Mark Read has been in the hot seat at WPP for just over a year. Taking over from Sir Martin Sorrell in September 2018, he is tasked with building brand WPP to serve the needs of clients in the face of profit pressure, more demanding clients and increased competition. In this wide-ranging interview, Read discusses: • The challenge of taking over from the UK’s most famous ad man • Rebuilding WPP’s brand architecture • The need to remove digital siloes • Taking on the consultants • How and why marketers need to change • The pressure from in housing

We continue our podcast series by looking into Britvic’s successful 2017 revitalisation of its flagship Robinson’s brand, which won the grand prix at the Marketing Week Masters awards 2019. Robinsons was struggling in a declining flavoured concentrate category. Its bold objective was to bring back lapsed shoppers and drive growth into the category once more, through of mix of cutting underperforming lines, introducing two new premium sub-brands and repositioning around a new purpose: 'Experts in simple goodness'. The activity was a success, driving trading up, and leading to higher value and margin for Britvic. To tell the story, Marketing Week editor Russell Parsons is joined by Britvic CMO Matt Barwell and Saatchi & Saatchi’s UK CEO Magnus Djaba in a live recording at the Festival of Marketing.

In this edition of Marketing Week Explores, which is hosted by reporter Molly Fleming, senior writer Charlotte Rogers explores the benefits and pitfalls of working abroad. Including a deep-dive into the drastically different market of Japan. Senior reporter Ellen Hammett then joins the discussion, as the team explores the legacy of Tesco CEO Dave Lewis and what the future holds for the supermarket without its celebrated leader.

We continue our new podcast series by looking into the British Army's controversial recruitment campaign, 'This is Belonging'. Launched in 2017, the campaign, which showed the camaraderie of army life, had a simple objective – widen the recruitment pool by moving the message away from guns and tanks to images of more human experiences. Even if it drew scepticism from the media for its emotional tone, it was an instant success, propelling applications to record levels and winning a number of awards, notably gold at the IPA effectiveness awards in 2018. It was followed in 2018 and 2019 with campaigns aimed at attracting recruits from all walks of life – people of all faiths, 'snowflakes' and 'selfie addicts', to quote the latest advertising copy. To tell the story, Marketing Week editor Russell Parsons is joined by Nick Terry, chief marketing officer at Recruiting Group, part of Capita and the firm responsible for British Army recruitment; Rhonwen Lally, senior planner at Karmarama; and Rob Fullerton Batten, associate director in planning at Mediacom.

Professor Philip Kotler is a writer, author, academic and one of the most influential people in modern marketing. The so-called “father of modern marketing” helped create the template for marketing today. His 1967 text book Marketing Management introduced much needed rigour to the discipline. He also helped popularise the 4Ps of marketing, while his definition of the core purpose of marketing is used as much in 2019 as ever. In this wide-ranging interview, Kotler discusses: - Brand purpose and the key to differentiation - The biggest influence on his career - Why he didn’t become a CMO - The problem with capitalism - The limitations of mass marketing

In the first of a new series of podcasts on definitive and effective marketing campaigns of the past decade, Marketing Week editor Russell Parsons digs into story behind Direct Line's 'Fixer' campaign. The long-running activity, which features actor Harvey Keitel playing his Winston Wolfe character from Pulp Fiction, cemented the brand's positioning as the fixer of the customer's problems. It has enabled Direct Line to secure profitable growth by going direct to consumers in a market dominated by price comparison sites. Listen as Direct Line Group's managing director of marketing and digital, Mark Evans, and Saatchi & Saatchi London's chief strategy officer, Richard Huntington, tell the story behind the idea, the challenges they overcame, the decision-making process and the campaign's impact on the market.

In this edition of Marketing Week Explores, reporter Molly Fleming is joined by editor Russell Parsons and senior writer Charlotte Rogers to discuss the rise and fall of marketing's reputation in organisations. We look at the issues hitting confidence in marketing and how marketers can increase their impact and influence. The team then explores the media models that have the scope to save publishing. Sparked by the fact Marie Claire is becoming digital-only, we look at what the brand, and other publications, need to do to succeed in today's digital world.

The Marketing Week Explores podcast has a brand new format. This month we look at why brands are failing to get the most from customer insight and discuss whether the ASA's gender rules have gone too far.

Cindy Gallop is a consultant, entrepreneur and activist. She is also one of the highest profile figures in the advertising industry. After bowing out of advertising in 2005 following a stint as president and chair of BBH in the US, she set up a brand consultancy and several businesses including MakeLoveNotPorn, the “world’s first user-generated social sex video-sharing platform”. She is a passionate advocate for diversity in the ad industry and stamping out the sexual abuse and harassment she believes is common. In this podcast, Gallop discusses the business case for diversity, the virtues of being self-employed and why pornography is currently substitute for sex education. Highlights include: · Why you should work out your values before your career choice · Why the ad industry’s glory days could still be ahead · The folly of ageism · Why 45 is the age to leave corporate life

The latest edition of the Marketing Week Explores podcast was recorded during the School of Marketing’s inaugural event, set up to get young people from diverse backgrounds to consider a career in marketing. In it, senior writer Charlotte Rogers asks a panel of guests to reflect on their experiences and perceptions about working in marketing.