The Media Leader Podcast

Editor-in-chief Omar Oakes, deputy editor Maria Iu and reporter Jack Benjamin look back on their time at the 2024 Cannes Lions, from the application of "meaningful" AI to the dominance of adtech, from media owner activity to Media Lion winners.Highlights:00:45: Impressions of the 2024 Cannes Lions4:28: Media owner activity at the event – Amazon, Meta, Reddit, TikTok, Pinterest, Netflix — and what they're trying to sell to the global advertising community13:20: The Media Lion Grand Prix and other award-winning work20:03: Key learnings from the week – sustainability, the value of pacing yourself, the rise of the creator economy, cookies, bringing people into the tent amid a tough market---Visit 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

It's Cannes Lions this week, so we've brought you a special debate about the future of bringing creativity and media planning together in advertising, featuring senior decision-makers at major brands and one of the UK's foremost media strategy consultants:>> Olya Dyachuk, global media and data director, Heineken>> Sebastien Bourne, head of media for north-west and central Europe, HP>> Sally Weavers, co-founder, Craft MediaOmar Oakes asks them about how media and creative should reconcile in an industry where audiences are becoming more fragmented across digital media: how does "the big idea" get sold to advertisers when audiences are seeing different messages at different times? Recorded at The Future of Brands in April.Stand by in the coming days for what the media vibes are from Cannes Lions as The Media Leader sends its biggest contingent of journalists to the festival this year – Omar's intro sets out what you can expect from us and why you should remember Cannes' "dirty secret"…Who should we interview next? We're open to requests! Email omar.oakes@uk.adwanted.com---Visit 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

Reporters Jack Benjamin and Ella Sagar are back with a look at the stories that mattered most in media and advertising this week.The pair discuss how growth in the Chinese ad market has driven upward revisions in GroupM's mid-year ad forecasts, the industry's response to António Guterres' call for a global fossil-fuel ad ban and what Apple's WWDC announcements mean for publishers.Highlights:1:00: Unpacking GroupM's latest adspend report5:02: UN urges fossil-fuel ad ban to muted industry response9:20: OOH surpasses 5% market share threshold12:20: Apple WWDC AI announcements16:35: News round-up: BFI Imax anniversary, May box office, Bauer podcasts, Paramount's Skydance talks and BeReal acquisition

Where has the joy gone in digital advertising? And how can we get it back? James Chandler, chief marketing officer at the IAB, thinks that while the start of the digital scene was "an incredibly exciting space", the feeling of "joy and magic dissipated" somewhere along the way.In a study with advertisers, the IAB found that this came down to two things: "unease" about the pace of change and a feeling of "futility mainly around creativity", where advertisers do not feel "they have got much agency" in a world of algorithms and AI.Indeed, as Chandler acknowledges, in a seven-year career at the IAB, there have been "big moments" including brand safety, fraud and ad-blocking – all of which have had "advertisers questioning the integrity of the performance of digital".So the focus should be on getting people to "rediscover" joy, fun and creativity in digital advertising.Chandler joins Ella Sagar to discuss joy in digital advertising and highlights sessions from the recent Engage conference, including talks from former UK MD for Twitter Dara Nasr and EssenceMediacom's Geoff de Burca and Lindsey Jordan. Highlights03:32: Why joy in advertising is so important and where it has gone 07:15: What would a two-tier dystopian internet look like?11.56: A rallying cry for creativity from EssenceMediacom strategy chief Geoff de Burca 12.38: Former Twitter UK MD Dara Nasr on making the internet fun 15:58: Holding a mirror up to society 19.47: Key takeaways from IAB Engage

Reporters Jack Benjamin and Ella Sagar are back with a look at the stories that mattered most in media and advertising this week.The duo discuss what the pre-election period means for held-up government adspend, recent M&A activity by MediaSense and Mediaplus, and why the Evening Standard has fallen on troubled times.Highlights:0:40: How much government adspend has been put on hold during the pre-election period4:39: MediaSense acquires PwC's media advisory6:36: Indie merger: Total Media and Mediaplus9:50: Why the Evening Standard dropped its daily edition12:28: Takeaways from IAB Engage14:25: The AA's new report on trust16:30: News round-up: Election debate overnights, new leadership at Ocean Outdoor, plus The Washington Post, X's adult content and Netflix's gaming additions

Omar Oakes interviews Laura Jordan Bambach (co-founder, Uncharted) and Tom Curtis (ECD, EssenceMediacom UK) about the challenges of building collaborative partnerships, potential conflicts of interest and how agencies can be creative when planning where media is bought.They discuss the evolving landscape of creativity and marketing, and the importance of taking a media-first approach to creativity and leveraging technology to create better assets and plan media more efficiently. They also highlight the potential for creative agencies to be sidelined in digital advertising projects and stress the importance of collaboration and integration in the industry.Highlights05:35: Curtis' unusual role as a media agency ECD and how creative roles have evolved at media agencies07:19: Uncharted's emphasis on a collaborative approach10:04: Why great leadership from the top is key to successful agency partnerships16:04: How the market has changed alongside the way audiences consume contentRecorded at The Future of Brands, London (April 2024) Who should we interview next? We're open to requests! Email omar.oakes@uk.adwanted.com---Visit 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

Reporters Jack Benjamin and Ella Sagar are back with a look at the stories that mattered most in media and advertising this week, including and especially how the media industry has responded to Prime Minister Rishi Sunak calling for a general election on 4 July.Highlights:1:45: Media Bill becomes the Media Act5:29: DMCC Bill also passes7:30: Media bills that were not passed during wash-up period12:55: What should be the top media priority for the next government?15:32: Klarna cuts its marketing budget thanks to AI18:20: News roundup: PayPal, Total Media Group, BuzzFeed, Daily Beast, Netflix---Visit 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

Omar Oakes and columnist Nick Manning have a wide-ranging conversation about the recent ANA report into media agency reselling ("principal-based media"), where media agencies buy media at one price and resell it to clients at an undisclosed higher price – and why it's important.This is an epic conversation that delves into why advertising is no longer well-integrated with content, why there is a talent drain from the industry, why it may be "inevitable" that major ad agency groups are broken up and what Nick is planning through the 'Who Cares" movement with Brian Jacobs.Highlights:3:18: What's so bad with principal-based media?8:16: Why do media agencies do this?19:07: What should be the auditor's role in all this?36:12: What PM shows about the state of the ad industry41:08: Impact on media owners44:53: The demise of a "curated" advertising experience and Omar's epiphany52:17: The impact on content creation and why we're bombarded with 1990s rehashes63:38: The 'Who Cares" movement and what it wants to achieve61:11: Do we need greater regulation to make advertising and media function better?64:48: Should the major ad agency groups be broken up?Useful links: ANA calls for contracts and auditing shakeup over principal media ‘conflicts of interest’Nick Manning: Why principal-based media is bad for the whole industryNick Manning: Who cares wins: The antidote to 'badvertising'Omar Oakes: Squeamish about advertising? Get over it---Visit 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

Reporters Jack Benjamin and Ella Sagar are back with a look at the stories that mattered most in media and advertising this week.Highlights00:28: Barb joins the Media Rating Council3:34: GB News facing potential Ofcom sanction8:25: Netflix upfronts12:45: IPA survey: Ad industry "demoralised" about climate crisis15:50: Other important updates: Comcast's streaming bundle, gaming news publisher consolidation, Bauer Media's new HQ, ThreadsDeck and more.---Visit The Media Leader for the most authoritative news analysis and comment on what's happening in commercial media. LinkedIn: The Media LeaderThreads: @TheMediaLeaderTwitter: @TheMediaLeader YouTube: The Media Leader

Omar Oakes interviews Simon Myciunka, the CEO of Bauer Media Audio UK.Speaking at The Future of Audio & Entertainment, Myciunka discussed his first year in the job, his vision for the business, and why he believes continued innovation will be the key to radio's future success in the year radio celebrates its centenary.Highlights2.55: Myciunka's unconventional route to becoming a media CEO8.13: Why he got the job and what he plans to do14.33: Reaction to leadership changes at Global16.37: His key challenges19.46: Plans for Hits Radio, why merge local stations, and how to make that brand distinct23.24: In a digital audio market, will talent routinely be bigger than radio brands?28.14: Plans for developing Rayo, Bauer's putative rival to Global Player32.26: Opinion on the BBC selling UK ads on podcast platformsLinks:>> Watch this interview (Adwanted UK YouTube)>> Our Rajar coverage (Q1 2024)Coming up next week: Oakes and Nick Manning will discuss the ANA report into principal-based media and where it fits into wider issues with the way is media is traded globally today.---Visit 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