The Media Leader Podcast

Taboola has built a multibillion-dollar business by making it easy for publishers to recommend content to other parts of the web in exchange for a fee. Now, as thoughts about generative AI dominate conversations in media, the company has just launched Taboola Generative AI which aims to "revolutionise" how publishers create personalised ads.CEO Adam Singolda spoke to Omar Oakes about the company's beta test of this AI tech, which began in February and has just been rolled out formally to all English-speaking Taboola partners. Singolda and Oakes spoke during Cannes Lions in June, so the pair also chatted about goings-on at the Croisette.In addition, Singolda has some frank advice for anyone who wants to start their own business.This is a bonus episode, distinct from our usual Thursday show. We're generous like that.---Visit The Media Leader for the most authoritative news analysis and comment on what's happening in commercial media. LinkedIn: The Media LeaderTwitter: @TheMediaLeader YouTube: The Media Leader

What does the future of digital publishing, and in particular, digital news publishing, look like? Raymond Snoddy, the former presenter of BBC News Channel’s NewsWatch and a longtime columnist for The Media Leader, and Richard Reeves, MD of the Association of Online Publishers, join the podcast to discuss.Digital publishing has been in a near-constant state of development and transition since it began supplanting traditional press two decades ago. But with the recent dissolution of BuzzFeed News, the bankruptcy and sale of Vice Media, and ever-quickening developments in generative artificial intelligence, today’s digital publishing leaders perhaps have their hands full now more than they ever have.In a wide-ranging conversation, the pair spoke to Jack Benjamin talked about publishers' progress in defending their intellectual property from "scrupulous" tech vendors and large language AI models, the challenge of making hard news appealing to young people, and the importance of consumers' trust in news.On the increasing popularity of comedic news content on short-form video platforms, Snoddy said: "The only hope for legitimate news and ultimately the survival of legitimate democracies is to keep focusing on trust, accuracy, meaning, explanation... if the world is totally dominated by the funnies, we’re all in a very serious position indeed.”---This episode was edited by our production partner Trisonic.Visit The Media Leader for the most authoritative news analysis and comment on what's happening in commercial media. LinkedIn: The Media LeaderTwitter: @TheMediaLeader YouTube: The Media Leader

“You’ve got to do a different job on pricing.”That is the core theme of the new book Madison Avenue Makeover, according to its author Michael Farmer.Farmer, a former consultant, is also the author of Madison Avenue Manslaughter, which the Financial Times called a “damning critique of the modern advertising industry”.His latest book, a sequel, addresses attempts by Huge CEO Mat Baxter to transform the IPG agency and restore its dynamism. But as reporter Ahmed Elkady writes in his review, the raison d’etre of Madison Avenue Makeover is to serve as the industry’s guide for what another paradigm of agency relationships could look like.Farmer previously spoke to editor Omar Oakes in a 2022 interview in which he discussed whether the industry had made progress since Manslaughter‘s release in 2015. Now, in a new interview with The Media Leader, the strategy consultant returns to explore the themes and key takeaways of his sequel.Elkady sat down with Farmer to speak in detail about its development and key lessons for the industry. A partial transcript of the conversation has previously been published, and now you can listen to the audio in full.---This episode was edited by our production partner Trisonic.Visit The Media Leader for the most authoritative news analysis and comment on what's happening in commercial media. LinkedIn: The Media LeaderTwitter: @TheMediaLeader YouTube: The Media Leader

Media industry professionals have been in something of a crisis.Declining mental health, uncertainty over hybrid work policies, slow-moving DE&I policies, and still-large disparities between men and women in career progression and pay. These issues are not necessarily unique to media, and there have been improvements made over time in many areas, but there is doubtless more our industry could be doing to improve the lives of its workers.So, how should we unpack all of these challenges? Columnist and Creativebrief editorial director Nicola Kemp returns to the podcast to discuss, alongside reporter Ella Sagar.“The Covid pandemic has created a toxic storm of stress," said Kemp. "And I think that is really having a huge impact on the workplace right now. We might have stopped writing those headlines on the Great Resignation and moved on to the Great Regret, but the reality is a lot of people are still planning to leave the roles they’re in in the next 12 months.”---This episode was edited by our production partner Trisonic.Visit The Media Leader for the most authoritative news analysis and comment on what's happening in commercial media. LinkedIn: The Media LeaderTwitter: @TheMediaLeader YouTube:  The Media Leader

Future's new CEO Jon Steinberg is keen to build things.In his career he has helped create two new media start-ups in BuzzFeed and Cheddar, but in his new role as CEO of Future, he has taken charge of numerous media properties continuing to transition from print to digital.Steinberg joins the podcast in an interview with editor Omar Oakes. The pair discuss changes Steinberg is bringing to Future, the value of attending Cannes Lions, the state of the digital publishing industry, and how developments in generative AI will change editorial processes.“Digital subscriptions is a huge opportunity for us," said Steinberg. "This will be a long process, building a digital subscription business. As you’ve seen with The New York Times, or The Washington Post, it’s not something that happens overnight, and that’s one of my long-term goals.”---This episode was edited by our production partner Trisonic.Visit The Media Leader for the most authoritative news analysis and comment on what's happening in commercial media. LinkedIn - The Media LeaderTwitter @TheMediaLeader YouTube - The Media Leader

Why are media and creative so siloed?That was the question implicitly posed by our editor Omar Oakes in his latest column. Referencing industry veteran Laurence's Green's speech at a recent Thinkbox conference, Oakes questioned Cannes' reason for appearing separately as both a celebration of creativity and as a tech and media industry conference.Oakes and Green both joined Jack Benjamin on The Media Leader Podcast to unpack the argument. In a wide-ranging conversation, the trio also spoke about the importance of creative in driving effectiveness, the industry's struggles to promote sustainability and pessimistic trends in digital news consumption unveiled by this week's release of the Reuters Institute Digital News Report."The mood music in the industry is firstly, can we just have that richer mix of work," said Green. "Yes, reward the purpose stuff, but find a way to the great stuff that pays the mortgage. But also, can we just make sure that we're not using our creative skills to greenwash rather than using our creative skills to more profoundly change business. Those are the things that are in the ether around Cannes this year."The episode kicks off a new panel format for the podcast, which includes a 'quick hits' section covering recent stories from the around the industry.---Visit The Media Leader for the most authoritative news analysis and comment on what's happening in commercial media. LinkedIn - The Media LeaderTwitter @TheMediaLeader YouTube - The Media Leader

"There's so much change all the time in terms of new channels popping up, the way ID and privacy fit together and create challenges; there's just so much to constantly be on top of and ahead of."AudienceProject's UK commercial director Martin Bentley was one of several Future of Brands conference delegates reflecting on the biggest challenges and opportunities facing the media industry in the near future.Speaking with reporters Jack Benjamin and Ella Sagar at London conference in April, Bentley, as well as Neil Robinson, EMEA advisory for media, tech, sports, and entertainment at Salesforce, Nick Henthorn, UK VP of sales at InfoSum, and Mark Cross, engagement director at JICMAIL, also gave personal takeaways and learnings from the event.This episode was edited by our production partner Trisonic. For more on our events, including our upcoming The Future of Media conference, check out our events portal.---Visit The Media Leader for the most authoritative news analysis and comment on what's happening in commercial media. LinkedIn - The Media LeaderTwitter @TheMediaLeader YouTube - The Media Leader

Are people even paying attention to the ads they are being served? That question has opened up a can of worms for an industry that is intensely concerned with return on investment.Two leaders of the attention economy, Lumen Research's Mike Follett and Amplified Intelligence's Karen Nelson-Field, joined reporter Jack Benjamin for a discussion on the positives, pitfalls, and recent developments within the evolving space.---This episode was edited by our production partners Trisonic. You can find and listen to all our episodes on our website or wherever you get your podcasts. If you haven’t already, please subscribe to be notified when we release our next episode.

Are ambitious marketers suffering from a 'Steve Jobs complex'? Is Sir John Hegarty right to say that marketers and most marketing is simply "boring"? Is there any point doing "purpose" in marketing"?These are among the key questions answered by a trio of media and advertising leaders who joined The Media Leader editor Omar Oakes to discuss the state of marketing and key themes from The Future of Brands.Craig Tuck, chief revenue officer at Ozone, Rachel Forde, former UK CEO of media agency UM, and Chloe Davies, head of social impact at ad agency Lucky Generals, joined Oakes in front of a live audience at the Future of Brands venue in central London.The panel discussed key learnings from the event's invite-only brand leaders' club, in which some of the UK's top brand marketers discussed their challenges and how to improve the conditions for sales and advertising, as well as key insights from Oakes' interview with advertising legend Sir John Hegarty.---Visit The Media Leader for the most authoritative news analysis and comment on what's happening in commercial media. LinkedIn - The Media LeaderTwitter @TheMediaLeader YouTube - The Media Leader

Lee Brown, head of advertising business & platform at Spotify, speaks to Omar Oakes about how the global audio giant hopes to significantly grow its advertising revenue in response to founder Daniel Ek's "20% challenge".Brown had been on a salesperson hiring spree, but then the digital media market slowed down and the company began making layoffs like most of the big tech giants in recent months. Ek, meanwhile, admitted Spotify had over-invested in podcasts in particular, after acquiring big names such as Joe Rogan and Barack Obama.Brown speaks candidly about how Spotify has ambitions to build ‘the world’s #1 audio network”, as well as its strategy around talent, technology and content. He also pulls no punches when it comes to how digital audio should be measured and how it should be traded by media agencies and advertisers.This interview was recorded at The Future of Audio Europe in London in March 2023. For more on our events, including our upcoming The Future of Brands conference, check out our events portal.---Visit The Media Leader for the most authoritative news analysis and comment on what's happening in commercial media. LinkedIn - The Media LeaderTwitter @TheMediaLeader YouTube - The Media Leader