:00:00 +0100

It's 40 years since the founding of one of the most famous and iconic advertising agencies; BBH or Bartle, Bogle, Hegarty. Today I speak with founder, Sir John Hegarty to find out what it's been like to be at the helm of one of the world's most successful ad agencies for 4 decades.

We take a look back over a long history of advertising to see what's changed, what we can learn and maybe what new techniques today are worth investing in. We touch on many of the great campaigns that come out to BBH, two of my favourites in particular being Levi's from the early eighties and more recently, Audi, which was in fact, one of their founding clients and spanned the entire 40 year history of the agency. As you would expect an amazing storyteller full of wit and wisdom and lots of great advice.

Here's what we covered:

How Sir John got into advertising
What advice he would give after 5 decades in Advertising
Why you should entertain rather than inform
How advertising followed cultural trends
Why advertising appears to be making worse creative but expect better results
The lack of evidence for brand building via social media
How BBH turned Levi’s around and inspired their own agency positioning
The making of Levi’s iconic Laundrette advert
Why the model ended up wearing Boxer shorts
How Levi’s ad revitalised famous music tracks
The longest running BBH client
How the ‘factory visit’ inspired one of the most famous taglines
Why being illogical can be the right thing to do
Being defined by your work
The importance of creative people at the top of the company
How creativity helps solve business problems
Advice to clients for how to get the best out of their agency
How the audience ended up coming last in our priorities
Why we are all making creative decisions and how to be more creative
The importance of being Fearless and not being afraid to fail
Advice for selling in creative ideas to clients
The one piece of creative work John is most proud of
Why purpose gets you on the pitch but doesn’t win you the game
Advice to a 20 year old John

Links

How Pip & Nut went from kitchen table to multi-million pound business - Pip Murray, Pip & Nut

Jon Evans — Mon, 11 Apr 2022 06:00:00 +0100

Pip Murray is the founder of Pip & Nut, which she launched in 2015 and it's now stocked in over 3,000 stores around the UK. It's the fastest growing nut butter brand around, and it's clear to see why. Pip is full of stories and insights in journey building the company, from humble beginnings in her kitchen and at craft fairs to becoming a staple brand on the shelves of all major supermarkets.

What we covered in this episode:

Why Pip started a nut butter business
From kitchen table to full scale production
The constant trial and error to find the perfect recipe
The confidence that comes from being close to your customer
The importance of the right manufacturing partner and selling them the dream
The challenge of minimum production run when you get started
Pip&Nut’s first customer and the importance of focussing on it
What to do when you have no marketing budget
Bootstrapping and crowdfunding to cover the first couple of years
The pro’s and con’s of starting a business when you are young
How easy it is to convince yourself our of an idea and the power of intelligent naivety
How the biggest doubts come in as you scale and stakes get bigger
The opportunity cost of doing too much
Betting big on brand identity from the start
Inspiration from the B&B studios portfolio and finding the right chemistry
The 3 things every Private Equity company does when they acquire a brand
Finding the right design and why Pip used her name in the brand identity
The challenge and opportunity of a national retailer listing
The trade off between focussed distribution and full scale distribution
Why keeping it tight is so important
What we can learn from the best soft drink launches
The advantage of playing in the niche to begin with
Cash flow challenges of a scale up
Sources of funding for growth and finding the right people to invest
The messy nature of startups and the power of empathy from an experienced investor
What the hardest moment of Pip’s journey taught her
Divesting yourself and learning to delegate to the team
The nerve wracking moment of going on TV for the first time
The importance of B-Corp status and making a sustainable brand
How Pip would define success
The energy you gain from a crisis
Why the best way to learn is doing
Pip’s advice for her 24 year old self

Why we should all give a s**t about B2B - Jon Lombardo and Peter Weinberg, LinkedIn B2B Institute

Jon Evans — Wed, 23 Mar 2022 14:37:51 +0000

Peter Weinberg and Jon Lombardo are the heads of research and development at the B2B Institute, a think tank at LinkedIn that studies the laws of growth in B2B. You can follow Peter and Jon on LinkedIn.

What we covered in this episode:

Introducing the youngest B2B marketers on the planet
Jon & Peters favourite Super Bowl ads
The very low hurdle of writing a B2B article
How half the economy is in fact B2B
Is B2B really different to B2C
Sales vs Product led B2B companies
The Product Delusion and why it damages marketing
How B2B ads compare to B2C on long term brand building
What everyone can learn from Salesforce
How brand advertising is good for sales and talent
The power of cuddly furry animals
Publicity vs Persuasion in Advertising
Plug for ‘Why does the Pedlar Sing’ by Paul Feldwick
Introducing the 95:5 rule
The best search engine is the one in your head
The importance of aligning marketing with finance
Sponsoring the first ever B2B Cannes Lion
Advertising is the tax for having a bad product
Their least successful Marketing Week article
Liberty Mutual and the power of sound
What we can learn from Boston beers Super Bowl winning Ad
How emotion regulates what we pay attention to
Why characters are the most underused tactic in advertising
Wear in vs Wear out and why incentives for agency and client aren’t aligned
The Originality Delusion and the power of old ideas
Bitcoin maximalism and the power of blending something old and new

Confidence, Creativity & Catching Big Ideas - Andrew Robertson, CEO BBDO

Jon Evans — Wed, 02 Mar 2022 14:12:34 +0000

Andrew Robertson has been President and Chief Executive Officer of BBDO Worldwide since June 2004, and has worked with major clients including AT&T, ExxonMobil, FedEx, Ford, GE, Mars Inc, PepsiCo, SAP and Visa.

It has been named Network of the Year at Cannes a record-setting seven times and the world's most awarded agency network according to The Gunn Report/World Advertising Research Center for thirteen years in a row. Since 2005, BBDO has been honoured as Global Agency of the Year in Ad Age, Adweek (three times) and Campaign (five times). BBDO Worldwide was also recognized as the Most Effective Network in the world by the Global Effies in 2011, 2014, 2015 and 2017.

Andrew first came to BBDO in the UK in 1995, joining Abbott Mead Vickers BBDO where he subsequently served as Chief Executive. In 2001, he moved to BBDO North America to serve as President and CEO.

He began his advertising career at Ogilvy & Mather, London as a Media Planner. He switched to Account Management and was appointed to the Board of Ogilvy & Mather in 1986. In 1989, he joined J. Walter Thompson and in November 1990, was appointed Chief Executive of WCRS.

Andrew has a degree in Economics from City of London University. He currently serves on the Boards of Autism Speaks and Hope Funds for Cancer Research. He is a past Chairman of The Advertising Council.

What we covered in this episode:

Falling into advertising after starting out in civil engineering
Why Andrew learnt selling insurance and gambling through the night
The late night conversation that led Andrew to advertising
18 years at the helm of a global adverting business
Why getting the people right is the most important task of any CEO
The importance of time spent with customers
Learning to love problems and embrace them as opportunities
Loving what your business creates
Where the trophies of ‘The most awarded network agency in the world’ are kept
Why ‘meaning it’ is the secret to staying on top of your creative game
Building a strong network bottom up with strong local creative agencies
Attracting a limited pool of truly exceptional people
Why emotion is the most effective thing you can do
The power of platform ideas
Don’t understand the value of craft
Calculating the downside risk to help you take the leaps that lead to upside
The pursuit of certainty leads to the norm
How the snickers creative idea was ‘caught’ in a line of copy
Why all great ideas are obvious after their invention
The power of a new way of seeing an old idea
Why Andrew’s favourite ad was one that delivered bad news
The benefits of sleeping with a homeless guy
It’s hard not to buy from someone who makes you smile
How confidence in the team beats the silver bullet when it comes to pitching
The expectation of agencies to deliver effortlessly seamless and connected communication at every tough point
Half my advertising is wasted but it’s gets a lot worse in digital

The secret to winning the best Super Bowl Ad - Lesya Lysyj, CMO Boston Beer

Jon Evans — Wed, 23 Feb 2022 16:37:27 +0000

Jon chats with CMO of Boston Beer, Lesya Lysyj, who has nearly 30 years of marketing experience in the food and beverage industry. Prior to joining Boston Beer, she served as President U.S. (Sales and Marketing) for Welch’s Foods.

Watch the ad here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b9GUnNAL9yY

What we covered in this episode

Counting down the Top 10 Super Bowl ads of 2022
The power of humour and nostalgia for Lays
Why babies are the stars of many Super Bowl ads
The reason car ads are so predictable
Robo puppy and why Kia made the best car ad
The winning Super ad of 2022 and no it wasn’t a set up
Inventing ‘Your cousin from Boston’ and why it works
The power of sticking to the same creative idea
Why we get bored of our own ads before our customer does
The case for releasing a Super Bowl ad early
Creating 2 billion PR impressions from the campaign
The power of Your Cousin From Boston lock up
Taking a big swing with the company dollars
Why a CMO can’t enjoy the Super Bowl when they are advertising
The actual robot dogs that protect Boston Dynamics
How Boston Beer approach testing advertising
Why the idea you like is not always the best idea
Founder Jim and his famous post it notes
How to get payback from a Super Bowl ad
Lesya’s top 3 tips for making a winning Super Bowl ad
Why the CFO is such a fan of System1
How do you top a winning Super Bowl ad

How Brands Grow - Byron Sharp, Ehrenberg-Bass Institute

Jon Evans — Thu, 03 Feb 2022 00:00:00 +0000

Byron Sharp is a Professor of Marketing Science and Director of the Ehrenberg-Bass Institute – the world’s largest centre for research into marketing.

His first book How Brands Grow: what marketers don’t know has been called one of the most influential marketing books of the past decade (Warc, 2015) and was voted marketing book of the year by AdAge readers. In 2015 he published the follow-up How Brands Grow Part 2 with Professor Jenni Romaniuk. He has also written a textbook Marketing: Theory, Evidence, Practice which reflects modern knowledge about marketing and evidence-based thinking. The revised 2nd editionof the textbook was published in 2017.

Byron has co-hosted, with Professor Jerry Wind, two conferences at the Wharton Business School on the laws of advertising, and is on the editorial board of five journals.

What we covered in this episode:

Being turned down for a publishing deal for How Brands Grow
Why experts are terrible at predicting the future
Marketers getting distracted by Purpose with little empirical support for it
The ethical reason we should be focussed on the best return on marketing
Byron responds to Peter Field’s Purpose research
The top marketing myths exposed by How Brands Grow
The No.1 surprise in How Brands Grow
Why your customers are mostly the same as your competitors
The law of Double Jeopardy and why we are over exposed to our own brands heavy buyers
The paradox of very small brands having a larger customer base than expected
Physical and Mental availability overlap
How similar the top brands look vs ten years ago
Lucozade sugar tax backlash and how that proved the laws of marketing
The surprising importance of light and very light buyers
Why a lot of your sales come from people who haven’t bought you for at least a year
The importance of not changing your design
Whether the laws vary depending on category
Why market research is designed to highlight difference rather than similarity
The importance of distinctiveness and being remembered
What Levitt, Kotler and Akker got wrong about differentiation
Why even bankers can’t tell their banks apart
The power of pink concrete mixers
Asking an 8 year old to tell you what’s different about your brand
The real role of advertising for your brand
How search works just like point of sale to catch people as they fall
How the laws remain the same in B2B
Why Apple isn’t your typical brand when it comes to selling product differentiation
Why Ehrenberg Bass has just own distinctive asset
Why fruit doesn’t need packaging
The biggest unanswered question in marketing
Plans for Ehrenberg Bass to make training available to marketers
What Byron missed out in How Brands Grow
The importance of marketing the research and highlighting the implications
Describing Mark Ritson as the best business journalist in the world
What Byron thinks about the environment and the role of marketing in it

How to build a digital brand – Abba Newbery, CMO Habito

Jon Evans — Mon, 24 Jan 2022 17:36:55 +0000

Abba is the CMO at the FinTech start up Habito, the fastest growing online mortgage broker in the UK. Prior to Habito, Abba worked as director of strategy at News UK, pioneering the moves towards digital content and as a planner at agencies UM and Carat.

What we covered in this episode:

Begging Dan the founder for a new job
How Habito are disrupting the Mortgage market
The power of anger and frustration to fuel business
Convincing Uncommon to be a founding client
Taking inspiration from Skateboard art and Santa Cruz
How to make mortgages ‘gnarly’
Switching off advertising due to too much demand
How to measure the impact of your campaign
Why Habito went straight to TV as a channel
How mortgages can ruin your sex life
Producing the mortgage Karma Sutra
Writing an erotic novel about mortgages
Why Habito sponsored the gnarly world of Skateboarding UK
What it takes to train for an Ironman
Business lessons from Ironman
The generosity of the UK Fintech scene
Abba’s top advice for getting into Tech
How to create ‘strategic serendipity’
Where to go for a 7 x salary mortgage

How to be more creative - Kev Chesters

Jon Evans — Thu, 06 Jan 2022 15:35:55 +0000

Kev Chesters is the co-founder of Harbour Collective and co-author of "The Creative Nudge: Simple Steps to Help You Think Differently". Previously Kev has been Chief Strategy Officer at Ogilvy UK, Head of Planning at W+K and Planning Director at S&S.

What we covered in this episode:

How Kev got sued by Dr Dre
Bumping into famous people in urinals
Why creativity in business really matters
The power of advertising to sell jeans
Why creative is not the same as making ads
The creative power of business constraints
How dancing horses can sell mobile tariffs
The feel good power of internet memes
Why creativity is the underdog’s most competitive advantage
How short deadlines actual reduce creativity
Why nothing good ever came out of a workshop
The importance of never giving up
Jon’s most creative achievement with no budget
What would you do if your budget was your Dad’s money
The power of discontent to drive creativity
How being scared signals real creativity
The tyranny of average that holds us back from being brave
Why creative is the only key to progress
How to create the conditions for creativity to thrive
Why anybody can be creative in the broadest sense
The twin conspiracy of biology and societal conditioning
The power of positive dissent and why consensus should be killed
Why ‘the meeting’ is never the actual meeting
What you can learn from the Devil’s advocate
The importance of failure to our success
Getting used to the feeling of fear
Creative nudges that will help you become more creative
How algorithms are great for efficiency but terrible for exploration
The importance of being unreasonable
What we can all learn from Lady GaGa

Tony’s Chocolonely: creating a slave free chocolate brand - Ben Greensmith

Jon Evans — Wed, 22 Dec 2021 07:26:58 +0000

Tony's Chocolonely is on a mission to make chocolate free of child-labour and slavery worldwide. I catch up with Lord Chocolonely III, or Ben Greensmith who runs Tony's in the UK about what it's like to run a mission-focused challenger brand in 2021.

About Ben

Ben started his career in food and drink over 20 years ago at IRI and then working for Unilever in a mixture of sales and category management roles. He joined innocent drinks in 2007 and was there for 8 years, holding a number of senior commercial roles and helping build the UK business that was eventually sold to Coca-Cola in 2013 for £0.5 billion. He left in 2015 to join Proper Snacks, most recently holding the position of Chief Operating Officer. Ben has been working for Tony’s Chocolonely since September 2018 as employee number 1 in the UK and is responsible for leading the business in the UK and Ireland. His official job title is Lord Chocolonely iii.

About Tony's

At Tony’s Chocolonely our mission is to make chocolate free of child-labour and slavery; not just our chocolate but all chocolate worldwide. Tony’s has been around for 15 years in our home country, the Netherlands, where we’re now the number 1 brand with a 20% market share. Tony’s launched in the UK in January 2019 and already the 6th biggest chocolate bar brand and the fastest growing.

What we covered in this episode

Being named Lord Chocolonely iii
How the packaging was invented in 15mins
The truth about inequality in the cocoa supply chain
The food unwrapped programme that inspired Tony’s
How Tony prosecuted himself for crimes against chocolate
The lonely battle to end child labour that created Chocolonely
The principles that ensure Tony’s helps make production slave free
Why Tony’s wants the competition to copy them
Challenging the removal of an endorsement by Slave Free Org
The different ways Tony’s are making an impact on living wages
Why Tony’s bars are created with unequal chunks
How Ben convinced Tony’s to let him launch the brand in the UK
Creating a £30m chocolate business in just 3 years
Challenger brand lessons from Tony’s
How Tony’s rate of sale compares to the Chocolate giants
The price per gram of Tony’s and how it compares
Creating headline news with an Advent calendar
SPOILER ALERT: some days may contain extra chocolate
Celebrity endorsement for the calendar
Customer reaction to the missing chocolate on Day 8
Getting on Have I Got News For You
What should be making the news
Results of Uncensored CMO poll asking whether it was a good move
Why Tony’ back a sugar tax and High Sugar, Fat & Salt (HFSS) legislation
Answering the challenge of being responsible for making people fat
How to protect your culture as your business grows
Crazy about chocolate and serious about people
The power of healthy dissatisfaction
How to be more outspoken in 2022
The importance of fitness to create energy for the demands of the job

How Direct Line won the Marketing Week Grand Prix 2021 - Mark Evans, Direct Line

Jon Evans — Tue, 14 Dec 2021 15:29:30 +0000

How do you run marketing for one of the best known insurance brands in the UK, Direct Line? That's exactly what I find out from their CMO, Mark Evans, who has been at the company for a decade.

What we covered in this episode:

Starting a podcast during lockdown
Where Mark gets his energy from
The importance of being tuned into your purpose
Career lessons from Jimmy Carr
Why you should always coach from a position of strength
What you can learn from a World Cup winning Rugby squad
Lessons from being made redundant 4 times
Why you should embrace your failure and learn from it
How Mark survived a decade as CMO at Direct Line
Why you should fire yourself every 18 months
Whether it’s better to work for a Marketing or Finance CEO
Why marketing needs to be more than the ‘colouring in department’
The importance of knowing your numbers
Why Direct Line decided to retire Winston Wolf
The success trap - improving your game even when you are winning
How Direct Line positioned itself for success
Flipping ‘last brand standing’ to becoming the ‘first brand standing’
Discovering the importance of insurance the hard way
How covid changed the new ‘We’re on it’ campaign
Topping the charts on the System1 insurance category
Why it’s worth sticking with the same agency
Who is tipped to be the next Superhero
Record profits in a tough year
How Churchill make Insurance feels effortless
Churchill’s plans to Chill some more in 2022
The power of music to change our the audience feels
Marks most popular podcast episode on ‘oh the places we go’
The importance of being true to your audience

Follow me:

Contact me:

Website | www.uncensoredcmo.com
Email – jon@uncensoredcmo.com

How Yorkshire Tea became Britain’s No.1 Tea - Dom Dwight

Jon Evans — Wed, 01 Dec 2021 06:00:00 +0000

Dom Dwight former editor & journalist who, just over a decade ago, discovered a passion for doing marketing properly, most notably through Yorkshire Tea but with a growing focus on coffee for Taylors of Harrogate. He's on a mission to prove that brands can connect with consumers in a way that benefits business, people, and (if it's not too ridiculous) the world.

What we covered in this episode:

What a Proper Yorkshire Tea business card would look like
From journalist to CMO of the UK’s best loved Tea brand
Starting out on Twitter in 2008 to connect with ex pats who love tea
Going from No.3 Tea brand to No.1 in just a couple of years
Transforming market share from 13% to 33%
Yorkshire Tea for Yorkshire people using Yorkshire water
Why communication was the strategy to unlock growth
How social media informed Yorkshire Tea’s tone of voice
The serious case for more humour
Discovering the ‘where everything’s done proper’ idea with Lucky Generals
Why targeting new users was critical for brand growth
How well known Yorkshire celebrities helped the brand reach new users
Getting Sean Bean to run the company induction
Using the Brownlee Brothers for deliveries
Asking Michael Parkinson to do your interviews
Hiring Kaiser Chiefs to produce the hold music
Focussing on quality over quantity for Ad production
Turning the Advertising engines off during covid but gaining some useful tailwinds
Jon tests Dom on his ability to predict which Ad perform best on System1
The power of movement to capture our attention
The importance of creative instincts when making a great ad
Why trust is so important when delegating to your team
How Yorkshire Tea discovered a sense of humour
In house social on a budget vs agency high production
The power of low ego at Lucky Generals
Inventing the social distancing teapot during lockdown
Quietly going carbon neutral and painting the story on pack
The importance of culture to the performance of the brand
Time invested in genuinely asking ‘how people are; that supports during challenges
The Importance of a stable management team over the long term
Turning loyal brand drinks into advocates to recruit new ones
Customer complaints about not screening the full version of the Sean Bean TV ad
Debating which Christmas ads work and which don’t
Praising the power of M&S ‘this is no ordinary’ Advertising
Yorkshire Tea’s ambition take on the World

Punks, Purpose & Profit - the biggest marketing stories of 2021 - Russell Parsons, Marketing Week

Jon Evans — Wed, 24 Nov 2021 06:58:11 +0000

In this episode I talk with editor-in-chief of Marketing Week, Russell Parsons. We talk about our favourite news stories of the year, the Mark Ritson effect and if we should still be putting "digital" in job titles.

Russell's Bio:
Russell is the award-winning editor of the UK’s most prominent marketing title. He is responsible for leading Marketing Week’s content strategy across several platforms. Russell is also a trusted authority on marketing issues, delivering keynote speeches and hosting and appearing on panels at industry events. He first joined Marketing Week as a reporter in 2009.

What we covered in this episode:

• How Russell became editor-in-chief of Marketing Week
• Making decisions based on effectiveness rather than efficiency
• Discovering purpose back in 2011
• The Mark Ritson effect on Marketing Week
• Why every marketer should claim to be digital first in a job interview
• How Unilever put digital transformation in the CMO remit
• The importance of putting strategy ahead of digital tactics
• Is B2B really that different to B2C
• The one question Mark Ritson always gets asked
• Why we are all B2B marketers but just don’t realise it
• What Peter Field really said about Purpose
• The importance of demonstrating business impact
• How Direct Line have focussed on their real purpose
• The biggest bit of good news for every Marketer
• Putting performance into brand and brand into performance
• Building the world a better funnel with Tom Roach
• Russell’s mission to make Marketing Week as nerdy as possible
• If its fundamental and flawed it gets read
• Why all models are wrong but some are useful
• Fake gold BrewDog cans, ASA bans and employee letters
• Why negative BrewDog stories might create a recruitment problem
• Russell’s favourite Christmas ad of 2021
• The case for Aldi being the quintessential Christmas ad
• Predictions for what we will be talking about in 2022

Planet saving Aston Martin’s and Transport for Humans - Rory Sutherland, Ogilvy

Jon Evans — Wed, 17 Nov 2021 06:00:00 +0000

Rory's Bio

Rory Sutherland is the Vice Chairman of Ogilvy, an attractively vague job title which has allowed him to co-found a behavioral science practice within the agency. Before founding Ogilvy Change, Rory was a copywriter and creative director at Ogilvy for over 20 years, having joined as a graduate trainee in 1988. He has variously been President of the IPA, Chair of the Judges for the Direct Jury at Cannes, and has spoken at TED Global. He writes regular columns for the Spectator, Market Leader and Impact, and also occasional pieces for Wired. He is the author of two books: The Wiki Man, available on Amazon at prices between £1.96 and £2,345.54, depending on whether the algorithm is having a bad day, and Alchemy, The surprising Power of Ideas which don't make Sense, to be published in the UK and US in March 2019.

Buy the book, Transport for Humans.

What we covered in this episode:

What Rory thinks of Orlando’s new book
The danger of big data, economic theory and the assumption of ergodicity
The strangeness of focus groups
Why we’re all trying to project the ‘right answer’ in public forums
Why reading novels makes you more attractive to the opposite sex
The appeal of true live crime to women
Why we should switch mile per hour to minutes per hour
Are we nearly there yet? The behavioural science of transport
What trains should always leave 2mins late
Why we all need a season ticket from the Isle of White to go anywhere in first class
Why going first class should be based on length of service rather than status
How Brexit is good for employee benefits
How the invention of the tube transformed working class access to jobs
How the breakthrough happens when you’re doing what everyone else isn’t doing
Lucozade Energy and how the perception of change is worse than the actual change
The real WHY and the hidden WHO
Better for the reputation to fail conventionally than succeeds unconventionally
The safe course of action in corporate life is always to be boringly conventional
Quality of reasoning isn’t quality of outcome
What every second hand car salesman knows
The case for making decisions when drunk
How behaviourial science can save the planet
Never solve a problem based on the average
Why we should be able to choose our own contribution to the climate crisis
The climate case for a vintage Aston Martin - known as the Kazzoom-brooks postulate
The case for choosing premium brands over cheap ones
What you can learn from the 4th man in Wales to own a dishwasher
Why you shouldn’t post a picture of your car in social media
Changing the currency of status signalling to solve climate crisis
Rory’s favourite ad campaign of the past 10 years
The case for Germany as a tourist destination
Why VW should have put cup holders in their cars in the US
What we can learn from the German approach to the environment
Why we shouldn’t politicise the environment otherwise it creates reputational loss
Why winning an argument and holding attention are not the same thing

How I got fired twice in one year, the Uncensored CMO story - Jon Evans

Jon Evans — Tue, 09 Nov 2021 15:01:34 +0000

In this special episode of Uncensored CMO, Jon finds himself on the other side of the mic being interviewed by producer James McKinven, who grills him on some unusual career moves. After a promising start in the City Jon makes a large u-turn and decides to become a marketer instead where he goes on to learn his early craft at Britvic. His next big break came at drinks business First Drinks where he notoriously closed down the London underground after causing a terror threat. After recovering from that he returned to Britvic to launch brands in International markets and from there set up a new team of challenger brands. With the entrepreneurs bug he poured his life savings into a management buy in which didn’t end well. From there he went ‘major league’ as Marketing Director of LRS before being fired. Then landing his dream job Brewdog he only managed 3 months before being fired again. But the story ends well as you find Jon as host of Uncensored CMO and CMO for System1 talking about what makes advertising work. In this episode he shares everything he has learnt in his career and why being fired twice in one year wasn’t the setback you might imagine.

What we covered in this episode:

What inspired Jon to go into Marketing
Making the giant leap from Business Finance to Marketing
Getting a big break launching Fruit Shoot at Britvic
How small conversations can make a big difference
Why leaving Britvic was the best way to get promoted at Britvic
Learning the marketing ropes at First Drinks
Causing a terror threat in the London Underground
Appearing on Have I Got News For You
How sometimes it pays to go back
What you discover in International marketing
Creating a challenger brand from within the company
Betting his life savings on a Management Buy In
What you learn when you have nothing
Landing a grown up CMO role at Lucozade Ribena Suntory
Working with a Boxing legend Anthony Joshua
Imposter syndrome when going from nothing to £50m budgets
Managing perception vs reality in a large corporation organisation
Creating the best performing OOH ad ever
How to screw up the Lucozade reformulation
Getting fired despite delivering every single KPI
Jon’s 100 day plan to meet 100 people
Landing his dream job at BrewDog
Getting fired (again) after only 3 months
The power of being unreasonable
Was James Watt a good CEO to work for?
The unexpected source of work after being fired
How Uncensored CMO was born
The episode that made him cry
What happens next for Uncensored CMO and how he wants to help you

The power of feeling seen in advertising - Ade Rawcliffe, ITV

Jon Evans — Mon, 25 Oct 2021 20:32:24 +0100

Ade joined ITV as Head of Diversity Commissioning in 2017. She was later promoted to Director of Creative Diversity, before taking on the role of Group Director of Diversity and Inclusion and joining the Management Board in 2020. She has responsibility for all diversity and inclusion related matters across the Group, including leading, developing and growing ITV’s Diversity and Inclusion strategy on and off-screen. Prior to joining ITV, Ade spent over 10 years at Channel 4, most recently as Creative Diversity Manager, where she supported and nurtured the careers of diverse creative talent and sought out and commissioned a slate of developments which encouraged diversity, risk-taking and innovation. Ade is currently a Trustee of BAFTA, Chair of BAFTA’s Learning and New Talent Committee, and a Trustee of the National Trust.

What we covered in this episode:

From making Shirley Bassey’s tea to Director of Diversity & Inclusion at ITV
The excitement of seeing a black person on screen in the 80’s
Advice for how to get into TV
Being inspired by the arrival of Channel 4
How Ade created diversity on and off screen at Channel 4
Thanks for the warm up – positioning the Paralympics in 2012
How Channel 4 led the change throughout the entire industry
How the Paralympic advertising beat the Olympics
The impact of the pandemic on Diversity & Inclusion
Talent is equally distributed so cast your net wide
Hiring the best talent vs the people we are most familiar with
You can’t be what you can’t see and the importance of role models on screen
ITV’s role is to tell a story for everyone
Telling someone’s story well rather than everyone’s story badly
How off screen diversity has been transformed
Learning about other people’s culture through drama
The opportunity for more action on social class and disability
Why we should stamp out unpaid work experience
Top advice for creative Diversity change
We are changed when we are seen as we are changed by what we see
Proving the commercial case for Diversity in the Feeling Seen report
What is good for society is also good for business
Nike Toughest Athlete and the power of seeing black pregnant women on TV
The power of the wonderful everyday inspiration from Ikea
Why it will be good when we no longer have to reference a person’s race
The importance of doing your cultural research
Telling fresh stories can be a brilliant ways to stand out
How the Boots ad makes you feel like real life holidays enjoying yourself
Advice to Advertisers to be authentically diverse

Mini Episode - 5 Reasons to "Look Out" - Orlando Wood

Jon Evans — Tue, 19 Oct 2021 17:03:15 +0100

Here's my mini conversation with Orlando Wood, author of Lemon and Look Out where I ask him about 5 key insights from the new book:

why it’s rude to stare and how the fixed gaze took over art and advertising
whether you can actually build a brand online
the serious case for humour
how emotions capture our attention
the surprising power of the finer details

Listen to my longer conversation with Orlando: https://share.transistor.fm/s/9496c9dd
Buy the book: https://ipa.co.uk/knowledge/publications-reports/look-out/

Why it’s time to Look Out - Orlando Wood

Jon Evans — Tue, 12 Oct 2021 01:00:00 +0100

Orlando Wood is Chief Innovation Officer of System1 Group and Honorary Fellow of the Institute of Practitioners in Advertising. He is also a member of the IPA’s Effectiveness Leadership Group. Author of Lemon (IPA, 2019), co-author of System1, Unlocking Profitable Growth (2017), his research on advertising effectiveness draws on psychology and a study of the creative arts.

Orlando’s work has influenced thinking and practice in the research, marketing, and advertising, winning him awards from the ARF (Great Minds Distinction Award), the AMA (4 under 40), Jay Chiat (Gold Award for Research Innovation), ISBA (Ad Effectiveness Award), MRS (Best Paper and Research Effectiveness Awards) and ESOMAR (Best Methodology).

Orlando led the IPA’s Creativity and Effectiveness research for Effectiveness Week in 2018, 2019 and 2020. He has repeatedly worked with Peter Field and the IPA’s DataBank to demonstrate the long and broad effects achieved by emotional advertising, including the performance of fluent devices, a term he coined.

Orlando is a frequent conference speaker and has been published in The Journal of Advertising Research, Admap, and Market Leader.

What we covered in this episode:

Why digital disruption means we need to start ‘looking out’
His last book was a Lemon but it did rather well
How Prof Iain McGilchrist inspired Orlando
What history can tell us about what is happening today
How understanding the brain helps us capture & sustain attention
The left brain argument for right brain creativity
How our culture lost its vitality
The separation of writing a book during lockdown
Orlando reads his own introduction to the book
Its rude to stare. How the stare has been used throughout history
How advertising is starting to reflect art from periods of disruption & conflict
Fake news isn’t new. How the printing press created a publishing revolution
How the industrial revolution created a loss of community
The rapid rise of anxiety and the loss of humour
The different modes of attention and why they matter
Why we can’t see the wood for the trees
We watch what interests us and sometimes that’s advertising
How emotion orientates our attention, encodes in memory & aids decision making
The role of digital to support brand building ‘broad beam’ advertising
Why brand building becomes more important for online businesses
How emotion drives more viewing of advertising in digital environments
The trap of using digital style ‘narrow beam’ advertising on TV
What features in advertising holds attention and drives business effects
The swordfish strangler called Wilford. Why uniqueness creates believability.
Yorkshire Tea and creating connections
Poking fun at rigidity and the serious case for humour
What’s too silly to be said can be sung
How colour grading can change our mood and how effective an Ad will be
The pandemic and why we need a right-brained reaction
The story of a dog and cone and the inspiration for this book
Look Out for the book o Amazon and via the IPA’s website

When Brands Stop Advertising - Dr Nicole Hartnett, Ehrenberg-Bass Institute

Jon Evans — Fri, 01 Oct 2021 16:17:04 +0100

Nicole is an advertising and media researcher with a particular interest in how to design effective advertising content.

Her expertise spans advertising measurement, management and decision making, distinctive brand assets, brand performance metrics and consumer behaviour. She has published in international journals including the Journal of Advertising, Journal of Advertising Research, and the European Journal of Marketing. Nicole also has extensive experience conducting research projects for the Institute’s sponsors across industries and markets, and regularly presents seminars and workshops on various marketing topics.

What we covered in this episode:

Why Marketers are not good judges of advertising
Marketing departments are not better than a coin toss
Intermediate campaign variables don’t often correlate to sales
Why experience doesn’t make you any better at spotting winners
The importance of distinctive assets
Why characters are a dying art form
Why we all need to be a little more Churchill
The case for not changing the creative
What happens when brands stop advertising
Alcohol, babies, pet food & Pandemics
Why scale matters when you go dark
How your trajectory determines how bad going dark will be
What to do when you manage a portfolio and have to cut spend
The long term consequence of going dark
Why you need a range of distinctive assets to aid memory
The power of blackcurrants as a Ribena distinctive asset
Why the high turnover of brand managers is bad for effectiveness
Why How Brands Grow is the one book every marketer should have
Quiet behind the scenes discipline is what matters when everything changes
The comfort of familiarity when it comes to memory
Building your business around what doesn’t change
Are you measuring what really matters
Organisations suffer from short term memory and short datasets
Learning from success and failures over a long time series
Why the insight department need to start letting go
Winning the Boardroom battle with data

The Long and the Short of It - Peter Field

Jon Evans — Mon, 20 Sep 2021 10:28:59 +0100

Peter Field has spent 15 years as a strategic planner in advertising and has been a marketing consultant for the last 20 years. His pioneering work on the link between creativity and effectiveness – such as Media in Focus with Les Binet - has earned Peter a global reputation as one of the Godfathers of Effectiveness.

What we covered in this episode:

How he become ‘Godfather of effectiveness’
Getting fired from two agencies
The evidence based approach to marketing
Creating the IPA database
Origin of The Long and Short of It
The curse of short term thinking
Why brands take time to build
The power of emotion to create connections
The window in which you measure effectiveness is vital
Long term is broad reach emotional creative
Why the 60/40 ratio works
Why brand building matters even more for DTC
The conflation of physical and mental availability on line
The myth of digital replacing brand
Convincing the CFO of the role of brand building
Why investors really get it
Why the ESOV model matters and what it tells us
The impact of brand size on ESOV
The challenge facing new entrants and why challenger brand thinking matters
How economies of scale benefit market leaders
The amplification power of creativity
The tidal wave of disposable creativity
How award judges are celebrating short term activation
Even effectiveness awards lack long term results
The dangers of going dark in a recession
Why we should be more P&G than Coke
Why it’s time to celebrate consistency
The power of strong fluent devices
What happens when brands stop advertising
The one thing we should be talking about which we aren’t
The breakdown in the correlation between media spend and share of voice
Why we should be measuring share of attention rather than share of voice
It’s time to start paying for attention

Peter Field

The Long and the Short of It

The Case for Creativity & Cannes Lions - James Hurman

Jon Evans — Tue, 07 Sep 2021 12:24:09 +0100

Here's the articles before you listen:

Part 1 – The Case for Creativity in Business

Growing up in a world that didn’t recognise the potential of creativity
How Apple ‘Crazy Ones’ Ad inspired James to pursue Advertising
James’ mission to prove the value of Creativity
Why Jon was supposed to have a career as an Actuary
What the research tells us about the role of Creativity on your success
Why we should define effectiveness in hard commercial terms
Establishing a universal definition with the Creative Effectiveness Ladder
Why understanding your commercial contribution will get you promoted
Why the CMO needs to match the certainty and measurability of their Exec colleagues
How to sell a Gorilla playing drums to your business
We overestimate what we can achieve in 1 year and underestimate what we can achieve in 10
The surprising impact on light buyers even on large brands
Very few people are buying right now so you must focus on creating future demand
The seduction of short term performance metrics
How the failure rate of start-ups warn us about the danger of rely on short term metrics only
Why it takes an average of 7 years to have an ‘over-night success’
The importance of using familiarity when launching a new innovation
Why you shouldn’t ditch the old creative if its good

Part 2 – The Controversy over Cannes

How little time CMO’s actually spend on Advertising
Jon shares the story before his Effie and Cannes Lion wins
How Jon created the name for Uncensored CMO on the beach at Cannes
System1 puts Cannes Lion winners to the test
Why James reacted so strongly to my Campaign article
The importance of recognising the power of Creativity in Advertising
How the emotion being created by Cannes winners has changed
The case for picking a side and standing up for your values
Effectiveness awards look back whilst Creative awards look forward
What the Nike winners tell us about Juries decision making
Aldi Kevin the Carrot and the power of consistency
Whether we can judge creative on a first impression only
The importance of authenticity when it comes to purpose
Wisdom of Crowds and how a Nat Rep samples can be a good guide to effectiveness
The power of Excess Creative Share of Voice in addition to standard ESOV
How the opinion of others impacts on our opinion of a brand
The history of Essity’s Bodyform campaign and how agency & client worked together
Peter Field’s Crisis in Creativity and how we have seen a significant shift to short termism
What the role of Creative Awards should be
Why we all need to work towards a longer term view and apply creativity to the health of our business

Go Luck Yourself - Andy Nairn, Lucky Generals

Jon Evans — Wed, 11 Aug 2021 11:51:19 +0100

Andy Nairn is one of the 3 founders of Lucky Generals, a creative company for people on a mission. It's been shortlisted for Campaign's Agency of the Year for 5 years in a row. In 2021, Campaign named him the top brand strategist in the UK, for the 3rd time in a row. Business Insider has also named him one of the top 5 creative people in world advertising. He's won 24 IPA Effectiveness Awards (including the 2005, 2007 and 2010 Grands Prix) as well as the top 2 planning prizes in the USA (Gold Effie and Gold APGUS). And he's just launched his first book GO LUCK YOURSELF, with all the royalties going to help working class kids get a lucky break into the creative industry.

What we covered in this episode:

How lockdown led to Andy writing a book
Why he went from law to advertising
Jon’s ‘lucky’ break creating a new business
Why successful companies use their luck better
Good luck is more how you handle bad luck
How being clear on your purpose helps prepare for bad luck
How Napolean inspired Lucky Generals
The importance of a popular idea rather than PowerPoint slides
Why strategists should make things simple rather than being super intellectuals
Lucky Lockdown and a socially distanced Teapot from Yorkshire
How Lucky General took Yorkshire Tea from No.3 to No.1
Lucky timing and how the Coop strategy would have been much cooler in Swedish
Trolling Tesco with the Coop’s recycling message
Premier league footballers lacing up in support of the LGBTQ community
Lucky dog story and the role of jeopardy in creating a good ad
Making the best Super Bowl ad for Amazon
Why the more boring the category the more interesting you become
How we lost our history and forgot the power of nostalgia
Why lucky mascots are unloved marketing gold
How Lucky Generals got everyone to complete their tax returns
How the navy beat enemy u-boats by using a new paint scheme
What took Taylors so long to put coffee in bags and how they turned this into an advantage
Going commando for a good cause and the power of a beautiful constraint
Lucky legacy and the battle of the bread brands
How they updated the legendary Hovis boy on a bike campaign a won ad of the decade

The fast and the fearless - Nils Leonard, Uncommon

Jon Evans — Mon, 02 Aug 2021 12:44:13 +0100

Nils Leonard has spent over 20 years in the advertising and design industries working at a number of the most recognised agencies in London. In 2017, he founded the Uncommon Creative Studio alongside Lucy Jameson and Natalie Graeme, which aims to be “a creative studio building brands the real world is happy exists”.

This episode is split into 3 parts, including a bonus segment from my recording with Nils over a year ago. Here's what we covered:

Part 1 - Creating brands you wish existed

How Nils turned art into a career
How he found the 1 ad land job at the Job centre
The importance of culture & trust in the turnaround of Grey
Why it’s always the people and not the name above the door you should care about
The importance of being so clear on your mission that people choose to be in the room
How Volvo Life Paint was the inspiration for Uncommon
Why you should invest in your own idea rather than begging others to do it
Mystery project names, secret hotels and being followed by private investigators
How Halo coffee came into the world
Why the stories we tell ourselves manifest who we are
How panic drove the early success for the agency
The power of a website with nothing on it
Walking away from a major new client because it didn’t lead to Uncommon work
Giving young men confidence via the one second suit

Part 2 - The Uncommon work

Why Uncommon’s B&Q campaign brought tears to my eyes
Uncovering a real truth that led to those funny bright orange posters for B&Q
Blowing things up with Reality TV stars for ITV
Why we need to make the Ad break as entertaining as the programme
Backing start ups with an Uncommon accelerator
Moving from advertising to design, experience and new product launches
Why the Olympics needs to hold up a mirror to the world right now
An Uncommon year to win Campaign Agency of the Year
How the Pandemic crisis put creativity into overdrive
The emotion of seeing people in the office again
Nils gives his best advice to CMO’s on how to get to the best work
Painting a picture of cultural success as much as commercial success
Don’t be ashamed of talking about your personal ambition to make an impact in the world
Jim Carey “if you can fail at what you don’t love why wouldn’t you risk trying at something you do”
How fear gives us loopholes to get out of what we should be doing
Why you can’t brief someone else on your dream. Only you can make it happen.

Part 3 - a pre-pandemic view on the world

An early mistake by Nils when he did ‘release copy’ too early how Jon shut down the underground
Why your personal purpose matters and how we are seeing a return to creativity
The Gigabyte landfill of social content that no-body is asking for
How people used to look forward to the Ads as much as the programs themselves
Is the fire in your belly stronger than the fear in your head?
Breaking the internet with BrewDog’s first ever TV Ad
How we entered the age of outrage and sharing what we are offended by
Why you should treat outdoor like Instagram
The woods are burning so make a choice because everything we do is something we don’t do
How making good work is actually a magnet for talent
What the Uncensored CMO’s mission should be to galvanise people to start their own venture
Make a difference in the world because our time is short

Can't Sell, Won't Sell; Why adland has stopped selling and started saving the world - Steve Harrison

Jon Evans — Fri, 16 Jul 2021 11:00:00 +0100

Pick up a copy of Steve's book "Can't Sell, Wont Sell" here.

Steve was European Creative Director (OgilvyOne) and Global Creative Director (Wunderman) either side of starting his own agency, HTW, where, in the seven years the agency operated, he won more Cannes Lions (18) in his discipline than any creative director in the world. His work has subsequently featured in the D&AD Copy Book. He has also authored Changing the world is the only fit work for a grown man; How to write better copy; and How to do better creative work - the latter becoming the most expensive advertising book ever when it traded on amazon for £3,854 a copy.

What we covered in this episode:

Why a propose driven entry will increase your chances of winning a Cannes
Why creative should come up with an idea to dramatise the benefit of the brand and then sell it to the client
How Turkeys beat Lions and what that says about our priorities are
Creative awarded campaigns are less effective than in the entire 24 year history of the IPA database
Do people still believe in advertising’s role in creating demand? We need to see our purpose as commercial again
The drug of fast data. Why we prioritise what is easy to measure rather than what works
Lack of accountability to track and evaluate the impact over the long term
Why you should judge a CMO on year 2
The importance of winning the board room battle
Clients no longer appreciates the time and talent to create great work. The public now to anything they can to avoid advertising. A once powerful business tool is now debased and devalued. Chairman of D&AD.
Dropped commercial purpose for social purpose
Great examples of social and commercial purpose combining
Why social purpose shouldn’t be marketing strategy
First purpose is shareholders and employees
Lazy solution to a complex marketing problem
The insanity of Gillette’s toxic masculinity and how it performed badly against men
How did we disconnect from the audience we serve? 84% are 18-40, 80% AB etc we live in a London centric metropolitan bubble
How regional agencies reacted differently to London ones
Steve’s surprise at the reaction for his book and why he believes social purpose is being pushed by a small clique
Why the boycott of GB News should worry us whatever political side we at
Why Twitter pressure groups shouldn’t dictate your media strategy
Why fear is driving the politicisation of business
How pampers got social and commercial purpose right
Steve’s manifestos for change
Every speech should end with the commercial value of Advertising
A new initiative to make creative effectiveness
Awards panels needs cognitive diversity
What a CMO thinks of Cannes
How people fear speaking up
Steve’s vision for the future of awards

Improving your mental game - Dolvett Quince

Jon Evans — Tue, 29 Jun 2021 00:01:00 +0100

Dolvett Quince is a real inspiration to his millions of followers but it’s not his Fitness that captured my attention, although you cant argue with the chiselled good looks and winning smile, but his mindset that really impresses. Having overcome a very troubled childhood Dolvett has not let any excuse stop him from pursuing what he loves and being successful. In this episode he shares the mindset that shaped him and the habits that helped him become successful. Consider this a workout for your mind.

What we covered in this episode:

Dolvett shares his troubled family background and how it was both a gift and a curse
The impact of being told he would never amount to anything
How facing adversity shaped his outlook on life.
The power of forgiveness and how it sets you free.
Dolvett’s plan to become the next 007
Why giving away everything he knows to other trainers led to his success
Why Jeff Bezos no longer packs his own boxes
How do you scale yourself when you hit maximum capacity
Why he added cheats into his diet – leaning to clean and earning the cheat
Overcoming your perception of yourself and why it’s all in your mind
How he could predict who would succeed on The Biggest Loser
The impact of the Pandemic on his Fitness business and how ‘stopping helps you see’
The power of persistence and joining the 1% club of podcasts
What Dolvett is doing next
Can you stay humble and also be successful?
The power of Self Love to help you succeed
What Dolvett would tell to his 21 year old self
The 3 kinds of people in the WWW, those that Wait, Wish & Will
Changing lives ‘one rep at a time’ and other great quotes
The reason for Dolvett’s next book ‘work out the doubt’
The importance of learning from failure and getting back up and going again
Why the most successful people are those that teach others

Making econometrics like art on a Friday and not maths on a Monday – Dr Grace Kite

Jon Evans — Tue, 22 Jun 2021 00:00:02 +0100

What we covered in this episode:

What is Econometrics and why you do it?
The critical role of people in any econometric project
Cristiano, Coke and the complete misattribution of data
Importance of senior buy-in to an Econometrics project
Making econometrics like art on a Friday not maths on a Monday
Marketing as an investment not a cost
How the data captures the behaviour of people
What Grace learnt when rebranding her business
Why Grace has been turning business down
How Jon created the Uncensored CMO brand in 45mins
Why every tech company has a blue logo
Traditional vs Modern marketing and who is right
Is creative effectiveness really in decline?
How life stage influences media choice more than anything
The Wrong and the Right of it and what the data really says
Why ‘it depends’ is usually the right answer
The importance of evidence over opinion on social media
Does paid search actually lead to sales?
The role of search as a window into consumer demand
Does Share of Search actually predict demand for your brand
The one thing Marketers are not talking about but should be

About Dr Grace Kite

With more than 20 years’ experience, Dr Grace Kite is a business economist who’s worked on more than 120 econometrics projects across all the main advertising buying categories. In each of these categories, she has developed deep knowledge on market trends and the true nature of competition.

Grace is a columnist at marketing week and WARC and a regular speaker on marketing effectiveness. With over 4,000 social media followers, she now appears alongside the likes of Mark Ritson and Les Binet. She believes that knowledge that arises from effectiveness analysis doesn’t get fed back to the people that plan campaigns often enough. Her writing and talks set out to ‘lift the lid’ in a way that normal people can understand.

After earning a PhD in Economics, Grace took on increasingly senior roles at Mindshare, Millward Brown, Holmes & Cook, Mediacom, PHD and OMD. In 2010 she founded the business now known as magic numbers.

Her work has led to twelve IPA Effectiveness award winners plus a Cannes Grand Prix. She was a technical judge for the 2020 IPA awards, and will judge for WARC in 2021.

The power of ideas that don't make sense - Rory Sutherland, Ogilvy

Jon Evans — Mon, 07 Jun 2021 09:01:40 +0100

What we covered in this episode:

Why economics doesn’t explain why people buy things
How the channel can be more important than the message
Why dropping your price should be the most controversial decision you ever make
The book that gave Rory a nudge towards behavioural science
Why 1 x 10 is not the same thing as 10 x 1 from a marketing perspective
Ergodicity. The word every Marketer needs to learn.
Why the better your creative is the less you should target it
Why Effectiveness is not the same as Efficiency
The role uncertainty and risk avoidance plays in choosing a brand
Why Usain Bolt eats McDonalds chicken nuggets
How to charge for creative work
Alchemy. How marketing can add as much value as the product itself.
Why it’s time we appreciated Country music and Worthers originals
How David Ogilvy described people who don’t respect the consumer
Why being over 40 in Marketing means you must be brilliant
The case for moving out of London
Why students should be allowed to spend their student loan on anything
Find out something Rory has never told anyone, it might surprise you!

How I created the most successful agency of the 90’s - Rupert Howell, HHCL & Partners

Jon Evans — Wed, 19 May 2021 08:17:17 +0100

Rupert Howell is one of the founders of the advertising agency HHCL & Partners famous for campaigns for Tango, The AA, Ronseal, First Direct and Go amongst to name just a few. They were awarded ‘Agency of the Decade’ by Campaign in the 1990’s and experienced phenomenal growth for over a decade before being sold to Chime.

We covered so much ground in this bumper 2 hour episode, so here's the list of what we touched upon:

How Rupert made HHCL the best agency of the 90’s
Ruperts New Business Mantra – Honesty. Respect. Trust.
Why saying ‘I don’t know’ and ‘we got it wrong’ is so important
How the agency’s sole focus is Advertising but the Clients sole focus is the business
Why new business should always be separate to the day to day account management
How Rupert became ‘the finest new business director of all time’
How to win a pitch even after you have lost it
Why the pitch process begins with the phone call and only ends when its announced in Campaign
The sole purpose of the pitch is to win and not to solve the clients business problem
Why HHCL had a strike rate of 65% for new business
What the company annual report can tell you for the pitch process
Why you should try and get your customer promoted
How Carling Black Label inspired the most successful Tango Advertising of all time
How Tango destroyed Fanta and forced Coke to withdraw it from the market
How a call from a Surgeon led to the Tango Slap commercial being withdraw from market
Why the ‘4th Emergency Service’ transformed The AA and how the bold idea was sold in
How spending time with an AA team out on a call led to the idea
The importance of winning your internal teams and why they matter as much as your customers
Interrogating the product until ‘it confesses its strength’
Why the harder you practice the luckier you get is just as true for an agency
The real hard yards of the start-up phase that meant not taking a day off in 3 years
How tabloids create controversy and how to respond to it
Why relationships are the secret to really succeeding in business
Turning down offers to sell the agency including a £1million bribe
Why HHCL accepted an offer from Chime with the support from Sir Martin Sorrell
Why so few agencies ever succeed after being acquired by a network
Why HHCL was never the same after Rupert left and why he would never go back
The importance of timing for Founders handing over to the next generation
Dealing with bullies, bribary and negotiating an exit from McCann with a boat & DB9 as consolation
Which celebrities are still speaking to Rupert after he left ITV
Why social media is driven by click bait and negative headlines
Why you should give up the news, except perhaps local news
The Pros and Cons of a British free press
How to get a non-exec role

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Email – jon@uncensoredcmo.com

Why Does The Pedlar Sing? - Paul Feldwick

Jon Evans — Thu, 06 May 2021 17:13:09 +0100

“the buying of time or space is not the taking out of a hunting license on someone’s private preserve, but it is the renting of a stage on which we may perform” - Howard Gossage

This is just one of the tremendous quotes contained in Paul Feldwick’s intriguingly titled new book ‘Why Does the Pedlar Sing?’ about what creatives really means in Advertising.

Here's what we covered in this episode:

How a Shakespear play inspired the title of the book
A short history of Advertising and the different models used
The importance of Daniel Kahnemans availability and affect heuristic
The Adland myth that entertainment doesn’t sell
Showmanship and why we should all be more like PT Barnum
Why bad research forces you to do one thing whilst actually doing another
Barclaycard and the most honest case history of making an Ad ever written
How Rowan Atchison inspired one of the greatest Ads ever made
Why any process of discovery will involve a lot of trial and error
How PT Barnum created Fame for his Jenny Lind Tour
Why celebrity fame and brand building are far more similar than people care to admit
Why we should be talking about Fame rather than Mental Availability
What we can learn from Strictly Come Dancing
“I had more energy & ingenuity” The importance of energy in creating & sustaining success
The 4 different facets of Fame that are critical for success
Paul’s manifesto for reclaiming Creativity

Why every CMO needs a crisis to thrive - Damian Symons, Clear M&C Saatchi

Jon Evans — Mon, 29 Mar 2021 16:12:24 +0100

Damian Symons is the CEO of Clear M&C Saatchi and author of 'From Choas to Clarity', which we reference a bunch in this conversation. He shares some of the excellent insight gained from this study of over 700 CEO’s and CMO’s into the changing role of the CMO over the past year and more.

What we covered in this episode

How aligned is the CEO and CMO when it comes to business priorities?
Why is the CMO a lot more influential now than a year ago?
How a crisis makes you a lot more connected to your customers and colleagues
How business strategy and the actions required to deliver it get easily disconnected
Why Marketing needs to be much more than just ‘colouring in’
Why CMO’s need to be more accountable for both short and long term investments
How CEO’s become more focussed on the long terms whilst demanding short term action from their CMO
The importance of a clear narrative, clear evidence and a clear short, medium and long term goals
Why successful CMO’s aren’t always the best marketers
How you can make this crisis the best thing that ever happened to you
The failure of CMO’s to nurture talent and why no-one wants the job
The 4 point plan to create clarity from chaos

How to punch above your weight - David Thomas, Commercial Director, Southampton FC

Jon Evans — Fri, 04 Dec 2020 08:00:00 +0000

Confession time. As a Saints fan, this is certainly a case of mixing business with pleasure. But bear with me for a moment. A year ago Saints suffered the worst defeat in premier league history going down 9-0 at home to Leicester. For most clubs this would have meant firing the manager and sparking an inevitable tumble into relegation and financial uncertainty. But not Southampton. They stuck by their man and a year later are challenging at the top of the Premier League briefly going top on the same day as this interview was recorded (obviously my motivational skills were critical ….). So what does this have to do with Marketing? Well, it turns out quite a lot! Most of us will have faced a giant setback at some point (if you haven’t then maybe you not trying hard enough!) and how you respond is one of the most important things you’ll ever do in your career. Understanding the importance of your belief and values, the role consistency plays, communicating much more than usual, learning to play as a team etc. In this episode, I meet David Thomas, Commercial Director to find out what has transformed Southampton as a Football Club and what you can learn from it.

Here's what we discussed:

How the greatest defeat in Premier League history led to Saints challenging the best
What Premier League managers and CMO’s have in common and the importance of consistency
The secret to why playing behind closed doors might be playing into Saints hands
The Southampton Way – the role of walking the talk in the transformation of the club
How a good strategy means you can handle a few knocks without losing your way
Why Saints chefs made over 1000 meals a week during lockdown
How the sport sponsorship model had to be turned on its head and why it shouldn’t be called sponsorship
The need for accountability and ROI for any partnership to succeed
Why Saints have the ‘John Lewis’ of kit launches and the most engaged social media of any club
How values and belief are at the heart of any great Challenger brand
Why the club going into Administration led the foundations of success today
Turning potential into excellence and the importance of not punishing failure
Why one of the most capped England women chose to coach the Saints women in the 6th tier!
How Saints are tackling racism in football.
A top 6 finish versus an FA Cup appearance

Achtung! How to create and sustain attention - Orlando Wood, System1

Jon Evans — Sun, 18 Oct 2020 16:00:00 +0100

Here's what we covered in this episode:

Who is Orlando and what is Lemon all about?
Have the insights in Lemon changed on the back of the Coronavirus crisis?
How emotion plays out in online video
Why emotion is imperative online when you only have 6 seconds to capture people's attention
Why you don't just need to be rational because your ads are targeted
Brands should be using online advertising not only for activation, but also for brand building
Examples of brands and ads doing this well
How advertising is similar to writing a novel and art
Why we've lost some humility in our advertising
What the vital ingredients are to make online advertising work effectively

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Mark Ritson - The s**t, the pipe, and what to do with it

Jon Evans — Fri, 21 Aug 2020 10:44:52 +0100

Here's what we covered in this episode:

Find out what inspired Mark to switch the actual classroom for the virtual one
How he ended up being the old, rich guy with a wine collection he used to laugh at
What he thinks of the 50% of Marketers that have no professional training
Why it's now time we all just all ditch the ‘D’ word and get back to Marketing
Find out what every normal person knows about Advertising that Marketers pay good money to figure out
Discover the most important factors in marketing effectiveness and why its time to think about the s**t we put through the pipe
Why a recession is exactly the time you want to be increasing your spend
Why you should never confuse a change in consumer context for a change in consumer behaviour
“Tell me what hasn’t changed and I will build a business around that” & other great quotes to counter the constant stream of ‘everything's changed. Buy this book’ hype
Discover why Mark believes the smartest people are not the ones sat around the boardroom table
Find out why most CMO’s are more C than M and are not always the best marketers in their team
The secret to CMO success is 80-90% politics over marketing
The dangers of Canadian morning TV after a big night out
We round off the episode finding out why Jon got fired after a 6-month ‘walk of shame’

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Website | www.uncensoredcmo.com
Email – jon@uncensoredcmo.com

Mark Ritson:

Why we must focus on what matters - Mark Borkowski

Jon Evans — Wed, 01 Jul 2020 17:30:00 +0100

Mark Borkowski is PR written large. He represents international celebrities and corporate heavyweights and is a sought-after commentator on the world of celebrity, the Media and spin.

I recorded another episode with Mark not too long ago but it didn't feel right releasing it amidst the pandemic, so I caught up with him again.

In this episode we covered:

Why business is booming for Borkowski
How they've handled the shift to fully remote
The role of celebrities during the crisis
Why Boris' message and tone was poor
What key advice would Mark give everyone

Why it’s time for a new brief - Alex Myers

Jon Evans — Thu, 25 Jun 2020 17:00:00 +0100

What we covered in this episode:

Why some brands have accelerated their growth with 3 years of market progression in 3 months, while others hit hard
How those brands that have gone dark and said nothing will be worst affected
Why Brewgooder’s work during the crisis has been impressive
How brands can do things without looking like they’re just jumping on the COVID bandwagon
Are there any signs of things getting better for clients?
How has Manifest changed in the past 3 months and what is going to stay permanent
Why they love the office
Advice - write your brief. There is an opportunity for you to recast your brand in the ‘new normal’. We won’t ever get a chance to hit the reset button again!

An uncommon approach to the crisis - Lucy Jameson

Jon Evans — Tue, 16 Jun 2020 17:00:00 +0100

In this episode we discuss:

Brewdog's hand sanitiser
ITV's Clap From Our Carers campaign
Why Uncommon are making candles
How Boris could have handled his messaging better
What advice Lucy would give people in advertising
Why this recession presents an opportunity

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Email – jon@uncensoredcmo.com

Why there has never been a better time to advertise - Kate Waters, ITV

Jon Evans — Wed, 27 May 2020 15:00:00 +0100

Kate joined ITV in 2019 in the newly created role of Director of Client Strategy and Planning, with a remit to help ITV Commercial build broader and deeper relationships with advertisers. A creative strategist by background and a highly respected and well known strategic leader with twenty years’ experience across a range of communications disciplines from advertising, to PR to digital, Kate has worked across sectors as diverse as automotive, retail, government and public sector, FMCG and financial services. Kate has written / contributed to award winning IPA Effectiveness entries for Co-op Food Retail, Public Health England Tobacco Control and Stoptober.

In this episode we covered:

What is the impact on the team with remote working?
How has TV and ITV in particular changed (programs/advertising/production etc)
I see viewing figures up so isn’t this a good thing?
Clap for Carers – well done! What was the idea behind that
People’s Ad break – tell me more …
Are you seeing Advertising changing?
Any sign of Advertisers coming back?
What advice would you give brands now?

The impact of covid-19 on an ad agency - Ian Millner

Jon Evans — Tue, 26 May 2020 17:00:00 +0100

Ian Millner is global CEO and co-founder of Iris - one of the most successful independent agencies in the UK. He set the agency up 20 years ago as a partnership with his co-founders and it now boasts some of the world’s most famous brands such as Samsung and Adidas. A genuine multi-disciplinary agency with offices around the World iris have successfully moved with the times.

In this episode we cover

Introduction – how Ian is doing!
Impact – how the virus affected business
Challenges – what have been the biggest challenges this crisis has created for the agency, given the budget cuts
Opportunities – have there been any opportunities arise from the pandemic?
Team – what has been the impact on the team? How should you lead others remotely?
Future – how do we look to the future and stay positive?

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Website | www.uncensoredcmo.com
Email – jon@uncensoredcmo.com

Creative effectiveness in a crisis - Orlando Wood

Jon Evans — Wed, 13 May 2020 08:00:00 +0100

Orlando Wood is the chief innovation officer at System1, and author of the IPA's best-selling book, Lemon. He also happens to be my colleague.

What we cover:

What is Lemon all about?
How right-brained attributes in advertising can help long term brand building
What impact will the Coronavirus have on the left-right brained way we think of the world?
Should you continue doing the 'Covid-Ads' or should you stick to what you know?
Can old Ads really be effective? Should brands go into the archives?

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Website | www.uncensoredcmo.com
Email – jon@uncensoredcmo.com

How to stay positive during the crisis - Simon Dent & Ben Bidwell

Jon Evans — Wed, 06 May 2020 15:00:00 +0100

About the guests:

Simon Dent
Simon Dent is a former sports lawyer and founder of Dark Horses, a sports marketing agency. Simon had experience of mental health problems in his 20s and after launching a couple of failed businesses he finally got it right with Dark Horses. Dark Horses, the sports creative agency, is the fifth fastest-growing creative agency in the world.

Ben Bidwell
Ben, otherwise known as The Naked Professor, is a mindset coach, writer & public speaker who is pioneering a revolution to change the stigma about mental health. He invites his audience to connect more with their emotions whilst empowering the men in the room to retain their authentic masculinity.

What we discussed

Introduction – who are our guests and how did they get to where they are
Impact – how has COVID impacted on a fast-growing agency?
Challenges – what have been the biggest challenges this crisis has created for the agency?
Opportunities – have there been any opportunities arise from the pandemic?
Team – what has been the impact on the team? How should you lead others remotely?
Future – how do we look to the future and stay positive?

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Website | www.uncensoredcmo.com
Email – jon@uncensoredcmo.com

How Direct Line are marketing during Covid-19 - Mark Evans

Jon Evans — Mon, 27 Apr 2020 12:00:00 +0100

Mark Evans is the Managing Director, Marketing & Digital at Direct Line and has been at the company for over 8 years. He's seen some ups and downs but has never seen a challenge such as the Coronavirus. How has the company been impacted, what challenges have they faced and what opportunities can come from this?

What do we cover in this episode?

Introduction – who is Mark Evans and how did he end up in this position
Impact – how has COVID impacted on DLG? It happened on the tail end of a major relaunch of the Direct Line brand
Challenges – what have been the biggest challenges this crisis has created for Direct Line? How are they responding to these?
Opportunities – what opportunities have emerged through this? Are people taking insurance more seriously?
Media – will Direct Line continue to Advertise? Wil the message change?
Team – what has been the impact on the team? How should you lead others remotely?
Future – what's the outlook for the economy and their sector? Short v Long term

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Website | www.uncensoredcmo.com
Email – jon@uncensoredcmo.com

New series: marketing in crisis

Jon Evans — Tue, 21 Apr 2020 16:25:00 +0100

Welcome back everybody to the Uncensored CMO in rather different circumstances this time. So we were nicely underway with recording season 2 and we had interviews with Rory Sutherland, we had Mark Borkowski on there, Nils Leonard from Uncommon.

But you know what? It just didn't seem right to go out there with season 2 as planned when we're all in the middle of a crisis and our minds quite frankly or are elsewhere.

So what I thought I'd do instead was bring you some Covid-related catch-ups with industry leaders from different sectors. PR experts, CMOs running businesses with big P+Ls and thought leaders in the industry people like Orlando Wood, author of Lemon. I really want to hear their perspective on how should we be responding to this crisis?

What advice can they give us about how they are managing through what is unprecedented times with high level of uncertainty about what the future is going to hold?

So rather than give you the whole hour as I did in season 1 these are going to be tight 20-30 minute interviews with people that can offer their perspective advice.

Another thing you'll probably notice is a slightly different sound because we're recording from home, so bear with us this season. It might not be quite the rich experience that you're used to if you listened to season 1, but we'll be doing our very best and producer James will be working his considerable magic from his home office. And on the other side will bring you season 2.

Challenges of being a tech entrepreneur - Jess Butcher

Jon Evans — Mon, 16 Dec 2019 16:16:00 +0000

Jessica Butcher MBE is a tech entrepreneur, angel investor, speaker and mentor. She is perhaps most famous as one of the co-founders of Blippar, a pioneer in Augmented Reality which was once valued at over $1billion and described as one of the 20 most disruptive brands in the world. She is the recipient of numerous awards including BBC’s Top 100 women.

In this episode:

How falling in love led to her big break as an entrepreneur
How Blippar created Augmented Reality and what it was like on board a rocket ship that went from 4 to 350 employees and a valuation of $1billion.
Why someone with a degree in history wanted to be a tech entrepreneur
Which client inspired them to create Blippar enabled business cards
Having 3 children in 4 years and how that changed her priorities
The challenge of scaling a business and knowing your limits
How social media is promoting polarisation, narcissism and infinite scroll time-wasting and how tech needs to become more humane
We need to identify between healthy and junk technology and treat it as such
Preparing the child for the road not the road for the child
The inspiration behind Tick.Done and how it will help people learn how to do things without getting sucked into infinite scroll
This is part 1 of the interview with Jess and we’ll be returning in Season2 to discuss what it's like being a woman in tech.

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Email – jon@uncensoredcmo.com

Jess Butcher:

How I made BrewDog famous - Alex Myers

Jon Evans — Mon, 16 Dec 2019 16:11:00 +0000

Alex Myers is founder of Manifest who were recently awarded Agency of the Decade for their work making BrewDog famous. Having worked on BrewDog for most of the past 10 years they helped establish the brand as the UK’s most valuable Beer brand (source BrandZ top 75 UK brands) with virtually no paid for media. Manifest have a clear purpose of creating brands that change the world and put their money where their mouth is.

In this episode:

How Alex started a PR agency with no experience at all
Never mind the bollocks here’s Brewdog was Alex’s opening pitch to work for them
Its not what you stand for its what you stand up for that counts
There is no such thing as a boring brief only boring creative
Finding inspiration from roof tiles and why Alex believes his job is to find out why people get up in the morning
Hello my name is Vladimir. Creating a protest beer to promote what BrewDog believe in.
How to make brave the new safe
How Twitter went from a platform for collaboration to a platform for outrage
Having a public spat with James Watt over Punk AF and not getting credit
Why pitching doesn’t work for brands and why CMO’s need to do their research
Strategy should come from your belief and not a rationale
Manifests vision to create brands that change the world
Why Awards are easy to game but do provide a Sat Nav for CMO’s on who is doing good work
Find out who Alex has a professional crush on
Why doing good and having a positive impact should be synonymous with success
Why the best work comes from making every channel amplify the other
What Alex has never told anyone

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Email – jon@uncensoredcmo.com

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How to run an ad agency - Ian Millner

Jon Evans — Mon, 16 Dec 2019 16:04:00 +0000

Ian Millner is global CEO and co-founder of iris one of the most successful independent agencies in the UK. He set the agency up 20 years ago as a partnership with his co-founders and it now boasts some of the world’s most famous brands such as Samsung and Adidas. A genuine multi-disciplinary agency with offices around the World iris have successfully moved with the times.

In this episode

Why agencies get the clients they deserve
The importance of genuine diversity and how it contributes to innovation
Why a good pitcher does not always make a good partner
Finding sources of unfair advantage
When clients make things they wouldn’t buy from an agency
Why Ian can’t stand Ad industry awards
When it makes sense to in-house your agency and out-source your agency
Why Campaign should apologise for backing down on the Nigel Farage front cover
The importance of creating cultural assets in today's social media driven age
Ian reveals his plans to write a book about unspoken social behaviour

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Email – jon@uncensoredcmo.com

Ian Millner

The case for influencers - Arron Shepherd

Jon Evans — Mon, 16 Dec 2019 16:01:00 +0000

Arron is co-founder of The Goat Agency which is the fastest-growing agency in Europe and one of the most successful influencer agencies in the World. He and his co-founders set up the agency 4 years ago with their own money and now employ 130 people around the world and manage around 90 social media campaigns at any one time. Arron has a wonderful personal story and a very compelling pitch for his agency.

In this episode

Arron’s entrepreneurial roots and creating something out of nothing
The fear of not trying is much greater than the fear of failure
Why more people should realise how hard being an entrepreneur is
How they generated 2,000 responses from a £10 investment in their first influencer
What you do when 80% of influencer campaigns don’t work
Why Arron loves the procurement department and he proves the return on investment of an influencer campaign
The benefit of having no experience in your sector
The importance of recruiting talent without experience
How an influencer campaign can make your TV campaign more impactful
How Content & Collaboration are the key to any campaign including B2B
Arron’s vision to build the world’s largest creative agency
Arron reveals his secret new diet

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Email – jon@uncensoredcmo.com

Arron Shepherd

How to be a successful challenger - Adam Morgan

Jon Evans — Mon, 16 Dec 2019 15:59:00 +0000

Adam is the founder of the eatbigfish consultancy and author of Eating The Big Fish which reached the Top100 books in the Amazon charts inspiring a whole generation of challenger brands in the process. Adam is a popular speaker and consults with brands all over the world on how to be a challenger. He has also written The Pirate Inside about building a challenger culture within your organisation and A Beautiful Constraint how to turn your limitations into advantages.

In this episode:

Why being No.2 is better
How he turned the anger of his project being shelved into a career-defining opportunity
Being turned down by Phil Knight and where the idea of a Challenger brand came from
The importance of over-commitment and being obsessed with execution
How Tony’s Chocolonely have become a truly challenger brand
How to be a pirate in the navy without getting fired
What you can learn from a catwalk show and how constraints can turn into your greatest advantage
The curse of data and how it leads us to a decline in creativity
The furtile zero and what to do with no budget
Adam shares his worst career moment
Why the meeting is never really the meeting and why the Japanese fall asleep in meetings
The one thing Adam has never told anyone before

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Email – jon@uncensoredcmo.com

Adam Morgan:

Why we buy what we buy - Richard Shotton

Jon Evans — Mon, 16 Dec 2019 15:54:00 +0000

Richard is author of the No.1 Marketing Book The Choice Factory which was the winner of BBH’s World Cup of Advertising books in 2018 beating some industry heavy-weights. Richard has 20 years of experience in Advertising planning, market research and behavioural science and last year made the big leap to set up a consultancy following the success of his book.

In this episode

How he ended up writing the best-selling marketing book of 2019
Why behavioural science should matter to every marketer
Why rhyming phrases are not just more memorably but also more believable too
How the decline in CMO & agency tenure is impacting on long term effectiveness
How our own experience impacts on our perceptions (the false consensus effect)
The impact of social proof on sales and how to use it
Why you’ll spend less on a night out when paying cash
How making something easy is a huge competitive advantage
Why branded glasses make beer taste better and worth more
Why a 4.5* review beats a 5* review (the pratfall effect)
How many of the best ideas happened by accident but were

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Email | jon@uncensoredcmo.com

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Twitter | @rshotton

The Choice Factory

Uncensored CMO launches on 16th December

Uncensored CMO — Tue, 05 Nov 2019 13:00:00 +0000

When I say CMO what do you think of? I know, for me, I think boardroom politics. I think carefully managed messages. I think slick presentations. But what I don't get is, I don't get an honest answer. I don't get to know what they really think. I don't get to know how have they got where they are today, and what has shaped and influenced their career. And that got me thinking, wouldn't it be great if we had a podcast that asked some of the tough questions that get to the heart of what's going on. One that takes you behind the scenes to see how it really works. That's where the idea of Uncensored CMO came from.

I want to connect you to the best marketers on the planet. The people that have founded and run ad agencies, the people that do the most amazing research and the people that influence people through PR. I want to get to those people and find out how it actually works. Tell me the things that have gone well. Tell me the things that have failed.

Let me give you a little flavour to season one. I'm gonna be meeting people like Adam Morgan who founded the whole idea of challenger brands. I asked him, "How do you make a great challenger brand?"

The whole world of influencers, to me, was quite mysterious, but I went and met Arron Shepherd, he co-founded The Goat Agency, and I asked him about what a successful influencer campaign looks like.

Or, someone like Ian Millner, global CEO and founder of Iris. What's it like running a big ad agency? How do you get great work and how do you measure great advertising? What does a modern brand today have to do to stand out and be successful?

These are just some of the conversations I've been having, and there are loads more to come.

So I really hope you'll listen and subscribe to The Uncensored CMO. I'm gonna be launching this podcast on 16th December so set a notification, remind yourself to subscribe.

You can also follow me on Twitter, @UncensoredCMO. I look forward to having a great conversation with you.