That's What I Call Marketing

James MacDonald, Founder of Limelight, joins That’s What I Call Marketing to discuss programmatic advertising, building a global ad tech business, AI and why simplicity still matters for marketers today.

This episode explores the journey from Fleet Street advertising sales to modern programmatic technology, through a practical conversation about risk, reinvention, customer focus, remote culture and building technology that solves real problems.

In this episode, we cover:
– What Fleet Street taught James about sales, resilience and asking for the business
– Why helping people buy is more powerful than pushing people to buy
– How James identified the gap that led to Limelight
– Why programmatic advertising still needs simplicity, support and better execution
– How Limelight thinks about AI, interoperability and the importance of human judgement
– What it takes to build and maintain a strong remote culture across a global team

A useful listen for marketers interested in ad tech, programmatic advertising, AI in marketing, founder stories, sales, customer success, remote teams and building through change.

That’s What I Call Marketing is the podcast for marketers who care about brand, B2B, creativity, effectiveness and the future of the profession.

Follow the show for more conversations with CMOs, marketing leaders, agency leaders, professors, authors, thinkers and practitioners.

Find more episodes at: https://www.thatswhaticallmarketing.com

This Cannes Sessions episode is brought to you in partnership with The Digital Voice.

Find out more at: https://www.thedigitalvoice.co.uk

01:38 Starting out on Fleet Street
03:19 What early sales teaches you
04:35 From eggs to advertising
06:27 Helping people buy, not pushing a sale
07:04 Mentors, mistakes and learning through failure
07:11 Starting again and founding Limelight
09:31 Finding the right business partner
10:59 Identifying the gap in programmatic
12:00 Building the Limelight platform
14:00 Taking risks as a founder
15:59 Building culture as the company grows
16:42 Running a fully remote global business
18:17 What Limelight does
20:49 How people discover Limelight
22:16 Listening to customers and building the product
23:33 AI, human judgement and interoperability
26:05 Why simplicity matters in technology
That’s What I Call Marketing is where marketers come for real conversations about brand, B2B, creativity, effectiveness and the future of the profession.
Hosted by Conor Byrne, the show features conversations with CMOs, marketing leaders, agency leaders, authors, thinkers and practitioners about what good marketing looks like in practice.

Listen, follow and find more episodes at: https://www.thatswhaticallmarketing.com
Connect with Conor on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/conorbyrneirl/
If you enjoy the show, please follow, subscribe and leave a review. It helps more marketers find the conversations.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Julia Linehan, Founder and CEO of The Digital Voice, joins That’s What I Call Marketing to discuss Cannes Lions, the changing role of PR, AI search, trusted sources and why amplification matters for marketers today.

This episode explores how brands, agencies and marketing leaders need to think about discoverability in a world where search, AI, content and credibility are all changing at pace.

In this episode, we cover:
– Why The Digital Voice describes itself as an amplification partner, not a traditional PR agency
– How AI search and LLMs are changing the value of trusted, published content
– Why consistency, repetition and clear messaging matter more than ever
– What it takes to plan properly for Cannes Lions and create real value from the week
– How Julia has built a fully remote team with strong culture, energy and trust
– Why Cannes needs to stay accessible for students, publishers, creators and smaller businesses

A useful listen for marketers interested in PR, brand visibility, AI in marketing, thought leadership, Cannes Lions, agency leadership and the future of discoverability.

That’s What I Call Marketing is the podcast for marketers who care about brand, B2B, creativity, effectiveness and the future of the profession.

Follow the show for more conversations with CMOs, marketing leaders, agency leaders, professors, authors, thinkers and practitioners.

Find more episodes at: https://www.thatswhaticallmarketing.com
Visit the Digital voice at https://www.thedigitalvoice.co.uk/
That’s What I Call Marketing is where marketers come for real conversations about brand, B2B, creativity, effectiveness and the future of the profession.
Hosted by Conor Byrne, the show features conversations with CMOs, marketing leaders, agency leaders, authors, thinkers and practitioners about what good marketing looks like in practice.

Listen, follow and find more episodes at: https://www.thatswhaticallmarketing.com
Connect with Conor on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/conorbyrneirl/
If you enjoy the show, please follow, subscribe and leave a review. It helps more marketers find the conversations.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In the latest episode of The Singles, Conor is joined by Ed Parkin and Bella Harrison from Tracksuit to dig into four marketing stories where the headlines only tell part of the story.

The episode starts with the FIFA World Cup and what it could mean for soccer in the US. Major League Soccer still has a long way to go versus the NFL, NBA and MLB on awareness, but Tracksuit data shows consideration is already moving in the right direction. The conversation gets into younger audiences, affluent consumer skews, regional growth and why feeling “for people like me” matters so much in sports marketing.

Then it’s onto World Cup sponsorship. Coca-Cola, Adidas and McDonald’s show what decades of investment can do when brand associations compound over time, while Mengniu shows how sponsorship can still create warmth for a lesser-known brand.

The team also discuss Spotify’s temporary 20th anniversary logo, the backlash it received, and whether marketers sometimes overreact when a strong brand plays with its distinctive assets. With 88% awareness and very strong consideration, Spotify has more room to experiment than most.

BrewDog is next. Once valued at £2bn and now sold for £33m, it is a reminder that awareness can remain even when consideration, usage and preference are falling. The discussion also looks at James Watt’s new brand, Second Best, and whether founder-led challenger energy can travel from one brand to another.

Finally, the episode turns to the Irish National Lottery ad controversy, after its new work closely followed a New Zealand Lottery ad scene for scene. The question is not whether the insight worked. It did. The question is what happens when inspiration becomes imitation.

Tracksuit University is also featured in the episode, including how it helps marketers make the case for brand in a more finance-friendly way.
Get 20% off Tracksuit University with the discount code: That’s What I Call Marketing
Visit: university.gotracksuit.com
In this episode:
00:00 Introduction
01:24 Tracksuit University and making brand finance-friendly
02:48 The FIFA World Cup and soccer in the US
03:47 MLS awareness, consideration and growth potential
05:25 Younger audiences, affluent consumers and regional skews
06:49 Why relevance matters in sports marketing
09:02 World Cup sponsorship and long-term brand investment
13:00 Spotify’s 20th anniversary logo backlash
16:31 Why Spotify has earned the right to play with its assets
18:21 BrewDog’s sale and brand decline
20:01 Trust, relevance and the erosion of BrewDog’s core audience
21:01 Second Best and the future of founder-led brands
23:33 The Irish National Lottery ad controversy
26:45 Distinctiveness, copying and creative shortcuts
29:07 Tracksuit University discount details
That’s What I Call Marketing is where marketers come for real conversations about brand, B2B, creativity, effectiveness and the future of the profession.
Hosted by Conor Byrne, the show features conversations with CMOs, marketing leaders, agency leaders, authors, thinkers and practitioners about what good marketing looks like in practice.

Listen, follow and find more episodes at: https://www.thatswhaticallmarketing.com
Connect with Conor on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/conorbyrneirl/
If you enjoy the show, please follow, subscribe and leave a review. It helps more marketers find the conversations.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Jon Evans (Uncensored CMO) on Going Solo: Sponsorship, Podcasting as Networking & Cashflow Reality

Conor Byrne chats with Jon Evans (Uncensored CMO) about leaving the CMO track to run his podcast full time, using sponsorship to fund the work and turning “being good at talking” into a career. Jon explains why podcasting is a powerful networking tool—CMOs often decline coffee but say yes to being a guest—and how it accelerates learning by speaking to experts weekly. He also shares the less glamorous surprises of working for yourself: contracts, running a business properly, cashflow, and the difficulty of getting paid on time while supporting a team. Jon stresses that success is a long grind—“seven years to have an overnight success”—and that consistency and compounding effort are what make creator-led media businesses work in marketing.

That’s What I Call Marketing is where marketers come for real conversations about brand, B2B, creativity, effectiveness and the future of the profession.
Hosted by Conor Byrne, the show features conversations with CMOs, marketing leaders, agency leaders, authors, thinkers and practitioners about what good marketing looks like in practice.

Listen, follow and find more episodes at: https://www.thatswhaticallmarketing.com
Connect with Conor on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/conorbyrneirl/
If you enjoy the show, please follow, subscribe and leave a review. It helps more marketers find the conversations.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode of the Cannes Sessions, Conor Byrne takes us through another packed day on the Croisette, starting with the CMOs in the Spotlight session featuring Jill Kramer of Mastercard, Michelle Klein of Westpac, Manuel “Manolo” Arroyo of The Coca-Cola Company, and Suhayl Limbada CMO of KFC India. There were big themes running through the day: how legacy brands stay useful, why marketers need to understand the P&L, what happens when creativity meets commercial pressure, and why the best brands do not throw away their distinctive assets just because the world has changed. There is also a brilliant conversation with Maddy Cooper, Founder and CEO of Flourish, on how AI can help marketers in regulated sectors get work to market faster without creating a compliance nightmare. That matters because the future of marketing is not just more content, more formats and more channels. It is whether brands can still make sharp, responsible, commercially useful work at the speed the market now demands. The Digital Voice team were also out on the Croisette speaking to marketers including Langton McCombe from Particular Audience, Rory McDonald from Market Media at The Warehouse Group, and Alex Springer from OpenAttribution.org about retail media, incrementality, AI, ROAS, creativity, and what Cannes is really for and James Taylor CEO of Particular Audience.

And, of course, there was a big moment for Ireland, with Heineken’s The Pub That Refused To Die winning a Grand Prix, plus a look ahead to the Cannes Young Lions results where Darragh Spain and Fardosa Flanagan from 123.ie represented Ireland in the Young Marketers category along with lots of amazing talent representing Ireland.

01:18 – CMOs in the Spotlight: Mastercard, KFC India, Westpac and Coca-Cola
02:01 – Why Mastercard is re-examining the Priceless platform
03:14 – KFC, Gen Z, universal truths and the role of the Colonel
04:19 – Westpac, jingles, legacy brands and speaking the language of the CFO
05:14 – Coca-Cola, creativity, behaviour and why great teams matter more than big budgets
11:28 – Spending time with Jonnie Cahill and the value of generous senior marketers
15:03 – Maddy Cooper on Flourish, AI, compliance and regulated marketing
18:29 – Inside the Cannes Lions work exhibition
21:00 – Ireland’s Grand Prix moment for Heineken
23:58 – Langton McCombe on retail media, commerce media and incrementality
26:32 – Rory McDonald on creativity, ROAS and business outcomes
29:54 – Alex Springer on attribution, AI, influence and the future of content
34:26 – Final reflections from Cannes Sessions 2026

Thanks to The Digital Voice for partnering on the Cannes Sessions.
Find out more:
The Digital Voice: thedigitalvoice.co.uk
Flourish: flourishingworld.com
That’s What I Call Marketing: follow the podcast for more conversations with the people shaping modern marketing.
That’s What I Call Marketing is where marketers come for real conversations about brand, B2B, creativity, effectiveness and the future of the profession.
Hosted by Conor Byrne, the show features conversations with CMOs, marketing leaders, agency leaders, authors, thinkers and practitioners about what good marketing looks like in practice.

Listen, follow and find more episodes at: https://www.thatswhaticallmarketing.com
Connect with Conor on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/conorbyrneirl/
If you enjoy the show, please follow, subscribe and leave a review. It helps more marketers find the conversations.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.