Uncensored CMO

Scott Galloway is Professor of Marketing at NYU Stern School of Business and host of the Prof G and Pivot podcasts. In this episode Prof G lives up to the billing as the most uncensored guest on the podcast ever. We cover lots of ground, including his secret to success with Prof G media, what the #1 skill for all marketers should be, why brand is dead and how to build wealth. We recorded this episode as Scott releases his new book The Algebra of Wealth: A Simple Formula For Success, buy on Amazon UK, or US. Timestamps

Today we're talking about more Boom! and less bust with Scott Morrison, the inspirational, energizing coach that teaches marketing teams how to be more successful, how to turn around business, how to win pitches and more. Timestamps 00:00 - Intro 00:47 - Where did the name Boom come from 01:31 - Scott’s background at Saatchi&Saatchi 04:57 - What is Nike’s secret sauce 09:48 - Scott’s career failures 13:27 - Working on the Diesel brand 17:37 - How to go from bust to Boom! 40:11 - How to pitch to CMOs

Today we're talking about what makes a great CMO. One of the CMOs that I've admired throughout his career is Craig Inglis, who famously was a CMO for John Lewis for many years, making those ads that you saw at Christmas and really defining the genre of Christmas advertising. Timestamps

One of my favourite campaigns of all time is "Should've Gone to Specsavers" an idea that has completely transformed the Specsavers business. I speak to their CMO, Peter Wright and the MD of their in house creative team, Nicola Wardell, about how they've taken the idea and produced some of the best advertising on the System1 database. Watch the episode on YouTube. Timestamps:

How does someone create advertising for a brand that is over 150 years old? That is exactly what Stephen O'Kelly has been tasked with as Global Brand Director at Guinness, one of the most iconic brands in the world. Recorded from the Connoisseur bar at the Guinness Storehouse in Dublin, this episode of Uncensored CMO is special. Not just because of how much history is involved in the brand, but the fact that Stephen is a fourth generation employee, carrying on the legacy of his family.

Vikki Ross is a copywriting expert. Having worked for some major brand in the past two decades, she knows a thing or two about branding and tone of voice. This episode is a copywriting masterclass. We start by delving into the principles of great copy, before looking at it in action with our very own Copy Safari (where we go out into the world to find real ads), and then round off by asking the big question; is AI going to replace copywriters? Links Eats, Shoots and Leaves bookElements of F*cking Style bookBland BookVikki's TwitterVikki's LinkedInTimestamps

We're doing things a little bit differently this week. I've just recorded a webinar with Mark Ritson on advertising effectiveness with a very special guest, the VP for global marketing, Gui Ferreira from Mondelez. They are responsible for some of the epic Cadbury work that has scored right at the top of the System1 charts. We discussed what makes their advertising so good, what are the principles of advertising effectiveness and what can we learn? Watch the ads referenced in this podcast: Cadbury GarageOreo TwistTimestamps:

Today I'm joined by Mike Cessario, the founder and CEO of Liquid Death, a water brand worth $1.4b. With the use of creative brand marketing and punk aesthetic, Mike was able to break into the biggest beverage category in the US and disrupt market dominated by huge brands such as Coke and Pepsi. This is a truly inspirational story on how you can defy the odds, break convention, disrupt a category and do it all on a shoestring budget. If you're a challenger brand, this is a must listen. Timestamps 00:00:00 - Intro 00:01:10 - Mike’s background 00:06:24 - Mike’s brandy startup 00:10:33 - Navigating regulation 00:12:46 - The benefits of being an outsider distrupting an industry 00:14:57 - Coming up with the idea for Liquid Death 00:19:30 - How to create an innovative brand 00:23:48 - Selling the Liquid Death concept 00:27:08 - Raising money for Liquid Death 00:29:50 - Launching on Amazon 00:30:52 - Generating demand in the early days 00:31:46 - Figuring out distribution networks for the drinks industry 00:35:45 - Why limited budgets helped Liquid Death grow 00:44:11 - Why D2C was pivotal for Liquid Death 00:46:12 - Liquid Death’s unique Super Bowl campaign 00:49:54 - The power of the Liquid Death merch 00:53:00 - Innovation for the future of Liquid Death 00:54:15 - Scaling and exit 00:56:02 - Having famous investors 00:57:29 - Maintaining the challenger spirit 01:01:58 - Mike’s advice to aspiring founders

As Chief Marketing Officer, Michelle Taite leads Intuit Mailchimp’s Marketing teams and is responsible for the business’ end-to-end brand, acquisition, performance, product, and lifecycle marketing activities globally in addition to Mailchimp's in-house creative agency Wink. Joining just after Mailchimp's $12b acquisition, Michelle had the task of integrating their marketing into the wider Intuit team. Intro 00:00 - Intro 00:48 - Starting out desigining sneakers 02:39 - From New Balance to Unilever 04:13 - Doing purpose work for Dove 05:15 - Michelle’s favourite work at Unilever 06:27 - From CPG to SaaS 09:29 - What is Mailchimp and why is it successful 11:06 - Staying close to the customer 13:26 - How to market to marketers 14:54 - Email is not dead 16:15 - Integrating an acquired company 20:40 - Performance vs brand marketing 25:16 - How AI will enhance creativity 29:20 - Mailchimp's distinctive assets 33:21 - How marketing influences the product 35:56 - How to market to marketers 38:35 - Obsessing about the 95% not in market 40:45 - Top CMO advice from Michelle

Jo Shoesmith is the Global Chief Creative Officer at Amazon. She leads lead brand creative, design, production, social, and brand identity functions, as well as agency partnerships, in the largest fixed marketing portfolio investment at Amazon. 00:00 - Intro 01:04 - From rural Australia to Los Angeles 01:58 - From agency to client side 04:44 - That famous Jeff Bezos marketing quote 05:50 - What does the Chief Creative Officer at Amazon do 07:41 - Creating emotional, brand building advertising 09:22 - Using the brand distintive assets 10:33 - Creating inclusive advertising 13:05 - Advice for writing a really good brief 14:43 - Tenets to inform great creative 15:45 - Benefits of having in house creative (and working with agencies) 17:42 - Managing global creative teams 19:36 - What’s it like making a Super Bowl ad 22:42 - Innovation within Amazon 24:12 - Making things happen in a huge business 25:13 - Simplifying complex creative ideas 28:23 - Work Jo is most proud of 31:39 - How Amazon are using AI 33:44 - Advice to a young Jo

Today I'm speaking with Whyte and Mackay Marketing Director Janice McIntosh and Mr President (their agency) CCO Jon Gledstone about the launch of their new campaign for The Woodsman brand. The "Well Earned" campaign score a whopping 4.8 stars on the System1 test and saw the launch of a brand character, Barry the Beaver, in a move that defies convention in the traditional Whisky category. From internal battles to hurdles presented by the regulators, both Whyte and Mackay and Mr President had to overcome some barriers to bring this campaign to life. Timestamps 00:00 - Intro 01:01 - Inventing The Woodsman 01:42 - Creating a brand dominated by big players 04:00 - Standing out in a product dominated category 05:46 - Balancing demand and supply 06:31 - Availablity of the brand 07:11 - Overcoming perception barriers 09:15 - Coming up with the “Well Earned” positioning 13:06 - How to sell in breaking convention 16:00 - How the agency helped sell the idea 18:29 - Creating a new character 20:02 - Characters vs Celebrities 21:07 - Using humour in a traditional category 23:23 - Creating a physical barry the beaver 24:18 - The importance of craft in the ad 26:07 - Staying on the right side of regulations 28:23 - A good client agency relationship 30:09 - How important is testing and data to back up creative decisions 31:53 - The importance of mental and physical availability 33:32 - The results 35:01 - What’s next for the brand?

Bozoma Saint John is a Hall of Fame Inducted Marketing Executive, Entrepreneur and Author of her memoir, The Urgent Life. Her career has included roles as the Global CMO of Netflix, CMO of Endeavor, CBO of Uber, Head of Marketing of Apple Music & iTunes and Head of Music and Entertainment Marketing at PepsiCo. Follow Boz InstagramLinkedInTwitter/XThis Urgent LifeFollow Jon Jon's LinkedInJon's TwitterWatch the Uncensored CMO on YouTubeTimestamps 00:00 - Start 01:34 - Why Boz wrote such an emotional book 05:02 - The reception to the book 08:32 - Encountering Spike Lee 13:32 - Making decisions based on intuition 16:05 - Working for founder led brands 20:36 - Leading marketing at large organisations 23:55 - Managing the relationship with the CEO and CFO 28:42 - Hire Boz, Get Boz - how to have confidence in yourself 31:57 - Why you shouldn’t “play the game” 33:06 - Dawn always comes; dealing with grief 41:09 - Making the choice to change your life 45:11 - From corporate jobs to entrepreneur 48:24 - What’s next for Boz?

Today we’re diving deep into the high-stakes world of Super Bowl advertising with a very special guest—Ricardo Marques, the VP of Marketing for Michelob ULTRA. Ricardo, a veteran with 19 years at AB Inbev and the marketing maestro behind Michelob ULTRA's growth. He is here to share his playbook on how to score big during the most anticipated advertising event on American television. In this episode we get an exclusive look at how Michelob ULTRA prepares for the Super Bowl. Ricardo breaks down the importance of the Super Bowl as a platform, not just for audience reach but for creating conversations and excitement around the brand. But is Super Bowl advertising really worth the investment? Ricardo weighs in on the multifaceted approach to this question, assessing the creative, the conversion, and the long game of brand relevance. Key performance indicators, the intricate balance of novelty versus authenticity, and the seismic impact of this year's Super Bowl on Michelob ULTRA's growth trajectory are all on the table. Timestamps

Today we're joined by Jessica Myers, CMO of The Very Group. Previously Jess was CMO at Metro Bank and has since made the transition to the highly competitive retail market. At Very, she has overseen the launch of a brand new fluent device; the pink flamingoes. The campaign featuring the new characters scored a whopping 5.7 stars on the System1 scoring platform, Test Your Ad, amongst the very best ads made this year. Timestamps 00:00 - Intro 00:52 - Jess’ background 06:11 - Marketing academy fellowship 07:13 - From big brand to challenger brand 10:46 - The modern marketer 11:57 - From finance to retail 15:31 - Dealing with the challenges of joining a new business 18:03 - Nailing positioning 22:09 - Doing long term marketing in retail 23:39 - Agency selection process for Very 27:22 - Understanding your customer 31:50 - The power of testing creative 36:36 - The increasing standard of advertising 38:28 - Creating a new fluent device - The Flamingoes 43:20 - The future of the brand 46:08 - Jess’ advice to aspiring marketers

Dave Kaufman is responsible for the marketing for one of the biggest tech bets of all time; the Metaverse. As Director of Global Marketing for VR and the Metaverse for Meta (formerly Facebook), it's fair to say Dave has a pretty sizeable task on his hands. He's no stranger to large marketing bets, having been on the marketing team for Google Glass, which ultimately failed. But sandwiched in-between working for Google and Meta, Dave worked for Obama's Whitehouse for the United States Digital Service. In this episode we discuss if the US is behind the UK in terms of marketing thinkers, why marketing education is overlooked, why Google Glass failed and what the future holds in terms of the Metaverse. Links Dave's LinkedInDave's viral LinkedIn articleJon's LinkedInJon's TwitterWatch the Uncensored CMO on YouTubeTimestamps 00:00 - Intro 00:58 - Dave’s favourite episodes of Uncensored CMO 01:50 - Elon vs Mark in a fight 02:31 - US vs UK marketing 03:57 - How to not be full of sh*t in marketing 09:16 - Was Google Glass a failure? 15:50 - Launching the Meta X Rayban Sunglasses 20:28 - Explaining the metaverse 24:02 - How to quantify the success of the metaverse 26:29 - When will the metaverse become mainstream? 30:58 - Making virtual reality more familiar 32:28 - Does tech have a marketing problem? 38:20 - Working for founders 46:39 - Working at President Obama’s Whitehouse 53:35 - Working with low budgets 56:47 - Dave’s bets for 2024

Today I'm joined by Antonia Wade, Global CMO at PwC and Author of The B2B Buyer Journey. This episode is a true B2B masterclass. We break down the importance of brand, reputation and relationships vs what people traditionally think is important in B2B. We also break down each stage of the marketing funnel to find out how best to reach them at every point in the buyer journey. Links Antonia's LinkedInAntonia's BookJon's LinkedInJon's TwitterWatch the Uncensored CMO on YouTubeTimestamps

One of the most popular episodes of all time was my first with Sarah Carter and Les Binet, so I'm bringing them back to do a review of 2023. We talk about what makes Les cry and if AI is going to take over our jobs. Links Jon's LinkedInJon's TwitterWatch the Uncensored CMO on YouTubeTimestamps

Now in this episode, we're talking about one of the most competitive markets in the world - insurance comparison. Anyone who's followed this market will know just how intense it is. And how do you build a brand when you don't have a product yourself, but you're selling someone else's product? Well, it's one of those situations where marketing is all important and advertising can make all the difference to your success. I'm catching up with Sam Day, who's been the CMO of confused.com, for the past 6 years, who successfully challenged this market and taken it from 4th to 2nd place on very limited budgets. So I want to find out from Sam the secret behind the success of the campaigns that he's run over the last few years, how he's transformed their business and what his plans are for the future. Links Jon's LinkedInJon's TwitterWatch the Uncensored CMO on YouTubeTimestamps 00:00 - Intro 03:53 - Sam’s advice to a young marketer 06:27 - Sam’s greatest failure 08:44 - Management and leadership advice 12:27 - The secret to an extended CMO tenure 19:41 - Getting c-suite buy in with data 22:50 - Consistency 24:26 - Marketing when you don’t have a product 26:01 - Brand vs price 28:43 - Why name the brand after the problem (confused.com) 31:24 - Branding against one of the best branded characters of all time 34:02 - Why there’s no silver bullet for success 37:02 - Spontaneous awareness - how to win an effie 39:50 - Selecting an agency 42:01 - Great examples of populous advertising 44:14 - How agencies should pitch to CMOs 49:39 - What’s next for Sam Day

Today I'm revisiting episode 3, with Adam Morgan, founder of eatbigfish and author of Eating The Big Fish, The Pirate Inside and A Beautiful Constraint to find out what it takes to become a successful challenger. Adam shares his tips for creating a challenger brand, transforming your culture and the power of constraints to driving innovation. In this episode: Follow me: Twitter | @uncensoredCMOLinkedInContact me: www.uncensoredcmo.comjon@uncensoredcmo.comAdam Morgan: Twitter | @eatbigfishwww.eatbigfish.comEating The Big FishThe Pirate InsideA Beautiful Constraint

Today I'm joined by Phill Agnew, senior product marketer at Buffer and host of Nudge, the only podcast dedicated to consumer psychology, and the other podcast that regularly hits the top spot of the UK marketing charts. In this episode we share 5 behavioural science "nudges" and 5 marketing lessons that we've taken from our respective podcasts and careers. Links Nudge podcastJon's LinkedInJon's TwitterPhill's LinkedInPhill's TwitterTimestamps 00:00 - Intro 01:19 - How did Phill get into podcasting 04:03 - Bonus Nudge - The Halo Effect 06:29 - Nudge 5 - The Labour Illusion 09:40 - Marketing Lesson 5 - The Power of Getting Fired 13:25 - Nudge 4 - The Pratfall Effect 19:26 - Marketing Lesson 4 - The Power of Purpose 24:49 - Nudge 3 - The Curiosity Gap 30:03 - Marketing Lesson 3 - Be Distinctive 35:26 - Nudge 2 - Social Proof 41:14 - Marketing Lesson 2 - The Power of Creativity 45:10 - Nudge 1 - Fresh Start Date 48:59 - Marketing Lesson 1 - The Power of Consistency