Four years after opening its doors in London, creative brand-experience agency Valentine has announced the launch of its St Stephen’s Green, Dublin office. Building on the agency’s success in the UK, where it has delivered major campaigns for brands including the Asahi Women’s Rugby World Cup, the move signals Valentine’s commitment to the Irish market, where local insight is essential to engaging audiences in one of Europe’s most dynamic and distinctive on-trade sectors.
Founded to cut through unnecessary big-agency process, Valentine delivers bold, brilliant work that creates chemistry between people and brands. With the launch of Valentine Ireland, the agency is set to bring this chemistry-driven approach to Irish brands, led by newly appointed Head of Live, Ireland, Iain O’Connor.
Sam Elliott, Co-Founder of Valentine, commented:
“Launching in Dublin is a really exciting step for Valentine. From day one, our ambition has been to create bold, brilliant work that cuts through the noise and connects people and brands in meaningful ways. With Iain leading the charge in Ireland, we’re bringing that same energy to a market that thrives on live experiences and cultural connection. We’re already seeing momentum here, and this expansion means we can be closer to our clients and the audiences they want to reach.”
Iain O’Connor, Head of Live, Ireland, added:
“Ireland’s on-trade and night-time economy is unique; you can’t apply London’s rules to Dublin. To succeed here, you need local knowledge, cultural understanding, and the ability to create experiences that really resonate with people. That’s why I’m so excited to be leading Valentine Ireland. We’re here on the ground, working alongside brands to build the kind of chemistry that sparks trial, advocacy and long-term loyalty.”
With Dublin as its base, Valentine Ireland will focus on live brand experience, activation, and integrated campaigns, helping clients stand out in competitive and fast-moving categories such as drinks, hospitality, and lifestyle.
About Valentine
Founded in London in 2021, Valentine is an independent creative agency, creating emotional connections between people and brands that shift behaviour and drive long-term loyalty. Its work spans brand experience, live events, and integrated digital campaigns, with clients including Asahi, JTI, SailGP, Honda, Black Lane and Campari.
Many extroverts can confidently walk into a room and strike up conversations with new people. For an introvert, it’s an entirely different experience.
“Networking was a nightmare for me. Anxiety, shaking legs, and sweaty palms were a common occurrence.” – Claire Taylor.
“The idea of working the room or talking to strangers used to have me planning my escape route before I’d even grabbed my name badge.” – Lyssa-Fêe Crump
Networking can feel paralyzing for many introverts. The pressure to make small talk, join conversations, and exchange LinkedIn details can be exhausting.
In this article, 21 introverts share the tips and tricks that helped them navigate networking and get more value from in-person SEO events.
In networking situations, I’m anxious about talking to people and feeling bombarded by everything I should be doing.
I should be meeting everyone in the room.
I should be able to strike up conversations with anyone.
But nothing fuels social anxiety like shame. The truth is that I don’t have to meet everyone. My career doesn’t depend on it, and if I only connect with one or two people, or no one, it doesn’t mean I’ve failed.
Give yourself permission to opt out
If you’re overwhelmed, it’s okay not to meet anyone. Grab a coffee, stand on your own, and take a breather. Usually, someone will approach you or you’ll naturally ease into the environment.
Use lines as natural conversation zones
Some of my best networking moments happen while standing in line at an event. Lines are great because you’re not interrupting a conversation, and there’s always something to talk about, like what coffee you’re getting or what looks good on the snack table.
2. Set manageable goals
Safia Marmon — Project Lead (Shopify e-commerce) at Sunbowl
I used to find it hard to start conversations at networking events. Most of the time, I’d end up standing alone in a corner. But I’ve slowly found a rhythm that helps me feel more prepared and confident.
Here’s what’s worked for me:
Research speakers or attendees before the event and make a note of who I want to talk to
Set manageable goals, like meeting one or two people
Prepare a few conversation starters in advance
Look for people who are by themselves or in small groups, as it’s easier to approach them
Use small details like name tags or books as natural openers
Most people are just as nervous as I am. Once I break the ice, the rest usually flows naturally. It’s still outside my comfort zone, but I’m having better conversations each time.
3. Plan for sensory overload before it drains your energy
Sensory overload is one of my biggest challenges at conferences and meetups. As someone who works from home full-time, I’m used to a calm, quiet environment. Stepping into a crowded venue full of bright lights, loud voices, and uncomfortable clothes can feel overwhelming, and that’s before the event starts.
Here’s what’s helped me navigate networking more confidently:
Look for quiet spaces ahead of time
Many events now offer quiet rooms or chill-out zones. I always check event info or contact the organizers beforehand to ask if a quiet space will be available. Even if there isn’t, stepping outside for five minutes of fresh air makes a huge difference.
Pace yourself with intentional breaks
Networking events are marathons, not sprints. I remind myself it’s okay to take a breather, even for five minutes.
Use noise-filtering tools
One of my favourite tools is a pair of noise-reducing earplugs. They block out background chatter while letting me hear who I’m talking to. It’s perfect if you’re easily distracted or overwhelmed by multiple voices.
4. Look for people taking notes or standing on the edges during breaks
Caitlin Proctor Huston — Content strategist at Edit Ever After
I usually look for people taking notes during presentations or standing on the periphery of the crowd during breaks. They’re often introverted but engaged, like me. I’ll start a conversation about the speaker or the session to create a genuine connection.
Bringing a friend helps too. At large events, most people either know everyone or no one. It’s easier to join a conversation with a friend than to start one alone.
I also check the event hashtag and engage with people sharing insights. Starting the conversation online often feels easier, and it helps me stay connected after the event.
5. Pick one clear takeaway and ask someone nearby what they thought
Before the event, I’ll post in Slack groups or check LinkedIn to see who’s attending. Then I send a quick message saying I’ll be there too and would love to say hi. It takes the pressure off once I arrive.
I try not to think about it as “networking” and instead focus on the content. After a talk, I pick one clear takeaway and ask someone nearby what they thought.
Sometimes, I’ll thank the speaker and share what I learned. It’s a more natural way to start a conversation and doesn’t feel forced.
I treat live events like strategic missions, not social free-for-alls. My pre-game ritual involves researching the speaker list, preparing two solid conversation starters, and scouting out the quietest coffee corner as my home base.
Instead of “working the room,” I aim for two to three meaningful conversations, and I’m thrilled if one of them isn’t with the barista.
Listening is an introvert’s superpower, and it makes a bigger impression than any elevator pitch. I might vanish midway through the after-party, but I’ll follow up with a thoughtful LinkedIn message that I’ve spell-checked and optimized with emojis.
Some people are born to work the room, but I’m not one of them. Regardless, I’ve found a few tips that help me feel grounded, less panicky, and more like myself at conferences and meetups:
Taking deep breaths and drinking water calms my nervous system and stops the spiral before it begins
Wearing an outfit and hairstyle I feel confident in, so I can focus on the conversation, instead of fussing about my appearance
Writing a few go-to conversation starters to ease the awkwardness
Take grounding tools like a pen and notebook to stay present when my brain wants to escape
Using Popl to avoid fumbling with business cards or typing out social handles under pressure
Taking breaks without guilt. I might step outside, skip a session, or just breathe in the hallway when it all feels too much
Redefining success as one or two meaningful conversations, not collecting contacts
Most importantly, I remind myself that I belong in the room, even if I’m not the loudest.
8. Go alone at least once
Meghan Pahinui — Sr. Content Designer & Marketer at Moz
One of the best things I did as an introvert was attend a conference alone. When I go with people I know, I tend to stick with them. But going alone gives me that little push to start conversations and join in.
I always start small with a quick “hello” to the person next to me or a compliment to someone in line. Some of my best conference chats started with “I like your sweater” or “Are you from here?”
I schedule breaks to recharge during the conference because I need downtime to manage my energy. It’s better to under commit and join in later than overextend and burn out.
If I’m not comfortable talking to someone in person or if they’re in a group, I’ll find their name and send a message on LinkedIn after the event. It’s a low-pressure way to connect and still have meaningful conversations.
9. Use props to remove the awkwardness of small talk
I’ve found three solid tips that improved my networking skills:
Take on a role to make networking easier
Volunteering at events (checking people in or moderating panels) gives me a purpose. I don’t have to force conversations or wander awkwardly. It’s a built-in way to meet people, especially organizers and speakers, without the pressure of a cold approach.
Spend more time listening
People love talking about themselves. If I listen and ask thoughtful follow-ups, they walk away thinking I’m charismatic, even if I said almost nothing.
Use conversation props to break the ice naturally
One trick I love is bringing a subtle “prop” that sparks curiosity. At one event, I wore a vintage fedora with a pin. Within minutes, someone asked about it, and we talked about retro fashion. Another time, I carried a pen shaped like a toy pistol. When someone laughed and asked, “Is that a gun or a pen?” it turned into a chat about quirky office gadgets.
What helped me most was attending a workshop or meetup the day before the main event. It’s a smaller, more relaxed setting where I can get comfortable and meet a few people ahead of time. That shared experience gave me something in common, so when the main event starts, I’m not walking in alone because I already know someone, and they might even introduce me to others.
You don’t have to force yourself to walk up to random people just to have someone to eat lunch with. Having dinner alone one evening is a great way to recharge and enjoy some alone time.
Here are a few things that helped me network better at industry events:
Use a visual cue to stand out:
If people don’t remember my name, they’ll remember “the lady with the red hair.” It has proven to be a good conversation starter. I’ll say hello, and the first thing I usually hear is, “I love your hair.” As an introvert, it helps to let people come to me instead of making the first move.
Offer small gifts to make a lasting impression:
At international events, I bring small tokens from my home country like magnets or keychains with a sticker on the back that includes my name and social handle.
When I meet keynote speakers or big industry names, I gift them one and say, “I’ve been following your work, and it’s an honour to meet you.” Then I ask if I can send a connection request, and most say yes.
12. Prepare questions to avoid thinking on the spot
As someone who’s always struggled in group situations, networking was a nightmare. Anxiety, shaking legs, and sweaty palms were a regular thing. I’d often leave early or sit in a corner staring at my phone, pretending I had urgent work.
I still don’t love networking, but I’ve found a few tactics that help me manage it better:
Prepare questions to take the pressure off thinking on the spot
I carry a list of questions I can ask people. Having a few prompts ready makes conversations easier to manage.
Set a small goal to stay focused and grounded
I give myself a target, like talking to two or three people. It gives me structure without overwhelming me.
Head to the coffee station to ease into the room
I always grab coffee first because it gives me something to do and helps me spot friendly faces in the hallways.
Step into a role to take the pressure off being “yourself”
Sometimes I pretend I’m playing a character. It sounds silly, but it helps me loosen up and get out of my head.
13. Join supportive communities
Bengü Sarıca Dinçer — Search Engine Optimization Manager at Designmodo
I used to consider myself an introvert, especially when networking at live events. Talking to people I didn’t know felt overwhelming, but I also wanted to learn from others and grow my network.
Finding a supportive community changed everything for me. Groups like Women in Tech SEO made me feel safe and accepted. It’s a great space to find folks attending events, so you know someone when you walk in the room.
My advice for other introverts:
Take it step by step. Showing up is a win, and you don’t have to talk to anyone.
Try international events. They might seem intimidating, but I found them easier than local ones.
Start small. Even a simple “I liked your talk” or “Where are you from?” can spark a conversation.
Don’t fear judgment. Most people are kind, and if someone judges you, that’s on them, not you.
My best tip for introverts networking at in-person events is to wear something unique. It could be a bold pair of shoes, standout accessories, or a cool blazer.
I’ve got a red leopard blazer that always does the trick. People walk up and comment on it, and that kicks off the conversation for me.
If you’re uncomfortable starting conversations with strangers, give them a reason to start one with you.
I know public speaking sounds like the last thing an introvert would want to do, but hear me out.
As an introvert, being just another face in the crowd can be exhausting. Walking up to random groups and trying to “work the room” often feels paralyzing. But when I’m a speaker, the whole dynamic shifts and surprisingly, it suits me well.
Instead of forcing introductions, people approach me to say “great session” or ask questions. These are low-pressure, and often more meaningful than hours of mingling. I’ve had better networking moments ten minutes after speaking than I ever did just roaming the floor.
Even when I’m not speaking, I use the same strategy. I go to talks and approach the speaker with a thoughtful question or comment. It gives me a shared context and makes it easier to start a conversation.
I always do some pre-work before a conference to build predictable connections and feel more confident walking in.
Here are a few ways I make those pre-event connections:
Post on LinkedIn using the event hashtag, asking if anyone else is attending and wants a conference buddy or small group to connect with.
Check for any official pre-connection activities the event might offer.
Join professional communities where people are already talking about the event. In Women in Tech SEO, we create temporary Slack channels for events like WTSFest, MozCon, and BrightonSEO, so members can share tips, make plans, and feel supported before and during the event.
A few digital connections ahead of time can lower the barrier to in-person interactions. It’s a lot easier to walk in when you know someone’s already looking forward to seeing you there.
PS: You can see WTS founder Areej AbuAli live at MozCon London, where she will deliver a talk on how to launch, grow, and scale a community that supports your brand. Get your MozCon London tickets for only 350 GBP.
If I followed the classic “just be yourself” advice, I’d show up to events and leave without speaking to anyone. So I’ve learned to be intentional before I even get there.
Here’s how I approach networking as an introvert:
When connecting with attendees
I start by checking who’s posting about the event. If there’s someone I want to meet, I’ll message them and say, “Hey! I saw you’re attending this event. I’ll be there too and hopefully we bump into each other.” Sometimes, they find me before I find them.
I also try to have an event buddy. A familiar face can boost confidence—someone to sit with, chat to during breaks (instead of doomscrolling), and yes, take your photos for social media.
When connecting with speakers
It’s the same idea, just with a bit more prep. I’ll ask a thoughtful question during their session, something that shows I’ve been following their work.
If I’m too shy to say hi in person, I’ll take a photo during their talk, post it with a short takeaway, tag them, and follow up with a message: “I was at your session and appreciated your insights. I just wanted to connect and say thank you.” It’s low-pressure but just as meaningful.
18. Use ChatGPT to ideate thoughtful questions and compliments
As an introvert in marketing and tech, I’ve had to find a way around networking. The idea of “working the room” or striking up conversations with strangers used to have me planning my escape before I’d even grabbed my name badge.
Here are a few strategies that helped me:
Arrive early to ease into the room
Getting there early helps. It’s easier to start conversations before the room fills up and gets noisy. Being part of the first chats feels more natural than trying to jump in later.
Set one small goal
What’s helped me is lowering the pressure. I set a small goal to have a couple of real conversations. Not a dozen and not with everyone. Just a few meaningful moments, and then I retreat for a biscuit and a breather.
Build in quiet time
I always build in breaks like stepping outside, taking a lap around the venue, or hiding in the loos for five minutes of silence. I remind myself that I don’t need to be “on” the whole time. I’m allowed to show up just as I am: thoughtful, curious, and a bit quiet.
Give someone a compliment
One thing that always helps is giving someone a genuine compliment. Not to break the ice or be strategic but to be kind. It softens the moment, and it helps me make a real connection.
20. Find a quiet place to retreat when you’re overstimulated
As an introvert, or more accurately, an ambivert who leans introverted, budgeting my energy is non-negotiable. Setting realistic goals makes a huge difference, because if I try to build my network too quickly or say yes to everything, I’ll burn out fast.
Here are a few networking tips I’ve found useful:
Pack for recovery
I always travel with noise-cancelling headphones, earplugs, sunglasses, and an eye mask to manage sensory overload. I also scout out quiet spaces at the venue so I have somewhere to retreat if things get overstimulating.
Don’t try to do it all
I don’t need to attend every session, meal, or mixer, especially at multi-day events. Sometimes, I’ll skip an afternoon of talks to be fully present at dinner.
Avoid travelling during your regular sleeping hours
If your schedule allows, avoid booking flights during your regular sleeping hours. I don’t handle jet lag well, so I try to arrive early to adjust. It’s not always possible, but when I can, it makes a big difference.
21. Stick to small groups and have an exit strategy
Purna Virji — Principal Consultant & Global Program Manager at LinkedIn
I’ve spoken at conferences worldwide but still need to disappear into a bathroom stall to recharge between sessions.
People are always surprised when I tell them I’m an introvert. I’ve just gotten good at being “on” during events, so good that people assume I’m naturally extroverted.
But that performance takes a real toll, so these strategies have become essential for me.
Find common ground
It could be a shared hometown, a similar role, or even a mutual frustration with a platform. Finding common ground makes things feel easier and helps me relax.
Take breaks
I schedule 3–5 minute “bathroom breaks” between networking sessions. Sometimes I sit in my car or find a quiet hallway. Just a few minutes of silence buys me another hour of energy.
Stick to small groups
I gravitate toward roundtables, smaller breakout sessions, or coffee with just a few people. It’s way less overwhelming than trying to work a giant networking mixer.
Have an exit strategy
When I feel my social battery getting low, I use a gentle excuse like, “I promised I’d meet someone at 3 pm.” It’s polite and gives me an easy way to leave.
I plan for recovery
After a big event, I block out 1–2 days with no calls or obligations. I use the time to rest, reflect, and recharge.
Your next SEO conference is right around the corner
If networking held you back from showing up, I hope this article helps to lift that pressure. You’re not alone, and you don’t have to “work the room” to make meaningful connections.
MozCon London was built with this in mind. It’s a smaller audience (250 attendees) focused on intentional connections and plenty of opportunities for 1:1 time with speakers. The revamped MozCon format is designed to help you get the most out of the experience, whether you’re introverted, ambivert, or just not into forced small talk.
If you’re ready to join us, we’d love to see you there. Use this discount code to get your ticket for £350.
Trying to stand out on YouTube without turning it into a full-time job? These five beginner-friendly strategies use smart tools and content repurposing to help you build traction and grow your audience efficiently.
Key Takeaways
Discover beginner-friendly YouTube strategies that help entrepreneurs grow their audience without needing to go viral.
YouTube is full of opportunity, but also a lot of noise. For entrepreneurs looking to grow their brand, attract leads or build trust at scale, YouTube can be an invaluable asset. But getting started can feel overwhelming when subscriber counts and views don’t come quickly.
The good news? You don’t need to go viral or become a full-time creator to see meaningful results. With the right strategy, consistent execution and a willingness to learn as you go, YouTube can become a powerful tool for your business.
Here are five beginner-friendly ways to build traction — without spending all your time editing videos.
1. Develop a consistent content calendar
Consistency is one of the most important drivers of YouTube growth. While top creators often post several times a week, even beginners should aim for at least one video per week.
Start by planning a content calendar that aligns with your production capacity and your audience’s interests. Use keyword research tools to identify long-tail topics your audience is already searching for. This will help guide your video ideas and ensure you’re creating content that drives discovery.
A clear content calendar helps avoid gaps in publishing and keeps your viewers engaged.
2. Use tools to optimize titles, SEO and thumbnails
Small details — like titles, tags and thumbnails — can make or break your video’s visibility. YouTube’s algorithm prioritizes content that gets clicks and watch time, so optimization matters.
Fortunately, there are tools out there that can help automate this process. They let you test different titles, analyse thumbnails and suggest keywords based on performance data.
Creators who use these tools tend to grow faster. The right tools save time and help your videos perform better from the start.
3. Make the most of end screens
End screens are clickable elements you can add to the last 5 to 20 seconds of your video. They’re a powerful yet underused tool for boosting engagement and guiding viewers to your next piece of content.
By linking to other videos or adding a subscribe button, you increase watch time and encourage channel growth. YouTube rewards longer viewer sessions, so strategically linking your own content creates a positive feedback loop.
Always include end screens in your videos — it’s a simple, low-effort way to keep viewers on your channel longer.
4. Use YouTube Shorts to increase visibility
Shorts are YouTube’s answer to TikTok — and they’re one of the fastest ways to get discovered by new viewers.
A smart way to use Shorts is by repurposing clips from your long-form videos. Shorts that get more than 10,000 views typically generate 12 to 18 new subscribers. With their short runtime and high completion rate, they’re a low-cost way to grow your channel and introduce viewers to your brand.
5. Share your content across other platforms
Your Shorts and long-form videos can do double duty. By posting clips to Instagram, X and TikTok, you expand your reach and attract viewers who may not find you on YouTube alone.
Sharing repurposed video content across platforms builds brand awareness and funnels new followers back to your YouTube channel. This cross-platform traffic can also help your channel perform better in YouTube’s own algorithm.
And since the content is already created, it doesn’t require much additional effort—just smart repurposing.
Unlock growth without chasing virality
Growing a YouTube channel takes time, but it doesn’t require going viral or grinding out endless edits. With consistent effort, optimized content and strategic distribution, you can build a loyal audience and position your business as a trusted voice in your niche.
Andres Tovar is the co-founder and managing partner of Noetic Marketer, a digital marketing agency specializing in the higher education, ecommerce and professional services industries. He is a growth consultant and fractional CMO for companies, small and big.
Oreos are a staple of any grocery store’s cookie aisle. Known as “milk’s favourite cookie,” the brand has used strategic advertising to stay relevant in the over one hundred years since its inception in 1912. Oreo’s marketing has always changed with the times, and part of the reason the brand is still relevant today is because it relies heavily on the internet and social media, a very easy and convenient way to target specific consumers.
As social media became more and more relevant, Oreo began to focus much of its advertising on online ad campaigns that played into popular culture. In 2013, Oreo responded to the lights going out during an NFL game with a X (then called Twitter) post saying, “You can still dunk in the dark.” In addition, Oreo began to collaborate with other popular brands and notable figures, including Supreme, Marvel, Sour Patch Kids, Post Malone, and Lady Gaga. At the time of this article’s writing, the brand’s site is advertising its Selena Gomez cookies, which are chocolate & cinnamon flavoured. These collaborations and creative social media posts keep the brand on the cutting edge of pop culture and draw in fans of certain brands and celebrities who may not usually buy Oreos. The brand has created a fun, playful image of itself, which helps to attract its desired customer base.
Oreo’s marketing historically
JRomero04/Shutterstock
Even before its current strategy of online marketing came around, advertisements were a huge part of Oreo’s success. While Oreo cookies may seem unique, they were actually preceded by Hydrox cookies, a treat that sandwiches cream between two chocolate wafers. They were created by Kansas City baker Jacob Loose in 1908. Loose ended up in a war against his brother Joseph, one of the founders of Nabisco, because Joseph had formed the company against his wishes several years prior. With Hydrox gaining popularity, Joseph created Oreo to compete against Hydrox and heavily marketed it in order to outsell his brother’s product.
Oreo brought in the brilliant marketing campaign of “twist, lick, and dunk” in 1923, which started to bring the brand more recognition. The brand continued to outperform Hydrox in marketing in subsequent years. While Oreos were originally cheaper than Hydrox at 30 cents per pound, in the 1950s, Oreo employed another innovative marketing strategy — making its products more expensive to seem like the superior, premium option when compared to Hydrox. This paid off, and Hydrox is now seen as a rip-off despite being the original cream sandwich cookie.
In 1991, the first Halloween Oreo was created, pioneering the idea of seasonal Oreos that is still relevant in its marketing to this day. Seasonal releases and frequent drops of new flavours keep customers coming back to Oreo, and some seasonal releases are still talked about years after being discontinued. Every time Oreo faces a hurdle, it seems to conquer it through clever marketing, and the brand will likely continue to succeed with this strategy.
Smart brands are ditching ads for immersive stories, cultural ecosystems, and deeper emotional connections.
I was at a marketing conference last year, sipping overpriced coffee, when a CMO from a legacy brand leaned over during a presentation on media engagement and whispered, “We spent $2 million on a Super Bowl ad, and our TikTok intern’s dance video got more engagement.”
Let’s get nerdy for a second. Traditional ads typically hit the prefrontal cortex, the analytical centers of the brain where we evaluate threats and make snap rejections. It’s why you skip that YouTube ad faster than you’d dodge a wasp. But a great story lights up the default mode network, which is the part of your brain that processes identity, meaning, and emotion.
When Red Bull drops a documentary about cliff divers, it’s not just entertaining; it’s triggering oxytocin release (per Dr. Paul Zak’s research) and chemically bonding you to the brand like it’s your best friend. That’s the power of narrative: It lingers, rewires, and influences behaviour long after a 30-second spot is forgotten.
Brands need to know that their efforts go way beyond clicks now—they’re seeking to colonize neural real estate. And this is a seismic cognitive shift. It means that the gatekeepers are dead, the rules are gone, and your brand is more akin to a media company now.
The infamous “brand authenticity” makes a comeback
As I thought about what that CMO told me, here’s what kept me up at night: in an era where your content is up against HBO’s Succession or a random TikToker’s viral skit, your brand’s personality is no longer a nice-to-have; it’s critical for survival. Authenticity will be your moat, thereby making inauthenticity a death sentence. 63% of Gen Z will pay to avoid brands that feel fake, and they can spot a poser faster than I can spot a bad Wi-Fi signal.
Think of a filmmaker like Wes Anderson. His quirky, pastel-soaked aesthetic is unmistakable.
Forget “content marketing”. That’s just ads with better lighting. Brand programming is about creating a universe, a cohesive narrative that unfolds across platforms, inviting audiences to live in your world. Media theorist Henry Jenkins calls this transmedia storytelling, where each medium (video, podcast, social post) adds a unique piece to the puzzle. Disney does this with Marvel, but brands like Lego do it too, spinning off movies, games, and theme parks into a cultural ecosystem.
This isn’t just about production values; it’s about psychology. Ads trigger System 2 thinking, analytical and sceptical. Stories hit System 1—intuitive and emotional—making audiences open to influence. Nancy Baym’s concept of “relational labour” explains why this works: Authentic, ongoing interaction builds trust, not just attention. And it’s not only big brands.
Traditional advertising is like shouting at a party; people tune you out and focus on enjoying the party. Brand programming is like hosting the party, where guests show up because they want to.
The math checks out: Interruption-based ads get pricier as audiences resist, but invitation-based content compounds in value. Netflix’s library costs billions but scales infinitely, with each new subscriber adding revenue without new production costs.
Take Cluely, an AI startup I’ve been following on X. Their cinematic shorts showcasing product features through storytelling have racked up tens of millions of views. How? A network of “clippers” repost bite-sized versions of what works across X, TikTok, and Instagram, turning each launch into a cultural moment. No ad spend, just smart content architecture designed for shareability. This is the future: Content so good, it markets itself.
It’s time to build your media empire
Let’s make this concrete. Imagine a regional bank named First Coastal launching “The Dream Chasers”, a web series about entrepreneurs they’ve funded. They pair it with a Spotify playlist of uplifting local artists, curated by a community vote on X. They then host a pop-up meet and greet with these entrepreneurs for other young and up-and-coming business leaders, using the opportunity to market the original web series.
These elements work like a scaffold. Each piece amplifies the others, creating a self-sustaining ecosystem of meaning. And all of a sudden, First Coastal becomes a hub for ambition and community pride much more than just a bank.
At this point, it’s probably clear that thinking like a media company will change how your brand is set up for communication. Your marketing department, for one, needs to become more of a content studio, and that looks a little bit like this:
Your platform foundation
Your brand will need something more enduring than personality alone—it will need a brand platform. Think of this as the philosophical bedrock from which all your content programming emerges. While your brand’s personality determines how you tell stories (gritty like Nike, heart warming like Airtel, playful like Duolingo), your platform defines what fundamental human truth you’re championing across every piece of content you create.
This isn’t just another “big idea” that changes with each campaign; it’s the timeless manifesto that your chief content officer uses to ensure narrative coherence, that your transmedia producer weaves through every medium, and that your community rallies around. Without this platform foundation, you’re not building a media company—you’re simply creating expensive content that doesn’t compound. Your platform becomes the North Star that transforms scattered content into a cohesive universe where every story, playlist, pop-up, and post ladders back to a singular truth your audience can believe in.
This positions your brand platform as the strategic prerequisite that makes everything else in your media company framework actually work. It’s the foundation that prevents your brand from falling into the trap of creating content for content’s sake.
Your new roles
Chief content officer: A narrative architect who ensures your story unfolds across platforms with coherence. Think Ryan Reynolds at Maximum Effort for Deadpool-level brand storytelling.
Cultural moment reader: Someone scanning platforms and web trends to position your brand in conversations before they go mainstream.
Community leaders: Roles focused on building specific tribes rather than general followers, fostering connections among audiences across platforms.
Transmedia producer: Orchestrates stories across media. Think a podcast tying into a web series, an event, a coffee table book, and an X campaign.
Your multichannel ecosystem
Soon, you’ll begin thinking of new and interesting ways to plug in your always-on content, all while maintaining the core of your personality and message. You’ll probably have to, for example, stop licensing music and create your own. Coca-Cola’s “Taste the Feeling” campaign included original songs that lived on Spotify, reinforcing their brand sonically. You might choose to build a publishing arm for culture books or other editorial assets, like Dixon Baxi did. Or host events that double as content. Design TikTok challenges. Even merchandise can become cultural artifacts.
Your shareability by design
Every piece of content must be architected for natural amplification. This means understanding the psychological triggers that make people want to share, which according to Jonah Berger’s research, includes identity signalling, social currency, emotional resonance, and practical value.
Your new metrics
You’ll also need to forget impressions and click-throughs if you want to measure what matters. The following metrics require longer windows and tools like Brandwatch or Sprout Social, but they predict brand equity better than short-term sales.
Cultural penetration—Are people quoting your brand’s story in everyday conversations?
Ecosystem strength—How interconnected are your content touchpoints? Analyse cross-platform engagement (e.g., podcast listeners who also watch your YouTube series).
Narrative coherence—Does your story feel consistent across mediums? Use sentiment analysis to gauge audience perception.
Community vitality—Are fans engaging with each other, not just you?
Attention quality—Are audiences binging your content or scrolling past? Track average watch time or dwell time.
This shift to brand-as-media won’t happen without its obstacles, but each has actionable solutions. Brands that don’t have Red Bull’s budget can start small and scrappy. A local bakery could launch “Behind the Dough” on TikTok, sharing recipes and staff stories using free tools like Canva for visuals or AI assistants to brainstorm scripts. Sure, there might be fatigue on your audience’s part, but you can combat it by embracing hyper-specificity (rather than trying to appeal to everyone). Liquid Death, for example, succeeds by being unapologetically weird and metal, and not by trying to be everything to everyone.
Algorithm dependency threatens even the greatest of content, so mitigate risk by building owned channels. These could be websites, email lists, and even communities fostered on platforms where you control the conversation and community (think Circle or Obodo).
And if there’s one thing I leave you with, it’s this: Hire more storytellers than ad execs, create ecosystems before campaigns, and measure culture rather than clicks.
Gidyon Thompson is a UK-based brand strategist who brings cross-cultural perspectives and strategic innovation to the global marketing scene. He’s spent years helping brands find their voice—from steering Nigcomsat and Icentra Limited through major transformations and training teams at MTN and Coronation Group, to launching memorable brand activations across Lagos, Dubai, and Accra. As co-founder of Brandversations Africa, he’s built a thriving community of over 250 brand leaders across 10 African countries, fostering collaboration and knowledge exchange in the industry. A firm believer in the power of strategic partnerships, Thompson helps brands forge meaningful collaborations that drive growth while making a positive impact. And when he’s not reimagining brands? He’s watching the tricky reds of Manchester United.
You thought the future was digital? Craig Millon of Jack Morton explains why experiential should form the backbone of any good campaign.
Today’s consumers don’t just want to see your brand. They want to feel it. They’re not passively scrolling; they’re leaning in. They want to be moved, surprised, and seen. They crave stories they can step into and share, not just ads they swipe past. This behaviour is accelerating the rise of the experience economy, with brands expected to show up not just physically, but emotionally and culturally, too.
And consumers are voting with their wallets. Millennials and gen Z consistently choose experiences over possessions, even amid economic uncertainty. That’s not a trend. That’s a truth. And it should shake the foundation of how brands think about performance.
Because here’s the reality: when your experiences are at the heart of your brand, every other marketing channel performs better. And when they’re not, you leave value on the table.
Not just garnish
Experiential marketing isn’t new. It’s just finally being recognized for what it truly is: the backbone of connection with your most ardent fans – and the ones you haven’t yet met.
Historically side lined as campaign garnish – parties, pop-ups, trade shows, ‘activations’ – experiential is now leading from the centre. The convergence of technology, data, and creative ambition has elevated it from a feel-good tactic to a foundational channel with real power.
Experiential lifts every other channel in the mix. It fuels social, multiplies earned media, supercharges content, and informs product and loyalty strategies. Brands including McDonald’s and Google are already doing this well, blurring the lines between physical, digital, and emotional engagement to turn experience into a competitive advantage.
Fully measurable
To fully claim its place in the marketing hierarchy, experiential must speak the language of CMOs and CFOs. That means tying experiences to bottom-line results and building business cases with the same precision applied to media or martech investments. At Jack Morton, we’ve built the models to do just that – and we’re helping clients turn experience into performance.
Today, thanks to smart tech, such as real-time analytics, CRM integration, sensor tracking, and attribution modelling, experiential can be measured with the same rigor as digital or media. Footfall. Dwell time. Sentiment. Leads. Sales. Loyalty. It’s all measurable now – and it matters. Brands that invest in the right measurement infrastructure can track, analyse, and prove experiential’s impact in hard business terms.
First, you must invest in the measurement infrastructure to do just that. For example, we tie experience design directly to KPIs, such as brand health, net promoter score (NPS), and purchase intent to bring credibility to the boardroom and confidence to the C-suite.
Last year, we worked with Cadillac at the US Open and partnered with shoe designer Surgeon to create the ‘Electrify Your Sole’ showroom. It attracted 158,000 visitors with a remarkable 950,000 minutes of engagement time, resulting in the collection of over 13,000 leads, including 86% from owners of competitive vehicles. The overall Cadillac US Open experience also produced a power shift in brand perception, generating double-digit lifts in opinion consideration and Cadillac as the ‘brand for me.’
Shaping culture
Metrics matter, but they’re only part of the story. What makes experiential marketing irreplaceable is its emotional impact. We know the most potent forces in anyone’s life are the cultures they belong to. Understanding this earns trust. It builds belief. It creates memories that become advocacy.
In a world of fractured attention and eroding loyalty, belief is the most valuable currency your brand can earn, and experience is how you earn it. No matter what kind of culture you want to reach, you can create an experience that drives the excitement of the most popular consumer fan fest.
It’s also how you manifest culture. Because the brands that win today aren’t just responding to what’s happening in the lives of their most committed communities, they’re shaping it. They’re meeting people with real-world experiences that reflect their values and invite participation.
Proving purpose
Experiential doesn’t live on the edges. It powers from the inside out.
The best brand experiences don’t stand alone. They multiply the performance of every other channel. They generate more engaging content, inspire more human PR narratives, shape more authentic influencer campaigns, and bring loyalty programs to life. They’re not touchpoints. They’re ignition points.
Experiential gives brands a stage to demonstrate purpose. To show, not just say, what they stand for. Whether that’s through sustainability, inclusion, innovation, or community, experience is how you make values feel real.
For example, 88% of women in the Middle East don’t feel comfortable swimming in public. To help change that, Adidas launched ‘The Liquid Billboard’, the world’s first swimmable billboard, inviting every woman to confidently get back into the water with their new inclusive swimwear collection. The experience reached 350m people, earned $6m in media across over 60 countries, and drove a 70% sell-through rate in just four weeks at flagship stores.
Building belief
Experiential has always been the soul of brand-building. Now, it’s the spine – holding together strategy, creativity, data, and connection.
It’s not the centre because it’s new; it’s the centre because it’s foundational. It’s where belief is built, value is proven, and performance takes off.
The question is no longer if experiential belongs in the mix. The question is: what’s it costing you not to lead with it?
A couple of years ago I attended an excellent conference in Seattle by a well known firm that provides online search and marketing tools. They had a line up of top notch speakers who are experts in digital marketing from the largest corporations, brands and agencies in the country. The theme was Search Engine Optimization (SEO) and how to drive the most clicks to a website, ecommerce store or content page.
The conference was basically all about Google. Why? Because, even in 2025, Google controls 90 percent of search in the world. To get found you need to please the Google Gods. So what advice did the greatest and smartest people in the online marketing world have for conquering Google search? They all pretty much said the same thing: “beats me.”
No one knows. That’s because Google’s search algorithm is a secret more closely guarded than the recipe for Coke or U.S. nuclear launch codes. Everyone there was trying to figure out what Google was going to do next, where Google may change its algorithm and how these changes would affect traffic to their site.
AI is now changing that. AI is already starting to save small business owners like me from Google’s monopoly on search. And it’s doing so in three ways.
More Options
For starters it’s giving our potential customers more choices to find us. Yes, studies show that Google still dominates search. But already you can see ChatGPT and others like it begin to make headway.
So far, even if ChatGPT’s 1 billion messages per day were search-related, its total share of the search market would be less than 1 percent. Google saw approximately 373 times as many searches as ChatGPT in 2024 and Google searches actually grew in 2024 compared to 2023.
But things are changing. Gartner predicts that by 2026, traditional search volume will drop by about 25 percent, with AI chatbots and virtual agents capturing a growing share of user attention and behavior Others project that AI-powered searches will grow annually by up to 35 percent starting in 2025, reaching an estimated 14 percent of search market share by 2028, with Google declining modestly to about an 86 percent share. I’m betting that decline will be more pronounced. But regardless it’s heading in the right direction.
I’ve tried Google AdWords and for a small business like mine it’s useless. My company sells customer relationship management software and the big players in this industry already have search results locked up. They spend more money than me. They buy up all the good keywords. People searching for products I sell won’t find me unless they click through to page 8 of their search results and no one does that. Of course, that doesn’t stop Google – the fox guarding the henhouse – from drawing down on my ad budget with their dubious claims of “impressions” and clicks. How can I even verify this? I can’t. They have the monopoly.
AI is solving this problem. As other chatbots take away search market share from Google I’ll be offered more ways for customers to find me. I predict that many small businesses – equally frustrated with the Google monopoly – will gravitate to these chatbots. ChatGPT and Perplexity have already announced their own browsers to compete with Chrome and collect data. Good for them. More competition means more choices and less costs for small businesses like mine.
Less Clicks, Better Clicks
Most have noticed that Google has introduced an “AI View” into their results where search answers are summarized. Some believe that this will result in fewer clicks on links to websites and they’re right. Smart marketing people, like Jason Rose – senior vice president of digital sales and marketing at HR firm Paychex believes that this will have greater benefits for small businesses like mine.
“People are reading the AI summary and kind of getting what they need and moving off,” he said. “But it’s not all doom and gloom because these visitors actually convert at a much higher rate.”
To date SEO has been all about getting visitors to your website. Websites are ranked based on their traffic. But how genuine is this traffic? In 2023, bots made up 49.60 percent of internet activity, almost catching up to human traffic, which was at 50.40 percent. Meanwhile we’re paying Google to send this nonsense to us. AI is fixing this too. It is changing the way people use the web for research, be it academia or shopping.
Rose is right. By reading an AI overview a visitor who clicks through to a website has given some thought to their action and is therefore a more qualified prospect, a better visitor. Google and others will likely charge more for this. I’ll pay. It’s worth it.
Content Creation Opportunities
To be included in an AI overview your content has to be relevant and useful. Unfortunately, a great deal of today’s content isn’t. At the Seattle conference I attended some of the sessions talked about SEO tricks and games you can play with content (keyword stuffing, hidden links, showing different content to search engines than what is shown to users) to get noticed by Google. AI will help to stop this. As it gets smarter it will be better able to root out this nonsense so that it’s displaying the best answers possible.
Which means that the best content will be included in AI overviews and the websites with the best answers will have a better chance of being found. No games. No tricks. Just good, valuable content. And not content generated by AI because AI will be able to figure that out too.
This will be an opportunity for quality content providers – writers, bloggers, creators, etc. – to step up their game and prove their value. The best ones will rise to the top, unburdened by the crawlers and spiders, that held them down. People worry that AI will replace content providers. It’s actually the opposite. It’s creating more opportunities for them.
“AI is reading the same content that the human would have and building summaries based off of that,” Rose said. “So again, you need great content. Content is still king.”
All of this is happening now. But we’re still early days. Google is still Google. ChatGPT and other chatbots are infants in the search world and still hallucinate too much. But you can easily see the future. And the future is a world where, thanks to AI, Google no longer monopolizes search. For a small business owner like me, that world can’t come soon enough.
Tom Goodwin believes marketing has lost its way and that many of the ‘modern’ lessons are taking us backward. Here, he explains himself and shares what lessons we should salvage from the performance-heavy playbook.
I lost my temper on a podcast the other day. I was exhausted, jacked on espresso, and ended up ranting pretty hard about how messed up advertising has become.
Now that I’ve slept, petted a puppy, and bought a nice plant, I feel calmer.
But. I still stand by everything I said.
Now I just want to offer solutions to the chaotic mess I described.
No other industry has declined so badly in the past 20 years as marketing. I don’t think any other industry has so much fraud, as many lies, and as much general intellectual flimsiness as marketing.
If your doctor told you to try homeopathy, you’d laugh in their face, unless you were old and French. Yet at conferences, people parrot slogans like “people buy the why” or “working at the speed of culture” and get met with nods of gormless approval.
We’ve lost the plot.
The gap between what advertising promises and what it delivers is embarrassing. Be it automatically generated or not, there is an absolute sea of irrelevant ugly crap that we are served. It is a disgrace, and it seems, a growing problem.
But here’s the good news: brands aren’t dead—they’re more essential than ever. Marketing should be driving innovation, growth, and understanding. Instead, it’s become tactical, short-term, and aimless.
I don’t think any industry is as lost as marketing.
In the last 20 years, we’ve tossed out centuries of knowledge and replaced it with buzzwords, A/B tests, and shallow metrics. We worship data, even when it’s irrelevant. We change things constantly, but rarely stop to think.
The modern playbook is great if you’re a niche brand with a small budget and an online store. But for most companies?
It’s useless.
This playbook became the entire modern playbook. We have mass market brands that boast about the need to have one-on-one conversations with people at scale.
We have endless conversations about click-through rates in categories that are irrelevant.
We optimize against things that don’t matter.
We completely ignore the things that do, like whether humans see the ad, like it, remember it, or think it looks nice.
We are absolutely and tragically lost.
So, here are six ways to fix it:
1. Almost everything we knew about marketing in 1920 is still incredibly true today. If you write down a list of how to best do marketing: market orientation, targeting, positioning, propositions, target audiences, segmentation, the need for consistency, the need for salience, 99% of the rules are the same and absolutely vital.
2. Also learn everything in the “new marketing” playbook. Know how to retarget, create lookalike audiences, understand the power of retail media, understand attribution, creative optimization, programmatic audience buying, and play around with marketing dashboards.
3. Establish your personal criteria for success. Realistically, are you just trying to keep your job by utilizing bullshit data and helpful lies? Or is it important for you to grow your business via branding over the long term? Are you trying to be proud, flog a company, get a promotion to a tech startup, or know what you actually want to do?
4. Based on all of this, figure out what to take from the new and the old. Quite a lot of the new marketing playbook, and the stuff that people drone on about, is absolute nonsense. Most companies really don’t need that much data to target people well.
Most performance data is actually incredibly unhelpful. CTRs are irrelevant, ROAS is a lie, and attribution is the art of finding people who were going to buy, not creating success. Provably, most forms of advertising personalization are entirely ineffective. They waste money on data and technology and, at best, perform about the same. Almost all of advertising’s impacts take a really long time to happen, but they are lost a really long time.
The new marketing playbook was based on a complete lack of understanding about how advertising works. Advertising generally works on consistency. The new advertising playbook that wants to change copy 25 times, and see what works best.
Advertising generally works on a shared understanding, brands become cultural elements by being known by a large group of people, far beyond the target audience. Expensive advertising is far more effective; it conveys trust, confidence, and creates appeal.
Almost everything that companies are striving to do, from constant measurement to real-time agility, microtargeting, buying efficiency, and AI optimization, is the antithesis of what is successful for most brands that we work with.
At the very best, they do a fantastic job of taking credit for existing interest, converting efficiently and immediately from a tiny pool of people, while doing nothing to expand the brand appeal over geography or time.
5. Work around the incredible opportunities that new devices and new technology allow. We have the best screens we’ve ever had, we have the best contexts for marketing that we have ever had, we have the most sophisticated canvas of opportunity that we could imagine, and we have tended to replicate most easily things we’ve done before. Now is the time to re-imagine what marketing could actually be around the change parameters of this era.
6. Persuade your board to trust you. This is the hard part. The great tragedy of this moment in time is that the boards have been lied to and told that marketing is a science and can be measured precisely. We have an arithmetic culture, where data is valued more than experience and instinct.
If you are to do your job well, and to be proud of what you accomplished, you have to be prepared to go into the board and say trust me this will work, it will work for a really long time, it will work in a large number of ways, and its impact will not be easy to measure, and nor will it happen immediately, or directly.
Because that’s how advertising, most of the time, for most brands, and most situations, works.
So do we want to hide behind spreadsheets and point to precise ratios in a dashboard, or do we want to make work that we feel proud of.
Do we want to make a difference, call out bullshit, and make advertising feel great again?
Do we want to feel good about what we do? Do we want to trust our instincts?
Tom Goodwin is a globally recognized expert in marketing trends, AI, and digital transformation. He is the founder of All We Have Is Now, author of Digital Darwinism, and a keynote speaker at events all over the world. His work emphasizes “nowism,” a pragmatic approach to futurism that advocates using existing technology to drive meaningful change.
Retailers are navigating relentless disruption—and nowhere is the impact more acute than in merchandising.
Merchandising is the heart and soul of retail—the bridge between product selection and customer engagement,shaping both sales and brand loyalty. From sourcing at the right price to planning where and how to sell, merchants partner with planning and inventory teams to forecast trends and position stock.
Historically, success was measured by margins, turns, and sales. Merchants won by reading seasonal trends, cultivating supplier relationships, and interpreting market dynamics.
At the same time, merchants faceeconomic headwinds, geopolitical challenges, inflation, and supply chain disruptions thathave shifted from exceptions to assumptions.
With more than half (54%) of consumers viewing uncertainty as the new normal (Accenture’s Latest Consumer Pulse Survey), retailers must build resilience and expand what “consumer-focused” means. It’s no longer just selling products—it’s building true consumer intimacy.
This demands that merchants immerse themselves in the whole person: their needs, their desires, their and their world. Because consumer behaviours shift quickly, static plans give way to real-time adjustments and rapid test-and-learn—ready to pivot when the unexpected happens.
With retail more complex than it’s ever been, and merchandising at the centre of it all, the question is whether the merchant role evolves—or is redefined entirely.
A New Way Forward: The ‘Consumer Visionary’
We’re already seeing merchants evolve into Consumer Visionaries—leaders who blend deep human understanding with technology to make fast, informed calls. They prioritize sustainability, know how to create engaging experiences and content, and build partnerships that go beyond traditional supplier relationships.
However, it’s not just what people buy—it’s why. Curiosity about psychology and culture, paired with technology, turns insight into action that benefits customers and the business.
Consider social commerce: platforms like TikTok Shop have erased the line between content and commerce. Feeds now feature live demos, shopping events, and creator recommendations.
The Dual-Mode Merchant
To succeed as consumer visionaries, retail merchants must excel at two complementary skills.
First, act as content curators,blending online and offline experiences to collapse barriers between merchant and consumer. It requires acting as an influencer—actively posting on social media about products and showcasing brand personality by sharing content to test new ideas, drive sales, and influence behaviour. It also means a closer, more symbiotic relationship with marketing, whether within the retailer’s own walls or through external partners.
Fully integrating across emerging platforms and payment methods, from third-party marketplaces to payment facilitators, deliversa seamless, cohesive journey from awareness to purchase and beyond. This requires carefully curating product presentation, experience touchpoints, and logistics into a single, seamless performance; delivering a unified brand experience that earns trust and inspires loyalty.
Second, orchestrate the ecosystem to manage the entire consumer experience from start to finish by using AI and other technologies to make teams more effective, while creating unique interactions that shape how people discover and buy products. This is more than just deciding what products to carry; it’s about coordinating suppliers, technology platforms, and partners to create experiences that feel seamless and exciting. It’s also about using live data and insights to adapt instantly to trend, market, inventory, and consumer factors—dynamically adjusting curated assortments, layouts, and pricing to enhance local relevance and customer satisfaction.
Four Pillars To Consider
Success as a consumer visionary comes down to getting four foundational areas right.
Decode The Customer
Reveal motivations, emotions, and jobs-to-be-done—not just purchases. Track emerging signals and anchor every decision (assortment, content, service) in what feels timely, relevant, and resonant.
Automate To Elevate
Use AI and automation to absorb routine work so merchants focus on strategy. Connect digital and physical journeys, and build data capabilities for real-time decisions on content, pricing, inventory, and experience.
Orchestrate Connected Offers
Craft value propositions that differentiate through engagement and emotion. Deliver a consistent brand across online, store, and social channels, with curated assortments that serve distinct missions and needs.
Delight At Speed
Adopt a continuous test-and-learn rhythm. Move fast on trends and signals, iterate quickly, and create breakthrough moments that surprise, delight, and build loyalty.
Making It Happen
As retailers prepare for the future, those that invest in developing these capabilities will create durable advantages beyond traditional differentiation.
Successful consumer visionaries will cut through complexity by staying anchored in consumer value. They blenddata, imagination, and technology with an authentic grasp of human desire, and in doing so, position the future merchant to know what customers want—often before they do.
Marketing leaders from Microsoft Advertising, Skoda, Unilever, Samsung, Philips and more gathered to confront the AI shift head-on. Are CMOs truly ready to lead in a machine-shaped world? This is what they said – unfiltered, relevant and urgent.
“We’re not just adapting to technology: we’re adapting to a completely new marketing paradigm,” says Globant Gut’s managing director, Marwa Khalife. She was speaking at The Drum and Globant Gut’s roundtable, to kick off the new AI Marketing Pulse editorial series.
It’s a stark warning – and one that lands hard in a room full of global marketing leaders from Microsoft Advertising, Skoda, Unilever, Samsung, Philips, Channel 4, Babyshop, Carwow, ESL Faceit, Okta.
This isn’t another polite panel about AI hype. It’s a candid, unscripted reality check that proves AI is no longer a curiosity – it’s the engine beneath the hood of modern marketing. It’s reshaping everything from content production and media targeting to how brands build trust and stay relevant. And so marketers are no longer just brand storytellers. They’re being asked to evolve into hybrid creative-technologist-business architects.
So the question on the table is, are CMOs truly ready for all that AI is offering them? And what does it take to lead, not lag, in an AI-powered era? What follows is a bracingly honest – and often philosophical – discussion that proves AI’s impact goes far beyond productivity hacks.
Build to last – AI for brand transformation
At Unilever, the promise of AI isn’t about the flashy future – it’s foundational. “We created this tool called Brand DNAi. We’re programming [it] to be like a brain for our brand assets,” says Selina Sykes, vice-president of digital marketing and social first at Unilever Beauty & Wellbeing: “Anyone producing content anywhere in the world can access it, talk to it, and ensure what they’re creating is truly part of the brand’s equity.”
Meredith Kelly, head of marketing at Škoda, echoes the importance of control and consistency across markets as AI fast becomes a connector for legacy automotive brands facing global fragmentation: “We use a kind of ChatGPT-style tool to help make sure ideas are understood across markets and interpreted through the right lens.”
Meanwhile, at Microsoft Advertising, the transformation is deeper than brand assets – it’s strategic intelligence. “We’re using [AI] to cover knowledge gaps,” says Ryan Miles, director of international marketing, going on to explain how it uncovers strategic insights that would normally take weeks or months to identify.
For CMOs, the shift is not just operational: it’s existential. As Ben Carter, global chief customer and marketing officer at Carwow, puts it, it’s about freeing up humans to do the smarter things: “It requires a cultural mindset shift… thinking ‘model-first’ rather than ‘human-first’.”
Marketing to the unseen – audiences in the agentic age
But in a world of disappearing signals and fragmented attention, it’s not just about how AI helps brands. It’s about who those brands are even talking to. Enter the age of agentic audiences: hyper-individualized, highly fluid, and often invisible in traditional datasets.
Claudia Calori, vice-president, head of marketing at Philips, describes how synthesized personas are redefining targeting. “Large language models actually work best when they have a persona to refer to. It gives teams a human reassurance,” and helps them test ideas at scale, she says.
Khalife has seen this play out across clients, with brands beginning to use the different personas as “real-time testing within a very tailored focus group.”
But synthetic insight isn’t always pure insight. As Mads Peterson, managing director of Globant Gut Copenhagen warns: “You can get some very serious hallucinations, if you don’t structure your data [correctly]. And then there’s privacy – can we even use this data?”
These nuances reflect a deeper challenge: bias. While AI can uncover hidden patterns in vast datasets, it can also reinforce outdated assumptions and inherited flaws.
“If you don’t train the model with diversity, you get predictable, one-note results,” warns Fabio Tambosi, senior brand marketer, former Nike, Nokia and Adidas.
For Mitin Chakraborty, head of marketing at Babyshop, that’s a strategic red flag: “What if it’s helping you repeat mistakes that were relevant 10 years ago, but aren’t now?”
Iain Walters, head of marketing at Channel 4, puts it more bluntly: “If people see a piece of AI-generated content pretending to be the real thing and then realize it’s AI, they literally switch off.” That viewer instinct underscores the human test every brand must pass: trust, relevance and emotional connection.
Creative courage – AI as the new creative muse
If brand and audience are transforming, so too is the creative process. But does AI enhance creativity, or dilute it?
“AI is a facilitator, not a creative boss,” says Antonia Faulkner, senior director of corporate comms, ads marketing and insights, Samsung Ads, explaining that “it helps brands be more experimental” in a fragmented media landscape.
But true creative courage lies in pushing AI beyond tropes. That means not just accepting the first answer but taking it to where the magic happens in the second iteration and beyond. It’s a team sport between human and machine, explains Nicolas Rodet, senior vice-president global head of digital, Okta: “It’s an extra asset for validating the experience” but the human is still the one who defines it.
That interplay between automation and intuition is a recurring theme. “A well-phrased prompt is very similar to a well written brief,” says Calori: “And if you really challenge yourself dialectically, that’s where GPT can really help you to stretch your thinking further.”
The new CMO mandate
So where are CMOs really on the adoption curve? The answer is: building, questioning, experimenting, and, most of all, adapting.
“I always think about AI as a foundational technology, the same as electricity [and] the printing press,” says Sykes: “It’s not about the AI – it’s what you do with it.”
As the conversation wraps, the group is left not with all the answers, but with better questions. Questions about ethics, creativity, inclusivity and meaning. In short, the kind of questions that define leadership in the AI era. Because AI might help you do more. But only humans can decide what matters.
To hear the full, unfiltered conversation, including candid takes on creativity, culture change in the age of AI and actionable advice for marketers, watch the highlights video from the roundtable above and on The DrumTV.
