Uncensored CMO

Mark Ritson is back on the Uncensored CMO podcast, and he's more uncensored than ever. This episode brings his ever candid thoughts on the best ads of 2022, who f*cked up and who he's been most impressed by. Strap in for Ritson's Review of 2022.Watch Uncensored CMO on YouTube here.What we covered in this conversation:Biggest marketing cock up of 2022The 2022 new entry on Mark’s Marketing Bulls**t Top 10The biggest surprise of 2022Which brand impressed him the most in 2022Who taught him the most in 2022The short term pay off of long term brand buildingThe challenge of stagflation in 2023Why pricing is a big opportunity for MarketersThe importance of framing and communicating priceHave we passed the peak Christmas Ad yet?The strategy behind Aldi’s successful Christmas AdThe power of Fluent devices to connect short & longThe under leveraged power of music to drive effectivenessHow Coke Holidays are coming owned ChristmasHow doing less leads to moreThe one time a client changed agency and kept the creative the sameJon & Mark review the best ads of 2022 on the System1 databaseHow Cadbury hit 5 Star in only 10sec with hardly any productionThe power of consistency for CadburyHow the emotional response varies by categoryHow Kelloggs owned the breakfast categoryWhat Mark learnt about branding whilst writing articles for the BA magazineHow Go turkey made the Top 5 but remained forgettableHow to value the impact of the musicMark and Jon create the perfect advertHow agencies could guarantee a pitch win with System1When Jon lost out on a Hollywood DirectorWhy marketing is so often seen as a cost not an opportunityJon reveals the No.1 Ad of 2022 (excluding Christmas Ads)Jon reveals the Top 5 Advertisers of 2022How Magnum reflected older people so well in their AdvertisingMarks most famous MW column on Cannes and how it compares to System1 dataJon reveals the No.1 Advertiser of 2022Why simple beats clever every timeBrands are tiny and un-important in consumers lives

What does it take to be the CMO of an iconic British high-street retailer, like Boots? Pete Markey shares his valuable wisdom and insights from a career at the very top.What we covered in this episode:The difficult second album making Boots Christmas AdRediscovering the joy of Hall & OatesWhy Retailers are so good at making Christmas adsMaking people feel more festiveThe importance of escaping reality at ChristmasHow Boots landed on Joy as a proposition for BootsThe purpose of making gifting easier and more joyfulBeing CMO of a high st retailer during covid & recessionHow Boots is using pricing and Advantage card to help customersGoing from ‘good old Boots’ to ‘oh wow Boots’How Boots is using advertising to reflect the full diversity of societyThe importance of telling one persons story wellWising up and showing older people in a better lightHow ‘Summer be ready’ campaign reflected older people as part of the storyThe role of purpose and whether it can also deliver profit Never drink the kool aid on your own purposeHow to tell your brand story internally as well as externally Making the finance team your best friendBeing shortlisted for Brand of the year in two awardsThe power of Boots advantage card as a media channelMeeting the challenge of Black FridayBeing on the Campaign and Marketing Week Top 100 listsImpressing the kids with a Hollywood style photoshootThe secret to being a Top 100 CMOHow the reality of being a CMO is different to the perception Creating the framework for success and unleashing the talent The hidden P’s of Politics and PersuasionThe importance of non-marketing skill set for a CMOPete’s advice to the aspiring CMO – be curious, get trained & build your networkHow Jon got a job that was never advertisedThe hidden power of your networkWhat you should do right now to build your networkHow Jon accidentally ended up doing a speech at the wrong eventThe 100 day plan to meet 100 peoplePete’s aim to terrify himself via improvised comedy

Jamie Peate and Darren Hawkins of McCann, the duo behind Aldi's Kevin the Carrot, discuss the secret behind the UK's most loved carrot. Topics include bringing a life-size Kevin to meetings, convincing skeptics to shop at Aldi, taking inspiration from John Lewis, balancing entertainment with tough times, testing early stage ideas, the business results of the Kevin campaign, and the power of fame and consistency.

The most returned guest in Uncensored CMO history, Orlando Wood, is back. He made a brief cameo last episode but I wanted to dive deeper into creative styles that work in difficult times and if you should re-use old creative.What we covered in this episode:How Hovis proved the power of wear-in with an almost 5 StarCreative inspiration from an ad that is almost 50 years oldHow the romantic era is reflected in the Hovis adThe role of the right-brain in capturing attentionWhat covid taught us about creative wear-in vs wear-outThe accidental creative experiment that occurred during covidProof that ‘wear-out’ is a marketing mythThe difference in campaign length between the US and UKHow right-brained features perform better in recessionWhy Christmas 2022 Advertising is the best yetThe role of nostalgia in difficult timesHow Kevin the carrot delivers consistent 5 Star successGreat creative shouldn’t just be for ChristmasThe power of fluent devices in advertising and re-using old workOrlando’s top 3 tips for investing in a recessionHow good advertising can support price increases in recessionHow brand building helps you come out of recession betterOrlando’s top 3 tips for making creative work in a recessionWhy focussing on character, incident and place make effective creativeThe role of humour in difficult times

Storm clouds continue to gather over the global economy. With the latest quarterly UK GDP figures released on November 11 and the US and other parts of the world also bracing for a recession, this special recording of System1’s webinar dives into how brands can navigate tough times.However, tough times also bring opportunity. As the late great F1 driver Ayrton Senna once said, ‘You cannot overtake 15 cars in sunny weather… but you can when it’s raining.’In possibly the most comprehensive study of recession, Nitin Nohria found that 9% of companies come out of a recession in better shape than they went in.We're joined by Professor Mark Ritson, brand consultant and creator of the Mini MBA in Marketing, and Orlando Wood, author of IPA best-selling books Lemon and Look Out, to understand how brands should approach this challenging period.WATCH: The ad Orlando referenced: Hovis - Boy on a BikeWhat we covered in this episode:Which brands won and lost during covidWhy the CEO expects the CMO to step up in a crisisThe 4 issues that hold businesses back in a crisisWhy marketers must do their market orientation and get their strategy in place firstThe over-whelming evidence that supports investing in a recessionWhat happens when brands go dark and why small brands suffer mostHow ESOV can be more achievable in recession and what it means for the long termThe very strong business case for investmentThe role of operational efficiency and innovation to help come out stronglyHow to get your pricing strategy and communication rightWhether you should be changing your communicationInspiration from a campaign that is as good today as it was 50 years agoHow right brained creative features are connecting better in recessionWhy wear out is a myth based on thousands of ads on the System1 databaseWhat we can learn from the current Christmas AdvertsThe role of character fluent devices to make your advert more memorableTop 3 reasons to invest in creative right nowTop 3 ways to make creative emotionally engagement and effectiveMark and Orlando answer some tough questionsWhy marketing professors don’t teach how marketing actually works

Susan Coghill is the Marketing Director at Tourism Australia and they've got one of the best performing ads on the System1 database, with their new campaign "G'Day". But this wasn't without taking some risks, such as introducing a new brand mascot, getting high profile stars to feature and producing a 9 minute film.Watch the ad here.What we covered in this episode:Why Susan has the best job in the WorldHow to set KPI’s for a tourism brandWhy Tourism Australia kept advertising through the pandemicWhat System1 learnt about advertising during covidWinning the only Effie for a travel company during lockdownPlanning ‘Come and say G’day’ a new global campaign to announce Australia is open againWhich distinctive assets are the most AustralianCreating Ruby Roo the new brand mascotWhat we can learn from the Entertainment industryPutting on a show rather than sellingWhy it’s important to remember you are not the audienceMaking a new version of Men At Work’s ‘Down Under’The role of celebrities in making the ad more distinctiveJustifying spending $125m on the new campaignHow System1 testing gave confidence to make creative decisionsGetting a 4 Star in the animatic testingHow to reassure your stakeholder the creative will workInspiration from the best Christmas advertsAdapting creative for different marketsThe long term plan for RubyThe decline of fluent devices and why you should use themWhether Ruby will appear as a character in real lifeWhy we should all be more like Churchill the dogRevealing the official countdown of the UK’s best advertisers

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

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

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

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