Martha Stewart talks podcasting, authenticity, and making ugly things beautiful
A few miles south of the Las Vegas Convention Center where cutting-edge technology is located CES participants dazzled Last week, another darling of the advertising and marketing industry took the stage: author, media mogul and lifestyle icon Martha Stewart.
Stewart joined four female Omnicom executives at Cosmopolitan to discuss how themes from her decades-long career continue to shape content creation and branding. Sofia Colantropo, Director of Marketing at Omnicom Media Group, moderated the panel. The panel also included Chrissie Hanson, CEO of OMD USA; Louise Johnson, Global CEO of Fuse; and Katie Klein, chief investment officer at Omnicom Media Group North America.
“I could be on the cover of Sports Illustrated and look glamorous and fabulous in a swimsuit at 82, but I also make sure my blogs, Instagram posts, and TikToks show me cleaning the chicken coop” , Stewart told a crowd of people. marketers at CES 2025.
It’s this authenticity, she explained, that has endeared her to readers, viewers, followers, listeners and customers over the past 50 years.
Adapting alongside technological innovation
One of the keys to the success of Stewart’s brands, she explained, has been learning and evolving with the technology consumers use.
“What Martha Stewart Living has done from the beginning is try to adapt early on to the types of technologies that will make a difference,” she said. “We did it very well. This is why our Instagram is so popular. Our TikTok is becoming more and more popular. It all helps. Enjoy it. It’s there, use it.
For media agencies, artificial intelligence can help fill gaps as the connected commerce landscape becomes more complex, Hanson noted. AI models can help advertisers be more hyper-targeted, anticipate consumer needs, optimize campaigns and follow up appropriately after a purchase, she said.
“How can I use AI to really understand: am I providing the right product, the right service? » Hanson said. “All of these capabilities help us make the magic of connected commerce experiences truly practical and real. »
Follow cultural synergies
Last summer, Stewart worked alongside longtime collaborator and friend, Snoop Doggto promote NBC’s broadcast of the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris. In the first week alone, their involvement contributed to a 79% increase in viewership compared to the Tokyo Olympics, Stewart said.
The result highlights the value that can be created by connecting the right personalities to cultural moments. Stewart pointed The outsized influence of Taylor Swift on the NFL viewership and how fashion designers Kristin Juszczyk (who is married to 49ers guard Kyle Juszczyk) was licensed by the NFL to create fashionable spectator outfits for fans.
“The first woman to change disgusting soccer jerseys into amazing dresses,” Stewart said, to a burst of laughter from the crowd.
With a store launching this month, The Juszczyk brand Off Season has already been worn by celebrities such as Swift, Simone Biles, Brittany Mahomes and Taylor Lautner.
Finding the right content medium
Over the course of his career, Stewart has used virtually every medium to communicate with his fans: from books and magazines to television, radio, podcasts, social media and live events. But her favorite thing is radio and podcasts, she says.
“My first books were about how to do it yourself — recipes, of course, that taught you how to prepare a meal, how to throw a fabulous party,” Stewart said. “When I started the magazine, we went even further. We did some craft projects. We taught you how to do everything.
From there, the “omnimedia” company moved towards “omnimerchandising,” she explained. “People wanted to have the finished product. People are not lazy, but they are busy with other things and they need to buy.
Then everything moved to the Internet, creating a digital empire. “We’ll see what happens now with AI,” Stewart said.
