Human First Marketing: Rethinking Marketing in the AI Era

This is a BONUS EPISODE of the Digital Marketing Podcast by Exposure Ninja

---------------

The marketing landscape is becoming increasingly automated and impersonal — yet consumers are longing for authentic connections before making major purchasing decisions.

This disconnect creates an unprecedented opportunity for forward-thinking marketers willing to take a radical approach: putting humans back at the center of their strategy.

Over $1 trillion was spent on advertising last year, but studies show people only remember about 3% of the ads they see. That means roughly $950 billion was wasted on forgettable marketing that failed to create meaningful connections.

In this episode, Exposure Ninja's CEO, Charlie Marchant, is joined by Phil Tregus-Evans, CEO of Giraffe Social Media and author of the new book "Human First Marketing," who reveals:

• Why treating B2B customers as data points rather than humans is destroying trust and wasting marketing budgets (and the simple shift that instantly changes how prospects respond)

• The shocking problems with the traditional marketing funnel that dates back to 1898 (and the innovative "Pinball Method" that accurately reflects how modern buyers actually make decisions)

• A practical framework called EMPATH that replaces outdated customer avatars with nuanced human understanding that captures what demographics consistently miss

• How to strategically balance AI implementation with authentic human connection (avoiding the "lazy AI" trap that makes your content instantly forgettable)

In this episode, you'll discover why putting real team members at the forefront of your marketing substantially increases conversion rates and how leading brands are rebuilding trust in an increasingly sceptical marketplace.

As Phil explains: "I think with the advance of data and all of the different ways we now do marketing, we've kind of lost touch a little bit with the fact that when you boil it down, marketing is just one group of humans trying to demonstrate the value they can provide to another group of humans."

If your competitors are fixated on automation while neglecting the human element, this episode provides your roadmap to meaningful differentiation that drives sustainable growth through authentic connection.