We threw fake £20 notes into a bin at Creative Ops London this week. The response told us everything.
AI in Creative Operations: Hype vs. Reality in 2026
63% of organisations expect AI to give employees more time for strategic and creative work. That is not a prediction about some distant future. It is the expectation of business leaders right now, in 2026, based on what they are already seeing.
Production Companies and Legal Liability: What Brands Must Know
Hiring a production company feels like the safe move. They handle the creative, they source the music, they manage the shoot — and if something goes wrong, that’s on them, right?
Creative Operations Has a Visibility Problem – And It’s Costing Billions
For years, the role of Creative Operations has been defined by workflow.
The Great Licensing Arms Race: AI Is Coming for Your Expired Music Rights
That Instagram Reel from 2021? Yeah, it might be a ticking time bomb.
AI is failing because data foundations are non-existent ⚠️
AI Isn’t Failing CMOs. Their Operating Model Is. And until we address that honestly, AI will remain an expensive layer sitting on top of structural inefficiency – with pilots and projects repeatedly failing – costing reputations and jobs.
The CMO’s 2026 Survival Guide: 3 Questions You Better Have Answers For
In the “before times” (circa 2023), a CMO could get away with a strategy built on vibes, vanity metrics, and a “test and learn” budget that never actually stopped testing.
The Reality of Creative Ops Inside a $10B Company with Santiago Gonzalez | ML Stories
After building an internal agency and navigating a full restructure, Santiago Gonzalez is back at Wayfair — this time acting as the bridge between production, creative ops, and go-to-market teams.
Force a Reckoning on Waste in Enterprise Marketing
Most enterprise marketing waste isn’t caused by bad decisions.
It’s caused by decisions made without visibility.
If you can’t see where your content is used, reused, or duplicated, inefficiency isn’t a failure — it’s guaranteed.
5 Signs Your Company Is Actually Taking Creative Ops Seriously
Many companies say they care about Creative Operations. Far fewer operate like they do.
Top 5 Tools for Creative Operations in 2026
Creative Operations is undergoing one of the most significant transformations in its history. What was once a discipline focused on workflow coordination, asset handoffs, and deadline management is now becoming a data-driven, AI-powered operating system for modern marketing and content teams.
Hidden Realities of Creative Ops Nobody Talks About with Nicole Cobble | ML Stories
Nicole Cobble is a global marketing and creative operations leader shaping how luxury brands bring ideas to life. With experience driving creative transformation, brand image, experiential strategy, and in-house agency operations globally, she’s spent her career building the systems that make creativity work at scale.
Adam Akisanya on Building Brands That Last | ML Stories
In this blockbuster episode of ML Stories, we sit down with Adam Akisanya, ex–North Face Global Creative Operations Manager, to talk about what it really takes to build creative teams and brands that last. From keeping burnt-out creatives inspired, to helping brands move beyond selling products and into building communities, Adam shares a real look at what makes marketing work in 2025.
From TikTok to Meta—Rich Sica on the New Era of Brand Storytelling | ML Stories
In this episode of ML Stories, we sit down with Rich Sica, an advertising business affairs professional and music strategist whose career spans some of the biggest names in tech and entertainment, including TikTok and Meta. Rich has worked with global brands to shape campaigns that bridge advertising, music, and technology — from managing rights and talent contracts to leading creative partnerships that bring storytelling and sound together. We talk about how TikTok has become a testing ground for bold ideas, what are the most overhyped metrics, and how AI should be a co-pilot for creativity.
Why Enterprise AI Is Stalling: Everyone’s Talking About AI, But Few Are Ready for It
“Everyone’s talking about AI — but few are ready for it. Most enterprises chase generative outcomes before building the foundation: unified, structured, visible data. Without that, AI can’t deliver.”
From Montblanc to Martech: Miles Chevalier on Tech, Humanity, and the Future of AI
When you speak with Miles Chevalier, you quickly realize his perspective on marketing and technology is shaped as much by human experience as it is by systems.
Robert Barbaro on Data, AI, and the Human Role in the Future of Technology
From a career in performing arts to Digital Data Architect, Robert Barbaro’s career path has been anything but ordinary. Today, at David Lloyd Clubs, he’s shaping how data and AI are used to drive growth, optimise customer journeys, and rethink how organisations prepare for the future.
You can’t grow if you can’t see | Episode 02
They’re not just cleaning up the chaos — they’re uncovering where the growth really is.In a world of content overload, structured data is the difference between guesswork and smart reinvestment. Know what’s working. Do more of it. That’s the game now.
It’s Budget Time: Why 2026 Belongs to Marketing Intelligence & Your Data Foundations
Every September / October, the same ritual happens every year: budgets get locked. Line items are fought over, horse-trading begins, and soon most of the big calls about what tools, teams, and tech you’ll have for the next year are already made.
Why Marketing Still Needs Human Creativity: Mansoor Panawala on AI, Analytics, and Growth
With a career spanning McKinsey, Motorola, Google, and Walgreens, Mansoor has seen marketing and strategy evolve from both the consulting and corporate side.