Everyone's talking about AI. Far fewer people are talking about how to actually use it well.In this episode of Your CMO Mentor, Joe sits down with Jacq, CMO of Pip & Nut, to explore where AI genuinely creates value and where human judgment, strategy, and creativity remain irreplaceable.Fresh from launching Pip & Nut's standout AI-assisted TV campaign, Jacq shares what really happened behind the scenes. Rather than replacing creatives, AI became another production tool - one that still required thousands of human decisions, careful brand stewardship, and exceptional creative taste.Along the way, the conversation expands into what makes a great marketer in 2026: strategic discipline, commercial thinking, brand consistency, and developing the judgment to know when AI is helping - and when it isn't.Whether you're experimenting with AI for the first time or leading a marketing team through rapid change, this episode offers practical advice grounded in real-world experience rather than hype :)SponsorsOur studio recordings are filmed at Work.Life in London. They offer really lovely offices and co-working spaces and have friendly staff to look after you. We always feel so welcome when we're there: https://work.life/Weglot are the brilliant company sponsoring this episode :) . They offer really simple website translation services, allowing you to expand your reach as a brand. AI will help make that translation super-fast, and humans will check it to make sure it is chef's kiss good content 🤌. Thank you sooooo much for your support!SpeakerJacq Ellis-Jones https://uk.linkedin.com/in/jacqueline-ellis-jones-marketing-communicationsIn this episode, you'll learn:The marketing skills that will matter most over the next decadeWhy strategy is far more important than better AI promptsHow Pip & Nut created its AI-assisted TV advertWhere AI genuinely improves marketing efficiencyWhy creative taste is becoming even more valuableHow to balance commercial pressure with brand buildingThe AI tools Jacq's team actually uses todayWhat marketers should learn to future-proof their careersHow to thrive inside challenger brands with limited budgetsWhat to do when leadership wants AI to solve every problemTimestamps0:00 - Stop wasting your marketing budget0:46 - Why AI still needs human creativity2:00 - Sponsor - learn about the brilliant WEGLOT2:32 - The marketing skills that matter most4:22 - How top marketers build those skills6:19 - The traits that set great marketers apart8:32 - Marketing mentors worth learning from11:22 - The mindset every CMO needs13:42 - Why every marketer should understand finance16:24 - Inside Pip & Nut's AI-powered campaign18:05 - Where AI creates real marketing value20:58 - How the AI ad was actually made22:56 - Why taste beats AI prompts27:16 - Efficiency vs. effectiveness with AI30:26 - Why strategy comes before AI tools31:21 - How marketing leaders are learning AI33:36 - The AI tools Pip & Nut actually uses36:44 - Future-proof your marketing career38:16 - Balancing brand quality with tight budgets43:52 - How to thrive in a challenger brand48:37 - What to do when your CEO says "use AI"53:14 - Final advice for ambitious marketersIf you enjoyed this, please like and subscribe - it genuinely helps us reach more marketers like you 💜Join 37,000+ marketers getting our weekly newsletter (it's freeeeee): https://themarketingmeetup.com/newsletter/Listen on Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/your-cmo-mentor/id1850910303Listen on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/0cpW4Tsm2YuKJj488cNX1s

When times get tough, the temptation to discount is almost irresistible. A quick promotion, a short-term volume spike, a CFO who's happy for five minutes. But what's it actually costing you?In this one, Jodie Gillary, Head of Brand Activation at Kantar, joined James to talk about why discounting is one of the most damaging things a brand can do, and what marketers should be doing instead to protect their pricing power. She brought the data, the case studies, and the kind of clarity that makes you want to forward this to your CFO immediately.SponsorsThis episode was filmed at our Work.Life recording studio in London: https://work.life/Shoutout to ‪@Weglot‬ for sponsoring this episode :) SpeakersJodie Gillary https://www.linkedin.com/in/jodie-gillary-91312512/Kantar www.kantar.comTimestamps:00:00 - Why brands grow01:35 - Quickfire with Jodie09:00 - Expertise is relative16:30 - Protecting price premiums25:00 - Earning a place in the household32:45 - The discounting trap39:00 - Building your brand for AI51:00 - Community scenarioIf you enjoyed this, please like and subscribe - it genuinely helps us reach more marketers like you.Join 35,000+ marketers getting our weekly newsletter (it's free): https://themarketingmeetup.com/newsletterListen on Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/marketing-meetup-podcast/id1365546447Listen on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/5QvmFdxg5pMwsfPkKjhXl9

Biren Kalaria, Managing Director of Data, Measurement and Analytics at Google UK, joined us to talk about one of the most requested topics in the community: how to prove the value of marketing to a sceptical boss. It's a question that came up again and again in our State of Marketers research, and if you've ever had a brand campaign killed because it "didn't convert," this one's for you.We got into the measurement tools most marketers don't know exist, why last-click attribution misses 75% of the value marketing creates, and what Bern calls a "suite of truths" — the set of metrics that actually gives you confidence to invest and make the case upward. There's also a brilliant scenario at the end where we work through exactly how to handle that CFO meeting.SponsorsThis episode was filmed at our Work.Life recording studio in London: https://work.life/Shoutout to  @Weglot  for sponsoring this episode :) SpeakersBiren Kalaria https://www.linkedin.com/in/bkalaria/Think with Google: https://www.thinkwithgoogle.comJoe Glover https://www.linkedin.com/in/josepheglover/Timestamps:00:00 - Introduction03:29 - Skills to build today04:22 - Admired behaviour in marketers06:42 - Dream mentor09:42 - Biggest mentorship lesson18:33 - One piece of marketing advice24:48 - The pace of change30:57 - Cracking YouTube marketing40:53 - Where measurement has improved47:02 - Brand measurement tools54:10 - AI and analytics57:31 - Meeting the CFO1:00:05 - The last-click scenario🔔 Subscribe to get every new episode.Join 35,000+ marketers getting our weekly newsletter (it's free): https://themarketingmeetup.com/newsletterListen on Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/mk/podcast/your-cmo-mentor/id1850910303Listen on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/0cpW4Tsm2YuKJj488cNX1s

Duarte Garrido, co-founder of DOJO AI joined us to explore the capabilities of large language models, highlighting their significant role in boosting workplace efficiency. We discussed how these ai tools are primarily designed for ai content creation, facilitating more output at a faster pace.Duarte emphasises their importance in the future of work, focusing on how they contribute to productivity and automation rather than necessarily driving effectiveness.+SponsorsBig thanks to  @Weglot  for sponsoring this one. Catch their next event, Next Market Live, here: https://www.weglot.com/events/next-market-live-ukutm_source=NML3&utm_medium=event&utm_campaign=TMMThis episode was filmed at our Work.Life recording studio in London: https://work.life/ +SpeakersDuarte Garrido https://www.linkedin.com/in/duartegarrido/DOJO AI: https://dojo.ai /  @DOJOAImOS  Joe Glover https://www.linkedin.com/in/josepheglover/+Timestamps:00:00 - Introduction01:14 - Skills to build today02:30 - Intellectual honesty in marketing08:16 - Where marketers really are with AI21:18 - Workflows worth automating first30:07 - The omnichannel brain43:55 - Taste, juniors and the workforce51:50 - The closing scenario+🔔 Subscribe to get every new episode.Join 35,000+ marketers getting our weekly newsletter (it's free): https://themarketingmeetup.com/newsletter+ Listen on Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/mk/podcast/your-cmo-mentor/id1850910303Listen on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/0cpW4Tsm2YuKJj488cNX1s

Joe sat at the Adobe Summit in Las Vegas with Patrick Brown, VP of Marketing at Adobe, to discuss the pervasive issue of "change fatigue", emphasising its impact on team management across various company sizes. Patrick shares important leadership insights on how to navigate this common experience, highlighting its relevance to effective management. This business podcast segment offers valuable perspectives for anyone interested in leadership skills and the challenges of organisational change.

He also shares how Adobe approaches change from the inside, why the specificity of your solution signals your level of understanding, and how to find the bedrock of first principles when everything else feels fluid.

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Key topics include:

Why change fatigue is real and what leaders can do about it

How Adobe's customer zero model shapes internal product and marketing decisions

Using the DMAIC process to scale what works instead of running in every direction

Why AI search traffic collapsed and how marketers are now thinking about it differently

The access and encouragement finding behind AI adoption rates in teams

Finding first principles that stay constant when the tools and tactics keep shifting

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Timestamps:

00:00 - Introduction

01:22 - Quickfire round

02:20 - Delegate sooner

04:37 - AI adoption cycles

07:05 - Customer zero at Adobe

09:00 - Stages of AI adoption

12:22 - Change fatigue

15:10 - Tech industry vs traditional

17:08 - Case study scenario

19:26 - Closing thoughts

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Big thanks to Weglot for sponsoring this episode: https://www.weglot.com/t/lp?utm_source=Podcast&utm_medium=media&utm_campaign=TMM

____________________

The full episode is now live on: 

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/0cpW4Tsm2YuKJj488cNX1s?si=f0e962b481b74c80

Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/your-cmo-mentor/id1850910303

Most marketers are told to project confidence even when they don't feel it. But what if the better move is just being honest about what you don't know?Naomi Walkland, CMO at Motorway and formerly VP of Marketing at Bumble, joined us live at The Marketing Meetup conference for a live episode of Your CMO Mentor to share the leadership lessons she's picked up leading high-performing teams across some of the UK's most recognised brands. From building psychological safety to staying clear-headed through rapid change, this is practical, human leadership advice from someone who's lived it.____________________Key topics include:- Why clarity breeds confidence, and how to give your team focus even when you don't have all the answers- The performance review feedback Naomi hated at the time that turned out to be the most important she ever received- How to build psychological safety so your team can take ownership and bring new ideas- Why high performance and supportive leadership are not in conflict- How to know when to step in and when to step back as a leader- Leading through budget cuts and business pressure without losing team trust____________________Timestamps:00:00 - Opening quote on leadership00:24 - Introduction05:03 - Quickfire round begins05:12 - Best marketing advice received06:42 - Leadership lesson from early career07:52 - Leading through uncertainty in 202611:06 - Building team culture and trust13:16 - Creating space for diverse voices16:06 - Leading through mistakes and hard decisions18:48 - What's unique about leading in 202620:38 - Community question: high performance vs supportive leadership21:51 - When to step in and when to step back____________________Big thanks to Weglot for sponsoring this episode: https://www.weglot.com/t/lp?utm_source=Podcast&utm_medium=media&utm_campaign=TMM____________________The full episode is now live on: Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/0cpW4Tsm2YuKJj488cNX1s?si=f0e962b481b74c80Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/your-cmo-mentor/id1850910303

Jon Evans, host of the Uncensored CMO podcast, joined us to share what seven years of interviewing marketing leaders has taught him about what great CMOs actually do differently. Jon has spoken with hundreds of senior marketers and been a CMO himself, which makes his perspective genuinely rare — part practitioner, part observer, all practical.Whether you're a marketing manager working towards leadership or already in a senior role, this one is full of honest, grounded advice on what it takes to get there and what to expect when you do.____________________Key topics include:- Why strategy is the skill to build first, and what marketers get wrong by focusing on tactics too early- The mindset shift from doing marketing to leading it, and why most people struggle to make that switch- How great CMOs think about risk and creative bravery, and why playing it safe is often the more expensive choice- The honest reality of the CMO role, including being unpopular, taking the blame, and doing the unglamorous work of giving your team air cover- How to build the internal case for long-term brand investment when leadership is pushing for short-term results- The Venn diagram technique for finding your path to promotion by solving a problem the business genuinely needs fixing____________________Timestamps:00:00 Introduction02:30 Skills to build first08:00 Behaviour traits Jon admires13:30 Dream mentor and challenger brands21:00 Biggest lessons from mentors30:00 Advice Jon wishes he'd had earlier37:00 Patterns of great CMOs46:00 The mindset shift into leadership54:00 Risk and bravery in marketing01:02:00 Brand vs performance balance01:10:00 The reality of being a CMO01:18:00 AI and what to focus on now01:24:00 Community scenario brand vs short-term pressure____________________Big thanks to Weglot for sponsoring this episode: https://www.weglot.com/t/lp?utm_source=Podcast&utm_medium=media&utm_campaign=TMM____________________The full episode is now live on: Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/0cpW4Tsm2YuKJj488cNX1s?si=f0e962b481b74c80Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/your-cmo-mentor/id1850910303

In this webinar, Bronwen Foster-Butler, CMO of Finisterre, joined us to talk about what brand purpose actually means in practice, how it went so wrong in 2018, and what a more grounded, commercial version of it looks like today.Bronwen is one of the clearest thinkers on this topic we've had on the podcast. She doesn't shy away from the messy parts, the pressure to chase growth at the expense of meaning, the difficulty of advocating for purpose inside cautious organisations, and what it really takes to build a business where purpose shapes decisions rather than just decorates them.Key topics include:- Why brand purpose 1.0 collapsed and what the Pepsi/Kendall Jenner ad revealed about where it went wrong- How Finisterre's theory of change connects their purpose to real business decisions- Why purpose isn't purpose unless it costs you something- How to advocate for purpose inside a large or cautious organisation without alienating colleagues- The difference between internal and external marketing and why internal comes first- What Bronwyn's biggest leadership mistake taught her about ego, confidence, and showing up for your teamTimestamps:00:00 - Introduction04:30 - Quickfire round14:20 - Internal vs external marketing22:10 - Purpose 1.0 and where it went wrong34:00 - Purpose 2.0 in practice44:15 - How to advocate for purpose at work52:30 - Community questions58:00 - Biggest leadership mistake?01:08:00 - Question for the next guest______________________________Big thanks to Weglot for sponsoring this episode.

In this webinar, Anna Henwood, CEO of Stickybeak, joined us to talk about something a lot of marketers quietly struggle with: how to make confident decisions when you’re working with limited time, noisy opinions, and a gut feeling you can’t quite back up.

Anna brings a rare mix of perspectives. She ran marketing at Les Mills International as CMO before moving into the CEO seat at Stickybeak, a consumer testing platform built specifically to help marketers get fast, reliable feedback from their target audience. In this conversation she shares what that shift taught her about marketing, brand building, and how the best teams are working now.Key topics include:- Why creation is easy now but validation is the hard part, and how to close that gap quicklyHow FMCG brands can balance short-term sales pressure with long-term brand building- The difference between trusting your gut and genuinely not knowing, and how a quick concept test helps you figure out which one you’re in- What Anna looks for when she hires marketers, and why curiosity beats experience- How to approach your first 90 days as a CMO, whether you’re coming in from outside or stepping up internally- What the best CMOs will look like in the next decade, and why smaller teams with clear strategic thinking will matter more than everTimestamps:00:00 - Introduction 01:04 - First skill to build in marketing today 03:20 - Traits Anna looks for when hiring 05:18 - Dream mentor 08:30 - Don’t let perfect block progress 13:50 - What being CEO taught Anna about marketing 20:38 - Biggest blind spots in FMCG marketing 26:04 - How to build a testing habit from scratch 32:23 - When to trust gut vs data 37:17 - Simple testing habits your team can start tomorrow 45:28 - What the best CMOs will do differently 47:55 - Community Q&A: no seat at the strategy table 53:29 - Best career advice Anna has been givenWatch / listen:Listen on Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/marketing-meetup-podcast/id1365546447Listen on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/5QvmFdxg5pMwsfPkKjhXl9Please take the time to check out our partners, all of whom we work with because we think they’re useful companies for lovely marketers :)Frontify – All your brand assets in one place: Frontify combines DAM, brand guidelines, and templates into a collaborative source of brand truth.Mailchimp - The all-in-one marketing platform that helps teams turn emails, automation, and now SMS into smarter, more connected customer journeys (and they’ve been longtime friends of TMM!).Cambridge Marketing College – The best place to get your marketing qualifications and apprenticeships.Planable – the content collaboration platform that helps marketing teams create, plan, review, and approve all their awesome marketing content.Wistia – a complete video marketing platform that helps teams create, host, market, and measure their videos and webinars, all in one place.

Performance marketing can feel like you’re squeezing harder and harder for the same results. CPAs creep up. Growth slows. And suddenly, the next move isn’t about optimisation — it’s about expansion.In this episode, James and Joe sit down with Kate Waters, Commercial Director at ITV, to explore what TV advertising really offers modern marketers. From protecting price sensitivity and lowering CPAs across channels to making TV accessible for small and medium-sized brands, Kate shares how measurement, creativity and smart testing are reshaping what TV can do for growth.Key topics include: • Why TV lowers CPAs across social and search • How TV advertising protects price and margin • The “rising tide” effect on performance channels • How to start with regional geo testing • Making TV ads with AI for small budgets • Using outcomes modelling to forecast website uplift⸻Timestamps:00:00 TV’s impact on price sensitivity06:01 Skills marketers need today19:39 Why TV still works22:48 Trust and costly signalling35:14 Measuring real business outcomes43:35 How to test TV safely47:58 Small brands winning with TV⸻Watch / listen:Listen on Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/marketing-meetup-podcast/id1365546447Listen on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/5QvmFdxg5pMwsfPkKjhXl9⸻Please take the time to check out our partners, all of whom we work with because we think they’re useful companies for lovely marketers.Frontify – All your brand assets in one place: Frontify combines DAM, brand guidelines, and templates into a collaborative source of brand truth.Mailchimp - The all-in-one marketing platform that helps teams turn emails, automation, and now SMS into smarter, more connected customer journeys (and they’ve been longtime friends of TMM!).Cambridge Marketing College – The best place to get your marketing qualifications and apprenticeships.Planable – the content collaboration platform that helps marketing teams create, plan, review, and approve all their awesome marketing content.Wistia – a complete video marketing platform that helps teams create, host, market, and measure their videos and webinars, all in one place.