Earlier this year, Forbes released its annual Top Creators list. This week, we have two of its highest-ranked names sharing their behind-the-scenes secrets. .

At Oxford Road’s CAO Summit this past July, Dan Granger (CEO & Founder, Oxford Road) welcomed two powerhouses of the creator economy: Dhar Mann (founder, Dhar Mann Studios) and John Allen, aka MrBallen (founder, Ballen Studios). In this in-depth conversation, the two stars talk about storytelling at scale, the benefits of paying attention to the comments section, and going beyond the brief. Let’s dive in.

“It does seem sort of fluky when somebody goes viral. I promise you it's not. Going viral might be fluky. Staying relevant is not.”

-John Allen, aka MrBallen (founder, Ballen Studios)

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It seems like AI is everywhere these days. But if you look at actual usage, only 50% of Americans use AI once a week. That’s roughly the same share of Americans who used the internet back in 2001.

If AI brands want to grow, there’s a hesitancy gap they’ll need to address. According to our new study with the Cumulus Media | Westwood One Audio Active Group®, audio is the perfect place to foster a brand campaign.

For details of our survey, as well as tips from our AI brand playbook, check out this week’s episode of The Media Roundtable.

First-time host Tucker Peleuses (Chief of Staff to the CEO, Oxford Road) welcomes Neal Lucey (EVP, Strategic Planning, Oxford Road) and Pierre Bouvard (Chief Insights Officer, Cumulus Media | Westwood One) to talk about AI’s split perceptions, audio wins, and why it’s important to remember that you’re not the customer. Let’s dive in.

“ If you're an AI brand and you think most Americans are aware of you, you've got a lot of work to do.”

- Neal Lucey (EVP, Strategy & Planning, Oxford Road)

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Podcasting is an amazing medium, but the industry that supports it hasn’t always been inherently brand friendly. Luckily, we have a chance to change that, thanks to the AMP Accords.

Dan Granger (CEO & Founder, Oxford Road), Giles Martin (EVP, Strategy, Oxford Road), and James Cridland (Editor, Podnews & Podcast Business Journal) do a deep dive deep into how the AMP Accords can shape the industry, and explain why imperfect standards are an improvement over the wild west.

“Podcasting is truly the shining city on a hill as far as media goes, and we can't get out of our own freaking way to not spike our customers' tires when they drive into the parking lot.”

-Dan Granger (CEO & Founder, Oxford Road)

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If you weren’t at this year’s CAO Summit, you missed out on a keynote speech that drew parallels between the headaches caused by banks printing their own money in the 1800s and the state of podcasting today.

Lucky for you, we’re releasing the full recording in this week’s episode of The Media Roundtable.

Dan Granger (CEO & Founder, Oxford Road) and Giles Martin (EVP, Strategy, Oxford Road) talk about how podcasting platforms are printing their own money, the friction that adds to industry tension, and how AMP is poised to help. Let’s dive in.

“Today, we have platforms that each print their own currency. We have downloads, plays, views, streams, video views. Each number may be perfectly valid inside of one individual system that created it, but the problem appears when a brand tries to compare them to each other .”

•  Dan Granger (CEO & Founder, Oxford Road)

Download the full State of Podcasting deck here: https://oxfordroad.com/thought-leadership/the-state-of-podcasting-2026

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One CMO, six experts, and more than a dozen different marketing headaches. Throw them all together, and what do you get? A fiery edition of Media Roundtable, that’s what.

Straight from Cannes, Dan Granger (CEO & Founder, Oxford Road) joins a panel of experts to solve every marketing challenge that Kim Storin (CMO, Zoom) throws their way. Hear insights from:

• Dani Feore (VP, Industry Sales, The Weather Company)
• Don Sklenka (SVP of AI Optimization, Claritas)
• Grace Briscoe (EVP Client Development, Basis)
• Elizabeth Dobbs (AVP, Marketing Technology, Data & Growth, Databricks)
• Michael Bayston (Global VP Adtech Solutions, Acast)

The team talks about the best way to spend $500,000; the creative courage needed in the age of AI slop; and the one thing you need to make podcasting your strongest channel. Let’s dive in.

“ If you just try to make [podcasting] a box you check because you feel like it needs to be a part of a balanced portfolio, don't bother. Either go big, or go home.”

-Dan Granger (CEO & Founder, Oxford Road)

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Podcasting can be a lucrative advertising platform for brands. But the medium is still relatively new and distinct from traditional media, so marketers tend to get intimidated by it. Luckily, some of Oxford Road’s brightest minds have come together to create a cheat sheet.

On this week’s episode of Ad Infinitum, host Stew Redwine (Executive Creative Director, Oxford Road) communes with a powerhouse panel of Oxford Road thinkers: Miranda Romano (SVP, Media), Charisse Miller (Director of Client Success), Angela Hunter (Group Creative Director, Operations), and Jillian Garner (Client Success Manager, Client Services). The panel breaks down the skills needed to make podcast ads work, from managing relationships to crafting authentic copy. They even review and rate a few sample ads.

“Audio doesn't always translate from TV. So our job is to make sure the message works for the audience, works for the platform, and also works for the business objective.”

-Angela Hunter (Group Creative Director, Operations)

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In a twist, Dan Granger (CEO & Founder, Oxford Road) takes a break from Media Roundtable to guest- star on the award-winning show podCast411. Host Rob Walch interviews Dan about the specialist advantage, why better info wins, the key to building industry bridges, and so much more. Let’s dive in.

“  I believe podcasting is the greatest canvas for the free and open exchange of ideas, but that has to be managed responsibly. And the tools to do so in many cases don't yet exist.”

• Dan Granger (CEO & Founder, Oxford Road)

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Few relationships can change a company’s fortune like finding the right creator to partner with. So, what’s the secret to making the most of creator partnerships that deliver results? Find out in this week’s installment of The Media Roundtable.

At this year’s CAO Summit,  Conor Doyle (President, Oxford Road) moderated a superstar panel discussing how to make the most of creator partnerships, even when you don’t have all the data. Taking the stage with him was an all-star team of industry veterans:

• Caitlin Bricker, (Sr. Manager, Influencer Marketing, DraftKings)
• Gavin Carr, (Head of Podcast & Emerging Media, Morgan & Morgan)
• Mandy McDonald, (VP, Partnerships & Affiliates, AG1)
• Morgan Melvan, (Sr. Manager, Offline Marketing, Ro)

Together, the panel talked about how buyers need to be great sellers; the best ways to help creators crawl, walk, and run; and why briefs can still be valuable. Let’s dig in.

“The audience is so loyal to those creators that they will write in [the reviews]: ‘Oh, I saw this on this YouTube channel, [and] had to give it a shot. He’s been talking about it for months.’”

-Mandy McDonald, (VP, Partnerships & Affiliates, AG1)

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