-
6 days ago | 
thedrum.com | Richard Draycott
Retail media isn’t just having a moment; it’s shaping the future. According to Nielsen’s latest research, 74% of North American marketers plan to make retail media networks (RMNs) a bigger part of their media strategies this year, up from 64% just 12 months ago.
-
1 week ago | 
thedrum.com | Richard Draycott
At IAB NewFronts in New York, where digital-first giants typically dominate the conversation, one legendary TV name made a surprising case for the future of broadcast - Dr. Phil McGraw. His confident presentation wasn’t a nostalgia tour, but served as a dynamic advert for his Merit TV - a bold, multi-platform network that he claims will “own the debate lane,” connect with underserved audiences, and deliver real value to brands. “This is not just another presentation,” Dr. Phil assured attendees.
-
1 week ago | 
thedrum.com | Richard Draycott
In today’s media environment, brands and advertisers are contending with a host of systemic challenges - fragmented consumer attention, the decline of third-party cookies, internal pressures to prove ROI and an overwhelming number of platforms, channels and data sources.
-
1 week ago | 
thedrum.com | Richard Draycott
We’ve all been there. You’re immersed in a tense, emotional scene of a gripping TV drama – hearts racing, tears brimming – and then, without warning, an upbeat ad for cat food or car insurance snaps you out of the moment. It’s jarring, disruptive and a problem that’s becoming all too common in streaming TV advertising. The culprit? An industry overly reliant on audience data, placing ads based on who is watching, but not when or what they’re feeling in that moment.
-
1 week ago | 
thedrum.com | Richard Draycott
In a media landscape increasingly defined by complexity and huge choice, Melissa Goffe, head of brand and marketing excellence at Müller UK, is determined to keep her focus on the fundamentals: clear-headed investment, continuous brand building and an embrace of data as a strategic asset and not a byproduct.
-
2 weeks ago | 
thedrum.com | Richard Draycott
Few roles have evolved as dramatically in recent years as that of the CMO. From creative champion to data translator, today’s marketing leader straddles more responsibilities than ever before. Karen Owen, chief growth officer for Europe & Asia Pacific at Kraft Heinz, believes this expanding remit brings both opportunities and responsibilities, particularly in an age where AI, brand heritage and hard metrics are reshaping expectations of marketing leadership.
-
2 weeks ago | 
thedrum.com | Richard Draycott
As AI’s grip on the marketing discipline tightens, a new tension appears to be emerging. On one hand, brands are embracing automation and generative tools to unlock improved efficiencies, while on the other, there’s a growing unease about creativity, control and the very identity of what marketers do.
-
3 weeks ago | 
thedrum.com | Richard Draycott
At Hasbro, play and creativity are not just central to product development – they’re at the very heart of the company’s marketing philosophy. For Jessica Murphy, Hasbro’s VP of global marketing strategy and operations, and this year’s vice-president of the jury for The Drum Awards for Marketing (Americas), play represents more than just entertainment. It’s a vehicle for emotional storytelling, community-building and, ultimately, brand longevity.
-
1 month ago | 
thedrum.com | Richard Draycott
The media landscape was on the cusp of digital disruption when Kamran Asghar co-founded Crossmedia at the turn of the millennium. The dot-com bubble had just gone pop, Google was still in its (rather dull-looking) infancy and marketing services agencies were beginning to split their media from creative – a move that Asghar believed (and still does) fundamentally misunderstood how communication should work.
-
1 month ago | 
thedrum.com | Richard Draycott
Marketing services agencies are operating under an outdated economic model that is fundamentally broken, argues Michael Farmer, the renowned industry analyst and author of Madison Avenue Manslaughter. Farmer, who shared his candid views on a recent episode of the Advertising Who Cares podcast, emphasizes the urgent need for structural transformation in how agencies operate, price and measure their services. Want to go deeper?
