Mark Ritson on why everyone is wrong about Sydney Sweeney, the 3 rules of creativity & why strategy always comes before tactics

Nir Eyal writes, consults, and teaches about the intersection of psychology, technology, and business. Nir previously taught as a Lecturer in Marketing at the Stanford Graduate School of Business and the Hasso Plattner Institute of Design at Stanford. Nir co-founded and sold two tech companies since 2003 and was dubbed by The M.I.T. Technology Reviewas, “The Prophet of Habit-Forming Technology.” Bloomberg Businessweek wrote, “Nir Eyal is the habits guy. Want to understand how to get app users to come back again and again? Then Eyal is your man.”He is the author of two bestselling books, Hooked: How to Build Habit-Forming Products and Indistractable: How to Control Your Attention and Choose Your Life.What we covered in this episode:What motivated Nir to write IndistractableThe one topic that hadn’t been written aboutFocusing on what works in practice and not just in theoryHow the book helped work, life, family and healthWhy we get in our own wayWhat it’s like to see your own book on the shelfWho Nir really wrote the bookWhy yellow is the best colour for a book and podcastUnderstanding what causes distractionThe role of intent in separating traction and distractionWhy you shouldn’t write a to-do listFocus on what is important rather than easyHow work tasks can also be distractionThe internal and external triggers of distractionThe shocking 90% of distractions that come from within usHow we have to master our internal triggersThe secret hack of planning our time rather than to-do’sThe myth of will power of a depleting resource and the one group for whom its trueWhy you should avoid seeing yourself as a victimChanging the narrative we tell about ourselvesLiving to your own values rather than other peoplesMaking time for traction by turning values into timeBeing generous with your money and stingy with your timeThe importance of planning time for fun and interacting with peopleDividing work into reflective vs reactive workUsing your calender rather than email to determine your dayThe tyranny of the to-do listHow to a get to a higher level of team productivityUsing communication tools like a hot-tubHow to manage your bossThe role of culture in supporting its people to be IndistractableHow BCG changed their business cultureWork hard and go home – the lesson from SlackWhy focus is the superpower of the centuryHow to approach meetingsWhy 80% of meetings have no agendaThe surprising number for the optimum number of people in a brainstormThe only reason to have a meetingThe homework required before every meeting

19 Tammi 202354min

Mark Ritson is back on the Uncensored CMO podcast, and he's more uncensored than ever. This episode brings his ever candid thoughts on the best ads of 2022, who f*cked up and who he's been most impressed by. Strap in for Ritson's Review of 2022.Watch Uncensored CMO on YouTube here.What we covered in this conversation:Biggest marketing cock up of 2022The 2022 new entry on Mark’s Marketing Bulls**t Top 10The biggest surprise of 2022Which brand impressed him the most in 2022Who taught him the most in 2022The short term pay off of long term brand buildingThe challenge of stagflation in 2023Why pricing is a big opportunity for MarketersThe importance of framing and communicating priceHave we passed the peak Christmas Ad yet?The strategy behind Aldi’s successful Christmas AdThe power of Fluent devices to connect short & longThe under leveraged power of music to drive effectivenessHow Coke Holidays are coming owned ChristmasHow doing less leads to moreThe one time a client changed agency and kept the creative the sameJon & Mark review the best ads of 2022 on the System1 databaseHow Cadbury hit 5 Star in only 10sec with hardly any productionThe power of consistency for CadburyHow the emotional response varies by categoryHow Kelloggs owned the breakfast categoryWhat Mark learnt about branding whilst writing articles for the BA magazineHow Go turkey made the Top 5 but remained forgettableHow to value the impact of the musicMark and Jon create the perfect advertHow agencies could guarantee a pitch win with System1When Jon lost out on a Hollywood DirectorWhy marketing is so often seen as a cost not an opportunityJon reveals the No.1 Ad of 2022 (excluding Christmas Ads)Jon reveals the Top 5 Advertisers of 2022How Magnum reflected older people so well in their AdvertisingMarks most famous MW column on Cannes and how it compares to System1 dataJon reveals the No.1 Advertiser of 2022Why simple beats clever every timeBrands are tiny and un-important in consumers lives

4 Tammi 20231h 21min

What does it take to be the CMO of an iconic British high-street retailer, like Boots? Pete Markey shares his valuable wisdom and insights from a career at the very top.What we covered in this episode:The difficult second album making Boots Christmas AdRediscovering the joy of Hall & OatesWhy Retailers are so good at making Christmas adsMaking people feel more festiveThe importance of escaping reality at ChristmasHow Boots landed on Joy as a proposition for BootsThe purpose of making gifting easier and more joyfulBeing CMO of a high st retailer during covid & recessionHow Boots is using pricing and Advantage card to help customersGoing from ‘good old Boots’ to ‘oh wow Boots’How Boots is using advertising to reflect the full diversity of societyThe importance of telling one persons story wellWising up and showing older people in a better lightHow ‘Summer be ready’ campaign reflected older people as part of the storyThe role of purpose and whether it can also deliver profit Never drink the kool aid on your own purposeHow to tell your brand story internally as well as externally Making the finance team your best friendBeing shortlisted for Brand of the year in two awardsThe power of Boots advantage card as a media channelMeeting the challenge of Black FridayBeing on the Campaign and Marketing Week Top 100 listsImpressing the kids with a Hollywood style photoshootThe secret to being a Top 100 CMOHow the reality of being a CMO is different to the perception Creating the framework for success and unleashing the talent The hidden P’s of Politics and PersuasionThe importance of non-marketing skill set for a CMOPete’s advice to the aspiring CMO – be curious, get trained & build your networkHow Jon got a job that was never advertisedThe hidden power of your networkWhat you should do right now to build your networkHow Jon accidentally ended up doing a speech at the wrong eventThe 100 day plan to meet 100 peoplePete’s aim to terrify himself via improvised comedy

12 Joulu 202249min

As Christmas ad season is in full swing, I speak to the planning and strategy team from McCann Manchester, the agency that created Aldi’s Kevin the Carrot.What we cover in this episode:Why Darren and Jamie bring a life size Kevin’s to meetingsThe benefit of doing strategy as a pairConvincing a sceptical customer to shop at Aldi for ChristmasTaking inspiration from John Lewis the reigning king of ChristmasHow the humble carrot being the big ideaSelling the idea into AldiWhy they didn’t want to recreate a brand new campaign every yearThe challenge to beat Kevin every yearInspiration from light entertainment and why’s its harder than it looksSticking to what works whilst always finding ways to keep it freshHow to balance Christmas, a cost-of-living crisis & ChristmasThe importance of entertainment even in tough timesJamie & Darren rate this years crop of Christmas adsBeating the benchmark Coke Truck IndexHow Kevin successfully leverages the Long and Short of itUsing System1 testing to screen for early stage ideasWhy the simplicity of the System1 metrics are so importantThe case for testing a 4 min long animaticHow media is like renting a stage upon which to put on a showThe astonishing business results delivered by the Kevin campaignProving that being cheaper doesn’t mean you can’t be betterThe power of combining fame and consistencyWear in vs wear out on the System1 Test Your Ad databaseWhy we are over familiar with our own work vs the audienceHow little attention advertising actually getsThe power of jokes you know the punchline toBeing lovably pirates rather than the navyThe powerful purpose being Aldi’s mission to make good food affordable

30 Marras 20221h 14min

The most returned guest in Uncensored CMO history, Orlando Wood, is back. He made a brief cameo last episode but I wanted to dive deeper into creative styles that work in difficult times and if you should re-use old creative.What we covered in this episode:How Hovis proved the power of wear-in with an almost 5 StarCreative inspiration from an ad that is almost 50 years oldHow the romantic era is reflected in the Hovis adThe role of the right-brain in capturing attentionWhat covid taught us about creative wear-in vs wear-outThe accidental creative experiment that occurred during covidProof that ‘wear-out’ is a marketing mythThe difference in campaign length between the US and UKHow right-brained features perform better in recessionWhy Christmas 2022 Advertising is the best yetThe role of nostalgia in difficult timesHow Kevin the carrot delivers consistent 5 Star successGreat creative shouldn’t just be for ChristmasThe power of fluent devices in advertising and re-using old workOrlando’s top 3 tips for investing in a recessionHow good advertising can support price increases in recessionHow brand building helps you come out of recession betterOrlando’s top 3 tips for making creative work in a recessionWhy focussing on character, incident and place make effective creativeThe role of humour in difficult times

21 Marras 202231min

Storm clouds continue to gather over the global economy. With the latest quarterly UK GDP figures released on November 11 and the US and other parts of the world also bracing for a recession, this special recording of System1’s webinar dives into how brands can navigate tough times.However, tough times also bring opportunity. As the late great F1 driver Ayrton Senna once said, ‘You cannot overtake 15 cars in sunny weather… but you can when it’s raining.’In possibly the most comprehensive study of recession, Nitin Nohria found that 9% of companies come out of a recession in better shape than they went in.We're joined by Professor Mark Ritson, brand consultant and creator of the Mini MBA in Marketing, and Orlando Wood, author of IPA best-selling books Lemon and Look Out, to understand how brands should approach this challenging period.WATCH: The ad Orlando referenced: Hovis - Boy on a BikeWhat we covered in this episode:Which brands won and lost during covidWhy the CEO expects the CMO to step up in a crisisThe 4 issues that hold businesses back in a crisisWhy marketers must do their market orientation and get their strategy in place firstThe over-whelming evidence that supports investing in a recessionWhat happens when brands go dark and why small brands suffer mostHow ESOV can be more achievable in recession and what it means for the long termThe very strong business case for investmentThe role of operational efficiency and innovation to help come out stronglyHow to get your pricing strategy and communication rightWhether you should be changing your communicationInspiration from a campaign that is as good today as it was 50 years agoHow right brained creative features are connecting better in recessionWhy wear out is a myth based on thousands of ads on the System1 databaseWhat we can learn from the current Christmas AdvertsThe role of character fluent devices to make your advert more memorableTop 3 reasons to invest in creative right nowTop 3 ways to make creative emotionally engagement and effectiveMark and Orlando answer some tough questionsWhy marketing professors don’t teach how marketing actually works

14 Marras 202256min

Susan Coghill is the Marketing Director at Tourism Australia and they've got one of the best performing ads on the System1 database, with their new campaign "G'Day". But this wasn't without taking some risks, such as introducing a new brand mascot, getting high profile stars to feature and producing a 9 minute film.Watch the ad here.What we covered in this episode:Why Susan has the best job in the WorldHow to set KPI’s for a tourism brandWhy Tourism Australia kept advertising through the pandemicWhat System1 learnt about advertising during covidWinning the only Effie for a travel company during lockdownPlanning ‘Come and say G’day’ a new global campaign to announce Australia is open againWhich distinctive assets are the most AustralianCreating Ruby Roo the new brand mascotWhat we can learn from the Entertainment industryPutting on a show rather than sellingWhy it’s important to remember you are not the audienceMaking a new version of Men At Work’s ‘Down Under’The role of celebrities in making the ad more distinctiveJustifying spending $125m on the new campaignHow System1 testing gave confidence to make creative decisionsGetting a 4 Star in the animatic testingHow to reassure your stakeholder the creative will workInspiration from the best Christmas advertsAdapting creative for different marketsThe long term plan for RubyThe decline of fluent devices and why you should use themWhether Ruby will appear as a character in real lifeWhy we should all be more like Churchill the dogRevealing the official countdown of the UK’s best advertisers

8 Marras 202252min

Sophie is the CEO of The Marketing Society and the author of Superfast: Lead at Speed, in which she offers insight into energy management, purposeful leadership, and keeping pace with breakneck innovation. She is also a passionate advocate of flex work as the future of effective companies, and regularly speaks about innovative approaches to balance business and family life. Her career began at Procter & Gamble and Coca-Cola Great Britain, Interbrand, and then Leo Burnett Dubai. She went on to become CEO of The Caffeine Partnership, an innovative consultancy helping leaders with purpose and pace. Most recently, in July 2020, Sophie became CEO of The Marketing Society, a global community of progressive senior marketers whose purpose is to empower brave leaders.What we covered in this episode:Why Sophie chose a career in marketingThe loneliness of the marketing leaderHow the Marketing Society is creating a communityThe importance of celebrating marketing's role in creating changeWhat inspired SuperfastThe exhaustion that comes from the speed of informationHow the best leaders manage to set the right paceHow to write a book and manage the day jobWhich books inspired Sophie the mostThe importance of managing your energyThe SHED technique to energy managementUnderstanding what energises your teamThe times when you shouldn't go fastThe power of strategic lazinessHow a clear business purpose can drive paceHow Lucozade Sport created a clear purpose around Made to MoveHow the world's most successful business people make decisionsWhy being too fast and too slow can be dangerousWhy being closer to your customer makes decision making easierThe importance of timingHow Jon failed to kill the QR codeSophie's guide to whether the Metaverse will become a success or notWhy it's what you do with good luck of bad luck that really mattersWhat's next for the Marketing Society

1 Marras 202244min