Advertise on podcast: The WARC Podcast

Ideas on their own don’t deliver marketing effectiveness. What if the real driver is something less visible? BMF Australia's Anna Bollinger and Christina Aventi join WARC's Rica Facundo to discuss the outsized influence of soft skills including trust, psychological safety and simplicity.

From LLM platforms for discovery through to 'bot-to-bot commerce', agentic commerce is already revolutionizing the retail media space. WARC's Ann Marie Kerwin is joined by Andrew Lipsman and Alex Brownsell to discuss WARC's new Retail Media Radar report.

Effectiveness expert Tom Roach joins the pod to analyse some essential ideas in marketing effectiveness, including the performance plateau, the modified funnel, 'lots of little' and share of model. Hosted by WARC's David Tiltman.

In a generative AI world, strong and consistent brands act as a bulwark against LLM confusion. But how can marketers equip themselves for success? WARC's Cathy Taylor talks to WARC guide contributors Gary J. Nix and Kate Watts how to build iconic or enduring brands in the AI era.

Brands act as systems of meaning, with flexibility preferred over rigid guidelines. So what does 'complex systems management' mean for marketers? JP Castlin joins WARC's David Tiltman to break down the terminology of systems, the complexity of modern marketing and the need to find answers to that complexity.

WARC's new Global Ad Forecast maps out three scenarios for media spend as a result of war in the Middle East. WARC's James McDonald and Alex Brownsell make sense of the data, and what the current volatility will mean for advertisers in 2026.

System 3 thinking recognises that AI now functions as an external cognitive partner in human decision-making, not just a tool. Thinkerbell's Adam Ferrier and Matt Plant join WARC's Lena Roland to discuss its impact on the customer journey, brand fame, and the cognitive surrender trap.

The 2026 men's FIFA World Cup is expected to inject $10.5bn into the ad market, but media fragmentation is changing the game for advertisers. WARC's Alex Brownsell talks to Omar Oakes, founder of Oomph, about media trends covered in the new Global Ad Trends: FIFA World Cup 2026 report. Thanks to Criteo for sponsoring this episode. There’s a lot of noise about AI, but here’s the news you need to know: Criteo is the first advertising company to integrate with OpenAI as part of ChatGPT’s advertising pilot, bringing commerce media into one of the fastest-growing AI platforms. If you want stay competitive in this new era of AI-driven shopping and advertising, Criteo’s new report: CommerceAI Trends 2026, is the essential intelligence you need to succeed.  Level up your marketing in the AI era: check out Criteo’s free trends report here: www4.criteo.com/en/2026_commerceai_trends/

Dove's 'Real Beauty' platform has driven brand growth for more than 20 years. Now, it's won the Effective 100. Zoe Hamilton, Chief Strategy Officer for Unilever at Ogilvy London, and WARC's Amy Rodgers discuss why Real Beauty's impact proves the power of longevity in boosting marketing effectiveness.

Insurance brand AIA believes that scaring people undermines the very outcomes insurance marketers are trying to achieve. CMO Stuart Spencer talks to WARC's Jenny Chan about AIA’s behavioral economics model,  how vulnerability = authenticity, and why tackling deeply entrenched health stereotypes and rebuilding category trust is essential to drive behavioral change.

An Ipsos analysis of 15,000 ads showed that half of advertisers overlook the power of storytelling. Ipsos's Adam Sheridan joins WARC's Paul Stringer to discuss why storytelling is such a powerful creative approach.

Research from System1 & Effie found that combining creative quality with media spend significantly accelerates business outcomes. System1's Andrew Tindall and Effie's Juliet Haygarth join WARC's David Tiltman to discuss the "Creative Dividend" study, which highlights the importance of integrating media and creative strategies for commercial growth. The "Creative Dividend" index measures creative efficiency, predicting 60.1% of business outcomes when combined with media spend. The study also identifies "super touch points" that effectively build brand effects and capture in-market revenue.

AXA is the first financial services brand to top the WARC Creative 100. The creative minds behind the 'Three Words' campaign join WARC's Amy Rodgers to share insights and lessons from AXA's efforts to help relocate victims of domestic violence.

New WARC data reveals most marketers understand effectiveness, but internal pressures, governance, and risk dynamics limit consistent execution. WARC's Jenny Chan and Rica Facundo discuss how the 'twin pace' effectiveness gap is impacting brands in Asia-Pacific, and how markteers can fight back. WARC subscribers can read the report here, and Non-WARC subscribers can download the full report here.

Brand building in the AI era is creating profound new tensions that tear at the very fabric of traditional brand strategy. T&P's Oliver Feldwick joins WARC's Lena Roland to discuss the most critical question for marketers today: If brands are shortcuts for humans, what happens when machines start using them too?