Performance Marketing Unlocked

New data has revealed that retail media adspend is set to surpass $200bn by 2027, but where does this place the channel compared to others such as connected TV and social media? On this episode of the Performance Marketing Unlocked podcast, PMW's Editor Robin Langford joins host Joe to talk about the future of retail media, from its potential to hit an investment ceiling to whether or not it, and...

Where have marketers missed out in 2025? And more importantly, how can they avoid leaving growth opportunities on the table in 2026 On this episode of the Performance Marketing Unlocked podcast, Esme Robinson, Director of Platform Solutions at Epsilon, and PMW 2025 Powerlist member, reveals where marketers have gone wrong this year and how they can remedy things over the next 12 months. From negle...

AI browsers are here, streaming giants have become ad platforms and tech giant's are warning of being 'forced' to remove privacy regulations – how's that for news? On this episode of the Performance Marketing Unlocked podcast, PMW's News Reporter Reem Makari joins host Joe to discuss several of the industry's biggest headlines from the past couple of weeks. In an attempt to help you keep up with a...

Retail media is no longer a plucky, upstart new channel. It's rode the first wave of investment and excitement, but now is the time to prove its staying power. On this episode of the Performance Marketing Unlocked podcast, host Joe sits down with two retail media experts, Ollie Shayer, Senior Director, Global Strategy and Innovation at SMG, and Daniel Knapp, Chief Economist, IAB Europe, to talk ab...

Rory Sutherland famously dislikes much of what performance marketing offers, acknowledging that while the lower-funnel is important, many marketers are "painting themselves into a performance corner" to justify their existence. On this episode of the Performance Marketing Unlocked podcast, Sutherland explains what marketers are doing wrong and how they can better utilise performance-orientated dat...

With OpenAI officially seeking a 'Growth Paid Marketing Platform Engineer', it appears that ChatGPT becoming an advertising platform is finally upon us. On this episode of the Performance Marketing Unlocked podcast, PMW's editorial team dissect industry leaders' hot takes on the rumours, outlining how the innovation may impact marketers, whether or not competing large-language-models will follow s...

The final quarter of the year is often a tense time for marketers. Despite the festive atmosphere, many get swept up in quarterly KPIs and a need to please the CFO with a short-term sales boost – but is this best way to make the most of peak season? On this episode of the Performance Marketing Unlocked podcast, Suzanna Chaplin, founder and CEO of esbconnect, argues that a long-term approach focuse...

Amazon and Netflix have joined forces with a deal that will soon see Amazon DSP granted access to Netflix’s premium ad inventory, expanding the pool of audiences available to Amazon Ads's clients. On this episode of the Performance Marketing Unlocked podcast, host Joe is joined my PMW's Editor, Robin Langford, and News Reporter, Reem Makari, to unpack exactly what this partnership means for the in...

Modern marketing is full of challenges, so much so, that leaders in the space often feel as if they are being set up to fail. On this episode of the Performance Marketing Unlocked podcast, Paul Evans, founder and Chief Positioning Officer at V2RSION – a seasoned marketing specialist across brand, agency and client-side – offers marketing leaders a path through all of the industry muck. This podcas...

The future of advertising is always uncertain, but with AI innovating at breakneck speed, forecasting what the industry will look like in five years time is more challenging than ever... which is why PMW has done it for you. On this episode of the Performance Marketing Unlocked podcast, PMW's News Reporter Reem Makari joins host Joe to unpack AI's impending impact on marketing jobs, campaign targe...

Savvy shoppers recently realised that Amazon's AI shopping assistant Rufus now uses memory signals, signalling the e-commerce giants' continued ambitions to innovate with automation. On this episode of the Performance Marketing podcast, host Joe is joined by Sue Azari, e-commerce Industry Consultant at Appsflyer, to discuss AI's influence on e-commerce, and whether the technology is helping or hin...

Meta is the latest tech giant facing allegations of foul-play with regard to its reporting of advertising performance, specifically that it inflated the ROAS of its Shops ads' tool by 17 to 19%, as alleged by a former employee. On this episode of the Performance Marketing podcast, host Joe is joined by PMW's News Reporter Reem Makari and Premium Content Editor Jyoti Rambhai to break down exactly w...

AI has already changed most aspects marketing immensely, but perhaps no more than in search. With SEO now GEO, traffic, clicks and CTRs all falling off a cliff, what are we to do? On this episode of the Performance Marketing Unlocked podcast, host Joe is joined by Sarah Aird-Mash, CMO of Future Group (), who breaks down exactly what has happened to search, where it's headed in the future, and what...

The AI arms race is here and big tech platforms such as Meta are prepared to invest billions of dollars into the personnel engineering the technology. On this episode of the Performance Marketing Unlocked podcast, host Joe is joined by PMW's Editor Robin Langford and News Reporter Reem Makari to discuss Alphabet, Meta, Microsoft, Apple and Amazon releasing their Q2 2025 earnings reports. In terms...

Is Amazon the sleeping giant of the advertising world? Surely that's impossible... right? On this episode of the Performance Marketing Unlocked podcast, PMW's editorial team bands together to analyse some of the biggest news from the past fortnight, namely Amazon's sudden departure from Google Shopping ads and the latest respective AA/WARC and IPA Bellwether reports for the opening of 2025. This p...

Return on adspend (ROAS) has long been touted as the holy grail of metrics for advertising campaigns, but is it still a true barometer for a brand's success? Jake Higgins, Partner at MNC, joins host Joe to dissect his latest essay 'The ROAS Illusion'. Together, they discuss why ROAS is no longer representative of the full story and in some cases, high ROAS campaigns are actually hindering brands'...

Attention has quickly gone from an immeasurable advertising pipe-dream to a leading metric compatible with emerging channels such as connected TV, digital out-of-home, and most recently, retail media. On this episode of the Performance Marketing Unlocked podcast, Mike Follett, CEO and co-founder of Lumen Research (16:38), reveals how his company became an "overnight success", moving from a problem...

Marketing can be a polarising resource among the C-suite and with budgets dwindling, it appears that more often than not, CEOs are convinced the practice is a cost centre rather than an investment opportunity. On this episode of the Performance Marketing Unlocked podcast, Kathryn Rathje, Partner at McKinsey (17:18), reveals that the general quality of CMO and CEO relationships is worsening, accord...

Expectations often run high for marketers at Cannes Lions, with big budget dealmaking top of mind. But what really drives success at the Festival of Creativity? On this Cannes Lions special edition of the Performance Marketing Unlocked podcast, PMW's Editor Robin Langford (2:28) joins host Joe to analyse the hottest talking points from the week. The pair make reference to conversations they've had...

How did programmatic go from misunderstood tech jargon to a foundational piece of modern media strategy, and why are younger marketers so drawn to it? In this Digital Disruptors episode, PMW News Reporter Reem Makari speaks with Babajide Sotande-Peters, Senior Manager of Global Programmatic & Innovation at a team x Omnicom, Milica Lukic, Account Director at Adform, and Sophie Marsh-Baldry, Senior...

Is social media a safe space for brands? Despite some recent news coverage, the data suggests that it may well be – especially if you invest in the right platform. On this episode of the Performance Marketing Unlocked podcast, Steve Riad, VP of Global Mid-Market and SMB sales at Reddit (16:19), outlines how the news aggregation and social forum platform has managed to remain a useful resource for...

How has growing up online shaped the next generation of marketers—and how are they rewriting the rules of social media and influencer strategy? In this episode, PMW News Reporter Reem Makari speaks with Olivia Tutton, Senior Campaign Director at The Goat Agency, and Sophie Somers, Director of Paid Social at Journey Further. The duo discuss how their digital upbringing gives them a distinct edge in...

With some marketers pressing pause on their plans to move beyond third-party cookies, others are ramping up plans for a cookieless, ID-less and perhaps Google-less future. On this episode of the Performance Marketing Unlocked podcast, we scale the walled gardens and look at emerging advertising channels operating beyond the web. PMW's Premium Content Editor Jyoti Rambhai (2:40), joins host Joe at...

How has the approach to performance creative evolved, and what distinct strategies are emerging across different generations in this age of increasing data and automation? In this episode of Digital Disruptors, PMW News Reporter Reem Makari speaks with Megan Tarsuslugil, Senior PR Manager at Bottled Imagination (formerly Senior Campaign Specialist at Journey Further), and Frediano Iannelli, Senior...

Last month, Google announced it is no longer planning to roll-out a ‘user-choice’ feature allowing users to opt out of being tracked by third-party cookies on Chrome. Notably, Anthony Chavez, VP Privacy Sandbox at Google, said in a blogpost that this decision comes off the back of industry feedback. On this episode of the Performance Marketing Unlocked podcast, Jyoti Rambhai, PMW's Premium Co...