How to really understand your audience - Yusuf Chuku, NBCUniversal

Jess Myers CCO of The Very Group, returns to the podcast sharing the success of her role over the past year. We'll explore how Jess and her team navigates the crucial "Golden Quarter" leading up to Christmas, the importance of creative consistency, and the successes they've achieved by sticking with what works. Plus, we'll hear about the innovative launch of the Very Media Group and how their flamingo-themed campaigns resonate with customers.Jess also sheds light on balancing commercial objectives with customer experience, fostering collaborative relationships, and the unique challenges of her executive role. Whether it's optimizing holiday ads or championing a vibrant company culture, Jess’s insights are sure to inspire.Timestamps00:00 - Start01:07 - Jess’ custom merch for the podcast02:07 - Jess’ review of the year at Very04:28 - From Chief Marketing Officer to Chief Customer Officer - what’s changed06:17 - How marketers can thrive in the boardroom08:53 - Embracing “hun culture”12:35 - How important the golden quarter is for retailers15:46 - Why Very chose the run the same campaign at Christmas21:05 - Why short term is important in the Golden Quarter23:57 - Very's Flamazing Flamingos as a fluent device28:40 - Launching the Very Media Group31:03 - Launching House of Flamingo34:18 - Jess’ learnings from the last year at Very35:45 - Making the most out of your agencies39:29 - Closing thoughts

18 Des 202441min

In this episode, we're diving into a fascinating conversation with Sadira Furlow, known as the "Dean of Dopeness" at Tony's Chocolonely. We unpack Sadira's career journey from launching viral campaigns at PepsiCo to driving industry change at Tony's Chocolonely.We'll explore her admiration for Tony's authentic mission, their innovative approach to storytelling, and how they're reshaping the chocolate industry. Sadira also opens up about her bold career moves, the lessons learned from transitioning between major brands and startups, and her commitment to making a meaningful impact.Timestamps00:00 - Intro01:37 - How Sadira discovered Tony’s02:01 - Why Sadira is known as the Dean of Dopeness03:19 - Sadira’s role at Pepsi; Puppy Monkey Baby and Mountain Dew13:06 - From PepsiCo to a fintech (Happy Money)16:03 - Making an impact in a product-led organisation18:24 - Writing your own redundancy case21:09 - Why Sadira took a 9 month Sabbatical23:51 - How Sadira got the role at Tony’s28:11 - The commitment to being a change brand29:55 - Working with constrained budgets34:26 - The lawsuit for Tony’s look alike bars38:27 - The Tony’s advent calendar that caused a stir39:53 - Using fun and humour to tell a serious story42:21 - In house vs agencies at Tony’s43:17 - Tony’s collaboration with The Washington Post44:25 - Custom branded Tony’s Chocolonely bars45:46 - The most successful campaigns for Tony’s47:45 - Where does the brand go from here?49:55 - What has surprised Sadira most about the brand

11 Des 202451min

The marketing world has been dominated by the recent Jaguar rebrand. It's split opinion in the industry with many criticising the bold new approach with Jaguar's move to electrification. Rory Sutherland may be best positioned to give his thoughts on the change, as a six-time Jaguar owner and behavioural science expert. Rory comes at the rebrand with a more positive spin, suggesting that Jaguar needed to make a bold change in the new wave of electrification to save it's dying brand, and many of the critics have never owned a Jaguar and likely never will. As always, chatting with Rory is a lot of fun with many uncensored opinions.

9 Des 202442min

In the first of a two part special on one of my favourite challenger brands of all time, Tony’s Chocolonely, I speak with their Chief Chocolonely (CEO), Douglas Lamont. Douglas is an expert in Challenger Brands, having previously led Innocent Smoothie for 15 years, guiding them through their acquisition by Coca-Cola and subsequent scaling. In this episode, we'll explore the delicate balance between maintaining a strong mission and driving business growth. Douglas also shares insights into Tony's dedicated efforts to eradicate child labor, pay fair wages, and maintain transparency in their cocoa sourcing, all while making their chocolate appealing and fun for consumers.Tune in next week for an interview with Tony's Dean of Dopeness, Sadira E. Furlow (aka their Chief Brand Officer), to find out exactly what it takes to grow a brand like Tony's.Timestamps00:00 - Start01:38 - Douglas’ journey to CEO at Innocent Smoothies06:36 - Lessons on how to scale up at Innocent12:47 - Why Coke kept Innocent independent15:03 - Innocent’s approach to launching new products21:52 - Why Douglas moved to Tony’s Chocolonely24:22 - Tony’s Chocolonely origin story28:29 - Why is Tony’s chocolate so good29:42 - The B2B side of Tony’s Chocolonely32:56 - Is it more expensive to be a change brand?34:03 - Balancing a serious mission with a fun brand35:53 - Why Tony’s is so transparent41:48 - Tony’s international expansion44:38 - Challenges of being in the biggest retailer in the US47:35 - Lessons as a CMO51:33 - Creating the culture at Tony’s

4 Des 202457min

In this episode, we dive into the fascinating world of digital retail and YouTube with our special guest, Sophie Neary, Retail MD at Google. We explore studies comparing rational and emotional advertising, uncover the power of YouTube in capturing audience attention, and discuss the vital role of creativity in ad success, even in the age of AI.Sophie shares insights from her extensive career, including her pivotal role in transforming Boots' digital presence and launching successful campaigns like Fenty beauty. We'll also cover trends shaping the future of retail, such as the impact of Cyber Monday falling in December for the first time in five years and retailers leveraging "Fake Friday" to boost profits.Additionally, we'll touch on the evolving dynamics of YouTube creators, the significance of emotional engagement in content, and innovative advertising strategies. Plus, we'll delve into the limitless curiosity driving the continuous evolution of Google Search and the role of AI in shaping marketing strategies.Timestamps00:00 - Intro00:46 - Sophie’s career history04:12 - Sophie’s time at Jack Wills06:14 - Sophie’s job at Boots09:26 - Top 2 retail trends from Google Search11:50 - How Google Search has evolved over the years18:12 - How to take advantage of insights from search23:10 - What Google Trends tells us about Black Friday29:51 - How retailers can go up against Amazon31:48 - Is YouTube going to replace TV?37:01 - Trends in formats for YouTube, short vs long41:35 - How YouTube empowers creators (Chicken Shop Date)47:19 - How advertisers can make the most out of YouTube52:36 - Advice on how to grow a podcast on YouTube55:00 - The greatest gift AI can give to humanity

27 Nov 202457min

In this episode, we're going to be talking about Compound Creativity, a new report by System1 in partnership with the IPA showing how being consistent with your creative compounds over time. I'm speaking with the author of the report, Andrew Tindall, who explains the core facets of the report and shares some fascinating statistics on the impact of creative consistency.And in a double bill, I'm also joined also joined by Dom Dwight, from Yorkshire Tea, and Vickie Ridley, from their partner agency Lucky Generals. Yorkshire Tea have been putting the principles of compound creativity to practice over many years and have been hugely successful as a result. So not only are we talking about the data, we're also talking about the practice.Download the Compound Creativity report here.Part 1  with Andrew Tindall00:00 - Intro00:58 - Launching the Compound Creativity report01:35 - Coming up with the right name for Compound Creativity02:52 - The building blocks of consistency05:13 - The value of being consistent08:04 - How compounding helps wear in09:25 - Power of fluent devices12:14 - Collaborating with the IPA for the business effects data15:00 - Don’t fire your agency16:39 - The 5 most consistent brandsPart 2 with Dom Dwight and Vickie Ridley of Yorkshire Tea18:29 - Intro to Lucky Generals and Yorkshire Tea19:25 - Dom Dwight’s history with Yorkshire Tea22:28 - Where did the “doing things proper” idea originate25:31 - Narrowing 17 ideas down to 326:19 - How to use celebrities well in advertising29:57 - Yorkshire Tea Ad with Sean Bean32:06 - Yorkshire Tea Ad with Kaiser Chiefs38:03 - How does the campaign work across channels42:24 - Key to a successful client agency relationship48:37 - The results of Yorkshire Tea’s compounding creativity52:56 - Advice to clients to get the most out of their agency

20 Nov 202458min

Mark Ritson is back on the podcast for a review of the most read stories this year. We debate if Liquid Death is more than just water in a can, why Nike’s focus on DTC was a mistake and what we can all learn from KitKat’s perfect positioning. Recorded in a pub in London, expect some uncensored opinions from everyone’s favourite marketing professor.00:00 - Start05:40 - Mark #5: Brand purpose doesn’t need a commercial excuse14:13 - Jon #5: Liquid death article21:15 - Mark #4: There's no such thing as performance branding25:47 - Jon #4: Nike Winning isn’t for everybody29:07 - Mark #3: KitKat's perfect positioning34:33 - Jon #3: Compounding interest, relationships and creativity39:55 - Mark #2: Why Liquid Death are running into trouble45:42 - Jon #2: Outrage is the new s*x in marketing48:32 - Ritson #1: Nike’s biggest mistake52:44 - Jon #1: Airbnb’s focus on brand

13 Nov 202455min

Chris Baker is an award-winning advertising and social change strategist turned entrepreneur. He is the Founder & CEO of Serious Tissues, a toilet roll brand that fights climate change and deforestation by planting trees with every sale. Over 1.2m trees have been planted in just three years. He is also the Co-Founder of Change Please, a coffee brand that has helped hundreds of homeless people off the streets by training them as baristas, and is available in 23 countries. Change Please was named the World’s Leading Social Enterprise in 2018 and in Marketing Week’s 100 Most Disruptive Brands in the World. He has spent 20 years working on the world’s biggest brands including Unilever, Pepsico, Boots, Sky and Alpro whilst winning over 100 strategic and creative awards along the way.Find out more about Chris' book, Obsolete, here:https://www.bloomsbury.com/uk/obsolete-9781399416658/00:00 - Intro02:09 - The premise of his book04:27 - Why Chris called the book Obsolete06:41 - Making positive change with small businesses18:32 - Being inspired by change brands21:53 - How to win against established brands27:03 - The advantages of purpose29:31 - How Chris started Change Please32:48 - Measuring the impact of Change Please36:28 - How change brands can be distinctive40:14 - Why Tony’s Chocolonely are making an impact42:06 - Putting change ahead of profits47:06 - Applying a change mindset to other industries49:37 - Making an impact commercially and with purpose52:55 - How Serious Tissues started55:53 - The power of partnerships57:49 - Chris’ biggest takeaway from writing Obsolete

6 Nov 20241h 4min