Math & Magic: Stories from the Frontiers of Marketing with Bob Pittman

As a kid, there were some things Translation's founder and CEO Steve Stoute just knew: that there were 50 houses on his block (he used to count them!), that there was no job he wasn’t willing to do (from shoveling snow to delivering newspapers), and that the Bangles didn’t have to be classified as either black or white music. Hear how following his curiosity led him to the record business, why the...

Judy McGrath once said John Sykes had the gift of “making everyone want to be at the party.” Hear Bob and John relive the scrappy and ingenious marketing from MTV (including why you should look a little closer when you buy a shack with a cashier’s check, and why you might not want to trust Van Halen with a contest winner). Plus, John gives tips on how to get your next project funded, and how he he...

Tom Brokaw didn’t win all those Peabodies and Emmys (and a Presidential Medal of Freedom) by cooling his heels! Hear how the legendary anchorman worked his way up from a little radio station in Omaha, why he thinks Watergate turned everyone into an investigative reporter, and how saying yes to opportunities and following his curiosity gave him the edge when the Berlin Wall came crumbling down. Plu...

As Global President and CEO of legendary ad firm DDB, Wendy Clark keeps pushing the company to break new ground. (Consider the branded Broadway Show she wrangled for Skittles!) Learn why Wendy believes the best creative campaigns can only come out of trust; how she’s used her perch to create a more diverse workplace, and how her experiences at AT&T, Coca-Cola, and even her early stint as a shi...

It isn’t hard to call Fred Seibert a creative genius: from his early role in shepherding the look of MTV and crafting a brand image for Nickelodeon, to running Hanna-Barbera, to commissioning some of Cartoon Networks most iconic modern cartoons (Powerpuff Girls! Johnny Bravo!), Fred knows how to bottle Magic. But a big part of his secret is applying Math to the mix. Tune in as he reveals how to sp...

This week Bob sits down with Daniel Glass, President and Founder of the indie darling Glassnote Records. Dive into his origins as “Disco Danny” spinning tracks at the legendary Regine’s; learn why he’s so passionate about radio and why it was crucial to breaking acts like Mumford & Sons and Childish Gambino; and discover why he’s made a habit of letting go of the A-minuses (spoiler: he works h...

This episode Bob puts iHeart’s own CMO Gayle Troberman in the hot seat! Learn how Gayle outfoxed a tiny marketing budget and got all of NYC talking about her 90s start-up; why she believes audio and Instagram are the “two giant green fields” every brand needs to be playing in; and how Microsoft’s reluctance to use the word advertising helped her become a pioneer of branded content.  Learn more abo...

This week Bob interviews Olivier Francois, the legendary CMO of Fiat Chrysler. Learn why Eminem volunteered to put himself in Olivier’s commercial, how coming up with a soundtrack for every brand helps Olivier shape his vision, and why a little cultural ignorance has helped him push the boundaries of advertising. Plus, hear the surprising backstory behind that incredible tagline: “Imported from De...

If you want lessons in reinventing your brand while keeping it relevant for decades, Shaggy is a smart place to start. Fresh off his tour with Sting, the two-time Grammy Award winning artist sits down with Bob to talk about why he risked going AWOL every week to record his first album, how he refreshes his brand while keeping it pure to his Jamaican roots, and why he always embraces the creative e...

At 15, Jarl Mohn got himself a pseudonym (Lee Masters!), a radio license and a job at a local station. Learn how the legendary CEO of NPR worked his way up from spinning records, how competing with a man in El Paso taught him everything he knows about sales, and why limited funds and a little bit of desperation led to groundbreaking successes at MTV, E! and NPR. Learn more about your ad-choices at...

Ben Lerer knows brands. As the co-founder of Thrillist, Ben created the go-to recommendation engine for everything from secret menu items to must-have flip flops (they came with bottle openers built into them!) In the 15 years since, Ben's not only grown the business, but become CEO of Group Nine Media--parent company to some of the most popular digital brands including NowThis and the Dodo. And s...

All Judy McGrath wanted to do when she grew up was to write for Rolling Stone . Instead, the storied CEO of MTV Networks now sits on the board of Amazon. Discover how the creative giant got seduced by management, why she learned to love a P&L (spoiler: it was to make room for wildly creative programming like Rock the Vote ,and South Park ), and how she convinced advertisers to get behind The D...

Just because she's a self-proclaimed data nerd doesn't mean she only cares about the numbers! Julie Rieger, former President Chief Data Strategist and Head of Media at 20th Century Fox is one of the most lauded, out-of-the-box thinkers. In this episode, Julie explains why she looks for specific words in Tweets (it can reveal purchasing intent!), why buying pages in The New York Times and leaving t...

Advertising giant GroupM CEO Tim Castree is everything you want from a leader: smart, calm, resourceful, and a Change Agent who also happens to be a client guy. Learn how Tim got his start as an Advertising Cadet, why skipping college never slowed him down, and how his combination of humility and drive have pushed him to the top. Plus, learn how he convinced all of Australia to turn off their ligh...

When he was hired, Maurice Lévy was just supposed to be the IT guy. Instead, his 3 decades at the helm as CEO of the Publicis Group transformed advertising on a global scale. Bob goes into the booth with the living legend to learn how the NOW Chairman of the Supervisory Board of Publicis Groupe increased the value of the company 100-fold during his tenure as CEO, how he fought off a British merger...

Few people hustle as hard as Scooter Braun. This episode, Bob discovers how the renowned entrepreneur, investor and entertainment exec dropped out of college to place a bet on himself (and a young Justin Bieber); why David Geffen means so much to him, and why a “burn the ships” mentality is key to spotting the greatest talent. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.co...

How do the smartest marketers cut through the noise? And how do they manage to do it again and again? Join Bob Pittman as he analyzes the Math and Magic of marketing. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.com See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.