In this episode of the Omnichannel Marketer, host Kait Stephens sits down with Andrew Pearson, Head of Content for North America at Diageo, live from Groceryshop.
Andrew shares his journey from copywriting and advertising strategy to leading content across Diageo’s portfolio of iconic brands. He discusses how the definition of “content” has expanded far beyond traditional advertising, why internal collaboration is critical to creating a consistent omnichannel brand, and how Diageo adapts its approach across everything from retail displays and activations to Meta, TikTok, and creators.
The conversation explores the challenges of measuring marketing impact when the majority of purchases happen through distributed retail channels, why TikTok requires a fundamentally different creative approach, and how Diageo decides when a brand should -- and shouldn’t -- participate in cultural moments. Andrew also shares his perspective on AI as an amplifier for marketers, why its biggest creative opportunity may be scale rather than replacing people, and why great ideas and strong consumer insights still matter more than the tools used to produce them.
TAKEAWAYS:
- Content is no longer a distinct marketing bucket. Everything from a TikTok video to a retail display is part of how a brand shows up in the market.
- Omnichannel consistency doesn’t mean every touchpoint needs to look identical, but each should feel like it comes from the same brand and point of view.
- Strong internal communication is essential to omnichannel marketing. Content, media, commercial, field, PR, and brand teams need to work together to prevent a fragmented consumer experience.
- TikTok requires a more human approach than channels like Meta, making creators and influencers increasingly important to Diageo’s content strategy.
- Measuring marketing impact for brands sold primarily through distributed retail remains difficult. Diageo looks across metrics including salience, sentiment, ROAS, sales, impressions, engagement, and followership depending on the objective and channel.
- Brands shouldn’t participate in every cultural trend. Before jumping into a conversation, marketers should ask whether the brand actually has something relevant or valuable to add.
- Physical retail creates unique omnichannel challenges because assets like end caps and displays may need to be finalized months before digital content, making early alignment across teams critical.
- AI’s biggest creative opportunity is scale, automating repetitive production tasks like resizing assets so creative teams can spend more time improving the idea, craft, and strategy.
- AI is an amplifier: it can help great marketers become more effective, but using it without strong ideas and intentions can simply create more average work.
- The fundamentals of great marketing haven’t changed. Regardless of how something is produced, strong insight, a strong idea, and great execution remain essential.
- Curiosity and range are valuable career advantages. Andrew encourages marketers to build a “layer cake” of skills across writing, design, strategy, business, and other disciplines rather than becoming a one-trick pony.
Where to find Andrew Pearson:
Linkedin: linkedin.com/in/andrewjamespearson
Website: www.diageo.com
Where to find Kait Stephens:
Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kait-margraf-stephens/
Website: www.brij.it
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