On Strategy Showcase

James talks about his new, brilliant, evidence-based Lions Learning course on advertising effectiveness and his latest book that popularizes a new mental model for marketing that better connects our role to the language of business and growth. Always great having James on the show.

Is there a scarcity of difference? Is it scarce because sameness works? And what's the case for sameness? I'm joined by Chicago Chief Creative Officers and Chief Strategy Officers in front of an invitation-only group at BBDO, Chicago. Josh Gross and Landi Day from BBDO, Mark Gross from Highdive, Preeti Nadgar from Starcom and Brian Siedband from Quality Meats. Thanks to Tracksuit, The Effies and System1 for supporting our 2026 live tour. Next stop is GSD&M in Austin, Thursday, Sept 10th.

I talk with Infinite Roar's EVP, Brad Keeling and Ipsos U.S. President, Pedr Howard about what is now capturing an even larger spend than TV and CTV combined. It's Retail Media Networks and they're a creative wasteland. Ipsos just dropped a new free report on the topic. Check it out here

This month's planners pitch campaigns from Spec Savers and Columbia Sportswear. Anibal Casso is CSO, North America for Ogilvy and Alix Toothman is Global Executive Strategy Director at W+K, NYC. See the creative work here. Thanks to Tracksuit and System1 for supporting this series.

Two years in a row, eos and Mischief have won the global Best-of-the-Best Iridium award from the Effies - the highest global honor of all. Recorded live on stage at Cannes 2026, this is a conversation about the creative culture and insights that led to that business-building work, featuring Jeff McCrory, CSO at Mischief and Carley Caldas, SVP Marketing at eos. So much to learn here. You can also watch this episode on our website or YouTube channel.

We venture into the heartland to hear about the amazing work being done in Kansas City - Burger King, Frontier Airlines, Wendy's, Hills Pet Foods, Coco-Cola, and the Kanas City Chiefs. I'm joined by KC Chiefs CMO, Lara Krug, Jeremy Cline of Ryan Reynold's agency, Maximum Effort, Brad Jones, CCO at Barkley OKRP, Chris Cardetti, CSO at BarkleyOKRP and Howard Laubscher, CSO at VML. Thanks to Tracksuit, System1 and the Effies for supporting our live tour.

In this episode from our Effie series, Planning for Effective Outcomes, we talk with award-winning agency creative leaders about how they approach their work, evaluate strategic directions and about work they love that they didn't work on. Our next episode in the series features Mark Ritson and Andrew Tindall. Thanks to the Effies and Tracksuit for supporting this special, six episode series.

It was yet another strike against independent journalism. $1.1 billion in funding pulled back by the Republican administration. We learn how NPR (National Public Radio) responded in classic NPR style. They stood up for the public's right to ask hard questions. I talk with NPR's CMO, Mishka Pitter-Armand and Mischief's EVP Strategy, Ed Gunn. Our next live show is Sept 10th at GSD&M in Austin.

A live, sell-out crowd celebrates the legacy of iconic creativity in Minneapolis. Campaigns like Harley Davidson, Porsche, Buddy Guy, EDS, BMW Films, Target, Citibank and more recent work including Subaru and Walmart. Fallon, Carmichael and Colle McVoy join me live at the roundtable. Thanks to The Effies, Tracksuit and System1 for making our live tour possible. See the iconic creative work on our website at www.onstrategyshowcase.com

Can human-created ads drive better business outcomes than AI ads? From this collaboration between Ipsos and Syracuse University's S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications, we hear why AI is currently struggling to drive business outcomes and how brands can navigate the delicate balance between creative efficiency and strategic effectiveness. Download the free report bit.ly/aiadreport

We talk campaigns from Heinz Ketchup and The New York Times. Chris Gallery is Global CSO at Mother and Nick Hirst is Global Strategy Lead on Mars across OMC at adam&eve, London. Thanks to Tracksuit and System1 for supporting this series.

A favorite guest of the show, Martin is one of the most influential strategists in the industry. Formerly of W+K and AMV BBDO, his new book, Strategy is a Verb, reflects on lessons learned in the trenches. A must listen and must read for all of us. Check him out at www.martinweigel.org

Stars like Patrick Mahomes, Travis Kelce and Taylor Swift have super charged the fanbase, but Lara's goal is bigger - an entertainment company with a football product. We talk about her plans, why she joined from L'Oreal and Stella Artois, and how the NFL's strict no paid media rule is creating a culture of creative innovation. She's joined by BarkleyOKRP CSO, Chris Cardetti and CCO, Brad Jones.

I'm joined by Amelea Renshaw, Head of Strategy at Lucky Generals, NYC and Janni Widerholm, Head of Social and GCD at TBWA/Chiat/Day Los Angeles. As always, thanks to System1 and Tracksuit for making this On the Spot series possible.

In Ep#3 of our Effie series, strategists share lessons on how they approach a new strategic initiative. Johnny Corpuz, Head of Comms Strategy at BBDO, Asmirh Davis, Partner and President at Majority, and Gunny Scarfo, Co-Founder at Nonfiction join me. Thanks to Tracksuit (affordable brand tracking) for supporting this Effie series. www.gotracksuit.com

Walmart's Head of Emerging Experience, Justin Breton and GEEIQ's CEO Charles Hambro join me to talk about gaming, virtual worlds and Walmart's place in them. This is episode one in a three episode virtual worlds series. Tickets for our June 18th, 2026 Live from Minneapolis show are now on sale.

Inside the Effie Judge's room in NYC on May 7th. Twelve judges were there to decide which of the seven Gold Effie-winning cases from earlier judging rounds would be awarded the prestigious Grand Effie for 2026. This is what happened.

On this month's episode of On the Pulse, I'm joined by Ipsos' Chief Behavioral Scientist ion the U.S., Jesse Itzkowitz, and SVP, Head of Creative Excellence, Lisa Zielinski, to discuss the opportunity humor provides as a strategic tool. Thanks to Ipsos for supporting this monthly series.

It's planners talking brands they've never worked on. We're joined this month by Landi Day, CSO at BBDO, Chicago and Omar Quinones, CSO at LERMA/, Dallas. We're having some laughs and talking Subaru and Vaseline. You can also watch this episode and see the creative work on our YouTube channel or website. Link below. Thanks to Tracksuit and System1 for making this series possible. www.onstrategyshowcase.com

In Ep#2 of our Effie series, Chief Strategy Officers share how they validate, build upon or challenge briefs from their clients. Will Grundy of adam&eveTBWA, E.T. Franklin of Publicis Media, Elizabeth Paul of Martin and Professor and best-selling Author, Marcus Collins join me. Thanks to Tracksuit (affordable brand tracking) for supporting this Effie series. www.gotracksuit.com