The Big Impression: The Guardian’s Sara Badler on Promoting Journalism that’s “Global, Independent and Free”

Podcast: The Big Impression
Hosts: Damian Fowler (A), Ilyse Liffreing (B)
Guest: Sara Badler (C), Chief Advertising Officer, The Guardian US
Date: October 22, 2025

Episode Overview

In this episode, The Big Impression welcomes Sara Badler, Chief Advertising Officer of The Guardian US, to discuss the launch and significance of "The Whole Picture," the Guardian's first major U.S. brand campaign. The conversation explores building a globally recognized, independent, and freely accessible journalism brand in the U.S. market, the creative and strategic decisions behind the campaign, measuring success, and the challenges and opportunities facing legacy news publishers in the digital era.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. The Rationale Behind “The Whole Picture” Campaign

Main Theme: Reintroducing The Guardian to U.S. audiences as a reliable, global, and independent news source.

• Sara Badler explains the campaign’s ethos:

  "The Whole Picture is really... the Guardian saying, which I think now is more important [than] ever, is this idea that we are completely global perspective, we're independent and we have no paywall. Everyone can read us and we are, we are focused and dedicated to journalism."
  [01:01]

• Context in the US: With increased paywalls, media consolidation, and billionaire-owned outlets, The Guardian’s ad-free, paywall-free, truly global approach offers a distinctive alternative for American readers.

  "Now more than ever, having something free and a truly global perspective is unique and something that we have."
  [02:34]

2. Campaign Creative & Execution

• The Bold Aesthetic: The campaign’s striking yellow designs and clever wordplay were conceived with creative agency Lucky Generals after much collaboration and iteration.

  "It just took time of evolving what our real story is and what we want people to get out of it."
  [03:32]

• Real-World Impact:
  Activations included billboards in Midtown Manhattan, subway ads, a live event in the Meatpacking District, and a fashion collaboration with Lingua Franca—each designed to build brand presence across multiple touchpoints.

• Importance of Consistency:

  "How do we consistently beat a drum and people recognize it not just one moment, but multiple moments throughout their day..."
  [04:23]

3. Community & Cultural Events

• Event Strategy: Post-pandemic, IRL events are a strategy for deepening community and brand connection, especially around cultural moments like the upcoming Soccer World Cup.

  "People want to go out, people want events. I also think the cultural moments are just so important... planning around that and the sense of community is important in everything we do."
  [05:44]

• Hosting at the Ned: Editors’ residencies and events planned to further drive New York and DC engagement.

4. Audience Strategy: Expanding Demographics & Touchpoints

• US Readership: The Guardian’s lack of a paywall allows for a broad and diverse US audience, including attracting younger readers via new podcasts, newsletters, and pop-up activations.

  "We really think... everyone can be as a Guardian, a Guardian audience at one point."
  [07:54]

• Multi-Channel Approach:
  Rolling out video podcasts, newsletters, fashion collaborations, and live events to reach different segments.
  [08:49]

5. Programmatic Strategy & Global Unification

• With Badler’s background in programmatic advertising, The Guardian has restructured its global approach to be led from the US, reflecting the campaign’s “one global newsroom” ethos.

  "The global programmatic strategy is actually coming out of the US, which is very unique... we're really becoming one global unit."
  [09:27]

6. KPIs and Measuring Success

• Early Results: High visibility, positive feedback, and sold-out merchandise—evidence of engagement even in the early days.

  • Sara recounts a personal story of her daughters noticing the Lingua Franca collaboration's success.
    [10:33-11:50]

• Business Metrics:
  A mix of traditional (RFPs, revenue) and qualitative metrics (brand collaboration, audience growth, global footprint) are used; importance of sustained engagement over time is emphasized.

  "You have to talk about this like it launched last week, now it's Ad Week, what are we doing next week... what are we doing in seven weeks that's going to keep this going?"
  [12:14-13:39]

7. Editorial & Marketing Synergy

• Collaboration: Content and brand teams integrate—for example, journalists and editors model Lingua Franca sweaters in campaign materials. [13:48]

8. The Guardian’s Unique Business Model

• The Scott Trust Advantage:
  The Guardian’s trust structure allows for long-term, strategic thinking, versus short-term commercial pressures.

  "[We] are so lucky to be owned by the Scott Trust because we look at things and we do things like this to the whole picture that are very like thought out, methodical, programmatic, they make sense..."
  [14:47]

• Reader Revenue + Advertising:
  Enabling investment in journalism while maintaining independence and a global perspective. [15:53]

9. Challenges & the Publishing Landscape

• Legacy Publisher Hurdles:
  Cutting through media clutter, maintaining brand uniqueness post-acquisition, and adapting to rapidly changing social and news environments.

  "There's so much media to consume. It's like, how do you make yourself unique and different?"
  [16:29]

• Ad Market Fragmentation:
  Hope for more streamlined industry standards and greater collaboration among publishers.
  [19:21]

10. Innovation & The Role of AI

• Balanced Approach to AI:
  The Guardian uses AI where appropriate but not for core journalistic functions.

  "We are actively using it and... trying to figure out how and where it fits in different places, but it does not change how we report and our journalism."
  [18:44]

11. Rapid-Fire Q&A Highlights

• Publisher Admiration:
  The New York Times praised for its handling of acquisitions and innovation. [20:04]

• Boldest Risk:
  The fashion collaboration with Lingua Franca—an experiment that paid off but came with unknowns.

  "We didn't know how people would react or the world would react or if they would react... we've never done anything in, like, the fashion world."
  [21:06]

• Stealing from Other Industries:
  Sara muses on the rarity of an industry-wide “Super Bowl” in publishing and emphasizes strategic presence over ubiquity.

  "If you try to be everywhere, you're nowhere. And I think that's really important for us to think about."
  [22:28]

12. Reflections on Advertising Week

• Larger, busier than ever, but companies now focus on internal events and building community within organizations as well as with clients. [23:03-23:46]

Notable Quotes

• On the campaign’s core message:

  "Independent, factual, and free... that's like really, it just makes sense."
  Sara Badler [17:59]

• On media overload:

  "There's so much media to consume. It's like, how do you make yourself unique and different?"
  Sara Badler [16:29]

• On the importance of focus:

  "If you try to be everywhere, you're nowhere. And I think that's really important for us to think about."
  Sara Badler [22:28]

Timestamps for Important Segments

• [01:01] Sara Badler introduces “The Whole Picture” campaign
• [02:34] Why now is the right time for The Guardian in the US
• [03:32] Creative concept development with Lucky Generals
• [04:23] Multi-channel and experiential campaign strategy
• [05:44] Community-building via cultural events (e.g., World Cup)
• [07:54] Understanding and expanding the US audience
• [09:27] Programmatic strategy and global newsroom integration
• [10:33] Early positive feedback and creative campaign anecdotes
• [12:14] Campaign KPIs and measuring success
• [13:48] Editorial and marketing collaboration
• [14:47] Business model: The Scott Trust and funding approaches
• [16:29] Publishing’s ongoing challenges
• [17:59] Optimism for funding quality journalism
• [18:44] AI’s role in journalism at The Guardian
• [19:21] The need for more streamlined ad market processes
• [20:04] The New York Times as a model publisher
• [21:06] Bold marketing risks: The Lingua Franca collab
• [22:28] Industry crossover ambitions and the importance of strategic appearances
• [23:03] Takeaways from Advertising Week

Memorable Moments

• Sara’s excitement about sold-out Guardian sweaters and seeing new kinds of audience engagement
  [10:33-11:50]

• Acknowledgement of how the Guardian’s US content and marketing must continually evolve:

  "If you try to be everywhere, you're nowhere."
  [22:28]

• Reflections on the changing dynamics of large industry events post-pandemic
  [23:03] onward

Summary

This episode is a deep dive into what it takes to reposition a storied news organization in a crowded, polarized American media landscape. Sara Badler’s insights reveal The Guardian’s commitment to integrity, independence, and accessibility, showing how thoughtful brand campaigns—rooted in creativity, cultural relevance, and global strategy—can successfully engage new audiences. The conversation is honest about the challenges facing journalism, hopeful about innovation, and clear-eyed about the need for continual engagement, adaptation, and authentic community-building.