CMO Council Interview Series with Angus Frazer and Jonathan Hopkins, Co-Founders of Sonder
The CMO Council / Wise Marketer Interview Series features creative and impactful people from all corners of the marketing world – Founders, C-Suite executives, and influential voices in the community.
Today’s Guests are the co-founders of the Australian media company Sonder, Angus Frazier and Jonathan Hopkins. Sonder, based in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia, is known as the independent authority on owned media. The company has valued & unlocked over $12Bn of owned media value across 14 industry sectors, in 22 different countries for businesses like American Express, Virgin, 7-Eleven, KFC, Shell, British Airways, Mastercard, Telstra, Woolworths Group, and many more.
Prior to founding Sonder, Angus was General Manager of media buying agency Carat and worked in various strategic and media planning roles in Australia and the UK. Throughout his career, he has overseen the investment of billions in media on behalf of the world’s biggest advertisers.
Jonathan’s experience pre-Sonder included time as CMO of innovative music video platform Vevo and Managing Director of strategic media agency, Razor. Jonathan has been recognized as one of AdNews’s ‘40 under 40’ and won campaign of the year with Nike.
The 2026 Sonder Owned Media Global Report, developed in partnership with the CMO Council, reveals the true scale of a rapidly emerging growth engine: a $573 billion global commercial opportunity that most brands and retailers have yet to fully unlock.
This comprehensive report sizes the global market for owned media, retail media and commerce media market for the first time and reframes where the next wave of growth will come from.
Today’s conversation will closely examine the findings from this report and dive deeply in the topic of owned media.
Time Stamps for the Time Starved:
0:50 – Sonder Media Intro
2:00 – Sonder 2026 Owned Media Report
2:40 – Favorite Reads
5:05 – Origins of Sonder Media
10:09 – Defining Owned Media
16:30 – The State of Retail Media Networks
19:40 – Overview: 2026 Owned Media Report
22:00 – What’s the Future of Data Monetization?
23:30 – Key Report Findings
26:35 – What Marketers Can Learn from Key Findings
29:20 – Calculating ROI for Owned Media
33:57 – What CMO’s can Take Away from the 2026 Owned Media Report
35:20 – Predictions for Owned Media in 2026
About our Guests
Angus Frazer, Co-Founder, Sonder
With over 25 years of experience in global media roles, Angus has worked with major advertisers in both strategic and executive capacities across the EMEA and APAC regions. As a pioneer of owned media, Angus co-founded Sonder to provide strategic advice, data, and technology to businesses seeking to maximize revenue and growth through the media they own and control.
Since its inception, Sonder has helped some of the most advanced owned media organizations globally, including Harrods, British Airways, American Express, and local leaders, including Woolworths, Optus, Coles Group, Officeworks, Telstra, and David Jones.
Jonathan Hopkins, Co-Founder, Sonder
Jonathan is an experienced media and marketing executive with over 25 years of experience at media agencies, media owners, and marketing roles. Jonathan was previously CMO for music platform VEVO in Australia & NZ and Managing Director of strategic media agency, Razor.
Over several continents, Jonathan has led businesses and brands on a mission to disrupt, innovate, and challenge category norms. His contribution has been acknowledged by the industry, being previously recognized as one of Australian marketing’s 40 under 40.