Frontier CMO Podcast by Think with Google

What do CMOs and Formula One champions have in common?

They're expected to perform under pressure, make split-second decisions, and keep showing up when the odds aren't in their favor. 

Recorded live at Cannes Lions 2026, Frontier CMO host Josh Spanier sits down with McLaren Chief Marketing Officer Louise McEwen and Formula One World Champion Lando Norris to explore how they're winning on and off the racetrack. 

In a world where most Formula One fans will never attend a race, they reveal how McLaren creates connections beyond race day and builds a brand that performs 365 days a year. 

Buckle up. This is McLaren's race to the top.

00:00:00 — Introduction & The Elite World Champion Group

00:01:00 — F1 Meets Cannes: Why McLaren Focuses on Creativity

00:02:20 — The Quest to the Front: How Putting Fans First Saved McLaren

00:04:30 — Taking Creative Risks: The Story of the Gulf Livery

00:05:15 — The "Drive to Survive" Effect & Media Value

00:06:45 — Engaging the 99%: Live Fan Events from London to Miami

00:08:35 — Brand vs. Athlete: Balancing Team Identity with Star Drivers

00:09:35 — Marketing the Narrative When the Team Isn't Winning

00:11:45 — The Rise of Female Fandom & High-Fashion Collabs

00:13:00 — Choosing the Right Global Partners & Activating Tech

00:14:05 — Making History: Lou McEwen’s Podium Moment

00:15:35 — Lando Norris Joins the Show: Life as the Face of McLaren

00:16:35 — Sinking In: "I'm Freaking World Champion"

00:19:30 — Developing the Mental Resilience to Handle Tough Moments

00:21:10 — Naps & Twitch: Lando's Unconventional Pre-Race Routine

00:22:00 — Rapid Fire Game: Signal or Noise?

00:23:10 — Summary & Field Notes: 3 Takeaways for Frontier CMOs

Chances are, one of the 400 household brands today’s guest oversees is sitting somewhere in your home right now. Maybe it’s Dove in the shower, Vaseline in the drawer, or Hellmann’s mayo in the fridge. Leandro Barreto is the Global Chief Marketing Officer of Unilever, a nearly 100-year-old company behind brands used by billions of people around the world. 

From the award-winning “Vaseline Verified” campaign to creator-led marketing strategies and partnerships with Arsenal Football Club, this episode of Frontier CMO unpacks what it’s like to be a CMO leading through an AI transformation aimed at building “desire at scale.” 

Want to know what the future of marketing actually looks like inside one of the biggest consumer brands in the world? This one’s for you.

00:00 Can AI Create Human Insight?

01:01 Meet Unilever’s Global CMO

03:00 The Power of Purpose-Led Brands

05:00 Why Creativity Is Still Human

07:00 The Vaseline Love Story

09:00 Marketing’s Evolution at Unilever

11:00 Dove and Cultural Relevance

13:00 How Unilever Tracks Culture

15:45 The Vaseline Verified Phenomenon

19:30 Social Commerce & New Growth

20:00 The Biggest Brand Mistake

22:00 AI and the Future of Marketing

26:00 Big Ideas + Content at Scale

27:45 Leading AI Transformation

29:00 Signal vs. Noise

31:30 Three Marketing Lessons to Remember

Teams are moving faster than ever, producing more content, running more campaigns, and optimizing everything. But without strategy, it’s mostly noise. 

In this episode of Frontier CMO, Josh travels to London to sit down with Mark Ritson, brand strategist, former marketing professor, and advisor to companies like LVMH, Sephora, and Donna Karan, to talk about the state of marketing, which frankly is a mess. 

Based on new global research, Ritson argues that most marketers don’t actually understand the fundamentals of marketing. In an AI-driven world, that’s about to matter a lot more. 

Drawing on examples from brands like Apple, Nike, Target and Walmart, Ritson shares his hot takes on who’s getting it right, who’s getting it wrong, and why brand building is still one of the most misunderstood and undervalued parts of marketing. 

They also get into what’s coming next and how to position yourself to stand out in an AI-driven marketing world. 

No matter where you are in your career, this is what it takes to not get left behind.

00:00 – The Marketing Knowledge Crisis

04:09 – Has America Lost Its Marketing Edge?

05:31 – Why Creators and Brand Ads Work Together

09:24 – The Most Important Job of a CMO

10:13 – Strategy Before Tactics

13:08 – The Skills Marketers Need in the AI Era

15:43 – AI as a Marketing Superpower

18:10 – Walmart, Target & Great Positioning

21:25 – How to Build a Strong Brand Positioning

24:00 – What Founders Teach Us About Branding

27:19 – Mark Ritson's Biggest Marketing Mistake

37:18 – AI Clones, Digital Twins & The Future of Marketing

On this special episode of the Frontier CMO podcast, host Josh Spanier, VP of AI and Marketing Strategy at Google, sits down with two of the driving forces shaping the future of AI and creative: Robert Wong, head of Google’s Creative Lab, and Josh Woodward, head of Google Labs, Gemini, & AI Studio. 

Together, they tell the story of how their teams of engineers and marketers came together to create Flow, a groundbreaking AI tool that is unlocking creativity and storytelling in marketing, Hollywood and beyond.

Taped at Google Marketing Live, Google’s biggest marketing event of the year, this conversation offers a rare look at how Google is reimagining creativity in the age of AI.

0:00 – AI’s Creative Breakthrough Moment

2:05 – Mind-Blowing AI Projects & Experiences

4:15 – Building Gemini & What’s “Almost Possible”

6:15 – Bringing Soul & Humanity Into AI

7:20 – Staying Ahead in the AI Era

10:05 – Lowering Fear to Unlock Creativity

12:05 – The Frustrations & Limits of AI

15:05 – Why AI Still Needs Human Creativity

16:00 – Building Flow for Creative Professionals

20:05 – The Future of Personalized AI Tools

22:00 – The Best Google AI Tools to Try Now

25:05 – Why Great Creative Still Matters

26:00 – The AI Creative Renaissance Ahead

Most football clubs are built around matchday but not Arsenal. As it enters its 140th year, the team in a lot of ways, is only just getting started. 

In this episode of Frontier CMO, Josh travels to London to meet Juliet Slot, Chief Commercial Officer at Arsenal Football Club, on home turf to go inside the playbook behind one of the most engaged global fanbases in sports. 

From the rapid rise of the women’s league to the clubs’ staying power of “cool,” Juliet shares why serving your fanbase is better than trying to sell them. 

This conversation lands at a historic moment with the club reaching its first UEFA Champions League Final in 20 years and is within reach from capturing the Premier League title. As FIFA tournaments kick off around the globe, this is your front row ticket to exploring how one of the world’s biggest clubs is making its mark across platforms, geographies, and generations.

00:00 Arsenal’s Global Brand Philosophy

02:00 Serving Fans Beyond Match Day

04:10 Building a Modern Global Football Brand

06:00 Fashion, Culture & the Arsenal Identity

07:30 Personalization, Content & AI Strategy

09:40 Understanding Different Types of Fans

10:45 Measuring Real Fan Engagement

12:30 The Viral Women’s Football Dating Campaign

14:00 Fans as Co-Creators of the Arsenal Brand

16:30 Authentic Marketing vs. Over-Selling

18:40 Growing Arsenal Women Into a Global Business

22:45 Choosing the Right Brand Partnerships

24:20 Purpose-Driven Campaigns & “No More Red”

25:45 Creating One Unified Club Culture

27:00 Winning Beyond Trophies

29:20 The Future of Sports, Tech & Virtual Viewing

32:00 Why Arsenal Resonates Around the World

34:00 Final Lessons on Community & Long-Term Growth