Business of Marketing

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.

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:

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:

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

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.