#796: Shutterstock's Allison Sitzman on how to counter the marketing impact gap

What if I told you that for every new dollar you’ve added to your marketing budget in the last two years, your actual impact on customers has gone down?

Agility requires moving beyond the muscle memory of simply increasing ad spend. It demands a continuous reassessment of what truly connects with customers and a willingness to pivot creative strategy based on real-time cultural and emotional insights.

Today, we're going to talk about a paradox that's likely keeping many marketing leaders up at night: the massive increase in global ad spend versus the startling drop in marketing impact. It's what Shutterstock's latest research calls the "impact gap," and we'll explore why the old playbook of just spending more is broken, and what the new drivers of success—like emotional connection, cultural relevance, and AI-powered personalization—actually look like in practice.

To help me discuss this topic, I'd like to welcome, Allison Sitzman, Vice President of Brand Strategy at Shutterstock.

About Allison Sitzman

Drawing on over 20 years of experience, Allison Sitzman is a strategic marketing leader who helps brands navigate inflection points, translating customer insight into growth and differentiation. Allison leads Shutterstock’s Brand Strategy organization, overseeing the global brand portfolio. She is responsible for defining and evolving Shutterstock’s positioning, audience strategy, and brand architecture. Allison’s leadership is focused on meaningful connection, business growth, and the consistent expression of the company’s purpose to fuel great work. Beyond her marketing leadership, Allison is deeply committed to building inclusive, high-performing teams. She previously co-chaired Cox Automotive’s women’s employee resource group and now serves as co-executive sponsor of Shutterstock’s LGBTQ+ employee resource group, advocating for belonging, empathy, and emotionally intelligent leadership across creative and marketing organizations.

Allison Sitzman on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/allisonsitzman/

Resources

Shutterstock: https://www.shutterstock.com

Read the Shutterstock report: The Impact Gap: Uncovering the Hidden Drivers That Make Creativity More Powerful

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