The WARC Podcast

Alicia Skubick, Trustpilot’s customer and marketing chief; Neil Barrie, co-founder of 21st Century Brand; and Stephen Whiteside, WARC Americas content leader, explore the rise of AI delegation. They discuss autonomous shopping, consumer trust, privacy and the categories poised for change. The conversation examines why human proof, customer reviews, differentiation and stronger collaboration will matter as brands compete for AI-driven discovery.

Les Binet, founder of Binet Consulting and a leading advertising-effectiveness researcher, and Dom Boyd, Kantar’s global client strategy chief, examine marketing’s addiction to price promotions. They explore hidden profitability gaps, eight ways discounts can weaken brands, how consumers learn to expect lower prices, and practical routes toward promotional detox. They also discuss when promotions genuinely make strategic sense.

Alison Payne, Heineken USA’s CMO, explores fandom, sponsorships, AI and creativity as growth drivers. Jeff McCrory, Mischief’s strategy chief, unpacks Coors Light’s “Case of the Mondays” and how brand tension sparks ideas. Talia Salem, Marriott Bonvoy Traveler’s editorial strategist, reveals a sharper content strategy built on travel mindsets, regional expertise and smarter storytelling.

Sean Summers, CMO and EVP of Mercado Ads at Latin America’s leading e-commerce and fintech company, discusses making marketing accountable to business growth. He explores balancing performance, loyalty, and brand investment; earning C-suite trust through measurement; and turning delivery and promotions into brand experiences. Summers also shares how agency challenges fueled Cannes-winning creativity, plus Mercado Libre’s approach to social commerce and generative AI.

Pamela Forbus, Mondelēz’s global insights chief, explores AI-ready data, synthetic personas and breaking down business silos. Matthew Huo of Profound reveals how brands can stand out in AI-generated answers and why marketing engineers matter. Keith Smith of the Marketing Science Institute and Tracy Adams of the Advertising Research Foundation examine synthetic research risks, unstable results and the need for rigorous validation.

Orlando Wood, System1’s creative effectiveness expert, Paul Simonet, a psychology and brand strategy specialist, and Rory Natkiel, a sponsorship measurement strategist, explore the research shaping marketing’s future. They discuss coherent brand character, how AI changes brand building, the return of ad awareness, and why sports sponsorships often miss commercial goals. Expect lively examples from Cadbury, Guinness, Red Bull, and Sage.

Lore Oxford, Reddit’s insights leader, explores “insight slop,” trusted community perspectives, and authentic brand participation. Douglas Healy of Kraft Heinz details a shift from creative scorekeeping to continuous learning and commercial impact. Delicia Cooney of Newell Brands champions human-needs frameworks, smarter use of existing research, and pairing human intelligence with AI.

Debra Aho Williamson, founder of Sonata Insights and author of the AI Ad Economy newsletter, joins Alex Brownsell, WARC Media’s Head of Content. They explore AI media as a new advertising channel, the fragmentation of consumer attention, and why ad dollars remain concentrated among Google, Meta, and Amazon. Three possible futures emerge, including OpenAI’s bid to challenge today’s giants and the role of visual storytelling in navigating uncertainty.

Suzanne Powers, co-founder and co-CEO of independent strategy business All&, and Tom Morton, founder of Narratory Capital, explore why senior strategists are leaving agencies. They discuss pricing strategic expertise, opportunities beyond advertising briefs, board-ready brand strategy, and guiding businesses through pivots. The conversation also covers productized consulting, AI-powered workflows, independent collaboration, and the case for optimism in strategy.

Erich Joachimsthaler, founder and CEO of VIVALDI and co-author of Brand Leadership, explores strategy beyond the traditional ad brief. He discusses how AI shifts competitive advantage upstream, finding unserved demand spaces, and building portfolios around consumer goals. Examples include Rhode, Tesla, Figma and Liquid Death, plus the role of workarounds, technology and regulation in creating new markets.