In this episode of Time for a Reset: Insights from Global Brand Marketers, host Nick King sits down with Natalie Wills, Senior Vice President of Brand Marketing and Creative at Expedia Group, to explore how modern marketing teams can unify brand, performance, and product to drive meaningful business impact.

Natalie shares her perspective on why creativity is no longer just a campaign output but a core growth engine, especially in a world where products and services are increasingly commoditized. She explains how Expedia Group is breaking down the traditional divide between brand and performance marketing, aligning teams around shared goals and customer experience rather than internal structures.

Drawing on her experience leading global brand strategy across Expedia, Hotels.com, and Vrbo, Natalie walks through how each platform is being sharpened through clear positioning, consistent storytelling, and close alignment with product capabilities. From simplifying loyalty programs to building trust in vacation rentals, she highlights how strong brand foundations translate into real customer value.

The conversation also explores the role of AI in creative development, where it adds speed and scale, and where human thinking remains essential. Natalie outlines how teams can use AI to improve efficiency while still focusing on original ideas, strategic thinking, and cultural relevance.

It is a grounded discussion for marketing leaders looking to connect creativity with commercial outcomes, build stronger brand systems, and navigate the evolving role of AI in modern marketing.

Topics Covered:

• Why creativity should be treated as a growth engine, not a campaign output
• The structural reasons behind the divide between brand and performance marketing
• How Expedia Group aligns product, marketing, and creative teams
• Building distinct brand platforms for Expedia, Hotels.com, and Vrbo
• Simplifying loyalty programs to improve customer experience
• Using AI to scale creative production while maintaining originality
• Balancing creative ambition with commercial accountability
• The evolving role of marketers in an AI-enabled world

Episode Chapters:

00:00:02 Introduction to the podcast and Natalie Wills
00:01:24 Natalie’s reset on creativity and brand in an AI world
00:02:29 Why brand and performance are still separated
00:04:08 How Expedia Group brings brand and performance together
00:06:26 Rebuilding brand platforms across Expedia, Hotels.com, and Vrbo
00:11:40 Simplifying loyalty programs for customers
00:13:05 Driving alignment across large, matrixed teams
00:15:26 Balancing creativity with commercial accountability
00:16:53 The role of AI in creative development
00:18:53 How creative roles will evolve over the next few years
00:20:52 What Natalie looks for in modern marketing talent
00:22:57 Personal growth and consistency in leadership

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In this episode of Time for a Reset: Insights from Global Brand Marketers, brought to you by Overline, host Fiona Davis speaks with Raja Rajamannar, Senior Fellow and former CMO of Mastercard and one of the most influential voices in modern marketing, about the urgent need to reset the marketing function.

Raja argues that marketing has not just lost influence, it has lost credibility. He traces this back to a fundamental disconnect between marketing and business outcomes, where marketers failed to understand financial drivers, revenue models, and the language of the C-suite. As a result, CEOs have lost trust, new roles like Chief Growth Officer have emerged, and marketing has been pushed out of strategic decision-making.

Drawing on his experience leading Mastercard’s transformation into one of the world’s fastest-growing brands, Raja introduces the idea of “Quantum Marketing”, a reimagining of the entire marketing value chain, from insights to customer engagement. He shares how shifting from traditional advertising to immersive, multisensory experiences helped reposition marketing as a growth engine rather than a cost centre.

From redefining the capabilities of modern marketers to rethinking how marketing is taught in business schools, this episode offers a candid and forward-looking perspective for leaders navigating a rapidly changing landscape.

Raja Rajamannar spent over a decade at Mastercard, transforming the brand into one of the fastest-growing and most valuable in the world. He is currently a Senior Fellow and former CMO at Mastercard and an Executive Fellow at both Harvard Business School and Yale School of Management, where he is focused on reimagining the future of marketing. With a career spanning leadership roles across companies like Unilever, Citibank, and Mastercard, Raja is widely recognised for pioneering the concept of “Quantum Marketing” and for bringing a deeply commercial, data-driven, and innovation-led approach to modern marketing.

Topics Covered:

• Why marketing has lost credibility and influence in the C-suite
• The disconnect between marketing activity and business outcomes
• The rise of performance marketing and its limitations
• Why marketers must become general managers, not specialists
• The concept of “Quantum Marketing” and resetting the value chain
• How Mastercard transformed marketing into a growth driver
• The shift from advertising to experiential and multisensory marketing
• Why AI and technology level the playing field for companies
• Creativity and human connection as the next competitive advantage
• The future role of marketing as a cross-functional, strategic driver
• The evolving skillset required for modern marketing leaders

Episode Chapters:

• 00:00 Intro and meet Raja Rajamannar
• 02:08 Resetting the Entire Marketing Function
• 06:13 Why Marketing Has Lost Its Influence
• 10:41 Capabilities of a Strategic Marketer
• 17:59 AI, Technology, and the Future of Differentiation
• 20:28 Transforming Marketing at Mastercard
• 27:09 A Defining Career Moment in Sales
• 31:16 The Future of Marketing as a Function
• 33:40 Skills for the Marketer of Tomorrow
• 36:07 Staying Relevant in a Changing Industry

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In this episode of Time for a Reset: Insights from Global Brand Marketers, brought to you by Overline, host Nick King speaks with Pardeep Duggal, Global Marketing Director at Bupa Global, about why marketing must sit at the heart of business transformation, not on its sidelines. Drawing on decades of cross-industry experience, Pardeep shares practical frameworks for earning boardroom credibility, building high-performing teams, and embedding marketing into the core business strategy. From leading with data before creativity to adopting AI through real-world use cases, she outlines how modern marketing leaders can balance rigour with bold thinking. It’s a candid, opportunity-focused conversation for CMOs ready to shape strategy, not simply defend spend.

Topics Covered:

• How to reframe marketing's role from communications-only to business transformation by positioning marketing as integral to customer strategy, digital ubiquity, and business outcomes, not as a separate function.
• The three non-negotiable qualities that define high-performing marketing leaders. Intellectual capability to understand business dynamics, relentless work ethic, and learning agility trump tenure or pedigree.
• The "Swoosh" methodology for delivering marketing transformation. Start by fixing operational basics and earning credibility, then paint a three-year vision of progressive change.
• Why credibility precedes creativity in the boardroom. Lead with a data-driven understanding of business models, revenue drivers, and digital impact before deploying your creative superpower. Numbers open doors; creativity changes minds.
• The winning team composition is a mix of industry veterans with fresh talent from other sectors. Pair people who understand organizational unwritten rules with outsiders who bring new perspectives.
• How to connect with the C-suite through emotional immersion, not just dashboards. Use theatrical, real-world experiences, hotel room customer simulations, unfiltered customer sessions, and live store visits to make customer insights visceral and memorable for executives.

Pardeep Duggal is the Global Marketing and Digital Director at Bupa Global. She brings three decades of experience transforming customer experiences across heavily regulated industries, including banking, energy, insurance, and healthcare. Known for embedding marketing into enterprise-wide business transformation strategies, she has built high-performing teams at leading organizations, including E.ON, CVS, Santander, and Barclaycard.

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