Can We Have Your Attention?

The War on Business as Usual: The Pentagon, Brands, and the War for Attention

Can We Have Your Attention?

Show Notes

Claire Coady and James Wickham discuss the Department of Defence/Department of War rebrand and its fights with partners and suppliers. In September, Pete Hegseth suggested the U.S. military was being weakened by forces within - forces the Department would fight. How far will it go in that fight?

If the US public doesn't want a war overseas, then is the war on business as usual - and are suppliers exposed?

Plus, if political campaigning is harder in an overheated attention economy, and picking fights with business becomes more common, how can business prepare?

This episode recaps Claire’s Substack post ‘Weaponised Brands in the War for Attention’: https://open.substack.com/pub/attentionscarcity/p/weaponised-brands-in-the-war-for

The attention economy is harder to navigate - especially for political campaigns. More in ‘The Age of Attention Scarcity’: https://open.substack.com/pub/attentionscarcity/p/the-age-of-attention-scarcity

Also:

Gallup, 5 March: 1/3 of Americans say US defence isn’t strong enough https://news.gallup.com/poll/702767/americans-views-nation-global-image-power.aspx

Band names are a strong, identifiable “message” in a two-second world - System1 Group & TikTok: https://system1group.com/creative-effectiveness-tiktok

Save your sanity and stay informed - introducing The Scroll, Scream, and Stop: https://www.linkedin.com/posts/clairecoady_were-back-on-the-latest-episode-of-can-activity-7449795220747137024-vR4I

On the history of the term “war fighters”: https://angrystaffofficer.com/2022/04/11/whats-in-a-name-the-problem-with-warfighter/

Can We Have Your Attention? is a podcast exploring the unseen forces that shape what we see, what we buy, and who we become. Hosted by Claire Coady and James Wickham, we dive into the mechanics of the Attention Economy to understand how value is created (and manipulated) in a distracted world.

Production Credits:

Hosted by: Claire Coady & James Wickham Produced by: Phonogram https://www.phonogram.co.uk in conjunction with The Attention Practice https://www.theattentionpractice.com Find out more on our website https://canwehaveyourattention.com Got a story for us? Email us: [email protected]

Enjoying the episode? If you found this conversation valuable, please follow us on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or your preferred player. Leaving a rating or review helps us break through the noise—and get the attention of more listeners like you.

More from Can We Have Your Attention?

Oct 22, 2026

Claire and James discuss Aaron Sorkin’s film, The Social Reckoning, a companion to The Social Network.

Oct 7, 2026

You can also watch this episode on our YouTube channel!

Sep 26, 2026

You can also watch this episode on YouTube!

Sep 3, 2026

Ad tech, the backbone of digital advertising, is a lucrative business. But why? Who is profiting from it? And at what cost? Claire and James are joined this week by Claire Atkin, Co-founder and CEO of the Check My Ads Institute. They discuss ad tech: what it is, how it works, why it makes money, for whom it makes money - and what the consequences are.

Aug 19, 2026

For the past 25 years, claims on packets of crisps have been subject to more regulation than claims in election campaigns. But that could finally be about to change. Amendments to the Representation of the People Bill promise to apply some of the UK’s strenuous - and effective - advertising standards to election advertising. We are joined by Alex Tait, ad industry veteran and founder of the non-partisan campaign organisation Reform Political Advertising, one of the groups advocating these changes. Alex, together with Benedict Pringle, set up Reform Political Advertising to change the law. What does fact-based election advertising mean in practice? How can regulation that applies to commercial brand advertising improve political trust? How long does it take to turn an idea into a law? And can turkeys really vote for Christmas?

See all episodes →