In this special wrap-up episode, host Ellis Bird takes us on a journey through the highlights of 2025. From exploring the power of consistency with System1 to diving into the $9.7 trillion escape economy, redefining the cider category, and learning how play drives results, this year has been packed with insights and inspiration. Relive standout moments, hear from the brilliant minds behind the biggest campaigns, and discover the lessons that shaped the year in marketing.

Thank you for listening to The Brief in 2025.

See you in 2026!

What if the key to unlocking brand growth was simply… having more fun? In this episode of The Brief, we share a live recording from our recent Effectiveness Well Told event, an incredible gathering of brilliant minds from System1, Effie UK, TikTok, Trainline, and Fox's.

We hear from our very own Jamie Peate, Global Head of Effectiveness, who takes us on a journey into the world of playful marketing. He reveals how brands that embrace fun, humour, and creativity don't just capture attention—they drive serious commercial growth and build lasting connections with their audiences. This session is a masterclass in how playful strategies can lead to powerful, measurable success.

In this episode, you’ll discover:

• Why "playful" doesn't mean "frivolous" and how it creates genuine emotional bonds with consumers.

• Insights into how leading brands are using creativity to disrupt categories and drive effectiveness.

• How McCann’s collaborative, playful partnership with Aldi has delivered standout campaigns and brand growth.

• The connection between entertaining advertising and long-term brand building.

• Actionable ideas for injecting a sense of fun into your own marketing strategies to achieve incredible outcomes.

  
  

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Forget rolling hills and apple-picking clichés, Crumpton Oaks is redefining the cider game! From the bold 2022 Straight Outta Crumpton campaign, a clever twist on N.W.A.'s iconic track, to the vibrant Happy Applecore campaign featuring an original track by DJ Hixxy, Crumpton Oaks puts nostalgia and entertainment front and centre.

In this episode of The Brief, host Ellis Bird sits down with Grace Anthony, Head of Marketing at Aston Manor Cider, and Adam Bodfish, Executive Creative Director at McCann, to explore how Crumpton Oaks is shaking up the cider industry. They discuss breaking free from traditional category norms, the power of entertainment, and the critical role of strong client-agency relationships in tackling creative challenges.

From psychedelic projections to rap-inspired TV ads, this episode dives deep into how Crumpton Oaks is leaving countryside conventions behind and making cider bold, fresh, and unforgettable.

What’s in the episode:

• The reason behind Crumpton Oaks’ mission to disrupt
• The role of entertainment and nostalgia
• Creating ‘artvertising’
• How Straight Outta Crumpton came to be
• Testing VOD for the first time
• Tapping into the 90s with Happy Applecore
• Why and how the team worked with DJ Hixxy to create an original track
• Using innovative media
• The importance of strong client/agency relationships
• Building on the success of the past three years

Watch the ads

Straight Outta Crumpton

Happy Applecore

We’ve all felt FOMU (the Fear of Messing Up) – but the emotions that drive B2B purchases are often overlooked and misunderstood. The result? $80billion of B2B deals in legal arbitration and missed opportunities.

In this episode, we’re joined by Asli Yilmaz, Managing Counsel, at the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC), Mimi Turner, Head of Marketplace Innovation at LinkedIn, and Gideon Wilkins, EVP Commercial Intelligence at Truth Central, to discuss the uncomfortable truth about emotion in B2B relationships and the key opportunities and challenges for marketers.

We’ll dive into the eye-opening research by ICC, JusConnect and McCann, as well as LinkedIn’s findings on buyability.

What we cover in the episode

• Why emotion is so important in B2B
• Why B2B decisions are 2X more emotional than consumer decisions
• Burger vs steak – the scale of risk
• The emotional rollercoaster of B2B
• Is fear really the key emotion in B2B buying? Orare we more worried about the fear of messing up?
• The rise of AI in B2B decision making
• The role of ‘defensibility’ and trust
• Preparing your ‘prenup’ and facing awkward conversations
• Connecting with the right emotion at the right time

The research

Learn more about the ICC and McCann's research here.

Learn more about LinkedIn's research here.

About the speakers

Asli Yilmaz is Managing Counsel at the ICC InternationalCourt of Arbitration, where she oversees the work of 13 case management teams, including five overseas offices. In this role, she is part of the leadership team leading strategic operations, resolves high-level procedural and institutional issues, and helps shape the ICC’s global approach to arbitration.

Before taking on this leadership position, Asli served asCounsel for the Eastern Mediterranean and Middle East team at the ICC Secretariat, managing hundreds of arbitration cases and reviewing arbitral awards across a wide range of industries and jurisdictions.

Her legal career prior to the ICC spans international law firms in Istanbul, Paris, and New York in the disputes sector. She holds a law degree from the University of Warwick and an LL.M. from the London School of Economics. Asli is admitted to practice in both Istanbul and New York, and works in English, Turkish, German, and French.

Mimi Turner is a brand-builder and strategist with a track record of delivering transformational outcomes in media, marketing and politics. She joined LinkedIn as Head of EMEA and Lat Am of LinkedIn’s marketing strategy think-tank, The B2B Institute, in August 2021 and in 2024became head of Marketplace Innovation for LinkedIn. She has led IP creation on marketing and advertising including on the Harvard Business Review featured research The Right Way To Build Your Brand. Previously, she was Director of Strategy, Messaging and Research at the Liberal Democrats, the first Marketing Director of The LAD Bible Group, and Marketing Director of The Health Lottery. Mimi was special advisor to The Cairncross Review, the government inquiry into the future of high-quality journalism. She began her career as a science journalist with the Sunday Times and the Times newspapers.

Gideon Wilkins is EVP of Commercial Intelligence at McCann Truth Central, McCann Worldgroup’s global intelligence unit. He leads research on B2B audiences, brands and thought leadership that help businesses connect insight to impact. Gideon has worked across global B2B and B2C projects with a focus on the emotional and cultural forces that shape decision-making.
His recent work, The Truth About B2B Relationships, produced with the International Chamber of Commerce and Jus Connect, challenges the assumption that B2B is purely rational and has been presented at international conferences and published as a series of white papers shaping global best practice.

An estimated 14,000 tons of sunscreen end up in the world’s oceans every year, and as many as 80% of ordinary sunscreens contain chemicals that contribute to coral bleaching and dying reefs. But what if there was a sunscreen and a certification that would help coral instead of harming it?

In this episode, we unpack the story behind an incredibly ambitious project to not only create the world’s first coral-nourishing sunscreen but launch a new sunscreen certification that encourages other manufacturers to protect coral from toxic chemicals.

What started with an idea four years ago has now turned into a Cannes Lions winning project with over 30 partners around the world. Join the team behind the project and discover the story behind Coral Care.

What we cover in the episode

• The shocking stats that triggered the idea
• From concept to formula: the journey to product development
• The reality of going beyond the creative comfort zone
• The importance of partners in achieving success
• Working with Stream2Sea and the University of Derby
• The road to Cannes and the impact of winning a Lion
• Entering phase two with the world’s first Reef Protection Certification
• How the team took the project global
• What’s next for Coral Care and RPF

Learn more about Coral Care here and RPF here.

About the speakers

Jon Elsom is Group Executive Creative Director at McCann. Jon has spent nearly 30 years in the communications business, creating effective and award-winning campaigns for clients in all sectors such as Qatar Airways, Mastercard and Vauxhall. For Jon it's all about creating outstanding work that cuts through and transforms clients' brands.

Alex Smith is Senior Copywriter at McCann, and one half of the ‘Britzilian’ creative duo with Fred Corazza. Alex and Fred are the team behind Coral Care and are always looking to push boundaries with their work. The duo try to tell real stories that connect with people around the world.

Sophie Churchill is Business Director at McCann. She is experienced in delivering impactful, multi-channel campaigns across diverse industries - including FMCG, tourism & travel, healthcare & beauty, domestic appliances and consumer electronics. She is passionate about long term brand building, delivering work that has meaning, built on insights and human truths. Coral Care is a passion project that sits perfectly within Sophie's values.

Whether it’s small moments throughout the day, or a big adventure, the need for escape is a fundamental human behaviour which has resulted in a $9.7 trillion economy. One that brands, both in traditional ‘escape’ industries such as travel and gaming and non-tradition industries like banking, can tap into and foster brand loyalty.

In this episode, we dive into ‘The Truth About Escapism’, a fascinating study from McCann Truth Central. Guests Jess Francis, Research Director at Truth Central, and Joe Stevens, Managing Partner of Strategy at McCann, discuss the what, why, and the opportunities of escapism with Ellis Bird.

What we cover in the episode

• The $9.7 trillion escape economy opportunity
• What escape means today
• How and why are people seeking escape?
• Keeping it meaningful – how brands can connect with audiences in moments of escape
• Using the research to understand your audience
• The rise of ‘stacking’ escapes
• What the future of escapism might look like

Learn more about The Truth About Escapism study here.

About the speakers

Jess Francis is a Research Director at McCann Truth Central, where she develops global interdisciplinary research studies, such as the Truth About Escapism and the Truth About Work. She is an expert in mixed research methods, data visualisation and storytelling, with deep categorical expertise in youth culture, sustainability, and emerging technologies. Prior to a career in advertising, she worked in the social impact and non-profit sector, from democratizing access to tech-education in Iraq and Turkey to helping raise over $3 million USD for Choose Love. A Brit-Filipina raised on a boat in Hong Kong, she’s a conduit for multi-cultural thinking and outside of work, is a hobbyist potter and sourdough baker.

Joe Stevens is Managing Partner, Strategy, at McCann. As an experienced planner with a track record of integrated, digital, social and creative strategies, Joe has worked on leading brands across a range of industries. He's particularly interested in developing strategies that help to anchor brands in cultural, consumer and channel truths across markets and categories.

As the saying goes, ‘the only constant in life is change’, but research from System1 and the IPA shows that consistency is key when it comes to effective advertising. As we enter a new age of effectiveness, it’s never been more important to understand the impact and benefits of compound creativity, and the risks and costs of inconsistent creative and short-term agency relationships.

In this episode, Ellis Bird is joined by Andrew Tindall, SVP Global Partnerships at System1, and Jamie Peate, Global Head of Effectiveness and Retail at McCann Worldgroup, to uncover the real impact of consistency and the risks (and cost) of inconsistent creative and short ad lifespans. They will explore the latest research and share real examples of some of the most impactful and consistent work.

What we cover in the episode

• What is compound creativity?
• The power of fame
• Moving on without moving off – achieving creative consistency
• Why Kevin the Carrot became the nation’s favourite Christmas ad of all time
• The importance of craft
• Andrew’s ‘Marketer of the year’
• The impact of social media on defining success
• The role of intuition and data

Read more about System1’s research on Compound Creativity with the IPA here.

About the speakers

Andrew Tindall is SVP Global Partnerships at System1. He champions modern marketing effectiveness in a no-bullshit, practical way. Responsible for System1’s thought leadership and global agency partnerships, he combines data with System1’s ad database to create publications exploring emotion and creativity’s role in effectiveness across the media mix. Ex-Diageo and Bacardi, he loves an IRL chat at the bar but also frequently stirs debate on LinkedIn and is a columnist for The Drum.

Jamie Peate, Global Head of Effectiveness and Retail at McCann, has helped to drive a culture at local, regional and global levels that holds creativity and effectiveness central to all of the agency’s output. His strategic approach to the Aldi account exemplifies his approach – long running campaigns such as Like Brands and Kevin the Carrot have reaped benefits for the client and helped redefine the grocery sector.

In this special year-end episode of The Brief, host Ellis Bird looks back on some of her favourite moments from the podcast in 2024. Reflecting on the most impactful discussions and interviews, Ellis revisits key topics that shaped the world of marketing and advertising this year. From groundbreaking campaigns to emerging trends and industry insights, this episode offers a comprehensive recap of the highlights that defined the series.

We’ll be back in 2025 for more insightful conversations on the biggest challenges and opportunities facing marketers.