From Mouldy Whoppers to Old Age Cows - Fernando Machado, NotCo CMO

May 10, 2023

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Today I'm joined by one of the most influential and successful CMOs on the planet, Fernando Machado, of legendary Burger King fame. He went on to work at Activision and now is CMO at NotCo.

Fernando is a creative genuis, he's been awarded many, many times I've started to lose count (over 200 Cannes Lions). I wanted to catch up with Fernando and find out what makes a great creative marketer, was that "Mouldy Whopper" campaign actually worth it, and why did they sponsor a low league English football team? We also talk about what is he doing now working for a plant-based company and how AI plays a crucial role for them.

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Topics covered:

What makes an influential CMO
The culture that leads to award winning work
The importance of influencing an organisation QUOTE
The two hidden P’s of the CMO
The importance of a shared creative ambition
Why shared values and purposes is so important
What it takes to create award winning work QUOTE
Why is takes time to build up the credibility to take risks
Why huge failures are similar to most campaigns QUOTE
If your creative isn’t noticed everything else is academic
Why attracting the best creative talent means committing to bold work
The more creative work you do the more creative you are likely to get
When you have a smaller budget you have to get more creative
Sharing the results for Mouldy Whopper in public to address the critics
Where the idea for the Mouldy Whopper came from QUOTE
What Fernando learnt at Activision Blizzard
The power of networking in finding a perfect role
The biggest challenge facing NotCo
Why the best creative work gets done on small budgets
How AI is accelerating the development of plant based products
How AI beat the Nike design department
How AI created the most average Pizza advert
Why the brief matters when using AI QUOTE
From curation to creative, why AI is a tool and not a replacement of the marketing function
Why Notco is advertising old animals
Think of a colour that doesn’t exist
The one piece of advice for marketers