Uncensored CMO

Colleen DeCourcy is one of the most influential creative leaders in modern marketing. Now Chief Marketing Officer at Sonos, she joins Jon for a candid conversation about the relationship between creativity, commercial performance and leadership through change. They discuss why Colleen joined Sonos, what it takes to turn around a brand, and how to bring creativity back into an organisation when the pressure for short-term results is intense. From Nike’s changing fortunes to the limits of performance marketing, Colleen makes the case for brands that stand for something and leaders prepared to take difficult decisions when it matters. She also reflects on the hardest moment of her career, why great teams need more than talent, and how marketers should approach AI without losing the human judgement that makes creative work valuable. A masterclass in leading creatively when the business needs results. Sign up to one of our festive events here: https://info.uncensoredcmo.com/festive-events-interest Timestamps 00:00 - Trailer 01:42 - The hardest moment of Colleen’s career 09:36 - Why we need more leaders taking a stand for what’s right 10:42 - Colleen’s thoughts on Nike falling out of the S&P 500 13:27 - Why Colleen joined Sonos 17:41 - How Colleen is bringing creativity into Sonos 21:47 - How to approach a brand turnaround 27:27 - How to lead through a time of change 31:17 - Why have we stopped valuing creativity? 34:56 - Whats the best piece of advice Colleen has ever received? 37:26 - Audience questions 40:08 - Colleen’s thoughts on AI 43:48 - How to make your team great Thanks to Émigré for being our official black t-shirt partner. Find your travel wear and accessories at: https://emigre.travel/ Thank you to System1 for sponsoring Uncensored CMO. Find out more about Test Your Ad Screen here: https://system1group.com/

Duolingo has built one of the most distinctive brands in modern marketing, not by playing it safe, but by creating the conditions for its team to move quickly, take risks and occasionally embrace a little chaos. Manu Orssaud, Duolingo’s Chief Marketing Officer, joins Jon Evans to unpack the strategy behind the brand’s biggest moments: from the apparent death of Duo and its rapid-response iPhone content to a Bad Bunny campaign built at the speed of culture. But this is not simply a conversation about being funny on social media. Manu explains the culture of trust required to take creative risks, how to sell bolder work into the business, and how Duolingo measures whether marketing is actually working. They also discuss behavioural science, the limits of brand safety, handling the AI backlash, and why the next phase of Duolingo marketing may involve a little less chaos. A masterclass in building a culturally relevant brand without losing commercial discipline. Timestamps 00:00 - Trailer 01:03 - How do you pronounce Hermes? 02:55 - Duolingo’s iPhone Duo response 04:42 - The culture of trust that enables Duolingo to move fast 05:56 - Has Duolingo ever crossed the line with their social content? 07:55 - The benefits of taking risks 10:31 - The impact of the death of Duo 14:11 - Duolingo’s Bad Bunny campaign - moving at the speed of culture 16:28 - The origin story of the Duo brand mascot 23:05 - How Duolingo uses humour 24:12 - Emigre Sponsor 24:50 - How Duolingo tracks marketing performance 26:15 - Selling risky campaigns into the business 27:06 - The next phase of Duolingo marketing - less chaos 30:37 - How Duolingo is managing this transition 32:56 - Behavioural science insights that have grown Duolingo 34:37 - Duolingo’s AI backlash 38:09 - Going against what your shareholders want 43:46 - What makes Manu a successful CMO 47:47 - The power of constraint 48:46 - Duolingo’s 5 second Super Bowl ad 50:27 - The best advice Manu has ever been given Thanks to Émigré for being our official black t-shirt partner. Find your travel wear and accessories at: https://emigre.travel/ Thank you to System1 for sponsoring Uncensored CMO. Find out more about Test Your Ad Screen here: https://system1group.com/

Jessica Jensen, Chief Marketing Officer at LinkedIn, joins Jon Evans for a practical masterclass on what actually works on the platform now. Beginning with a review of Jon’s own profile, they cover the route to becoming a Top Voice, the changing role of B2B creators and how brands can work with them credibly. They also explore the formats that are earning attention, whether collaborator posts genuinely work, and how buyers use LinkedIn to validate the people and companies they choose to work with. Timestamps 00:00 - Intro 01:35 - Jon’s LinkedIn review 11:34 - How do you get a LinkedIn Top Voice 13:23 - The evolution of B2B content creators 14:34 - How brands can work best with creators 16:53 - How LinkedIn are battling AI slop 19:07 - Do collaborator posts on LinkedIn work? 20:02 - What formats work best on LinkedIn in 2026 22:16 - How are B2B buyers making buying decisions on LinkedIn 25:08 - Why LinkedIn is so important for LLMs 25:49 - What jobs is AI creating 29:27 - The best advice Jessica has ever recieved Thank you to System1 for sponsoring Uncensored CMO. Find out more about Test Your Ad Screen here: https://system1group.com/

Spotify has become one of the world’s most distinctive brands, but what can marketers learn from the way it uses sound, culture and creativity to build emotional connection? Bridget Evans, Spotify’s Global Head of Advertising Business Marketing, joins Jon Evans to explain why audio remains an underused marketing opportunity, and how brands can build an audio strategy people do more than simply hear: they remember it. They discuss the return of the jingle, why taste may become an even more important differentiator in the age of AI, and whether younger audiences really have shorter attention spans, or simply higher standards for what deserves their attention. Bridget also shares how Spotify markets to Gen Z, the enduring impact of Spotify Wrapped, and why the company invests so heavily in Cannes Lions. Timestamps 00:00 - Start 01:22 - Some things people might not know about Spotify 02:42 - Is audio the most underrated channel? 05:15 - Do people trust audio more? 06:58 - Why taste will become the differentiator in the age of AI 07:44 - How audio branding helps emotion 09:11 - How to get your audio strategy right 10:09 - Why we need to bring back more jingles 12:44 - How Spotify markets to Gen Z 15:59 - Do younger generations actually have shorter attention spans? 17:46 - The opportunity for marketers in audio and podcasting 20:00 - How do we make B2B marketing not boring 26:24 - The impact of Spotify Wrapped 30:53 - Why Spotify invest so much in Cannes Lions 34:37 - How Spotify judge the success of their Cannes 36:49 - 3 things to make B2B marketing better 39:42 - Whats the best advice Bridget has ever been given --- This episode is brought to you by System1. Download their creator effectiveness report here: https://system1group.com/the-creator-effectiveness-playbook

The media landscape has changed faster than most marketing plans have. Evan Shapiro, known as the Media Cartographer for his widely used maps of the media ecosystem, joins Uncensored CMO to explain where attention is really going, which channels marketers are overvaluing, and where the best opportunities may now lie. They assess the relative value of TV, YouTube, podcasts, TikTok, Instagram, LinkedIn and creators, asking a deceptively simple question: are marketers spending in line with how people actually consume media? Evan also explores the shift of power towards consumers, why employee-generated content could become a major force, and where job losses are likely to hit the media industry next. They discuss the rise of founder-led media, the opaque problem of ad fraud, and what Evan has learned from building his own podcast. Timestamps 00:00 - Start 00:42 - Intro to Evan Shapiro 01:43 - Evan’s path into media 03:38 - How to entertain people with keynote speeches 06:37 - The biggest changes in the media universe: the shift to the consumer 10:44 - Where is attention being placed in 2026? 14:20 - The data on attention 17:22 - Overvalued vs Undervalued media 17:57 - TV: Undervalued or Overvalued? 22:29 - YouTube: Undervalued or Overvalued? 25:35 - Why Employee Generated Content is going to be huge 27:53 - Creators: Undervalued or Overvalued? 30:06 - Podcasts: Undervalued or Overvalued? 31:30 - TikTok: Undervalued or Overvalued? 31:57 - Instagram: Undervalued or Overvalued? 32:37 - Facebook: Undervalued or Overvalued? 33:51 - LinkedIn: Undervalued or Overvalued? 35:43 - How will the media landscape change in the next 12 months 39:53 - Where are job losses being felt in media 43:33 - The rise of founders 46:17 - Ad fraud in the media ecosystem 50:30 - Evan’s lessons from running his podcast 56:57 - The best advice Evan has ever been given --- Thank you to our sponsors System1 and HubSpot Download System1's creator effectiveness report here: https://system1group.com/the-creator-effectiveness-playbook Find about more about HubSpot's AEO product here: https://www.hubspot.com/products/aeo