Uncensored CMO

Greg Hahn returns to the podcast to discuss the philosophy that has made Mischief one of the most talked-about agencies in the world.From Tubi's famous Super Bowl interruption campaign to turning around legacy brands like JCPenney, Greg explains why the biggest risk brands face today isn't failure, it's being ignored. We discuss how to create safe spaces for dangerous ideas, why AI risks making marketers more cautious, and the hidden cost of playing it safe.Greg also shares the traits of great CMOs, the future of agencies and pitching, the campaigns he's most proud of, and the advice he'd give to the next generation of creatives.Thanks for System1 for supporting the podcast: https://system1group.comTimestamps00:00 - Start01:43 - Who are Mischief and what do they stand for?04:26 - What would Greg Hahn’s walk on track be?05:05 - How to make a safe space for dangerous ideas07:46 - Is AI making us play it safe?10:37 - What is the real cost of playing it safe?14:31 - The Mischief strategy behind Tubi16:20 - Tubi’s famous Super Bowl interruption campaign17:20 - The reward prediction error theory22:16 - Turning around a large legacy business like JCPenney25:55 - The traits of a successful CMO28:06 - The JCPenney movie trailer30:16 - Goldfish Chilean Sea Bass campaign35:51 - Why Greg likes George Felix as a CMO37:09 - The work that Greg is most proud of38:03 - What does the future of pitching look like?40:50 - How much of Mischief’s work comes from pitching42:13 - The future of social media43:17 - What other agency work is Greg envious of?45:03 - What would Greg do if he wasn’t afraid?48:01 - What does the future creative agency look like?49:14 - What does the future CMO role look like?51:12 - What does Greg want to achieve next?53:29 - Greg’s advice for young creatives54:25 - What’s the best advice Greg Hahn has ever been given?56:59 - What content does Greg consume? - Post chat

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

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

Carly Natalizia, Chief Commercial Officer at Gymshark, joins us to share how one of the UK’s most exciting brands continues to grow while staying close to its community. From starting her career in finance to leading commercial strategy at Gymshark, Carly offers a unique perspective on leadership, growth, and customer obsession.We discuss Gymshark’s rise as a challenger brand taking on global sportswear giants, what it’s like working alongside founder Ben Francis, and how the business balances brand and commercial priorities. Carly also shares lessons on sustainable growth, executing big ideas, and how Gymshark keeps its finger on the pulse of its customers.Sign up to our live event, The Calling, on April 21st here:https://event.uncensoredcmo.com/events/uncensoredcmo/2044861Subscribe to our newsletter, The One Thing:https://newsletter.uncensoredcmo.com/Listen to our new podcast, Uncensored Renegades:Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/uncensored-renegades/id1868870960Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/7qnkqq0XSpgif9A5ZNgSpX?si=f181c3a0e9af480cTimstamps00:00 - Start01:08 - How Carly went from finance to marketing02:19 - Career advice to Carly’s younger self04:09 - Why Carly moved from finance to retail and the differences between them07:28 - The Gymshark story: taking on the sportswear giants09:02 - What its like working for the UK’s youngest billionaire, Ben Francis15:07 - Carly’s promotion from Chief Digital Officer to Chief Commercial Officer16:01 - How Gymshark stay close to the customer17:21 - How to be an effective leader in the c-suite at Gymshark18:44 - How the Chief Commercial Officer and Chief Brand Officer work together25:04 - How do you maintain sustainable growth26:46 - Gymshark NYC store launch29:25 - The success of Gymshark’s “We Do Gym” campaign31:24 - How to execute great ideas well

Zach Kitschke joined Canva as employee number five. Today, the company serves hundreds of millions of users worldwide.In this episode, Zach shares the inside story of Canva’s growth, from the scrappy early marketing that put the company on the map to scaling a brand and product used across the world. We discuss the power of Canva’s freemium model, their bold “Make the Logo Bigger” campaign, and how the company approaches both brand and B2B marketing.Zach also explains how Canva scaled from a team of five to thousands of employees, the leadership lessons he learned from the founders, and how AI is shaping the next chapter for the business.Sign up to our live event, The Calling, on April 21st here:https://event.uncensoredcmo.com/events/uncensoredcmo/2044861Subscribe to our newsletter, The One Thing:https://newsletter.uncensoredcmo.com/Listen to our new podcast, Uncensored Renegades:Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/uncensored-renegades/id1868870960Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/7qnkqq0XSpgif9A5ZNgSpX?si=f181c3a0e9af480cTimestamps00:00 - Start00:53 - Being employee #5 at Canva01:46 - The marketing that got Canva noticed at the start03:50 - How big is Canva?04:45 - The challenges growing Canva into a unicorn07:26 - What makes good design according to Canva09:24 - The freemium business model11:46 - Why the Canva founders are giving away 30% of their wealth13:21 - Do Canva invest more in product or brand?14:41 - Canva’s make the logo bigger campaign16:33 - How Canva approaches B2B marketing18:59 - The AI tools that are driving Canva forward22:19 - The most innovative things Zach has done as Canva CMO24:58 - Zach’s tips for delivering a keynote26:59 - Being a CMO scaling from 5 to 5000 employees29:52 - How to run multiple business functions; HR, marketing, customer service31:49 - What Zach has learned from the Canva founders33:32 - How to define the cuture at Canva35:39 - What’s next for Canva?36:35 - What has made Canva so successul?

Jessica Jensen, CMO of LinkedIn, joins us for a high-energy conversation on careers, personal branding, and the future of B2B marketing.We dive into the latest job market data (it might surprise you), the skills employers are actively looking for, and how to grow your personal profile on LinkedIn (which could include posting with flamingo glasses). We also unpack the LinkedIn algorithm, handling negative comments, new features creators and brands should be using, and why B2B marketing absolutely doesn’t have to be boring.Sign up to our live event, The Calling, on April 21st here:https://event.uncensoredcmo.com/events/uncensoredcmo/2044861Subscribe to our newsletter, The One Thing:https://newsletter.uncensoredcmo.com/Listen to our new podcast, Uncensored Renegades:Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/uncensored-renegades/id1868870960Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/7qnkqq0XSpgif9A5ZNgSpX?si=f181c3a0e9af480cTimestamps00:00 - Intro01:04 - Jessica Jensen’s backstory02:02 - The benefits of being a marketer from a non-marketing background02:42 - The difference between B2B and B2C according to LinkedIn03:38 - How to build high-performing teams06:32 - The data on the job market according to LinkedIn10:02 - What skills are employers looking for?12:04 - How do you build a personal brand on LinkedIn (when working for another company)18:25 - 3 tips for building your personal brand on LinkedIn20:04 - What is going on with the LinkedIn algorithm?21:35 - How to make the most of an ever changing algorithm23:16 - Does LinkedIn suppress posts based on gender?26:14 - How to deal with negative comments on LinkedIn28:00 - What new LinkedIn features should people be using?30:48 - What features can brands use to make the most of LinkedIn32:19 - B2B does not have to be boring35:02 - LinkedIn’s billboards poking fun at AI36:21 - How are LinkedIn marketing LinkedIn?41:12 - How are LinkedIn helping younger people get into work43:28 - Addressing the Open to Work badge stigma44:17 - Advice to creators on LinkedIn

Jim Cregan built Jimmy’s Iced Coffee from scratch, spotting an untapped market, designing a product that stood out, and making its way onto the shelves of Selfridges in just 4 months.In this episode, Jim shares the founding story, the thinking behind Jimmy’s distinctive “BottleCan” packaging, and how personal touches and relentless energy helped build a brand people loved. We also dive into retail strategy, going direct-to-consumer, treating suppliers as humans, and how the £25m exit to Britvic finally came together.Sign up to our live event, The Calling, on April 21st here:https://event.uncensoredcmo.com/events/uncensoredcmo/204486100:00 - Start00:59 - The founding story of Jimmy’s Iced Coffee06:04 - The iced coffee market at the time09:44 - How Jimmy designed and packaged the product12:21 - Why Jimmy’s is in “Cottles” or “BottleCans”19:56 - How Jimmy’s got into Selfridges 4 months after launching20:50 - Hustling their way into Whole Foods and other stores26:58 - How Jimmy’s got a listing in Tesco28:05 - Treating suppliers like humans31:15 - Choosing to go Direct to Consumer in addition to retail32:53 - Adding the personal details that matter34:20 - How Jim marketed Jimmy’s Iced Coffee39:39 - Jim’s advice to aspiring founders41:57 - How the £25m exit to Britvic happened