The Media Leader Podcast

It’s the most wonderful time of the year. Yes, yes, it’s the holiday season and we’re just days away from Christmas. But it’s also the global adspend report season. Business leaders are getting a holistic look at how the total ad market performed in the UK and around the world, and also what to expect for next year.WPP Media’s This Year Next Year report released on 8 December, and it has become something of an annual tradition to host its author and global president of business intelligence, Kate Scott-Dawkins, on this show before the end of the year.She returns once again to unpack this latest report, which forecast global ad revenue to grow 8.8% year on year to $1.14tn in 2025, despite persistent macroeconomic headwinds. Next year, WPP Media is predicting further 7.1% global growth, the majority of which is being captured by a handful of tech platforms.Scott-Dawkins offers her view on the state of the global economy, downside risks for marketers, and whether AI is likely to drive growth next year.This is the final episode of the podcast we at The Media Leader are releasing this year. Thank you to our wonderful guests and to all you listeners out there for tuning in. We’ll be taking a few weeks off the holidays but will be back up and running in the New Year.Highlights:1:50: Toplines: an optimistic forecast driven by platform growth6:12: Expect more consolidation9:33: Downside risks: tariffs, uncertain consumer spending, K-shaped recovery14:52: Advertising is leading the global economy17:56: Could the commerce market be upended by AI?20:20: Why the UK ad market is still "pretty healthy"22:33: Things to look out for in 2026: AI search, an upper-funnel correctionRelated articles:WPP Media forecasts 8.8% global ad revenue growth in 2025 but warns of ‘K-shaped economy’ risk‘Agencies may get squeezed everywhere’: US tariffs cause ad industry angstUncertainty and soft guidance as holding groups struggle for growth in Europe---Thanks to our production partners Trisonic for editing this episode.--> Discover how Trisonic can elevate your brand and expand your business by connecting with your ideal audienceVisit The Media Leader for the most authoritative news analysis and comment on what's happening in commercial media. LinkedIn: The Media LeaderYouTube: The Media Leader

This episode was produced in partnership with Roku.It's been a busy past few months for Roku: in the US, it launched a new low-cost subscription service, Howdy, which aims to be supplementary to the likes of Netflix and Disney+; in the UK, Roku launched 40 FAST channels on its platform.Last month, The Media Leader sat down with Roku’s content distribution director, Tom Price. If you haven’t listened, it’s worth your time – Price spoke about those developments, as well as how Roku works with its content partners to support their programming within the Roku platform.But that was only part 1 of a 2-part series produced in partnership with the company, timed to coincide with The Media Leader's focus on the future of TV at our annual Future of TV Advertising Global Event, held this week.For part 2 of the series, host Jack Benjamin is joined by Mike Shaw, the director of EMEA ad sales at Roku.Shaw discussed Roku's commercial strategy more broadly. He chatted about where Roku sits within the wider CTV ecosystem, how it’s working with retail media partners, innovations it would like to help drive in measurement, and how the TV market is changing to become more data-led and programmatic.Highlights:1:37: What will define the future of TV advertising?5:00: Growth and growing pains in CTV9:09: How to use data for brand and performance alike14:20: Linking CTV with retail media and driving innovation amid 'democratisation' of TV20:38: How Roku aims to grow market share in Europe: using TV OS for incremental reach26:36: The future of FAST and bundling amid subscription fatigueRelated articles:How Roku is piecing a fragmented TV landscape back together — with Tom PriceRoku launches FAST channels in UK marketHowdy confirms Roku’s growing interest in subscription streamingRoku eyes app bundling opportunity as next-gen aggregator---Thanks to our production partners Trisonic for editing this episode.--> Discover how Trisonic can elevate your brand and expand your business by connecting with your ideal audienceVisit The Media Leader for the most authoritative news analysis and comment on what's happening in commercial media. LinkedIn: The Media LeaderYouTube: The Media Leader

This episode was produced in partnership with The Guardian.Each year, The Guardian’s advertising team delivers a research project cheekily called Shift Happens.Blending survey data with first-party data, the study aims to unpack longer-term cultural trends in Britain that may well be of interest to savvy marketers.Imogen Fox is The Guardian's chief advertising officer. She returns to the podcast to unpack the report's key takeaways and its implications for marketers.These include five major changes consumers have made in how they spend their time throughout the week. Among them, people are waking up earlier, maximising weekends, heading to the pub early on Fridays, and taking reexamining their work-life balance priorities.Highlights:1:05: Shift Happens toplines5:00: How useful are trends reports?8:15: Lifestyle changes: joy slicing, return-to-office, weekend maximising, chatbot friends14:52: Advice for marketers20:40: The Guardian's plans for 2026Related articles:WTF happened to Friday?The Guardian promotes its creative canvas amid US investment driveIsn’t it time the ad industry embraces a 4-day week?---Thanks to our production partners Trisonic for editing this episode.--> Discover how Trisonic can elevate your brand and expand your business by connecting with your ideal audienceVisit The Media Leader for the most authoritative news analysis and comment on what's happening in commercial media. LinkedIn: The Media LeaderYouTube: The Media Leader

Last December, Phil Smith, the director-general of Isba (the trade body for advertisers), announced he would be stepping down after eight years.Succeeding him is Simon Michaelides, who most recently worked as the interim chief customer officer of Great British Racing.Both Isba's outgoing and incoming leaders joined host Jack Benjamin on the podcast to discuss Smith's legacy and Michaelides initialy priorities for Isba and its members.During Smith’s time at Isba, he was one of the key architects of Origin, the cross-media measurement service that he will now continue working on as its chairman. The trio spoke about Origin's next stage plans now that it officially launched this year.They also discussed a wide range of topics relevant to Isba's members, including the issue of principal media and whether it has reduced agency-client trust, the shifting TV market, and challenges facing CMOs.Highlights:5:17: Smith's legacy at Isba8:26: Making sense of the changing TV market12:55: The roadmap for Origin and early feedback from advertisers and media owners26:13: Michaelides' "relevance" agenda31:06: The agency-client relationship: consolidation, AI, principal media and trust42:00: Challenges for CMOs: rapid turnover, balancing the short and long term52:31: Should we have an Isba for SMEs?Related articles:Isba appoints Simon Michaelides director generalOrigin’s cross-media measurement solution has landed: A view from the bridgeIsba’s Phil Smith: Advertisers should take a bigger stake in OriginThree ways to access £15bn in adspend---Thanks to our production partners Trisonic for editing this episode.--> Discover how Trisonic can elevate your brand and expand your business by connecting with your ideal audienceVisit The Media Leader for the most authoritative news analysis and comment on what's happening in commercial media. LinkedIn: The Media LeaderYouTube: The Media Leader

PMG, an independent challenger ad agency, has gone on an investment spree. Over the past few months the agency has hired top talent, and in recent years it has acquired a number of businesses to build out a full-service offering for brands as it looks to challenge holding groups and other indies for business.One major addition it made last month was Josh Krichefski, the former GroupM EMEA and UK CEO, who is now PMG’s EMEA president.Krichefski is also notable for working as the president of IPA from 2023 to 2025, a role in which he championed industry talent and the importance of both acquisiton and retention.He joined The Media Leader recently to discuss his new role, PMG’s growth strategy and what sets it apart from competitor agencies amid a rapidly changing agency landscape.Krichefski also reflected on his time as IPA president and at WPP, and spoke about his views on the future of the agency model.Highlights:4:30: What attracted Krichefski to PMG after more than a decade at WPP9:43: PMG's go-to-market in EMEA: Transparency, consultancy, data27:01: Reflecting on Krichefski's time as IPA President and his People First agenda32:12: Agency consolidation and the future of the agency model38:26: Why AI is an opportunity, not a threatRelated articles:Josh Krichefski joins PMG as EMEA PresidentIPA president Josh Krichefski: ‘Put health and wellbeing at the forefront’WPP CEO labels group’s performance ‘unacceptable’ as it looks to SMEs‘We are in a crisis’: Advertising: Who Cares? suggests media business models must change---Thanks to our production partners Trisonic for editing this episode.--> Discover how Trisonic can elevate your brand and expand your business by connecting with your ideal audienceVisit The Media Leader for the most authoritative news analysis and comment on what's happening in commercial media. LinkedIn: The Media LeaderYouTube: The Media Leader

One of the key topics of industry research we at The Media Leader have been following is how media companies – be they agencies, owners or brands – can and should restructure themselves to become more fit-for-purpose in a changing media ecosystem.Independent marketing advisory MediaSense has been examining these issues for several years, and last month it released its latest report, in partnership with the World Federation of Advertisers, titled, The Future of Media Organisations. Based on responses from many of the world’s largest companies representing $52bn in annual media spend, the report found that media is emerging as a key way to connect disparate marketing functions – from creative to brand strategy. Media, in other words, is becoming less siloed.But that begs the question: how do businesses and their agencies reorganise to fit that new model?Ryan Kangisser is the chief strategy officer at MediaSense. He joins the podcast once again to explain the details of the study, their implications for marketers and agencies, and why integration – rather than scale – is the key to media success going forward.He remarks: "I think [brands] want full-service thinking, not necessarily full-service doing."Highlights:1:48: Toplines from The Future of Media Organisations report: breaking down siloes6:07: If media is taking a bigger role, who owns strategy?11:39: Developing the right data infrastructure to improve audience planning16:20: Global versus local: why there is an erosion of regional specialism24:03: How is the agency model changing?Related articles:Media’s strategic role in integrating marketing functions for brandsWhat’s the future role of media? It’s complicatedRethinking agency remuneration in 2025 — with MediaSense’s Ryan Kangisser---Thanks to our production partners Trisonic for editing this episode.--> Discover how Trisonic can elevate your brand and expand your business by connecting with your ideal audienceVisit The Media Leader for the most authoritative news analysis and comment on what's happening in commercial media. LinkedIn: The Media LeaderYouTube: The Media Leader

Last week, The Media Leader hosted its flagship annual event in London, The Future of Media, and for this week’s episode of the podcast, the team wanted to bottle one of the headline interviews from the conference.On Tuesday, host Jack Benjamin sat down with Niel Bornman, CEO of Publicis Media Connected UK.Publicis is having a big year – it is, by some margin, the strongest-growing of the major global media holding groups, to the point where its competitors are generally looking to emulate its business model.Bornman unpacked the moves the company has made in recent years to set it up for post-pandemic growth, and weighed whether its data-driven model is pushing advertisers more toward performance media.The pair also spoke about the future of the agency model, debated concerns around principal media, and discussed what needs to change to improve Publicis Groupe’s declining share price.Highlights:2:14: How Publicis' data-led model put it in a good post-pandemic position.5:08: Can Publicis maintain its USP as competitors look to emulate its business model?7:18: Are we over-investing in performance marketing?10:45: Boosting share price growth13:15: The future of the agency model in an era of AI19:00: Principal media: yay or nay?Related articles:‘We are in a crisis’: Advertising: Who Cares? suggests media business models must changeThe great media agency shake-upWho gains most from the agency shift to strategic partnerships with clients?Can principal media be good, actually?Podcast: What did Publicis get for $4.4bn? Interview with Epsilon UK MD Elliott Clayton---Thanks to our production partners Trisonic for editing this episode.--> Discover how Trisonic can elevate your brand and expand your business by connecting with your ideal audienceVisit The Media Leader for the most authoritative news analysis and comment on what's happening in commercial media.LinkedIn: The Media LeaderYouTube: The Media Leader

This episode was produced in partnership with Roku.It's been a busy past few months for Roku: in the US, it launched a new low-cost subscription service, Howdy, which aims to be supplementary to the likes of Netflix and Disney+; in the UK, Roku launched 40 FAST channels on its platform.The company has emerged as a key partner for other entertainment partners to increase the reach and viewability of their content, a goal that has become increasingly important in a fragmented TV landscape.Tom Price is the content distribution director at Roku. He joins host Jack Benjamin to discuss the latest developments at Roku, what makes the UK TV market unique, and how the company has developed a toolkit of advertising opportunities for its content partners.This is part one of a two-part conversation — be on the lookout later in the year for a follow-up interview with Roku's EMEA ad sales director Mike Shaw.Highlights:3:11: Roku's UK positioning: the pace of change, growth opportunities, FAST strategy.10:03: Cutting through the noise of a crowded streaming market.14:58: Howdy: Roku's US ad-free SVOD option.17:48: How Roku works with its content partners.25:07: What's next? Streaming market expansion and consolidation, FAST growth, new features.Related articles:Roku launches FAST channels in UK marketHowdy confirms Roku’s growing interest in subscription streamingRoku eyes app bundling opportunity as next-gen aggregator---Thanks to our production partners Trisonic for editing this episode.--> Discover how Trisonic can elevate your brand and expand your business by connecting with your ideal audienceVisit The Media Leader for the most authoritative news analysis and comment on what's happening in commercial media.LinkedIn: The Media LeaderYouTube: The Media Leader

At the heart of every media plan is the need to understand what a consumer wants; wants from your brand, your product, how they want to be spoken to and through what touchpoints.Michael Brown is the UK and EMEA head of research and insight, and a senior managing partner, at IPG Mediabrands.He joined host Jack Benjamin to discuss how his craft of both qualitative and quantitive consumer research is adapting to meet changing needs of CMOs, and how he is integrating AI into his work practice.Brown believes wholeheartedly that the human element is at the core of consumer insights, and he explains why it’s important for media companies and brands to continue taking that into account.As part of the conversation, the pair also spoke about key insights trends, including the seeping of politics into social listening online, and what it means for brands who have demonstrated care (or lack thereof) to diversity, equity and inclusion efforts.In addition, Brown addressed how he and his team are handling any uncertainty over Omnicom’s forthcoming acquisition of IPG.Highlights:3:14: How demand for research and consumer insight is changing, and the crisis of "information overload" in the age of AI.11:34: Why true insight and storytelling require a "human premium".16:41: How do CMOs take on research?20:44: What's trending right now? Social listening, Reddit, and political controversy.28:24: Are brands shying away from responsible media investment and diversity, equity and inclusion?33:52: Reactions to Omnicom's acquisition of IPG.37:47: Is the social culture of adland changing?Related articles:The ad gap: Why marketers are falling behind consumers, and how to catch up Consumers seeking comfort online more likely to view advertising positivelyUS FTC approves Omnicom-IPG merger on condition it does not make ad decisions based on ‘political or ideological viewpoints’---Thanks to our production partners Trisonic for editing this episode.--> Discover how Trisonic can elevate your brand and expand your business by connecting with your ideal audienceVisit The Media Leader for the most authoritative news analysis and comment on what's happening in commercial media. LinkedIn: The Media LeaderYouTube: The Media Leader

This year, the Molly Rose Foundation, the charity founded in the memory of Molly Russell, in partnership with online safety researchers, has released a number of studies around the efficacy of social media platforms’ online safety efforts.In August, it found that, despite platforms’ promises to get better on tackling the issue of child safety, the likes of TikTok and Instagram are still bombarding young users with a quote unquote “tsunami of harmful content” via their recommendation algorithms.Weeks later, another report found that most of Meta's child safety tools, including and especially its Teen Accounts feature, are apparently ineffective.Andy Burrows is the CEO of the Molly Rose Foundation. Joined by the Conscious Advertising Network's Harriet Kingaby and host Jack Benjamin, he explained the severity of the harms facing children on social platforms, and why their efforts to ameliorate them have been, in his words, "performative".After the recording of this episode, the Foundation released a third piece of research that found half of girls aged 13-17 saw high-risk suicide, self-harm, depression or eating disorder content in the week shortly prior to the Online Safety Act taking effect this summer.Responding to the MRF's research on its Teen Accounts, a Meta spokesperson said the report "repeatedly misrepresents our efforts to empower parents and protect teens, misstating how our safety tools work and how millions of parents and teens are using them today."Teen Accounts lead the industry because they provide automatic safety protections and straightforward parental controls. The reality is teens who were placed into these protections saw less sensitive content, experienced less unwanted contact, and spent less time on Instagram at night. Parents also have robust tools at their fingertips, from limiting usage to monitoring interactions. We'll continue improving our tools, and we welcome constructive feedback — but this report is not that."Burrows and Kingaby also discussed why advertisers haven’t yet been moved to apply business pressure on platforms in response, and whether regulation is plausible.Said Burrows: "This is a commercial decision, and children are paying the price."Highlights:2:07: Toplines of the MRF's research and how advertisers have reacted13:51: Malice, ignorance, or incompetence?17:01: Is anyone tackling child safety responsibly? Issues of transparency and trust and safety investment23:16: AI chatbots and child safety31:33: Is regulation plausible right now?37:17: How should parents navigate the online world on behalf of their kids?Related articles:Molly Russell charity CEO: Social media’s user safety efforts have been ‘performative’Why planners are investing so heavily in Meta, despite attention metricsUS TikTok sale brings uncertainty for creators amid free speech chillMeta launches subscription option to allow UK users to avoid ads---Thanks to our production partners Trisonic for editing this episode.--> Discover how Trisonic can elevate your brand and expand your business by connecting with your ideal audienceVisit The Media Leader for the most authoritative news analysis and comment on what's happening in commercial media. LinkedIn: The Media LeaderYouTube: The Media Leader