We’ve hit the final episode of Camp Cannes Roll Call, and the BarkleyOKRP village goes out on a high (and hilariously sleep-deprived) note. Mariah Haberman hosts our last fireside chat from the French Riviera with Katy Hornaday, Nate Swift, and Sean Corcoran. From luggage drama to media magic, the crew dishes on their biggest takeaways, Cannes MVP moments, and what they’re bottling up (not rosé, Sean) to bring back to the Midwest. There’s one last roll call, one chaotic word game, and a whole lot of optimism about the future of creativity, media, and Big Indie ambition.

Day 4 from Camp Cannes brought the heat—and not just the Mediterranean sun. Mariah, Katy, Nate, Sean, and special guest Nicole Portwood (CMO at Suja Life) rallied around the campfire to break down the Fizz FM campaign for Slice—a nostalgia-fueled AI radio station built in a lightning-fast two weeks with BarkleyOKRP and Google. From Lo-Fi beats to 40 original songs about soda, the work sparked conversation not just for its creativity, but for doing something AI literally made possible for the first time. We also get honest, audacious takes on what AI can and shouldn’t do, dinner with the Clios, optimism from DeepMind, extinct animals, and hot dogs that slay.

Day three at Camp Cannes was anything but chill. Between panels, croissants, and one unfortunate pre-dessert cheese incident, the BarkleyOKRP crew dug into work that went deep and got people talking—like balloon installations spotlighting teen mental health and a Vaseline hackathon turned influencer marketplace. The crew tackled AI anxiety, risk-taking brands, and the power of long-term agency-client trust, all before logging 25,000 steps in jeans. Also? Snail mail. Real(ish) snail mail.

Day two at Camp Cannes Roll Call kicks off with three hours of sleep, one missing gate clicker, and a glitter-suited bunny sighting. Amid jet lag and iced latte revelations, the BarkleyOKRP crew recaps a jam-packed day—highlighted by an intimate leadership lunch with Charles Day, an inspiring story from Tubi’s CMO playbook, and a reminder that creativity, connection, and the occasional Viking-style fish entrée still cut through. And yes, the tote bags were a hit.

Welcome to Camp Cannes Roll Call, where the luggage is missing, the seagulls are thieving, and the creative conversations are somehow still flowing. In our kickoff episode, Mariah wrangles the crew—Katie, Nate, and Sean—for a casual debrief from the Côte d’Azur. We talk flooded hotel rooms, jet lag, rose-fueled crafting, and what it means to show up in Cannes with Midwest soul and creative ambition. There’s honesty, there’s audacity, there’s even some shopping-for-bras. It’s very us.

What truly sets independent agencies apart, and why does it matter now more than ever? In this episode, Jason Parks sits down with Katy Hornaday and Doug Zanger to explore how independence drives greater creativity, agility, and long-term success in a landscape increasingly shaped by holding companies.

In this Super Bowl 59 recap, host Jason Parks is joined by Ben Pfutzenreuter and Kyle O’Brien to break down the night’s biggest ads—grading the overall lineup, unpacking standout themes, and predicting which spots will have a lasting cultural impact.

What even is athleisure? Big-spending Gen-Xers don’t know, but that’s not stopping athleisure brand Vuori. It’s pursuing a go slow to go fast approach to brand and performance marketing that’s building a fashion phenomenon. Join host Jason Parks and his guest Karen Riley-Grant, Vuori’s CMO, stitching together insights on the psychology of consumer needs, the creation of Vuori’s London brick-and-mortar retail flagship as a social hub, and why loyalty and quality are the fabric for success in a world of fast fashion.

What’s standing in the way of true innovation? Spoiler: it’s not just silos or stale thinking—it’s the way we try to innovate. In this episode of This Modern Brand, Emily Cohen, Senior Director of Global Innovation at Pernod Ricard, shares how ditching cookie-cutter approaches unlocked breakthrough results. Tune in to learn how to “brainstorm the brainstorm” and revolutionize your creative process.

In this episode, we explore the rapid rise of AI in the creative industry. Host Jason Parks joined by Melany Esfeld, BarkleyOKRP EVP head of production and Tim McCracken, SVP creative, discuss AI’s potential as a workhorse for time consuming tasks, so creatives can focus on what they do best: developing impactful, original ideas. We share real-life examples of campaigns amplified by AI for powerful storytelling while preserving a human touch. Tune in for insights on balancing tech with creativity, navigating client expectations, and what the future holds for AI in the agency world.

Consumers expect personalization, but too many companies are falling short, wasting money and missing the mark on expectations. In this episode, hosts Jason Parks and Steph Parker interview one of the most influential CMOs in the world about his upcoming book, “Personalized:  Customer Strategy in the Age of AI.”  Now a Harvard Business Fellow, David Edelman shares detailed stories across industries of companies that deliver personalization to scale, and how AI-driven data can solve the five personalization promises we can make to consumers: empower me, know me, reach me, show me and delight me.

As an organization with no physical branches or sales teams, USAA has had to master the art of marketing. New CEO Francesco Lagutaine talks to hosts Jason Parks and Katy Hornaday about how USAA achieves an extraordinary level of customer focus. Learn how small “i” innovation, Mission Moments, and doing Zero Day like a recruit help USAA understand their military members, and why they buy.

Jason Parks is back with BarkleyOKRP Chief Media Officer, Reshma Karnik, and Sean Corcoran, President of Media and Analytics. They explore how the media landscape continues to change, and why it’s making media management increasingly complex. Are brand stories getting lost in the rush to performance media? Is it possible to build a roadmap for brands that gives them resonance as well as revenue? Get expert answers and explore the state of media on This Modern Brand.  

Uncover the strategies behind successful influencer partnerships. In this month’s episode of This Modern Brand, Jason Parks hosts a panel of influencer marketers: Pam Davis, founder of likekind influencer marketing agency, Jane Chandler, VP of Public Relations at BarkleyOKRP, and Joe Spencer, BarkleyOKRP account supervisor whose focus is the influencer space. Hear how influencer marketing is starting to split down the middle, and what you should consider when an influencer’s voice becomes part of your brand.

Your brand’s purpose might lead consumers to you the first time, but you’ll need more than that to bring them back.  A clean brand before clean brands were a thing, Every Man Jack went from a line of great-smelling men’s shower products to a B-Corp advocate for people, communities, and the planet. Hosts Jason Parks and Mariah Haberman talk about the purpose of purpose with Ellie Off, VP of Marketing at Every Man Jack.

Nostalgic mall brand Claire’s rose from the brink of bankruptcy to a listing on Fast Company’s “Most Innovative Companies” in 2023. Thriving in a retail landscape that ended legacy brands like Toys R Us, Claire’s leveraged Paris Fashion Week, AI, feedback loops and the metaverse to win the loyalty of over 22 million Gen Z and Gen Alpha consumers. Follow the glittery trail of tween marketing with BarkleyOKRP’s Jason Parks and Steph Parker as they interview Kristin Patrick, Claire’s EVP, Chief Marketing Officer and Head of Ecommerce.

Look under Winnebago’s hood with hosts Jason Parks and Jen Mazi in this episode of This Modern Brand. Join them as Kunal Mehta, VP of Strategy, Marketing and Business Development at Winnebago, discusses the brand’s award-winning Go Where You Feel campaign, and shares how data, intuition — and Whole Brand Thinking™ — has helped the brand build relationships with a new generation of consumers. 

Sink your teeth into another juicy episode of This Modern Brand. Continuing our focus on B-Corps, we feature tomato titan: NatureSweet. They revolutionized the produce game with eye-catchingly packaged snacking tomatoes, and blazed trails for their workforce with transformative wages and mental health programs. Now, they’re taking on their biggest challenge yet: the Tomato Tax. Join hosts Jason Parks and Jen Mazi as they unpack how Nature Sweet went from greenhouse to powerhouse to become the largest B-Corp ag company in America.

Hosts Jason Parks and Lindsey DeWitte kick off B-Corp month in conversation with Annie Agle, VP of impact and sustainability at Cotopaxi, one of our favorite B-Corp brands. Annie discusses the rigor of maintaining B-Corp status, and how Cotopaxi’s empowerment of employees has far-reaching effects. Does their “Gear for Good” tagline hold up against their ambitious environmental and human-centric goals? Tune in and find out.

Barkley’s Jason Parks and Jen Mazi dive into the evolution of an iconic brand with Jenna Berg, the VP of Marketing at Motel 6. Jenna shares her career journey, from her beginnings in advertising to her pivotal role in shaping the modern identity of Motel 6. Discover how Motel 6 has shifted its focus from being just a value brand to a brand with values, embracing DEI+B while maintaining its mission of making travel accessible for all with a clean, comfortable room and great low rate. Join us as we explore the strategies behind Motel 6’s successful marketing campaigns and its commitment to supporting diverse communities.