Episodes
Our guests are Tom Morton, Global CSO, R/GA, Bonnie Wan, Partner, Head of Brand Strategy at Goodby, and John Gibson, Managing Director and Head of Strategy at The  Martin Agency. We talk fast v.s deep planning, the shape of new strategy, living with constant change and shape shifting for the next generation.  Thanks to WARC and Tracksuit for sponsoring this three episode series.
Published 10/08/23
From Ketchup Fraud to Hog Dog Pact to Vintage Drip and so many more, Heinz and Rethink deliver brilliantly on creative effectiveness in the CPG space.  Group Strategy Director, Julian Morgan and CCO, Mike Dubrick take us through their award-winning journey.
Published 10/02/23
With its "Real Food" message and its stand against industrial farming, Chipotle has built a brand that has withstood setbacks weaker brands wouldn't have survived. Its now built a database designed to give it faster, direct access to its customers, something it didn't have back when it was making not so great news. We talk with Jason Scoggins of Chipotle and Jason McCann of GALE, NY.
Published 09/23/23
Midol is encouraging people with periods to question the normalization of discomfort. We're joined by Kelly Fanning of Bayer and Andrea Shultz of MullenLowe, NY. Be sure to watch the creative work on our website. 
Published 09/15/23
This time it’s not about any one person’s famous order, but about McDonald’s itself as a famous order.  The new "As Featured In" campaign rolls out across 100 markets. We talk with Global Managing Director, Brandon Pracht and Global Strategy Director, Tass Tsitsopoulos, both of W+K, NY.
Published 08/25/23
In this episode, we talk about the two major buckets of metrics - exposure and impact - and how they're being potentially misused and misunderstood. 
Published 08/19/23
Canadian brand Kobo is using the popularity of guilty pleasure titles to carve out a unique space with women for its Kobo-plus e-reader subscription. We're joined by Lindsay Gray of Rakuten Kobo and Shari Walczak of The Garden, Toronto, Canada.
Published 08/12/23
We hear the stories behind Emoji Ordering, Zero Click Ordering, Carryout Tips and their collaboration with Stranger Things, Season 4. We're joined by CCO, Matt Talbot and Strategy Lead, Alex Guerri, both of WorkInProgress, Boulder, Colorado.
Published 08/06/23
The instinct when trying to justify a price increase is to lean on rational factors: quality, value, distinct features. Tyyrells suggests the opposite. It demonstrates how a characterful brand backed by sufficient marketing spend can achieve the same goal, but profitably. I'm joined by Dan Hulse, CSO at St. Lukes, London.
Published 07/29/23
Ogilvy London's powerful "Have a Word" campaign, short listed for an APG Award this year, peels back the male psyche to map out a new territory in violence prevention. We're joined by Behavioral Strategist, Tara Austin and Planning Director, Bianca Novaes.
Published 07/18/23
Getting to useful, inspiring answers is their promise, but how they get there is up to them alone. We get beyond the superficial with Nonfiction's Lindsey Wehking and Gunny Scarfo.
Published 07/08/23
After years of successful anti-smoking campaigns, vaping emerged at the next threat to young Americans. We're joined by RG Logan, SVP Brand Marketing at Truth and Ryan McDaid, Head of Strategy at Mojo Supermarket in Brooklyn.
Published 07/01/23
In our final "Outside In Thinking" episode, Ian Murray and Andrew Tenzer of Burst Your Bubble suggest turning our outward facing tools inward to address our cultural and professional disconnects. This series sponsored by The Planning Department.
Published 06/26/23
Recent Co-CSOs of AMV BBDO, Craig Mawdsley and Bridget Angear worked on some of the best campaigns, both strategically and creatively. We talk about why they left, about their ambitions for Craig+Bridget, and the freedom they’re experiencing working on both large and small brands. 
Published 06/18/23
There are many credible marketing effectiveness voices that often disagree with each other. Mary's latest report brings those opinions together and adds the Kantar perspective. This episode sponsored by the Master of Advertising Effectiveness Program.  MAE.academy.  
Published 06/11/23
Ep#3 in our Outside-In Thinking series, Helen Edwards (columnist, author, prof) describes how fringe behaviors mainstream. We talk about what they are, how to discover them in your category and the audiences most likely to ignite them. This series is sponsored by The Planning Department.
Published 06/04/23
PBR earned subculture status in hipster/dive bars, but that status began to limit growth with its "we’re for the cool kids” vibe. This is the story behind the brand's response. We're joined by Lauren Sooudi and Rob Scherzer of DNA Seattle.
Published 05/28/23
Ep#2 in our Outside-In Thinking series features Andrew Hovells. We talk about his decision to live outside the bubble of London in order to regain perspective. Thanks to The Planning Department for sponsoring this series.
Published 05/20/23
The basics apparel brand shares how it is elevating its "comfort" equity from functional benefit to cultural relevance. We're joined by CSO, Elizabeth Paul and Associate CD, Rushil Nadkarni, both of The Martin Agency.
Published 05/14/23
Ep#1 of our "Outside-In Thinking" series features Steven Lacey of The Outsiders, a cultural consultancy in London. He shares how our industry can break out of fishbowl thinking in order to deliver real value. This series sponsored by The Planning Department.
Published 05/09/23
Most categories have them, the big, obvious taboos no one talks about, but everyone knows could be awesome. For Partners Life Insurance, it was death! And they did it in an amazingly unique way. Rory Gallery, CSO and Lisa Fedyszyn, ECD of Special Group in Auckland, talk us through the award winning Last Performance.
Published 04/24/23
Ep#4 in our travel series features actors Rose Burn and Will Arnett in "Come Say G'day." It's a lesson in how to freshen brand codes without changing them.  We're joined by CMO Susan Coghill and Executive Strategy Lead, Rob Dougan.  Thanks to Kantar for sponsoring this series.
Published 04/16/23
First it was Droga5's Global CSO, Jonny Bauer, quickly followed by five CSOs from major creative agencies.  So what's going on inside the ivory tower of investment banking in Midtown Manhattan? We talk with Tom Callard, former CSO at BBH and now Brand Transformation Lead at Blackstone.
Published 04/08/23
Martin Weigel, incoming CS0 at AMV BBDO, Paula Bloodworth, Head of International Strategy at Uncommon, and Rob Campbell, CS0 at Colenso BBDO called and wanted to chat. This is what happened.
Published 04/03/23
Ep#3 in our Travel Series, United Airlines aligns with the stated beliefs of younger travelers through an ESG campaign that showcases its intentions and people. Thanks to Kantar for sponsoring this series.
Published 03/25/23