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Variety continued its three-day Executive Interview Studio, presented by Canva, as part of New York’s 2024 Advertising Week. This round of discussions included podcasting elites like Rachel Lindsay, Grammy-nominated singer, songwriter, and actress Camila Cabello, and executives from Spotify, Warner Bros., NBCUniversal and Ford, all moderated by Variety editors.
The conversations tackled recent advancements in technology, marketing and the ever-changing use of generative AI.
Below are some of the major takeaways from the second day.
Camila Cabello, Rachel Lindsay and Spotify’s Jessica Levinsohn Discuss Creativity, Connecting With Fans And What’s Next
Podcaster Rachel Lindsay, singer-songwriter Camilla Cabello and Jessica Levinsohn, global business brand marketing at Spotify, gathered to discuss how the audio platform aids in the distribution of their content, the discovery of their new material and their preferred use of AI.
Levinsohn highlighted how Spotify is set apart from other social media platforms, “We want fans to be able to access the content and the playlists and the creators that they want without getting in their way. So, first and foremost, the ad experience is super noninterruptive on Spotify.” The executive also notes that “71% of Gen Z are telling us that they view Spotify as the antidote to doom scrolling,” she continued, “You think about what a positive space that is. That’s such an amazing opportunity for brands.”
Spotify recently released their AI DJ (narrated by a team member and head of cultural partnerships, Xavier “X” Jernigan, and penned thanks to a writer’s room run by Sulinna Ong) onto the app. This new innovation was a way to put a voice to their playlist-generating technology.
Cabello shared how the Spotify playlists are important for her music, “I see, for example, some of my songs on some playlists that are based on mood or themes in people’s lives. I know that’s how a lot of my songs reach new fans that maybe wouldn’t know my music before.”
“If we’re gonna use AI,” Lindsay said. “This is the way that I want to see it be done, alright. Where you’re capturing what I like to listen to, or my mood or different things like that, that’s what I want. Not in another way.”
Cabello agreed, stating, “That’s an example of technology being used in a way that contributes more joy and being innovative.”
Lindsay, who found a second wave of fame as a podcasting co-host on “Higher Learning” after landing the gig of “Bachelorette” on the ABC reality show, has recently filed for divorce from her partner Bryan Abasolo (who received Lindsay’s final rose on the show). While sad, Lindsay is using this new “season” in her life, as she describes it, as an opportunity to create something new.
“When Bill Simmons came to me at first, he said, ‘Don’t you wanna do something you’re proud of and you’re passionate about?’ And I was kind of like, ‘Wait, I thought I was doing that right?’ But maybe not,” Linsday revealed.
Linday conceded that the former sportscaster and cultural critic (who co-founded The Ringer and many successful podcasts) was right. “There’s not a lot about divorced women who are in their thirties and still want children and have never used apps… I wanna create a space where these women or men can come together and create a community where they realize they’re not alone or you know, like they can laugh at themselves. They don’t have to be embarrassed or ashamed or whatever it may be. Or maybe find one another. So that’s something that I wanna create in space and maybe do that with Spotify.”
And although the audio platform is growing both with podcasts and with audiobooks, music remains a touchstone, including to the younger generations, “Music is just a part of every second of every day,” Cabello said.
NBCUniversal’s Jamie Cutburth and Canva’s Frank Cortese Discuss Trust, Innovation and Brand Partnerships
NBCUniversal’s Executive Vice President of Creative Partnerships, Jamie Cutburth, sat down with Global Head of Brand Media at Canva, Frank Cortese, to break down the growing importance of partnerships between shows and products in this new era of advertising. Plus, both executives shared the digital tools their teams use to create more personalized, region-specific, and impactful advertising campaigns.
Offering up a case study of a successful partnership, Cutburth recalled NBC’s latest collaboration with makeup line Maybelline and the reality TV series “Love Island.”
NBCUniversal was able to integrate in-show partnerships throughout the season of “Love Island” and build a digital and social campaign around it along with an experiential strategy, “We brought Fiji to the United States and did pop-up experiences in New York, Chicago, and then, of course, the Jersey Shore because that’s where you’re gonna experience Fiji best. Right?” He joked and continued, “Those are examples of how we’re taking how people consume media differently and really changing how we create content campaigns and strategies with our brand partners.”
Additionally, Cortese described how, for Canva, the best strategy to get and maintain partnerships is transparency. He also explained the graphic design platform’s trajectory through the years and its aim in the future “If you think about the first ten years of Canva’s development, it was all about empowering individuals to design. The second ten years will all be about powering organizations to design.”
Cortese reiterated that Canva’s objective was facilitating and empowering both organizations and fan communities with the tools they need to create, “Giving people the tools to do quick translations, create content really quickly, create presentations or docs or social posts that they need, and do it really quickly. Use AI to make their workflows speed faster and get content up and running even quicker. That’s what we’re all about. And trying to make sure that we help partners people do that.”
The Future of Ford: In-Car Entertainment that Includes Streaming (While Parked)
Kelly Donahue, director of brand and content at Ford Integrated Services, sat down with Variety’s Todd Spangler to discuss the American automaker’s new technology integration arm.
Ford Integrated Services exists at the intersection of “hardware and software,” offering customers upgrades like hands-free highway driving and high-tech security systems controlled through your phone. For Donahue and her team, the goal of these services is to provide peace of mind and “give our customers a little bit of their time back.”
Ramping up their entertainment offerings is another high priority for Ford, including bringing your favoriate streaming apps into the center screen console. Donahue said the new Ford Digital Experience software will let you watch Prime Video, Tubi, Peacock or Max ,”Right on the center screen while parked.”
Outside of product development, Ford Integrated Services also creates in-house content, such as how-to videos and educational marketing surrounding the brand’s newest features. Donahue emphasized that her focus is centered on “owner experience” and capitalizing on the time after a customer drives their new Ford off the lot.
“I’m particularly excited about building out an in-house content team. I’ve come from agencies, I’ve been on all sides of that equation, and I think you can do high caliber creative content efficiently if you have a strong, small powerhouse team,” Donahue said. “Our big opportunity comes into play after they leave the dealership, trying to get them to activate a trial or use their security package.”
Cameron Curtis, EVP of Global Digital Marketing at Warner Bros. Discusses How Fans Hold the Key to ‘Authentic’ Advertising
Cameron Curtis, EVP of global digital marketing at Warner Bros., joined Variety co-editor-in-chief Cynthia Littleton to discuss how the 101-year-old studio is still finding new ways to reach new audiences.
Warner Bros. notched the fourth highest-grossing film of 2024 with “Dune 2.” Curtis credits part of that success to their efforts to leverage their incredible cast and give fans a behind-the-scenes look at the film through social media platforms like TikTok.
“We toured [the] cast around the world, and we were able to give audiences a front-row seat,” Curtis said. The studio found that working with a new feature on TikTok called Spotlight really allowed them to highlight all the content they were creating during this international media blitz. “Essentially, what that did was take all of these assets that we were creating and put them into one location so that when fans searched or wanted to learn more about ‘Dune,’ they found all of this incredible content.”
They also loosened up on previously restrictive copyright regulations. Studios in the past cracked down on fans for using their logos and brands via lawsuits and litigations. But now, Curtis and his team encourage fans to “embrace” their stories, which he feels is the most powerful type of marketing.
“The key is making it feel authentic. Anything that feels like a traditional ad, we’re conditioned now to skip it,” he said. “When you have authentic connections, when you’re showing up in authentic ways on a platform, it really makes all the difference in the world.”
Global CEO of OMD Worldwide Explores the Future of Media: Generative AI, Shifting Consumption and OMD’s Strategy for Innovation
George Manas, the global CEO of OMD Worldwide, spoke with Variety on Ad Week about the media agency’s next steps in the growing digital age and how they plan to tackle generative AI. Manas revealed that he’s excited by AI and the possibilities it provides. OMD Worldwide is already able to see the benefits of the tool, which allows the company to take on a greater number of data to analyze general market trends.
Working with their marketing orchestration platform, Omni, has allowed OMD to bring generative AI to all their teams across the globe. “OMD is over 13,000 employees across over 90 markets. And what we’re helping them do is make better decisions faster by having generative AI capabilities process large data sets, surface insights and automate repeatable tasks. It’s really helping the organization free up headspace to deliver more value for our clients.”
How does Manas motivate the teams to stand out and breakthrough in a highly competitive marketplace? The executive points to the people, their process, and the brand’s vision, “We co-create what’s next,” which reflects the agency’s commitment to collaboration with clients and partners to build innovative solutions.
“It’s that co-creation element of co-creating with our clients, co-creating with the marketplace, co-creating with our partners,” said Manas. “I think we’ve entered a new world where client and agency, it’s no longer a transactional relationship. It’s actually a much deeper and closer partnership than ever before. And that co-creation element, that spirit of collaboration, I think is something that really sets us apart.”
Jonathan H. Adashek from IBM On How Story Showing, Not Just Storytelling Drives Innovation
Jonathan H. Adashek, the SVP of marketing communications at IBM, spoke with Variety on Ad Week about the tech company’s use of AI and how technology can be leveraged to engage consumers more effectively.
Right away, Adashek tackled the question, what are the biggest challenges in terms of communicating what AI can do for a business?
“If you really look at what’s going on with AI today, a lot of companies are still trying to figure out what the use case is,” he said. “They’re still trying to figure out how to apply it in their organization. Some are dipping their toes in, and some are getting more, you know, more adventurous or taking, being more in it and really getting people comfortable with the value they can get out of their data.”
Using the recent US Open as an example, Adashek revealed that they gathered 7 million data points across the two-week tournament. And that’s just two weeks of data. “You think about a company that’s working throughout the year, and you think about how many customers or clients they might have in operations,” Adashek said. “You start thinking about all those pieces, and it really can become a daunting issue for people to tackle.” This is where AI and IBM come in to help.
Relating AI to that of an iceberg, Adashek continued, “The top 20% of that iceberg, that’s the consumer-facing applications of AI. We’re really focused on the 80% of the iceberg down below where the enterprise changes are gonna happen and where the changes to the business are gonna happen.”
That includes tasks beyond application. Adashek said IBM is focused on the nuanced implications of AI that will help innovate business models, citing applications that could change the way HR operates or the way the supply chain operates. He explained that this automation of tasks could allow for processes such as moving offices, promoting employees, and hiring talent to be streamlined.
“People can shift their time…to do more value-creating tasks,” Adashek said. “The average designer inside of IBM spends 80% of their time on a derivative asset. As we think about AI and automation, I can take that 80% down to 50%. That becomes a much more robust design team that can help create better journeys for our clients.”
