Diego Norris is the Chief Marketing Officer at Gimme Seaweed, leading the overall marketing strategy for the number one-selling organic seaweed-based snack.

Norris has over 20 years of experience in various marketing and innovation roles for leading CPG companies, including General Mills, Nestle Nutrition, Red Bull, Pinkberry and Campbell Soup. He has also spent several years in consulting, first at Deloitte, where he started his career, and later at Prophet, where he helped technology and healthcare companies build relentlessly relevant brand strategies. 

Mat Zucker: Given the disruption of the last few years, marketers are often asked to take on greater accountability to demonstrate immediate impact and ROI of marketing investment while creating tighter alignment with the business outcomes. Has that been your experience? If so, how have you shifted your strategy to show impact? 

Diego Norris: The push for Marketing to demonstrate immediate impact has increased significantly in recent years. However, this shift isn’t merely a response to increased demands from leadership, board members or shareholders. Developing high-performance programs that are tightly aligned with business objectives is also necessary. 

In this context, the role of marketing data and analytics has become essential. It helps us identify the most valuable programs, assess the impact of A/B tests, and optimize our way to high performance. 

At Gimme Seaweed, we’ve embraced this change with open arms. About a year and a half ago, we started capturing and manually aggregating marketing metrics by business objectives. Earlier this year, we were able to automate this process, which allowed us to get real-time marketing performance data. We are currently integrating AI to enable campaign management automation, the pièce de resistance in our plan for seaweed world domination. 

MZ: How have conversations with your C-suite and board changed as you take on new accountability in driving and proving business value? 

DN: The conversation with the C-suite and board has definitely changed in response to these new demands. A significant portion of our focus now goes into creating a shared understanding of what drives marketing performance in 2023 compared to years past. This helps lay the foundation for focusing on the right business objectives and KPIs. 

Unfortunately, there’s a lot of noise surrounding Marketing today, including no longer effective legacy practices that continue to have broad adoption, well-intentioned but often misguided business partners, false prophets, lack of alignment on KPIs, and inconsistent metric definitions across channels, to name a few. This noise can sometimes make building a shared understanding between key stakeholders difficult. 

In the midst of all this chaos, having solid data at our fingertips has proven to be extremely helpful. It’s like having a reliable compass that helps us navigate through the fog, bringing a dose of clarity and objectivity to discussions.  

MZ: Within your organization, how do you partner with other internal business units and teams to unlock new opportunities for driving growth? Has this evolved in recent years? 

DN: I am definitely seeing increasing levels of cross-pollination between functions, especially between marketing and sales. Several developments in the CPG industry in recent years are fueling this trend and helping blur the lines between these two functions. Most notably, the push for marketing to demonstrate its impact on sales, the emergence of retail media as a primary marketing channel, and retailers’ increasing focus on eCommerce, which relies heavily on digital marketing support. 

For these reasons, many CPG companies, including Gimme Seaweed, now house eCommerce in marketing. This shift has facilitated the dismantling of silos, enabling a more fluid allocation of marketing funds to where performance is strongest. Moreover, it has fostered a tighter knit between marketing and sales, creating a symbiotic relationship geared toward unlocking new avenues for growth. 

MZ: Last year, we published a report, “Brand and Demand Marketing: A Love Story” which speaks to the tensions between brand and demand marketing and why working in silos harms performance. We believe both are critical functions that need to work together to enable success. How do you balance brand and demand within your marketing organization? 

DN: To me, the ongoing debate between brand and performance marketing seems a bit silly, almost like a misunderstanding of the fundamental aspects of a well-rounded marketing plan. It’s essential to recognize that these aren’t optional components you can choose from but integral elements of a successful marketing ecosystem. 

To put it in simpler terms, let’s liken this scenario to farming. Think of brand marketing as the act of planting seeds, nurturing the ground for the next season’s crop, and setting the stage for future bounty, in other words, future demand generation. On the flip side, performance marketing is akin to harvesting the crops we painstakingly nurtured in the previous season, reaping the rewards of our efforts by capturing conversion-ready demand. 

However, the catch here, and what most people overlook, is that in this metaphorical world, farms don’t have fences guarding them. This lack of barriers means anyone, including our competitors, can swoop in and harvest the crops we’ve nurtured with so much care. It’s a wild, open field out there, and a robust performance marketing strategy acts as our safeguard, ensuring we reap the benefits of our hard work without leaving room for competitors to cash in on our efforts. 

But it’s a delicate balance. Performance marketing cannot be ramped up beyond the existing level of demand without facing diminishing returns. It’s about finding the sweet spot where we’re not leaving money on the table, yet not overspending to the point of undermining our performance. 

I must admit, I am very appreciative when competitors neglect performance marketing. It essentially gives us the green light to bring our combine into their fields to harvest their crops. I like harvesting. 

MZ: In the report, we found there are four common principles that most effective markers follow for success: 

• Anchoring Marketing Investment in Business Objectives
• Experimenting to Win 
• Building a Modern Marketing Organization 
• Putting the Customer at the Center 

Do you agree with these principles? Are there any examples you can share where you’ve been able to implement them? 

DN: We practically live by those principles at Gimme Seaweed! Each of our marketing programs nests under one of three business objectives. And it’s the business objective that defines the KPIs that will be used to measure performance, not the program. Aligning marketing programs and metrics to business objectives keeps the focus where it should be, and this, in turn, accelerates growth. 

An additional element that has proven incredibly helpful has been allowing working dollars of programs that nest under the same objective to flow freely where KPI performance is strongest. This makes these programs compete for funding and creates the conditions needed for continuous improvement. It’s a bit of a Darwinian approach that fosters the survival of the fittest strategies and maximizes value creation. 

MZ: What are some top challenges you anticipate in the next 6-18 months? What are you doing to help your organization plan and overcome those challenges? 

DN: Let’s tackle the giant, looming question that’s on everyone’s mind: the rise of AI and its profound impact on the marketing world. At the risk of oversimplification, CPG marketers have two big jobs to do. First, there’s the creative side of things, where we dive deep into brand strategy, target consumer selection, brand positioning, visual identity and the overall tone of our communications. Then, there’s the logistical side, where we focus on efficiently delivering these crafted messages to our target audience, navigating the intricate maze of marketing mix, platform selection, campaign management, data analytics, and marketing spend allocation. 

Even though we’re still in the early stages of AI’s integration into marketing, it’s becoming increasingly clear that the logistical side of marketing is about to see a seismic shift. The intricacies of managing campaigns, analyzing data, and optimizing performance are about to skyrocket in complexity. Soon, it may become nearly impossible for marketers to handle these tasks without the aid of AI. The landscape is evolving so that those who embrace AI and its capabilities will have a significant edge over those who don’t. The divide is going to be stark, almost binary in nature. 

At Gimme Seaweed, we’re not just watching from the sidelines but actively gearing up to stay ahead in this race. I envision three pivotal elements that will anchor our marketing endeavors in the coming months: access to real-time marketing performance data, harnessing the power of AI for data processing and analytics with well-defined decision parameters and leveraging AI for seamless campaign automation. With these in place, we aim to be agile, identifying and capitalizing on real-time performance opportunities. This approach will allow our marketing investments to flow toward areas of peak performance within each of our meta-objectives. 

The current wave of innovation and the potential it holds is genuinely exhilarating. Every day feels like a new learning opportunity. I’m wholeheartedly diving in, eager to absorb as much as possible to help steer Gimme Seaweed towards the best possible future. 

About Mat Zucker

Mat is a senior partner and co-lead of Prophet’s Marketing and Sales practice. He helps clients transform digitally, finding new areas of growth in marketing, content and communications. Previously, Mat was the Global Executive Creative Director at Razorfish, served as Chief Creative Officer at OgilvyOne New York and held leadership roles at R/GA and Agency.com. In addition to helping clients creatively connect and engage with their customers, he hosts two podcasts, Cidiot and Rising. 

Are you interested in talking with Mat? You can contact him, here. 

---

Kelly Jo Golson is the Chief Brand, Communications and Consumer Experience Officer at Advocate Health where she oversees marketing and consumer experience for a leading healthcare system.

Golson brings nearly 30 years of industry experience spanning consumerism, brand, marketing, digital strategy, public affairs and internal communications. A leader with Advocate since 2007, she previously held roles with Methodist Healthcare System, St. Luke’s Episcopal Healthcare and Memorial Hermann Healthcare.

Scott Davis: With all the shifts that have gone on through COVID and now an economic downturn, what matters the most to you right now as a chief marketing officer leading one of the biggest U.S. health systems?

Kelly Jo Golson: You know, there’s a long list of things that matter, right? But one of the things that keeps coming back to me is credibility. Patients and consumers are bombarded with noise and misinformation. Being the voice of trust and reliability, and the place consumers and patients turn to for accurate information and a trustworthy experience is our top priority.

SD: Do you think healthcare has been fairly or unfairly punished over the last three to five years in terms of breaking consumer trust, or is it just the general environment of everything being highly scrutinized?

KJ: Prior to COVID, it was challenging. Patients often came to appointments with self-diagnoses and information they found online. However, I believe the last three years with COVID have helped healthcare systems regain trust. Our experts provided accurate, impartial information at an uncertain time, repositioning the patient and physician relationship and reestablishing doctors as reliable sources amid the chaos of constantly changing information. That trust and the continuous, end-to-end relationship with patients have become crucial factors in our industry and are something we will continue to lean into to ensure we stay relevant with our patients.

SD: It goes way beyond the physician-patient relationship; it’s the entire 360-degree experience. What challenges do you see in delivering this holistic experience, and how are you addressing them? From a marketing perspective, how are you thinking about these challenges and where do you see opportunity?

KJ: Absolutely. Building strong relationships with patients on both the front end and back end of care is challenging but essential. We’ve made strides, especially with high-acuity patients. However, there’s still a long way to go in terms of price transparency, accessibility, personalized self-service, and meeting consumer expectations.

For me, shifting consumer expectations has redefined my role. I’ve gone from being a Chief Marketing Officer to a Chief Brand Officer and, now more importantly, a Chief Consumer Experience Officer. Understanding and meeting consumer needs and expectations have become paramount. Research shows that an exceptional experience has a higher impact on loyalty and action than the care itself. For example, you may have a world-class cardiovascular program, but as soon as someone realizes they’re at risk for heart disease, they are thinking about how easy it is to get in to see a cardiologist. What’s the wait time? How easy is it for them to receive the next level of care and receive relevant communications? These experiences have become increasingly important as people consider their care options. So, our focus has shifted toward ensuring a seamless experience from awareness to care delivery.

SD: You’ve made a significant shift from patient to consumer. Why was it essential to broaden the frame of reference of who’s walking in those doors or on that telehealth call every day?

KJ: Patient experience is still paramount, but we’ve realized that our patients’ changing expectations, driven by their experiences in other industries, require us to become consumer-first. For years, healthcare has been able to put this on the back burner, but with new entrants entering the space, it’s a critical moment for healthcare systems to rethink how we build loyalty. It’s about creating a meaningful relationship with consumers even before they need care, emphasizing wellness over sickness care. Their expectations have evolved, and we need to adapt accordingly.

SD: I know you’ve worked side-by-side with your CEO; how has the evolution of marketing impacted the growth strategy? How do marketing and long-term strategy work together?

KJ: Our growth strategy is deeply intertwined with everything we do in marketing. I’d say we take a three-pronged approach. We recognize that losing even one patient due to poor experience requires acquiring three new ones to compensate for the lost revenue. Additionally, as we transition into accountable care organizations (ACOs), the continuity of care becomes vital. We aim to keep patients within our system for the entire care journey. Lastly, with cost pressures coming into play across the industry, finding efficiencies that allow us to reinvest in places that our patients are asking for is critical. Marketing plays a pivotal role in facilitating this continuity and efficiency.

SD: In today’s environment, we’re seeing budgets being scrutinized and the need to prove ROI for marketing investments. This leads to a conversation we’ve been having with many CMOs about brand and demand marketing. How do you navigate this constant tension between building reputation and driving demand, especially in times of economic change?

KJ: It’s essential to be agile and adapt to the context. We don’t go all-in on either brand or demand; we continually evaluate the situation. We must understand the economic climate, competitive landscape, and our capacity to deliver on our promises. There is no quicker way to damage your brand if you can’t deliver on your promises. Agility is key to striking the right balance and ensuring we’re meeting patient expectations and delivering value. Something that has enabled this agility is having the right mix of talent on our internal teams to support these moves. Within the digital ecosystem, we must be ready and willing to turn the dial up or down depending on our ability to deliver while also meeting the needs of the business.

SD: Building a modern marketing organization is a challenge for many. How have you approached this, especially in the context of rapidly evolving technologies and consumer expectations?

KJ: We’ve been intentional about modernizing our marketing organization. This includes differentiating and creating a standalone consumer insights department, separating brand and marketing, bringing media buying in-house, and developing in-house creative services. We continuously evaluate our structure and its effectiveness in facilitating collaboration and delivering value to consumers.

SD: Lastly, how are you approaching the use of AI in healthcare marketing? What opportunities and challenges do you foresee in integrating AI into your strategies?

KJ: AI holds immense potential in healthcare marketing, particularly in personalizing content, optimizing search, and enhancing the consumer experience. However, we’re cautious about maintaining trust and credibility. We want to ensure that AI augments our efforts without compromising patient trust. Experimentation and learning from industry best practices will guide our AI integration journey.

About Scott Davis  

Scott is a senior partner and the Chief Growth Officer at Prophet. He brings over 20 years of brand, marketing strategy and new product development experience. Scott speaks at and chairs branding conferences such as The Conference Board and the American Marketing Association and is frequently cited in publications like The Wall Street Journal, BusinessWeek, and Forbes. In addition to helping clients unlock uncommon growth, he is an Adjunct Professor at the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University and a guest lecturer at other top graduate schools, including NYU, Harvard, Notre Dame, Medill and Columbia. 

Are you interested in talking with Scott? You can contact him here.

---

Generative AI has taken center stage in virtually every business article, LinkedIn post and cocktail party conversation. And for good reason – ChatGPT drove one million users in its first five days, turning the technology into a household name and transforming how businesses think about productivity and efficiency. For marketers getting their heads around it and starting to experiment, the potential can be either daunting or inspiring.  

Marketers have always been at the forefront of technology. AI and machine learning have been critical in shaping programmatic buying, lifecycle marketing and digital experiences. And for many marketers, this isn’t the first shift they’ve experienced within their role. 

(Click here to enlarge)

A Framework for Supercharging Your Marketing Efforts With AI  

It’s helpful to think of AI as a tool to help enhance what you do as a marketer, especially when it comes to thinking about customers and their needs. Here are four ways marketers can use AI to show up for their customers in more connected and cohesive ways:  

Unlocking Understanding 

Many AI-driven models excel at analyzing unstructured data, text, images, videos and other content that does not fit neatly into traditional databases. Typically, this type of analysis is time-consuming and expensive, requiring its own algorithms. 

Marketers can use AI to help analyze large volumes of data, recognize complex patterns, explore and visualize data, perform predictive analytics and provide real-time insights to drive more personalized and optimized marketing strategies and tactics.  

Companies like Amazon, Netflix, Meta and Alphabet are far ahead of the curve. But so are non-tech players, such as Johnson & Johnson’s Neutrogena and JP Morgan Chase. All using AI to analyze data and use it in ways that directly benefit customer experience.  

Unlocking Value 

AI automates repetitive and time-consuming processes, reducing the number of daily tasks, and freeing up hours so that marketers can focus on higher-order priorities that require more strategic, human thinking. Smart marketers are learning ways to turn those found hours into new initiatives, liberating marketing teams to find new avenues of growth. 

Adore Me, the e-commerce lingerie company recently acquired by Victoria’s Secret now uses AI to churn out hundreds of product descriptions. While copywriters still need to read, tweak and occasionally edit the blurbs, it estimates it saves up to 40 hours a month per copywriter, with zero impact on sales. Even better? Copywriters hated writing those tedious descriptions. By delegating that work to AI, they can focus on higher-order campaigns that drive additional revenue. 

Unlocking Creativity  

With more marketers being asked to do more with less resources, AI can be an essential tool. It can help reduce the time it takes to generate creative concepts, create visually appealing and engaging content, facilitate brainstorming processes, and draw insights from past campaigns that can help marketers take personalization to the next level for future campaigns.  

Lexus, for instance, used AI to transform its Auto Show experience this year, inviting attendees to enter prompts that quickly personalized their new cars on a 98-inch screen. And political attack ads using AI-created voices of opponents are already reshaping the upcoming election cycle. 

Unlocking Differentiation 

With its speed of processing data, sifting through customer insights and analyzing competitors, AI can suggest gaps in the market to help companies create personalized, innovative and differentiated experiences that cater to specific customer needs. 

For example, Unilever uses AI to explore the human gut, home to trillions of bacteria. Using big-data biology, the company is isolating the microbes with the most calming potential and experimenting with biotech partners to pinpoint food and beverage ingredients that will have the most positive impact on mental well-being. Its Knorr soup division, recently used AI to analyze millions of flavor combinations in days rather than months, using digital modeling to create a zero-salt (but still delicious) soup cube.  

To maximize success with AI it’s important to remember that AI is more useful when it is centered on human needs.  

Creating an AI-Readiness Checklist  

Marketing organizations must also have the necessary data capabilities to implement and operationalize AI effectively. Those include thoughtful attention to:  

Data Foundation: Quality Over Quantity  

Companies must have high-quality, first-party data stored in secure infrastructures with clear, consistent taxonomy that can be processed at a high volume.  

Best Practice: Focusing on securing quality information rather than rushing to get the biggest datasets fast will prevent future inefficiencies and accuracy problems. And despite the focus on large-language models, it’s important to note that many tech companies are experimenting with smaller versions, which may be more accurate and efficient.   

Data Value Exchange: Upping the Ante  

Companies must offer additive products and services for customers in exchange for their data and provide transparency for how data will be used.   

Best Practice: In a world where AI tools are accessible to all, companies can offer trust and respect for privacy as a differentiated yet still personalized experience to customers.   

Data Culture & Fluency: The Heart of AI Transformation   

Companies must pursue broad AI fluency across the whole enterprise as well as invest in specific data and AI expertise to continuously innovate.  

Best Practice: Without the people to understand and strategically use AI at all levels of the organization, companies will not be able to unlock uncommon growth.  

Fully implementing AI will require proper evaluation and tracking against an adoption timeline. As soon as possible, begin incorporating AI into workflows, explore opportunities for sustainable optimization and continue to scale it.   

---

Summary

Drawing from insights found in Prophet’s recent report, “Marketers’ 2023 and 2024 Planning Do-More-With-Bootcamp”, hosts Kate Price and Mat Zucker along with panelists Chris Rector, Chief Marketing Officer at GAF Roofing, Lisa Bialecki, Vice President of Marketing & Demand at Rust-Oleum and Leigh Huther, Vice President of Marketing at Trane Technologies share how they effectively balance brand and demand marketing agendas with constrained resources.

Listen to the webinar replay for the seven steps marketing organizations should apply to your 2024 marketing planning and for actionable ideas you can take back to your team.

---

Brad Kreiger is the Chief Marketing and Communications Officer at Cushman & Wakefield and is responsible for the organization’s global marketing, communications and research functions. Within his role, he focuses on building the brand, demand generation, marketing technology and digital platforms, regional and service line marketing and business development activities, and research and thought leadership.  

Before joining Cushman & Wakefield, Kreiger co-founded Hard Hat Hub, a technology startup that created a digital talent marketplace in construction and facilities management. Prior, he spent a decade as SVP of Marketing at JLL, where he oversaw various corporate communications, marketing and business development functions.  

Scott Davis: Given the disruption and uncertainty we have faced over the last few years, how do you approach both executing your marketing strategy and organizing your marketing team?   

Brad Kreiger: COVID started as a big challenge no one knew how to solve. But at Cushman & Wakefield, we had the expertise and a powerful POV within our industry on how companies should operate relative to the pandemic. Some of that came through our experience during the SARS pandemic because we have a significant presence in China. By the time the pandemic had reached the United States, we were three months ahead of many of our competitors, which allowed us to position Cushman & Wakefield as an industry thought leader. That shift in our positioning positively impacted all of our brand metrics, especially PR.   

We have a senior team of economists and market researchers focusing on creating best-in-class thought leadership. I also have a smart, lean and scrappy corporate marketing team that manages PR and content marketing and also sits alongside the team of market researchers and economists.   

And in this uncertain environment, we are constantly evolving our go-to-market playbook. For example, we recently launched a new campaign called “Behind the Numbers,” which features 90-second Tik-Tok style videos from the perspective of a senior economist who just stepped out of a meeting with a client. We see phenomenal reach with these videos, much more than expected for a B2B organization.  

In addition to experimenting with our go-to-market playbook, we’re also doing a lot to mobilize our content by experimenting, taking risks and modernizing our channel mix. We’re also launching crisp positioning and messaging and trying to implement a  marketing strategy that is more B2C in terms of our message delivery, which has worked well and helped us increase our speed-to-market. My team is concentrating on launching quality and relevant content that helps our corporate and investor clients decide their next move.   

SD: It’s incredible how Cushman & Wakefield has taken major disruptions like the pandemic or the return-to-office debate and has risen as an industry thought leader shaping and directing the narrative around these significant events.  

BK: We’re not afraid to stand up and speak the truth as a brand. We saw a great reaction from our clients and the marketplace, so we continued to double down and go harder, which has become our signature go-to-market strategy. We lead with a strong POV and thought leadership. It’s fantastic when that aligns with us driving more revenue, but it can be even better if it doesn’t because it demonstrates the risk we are willing to take as a brand. That type of risk-taking has helped increase our credibility because we are saying things before our competitors and, therefore, have been early on many industry trends.   

SD: How has the relationship between marketing and sales within your organization shifted due to where you are as an organization? Does that relationship feel different than it did pre-pandemic?   

BK: We have a “we’re in it together mentality” because we’ve had some downturns within the market, which has enabled marketing to take the lead on driving demand. The results of marketing’s demand generation wins in the last few years have proven to our salesforce the importance of our relationship and have helped them see that marketing can do things they cannot do on their own. Additionally, our senior management sees the important link between sales and marketing, which is very different from other B2B organizations.  

SD: What is marketing’s role in shaping the overall corporate strategy for your firm, and how has that changed over the years?  

BK: Our organization is in the process of refreshing our strategic goals and business strategy, and marketing has a seat at the table regarding the overall corporate strategy. I also have a position on our firm’s global management team.  

SD: It’s fascinating to see you play a pivotal role in reimaging what Cushman & Wakefield can become and shift the frame of reference for what this business has been for the last 100 years.   

BK: Over the last eight years, the firm has transformed into a multi-billion-dollar global organization. It’s been an incredible transformation. When I think back on the first campaign I launched here, it was the “Welcome to the new Cushman & Wakefield” campaign. Since then, we’ve launched our environmental, social and governance (ESG) and corporate social responsibility (CSR) programs. We’ve expanded into growing sectors like multi-family. We’ve matured our operations and reimagined our global infrastructure. As a member of our senior management team, I always ask myself, “Did the brand keep up with the pace of change?” “Does it reflect who we are and what we want to be in a decade?” We continually ask those questions to ensure our brand strategy meets the demands of our clients and market.  

SD: What is your brand and demand mix today, and what will it look like in the future?    

BK: As a B2B sales organization, and in a very competitive industry, demand and sales enablement will always be our heaviest weight in the mix. Call it 70% of what we do. That might tilt a little heavier to brand during down market conditions as we try to leverage our thought leadership across common client challenges. As the industry continues to evolve and consolidate, I think brand will continue to grow in the mix. The trick is ensuring the brand messages speak to the very disparate corners across the industry with consistency and relevance. 

SD: Given the disruption of the last few years, marketers are often asked to take on greater accountability to demonstrate immediate impact and ROI of marketing investment while creating tighter alignment with the business outcomes. Has that been your experience? If so, how have you shifted your strategy to show impact?  

BK: Currently, my team is working on fully automating our digital funnel to get to the point of measuring the critical metrics within each funnel stage. Our team has people sitting across the marketing funnel and within each stage, we identify the critical metrics to determine what conversion means at that stage in the customer journey.   

SD: Many marketing leaders are experimenting with AI within their organizations. Are you incorporating AI into your marketing practices, and if so, what does that look like?   
 

BK: We are running a lot of AI pilots and projects. We aim to use AI to either accelerate our marketing efforts or scale them, depending on our needs. We’re also experimenting with creative development, such as copywriting or graphic design. For example, with the video campaign series “Behind the Numbers,” we are using AI software to help accelerate our video editing capabilities. It’s exciting and we have an incredibly nimble team across the organization on AI right now. 

SD:  It’s evident that AI is enabling your team to be more efficient, but have you experienced any challenges when implementing AI to drive efficiency and if so how did you overcome them?  

BK:  I feel lucky that our firm has had an AI-backed transformation team now for several years. That’s helped my leadership overcome some of the early challenges around understanding what automation can do. It’s taken some of the fear out of the process. Now that we’re introducing generative AI into our marketing content processes, the challenges are really about training and scaling the process. Which means having strong change management partners. We measure the success based on typical efficiency metrics around shortening processes, but also on quality. Both are critical. I think AI is a means to an end, but you shouldn’t lose focus on the big-picture success metrics of the marketing program. 

SD: How will AI transform marketing in the next few years?   

BK: Big question. It will likely change the entire way the web works and ‘digital marketing’ around it. It might allow us to leapfrog clunky tech development and focus more on connecting data sets. And it should allow us to be more creative. That might sound counterintuitive, but if you think about the energy it takes to generate one creative idea today, we may be able to come up with 50 concepts in the same amount of time. Add that to reducing all the administrative tasks,  what’s left are creative, passionate marketers who know their customers and can use their experience to evaluate the best ways to get messages to market. It’s going to be exciting. 

SD: What advice do you have for marketing leaders and CMOs navigating the uncertainty of the next few years?  

BK: Leading the marketing function is not for the faint of heart. You have to be ready to react to what’s happening and make decisions fast. The world has gotten very complicated, yet organizations are facing pressure to grow at the same pace as when the world was less volatile. All of this is making it even more complicated than ever to get your message out, which is why great marketing leaders listen more than they talk and are aware of their audience and how they make decisions. If you are an old-school leader who thinks that pretty and shiny ads will beat people down with your message, you will not succeed. In this market, you need to meet people where they are and understand how your product and brand need to evolve.  

About Scott Davis  

Scott is a senior partner and the Chief Growth Officer at Prophet. He brings over 20 years of brand, marketing strategy and new product development experience. Scott speaks at and chairs branding conferences such as The Conference Board and the American Marketing Association and is frequently cited in publications like The Wall Street Journal, BusinessWeek, and Forbes. In addition to helping clients unlock uncommon growth, he is an Adjunct Professor at the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University and a guest lecturer at other top graduate schools, including NYU, Harvard, Notre Dame, Medill and Columbia. 

Are you interested in talking with Scott? You can contact him here.

---

Cities are not products, but they still need branding. “The Big Apple” New York, “The Fashion Capital” Paris, “The Lion City” Singapore…these cities have left a profound impression in the minds of people worldwide with their distinctive identities, attracting tourists, talents and investments while becoming a hallmark of their respective countries. Why do cities need branding, and how should they go about it? 

David Aaker, Vice Chairman at Prophet,  recently shared his perspectives on branding cities at the 2023 World Cities Branding Conference in Macao, China. Aaker proposes that building a strong brand for a city requires strategic thinking in five key areas: 

1. Clarify Brand Objective and Target Audience
2. Define the Brand’s Value Proposition
3. Create Brand Symbols
4. Coordinate Brand Storytellers
5. Build Partnerships to Strengthen the Brand

This article explores how Singapore has successfully branded itself using the key strategic considerations for building a city brand. 

1. Clarify Brand Objective and Target Audience  

A city’s brand usually aims to attract tourists (develop tourism), talents (develop high-tech industries) or investments (revitalize the local economy). It is thus essential to define the city’s development goals and understand the needs and characteristics of the target audience in order to guide actions. 

Singapore, often referred to as the “Lion City,” is a prime example of a “city-state” known for its thriving financial services sector and tourism industry. It is also the economic hub of Southeast Asia, leading the fast growth of the region. To cater to diverse international tourists, the Singapore Tourism Board explored the potential interests of tourists. By pairing these interests with the key characteristics of Singaporean locals, they were able to identify several key segments based on the lifestyles and interests of different target audiences, for example: Foodies, Explorers, Collectors, Socialisers, Action Seekers and Culture Shapers. The Singapore Economic Development Board, responsible for attracting investments, also recognized the importance of city branding and in 2017, they collaborated with the Tourism Board to jointly launch the “Passion Made Possible” campaign to accelerate economic growth. 

Image source: https://www.visitsingapore.com/ 

2. Define the Brand’s Value Proposition 

Once the city’s brand objectives and target audiences have been identified, it’s important to develop a value proposition. All subsequent brand communications and activations will revolve around this proposition. 

Singapore’s brand proposition has evolved over time, from being known as the “Garden City” in the 1960s and 70s to “New Asia, Singapore” after the Asian financial crisis and “Uniquely Singapore” in the 21st century.  

Singapore is unique as it is both a country and a city. For other countries, it is crucial for stakeholders to consider a few key questions – How should the country balance the integrity of its national brand with the distinctiveness of its city brands? How could it leverage the positive image of the region to drive urban growth, and conversely, how should it align the diverse identities of its cities with the holistic values of the country?  

For example, Prophet partnered with the Abu Dhabi Culture and Tourism Authority to develop its brand and marketing strategy. We created the value proposition “Experience Abu Dhabi. Find Your Pace,” paying tribute to the cultural heritage of the UAE while emphasizing the local culture of Abu Dhabi. 

3. Create Brand Symbols 

Cities are an aggregation of complex symbols in time and space. In the communications of city brands, it is the symbols that provide audiences with intuitive and tangible experiences. They are symbolic elements rooted in a city’s cultures and communities. Identifying the most representative symbols can make the city branding even more impactful. 

In addition to the iconic Merlion and Marina Bay Sands, the Singapore Tourism Board recently developed a variety of other cultural sites, such as Chinatown, Little India, Orchard Road, and Sentosa Island, to enrich the experiences of international travelers and strengthen the local communities. 

Image source: Unsplash 

4. Build Partnerships to Strengthen the Brand 

Typically, the local tourism board is responsible for overseeing the promotion of a city’s tourism ambitions. However, the tourism industry often involves a wide range of departments, including public management and cultural innovation. Moreover, the marketing budget and operational capacity allowed for one department is also limited. Therefore, partnerships across departments and the private sector should be leveraged for amplified results. 

The Singapore government coordinates urban planning to create an inclusive, green, sustainable, vibrant and convenient city. It also actively collaborates with leading enterprises to co-create the city brand. For example, Changi Airport, one of Asia’s busiest airports, plays a significant role as Singapore’s gateway. With impressive indoor features and efficient passenger experiences, it leaves a remarkable impression on international travelers. The construction of Terminal 5, currently underway, embodies the concept of “The Airport, The City,” as emphasized by Singapore’s Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong in a recent speech. With partnerships across sectors, a city can harness social resources to continuously strengthen its brand image. 

Changi Airport (Image source: Unsplash) 

5. Inject Fresh Energy into the Brand 

Just as commercial brands need to capture consumers’ heads and hearts, the marketing of a city also needs to evolve with time, creating fresh experiences consistently. Singapore has introduced various events and festivals, such as the Marina Bay Singapore Countdown, Formula 1 Singapore Grand Prix, and music festivals featuring international headliners, to keep its image fresh and exciting in people’s minds. 

Image source: Unsplash 

We recommend carefully evaluating and deploying the five key areas when it comes to city branding, in order to establish a city brand with lasting impact with resonating meanings. 

---

Amanda Nizzere: In your words, tell me what you do at Prophet.   

Eunice Shin: I wear two leadership hats. One is leading our direct-to-consumer (DTC) consulting business, and the second is running our technology, media and telecom (TMT) vertical. I’ve spent the last 27 years consulting specifically in those areas. I’m a deep student, especially of the media and entertainment world — where it’s been, what runs it, where it’s going. (I’m pretty obsessed!) DTC is a big element of that, but we also work with direct-to-consumer companies outside of those industries.   

AN: What led you to this career and Prophet?   

ES: In college, I wanted to be a movie producer. I did every internship imaginable – I got coffee, picked up dry-cleaning, and went shopping for a producer’s wife. In my senior year, I got a job as the production manager on a pilot. I was so excited and thought I had finally “made it” when I scored that job. Day One, I showed up, and it was awful. It was a lot of people just sitting around. They weren’t excited. They didn’t want to be excellent. And I knew immediately it wasn’t for me. I felt like, `Now, what do I do? I spent the last four years trying to get this job, and I don’t like it.’ A friend said she was going to something called “Consulting Night”, which I had zero interest in, but he mentioned free pizza, and I was in. I met someone from what was then Andersen Consulting, who told me it was launching a new industry vertical in media and entertainment. It was very technology-focused, which was a big learning curve for me. I went from reading the Hollywood Reporter every day to learning to code.  

I joined the firm, which was the beginning of so many interesting things for me. I helped build and launch the first disney.com, the first disneystore.com, electronicarts.com, and the first online gaming site.  

It wasn’t just that I loved working in the space. It was that everything was new and emerging, and I gravitated to how consumer behaviors would change to follow new technologies. As I look back, that’s what’s held me in consulting for so long – always looking for what’s new, what’s coming out, and the connection to the customer. That’s where I thrive, trying to figure out the risks and the opportunities. I like being a trailblazer.   

AN: Is there anybody who’s influenced the way that you’ve approached your career?

ES: What’s interesting and a little sad is that I don’t think I can look at my career and say I’ve had a mentor. Ever. I’ve had momentary coaches and people to coach me on different projects or at different firms. I’ve had to figure it out my way. As a result, I now spend a lot of time working with organizations that mentor young women, because I wish I’d had that.   

I learned a lot from my parents. They were immigrants: My dad a chemical engineer; my mom a nurse. They were highly educated and skilled but couldn’t rise in their careers because of the cultural barrier. So they opened a Mexican meat market – naturally. It was hard work. They ran that business 14 hours a day, seven days a week, for 30 years. No vacations. Their business was often unstable, they got robbed many times at gunpoint. But I grew up seeing a strong level of resilience. They never gave up. They didn’t have a choice to not show up the next day. They had to open up the store. I saw that, and that’s how I am.  

AN: Client work and building two new verticals is hard. Are there ways you make sure that you start and end your day, or habits that help you decompress?   

ES: It is hard. And even though my daughters are older now – 20, 18 and 14 – it’s so much harder to be a working mom now than when they were little. I can’t fluff things over by reading them a book, with thoughts of the proposal I need to build in the back of my mind. They see through that now. My 14-year-old will be telling me a story about one of her friends, and in my head, I’m thinking about the 20 things I need to do and she will call me right out: `Mom, you’re not listening.’ If you don’t open up those moments for them to talk about what matters to them right now, they’ll stop trying. So, I’ve had to learn to shut off work to be more present with my family. Also at this stage of my career, I am a caretaker for my family and my parents. And also for my teams and my clients. It’s hard to find time to take care of myself. But the one time that I carve out is my evening skincare routine. It’s my only me time. It’s my way to end my day and reset my brain and body.   

AN: If you could escape trade places with anyone for a day, who would you choose?  

ES: Beyoncé.  

AN: If you could pick one age to be permanently, what would it be?  

ES: 20. When you’re in college, it is the only time in your life when you are free to focus on yourself and your development. Before then, in your parents’ house, you’re not free. When I was in college, my worldview expanded. I met so many new different people. It was so much fun. And you don’t have to work yet.  

Rapid Fire Questions

• First, how are you uncommon?  That’s hard because I believe that, at the core, we’re alike in many ways. And what I love about human nature is that we’re all connected. We’re all the same. I feel like my commonality to others is my strength.   
• Do you have a hidden talent or claim to fame? I can stand on my head for a long time. I’m not a yogi or anything, but it’s something I started as a kid.   
• Favorite day of the year? Thanksgiving. It’s all about gratitude and being surrounded by my family. It doesn’t get better than that.   
• Favorite place?  Paris.   
• What is one thing in business that no one talks about but should?  A sustainable work pace. We’ve become accustomed to the amount of productivity that we squeeze in a day. I’ve been saying it isn’t healthy for the last five years. I don’t think it’s good for our mental well-being or physical health. There needs to be course correction or we’re going to implode. I think we have to figure it out.  
• What charitable initiatives are you most passionate about?  Preventing human trafficking. I work with several different programs. As I said earlier, mentorship is also vital to me. There are people I worked with ten years ago that I still meet with regularly. If there’s anything I can do to give back, that’s an area that I would love to make a dent in. I want to make it a better world for my daughters.   
• What’s a wish you have for the future? For people to find their purpose. And once they see it, they have the means to follow it and find success. Having a more purpose-driven world will make this world a better place. 

  

---

The integration of Generative AI (GenAI) tools into modern marketing and communication workflows has sparked a content creation revolution. Businesses across industries are recognizing the potential of AI-assisted writing to streamline content generation, enhance efficiency and improve collaboration. A recent Gartner survey revealed that nearly half of marketing leaders have already integrated GenAI tools into their workflows, with another 43% planning to follow suit. 

The advent of GenAI, combined with a robust verbal branding strategy, offers a remarkable opportunity for businesses to elevate their marketing effectiveness to new heights. By harnessing the capabilities of technology alongside human experience, a powerful synergy can be achieved, captivating audiences and forging authentic connections. While AI undoubtedly streamlines content creation, it is the human-centric strategy that truly breathes life into words, allowing brands to leave an indelible mark on their customers. 

Driving Impactful Brand Communications Through Verbal Strategy, not Words 

At Prophet, our approach to branding is deeply human-centric, driven by the understanding of businesses’ overarching vision and objectives. Regardless of whether the goal is to stimulate demand, ignite transformation, or nurture customer loyalty, brand strategies must be strategically aligned with these pivotal business imperatives. 

In a landscape filled with the allure of advertising and captivating social campaigns, visuals and imagery often command the spotlight. However, a vital strategic element tends to be overlooked – verbal branding. Verbal branding extends far beyond catchy slogans and memorable jingles. It encompasses the strategic use of language across diverse touch points, including voice, messaging, content strategy, and copywriting, all aimed at conveying a brand’s essence and forging emotional connections with the audience. 

A successful verbal strategy ensures a consistent and distinctive presence across all consumer touchpoints – encompassing social media, digital marketing, and product interfaces. By meticulously defining a verbal branding strategy, businesses can carve out a unique space for themselves within a competitive marketplace, striking a resounding chord with their intended audience. 

Harnessing the Power of GenAI in Verbal Branding 

Despite having a well-defined verbal strategy, businesses often encounter numerous challenges during execution. From managing content volume and cadence, investing in talents and suppliers, creating iterations and personalization, to ensuring effective collaboration across departments and accurately measuring return on investment (ROI), the path to successful verbal branding is rarely straightforward. 

AI, when strategically applied under the guidance of human experts, can prove to be a game-changer for businesses looking to overcome these hurdles. GenAI can play a vital role in content generation, coordination, and data analysis, leading to increased efficiency, cost reduction, and an overall improvement in the effectiveness of branding efforts. 

1. Generate formulated copy for digital marketing.

For digital marketing, marketers often need to generate precise yet personalized messages at scale – a task that’s highly time-consuming, technical and repetitive. GenAI-powered platforms like ChatGPT are transforming digital marketing by enabling rapid content generation and producing various copy variations, given the appropriate guidance. Emergent platforms like Lokalise have also allowed for content localization, especially across different languages, and are much more efficient. Additionally, through metadata and machine learning technologies, AI tools can also improve content personalization. For example, CopyAI is a tool that specializes in personalized sales copy and dynamic social media content. The interactive AI interface allows marketers to experiment with different angles and variations, leading to more effective and compelling messaging. 

However, verbal strategy and language refinement remain indispensable in this process. While GenAI can churn out content quickly, human experts are needed to define the brand’s tone of voice, verbal strategy and personalization tactics, while curating and elevating AI-generated copy. In this process, human expertise remains crucial to edit, refine, build, and take the content to the next level. Only through the experienced guidance of human experts, can businesses create impactful and authentic content that resonates with their target audience. 
 

2. Provide insights and baselines for content marketing.

AI excels in synthesizing data and thus can help writers generate topic ideas by identifying trending topics, competitive keywords, and popular content formats. Platforms like Jasper and Content at Scale can do just that. Such assistance can save marketers valuable time in brainstorming ideas for content that’s relevant and engaging at a high cadence. Moreover, GenAI-powered tools can be used to identify grammatical errors and enhance the overall readability of content. 

Despite these remarkable strides in AI capabilities, the skillset of experienced writers and verbal experts are irreplaceable in content marketing. Developing content calendars based on brand strategy demands a deep understanding of the brand’s marketing priorities, target audience and business objectives. Additionally, human creativity and expertise play a crucial role in crafting high-quality content that is literarily masterful while seamlessly aligning with the brand’s vision to resonate with the audience on a more fundamental level. 

3. Optimize the conversational experience of chatbots.

Customer service is a critical touchpoint for brands, and providing seamless support is essential for building customer loyalty. Chatbots and digital assistants have emerged as powerful tools to enhance business resilience in this aspect. By offering immediate support, reducing operational expenses and capturing valuable customer insights, these AI tools are reshaping the customer service landscape. Although they primarily rely on Natural Language Processing (NLP) and Machine Learning (ML) technologies, companies are now integrating GenAI into Chatbots to make the experiences richer and more seamless. 

However, ensuring a comprehensive brand strategy is in place is vital for creating outstanding conversational experiences. Brand strategy, on the one hand, plays a pivotal role in defining the role of the chatbot in the brand portfolio. On the other hand, it is equally important for creating and implementing detailed verbal guidelines for AI-driven interactions. By designing chatbots’ identities through branded personas, businesses can deliver immersive experiences to their customers that are not only authentic but also instrumental to their brand strategies. For example, we partnered with AXA to create a humanized user interface, the “Empathetic Navigator” Emma, to help transform the insurer from payer to partner. In doing so, Emma became AXA’s signature experience to offer a more human approach to being a partner and connecting with its customers. 

Key Considerations When Applying GenAI Solutions 

Despite its exciting potential, using GenAI to activate marketing strategies requires careful consideration of several factors.  

1. Data security and authenticity should be prioritized.

As AI tools and practices are currently an emerging area with limited oversight, it’s crucial for businesses to validate that the information provided is accurate and non-proprietary. Keeping confidential and proprietary data out of AI training process is also essential.  

At Prophet, we developed AI guidelines that serve as a valuable compass for our work. We use the guidelines to omit confidential information and proprietary data from external AI processes, rigorously verify outputs and continuously promote knowledge sharing for collective improvement. As AI technologies evolve and fresh ethical challenges arise, organizations must remain poised to adapt and revise their strategies to ensure alignment with the latest security standards and considerations. 
 

2. Understanding regional nuances is crucial when deploying GenAI for verbal branding across different markets and languages.

Different AI tools may have varying strengths and weaknesses based on the cultural context they were trained. For example, in China, Baidu WenxinYiyan, Tencent’s Hunyuan and iFlyTek’s SparkDesk have arisen as admirable contenders. Additionally, policies and regulations as they start to emerge may differ across regions. Just recently, China became the first country to launch official regulations around GenAI, while the EU is also in the process of evaluating its AI Act. Therefore, businesses should consider using AI models trained specifically for each target market to ensure better relevance and compliance. 
 

3. Going a step further.

Customization is key to leveraging AI effectively for branding objectives. Tailoring the AI solutions to the business’s unique needs, persona, tone of voice and style can create a more authentic and relatable verbal branding experience for the audience. Continuously verifying and adapting the outputs generated by AI is essential to maintain consistency with the brand’s identity and messaging. Businesses should learn from the AI-generated content and customer feedback to improve the system over time, making it more accurate and reflective of the brand’s values and objectives. 

Harmonizing GenAI and Human Expertise: The Path Forward in Verbal Branding 

Undoubtedly, the integration of GenAI in content marketing and brand communications workflows has brought about a transformative shift in content creation. The efficiency and scale at which AI operates are truly remarkable, allowing businesses to achieve more than ever before. However, it is crucial to recognize that the real magic happens when AI collaborates with human expertise, creating a symbiotic relationship that propels branding efforts to new heights. 

---

It’s hard to keep up with the number of companies charging into artificial intelligence. But for those – particularly in the technology industry – that want to build market share in AI, finding ways to get ahead of the crowd is imperative. And time is of the essence. We are in a pivotal moment, and those who get it right will come out as the clear winners not only today but in the foreseeable future.  

It’s not only about developing top products or services. To position themselves as category leaders, companies building AI capabilities need to think about telling a holistic story that evolves with the technology and customers’ uneven rate of AI adoption. Stakeholder perceptions are still being decided. Companies need to win talent wars, educate investors and soothe a society that is distrustful of AI. 

The moment for throwing ideas into the market and seeing what sticks is over. Those who will lead in AI will be those who get their story right, and define these four key elements: 

1. Product + Innovation

AI is driving the most significant technological platform shift in our lifetime. But with so many companies touting their advancements, there is a risk that new products get lost without the depth or differentiation needed to stand out in a fast-moving, crowded ecosystem. ​ 

Companies building AI products need to start with a better understanding of the user journey and experience. While the initial goals may have been building a superior product, customer centricity needs to move to center stage. That requires asking hard questions about the design and intentional experience for users. How will products solve customers’ biggest problems? How fast can they do it? How accurately? Interoperability is essential, too. Where does it fit in the ecosystem? Does it leave room for partnerships? All these things – not just the product itself – determine its value. Are all these facets articulated in a clear value proposition? Can that value be conveyed in messages that are neither too complex nor oversimplified? 

“Short-term, brands will continue to tout the presence of AI broadly as a product differentiator,” says Danny Pomerantz, a senior manager at Prophet. “However, consumer understanding of the utility of AI will increase nearly as fast as the technology itself, so brands will soon need to include more in-depth explanation of the role AI plays in meeting customer needs.”​  

2. Organization + Culture

In the fierce war for AI talent, hiring and keeping the best people requires a distinctive Employee Value Proposition. This EVP must distill the company’s purpose, creating the North Star that unifies the whole company. Given the potential impact AI has on society, employees are taking caution and being intentional in evaluating an employer’s value system – this is especially true for Gen Z workers who place higher importance on a company’s values and purpose than older generations.  

“To attract and retain talent that can build AI solutions, companies need to consider their WHY through the lens of all their stakeholders vs. a traditional overweighting and myopic focus on shareholder value. Other stakeholders include employees, the communities the enterprises operate in and serve, the customer of course, and society the planet,” says Tina Naser, senior partner and global practice lead in organization and culture. 

The most in-demand AI workers will want to work for companies committed to performance excellence and innovation. That means companies must know how current workforce ecosystems must change. How will creative and content generation evolve? What skills are most urgently needed?  

And they want to join companies that are committed to giving them room to grow, which may call for a refreshed organizational design. Employees, almost as much as customers, will become the catalyst for market positioning.  

“The companies that best integrate AI with the human workforce will be the companies that attract and retain the best talent,” says Michael Lopez, partner in Prophet’s organization and culture practice. “That’s how they will unlock new levels of growth and performance.”​  

3. Expression + Identity

Too often, tech companies don’t think about branding until after a product is built. But the brand itself must be designed into the way AI products express themselves – how they look, sound and engage with users. 

AI needs to be honest, quickly telling people that while these tools are helpful, they’re not human.  

“The baseline expectation for AI-powered copy is transparency, disclosing that it’s AI immediately and not a person,” explains Darcy Munoz, Prophet’s verbal branding lead. And since they are often used in straightforward jobs-to-be-done roles, they should prioritize helpfulness over branding. “But personality, deployed thoughtfully and judiciously –an unexpectedly human phrase, the perfect emoji, a well-timed robot joke –goes a long way to build brand love.”​  

4. Responsibility + Guardrails

The mistrust of AI is widespread. That means that even as companies race to build growth-driving technology and value for stakeholders and customers, they must position themselves – and all their AI offers – as responsible, carefully weighing the impact on society. The potential threats are grave, including the “risk of extinction.” That’s why 350 AI executives, researchers, and engineers signed a statement released by the Center for AI Safety. 

To manage potential concerns companies must be clear on their mission and upfront in promises to ethically contribute to managing AI. They must work with governments, competitors and concerned consumer groups, ensuring safeguards are constantly evolving for greater effectiveness.  

This visible commitment is especially important for reaching younger people, both as employees and customers. They are fierce in their commitment to working for inclusive companies that stand for making the world a better place.  

“Gen Z will be paying careful attention to which companies are at the forefront of responsible AI and which companies are lagging,”​ says Michael Lau, a strategy associate at Prophet and demographic expert.  

Amid the intense scrutiny of the business media, Wall Street, Washington D.C. and the general public, companies must honestly acknowledge their reputation. Samsung, Amazon and Apple are among the most trusted tech companies. TikTok and Meta score lowest. 

Tell a Sharper Story 

Companies that carefully consider all four elements have the raw materials to tell a powerful story and establish a unique identity. The next step is prioritizing who they want to hear that story and crafting narratives designed explicitly for core audiences. For some tech companies, AI is the headline. For others, it might be a chapter. But all must draw from a unified positioning strategy. That’s the foundation that aligns vision, solidifies ambition and articulates the pillars for messaging.  

Consider these four stakeholders: 

Customers: Educate customers to earn trust.

Many recognize AI’s benefits of conveniences, yet a recent study showed that 76% of consumers are concerned over the risk of misinformation. Prophet’s recent test of AI messaging with B2B customers found that without more explanation, mentioning AI didn’t help. It came across as vague and expected but without much distinction or value. That underscores the importance of communicating the customer value proposition using clear and compelling differentiation.  

Employees: Use corporate purpose to recruit, engage and retain employees.

While coming off a year of layoffs, the tech industry is still desperate for AI-skilled engineers and talent. Amazon, Microsoft, Meta, Nvidia, Tesla, Google, and many fast-moving start-ups have announced stepped-up investments in AI. As a result, they are refreshing their enterprise value proposition, each aiming to develop a unifying rally cry that sets them apart.  

Shareholders: Deepen messages for shareholders.

While many companies have been using AI for decades, the launch of ChatGPT last year was seismic. The AI fervor drew intense investor interest, often with little understanding. Executives tossed out vague AI mentions on earnings calls, often with little explanation. But it’s important to manage expectations amid the hype as savvy market investors search for strategy, differentiation and growth drivers. AI companies must help potential investors find those differences with clear messages that cut through the noise.  

Society: Commit to the responsible use of AI.

Historical context matters here. In the early days of social media, many believed technology tended toward the beneficial. Now that society has seen its ugly side there’s a high level of distrust and even contempt. And it’s important to note that even the most sophisticated AI thinkers still have no idea where AI will take us. AI is not a business-as-usual business. It will require exceptional efforts to earn and manage the public’s trust. 

---

This article is the third in a series based on our latest research, Catalysts: How to Build an adaptable organization that thrives during uncertainty. Conversations with senior executives in multiple industries helped us define concrete steps leaders can take to create a sense and structure for shared ownership within the organization.  

In his now-famous address to Congress in 1961, President John F. Kennedy laid out an audacious goal of landing a man on the moon and returning him safely to the earth.” The President lauded the endeavor’s impressiveness to humankind and its importance to future space exploration. The speech also represented an unspoken political gauntlet throwdown: pitting the distributed intelligence and decision-making of the US’s market-based economy against the Soviet top-down, centrally-planned model. 

At the time of JFK’s speech, and for the better part of the twentieth century, management theory favored predictability and consistency as means to economies of scale. This resulted in streamlining business processes and organizational structures to maximize standardization and minimize marginal cost. Whole disciplines such as Toyota Production System (TPS), Six Sigma, and Lean emerged as proven methods with terrific results when implemented well.  

Today we operate in a very different economy. The advancement of digital technology has upended the economics of value creation. As a result, we live in a world that is more unpredictable. Today’s leaders must channel President Kennedy’s faith in systems with distributed intelligence and decision-making to thrive. Rather than centralize decision-making, leaders can gain better control through the twists and turns of the market by “letting go” – empowering autonomy and decision-making within their organizations by establishing the organizational structures, processes and culture to make it successful. 

The Benefits of “Letting Go” 

Leaders and managers who look at the big picture quickly realize that delegation of authority greatly benefits the firm and its customers. The company gains strategic agility because it can pivot faster to respond to market shifts. Customers benefit because “bringing authority to the information” increases customer intimacy, driving the development of more relevant and impactful products, services, and experiences. 

Additionally, shifting decision rights lower in the organization drives greater employee engagement, resulting in a 23% productivity increase, according to Gallup’s 2020 meta-analysis. It also delivers a radically improved employee value proposition, as demonstrated by significantly increased retention and ratings for employee wellbeing. 

C-suite leaders that we interviewed for this series told us they are working hard in 2023 on letting go. “This is a major cultural shift that we need to make in order to unlock the potential of the great talent we’ve hired and the leaders we have on deck,” says the Vice President of Talent of a multinational e-commerce company. “We constantly ask ourselves, `What can we do today to step out of their way and unleash that potential?'” 

Three Critical Shifts for Empowering Autonomy and Decision-Making 

“Organizations often underestimate what’s required to release control and still achieve results,” says Jane Hanson, former Chief People Officer of Nationwide Building Society, the UK’s third largest mortgage provider. “It’s not just a matter of leaders stepping back and declaring others are empowered. It’s about building the scaffolding and putting the right systems in place to help people be successful.”  

Empowered teams need the authority to make or influence business decisions. As recently as 2015, just 11% of US workers said they could consistently influence decisions critical to their work. However, it takes more than just leadership’s permission to “let go” successfully. Teams also need the organization’s formal structures, the “Body”, to follow suit. Through our research, we uncovered three critical structural changes required to enable more adaptive and resilient organizations.  

1. Clear Vision, Goals and Accountabilities

To operate with agency, teams need clarity on the strategic direction for the company overall, what success looks like, and how the team contributes to the larger organization. A clear vision and goals at the organizational level establish a “north star,” while breaking enterprise goals down to team-level outcomes and accountabilities gives the team the direction they need to make effective decisions on prioritizing their efforts.  

How goals are framed is equally as important. JFK aimed “to land a man on the moon and return him safely to Earth.” The goal is ambitious and transparent, and its outcomes are easily measured (an astronaut either returns to Earth or they don’t). Yet the goal does not prescribe outputs or how to achieve it. The goal doesn’t stipulate the spacecraft’s design, the mission’s trajectory, the number of crew, etc. Instead, NASA was responsible for determining how they would accomplish this goal. By articulating goals as outcomes (versus outputs) and holding teams accountable to those outcomes, organizations can create greater resiliency and scale by delegating the “how” to teams. 

Outcome-oriented goals can also become an essential facet of the company culture. A senior product leader at one of the world’s largest tech firms shared, “When we pass someone in the hallway that we haven’t seen in a while, typically the first question you ask is ‘what’s your goal?’ not ‘who are you reporting to?’ or ‘what project are you working on?’ Everyone understands what the company’s goals are. It’s actually how we navigate the organization.”  

2. Transparent and Responsive Resource Allocation

In addition to clarity on outcomes and accountability, teams also need resources to achieve their goals. Delivering great products, services, and experiences takes human effort, financial resources, and technological capabilities. Simply having access to those resources is not enough. Teams also need the ability to reallocate those resources to pivot quickly. Too often, financial planning and allocation of talent is an annual process that, for most organizations, is far too infrequent to facilitate effective pivots. Faced with emerging opportunities or market shifts, teams can often find themselves saddled with resources committed to one project while watching opportunities for higher and better use of those resources pass by. Redirecting resources usually takes time and attention-consuming escalation to senior leadership.   

“Letting go” often requires redefining how resources are allocated within an organization, making those processes more agile and giving teams greater autonomy in regular resource reallocation.  

3. Cross-Functional Work 

Reorienting teams around outcomes versus outputs can be liberating but requires more cross-functional work. Rather than being accountable for a single activity or component, teams responsible for business outcomes, such as customer satisfaction, operational efficiency or launching a new product, need the talents of many functional domains that often operate in silos.  

Organizations seeking to become more resilient and adaptive by “letting go” should find ways to accelerate cross-functional collaboration. That could be by shifting the organization’s structure outright, such as to agile teams or matrix models, or by evolving how individuals and teams are aligned to work.  

Putting “Letting Go” Into Practice Across the Organization’s Mind, Body, and Soul

Every organization can find its way to the level of shared, distributed decision-making that best fits its strategies and goals. Using our Human-Centered Transformation Model to think holistically, here are some actionable ways leaders can empower autonomy and decision-making within their organizations.” 

DNA: Define the Strategic Destination 

• Make decision-making faster and easier at all levels by promulgating clear and compelling statements of corporate purpose with well-articulated values to support it. The clearer they are, the easier it is to trust that decisions will be made consistently at all levels. 
• Identify where autonomy and decisiveness are best aligned with company values. 
• Celebrate significant decisions that are well-aligned to purpose and values. 

Mind: Enable Employees With Necessary Skills and Knowledge 

• Shift hiring practices to include problem-solving and cross-functional collaboration, not just hard skills. 
• New responsibilities require new capabilities. Create learning and development resources that help employees build an ownership mindset and cultivate the underlying skills, such as data analysis, to contribute to better decision-making.  

Body: Provide Structure and Governance to Deliver the Strategy 

• Charter work for business outcomes and empower decision-making in the teams that need to achieve them. 
• Simplify governance models as much as possible by moving decision makers closer, if not into, the work process. 
• Advance managers into true coaching models that avoid micromanagement. 
• Ensure all relevant employees can access the data, systems, and inputs they need to make the best decisions.  

Soul: Motivate and Ignite Belief in the Strategy

• Reward progress in decision-making quality, speed and accountability, not just outcomes. 
• Spotlight employees who demonstrate an ownership mindset and recognize them publicly. 
• Champion new leadership behaviors.  

---

Amanda Nizzere: What do you do at Prophet and in what circumstances would I come to you for something?   

Jeff Gourdji: I founded our healthcare practice and have led it for more than 10 years. People come to me for any type of expertise required to either sell into the healthcare space or help drive growth and transformation for our healthcare clients. I work across the firm to understand our clients, what they are going through and how our experts can help them solve their biggest problems. 

AN: Was healthcare always your specialty?  

JG: My interest in healthcare came from my interest in politics and macroeconomic policy. In college I was president of the University of Michigan College Democrats. The hot topic of the day was healthcare reform that the Clinton administration was pushing. Working with the national political organization, I recruited local policy experts to talk about what was broken in healthcare and what reform was needed to drum up support. I learned a lot and, 16 years later, while at Prophet, the Affordable Care Act was passed by Congress.  When clients began coming to us for help with health insurance reform, I raised my hand to work on those projects. Eventually, when healthcare became a burgeoning opportunity for Prophet, I was asked to set up and lead our healthcare vertical. I didn’t set out for this path, but I chose to specialize in healthcare following a personal passion for public policy and the importance of getting health policy right.    

AN: What led you to a career in consulting?    

JG: I started my career at Kraft Foods, and when I think about the throughline from brand management at Kraft to where I am now, it all ties back to my desire for diversity and breadth.  I originally chose brand management because it wasn’t just marketing. It was operations, logistics, demand planning and running the P&L. I was a bit loathe to give that up, but I eventually moved on to be an advisor for a whole range of clients and client businesses because I like the variety that comes with it. Even when picking a specialty, like healthcare, I’m not narrowing my focus because it’s so vast. Within healthcare, there are insurance companies and care providers and life sciences companies. There are so many different aspects of healthcare that I continue to learn today and will tomorrow. As a consultant, you have to love learning about a variety of different topics and industries or parts of an industry. 

AN: What’s one professional skill you’re currently working on? 

JG: This ties in directly to what we were just talking about. I am always learning more about different parts of the healthcare ecosystem, trying to stay current on the issues of the day, like AI, and how transformation can be successful. We should all be working on this, so we can do our jobs better!  

AN: What drains you and gives you energy at work?   

JG: Ironically, the answer to both is being around people. I love the give and take of collaborating, and find my fastest days are those when I am collaborating…but also find myself the most exhausted at the end of those days!  

AN: What’s the worst job you’ve ever had, and what did you learn from it?  

JG: The most tedious job I’ve ever had was the summer before college, working on a lawn crew. It was hot, boring and tedious, but it was a critical lesson. I was punching the clock – taking 15-minute breaks, a timed lunch, and counting the minutes until I went home. I share this story with my kids because I learned that any job that you like doing will go by faster, even if you’re working 13 or 14-hour days, versus a job you don’t love when you’re working 8 hours. If you love the work, the long hours don’t feel so long. 

AN: What’s one thing most people don’t know about you?    

JG: I think my natural shyness can come across as distant. I really do love getting to know people…but I need some time to warm up.  

AN: If you could trade places with anyone for a day, who would you choose?    

JG: Joe Biden – why not? What an awesome responsibility he, or any president has, to make critical life-or-death decisions for the country. And while I am not sure I’d want it for more than a day…just one day would be pretty awesome!  

AN: If you had to pick one age to be permanent, which age would you choose?   

JG: My current age is a pretty good one. While I certainly miss being young and carefree without any big responsibilities, I really think it took me almost 50 years to learn who I am, accept it, and appreciate what I do well. And…fortunately, I am still pretty healthy!

Rapid Fire  

• How are you uncommon? I have a unique combination of determination, discipline, integrity and grit. 
• Do you have a hidden talent or claim to fame? I have secrets, but I’m not sure I’d call them talents!  
• What’s your favorite DAY of the year and why? Ironically, Christmas – because I am Jewish. It’s entirely because I love the quiet and serenity that comes when the world slows down around me.  
• Favorite place in the world? The middle of Tuscany, in a little town called Montepulciano.  
• What is one thing in business that no one is talking about but should? Creating incentives for accomplishing big-picture goals over the long term. Going beyond goals with time limits, like quarterly numbers and short-term projects.  
• What charitable initiatives do you support or are you most passionate about? I give to an organization that has a federated approach to funding, so they distribute donations to all areas of the community that need it: education, food security, shelter, mental health, etc.  
• What’s a wish you have for the future? To meet and watch my grandchildren grow up, in good health until the day I pass.  

---

These are the types of results that B2B manufacturing and distribution businesses can realize if the right digital strategies are developed, and when leaders take on the necessary transformation work to bring these strategies to life. Unfortunately, many companies in the manufacturing sector are still trying to get by with outdated systems and patchwork solutions – leading to operational inefficiencies and limiting their strategic options for growth. There is hope: Those who embrace digital transformation can create new possibilities. 

In our work with a range of B2B manufacturing and distribution leaders, we’ve seen successful digital transformation enable companies to expand into new markets, unlock new avenues for growth, engage new customers and gain a tangible competitive advantage. In this article, we explore why digital growth strategies matter and how to develop the right e-commerce approach for your business. 

“We believe our industry will begin seeing more disruption from large online players and big digital marketplace players, and want to support our customers from seeing attrition as a result. We saw it as absolutely critical to digitally transform to meet rising consumer expectations and to ultimately help our customers grow their businesses.” 

Rob Saper, General Manager, Dexter Distribution Group

The Significance of a Digital Growth Strategy 

Digital growth strategies can support a range of business objectives, from increased sales and stronger customer loyalty to higher efficiency and lower costs. But the simplest reason that B2B companies need digital and e-commerce strategies is that customers expect them to have one. All customers are looking for convenience, flexibility and personalized experiences. Every company must have a digital platform that supports effortless ordering, rapid delivery and responsive service.  

When Dawn Food Products Inc. made it easier for customers to discover new products on its online self-service platform, the company saw a surge in online orders for products that customers had not previously purchased offline. The well-designed digital solution prompted customers to buy more and expand their relationships with Dawn.  

Digital platforms add value beyond purchasing by providing an outlet for content and services that cater to diverse customer needs associated with the core product set. Anheuser-Busch InBev’s BEES B2B sales platform, for example, empowers retailers and partners with customer insights, personalized product recommendations and sales trends. AB InBev now generates 63% of its revenue through B2B digital platforms, with BEES experiencing a remarkable 60% growth from 2021 to 2022. 

Digital strategies also empower companies to scale efficiently, accommodating a growing customer base without the limitations of traditional brick-and-mortar operations. Casey’s Distributing achieved an eightfold increase in productivity by transitioning from manual order processes to a SaaS-based e-commerce platform integrated with inventory management software. 

Platforms that automate manual processes and connect diverse systems reduce both error rates and costs. They make it possible to harness the power of data and analytics to generate invaluable insights that can be used to optimize pricing, marketing programs, inventory, and supply management. These platforms help companies understand where they should invest in growth and how to scale the business.  

E-commerce strategies are critical for B2B companies to extend into new market segments and compete with established players, new market entrants and potential disrupters. To engage smaller businesses with simpler needs than its larger customers, Grainger operates Zoro.com alongside its flagship website. The expanded product assortment has been a hit, generating $1 billion in annual revenue.  

Over time, as digital strategies evolve and capabilities mature, companies may consider refining their business models or launching entirely new value streams. The right platform allows companies to test and learn about new products and services. For instance, Schneider Electric’s  Exchange created a new marketplace of data services that foster collaboration and networking within the energy sector. 

A common theme for successful e-commerce strategies is data monetization. Marketplace and platform models featuring different vendors offering their products produce data and insights that customers value. They also create a market for selling advertising space. B2B businesses, especially distribution companies and others that serve as middlemen, can follow the lead of Walmart, Target, Kroger and others that have built large businesses by selling ads and customer data directly to advertisers.

Seven Steps for Developing a Successful Digital Growth Strategy 

To build successful e-commerce and digital strategies, companies should consider the following key steps: 

1. Define the Vision and Goals

Envision your business aspirations and how they relate to what customers want. Determine where your e-commerce and digital strategy can deliver maximum value in meeting customer needs. Clearly identify, document and gain organizational consensus on the top areas of opportunity across the customer journey.  

2. Assess Customer Readiness for Change

Proactively engage customers to determine their preferences for digital engagement versus traditional business approaches. Communicate clearly what’s changing and how they will benefit from a more digital experience. Take advantage of the inherent stickiness of manufacturing and distribution to gradually evolve customer mindsets toward digital ecosystems and, ultimately, strengthen existing relationships. 

3. Prepare the Organization

Assess organizational structures, processes and resources to determine whether they need to be enhanced or adjusted to execute against the new digital ambitions. Engage business units and organizational capabilities that will be affected by the new strategy to ensure they understand the goals and their role in it.  

4. Prioritize Change Management Needs

Craft a change management approach that addresses fears of job security and change fatigue, especially among essential customer-facing staff. Consider refining incentives and shifting cultural attitudes to foster innovative thinking and behaviors. Invest in training and upskilling and equip the workforce with the right tools so they can thrive as their everyday work and your business operations get more digital. 

5. Create a Roadmap and Business Case

Develop a detailed plan outlining how your digital strategy will unlock value over time, with key milestones and quantifiable targets. Engage stakeholders to gain buy-in based on formal business cases and roadmaps, which is especially important for low-margin businesses unaccustomed to transformational change.  

6. Choose the Right Platforms and Technologies

Evaluate and select e-commerce and digital platforms that best align with your business objectives. Integrate the back-office systems and data repositories necessary to build the foundation for high-impact customer-facing solutions.  

7. Continuously Monitor and Adjust

With the roadmap and business case as the baseline, devise and track meaningful customer, financial and operational metrics to monitor the success of your digital strategy. Adapt your strategy accordingly while keeping the long-term vision in mind. Plan to iterate continuously as digital transformation is more an ongoing journey than a single destination. 

---