Uncensored CMO

Colleen DeCourcy is one of the most influential creative leaders in modern marketing. Now Chief Marketing Officer at Sonos, she joins Jon for a candid conversation about the relationship between creativity, commercial performance and leadership through change.
They discuss why Colleen joined Sonos, what it takes to turn around a brand, and how to bring creativity back into an organisation when the pressure for short-term results is intense. From Nike’s changing fortunes to the limits of performance marketing, Colleen makes the case for brands that stand for something and leaders prepared to take difficult decisions when it matters.
She also reflects on the hardest moment of her career, why great teams need more than talent, and how marketers should approach AI without losing the human judgement that makes creative work valuable.
A masterclass in leading creatively when the business needs results.
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Timestamps
00:00 - Trailer
01:42 - The hardest moment of Colleen’s career
09:36 - Why we need more leaders taking a stand for what’s right
10:42 - Colleen’s thoughts on Nike falling out of the S&P 500
13:27 - Why Colleen joined Sonos
17:41 - How Colleen is bringing creativity into Sonos
21:47 - How to approach a brand turnaround
27:27 - How to lead through a time of change
31:17 - Why have we stopped valuing creativity?
34:56 - Whats the best piece of advice Colleen has ever received?
37:26 - Audience questions
40:08 - Colleen’s thoughts on AI
43:48 - How to make your team great
Thanks to Émigré for being our official black t-shirt partner. Find your travel wear and accessories at:
https://emigre.travel/

Thank you to System1 for sponsoring Uncensored CMO. Find out more about Test Your Ad Screen here:
https://system1group.com/

Duolingo has built one of the most distinctive brands in modern marketing, not by playing it safe, but by creating the conditions for its team to move quickly, take risks and occasionally embrace a little chaos.
Manu Orssaud, Duolingo’s Chief Marketing Officer, joins Jon Evans to unpack the strategy behind the brand’s biggest moments: from the apparent death of Duo and its rapid-response iPhone content to a Bad Bunny campaign built at the speed of culture.
But this is not simply a conversation about being funny on social media. Manu explains the culture of trust required to take creative risks, how to sell bolder work into the business, and how Duolingo measures whether marketing is actually working.
They also discuss behavioural science, the limits of brand safety, handling the AI backlash, and why the next phase of Duolingo marketing may involve a little less chaos.
A masterclass in building a culturally relevant brand without losing commercial discipline.
Timestamps

00:00 - Trailer
01:03 - How do you pronounce Hermes?
02:55 - Duolingo’s iPhone Duo response
04:42 - The culture of trust that enables Duolingo to move fast
05:56 - Has Duolingo ever crossed the line with their social content?
07:55 - The benefits of taking risks
10:31 - The impact of the death of Duo
14:11 - Duolingo’s Bad Bunny campaign - moving at the speed of culture
16:28 - The origin story of the Duo brand mascot
23:05 - How Duolingo uses humour
24:12 - Emigre Sponsor
24:50 - How Duolingo tracks marketing performance
26:15 - Selling risky campaigns into the business
27:06 - The next phase of Duolingo marketing - less chaos
30:37 - How Duolingo is managing this transition
32:56 - Behavioural science insights that have grown Duolingo
34:37 - Duolingo’s AI backlash
38:09 - Going against what your shareholders want
43:46 - What makes Manu a successful CMO
47:47 - The power of constraint
48:46 - Duolingo’s 5 second Super Bowl ad
50:27 - The best advice Manu has ever been given
Thanks to Émigré for being our official black t-shirt partner. Find your travel wear and accessories at:
https://emigre.travel/

Thank you to System1 for sponsoring Uncensored CMO. Find out more about Test Your Ad Screen here:
https://system1group.com/

Jessica Jensen, Chief Marketing Officer at LinkedIn, joins Jon Evans for a practical masterclass on what actually works on the platform now. Beginning with a review of Jon’s own profile, they cover the route to becoming a Top Voice, the changing role of B2B creators and how brands can work with them credibly.
They also explore the formats that are earning attention, whether collaborator posts genuinely work, and how buyers use LinkedIn to validate the people and companies they choose to work with.

Timestamps
00:00 - Intro
01:35 - Jon’s LinkedIn review
11:34 - How do you get a LinkedIn Top Voice
13:23 - The evolution of B2B content creators
14:34 - How brands can work best with creators
16:53 - How LinkedIn are battling AI slop
19:07 - Do collaborator posts on LinkedIn work?
20:02 - What formats work best on LinkedIn in 2026
22:16 - How are B2B buyers making buying decisions on LinkedIn
25:08 - Why LinkedIn is so important for LLMs
25:49 - What jobs is AI creating
29:27 - The best advice Jessica has ever recieved

Thank you to System1 for sponsoring Uncensored CMO. Find out more about Test Your Ad Screen here:
https://system1group.com/

Spotify has become one of the world’s most distinctive brands, but what can marketers learn from the way it uses sound, culture and creativity to build emotional connection?
Bridget Evans, Spotify’s Global Head of Advertising Business Marketing, joins Jon Evans to explain why audio remains an underused marketing opportunity, and how brands can build an audio strategy people do more than simply hear: they remember it.
They discuss the return of the jingle, why taste may become an even more important differentiator in the age of AI, and whether younger audiences really have shorter attention spans, or simply higher standards for what deserves their attention. Bridget also shares how Spotify markets to Gen Z, the enduring impact of Spotify Wrapped, and why the company invests so heavily in Cannes Lions.
Timestamps
00:00 - Start
01:22 - Some things people might not know about Spotify
02:42 - Is audio the most underrated channel?
05:15 - Do people trust audio more?
06:58 - Why taste will become the differentiator in the age of AI
07:44 - How audio branding helps emotion
09:11 - How to get your audio strategy right
10:09 - Why we need to bring back more jingles
12:44 - How Spotify markets to Gen Z
15:59 - Do younger generations actually have shorter attention spans?
17:46 - The opportunity for marketers in audio and podcasting
20:00 - How do we make B2B marketing not boring
26:24 - The impact of Spotify Wrapped
30:53 - Why Spotify invest so much in Cannes Lions
34:37 - How Spotify judge the success of their Cannes
36:49 - 3 things to make B2B marketing better
39:42 - Whats the best advice Bridget has ever been given

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This episode is brought to you by System1. Download their creator effectiveness report here:
https://system1group.com/the-creator-effectiveness-playbook

The media landscape has changed faster than most marketing plans have. Evan Shapiro, known as the Media Cartographer for his widely used maps of the media ecosystem, joins Uncensored CMO to explain where attention is really going, which channels marketers are overvaluing, and where the best opportunities may now lie.
They assess the relative value of TV, YouTube, podcasts, TikTok, Instagram, LinkedIn and creators, asking a deceptively simple question: are marketers spending in line with how people actually consume media?
Evan also explores the shift of power towards consumers, why employee-generated content could become a major force, and where job losses are likely to hit the media industry next. They discuss the rise of founder-led media, the opaque problem of ad fraud, and what Evan has learned from building his own podcast.
Timestamps
00:00 - Start
00:42 - Intro to Evan Shapiro
01:43 - Evan’s path into media
03:38 - How to entertain people with keynote speeches
06:37 - The biggest changes in the media universe: the shift to the consumer
10:44 - Where is attention being placed in 2026?
14:20 - The data on attention
17:22 - Overvalued vs Undervalued media
17:57 - TV: Undervalued or Overvalued?
22:29 - YouTube: Undervalued or Overvalued?
25:35 - Why Employee Generated Content is going to be huge
27:53 - Creators: Undervalued or Overvalued?
30:06 - Podcasts: Undervalued or Overvalued?
31:30 - TikTok: Undervalued or Overvalued?
31:57 - Instagram: Undervalued or Overvalued?
32:37 - Facebook: Undervalued or Overvalued?
33:51 - LinkedIn: Undervalued or Overvalued?
35:43 - How will the media landscape change in the next 12 months
39:53 - Where are job losses being felt in media
43:33 - The rise of founders
46:17 - Ad fraud in the media ecosystem
50:30 - Evan’s lessons from running his podcast
56:57 - The best advice Evan has ever been given

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Thank you to our sponsors System1 and HubSpot
Download System1's 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