The Modern Retail Podcast

When it comes to lifestyle brands, Equinox makes a pretty good case for itself. What started out as a luxury gym has evolved into a hospitality brand, talent agency, digital magazine, and more. Leading the lifestyle charge is CMO Vimla Black Gupta, who believes that her role is all about understanding her customer as a whole. On this week's episode of Making Marketing, Black Gupta sat down to talk...

In 1977, Robert Greenberg, also known as Bob, and his brother, Richard, decided to combine both their creative powers and initials to create R/GA. Since its creation over 40 years ago, R/GA has evolved many times, and that, according to Bob, played a major part in keeping it successful. On this episode of Making Marketing, Bob sat down to talk with us about the origins of R/GA, its near-constant e...

In the Spring of 2017, Verizon brought on Andrew McKechnie to run its new, in-house creative agency after a long career at Apple and a handful of other agencies. In this episode, McKechnie talks about why creatives actually do want to work with brands, the in-house difference, and why staying true to the brand is especially important when working with outside agencies.

Jonnie Cahill, the new CMO for Heineken USA, is charged with marketing one of the world's largest beer brands in one of the largest beer markets. In this episode, Cahill discusses Heineken's global focus, the specific challenges of the U.S. beer market, and the importance of knowing your customer.

Since joining Publicis Groupe as global chief creative earlier this year, Nick Law, a longtime agency veteran, has been on a mission to help reinvent the agency holding company. On this episode, Law discusses how the internet has changed the way that ad agencies operate, how Publicis plans to stay relevant and why he steers clear of "big ideas."

Susan Schiekofer, Chief Digital Investment Officer at Group M, runs digital investments at the world's largest media agency where her focus is purely on the brands. On this episode Schiekofer discusses the ins and outs of the pitch process, helping the clients to understand that good brand safety costs money,finding success on social media and the importance of keeping content away from fraud and...

Adapt or die. It’s something most business say they practice but rarely do. An exception is Tracy Wong, the founder of Wongdoody, a 25-year-old creative agency whose acquisition by Indian IT and consulting giant Infosys was announced in April. On this episode, he discusses changing models, being irrelevant, democratic cultures and more. This episode of Making Marketing was originally published on...

Eric Hippeau, managing partner at Lerer Hippeau Ventures, has invested in many entrepreneurial projects over the years. When looking for his next investment, one of the first things Hippeau considers is the passion and life experience of its founders. He joins us for a conversation on the Making Marketing podcast by Digiday.

Nick Brien, CEO of the Dentsu Aegis Network, talks about holding the agencies to a higher standard on accountability, the impending consultancy competition and procurement.

Yogiraj Graham is the global director of the creative content labs at Intel. Through its in-house shop, Agency Inside, Intel has for years exercised comparatively firm control over its marketing. Yogi leads Intel’s team of 111 people globally, that serves the Intel brand. On this week’s episode, he discusses the road to going in-house, including the hard parts and the easier ones.

Aditi Javeri Gokhale, the CMO of Northwestern Mutual, crafted her own job description as the first-ever CMO of the company and overhaul Northwestern Mutual’s brand awareness and practices. On this episode, she discusses her plan of action and where the “quiet brand” is switching into action.

Tham Khai Meng is Ogilvy's worldwide chief creative officer. He thinks 'Westworld' is right. What is the difference between fake and real anymore? AI is blurring out all the definitions. On this episode, he discusses how the tech world has aggressively changed the playbook for agencies and the lessons that he has learned.

Companies have to be more than buildings -- they have to stand for something. It’s a tall order, especially if you sell products like toothpaste or deodorant. On this week’s episode of Starting Out, Anheuser-Busch U.S. CMO Marcel Marcondes discusses his mission to make it happen. 

Richard Edelman, president and CEO of Edelman, inherited the family business from his father 40 years ago. Since then, he has expanded the company to 29 different countries, while remaining independent and family-held. Edelman discusses growth, challenges and marketing challenges in this episode of Starting Out: Cannes Edition.

Adapt or die. It’s something most business say they practice but rarely do. An exception is Tracy Wong, the founder of Wongdoody, a 25-year-old creative agency whose acquisition by Indian IT and consulting giant Infosys was announced in April. On this episode, he discusses changing models, being irrelevant, democratic cultures and more.

In the year of the pivot to reality, marketers are rethinking their reliance on agencies and relationships with platforms. The General Data Protection Regulation has forced companies to reconsider business approaches, but good businesses are resilient. Antonio Lucio, HP's chief marketing officer, prizes resilience. On this episode of Starting Out, Lucio discusses championing diversity, the role of...

As managing director of Wieden+Kennedy, Neal Arthur is an independent spirit who grew up as the only black kid in his California neighborhood. At Wieden and Kennedy, his independence found a home. On today’s episode, Arthur talks about stumbling into advertising, and how the independence at Wieden+Kennedy fuels tough creative decisions.

Andrew McKechnie is the chief creative officer at Verizon, where he’s building the company’s in-house agency, 140. McKechnie, who last served as global group creative director at Apple, spent years on the agency side, which he says left him frustrated and more convinced than ever that the agency model as it stands is careening toward irrelevance. On this episode of Starting Out, McKechnie discusse...

PJ Pereira is the founder and creative chairman of Pereira & O'Dell. He also wrote a trilogy of West African myths. On this episode of Starting Out, Pereira discusses how writing helps maintain his business and creative acumen, and he talks about the pressure he felt to assimilate into America.

Nancy Reyes is the managing director of TBWA\Chiat\Day in New York. Reyes grew up in Long Island City in New York amid rundown houses and warehouses. Her mother was a housekeeper, and her father drove taxis. On this episode of Starting Out, Reyes discusses her path to becoming a leader who values working for everything in life.

Mark Tutssel is the executive chairman at Leo Burnett. Early on, he learned to watch people to understand them and the value of their attention. On this episode of Starting Out, Tutssel talks about the cruel yet kind decision of an agency executive in Bristol, England, that led him to London and a lesson he learned in a cab. 

Christian Juhl is the global CEO at Essence. Juhl, who majored in political science in college, sees modern work as being inherently political -- from running a company to building consensus and avoiding factions. On this episode of Starting Out, he discusses how he went from beginning his career during the dot-com bust to landing at a scrappy office at Essence.

GE CMO Linda Boff has been in business for years. As a manager, she has developed what she calls a "spidey sense" about hiring. On this episode of Starting Out, Boff discusses how this sense has helped her decide which candidates to take chances on.

John Osborn recently made a major leap when he moved to media agency OMD after 25 years at creative shop BBDO. But the seemingly sharp turn in his career was the result of an organized mind. On this episode of Starting Out, Osborn discusses being an over-programmer, obsessively charting out his career path, which began -- like many kids -- with mowing lawns.  

From college dropout to the worldwide CEO of Ogilvy & Mather, John Seifert’s career seems like the plot of a movie. Seifert joined the agency for a summer job during his sophomore year at the University of Southern California 38 years ago -- and never left. On this episode of Starting Out, Seifert discusses his path to one of the largest agencies in the world.