The Best Marketing & Communications Podcasts
Mat Zucker’s ever-changing fickle audio picks
As you may know, I’ve been involved in podcasting since the very first wave. I admire—and try to keep up with—the evolution of the industry and its content. Since I also work in marketing and communications, I’m constantly trying, dropping, and re-trying shows as well as guiding their development and launch.
Here’s an ever-growing list with my picks across news and research, trends, leadership, creative, PR and content. Please share ideas and your picks as well.
NEWS & RESEARCH
Behind the Numbers (eMarketer): I’m addicted to this show for its research highlights, expert analysis, and playful tone. There’s regular focus on streaming platforms, retail and several other cousin shows.
The BeanCast Marketing Podcast: Every week, Bob Knorpp puts out an entertaining and insightful take with a 3-person panel’s take on the latest news in advertising and digital marketing. He even lets me on the show occasionally as a panelist.
TRENDS
Champions of Growth (ANA): Focus on the CMO growth agenda, produced by the Association of National Advertisers. Recent topics include community powered marketing, ageism, and B2B advertising. The ANA also has several other shows, including Marketing Futures and Beyond Profit.
Day One FM (D1A): Produced by the Day One Agency, a younger, fresher take on the industry with more focus on Millennials and Gen Z.
What’s Next with Rishad Tobaccowala (Publicis Groupe): Leadership takes on marketing and advertising with Publicis-focus and guests but not completely.
IPA Podcast (IPA): UK’s professional organization for advertising, media and communications has a thoughtful podcast about the industry with more of a British and European bent.
LEADERSHIP
The A-list: Ad veteran and teacher Tom Christmann interviews ad leaders, sponsored by AdHouse Advertising School.
CMO Moves (Adweek): One of the first, biggest podcasts interviewing chief marketing executives, a show to help you get to know stories of CMOs at big brands and the type of work they are trying to do.
The CMO Podcast: Jim Stengel’s popular show profiles heads of marketing digging into people’s motivations and thought processes.
Business of Marketing (Adweek): It’s a limited series of sponsored shows, including one with me and my partner Dave Novak talking about our Brand & Demand Marketing: A Love Story report.
Rising (Direct Agents and Prophet): My show with Josh Boaz in which we talk to marketers about their careers, trajectories, choices. A special segment is my favorite: “Thank you notes,” in which we ask each guest to thank someone from their past who opened a door or gave them a piece of indelible advice.
AD CREATIVE
Tagline (Clio) About the making of great ads, hosted by Tim Nudd. All the backstories behind the most indelible influential and impactful campaigns including Always Like A Girl, Dos Equis World’s Most Interesting Man, Volvo Trucks Epic Split, Dove Real Beauty Sketches and more
Yeah, That’s Probably An Ad (Adweek): Highlights of current campaigns.
PUBLIC RELATIONS
Coffee With A Journalist (One Pitch): One Pitch is a Saas platform created for public relations professionals and this podcast interviews business journalists about how they like to be pitched including pet peeves. Good, candid view inside the editorial criteria of many of the biggest, most influential publications.
CONTENT MARKETING
This Old Marketing: Joe Pulizzi and Robert Rose, two industry content experts, cover the week of media, marketing, content marketing and digital content news
Copyblogger (Rainmaker): Content marketing, copywriting, email marketing and more.
If you have suggestions of shows across categories to try, please let me know in the comments or via Linkedin. Thank you.
