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Uncensored CMO: Daily Summaries Delivered
by Jon Evans
The Uncensored CMO was created to explore the good, the bad and quite frankly downright ugly truth about marketing theory & practice.
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The most recent episodes — sign up to get AI-powered summaries of each one.
- 2 days ago1h 4m
How Chili’s used creativity, culture and customer experience to create one of the greatest turnaround success stories - George Felix
George Felix, CMO of Chili’s, joins us to tell the story behind one of the most impressive brand turnarounds of recent years. From iconic menu items like chips and salsa and the famous margarita to viral social media moments and creative partnerships, George explains how Chili’s became culturally relevant again and reignited growth.Before Chili’s, George played a key role in the legendary Old Spice turnaround, and in this episode he shares the lessons he's learned from transforming legacy brands. We discuss the power of nostalgia, making the most of your agency relationships, influencing product and pricing decisions, and why the customer experience often drives more value than advertising alone.Timestamps00:00:00 - Start00:02:07 - The famous Chili’s chips and salsa00:03:39 - The famous Chili’s margharita00:06:32 - Why Chili’s has signature items00:08:01 - How Chili’s became one of the biggest brand turnarounds in history00:10:51 - The importance of working with people you trust00:12:26 - George’s role in the Old Spice turnaround00:18:10 - How to build the case for increased brand investment00:21:16 - The power of nostalgia for a legacy brand00:25:57 - How George pitched an idea to his creative agency and they bought it00:29:03 - The System1 data for the Chili’s ad00:30:45 - Fostering a great client / agency relationship00:38:19 - How experience drives better ROI than marketing00:42:43 - The viral cheese pull trend00:45:45 - How can a brand create cultural relevance?00:48:45 - Chili’s brand collaboration with Tecovas Boots00:51:19 - How George has influence over the Product “P” in marketing00:54:51 - How to leverage the Pricing “P”00:57:43 - The concept of “barbell pricing”01:00:27 - What is the most important attribute for a successful CMO?
- 1 weeks ago1h 4m
Tom Goodwin and Rory Sutherland Fix Marketing (Part 2)
Rory Sutherland and Tom Goodwin return for part two of our wide-ranging conversation on the future of marketing, creativity, and business.From driverless cars and Silicon Valley thinking, to the dangers of digitising every human interaction, Rory and Tom explore what businesses lose when efficiency becomes the only goal. They also discuss why governments need creative departments, whether we truly understand how advertising works, and how marketers can finally gain the influence they deserve inside organisations.Timestamps:00:00 - Start00:56 - What will be the advertising agency of the future?10:39 - How to change the way we think about ad agencies15:42 - Why the government need a creative department19:44 - Creativity isn’t dead because AI only uses data from the past22:32 - How marketers can achieve the influence they deserve24:08 - Do we really know how advertising works?29:29 - Is Tesla applying marketing thinking?31:58 - The future of driverless cars and the danger of Silicon Valley44:03 - Human interaction vs digitising everything47:43 - Tom and Rory’s advice for CMOs
- 2 weeks ago1h 3m
Rory Sutherland and Tom Goodwin Fix Marketing (Part 1)
Two of our most popular guests return for a conversation on what’s gone wrong in modern marketing and how to fix it. Rory Sutherland and Tom Goodwin tackle everything from digital overload and bad choice architecture to the disappearance of taglines, long-term thinking, and genuine creativity.Expect behavioural science, contrarian thinking, and plenty of ideas that will make you rethink how marketing really works.Timestamps00:00:00 - Start00:01:31 - Digital overload - are consumers given too much choice?00:05:51 - The power of “Easter Egg Thinking”00:07:54 - Have hotels destroyed choice architecture?00:10:56 - More choice reduction failures00:14:46 - Do consumers need more choice?00:17:45 - How ad agencies can discover real insights00:19:21 - An idea to revolutionise Cannes00:20:49 - Why Rory and Tom think differently00:24:05 - What are the biggest marketing myths today00:30:41 - Fat tailed distribution - the Dulux Dog00:32:18 - Why we need to bring back the tagline00:35:17 - Are marketers too young?00:37:15 - The long term work only pays off after you’re fired00:42:34 - How to we make companies look more long term?00:48:03 - Why people love Ryanair but hate BA00:49:09 - The role of surprise in advertising00:50:43 - Is marketing actually rather easy?01:00:49 - Is the advertising agency model broken?Thank you to our sponsor, System1: https://system1group.com/
- 3 weeks ago44 min
How to manage a crisis with ex United Airlines Chief of Comms, Jim Olson
Jim Olson has spent his career helping businesses navigate moments of intense pressure from corporate crises to deeply personal challenges, running comms at United Airlines and Starbucks. In this episode, the author of Tailwind shares the lessons he’s learned from leadership, resilience, and facing adversity head-on.Drawing inspiration from Captain Sully’s Hudson River landing, Jim explains why the best crisis leaders follow the same process: aviate, navigate, communicate. We discuss where crisis management often goes wrong, what leaders can learn from failures like United Airlines, and why “black box thinking” matters in both business and marketing.Jim also opens up about his own cancer diagnosis and the mindset that helped him through it.Get Jim's new book, Tailwind here:https://www.amazon.com/Tailwind-Compass-Turning-Setback-Comeback/dp/B0GXCM3VYT/00:00 - Start01:11 - Lessons from Captain Sully’s Hudson River landing06:11 - The black box thinking approach to marketing07:30 - Other crises Jim has had to deal with in his career09:18 - When crisis management goes wrong - United Airlines13:11 - Managing merging two cultures15:27 - The situation when Jim’s CEO had a heart attack18:00 - Jim’s cancer diagnosis23:30 - The power of positive mentality28:30 - Don’t ask yourself what if, ask yourself why not31:34 - The power of a fourth space34:05 - Crisis doesn’t build character, it reveals it37:02 - Leadership lessons from Howard Schultz38:58 - Jim’s advice for those people facing a crisis
- May 6, 202648 min
Marketing lessons from 20 years at Google - Dan Taylor
Dan Taylor has spent over two decades at Google, helping shape how brands grow through search, media, and technology. Today, he leads global advertising at one of the world’s most influential companies, giving him a front-row seat to the biggest shifts in marketing.In this episode, Dan shares what he’s learned from 20 years at Google, from the importance of simplicity to navigating organisational complexity and the evolving relationship between product and commercial teams. We also dive into the future of search, including AI, new tools like “Circle to Search,” and what it all means for marketers.Timestamps00:00 – Start00:40 – Lessons from being a pilot05:34 – Lessons from 20 years at Google06:43 – How Google has changed over two decades07:46 – The power of simplicity09:02 – Google’s breakthrough moments12:11 – The relationship between commercial and product13:47 – Navigating organisational politics17:08 – The biggest search trends in marketing18:24 – What is “Circle to Search”?20:37 – Opportunities for marketers in new search behaviours24:52 – How AI is changing search25:59 – Does Google see AI as competition?28:09 – Will ads exist in AI search?32:00 – How brands can improve search performance33:42 – Making the most of Google and YouTube35:34 – Measuring the value of brand search39:56 – AI’s impact on creativity45:52 – The one lesson from 20 years at Google
- Apr 29, 202643 min
How Sephora built brands through creators, partnerships and loyalty - CMO Zena Arnold
Zena Arnold, CMO of Sephora, joins us to break down how one of the world’s most influential beauty retailers continues to set the standard for brand, community, and culture.From standout branding to record-breaking product launches, Zena shares what’s behind Sephora’s success and how the business stays relentlessly close to its customers in a fast-moving category. We explore the rise of celebrity brands, the power of loyalty, and how Sephora works with creators through initiatives like the Sephora Squad.Thank you to our sponsor, System1: https://system1group.com/Timestamps00:00 - Start01:13 - Zena’s incredible marketing career06:02 - Lessons that turned Zena into the marketer she is today07:41 - What has made Sephora so successful?10:01 - Why Sephora’s branding stands out11:30 - What’s trending in the beauty category in 2026?13:22 - How does Sephora stay close to the customer?14:45 - The biggest brand launch in Sephora history15:25 - How to pitch a beauty brand to Sephora18:00 - How important are celebrity brands?19:03 - Helping brands launch in Sephora21:00 - The power of Sephora’s loyalty programme25:09 - How Sephora attract new customers27:02 - How Sephora uses creators effectively with the Sephora Squad29:45 - How to measure the effectiveness of creators31:12 - The exceptional advertising of Sephora32:49 - How Sephora uses tech in their marketing38:09 - Dealing with the speed of retail39:00 - Creating conditions where you can fail and learn
- Apr 27, 202639 min
Marketing in the age of AI with Adobe Enterprise CMO, Rachel Thornton
Rachel Thornton, Enterprise CMO at Adobe, joins us to unpack how one of the world’s leading technology companies is navigating marketing in the age of AI. From brand building in B2B to launching complex software products, Rachel shares what it takes to drive growth at global scale.We discuss the role of major events like Adobe Summit, how AI is transforming both the practice and perception of marketing, and why community and storytelling are becoming more important than ever. Rachel also explains how Adobe balances brand and product marketing, invests in partnerships like sports sponsorships, and what “agentic orchestration” actually means in practice.Timestamps00:00 - Start01:39 - Rachel’s career and what makes a successful CMO04:12 - The importance of brand in B2B08:57 - The role of large events in B2B marketing (like Adobe Summit)12:29 - The biggest changes AI have had in marketing18:06 - How Adobe approaches community in their marketing20:26 - How Adobe use AI in their marketing22:53 - How Tesco use Adobe24:22 - Adobe’s product launches at Summit 202626:50 - What does agentic orchestration mean?28:33 - How to successfully launch new software?29:58 - How Adobe addresses brand vs product marketing?30:57 - Why Adobe invests in sports sponsorships34:26 - The power of storytelling in sport36:07 - The best advice Rachel has received
- Apr 22, 202654 min
Nir Eyal on how belief can transform your life & your brand
Nir Eyal returns to the podcast to discuss his latest book, Beyond Belief, and the powerful role belief plays in shaping our behaviour, relationships, and decisions.From the difference between fact, faith, and belief to the surprising ways our perceptions influence what we see, Nir explains how beliefs can be consciously changed and why doing so can transform everything from personal performance to company culture.We also explore the role of belief in branding, including how companies like Liquid Death use anticipation to disrupt entire categories, and why the most successful brands don’t just sell products they shape what people believe.Thank you to System1 for sponsoring Uncensored CMO.https://system1group.com/Timestamps00:00 - Start01:44 - Why Nir wrote a book about belief?05:57 - How powerful can belief be?10:15 - Believing is seeing12:44 - The three powers of belief14:42 - The difference between fact, faith and belief16:05 - How belief can affect relationships17:10 - How to change your beliefs25:52 - How powerful can beliefs be?28:37 - The cautious power of placebo32:59 - Why Liquid Death used the power of anticipation to disrupt water35:59 - Why brand is so powerful37:40 - How our beliefs literally shape what we see39:42 - Why smart people are more unsuccessful41:59 - How beliefs can improve company culture42:57 - When should you quit?47:08 - Why labelling yourself can be self-limiting50:52 - How to build good beliefs
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The Uncensored CMO was created to explore the good, the bad and quite frankly downright ugly truth about marketing theory & practice.
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