The Drum Podcast

We're joined by music journalist, manager and promoter Sean Adams to discuss one of the month's nosiest marketing spats: The argument whether social tactics to build a "narrative" around a musical artist through 'user generated content' generated by a paid-for agency amount to tricking both algorithms and real people into becoming a fan. As popular social media accounts across the globe declare recent indie rock heroes Geese of being a 'psy-op', Adams and host Sam Anderson discuss what that means and what music marketing really consists in in 2026. Stay tuned for some expert music recommendations.

On The Drum Podcast, we hear a lot from the brands who buy ad space and the agencies they work with, but we rarely hear from the people doing the selling - especially at the social platforms that take a greater share of the ad pie every day. And no platform is growing faster than Reddit, which has built a multi-billion dollar ad platform in just a few years since its post-pandemic IPO. So: What's the pitch to advertisers, and what's working? Hannah Walker talks us through it all.

We dive into how sport is being rapidly reshaped in the attention economy, from fast-format football and entertainment-led fight nights to reinvented tournaments that blur the lines between sport and show business. You'll hear from guest host Richard Draycott and a panel of sports marketing experts: Lucy Bairner of Collaborate Global, Alistair Gammell of Threepipe Reply, and Christian Harrall-Baker of Two Circles.

Tom Knapman is a PhD-qualified biochemist. Last year, he was working for Sciex, whose campaign on proteomics (don't worry, we'll explain that in the episode) was a perhaps unlikely winner of a Grand Prix gong at The Drum Awards last year. This year he's jumped ship into a perhaps almost-unique role: chief science officer at a creative agency. He tells The Drum why he thinks boom times are coming for science comms.

Brand consultancies sit at the intersection of marketing, business and culture - but what does that look like in practice? We’re joined by FutureBrand's Sam Hollis to discuss the strategist’s role in shaping modern brands, the realities of agency life and why moments of industry upheaval can be an opportunity for clearer thinking.

The Drum's inaugural Commerce Media Awards will take place soon in Miami. As the gold rush moves into its second phase, we're joined by leading commentator Andrew Lipsman to chart how we got here, where there's still money to be made, and where Lipsman's looking to next for the follow-up opportunity.

Our guest this week, Pats McDonald, has reached the top of the strategy discipline, having worked for almost all of the world's biggest advertising groups. Now, those groups find themselves looking at a time of considerable upheaval as AI, consolidation and other factors remake the industry. So: What can the strategy department bring to this time of great change?Mentioned in the episode: https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/sciadv.adn5290

We hear a lot about reactive, always-on social strategies - but what do they look like in practice? We're joined by Uncovered's strategy head Nina Landale to look at this year's Winter Olympics as a case study in the new world of influence.