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, TrustpilotDavid Tiltman, Chief Content Officer, WARCSupporting Resources:The Marketer's Toolkit 2027 (non-subscribers) https://www.warc.com/en/article/the-marketers-toolkit-2027-sample-23d3a5e296c4469eb729624359347df8Chapters:00:00 — Intro: 2027 marketing trends from WARC Marketer's Toolkit02:40 — What the Delegation Economy Means for Marketers06:07 — Agentic AI Adoption: From Research to Autonomous Purchases06:38 — The Market Potential of AI-Assisted Shopping08:12 — Consumer Trust, Privacy, and the Limits of Agentic AI09:58 — Which Categories Will Shift to AI Delegation First?13:52 — Brand Strategy in the Age of the Delegation Economy14:06 — Human Proof: Building Trust Beyond AI Visibility17:23 — Trustpilot, Reviews, and AI-Powered Discovery20:47 — Priming and Proving: A Framework for Brands24:54 — Preparing Marketing Teams for Agentic AI29:12 — 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 Sign up to daily WARC News for free:   https://www.warc.com/en/latest Book a demo: https://www.warc.com/en/subscribe

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 UniversityDom Boyd, Chief Strategy Officer - Global Clients, KantarDavid Tiltman, Chief Content Officer, WARCChapters:00:00 — Intro: Why marketers rely on price promotions02:32 — Why promotions matter now04:25 — Promotions in the brand playbook05:43 — The promotion addiction cycle07:08 — Les Binet: Promotional spending as marketing’s “dark matter”11:19 — Eight ways promotions can damage brands16:25 — The consumer-goods marketer research19:21 — Dom Boyd: The promotional blind spot23:15 — Marketers’ influence—and the need for evidence26:21 — Consumer expectations and the discounting cycle30:48 — Dom Boyd: Principles for promotional detox33:53 — 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 Book a demo: https://www.warc.com/en/subscribe

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.comGuests:Alison Payne, Chief Marketing Officer - US, Heineken;Jeff McCrory, Partner and Chief Strategy Officer, Mischief;Talia Salem, Editorial Strategist; Marriott Bonvoy TravellerDavid Tiltman, Chief Content Officer, WARCChapters:00:00 — Intro: Insight to Impact in Denver02:04 — Heineken: Creativity as a Growth Driver06:56 — Heineken: Fandom, Sports, and the World Cup11:55 — Heineken: Measuring Sponsorship Impact16:06 — Heineken: AI, Creativity, and 2027 Priorities24:09 — Mischief: Coors Light’s “Case of the Mondays”28:43 — Mischief: Turning Brand Tension into an Idea32:43 — Mischief: A Collaborative Role for Strategy37:47 — Mischief: Upstream Strategy and AI’s Creative Future41:48 — Marriott Bonvoy Traveler: The Editorial Platform44:13 — Marriott Bonvoy Traveler: Why the Strategy Changed48:10 — Marriott Bonvoy Traveler: New Content Pillars50:25 — 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 LibreAnn Marie Kerwin, Americas Editor, WARCSupporting Resources:Mercado Libre: Handshake Hunt https://www.warc.com/en/campaigns/mercado-libre-handshake-hunt-55893db2b5e54e0ab2a5dd9d11943261Mercado Libre: Franco Returns, We All Return https://www.warc.com/en/campaigns/mercado-libre-franco-returns-we-all-return-0a13c404c8414ce7ae146fd017e38c56Mercado Libre: Coupon Rain https://www.warc.com/en/campaigns/mercado-libre-coupon-rain-a86f034b027248fead5ac3c1b077b0e7Chapters:00:00 — Intro: Mercado Libre's Sean Summers joins the pod01:52 — Mercado Libre's Approach To Marketing Effectiveness, ROI, and Market Share03:26 — Balancing Short, Mid, and Long-Term Marketing04:45 — Driving App Downloads, Loyalty, and Customer Lifetime Value06:00 — Brand Investment and Long-Term Growth08:07 — Earning C-Suite Trust with Marketing Metrics11:45 — How Mercado Libre Win Cannes Lions14:26 — Rethinking Creative Bravery16:32 — How GUT Challenged Mercado Libre’s Brief20:57 — Turning the Delivery Promise into a Brand Moment24:48 — Marketing as a Core Growth Function27:08 — The Do, Think, Feel Framework for Ecommerce Marketing32:00 — How Every App Interaction Builds Brand Equity34:42 — Social Commerce, Affiliates, and Live Shopping37:44 — 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.comGuests:Pamela Forbus, Global Chief of Insights & Analytics, MondelezMatthew Huo, Product Marketing, ProfoundTracy Adams, Senior Director of Research & Insights, The Advertising Research FoundationKeith Smith, Managing Director, The Marketing Science InstituteDavid Tiltman, Chief Content Officer, WARCChapters:(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