The Campaign Podcast

In March, Meta and Google were found liable for designing addictive platforms that harmed a young user's mental health, a verdict both platforms disagree with and plan to appeal. Channel 4 also released its documentary called Molly vs The Machines about a 14 year old girl who took her own life after seeing harmful content online. Plus, the UK Government began a consultation for a potential ban for under 16s to improve digital safety, following Australia's ban in December, with Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer saying we “have to act”.

Instagram, Facebook, YouTube and other platforms rely on advertising to make money. So whether a government ban or strict regulation of the platforms is the solution, this episode questions how much responsibility should the brands funding these platforms have.

Jake Dubbins, managing director at Media Bounty and co-chair of Conscious Advertising Network, joins the episode alongside Campaign's UK editor Maisie McCabe and editor-in-chief Gideon Spanier. This episode is hosted by tech and multimedia editor Lucy Shelley.

Further reading:
Ian Russell challenges Instagram boss to “chat” at Cannes Lions
Molly vs the Machines showed us that advertising choices aren't neutral
Can we talk about whether fraudulent ads are the tech platforms' biggest problem?
Ofcom research finds rise in concern over online risks versus benefits

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In-house agencies have been growing over the last few years, as brands have been taking more work in-house and building bespoke teams. In the last few weeks, Allwyn launched an in-house studio, ITV shifted its retained creative account from Uncommon to ITV Creative and Uncommon’s executive creative director Richard Biggs jumped to BBC Creative.

Campaign Red analysed this trend and last month produced an in-depth global report, The Inside Job, looking into what disciplines brands are in-housing, why they are luring agency talent and how they are collaborating with external agencies.

In this episode, Niki Garner, director of ITV Creative, joins The Campaign Podcast to discuss the in-housing evolution, why she hires from agencies and how in-house teams can provide the most value. Garner was also named In-house Agency Leader at Campaign’s In-House agency awards last year.

Joining from the Campaign team is data journalist Jamie Rossouw, co-author of The Inside Job, and premium content editor Nicola Merrifield. This episode is hosted by tech and multimedia editor Lucy Shelley.

Further reading:
How to build a successful in-house agency
Allwyn's media director: in-house shop Studio 59 aiming for “newsroom mentality”
BBC Creative appoints Natalie Lau as head of planning
ITV Creative lead dismisses past 'snobbery' aimed at in-house agencies
ITV promotes I’m a Celebrity… South Africa with hand-drawn animation
“The darker side of water”: behind the scenes of Channel 4’s “The fountain of filth”
Lego ad calls 'play' with array of characters performed by Tom Holland
Specsavers highlights audiology services by 'rebranding'
Over four in 10 in-house agencies want to be brand’s lead agency, IHALC research finds
ITV, Reckitt and Pepsi in-house leaders to speak at Campaign's In-Housing Summit
The Lists 2025: Top five in-house creatives
Campaign In-House Agency Awards 2025: winners revealed

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In a break from the usual listen, we're bringing you the first three episodes of The Karman Line, a new podcast about the UK space industry from Haymarket Media Group, the owner of Campaign. This burgeoning sector is keen to communicate the extraordinary things it is doing to wider, complementary audiences.

How do we solve population pressure and climate crisis in space? How has GPS allowed us to provide 12% more food globally? How did the UK become a global leader in small satellite manufacture after the British Government said, “there’s no future for the UK satellite industry”? How did Elon Musk turn reusable rockets from science fiction to science fact in less than 20 years? What else are “Elon and Jeff” going to allow us to do? And why is SpaceX still “the elephant in the room”?

Join Alice as she talks to Will Whitehorn, chair of giant space tech investor Seraphim and former president of Virgin Galactic, and they discuss the implications of “The Elon Musk show” and its legacy, “the beginnings of a competitive space industry of scale”.

Contributors:
Alice Bunn, President of UKspace
Dr Alice Bunn OBE FIMechE FRAeS CEng | LinkedIn
UKspace: Overview | LinkedIn

Will Whitehorn OBE, Seraphim Space Investment Trust
Will Whitehorn OBE | LinkedIn

Key topics covered:
UK satellite manufacture
UK universities
SpaceX valuation
Reuseable rockets
Agricultural management
Population pressure
Climate crisis
Solar power
Data centres in space
Industrialising in space

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Campaign's annual School Reports scrutinise and assess 80 UK agencies from across the industry, giving them each a score between 1 and 9.

Released last week, agencies across creative, media, social, digital, CRM and experiences are evaluated based on their individual history. The top mark of 9 is awarded to an agency that has had an outstanding year; 8 for an excellent year; 7 for a good one; 6 is satisfactory; 5 is adequate; 4 stands for below average; 3 is poor; 2, a year to forget and 1 warns that the shop's survival is in question.

For the last two years, no 9s were given, but this year, there were four awarded.

In this episode, Campaign's journalists discuss what the data revealed about individual agency health, how agencies fared in this year’s reports against difficult conditions and what goes into achieving a top score of 9. Premium content editor Nicola Merrifield, editor Maisie McCabe and media editor Beau Jackson join the episode hosted by tech and multimedia editor Lucy Shelley.

Further reading:
School Reports 2026: Top holding companies
School Reports 2026 tables: Top 100 creative agencies
School Reports 2026 tables: Top 50 media agencies
School Reports 2026: Top regional agencies
School Reports 2026: Agency billings growth slows down amid industry challenges
School Reports 2026: The end of “performative window dressing” for diversity
School Reports 2026: Which agencies got the highest marks?

What is Group M?
Do holding company solutions undermine agency brands?
WPP launches new Elevate28 strategy with four core divisions and £500m savings

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Gaming has firmly entered the mainstream, with more than three billion players worldwide and engagement levels that now rival – and often exceed – social platforms. What was once seen as a niche channel is now a dominant cultural force, commanding time, attention and participation at scale.

These shifts, and what they mean for brands, were explored in depth at Campaign’s recent gaming summit, held in London.

In this sponsored episode of The Campaign Podcast, Dentsu’s global head of gaming, Brent Koning, builds on that conversation and goes further. He delves into gaming’s role as an immersive social space, and why it remains one of the most underutilised channels in the marketing mix.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.