The CMO Show

From the iconic sausage sizzle to its team of red shirts and partnerships with Vegemite and Bluey, Bunnings isn't just a brand...it's a staple of Australian culture. Recently named Australia's most trusted brand by Roy Morgan, the warehouse giant is supported by a seriously deliberate marketing machine focused on community engagement. Recorded live on the shop floor, this episode of The CMO Show sits down with Justine Mills, General Manager of Marketing at Bunnings, to unpack how a hardware store has become part of Australia's cultural fabric.

This isn't about glossy campaigns or influencer deals. It's about why the person in the red shirt knows more than any brand ambassador ever could and how Bunnings has built systems to let real frontline expertise lead the marketing. Justine dives into the Red Shirt Content Creator program, how everyday team members have become trusted creators, and why its inhouse content engine, Hammer Media, works not just as a retail media network, but as a credibility generator.

You'll hear how Bunnings captures real in‑store moments and resists polishing them into something unrecognisable. No hype. No hard sell. Just useful help, delivered in the same tone Australians have trusted for decades. For CMOs navigating growth and authenticity in an era of performance metrics and attribution, this episode breaks it down: how do you scale without losing soul? How do you drive a sector without feeling corporate? And how do you make marketing feel less like marketing and more like part of the community you serve?

It's rare look at how one of Australia's most iconic brands earns trust, keeps it, and proves that the most powerful marketing strategy still starts on the shop floor… preferably near the snag stand.

This episode is brought to you by impact advisory, communications and events agency, ImpactInstitute in partnership with Adobe.

www.impactinstitute.com.au | https://business.adobe.com/au

Your customers aren't just human anymore. They're machines...and they're already making decisions about your brand. Agentic commerce is here, and it's predicted to account for $300B–$500B in sales by 2030. Brands that design only for humans are already silently losing billions.

In this episode of The CMO Show, we talk to author of [descriptor] book, Machine Customers, Katja Forbes. They are joined by Gurvinder Singh, CMO at Altimetrik, which is putting Katja's principles into action. Together they unpack the next tectonic shift in marketing: AI agents as buyers, validators, and gatekeepers.

From AI agents rejecting suppliers over expired certifications to entire networks blacklisting brands in seconds based on poor data hygiene, this conversation exposes a blunt truth. Marketing is becoming machine‑readable, binary, and unforgiving. It's data. Verified. Structured. Machine‑legible. If machines can't read your brand, they won't trust it. And if they don't trust it, they won't buy it. This episode shows you how to navigate the shift, what to change, what to prioritise, and how CMOs can lead as machines move from channels to customers.

This episode is brought to you by impact advisory, communications and events agency, ImpactInstitute in partnership with Adobe.

www.impactinstitute.com.au | https://business.adobe.com/au

Want to know why marketers need to stop trying to keep up with AI? How about what they should focus on?

In this episode, Cameron Partridge, the Australian growth leader who helped scale Invisible Technologies into a $2 billion unicorn, talks staying focused in the AI noise. Across brand credentialisation the death of channel specialists, the rise of systems thinkers, and the danger of chasing shiny tools, the new Humanforce growth officer shares a simple message: GenAI hasn't changed the fundamentals of marketing. It's just made them harder.

From working with Google, Meta and Microsoft, Cameron has witnessed the industry evolve at breakneck speed. We can now create more content than ever, but standing out requires sharper thinking, deeper focus, and an unshakeable commitment to consistency and trust. Unicorns aren't built on noise; they're built on discipline. If you want the truth about AI, growth and the future of marketing roles, this episode is your blueprint.

This episode is brought to you by impact advisory, communications and events agency, ImpactInstitute in partnership with Adobe.

www.impactinstitute.com.au | https://business.adobe.com/au

Live from the Adobe AI Forum, this episode is your front‑row seat to a creative reboot with Nick Law, Accenture Song's Chief Creative Chairperson, Aussie expat and veteran of Apple, Publicis and R/GA.

Nick argues that the real opportunity with AI isn't found at the extremes. It lives in what he calls the "missing middle" the space between systems‑obsessed strategists and wildly expressive creatives. It's a space most organisations have let collapse, and rebuilding it will be the differentiator. The marketers who thrive will be the ones who can finally stitch those worlds back together.

And then comes his challenge to leaders: "Work with freaks." Because safe work gets buried. Bold work gets shortlisted, shared and chosen. In buying groups drowning in algorithm‑generated sameness, the unconventional thinker is now your unfair advantage.

If you're a marketer trying to make sense of the AI tidal wave, this conversation is your cheat code. And, yes, he tackles the question everyone's whispering (or panicking) about: "How will AI affect my job?" His answer is surprisingly energising and brutally clear on what stays human.

If you want to design a marketing future where AI is your ally, not your competitor, this episode shows you how. Discover what it means to lead teams where every discipline is becoming an AI discipline, where talent lives everywhere, and where the most powerful differentiators remain value, story and distinctly human ingenuity.

This episode is brought to you by impact advisory, communications and events agency, ImpactInstitute in partnership with Adobe.

www.impactinstitute.com.au | https://business.adobe.com/au

What does it really take to keep one of Australia's most talked‑about campaigns culturally captivating every single year? In this CMO Show masterclass, Nathan Low, CMCO at Meat & Livestock Australia, lifts the curtain on the annual Lamb Ad.

It's a deep dive into the creative mindset of this enduring cultural moment. We get a behind the scenes look at the process, which starts well before a single line is written, scanning the cultural landscape to understand what feels big enough to bring people together.

Nathan hints at the six‑month rhythm, from exploring broad cultural territories to pressure‑testing concepts and why the Lamb brief stays constant even as the culture shifts around it.

And here's the paradox every marketer wants to create: in a world where most consumers pay to skip ads, Australians still make time for this one, waiting for the drop each January, sharing it and, more often than not, helping it jump borders and make global headlines. That kind of anticipation doesn't come from media spend; it comes from culture, comedy and craft and from an organisation willing to back brave ideas, knowing "safe" ones would be riskier.

Listen in if you want to know how to evolve your brand's marketing without losing the core, how to balance instinct with just‑enough research, and how to turn a campaign into a national conversation people choose to watch.

This episode is brought to you by impact advisory, communications and events agency, ImpactInstitute in partnership with Adobe.

www.impactinstitute.com.au | https://business.adobe.com/au

Australia isn't just another western market. Amazon learned this quickly in its 12th market roll out. In this episode of The CMO Show, Lena Zak, Country Manager for Amazon Business Australia, discusses the nuances of branding in an unusually personal, human‑to‑human business culture with distinct approaches to buying and supplier relationships.

From buyer instincts shaped by Amazon's B2C footprint to the procurement friction unique to local organisations, Lena shares the surprises that forced her team to rethink assumptions and rework their approach, including the need to explain what Amazon Business even is before they could persuade anyone why it matters.

What are Lena's biggest lessons?

• How listening beat out global playbooks in a market where trust still trumps technology

• How the whimsical Little Bo Peep campaign became an unlikely shortcut to clarity and cultural connection

• Why simplicity in fast shipping, easy controls and fewer suppliers to manage proved the strongest lever for earning confidence with Australian organisations navigating digital transformation.

It's a behind‑the‑scenes look at the decisions, challenges and creative swings that defined one of Amazon's most interesting market launches and a reminder that in B2B, understanding how people buy is still the most powerful strategy of all.

This episode is brought to you by impact advisory, communications and events agency, ImpactInstitute in partnership with Adobe.

www.impactinstitute.com.au | https://business.adobe.com/au

Few industries are tested as relentlessly as travel. From economic uncertainty and sustainability pressures to rapid technological change, travel brands have had to constantly survive disruption.

Hazel McGuire, CMO of Intrepid Travel's answer has been constant reinvention and it's put them on the road to becoming a the first billion-dollar global travel brand.

In this episode of The CMO Show, Ms McGuire, shares what it takes to lead through disruption in an industry that is always rebuilding itself, and how she is navigating that complexity.

Hazel unpacks how the company responded to the post‑COVID reset, as travellers began seeking deeper meaning, stronger social connection and better value from the experiences they choose. She explains why, even amid cost‑of‑living pressures, travel continues to matter,—and how brands must move beyond short‑term transactions to build long‑term resilience.

You'll also hear how Intrepid's long‑standing B Corp commitment shapes decision‑making behind the scenes, helping the business balance purpose and profit without turning values into a marketing headline. From evolving beyond performance‑heavy marketing to investing in brand‑led storytelling, Hazel explores how Intrepid stays human, credible and trusted in an industry increasingly shaped by automation and AI.

This episode is brought to you by impact advisory, communications and events agency, ImpactInstitute in partnership with Adobe.

www.impactinstitute.com.au | https://business.adobe.com/au

What would you do if you walked into a fast‑growing global company as its first ever CMO with no marketing playbook and no inherited systems?

That was the challenge and opportunity facing David Levingston, Global Chief Marketing Officer at Aero Healthcare. In this episode of The CMO Show, David shares what it takes to build a marketing function from scratch that is treated not as a bolt-on, but as the connective force across product, data, brand and customer experience.

The conversation explores sequencing intuition behind data and facts in the planning stages, looking for clarity before creativity and rethinking approaches to named vs generic brand strategy.

This episode is brought to you by impact advisory, communications and events agency, ImpactInstitute in partnership with Adobe.

www.impactinstitute.com.au | https://business.adobe.com/au

2025 has been a year of extraordinary change for marketers. From AI-driven workflows to the resurgence of authentic storytelling, the pace of transformation is rewriting the rules of engagement.

In this special festive wrap-up edition of The CMO Show, host Mark Jones counts down the 12 trends shaping marketing leadership as we head into 2026.

Join us for a masterclass in clarity, creativity and context as we explore what it means to lead in an era of acceleration. From personalisation at scale to ethics as a non-negotiable, these insights will help you navigate the next wave of marketing innovation with confidence.

The CMO Show is produced by ImpactInstitute, in partnership with Adobe.

www.impactinstitute.com.au | https://business.adobe.com/au

Ten years ago, The CMO Show launched as a bold experiment in marketing storytelling. Back then, podcasts were niche, TikTok didn't exist, and AI was just a whisper. Fast forward to today, and the show has become a trusted industry platform, marking a decade of insights, evolution, and candid conversations.

In this special live-recorded anniversary episode, host Mark Jones is joined by Michelle Rowling, Head of Sales and Marketing at Luna Park Sydney, Louise Cummins, Co-Founder, Australian Centre for AI in Marketing, and Amy James, Senior Product Marketing Manager at Adobe to celebrate a decade of insights and explore what's next for CMOs.

From the print-first days of 2015 to the AI-powered present, this conversation dives into the big shifts shaping marketing. Hear from three marketing leaders as they share defining career moments, COVID-era resilience, and bold predictions for the future. If you've ever wondered how to stay relevant when the chessboard gets thrown in the air, this is your playbook.

The CMO Show is produced by ImpactInstitute, in partnership with Adobe.

www.impactinstitute.com.au | https://business.adobe.com/au