The Campaign Podcast

PARTNER CONTENT: The Guardian’s Imogen Fox and Initiative UK’s Sharon Dhillon join this sponsored episode of The Campaign Podcast to talk all things Gen X: who they are, what they want and why brands should pay them more attention

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In this first episode of Campaign’s new series profiling the work of in-house agency teams, multimedia editor Lucinda Rouse visits the offices of PepsiCo Europe’s Sips & Bites to meet chief creative officer Matt Watson.
Matt describes the workings of Sips & Bites, which in six years has grown from a UK-focused team of three to 37 professionals spread across Europe. He recounts some of the challenges of instilling a culture of creativity within a corporate giant.
He stresses the importance of an external lens and describes how Sips & Bites’ “No, but what if?” process provides a springboard to creative thinking.
Sign up to receive Campaign’s new In-housing newsletter.
Book your last-minute ticket to Campaign’s In-housing Summit and In-House Agency Awards on 12 November.

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Advertising awards have drawn greater scrutiny in recent years, with agencies under pressure and increased AI usage leading to falsified case studies. This year Cannes Lions introduced new rules and regulations to combat misleading entries.

In this episode, Campaign's editorial team discusses this year’s awards season, analysed in Campaign’s latest feature The Creative Score, ranking the big UK and global winners and understanding what makes award-winning work. Plus, editor Maisie McCabe digs into why one of D&AD's recent black Pencil winners raised questions.

McCabe is joined by authors of The Creative Score: Jamie Rossouw, data analyst at Campaign, and Ellie Lewis, data journalist. The episode is hosted by tech and multimedia editor Lucy Shelley.

Further listening:
Podcast: How will Cannes be different this year amid greater awards scrutiny?
Podcast: Is Cannes Lions 2025 a watershed moment for awards?

Further reading:
The Creative Score UK: Top 20 agencies
The Creative Score Global: Top 20 agencies
The Creative Score Global: Top holding companies
The Creative Score Global: Top 20 brands
The Creative Score Global: Top 20 campaigns
Cannes Lions to ban agencies that submit ‘wilfully false’ campaigns
Don’t hate the player, hate the game
How do you solve a problem like… awards

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The big three holding companies – Publicis Groupe, Omnicom and WPP – have reported their Q3 results, and each are on different journeys. WPP is working on its turnaround Elevate28 plan, Omnicom is nearing one year since its acquisition of IPG, and Publicis points to its "record new-business" run, winning accounts without a pitch.

This episode features journalists from Campaign UK and US discussing how the last three months have gone for big three, what each of the CEOs have said on their results, and the recent fight over two of the biggest media accounts, Coca-Cola and PepsiCo. As was well-reported, Publicis stole Pepsi from Omnicom, which in turn won Coca-Cola’s North America account, which WPP declined to take part in, though it retained Coca-Cola’s international business.

Emmy Liederman, managing editor at Campaign US, joins the episode to discuss her rare interview with Omnicom chief executive John Wren. Gideon Spanier, UK editor-in-chief, provides his analysis of the holding company earnings calls and Ellie Lewis, data editor Campaign UK, provides the headline figures of the results. The episode is hosted by tech and multimedia editor Lucy Shelley.

Further reading:
Podcast: Does Publicis' PepsiCo coup mean pitching is changing?
Cindy Rose criticises 'pitch-less CEO handshake' deals
Is John Wren right to say 'everybody’s replaceable'?
Arthur Sadoun on winning without pitching and why the new ‘big three’ is driving ‘profound’ change
The key charts behind WPP’s Q3 2026 results
The key charts behind Omnicom’s Q3 2026 results
The key charts behind Publicis Groupe’s Q3 2026 results
Q2 results: Is Cindy Rose’s Elevate28 plan working?

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Last week Campaign published its Power 100 for 2026, a list of the top 100 most influential marketers in the UK.

The list was accompanied with a shoot to capture the brand leaders, as well as a feature digging into where they are investing their ad spend. This episode features Campaign’s senior art director Paul Frost going behind-the-scenes of the shoot and using the idea of "quiet power" to capture the Power 100.

Campaign’s deputy editor Gemma Charles and features editor Antonia Garrett Peel also join the episode to discuss how the marketers navigating the rise in influencers and balancing it with traditional media.

The episode is hosted by tech and multimedia editor Lucy Shelley.

Further reading:
Campaign Power 100 2026: the full list
Power 100 2026: the age of influence
Campaign Power 100 2026: Hall of Fame line-up

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