The Big Impression

The Current
  • 4.9 (24)
  • MARKETING
  • UPDATED WEEKLY

The Big Impression returns for another season of insights and inspiration from leaders at the world’s most influential brands. Editors and co-hosts Damian Fowler and Ilyse Liffreing will look to uncover candid stories on game-changing campaigns from some of the world's biggest brands — including wins, losses, and lessons. New episodes are released every Wednesday.

  1. Albertsons’ Brian Monahan on turning shopper data into retail media gold

    12/17/2025

    Albertsons’ Brian Monahan on turning shopper data into retail media gold

    In conversation with The Big Impression, Brian Monahan, SVP of retail media at Albertsons Media Collective, explores how shopper insights, creative storytelling and omnichannel strategies intersect. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

    30 min
  2. Mitsubishi’s Kimberly Ito on how a challenger brand punches above its weight

    12/10/2025

    Mitsubishi’s Kimberly Ito on how a challenger brand punches above its weight

    CMO Kimberly Ito shares how Mitsubishi, a challenger brand, drives big impact through audience insight, digital precision and a redefined spirit of adventure. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

    20 min
  3. Kate Wik, the CMO of Las Vegas, on marketing an iconic city

    12/03/2025

    Kate Wik, the CMO of Las Vegas, on marketing an iconic city

    Discover how Kate Wik, CMO of Las Vegas, drives bold innovation and storytelling to transform the city into a global destination brand.   Episode Transcript Please note, this transcript  may contain minor inconsistencies compared to the episode audio.   Damian Fowler (00:00): I'm Damian Fowler. Ilyse Liffreing (00:01): And I'm Ilyse Liffreing. Damian Fowler (00:02): And welcome to this edition of The Big Impression. Ilyse Liffreing (00:09): Today we're joined by Kate Wik, chief Marketing Officer at the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority. The team behind the city's newest brand campaign, which launched in September, Damian Fowler (00:20): Las Vegas, is known around the world for its energy, its entertainment, and its edge. But this ladies' campaign takes a closer look at what the city means today beyond the casinos and into its growing identity as a cultural and sports destination. Ilyse Liffreing (00:34): We'll talk with Kate about the ideas behind the campaign, how Vegas is connecting with new audiences, and what it takes to evolve one of the most recognizable brands in the world. Q, Damian Fowler (00:45): Frank Sinatra. It's okay. You have an unusual role in that you represent a city as an iconic one, but could you tell us about the role? Kate Wik (00:56): That's exactly right. So I work for the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority. Nobody knows what that is or what that means. So really, I shorthand it and I say I am the CMO of four Las Vegas. Las Vegas is my product, which is very unique. It is a city, it's a destination. It's unbelievably dynamic. And what's so unique and thrilling for a CMO of Las Vegas is that our product is always changing, always evolving. If you think back, we were known as the gaming destination. We've evolved into, we're the number one hospitality destination in the US with more hotel rooms than any other destination. And we are the entertainment capital of the world. You've got the world's best artists coming and performing on stages across destination every single night. And we've worked really hard to evolve ourselves into the sports destination as well through a lot of recent things. So really the exciting thing for me in this role is no one day is ever the same. Our product is constantly iterating and evolving, and that is a marketer's dream come true. Damian Fowler (02:10): Just on that point about the evolution of the city and the perception of it, how fast has that happened in the last, say, five, 10 years? Kate Wik (02:20): Yeah, absolutely. Incredibly fast. And so today we are known as the sports and entertainment capital of the world, but less than 10 years ago, we did not have any sports teams. Yes, sports has kind of always been in our DNA. We'd host major boxing matches in the eighties, NFR we've had for decades. NBA, we hosted their in-season tournament, NBA Summer League, but really it was through infrastructure development that really led to the explosion of sports today. So what I mean by that is we had T-Mobile Arena, which was a joint venture between MGM resorts and a EG that enabled NHL to come to town with the Vegas Golden Knights in 20 17, 20 18, we purchased the WNBA team, which we renamed the Las Vegas ACEs. And so now we've got A-W-N-B-A team. And then in 2020, of course with Allegiant Stadium, we welcome the Raiders. And so now we've got the Las Vegas Raiders, and we are, so actually in four years, we went from having zero professional sports teams to having three, and we're actively working to bring our fourth to town, which is the major league baseball. We're welcoming the Las Vegas a, Damian Fowler (03:34): Not to mention Formula One. Kate Wik (03:36): Yes, exactly. And Formula One now an annual event on our calendar. So it's a lot. It's a lot. And it creates new reasons to come to Las Vegas for our visitors. And what we found through research actually, is that the sports traveler, number one, we know sports tourism has just exploded the sports traveler. Through our research, we found that it creates a new reason to come to Las Vegas for those that haven't been here before. It creates a reason to explore the destination, see it, consider it, and then ultimately come. And then most importantly, we find that they spend more money than the average leisure traveler. So it's a really rich new audience for Las Vegas. And F1 has definitely exploded that for us too. Ilyse Liffreing (04:24): Do you know by just how much more do they spend? Kate Wik (04:27): It's usually anywhere from 500 to 800 more per trip. Ilyse Liffreing (04:31): Wow, that's a lot. And the rest on gambling, Kate Wik (04:36): Anything Ilyse Liffreing (04:36): Extra? It's Kate Wik (04:37): Funny. Gambling hasn't been, revenue from gaming hasn't been the primary source of how consumers are spending their budget while they're in town. Hasn't been that for over a decade. Ilyse Liffreing (04:51): And Kate Wik (04:51): I think it speaks to the diversification of the experience in Las Vegas. And when I say we're the entertainment capital of the world, we absolutely are. People come here to see shows, to see comedians, to experience not just like a touring show, but unbelievable residencies where our property resorts will build these amazing theaters where Lady Gaga performs, Bruno Mars performs, Adele performs, they'll create these residencies, which is unlike nowhere else in the US or world. Damian Fowler (05:26): I mean, I've been aware of that. I mean, obviously it goes right back to the Rat Pack, but more recently, like Sting had a residency there. I've been aware, I Kate Wik (05:34): Just saw Backstreet Boys at the Spear, which was probably mind blowing, which was mind blowing. That's a whole nother level to the entertainment experience where it's just completely immersive that has changed the game for live music. Damian Fowler (05:48): The perception of Vegas has changed or is changing, and maybe that teases up to talk a little bit now about the new brand campaign and why this is the right moment to do it. Kate Wik (06:00): Yeah, absolutely. So we just launched a new campaign September of this year, so just a couple of weeks ago really. And the intent behind it is this notion that there are so many different reasons to come to Vegas, but there are also so many different vacation options. What we wanted to do was break through the noise and make sure that people understood that Vegas is the ultimate destination regardless of the experience you're looking for. We have it all, the breadth and depth that exists within our destination iss, it's uncomparable to any other destination. So we needed to get out there and get that message out there in big form. And why now what we found was through a lack of big brand messaging over the summer, we actually took a hit with a lot of negative headlines. And so we needed to get in front of that. And I think one of the big takeaways for marketers out there is that if you're not actively talking about your brand day in and day out, you create room for others to create their own narrative. And so after we launched the campaign, it's been about a month in market, we've seen a lot of that negativity drop because now everybody's covering, oh, here's the new elements, here are the new promotions they're doing, here are the new experiences that you can find. So it's really about driving the narrative that you want for your brand. Ilyse Liffreing (07:29): Very cool. And could you tell us a little bit about the campaign itself, maybe the creative, and then what channels are you leaning into? Kate Wik (07:36): Yeah, absolutely. In looking at how we were going to develop the work around this new brand campaign, what we wanted first and foremost was to be really authentic about Las Vegas and be very unique to a message that only Las Vegas can deliver. And so we took inspiration from our iconic welcome to Fabulous Las Vegas sign. So it's the sign that exists literally on Las Vegas Boulevard as you drive into town. And that sign, it's 65 years old today, but it is more iconic. And the awareness on that is it puts it as one of the highest elements assets within our portfolio. So you think Las Vegas, you think of Bellagio, you think of Wynn, even Luxor or all these amazing resorts. When we show that sign, the amount of awareness of what that is and where it is and what it's for just exceeds every other asset that we have out there. So we took inspiration from that. We took the neon, the lights, the really, the notion of setting the example of fabulous Las Vegas. That's the experience that our visitors can come to expect when they come to Las Vegas. So it truly has been our brand promise for over 65 years. So that's the inspiration behind the campaign. Damian Fowler (08:57): Yeah, I can see that sign now. Ilyse Liffreing (08:59): Yes, Kate Wik (08:59): That's right. Ilyse Liffreing (09:00): Yeah, that's right. Do you have a sense of the audience that you're trying to reach and through, I guess, which channels are you trying to reach them? Kate Wik (09:10): Yeah, so we have a really diverse audience set, which is very unique for a marketer, which usually has a single product or they've got a very specific audience for that product. Vegas is really the 21 and older adult playground. And so if you look at just an average audience, it's like a 45-year-old split, 50 50 male, female, et cetera. But what we offer is an unbelievable unbeatable experience at every single price point. So we absolutely cater to that high-end luxury market, that luxury traveler, all the way down to the entry level budget conscious traveler. And so we've got products from a circus circus all the way up to a win Las Vegas. And so for us, our audience is very broad, but generally it's adult travelers, people that have traveled in the past year looking to travel again, Ilyse Liffreing (10:11): We just had Marriott on the podcast and we were talking about how more travelers now are sin

    29 min
  4. Formula 1’s Emily Prazer on revving up American enthusiasm through an ‘always-on dynamic’

    11/19/2025

    Formula 1’s Emily Prazer on revving up American enthusiasm through an ‘always-on dynamic’

    Formula 1 Chief Commercial Officer Emily Prazer joins The Big Impression to accelerate the motorsport’s hold on Americans with year-round content and venue in Las Vegas.   Episode Transcript Please note, this transcript  may contain minor inconsistencies compared to the episode audio. Damian Fowler (00:00): I'm Damian Fowler. Ilyse Liffreing (00:01): And I'm Ilyse Liffreing Damian Fowler (00:02): And welcome to this edition of The Big Impression. Ilyse Liffreing (00:09): Today we're joined by Emily Prazer, president and CEO of the Las Vegas Grand Prix and the Chief Commercial Officer of Formula One. She's helping transform F1 into one of the fastest growing sports brands in the world, leading strategy partnerships and fan engagement across markets from Miami to Melbourne. Damian Fowler (00:30): Emily's here to talk about the road to the last Vegas Grand Prix on November the 22nd. Now, in its third year, the Vegas Grand Prix turns the strip into a global stage where sport, entertainment and culture collide under the neon lights. Ilyse Liffreing (00:46): I love that. From the 100 day countdown events to new sponsorship models and digital fan experiences, formula One is redefining what a modern sports brand can look like, especially in the U.S. market. Damian Fowler (01:02): In past years, the marketing around Las Vegas, the Grand Prix has felt like a crescendo building over several months. What's been your strategy this year as you build, it's the third year, right? As you build towards those? Emily Prazer (01:14): Yeah, this third year, so I think the difference this year is we've had two years of a foundation to figure out what works and what doesn't work, but equally we've had our building open all year, so prior, well the first year we're obviously building the building for those that dunno, it's called Grand Prix Plaza. It's the length of three NFL fields, so it's not small. It's designed and built to service the Formula One Paddock Club, which is the most high-end hospitality that we offer in Formula One. Underneath that is where the garages are and where the teams hang out, so it's quite a significant building. When we first moved to Vegas, we purchased the 39 acres of land and have invested around $500 million in this infrastructure and so the difference I think is obviously the first year we were building it, the second year we were getting to grips with owning such a significant property in Las Vegas and then moving into the third year of the event, the building's been open all year and we built something called F1 Drive, which is carting. (02:10): We've had a restaurant up there called Fool and Fork, which is Formula One, themed food and beverage as you'd expect. We built an immersive Formula one experience called F1 X and so the marketing's ramped up, but that's because locally we've been able to activate since the day after the race last year all the way through to this year, and obviously how we market is very different depending on what we're trying to do, whether it's selling tickets or whether it's driving foot traffic to the building. It's all the awareness that we need in Las Vegas to continue to grow our fan base. Damian Fowler (02:41): The a hundred day countdown, that's important, Emily Prazer (02:43): Right? That was a big one. We always go big around a hundred days. We did a strip takeover, we made sure people understood that it was a hundred days ago. We did similar for 50 days, so we use those milestones to make sure, obviously Vegas is somewhat a last minute market. Some Grand Prix go on sale and sell out in 90 minutes. We see the most amount of activity from a hundred days through to November. Damian Fowler (03:04): That's very interesting. How do you decide which moments where you target your marketing strategy in that a hundred day buildup? Emily Prazer (03:12): Oh, well, we're very fortunate that the racing continues For those, again, that aren't familiar, formula One is a 24 race calendar, which spans globally, so we typically go big around the big races as you'd expect. We've just come out of Singapore where hopefully people have seen that McLaren won the Constructors Championship. We'll go big again around Austin and Mexico. They're both feeder markets to the Las Vegas Grand Prix and we'll just continue to make sure we've got major announcements, whether it be food and beverage merchandise programming all the way through between now and race day. Ilyse Liffreing (03:42): Now, can you also talk a little bit about the F1 business summits because you're also launching that during race week? Sure. How intentional is the idea of making Vegas not just a race, but a business and cultural destination? Emily Prazer (03:56): Sure. Well, if you look at what Vegas do around other major sports, it's not that we're trying to reinvent the wheel, we're taking learnings from how well the NFL have operated there with the Super Bowl, even around WWE where you see them extend from a one or two day event through to a whole week. We are very fortunate that again, for those that dunno, formula One kicks off on Thursday with free practice, we have qualifying on Friday and then on Saturday is the race. And so we are lucky that we actually have really good opportunity for shoulder programming and so it was a lot of requests coming through from multiple stakeholders saying we'd love to get the ecosystem together and talk about how we've shifted Formula One culturally into something very different. Obviously it's a sport first and foremost, but I think everyone's now seeing the change into more of a lifestyle brand and a proposition around how we're executing with some partners, which I'm sure we'll get to, but I think a lot of it has been around how we kind of talk about that strategy and how we've grown the sport over the last five years. (04:54): So it was very intentional, it's had really great uptake and as you'll see as we get closer to the race, we'll start talking about what we're doing kind of Tuesday, Wednesday all the way through. Damian Fowler (05:04): It was interesting you brought up the mention of partners and the fact that Formula One now transcends the racetrack and I for one say follow some Formula One drivers on Instagram. How do you play into that whole notion now that Formula One is this lifestyle brand and what does that mean when it comes to partnerships? Emily Prazer (05:26): Well, we've been really fortunate that we've, formula One was bought by Liberty Media in 2017 and the handcuffs were taken off per se, where social media was something that didn't really exist in the sport prior to that and the drivers have done a great job and the teams have done a great job of giving us access collectively to the drivers. They're all a lot younger than they have been before, so we've been fortunate enough to help them build their profiles through social, but obviously the pivot came with Drive to Survive. Everyone knows that that was a big leap of faith that Formula One took to be able to give behind the scenes access. It's a complicated sport that had traditionally been kept to a different type of club and we've opened up those floodgates and obviously we're reaping the rewards of that at the moment. (06:10): It hasn't been easy, but ultimately when you have the likes of Netflix wanting to display what we do, hopefully everyone's seen the Formula One movie with Brad Pitt, which is now I think the highest grossing sporting movie of all time and Brad Pitt's highest grossing movie of all time. So that again, is a great explainer if you take that concept, the strategy around all of it has to create this always on dynamic, which isn't just about the 24 race weekends, it's about how to have brand extension through partnerships 24 7, 365 days a year that's come to life through our licensing business, which I can get to and also our sponsorship business, that the thought process was we want to sign less B2B organizations more consumer brands, not because we don't appreciate, we are always going to have a B2B element Formula One lives in that space, especially on the technical side of the sport, but as it talks about how we penetrate the fan base, how we acquire new fans and how we talk to fans differently. (07:06): One of the big pieces of it was, well, how do we show up in every shopping mall, not just in North America, but globally and using the likes of Lego? You would've seen our recent announcement with Tag Hoya. You now go to these shopping malls and you see these different brands actually activating and taking some learnings from how the US sports do it, where everywhere you go you can buy a t-shirt. I think one of my proudest moments was being at the Super Bowl last year in New Orleans and seeing people in the parade wearing Formula one T-shirts. (07:32): I was like, that shows that the strategy is working. In addition to we acknowledge that pricing of Grand Prix is expensive, they're also places you typically have to travel to, and so brand extension through license partners has been really important. We have something called F1 Drive, which we'll be rolling out, which is the carting proposition I mentioned in Vegas we have F1 arcade, which is now opening up and popping up all over North America. We have F1 exhibition, which is a tribute to the history of the sport and we'll keep growing as we want to keep penetrating and explaining to those fans Ilyse Liffreing (08:07): Fans. That is really interesting hearing you describe just how different the strategy here is in the US too because F1 is such a global brand. How do you I guess, keep the brand though true to its global roots at the same time as also making it feel like America's race? Emily Prazer (08:25): Definitely not trying to make it feel like America's race. I think taking the learnings of how to speak to the audience we've acquired wherever we go, the benefit of being a global sport is we're global, but in each of those des

    26 min
  5. Peggy Roe on redefining the travel journey — from loyalty to living a life well-traveled

    11/12/2025

    Peggy Roe on redefining the travel journey — from loyalty to living a life well-traveled

    Discover how Marriott International is transforming travel through personalization, commerce media and its new Media Network. EVP Peggy Roe shares insights on helping guests live a life well-traveled. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

    26 min
  6. Godiva’s Ahad Afridi on marketing chocolate as an everyday indulgence

    10/29/2025

    Godiva’s Ahad Afridi on marketing chocolate as an everyday indulgence

    Ahad Afridi, CMO for the Americas at Pladis, owner of Godiva, shares how the legacy chocolate house’s “hundred-year reboot” is reshaping the brand for a new generation of snackers, particularly millennials and Gen Zers.   Episode Transcript Please note, this transcript  may contain minor inconsistencies compared to the episode audio.   Damian Fowler (00:00): I'm Damian Fowler. Ilyse Liffreing (00:01): And I'm Ilyse Liffreing, Damian Fowler (00:02): And welcome to this edition of The Big Impression. Ilyse Liffreing (00:09): Today we're joined by Ahad Afridi Chief Marketing Officer for the Americas at Pladis, the company behind the Godiva brand, those premium chocolates we all live. Damian Fowler (00:20): We're diving into Godiva's bold new campaign, featuring Leighton Meester portraying the legendary lady, good diver, a modern spin on an iconic story of courage and individuality. Ilyse Liffreing (00:31): We'll talk about how the brand is trying to stand out ahead of the holiday season and how Pladis is evolving its brands for the next generation of snackers. Ahad Afridi (00:40): Let's get into it. It's a comprehensive launch. It's a launch of a new product within the Godiva range called Masterpiece, but it's also the start of a brand reset. And so part of this has an eye towards the now of launching this new product that's great, but also towards activities that are going to happen over the next one year. Godiva turns 100 next year, and so what we wanted to accomplish was the first big step in this centennial, what we call re-imagining of the Godiva brand. Speaker 2 (01:17): Yeah, that's a legacy brand for sure. Speaker 3 (01:18): And happy birthday as well. Speaker 2 (01:20): Thank you Speaker 3 (01:20): A hundred years. Thank you. Thank you to Godiva. On behalf of Godiva, I'd say thank you. Speaker 1 (01:26): Yeah. In that hundred, how would you define what Godiva stands for as a legacy brand over that century? Speaker 3 (01:34): Godiva is a premium chocolate brand. It's been called a luxury chocolate brand, but we prefer to call it premium because it makes it more accessible, which we can talk about a little bit more. It's a Belgian heritage brand. Belgian chocolates are different than the normal.  Speaker 2 (01:51): That’s good, in my opinion, Speaker 3 (01:53): Different than the normal chocolate milk-based chocolate, but it's just great tasting, high quality chocolate that you feel great giving to others as a gift and having for yourself as well. Speaker 1 (02:08): So just to ask you about this specific campaign, what made you wanted to bring that legacy as it were up to date? Is that the right way of putting it into today's culture through this campaign? Speaker 3 (02:18): Yeah, in a way. Let's say it's a hundred year reboot because turning a hundred, you have to celebrate your heritage, but reposition for the future. So it's about getting contemporary, bringing some of those traditional values and equities of the brand, but modernizing them for today and starting this, what we call re-imagining with totally new offerings coming over the next one to two years. We've started with what we call Masterpiece, and Masterpiece is a small chocolate piece that comes in a bag with multiple pieces in there, and it's great for sharing with others or treating yourself. So this is the first step. We've just launched this now it's in the market. In the next few weeks you'll see a totally reimagined what we call gold box and truffle box, which is high-end premium chocolate in specialty stores and on the giva.com website where we've totally revamped chocolate and got new offerings in that. So that's coming over the holiday period, Valentine's Day, there'll be another new collection coming next fall. Towards the end of the next year, we'll have some more gifting chocolates available that will be broadly available. And that's the start. And then after that, in the year 2027, we've got other exciting things coming in. So it's a sequenced campaign.  Speaker 2 (03:47): Good timing for the holiday season, I'm sure. Speaker 3 (03:50): Exactly, exactly. Holiday seasons are important for us. Every day is important for us, but the holiday seasons are very important for us. Yes. Speaker 2 (03:58): Can you describe a little bit of the campaign itself and what viewers might see and experience as they witness the campaign? Speaker 3 (04:06): Yeah, I guess the first thing you'll see is a wonderful cinematic traditional sort of advertising, which has got some drama in it. It's got wonderful aesthetic, but at its heart it's a product centered ad and the product is celebrated in there, the taste of that. So that's let's say the hero piece or the centerpiece. But in addition, what you'll see is a lot of social content in different variations. You'll see different versions in digital tv. You'll see a billboard coming later, so some nice still art coming there. Now what's unique about this is we didn't look at it as just a specific campaign and a point of time. We look at this as a one year program where we're relaunching the brand. So you'll see Layton Meer again in the holiday periods, Valentine's period and throughout next year. Why Speaker 1 (05:03): Leighton Meester? I mean, I know Ilyse is a fan. Speaker 2 (05:06): Oh yeah. I mean Gossip Girl lover obviously. Speaker 3 (05:10): Well, she's a great representation of some of the values of Lady Godiva and Lady Godiv was the, let's say the initial inspiration for the brand. It's obviously called Godiva. So she, lady Godiva played a big role in the identity of the brand. But Leighton Meester is someone that we respect a lot. She's very popular, she's highly likable, she's multifaceted, great actor, musician person who has her own specific identity, and we think that's a great person to partner with in this Speaker 2 (05:52): Now premium chocolate, that space is a pretty packed one. How does this campaign really help the brand stand out, especially as we head into those important holiday seasons? Speaker 3 (06:04): Yeah, so premium chocolate is a growing segment within overall chocolate. So certainly chocolate's a very broad area, so many different offerings, and premium is a very important segment within that. And there are different offerings within premium. We like to consider Godiva as the high end of the premium segment. And there's something special. It's like in a category full of square shapes and round shapes, Speaker 4 (06:32): You've Speaker 3 (06:33): Got Godiva coming in with something totally different. And if you see the Masterpiece product, you'll see it's a very unique sort of shape there. So we pride ourselves in being kind of the premium of the premium but being accessible. And it's our goal to provide unique offerings that really tastes great and are cut above the rest of premium, but yet at let's say a fingertip away from desire. Speaker 1 (07:04): When you say relaunch, what does that mean? Does it mean like you're trying to reach new audiences, new consumers? How are you thinking about the people you're trying to reach? And I guess that does tie in with getting a celebrity like Leighton Meester. Speaker 3 (07:21): Yeah, it's important for us to connect with a broader range of consumers, younger consumers. So we're trying to get millennials and Gen Zs now, which the brand hadn't really targeted before and over a hundred year period you will have a core cohort which will age over time, and we're making a purposeful effort to try and reach a broader audience. Now contemporize the brand and our activities around doing that, Speaker 2 (07:53): Does that also have to do with perhaps the decision to call it premium chocolate versus luxury chocolate or what is that thinking? Speaker 3 (08:02): Well, the category is divine is premium chocolate, but people say good dive is a luxury brand and sometimes people talk about chocolate as being luxury. I don't think chocolate should be luxury. Chocolate should be accessible as well. And so it's really around that. It's not a conscious big effort saying, Hey, call us premium. Don't call us luxury. Speaker 3 (08:23): You can call us what you want, but it's just great tasting chocolate that is accessible. And our key point is luxury is often reserved for special occasions or milestones and that's certainly fine, but could dive a chocolate is also accessible every day. A little bit of happiness and a little smile is an everyday treat that we all have a right to. Speaker 1 (08:50): My wife reminds me of that every day. She says, should we have a chocolate? Now she's a millennium. She'll be very happy if I give her a Godiva chocolate. Well, we have them here for you to try. Okay, well we will just pause the podcast. Speaker 1 (09:07): We right back anyway. So just to talk about PLAs. So good diver is one of the brands within Pladis and which has a big portfolio of snacking. I just want to talk a bit more about the consumer you're trying to reach. What kind of insights have really shaped how you think about this new strategy? Speaker 3 (09:30): Chocolate plays a meaningful role in people's everyday lives. It's not something that's only reserved for special occasions once or twice a year. And so what we see is that people need, if you look at what we call a demand space map of consumers needs and occasions during the day, there are many opportunities in there for us to provide little bits of happiness, little bits of indulgence, a treat for yourself that is accessible and that's important for us. That's an important insight. The second is that chocolate is more than a product, but it may provide an emotional benefit. It might make you feel good, it might help you connect with others. It might be a reboot for the rest of the day, three o'clock, little piece of chocolate it with a coffee or a cup of tea or something like that is fantastic. So we've mapped consumer occasions to see that that's important. So those are really two v

    21 min
  7. The Guardian’s Sara Badler on promoting journalism that’s “global, independent and free”

    10/22/2025

    The Guardian’s Sara Badler on promoting journalism that’s “global, independent and free”

    In late September, The Guardian launched its first major U.S. marketing campaign, featuring the tagline “the whole picture.” It’s a bold statement of intent from the 204-year-old news organization aimed squarely at American audiences, which highlights The Guardian’s brand of free, independent journalism. In this episode of The Big Impression, our hosts catch up with Sara Badler, chief advertising officer in North America for The Guardian U.S., to explore the vision behind the campaign, as well as some early takeaways since launch.   Episode Transcript Please note, this transcript  may contain minor inconsistencies compared to the episode audio.   Damian Fowler (00:00): I'm Damian Fowler. Ilyse Liffreing (00:01): And I'm Ilyse Liffreing. Damian Fowler (00:02): And welcome to this edition of The Big Impression. Ilyse Liffreing (00:08): Today we're joined by Sara Badler, the chief advertising Officer of The Guardian U.S. She's leading the charge behind the Guardian's first major US brand campaign called The Whole Picture, a bold effort to reintroduce one of the world's most trusted news organizations to American audiences. Damian Fowler (00:29): It's an ambitious moment for The Guardian with plans to expand coverage in New York and DC launch new US podcasts and connect with readers in fresh ways. The campaign is signaling a big step forward for the brand and for quality journalism in the digital age. Ilyse Liffreing (00:44): From that striking yellow billboard in Midtown Manhattan to new approaches in digital marketing and audience engagement, the Guardian is proving that serious journalism can still make a splash and drive real impact. Damian Fowler (00:58): Let's get into it. Sara Badler (01:01): The whole picture is really, it's The Guardian saying, which I think now is more important time than ever, is this idea that we are completely global perspective, we are independent and we have no paywall. Everyone can read us and we are focused and dedicated to journalism. And the whole picture really shows dedicated in every sort of way of telling the facts whether that is culturally, artistically with the World Cup coming upon us. And obviously The Guardian is a massive, one of the biggest soccer ducks in the world, if not the biggest, and really showing up in different ways the whole picture. And so I'm probably talking too much about this, but you see us on the subway, we did a live activation last week in the Meatpacking District and it's just really showing who we are and what we represent. Damian Fowler (01:59): Yeah, it is interesting. It's one of those things like the 1111 thing when you think about it and you notice it. Once I saw the campaign launch, then I saw it on the New York subway and it was everywhere. But I'd read that the editor of the Guardian, Catherine ER had said that this is the perfect time to reintroduce the Guardian to US audiences. And I know it's had great traction in the country for a while. Why is that? Why do you think it is the perfect time, especially in New York and metropolitan cities, why is it the right time? Sara Badler (02:34): I think now more than ever, we really want alternative news sources. And I say that mean the Guardian's been around for 200 years. We are not new by any means, but we are new-ish and more of a teenager here in the US and we have tons of obviously news outlets and a lot of them are owned and operated by billionaires. And there's all different things that are happening to them. There's consolidation, there's putting up more paywalls. And I think now more than ever, having something free and a truly global perspective is unique and something that we have. Ilyse Liffreing (03:11): And the campaign itself has such a striking centerpiece, the creative looking at it, it's bright yellow, there's words that are hidden. I'm curious if you can describe a little bit about that creative choice developed with Lucky Generals and can you walk us through basically the idea behind that concept? Sara Badler (03:32): It was not easy. I would say that it took our marketing and cross organizational functions a long time to come up with this with Lucky Generals to credit to them. They've been amazing and they've worked with us in the UK and now in the US and we also work with PhD as an agency, which also has been amazing. And it just took time of evolving of what our real story is and what we want people to get out of it. And I think the global perspective, free independent journalism that's factual with integrity and talking about culture in these key moments is really what we wanted people to understand. And here, Ilyse Liffreing (04:14): Yeah, looking at the media strategy a little bit, what was the plan for go to market and for reaching those target audiences? Sara Badler (04:24): And I think this is with every marketing campaign. I was actually on talking yesterday on a panel and saying there's no more, my marketing campaign is like a media plan. You've got a podcast, you've got activations, you've got events. So I think one thing to really think about or that we've thought about is how do we consistently beat a drum? And people recognize it throughout, not just one moment, but multiple moments throughout their day, whether it's on the subway through the activation and events. So that's something that we really focused on and I think we're doing that and we're continuing to do that, which I'm very excited about. We've done a few things. We did a fashion collaboration with Lingua Franca with the sweaters that we're really excited in the West Village going there after this and we're having a party tomorrow evening there. And then other things like we are going to be kicking off a residency at the net, which is super exciting with our editors. And so I think keeping the drum beat and showing up at these places is part of what we want to show. We truly are the whole picture. Damian Fowler (05:27): Before we get to the sort of channels you use, I just wanted to ask you about that event planning around media campaigns. Why is that an important part and piece of a marketing strategy these days? The idea of the building community around events? Sara Badler (05:44): Well, I think there's a couple things to that. I think obviously we're still coming out of COVID in the sense that people want to go out, people want events. I also think the cultural moments are just so important and especially for brands like ourselves who, for example, the soccer World Cup coming, which is every four years. This is a huge moment for us. And so I think planning around that and the sense of community I think is important in everything we do. Even here at Advertising Week, there's a sense of community. We live and breathe kind of the same sort of things in day in and day out. Exactly. So I feel like that's kind of something that we're trying to build and I think that if you feel a part of it, it's just so much stronger. Ilyse Liffreing (06:32): Speaking of the World Cup, can you say anything more about your plans there? Sara Badler (06:37): Yes. I mean, as I mentioned, we're one of the largest global soccer desks. We have a football weekly podcast that has been in the UK forever. I actually went to their event a few weeks ago in London and it was truly, when you talk about those cultural moments, it was one of those things that I've kind of heard about it. My husband's British and a huge football fan and listens to the podcast, but I never really understood the true fans was the strike on the tubes were happening of course while I was there. Just lucky, always, always. And then of course it's pouring down rain on and off when you think it's going to be beautiful and there's still fans from all over the world coming and it's not just for one team, it's for every team and for every. And so it's just like that is kind of the cultural moment. And so seeing that we're going to be launching that here in North America, which is super exciting. Damian Fowler (07:35): It's interesting. In the UK there's a very distinct sense of who reads the Guardian. I'm a guardian reader, I admit. And actually it was a Guardian contributor as well for a few years. But in the US do you have a strong sense of the Guardian readership? Is that galvanizing? Is that kind of coming together? Sara Badler (07:54): Yeah, I mean I think to your point of what was your media plan, and I am sure we had a podcast on with Vox that we did there and I think that we're still trying to figure it out, I would say because we don't have a paywall. We really think, and I truly do believe that everyone can be as a guardian audience at one point. We do tend to have different skews of older people that have identified in the past with The Guardian, things like that. But we're also starting to create, I think a buzz in younger generations and being out here and being on the subways and having these activations and the World Cup and other things happening. We're launching other podcasts and newsletters and things like that. We're really starting to grow audience across the board. Ilyse Liffreing (08:45): Are there any other channels that you're experimenting with? Sara Badler (08:49): Everything? We are launching video, podcast newsletters. I'm just thinking events like I mentioned the NED residency, which will kick off October 14th I want to say. So we're kind of trying to do everything. I think that's another thing as we evolve as publishers is that's just something that's kind of happening and we're really excited to be doing it. Damian Fowler (09:15): And I guess maybe touching on the programmatic strategy on the side of things, how has that grown as it were since you've taken this role? Sara Badler (09:27): Definitely. I am sure it was in the press. We were in the press with the trade desk as we launched the trade desk, which was kind of ironic obviously because I think we were, when I was at DOD Dash Meredith, we were the first publi

    25 min
  8. Michael Rubenstein on Building Firsthand, AI, and the Future of Ad Tech

    10/15/2025

    Michael Rubenstein on Building Firsthand, AI, and the Future of Ad Tech

    Mike O’Sullivan (Co-Founder of Sincera and GM of Product at The Trade Desk) sits down with Michael Rubenstein, Co-Founder and Co-CEO of Firsthand, for a candid founder-to-founder conversation about innovation, risk, and leadership in the age of AI. From DoubleClick to AppNexus to Firsthand, Michael shares lessons from decades at the forefront of ad tech: what it means to build with purpose, how to hire and scale teams that thrive, and why the next wave of growth will come from brands who embrace AI directly. If you care about founder stories, AI, ad tech innovation, and building products that last, this episode offers a rare inside look from two builders shaping the future of the open internet. Watch their conversation: https://youtu.be/ishJspl-prw?si=Z29LpPSjK_fyUlqs Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

    39 min
See All (135)

4.9
out of 5
24 Ratings

About

The Big Impression returns for another season of insights and inspiration from leaders at the world’s most influential brands. Editors and co-hosts Damian Fowler and Ilyse Liffreing will look to uncover candid stories on game-changing campaigns from some of the world's biggest brands — including wins, losses, and lessons. New episodes are released every Wednesday.

Information

  • Creator
    The Current
  • Years Active
    2021 - 2025
  • Episodes
    135
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © 2023 The Current Podcast
  • Show Website
    The Big Impression

You Might Also Like