How not to plan - Les Binet & Sarah Carter

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 Nov 202244min

Professor Karen Nelson-Field is Founder and CEO of Amplified Intelligence, and Professor of Media Innovation at The University of Adelaide. Karen is a globally acclaimed researcher in media science, is a regular speaker on the major circuits, including Cannes and SXSW, and has secured research funding from some of the world’s largest advertisers. Her first book, Viral Marketing: the science of sharing, set the record straight on hunting for ‘viral success’. Her most recent book The Attention Economy and How Media Works explains the stark reality of human attention processing in advertising. Karen’s commercial work combines tech and innovative methodological design to look closely at attention metrics in a disrupting digital economy.Listen to my first episode with Karen from Cannes.What we covered in this conversation:Reaction to Cannes Lion Triple Jeopardy talkKaren’s career journey to nowMaking the jump from Academia to Business ownerWhy not all reach is created equalHow few people actually pay attention to your advertThe variability of time in view vs actual attention based on platformThe technology that allows attention to be measuredHow the ESOV and reach based model are brokenThe 2.5second rule and how memory is createdHow repetition of advertising helps in low attention platformsHow attention has an elasticity based on the platformThe role of creative in attention rich platformsThe importance of adapting your creative based on the attention of the platformHow to approach media planning with attention in mindWill wearable technology help improve attention measurementKaren’s response to Byron’s recent comments on attentionWhat level of push back the focus on attention is gettingWhat’s coming next for Amplified Intelligence

24 Okt 202228min

Now, a topic in this episode very close to my heart. Why are car ads all so bad? I spoke with Kirsten Stagg from Skoda, who's the UK Marketing Director and has made some pretty good ads herself. In fact, Skoda are responsible for the best ad on the System1 database. We also talk a lot about the move to electric vehicles, the biggest revolution since the combustion engine. How do we get more people into electric vehicles over from petrol? And what are the car industry doing to save the planet? So, no shortage of big questions in this episode.What we covered in this episode:Jon explains his failure to get a job in automotive marketingHow Kirsten got a job in the automotive industry despite not owning a carHow you actually pronounce Skoda and why they changed the use of itWhy VW changed their approach to brand building based on how people choose carsKirsten’s favourite VW advert of all timeJon puts Kirsten on the spot about why all car ads look the sameLocal insights vs global executionThe thinking behind ‘it’s a Skoda. Honest’Why the Skoda cake advert is the best in the categoryA ‘driver’s best friend’ and how Skoda inverted the relationship between car and dogThe biggest disruption in the automotive industry since the combustion engine was inventedJon explains how he ended up meeting the director of HR at Daimler Benz who turned him downHow Mercedes have already made their last V8 engineThe role of concept cars in gauging potential customer interestThe barriers to EV adoption and how to overcome themKirsten gives the pitch for making the switch to an EVHow the EV is changing people’s brand perception and encouraging switchingWhy very long-standing agency relationships have helped ensure strong creative workTop tips for getting the best creative work from your agencyWhy you should work with Directors who have low egosThe best ads Jon ever made were with up-and-coming Directors

12 Okt 202242min

Leo is the founder of Eden Lab, a new kind of consultancy and venture studio, they don't just advise on how to win in the Net Zero future, they build it with you. He's the former CEO and Chief Strategy Officer of ad agency Grey London, founder of Grey Consulting, speaker, writer and start-up mentor.He believes businesses can help shape the planet for the better. To do that he says we need to invent - and reinvent - companies for a post-carbon world. He scouts, designs and assembles new business models, products and services that actively create a better future for all of us.What we covered in this episode:The state of the industryWhy CMO spend so little time on commsHow to ask better questionsSolving every problem with a posterPost Covid hybrid leaving do’sThe biggest challenges the world facesGood intentions vs real actionThe one mission to end all missionsWhat is stopping marketers making a differenceClimate change ignoranceNot all growth is green growthBridging the gap between sustainability and the consumerWhy fear and ignorance is holding us backThe £12trillion cost of saving the planetHow do we create the change we need to seeWhy it’s time to commercialise sustainabilityMoving from shame to seductionThe gap between consumer experience and sustainabilityWhy Backmarket models a customer centric approachThe importance of the green business modelThe tension between costs of living crisis and doing the right thingThe power of an impossible briefWhy brands will be punished in the future for lack of green credentialsThe future value of your customer bookWhat is your clean share of marketPutting creativity into the heart of the problemCommercialising ESG to create changeBuying trainers for lifeWhat every brand needs to do now

22 Sep 202237min

Meghan Farren spent 10 years at KFC UK, spending the last 5 as CMO. What does it take to run a marketing department of one of the biggest consumer brands? What do you do when you run out of chicken as a fast food chicken joint? How do you change your strapline when it involves licking fingers during a global pandemic? And how a strong culture is pivotal for all this creativity to happen.What we covered in this episodeGoing back to KFC after a year - back to school vibeThe realness of working in a KFC restaurantResearch vs real world experienceHow Meg got into marketing in the first placeFrom finance to marketingHow to transition industryExperience vs action and impostor syndromeHow to nail a new jobImportance of cultureHiring the best talentBeing close to the customerMarketing week brand of the yearPower of consistencyThe FCK campaignHow taking a big risk can pay offHow humour in a crisis can helpKFC’s many distinctive assetsHow to do brand innovation wellAdvice for aspiring CMOs

13 Sep 202242min

Now it's the summer holidays, and that means everybody's taking a well earned break from all their hard work. And that includes the Uncensored CMO, but producer James never wants to let me off an episode, And he said, why before you go away, why don't you just do a quick episode. So, I thought, why not do a little bonus episode?It got me thinking, what subject do I know a little bit about that might be useful to my listeners? And, this is where I have to put my System1 hat back on, because what we do better than anybody else is advise people on how to make advertising that works. We like to frame that as how to make a five star ad. So in this special edition episode, I talk about why emotion and advertising matters and how I can prove it. And some of the tips that we give all our customers on how to make advertising that actually works.What I covered in this episode:The crazy amount of money spent on advertsWhy 50% are still a waste of moneyThe data for why your creative mattersWhy Creative is your most important toolWhy emotional beats rational advertisingWhy System1 was createdOrlando Wood and his masterpiecesLemonLook OutWhy we make decisionsESOV and how creativity is an amplifierThe reason to pre test your advertisingRight brain vs Left brain advertisingThe decline in creative effectivenessThe importance of Fluent devicesThe 5 things that make a 5 Star adWhy you should take no notice of awardsA shameless plug for System1

9 Aug 202236min

Do you think the advertising industry has a problem with age now? In my experience, the majority of marketing departments are run by people under 40. Sometimes the majority, even under 30, and that's reflected in creative agencies as well. I think that's a real problem because if you look at the statistics, people over the age of 55 represent the majority of people in the UK, they have enormous buying power, lost disposable income, and often a bit more time on their hands to spend it as well. So it's such a shame that we as an industry are neglecting a very significant part of the population. Recently that MullenLowe have released a new report called "The Invisible Powerhouse", looking at the lives of over 50s and how we can market to them better. In this episode, I speak to MullenLowe UK CEO, Jeremy Hine, about the report and what we can do to address this problem.What we covered in this episode:52 year old Jeremy introduces himselfWhat inspired ‘The Invisible Powerhouse’ report on age diversityWhy age represents the greatest disparity in Advertising representationHow do older people feel about the way in which they are portrayedThe business case for people ‘Feeling Seen’ in advertisingAlmost half the population are over 50 and own 70% of all assetsWhy not all over 50’s are the sameThe age people feel rather than the age they areWhat segmentation by attitude revealsInspiration from the gear lever design in a JaguarThe dominance of youth in the ad industryHow to brief to ensure older representationThe importance of seeing and understanding the older generationWhy Entertainment matters to an older audienceInspiration from the Magnum campaign featuring older peopleThe value of spending time with older peopleWhat we can learn from TikTokThe stereotypes of older people in advertisingTaking inspiration from Top GunWhy women experience an even greater invisibility in advertisingHow Mullen Lowe led the Governments covid responseHow a crisis super charged creative work & collaborationWhere to get more help on marketing to an older audience

3 Aug 202242min

A double header episode as I speak with JP Castlin and James Hankins on the back of their Cannes 2022 talk, in partnership with WARC, "The Gravity of e-commerce".JP Castlin is an independent consultant who coined the term naturalized strategy-making and created the ABCDE framework. JP has been featured in Marketing Week, The Drum, WARC and more, and he also wrote "Strategy in Polemy". James Hankins is the founder of Vizer Consulting & Global VP Marketing Strategy and Planning at SAGE.View JP & James' WARC report here.What we covered in this episode:How the pandemic inspired the Cannes collaborationThe one question everyone was asking at CannesWhat is driving the sudden adjustment in e-commerce valuationsPresenting straight after Gary V’s Cannes talk and our obsession with new thingsThe threat of Stagflation and how it will impact the economyReturning to the 4 P’s for the solution to the problemThe gravity effect of e-commerce and the challenging cost efficiencyDefining the model as a shift from one-to-many from many-to-oneWhy marketers are needed to solve this problemThe real cost of returning e-commerce productsThe long and short effect of guaranteed returnsHow Amazon mitigated the cost of product returnsWhy marketers needs to see the whole picture to solve the puzzleThe Nike business model and how even they struggle to do e-commerceWhy growth-first companies like Uber Eats fail to make a profitThe Vegan Sausage roll principle and the challenge of second-hand car buying platformsWhy fulfilment capability is so critical for e-commerce businessesWhy Cinch are set up to beat Cazoo in the car e-commerce warThe importance of understanding your business model firstUsing creativity to solve the most fundamental commercial challengesWhat we can all learn from the Next annual report and their emergent strategyThe pivotal role of the CMO in a commercial crisis

14 Jul 202242min