In today’s crowded entertainment landscape, marketers have access to more data and performance metrics than ever before. But knowing which insights genuinely matter, and when to balance data with creative instinct, remains a challenge.
In this edition of MarTech Thoughts, we speak with Henry Foster-Reed, Director of Digital Marketing at Warner Bros., about making smarter marketing decisions in a highly competitive attention economy. From knowing which signals to trust to connecting different sources of insight, Henry shares his perspective on how marketers can use data more effectively while keeping business outcomes and human judgement at the centre.
Quick Q&A with Henry Foster-Reed
Could you please give us a quick introduction of yourself and share a bit about your role at Warner Bros.?
I’m Henry Foster-Reed, Director of Digital Marketing at Warner Bros. in the UK. My role and my team span various disciplines across organic activations, paid media & data strategy. We work cross-divisionally & enable marketing teams to translate insights into actionable and impactful digital marketing excellence.
Have you seen examples where the data told you one thing, but your marketing or creative instinct suggested something different? How do you decide which one to trust?
All the time. But ultimately, all decisions are the result of insights married with instinct. Data is never acted on in isolation, and that helps us protect against miss-guided decisions. So rather than choose between an insight and an instinct, we use both. We know, for example, the impact of franchise IP on certain brand health metrics, and the need to look deeper than we might for new titles. Understanding audience propensity for certain behaviours can also temper how closely you are led by trends in your marketing data. It’s all a balance.
When customers interact with your brand in so many different places, how do you know which marketing activity is really making an impact?
Digital Marketing is awash with metrics that are meant to tell a positive story, but can be disproved with some careful analysis. While no data source is ever 100% reliable, we know which are most trustworthy. I’m also a big believer in ruling out what we know doesn’t make sense – it’s often easier than identifying fully-fledged truths and can help refine investment. Keeping true business outcomes in mind at all times is key to considering the impact of marketing and how you optimise; there must always be a bridge between both sides.
What marketing capability would you most like to develop further in the years ahead?
Professionally, I think a lot about how we can better connect the various sources of insights and consolidate them into a singular narrative where possible. There’s always more to do here. We want to create a common currency across various digital disciplines that can bring teams together via a shared language.
Personally, as a general rule, I just want to be as curious as possible. There’s so much excellence in marketing, regardless of vertical, and I want to ensure I keep my eyes open to what inspiration we can take when trying new things.
Henry’s perspective highlights the importance of using data as a tool for better decision-making rather than treating it as the answer in itself. By combining trustworthy signals with creative judgement and a clear focus on business outcomes, marketers can make more informed decisions and avoid being distracted by metrics that simply look positive.
As marketing becomes increasingly data-rich and technology-driven, the ability to connect different sources of insight, challenge assumptions and turn information into a clear direction will become increasingly valuable.
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Last updated: October 2026
