Marketing Vanguard at Cannes: Why the Experience Is the Brand ft. Nathan Rosenberg

This episode of Marketing Vanguard comes straight from Cannes 2026 as host Jenny Rooney sits down with Nathan Rosenberg, Chief Marketing and Brand Experiences Officer at Virgin Voyages. They discuss why the best and most real marketing happens when a customer is telling their friends the story of what they experienced, how Virgin Voyages turns crew culture into customer loyalty, and why repeat rate should sit much closer to the center of marketing strategy. Nathan Rosenberg is the Chief Marketing and Brand Experiences Officer at Virgin Voyages, where he has spent 14 years building one of the most distinctive experience-led brands in travel. With 26 years across the Virgin organization, Nathan brings a deeply human-centered approach to marketing, culture, and brand strategy. At Virgin Voyages, his work spans far beyond campaigns. He champions the full experience of the brand, from how guests feel when they step onto a ship to how crew members are supported to deliver memorable service. His philosophy is simple but demanding: if you take care of your people, they take care of your customers, and customers take care of the outcomes. What You'll Learn: Why marketing is irrelevant if the experience does not hold up How repeat customers can lower acquisition costs and change the growth equation Why crew experience directly shapes customer experience and brand memory How Virgin Voyages turned an adults-only cruise model into its clearest differentiator Why marketers need to stop drowning in reports they will never act on How AI can amplify creative teams instead of replacing them Why soft skills like empathy, vulnerability and listening are now the hardest leadership skills This episode is part of a special vidcast series that was recorded live during Cannes 2026 and presented in partnership with Edelman Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.