Claudine Cheever, Pinterest’s Chief Marketing Officer, joins Jon Evans to explain the company’s counter-positioning, its growth to 640 million monthly active users, and why trust, design and user experience remain central to the product.

Pinterest has built a very different kind of internet platform. Rather than competing for endless attention, it is designed around inspiration, intent and the things people want to do next.

They discuss how Pinterest is approaching AI, creators and commerce, why the platform offers brands a distinctive route to consumers, and what Claudine learned from Amazon about leading marketing in a tech business.

Sign up to one of our festive events here:
https://info.uncensoredcmo.com/festive-events-interest

Timestamps

00:00 - Start
00:51 - Claudine’s experience working at Amazon
04:17 - Challenges at Amazon
05:15 - Quick fire marketing hot takes
11:11 - Why Claudine joined Pinterest
11:41 - Pinterest’s intriguing counter-positioning
16:17 - How important is design and user experience to Pinterest
17:34 - Who actually uses Pinterest?
18:56 - What are the trending things right now?
20:57 - The role of the creator on Pinterest
22:14 - How AI has been impacting Pinterest
23:59 - Growing to 640 million Monthly Active Users
25:43 - How Pinterest are driving growth (11 consecutive quarters)
26:31 - How to establish trust in your brand?
27:45 - How Pinterest fuels e-commerce
30:17 - How CMOs should spend the first 90 days at a new brand
31:36 - The secret to being a great tech CMO
32:45 - 3 tips to educate your company on marketing
34:46 - The best advice Claudine has ever been given

Thank you to System1 for sponsoring Uncensored CMO. Find out more about Test Your Ad Screen here:
https://system1group.com/

Colleen DeCourcy is one of the most influential creative leaders in modern marketing. Now Chief Marketing Officer at Sonos, she joins Jon for a candid conversation about the relationship between creativity, commercial performance and leadership through change.

They discuss why Colleen joined Sonos, what it takes to turn around a brand, and how to bring creativity back into an organisation when the pressure for short-term results is intense. From Nike’s changing fortunes to the limits of performance marketing, Colleen makes the case for brands that stand for something and leaders prepared to take difficult decisions when it matters.

She also reflects on the hardest moment of her career, why great teams need more than talent, and how marketers should approach AI without losing the human judgement that makes creative work valuable.

A masterclass in leading creatively when the business needs results.

Sign up to one of our festive events here:
https://info.uncensoredcmo.com/festive-events-interest

Timestamps

00:00 - Trailer
01:42 - The hardest moment of Colleen’s career
09:36 - Why we need more leaders taking a stand for what’s right
10:42 - Colleen’s thoughts on Nike falling out of the S&P 500
13:27 - Why Colleen joined Sonos
17:41 - How Colleen is bringing creativity into Sonos
21:47 - How to approach a brand turnaround
27:27 - How to lead through a time of change
31:17 - Why have we stopped valuing creativity?
34:56 - Whats the best piece of advice Colleen has ever received?
37:26 - Audience questions
40:08 - Colleen’s thoughts on AI
43:48 - How to make your team great

Thanks to Émigré for being our official black t-shirt partner. Find your travel wear and accessories at:
https://emigre.travel/

Thank you to System1 for sponsoring Uncensored CMO. Find out more about Test Your Ad Screen here:
https://system1group.com/

Duolingo has built one of the most distinctive brands in modern marketing, not by playing it safe, but by creating the conditions for its team to move quickly, take risks and occasionally embrace a little chaos.

Manu Orssaud, Duolingo’s Chief Marketing Officer, joins Jon Evans to unpack the strategy behind the brand’s biggest moments: from the apparent death of Duo and its rapid-response iPhone content to a Bad Bunny campaign built at the speed of culture.

But this is not simply a conversation about being funny on social media. Manu explains the culture of trust required to take creative risks, how to sell bolder work into the business, and how Duolingo measures whether marketing is actually working.

They also discuss behavioural science, the limits of brand safety, handling the AI backlash, and why the next phase of Duolingo marketing may involve a little less chaos.

A masterclass in building a culturally relevant brand without losing commercial discipline.

Timestamps

00:00 - Trailer
01:03 - How do you pronounce Hermes?
02:55 - Duolingo’s iPhone Duo response
04:42 - The culture of trust that enables Duolingo to move fast
05:56 - Has Duolingo ever crossed the line with their social content?
07:55 - The benefits of taking risks
10:31 - The impact of the death of Duo
14:11 - Duolingo’s Bad Bunny campaign - moving at the speed of culture
16:28 - The origin story of the Duo brand mascot
23:05 - How Duolingo uses humour
24:12 - Emigre Sponsor
24:50 - How Duolingo tracks marketing performance
26:15 - Selling risky campaigns into the business
27:06 - The next phase of Duolingo marketing - less chaos
30:37 - How Duolingo is managing this transition
32:56 - Behavioural science insights that have grown Duolingo
34:37 - Duolingo’s AI backlash
38:09 - Going against what your shareholders want
43:46 - What makes Manu a successful CMO
47:47 - The power of constraint
48:46 - Duolingo’s 5 second Super Bowl ad
50:27 - The best advice Manu has ever been given

Thanks to Émigré for being our official black t-shirt partner. Find your travel wear and accessories at:
https://emigre.travel/

Thank you to System1 for sponsoring Uncensored CMO. Find out more about Test Your Ad Screen here:
https://system1group.com/