It doesn’t have to be this way’ – PHD’s Chris Stephenson on the complexities of marketing in a programatic world

In today’s Unmade podcast, I talk to Chris Stephenson, the charismatic owner of one of the world’s most intriguing media planning brains.

During our conversation inside PHD’s London headquarters, Stephenson discusses his recent transition from APAC strategy chief to global chief marketing officer and the agency’s place within a crowded market.

He also discusses some of the principles explored in the media agency’s ninth book, Shift, exploring the changing marketing landscape.

PHD believes the marketing industry is undergoing the media equivalent of the Cambrian Explosion, the prehistoric moment when evolution rapidly accelerated. But, argues Stephenson, this increased complexity does not need to leave marketers overwhelmed – if they can tame them technology and make it serve them, rather than the other way round.