The WARC Podcast

How can strategy deliver measurable business value? Catherine Driscoll speaks with Martin Beverley (Ace of Hearts) and Baiba Matisone about value-based agency models, business-minded collaboration, timeless principles, and staying distinctive and evidence-led in an AI-shaped industry.Guests:Martin Beverley, Founder & Chief Strategy Officer, Ace of Hearts Baiba Matisone, Brand & Creative Strategy ConsultantCatherine Driscoll, Commissioning Editor - EMEA, WARCChapters:(00:00) — Intro: Strategy's Commercial Calue in 2026(01:54) — Why Time-Based Agency Fees Undervalue Creative Strategy(05:05) — Value-Based Pricing and Bespoke Agency Models(06:02) — Four Agency Pricing Models: Outputs, Outcomes, IP and Equity(09:40) — Systems Thinking for Client-Centered Strategy(11:13) — How to Demonstrate the Business Value of Strategy(13:16) — Helping CMOs Make the Case for Strategy to the Board(16:08) — Applying Creativity Beyond Advertising(20:23) — Timeless Marketing Principles vs. Industry Trends(26:15) — AI, Critical Thinking and the Future of Strategy Skills(28:40) — Why Brand Distinctiveness Matters More in the AI Era(30:18) — Is the Future of Strategy Worth Being Optimistic About? 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

Ad strategists are navigating two realities on AI: its benefit as a research tool, and the fear it may take their jobs. In the first of WARC's Future of Strategy series, Nikita Walia (U.N.N.A.M.E.D) and Joe Burns (Quality Meats) join Ann Marie Kerwin to examine whether AI is a strategist's friend, foe, or something in the middle, based on new data from WARC research.Guests:Nikita Walia, Partner & Strategist, U.N.N.A.M.E.D;Joe Burns, Partner and Head of Strategy, Quality Meats CreativeAnn Marie Kerwin, Americas Editor, WARC Supporting resources:The Future of Strategy 2026: The future is hard to measure (Joe Burns) https://www.warc.com/en/article/the-future-is-hard-to-measure-1dbdbd7a20454b65b97470b36407f6e8The Future of Strategy 2026: The skills strategists need to thrive in 2026 and beyond (Nikita Walia) https://www.warc.com/en/article/the-skills-strategists-need-c3a1888f29e6467299bf892259f1b7e1The Future of Strategy 2026 (full report) https://www.warc.com/en/article/the-future-of-strategy-2026-d9afde10c3a948d789a91159ae7f23ce Chapters:(00:00) - Intro: The Future of Strategy 2026(02:30) - AI Anxiety: Will AI Replace Marketing Strategists?(04:57) - Using AI to Prototype and Stress-Test Strategic Ideas(08:45) - Why Strategic Insight Is More Than a Polished Deck(11:27) - Avoiding AI’s Legibility Trap in Brand Strategy(15:26) - Building Brand Differentiation Beyond Advertising(17:52) - How Strategists Can Lead Upstream Business Thinking(21:26) - Bringing Strategy Into Early Brand Decisions(24:07) - Aligning Agency Teams With AI and Shared Context(27:04) - The Human Skills AI Can’t Replace: Client Relationships(31:11) - Why Beauty Creates Commercial Value for Brands(35:02) - Career Advice for Strategists: Look Beyond Marketing(36:28) - Start a Business to Build Practical Strategy Skills 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 looks into unspoken qualities that different out-of-home formats convey, and the impact this can have on campaign effectiveness. WPP Media's Richard Kirk and Ocean Outdoor's Steve Bernard join Alex Brownsell to discuss why not all outdoor formats are created equal.Guests:Richard Kirk, EVP - Planning, WPP MediaSteve Bernard, Head of Insight, Ocean OutdoorAlex Brownsell, Head of Content, WARC MediaChapters:[00:00] — Intro: The Hidden Powers of Out-of-Home Media[01:47] — Meet the Guests: WPP Media's Richard Kirk & Ocean Outdoor's Steve Bernard[02:10] — Media Signaling: How Channels Shape Brand Perceptions[06:07] — Why Out-of-Home Advertising Needs Format-Level Research[09:38] — Attention vs. Signaling: Two Measures of Media Quality[12:16] — UK Digital Out-of-Home: Premium Formats and 3D Creative[14:53] — How the Out-of-Home Signaling Study Was Conducted[16:36] — Study Results: Premium OOH, Iconic Formats, and TV[19:15] — Using Brand Signaling to Justify Premium Media CPMs[23:20] — How Premium OOH Can Amplify Omnichannel Campaigns[25:43] — What Signaling Research Means for Media Planners[28:46] — Key Takeaways: Trust, Reach, and Attentive Signaling[32:02] — Quality-Adjusted Reach: Planning Media for Business Outcomes#marketing #advertising #mediaplanning #OOH 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

The US produces some of the most careful, literal commercials in the world. Is this 'vanilla' approach a creative failure? Or is it a structural necessity? Shann Biglione, author of 'The Vanilla Imperative: Why US Advertisers Are So Carefully Bland' joins WARC's Ann Marie Kerwin to discuss the nuances of US consumer psychology and why, in a nation as culturally loose yet ideologically polarized as the United States, playing it safe isn't a sign of creative cowardice but the only rational economic move to avoid alienating a fragmented market.Guests: Shann Biglione, Co-founder, Kumkuat AIAnn Marie Kerwin, Americas Editor, WARCChapters:00:00 Intro: Why US Advertising is so carefully bland02:10 U.S. Ads vs. Global Ads: A creative gap?03:52 Is bland advertising a result of fiduciary duties?05:49 Why American ads favor literal, verifiable claims08:20 American identity and the challenge of mass marketing11:28 Cultural identity in US consumer audiences13:44 Media fragmentation, algorithms, and US consumer Tribes17:39 Nike, Liquid Death, and Yeti: Winning niche audiences21:47 The 'stretch but don’t break' brand framework23:34 The snap, overlap, and trip-wire tests for brand strategy27:14 Screenshot and Boomerang tests for advertising campaigns30:22 Protecting your brand core and exploring new flavors#marketing #advertising #creativity #brandstrategy 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

Video campaigns are 2x more likely to grow B2B market share and 1.7x more likely to deliver stronger ROI, according to new research from LinkedIn's B2B Institute and WARC. Amazon Business's Kate Rundell, LinkedIn's Vita Molis and LIONS Advisory's Imaad Ahmed join Anna Hamill to share insights from the research and practical applications for B2B marketing.Chapters:[00:00] Intro: Why video matters in B2B marketing[02:34[ Methodology: 1,025 Award-Winning B2B Campaigns Comparing Video vs Non-Video[05:03] How B2B Video Drives Market Share, ROI and Search Performance[07:14] The “Video Paradox”: High B2B Video Effectiveness but Flat Investment Budgets[09:35] Winning Over The B2B Buying Group[12:34] Amazon Business's CMO on Using Video Across the Full B2B Marketing Funnel[15:05] Creative Lessons: Designing Silent-First B2B Video and Proving ROI with Data[16:34] Discoverable, Credible, Winnable: How Video Builds B2B Brand Trust and Recall[18:35] Why B2B Marketers Underinvest in Video and Misjudge Business Buyers[22:32] Use Cases For B2B Video[24:40] Make Video Work Harder: Jobs-to-Be-Done and Journey-Led Planning[27:22] The Future of B2B Video: AI, Hidden Buyers and CFO-Friendly MeasurementSupporting resources on WARC.com:Unlocking the Value of Video in B2B: https://www.warc.com/en/article/unlocking-the-value-of-video-in-b-2-b-728926f28b29431c9493c568690fefea#B2Bmarketing #marketing #advertising #videomarketing #media #B2B #marketingscience 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