The WARC Podcast

How do the best marketers actually integrate brand and performance – not just in theory, but in org design, planning and measurement? Prophet’s Kate Price and Monica El Hassan join WARC's Ann Marie Kerwin to discuss strategies for a more integrated approach, based on WARC's marketing effectiveness research The Multiplier Playbook.

Guests:

Kate Price, Partner - Marketing Transformation, Prophet

Monica El-Hassan, Partner - Media, Prophet

Chapters:

00:00 – Intro: The Multiplier Playbook on The WARC Podcast

01:49 – Why brand and performance marketing teams are siloed

03:18 – Cultural divides: traditional brand vs digital performance

04:28 – Specialist skills, loss of generalists and pressure on CMOs

07:15 – Shared language: bridging brand, demand and media teams

09:58 – Customer-centric marketing: changing behaviour to drive growth

14:30 – Integrated planning: how overperforming marketers organise

19:45 – Budget rebalancing: brand investment vs performance metrics

24:19 – B2B SaaS case: US Open sponsorship as a brand–demand engine

31:23 – Shared KPIs: proving commercial impact of brand marketing

38:34 – Org design: generalists, team structures and planning rhythms

40:21 – Key takeaways for marketing leaders


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

Brand equity is essential to win on AI platforms. Equity can't be built without memory, and memory can't be built without attention. WARC's Alex Brownsell discusses what role attention plays in AI visibility for brands, and practical advice to implement, with experts Dr. Karen Nelson Field, Carl Wåreus and Scott Reinders.

Guests:

Dr Karen Nelson-Field, Founder & CEO of Amplified

Carl Wåreus, Head of Partners & Specialists, Google Nordics

Scott Reinders, COO, Connect - part of The Up&Up Group

Chapters:

00:00 - Intro: Brand, AI Search and Attention on The WARC Podcast

02:08 - From Blue Links to Conversations: How AI is Changing Search Behaviour

03:31 - Collapsing the Messy Middle: LLMs as the New Consideration Engine

04:41 - Brand Equity as an AI Ranking Signal: Google Example from Sweden

06:54 - Levers vs Drift: Managing Brand Signals AI and LLMs Can See

08:21 - Automated Creative at Scale: Avoiding the ‘AI Slop’ Trap

10:32 - Visibility Starvation: The Risk of Low-Attention, Fast-Decay Media

12:32 - Misattribution and Invisibility: How Low Attention Hurts LLM Visibility

14:54 - Media Quality Redefined: High-Attention vs High-Intent Environments

16:14 - Silent Zone vs Vocal Zone: Human Noise, Reviews and AI Training Data

18:37 - Moving Beyond an Attention Metric: Attention as System Architecture

19:35 - Inside Attention AI: Generative Attention Modelling for Media and Creative

22:54 - Media Ceilings, Creative Hooks: How Formats and Assets Shape Attention

26:58 - Practical Advice: Multiplying Brand Equity, Attention and AI Visibility


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

Cultural intelligence is high stakes for brands in the era of infinite content. Developing culturally-fluent talent is essential for brands seeking an edge. Cultural strategist Rachel Lowenstein and Effie LIONS Foundation CEO Allison Knapp Womack join WARC's Rica Facundo to discuss what's motivating young marketers, emerging cultural strategy trends and what it really means to move at "the speed of culture".

Guests:

Allison Knapp Womack, CEO, Effie LIONS Foundation

Rachel Lowenstein, Cultural Strategist and Content Creator

Chapters:

00:00 – Intro: Talking cultural intelligence on The WARC Podcast

00:48 – What is cultural intelligence?

02:28 – Why brands get culture wrong: the Ipsos x Effie Lions Foundation study explained

04:47 – What’s at stake now: AI, social media backlash, and reputational risks for brands

07:26 – Talent vs jobs: The case for inclusive marketing talent

10:12 – Building a diverse pipeline of culturally intelligent marketers

16:43 – New talent models: Flash Teams, flexible cultural strategists, and moving at the speed of culture

19:45 – Romantasy and why centering new cultural perspectives drives growth

22:48 – Practical ways to develop young marketing talent

24:37 – Squiggly line careers: practical advice for emerging cultural strategists and CMOs


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

New data from CreativeX reveals the alarming extent of 'churn and burn' short-termism among advertisers, based on a study of 633,000 ads over two years. Content volume is way up, but media budgets aren't. So what's going on? Anastasia Leng, CEO of CreativeX, joins WARC's David Tiltman to break down the data, examine the most concerning trends, and discuss how brands can turn the ship around. 

Guests:

Anastasia Leng, CEO, CreativeX

Chapters:

00:00 – Fragmentation of creativity and the ‘more with less’ challenge

04:12 – From pre-testing to creative auditing at scale

05:18 – Why media and creative must come back together

06:54 – Explaining ‘fewer, bigger, longer, better’

09:19 – From scarcity to abundance: when ‘more content’ goes wrong

10:14 – Inside the study: 633k ads, $2bn spend, 143 Fortune 500 brands

12:52 – Content production up 29% in two years

14:01 – Media spend per ad down 15%: weaker support for each asset

15:34 – Short runs: 32 days for direct response ads, 40 days for brand ads

17:28 – Algorithms as creative directors and a crisis of confidence

19:49 – 93% of ads under $10k; 70% under $1k in spend

21:32 – Low-budget ads score 20% lower on creative quality

24:48 – Sub-$10k ads absorbing 30% of a $2bn media budget

32:05 – Three fixes: big ideas, media thresholds, better learning loops

35:29 – ‘Big swings’: $100k+ ads run 89 days but get only 18% of spend


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

Creative Strategy Lions jury president Sarah Lemarié and juror Dan Hill share powerful advice on how to level up strategic thinking, their stand out campaigns from Cannes Lions, why they look for 'strategic firsts' in the jury room, and a warning on using AI in awards entries. Hosted by Effie Insight's John Bizzell.

Guests:

Sarah Lemarié, Chief Strategy Officer, Publicis France

Dan Hill, Global Chief Strategy Officer, Wieden+Kennedy

Chapters:

00:00 – Intro: Cannes Lions Creative Strategy Winners 2026

01:46 – Meet the Jury: Sarah Lemarié & Dan Hill on Judging Creative Strategy Lions

03:43 – Creating a Benchmark: Why Creative Strategy Lions Build a “Body of Work”

07:11 – Defining ‘What Good Looks Like’ in Creative Strategy at Cannes Lions

10:21 – Human Ingenuity & Empathy in a World of AI: What the Winners Proved

11:38 – Grand Prix Breakdown: Heineken’s “The Pub That Refused to Die” in Ireland

13:18 – Community Ownership & Brand Purpose: How Heineken Helped Save Local Pubs

16:09 – Gold Winner Spotlight: Faroe Islands Space Program and Tidal Energy Reframing

17:48 – “Simple but Clever” Strategy: Making Sustainable Tech Feel Playful & B2B-Friendly

20:12 – AI and Creative Strategy: Dove Real Reviews, Claude and LLM‑Ready Ideas

23:37 – Classic vs New Media: How Dove and Claude Blend Old CPG and New Tech

24:38 – How to Win a Creative Strategy Lion: Entry Writing, Storytelling & Results

26:40 – The Fosbury Flop of Strategy: Novelty, Firsts and Playful Creativity at Cannes


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