The question isn’t whether social media is broken. It’s whether we’ve built the right teams—and asked the right questions—to fix it.

In this episode, Josh pulls back the curtain on life at the intersection of behaviour, branding, and burnout. As Global Head of Social at HX Expeditions—and with previous stints leading Unilever’s global Beauty & Personal Care output and digital comms at Save the Children UK—Josh has lived the highs and lows of the industry. He’s delivered Cannes-worthy content for global names and absorbed frontline pressure in moments of humanitarian urgency. That breadth shapes a rare kind of perspective: part systems thinker, part empathetic operator.

What drives this conversation is a hunger to reframe how social platforms—and the organisations behind them—approach engagement. Anchored in a provocative research paper on “Pro-Social Media,” Josh discusses an alternative feed logic: one that surfaces content not by sheer popularity, but by contextual relevance. Who is engaging, and why? What cognitive diversity might we introduce to nudge us out of algorithmic comfort zones?

“The platforms are doing exactly what we trained them to do,” Josh notes. “They mirror our psychology—particularly our bias towards outrage. But we never asked what it’s costing us.”

The Quiet Cost of ‘Always On’

For Josh, the biggest blind spot isn’t the algorithm—it’s the culture.

Across both commercial and non-profit sectors, he’s seen how social media teams often become reactive fire blankets rather than trusted strategists. “Don’t talk to them unless something’s on fire—that’s the norm,” he says. “But that invisibility comes at a cost. It’s real emotional labour.”

His solution is disarmingly low-tech: presence.

“Support isn’t a Slack channel. It’s someone in the room. Literally. Someone who understands the pressure and can hold space when things go sideways.”

This isn’t a wishlist—it’s hard-earned realism. And it speaks to a deeper point in the episode: if social platforms are behavioural ecosystems, then so are the teams managing them. Ignoring their emotional bandwidth is a systemic flaw.

Impact as Accountability

Josh’s lens sharpened significantly during his time at Save the Children. “You couldn’t just run a campaign for engagement’s sake,” he reflects.

“You were telling real stories—often about children’s lives. The weight of that forces you to rethink what success looks like.”

It’s here that Josh draws a line between metrics and meaning. Behavioural insights, he argues, should serve as connective tissue between a brand and its broader responsibility—not just as a shortcut to higher reach.

This realignment, he believes, is where social can regain its humanity.

Designing for Better (Not Just More)

Despite his honest view of ad-driven platform logic, Josh remains hopeful. “We might not be able to change the revenue model overnight,” he concedes, “but we can change what we reward internally.”

That might mean celebrating content that slows people down. Or labelling stories in ways that encourage reflection over reaction. Or simply asking: what does meaningful engagement look like if it’s not just a click?

Josh’s closing reflections speak less to marketing KPIs and more to human priorities. He dreams of a world where ESG is tied to financial markets—and where parenting well is seen as a leadership trait.

“If someone looks back and says I helped them be better—at work or in life—that’s the goal.”

It’s not a rebrand of social media. It’s a re-humanisation.

📰 The Hidden Cost of “Safe” Advertising

For brands eager to protect their reputations, the use of automated blocklists—software that prevents ads from appearing next to controversial or “unsafe” content—can seem like a no-brainer. But Bryan argues that these tools may be creating bigger problems than they solve.

“Some blocklists are so outdated, they’re still excluding content with the word ‘Paris’—not because of the Olympics, but because of terrorist attacks from nearly a decade ago,” Bryan explains.

The result? Advertisers are inadvertently cutting off funding to high-quality journalism. That’s not just bad for news publishers—it’s bad for society.

🧠 Rewiring Media Thinking: Why Context Still Matters

Bryan’s team at Ozone has long championed the concept of the premium web—a digital space where content is curated, governed by editors, and subject to standards. In contrast to the “long tail” of clickbait and conspiracy blogs, this is the corner of the internet where trustworthy information still thrives.

“Our partners are handpicked. Every publisher we work with has editorial oversight and audience-first values,” says Bryan.

He believes this environment should be exempt from the blanket-style brand safety tools that treat all content the same. “If we don’t fix this,” he warns, “the flywheel breaks: less ad money means lower investment in journalism, less engagement, and a further drop in trust.”

📉 What’s at Stake if We Get This Wrong?

Without intervention, Bryan fears we may drift toward a two-tiered system: those who can afford quality news will pay for it; everyone else will get filtered narratives, algorithmic junk, or nothing at all.

“Everyone should have access to information that helps them make better decisions. Not just those who can pay,” he says. “We’re at risk of losing that.”

It’s not just a philosophical stance—it’s a commercial reality. Publishers need funding to survive. And brands benefit when consumers are reading content in engaged, credible environments.

📈 Responsible Advertising ≠ Lower ROI

Many advertisers avoid placing ads next to “hard news” content for fear of reputational damage. But research, including a study of over 70,000 participants by Stagwell (an Ozone partner), has shown that consumers are smarter than that.

“People can separate the news from the ad. Just because your ad is near a Trump tariff story doesn’t mean they associate you with that policy,” Bryan says.

In fact, when placed well, ads in trusted environments often perform better. Bryan references upcoming research with Bountiful Cow that will demonstrate how ads placed without brand safety restrictions performed just as effectively—if not more so.

🪄 The Bull** Barometer

Bryan’s magic wand moment? A reality check on corporate values.

“I’d love to invent a kind of BS Barometer—something that shows whether a company really lives its purpose, or whether it’s just jumping on a trend.”

He believes you can spot the difference in the hard choices: “If a brand sticks with its values when times get tough, that’s when you know it’s real.”

🧭 Final Thoughts: Finding the Ethical Edge in AdTech

For Bryan, the future of responsible marketing is a balancing act—doing what works and doing what’s right. Ozone is proving that you don’t have to sacrifice ethics to meet business goals. In fact, Bryan believes aligning values with performance is the key to long-term success.

“It’s not about guilt-tripping advertisers. It’s about showing them the results, and giving them a reason to feel good about it too.”

This conversation explores the uncomfortable space between progressive messaging and commercial interest—shedding light on why well-meaning marketing campaigns often backfire, and how a deeper understanding of cultural intelligence might be the missing link between purpose and authenticity.

🧭 From Insight to Impact

Kian’s background in both philosophy and marketing gives him a unique lens through which to interrogate the role of business in society. For him, the key shift is moving from insight to impact—and recognising that brand storytelling isn’t neutral.

“Marketing shapes culture and society. The stories brands tell influence behaviour, values, and even identity.”

Many brands claim to be purpose-led, but the gap between intent and execution often leads to reputational risk—or worse, social harm. “We’re seeing more brands get called out for performative campaigns. They say the right things, but their internal practices don’t match,” Kian notes.

That mismatch, he argues, stems from a failure to truly understand the cultures they seek to represent or support.

🌍 Cultural Intelligence: More Than Market Research

Kian believes that the future of ethical marketing lies in cultural intelligence—a practice that combines anthropology, philosophy, behavioural psychology and systems thinking.

“You can’t simply take a cultural insight, twist it into a campaign, and expect it to resonate. Culture isn’t a toolkit. It’s a relationship.”

His work with The People focuses on bridging the gap between brands and communities through long-term engagement—not just trend reports. That means working with cultural researchers, grassroots voices, and youth councils to co-create campaigns that reflect lived experience—not just aspirational messaging.

Some of the common mistakes brands make when attempting this include:

• ❌ Relying on tokenistic representation

• ❌ Using data to justify what they’ve already decided

• ❌ Prioritising short-term virality over long-term impact

“Just because something gets a lot of likes doesn’t mean it’s right,” Kian points out. “Metrics can often distract from meaning.”

💬 The Power of Listening (Not Just Talking)

One of the more surprising takeaways from Kian’s work is that the most powerful form of communication is listening.

“Brands think of storytelling as broadcasting. But real connection comes when you create space for dialogue. That means being willing to be wrong, to change course, and to elevate voices other than your own.”

This, he argues, is where many ESG or sustainability communications fall short. Organisations are quick to share their commitments, but slow to address critique. “There’s a fear of being exposed, so they stick to safe language. But safety often equals blandness. And that’s what people see through.”

🔮 What’s Next for Ethical Storytelling?

As younger generations demand more transparency and accountability from brands, the stakes for getting this right are only increasing.

Kian believes the next frontier lies in co-creation—not just hiring creatives to interpret purpose, but involving communities in shaping what that purpose looks like in practice.

He’s also interested in intergenerational leadership within the creative industries, helping younger thinkers drive change from within, rather than being relegated to advisory roles.

“True innovation often comes from the edge. From people who aren’t yet indoctrinated into how things ‘should’ be done.”

Final Takeaway 💡

Kian’s call to action is simple, yet radical:
Slow down. Listen deeply. Build with—not for—communities.
Because in the end, ethical marketing isn’t about having the loudest voice. It’s about having the most honest one.

🔍 Social Media’s Crisis of Credibility

In discussing the recent TIME article by Andrew Chow on Meta’s rollback of its fact-checking efforts in the US, Marissa warned of a dangerous tipping point in how information is consumed and shared online.

“We’ve lost that along the way… We’ve never had this sort of freedom of expression or freedom of engagement ever.”

Marissa pointed to the accelerating spread of disinformation, particularly during election cycles, and the marked difference in content moderation between countries. As Chow’s article highlights, Meta has quietly removed its US-based fact-checking programmes while retaining them in other markets—raising serious questions about political influence.

“It looked like the removal of the fact check really was based here in the U.S.,” Marissa explained.

“The fact checkers in Meta in other countries… are still doing their same job.”

📜 A Licence to Publish?

Midway through the conversation, Charlie posed a radical idea:

“What if, just like learning to drive a car, you had to pass a kind of certification before you could publish content online? Something that ingrains ethical responsibility, fact-checking, and proper substantiation from the outset?”

Marissa’s response?

“I like that idea. Let’s put a little bit more rigour around having the licence to publish.”

In the age of self-publication, the burden of ethical storytelling has shifted from traditional publishers to anyone with a smartphone. Yet, as Marissa noted, there’s no training, no standards, and no consequences for spreading misinformation. The idea of user-side accountability—rather than relying solely on platform moderation—is one worth exploring further.

🤝 The B2B Sustainability Space: Safer, But Not Immune

While much of the disinformation debate centres on consumer-facing platforms, Marissa’s world of B2B sustainable business has its own challenges.

She doesn’t see the same volume of outright misinformation—but she does see greenwashing, and more recently, a new threat: greenhushing.

“There’s the couple of phenomenons that we talk about: greenwashing… and now greenhushing. When companies actually are legit taking great actions… but they’re not talking about it for fear of political backlash.”

The consequence? Lost momentum. Without public-facing stories of sustainability progress, brands risk weakening their own commitments—and slowing the collective learning needed across industries.

🪄 A Magic Wand for Responsible Communication

As is tradition on The Responsible Edge, Charlie closed the episode with a magic wand question: if you could change one thing about the commercial world overnight, what would it be?

Marissa’s answer was crystal clear:

“How do we help companies to actually do the opposite of greenhushing and be more vocal to have that impact, to tell their story… through social media and through storytelling in the right way?”

Her solution? Empower internal voices—especially employees and leadership teams—to become brand advocates. That’s where real trust is built.

“Use the voice of those that are closest to them. Those are internal— their employees.”

🧠 Final Thought

What made this episode stand out was its blend of practical marketing insight and broader digital ethics. Marissa’s reflections on platform power, corporate responsibility, and communication strategy weren’t just relevant to marketers—they’re relevant to anyone trying to build trust in a post-truth world.

Because when we all have a voice, the question isn’t just how loudly we speak—but whether what we’re saying is worthy of being heard.

The Marketing Materials Blind Spot 🧩

Lauren’s time in marketing procurement highlighted a glaring disconnect between sustainability ambitions and the day-to-day decisions made when sourcing branded materials.

⚠️ Key Issues Identified:

• Physical marketing materials (POS, merchandise, branded assets) often escape sustainability scrutiny.
• Procurement focuses on cost and speed — sustainability is rarely factored into supplier selection.
• Sustainability functions sit in corporate affairs, far removed from operational decision-making.

Lauren explained:

“The sustainability team was closely aligned to external communications, so the focus was on reporting and reputation management. Day-to-day procurement decisions? That wasn’t part of the conversation.”

Short-Term Costs vs Long-Term Impact 💸

🔎 Marketing procurement teams typically work to short lead times and tight budgets. This often means selecting suppliers based on:

• ✅ Price
• ✅ Speed of delivery
• ✅ Ability to meet brand aesthetic requirements

What’s missing?
❌ Lifecycle thinking — where materials come from, how they’re made, and where they end up.
❌ Supplier audits — ensuring ethical and environmental standards in the supply chain.

“There was this assumption that if suppliers delivered on time and on budget, the environmental or social risks were someone else’s responsibility.”

What Gets Measured, Gets Managed 📊

Lauren proposed introducing lifecycle assessments for all branded marketing materials — tracking environmental and social impacts from:

• 🌍 Raw material extraction
• 🏭 Production and distribution
• 🎉 Use in marketing campaigns
• 🗑️ End-of-life disposal

The idea was rejected.
Why?

“It was seen as too disruptive — it would have forced teams to confront the real cost of these materials.”

This highlights a common corporate failing — sustainability seen as a comms tool rather than an operational priority.

Procurement Needs a Rebrand 🚀

If companies are serious about embedding sustainability across their operations, procurement must evolve from: 🚫 A cost-cutting function
✅ To a strategic enabler of sustainability

Lauren’s research found that the most impactful companies:

• Involve procurement teams in sustainability strategy from day one.
• Give procurement the authority to challenge unsustainable materials and suppliers.
• Measure procurement success not just on cost and speed, but also on environmental and social outcomes.

The Disconnect Hurting Green Claims 🌍⚖️

With green claims legislation tightening, companies will soon need to prove that sustainability commitments extend beyond their products.

Lauren stressed:

“There’s a critical gap between the headline sustainability commitments brands make and the materials they use to promote themselves.”

Without transparent oversight across all marketing and branded materials, companies risk:

• ❌ Greenwashing accusations.
• ❌ Loss of consumer trust.
• ❌ Non-compliance with emerging regulations.

What Needs to Change 🛠️

For companies to align their marketing supply chains with their sustainability commitments, they need to:

• 🔗 Embed sustainability directly into procurement processes.
• 📝 Develop clear sustainability criteria for marketing materials.
• 📢 Ensure sustainability teams have a say in supplier selection.
• 📊 Track environmental impacts across all marketing materials, not just product packaging.
• 🏅 Recognise procurement teams for driving sustainable outcomes, not just reducing costs.

“Sustainability has to sit where the money is spent — and that means procurement.”

Conclusion: Sustainability Is an Operational Issue, Not Just a Brand Story

Sustainability strategies will always fall short if companies fail to apply the same rigour to their marketing materials as they do to their core product lines.

💬 Lauren’s experience exposes a critical governance gap — one that leaves marketing materials outside sustainability oversight, even as they flood bars, events, and retail spaces across the world.

✅ For companies to truly deliver on their green promises, sustainability must move beyond corporate reports and into every supplier contract, creative brief, and procurement decision.

The Rise of Greenwashing in a Post-Pandemic World

Greenwashing is not new—it dates back to the 1960s and ‘70s—but its scale has exploded in recent years. “Post-COVID, the stakes have risen,” John explained.

“Consumers are more attuned to environmental claims, and the pressure on businesses to demonstrate sustainability credentials has intensified. This has created fertile ground for greenwashing.”

John outlined three categories of greenwashing: accidental, purposeful, and those in the grey area. “Accidental greenwashing is the easiest to address—it’s usually a result of poor communication or a lack of knowledge,” he said. “Purposeful greenwashing, on the other hand, requires tougher interventions, including regulatory oversight and public accountability.”

Transparency: The Antidote to Greenwashing

John’s solution to greenwashing is radical transparency, a practice that demands companies openly disclose both their successes and their shortcomings. “Perfection is not what people want,” he argued.

“What builds trust is honesty. Admit your mistakes, share your learnings, and be clear about your limitations.”

He cited a compelling example from the 2017 Oscars, where PricewaterhouseCoopers mistakenly announced the wrong Best Picture winner. “They owned up to it immediately, explained what went wrong, and showed how they’d fix it. That’s the kind of radical transparency companies need to embrace in their sustainability efforts.”

The Role of Legal Teams in Hindering Progress

One of the biggest barriers to transparency, John noted, is internal resistance—often driven by legal concerns. “Legal teams are so worried about the potential fallout from admitting to shortcomings that they shut down communications altogether,” he explained.

“But saying nothing only fuels suspicion. Companies need to learn how to balance transparency with caution.”

John urged organisations to resist the temptation to over-polish their sustainability messaging. “People can see through inauthentic claims,” he said. “The key is to communicate with humility and clarity, even if your efforts aren’t perfect.”

Pragmatic Solutions from the Developing World

John’s work in developing economies like China, India, and Vietnam has shaped his approach to tackling greenwashing. “In these regions, sustainability is not theoretical—it’s about solving immediate problems, like air pollution or water scarcity,” he said.

This hands-on perspective has driven John’s belief in simplifying complex issues.

“We don’t need more debates or glossy reports. What we need are actionable steps that can be implemented today.”

For example, John highlighted factories that have adopted incremental measures, such as installing more efficient water filtration systems. “It’s not headline-grabbing, but it’s real progress,” he emphasised. “Transparency about these small wins is just as important as sharing long-term goals.”

A Vision for Corporate Accountability

John’s ultimate vision for combating greenwashing is a world where transparency becomes the norm. He believes this shift requires not only regulatory pressure but also consumer demand. “If we reward honesty and penalise deception, the market will correct itself,” he explained.

He envisions a future where companies regularly disclose their progress with the same rigour they apply to financial reporting.

“We need sustainability reports that go beyond green-tinted PR to provide real, verifiable data. This is how we rebuild trust.”

Radical Transparency as a Competitive Advantage

While many companies fear transparency, John sees it as a competitive edge. “Admitting where you are and where you’re going shows that you’re serious about progress,” he said.

“Consumers, investors, and employees value that authenticity.”

John’s approach to fighting greenwashing is pragmatic and achievable. By championing radical transparency, he offers a path forward for companies that want to rebuild trust while driving meaningful sustainability progress. As he put it: “The truth, even when it’s messy, is always more powerful than a polished lie.”