EP 107: Award-winning ads stopped driving growth says Steve Harrison

Steve Harrison has spent over 40 years in advertising. He rose to Creative Director at Ogilvy, then founded Harrison Troughton Wunderman, building one of the most awarded direct marketing agencies in the world and winning 18 Cannes Lions.In this episode, Steve argues the industry lost effectiveness when it stopped focusing on selling and started chasing societal impact. He explains why award-winning work stopped delivering commercial results and why purpose messaging rarely stuck with consumers.Steve also shares a personal leadership mistake. After selling his agency, he took a global role that cost him day-to-day control and real influence, a lesson many senior marketers will recognise.This is a direct conversation about effectiveness, growth, and why selling the product matters again.Send us Fan Mail Struggling to prove marketing's worth to your board? Grab our free one-page Board-Proof Scorecard: 👉 Download the scorecard 👈Got a marketing problem you would rather not admit to? Reply to this and we will answer it anonymously on the show.Subscribe to our newsletter The mistakes we see marketers make, every fortnight. 👉 [Subscribe here] 👈Follow Chris:X, TikTok, LinkedInFollow Will:LinkedInFollow The Show:TikTok, YouTube