Hard Refresh

Culture has always been the backdrop for marketing, but in the next 25 years, can brands and creatives become true culture makers, or are they destined to follow? In this episode of Hard Refresh , host Andrés López-Varela is joined by Jonathan Harley (media and tech executive, ex-Canva/Twitter/60 Minutes), Tess Palmyre (Founder, Brandable), and Tim Duggan (Author and Chair, Digital Publishers Alli...

From podcasts to TikTok sounds, digital audio has moved from background noise to the cultural main stage. In this episode of Hard Refresh , host Andrés López-Varela is joined by Adam Johnson (Co-Founder, Original Audio & Chief Growth Officer, Nova Entertainment) and Georgia Tappy (Social Media Consultant) to explore what the next 25 years could hold for audio.  They debate why brands obsess ov...

The agency model has been declared “dead” more times than we can count — but it keeps coming back in new shapes. In this episode of Hard Refresh , host Andrés López-Varela is joined by Hannah Muirhead (Founding Strategy Partner, Chapter), Missy Burrell (Director of Social, Mainstay Media), and Freddy Hollow (Director of Sales & Marketing, GolfBox) to explore what the next 25 years might hold. ...

Advertising is fragmenting faster than ever — but does that mean the big brand ad is dead? In this episode of Hard Refresh , host Andrés López-Varela is joined by Amber Martin (Founding Partner, Hypnosis), Dean Hunt (Founding Creative Partner, Chapter), and Mike Drysdale (Creative Strategist, Folklore) to map the future of advertising.  They debate whether creativity and craft can survive in a wor...

Automation is no longer just a tool — it’s becoming the operating system of marketing. In this episode of Hard Refresh , host Andrés López-Varela is joined by Kirsty O’Connell (Senior Account Director, equ.) and Sophie Winter (National Manager, Content & Communities, Australian Wildlife Conservancy) to debate the promises and pitfalls of automation.  From Meta’s AI gone wrong with a feral cat...

Data has always been the fuel of marketing, but the mix is shifting fast. In this episode of Hard Refresh , host Andrés López-Varela is joined by Andrew Douglas (Hunt Brew), Heather Lansdowne (Australian Bureau of Statistics), and Rene LeMerle (Bonfire) to explore how the role of data is evolving.  From the collapse of Google’s cookie plan to the rise of first-party data, the panel digs into how b...

Video has dominated digital marketing for more than a decade — but the ground keeps shifting. In this episode of Hard Refresh , host Andrés López-Varela is joined by Nanda Gunnink (Managing Director, Studio Orange), Saira Manns (PR & Social Media Manager, Greyhound Australia), and Tanya Waite (Director of PR, Mainstay Media) to explore the changing craft of video. From lo-fi user-generated cli...

Social media has been the beating heart of digital marketing for two decades — but is it already past its peak? In this episode of Hard Refresh , host Andrés López-Varela is joined by Eugene Healey (brand strategist, educator, and creator), Meg Coffey (Founder, State of Social), and Steph Edwards (Head of Social Content & Creative, WiredCo) to debate what the next 25 years hold.  From video-fi...

Branded content has long since blurred the line between marketing and media — but where is it heading next? In this episode of Hard Refresh , host Andrés López-Varela is joined by Amaury Treguer (Bread Agency), Kate O’Connor (Consultant, formerly BBC Studios/Bluey), and Keshnee Kemp (Founder, August One; former Head of Content, Woolworths) to debate whether audiences really care who’s behind the s...

Influence has evolved from glossy celebrity endorsements to TikTok dances, AI avatars, and micro-creators running their own economies. In this opening episode of Hard Refresh , host Andrés López-Varela sits down with Dan de Sousa (Quiip), Sharyn Smith (Social Soup), and Tyler O’Day (Empire State Realty Trust) to explore the future of influence.  Together, they unpack how “authenticity” is becoming...

For a quarter of a century, one industry has been quietly shaping how you see the world. That industry is digital marketing and, for 25 years, it's blended technology, media, advertising and entertainment into an unstoppable cultural force. But what's in store for the next 25 years of digital marketing? Join Andrés López-Varela and a cast of marketing leaders on Hard Refresh, a limited 10-episode...