Uncensored CMO

Jonathan Kerr, CMO of Auto & General, joins us to explore how one of Australia's most successful challenger brands has built sustained growth by combining strong marketing fundamentals with relentless execution.
From creating a role for himself at Auto & General to helping Budget Direct become one of the country's fastest-growing insurance brands, Jonathan shares why product should always come before growth, how marketers can take greater ownership of the 4 Ps, and what insurance consistently gets right about creativity. We also discuss the power of distinctive brand characters, audio branding, in-house creative teams and a media strategy designed to maximise long-term effectiveness.
Useful links
This episode is brought to you by System1. Download their 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
Timestamps
00:00:00 - Start
00:01:41 - How Jonathan found out about Auto and General
00:03:31 - How Jonathan created a new role for himself
00:06:58 - How to balance low price with great product
00:10:36 - Market share growth for Budget Direct
00:12:06 - Focusing on product over growth
00:13:59 - How to control more of the P’s
00:16:51 - Why does insurance produce such creative work?
00:20:52 - The power of compounding work in insurance
00:24:21 - Developing brand characters, and when to kill them off
00:30:08 - The power of audio and jingles
00:34:16 - What’s too silly to be said can be sung
00:36:13 - Why they do so much work in house
00:40:34 - Budget Direct’s unique approach to media buying
00:42:43 - How Jonathan uses AI
00:48:04 - The key challenger brand principles Jonathan has followed
00:50:59 - What makes a successful CMO?
00:52:55 - Do we need to re-educate ourselves on marketing theory?
01:00:27 - The best advice you’ve ever recieved

Pedro Pina, VP of YouTube for Europe, the Middle East and Africa, joins us to explore how YouTube helped create the creator economy and why so many brands are still failing to take full advantage of it.
From the rise of full-time creators to the changing role of YouTube in the media landscape, Pedro explains what makes the platform unique, the metrics that actually matter, and why great content continues to outperform everything else. We also discuss the balance between long-form and Shorts, the "YouTube Confidence Gap" among CMOs, and how brands can build authentic partnerships with creators that drive real business results.
If you're wondering where marketing is heading next, this is a masterclass from one of the people shaping it.
Get the YouTube Confidence Gap Report from Little Dot Studios:
https://info.littledotstudios.com/little-dot-studios-the-youtube-confidence-gap-report
This episode is brought to you by System1. Download their creator effectiveness report here: https://system1group.com/the-creator-effectiveness-playbook

Timestamps

00:00 - Intro
01:35 - Why YouTube made a creator space in Cannes
03:06 - How Cannes has changed over the past 20 years
06:12 - How many people are paid to be YouTubers
09:39 - The secret of YouTube
11:08 - Who are the biggest creators on YouTube
12:36 - What are the most important metrics on YouTube
14:42 - Why content will always be king on YouTube
15:57 - What makes a succesful YouTuber
19:48 - Is YouTube a broadcaster, streaming platform or social network?
22:36 - How important is short form for creators in 2026
27:24 - The YouTube Confidence Gap
28:56 - What CMOs think about YouTube
29:54 - How to get more confidence in your YouTube strategy
32:53 - The biggest barriers for companies being successful on YouTube
35:00 - How can brands work successfully with creators
39:31 - How can brands be authentic when they work with creators
42:46 - What Pedro wishes CMOs understood better about YouTube
44:14 - The best advice Pedro has ever recieved

Novartis CMO Gail Horwood joins Janet Balis, Managing Director & Senior Partner at BCG, to explore how one of the world's largest pharmaceutical companies is redefining healthcare marketing.
Fresh from winning two Cannes Lions, Gail shares how Novartis is proving that creativity can thrive even in one of the most heavily regulated industries. From partnering with the NFL for a Super Bowl campaign to convincing stakeholders to embrace bolder ideas, we discuss what it takes to create work that stands out while navigating complex regulations.
The conversation also explores how AI is reshaping both creativity and business transformation, where marketers should focus their efforts, and why the biggest opportunity for AI isn't just efficiency, but unlocking growth.
This episode has been produced in partnership with BCG. Browse their CMO Report here:
https://www.bcg.com/publications/2026/making-the-agentic-marketing-transformation-a-reality

Timestamps
00:00 - Start
00:49 - Jon’s full circle moment with Norvatis
01:39 - Novartis’ journey to two Cannes Lions
02:54 - Why more people need to walk the work
04:05 - Creating surprising advertising in a heavily regulated category
09:03 - Partnering with the NFL for a Super Bowl campaign
10:24 - How to get your company to embrace risky work
16:01 - How to get stakeholders outside of marketing onboard
19:35 - The reaction to the ads after Super Bowl
21:56 - How AI is being used in the service of creativity
27:04 - How Novartis are using AI for creativity
30:27 - How Novartis are rethinking their marketing with AI
32:46 - Where AI is going to be used outside of marketing
35:03 - AI for efficiency vs growth
37:16 - How to deliver leadership change in the age of AI
40:22 - The boring things AI will solve
42:53 - What makes Gail such a good CMO
44:25 - The worst way to evaluate your career success
45:57 - The best advice Gail has ever received

Lara Balazs, CMO of Adobe, joins us to discuss what it takes to lead one of the world's most influential creative brands through a period of enormous change.
From Adobe's presence at Cannes to the rapid rise of AI, Lara shares her vision for the company and why she believes technology should be used in service of creativity, rather than simply to drive efficiency. We explore why creativity matters more than ever in the age of AI, the skills Adobe looks for in marketers, and the traits that separate the most successful CMOs.
Lara also shares the practical leadership principles she uses to run her team, from creating a company plan on a page and harnessing the power of repetition to prioritising progress over perfection and using the “two-way door” approach to make faster decisions.
This episode is brought to you by System1. Download their creator effectiveness report here: https://system1group.com/the-creator-effectiveness-playbook
Timestamps
00:00 - Start
01:23 - The most surprising thing about Lara
03:11 - How Adobe have stood out at Cannes
05:50 - What makes an influential CMO?
06:59 - How to manage a business through change
09:54 - Lara’s vision for Adobe
13:33 - Finding inspiration from a brand’s history
15:13 - Where AI has been used in service of creativity
18:03 - AI to enhance creativity vs increasing efficiency
20:42 - Why creativity still matters in the AI age
23:41 - What skillsets does Adobe hire for in marketing?
25:22 - The traits of the most successful CMOs
28:55 - The company plan on a page
30:49 - The power of repitition
32:05 - Progress over perfection at Adobe
33:14 - The two way door approach
37:19 - The best advice Lara has ever recieved

In this episode, Mark Abraham, Managing Director and Senior Partner at BCG, joins Elke Karskens, Head of International Marketing at OpenAI to explore how AI is already transforming marketing and what's coming next. We discuss OpenAI's remarkable growth, the launch of its first advertising campaign, and how marketers can prepare for a future where AI is embedded across every function.
The conversation covers how brands can increase their visibility in ChatGPT, the opportunities created by tools like Codex, the skills tomorrow's CMOs will need, and why the real value of AI isn't just efficiency, it's effectiveness.
This episode has been produced in partnership with BCG. Browse their CMO Report here:
https://www.bcg.com/publications/2026/making-the-agentic-marketing-transformation-a-reality

Timestamps

00:00 - Start
01:16 - Open AI’s meteoric rise
02:07 - Breakthrough moments for OpenAI
03:04 - How have Open AI scaled so quickly
04:49 - What will be led by humans and what will be led by AI in 5 years
06:09 - Open AI’s impressive first ad campaign
08:32 - Launch of the Open AI advertising platform
13:01 - How brands can rank in ChatGPT
14:44 - How brands can use Codex
17:44 - How do CMOs feel about AI
19:34 - How do you deliver transformation with AI
20:55 - What skillsets are going to be in demand for the future CMO
23:29 - Which brands are using AI well today
24:52 - What can we do with AI in a year from now we can’t do today?
29:45 - Why BCG and Open AI work together
30:53 - What don’t people understand about AI?
35:11 - Efficiency and cost savings vs effectiveness in AI
38:15 - Best advice you’ve ever been given