How Guinness became Britain's favourite pint - Stephen O'Kelly, Global Brand Director
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.
3 Apr 202448min
Copy that works, a copywriting masterclass with Vikki Ross
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?LinksEats, Shoots and Leaves bookElements of F*cking Style bookBland BookVikki's TwitterVikki's LinkedInTimestamps00:00:00 - Intro00:00:59 - How Vicki got into copywriting00:03:53 - Advice for people wanting to get into copywriting00:07:34 - Why are car ads so bad?00:09:39 - Is copywriting intimidating?00:11:26 - Why copywriters need a good brief00:14:50 - When copy goes wrong00:18:17 - The principles of great copy00:23:03 - This sentence has five words00:25:49 - Power of a six word story00:26:47 - #CopySafari00:30:13 - Prime - It’s Right Here00:31:58 - Nurofen and Nuromol00:35:28 - Why marketers should work with lawyers00:38:39 - Uber Eats - Just a tap away00:41:19 - Subway - Saver Subs00:43:00 - Lebara Mobile - Blady Blah00:44:27 - Sacla - Spaghetti You Won’t Forgetti00:45:56 - Monday.com - Meet your power suite00:47:32 - TFL - See it, say it, sorted00:49:42 - Greatest copywriting examples of of recent times00:52:00 - Vikki’s favourite campaigns she’s worked on00:55:05 - Will AI take copywriter’s jobs?01:03:28 - Advice for clients on copy
27 Mar 20241h 6min
Ritson on Advertising Effectiveness with special guest Guilherme Ferreira VP Global Marketing Cadbury
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:00:00 Intro03:23 Why creativity matters04:31 Investing in creativity08:00 Being forced into short term tactics10:46 How to write a better brief14:45 Distinctive assets (Oreo Ad)20:10 Cadbury Garage Ad22:07 Orlando Chart23:21 Cadbury Generosity27:24 How Cadbury approaches creative development29:22 Data vs creative judgement32:53 How to measure creative40:15 Q&A
20 Mar 202448min
How Liquid Death founder, Mike Cessario, created a billion dollar water brand
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.Timestamps00:00:00 - Intro00:01:10 - Mike’s background00:06:24 - Mike’s brandy startup00:10:33 - Navigating regulation00:12:46 - The benefits of being an outsider distrupting an industry00:14:57 - Coming up with the idea for Liquid Death00:19:30 - How to create an innovative brand00:23:48 - Selling the Liquid Death concept00:27:08 - Raising money for Liquid Death00:29:50 - Launching on Amazon00:30:52 - Generating demand in the early days00:31:46 - Figuring out distribution networks for the drinks industry00:35:45 - Why limited budgets helped Liquid Death grow00:44:11 - Why D2C was pivotal for Liquid Death00:46:12 - Liquid Death’s unique Super Bowl campaign00:49:54 - The power of the Liquid Death merch00:53:00 - Innovation for the future of Liquid Death00:54:15 - Scaling and exit00:56:02 - Having famous investors00:57:29 - Maintaining the challenger spirit01:01:58 - Mike’s advice to aspiring founders
13 Mar 20241h 4min
Creativity driven performance, CPG lessons for SaaS and the power of distinctive assets - Michelle Taite, Mailchimp
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.Intro00:00 - Intro00:48 - Starting out desigining sneakers02:39 - From New Balance to Unilever04:13 - Doing purpose work for Dove05:15 - Michelle’s favourite work at Unilever06:27 - From CPG to SaaS09:29 - What is Mailchimp and why is it successful11:06 - Staying close to the customer13:26 - How to market to marketers14:54 - Email is not dead16:15 - Integrating an acquired company20:40 - Performance vs brand marketing25:16 - How AI will enhance creativity29:20 - Mailchimp's distinctive assets33:21 - How marketing influences the product35:56 - How to market to marketers38:35 - Obsessing about the 95% not in market40:45 - Top CMO advice from Michelle
6 Mar 202444min
Amazon’s Chief Creative Officer on the power of emotional advertising, distinctive brand assets and delivering at speed
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 - Intro01:04 - From rural Australia to Los Angeles01:58 - From agency to client side04:44 - That famous Jeff Bezos marketing quote05:50 - What does the Chief Creative Officer at Amazon do07:41 - Creating emotional, brand building advertising09:22 - Using the brand distintive assets10:33 - Creating inclusive advertising13:05 - Advice for writing a really good brief14:43 - Tenets to inform great creative15:45 - Benefits of having in house creative (and working with agencies)17:42 - Managing global creative teams19:36 - What’s it like making a Super Bowl ad22:42 - Innovation within Amazon24:12 - Making things happen in a huge business25:13 - Simplifying complex creative ideas28:23 - Work Jo is most proud of31:39 - How Amazon are using AI33:44 - Advice to a young Jo
28 Feb 202437min
How a new brand character challenged Whisky conventions to help The Woodsman double market share
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.Timestamps00:00 - Intro01:01 - Inventing The Woodsman01:42 - Creating a brand dominated by big players04:00 - Standing out in a product dominated category05:46 - Balancing demand and supply06:31 - Availablity of the brand07:11 - Overcoming perception barriers09:15 - Coming up with the “Well Earned” positioning13:06 - How to sell in breaking convention16:00 - How the agency helped sell the idea18:29 - Creating a new character20:02 - Characters vs Celebrities21:07 - Using humour in a traditional category23:23 - Creating a physical barry the beaver24:18 - The importance of craft in the ad26:07 - Staying on the right side of regulations28:23 - A good client agency relationship30:09 - How important is testing and data to back up creative decisions31:53 - The importance of mental and physical availability33:32 - The results35:01 - What’s next for the brand?
21 Feb 202438min
Rising from the ashes: the inspirational story of overcoming tragedy with Bozoma Saint John (former Netflix CMO)
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 BozInstagramLinkedInTwitter/XHer book - This Urgent LifeFollow JonJon's LinkedInJon's TwitterWatch the Uncensored CMO on YouTubeTimestamps00:00 - Start01:34 - Why Boz wrote such an emotional book05:02 - The reception to the book08:32 - Encountering Spike Lee13:32 - Making decisions based on intuition16:05 - Working for founder led brands20:36 - Leading marketing at large organisations23:55 - Managing the relationship with the CEO and CFO28:42 - Hire Boz, Get Boz - how to have confidence in yourself31:57 - Why you shouldn’t “play the game”33:06 - Dawn always comes; dealing with grief41:09 - Making the choice to change your life45:11 - From corporate jobs to entrepreneur48:24 - What’s next for Boz?
14 Feb 202454min
