Advertise on podcast: New Digital Age

The NDA Podcast this week features the usual gentle hike across the digital media and marketing industry with Editor-in-Chief Justin Pearse and Publisher Andy Oakes. Topics this week include Andy’s heroic, brave, and deeply dramatic battle against man flu; and the evolution of unconventional B2B media models. With the festive season approaching we dive into memories of Beano and Whizzer and Chips annuals; Apple’s latest privacy curveballs, and why no one misses "full-day" 9-to-5 conferences. And for the latest in our No NDA interview strand, we sit down with the fantastic Cadi Jones, SVP Emea, Index Exchange. "The hardest feedback I ever got was early on when a manager told me, 'You're trying to be liked by everyone, and it's stopping you from making the tough decisions.' It hit really hard because I thought being friendly was my strength," she says. "It made me realise that leadership isn't a popularity contest. Respect is much more important than being liked, and delaying a difficult decision just to avoid conflict usually makes things much worse for everyone down the line."

Welcome back to the NDA Podcast, hosted as always by Justin Pearse, Editor-in-Chief and Andy Oakes, Publisher of NDA. After a longer-than-planned summer break, we are back with our usual ramblings on the digital media and marketing indusrtry. In this episode, Andy kicks things off by sharing his experiences from Advertising Week in New York, touching on the burgeoning creator economy, why creators are bypassing traditional agencies to work directly with brands, and the ever-shortening duration of event panel discussions. We also discuss the shifting tone around AI, moving away from future-gazing speculation into real-world operational changes. This week also marks the launch of a brand-new weekly strand on the podcast: The NO NDA Interview: The real person behind the job title. NO NDA is NDA’s new series meeting some of the most influential people in media, marketing, and technology to get to know who they really are.  We don't want to talk about their actual job. Instead it's an honest, unfiltered discussion about personal beliefs, career mistakes, and key influences. Our very first guest on the series is adtech legend Ari Paparo.  A prominent leader and veteran in the adtech space for over two decades, Ari played pivotal product roles at DoubleClick, Google, AppNexus, and Nielsen. He went on to co-found and lead Beeswax as CEO, creating the industry’s first Bidder-as-a-Service platform before its acquisition by Comcast, authored the foundational VAST specification for video advertising, wrote the book Yield, and is currently the founder and CEO of Marketecture Media.  In this conversation, Ari opens up about his career journey, his biggest missteps, and the individuals who shaped his perspective on the industry. And why getting fired by Brian O'Kelley was actually a good thing.

In the last of NDA’s exclusive interviews from this year’s Cannes Festival, Justin Pearse chats with ad industry legend Sir Martin Sorrell. Sir Martin is a British business leader and founder of WPP and S4 Capital, widely regarded as one of the most influential figures in the global advertising industry. He built WPP into the world’s largest marketing services group and now leads S4 Capital (Monks), focusing on tech-driven, digital-first marketing transformation.

In the latest of our exclusive interviews from this year’s Cannes Festival, NDA’s editor-in-chief Justin Pearse meets Lori Goode, Chief Marketing Officer at Index Exchange. With more than 20 years in digital advertising, Goode has held senior leadership roles at Amazon Ads, Meta (formerly Facebook), and Microsoft. Beyond Index, Lori is an active industry leader, serving on the Leadership Group for Ad Net Zero, the board of BRIDGE, and the Executive Achievements Committee for She Runs It.

In the latest of NDA’s exclusive interviews from this year’s Cannes Festival, Justin Pearse chats with Benjamin Masse, Chief Product Officer at Triton Digital and President of the AgenticAdvertising.org. Masse shares his thoughts on topics including the creation of fair standards for agentic AI and the importance of collaboration between CMOs and CIOs for successful adoption…

In our latest interview from this year's Cannes Festival, New Digital Age's editor-in-chief Justin Pearse meets social media influencer and entrepreneur Brandon B. Brandon is the Founder and CEO of Studio B, an independent creative studio. As one of Europe’s most-watched digital creators, he has built a global audience of more than 28 million followers and generated over 18 billion views across his content. Through Studio B, he helps leading brands including Google, Netflix, Disney, Adobe, LEGO, and O2 create creator-led content, branded entertainment, and social-first campaigns designed to earn attention and drive cultural relevance.

In the latest 'An Audience with' interview from this year's Cannes Festival, Justin Pearse meets adtech veteran Brian O'Kelley, CEO of Scope3, to discuss the rise of AI and agentic systems, the market domination of major platforms, and the increasing  importance of creativity and wisdom...

Terence Kawaja is a media and technology investment banker and the founder and CEO of LUMA Partners, specialising in digital media, advertising, and M&A advisory. With over three decades of experience, he has advised on hundreds of high-value transactions and is one of the most influential voices in adtech and media investment. In the first of our ‘Audience with’ interviews from this year’s Cannes Festival, NDA’s editor-in-chief Justin Pearse gets Kawaja’s latest takes on live events, AI and the evolution of the media marketplace…

With MAD//Fest just weeks away, in this episode of the NDA podcast Editor in chief Justin Pearse and publisher Andy Oakes are joined by MAD//Fest co-founder Dan Brain for a wide-ranging chat covering this year's event, the state of the industry, and why we all need a human touch. This year's MAD//Fest, for which NDA is a long-time partner, theme is "the human touch", a deliberate counterweight, Brain explains, to an industry currently obsessed with AI. As the pendulum swings from hype to widespread implementation, MAD//Fest's line-up is focussing on human creativity, craft and connection rather than chasing the robots. The trio also dig into how AI is changing perceptions in content, PR and marketing. Press releases obviously ChatGPT createdd are increasingly ignored, and we discuss a growing sense that audiences can spot, and instinctively devalue, anything that looks AI-generated.  On the speaker front, Brain reveals Louis Theroux will appear at MAD//Fest for the first time, off the back of his Netflix Manosphere documentary, to explore the role brands play in funding online content. He's joined by comedian Munya Chawawa, plus the CMOs of Burger King and McDonald's. Brain discusses the sheer scale of pulling MAD//Fest together: coordinating 560-plus speakers, navigating the quirks of the Truman Brewery as a venue, and the year-round sales and rebooking effort behind a three-day show.  Looking ahead, MAD North will expand beyond Manchester into Leeds, Newcastle, Liverpool, Edinburgh and Glasgow, with Amsterdam mooted as a possible future market. And we discover they Dan Brain's spirit animal is a seal.

In the latest episode of the NDA podcast, Retail Media Age Editor sits down with Meredith O'Brien, Group Agency Director at MiQ, and Paul McGee, Head of Video at Goodstuff, to unpack exactly how programmatic advertising can meet the challenges posed by rapidly-shifting consumer behaviour. O'Brien and McGee dive into the complexity of the current media landscape, how advertiser outcomes are defined, and the challenges of solving for fragmentation, while also exploring the so-called 'collapse' of the funnel and how the advent of AI has upended the traditional customer journey. They then take a close look at a case study that shows how brands - not solely well-resourced, major brands but also smaller, nimble emerging brands - can reach consumers and resonate amidst this fast-moving landscape. Working with Goodstuff and MiQ, challenger men's grooming brand Dr Squatch managed to successfully land its message with its target young, male, urban demographic via YouTube and CTV. O'Brien and McGee also reveal how commerce data allowed them to understand exactly who the campaign resonated with and to link the upper-funnel messaging of the video campaign to retail sales. The conversation is a brilliantly detailed 'under the hood' look at exactly how an effective online video and CTV campaign is built and executed and how it can translate into measurable results for brands. Pulling back to look at the bigger picture, MiQ's Meredith O'Brien also explores the challenges of linking channels such as CTV to tangible ROI, how performance metrics can be brought into an awareness-focused ad medium, and how an openness to experimentation and innovation helps advertisers to stand out.

In the latest episode of the NDA Podcast, Editor-in-Chief Justin Pearse and Retail Media Age Editor Rebecca Sentance are joined by Lydia Oakes, MD of Bluestripe Communications, for a wide-ranging discussion on how B2B PR is evolving in an era shaped by AI, fragmented media and growing pressure to prove performance. The episode opens with Rebecca sharing some of the latest developments from the retail media sector, including new editorial initiatives at Retail Media Age focused on highlighting emerging talent and agency perspectives across the industry. The discussion also focuses on retail media’s biggest current challenges, from buying complexity and performance pressures to the growing importance of brand building. Drawing on more than two decades in communications, Lydia discusses the dramatic transformation of the trade media landscape, from the heyday of print publishing to today’s fast-moving digital environment, where algorithm-driven discovery have made it harder than ever for brands to stand out.  Despite the technological change, the conversation makes clear that the fundamentals of strong communications remain rooted in expertise, relationships and genuinely-useful storytelling. The episode also examines the growing role of AI in PR workflows, from media monitoring and discoverability analysis through to understanding how brands appear in large language models such as Claude and Perplexity. But Lydia argues that while AI can support efficiency and measurement, it cannot replicate the experience, judgement and credibility of an expert spokesperson or communicator.

In the latest episode of the NDA Podcast, Justin Pearse, Editor-in-Chief of New Digital Age (NDA), is joined by Andy Oakes, Publisher of NDA, dialling in from a Miami hotel bathroom after three days at Possible, and Rebecca Sentance, Editor of Retail Media Age. And we take a deep dive into the impact of AI on publishers with Ezoic's John Cole. The conversation kicks off with a debrief from Possible Miami and a discussion the of the chaging purpose of different industry events for attendees hoping to drive ROI from the often not insigifcant investment needed. This week's special guest is John Cole, Chief Customer Officer at Ezoic. With over 25 years of industry experience, Cole provides a sobering yet optimistic look at the "world-documented battle" publishers face today. Key discussion points include: The Impact of LLMs: How Google’s "no-click searches" and AI-driven content are fundamentally altering organic traffic patterns.The Shift to Unique Value: Why "commoditised content" is a losing game and how publishers must pivot toward unique, high-value newsletters and web apps to survive.AI as a Solution: Using AI and Large Language Models (LLMs) not just for content, but as a tool to disentangle complex "Frankenstein" tech stacks and provide clear, actionable data for business growth.

In this week's NDA Podcast, Editor-in-Chief Justin Pearse and Publisher Andy Oakes are joined by Adtech Personality of The Year, and MD at Mantis, Reach, Fi Salmon. *Sound warning: Tech issues mean Justin's audio quality is very poor but luckily Fi and Andy's is crystal clear. The discussion includes: AI's Impact on Publishing: Exploring how artificial intelligence is currently affecting the industry and strategies to get readers to "arrive and stay".The Surge in Video Budgets: Discussion on the significant increase in video investment, with some agency groups allocating up to 80% of revenue to video content.The "Bus Chat": A deeo dive into the team's favourite London bus routes, including a particular fondness for the 227.Brand Safety vs. Suitability: Moving the conversation from basic safety to "suitability," acknowledging that every brand has a different tolerance level for content.YouTube's Evolving Audience: How YouTube is increasingly attracting an older demographic through long-form sports broadcasting like county cricket.Conference Season: A look ahead to the Possible conference in Miami, debating the "shorts vs. trousers" dress code and the rise of the content creator.The Q1 Downturn: Reflecting on the "slow start" to the year and the impact of holiday timing on industry momentum.

In the latest edition of the NDA podcast, Justin Pearse, Editor-in-Chief, is joined by Rebecca Sentance, Editor of Retail Media Age, and Andy Oakes, Publisher of New Digital Age, to discuss optimism in the UK media landscape.  The team kicks off with the positive news from the latest IPA Bellwether report, which shows UK ad spend is up by 7.3. This positive shift is mirrored by the return of several industry veterans who are launching innovative new ventures, proving that experience and entrepreneurship remain the driving forces of the sector. The conversation then turns to the "growing up" phase of retail media. Rebecca explains that as the sector matures, we are likely to see a consolidation of networks as the market moves away from explosive growth toward a more sustainable model. They explore how formats are evolving, particularly with Tesco’s introduction of video placements, which marks a shift from simple sponsored listings to high-end creative storytelling. This week's special guest is Matt Barash, a veteran of the adtech world, who shares his perspective on why the industry needs to refocus on the "art" of advertising. Barash argues that while data and science have dominated the last decade, real creativity and authenticity, especially within social creative, are what truly drive consumer engagement. Finally, the podcast previews the upcoming industry calendar, including the Possible event in Miami and the return of the Trinity lunch in London. With Claire Enders set to provide a macroeconomic view of the market at Trinity, the team emphasises that despite the rise of AI and automation, the most valuable currency in media remains in-person relationships and human connection.

In the latest episode of the NDA podcast, Justin Pearce, Editor-in-Chief, is joined by Andy Oakes, Publisher of New Digital Age, and Rebecca Sentance, Editor of Retail Media Age, for a  discussion on the pulse of the media and advertising industry.  The discussion touched on the growing intersection of retail data and audio advertising through major tie-ups like Amazon’s partnership with Global and Kroger’s collaboration with YouTube; the highlights of Advertising Week, including Graham Norton’s keynote on the effectiveness of podcast advertising and the power of authentic celebrity-brand connections.  We discuss the value and purpose of industry staples like Possible in Miami and the highly anticipated Maison NDA at Cannes Lions, which promises to be a central hub for networking and thought leadership.  Despite a challenging first quarter influenced by global events, the team finds reasons for optimism in the resilience of adtech and the rapid evolution of the creator economy.  And we take a deep dive into Easter egg flavours and chocolate orange.