“You cannot be emotionally attached to any distribution channel in marketing.”
That was one of Gary’s key messages at Advertising Week Europe—and it perfectly summed up the platform agnostic marketing strategy he’s been pushing for years.
The spring sunshine lit up 180 Strand, and the place was buzzing with energy and top-tier speakers. In just a few hours, I sat in on Gary’s exclusive masterclass, his CMO Now interview with CNBC, and his keynote with Advertising Week President Ruth Mortimer.
Here are the five moments that stood out most.
I don’t think anyone expected an OG influencer and content creator to say, “I don’t put social media on a pedestal.” But here’s the thing: social media is where people are spending most of their time and attention. So, as marketers, we need to meet them where they are. It’s the richest source of insights you’ll find—on your brand, your content, and your campaigns.
Until that shifts, social is where we need to be. The real key isn’t getting emotionally attached to the platform itself—it’s being emotionally invested in getting the best return on your time and money there.
If £1million adspend was our own, family money, we wouldn’t spend it the way a traditional advertising agency does.
I wish more marketers would embrace this mindset. Yes, the craft of advertising is valuable and should be treated with care, expertise, and respect. The people behind the work deserve to be paid well for their brilliant ideas.
But it’s all about being consumer-centric and smart with where we invest. The old ways of reaching people—TV, OOH, and print—can still work for some brands. Our reality is that a single organic social post, sometimes not even from the brand itself, does more for product sales than traditional advertising in a matter of days. And this happens every week.
Missed Advertising Week Europe? Check out our full recap.
“If you post on social and you get 16 views, you f****** suck!”
Gary’s blunt humor got a laugh, but the point couldn’t be clearer. The truth is, social media is the best platform for getting real-time feedback on your creative. If people like what you’re posting, they’ll engage with it—likes, comments, shares. That’s how you know if your content is working.
The real magic is when something performs, you can put your media spend behind it and watch it thrive. No more guessing or gambling on something untested. You just tweak, adjust, and optimize until you’ve got something that works.
The tried and true principles of marketing still exist
Learning how to do some things in a new way doesn’t mean we have to throw out everything. The fundamentals of relevance, consideration, product, and price are all still hugely important.
The difference now is that with social media, we can measure and track relevance in real-time. If something’s working, you double down. Social can provide so much information for you to use. But it doesn’t mean it’s the only thing you need to nail to make a sale.
It’s a really exciting time to be in our industry – and we should be proud of it
Not long ago, ideas like the “attention economy” or “creating at the speed of culture” felt new. Last week, I watched senior leaders from banks, startups, and the platforms themselves speak as if those ideas were now central to how brands grow.
There’s still work to do before social truly sits at the center of every marketing strategy—but it’s clear that more CMOs are waking up to its value.
We hear a lot about creative talent leaving the industry, or that the work isn’t what it used to be. But what I saw at Advertising Week Europe was different: a room full of passionate, sharp, and forward-thinking people who care deeply about the future of marketing.
So instead of dwelling on what’s lost, I’m choosing to be energized by what’s next. Because if last week proved anything, it’s that this industry still has plenty of spark—and we should be proud to be part of it.
