Business of Marketing

Michael Scott, Global CRO, LoopMe: Why Brand Performance Is Back
What happens when marketers focus too heavily on the 5% of consumers already in market?
Michael Scott, Global Chief Revenue Officer at LoopMe, joins John Horsley live from Cannes Lions to discuss why brands need to start filling the top of the funnel again, and how better data, AI and real-time measurement are making brand investment easier to prove.
They explore the shift from web to mobile apps, the growing importance of first-party data, why immersive mobile experiences are becoming more valuable, and how AI is changing targeting, optimisation and product development.
Michael also explains why marketers need to simplify ad tech, move beyond jargon and focus on the outcomes that actually matter to the business.
In this episode:
Why over-investing in lower-funnel marketing eventually runs out of road
How AI and LLMs are changing web and mobile behaviour
Why first-party data is becoming critical to brand performance
How marketers can quantify upper and mid-funnel investment
Why mobile apps offer brands a more immersive customer experience
How AI enables near real-time audience optimisation
Why ad tech needs to make the complex simple
The value of long-term brand building over constant promotion
Michael's advice to people starting their careers: “Just say yes.”
Recorded live at Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity.
The Business of Marketing brings together senior leaders shaping the future of marketing, media, technology and business.

Tracey Shirtcliff, Founder & CEO of Scope Better, joins John Horsley live from Cannes Lions to unpack one of the biggest commercial problems facing agencies: why so many are still pricing the future using models built for the past.
Having previously built and sold agency workflow platform Traffic Live, Tracey has spent years inside the economics of creative and professional services businesses. Her argument is simple: agencies cannot embrace AI, automation and new ways of working while continuing to sell hours, roles and rate cards.
In this episode, they explore:
Why 60–70% of agencies are still recording and charging for time
How poor scoping quietly destroys agency margins
Why Excel spreadsheets and disconnected systems are holding agencies back
The shift from selling hours to deliverables, outputs and outcomes
How agencies should commercialise their investment in AI
Why pricing, CRM, workflow and finance need to become connected
How AI agents could fundamentally change agency pricing and scoping
Why fixing the commercial engine can be more valuable than simply chasing another client
Tracey also explains why the agencies that win will be those that treat pricing and scoping as a strategic discipline, not an administrative task.
“The Excel spreadsheet is 30 years old. It’s not a model for the new world.”
A sharp conversation about agency economics, AI, pricing, profitability and what it really takes to build a more scalable services business.
Recorded live at Cannes Lions from the DEPT® Secret Garden.

Tom Murphy, Chief Creative Officer at VML, joins John Horsley live at Cannes Lions for a sharp conversation about creativity, AI, advertising and what actually makes people pay attention.
They discuss why “a thousand times zero is still zero”, how too many decision-makers can average great ideas down, why taste matters more in the age of AI, the return of craft and analogue culture, and why the best brands sometimes need to let go of control.
Plus, Tom explains why advertising is “always dying”, why Cannes Lions still matters, and what he looks for in the next generation of creative talent.
Recorded live at Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity.

Growth isn't a playbook. It's a series of decisions.
What separates companies that scale from those that stall?
Michael Lehman, President Americas at Equativ, has led growth across venture-backed startups, private equity businesses and companies preparing for exit. In this conversation with John Horsley, recorded live at Cannes Lions, he explains why every stage of growth demands a different strategy.
From product-market fit and commercial execution to leadership, AI and the future of premium publishing, Michael shares a refreshingly practical perspective on building businesses that last.
Topics include:
• Why there is no blueprint for growth• Product-market fit vs execution problems• Building a strategy every employee can explain• Leadership, burnout and organisational clarity• Why clients want fewer, deeper technology partners• AI's impact on publishers and premium media• Advice for the next generation entering marketing and adtech
An in-depth conversation about leadership, growth and navigating one of the fastest-changing industries in business today.

What if the future of marketing isn't advertising at all?
Recorded live at Cannes Lions, Justin Cooke sits down with Matt Longley, CEO of Mobsta, to explore why the next competitive advantage won't come from buying media more efficiently, but from understanding human behaviour better.
Matt shares how Mobsta evolved from a mobile targeting business into an intelligence platform, why customer success should sit at the centre of every business, and why agencies need to think more like consultants than media buyers.
They discuss:
• Why the "perfect moment" matters more than audience segments.• How business intelligence could become more valuable than media buying.• Why great leaders remove barriers rather than manage people.• How AI should strengthen human judgement, not replace it.• The career lessons that shaped Matt's leadership philosophy.
A conversation about leadership, data, AI, and building businesses around curiosity instead of convention.

AI isn't fixing broken go-to-market strategies. It's exposing them.
Recorded live at Cannes Lions, John Horsley is joined by Fiona McKenzie, President, Europe at Marketbridge, for a practical conversation about what AI is really changing inside modern marketing organisations.
Rather than chasing the latest AI tools, Fiona argues that marketers should be fixing the fundamentals first. Poor data, disconnected teams, fragmented technology and outdated processes don't disappear with AI. They become even bigger problems.
In this episode, they discuss:
• Why AI is amplifying broken go-to-market systems rather than repairing them.• Why disconnected data is still the biggest barrier to growth.• How GEO and answer engines are forcing marketers to rethink brand, content and reputation.• Why today's CMO increasingly looks like a transformation leader, not just a marketing leader.• Why human creativity and strategic thinking matter more than ever in an AI-first world.
They also explore why agencies are becoming transformation partners, why sales, marketing and customer teams need shared KPIs, and what separates the organisations pulling ahead from those simply adding more AI tools.
If you're leading marketing, revenue or digital transformation, this episode is packed with practical insight on building a connected go-to-market strategy that can actually benefit from AI.

AI is changing far more than marketing productivity. It's reshaping how customers discover, evaluate and buy.
In this episode of Business of Marketing, John Horsley speaks with Dimi Albers, CEO of Dept, about why the brands that succeed will be those that redesign the entire customer journey for an AI-first world.
They discuss:
• Why growth has to be engineered, not just executed.• How AI is changing customer behaviour across every touchpoint.• Why empathy will become a greater competitive advantage.• What separates the 20% of businesses that will win from the rest.• Why people who consistently deliver will always be indispensable.
A dynamic conversation on AI, growth and the future of marketing.

Ad tech has never been more powerful. So why does marketing still feel so complicated?
Recorded live at Cannes Lions, John Horsley speaks with Oliver Whitten, Chief Operating Officer at Adform, about the technologies reshaping modern advertising and why the biggest opportunity isn't adding more AI, it's removing complexity.
From AI-powered campaign planning and the rise of Model Context Protocol (MCP) to privacy, trust and the future of connected media, Oliver explains how marketers can navigate an increasingly fragmented ecosystem without losing sight of what matters most.
In this episode:
Why the next competitive advantage is simplifying complexity.
How AI is changing campaign planning, reporting and activation.
Why trust, transparency and privacy are becoming business differentiators.
How CTV, digital out of home and audio are creating new opportunities for brands.
The simple career advice that has guided Oliver's leadership for more than two decades: "Fill the void."
A conversation about AI, advertising infrastructure and why the best technology should become almost invisible.

Victoria Usher, CEO and Founder of GingerMay, joins The Business of Marketing to explore why great communications still come down to one thing: understanding people.
Recorded live at Cannes Lions 2026, Victoria explains why AI is creating more content but not necessarily better communication, why too many brands mistake noise for storytelling, and how authentic leadership, thoughtful PR and strong executive profiling are becoming essential in the age of generative search.
In this episode:
Why AI is producing "froth" instead of original thinking.
The difference between broadcasting and genuine storytelling.
How CEOs can build trust by becoming better storytellers.
Why PR is becoming a critical part of GEO (Generative Engine Optimisation).
The advice Victoria would give anyone starting a career in marketing today.
A practical conversation about communications, reputation and why human insight remains your greatest competitive advantage.

Jennifer Kattula, General Manager and CMO of Microsoft Advertising, joins John Horsley live from Cannes Lions to explore how AI is reshaping marketing.
From marketing to LLMs and AI agents, to why brand storytelling matters more than ever, Jennifer explains how marketers can build visibility, trust and competitive advantage in an AI-first world. The conversation also covers employee advocacy, creator ecosystems, Microsoft's latest AI innovations, and why the future CMO will need to be part marketer, part technologist and part business leader.