The WARC Podcast

LLM-based search is the new mental availability engine, but success requires deep understanding of how a category is bought, thought and talked about. Shane O'Leary (Zoetis) and Gemma Spence (VML) join WARC's Lena Roland to discuss best practices for generative engine optimization.

Chapters:

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[00:08] – Intro: How AI Is Transforming Search
[01:23] – Meet the Guests: Shane O’Leary & Gemma Spence
[02:21] – What Is Generative Engine Optimization (GEO)? Definitions & Acronyms (LLMO, AEO)
[03:35] – GEO vs SEO: From Engineering Algorithms to Brand- and Content-Led Search
[04:48] – Paradigm Shift: From 10 Blue Links to Conversational AI Search (ChatGPT, Gemini, Claude)
[05:00] – LLM-Powered Search Everywhere: Google AI Overviews, Amazon, Meta, X and More
[06:03] – What LLMs Cite: Reddit, Wikipedia, YouTube, Yelp, TripAdvisor and “Human” Content
[07:31] – How Big Is AI Search? Usage Stats, Consumer Behavior and Priority Categories
[09:50] – High-Consideration Categories: Travel, Finance, Health, Pet Care 
[12:23] – Category Entry Points: Using CEPs to Win GEO Queries and Mental Availability
[14:37] – Do Big Brands Have an Edge—or Does GEO Favour Disruptors and Creators?
[18:43] – Reddit’s Rise: Why Forums Drive GEO, Google AI Overviews and Brand Discovery
[20:28] – Rethinking Paid, Owned, Earned Media for GEO and AI-First Search
[22:26] – Creators, Influencers and PR: Building Trust Signals LLMs Actually Rank
[28:34] – Trust vs AI Slop: Authoritative Sources, Paywalls and the Fight for Quality Content
[31:47] – New GEO Metrics: Share of Model, Citation Rate, Sentiment and Category Entry Points
[34:45] – Collapsing the Marketing Funnel: From Keyword Search to Answer-Led Journeys
[41:43] – Agentic AI Explained: AI Shopping Assistants, Retail Integrations and Commerce
[43:52] – Strategic GEO Takeaways for Marketers

For 40 years, WARC has been providing the marketing industry with rigorous, unbiased evidence and expert effectiveness guidance. The WARC Podcast publishes a new episode every Tuesday and Thursday.

Subscribe to The WARC Podcast here: https://www.warc.com/en/warc-podcasts

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The festive season is getting started, and many brands are feeling the crunch. WARC's Rica Facundo and Biprorshee Das discuss best practice strategies for marketing in the festive season.

For 40 years, WARC has been providing the marketing industry with rigorous, unbiased evidence and expert effectiveness guidance. The WARC Podcast publishes a new episode every Tuesday and Thursday.

Subscribe to The WARC Podcast here: https://www.warc.com/en/warc-podcasts

Sign up to daily WARC News for free: https://www.warc.com/en/latest

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TV is often dismissed as 'traditional' media, yet it's still a proven performance multiplier. Angela Voss, CEO of Marketing Architects, joins WARC's Ann Marie Kerwin and Alex Brownsell to explore how TV has become overlooked as a full funnel channel and why that needs to change. This episode is sponsored by Marketing Architects.

For 40 years, WARC has been providing the marketing industry with rigorous, unbiased evidence and expert effectiveness guidance. The WARC Podcast publishes a new episode every Tuesday and Thursday.

Subscribe to The WARC Podcast here: https://www.warc.com/en/warc-podcasts

Sign up to daily WARC News for free: https://www.warc.com/en/latest

Book a demo: https://www.warc.com/en/subscribe

Groundbreaking new studies on influencer measurement, music's outsized impact on effectiveness, and provocations on AI. Recorded live at the IPA Effectiveness Conference 2025 with WARC's Anna Hamill.

We hear from Dom Charles, Managing Director for Audience Intelligence & Marketing Science at Wavemaker UK; Roscoe Williamson, Global Strategy Director, MassiveMusic; Will Lion, CSO, BBH; Oliver Feldwick, Chief Innovation Officer, T&P; Sandra Peat, UK Partner, Spikes

For 40 years, WARC has been providing the marketing industry with rigorous, unbiased evidence and expert effectiveness guidance. The WARC Podcast publishes a new episode every Tuesday and Thursday.

Subscribe to The WARC Podcast here: https://www.warc.com/en/warc-podcasts

Sign up to daily WARC News for free: https://www.warc.com/en/latest

Book a demo: https://www.warc.com/en/subscribe

The world is changing, and strategy skillsets need to evolve with it. As part of Future of Strategy week, Tomas Gonsorcik, Elizabeth Paul and Joe Burns join WARC's Ann Marie Kerwin to discuss how strategists can future proof their skills for a new era of marketing.

The Future of Strategy 2025 report, which includes quantitative and qualitative data analysis, expert commentary and advice from leading strategists, is available to WARC members now.

Chapters:

[00:00] – Future of Strategy 2025: Challenges Facing Strategists
[01:50] – WARC Survey: Declining Influence of Strategy
[03:53] – Is the Problem Strategy or Strategists?
[05:31] – Why Strategy Wins Pitches but Loses Out in Agency Scopes
[07:04] – How Strategists Can Prove Their Value
[09:55] – AI, Strategy Skills and the Future of Agency Talent
[11:18] – Turning Research Data into Strategic Insight
[12:40] – AI-Powered Research: Efficiency Versus Human Judgment
[18:35] – How Strategy Helps Brands Break Through Category Sameness
[22:04] – Creative Risk vs. Uncertainty in Advertising
[24:42] – Can AI Free Strategists to Focus on Deeper Thinking?
[27:02] – Why Clients Bring Big Business Problems to Agencies—or Don’t
[28:23] – Three Growth Opportunities for Agency Strategists
[34:56] – Reframing the Brief to Improve Creative Strategy
[42:40] – Why Marketing Measurement Matters to Strategic Success

For 40 years, WARC has been providing the marketing industry with rigorous, unbiased evidence and expert effectiveness guidance. The WARC Podcast publishes a new episode every Tuesday and Thursday.

Subscribe to The WARC Podcast here: https://www.warc.com/en/warc-podcasts

Sign up to daily WARC News for free: https://www.warc.com/en/latest

Book a demo: https://www.warc.com/en/subscribe

According to WARC’s new Future of Strategy report, strategists are feeling stuck. Siddhant Lahiri and Steve Walls join Rica Facundo to discuss how strategy can get its groove back.

The Future of Strategy 2025 report, which includes quantitative and qualitative data analysis, expert commentary and advice from leading strategists, is available to WARC members now. 

For 40 years, WARC has been providing the marketing industry with rigorous, unbiased evidence and expert effectiveness guidance. The WARC Podcast publishes a new episode every Tuesday and Thursday.

Subscribe to The WARC Podcast here: https://www.warc.com/en/warc-podcasts

Sign up to daily WARC News for free: https://www.warc.com/en/latest

Book a demo: https://www.warc.com/en/subscribe

80% of strategists believe the discipline faces a crossroads as agency business models strain. For Future of Strategy week, Suzanne Powers, Faris Yakob and Tom Morton are back with WARC's Lena Roland to discuss WARC's annual survey of strategists.

The Future of Strategy 2025 report, which includes quantitative and qualitative data analysis, expert commentary and advice from leading strategists, is available to WARC members now.

For 40 years, WARC has been providing the marketing industry with rigorous, unbiased evidence and expert effectiveness guidance. The WARC Podcast publishes a new episode every Tuesday and Thursday.

Subscribe to The WARC Podcast here: https://www.warc.com/en/warc-podcasts

Sign up to daily WARC News for free: https://www.warc.com/en/latest

Book a demo: https://www.warc.com/en/subscribe