Math & Magic: Stories from the Frontiers of Marketing with Bob Pittman

You might know Walter Isaacson as a legendary biographer, or as the former Editor of Time, or as the Chairman and CEO of CNN ... but did you know he was a high school crime reporter for the Times-Picayune? Or that he was recruited to be in the CIA? Or that he actually invented the cable news ticker? This episode, Bob sits down with Walter to discuss why Ben Franklin and Steve Jobs aren't that different, why technology and job creation will always go hand in hand, and how curiosity has been the driving force in his career.  Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In this week’s episode, Bob sits down with David Zaslav to learn how the Discovery CEO and President grew a network of just three channels (Discovery, Animal Planet and TLC) to become an international media powerhouse. Learn why David believes brands shouldn’t cater to everyone, how he’s been strategizing for a future when “people can watch anything on any platform,” and what high school tennis taught him about outworking the competition. Plus, why David prefers Shark Week to Puppy Bowl! Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Few people can charm and foster connections the way MediaLink Founder, Chairman and CEO Michael Kassan does. Learn how Michael changed the media buying business by treating it like a mutual fund; why audio is finding its way into more media mixes these days; and why he thinks more businesses and agencies need to go to therapy before breaking up. Plus, Michael reveals the savviest business advice you might have overlooked on the Hamilton soundtrack!   Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Scott Hagedorn is CEO of Omnicom Media Group, but don’t let his C-suite title fool you. From why he started a snake wrangling business as a kid, to his stint fabricating Flying Barricudas, to  why a Wall Street guerilla artist is his greatest creative inspiration, Scott has a media story like no others. This episode, listen in as Bob and Scott chat about why more auto manufacturers could benefit from a “suppression strategy,” why the best advertising should have a little “wobble” in it, and why throwing a Halloween party in April is a good thing for your corporate culture. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Bob sits down with UTA co-founder and CEO Jeremy Zimmer to discuss how fixing a chair got him his first real gig in Hollywood; why the best storytelling is rooted in empathy, and why UTA's podcasting division got such a jump on the rest of the industry (spoiler: it all comes down to company culture.)  Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

David Solomon never thought he was a shoe-in to become Chairman and CEO of Goldman Sachs. In fact, as a young man, he’d twice applied for jobs at the firm… and was rejected! Hear how Solomon has used his perch to change the culture of the company and make it demonstrably more inclusive, how he gets 38,000 global employees to row in the same direction and why he believes his summers as a camp counselor and his liberal arts education helped him to become a better leader. Plus— learn how his curiosity about the finances of a Vegas nightclub lured him into the electronic dance scene. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Tom Freston has a rare skill: the ability to pair raw, creative visionaries with the establishment to create bigger and bolder ventures than either could dream up on their own. From his work at MTV and Viacom— creating a “hothouse” for nurturing talent and spreading TV networks  across the globe, to nudging Vice from a street magazine to an Emmy-winning news service and multimedia behemoth, learn why Freston thinks you need to stay humble, how owning the IP changed the game for MTV and Nickelodeon, and why not buying MySpace may be the smartest thing he did for his career. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

As a kid, there were some things Translation's founder and CEO Steve Stoute just knew: that there were 50 houses on his block (he used to count them!), that there was no job he wasn’t willing to do (from shoveling snow to delivering newspapers), and that the Bangles didn’t have to be classified as either black or white music. Hear how following his curiosity led him to the record business, why the Men in Black soundtrack was a revelation to marketers, and how building bridges and railing against the “fake metrics of segmentation” has made him the incredible success he is. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Judy McGrath once said John Sykes had the gift of “making everyone want to be at the party.” Hear Bob and John relive the scrappy and ingenious marketing from MTV (including why you should look a little closer when you buy a shack with a cashier’s check, and why you might not want to trust Van Halen with a contest winner). Plus, John gives tips on how to get your next project funded, and how he helped pull the Concert for NYC together in just 4 and a half weeks.  Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Tom Brokaw didn’t win all those Peabodies and Emmys (and a Presidential Medal of Freedom) by cooling his heels! Hear how the legendary anchorman worked his way up from a little radio station in Omaha, why he thinks Watergate turned everyone into an investigative reporter, and how saying yes to opportunities and following his curiosity gave him the edge when the Berlin Wall came crumbling down. Plus, learn how he got a generation of quiet war heroes to finally talk about their experiences.  Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.