In this episode of The Marketing Week Podcast, news editor Niamh Carroll is joined by Unilever's beauty and wellbeing division global vice president of digital, social and AI transformation Selina Sykes.

She explains how Unilever's approach to brand building has changed - and what's remained - as well as how to effectively manage a team through constant transformation in a world where how people shop and consume media is rapidly changing.

"The fundamentals are exactly the same," says Sykes, who will be sharing more about Unilever's transformation at Festival of Marketing 2026. "But what we've seen is that how you achieve those things is radically different, and it continues to change."

This episode of The Marketing Week Podcast is sponsored by Kantar. Its LINK AI creator content insights turn influencer ads into predictive insight you can act on. Discover how you can invest with confidence, not guesswork with LINK AI by Kantar.

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Creator marketing is everywhere. But for many CMOs it still feels messy, inconsistent and driven by instinct. Is it just advertising with a friendlier face, or a fundamentally different channel? And can it genuinely build brands while still delivering performance?

In the latest episode of The Marketing Week Podcast, sponsored by Kantar, global creative thought leadership director Vera Šídlová joins editor-in-chief Russell Parsons to explore what the data actually says.

Drawing on Kantar’s latest creator effectiveness research: The creator game plan – based on large-scale analysis of content across 15,000 pieces of creator content on TikTok, YouTube and Instagram – she separates hype from hard evidence.

The conversation focuses on what drives impact and how brands can make sharper, more confident decisions in creator marketing.

You’ll hear:

• Why creator marketing works differently from traditional advertising… and how it actually builds brands
• How authenticity and brand consistency can reinforce each other, not compete
• The patterns behind high-performing creator content – and what strong briefs consistently get right
• How CMOs should measure creator marketing to make better investment decisions at scale

Host: Russell Parsons, editor-in-chief, Marketing Week

Guest: Věra Šídlová, global creative thought leadership director, Kantar

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How can the marketing industry build trust in advertising? It’s a perennial issue, but the next phase of the Advertising Association's action plan wants to tackle it head on. 

In this episode of The Marketing Week Podcast, editor-in-chief Russell Parsons is joined by Stephen Woodford, CEO of the Advertising Association, and Andria Vidler, CEO of National Lottery operator Allwyn and outgoing Advertising Association president. 

Public trust in advertising has risen from 30% to 40% in the last four years. However, serious challenges remain, from combating online scam ads to navigating AI’s impact.

This episode outlines the state of trust in the UK, from the role AI is playing to the industry’s relationship with the government, to help tackle the question: how can advertising become fundamentally trustworthy to the public?

This episode of The Marketing Week Podcast is sponsored by Kantar. Its LINK AI creator content insights turn influencer ads into predictive insight you can act on. Discover how you can invest with confidence, not guesswork with LINK AI by Kantar.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This episode of The Marketing Week Podcast is a must for any marketer navigating the industry's enduring and fresh challenges.

Professors Byron Sharp and Jenni Romaniuk of the Ehrenberg-Bass Institute join editor-in-chief Russell Parsons live from Cannes Lions to cover topics such as influencing finance departments, growth for small brands and AI "hype".

"[Marketers] should stop trying to pretend they're amateur CFOs and stealing terms like ROI and things like that, which just make the CFO think the marketers are jerks," says Sharp. "The job of the marketer is to explain to the CFO what they're trying to achieve and put forward some appropriate metrics to be measured on, not promises of huge leaps in market shares and sales."

They also discuss why an obsession with some metrics is leading to wasted budget and their opinion on the industry's purpose pushback, as well as interrogating some of marketing's biggest myths.

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Oura is one of the fastest growing health wearable brands, with revenues increasing fourfold in the last two years and the business on track to surpass 5 million users.

In this episode of The Marketing Week Podcast, CMO Doug Sweeny joins host Molly Innes, work and careers editor & podcast lead, to explore the brand's approach to marketing, from sports sponsorship to its recent brand repositioning and platform 'Give us the Finger'.

Since Sweeny last spoke to Marketing Week in October - when the brand repositioned from fitness tracker to 'holistic' health brand - its brand awareness has jumped from 20% to 30% in the UK.

He also discusses his team's relationship with the product function. "We work incredibly tightly with the product team. It's left hand, right hand," he says, noting that the "idea of a baton hand off" to marketing just doesn't cut it.

This episode of The Marketing Week Podcast is sponsored by Kantar. Its LINK AI creator content insights turn influencer ads into predictive insight you can act on. Discover how you can invest with confidence, not guesswork with LINK AI by Kantar.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode of The Marketing Week Podcast, we’re reflecting on the year so far and what it means for marketers going into the second half of 2026.

Hosts Lucy Tesseras, managing editor, and Molly Innes, senior reporter, are joined by the Marketing Week editorial team to dig into the big stories of 2026 and the lessons brands should carry through to make a success of the next six months.

This episode spans everything from how marketers can find growth in a low-growth environment and influencer marketing transparency, to the evolution of AI search and B2B buying behaviours.

The team also discuss the industry’s career progression crisis and how it’s impacting parents, as well as a look at how marketers can improve their martech stacks.

This episode of The Marketing Week Podcast is sponsored by Kantar. Its LINK AI creator content insights turn influencer ads into predictive insight you can act on. Discover how you can invest with confidence, not guesswork with LINK AI by Kantar.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Is marketing as progressive, equitable and inclusive an industry as it claims to be?

Taking pay disparity as a meaningful measure, Marketing Week data proves the industry still has many issues to resolve.

With marketing’s gender pay gap now at a five-year high of 21.7%, the 2026 Career & Salary Survey data also reveals both the ethnicity and socio-economic pay gaps are at their highest levels since 2022 at 13.7% and 18.6%, respectively.

To discuss what needs to change, Marketing Week deputy managing editor and head of insight, Charlotte Rogers, is joined by founder of creative comms agency Work & Class Laura Burch, The Marketing Academy Foundation CEO and campaigning chair on WACL’s executive committee, Lianre Robinson and co-founder of workplace equality champion People Like Us, Darain Faraz.

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With the 2026 FIFA World Cup around the corner, brands across the globe are making big swings to capitalise on the action and push their businesses forward.

Diageo is one such brand. As FIFA's official spirits partner for the tournament, the Johnnie Walker owner is "very clear" on the role its brands can play in the conversation, says Rick Pineda, vice-president of global sports.

He joins The Marketing Week Podcast, hosted by senior reporter Molly Innes, to discuss how Diageo is showing up for the biggest World Cup of all time.

This episode of The Marketing Week Podcast is sponsored by Kantar. LINK is an end‑to‑end creative effectiveness system, built for modern campaigns. Discover how you can drive stronger campaign performance and brand growth with LINK by Kantar.

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The Marketing Week Awards celebrate marketing that delivers real impact, where creativity, strategy, and execution come together to make a difference for brands, businesses, and customers. Click here to find out more details on entering.

In a category that’s often met with “a lot of indifference” from customers, building a banking brand that not only resonates but is celebrated is no small feat. 

However, this is what Nationwide has achieved. The 'A Good Way to Bank’ platform, which launched in 2023 alongside a wider rebrand, positions the bank as different from its competitors, backed up by a commitment to keep branches open and share profits with customers. 

In this episode of The Marketing Week Podcast, Nationwide director of brands and marketing Richard Warren and Imogen Hope Mandla, strategy director at Mother – Marketing Week’s 2025 Agency of the Year – join managing director Lucy Tesseras to discuss the secrets of a successful relationship. 

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Marketing faces several enduring challenges, including driving business growth, establishing a framework for success and putting customers firmly at the heart of the business.

This episode of The Marketing Week Podcast provides a case study for any marketer facing these universal challenges. Arla Foods' CMO Patrik Hansson joins editor-in-chief Russell Parsons to share how he led the organisation through a marketing transformation, helping it cut through with customers, drive growth and reframe the effectiveness conversation.

This episode of The Marketing Week Podcast is sponsored by Kantar. LINK is an end‑to‑end creative effectiveness system, built for modern campaigns. Discover how you can drive stronger campaign performance and brand growth with LINK by Kantar.

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