The WARC Podcast

By WARCBusiness Education How To Marketing

The WARC Podcast episodes

April 28 The Effective CMO: Sephora's Zena Arnold
Sephora is one of the world’s biggest beauty retailers. Zena Arnold, US CMO, joins the pod to discuss 'the lipstick effect', why Sephora is investing in women’s sports, emerging retail trends and the importance of brand building. Hosted by WARC's Anna Hamill.
Guests:
Zena Arnold, Chief Marketing Officer - US, Sephora
Anna Hamill, Senior Editor - The WARC Podcast
Chapters:
00:00 – Intro - Zena Arnold joins The WARC Podcast
00:29 – Defining Marketing Effectiveness: Breakthrough Messaging & Smart Distribution
02:07 – How is the beauty category evolving?
04:58 – Minimalist vs Bold Makeup: The New Spectrum of Beauty Trends
05:22 – How Sephora Spots Trends: Data, Social Listening & Beauty Advisors
07:26 – Personalisation in Action: Skin Scans, Data and the Beauty Insider Ecosystem
09:16 – The New Beauty Customer Journey: TikTok, App, Store and Same-Day Delivery
11:18 – In-Store vs Online: What Beauty Shoppers Want from Each Channel
13:01 – Sephora’s Experiential Retail: Play, Discovery and Community
14:02 – Creator Marketing at Scale: Sephora Storefronts & the Creator Economy
17:32 – Building Cultural Relevance: Sephora’s Brand Strategy & Alysa Liu Partnership
22:08 – First-to-Market Partnerships: Women’s Sports, Unrivaled and F1 Academy
26:28 – Beyond Gen Z: Engaging Gen X and Older Millennials in Beauty
28:36 – How Sephora Uses AI: Personalisation, Omni-Channel Journeys & ChatGPT
32:21 – Value Beyond Discounts: ‘Little Treats’, Spring Savings and Rewards Bazaar
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
42 min
April 23 Effective marketing is built on soft skills
Ideas on their own don’t deliver marketing effectiveness. What if the real driver is something less visible? BMF Australia's Anna Bollinger and Christina Aventi join WARC's Rica Facundo to discuss the outsized influence of soft skills including trust, psychological safety and simplicity. 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
33 min
April 21 AI vs. retail media: why brand trust still wins
From LLM platforms for discovery through to 'bot-to-bot commerce', agentic commerce is already revolutionizing the retail media space. WARC's Ann Marie Kerwin is joined by Andrew Lipsman and Alex Brownsell to discuss WARC's new Retail Media Radar report. 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
31 min
April 16 Four frameworks marketers need to know
Effectiveness expert Tom Roach joins the pod to analyse some essential ideas in marketing effectiveness, including the performance plateau, the modified funnel, 'lots of little' and share of model. Hosted by WARC's David Tiltman. 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
50 min
April 14 Why brand is critical in the age of generative AI
In a generative AI world, strong and consistent brands act as a bulwark against LLM confusion. But how can marketers equip themselves for success? WARC's Cathy Taylor talks to WARC guide contributors Gary J. Nix and Kate Watts how to build iconic or enduring brands in the AI era. 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
45 min
April 09 Systems thinking: what it is and what it's not
Brands act as systems of meaning, with flexibility preferred over rigid guidelines. So what does 'complex systems management' mean for marketers? JP Castlin joins WARC's David Tiltman to break down the terminology of systems, the complexity of modern marketing and the need to find answers to that complexity. 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
42 min
April 07 Implications of the Gulf energy crisis
WARC's new Global Ad Forecast maps out three scenarios for media spend as a result of war in the Middle East. WARC's James McDonald and Alex Brownsell make sense of the data, and what the current volatility will mean for advertisers in 2026. 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
22 min
April 02 Here comes System 3: a theory of artificial cognition
System 3 thinking recognises that AI now functions as an external cognitive partner in human decision-making, not just a tool. Thinkerbell's Adam Ferrier and Matt Plant join WARC's Lena Roland to discuss its impact on the customer journey, brand fame, and the cognitive surrender trap.
Guests:
Adam Ferrier, Founder & Psychologist, Thinkerbell
Matt Plant, Head of Behavioural Science and AI, Thinkerbell
Chapters:
00:00 – Intro: System 3 Thinking on The WARC Podcast
02:10 – Why System 1 and System 2 Transformed How Marketers Think
05:18 – What is ‘System 3’? A New Layer of Consumer Decision-Making
07:59 – Cyborg Consumers: Humans Plus Machines in Everyday Choices
08:43 – How System 3 Is Rewiring the Customer Journey and Search
10:14 – Will AI Search Overtake Traditional Search?
12:56 – Where System 3 Is Most Powerful: Research, Consideration and Loyalty
15:20 – How Do Brands Build Fame Inside LLMs?
18:35 – Why Reddit, Reviews and Earned Media Are Essential To System 3
20:10 – Will AI Homogenise Brands?
22:26 – Category Entry Points in a System 3 World
26:37 – Designing Assets and IP So LLMs Can ‘See’ Your Brand
30:13 – Cognitive Surrender: Why Do We Over-Trust Confident AI Answers?
33:23 – Cognitive Offloading vs Surrender: Using AI as a Thinking Partner
35:49 – Does System 3 Have a Personality?
38:28 – Ethics, Accountability and ‘Human in the Loop’ for System 3 Marketing
41:33 – Playbook for CMOs: Reddit Strategy, Reviews and Clear Brand Narrative
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
46 min
March 31 Football fever: why this year's World Cup will be different
The 2026 men's FIFA World Cup is expected to inject $10.5bn into the ad market, but media fragmentation is changing the game for advertisers. WARC's Alex Brownsell talks to Omar Oakes, founder of Oomph, about media trends covered in the new Global Ad Trends: FIFA World Cup 2026 report.
Thanks to Criteo for sponsoring this episode. There’s a lot of noise about AI, but here’s the news you need to know: Criteo is the first advertising company to integrate with OpenAI as part of ChatGPT’s advertising pilot, bringing commerce media into one of the fastest-growing AI platforms. If you want stay competitive in this new era of AI-driven shopping and advertising, Criteo’s new report: CommerceAI Trends 2026, is the essential intelligence you need to succeed.
Level up your marketing in the AI era: check out Criteo’s free trends report here: www4.criteo.com/en/2026_commerceai_trends/
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
22 min
March 26 WARC Rankings 2026: Dove's 'Real Beauty' wins the Effective 100
Dove's 'Real Beauty' platform has driven brand growth for more than 20 years. Now, it's won the Effective 100. Zoe Hamilton, Chief Strategy Officer for Unilever at Ogilvy London, and WARC's Amy Rodgers discuss why Real Beauty's impact proves the power of longevity in boosting marketing effectiveness. 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
24 min

About The WARC Podcast

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