Can't Sell, Won't Sell; Why adland has stopped selling and started saving the world - Steve Harrison

The B2B boys Jon Lombardo and Peter Weinberg return to the podcast for a third time, this time wearing their new distinctive assets. They go hard on Professor Scott Galloway, disagreeing with his "brand is dead" statement, suggesting that not only is brand not dead, it's alive, thriving and you need it for your brand to survive. They also give us an update on their synthetic research company, Evidenza, and what the future of brands look like in the age of AI.Timestamps00:00 - Intro02:07 - How is Evidenza going?03:36 - Why Evidenza have embraced distinctive assets08:29 - Why Jon and Peter disagree with Scott Galloway on brand17:20 - The future of brand in the age of AI21:21 - The 95:5 rule reinvented27:48 - Why brand efforts compound30:00 - Why brand matters more in B2B than B2C38:49 - The Evidenza jingle41:03 - What marketing questions can now be answered with AI55:17 - What is the future of AI for research

11 Juni 1h 3min

I speak to Airbnb's CMO, Hiroki Asai, fresh off their 2025 Summer Release, where they announced their brand new "Services" and "Experiences" addition to the platform. This now positions Airbnb as the perfect alternative to a hotel when travelling. Hiroki touches on how they have launched this massive new innovation, why they do all their creative work in-house and rounds off with some poignant advice to marketers.Timestamps00:00 - Intro01:42 - Joining Airbnb at the start of COVID02:44 - Why Airbnb turned off performance marketing but invested in brand04:01 - Airbnb’s origin story as told by their CMO, Hiroki Asai06:31 - The importance of design for Airbnb07:37 - Why all branding and advertising is done in house17:36 - How the new launch helps Airbnb hosts18:33 - What went into such a big launch20:36 - Some of the notable Airbnb experiences21:28 - The big redesign of the Airbnb app23:59 - How Hiroki leads the marketing organisation27:29 - How to launch a big product update29:37 - Revamping the Airbnb host experience31:45 - Hiroki’s advice for aspiring CMOs

4 Juni 37min

Since Elon Musk acquired X (formerly Twitter) in 2022, the platform has undergone dramatic changes; slashing headcount, losing major advertisers, and redefining its identity. Now, under CEO Linda Yaccarino and marketing lead Angela Zepeda (formerly of Hyundai), X is staging a comeback. Angela joins Jon to discuss her leap from automotive to tech, rebuilding advertiser trust, and the bold vision of turning X into “the everything app.”They cover the platform's role in breaking news, championing free speech, and why brands are flocking back.Timestamps00:00 - Intro00:39 - From Hyundai to X: Angela’s leap03:46 - Leading marketing when everyone has an opinion05:56 - Free speech and platform identity07:45 - Why news breaks on X13:11 - X as a place to think differently15:58 - The rise of sports on X19:35 - Helping brands join the conversation26:16 - Winning back advertisers34:25 - What advertisers gain from returning36:06 - How X markets itself39:58 - The “everything app” vision42:54 - Integrating Grok AI47:20 - How advertisers can win on X

28 Maj 51min

Rankin Carroll is the Chief Brand Officer at Mars, having joined the company in 2002. Mars is responsible for some of the most well-known advertising in the world, for brands including M&M’s, Twix, Snickers, Skittles, and more. Jon speaks to Rankin about long-term brand building vs. performance marketing, how to get the most out of agencies, and what it takes to build a portfolio of incredible brands.Timestamps00:00 - Intro00:52 - Rankin’s career journey05:49 - How the Chief Brand Officer role works at Mars07:37 - Marketing mix spend at Mars – can you implement a fully earned strategy?13:27 - Brand building vs. performance marketing15:13 - How Mars stays so consistent with their marketing19:06 - The power of consistency and longevity at Mars24:55 - How agencies can get the most out of their clients32:09 - How Twix became a $1 billion brand38:41 - Own Goal Snickers AI campaign explained40:43 - The dominance of M&M’s advertising in the System1 database44:40 - The power of the M&M’s characters48:04 - Rankin’s advice to young marketers

21 Maj 53min

Nicole Parlapiano is the CMO of Tubi, an ad-supported streaming platform taking on the subscription giants. Nicole has previously had her own dating startup acquired by Match Group, before working in private equity, famously being Head of Marketing at WeWork during their crash and most recently VP Marketing for Tinder. Nicole is one of the most entrepreneurial CMOs on the planet, bringing a unique lens to brand building, embracing chaos and driving the business forward with marketing.Timestamps00:00:00 - Intro00:01:06 - What makes an entrepreneurial CMO?00:06:04 - Why Nicole embraces chaos / her career journey00:11:34 - Nicole’s experience at WeWork00:15:49 - Dealing with a leaked WeWork email00:19:16 - Leaving WeWork for Tinder after the crash / how to successfully join a company as CMO00:24:57 - Marketing’s role in private equity businesses00:33:43 - Working with Mischief and what would you do if you weren’t afraid?00:36:20 - Why Nicole joined Tubi (and the streaming wars)00:38:04 - Working with Mischief to create a brave Super Bowl campaign00:44:28 - The00:47:53 - How Tubi markets to their advertisers00:52:19 - The “Stubios” innovation for fan led content00:58:33 - Getting creative ideas seen in a corporate environment01:01:31 - How marketing can help grow the organisation01:04:03 - Nicole’s advice to aspiring CMOs

14 Maj 1h 8min

Colin Fleming is a returning guest, and the CMO of ServiceNow, a B2B company ripping up the B2B marketing playbook. It’s not the first time Colin has done this, having previously spent 13 years at Salesforce turning them into a brand to be reckoned with. In this episode I talk to Colin about their new brand campaign with Idris Elba, what the future of marketing with AI looks like and the biggest lessons a CMO can take from a former F1 racing driver.00:00 - Intro01:36 - What is ServiceNow?03:03 - How well is the marketing role understood at ServiceNow04:26 - How to position marketing for leadership05:38 - How are B2B buying decisions made07:49 - Dealing with losing 50% lead volume10:22 - How Colin is building the ServiceNow brand?12:00 - ServiceNow’s use of distinctive assets14:21 - ServiceNow’s ads with Idris Elba17:07 - Understanding Agentic AI19:47 - AI agents use cases20:37 - Why we shouldn’t fear AI23:10 - The risks of AI agents24:12 - How to make AI agents work together26:04 - What skills will CMOs need to win in the next 5-10 years?27:20 - 5 things B2B marketers are wrong about29:10 - How ServiceNow are using personalisation at scale31:53 - Why the data is so important for AI34:13 - How Colin went from F1 to CMO35:04 - Lessons from being a racing driver to marketing36:06 - ServiceNow’s partnership with Aston Martin37:43 - Most surprising lesson for Colin since he left Salesforce

7 Maj 41min

In a world first, Scott Galloway and Rory Sutherland go head to head to talk about some of the biggest topics in marketing. They lock horns on Scott's controversial statement "the era of brand is dead" and why most successful companies don't advertise. You'll also hear the two disagreeing on the Jaguar rebrand, at which point Scott may or may not have called Rory sexy...Timestamps00:00 - Intro02:15 - Be in an industry you get better at as you get older05:41 - Does wealth redistribution need to change?16:22 - Why the most successful companies don’t advertise22:49 - The era of brand is over30:39 - Scott’s fear for young men35:52 - Scott and Rory discuss dating40:56 - Was the Jaguar rebrand stupid?

30 Apr 44min

Today, I’m joined by James Kuczynski, Creative Director at Duolingo, and Dan Salkey, Founding Partner at Small World, for a conversation on how to build truly entertaining brands.Fresh off their SXSW panel titled "Entertain or Die", named after a report by Small World, we explore how Duolingo has built such a standout brand, particularly through the rise (and death...) of their iconic mascot, Duo.In the first half of the episode, I chat with James about Duolingo’s brand success, why they decided to "kill off" their beloved mascot, and how giving creative autonomy to their team has been key to their growth. In the second half, I speak with Dan about the most entertaining brands in the world today—and the specific traits you can apply to make your own brand more entertaining.Download the Entertain or Die report here.Timestamps00:00 - Start00:47 - Part 1: James Kuczynski from Duolingo01:22 - James’ background in marketing03:23 - How James joined Duolingo04:18 - What is Duolingo06:34 - How Duolingo has used gamification to help people learn languages09:47 - How is AI enhancing Duolingo?11:20 - Is AI a threat to Duolingo?12:13 - Why Duolingo created “Duo”, their mascot15:47 - How the Duolingo owl evolved17:56 - Duolingo’s April fools plans20:00 - Why Duolingo killed off their mascot23:57 - The results of Duo killing their mascot25:08 - How partnerships have played a role in the success of Duolingo28:02 - How Duo is bigger than A-list celebrities29:26 - How Duolingo built such a huge social media following32:08 - The importance of being in-house for growing Duolingo33:17 - How Duolingo hires social media talent34:34 - The thing that makes Duolingo stand out36:32 - Part 2: Dan Salkey from Small World37:15 - Why Small World created the Entertain or Die report38:57 - How they identified the most entertaining brands on the planet39:30 - What brands are the most entertaining?40:41 - Why the most boring categories have most space to innovate42:35 - The entertainment gap44:07 - How can brands be more entertaining?49:54 - Final advice on how brands can be more entertaining

23 Apr 53min