According to Kolsquare’s latest research into the state of the European influencer marketing scene, more than a third of UK brands expect to work with up to 100% more influencers in 2025. 

Why is influencer marketing such an attractive proposition for brands, and can they really expect compete without it? 

In this episode of Marketing Bites host Tom West joins Katy Link, Kolsquare head of brand, Monica Marriott-Mills, brand influencer, and Warren Fiveash, Teenage Cancer Trust head of marketing to find out.

We'll dive into why influencer marketing is growing, how an increasingly strict set of rules is impacting the sector, and what the future holds for the influencer marketing space.

Conceptually, most marketers are aware of what generative AI could do – and what we believe it currently can’t. We often see examples of creative at the extreme ends of the spectrum, for example, to demonstrate why the art and design of advertising is still a predominantly human activity.

But it’s time we moved beyond the conceptual or extreme into the transformative ways generative AI can be used today and how it can be implemented in ‘real world’ tasks to bring greater efficiencies as well as enhancing customer engagement.

In this episode of Marketing Beat’s Marketing Bites, podcast host Morag Cuddeford-Jones is joined Microsoft Advertising’s growth advertising lead, Tina Aird and Assembly Global’s head of search and programmatic, Dan Roberts to discuss the myriad ways in which generative AI is revolutionising marketing campaigns.

We’ll also cover how the technology has become invaluable in better adapting and personalising the customer journey, as well as simplifying and speeding up those mundane, but essential parts of the creative process.

Covid hit marketing hard, and the resultant global economic downturn has hardly helped matters. In 2024, it feels at times as if creativity is coming under more pressure than ever before – constantly under threat of ceding to rigid economic constraints.

What then, is the answer? How can marketers ensure that creativity is enshrined at all costs? And how best can they go about protecting it?

This is exactly what the latest episode of Marketing Beat’s Marketing Bites is preoccupied with, and we’ll be leaning upon the expert opinion of Flora’s UK head of marketing, Ian Hepburn, who will impart numerous golden nuggets of industry knowhow for our discerning listeners to reflect upon – no least concerning Flora’s immensely successful ‘Skip the Cow’ campaign or even Snickers’ iconic ‘You’re not you when you’re hungry’, from Hepburn’s time at Mars.

We will also be joined by Celtra’s VP of customer success, Natalie Satamoulatos who will shine a spotlight on how harnessing the latest technological advances, and automation in particular, will help supercharge creativity – and ultimately help marketers preserve more control in an increasingly demanding landscape.

Today’s tech-driven marketing landscape means brands and advertisers have a plethora of data at their fingertips. But how can they ensure they are making the most of this insight?  

In digital advertising, the method of delivery is as important as the message, if brands are to land an effective, engaging campaign.

Joining us to give us their unique perspective are Thom Arkestaal, director, advertising insights, Microsoft Advertising and Xanthe Pickford-Avery, head of search, The7Stars.

We'll be covering how consumers are connecting with brands and advertising, how important brand recognition is to advertising effectiveness, and what pieces of insight are most crucial to brands looking to attract new consumers.

Join us for another insightful episode of Marketing Beat's Marketing Bites.

Is having an instantly recognisable brand the holy grail of marketing?  We've seen some incredible brand-first campaigns lately, from British Airways, Müller, and Specsavers to name a few examples, how can marketers help their brands reach that pinnacle where everyone knows on sight who you are and what you do?

In this episode of Marketing Beat's Marketing Bites we'll be asking that question with a brand that will be instantly familiar to listeners, Tony's Chocolonely. Emma Baines, head of creative, Tony's Chocolonely occupies the hot seat as we pick her brains on how the chocolate-maker has achieved impressive brand awareness in a breathtakingly short amount of time. How have they managed to wrap their purpose within their brand, and what to do about imitators and copycats who will inevitably follow.

Also joining us to share his insight and perspective is James Fooks-Bale, director of brand marketing, at brand-building platform Frontify. James will explain how brands can harness the power of recognition, the importance of consistency, and what assets really connect with the consumer and how to protect them.

We loved talking to both of them, join us for another great listen on the Marketing Bites podcast.

The first step for any brand campaign is getting consumers' attention. Eyeballs alone don't cut it, views are not enough and ads need to make a real impact to have a measurable effect. 

But with so much noise out there, how can brands identify the best way to get their business seen? 

We’ll be picking apart what attention really means by looking at different types of campaign – from shock marketing to long-term strategic brand-building - the measurable effects of these, and why marketers need to make room for both. 

Joining us to help make sense of it all are two heavyweights from the UK marketing world - Rory McEntee, brand and marketing director at challenger brand Gymbox (famed for its trouble-making marketing) and Dom Boyd, managing director at Kantar UK Insights. 

The pair share their take on the importance of grabbing the right kind of attention and how to ensure that a campaign makes that all-important leap from impact to engagement.