DEI, EDI, D&I – no matter the acronym you use, it is undeniable that conversations around equality, equity, diversity, and inclusion have been increasing across the board in recent years. But how does talk translate to action within the media industry? Shez Iqbal is a mentor at Media For All and head of publisher partnerships at Criteo. He joins the podcast alongside host Ella Sagar and guest Jack Benjamin to chat through the nitty gritty of diversity, equality, equity and inclusion in leade...
Jul 26, 2023•47 min•Season 3Ep. 8
Host Jack Benjamin is joined by editor Omar Oakes and reporter Ella Sagar to discuss the latest news around the media industry. Key headlines covered this week: Twitter is being rebranded as X; 'Barbie' and 'Oppenheimer' both had exceptional opening weekend box office performance thanks in part to impressive marketing campaigns; Hollywood remains on strike with no end in sight; earnings season is upon us; and NME is relaunching its print edition. --- The Media Leader Podcast's production partner...
Jul 24, 2023•29 min•Season 3Ep. 7
One of the key questions we are always asking industry experts, be it in our reporting or at our conferences, is what makes for effective media? Is it all about excellent creative? Is it about perfect placement? Or is it, in the words of Succession character Kendall Roy, all simply about harvesting eyeballs? Mike Follett, managing director at Lumen Research and a regular columnist for The Media Leader, is back on the podcast to discuss the key factors that make media effective, and where attenti...
Jul 19, 2023•43 min•Season 3Ep. 6
Taboola has built a multibillion-dollar business by making it easy for publishers to recommend content to other parts of the web in exchange for a fee. Now, as thoughts about generative AI dominate conversations in media, the company has just launched Taboola Generative AI which aims to "revolutionise" how publishers create personalised ads. CEO Adam Singolda spoke to Omar Oakes about the company's beta test of this AI tech, which began in February and has just been rolled out formally to all En...
Jul 17, 2023•28 min•Season 3Ep. 5
What does the future of digital publishing, and in particular, digital news publishing, look like? Raymond Snoddy, the former presenter of BBC News Channel’s NewsWatch and a longtime columnist for The Media Leader, and Richard Reeves, MD of the Association of Online Publishers, join the podcast to discuss. Digital publishing has been in a near-constant state of development and transition since it began supplanting traditional press two decades ago. But with the recent dissolution of BuzzFeed New...
Jul 12, 2023•51 min•Season 3Ep. 5
“You’ve got to do a different job on pricing.” That is the core theme of the new book Madison Avenue Makeover , according to its author Michael Farmer. Farmer, a former consultant, is also the author of Madison Avenue Manslaughter , which the Financial Times called a “damning critique of the modern advertising industry”. His latest book, a sequel, addresses attempts by Huge CEO Mat Baxter to transform the IPG agency and restore its dynamism. But as reporter Ahmed Elkady writes in his review , th...
Jul 05, 2023•45 min•Season 3Ep. 4
Media industry professionals have been in something of a crisis. Declining mental health, uncertainty over hybrid work policies, slow-moving DE&I policies, and still-large disparities between men and women in career progression and pay. These issues are not necessarily unique to media, and there have been improvements made over time in many areas, but there is doubtless more our industry could be doing to improve the lives of its workers. So, how should we unpack all of these challenges? Col...
Jun 28, 2023•44 min•Season 3Ep. 3
Future's new CEO Jon Steinberg is keen to build things. In his career he has helped create two new media start-ups in BuzzFeed and Cheddar, but in his new role as CEO of Future, he has taken charge of numerous media properties continuing to transition from print to digital. Steinberg joins the podcast in an interview with editor Omar Oakes. The pair discuss changes Steinberg is bringing to Future, the value of attending Cannes Lions, the state of the digital publishing industry, and how developm...
Jun 21, 2023•23 min•Season 3Ep. 2
Why are media and creative so siloed? That was the question implicitly posed by our editor Omar Oakes in his latest column . Referencing industry veteran Laurence's Green 's speech at a recent Thinkbox conference, Oakes questioned Cannes' reason for appearing separately as both a celebration of creativity and as a tech and media industry conference. Oakes and Green both joined Jack Benjamin on The Media Leader Podcast to unpack the argument. In a wide-ranging conversation, the trio also spoke ab...
Jun 14, 2023•45 min•Season 3Ep. 1
"There's so much change all the time in terms of new channels popping up, the way ID and privacy fit together and create challenges; there's just so much to constantly be on top of and ahead of." AudienceProject's UK commercial director Martin Bentley was one of several Future of Brands conference delegates reflecting on the biggest challenges and opportunities facing the media industry in the near future. Speaking with reporters Jack Benjamin and Ella Sagar at London conference in April, Bentle...
Jun 06, 2023•39 min•Season 2Ep. 9
Are people even paying attention to the ads they are being served? That question has opened up a can of worms for an industry that is intensely concerned with return on investment. Two leaders of the attention economy, Lumen Research's Mike Follett and Amplified Intelligence's Karen Nelson-Field, joined reporter Jack Benjamin for a discussion on the positives, pitfalls, and recent developments within the evolving space. --- This episode was edited by our production partners Trisonic. You can fin...
May 30, 2023•48 min•Season 2Ep. 8
Are ambitious marketers suffering from a 'Steve Jobs complex'? Is Sir John Hegarty right to say that marketers and most marketing is simply "boring"? Is there any point doing "purpose" in marketing"? These are among the key questions answered by a trio of media and advertising leaders who joined The Media Leader editor Omar Oakes to discuss the state of marketing and key themes from The Future of Brands. Craig Tuck, chief revenue officer at Ozone, Rachel Forde, former UK CEO of media agency UM, ...
May 22, 2023•41 min•Season 2Ep. 7
Lee Brown, head of advertising business & platform at Spotify, speaks to Omar Oakes about how the global audio giant hopes to significantly grow its advertising revenue in response to founder Daniel Ek's "20% challenge". Brown had been on a salesperson hiring spree , but then the digital media market slowed down and the company began making layoffs like most of the big tech giants in recent months. Ek, meanwhile, admitted Spotify had over-invested in podcasts in particular, after acquiring b...
Apr 11, 2023•18 min•Season 2Ep. 5
"Reframe the problem," says renowned marketing consultant and author Richard Shotton in his new book on behavioural psychology and its impact on advertising and media. In his new book, The Illusion of Choice , Shotton describes the various psychological biases (16-and-a-half, to be precise) that influence what we buy. Reviewing the title in The Media Leader, VCCP Media's joint chief strategy officer Steve Taylor called it a page turner and an “antidote” to “a sea of increasingly ineffectual same...
Apr 04, 2023•29 min•Season 2Ep. 4
The Media Leader's new columnist Nicola Kemp joins Omar Oakes to talk about the progress women have made in making media a more equitable career and the barriers which still remain. Kemp, who is editorial director of Creativebrief, warns if we want to stop women from being edited out of the media industry, we must be honest about addressing burnout and "fake flexibility". What advice does she have for women in media and what more can leaders do? Read the first in her new monthly column: " Face t...
Mar 29, 2023•37 min•Season 2Ep. 3
Have you ever thought about moving across the pond? Two media industry Brits that have recently made the jump over into the massive, frenetic media environment in America—more specifically, the Big Apple. They’re eager to share what they feel is different about the media industry Stateside as compared to the UK. Wayne Blodwell is the founder and CEO of digital advertising consultancy TPA Digital, formerly known as The Programmatic Advisory, as well as a podcast host in his own right for The AdPo...
Mar 21, 2023•23 min•Season 2Ep. 2
We're back for Season 2 with a banger! Advertising legend Sir John Hegarty speaks to Omar Oakes in the first of a two-part interview - the second of which will be at our Future of Brands event in London (25/26 April). Visit The Media Leader for the most authoritative news analysis and comment on what's happening in commercial media. LinkedIn - The Media Leader Twitter @TheMediaLeader YouTube - The Media Leader...
Mar 14, 2023•30 min•Season 2Ep. 1
Jamie Barnard, former Unilever in-house lawyer and CEO of privacy and data governance platform Compliant, joins Omar Oakes to discuss what he learned from his time at the coal face as a large global advertiser grappled with data privacy and media ethics and how he is now trying to help brands develop ethical media policies for an advertiser-funded internet. Merry Xmas + see you in the new year for Season 2! Visit The Media Leader for the most authoritative news analysis and comment on what's hap...
Dec 21, 2022•28 min•Season 1Ep. 14
JC Decaux's co-CEO in the UK, Dallas Wiles, tells Omar Oakes why the outdoor media company thinks 2023 will the year of the public screen. He reveals why, contrary to what many predicted, people have not fled cities during the pandemic and we have already arrived at "the new normal". Visit The Media Leader for the most authoritative news analysis and comment on what's happening in commercial media. LinkedIn - The Media Leader Twitter @TheMediaLeader YouTube - The Media Leader...
Dec 19, 2022•27 min•Season 1Ep. 13
The basic relationship between reach and business results has "eroded dramatically", Zenith UK chief strategy officer Richard Kirk argues in an opinion piece for The Media Leader . In some cases, this fundamental principle of commercial media no longer exists, the Publicis Groupe media agency has discovered. Kirk speaks to Omar Oakes about why the relationship between audience reach and an advertiser's sales has broken down, why 'Right Reach' is a better predictor of success, and what this means...
Dec 15, 2022•21 min•Season 1Ep. 12
Kris Boger, general manager, UK, global business solutions at TikTok, talks to Omar Oakes about how and why this social media platform is going big on commerce, what advertisers and agencies are asking TikTok as they try to make sense of this platform, and whether questions TikTok parent Bytedance’s Chinese ownership are fair. Find out more about our upcoming event in London The Future of Audio and check out the outline agenda. Visit The Media Leader for the most authoritative news analysis and ...
Dec 13, 2022•23 min•Season 1Ep. 11
Amy Williams, founder and CEO of ethical advertising platform Good-Loop, tells Omar Oakes why creating more sustainability is akin to ending the practice of 'fast fashion' and how the industry needs to change to make advertising and media production carbon neutral. We go into more depth about how to confront the climate emergency in advertising and media in our webinar with The Guardian , featuring the newsbrand's environment editor Fiona Harvey, the Conscious Advertising Network, Purpose Disrup...
Dec 08, 2022•19 min•Season 1Ep. 10
Dave Randall, Future's commercial director, discusses with Omar Oakes why using first-party data well is so important to the publisher and how its audience data platform Aperture has developed. Dave and Omar also discuss how 'specialist interest websites' and TV stand out in a Future survey about trust in media , and how a modern publisher establishes 'church v state' lines between editorial and commercial when journalists are asked to write sponsored content. Our own 'church v state' disclaimer...
Dec 05, 2022•28 min•Season 1Ep. 9
Mudit Jaju, global ecommerce lead at Wavemaker talks to reporter Ella Sagar about how the retail media ecosystem has changed since the pandemic, who does retail media really well and what new partnerships between ITV and Channel 4 and retail media partners mean for the industry. Visit The Media Leader for the most authoritative news analysis and comment on what's happening in commercial media. LinkedIn - The Media Leader Twitter @TheMediaLeader YouTube - The Media Leader...
Nov 30, 2022•21 min•Season 1Ep. 8
Nick Manning, founder of media agency Manning Gottlieb OMD and media consultant, talks about his recent column in which he argues advertisers can no longer be passive observers as their spending funds a media ecosystem which is suffering from a "crisis of trust". Notes: Nick's column: " How advertisers should deal with the crisis of truth in media" The editor: " We will champion talent, sustainability and trust in media" Join us on Weds 30 November for a special presentation we're running with T...
Nov 25, 2022•24 min•Season 1Ep. 7
England footballer Jill Scott — part of the Euro 2022-winning team — speaks to talkSPORT reporter Jordan Jarrett Bryan at our recent Future of Media event in London. Jill and Jordan spoke about her experience of dealing with the media as a women’s footballer, how media attitudes towards women’s football have changed, and how far away the women’s game is now with being seen as an attractive area for brands to invest in advertising and sponsorship. **As seen (sort of!) on ITV's I'm a Celebrity... ...
Nov 18, 2022•32 min•Season 1Ep. 6
Route Research CEO Denise Turner talks to Omar Oakes about how the outdoor media sector has recovered in 2022 after Covid-19 lockdowns in the UK and what the 'new normal' looks like as more people regularly work fro home. Visit The Media Leader for the most authoritative news analysis and comment on what's happening in commercial media. LinkedIn - The Media Leader Twitter @TheMediaLeader YouTube - The Media Leader...
Nov 14, 2022•22 min•Season 1Ep. 5
Omnicom Media Group’s head of futures Phil Rowley has recently joined The Media Leader ‘s stellar list of regular columnists. His debut column argues that predictions can still be highly useful even when they’re wrong. Rowley speaks to Omar Oakes about the science of predicting, whether predictions are getting harder and whether brands are becoming more conservative when it comes to innovation in media and marketing. Of course there is a lot to say about what’s happening at Twitter under the rul...
Nov 07, 2022•31 min•Season 1Ep. 4
BARB CEO Justin Sampson discusses what's next for the UK TV measurement company as independent audience data for Netflix and Disney+ becomes available for the first time. Visit The Media Leader for the most authoritative news analysis and comment on what's happening in commercial media. LinkedIn - The Media Leader Twitter @TheMediaLeader YouTube - The Media Leader...
Nov 02, 2022•14 min•Season 1Ep. 3
ITV CEO Carolyn McCall speaks to Omar Oakes about the launch of ITV's new streaming service ITVX, where it fits into her vision to digitally transform the UK's biggest commercial broadcaster, and what's next for ad-funded television as Netflix and Disney+ enter the arena. This interview was recorded at The Future of Media, Mediatel's flagship conference, in London on 13 October.
Oct 31, 2022•35 min•Season 1Ep. 2
