Future Proof

Recently returned from CES in Vegas, Marco Rimini (Chief Development Officer at Mindshare) feels he has glimpsed the future – as well as a few things that probably won’t come to be. So what’s likely to change in the media world, and particularly the media agency, in the next year… or even decade? Marco tells Jane and Andrew about the rise of shoppable content and how it affects the traditional med...

You don't get much more traditional than Oxford University Press: over 500 years old, its roots dating back to 1478 when the first book was published in Oxford and home to the renowned Oxford English Dictionary.  Today the Press has 6000 employees, operates in 190 countries and 40 languages, and offers a huge range of products and services, from pre-school educational materials to scholarly works....

Too many marketers still believe that sustainability in marketing comes at the expense of cost-effectiveness – when, increasingly, adopting sustainable marketing can improve commercial performance. So says David Radford, former CMO of Allianz in the UK and Associate Fellow of Said Business School. David's contention is that marketing needs to get its house in order when it comes to sustainability....

There are more and more times when we find ourselves talking to what might seem like a person, but it’s actually a bot, often powered by AI. But what does the research say about the best way to use them? What can businesses do differently to improve their reputation, and get deeper customer insights? Professor Andrew Stephen, L’Oréal Professor of Marketing at Saïd Business School, takes us through...

Michael Fanuele has written about the Six Skills of Inspiration in his new book, Stop Making Sense. In this episode, we speak to Michael in New York about why inspiration matters, what it can achieve, and how an individual – particularly a leader – can become more inspiring. As it turns out, it might mean turning our backs on rationality… We also touch on the role of planners, the role of agencies...

Daianna Karaian has always worked at the intersection of sustainability and business, helping brands make money while also making a difference in the world. Now she has set up Thought Starter & Thoughtful Works, to help businesses and individuals actually walk the talk. We speak to Daianna about the Thought Starter kit and its basis in Martin Luther King’s 'six steps of non-violent social change',...

What’s involved in producing news? And what’s new about news in a more digital-focussed world? Inga Thordar, Executive Editor of International, CNN Digital Worldwide, tells Jane Ostler and Felipe Thomaz what an ‘average’ day looks like, how to find the right news stories for the right audiences, and how you can make news go viral… while still remaining trusted, non-partisan and distinctive. Hosted...

What makes a bank successful? How do you attract and retain customers in the Indian banking market? And what role does technology play? S. Ramakrishnan, Head of Retail Banking & Wealth Management for HSBC in India, speaks to Andrew Stephen and Amy Cashman about creating a winning customer experience, the benefits of being a multinational business, the future growth opportunities and how they are p...

The Racing Post was set up in 1986 to provide expert insights to fans of racing. But how does it approach marketing today? What does the future look like for the publisher? And how is this digital transformation linked to the internal culture of the business? Louise Agran, CMO at the Racing Post, gives Andrew Stephen and Amy Cashman the lowdown on the business model at this heritage brand, the pro...

Can we use machine learning algorithms to better understand consumers? How they truly feel, simply by looking at their face or reading their Tweets? If not, why not? Dr Natalia Efremova of the University of Oxford talks about the current research, the potential of AI and machine learning, and the power it might have not only in marketing but in achieving social goods. She also touches on why it’s...

How can we measure creativity? It's a big question, and a big challenge - but one that WPP's Perry Nightingale is keen to answer (with a little help from Oxford University and the Future of Marketing Initiative). In the second part of Andrew and Jane's conversation with Perry, we hear about Perry's creativity school, infusing creativity into an organisation, what has changed in the last 10 years (...

Kirk McDonald, CMO of advertising and analytics company Xandr, talks to Jane Ostler in Cannes about his views on the digital landscape – how digital advertising is analogous to the food supply chain, why Xandr’s mission is to ‘make advertising matter’, and how a great user experience can go hand in hand with effectiveness for marketers and efficiency for publishers. Kirk believes we can use techno...

There is a lot of disruption in the world of ‘mobility’ – but what does that actually mean? What does it take to launch a ‘mobility’ product? How will marketing teams encourage consumers to adopt new platforms and travel methods, including autonomous vehicles? And what do these innovations mean for traditional car and transport brands, other types of businesses, and society at large? Mat Heinl, CE...

There is a lot people don’t know about eBay, says Gareth Jones. In order to bust some of those myths – around things like delivery and newness – the online shopping platform is spending more and more on traditional media channels like radio and TV. Telling these stories and reaching a wider audience is helping them achieve longer term success, he explains, and complements their digital advertising...

Technology and data now sit at the heart of marketing, and AI has quietly embedded itself in our culture. But how can we use it to produce adverts that make an impact? Why is human creativity still important? And what are the big questions we need to be asking about evolving technology... not just from a business perspective, but for society as a whole? In part one of a two-part discussion, Perry...

If enjoying food makes us choose to consume more of it, then learning how to trigger greater levels of enjoyment could be a valuable tool in a brand’s repertoire. How can you encourage consumers to buy, consume and enjoy your products? What if they really think they won’t like the flavour combination? And why do choices around packaging – size, wording and related ‘content’ – matter? Andrew and Ta...

How do you bridge the gap between creative and media teams to deliver more effective campaigns? How do you encourage users to actually watch a video ad on their mobile device? And how do you achieve mass reach without losing personalised, contextual relevance? These are just some of the questions Jane and Felipe discuss with Grant Gudgel, the head of Teads Studio in North America. They talk AR, AI...

What makes Pinterest different to other platforms? Jon Kaplan, Global Head of Partnerships, explains to Jane and Felipe how users (or Pinners) actually appreciate content from brands on this channel, as they find inspiration for everyday products, seasonal ideas, or major life moments such as planning a wedding, a new baby, or house renovations. Jon tells us what innovations are new and coming soo...

Nick Lawson, CEO EMEA and client practice lead at MediaCom, spoke to us in Cannes about the changing world of the media agency, how the industry has evolved, why clients look to media agencies for growth solutions… and what the future might look like. Will technology replace people, or just boring tasks? What skills do agencies need? What role can media agencies play? And why has Nick stayed at th...

The Culture Next global trends report from Spotify explains how younger audiences are changing – experiencing screen exhaustion and re-evaluating their relationship with digital media, they are moving to new channels and expecting new, personalised but connected experiences. With these trends and the ubiquity and innovation in audio, says Danielle Lee (Global Vice President, Partner Solutions at S...

Steve Hatch, Vice President Northern Europe at Facebook, and former CEO at MEC (now Wavemaker) talks about the difference between his current job and working at an agency, and what has changed at Facebook in the last few years – particularly recently, in terms of promoting the social good done by the platform, and minimising harm. He also tells Jane Ostler about the latest innovations and applicat...

What is the role of the CMO? How is it changing? And, most importantly, what makes a really good one? Jane Ostler interviews Nadine Dietz, chief community officer at AdWeek and host of the CMO Moves podcast, during Cannes Lions 2019. Nadine talks about her conversations with CMOs, the traits she finds they have in common, what they do differently… and even some of the secret dreams they hold. Host...

Jane and Andrew speak to Bruce Daisley, VP EMEA for Twitter, about the role the platform plays in society and the marketing mix, as well as his own work around positivity at work. Bruce discusses recent innovations at Twitter to make conversations healthier, the best ways brands can use Twitter (both for starting conversations and gathering feedback to use as fuel for a campaign) and what makes po...

June saw the release of the  BrandZ Top 100 Most Valuable Global Brands of 2019 , with Amazon taking the top spot for the first time. But why does it matter? How does it work? And what makes the difference between a top performing brand and those that drop off the list? Doreen Wang, global head of BrandZ for Kantar, tells Jane Bloomfield about the key themes, provides insights for growth and offer...

With more data at our disposal than ever, new tools, new tech, machine learning… are machines about to replace creatives? Tara Walpert Levy (VP, Agency and Brand Solutions at Google) says no, but brings to life several examples of where technology and insights – specifically from Google – are empowering creatives and creative work. On the stage at Google Beach as part of Cannes Lions, she discusse...