Episodes
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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 -
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 -
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 -
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.
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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 -
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 -
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 brandsPart 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 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 -
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 -
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 - Intro00:00:52 - Why Elfried Samba wears a hat00:03:49 - Elfried’s dissertation on social media00:10:23 - The skills most in demand in 202400:12:36 - Elfried’s early work at Gymshark00:21:11 - The challenges of scaling up00:26:23 - Elfried’s approach to personal growth00:36:01 - How Elfried approaches finding talented people00:41:59 - Why Elfried left Gymshark00:49:26 - Scaling through influencers and community01:00:52 - Power of personal brands -
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 - Intro00:27 - The idea for the beer podcast04:16 - Ad 10: Budweiser08:24 - Ad 9: Budweiser10:43 - Ad 8: Heineken13:56 - Ad 7: Stella Artois18:30 - Ad 6: Corona21:46 - Ad 5: Michelob Ultra25:17 - Ad 4: Carlsberg29:10 - Ad 3: Sam Adams36:36 - Ad 2: Guinness46:05 - Ad 1: HeinekenTop 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) -
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.
Timestamps00:00:00 - 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 -
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 -
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 -
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 -
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.
00:00 - Intro00:43 - Jon’s journey from tax to marketing10:18 - Deciding if you’re more suited to corporate or entrepreneurial life12:35 - Why Jon got fired at Lucozade17:15 - Traits of a confident CMO18:35 - How do you go from tax to research?25:21 - Why Jon chose Richard Shotton as his first guest27:10 - Lesson’s we can take from COVID times30:20 - What makes a great CMO36:49 - Do emotional ads really work?39:44 - Favourite campaign that didn’t perform well with System141:19 - 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!
Timestamps -
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? -
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 -
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 -
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 - Show more
