Business 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.

Recorded live at Cannes Lions, John Horsley sits down with Christine C. Cook, Chief Commercial Officer at Bloomberg Media, for a wide-ranging conversation about the changing worlds of media, marketing, content and leadership.
They explore:
• What premium media really means, from professionally sourced journalism and quality production to context, trust and understanding what clients actually need• Why the assumption that everything needs to be short is wrong, and what Bloomberg is seeing from longer-form journalism, video and podcasts• Why so much thought leadership risks looking and sounding the same, and the importance of finding a distinctive point of view, human voice and story• How the role of the CMO is changing, with brand, communications, growth, technology and transformation increasingly overlapping• The pressure marketers face between short-term demands and long-term brand building, and the challenge of staying relevant to cultural moments when organisations can take months to respond
Christine also discusses the growing importance of executive reputation and authentic leadership, and what Bloomberg's research with more than 500 CMOs and marketing leaders reveals about the changing role and influence of marketing within organisations.
She finishes with a lesson from her own career across The New York Times, Financial Times, Martha Stewart and Bloomberg: don't simply rush upwards. Build breadth, accumulate different experiences and prepare yourself for an industry that will continue to change.

Cindy Gallop has never been interested in saying what people want to hear.
A former advertising leader turned founder of MakeLoveNotPorn, she joins Justin Cooke at Cannes Lions to discuss why marketing has the power to change culture, not just sell products, and why too often it chooses not to.
The conversation explores why diversity in advertising is moving backwards, why the industry surrendered too much power to technology platforms, how AI should serve creativity rather than dictate it, and why marketers need to rediscover the confidence to shape the future instead of waiting for Silicon Valley to define it.
Cindy also shares the story behind building MakeLoveNotPorn, the challenges of creating a category-defining company in one of the world's most difficult sectors, and why she believes businesses can, and should, scale both purpose and profit.
From creativity and leadership to culture, AI and entrepreneurship, this is a conversation about challenging assumptions and having the courage to build what doesn't yet exist.

Sir Martin Sorrell | Executive Chairman, S4 Capital & Senior Monk | Live from Cannes Lions 2026
What happens when one of advertising's most influential leaders looks at where the industry is really heading?
Recorded live at Cannes Lions, Justin Cooke sits down with Sir Martin Sorrell for a wide-ranging conversation on why AI is transforming media faster than creativity, why agency business models must change, the growing dominance of the technology platforms, retail media, creator economics and what CMOs should be preparing for next.
Sir Martin also shares his perspective on the future of China, procurement, outcome-based pricing, quantum computing and why the biggest changes in marketing are still to come.
If you want an unfiltered view of where marketing is heading over the next decade, this is an episode you won't want to miss.

Has marketing really changed or have marketers simply forgotten the fundamentals?
Recorded live at Cannes Lions, Justin Cooke sits down with Mark Ritson, founder of MiniMBA, to explore why the principles of great marketing remain remarkably consistent, even as AI transforms the tools we use.
Mark shares his views on market orientation, strategy before tactics, the future of synthetic research, brand consistency, marketing education, and why too many organisations are chasing trends instead of building brands. He also gives his unfiltered perspective on AI, creators, Cannes Lions, and what the next decade means for marketers.
If you're looking beyond the hype to understand what really drives marketing effectiveness, this is an episode you won't want to miss.

Audio is one of the fastest-growing media channels, but are marketers still undervaluing it?
In this episode of the Business of Marketing, John Horsley sits down with Russell Pedrick, Managing Director of Octave, to explore how audio is evolving from a supporting channel into one of the most powerful parts of the modern media mix.
Drawing on experience across Disney, ESPN and News UK, Russell explains why podcasts, digital audio and connected listening are reshaping media planning, why AI is transforming creative production, and how brands can deliver highly personalised campaigns at scale without sacrificing creativity.
They discuss the growing gap between audience attention and advertising investment, the rise of premium audio, the future of AI-generated creative, and why curiosity and adaptability have become essential leadership skills in today's media industry.
If you want to understand where audio advertising is heading, and why marketers should be paying much closer attention, this episode is essential listening.

Positioning is no longer just about standing out. It's about being found.
In this episode of The Business of Marketing, recorded live at Advertising Week Europe, Justin Cooke sits down with Paul Evans, Founder and Chief Positioning Engineer at V2RSION, to explore why positioning has become one of the most important strategic disciplines in business.
Drawing on leadership experience at Microsoft, Vodafone, Bacardi and Nestlé, Paul explains why AI has fundamentally changed how businesses are discovered, shortlisted and chosen. As buying journeys increasingly begin with machines rather than people, positioning has become a growth strategy rather than simply a marketing exercise.
They discuss why product advantages disappear faster than ever, why founders should rethink positioning as a living operating system rather than a one-off exercise, and how businesses can build a competitive advantage that technology alone cannot replicate.
If you're a founder, CEO, CMO or growth leader trying to stand out in an increasingly crowded market, this conversation offers a practical framework for thinking differently.

In this episode of The Business of Marketing, John Horsley sits down with Andrea Sexton, CEO of Ledger Bennett, to explore why B2B marketing needs to move beyond obsessing over the measurable 40% of the funnel and start investing in the moments that shape buying decisions long before prospects become leads.
Andrea shares why the industry's fixation on MQLs, attribution and short-term performance is holding brands back, how AI is changing the buying journey, and why the future belongs to marketers who understand human behaviour as well as technology.
Whether you're a CMO, demand generation leader or B2B marketer, this conversation challenges many of the assumptions that have shaped marketing over the past decade.
Topics include:
Why B2B marketing has become too focused on what it can measure
The growing importance of brand in complex buying journeys
How AI and LLMs are changing vendor discovery and buyer behaviour
Why buying groups, not individual buyers, should shape marketing strategy
The shift from campaign thinking to always-on demand generation
Why content distribution matters more than simply creating content
The future skills every modern B2B marketer will need
A thought-provoking discussion on building brands that are remembered long before buyers enter the market, and why human insight remains marketing's greatest competitive advantage.