Episódios
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This week, from the 3rd to the 5th of June, the World Out of Home Organisation (WOO) is hosting its Annual Congress here in London.
The event is expected to draw more than 700 attendees from over 37 countries, and The Media Leader is an official media partner of the conference, occurring during our inaugural OOH Week in Focus.
Ahead of the conference, host Jack Benjamin sat down with the World Out of Home Organisation president Tom Goddard to discuss the state of the global OOH industry.
The pair spoke about how OOH is working to become easier to buy, how it is improving measurement standards, and whether the media channel is telling the right story about itself to advertisers.
Highlights:
4:16: The World Out of Home Organisation's recent goals and priorities
8:28: OOH's digital transformation and consolidation in ownership
12:25: Investment in data and measurement and the need for connectivity and automation
17:25: Regulatory headwinds and tailwinds
21:34: Making outdoor creative again with trust as the North Star
26:55: OOH as a sustainable medium
32:17: How to double OOH's market share: make transactions 'frictionless', collaborate more
Related articles:
OOH reports highest-ever annual revenue in 2025
The reinvention of OOH is accelerating
Why measurable doesn’t always mean meaningful in marketing
Is out-of-home under threat from global regulations?
DOOH: The creative imperative
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Last month, the United Nations in partnership with the Conscious Advertising Network (CAN) launched an issue brief warning the integrity of the global information ecosystem is at a "crisis point".
As Charlotte Scaddan, senior advisor on information integrity at the UN, explained: "Without swift action and guardrails, AI risks accelerating the breakdown of information ecosystem integrity."
But advertisers, the UN believes, are uniquely situated to demand greater transparency and guardrails from AI companies as the likes of OpenAI turn to ad-supported business models to fund their exorbitant costs.
At our Future of Brands conference last month, Scaddan and CAN co-founder Harriet Kingaby joined host and senior reporter Jack Benjamin to unpack the report and make a direct appeal to advertisers to "make information integrity a condition of AI uptake."
Highlights:
1:35: Toplines from the Strengthening Information Integrity: Advertising, Artificial Intelligence and the Global Information Crisis issue brief
4:41: The power of advertisers in the global information ecosystem
7:14: Why advertisers should care about media quality
9:55: Concrete steps advertisers should take when working with tech platforms
Related articles:
UN and CAN warn of AI-driven global information integrity crisis
Social media platforms linked to human trafficking, UN report finds
UK to get ChatGPT ads imminently as OpenAI expands pilot to other territories
Takeaways from the Future of Brands 2026: AI, culture and measurement take centre stage
‘Are we monetising addiction?’ Ad industry faces reckoning following social media addiction lawsuit verdict
Meta admits revenue from fraud and scam ads ‘might’ have accounted for 3-4% of total revenue
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In a new mini-series, former Media Leader editor-in-chief Omar Oakes is joined by former Dentsu International CEO, now AI strategist Hamish Nicklin to argue over the nuances of AI development and its use in the creative industries.
In the series' final episode, the duo debate for and against the prompt: "Goodbye Salesforce and Adobe because AI will end enterprise software."
Taking the “for” side of the argument is Nicklin, while Oakes represents the “against” side, posing sceptical questions.
Nicklin argues that the ability of people to build their own software through vibe coding will undercut SaaS business models, which are becoming too expensive to compete.
Highlights:
1:05: Recent developments in AI: BuzzFeed's sale, Americans hate AI
6:26: SaaSmageddon: Why AI is disrupting software businesses, with valuations collapsing
20:17: Claude Cowork and its plug-ins
33:32: How realistic is replacing everything with vibe coding? The ease of building personal software and how IT might change
51:31: Second-order effects: What about safety and security? What about fixing bad code?
55:07: Verdicts
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With the advent and adoption of AI search, consumers’ online research and discovery behaviours are shifting. How can brands win authority in this new space?
Last month at our annual Future of Brands conference, industry leaders convened in London to unpack the challenges facing brand marketers in a rapidly changing media ecosystem. One such nascent problem for marketers and their agencies: how brands are showing up in large-language models (or LLMs).
Laura Kell is chief data and product officer at Havas Media Network. Marcos Angelides is MD of L’Oreal Lab and head of AI operations at Publicis Media. Olya Dyachuk is global media and data director at Heineken.
The trio sat down with host Jack Benjamin to discuss early efforts in generative engine optimisation, how AI search is forcing agencies to reconsider team organisation, the importance of benchmarking how your brand shows up in LLMs, and what marketers need from AI companies as the likes of OpenAI embrace advertising.
Highlights:
2:05: Where brands and agencies are in their GEO journey: Benchmarking and auditing, testing and learning
11:58: Does GEO require bringing search, social and PR teams together? How agencies should reorganise
15:29: The value of LLMs for audience insights
17:17: The consumer trust issue when manipulating LLM results or placing ads in chatbots
24:17: Brands' relationships with AI companies like OpenAI vis-à-vis Google
Related articles:
Takeaways from the Future of Brands 2026: AI, culture and measurement take centre stage
AI optimisation: The new channel brands can’t afford to overlook
Havas Media Network launches ‘generative engine optimisation’ tool
Agency groups’ AI platforms, explained
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In a new mini-series, former Media Leader editor-in-chief Omar Oakes is joined by former Dentsu International CEO, now AI strategist Hamish Nicklin to argue over the nuances of AI development and its use in the creative industries.
In episode four, the duo debate for and against the prompt: “AI sycophancy will run wild, and it will be bad for business."
Taking the “for” side of the argument is Oakes, while Nicklin represents the “against” side, posing sceptical questions.
While both Oakes and Nicklin agree AI sycophancy is an active problem for business leaders, Nicklin suggests that thoughtful prompting can help ameliorate concerns that chatbots are misleading you to try and keep you happy. These include giving the AI explicit permission to reject ideas and asking chatbots to give feedback as though it is for a third party as opposed to the user.
As Nicklin argues, subordinates can be sycophantic, too, and "sniffing out the bullshit" is already a core skill for business leaders. But Oakes asks: what happens when you "don't know what you don't know"?
Highlights:
2:12: Recent developments in AI: AI-generated music on Deezer, Los Angeles's AI art museum
6:01: What is AI sycophancy and does it mean bad ideas aren't getting killed?
16:52: Four tips for combatting AI sycophancy and making a chatbot a "critical friend"
34:44: How to "sniff out the bullshit" when you don't know what you don't know
45:38: Second-order effects: commercial damage of wrong decisions; impact on psychology, communication standards; AI education
1:00:58: Verdicts
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Is there a more important relationship in our industry than that between the CMO and the CFO?
Given the macroeconomic environment – war, inflation, AI threatening to upend entire industries – how are the the interests of financial leaders changing as they relate to marketing?
Nimmi Shah is a consultant finance director for the media, marketing and PR industries and has worked with major agency groups.
Sameer Modha is the outcome measurement innovation lead at ITV, and one of the individuals spearheading the broadcasters’ in-development outcome measurement solution, Lantern.
The duo join host Jack Benjamin to discuss how financial pressures are having downstream effects on media investment, why outcomes-driven measurement has emerged as the way forward in the boardroom, and how AI is leading to new opportunities and new conundrums for marketers.
Is media still being spent on eyeballs? Or is it being spent on, as Modha puts it, "a receipt that says I got something that I can take to the CFO which will continue to justify my budget".
Highlights:
1:34: How CFOs are navigating volatile macro pressures, and where the CMO fits
9:24: The move to outcomes measurement as a "recepit", and how it's benefitted tech platforms
23:58: Lantern, making TV show up in the nearer term, and the power of platform models
36:37: Are platforms marking their own outcomes homework? How auctions work, and why "the machine knows better than you".
46:48: Implications of the AI cost push: Is AI generating value? Will OpenAI compete with Google?
1:05:19: What happens if finance and media decisions become automated?
Related articles:
How Lantern will bring outcome measurement to TV — with Sameer Modha and Matt Hill
How to make marketing indispensable to the CFO? Focus on incrementality
Marketers must take an ‘investor mindset’ to bridge the CEO-CMO gap, McKinsey advises
Ian Whittaker: How brands can truly ensure their CEO, CFO and CMO work together
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In a new mini-series, former Media Leader editor-in-chief Omar Oakes is joined by former Dentsu International CEO, now AI strategist Hamish Nicklin to argue over the nuances of AI development and its use in the creative industries.
In episode four, the duo debate for and against the prompt: “AI is turning the internet into a sea of slop, and journalists are helping it happen."
In a change from prior episodes, taking the “for” side of the argument is Oakes, while Nicklin represents the “against” side, posing sceptical questions.
"Stories come from people," Oakes insists. But are most journalists well-funded and well-positioned to provide quality reporting today? Can AI be used to help journalists, or is it mostly just being used to produce slop?
Highlights:
1:00: Recent developments in AI: Esquire Singapore's 'interview', CTZN's AI-driven wine
6:58: Is AI useful for journalism? Oakes' experience using AI as an independent writer
26:59: 'Copy, paste, print': Have publishers devalued their own product and made it vulnerable to AI?
46:43: Second-order effects: Impacts on local news, failing business models, transparency and trust
59:56: Verdicts
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This week, The Media Leader is embarking on its first ever Retail Media Week in Focus.
The fledgling channel has been having a moment. Investment in retail media has grown substantially – in 2025, adspend in the channel grew 17.5% year on year, according to the latest AA/Warc figures.
Brands are seeking to join up the ends of the funnel by targeting consumers based on their shopping habits and measuring directly the link between ad delivery and outcomes within closed-loop retail environments.
But, as attendees heard at The Media Leader's Future of Brands event last week, with growth has come some scepticism – is retail media overhyped? Is it just useful for lower-funnel activations? How is it being defined on media plans?
One of the largest retail media players here in the UK is Tesco. Recently, The Media Leader reported that Tesco Media had launched new video ad inventory on its website and app as it looks to offer brand advertising opportunities to marketers.
Tash Whitmey is the managing director of the Tesco Media and Insight Platform. She joined host Jack Benjamin recently via video call to discuss the latest innovations the company is making, the state of the retail media market and how Tesco sizes up to global competitors like Amazon, and whether shopping habits are changing amid macroeconomic turbulence.
Highlights:
4:36: What's driving growth in retail media?
9:11: Innovations in retail media allowing movement up the funnel
15:49: How does Tesco stand up against its competitors, many of which are global?
24:57: Measurement standardisation needed
27:23: How shopping behaviour is changing amid macroeconomic headwinds
Related articles:
Tesco Media launches premium video inventory across website and app
Is AI accelerating Google, Meta and Amazon’s dominance? Takeaways from Big Tech’s Q1
Global partners with Sainsbury’s and Nectar360 on audio measurement tracking
If retail media networks want to talk like ITV, they have to act like ITV
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In a new mini-series, former Media Leader editor-in-chief Omar Oakes is joined by former Dentsu International CEO, now AI strategist Hamish Nicklin to argue over the nuances of AI development and its use in the creative industries.
In episode three, the duo debate for and against the prompt: “AI means you don't need human creativity in ads anymore. You come to a media owner or platform, you tell them your objective, connect your bank account, and everything is done for you."
Taking the “for” side of the argument is Nicklin, while Oakes represents the “against” side, posing sceptical questions.
The argument derives from a claim by Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg made last May that Meta (and platforms like it) will be able to automate the entire planning, buying, and creative process on behalf of advertisers.
As Zuckerberg described, this would be made possible by leveraging the data from billions of ad campaigns across its platforms, including what worked, what didn't, what audiences to target and with what creative.
Just hype, or a reality the advertising industry will need to reckon with sooner rather than later?
Highlights:
00:35: Recent developments in AI: Meta's "Claudenomics" rankings, Anthropic's Mythos
7:08: The technological case for Zuckerberg's argument. Do you just need a bank account, some brand assets, and a partner platform to make an effective ad campaign?
16:11: Is targeting more important than the big idea? Does creative still matter at the bottom of the funnel? What about brand building?
26:56: Unintended consequences: declining trust, impact on production businesses, K-shaped job market
35:47: Is it "intellectual snobbery" to avoid using AI and complain about AI content? Or is the creative process the point?
47:14: An experiment, reversion to the mean, and the power of prompting
52:09: Verdicts
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In March, Meta and Google were found by a Los Angeles jury to have deliberately designed their platforms to be addictive in a way that was demonstrably harmful to a 20-year-old woman known as Kaley.
TikTok and Snap were also previously defendants in the case before agreeing to a settlement ahead of trial. Meta and Google intend to appeal the decision.
The news occurred as political leaders around the world, including here in the UK, have implemented or are considering implementing a ban on social media access for those under the age of 16.
It also came after Meta lost a separate trial that found the tech giant misled consumers about the safety of its platforms and enabled harm, including child sexual exploitation. Meta has further come under scrutiny for admitting to earning billions in revenue from fraudulent ads.
This confluence of events has led to a slow-motion reckoning for the advertising industry, which is responsible for providing ever-growing revenue to these Big Tech companies even as they are found by juries to be intentionally addicting users, leading to real world harms.
Amid the public furore and continued legal backlash, how should business leaders in media and advertising react?
Jess Butcher is the founder of ScrollAware, a not-for-profit aiming to convene business leaders to raise awareness of, and solutions to, online harms.
Butcher, a former tech entrepreneur, sits down with host Jack Benjamin to consider the business community's response to the social media addiction trial verdict.
Highlights:
9:27: The online safety debate: The harms of “ultraprocessed content” versus concerns of moral panic
22:35: ScrollAware’s mission as a “convenor of conversation” about responsibility in the attention economy.
28:44: Why brand managers feel “powerless” in challenging tech platforms – and why they shouldn’t
37:00: The collective action problem in the long tail
41:17: Policy changes to be considered
Related articles:
‘Are we monetising addiction?’ Ad industry faces reckoning following social media addiction lawsuit verdict
Government plans new powers to tackle online harms: ‘No platform gets a free pass’
Meta admits revenue from fraud and scam ads ‘might’ have accounted for 3-4% of total revenue
Social media platforms linked to human trafficking, UN report finds
Isba welcomes Government consultation on online harms: ‘Our hope is that enforcement will mean that more is done’
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In a new mini-series, former Media Leader editor-in-chief Omar Oakes is joined by former Dentsu International CEO, now AI strategist Hamish Nicklin to argue over the nuances of AI development and its use in the creative industries.
In episode two, the duo debate for and against the prompt: “No human will touch a media plan within five years.”
Taking the “for” side of the argument is Nicklin, while Oakes represents the “against” side, posing sceptical questions.
The topic is inspired from comments made by Brian Lesser, the CEO of WPP Media, to staff in March 2025, in which he indicated that, within the next four or five years, there will “probably” be plans that “leave the building” that no planner ever saw.
Some staff, particularly planners, took that to mean their jobs could be at risk. UK CEO Kate Rowlinson later insisted to The Media Leader that Lesser “certainly didn’t say [media] plans wouldn’t be overseen by humans”.
Is it possible for media planning to be fully automated? What would that mean for agencies? Nicklin and Oakes discuss.
Highlights:
00:46: Recent developments in AI: Novels written by AI, using ChatGPT to treat a dog's cancer
6:38: Why AI can dominate media planning and execution: the knowledge base is codified and agent-to-agent transactions are already happening
16:34: What about non-digital planning? What about the need for creativity?
21:43: If you can automate planning, why do you need an agency at all?
24:39: The big pitfalls: insights, relationships
33:17: Brand safety and accountability
40:45: Second-order effects: Role restructuring, retraining, changes to senior management, personal credit
50:38: Verdicts
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One question that we’ve returned to time and again on this podcast and in our coverage, as media practitioners return to time and again themselves, is how to appeal to young people.
Young people who are often hard to reach. They overindex on low-attention social media platforms and, while they generally express a greater openness to and trust of advertising, also worry over how their media diets are shaping their still-forming brains.
One company that has made it its business to reach this exact demographic is LadBible. Founded in 2012 as one of the first scaled social publishing businesses, Ladbible operates channels including Unilad, Gamingbible, Sportbible, Tyla, and, more recently BetchesMedia, which it acquired last year.
Apart from producing editorial content for young people, the company drives revenue through working with brands to develop creative for commercial campaigns.
LA Ronayne is the executive creative director at LadBible.
As other more traditional publishers have increasingly invested in a social publishing arms race, Ronayne sat down with host Jack Benjamin to discuss her team's workflow, what sets social campaigns apart, and best practices for speaking to Gen Z and Gen Alpha.
Highlights:
4:11: The creative process for branded social content: from brief to output
9:02: Working with different social platforms: tracking algorithm changes, stopping thumbs
15:16: Latching onto short-term trends versus long-term culture
20:00: Trust and measuring success
23:06: Where LadBible sees itself in a crowded social publishing market
26:57: What does Gen Z want?
Related articles:
‘Misaligned expectations’ between brands and influencers hamper creator economy
Over two-fifths of influencer ads fail to meet ASA disclosure standards
‘Social as a destination itself’: Inside Mail Metro Media’s two new social publishers
Journalism and creator economy ‘converge’ at The Independent
Can brands become influencers? With Jungle Creations’ Melissa Chapman
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In a new mini-series, former Media Leader editor-in-chief Omar Oakes is joined by former Dentsu International CEO, now AI strategist Hamish Nicklin to argue over the nuances of AI development and its use in the creative industries.
In the first episode, the duo debate for and against the prompt: "AI will replace most white collar jobs, and faster than anyone thinks."
Taking the "for" side of the argument is Nicklin, while Oakes represents the "against" side, posing sceptical questions.
The topic comes as ex-Twitter founder, now Block CEO Jack Dorsey recently stated: "The core thesis is simple: intelligence tools have changed what it means to build and run a company. We're already seeing it internally. A significantly smaller team, using the tools we're building, can do more and do it better, and intelligence tool capabilities are compounding faster every week."
He added: "Within the next year, I believe the majority of companies will reach the same conclusion and make similar structural changes."
Likely? Or just hype?
Highlights:
1:13: Recent developments in AI use: Gaming, data centre scaling, the Grammarly scandal
5:30: Jack Dorsey claims AI will replace entry-level white collar work. Nicklin shares why he might be right.
18:46: The 'coordination tax': Is AI replacing unproductive work, or valuable process?
31:33: The pipeline problem: How does junior talent turn into senior talent?
36:44: Agency business models need to change
38:37: Is AI a cover story for cutting head count?
40:57: Verdicts
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Most AI podcasts tell you one of two things: either AI is going to save the world, unlock human potential, cure diseases, fix the broken bits of capitalism — or that it's going to end the world, homogenise culture, hand power to a handful of companies that have too much of it.
In a new mini-series, former Media Leader editor-in-chief Omar Oakes is joined by former Dentsu International CEO, now AI strategist Hamish Nicklin. The duo thinks both those takes are lazy, and is keen to argue over the nuances of AI development and its use in the media and advertising industries.
Over the next few weeks, Oakes and Nicklin will discuss topics such as weather AI is really to blame for job cuts, whether AI will replaces human media planners, and whether AI will lead to a decline in creative talent.
Episodes of the show will release on Thursdays. In this pilot episode, Oakes and Nicklin lay out the ground rules for their debates to come.
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This episode was produced in partnership with The Guardian.
The World Cup is poised to be the biggest media event of the year in 2026, and media owners have been betting that it will help lift their pocketbooks and grow audiences.
Live sport has become one of the last, best ways for advertisers to reach mass, live audiences centred around a major cultural event, be it on TV, online, on social or in the news.
The Media Leader has spoken with a number of media outlets that view the World Cup as key to their success this year. For The Guardian, the event is not only a major commercial and editorial opportunity, but it is an aptly timed one amid a significant push for US growth.
James Fleetham is the director of advertising at The Guardian and Marcus Christenson The Guardian’s football special projects editor.
For this special partner episode, the pair unpacked the major threads of this year’s World Cup, both as a commercial opportunity and an editorial one.
Highlights:
4:35: What makes the World Cup a unique editorial and commercial opportunity.
9:07: The big stories of this year's World Cup and what makes The Guardian unique from its competitors in sport coverage.
16:37: Expanding US coverage and leaning into multimedia opportunities amid changing engagement habits.
22:35: Will US foreign policy impact this year's World Cup coverage and brand interest?
27:03: How The Guardian sells global cultural events: "Be early, be easy, be different."
31:06: Approaching new football audiences and continuing interest after the event is over.
Related articles:
The Guardian promotes its creative canvas amid US investment drive
Planning for a world cup when football never sleeps
Leading Questions with Imogen Fox – The Guardian
Get your head in the game: Why the World Cup 2026 will determine marketing’s MVPs
Should advertisers be creating World Cup contingency plans?
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Last year, UM unveiled a new global omnichannel media planning proposition: Full Colour Media.
The approach, underpinned by a custom body of research developed in partnership with the University of Oxford’s Said Business School, seeks to move against the grain of generic, algorithm-driven media planning and towards a recentring of brand-driven advertising.
Since the debut of the proposition, UM has gone through a period of continued change as its parent, Interpublic Group, was acquired by Omnicom Group at the end of last year.
Susan Kingston-Brown is the global brand president for UM Worldwide.
She joined The Media Leader from the agency's new London offices at Bankside to discuss how Full Colour Media has developed over the past year, whether distinctive agency brands are still valuable at a time when some holding groups are consolidating their efforts, and how she has managed the transition to Omnicom with her team at UM.
Highlights:
5:26: What is Full Colour Media? Why UM embraced a new planning proposition.
15:10: Is there a conflict between AI and Full Colour Media?
20:20: The value of agency brands amid market consolidation.
26:29: How UM has managed the transition into Omnicom
35:00: Agency holding group valuations have declined. What's the argument against that investment thesis?
Related articles:
UM unveils ‘Full Colour Media’ proposition to fight brand blandness
UM global brand president: ‘The agency world will look different in a year’s time’
Will one and one equal ‘more than two’? Omnicom to complete purchase of IPG imminently
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Earlier this month, Allwyn’s global media director Ross Sergeant announced he would be joining GB News as its chief revenue officer.
The appointment comes amid what Sergeant has referred to as an “inflection point” for the company. GB News has cumulatively lost £131.5m since its inception in 2021, with funding provided by owners Sir Paul Marshall and Dubai-based investment firm Legatum. But losses have been narrowing amid double-digit revenue growth and audiences have been growing as well. According to Barb figures, GB News has beaten both BBC News and Sky News in average audience and audience share in seven of the last eight months.
But with growth comes scrutiny – from us here at The Media Leader and elsewhere. An investigation by Alan Rusbridger at The New World last week found that “GB News has essentially become Reform TV”, while broadcasting regulator Ofcom has “more or less given up the ghost”.
Not only is GB News regularly airing incendiary, biased political views that align with the Reform Party — including by employing the party's sitting MPs, such as Nigel Farage, as presenters — but it’s also arguably doing so in contradiction of Ofcom regulations that, seemingly, aren’t being enforced.
The Media Leader wanted to raise these topics and more with Sergeant, who is now being tasked with selling GB News to advertisers. Many such advertisers, particularly larger brands, have been skittish over concerns around brand safety and suitability and the nascent nature of the fledgling broadcaster.
Highlights:
1:43: Sergeant's background in media and why he joined GB News.
13:30: Is GB News 'Reform TV'?
24:40: Flouting Ofcom rules and incendiary rhetoric — does GB News have a brand safety problem?
39:23: GB News's growing audience and Sergeant's blueprint for making the broadcaster profitable.
50:42: Considering the state of the wider TV market and GB News's sales strategy within it.
Related articles:
Ross Sergeant joins GB News as chief revenue officer amid growth push
Twitter on TV: the real reasons why advertisers avoid GB News
Screen scandal: How Ofcom lets GB News get away with it (The New World)
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The BBC is at a critical moment as it looks to negotiate with the government over the renewal of its charter.
This month, it published its response to the government’s consultation in which it highlighted the quote “need for radical reforms to its independence”.
Preserving the status quo, the Corporation argued, will quote “not be enough to deliver a BBC that remains recognisable to audiences nor brings benefits to UK society and beyond.”
Chiefly, the current funding model quote “cannot maintain the BBC’s public service mission for the future”, they argued.
The Corporation is indeed facing a number of headwinds: it is losing an estimated £1bn pounds per year in potential license fee revenue as people evade required payments or forego TV ownership.
A lack of funding has necessitated controversial cuts in recent years to a number of BBC services, most notably the World Service, which has seen a 21% drop in budget since 2021.
It all comes as the Beeb is looking to hire a replacement for outgoing director-general Tim Davie. The aptly-named Matt Brittin, who led Google’s EMEA business for a decade, has been tightly linked to the opening.
Amid it all, The Media Leader hosted the 15th annual Connected TV World Summit in London last week to discuss the future of TV business and TV technology.
At the event, Kerensa Samanidis, the general manager of BBC iPlayer, sat down with Jack Benjamin to discuss the future of iPlayer.
The pair spoke about the challenges faced by the BBC as it seeks to compete with global streaming giants, whether the BBC would look to partner with other public-service broadcasters on distribution, and the importance of producing distinctly British content for British audiences.
Highlights:
1:57: Will iPlayer open up to other public-service broadcasters?
4:03: How iPlayer matches up to global streaming giants by being "all things to all people"
9:10: Remaining prominent
11:11: Considering distribution partnerships: Netflix, YouTube, and cannibalisation concerns
16:23: How the BBC's range extends beyond entertainment and drama
Related articles:
‘Be careful who you put in your bed’: Broadcasters urged to partner with platforms cautiously
How a butterfly flapping its wings led to a tornado at the BBC
BBC must remain ad-free and become more distinctive, Radiocentre analysis says
Why advertisers need a strong BBC more than ever
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Digital assets are have for several years been the main growth drivers for most media owners. This is as true of TV – ITV just announced it saw 10% growth in digital revenues compared to flat overall revenue growth – as it is in publishing, as seen in the latest consumer ABC figures, as it is OOH, as it is in, of course, social media and search.
So it was little surprise that, according to IAB UK’s latest digital adspend report, in 2025 the UK’s digital ad market grew 10% to £40.5bn pounds. It’s a staggering number, especially when you consider that AA/Warc estimated the total UK ad market reached £46.9bn pounds last year.
Adspend on social media grew 21% year on year to £11.5bn, even as industry leaders at both agencies and competing media owners made the case to "turn down the toxic" by divesting from social and reinvesting in more trusted media channels.
Elizabeth Lane is the head of insight at IAB UK. She sat down with host Jack Benjamin her to unpack the latest adspend report, and why video in particular was a driving force for digital growth last year.
The duo also discussed how AI is changing search to the detriment of publishers, what to watch out for in retail media, and why gaming and digital OOH also saw double-digit growth in 2025.
Highlights:
1:21: Toplines from IAB UK's 2025 Digital Adspend Report
3:41: Social's pivot to video helps explain its 20% growth rate
13:39: Search, retail media and gaming: disruption and missed opportunities
24:06: How AI could change digital investment
Related articles:
UK adspend expected to surpass £50bn for first time in 2026
High-attention media is more profitable, finds Peter Field, Lumen and Newsworks
Reddit looks to scale through search, performance and insight
Why audio is embracing video — with News Broadcasting’s Dave Wilcox and Russell Pedrick
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In February, the Institute for Practitioners in Advertising (IPA) released its latest Agency Census. The findings showed an agency market in contraction: employment at creative agencies fell 14.3% last year – and that’s before Omnicom completed its acquisition of IPG and subsequently announced it would cut thousands more jobs globally.
New hiring dropped over 40%, with young people especially finding careers in media and advertising hard to break into, let alone remain in.
However, the Census also registered continued progress in gender representation and ethnic diversity at agencies, even if pay gaps persist and geographical diversity is lacking.
Lianree Robinson is the campaigning chair for Women in Advertising & Communications Leadership (WACL). She also works as the CEO of The Marketing Academy Foundation and as a mentor for Who’s Your Momma London.
If that wasn’t enough to keep Robinson busy, she’s also begun writing a monthly column for us at The Media Leader.
Robinson joins host Jack Benjamin to discuss the findings of the IPA Agency Census, and provide a sense check of the progress the media and advertising industries have made with regard to gender and ethnicity inclusion.
Highlights:
5:38: IPA Agency Census toplines
7:16: What has caused the creative agency labour market contraction?
10:20: Challenges faced by under-25s employees
19:24: Progress, but "relatively slow progress", on gender representation and ethnic diversity
24:43: Persistent gender and ethnic pay gaps
27:59: WACL's key priorities
31:33: Geographical diversity needed
Related articles:
Agency employment declines 6.8% as creative roles hollowed out
Why do female-founded agencies remain the exception?
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