43: Mark Ritson tells the truth — the highly entertaining truth

Mark Ritson is an adjunct professor at the Melbourne Business School in Australia, a columnist for Marketing Week, and a brand expert who has served as consultant for brands ranging from PepsiCo, Subaru, and Johnson & Johnson to Sephora, De Beers, and Donna Karan.In this podcast, Ritson discusses the decision by Adidas to pursue a digital-only strategy with their advertising, his take on programmatic advertising (not a big fan, at all), and how brand risk and brand safety come into play in today's digital advertising landscape. But perhaps he's at his most incisive and entertaining when he unleashes his mordant wit on marketers. For example: “Marketers are cowards and marketers are herd animals and marketers fundamentally don't know what they're doing.”Don't worry, he says some nice things, too. Highlights from this week's “Marketing Today” podcast include:Ritson tells us exactly what he thinks about Adidas' digital-only approach to advertising — Hint: He doesn't like it. (4:02)Is programmatic advertising broken? At the very least, shouldn't it be smarter? (8:55)JPMorgan Chase and their programmatic spend. Kristin Lemkau took a look under the hood — and surprise, surprise. (14:02) Brand risk and responsibility: You shouldn't blame the customer if you serve them cold food. (20:22) Advice for brand leaders: Understand your brand, understand the market, (and) get your strategy right. (23:27)The future of marketing: Ritson peers into his crystal ball. (32:14)Alan senses a three-way marketing bromance brewing between Ritson, Byron Sharp and Bob Hoffman. (34:39)Support the show: https://www.patreon.com/marketingtodaySee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. Become a member today and listen ad-free, visit https://plus.acast.com/s/marketingtoday. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.