{"podcast":{"title":"The Media Leader Podcast","slug":"the-media-leader-podcast-5773787","podcast_index_feed_id":5773787,"rss_url":"https://rss.art19.com/the-media-leader-podcast","website_url":"https://art19.com/shows/the-media-leader-podcast","image_url":"https://content.production.cdn.art19.com/images/75/c6/95/75/75c69575-142b-4ca1-a5fe-2a24c4bff5a5/95bac19733e21c257f65b53b38a82f53ad36208699d5cc81f4e592ce0ffab91316d4d7fdb70f20957c716453703e982b2e1237edb31d31164b7d90d3585cfec6.jpeg","author":"The Media Leader","episode_count":233,"summary":"The Media Leader is the leading source of analysis, data, opinion and trends in commercial media and advertising. Hosted by senior reporter Jack Benjamin, we speak to senior industry leaders and rising stars about the key challenges media faces as part of our mission to stand up for courage, inclusion and excellence in media. Find out more at uk.themedialeader.com and subscribe to our daily newsletter .","last_synced_at":null,"page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/the-media-leader-podcast-5773787"},"episode":{"title":"Believe It or Not Ep. 2: Will humans still touch media plans within five years?","slug":"believe-it-or-not-ep-2-will-humans-still-touch-media-plans-within-five-years","published_at":"2026-04-23T04:00:00+00:00","page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/the-media-leader-podcast-5773787/believe-it-or-not-ep-2-will-humans-still-touch-media-plans-within-five-years","show_page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/the-media-leader-podcast-5773787","url":"https://rss.art19.com/episodes/2ad4a086-6be8-4c1b-9a68-5061ffc5eb2b.mp3?rss_browser=BAhJIg90cmFuc2NyaWJyBjoGRVQ%3D--952c5701c84ad333c69d5faa668f8177091704f0","audio_url":"https://rss.art19.com/episodes/2ad4a086-6be8-4c1b-9a68-5061ffc5eb2b.mp3?rss_browser=BAhJIg90cmFuc2NyaWJyBjoGRVQ%3D--952c5701c84ad333c69d5faa668f8177091704f0","summary":"In a new mini-series, former  Media Leader  editor-in-chief Omar Oakes is joined by former Dentsu International CEO, now AI strategist Hamish Nicklin to argue over the nuances of AI development and its use in the creative industries. In episode two, the duo debate for and against the prompt: “No human will touch a media plan within five years.” Taking the “for” side of the argument is Nicklin, while Oakes represents the “against” side, posing sceptical questions. The topic is inspired from comments made by Brian Lesser , the CEO of WPP Media, to staff in March 2025, in which he indicated that, within the next four or five years, there will “probably” be plans that “leave the building” that no planner ever saw. Some staff, particularly planners, took that to mean their jobs could be at risk. UK CEO Kate Rowlinson later insisted to The Media Leader that Lesser “certainly didn’t say [media] plans wouldn’t be overseen by humans”. Is it possible for media planning to be fully automated? What would that mean for agencies? Nicklin and Oakes discuss. Highlights: 00:46: Recent developments in AI: Novels written by AI, using ChatGPT to treat a dog's cancer 6:38: Why AI can dominate media planning and execution: the knowledge base is codified and agent-to-agent transactions are already happening 16:34: What about non-digital planning? What about the need for creativity? 21:43: If you can automate planning, why do you need an agency at all? 24:39: The big pitfalls: insights, relationships 33:17: Brand safety and accountability 40:45: Second-order effects: Role restructuring, retraining, changes to senior management, personal credit 50:38: Verdicts","meta_description":"In a new mini-series, former Media Leader editor-in-chief Omar Oakes is joined by former Dentsu International CEO, now AI strategist Hamish Ni…","key_points":[],"chapters":[],"topics":[],"duration_seconds":3254,"processing_state":"not_requested","actions":[{"name":"request_transcript","method":"POST","url":"https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/the-media-leader-podcast-5773787/episodes/believe-it-or-not-ep-2-will-humans-still-touch-media-plans-within-five-years/transcription-requests","description":"Idempotently request low-priority transcript generation for this episode."},{"name":"read_markdown","method":"GET","url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/the-media-leader-podcast-5773787/believe-it-or-not-ep-2-will-humans-still-touch-media-plans-within-five-years.md","description":"Read the agent-friendly Markdown representation of this episode resource."}]}}