Episodes
Today we're talking about more Boom! and less bust with Scott Morrison, the inspirational, energizing coach that teaches marketing teams how to be more successful, how to turn around business, how to win pitches and more. Timestamps 00:00 - Intro00:47 - Where did the name Boom come from01:31 - Scott’s background at Saatchi&Saatchi04:57 - What is Nike’s secret sauce09:48 - Scott’s career failures13:27 - Working on the Diesel brand17:37 - How to go from bust to Boom!40:11 - How to pitch to...
Published 04/24/24
Published 04/24/24
Today we're talking about what makes a great CMO. One of the CMOs that I've admired throughout his career is Craig Inglis, who famously was a CMO for John Lewis for many years, making those ads that you saw at Christmas and really defining the genre of Christmas advertising. Timestamps 00:00:00 - Intro00:00:50 - Craig’s marketing background00:02:25 - Craig’s biggest marketing failures00:09:34 - How to have a long tenure as a CMO00:13:24 - How to be a great CMO00:23:53 - Guessing the most...
Published 04/17/24
One of my favourite campaigns of all time is "Should've Gone to Specsavers" an idea that has completely transformed the Specsavers business. I speak to their CMO, Peter Wright and the MD of their in house creative team, Nicola Wardell, about how they've taken the idea and produced some of the best advertising on the System1 database. Watch the episode on YouTube. Timestamps: 00:00 - Intro00:59 - How Peter and Nicola ended up on Guernsey03:02 - The Specsavers story04:37 - The secret to...
Published 04/10/24
How does someone create advertising for a brand that is over 150 years old? That is exactly what Stephen O'Kelly has been tasked with as Global Brand Director at Guinness, one of the most iconic brands in the world. Recorded from the Connoisseur bar at the Guinness Storehouse in Dublin, this episode of Uncensored CMO is special. Not just because of how much history is involved in the brand, but the fact that Stephen is a fourth generation employee, carrying on the legacy of his family.
Published 04/03/24
Vikki Ross is a copywriting expert. Having worked for some major brand in the past two decades, she knows a thing or two about branding and tone of voice. This episode is a copywriting masterclass. We start by delving into the principles of great copy, before looking at it in action with our very own Copy Safari (where we go out into the world to find real ads), and then round off by asking the big question; is AI going to replace copywriters? Links Eats, Shoots and Leaves bookElements of...
Published 03/27/24
We're doing things a little bit differently this week. I've just recorded a webinar with Mark Ritson on advertising effectiveness with a very special guest, the VP for global marketing, Gui Ferreira from Mondelez. They are responsible for some of the epic Cadbury work that has scored right at the top of the System1 charts. We discussed what makes their advertising so good, what are the principles of advertising effectiveness and what can we learn? Watch the ads referenced in this...
Published 03/20/24
Today I'm joined by Mike Cessario, the founder and CEO of Liquid Death, a water brand worth $1.4b. With the use of creative brand marketing and punk aesthetic, Mike was able to break into the biggest beverage category in the US and disrupt market dominated by huge brands such as Coke and Pepsi. This is a truly inspirational story on how you can defy the odds, break convention, disrupt a category and do it all on a shoestring budget. If you're a challenger brand, this is a must...
Published 03/13/24
As Chief Marketing Officer, Michelle Taite leads Intuit Mailchimp’s Marketing teams and is responsible for the business’ end-to-end brand, acquisition, performance, product, and lifecycle marketing activities globally in addition to Mailchimp's in-house creative agency Wink. Joining just after Mailchimp's $12b acquisition, Michelle had the task of integrating their marketing into the wider Intuit team. Intro00:00 - Intro00:48 - Starting out desigining sneakers02:39 - From New Balance to...
Published 03/06/24
Jo Shoesmith is the Global Chief Creative Officer at Amazon. She leads lead brand creative, design, production, social, and brand identity functions, as well as agency partnerships, in the largest fixed marketing portfolio investment at Amazon.  00:00 - Intro01:04 - From rural Australia to Los Angeles01:58 - From agency to client side04:44 - That famous Jeff Bezos marketing quote05:50 - What does the Chief Creative Officer at Amazon do07:41 - Creating emotional, brand building...
Published 02/28/24
Today I'm speaking with Whyte and Mackay Marketing Director Janice McIntosh and Mr President (their agency) CCO Jon Gledstone about the launch of their new campaign for The Woodsman brand. The "Well Earned" campaign score a whopping 4.8 stars on the System1 test and saw the launch of a brand character, Barry the Beaver, in a move that defies convention in the traditional Whisky category. From internal battles to hurdles presented by the regulators, both Whyte and Mackay and Mr President had...
Published 02/21/24
Bozoma Saint John is a Hall of Fame Inducted Marketing Executive, Entrepreneur and Author of her memoir, The Urgent Life. Her career has included roles as the Global CMO of Netflix, CMO of Endeavor, CBO of Uber, Head of Marketing of Apple Music & iTunes and Head of Music and Entertainment Marketing at PepsiCo. Follow Boz InstagramLinkedInTwitter/XHer book - This Urgent LifeFollow Jon Jon's LinkedInJon's TwitterWatch the Uncensored CMO on YouTubeTimestamps 00:00 - Start01:34 - Why Boz...
Published 02/14/24
Today we’re diving deep into the high-stakes world of Super Bowl advertising with a very special guest—Ricardo Marques, the VP of Marketing for Michelob ULTRA. Ricardo, a veteran with 19 years at AB Inbev and the marketing maestro behind Michelob ULTRA's growth. He is here to share his playbook on how to score big during the most anticipated advertising event on American television. In this episode we get an exclusive look at how Michelob ULTRA prepares for the Super Bowl. Ricardo breaks...
Published 02/07/24
Today we're joined by Jessica Myers, CMO of The Very Group. Previously Jess was CMO at Metro Bank and has since made the transition to the highly competitive retail market. At Very, she has overseen the launch of a brand new fluent device; the pink flamingoes. The campaign featuring the new characters scored a whopping 5.7 stars on the System1 scoring platform, Test Your Ad, amongst the very best ads made this year. Timestamps 00:00 - Intro00:52 - Jess’ background06:11 - Marketing academy...
Published 01/31/24
Dave Kaufman is responsible for the marketing for one of the biggest tech bets of all time; the Metaverse. As Director of Global Marketing for VR and the Metaverse for Meta (formerly Facebook), it's fair to say Dave has a pretty sizeable task on his hands. He's no stranger to large marketing bets, having been on the marketing team for Google Glass, which ultimately failed. But sandwiched in-between working for Google and Meta, Dave worked for Obama's Whitehouse for the United States Digital...
Published 01/24/24
Today I'm joined by Antonia Wade, Global CMO at PwC and Author of The B2B Buyer Journey. This episode is a true B2B masterclass. We break down the importance of brand, reputation and relationships vs what people traditionally think is important in B2B. We also break down each stage of the marketing funnel to find out how best to reach them at every point in the buyer journey. Links Antonia's LinkedInAntonia's BookJon's LinkedInJon's TwitterWatch the Uncensored CMO on...
Published 01/17/24
One of the most popular episodes of all time was my first with Sarah Carter and Les Binet, so I'm bringing them back to do a review of 2023. We talk about what makes Les cry and if AI is going to take over our jobs. Links Jon's LinkedInJon's TwitterWatch the Uncensored CMO on YouTubeTimestamps 00:00:00 - Intro00:01:05 - Les’ favourite ads of 202300:04:45 - Sarah’s favourite Christmas ads00:07:15 - Wear out00:12:30 - Why familiarity breeds contentment00:17:42 - Have we rediscovered homour in...
Published 01/10/24
Now in this episode, we're talking about one of the most competitive markets in the world - insurance comparison. Anyone who's followed this market will know just how intense it is. And how do you build a brand when you don't have a product yourself, but you're selling someone else's product? Well, it's one of those situations where marketing is all important and advertising can make all the difference to your success. I'm catching up with Sam Day, who's been the CMO of confused.com, for the...
Published 01/03/24
Today I'm revisiting episode 3, with Adam Morgan, founder of eatbigfish and author of Eating The Big Fish, The Pirate Inside and A Beautiful Constraint to find out what it takes to become a successful challenger. Adam shares his tips for creating a challenger brand, transforming your culture and the power of constraints to driving innovation. In this episode: Why being No.2 is betterHow he turned the anger of his project being shelved into a career-defining opportunityBeing turned down by...
Published 12/27/23
Today I'm joined by Phill Agnew, senior product marketer at Buffer and host of Nudge, the only podcast dedicated to consumer psychology, and the other podcast that regularly hits the top spot of the UK marketing charts. In this episode we share 5 behavioural science "nudges" and 5 marketing lessons that we've taken from our respective podcasts and careers. Links Nudge podcastJon's LinkedInJon's TwitterPhill's LinkedInPhill's TwitterTimestamps 00:00 - Intro01:19 - How did Phill get into...
Published 12/18/23
Today I'm joined by Susan O'Brien, who is the VP Brand at Just Eat Takeaway. Just Eat are famous for their ads with celebs such as Snoop Dogg and Katy Perry, but are even more well known for their catchy jingle "Did somebody say...?". In this episode we break down Susan's career and how to make such an effective campaign. Timestamps 00:00 - Start01:16 - How Susan got into marketing03:43 - Freelancing07:30 - The secret to longevity as a marketer09:44 - The realities of being a CMO14:25 - The...
Published 12/13/23
Anselmo Ramos is the co-founder and Creative Chairman of GUT, a global independent creative agency with offices worldwide. He, along with his co-founder Gaston Bigio, opened GUT in 2018 with the goal of being the go-to agency for the world’s biggest brands, including Popeyes, Philadelphia Cream Cheese and Tim Hortons, among others, who are looking to do brave work and long-term bold brand building. Prior to co-founding GUT, Anselmo was the co-founder of award-winning global creative agency...
Published 12/06/23
Vicki Maguire is the Chief Creative Officer at Havas London, responsible for some of the best ads of all time. Notably Asda's Elf ad in 2022 which is the happiest ad we've ever seen at System1, and the British Heart Foundation campaign with Vinnie Jones that literally saved lives. Timestamps 00:00 - Start02:41 - Vicki’s background07:32 - How Vicki got into advertising11:53 - British Heart Foundation and Vinnie Jones20:30 - The Asda Elf Ad with Will Ferrell35:39 - Taika Waititi and Michael...
Published 11/29/23
Nancy King is the VP of Marketing at Airbnb. She leads Airbnb's global brand marketing team, performance marketing, marcom and social media teams. Prior to Airbnb, Nancy 20 years working across a mix of agencies, start-ups and as a founder of a strategy consultancy. Timestamps 00:00 - Intro 00:48 - Nancy’s background as a creative 05:16 - What can people learn from both agency and client side experience 07:08 - Origins of Airbnb 08:42 - The phases of Airbnb 09:54 - Losing 80% of the business...
Published 11/22/23
Dr Iain McGilchrist is a psychiatrist, writer, and former Oxford literary scholar. McGilchrist came to prominence after the publication of his book The Master and His Emissary, subtitled The Divided Brain and the Making of the Western World. His work formed the basis of Orlando Wood's books on advertising, Lemon and Look Out. Timestamps 00:00 - Intro01:09 - Iain McGilchrist background06:05 - Hasn’t the myth of the right and left brain been debunked12:48 - The changes in society based on right...
Published 11/15/23