Power Marketing with Kevin Lee

Kevin Lee interviews David Alexander, Chief Marketing Officer at Everbridge, a company whose suite of products empowers enterprises and government organizations to anticipate, mitigate, respond to, and recover stronger from critical events. He’s also an Executive Professor at Texas A&M University, where he brings his extensive marketing experience to bear for the benefit of undergraduate marketing students.

Kevin and David discuss Critical Event Management and contemporary marketing issues, including marketing austerity, the need for measuring and optimizing marketing performance, understanding the customer journey, and future-proofing strategies against emerging technologies. Their conversation highlights the importance of data visibility, automation, and customer experience in terms of driving business growth, along with the evolution of marketing’s role in the customer journey, particularly in the post-COVID era.

Additional topics covered in their talk include:

– The definition of “Critical Events,” which may include weather events, political events, and other events challenging the readiness and resilience of corporate entities.

– The importance of data visibility, automation, and effective communication for building relationships with CFOs, CROs, and CEOs.

– How Using data and AI can be used to make informed marketing decisions.

– AI’s impact on marketing, including automation, creativity enhancement, and decision-making.

– How AI represents an opportunity for students to learn new skills and stay competitive in the job market.

– In a marketing context, the importance of the importance of focusing on existing demand and harvesting it before creating new demand.

– The importance of a “single source of truth” for KPIs in B2B marketing.

– Why marketers need to learn to “speak the language” of other organizational departments in order to have their communications understood.

– The importance of identifying and building relationships with key decision-makers in the organization, and how Everbridge uses a multi-threaded approach to reach these individuals.

– The key role of thought leadership in building relationships and driving engagement.

– How people at different levels of the organization can be used to provide thought leadership, not just the CEO or chief security officer.

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Kevin Lee interviews Vladimer Botsvadze, a noted speaker, business coach, and thought leader with a lot to say about digital marketing, social media, and the power of personal branding. As his LinkedIn profile notes, Vladimir “has more than 15 years of international experience in marketing and innovation with a proven track record of guiding executives and top brands worldwide to initiate change, drive growth, and position brands as market leaders in their industries,” and he’s been featured in Forbes, Bloomberg, Yahoo Finance, Irish Tech News, and other media outlets.

Kevin and Vladimer discuss personal branding, AI, community-building, and the future of marketing and advertising. Other topics discussed include: – The importance of personal branding in today’s marketing landscape.

– How personal branding is the key to sustainable competitive advantage in the age of AI.

– Examples of individuals who have been exceptionally successful using social media for personal branding.

– Why individuals and brands should prioritize content co-creation and partnerships with other creators, rather than solely focusing on content creation and editorial calendaring.

– How audience and community need to be distinguished from each other.

– The importance of trust, personal branding, and networking in digital marketing.

– Why consumers’ trust in advertising is diminishing.

– How many large brands fail to build authentic connections on social media, instead preferring to “broadcast” to online communities.

– Why curiosity and agility are key to growth in today’s fast-paced digital landscape.

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Kevin Lee interviews Kate Edwards, who wears entrepreneurial hats in both the for-profit and non-profit worlds. She’s also a Microsoft alumnus, an activist, and an organizer with deep roots in the computer game industry who speaks frequently at industry events.

Kevin and Kate discuss game development, the gaming industry, working conditions within this industry, and concern over how AI is likely to impact things now and in the future. They cover much ground in our talk; topics include:

– Kate’s experiences working in the gaming industry, which included work on popular games such as Halo, Fable, Age of Empires, Dragon Age, Modern Warfare, Mass Effect and others.

– Why the topic of AI in the creative arts, including games, is a hot topic among game industry employees today.

– How the SetJetters app helps fans find filming locations of their favorite TV shows and movies by providing a map and synchronizing scenes from the film with what the location looks like today.

– Why fans attracted to filming locations while production is ongoing may either be embraced or encounter hostility form the film crew.

– How Kate created a team at Microsoft to help the company navigate political and cultural risks, and later left to focus solely on video game development and consulting.

– Kate’s experiences advocating for greater workplace diversity within the gaming industry and her role in the infamous “Gamergate” episode of 2014.

– Why mental health issues are endemic in the game industry but are seldom mentioned or addressed.

– How the game industry is characterized by a lack of empathy and understanding among gaming industry managers, which can lead to poor decision-making and unrealistic schedules.

– Why recent layoffs and RIFs (Reductions in Force) in the gaming industry are largely the fault of management, which scaled hiring too quickly during the COVID-19 pandemic.

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Kevin Lee interviews Dixon Jones, CEO of Inlinks, a company that has developed the first entity-based Semantic SEO tool. Kevin and Dixon trade notes on current developments in SEO with a focus on the significant impact that AI is already having in the space. They cover many topics in our talk, including:

– The degree to which traditional SEO link building strategies will remain viable.

– How Dixon’s current project, Inlinks — an SEO technology that focuses on entities instead of words –provides value.

– How LLMs are voraciously ingesting content across the public web, including YouTube transcripts, and their continuing hunger for additional human-generated content.

– How forward-looking SEOs have moved from a keyword-centric mentality to a topic-centric focus.

– The wisdom of making one’s brand closely aligned with the exact same things that one’s customers are interested in.

– How Google Suggest can be used to generate new content ideas by analyzing related search terms and their semantic context.

– The importance of identifying the relationship between the person talking and their area of expertise in order to estimate this individual’s authority and credibility.

– The efficacy of applying a “Barnacle SEO” strategy in today’s search environment, where LLMs and single-result search engines such as Perplexity are growing more important.

– The potential for LLMs to successfully disambiguate certain terms (such as “Mustang,” which may indicate a vehicle, a fighter aircraft, or a type of horse).

– The fact that today’s current generation of AI-generated content checkers often fail to perform correctly.

– The degree to which blockchain technology may have a role in authenticating content in the future.

– How companies such as Adobe may be in a better position to survive potential copyright infringement lawsuits related to AI, given that the images used to train its LLM have all been licensed.

– The dubious wisdom of attempting to quarantine one’s content against LLM ingestion.

– How a new generation of JavaScript-based SEO tools may be able to implement needed site changes rather than merely point them out.

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Kevin Lee interviews Adam Kleinberg, CEO and Co-Founder at Traction, a San Francisco-based consultancy describing itself as “a new breed of brand experience consultancy designed to help in-house teams create the amazing experiences they need to connect with their customers at the speed—and with the talent—their business demands.” He’s been named one of the Top 25 Most Innovative Marketers in Digital by iMedia Connection, his consultancy has won many awards from Ad Age, iMedia, BtoBMagazine, TheNextWeb, and others, and his client base includes Apple, Adobe, LinkedIn, Walmart, and dozens of other top-tier brands.

Kevin and Adam discuss the present and future evolution of creativity, marketing, and advertising, with a focus on the role that Generative AI and LLMs will play in this evolution. Along the way they discuss topics including:

– How Traction started as a freelance cooperative in a spare bedroom, later growing into a marketing accelerator with a “liquid” workforce.

– How Traction adapted to changes in the market by pivoting to a remote workforce model in 2019.

– The future of marketing agencies, which must work to adapt to changing client needs and provide value beyond just media buying.

– How Traction helps brands leverage emerging tech through community, events, and workshops, driving enterprise adoption and problem-solving.

– The potential of AI tools in the creative process, especially with respect to their ability to speed up the insights generation process and provide valuable inspiration.

– How AI tools such as Gemini, ChatGTP, and others help to organize thoughts and create a consistent voice.

– The efficiency gains of using AI tools for image selection and manipulation, for example, Canva’s ability to suggest alternative backgrounds without manual effort.

– The potential impact of AR/VR on brands and potential role in creating more immersive apps and games.

– How Lowe’s and other brands are creating immersive retail experiences with AR technology, potentially revolutionizing the industry.

– The importance of creative excellence in a rapidly changing media landscape, where mistakes can be costly and competitors are always one step ahead.

– The evolution of targeting in advertising, from the “big idea” of the past to personalized messaging and AI-driven optimization.

– The challenges of over-segmentation and the importance of data quality in optimizing ad performance, even with AI.

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Greg Licciardi interviews Kacy Cole, Chief Marketing Officer at Holland America Line, a venerable brand that celebrated its 150th anniversary in 2023. Greg and Kacy discuss issues related to marketing innovations for high-value cruise line guests. As Kacy notes, research plays a huge role in the process of rolling out new products and partnerships to cater to Holland America’s high-value customers. And here, generative AI is already playing a part in identifying new media targeting opportunities, as well as introducing efficiencies in the way that Holland America guides customers through the booking and digital checkout process.

Greg and Kacy cover other topics, including:

– The importance of reaching the right person with the right message at the right time and the right environment to deliver the right outcome.

– How, after analyzing the behavior of high-value, high-affinity guests, Holland America’s food and beverage team reprogrammed the supply chain to bring in more fresh fish.

– How marketing at Holland America is very much a “team sport” where collaboration is key to innovation.

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Christine Magda is an experienced marketing consultant who’s a keen observer of best practices, both in the C-Suite and across the organization. She’s worked in a consultative capacity with many small, mid-sized, and large companies seeking to improve their efficiencies and expand their opportunities. Christine’s expertise extends to go-to-market strategies, brand messaging, lead gen, acquisition, client retention, competitive analysis, customer insights and market trends.

Kevin and Christine discuss issues relating to making better use of marketing teams within organizations. They touch on the challenges faced by organizations, teams, and individuals, when corporate re-orgs or turnarounds become necessary, and delve into the question of whether the generally short tenures of CMOs are due to failure or to success. Discussion topics include:

– The mistakes that marketing teams often make by prioritizing new leads over nurturing existing customers.

– How companies, even otherwise sophisticated ones, often lack the backend business intelligence necessary to understand who their best customers are.

– Why smaller companies often seem to have a clearer view of their competition and create more content to drive demand, while mid-sized companies struggle with this.

– The challenges associated with fixing a broken organizational structure without buy-in from senior management, given that employees may resist change and feel uncomfortable with the potential consequences.

– Why marketing teams are often relegated to a secondary or assistant role within the organization, instead of serving as critical hubs and/or filters for the entire business.

– How PE firms and activist investors often catalyze change in organizations by providing a fresh perspective and new ownership structure.

– The need for a punch list or prioritization list to help senior teams make informed decisions about where to invest their time and resources, with a focus on quick wins and long-term strategies.

– The importance of understanding the value of existing content and repurposing it to improve SEO and marketing efforts.

– Why marketing teams must continually adapt to various stakeholders’ needs, including product and engineering teams, client services, buying committees, data science teams, and CMO/VPs of marketing.

– Why high-level executives, such as CMOs, may experience high turnover rates due to their inability to take credit or blame for outcomes outside of their control.

– Why candidates for CMO positions need to ask crucial questions during the hiring process to avoid surprises and ensure a smooth transition.

– Why startups blessed with heavy funding during the pandemic may face opportunity cost and wasted budget due to hiring sprees.

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Kevin Lee interviews Joe Kowalsky, Show Director at CloserStill Media, a London-based company that produces industry-specific events with a focus on the Business Technologies, Healthcare, Transportation, and Infrastructure sectors. As Joe’s LinkedIn profile explains, he has subject matter expertise in “large-scale event management, sponsorship, sales management, integrated marketing, cold-calling, project management, business development, contract negotiations, and client relationship management (CRM).”

Kevin and Joe discuss numerous topics related to events and event planning, including:

– The dynamics of event funding, including sponsorship and exhibitor revenue, and the optimal balance between these models versus conference revenue streams.

– The importance of knowing the target demographic and creating an event that caters to their needs, rather than just focusing on revenue generation.

– The challenges of maintaining strong relationships with content partners, particularly when they lack subject matter experts on their team.

– Why it’s important to be a supportive and consultative event producer, checking in with speakers beforehand to offer stage tips and provide a guide.

– The shift among event organizers towards making event content available post-event, benefiting both speakers and attendees.

– Why event organizers must balance providing intimate, highly-qualified content with large-scale entertainment and networking opportunities to keep attendees engaged and satisfied.

– Common event fails, such as poorly designed badges and registration snafus, that can be easily fixed with simple solutions.

– The potential of QR codes as a green alternative to printed materials in the events industry.

– Why hybrid events, which often promise an equivalent user experience for both in-person and online attendees, have not yet been successfully implemented.

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Kevin Lee interviews Ron Gutman, CEO at Wurl, a Palo Alto-based company whose data-driven technologies help publishers and streamers maximize revenues, grow CTV viewership, and strengthen brand value. This month, Wurl launched a new product, BrandDiscovery, which it describes as a ”GenAI-powered contextual targeting solution for CTV that helps marketers reap the rewards of finding the right programming for their ads.” Campaigns targeted with BrandDiscovery let advertisers present ads within the programming that contextually aligns with their creatives based on emotions, genres, and brand safety.

Kevin and Ron discuss how AI is used in BrandDiscovery, the powerful role that emotion, and emotional context, plays in effective advertising, and about the evolution of CTV, including its potential to function as a fully-addressable medium permitting unparalleled levels of ad targeting. We cover numerous topics along the way, including:

– The inefficiency of traditional TV advertising, with attention spans decreasing and ad skipping becoming more common.

– How the shift to CTV provides an opportunity for more storytelling-style video ads, as viewers have more time to engage with content.

– Why advertisements tailored to a viewer’s emotional state show much better results.

– How AI can measure emotional dissonance in CTV ads and avoid negative associations for brands.

– How creating ad variants for different emotions can unlock unsold inventory and lower CPMs.

– The importance of understanding the customer journey and tailoring marketing strategies accordingly.

– The value of brand recognition and long-term emotional resonance in building a successful brand.

– The evolution of CTV, with a focus on discoverability and educating viewers about the content available to them.

– How, in the next 5 years, CTV will complete its transition to a more seamless and personalized viewing experience, with AI playing a key role in content discovery and recommendation.

– How AI will produce significant improvements in content production efficiency, making it easier and less expensive to create high-quality content.

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Kevin Lee interviews Alex Collmer, Founder and CEO at VidMob, a New York-based company providing end-to-end technology solutions for a brand’s creative needs. In addition to leading VidMob, Alex has a keen interest in charitable activities, and in 2017 formed VidMob Gives.

Kevin and Alex discuss what’s new on the creative optimization front as well as in the larger digital marketing ecosystem, which is currently going through a transformation due to the emergence of useful AI tools. They cover many topics in their talk; including:

– Alex’s recent trip to Rwanda to help build homes for homeless women and support girls’ education through the VidMob Gifts Foundation.

– How VidMob uses AI to programmatically understand creative decisions and compare them to behavior data, providing insights to marketers on why certain ads work or don’t work for specific audiences.

– The potential of AI in marketing, especially with respect to its ability to analyze customer data and provide valuable insights for competitive advantage.

– The potential benefits of using existing customers as influencers, given their inherent authenticity and existing brand affinity.

– The mix of upper and lower funnel KPIs used by VidMob customers.

– The potential for AI to improve the creative supply chain by providing valuable insights and eliminating creative waste.

– How the platform’s scoring system can help identify creative messages that don’t work in a particular platform and inform changes in positioning and pricing.

– Why audience expectations and preferences play a significant role in determining which types of creative content perform well on different platforms.

– The importance of creative agility in marketing, particularly for small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) and mid-market marketers.

– The challenge of balancing creative agility with control and visibility for larger marketers, who may be hesitant to give up control of their brand and learnings from their marketing efforts.

– How VidMob is building its own LLM to make insights more accessible and is partnering in the measurement world to provide better visibility into the impact of creative decisioning.

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