In this episode of the MediaCat podcast, brought to you in partnership with Dentsu X, we chat to the agency's global head of strategy, Jimmy Diamond, about how brands should think about casting, culture and commerce when working with creators.

AI is threatening jobs, platforms are hogging clients' budgets and looking for ways to disintermediate agencies, and principal-based media buying is greying the purpose of the discipline.

And yet, if you speak or listen to many practitioners, they'll insist that there's never been a better time to be a planner because we're living in the richest media environment in history.

So, which is it? In this episode of the MediaCat podcast, we put the question to James Shoreland and Will Parrish, the CEO and CSO of VCCP Media.

The markets, and the platforms that host a lot of the scam ads, won't fix this problem by themselves, argues media agency veteran Nick Manning. Only legislative intervention can do that.

It might be time for the ad industry to embrace the idea of being more heavily regulated.

As media commentators predict that more brands would pivot to become content creators in their own right in 2026, Spencer talks about the costs and rewards involved in making branded entertainment, and why there’s more of it around than you may think.

In this podcast episode, editor James Swift and reporter India Stronach discuss how social media platforms may be pivoting to combat doomscroll fatigue and digital isolation.

You can find more about the stories referenced here and here.

Given the agency's neutral position, we thought it'd be fun to ask Craft's co-founders, Sally Weavers and Jenny Jones, to weigh in on a bunch of the biggest media debates of the year. And we were right — it was a lot of fun. In this episode of the MediaCat UK podcast, Weavers and Jones give 2025 a score out of 10 and discuss fragmentation, AI and influencers, as well as full-jaw replacements and Angel Delight.

NB: We had some issues with the sound recording on this podcast: the volume sometimes drop, and it sounds like the guests were recording from a broom cupboard. We were, however, in the same room.

And yet...

A great many people who post or lurk on social media would argue that it's passed it's peak. There's no longer one platform that sets the agenda in the same way that Twitter did in the years before Elon Musk acquired it, for example. And public feeds have increasingly become colonised with video content from professional (or aspiring) creators. There isn't much data that proves social media has become less social, but in 2023, Instagram's Adam Mosseri seemed to confirm it in an interview, when he said: ‘Your friends don’t post that much to feed’.

Against this backdrop, we chatted with Beth Thomas and Michael Corcoran, a former campaign operations manager at TikTok and the head of social at Ryanair, respectively, who have co-founded a new consultancy called Slice Social.

Listen to find out whether 'enshittification' has irreparably worsened social media, how marketers can make the channel pay, and which brands Thomas and Corcoran are doing it right (and neither of them say Duolingo, which makes a nice change).

Principal-based media buying is sometimes presented as a win-win-win situation for everyone involved: agencies get extra income, advertisers get cheaper media, and media owners don’t have to hustle so hard to sell their inventory. But that’s not Manning’s view.

In this 45-minute podcast, Manning talks to MediaCat UK's editor, James Swift, about why he thinks, in the long-run, everyone loses out when agencies become re-sellers of media.

Main image by Alexander Grey on Unsplash

The discussion touches on AI-powered media solutions, micro-moments and forging stronger connections with customers, niche communities, CTV and live sport, media publishers boosting shopper capabilities, and localisation and personalisation issues for global brands.

We hope you find this podcast insightful.

The report

In its fifteenth year, dentsu’s latest media trends report delves into the trends that are shaping today’s media landscape. It details how 2025 will drive towards a fully addressable, shoppable, and accountable media ecosystem, marking a shift into what is being defined as the 'Algorithmic Era of Media.'

The report explores the ten trends that will shape this era — including the tangible value of generative AI, the new territories for storytelling, and the quest for quality across the media value chain — and how brands can harness them to drive tangible impact and growth.

Mike spoke to Tom about the early days working for MTV on Pimp My Ride UK, getting into creative producing with his work on sport for the BBC, and winning BAFTAs for work on the Summer Olympics and Formula One. They also discussed how, during his time at EA, he managed to work with legendary composer Hans Zimmer on video game FIFA, blending the virtual and physical worlds, working with football stars like Ronaldo. Tom also talks about how music is fundamental, in terms of creating compelling video content, evoking emotion, and linking narrative. He reflects on what's changed with the media and entertainment industries over the last twenty years, and how this has impacted briefs from clients in terms of formats of content and delivering video content across multiple platforms, as well as proving effectiveness of content in terms of client briefs. Finally, they end by discussing Tom's time working on Top Of The Pops and Top Gear — and how the focus for his agency going forward is on gaming and sport clients; which is where Tom expects growth, and believes this is where the industry is ultimately going.

We hope you enjoy this podcast.

The discussion then moved onto how Bob loves the 'elegant decay of denim' and the preloved fashion market, and how imperfection in products are actually a good thing. They discussed how Gen Z and Gen Alpha are becoming more defined by what they do rather than what they own, and how Bob is working with Central St Martins to create pathways for more creatives to work their way up to the boardroom. They talk about brand design being on the cusp of massive change, how brands need to shift from making things to selling intelligence, experience and knowledge. And finally Bob shares how he once told Noel Gallagher he couldn't have a free pair of trainers.

If you work in the industry and would like to get involved and understand ways you can get your agency or brand involved, see Simon's post here, or head to their Substack and subscribe.

Featured image: Hiki app / Unsplash

This interview has been shortened for clarity and length.

Hi, Sam. Please introduce yourself to our readers

My name is Sam Missingham, and I'm the founder of a new community called Meet The BookTokers. I also have another community called the Empowered Author. My background has always been in marketing in magazines and then marketing in books. So, I started working in business to business and consumer magazines, on magazines such as Marketing Week and Design Week. I also worked on consumer magazines about cars, weddings, photography, gardening and all kinds of things. But I guess they all have something in common; which is actually about building a community around content as the number one thing. And then secondly, trying to convince that community to spend some money on your content in a number of different ways.

How have you seen book marketing evolve over the last two decades?

Book publishing is one of those industries that has had a healthy and robust book selling. We've had physical bookshops, we've had some chains, and we've also had independent booksellers who've always done really well. The digital transformation of the book industry, which started in about 2009, gave tons of opportunities but also some huge risks that book publishers had to get to grips with. When Amazon came along and successfully implemented its ebook platform, that was the starting point. They started with print books, but once they went into digital, publishers feared that the whole industry would go from a physical to a digital-only world.

We then also had Apple coming into the market with their iPhones and their iPads, which opened up a whole potential of apps, and book publishers thought everybody was going to read book apps or ebooks. At the time, some of the deals going on for ebooks were for just 20p. That is not a great model for a book publisher. Book publishers have one revenue stream, which is the money from selling their books. So if suddenly your books have no value, it's not a great outlook for you when you start putting that into the future. So, publishers panicked and tried lots of things that failed. They're not good at innovation on many levels, while Amazon was busily innovating and doing incredible things for books.

The marketing that happened for books was actually about marketing to booksellers. So that would be a whole strategy of how to communicate to the likes of Waterstones or your independent booksellers to sell as many books as possible. The difference between a bookshop and any online retailer is that a bookshop has a finite number of books. Now, if I put this into context, on Thursday (10 October) we had what is called Super Thursday in the industry, which is when the most and the biggest books are published because it's the run-up to Christmas. On that day, 1,900 new books were published. But what do you think about trying to get 1,900 new books into a bookshop? You have to think they are only going to stock the books that they think are going to do the best.

What would you say we're seeing today?

I used to work at Harper Collins, so I'm using them as an example. Harper Collins will have a number of different imprints. In those imprints they have a marketing]]> full https://cdn.mediacat.uk/uploads/2024/10/Podcast-image.png false no 41m No no https://mediacat.uk/podcasts/future-of-media-key-takeaways/ Thu, 17 Oct 2024 14:19:28 +0000 https://mediacat.uk/?post_type=podcast&p=34874 On this week's episode, MediaCat's Head of Content and Partnerships Selin Ozkan and Content and Social Media Editor Svilena Keane take over the MediaCat Magazine Podcast to discuss Future of Media, Adwanted's annual conference looking into the future of commercial media.

Selin and Svilena give an overview of the event, identify the trends from the talks and dig deeper into specific sessions.

This pod is forty minutes long, and filled with wisdom and insight from Paul. We hope you enjoy.

More about the report

A parent explaining the health benefits of ketamine. A Manhattanite it-girl, swapping ‘NYC’s best cocktail bars’ for Connecticut's best horse riding spots. A puppet show in which children’s dolls are sent to rehab for stealing a Marc Jacobs bag. One glance at the content made by today’s creators, and we see a culture in flux. Everything from tone, to topics, to production norms have changed in the decade since influence’s infancy. In the context of dramatic industry growth, creators and brands are having to keep pace with an increasingly professionalised landscape. But it’s not just the scale of the creator economy that’s changing — the wider tectonic plates of culture are shifting, and the values of creator culture along with it.  

As the world’s leading socially-led creative agency, that’s been working with influencers since 2008, We Are Social has helped brands navigate the growth of the creator economy for the last 16 years — from its baby steps to its present existential teen-hood. To understand what’s coming next, it’s essential for brands and creators to have one eye trained on the next gen of influence. We’ve uncovered five trends illustrating what that next generation will look like.

The conversation then moved on to longevity, and the challenge of creating work that lasts. Grace told a story of their 17-year-old self remembering a campaign from water brand Evian, that really stuck with them. 'I want to make stuff that makes the 17-year-old say, I can do that too', Grace said. They discussed which brands and groups they'd love to work with (including Grace and Jamie trying to pitch an idea that would have had them meet hip-hop group, the Beastie Boys), Jamie's lemon spritz brand and his desire to make a short film, and Katie's love of sports and wanting to work with any dog brand possible. The conversation then turned to the current state of the marketing industry, with Grace saying the industry is going through seismic change, but 'it's essential that commercial creativity gets to exist'.

This podcast is around thirty minutes long, and packed full of wisdom. We hope you enjoy.

They discuss Liquid Death's creative process and how not getting bogged down in details helps creatively, as long as everyone agrees that what they're doing is a good idea and can be brought to life.

Andy talks about how the creative process often lasts all the way into the edit room, and how it's important to allow every piece of that process to develop in real time — to get the best creative product. Faris questioned Andy on the writing process, with Andy saying how he sees parallels with sketch comedy show Saturday Night Live (SNL). Andy then mentioned the mutually beneficial relationship they have with celebrities like Tony Hawk (in one stunt they put Tony's blood into limited edition skateboards), and how Liquid Death products made their way onto TV show productions and movie sets — meaning it was less of an uphill battle to work with actors, for example, as many knew the brand well from the get-go.

The conversation then moved onto their punishing production schedule and managing creative energy, with Andy saying 'ensure the creative process feels easy and fun — don't make it hard on yourselves. Don't red line all the time — find ways to sit under that.'

Faris asked Andy about how Liquid Death see themselves as a brand or business, to which Andy spoke about how a lot of what they do feels like an 'elaborate art piece', where they really make the things they put out there as products — like their collaboration with snowboard brand Burton, where they made 'Deathtrap', a snowboard so extreme you would literally die if you rode it (as their lawyers were keen to point out). The boards cost a few hundred dollars and sold out within 25 minutes of going on sale.

They also talked about their collaboration with disruptive golf apparel brand Bad Birdie, where they created the 'Uro club', a hollow golf club which you could use to relieve yourself on the golf course if you got caught short — obviously from drinking too much Liquid Death. Again, this club, at the time of writing, is available to purchase, but has also sold out.

He also talked about working with The Deep (a character played by Chace Crawford on satirical superhero TV show, The Boys) and how when creating scripts it was important that they took the world of The Boys seriously — that Liquid Death exists there, as much as The Deep exist in ours.

'One of the things we try and do is toe the line between "Is this thing real or not?" and "Oh my god, it is real"', Andy said. 'We're just a humour brand at our core', he added, and 'we cut counter to culture and marketing — ultimately we want to be an entertainment company'.

Speaking further about entertainment, Andy then touched on The Adventures of Murder Man, an animation show they're creating with Liquid Death's mascot as its main character. He was keen to point out that this wasn't to be an advert, but a proper show that they were keen would be picked up.

Editor's note: this podcast is 46 minutes long and, as you can probably tell from this piece, packed full of interesting discussion about Liquid Death's creative process. We do hope you enjoy it. And huge thanks to our podcast guest host, Faris Yakob.

They also discuss brands and showmanship, fairies and superman, oversharing and mystery, how it's OK for brands not to jump on trends, and how Jeremy Bullmore once offered her a cup of tea.

Featured image: Roy Reyna / Pexels

AI makes things easier. It does the grunt work quicker. It’s a machine. This isn’t speculation, it’s just the way it is. It means copywriters need to focus on what makes them unique, what makes them employable beyond the grunt work. This is something direct-response copywriter and The Fix co-founder, Nick O’Connor, talks about with Glenn Fisher in this fascinating discussion.

This is the fourth in a series of episodes we are running in partnership with Fix Fest 2, a festival dedicated to copywriting, marketing and creativity. This year, the event’s theme is ‘AI or Die’, and as well as Nick, a whole host of industry experts will be speaking on the day.

It takes place on 3 July. In London. We’ll be there, along with copywriters and marketers from all over the world. You can find out how to join us here, and find out more about the event by listening to the first episode of the series with Fix Fest’s creator, Glenn Fisher.

Featured image: Darina Belonogova / Pexels

Perceptions of how AI will influence advertising and marketing are shifting on an almost daily basis and staying ahead of the curve can seem like an almost impossible task. That's especially true of small and boutique marketing agencies. Thankfully, in this podcast, copywriter and co-founder of Mac+Moore, Natalie Moores, explains how you can make sure you don't get left behind.

This is the third in a series of episodes MediaCat Magazine are doing in partnership with Fix Fest 2, a festival dedicated to copywriting, marketing and creativity. This year, the event’s theme is ‘AI or Die’, and as well as Natalie, a whole host of industry experts will be speaking on the day.

It takes place on 3 July. In London. We’ll be there, along with copywriters and marketers from all over the world. You can find out how to join us here, and find out more about the event by listening to the first episode of the series with Fix Fest’s creator, Glenn Fisher.

Featured image: Google Deepmind / Pexels

Not according to Heather Murray. In this podcast copywriter Glenn Fisher interviews AI for Non-Techies founder, Heather Murray about AI, why she’s so excited about it and what she recommends less technically-minded people do to get the most out of it.

This is the second in a series of episodes MediaCat Magazine are doing in partnership with Fix Fest 2, a festival dedicated to copywriting, marketing and creativity. This year, the event's theme is 'AI or Die', and as well as Heather, a whole host of industry experts will be speaking on the day.

It takes place on 3 July. In London. We'll be there, along with copywriters and marketers from all over the world. You can find out how to join us here, and find out more about the event by listening to the first episode of the series with Fix Fest's creator, Glenn Fisher.

Featured image: Google Deepmind / Unsplash

About The Others & Me

The Others & Me was founded by Lori Meakin, a multi-award-winning strategist, author of No More Menemies. The innovation consultancy helps companies drive growth and maximise competitive advantage by a: Developing products and services for valuable but overlooked audiences (gender being the primary focus), and b: Creating a more effective, innovation-focused leadership and culture. Their recent insight report The Power Of The Invisible Women explores how default-male design and ideas are limiting business growth, and what we can do about it. It lays out the context, challenges, and most importantly, opportunities for brands who take an innovative and business-first approach to gender equality & inclusion. Because as research shows, they’re not mutually exclusive. And there's big competitive gain for those who get there first.

Download the report. To find out more about the work they do, download this brochure. Find The Others & Me on LinkedIn and Instagram.

You can also read this written interview we did with Paddy.

They also briefly manage to talk about lemons. This podcast is half an hour long, and packed with lots of insight and wisdom from Claire. We hope you enjoy.

Sign up to Check My Ads newsletter, to stay updated on the latest developments around brand safety.

They discussed the state of the marketing industry when it comes to copy, and how copywriters need to be involved earlier in the creative process, the things Glenn learned from their inaugural event Fix Fest, long copy and humour in copy, as well as briefly, somehow, touching on I'm A Celebrity... Get Me Out Of Here!

Useful links and info

CALLING was founded in January 2023 by Rani Patel and Josh Tenser, CALLING is a creative collective, invented for a world of change; advertising with a higher calling. CALLING is a different choice for brands seeking a creative partner that reflects the world their audience lives in. By using a fluid, collective model, the CALLING team is designed to constantly reflect changes in culture. Helping brands be seen by their audience — and allowing communities to see themselves in the work those brands produce. Clients include: Dr. Marten’s, Self Space, Inner Circle and Interflora.

CALLING VERSES is the writing platform by CALLING — the creative collective for a world of change. Monthly chapters by friends who are heard less often. You can find out more about CALLING on IG and LinkedIn.

Rani's first podcast with us: Rani Patel on the fluid identity of Gen Z

They begin with why Steven started the business in 2008, how the industry and the desire for print has changed over the years, how Steven picks titles for subscribers, who the subscribers are, why AI is no threat to indie publications, and finally, they talk about some of Steven's favourite titles (see the list below).

Useful links

10 of the best independent magazines right now

Indiecon Festival 2023, in Hamburg (Steven is speaking)

Stack's Discord

Russia-Ukraine war: indie magazines against hopelessness

In this podcast Mike asks Kirsty and Annalisa about incremental versus radical change and how you balance the two as a leader, whether clients know what they want when it comes to briefs, the culture of swim and making the water more equitable, how much brands can (and perhaps should) help improve our way of life, the water and wellness, and Speedos' plans for the upcoming Olympics.

Useful links

Speedos Swim United

Annalisa Roy's consultancy

Speedos' advice and blog

They discuss why Lori decided to write the book (trigger warning: there is a brief mention of sexual assault in the first few minutes of this discussion). They then get into why and how men are lost and how they can become more pro-social, '90s girl power and what feminism means today, why it gets a bad rep and where men fit into these conversations, why patriarchy is not fit for purpose, and how the themes of the book apply to the advertising and marketing world. We end the pod with Lori sharing her four favourite books, as part of our ongoing series.

About the book

We live in troubled times: even though gender equality is proven to benefit all of us, including men, the anti-feminist backlash is growing, especially amongst young men, and cancel culture creates a climate of fear even for the men who want to help. So how can we get past the gender wars and 'menemies' mindset, and build a world that works better for all of us? No More Menemies answers that question. In it, Lori sets out a Reality Check on eight big issues of gender inequality, including sex, parenting, taking up space, and the world of work.

She explores the relationship between homophobia, transphobia and misogyny, how society has, for centuries, taught men to belittle anything ‘girly’ and to police each other's masculinity; and she highlights how much of the problem remains invisible to all of us. Then, rather than telling men how they should change, she builds from what they already want and care about. She’s spent many hours talking to all kinds of men, from undergrads to grandads, to understand what it feels like to be a man right now; and to try and uncover reasons why men might genuinely want to lean in to gender equality. The results are fascinating, sometimes funny, and full of hope and positivity.

Useful links

Buy No More Menemies in paperback, hardback or on Kindle

Follow Lori on LinkedIn for the latest opinions and comments

Find out more about her consultancy The Others & Me

And please vote for her to take the No More Menemies learnings to SXSW

At Heckler HQ Cody now does a lot of work for brands, creating adverts and so on. They discuss how this differs from his work on Hollywood movies (such as Spider-Man: Far From Home) and his thoughts on the ongoing SAG-AFTRA strike in the US and how the VFX community doesn't have a union in the way that actors and writers do. They also touch on some work Cody did for Worksafe Victoria, a campaign around gendered violence, and talk about the trend in film and TV to just 'fix everything in post', putting pressure on VFX artists. We hope you enjoy this fascinating conversation.

Useful links

Worksafe Victoria - campaign on gendered violence

Cody's FX showreel from the movie world (including work on Spider-Man, Star Wars and The Hunger Games)

Featured image: Unlimited Motion Ltd / Unsplash

Featured image: Polina Tankilevitch / Pexels

Fact check: we couldn’t find the specific stat Louisa references on the levels of ND students on creative courses. However, The British Interactive Marketing Association BIMA Tech Inclusion and Diversity Reportvii showed that 20% of respondents self-identified as neurodivergent, this is a 50% over-representation compared with the general population. The report also identified that people with autism were 16 times over-represented in the interactive marketing sector. By contrast, ND people are under-represented in the employed labour force. 

Useful links

Find out more about The SOLA System. 

Take the Gallup Strengthsfinder. 

Explore the binary further, in this delightful podcast with Isabelle Bale.

Jem's work on circus skills creates a space that is not about getting it right. 

Visit Laurie’s neuro-queer network. 

Finally, since it is Pride Month, this is your regular reminder to give that £££. We encourage you to give to the disabled LGBTQIA+ folk, who are often excluded from so much of this month’s joy, and to our Trans siblings rights, safety, freedom and joy.

Quotes from the pod

“What is key for anyone who experiences any kind of marginalisation, particularly for those who are processing and perceiving differently and haven’t had that acknowledged and affirmed, is really creating a space of safety.” 

“The foundation of safety is what means we can access creativity and the strategic parts of our brains. Those skill-sets are so much harder to access when we are worried about our job or when we think we are going to fail a client.” 

“So burnout is your body has something to say. I think what a lot of people experience ‘ If I listen to it that means I’m going to have to acknowledge I can’t do any of this’ and what we do is project that into the future and think that we’ll never be able to do it.” 

“So much of what neurodivergent people experience is that the given paths didn’t work and they’re looking for how. What I bring them to is that we don’t need to know how. We just need to know what and why and let the why fuel the fact we’re going to have to try a bunch]]> full https://cdn.mediacat.uk/uploads/2023/06/j.png true no 1hr 11m Yes no https://mediacat.uk/podcasts/rebel-with-a-cause-with-lex-hearth/ Thu, 18 May 2023 10:33:44 +0000 https://mediacat.uk/?post_type=podcast&p=12033 In this instalment of Rebel With A Cause Opal Turner sat down with creative soul Lex Hearth. Lex is probably the most multi-disciplinary person we’ve had on the pod: a DJ, brand strategist and digital marketer who has worked for Nike and BBH London, and the author of upcoming book, 'Everything I Know About Marketing'. The ambition, passion and emotional insight Lex has for her work is infectious, and we hope that comes across. This discussion touches on how one spins all the plates in one's life to how to go freelance, self-confidence and legacy versus impact. If that wasn’t enough, you can subscribe to Lex's substack, where each week she picks five bits of culture or creative she's enjoying.