The Campaign Podcast

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 companiesSchool Reports 2026 tables: Top 100 creative agenciesSchool Reports 2026 tables: Top 50 media agenciesSchool Reports 2026: Top regional agenciesSchool Reports 2026: Agency billings growth slows down amid industry challengesSchool Reports 2026: The end of “performative window dressing” for diversitySchool 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

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.

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.What did the Space-Comm Expo conference and exhibition tell us about connecting space and wider business? How does this manifest as tech connectivity in telecoms and why do farmers care about that? What did we learn about the benefits of extreme cold in manufacturing laboratories and why do pharmas care about that? How vulnerable are global logistics to the spoofing of navigation signals? And why is the UK government centralising space strategy in the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology? Join Alice and Jonners as they reflect on the UK space sector’s largest trade event and the “energy, diversity and …sheer scope of what this industry has to offer”. Contributors:Alice Bunn, President of UKspace Dr Alice Bunn OBE FIMechE FRAeS CEng | LinkedInUKspace: Overview | LinkedIn Jonathan Daves, The Karman LineJonathan Daves | LinkedIn Subscribe to The Karman LineApple: https://podcasts.apple.com/ca/podcast/the-k%C3%A1rm%C3%A1n-line/id1876605462Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/3qED4CgdRDxfKKzYNKZCIH?si=lZ-I4a19SPGLAJL-dHi4DQYouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@TheKármánLineUKKey topics covered:Space-Comm Expo, London, March 2026Conference overviewSector integrationInsuranceCustomer utilityGovernment roleFuture outlook Technological advancements· Telecoms· Manufacturing Defence and security· Satellite capabilities· Current threats

If gaming is not to be considered a media channel, what is it? Campaign hosted the Gaming Summit this month, and many speakers at the event asserted that gaming should be considered more than just a channel to activate to make the most of its 3.5 billion global audience.In this episode, Campaign's journalists from the event discuss why media should not be considered as as media channel, some of the mistakes brands make when approaching gaming and how to capitalise on the audience's active engagement.Tech and multimedia editor Lucy Shelley is joined by the event’s host media editor Beau Jackson and deputy media editor Shauna Lewis.Further reading:McDonald's taps into nostalgia with trading card promotionReplacing the funnel: the three pillars of modern gaming marketing

The quote “good artists copy, great artists steal” also applies to advertising. Some ads are paying homage while some simply rip others off when creatives spot a good idea.In this episode, the Campaign team takes a look at some of the recent ads that look noticeably similar, including British Heart Foundation and Cancer Research, Crocs and the V&A, Experian and an Amazon ad from 2023, Primark and Levi's iconic denim ad and Apple Watch and Rebook's "Belly's going to get you" in 2000.Some creatives argue that ads can get away with copying if it's "over five years old and 5000 miles away", while others suggest it is "lazy" and creatives should be "named and shamed".Host tech and multimedia editor Lucy Shelley is joined by deputy creativity and culture editor Charlotte Rawlings, reporter Eszter Gurbicz and editor Maisie McCabe.Further reading:Is there such a thing as an original (OOH) idea?Is pre-testing a ‘no-brainer’? With Martin BeverleyComing up in the Campaign calendar:Influencer360 on 28th April

In a break from the usual listen, we're bringing you The Karman Line, which is a new podcast on the British space industry from Haymarket Media Group, the owner of Campaign.The UK space industry is a significant and strategic driver of the UK economy contributing over £19 billion in direct revenues. And it needs brilliant communicators to help tell its story.For most people, space is about rockets and astronauts. But it's actually about sustainability, infrastructure, observation, communication and increasingly, manufacturing. Not a lot of people know that. For the space industry to fully realise its potential it needs more of the right people to understand what’s happening and get involved. People like policy makers, investors, regulators, planners, lawyers and consultants.In this first episode of The Karman Line, Dr Alice Bunn, the president of UK Space, and her panel of guests, Sam Alden co-CEO of Space Solar, Nick Shave managing director of Astroscale and Anushka Sharma founder of Naaut, discuss the surprising, awe inspiring business of space.

WPP announced a new strategy and structure last week, on Thursday 26 February, as the company hopes to turn its fate around, while reporting its worst financial performance since the pandemic. Campaign's editor-in-chief Gideon Spanier interviewed WPP's chief executive officer Cindy Rose on the three-phrase plan "Elevate28" which includes £500m in cost savings and transitioning the business from a holding company structure to a single company with four core divisions – WPP Media, WPP Creative, WPP Production and WPP Enterprise Solutions. These will be led across four regions globally.In this episode, the Campaign team breaks down the announcements and what it means for WPP’s agencies, look at how the company compares to its competitors and discuss if Rose's plan will work. Tech and multimedia editor Lucy Shelley hosts the episode which includes Spanier alongside editor Maisie McCabe and deputy media editor Shauna Lewis.Further reading:WPP Media and VML drive 8% UK decline for WPPWPP Creative will 'not sunset' agency brands

Campaign has released the A List – a compilation of over 200 industry leaders and their musings on the year gone and year ahead. In 2025, the advertising and marketing industry underwent some huge organisational shifts. With revenue declines and share price drops, job cuts, leadership changes and legacy agencies changing their names, 2026 marks a new era for the industry.In this episode, the Campaign team discuss some of the A Listers' perspectives, including how to be innovative in uncertain times, and what outfits they wear to a pitch.Hosted by tech and multimedia editor Lucy Shelley, this episode includes deputy editor Gemma Charles, editor-in-chief Gideon Spanier and deputy creativity and culture editor Charlotte Rawlings. Further reading:The 2026 A List: 'Massive fuckin' traitors', 'Method Pitchers' and AI-induced boredomHalf of VCCP's current jobs didn't exist at launch, CEO saysThe A List and it’s completely different but it’s also still the A ListCampaign A List 2026: How leaders are planning for success in surprising timesCan we talk about how you get into Campaign's 2027 A List?In Pictures: Campaign A List party 2026

Media planners and buyers, like many in adland, have been tackling a period of immense change. AI, media fragmentation and budget restraints are all impacting the roles within media. At the end of January Campaign hosted Media Week Live, a conference for media planners and buyers, discussing how their roles are changing and what the future of the media agency looks like. Leaders from X, Pinterest, Omnicom, WPP, Publicis and the National Theatre joined to share their perspectives from the top.Campaign's media journalists hosted the event: media editor Beau Jackson and deputy media editor Shauna Lewis. The pair join tech and multimedia editor Lucy Shelley to discuss the future of the media planner and buyer, what part creativity plays in the media plan, how media planners work alongside AI and what challenges media agency leaders are facing this year.Further reading:What does it take to be a media agency chief investment officer?'Frustrating' and 'disappointing': media buyers on Google's action against Kantar Media and BarbThe Lists 2025: Top 10 media buyers‘The weather is changing’: How much should publishers fret about Google AI Overviews?Will media buyers be the first victims of AI?Media buying among 'first areas to go' with rise of AI, says MediaMonks co-founder