Episode Details

What separates a good idea from good creative work?

For Jo Shoesmith, chief creative officer at Amazon, it's curiosity—the willingness to look again, to find the idea within the idea and recognize potential hiding in plain sight.

In this episode, Jo draws on her agency experience and her current role leading Amazon's creative organization to explain how leaders can operate as both builders and curators—building systems that can help a global brand move with speed and continuity, then applying judgment and taste to determine which ideas best represent the brand and which stories are worth telling. This balance can give teams room to experiment while preserving brand continuity.

Jo's instinct to look past the obvious and find what resonates comes through in her work on Amazon's iconic 2023 "Joy Ride" advertisement. Her team recognized genuine chemistry among its three stars and trusted their unscripted joy to carry a story with no spoken dialogue. The result was a simple, emotionally resonant portrayal of friendship and aging that connected with people far beyond its intended audience.

To help bring other great ideas to life, AI can help curious creatives remove friction, but acting on every idea isn't the goal. Human judgment and taste still determine which ideas to pursue, and which will resonate.

For creative and marketing leaders, Jo's lesson is clear: Curiosity is key to identifying an idea's potential, building systems that help it grow and knowing when it is right for the brand. As AI makes it possible to explore and execute more possibilities, those human capabilities become even more important.

In this episode, you'll hear:

How curiosity can help creative leaders recognize potential and build on areas others might overlook

Ways marketing teams can use AI to expand creative possibilities without replacing human judgment and taste

Strategies to build and curate brands that move fast, feel human and make a lasting emotional impact

Key highlights:

[00:20] Introduction

[01:50] Growing up in rural Australia

[03:00] Jo's path to Amazon

[06:30] The scope of the CCO role at Amazon

[07:35] Being both a builder and a curator

[09:25] Embracing AI as a creative

[12:50] Making Amazon's iconic 2023 "Joy Ride" ad

[15:35] Past experience that defines you: Growing up with a strong single mother

[16:50] Advice to your younger self: Become a builder

[18:05] A topic you're trying to learn more about: Role expansion to media and production

[18:40] Latest curiosities: Identifying small, simple ideas for new creations

[19:35] Largest potential opportunity: Everyone is a business owner

[20:50] What AI cannot replicate: Strong internal company culture

Resources mentioned:

Listen Now