Uncensored CMO

Jon Evans

The Uncensored CMO was created to explore the good, the bad and quite frankly downright ugly truth about marketing theory & practice.

  1. 11 HR AGO

    Rory Sutherland & Rawdon Glover - How Jaguar pulled off a design & engineering miracle

    Last year, I sat down with Jaguar MD Rawdon Glover to unpack one of the most controversial rebrands in automotive history. Now, the car is real and I got a chance to ride around the test track in it. Joined by Rory Sutherland, we travelled to Jaguar’s HQ to experience the new car in prototype form. What followed was a conversation on whether this radical reinvention is genius or madness. We dive into the thinking behind the design, the disappearing trade-offs between performance and comfort, and why Jaguar is deliberately challenging convention. Rory brings his trademark perspective on behaviour and perception, including how to rethink “range anxiety” and what makes a product feel truly desirable. This is a rare look inside a brand attempting one of the boldest transformations in modern automotive history. Timestamps 00:00 - Start01:10 - What has gone into creating the new Jaguar?04:00 - Balancing performance and comfort05:43 - The power of choosing conflicting goals07:51 - Why the new Jaguar is being tested on ice?10:32 - How close is the concept car to the production car?12:54 - Who is the target audience for the new Jaguar?14:30 - The design process of the new Jaguar18:41 - The Spirit of Jaguar Campaign20:46 - Why the metrics for electric cars need to change22:13 - Why the new Jaguar is a bargain at £130,00025:34 - Will petrolheads like this car?26:37 - Why electrification changes the paradigm of what’s possible30:47 - Rory’s pitch for removing battery anxiety33:08 - Why Ferrari and Lamborghini took different approaches to EVs35:21 - Will the new Jaguar be a Waymo?36:27 - How are Jaguar predicting demand for this car?36:41 - How will Jaguar predict demand for the car?37:57 - The marketing plan for the new Jaguar40:57 - Is the residual value of electric cars a worry?42:12 - Customisation options for the new Jaguar46:03 - What would Rory do if he was in charge of Jaguar49:26 - The decision behind the bold car colours

    56 min
  2. 25 MAR

    How Zwift created a global fitness unicorn - Steve Beckett

    It’s not often you meet a CMO who helped build a unicorn from the ground up while creating an entirely new category. Steve Beckett, CMO of Zwift, joined as employee number five and played a key role in turning Zwift into the global sporting powerhouse it now is. In this episode, Steve shares how Zwift balanced performance marketing with brand building, deeply understanding the acquisition metrics while making bold brand bets, including becoming the founding sponsor of the Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift. We also explore how the business scaled through COVID, the bold move to launch their own hardware, and the role brand played in raising capital. This is a conversation about what it really takes to build a category-defining company and why the best CMOs understand both the metrics and the magic. Sign up to our live event, The Calling, on April 21st here:https://event.uncensoredcmo.com/events/uncensoredcmo/2044861 Subscribe 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=f181c3a0e9af480c Timestamps 00:00 - Start02:51 - Steve’s work with team Sky05:05 - Learning about success inside Team Sky07:09 - From Sky to employee number 5 at Zwift08:36 - How Zwift invented the indoor training category13:37 - The behavioural science behind Zwift14:51 - Has anyone turned pro from riding on Zwift?17:18 - How Covid impacted Zwift23:11 - Growing at all costs vs profitability27:28 - Whats it like working for a founder led startup29:50 - How brand helped Zwift raise money32:06 - From selling software to selling hardware34:14 - Why Zwift sponsor the women’s Tour De France38:09 - Advice on how to create a unicorn business

    48 min
  3. 18 MAR

    How Gymshark took on the sportswear giants - Carly Natalizia

    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/2044861 Subscribe 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=f181c3a0e9af480c Timstamps 00:00 - 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

    38 min
  4. 11 MAR

    Canva CMO on the marketing strategies that built Australia’s largest private company - Zach Kitschke

    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/2044861 Subscribe 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=f181c3a0e9af480c Timestamps 00:00 - 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?

    41 min

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The Uncensored CMO was created to explore the good, the bad and quite frankly downright ugly truth about marketing theory & practice.

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