The WARC Podcast

The AI delegation economy is complex and requires holistic brand building, not just a relentless focus on optimisation. But will customers really put their trust in AI agents to purchase on their behalf? Neil Barrie (21st Century Brands), Alicia Skubick (Trustpilot) and Steve Whiteside join WARC's Anna Hamill to break down 'the drive to delegation', based on insights from WARC's 2027 Marketer's Toolkit.
Guests:
Stephen Whiteside, Head of Content - Americas, WARC;
Neil Barrie, Global CEO/Co-Founder, 21st Century Brand;
Alicia Skubick, Chief Customer Officer & Chief Marketing Officer, Trustpilot
David Tiltman, Chief Content Officer, WARC
Supporting Resources:
The Marketer's Toolkit 2027 (non-subscribers) https://www.warc.com/en/article/the-marketers-toolkit-2027-sample-23d3a5e296c4469eb729624359347df8
Chapters:
00:00 — Intro: 2027 marketing trends from WARC Marketer's Toolkit
02:40 — What the Delegation Economy Means for Marketers
06:07 — Agentic AI Adoption: From Research to Autonomous Purchases
06:38 — The Market Potential of AI-Assisted Shopping
08:12 — Consumer Trust, Privacy, and the Limits of Agentic AI
09:58 — Which Categories Will Shift to AI Delegation First?
13:52 — Brand Strategy in the Age of the Delegation Economy
14:06 — Human Proof: Building Trust Beyond AI Visibility
17:23 — Trustpilot, Reviews, and AI-Powered Discovery
20:47 — Priming and Proving: A Framework for Brands
24:54 — Preparing Marketing Teams for Agentic AI
29:12 — The Future of Brand Trust and Differentiation

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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New research from Les Binet and Dom Boyd reveals promotions are the largest single component of marketing spend, around twice the size of paid media advertising. Binet and Boyd join WARC's David Tiltman to discuss why 75% of marketers cannot estimate what proportion of their promotions are profitable, and how they can start breaking the promotion dependency spiral.
Guests:
Les Binet; Founder, Binet Consulting and Visiting Professor of Marketing and Business Strategy, Ravensbourne University
Dom Boyd, Chief Strategy Officer - Global Clients, Kantar
David Tiltman, Chief Content Officer, WARC
Chapters:
00:00 — Intro: Why marketers rely on price promotions
02:32 — Why promotions matter now
04:25 — Promotions in the brand playbook
05:43 — The promotion addiction cycle
07:08 — Les Binet: Promotional spending as marketing’s “dark matter”
11:19 — Eight ways promotions can damage brands
16:25 — The consumer-goods marketer research
19:21 — Dom Boyd: The promotional blind spot
23:15 — Marketers’ influence—and the need for evidence
26:21 — Consumer expectations and the discounting cycle
30:48 — Dom Boyd: Principles for promotional detox
33:53 — Les Binet: When promotions can make sense

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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From the Insight to Impact event in Denver, WARC’s David Tiltman hears about Heineken’s formula for breakthrough creativity from Alison Payne, discovers the secrets of good strategy from Mischief’s Jeff McCrory, and learns how Marriott Bonvoy Traveller is making content that travels well with Talia Salem. This episode is sponsored by Profound. To learn more, go to tryprofound.com
Guests:
Alison Payne, Chief Marketing Officer - US, Heineken;
Jeff McCrory, Partner and Chief Strategy Officer, Mischief;
Talia Salem, Editorial Strategist; Marriott Bonvoy Traveller
David Tiltman, Chief Content Officer, WARC
Chapters:
00:00 — Intro: Insight to Impact in Denver
02:04 — Heineken: Creativity as a Growth Driver
06:56 — Heineken: Fandom, Sports, and the World Cup
11:55 — Heineken: Measuring Sponsorship Impact
16:06 — Heineken: AI, Creativity, and 2027 Priorities
24:09 — Mischief: Coors Light’s “Case of the Mondays”
28:43 — Mischief: Turning Brand Tension into an Idea
32:43 — Mischief: A Collaborative Role for Strategy
37:47 — Mischief: Upstream Strategy and AI’s Creative Future
41:48 — Marriott Bonvoy Traveler: The Editorial Platform
44:13 — Marriott Bonvoy Traveler: Why the Strategy Changed
48:10 — Marriott Bonvoy Traveler: New Content Pillars
50:25 — Marriott Bonvoy Traveler: Bringing Regional Teams In

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

Mercado Libre is Latin America’s largest fintech and e-retailer. CMO Sean Summers joins WARC's Ann Marie Kerwin to discuss the importance of business impact, how the brand's creative makeover won them multiple Cannes Lions, building a culture of innovation, and what effectiveness means in the e-commerce space.
Guests:
Sean Summers, Chief Marketing Officer / EVP - Mercado Ads, Mercado Libre
Ann Marie Kerwin, Americas Editor, WARC
Supporting Resources:
Mercado Libre: Handshake Hunt https://www.warc.com/en/campaigns/mercado-libre-handshake-hunt-55893db2b5e54e0ab2a5dd9d11943261
Mercado Libre: Franco Returns, We All Return https://www.warc.com/en/campaigns/mercado-libre-franco-returns-we-all-return-0a13c404c8414ce7ae146fd017e38c56
Mercado Libre: Coupon Rain https://www.warc.com/en/campaigns/mercado-libre-coupon-rain-a86f034b027248fead5ac3c1b077b0e7
Chapters:
00:00 — Intro: Mercado Libre's Sean Summers joins the pod
01:52 — Mercado Libre's Approach To Marketing Effectiveness, ROI, and Market Share
03:26 — Balancing Short, Mid, and Long-Term Marketing
04:45 — Driving App Downloads, Loyalty, and Customer Lifetime Value
06:00 — Brand Investment and Long-Term Growth
08:07 — Earning C-Suite Trust with Marketing Metrics
11:45 — How Mercado Libre Win Cannes Lions
14:26 — Rethinking Creative Bravery
16:32 — How GUT Challenged Mercado Libre’s Brief
20:57 — Turning the Delivery Promise into a Brand Moment
24:48 — Marketing as a Core Growth Function
27:08 — The Do, Think, Feel Framework for Ecommerce Marketing
32:00 — How Every App Interaction Builds Brand Equity
34:42 — Social Commerce, Affiliates, and Live Shopping
37:44 — Gen AI in Performance Marketing, Creativity, and Operations

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

At the Insight to Impact event, WARC’s David Tiltman discovers how Mondelez’s insights team is using AI with Pam Forbus, examines the need for “marketing engineers” with Profound’s Matthew Huo, and goes deep on synthetic data research with Tracy Adams from the ARF and Keith Smith from the Marketing Science Institute.
This episode is sponsored by Profound. To learn more, go to tryprofound.com
Guests:
Pamela Forbus, Global Chief of Insights & Analytics, Mondelez
Matthew Huo, Product Marketing, Profound
Tracy Adams, Senior Director of Research & Insights, The Advertising Research Foundation
Keith Smith, Managing Director, The Marketing Science Institute
David Tiltman, Chief Content Officer, WARC
Chapters:
(00:00) Intro: Welcome to Insights to Impact
(02:29) Mondelez: Leading insights into AI’s future
(06:21) Mondelez: Breaking silos with consumer insight
(09:40) Mondelez: AI pilots, synthetic personas, and data foundations
(13:52) Mondelez: Synthetic personas and real consumers
(17:42) Profound: How brands appear in AI answers
(21:46) Profound: Creating original, specific content
(26:53) Profound: The rise of marketing engineers
(34:01) Profound: AI’s impact on marketing jobs
(37:24) The risks of synthetic research
(42:15) Bias, variability, and validation
(43:39) Why small prompt changes matter
(49:06) Matching validation to decision stakes

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