Rangaiah Cannes Lions Interview

Babs Rangaiah, Executive Partner for Global Marketing at IBM iX

In this special episode of the Dog ‘n’ Bone we interview Babs Rangaiah, Executive Partner for Global Marketing at IBM iX, at the Cannes Lions festival about IBM iX’s blockchain pilot project for media deals. The project is in with partnership brands including Unilever and Kimberly-Clark and with Mediaocean.

We hear Babs outline the aims of the blockchain project, which include providing greater transparency on the supply chain and how much spend is going towards working media and the reasons behind his enthusiasm for the potential of machine learning and AI to transform customer experiences.

Babs has a deep knowledge of brands picked up from senior roles at Procter & Gamble and Unilever and at IBM iX he is immersed in developing rich technology solutions for businesses – iX is the company’s problem-solving agency that combines creativity, business consultancy and tech expertise

About Babs Rangaiah:

Rangaiah is Executive Partner for Global Marketing at IBM iX and is the former Vice President of Global Media Innovation & Ventures for Unilever. He is an award-winning marketer with deep media planning expertise and has also worked at Procter & Gamble, agency.com and DMB&B.

Childs ‘n’ Ackerman

Darren Childs, CEO of UKTV

Steve Ackerman, Managing Director of Somethin’ Else

In this episode, we hear Darren Childs, CEO of UKTV and Steve Ackerman, Managing Director of content company Somethin’ Else, explain why a local tone of voice is vital to combatting global streaming platforms like Netflix and Apple.

We listen in as the pair discuss why brands are failing to fully optimise their involvement in TV show format; the growth of audio content, such as podcasts, and whether kids will eventually turn into their parents and sit down to watch TV in the living room. Finally, we learn, the importance of paying off the local police when broadcasting a live concert featuring Led Zeppelin and Queen in this Dog ‘n’ Bone special recorded against the backdrop of the bustling Cannes Lions festival.

About the Guests:

Darren Childs is the CEO of multichannel broadcaster UKTV, which has close to 10% market share and operates channel brands including Dave and Gold and Drama. He also serves on the Advisory Board of the Antenna Group, a media business with investments in high profile US digital companies Vice, Twitter, Spotify and Facebook, as well as European Pay TV, Broadcasting, and Radio.

Steve Ackerman is Managing Director of the award-winning content agency Somethin’ Else. The agency is the BBC’s biggest multi-platform supplier and past and present clients include Swarovski, Boots UK, Porsche and The Economist. Steve is a Fellow of The Radio Academy.

Watton ‘n’ Cox

Kate Cox, Vice President and Chief Marketing Office EMEA for GoDaddy + John Watton, Senior Director for Enterprise Marketing EMEA at Adobe Systems

In this episode, we hear the different ways that Adobe and GoDaddy inject some emotion into their marketing to build strong relationships and how technology has levelled the playing field for SMEs with modest budgets. We learn about Freddie Flintoff’s penchant for painting figurines, why it’s a good thing to encourage staff to pursue side hustles and the panic that sets in when a business pitch goes sideways.

About the guests:

Kate Cox is Vice President and Chief Marketing Officer EMEA for GoDaddy. She oversaw the platform’s recent eye-catching “four-inch Freddies” campaign with cricketer Andrew ‘Freddie’ Flintoff and is a founder of the new Digital Futures Council that encourages collaboration between creativity and technology and a former chief strategist at Havas Media.

John Watton is Senior Director for Enterprise Marketing EMEA at Adobe Systems. He has 25 years’ experience in senior marketing at the world’s most competitive software companies and is known for bringing the emotional and engaging approach of the best consumer work to enterprise communications. He is a former B2B Marketing Magazine Marketer of the Year.

Greaves ‘n’ Robb

Gemma Greaves, Chief Executive of The Marketing Society + Nishma Robb, Google Marketing Director

In this episode, we hear two high profile champions of diversity talk about the need for a new approach to workplace leadership. The free-flowing conversation takes in subjects not often aired, including psychological safety in the office, neurodiversity issues (such as imposter syndrome, dyslexia and being bi-polar) and what it’s like as a mother to be offered a top job while you have “milk in your hair”.

About the guests:

Gemma Greaves is Chief Executive of The Marketing Society and a networker supreme. For the past 10 years she has been growing and nurturing The Marketing Society, so that it is now a leading global network of senior marketers. Today there are thriving Marketing Society hubs in London, Scotland, Hong Kong, Singapore, Dubai, India and New York. She believes in being brave and the power of connections and she has served as the first female president of the Solus Club, the dining club for senior members of the media and advertising industry.

Nishma Robb is a Google marketing director with more than 20 years of experience including digital marketing, strategy, business development and general management. She is passionate about inspiring girls and women about the magic of technology and is a former chair of Women@google. Her accolades include being named Businesswoman of the Year in the Asian Women of Achievement Awards. She has the unique experience of working at a media owner, on client side and for an agency. Prior to Google, Robb was a senior executive at iProspect (part of Denstu Aegis).

Thompson ‘n’ Gorman

Suki Thompson, Founding Partner of Oystercatchers + Helen Gorman, Marketing Consultant (Post Office, McDonald’s, Ribena)

In this episode, we hear how to handle digital transformation at the Post Office, McDonald’s and other brands, pick up tips on writing the perfect creative brief and learn how it feels to be sued by Sir Martin Sorrell.

About the guests:

Suki Thompson is a star player in the media world, having set up client and agency consultancy business Oystercatchers 10 years ago. Centaur Media acquired Oystercatchers in September 2016 and as member of The Centaur Management Board, Suki is now responsible for the vision and growth of Centaur’s consultancy, capability and pitch businesses where she leads marketing and digital transformation.

She is a former Chair of the Marketing Society and a long-standing member of WACL and The Marketing Group of Great Britain. She is also a Trustee for Macmillan Cancer Support, Addidi Angel Investor steering committee member of The Women’s Equality Party and a member of the City Livery Company, Upholders.

Helen Gorman is a strategic and creative Blue Chip Marketing and business leader with a strong legacy of commercial and creative success with P&L responsibility. She has worked at GSK on brands such as Ribena and Lucozade and at Britvic on Robinsons’ Fruit Shoot.  Recently she’s been working for the Post Office on its digital transformation and her specialities include brand strategy, communications, digital, managing multiple creative agencies, multi-channel media strategy and building and coaching high performing teams

Tough Truths for Ad Tech Vendors

Four publishers explain the difficulties in choosing potential ad tech suppliers and their tips to make the buying process run smoothly in this special edition of Dog ‘n’ Bone. It is an edited version of Propeller’s panel held at Ad Week Europe in London and features Jonathan Lewis, Head of Partnerships & Digital Innovation at Channel 4, Fiona McKinnon General Manager at The Pangaea Alliance (including CNN, Reuters, Fast Company), Guljeet Samra, Digital Commercial Operations Director at Hearst Magazines and Danny Spears, Programmatic Director at The Guardian. It is curated by Propeller founder Martin Loat.

Wallflowers at the Orgy

Four marketing trade press editors discuss how they make decisions about the stories they run, the commercial pressures they come under and the best ways a PR can pitch a story for publication in this special edition of Dog ‘n’ Bone. It is an edited version of Propeller’s panel held at Ad Week Europe in London and the panel features Russell Parsons, Editor of Marketing Week, Rachel Barnes, Editor of Campaign, Stephen Lepitak, Editor of The Drum and Seb Joseph, Brands Editor, UK at Digiday. The session is chaired by Propeller’s Director of Content Branwell Johnson.

Wilkins ‘n’ Leonard

Jon Wilkins, Chairman of Karmarama + Nils Leonard, co-founder of Uncommon London

In this episode, we hear Jon Wilkins, chairman of creative agency Karmarama, now part of Accenture Interactive, and Nils Leonard, co-founder of creative studio Uncommon London, talk about the challenges of launching a start-up agency, the possible future for agency networks and why now is the time for agencies “to create stuff”. We also hear why keeping a punk-rock sensibility is vital, when and how to fire a client and why it’s important to invest in sturdy furniture when trying to woo potential big-spending accounts.

About the guests:

Jon Wilkins is chairman of Karmarama. He joined the agency in 2014 and has been developing the Karmarama integrated offer, increasing capabilities in data and mobile and working with key clients to help them grow their business through strategy and creativity.  In December 2016 he oversaw the sale of Karmarama to Accenture Interactive.

He started his career at Granada TV in the marketing and market research department and then joined the brand-new MTV Europe before being headhunted to work for Disney in its international marketing department. His first ad agency role was at BMP where he became Head of Strategy at the tender age of 27. Next stop was the media agency, PHD, where he became Joint Managing Director of the company.

He founded Naked in 2,000, along with John Harlow and Will Collin. The agency pioneered the concept of media neutrality and Jon worked on a range of local and global clients including Coca-Cola and Unilever. Jon stayed at Naked for 13 years as it grew into an international group with offices in cities including New York, Melbourne, Sao Paolo, Paris, Singapore, Dubai and Tokyo.

 

Nils Leonard is co-founder of Uncommon London with Lucy Jameson and Natalie Graeme. The agency has now debuted its first work, created for client Ovo Energy.

Previously, as Chief Creative Officer of Grey LDN, Nils oversaw the most profitable and awarded years in the agency’s history and became one of the youngest agency chairmen in the world, leading its brands globally and locally.

In 2015 Grey LDN became the only agency in the world to win two Grand Prix at Cannes Lions and under Nils’ creative guidance Grey was named most awarded agency of the year twice in just three years at D&AD. His recent work on the Tate Britain won the Grand Prix at the Design Week awards and picked up 15 lions at the Cannes Festival of Creativity. Over the last year Nils has also led the inception and launch of the ethical capsule coffee brand Halo.

Cooper ‘n’ Thomas

Phil Thomas, CEO of Ascential Events and Chairman of Cannes Lions + Mike Cooper, CEO of PHD Worldwide

In this episode, we hear Phil and Mike talk about the challenges they face to evolve their services. Phil explains how this year’s Cannes Lions Festival of Creativity is changing to meet the call from brands and agencies for a simplified awards structure and value for money. Mike talks about the need for media agencies to stay on top of constant technological change, why the threat from consultancies is overblown and why agencies current use of data resembles teenage sex. Phil and Mike ponder the lessons learnt from signing off staff ‘car parking’ expenses and over-promising a client on the availability of 70s TV icon Denis Norden to front a campaign. Finally, we all learn if Tim Berners-Lee like to party or prefers a mug of hot cocoa.

Listen to the podcast on Soundcloud:

 

About the guests:

Phil Thomas is CEO of Ascential Events and chairman of Cannes Lions, the International Festival of Creativity. He oversees Cannes Lions, Money2020, and a diverse portfolio of award-winning international B2B events and trade exhibitions.

He began his career as a journalist, working on national and international magazines and newspapers, and editing Empire, the UK’s biggest-selling movie magazine, before moving into publishing and becoming Managing Director of FHM worldwide, launching the iconic men’s magazine in more than 30 countries. He was appointed Managing Director of Emap’s Australian and South East Asian division, based in Sydney for three years, before returning to the UK, and in November 2006 was appointed Chief Executive Officer of Lions Festivals. Philip began his current role when Ascential Events was established in August 2016. He remains CEO of Cannes Lions.

Mike Cooper is CEO of PHD Worldwide and responsible for growing the Omnicom-owned network, which today has over 80 offices in 69 countries.  Mike started working in advertising at Saatchi & Saatchi in London in 1984 before moving to Hong Kong in 1989 to work as media director. By 1993 he oversaw North Asia for Saatchi’s.

He joined Omnicom in 1997 as OMD’s first employee to set up the network in Asia-Pacific.  As CEO for OMD Asia Pacific he grew the network to 26 offices and in 2005 he launched PHD across the Asia Pacific region, leading to him being named Media Magazine’s ‘Regional Agency Head of the Year for Asia’.  Mike’s appointment to Worldwide CEO in 2007 saw him return to London, where the PHD network’s HQ is based. PHD manages clients such as VW Group, Unilever, GSK, SAP, Ferrero, Bayer, SC Johnson and Google amongst others.

Wildman ‘n’ Bruno

James Wildman, CEO, Hearst Magazine UK + Julio Bruno, CEO, Time Out Group

In this episode, we hear James and Julio discussing digital transformation for their respective content empires, diversifying and building food markets and book fairs around the world, their biggest career mistakes, where they get their inspirations from and how they share these with their respective teams and how being the CEO of a Plc compares to running a big market for a private global company… 

 

Listen to the podcast on SoundCloud:

 

About the guests:

James Wildman is CEO, Hearst Magazines UK, a position he has held since January 2017. Formerly Chief Revenue Officer at Trinity Mirror plc, James was responsible for the group’s national advertising revenue and commercial operations, transforming the company’s industry reputation and driving a turnaround performance built around digital acceleration and creativity. Previously, he was managing director and VP of sales at Yahoo UK.

Time Out Group CEO, Julio Bruno has been at the company’s helm since 2016, having initially joined as Executive Chairman in October 2015.                 He steered the company through its IPO (TMO-AIM) in June 2016, raising £90m, valuing the business at £195m. He has also been instrumental in the group’s diversification strategy, building a series of food markets in cities including London, Miami Lisbon and Berlin. Prior to Time Out Group, Julio has worked in senior commercial positions in UK, Europe and in North/Latin America at companies such as TripAdvisor, Travelport, Regus Plc., Energizer Corp and Diageo Plc.