Explore every episode of the podcast Business of Marketing

What makes a burger look like your burger? Or a beer look like your beer?

For Olaf van Gerwen, Founder & Global Creative Director of Chuck Studios, that question gets to the heart of a problem facing some of the world’s biggest food and drink brands: too much advertising makes the category look good, while doing very little to make the brand distinctive.

Recorded at Cannes Lions, Olaf joins John Horsley to talk about the craft and science of building brands through food.

They explore why years of performance marketing have pulled attention away from long-term brand building, why consistency beats constantly reinventing the campaign, and how brands can develop a distinctive “culinary identity” in much the same way they build a visual or sonic identity.

Olaf also shares the thinking behind Chuck Studios’ work with brands including McDonald’s, KFC and Lipton, why subtle brand cues can become incredibly powerful over time, and why his decision to specialise completely in food and drink transformed his own career.

His advice for anyone coming into the industry is equally clear: find the thing you want to be known for, then go deep.

A conversation about creativity, distinctiveness, specialism and what it really takes to build a brand people remember.

AI is changing how consumers discover products, how brands reach them and, increasingly, how marketing itself gets done.

John Horsley is joined by Travis Clinger, Chief Connectivity & Ecosystem Officer and GM, International at LiveRamp, for a wide-ranging conversation about the infrastructure behind that transformation.

Travis explains why connecting identity across platforms has become so important as consumers move between CTV, social, publishers, retail media and emerging AI interfaces.

They discuss the evolution beyond cookies, the rise of interoperable identity, measurement and clean rooms, and why marketers increasingly need to understand a sequence of customer interactions rather than attribute a sale to a single advert.

Travis also takes John inside LiveRamp’s push into agentic marketing, including its LiveRamp Agent Builders programme and the growing role of AI agents in measurement, data collaboration and marketing workflows.

The conversation covers:

• Why the customer journey is becoming more fragmented • How unified identity connects brands across channels • What AI agents could change inside marketing teams • Why clean rooms and measurement are becoming easier to use • How innovation differs across the UK, Australia, Europe and the Middle East • What brands such as L’Oréal and United Airlines are doing differently • Why Travis believes simply “showing up” remains one of the most powerful career advantages

A fascinating look at how data, identity and AI are converging, and what marketers need to understand about what comes next.

For years, programmatic advertising has been optimised around clicks, viewability and other proxy metrics. But marketers increasingly want a much simpler answer: what did this investment actually do for the business?

Recorded live at Cannes Lions, John Horsley sits down with Luca Filardo, Chief Revenue Officer at Adlook, to explore how AI is changing the economics, speed and expectations of digital advertising.

Luca explains why marketers are moving beyond media metrics towards ROAS and real business outcomes, and how AI is making it possible to change targeting, creative and campaigns in real time as market conditions shift.

They also get into conversational campaign building using LLMs, AI-powered audience creation, connected TV, attention and creative optimisation, the growing problem with publisher ad overload, fraud, and why the role of a modern CRO now extends far beyond simply running a sales team.

Plus, Luca shares why relentless curiosity matters in an industry moving this quickly, and the Japanese principle of Kaizen: getting a little better every single day.

A conversation about what happens when programmatic stops simply buying media and starts responding intelligently to the world around it.

Most brands say they have a first-party data strategy. Far fewer are actually using that data to shape the media they buy.

Recorded live at Cannes Lions, John Horsley sits down with Rob McLaughlin, Founder and CEO of AUDIENCES, to explore why so much customer data still fails to make it into media activation and what needs to change.

Rob argues that less than 3% of media spend is currently informed by first-party data, creating what he calls the “activation gap”: businesses have the permission, technology and customer intelligence, but still fail to put it to work.

They discuss why brands may already have most of the data and technology they need, why chasing a 360-degree customer view can be both unrealistic and intrusive, and why CMOs and CTOs need to work far more closely together.

Rob also explains AUDIENCES’ new partnership with Snowflake, how bringing activation capability directly into a company’s existing data infrastructure can remove months of complexity, and why customer data should remain with the organisation it was originally entrusted to.

The conversation also goes behind the business, from bootstrapping AUDIENCES and building enterprise-grade software from day one to Rob’s experience founding and exiting Loop Horizon, hiring the right early team and why he remains unapologetically optimistic about entrepreneurship.

A conversation about making first-party data genuinely useful, building software businesses from scratch and closing the gap between having customer intelligence and actually doing something with it.

Recorded live at Cannes Lions, Katie Mitchell, Managing Director of Seen Studios, joins Justin Cooke on the Business of Marketing to explore why the future of brand experience is neither physical nor digital, but the connection between the two.

Katie explains why physical spaces still matter in an increasingly digital world, how brands can turn stores, pop-ups and events into content engines, and why the best experiences start with a genuine understanding of the audience rather than the creative idea.

The conversation covers how brands can build connected online and offline experiences, localise global campaigns without losing consistency, make experiential marketing work harder commercially, and measure the return on expensive physical activations.

Katie also gets into the business of running and growing an agency, from building a strong leadership culture and protecting margins to why she believes human relationships will remain critical to new business, even as sales and marketing become increasingly automated.

A conversation about experiential marketing, retail, brand experience, consumer behaviour, agency growth and the increasingly connected physical and digital customer experience.

Recorded live at Cannes Lions 2026, Justin Cooke sits down with Marcus Startzel, CEO of GumGum, to explore what the next era of advertising looks like when brands stop thinking only about audiences and start thinking about mindset.

Marcus explains why context, attention and receptivity are becoming critical to advertising effectiveness, and how AI is making the old promise of reaching the right person, with the right message, at the right moment far more achievable.

They discuss:

• Why consumers are different people at 7am and 7pm, even if the audience data says otherwise

• How GumGum is using its Mindset Graph to understand when people are most receptive to advertising

• Why attention alone is not enough without relevance

• How AI could reshape targeting, optimisation and brand outcomes

• Why customer obsession still matters more than the technology

• What Marcus learned about leadership from Amazon and serving as a nuclear submarine officer

• Why “ship, shipmate, self” still shapes the way he leads

• How fast decision-making, trust and constant innovation separate the companies that grow from those that get left behind

A conversation about AI, adtech, customer obsession and leadership, and why understanding the moment someone is in could become one of advertising’s biggest competitive advantages.

Recorded live at Cannes Lions, John Horsley sits down with Alistair Hill, Co-Founder of On Device, to explore why marketing measurement still gets so much wrong.

They discuss why click-through rates can be a terrible measure of brand effectiveness, the growing problem of survey fraud, how brands can connect brand lift to commercial outcomes, and why AI is shifting measurement from reports consumed by people to data consumed directly by machines.

Alistair so explains why the smartest marketers are moving towards outcomes-based planning, why confidence matters when balancing brand and performance, and why being able to find and tell stories through data remains one of the most valuable skills in marketing.

Emma Armstrong, CEO of BBDO New York and Global Transformation Officer at BBDO Worldwide, joins John Horsley live from Cannes Lions to discuss AI, creativity, brand building and the future of agencies.

Emma explains why the role of a modern agency goes far beyond making advertising. The best agencies act as business partners, helping clients understand shifts in culture, technology and consumer behaviour, then turning those changes into ideas that build brands and drive growth.

As Emma puts it, agencies are “translators of the world into brands.”

They discuss why brand building is becoming more important as media fragments and customer journeys become increasingly complex, and why the rapid adoption of artificial intelligence could make human creativity and judgement more valuable, not less.

Emma also explores the risk that “AI drives us to the mean”. While AI can accelerate research, analysis and repetitive tasks, she argues that distinctive brands still depend on people who can think differently, make connections and apply judgement.

The conversation also covers:

• Creativity as a measurable driver of business growth • The changing relationship between agencies, CMOs, CEOs and CFOs • Why agencies need to understand the whole business, not just the marketing brief • How AI is changing advertising, marketing and creative work • Why distinctive brand assets and consistency matter more in fragmented customer journeys • Building high-performing agency cultures and leadership teams • Why saying no to the wrong pitch can sometimes be the right commercial decision • The future of the advertising agency model • The skills the next generation needs to succeed in marketing and advertising

A wide-ranging Cannes Lions conversation about BBDO, artificial intelligence, creativity, brand strategy and why great agencies still have an essential role in helping businesses stand out and grow.

 

In this episode of The Business of Marketing, John Horsley sits down with Erin Chin, Global Head of Brand Marketing at Logitech G, live from Cannes Lions, for a wide-ranging conversation about brand, creators, fandom and the changing media landscape.

Erin explains why Logitech G treats creators as business partners, not marketing channels, and how its “design by collaboration” approach brings gamers, esports professionals and creators directly into the product development process.

They discuss why brands need to stop over-engineering creator partnerships, the importance of giving creators genuine freedom, and why the ambition shouldn’t be to control every expression of a brand, but to build something communities actively want to make their own.

The conversation also explores:

• Why creator authenticity matters more than tightly controlled brand messaging

• How Logitech G co-creates products with gamers and esports professionals

• Why fandom can become one of a brand’s strongest competitive advantages

• Supporting creators beyond the commercial relationship, including mental health and underrepresented communities

• The huge shift in Gen Z media consumption towards TikTok, YouTube and creators

• How brands should measure creator impact beyond traditional engagement metrics

• Why share of search can reveal whether creator activity is genuinely driving interest

• How AI search and answer engines are changing brand visibility, earned media and content strategy

• Why brand remains a competitive moat that competitors and “dupes” cannot easily replicate

• What marketers can learn from the best work at Cannes Lions about keeping ideas simple

Erin also shares lessons from a career spanning Goldman Sachs, P&G, Diageo, Proximo Spirits, PepsiCo and Mountain Dew, and explains why deep consumer understanding remains at the heart of great marketing.

A conversation about what happens when brands stop treating audiences as targets and start building products, stories and communities people genuinely want to participate in.

Carmen Rodriguez, Global Chief Growth Officer at GUT, on bravery, sustainable growth and why the best agencies know when to say no.

Recorded live at Cannes Lions, Justin Cooke sits down with Carmen Rodriguez to explore what growth really looks like when creativity, culture and commercial ambition all have to move together.

Carmen explains why GUT sees itself as “a brave agency for brave clients”, why bravery isn’t binary, and how the agency uses a bravery scale to help brands become progressively bolder without losing sight of the business outcome.

They discuss:

• Why sustainable agency growth can mean growing more slowly, not faster
• How GUT said no 27 times in its first year to protect the kind of agency it wanted to become
• Why people come first, the work second and clients last
• How GUT identifies the gap between a marketer’s ambition and a brand’s willingness to be brave
• Why long-term agency relationships depend on trust, senior involvement and genuine partnership
• Why agencies need to understand the client’s business, not simply sell advertising
• Why simple execution built on a powerful human insight is cutting through at Cannes
• Why creativity should remain at the centre of growth

Carmen also shares the thinking behind GUT’s philosophy that “bravery means business”, and why consistency, creativity and the courage to make uncomfortable decisions can ultimately drive stronger commercial results.

A brilliant conversation about the business of creativity, recorded live at Cannes Lions 2026.

Michael Scott, Global CRO, LoopMe: Why Brand Performance Is Back

What happens when marketers focus too heavily on the 5% of consumers already in market?

Michael Scott, Global Chief Revenue Officer at LoopMe, joins John Horsley live from Cannes Lions to discuss why brands need to start filling the top of the funnel again, and how better data, AI and real-time measurement are making brand investment easier to prove.

They explore the shift from web to mobile apps, the growing importance of first-party data, why immersive mobile experiences are becoming more valuable, and how AI is changing targeting, optimisation and product development.

Michael also explains why marketers need to simplify ad tech, move beyond jargon and focus on the outcomes that actually matter to the business.

In this episode:

• Why over-investing in lower-funnel marketing eventually runs out of road
• How AI and LLMs are changing web and mobile behaviour
• Why first-party data is becoming critical to brand performance
• How marketers can quantify upper and mid-funnel investment
• Why mobile apps offer brands a more immersive customer experience
• How AI enables near real-time audience optimisation
• Why ad tech needs to make the complex simple
• The value of long-term brand building over constant promotion
• Michael's advice to people starting their careers: “Just say yes.”

Recorded live at Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity.

The Business of Marketing brings together senior leaders shaping the future of marketing, media, technology and business.

Tracey Shirtcliff, Founder & CEO of Scope Better, joins John Horsley live from Cannes Lions to unpack one of the biggest commercial problems facing agencies: why so many are still pricing the future using models built for the past.

Having previously built and sold agency workflow platform Traffic Live, Tracey has spent years inside the economics of creative and professional services businesses. Her argument is simple: agencies cannot embrace AI, automation and new ways of working while continuing to sell hours, roles and rate cards.

In this episode, they explore:

• Why 60–70% of agencies are still recording and charging for time
• How poor scoping quietly destroys agency margins
• Why Excel spreadsheets and disconnected systems are holding agencies back
• The shift from selling hours to deliverables, outputs and outcomes
• How agencies should commercialise their investment in AI
• Why pricing, CRM, workflow and finance need to become connected
• How AI agents could fundamentally change agency pricing and scoping
• Why fixing the commercial engine can be more valuable than simply chasing another client

Tracey also explains why the agencies that win will be those that treat pricing and scoping as a strategic discipline, not an administrative task.

“The Excel spreadsheet is 30 years old. It’s not a model for the new world.”

A sharp conversation about agency economics, AI, pricing, profitability and what it really takes to build a more scalable services business.

Recorded live at Cannes Lions from the DEPT® Secret Garden.

Tom Murphy, Chief Creative Officer at VML, joins John Horsley live at Cannes Lions for a sharp conversation about creativity, AI, advertising and what actually makes people pay attention.

They discuss why “a thousand times zero is still zero”, how too many decision-makers can average great ideas down, why taste matters more in the age of AI, the return of craft and analogue culture, and why the best brands sometimes need to let go of control.

Plus, Tom explains why advertising is “always dying”, why Cannes Lions still matters, and what he looks for in the next generation of creative talent.

Recorded live at Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity.

Growth isn't a playbook. It's a series of decisions.

What separates companies that scale from those that stall?

Michael Lehman, President Americas at Equativ, has led growth across venture-backed startups, private equity businesses and companies preparing for exit. In this conversation with John Horsley, recorded live at Cannes Lions, he explains why every stage of growth demands a different strategy.

From product-market fit and commercial execution to leadership, AI and the future of premium publishing, Michael shares a refreshingly practical perspective on building businesses that last.

Topics include:

• Why there is no blueprint for growth • Product-market fit vs execution problems • Building a strategy every employee can explain • Leadership, burnout and organisational clarity • Why clients want fewer, deeper technology partners • AI's impact on publishers and premium media • Advice for the next generation entering marketing and adtech

An in-depth conversation about leadership, growth and navigating one of the fastest-changing industries in business today.

What if the future of marketing isn't advertising at all?

Recorded live at Cannes Lions, Justin Cooke sits down with Matt Longley, CEO of Mobsta, to explore why the next competitive advantage won't come from buying media more efficiently, but from understanding human behaviour better.

Matt shares how Mobsta evolved from a mobile targeting business into an intelligence platform, why customer success should sit at the centre of every business, and why agencies need to think more like consultants than media buyers.

They discuss:

• Why the "perfect moment" matters more than audience segments. • How business intelligence could become more valuable than media buying. • Why great leaders remove barriers rather than manage people. • How AI should strengthen human judgement, not replace it. • The career lessons that shaped Matt's leadership philosophy.

A conversation about leadership, data, AI, and building businesses around curiosity instead of convention.

AI isn't fixing broken go-to-market strategies. It's exposing them.

Recorded live at Cannes Lions, John Horsley is joined by Fiona McKenzie, President, Europe at Marketbridge, for a practical conversation about what AI is really changing inside modern marketing organisations.

Rather than chasing the latest AI tools, Fiona argues that marketers should be fixing the fundamentals first. Poor data, disconnected teams, fragmented technology and outdated processes don't disappear with AI. They become even bigger problems.

In this episode, they discuss:

• Why AI is amplifying broken go-to-market systems rather than repairing them. • Why disconnected data is still the biggest barrier to growth. • How GEO and answer engines are forcing marketers to rethink brand, content and reputation. • Why today's CMO increasingly looks like a transformation leader, not just a marketing leader. • Why human creativity and strategic thinking matter more than ever in an AI-first world.

They also explore why agencies are becoming transformation partners, why sales, marketing and customer teams need shared KPIs, and what separates the organisations pulling ahead from those simply adding more AI tools.

If you're leading marketing, revenue or digital transformation, this episode is packed with practical insight on building a connected go-to-market strategy that can actually benefit from AI.

AI is changing far more than marketing productivity. It's reshaping how customers discover, evaluate and buy.

In this episode of Business of Marketing, John Horsley speaks with Dimi Albers, CEO of Dept, about why the brands that succeed will be those that redesign the entire customer journey for an AI-first world.

They discuss:

• Why growth has to be engineered, not just executed. • How AI is changing customer behaviour across every touchpoint. • Why empathy will become a greater competitive advantage. • What separates the 20% of businesses that will win from the rest. • Why people who consistently deliver will always be indispensable.

A dynamic conversation on AI, growth and the future of marketing.

Ad tech has never been more powerful. So why does marketing still feel so complicated?

Recorded live at Cannes Lions, John Horsley speaks with Oliver Whitten, Chief Operating Officer at Adform, about the technologies reshaping modern advertising and why the biggest opportunity isn't adding more AI, it's removing complexity.

From AI-powered campaign planning and the rise of Model Context Protocol (MCP) to privacy, trust and the future of connected media, Oliver explains how marketers can navigate an increasingly fragmented ecosystem without losing sight of what matters most.

In this episode:

• Why the next competitive advantage is simplifying complexity.
• How AI is changing campaign planning, reporting and activation.
• Why trust, transparency and privacy are becoming business differentiators.
• How CTV, digital out of home and audio are creating new opportunities for brands.
• The simple career advice that has guided Oliver's leadership for more than two decades: "Fill the void."

A conversation about AI, advertising infrastructure and why the best technology should become almost invisible.

Victoria Usher, CEO and Founder of GingerMay, joins The Business of Marketing to explore why great communications still come down to one thing: understanding people.

Recorded live at Cannes Lions 2026, Victoria explains why AI is creating more content but not necessarily better communication, why too many brands mistake noise for storytelling, and how authentic leadership, thoughtful PR and strong executive profiling are becoming essential in the age of generative search.

In this episode:

• Why AI is producing "froth" instead of original thinking.
• The difference between broadcasting and genuine storytelling.
• How CEOs can build trust by becoming better storytellers.
• Why PR is becoming a critical part of GEO (Generative Engine Optimisation).
• The advice Victoria would give anyone starting a career in marketing today.

A practical conversation about communications, reputation and why human insight remains your greatest competitive advantage.

Jennifer Kattula, General Manager and CMO of Microsoft Advertising, joins John Horsley live from Cannes Lions to explore how AI is reshaping marketing.

From marketing to LLMs and AI agents, to why brand storytelling matters more than ever, Jennifer explains how marketers can build visibility, trust and competitive advantage in an AI-first world. The conversation also covers employee advocacy, creator ecosystems, Microsoft's latest AI innovations, and why the future CMO will need to be part marketer, part technologist and part business leader.

Recorded live at Cannes Lions, John Horsley sits down with Christine C. Cook, Chief Commercial Officer at Bloomberg Media, for a wide-ranging conversation about the changing worlds of media, marketing, content and leadership.

They explore:

• What premium media really means, from professionally sourced journalism and quality production to context, trust and understanding what clients actually need • Why the assumption that everything needs to be short is wrong, and what Bloomberg is seeing from longer-form journalism, video and podcasts • Why so much thought leadership risks looking and sounding the same, and the importance of finding a distinctive point of view, human voice and story • How the role of the CMO is changing, with brand, communications, growth, technology and transformation increasingly overlapping • The pressure marketers face between short-term demands and long-term brand building, and the challenge of staying relevant to cultural moments when organisations can take months to respond

Christine also discusses the growing importance of executive reputation and authentic leadership, and what Bloomberg's research with more than 500 CMOs and marketing leaders reveals about the changing role and influence of marketing within organisations.

She finishes with a lesson from her own career across The New York Times, Financial Times, Martha Stewart and Bloomberg: don't simply rush upwards. Build breadth, accumulate different experiences and prepare yourself for an industry that will continue to change.

Cindy Gallop has never been interested in saying what people want to hear.

A former advertising leader turned founder of MakeLoveNotPorn, she joins Justin Cooke at Cannes Lions to discuss why marketing has the power to change culture, not just sell products, and why too often it chooses not to.

The conversation explores why diversity in advertising is moving backwards, why the industry surrendered too much power to technology platforms, how AI should serve creativity rather than dictate it, and why marketers need to rediscover the confidence to shape the future instead of waiting for Silicon Valley to define it.

Cindy also shares the story behind building MakeLoveNotPorn, the challenges of creating a category-defining company in one of the world's most difficult sectors, and why she believes businesses can, and should, scale both purpose and profit.

From creativity and leadership to culture, AI and entrepreneurship, this is a conversation about challenging assumptions and having the courage to build what doesn't yet exist.

Sir Martin Sorrell | Executive Chairman, S4 Capital & Senior Monk | Live from Cannes Lions 2026

What happens when one of advertising's most influential leaders looks at where the industry is really heading?

Recorded live at Cannes Lions, Justin Cooke sits down with Sir Martin Sorrell for a wide-ranging conversation on why AI is transforming media faster than creativity, why agency business models must change, the growing dominance of the technology platforms, retail media, creator economics and what CMOs should be preparing for next.

Sir Martin also shares his perspective on the future of China, procurement, outcome-based pricing, quantum computing and why the biggest changes in marketing are still to come.

If you want an unfiltered view of where marketing is heading over the next decade, this is an episode you won't want to miss.

Has marketing really changed or have marketers simply forgotten the fundamentals?

Recorded live at Cannes Lions, Justin Cooke sits down with Mark Ritson, founder of MiniMBA, to explore why the principles of great marketing remain remarkably consistent, even as AI transforms the tools we use.

Mark shares his views on market orientation, strategy before tactics, the future of synthetic research, brand consistency, marketing education, and why too many organisations are chasing trends instead of building brands. He also gives his unfiltered perspective on AI, creators, Cannes Lions, and what the next decade means for marketers.

If you're looking beyond the hype to understand what really drives marketing effectiveness, this is an episode you won't want to miss.

Audio is one of the fastest-growing media channels, but are marketers still undervaluing it?

In this episode of the Business of Marketing, John Horsley sits down with Russell Pedrick, Managing Director of Octave, to explore how audio is evolving from a supporting channel into one of the most powerful parts of the modern media mix.

Drawing on experience across Disney, ESPN and News UK, Russell explains why podcasts, digital audio and connected listening are reshaping media planning, why AI is transforming creative production, and how brands can deliver highly personalised campaigns at scale without sacrificing creativity.

They discuss the growing gap between audience attention and advertising investment, the rise of premium audio, the future of AI-generated creative, and why curiosity and adaptability have become essential leadership skills in today's media industry.

If you want to understand where audio advertising is heading, and why marketers should be paying much closer attention, this episode is essential listening.

Positioning is no longer just about standing out. It's about being found.

In this episode of The Business of Marketing, recorded live at Advertising Week Europe, Justin Cooke sits down with Paul Evans, Founder and Chief Positioning Engineer at V2RSION, to explore why positioning has become one of the most important strategic disciplines in business.

Drawing on leadership experience at Microsoft, Vodafone, Bacardi and Nestlé, Paul explains why AI has fundamentally changed how businesses are discovered, shortlisted and chosen. As buying journeys increasingly begin with machines rather than people, positioning has become a growth strategy rather than simply a marketing exercise.

They discuss why product advantages disappear faster than ever, why founders should rethink positioning as a living operating system rather than a one-off exercise, and how businesses can build a competitive advantage that technology alone cannot replicate.

If you're a founder, CEO, CMO or growth leader trying to stand out in an increasingly crowded market, this conversation offers a practical framework for thinking differently.

In this episode of The Business of Marketing, John Horsley sits down with Andrea Sexton, CEO of Ledger Bennett, to explore why B2B marketing needs to move beyond obsessing over the measurable 40% of the funnel and start investing in the moments that shape buying decisions long before prospects become leads.

Andrea shares why the industry's fixation on MQLs, attribution and short-term performance is holding brands back, how AI is changing the buying journey, and why the future belongs to marketers who understand human behaviour as well as technology.

Whether you're a CMO, demand generation leader or B2B marketer, this conversation challenges many of the assumptions that have shaped marketing over the past decade.

Topics include:

• Why B2B marketing has become too focused on what it can measure
• The growing importance of brand in complex buying journeys
• How AI and LLMs are changing vendor discovery and buyer behaviour
• Why buying groups, not individual buyers, should shape marketing strategy
• The shift from campaign thinking to always-on demand generation
• Why content distribution matters more than simply creating content
• The future skills every modern B2B marketer will need

A thought-provoking discussion on building brands that are remembered long before buyers enter the market, and why human insight remains marketing's greatest competitive advantage.

In this episode of Business of Marketing, John Horsley sits down with Graham Field, Chief Revenue Officer at Outra, to explore how the relationship between data, AI and revenue is reshaping modern marketing.

From the early days of programmatic advertising to today's AI-powered marketing stack, Graham shares why the brands that win won't necessarily have the biggest media budgets, but the best understanding of their customers. Together they discuss first-party data, privacy, decision intelligence, commerce, and why marketers need to stop chasing short-term metrics at the expense of long-term growth.

Whether you're leading marketing, revenue, data or digital transformation, this conversation offers practical insights into building a smarter, more connected marketing organisation.

Topics include:

• Why first-party data is becoming every brand's competitive advantage
• How AI is transforming marketing, commerce and decision-making
• The balance between short-term performance and long-term brand growth
• Why data quality matters more than data quantity
• Lessons from Shopify, MediaCom and the evolution of digital marketing
• The future of privacy, identity and customer intelligence

A thoughtful conversation on where marketing is heading next, and what leaders need to do to stay ahead.

In this episode of Business of Marketing, John Horsley sits down with Harry Davies, VP of Strategy, Investment & Marketing Effectiveness at Sage, to explore why so many organisations still measure the wrong things, and what truly drives long-term growth.

Drawing on experience spanning government, Google, Amazon and Sage, Harry explains why marketing effectiveness is about far more than advertising, why brand investment is making a comeback, and how marketers can balance short-term revenue pressures with long-term business growth.

The conversation also dives into AI's impact on marketing, account-based marketing, buying committees, customer journeys, and why the future belongs to marketers who combine academic rigour with relentless curiosity.

In this episode you'll discover:

• Why cost per lead is one of marketing's most misleading metrics
• How to balance brand building with demand generation
• Why marketing should influence the entire customer lifecycle
• What AI will automate and where human creativity still wins
• How Sage is adapting to AI search and LLMs
• Why marketers should spend more time listening to customers
• The marketing science every modern marketer should understand

A thoughtful conversation packed with practical insights for CMOs, marketing leaders and anyone looking to build more effective marketing.

How Sport, Technology and Culture Are Reshaping Fan Engagement | Kahlen Macaulay , Snap

What does it take to keep the next generation of sports fans engaged?

In this episode of The Business of Marketing, John Horsley sits down with Kahlen Macaulay, Head of Sports, Media & Partnerships International at Snap, to explore how technology is transforming the way sport is produced, distributed and experienced.

Drawing on leadership roles at the International Olympic Committee, ESPN, Pulse Live and Snap, Karlyn shares why today's sports organisations must think like media companies, how creators have become partners rather than competitors, and why fandom is increasingly being built through culture, community and conversation.

The discussion covers the changing behaviour of younger audiences, the role of augmented reality in live sport, the creator economy, the attention economy, and why the future of sports marketing sits at the intersection of sport, fashion, music and technology.

In this episode you'll discover:

• Why sports organisations must evolve into media businesses.
• How Snapchat reaches and engages younger sports fans.
• Why creators are becoming an essential part of sports marketing.
• The commercial opportunities created by AR and immersive experiences.
• How the World Cup is becoming a cultural event beyond the matches themselves.
• Lessons in leadership, curiosity and building a career across sport, media and technology.

Whether you work in marketing, sport, media, partnerships or digital innovation, this conversation offers valuable insights into where fan engagement is heading next—and what brands need to do to stay relevant.

In this episode of The Business of Marketing, John Horsley speaks with Renaye Edwards, Global COO and Managing Director of Ammunition, recorded live at Advertising Week Europe.   Renaye discusses her journey from client-side marketing to agency founder, exit and global agency leadership. She shares why marketing must remain the voice of the customer, how agencies can move beyond output to outcomes, and why brand, demand and performance need to work together.   They also explore the rise of commercially minded CMOs, the problem with short-term lead generation, the growing role of AI in content and discovery, and why reputation, revenue and relationships should sit at the heart of modern marketing.

What happens when search, media, AI and commerce start collapsing into one connected ecosystem?

 

In this episode of The Business of Marketing, John Horsley sits down with Nick Beck, Founder and CEO of Tug, to explore how modern marketing is being reshaped by AI search, creator culture, performance marketing and the growing importance of brand.

 

From launching Tug out of the basement of Vice Magazine to building a global agency across London, New York, Berlin, Toronto, Singapore and Sydney, Nick shares a candid view on what has changed in marketing over the last two decades, and what still matters most.

 

A conversation about search, AI, data, creativity, trust, performance marketing and why human judgement still matters in an increasingly automated world.

 

Topics include:

• Why search has become one of the most important conversations in marketing again
• The rise of AI search, AI assistants and the future of discoverability
• Why over-optimising performance metrics can damage long-term growth
• The balance between brand building and short-term performance
• How AI is changing decision-making inside agencies and brands
• Why relatability may matter more than “authenticity”
• The explosion of creator-led marketing and micro influencers
• Why agencies may become more important again in a fragmented media landscape
• How brands can balance global consistency with local relevance

  “The big idea is still the rocket science.” - Nick Beck

 

In this episode of The Business of Marketing, Justin Cooke sits down with John Rudaizky, Global Chief Brand and Marketing Officer at EY, to explore the future of brand building, creativity, leadership and AI at enterprise scale.

John shares the story behind EY’s iconic “Better Questions” platform, why emotion matters more than ever in B2B marketing, and how AI is reshaping marketing organisations, creativity and customer engagement.

A wide-ranging conversation covering brand transformation, purpose, creator culture, leadership, the evolving role of the CMO, and why the future belongs to marketers who combine creativity with courage.

Topics include:

• Building one of the world’s leading professional services brands
• Why the best B2B marketing is emotional, not rational
• The thinking behind EY’s “Better Questions” platform
• AI, creativity and the future of marketing organisations
• The changing role of the CMO in the boardroom
• Leadership, culture and building confidence inside large organisations
• Why brands still need human insight in an AI-driven world

“This is an era of being humble and learning like never before.” - John Rudaizky

What does it mean to become truly unmissable in an age of AI, algorithms and collapsing trust?

In this episode of The Business of Marketing, Justin Cooke sits down with Nishma Patel Robb, Founder and CEO of Unmissable, former Google marketing leader and former President of WACL, to explore visibility, storytelling, trust and the future of personal brands.

After a decade helping shape Google’s reputation and commercial growth in the UK, Nishma now works with founders and senior leaders to build trust-first personal brands that create real resonance, influence and commercial impact.

A conversation about authenticity, executive visibility, AI, creator culture, human storytelling and why the future belongs to people who can genuinely connect.

Topics include:

• Why trust and authenticity are becoming modern marketing superpowers
• What brands still get wrong about earning trust
• The rise of executive visibility and personal brands
• Why most LinkedIn “personal branding” feels performative
• AI, storytelling and the future of human creativity
• Why creators and communities are reshaping media
• Building visibility for women in business and media
• How founders and leaders can go from invisible to unmissable

“True unmissability is about resonance, trust and connection.” - Nishma Patel Robb

What happens when one of the world’s largest communications groups starts rebuilding itself around AI?   In this episode of The Business of Marketing, Justin Cooke sits down with Stephan Pretorius, CTO of WPP, to explore how AI is transforming marketing, creativity, production, agency models and the future of work itself.   From agentic workflows and AI-generated production to the changing economics of marketing services, Stephan shares a rare inside view into how WPP is adapting at global scale and what brands need to understand next.   A conversation about technology, creativity, commercial intelligence, AI adoption, organisational transformation and why the next five years may fundamentally reshape the marketing industry.   Topics include:

• How AI is changing the way consumers search, discover and buy
• Why production and content creation are being radically transformed
• The rise of agentic workflows and AI-powered marketing operations
• How WPP is rebuilding teams, workflows and services around AI
• Why the future belongs to smaller, multidisciplinary teams
• The shift towards output-based commercial models
• AI, trust, governance and the future of creative work
• Why the next decade of marketing may look nothing like the last

  “It’s the first time I’ve had to look at technology not just in terms of how it changes marketing, but how it changes the nature of work itself.” - Stephan Pretorius

In this episode of The Business of Marketing, Justin Cooke speaks with Niall McKinney, Founding Partner of The Creative Engineers, recorded live at Advertising Week Europe.

Niall discusses why marketers need to produce more content than ever, but without bigger budgets, weaker creative standards or loss of brand control.

They explore how AI is changing content operating models, why workflows matter as much as tools, and how brands can use AI to improve speed, relevance and quality without losing human judgement.

A practical conversation on AI, creativity, content production and the future of marketing operations.

In this episode of The Business of Marketing, Justin Cooke speaks with Dan Reeves, co-founder of Subjct, recorded live at Advertising Week Europe.

Dan reflects on the golden era of magazine publishing, from Q Magazine and The Face through to today’s AI-powered content ecosystem, and explores how storytelling, publishing and discovery are being reshaped by AI.

The conversation covers the collapse of traditional distribution models, the rise of AI search, the future of editorial trust, and why great storytelling still matters more than ever in a world flooded with content.

A thoughtful discussion on publishing, content discovery, AI optimisation and the future of digital media.

In this episode of The Business of Marketing, John Horsley speaks with Edwin Wong, Head of Global Measurement Science at Uber Advertising, recorded live at Advertising Week Europe.

They explore the future of measurement, why context matters more than ever in advertising, and how brands can connect media exposure to real-world outcomes.

Edwin shares how Uber’s first-party data and real-world utility create new opportunities for marketers to measure attention, incrementality and consumer behaviour, while also discussing AI, attribution, privacy, research, and the growing demand for more human connection in media.

A fascinating conversation on measurement, media fragmentation, AI and the future of advertising effectiveness.

In this episode of The Business of Marketing, Justin Cooke speaks with Julie Selman, SVP, Head of EMEA at Magnite, recorded live at Advertising Week Europe.

Julie discusses the evolution of digital advertising, from the early days of ad tech to the rapid growth of streaming and connected TV.

They explore how the new TV ecosystem is changing media buying, why premium video still matters, and how data, automation and programmatic trading are creating new opportunities for brands, broadcasters and publishers.

A sharp conversation on CTV, streaming, programmatic advertising, trust, quality and the future of premium video.

In this episode of The Business of Marketing, Justin Cooke speaks with James Denton-Clark, Chief Growth and Client Officer at Stagwell Europe, recorded live at Advertising Week Europe.

James reflects on a career spanning agencies, networks, consultancies and creative transformation, from helping grow Karmarama through to its acquisition by Accenture, to his current role at Stagwell.

They discuss how the agency model is changing, why creativity still drives business growth, how data and technology are reshaping client expectations, and why human judgement remains essential in an AI-powered industry.

A thoughtful conversation on creativity, growth, leadership and the future of the agency model.

In this episode of The Business of Marketing, John Horsley speaks with Milka Privodanova, VP LinkedIn Marketing Solutions, Large Customers - International at LinkedIn, recorded live at Advertising Week Europe.

Milka discusses how B2B buying has changed, why credibility now matters as much as reach, and how platforms like LinkedIn are helping brands build trust through people, creators and expert voices.

They explore the rise of B2B creators, the role of video, how LLMs are changing discovery, and why marketers need to move beyond vanity metrics towards revenue, pipeline and real business impact.

A sharp conversation on LinkedIn, B2B influence, AI, creativity and the future of trusted marketing.

In this episode of The Business of Marketing, John Horsley sits down with Chris Bagnall, Founder and CEO of Transmission.

They explore why B2B marketing is being reshaped, from the collapse of siloed agencies to the rise of customer-obsessed, commercially driven marketing.

Chris shares why traditional demand generation is broken, why brand matters more than ever in an AI-driven buying journey, and how marketers need to evolve from lead generators to business leaders.

A sharp, no-nonsense conversation on what it really takes to drive growth in modern B2B.

In this episode of The Business of Marketing, Justin Cooke speaks with Toby Southgate, Global CEO of We Are Social, recorded live at Advertising Week Europe.   Toby shares his journey from economics, banking and early internet publishing into agency leadership, before exploring how social has moved far beyond a media channel.   They discuss why brands need to participate in culture, how communities shape brand relevance, why creativity matters even more in an AI-driven world, and what it takes to lead a global creative agency at scale.   A thoughtful conversation on social-first creativity, brand building, culture, leadership and the future of marketing.

In this episode of The Business of Marketing, John Horsley speaks with Soizic Sycamore, Managing Director of Plan.Net UK, part of Serviceplan Group, recorded live at Advertising Week Europe.   They explore why customer experience must come before technology, how data and MarTech are often misunderstood, and why many organisations still struggle to turn insight into meaningful action.   Soizic shares perspectives on breaking down silos, improving customer lifetime value, and the growing importance of loyalty, storytelling and brand personality in an AI-driven world.   A thoughtful conversation on customer-centric marketing, transformation, and what brands need to do to stay relevant as buying journeys evolve.

Paul Cash, Founder and Chief Rooster at RoosterPunk, on how B2B lost its emotional edge, the three yeses every buyer needs to say before they buy, why storytelling is biological rather than fluffy, and what Workday got right. Recorded live at Advertising Week Europe.

Alice Beecroft, Senior Director, Global Strategy and Partnerships at Yahoo DSP, on why agentic AI is the next RTB-level shift, a future where buyers don't open the DSP, why commerce is a bigger opportunity than retail, and what walled garden collaboration looks like. Plus leading Yahoo's global neurodiversity group. Recorded live at Advertising Week Europe.

Victoria Dyke, Co-Founder of Ziggy, on how AI is rewriting B2B buyer behaviour, the rebalancing act between brand and performance, why win rates matter more than opportunity volume, and commercial literacy as the defining skill for modern marketers. Recorded live at Advertising Week Europe.

Tom Ollerton, Co-Founder of Automated Creative, on why best practice is just copying, what strategic tagging reveals about why ads actually work, the real economics underneath the AI boom, and why marketing now resets to zero every few months. Recorded live at Advertising Week Europe.

Fiona Salmon, Managing Director at Mantis, on why transparency is the next shift in ad tech, how contextual targeting has come back smarter for a cookie-less world, why brand safety is overblocking news, and sustainability as an efficiency play. Recorded live at Advertising Week Europe.

Dragos Marica, Associate Director, Performance Marketing at Directive, on platform over-reliance, how AI search is rewriting SEO, why creative now sits at the centre of performance marketing, and the brand vs demand balance when the low-hanging fruit has gone. Recorded live at Advertising Week Europe.