Performance Marketing Unlocked

The marketers seeing real results with AI aren’t worrying about implementing the right tech – they’re rethinking how decisions get made, who makes them and what role human instinct should play. This Performance Marketing World podcast episode, produced in partnership with Upp.ai, unpacks why so many AI-led media strategies stall before they scale – and what it actually takes to close the gap with...

The agency model is facing a perfect storm: in-housing is gutting the middle, independent agencies are winning on agility, and AI is automating the ‘making’ part of marketing. So how is the big six responding? On this episode of the Performance Marketing Unlocked podcast, Jessica Tamsedge, UK CEO of Dentsu Creative, joins host Joe to outline how Dentsu is blowing up traditional silos to prepare fo...

Zero party has search killed the click. At least, that's the narrative marketers have been sold – but is it true? On this episode of the Performance Marketing Unlocked podcast, PMW's Editor Robin Langford and Senior News Reporter Bethany Lee join host Joe to talk about the future of the click, and why Google might be trying to bring it back for the sake of publishers and advertisers. Also on this...

We’ve entered the ‘synthetic era’ of social media. AI can now try to generate a viral video, clone a creator’s voice, and optimise a hook for the algorithm in seconds. But there's a catch, consumers want more authentic content, not less. On this episode of the Performance Marketing Unlocked podcast, Chris Parnell, co-founder and CCO of social-first creator agency NewGen, joins host Joe to discuss...

POSSIBLE Miami is the pretty new thing in the world of advertising events, but is it already becoming a mini-Cannes? On this episode of the Performance Marketing Unlocked podcast, PMW's Editor Robin Langford and Senior News Reporter Bethany Lee join host Joe to discuss whether there is scope for POSSIBLE to carve out a necessary niche in an already oversaturated roster of annual advertising events...

Search is becoming increasingly fragmented for users, spread across traditional browsers, largue-language-models (LLMs), social media platforms and more. In turn, search competition is increasing among advertisers, leaving many marketers looking for new ways to reach audiences. On this episode of the Performance Marketing Unlocked podcast, Andy Squire, RVP Sales, EMEA at Brave, outlines how brands...

Experts have billed 2026 as 'the year of the independent agency', so what does this mean for the future of holding companies? On this episode of the Performance Marketing Unlocked podcast, PMW's entire editorial team is in studio to talk about everything going on in the world of marketing that doesn't involve AI. From an uptick in agency mergers and acquisitions to the channels marketers continue...

The need for AI-literacy has never been higher among marketers, but how can anyone stay on top of the ever-changing AI-landscape? On this episode of the Performance Marketing Unlocked podcast, Lee Henshaw and Dino Myers-Lamptey, co-founder of The Marketer in The Loop AI certification course, outline why getting back to basics and focusing on the foundational knowledge from marketing's past is the...

The first quarter of 2026 has come to an end. It was full of expectation, innovation and cautious optimism – but how did it really play out? On this episode of the Performance Marketing Unlocked podcast, host Joe is joined by PMW's Editor Robin Langford to discuss the factors, events and trading conditions that have marked the opening quarter of the year, diving into the state of play as we begin...

'Big Six' holding companies appears to be quickly losing faith The Trade Desk (TTD). Publicis is no longer recommending the demand side platform to its clients, Dentsu and WPP abandoned Openpath and Omnicom has reportedly commissioned an audit of its relationship with the company – but why? On this episode of the Performance Marketing Unlocked podcast, PMW's Senior News Reporter Bethany Lee joins...

The advertising industry can't decide how to best optimise the media mix for modern channels and metrics such as AI-powered search and retail media. On this episode of the Performance Marketing Unlocked podcast, Dom Coleridge, Co-founder and Commercial Director of Scale Digital, joins host Joe to argue why quality always beats quantity in the world of marketing. Across content, media, partnerships...

The click era is over, prompts will soon equal profit, and creative is now a pivotal part of performance. These are just a snapshot of the takeaways from Performance Marketing World Unlocked 2026. One this episode of the Performance Marketing Unlocked podcast, PMW's editorial team is in the studio to talk all things PMW Unlocked 2026. With the annual confex now in the rear view, the trio discuss t...

LinkedIn is the second most cited domain among large-langauge-models (LLMs). As such, is has become a hub of content discovery and advertising opportunities. On this episode of the Performance Marketing Unlocked podcast, Andrew Monu, VP of Marketing at LinkedIn, joins host Joe to reveal how the social media platform manages to stay ahead of the ever-changing AI-powered algorithms. From using socia...

UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer has announced plans to introduce increased social media regulations to protect the wellbeing of vulnerable people, particularly children. It stands to dramatically impact the advertising industry, shifting brand's access to particular audiences across social media formats. On this episode of the Performance Marketing Unlocked podcast, PMW's Senior News Reporter Betha...

AI systems are now allocating budget and optimising media in real time. The operational heavy lifting of performance marketing is increasingly automated. And that changes the economics. If execution no longer depends on constant, hands-on optimisation, does performance naturally move closer to the business? Could this be the moment in-housing finally accelerates? And if it does, where does that le...

The advertising industry loves to talk, and yet, some of the most important topics within the space are often ignored. On this episode of the Performance Marketing Unlocked podcast, four marketing experts come together to put the spotlight on several topics they don't think are getting the attention they deserve. Hosted by Paul Evans, founder of V2RSION, with Tony Miller, Interim CMO of Direct Lin...

Super Bowl LX may have failed to deliver the sporting spectacle that many fans were hoping for, but the annual Super Bowl ads certainly got people talking – particularly those framed around AI. On this episode of the Performance Marketing Unlocked podcast, PMW's new Senior News Reporter Bethany Lee joins host Joe to unpack the key themes from this year's batch of ads, turning to a litany of data d...

The in-housing versus agency debate has become a hot topic within the world of advertising, but does in-housing really deliver in practice? On this episode of the Performance Marketing Unlocked podcast, Honor Baldry, Digital Marketing Director at PureGym, outlines how marketers can effectively determine which parts of their strategy to own and which parts to let go. This podcast was hosted by PMW'...

Affiliate marketing represents a significant piece of the UK's performance marketing pie, generating over £19bn in sales last year alone. However, despite its ongoing growth, the affiliate space continues to polarise marketers. On this episode of the Performance Marketing Unlcoked podcast, PMW's Editor Robin Langford joins host Joe to discuss affiliate marketing's latest setback, namely Paypal's o...

In an era built around creating automated efficiency, the ultimate competitive advantage isn't a better algorithm – it’s a deeper understanding of the human behind it. On this episode of the Performance Marketing Unlocked podcast, behavioural psychologist Lea Karam, founder and CEO of Mindscope, exposes the invisible forces driving consumer decisions that your dashboard is currently missing, revea...

The Performance Marketing Unlocked podcast is back for another season! PMW's editorial team kick things off with a quickfire round-up of all the biggest advertising stories to open 2026, from Reddit's boom in reach to how FMCG brand's can navigate the UK's junk food advertising ban and everything in between. This podcast was hosted by PMW's Deputy Editor, Joseph Arthur. ~ Episode breakdown ~ (2:45...

PMW's editorial team is back for its annual Christmas Special. A podcast where we reflect on the biggest themes, trends and stories from the year and look ahead to the future, making some predictions for what the next 12 months might hold. From AI's impact on search to Amazon's booming DSP ecosystem and everything in between, PMW's Editor Robin Langford, News Reporter Reem Makari and host Joe leav...

Consumers are more concerned about privacy than ever before and yet they are demanding more personalisation from advertisers. How can brands walk this tightrope and balance privacy and transparency with an effective strategy for gathering and utilising data? The answer is simple, trust. Unfortunately, building trust is not quite so simple. On this episode of the Performance Marketing Unlocked podc...

The annual Black Friday Cyber Monday weekend is regularly bookmarked on marketers' calendars as one of the biggest sales opportunities of the year, but with 2025's edition coinciding with tax increases from the UK Labour Government's latest budget and increasing levels of "sales fatigue" among Brits, are consumers going to be willing to spend? On this episode of the Performance Marketing Unlocked...

Product sampling has often been maligned as one of marketing's dirtiest habits – simply palm off your samples to whoever you can find and call it a day. However, on this episode of the Performance Marketing Unlocked podcast, Matthew Huntly, co-founder and CEO of Sampl, explains exactly how the practice has modernised and why the digital-first reinvention of Sampling is one of the best kept secrets...