Performance Marketing Unlocked

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...

How has PPC and paid media evolved—and what skills do marketers need to thrive in an era of automation, AI, and emerging platforms? In this episode, PMW’s News Reporter Reem Makari speaks with Clotilde de La Noue, Acting Head of Digital and Performance Marketing at the Financial Times; Lydia Wigley, Paid Media Strategy Director at Croud; and Tom Chandler, Founder of The Digital Lighthouse. Togethe...

UK digital adspend is set to surpass £30bn in 2025 and the creator economy is now worth over £18bn globally, however, brands are failing to get the most out of their influencer partnerships, according to an expert. On this episode of the Performance Marketing Unlocked podcast, Caspar Lee, co-founder of Influencer and former YouTube mega-star (15:53), outlines the challenges facing creators today,...

What does a truly modern, data-led marketing strategy look like in a post-cookie, AI-powered world? In this episode, PMW’s News Reporter Reem Makari speaks with Jodie Millward, Agency Partnerships Lead UK at Linkby, and Noelle Runo, Head of International Marketing and Communications at Making Science. Both 30 Under 30 winners talk about why some data strategies feel outdated, how brands can get mo...

Retail media is one of the fastest growing channels in adland, with industries such as finance and travel among the latest joining the party – but will the retail media bubble eventually burst? On this episode of the Performance Marketing Unlocked podcast, Katrina Smart, VP of Digital Commerce at Mars United Commerce (15:14), uses her decade of experience in digital commerce to inform her take on...

SEO is a performance channel that has changed rapidly over the years, but are the old rules still relevant in a world that is impacted by AI and social media? In the first ever episode of Digital Disruptors, winners from this year’s 30 under 30 awards talk about the generational differences in SEO thinking, how AI impacts it, and the future of search beyond Google. PMW’s News Reporter Reem Makari...

As affiliate marketing evolves, brands need to ensure their programmes drive true incremental value – not just discount-driven sales. But with rising costs and increasing competition for top-tier affiliates, how can marketers ensure profitability while driving long-term customer growth? In part two of our sponsored Performance Marketing Unlocked podcast series, brought to you in partnership with R...

Connected TV (CTV), steaming, digital and online are some of the most commonly heard terms across adland... but what do they actually mean? According to two industry veterans, nothing. On this episode of the Performance Marketing Unlocked podcast, Wayne Butler, Head of Media Effectiveness at Sky Media and Nigel Walley, CEO at Decipher (20:18), argue that many of the terms and phrases often thrown...

On this special episode of the Performance Marketing Unlocked podcast, learn how to build an effective affiliate marketing strategy that can scale globally while maintaining local appeal. Recorded live on stage at PMW Unlocked 2025 and brought to you in partnership with Rakuten Advertising, PMW's Multimedia Editor Joseph Arthur and Rakuten Advertising's Senior Vice President of Advertising, EMEA,...

Les Binet, Dr Grace Kite, Sophie Miller and Calfreezy are just some of the marketing minds who graced the stage at PMW Unlocked 2025, captivating the thousands of attendees with insights, anecdotes and crucially, data. But what were they all talking about? On this episode of the Performance Marketing Unlocked podcast, the PMW editorial team (2:18) discuss the biggest lessons, surprises and themes...

"We don't have much option but to put prices up." Undoubtedly, both the current macro and micro-economic climates will have businesses and consumers tightening their respective purse strings. On this episode of the Performance Marketing Unlocked podcast, Helena Hudson, Founder of Real Eating Company (21:05), talks all things small business. From the inception of her own over two decades ago to the...

Just about every marketer has the Super Bowl circled on their calendars each year. Whether you're working with a brand that splurges on an £8.5m halftime ad slot or with a more modest organisation attempting to leverage the 120 million strong audience in real time, the opportunities are boundless... but unfortunately, so are the risks. On this episode of the Performance Marketing Unlocked podcast,...

Social media has changed in recent weeks. Fuelled by the inauguration of US President Donald Trump, TikTok's potential ban in the US and Meta's removal of fact checkers in the name of "free speech" has raised some eyebrows across the advertising industry. As a rapidly growing performance marketing channel, the implications of this social upheaval – particularly from a brand safety perspective – ar...

Google has been the King of Search since 1998 – but for how much longer can it retain the crown? Social platforms like TikTok and Instagram have become popular discovery tools and large language models like ChatGPT can serve as search engines in their own right, leaving Google to fight a war on several fronts to maintain its supposed search "monopoly". But with a looming TikTok ban in the US and M...

The year is almost over and you know what that means, it's time to look back on what was and throw out some hot takes for what's ahead. On the final episode of the Performance Marketing Unlocked podcast season 3, the entire PMW editorial team (1:51) is in the studio to talk about 2024's biggest surprises, 2025's most exciting trends, and assess the myriad of opportunities and threats facing adland...

Ongoing customer loyalty is widely agreed as being pivotal to any businesses long-term success, but how to best go about creating it is up for debate. On this episode of the Performance Marketing Unlocked podcast, Guy Meyers (28:29), Senior Director of Customer Success (Global) at Recurly, argues why – despite loyalty ultimately being an upper funnel, brand-building play – data is the most valuabl...