New year = new predictions for the world of digital marketing! The DMI's podcast host ⁠Will Francis⁠⁠ talked to eight experts across digital marketing about what marketers can expect to see and what they should focus on during 2025. We have so many amazing insights to share, so we've broken this podcast into two episodes! In this first episode, Will hears a range of thoughts of the opportunities and challenges coming up. Jim Lecinski, Professor of Marketing at Northwestern-Kellogg, sees AI shifting from productivity improvements to enabling transformative business growth, customer data platforms (CDPs) becoming more cloud-native and AI-powered, and marketers needing to prepare for Gen Alpha. -- Check out our ⁠January 22 webinar on Youth Marketing⁠. -- Nikki Lindgren, founder of agency Pennock, sees community engagement and alignment with brand values becoming crucial for beauty & lifestyle brands, increased use of machine learning-based marketing campaigns, and growth in fractional CMO/marketing director roles to support emerging brands. -- Listen to our full episode with Nikki Lindgren on DTC Marketing -- Brian Corish, founder of Elemental AI, isn't the only person to talk about the rise of AI agents that can autonomously execute marketing tasks and workflows . He also sees the need for marketers to develop more holistic, creative, and cross-functional skills to deal with the changing landscape. Fractional CMO and documentarian Peter Murphy Lewis sees LinkedIn organic content and newsletters as highly effective marketing tactics, the leveraging of LinkedIn automation tools to connect with prospects, and webinars remaining a powerful top-to-bottom of funnel marketing strategy. You'll hear more from Peter in an upcoming episode. Mischa McInerney, CMO of the DMI says soft skills are even more critical as AI becomes more pervasive, while companies need to upskill their workforce on AI adoption, and marketers prove the value and outcome of applying new efficiencies. ------------------------- The Ahead of the Game podcast is brought to you by the Digital Marketing Institute and is available on our ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠website⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Apple Podcasts⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Spotify⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, and ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠YouTube⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. Check out the DMI's extensive digital marketing library of ebooks, toolkits, podcasts, webinars, guides, templates, advice, and more! ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Join for free today⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. And if you enjoyed this episode please leave a review so others can find us! You can also drop us a line with topic or guest suggestions at podcast (at) digitalmarketinginstitute (dot) com.

Want to look inside the strategies of a successful DTC agency working in the beauty and lifestyle area? This week, host Will Francis⁠⁠⁠ chats with Nikki Lindgren, founder of digital agency Pennock, about where she's seeing the best ROI for DTC beauty and lifestyle brands. Nikki shares unexpected insights about advertising channels, the evolution of social commerce including TikTok Shop, and what's working in performance marketing today. 3 top tips from Nikki: Don't overlook Reddit - it's an efficient ad platform reaching audiences who aren't on traditional social media Focus on Marketing Efficiency Ratio (MER) instead of ROAS to better understand overall campaign performance Use programmatic native advertising to appear alongside relevant articles where your audience is already engaged. ------------------------- The Ahead of the Game podcast is brought to you by the Digital Marketing Institute and is available on our ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠website⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Apple Podcasts⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Spotify⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, and ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠YouTube⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. Check out the DMI's extensive digital marketing library of ebooks, toolkits, podcasts, webinars, guides, templates, advice, and more! ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Join for free today⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. And if you enjoyed this episode please leave a review so others can find us!

Want to know how to get your own podcast up and running as part of your branding strategy? This week, host ⁠Will Francis⁠ is joined by Harry Morton, founder of top podcasting agency Lower Street, who talks us through how to develop a show strategy, production best practices, and effective promotion tactics to grow your audience. This episode is adapted from Harry's webinar with the DMI which you can watch in full on our library. 3 top podcasting tips from Harry. Really understand what your audience wants. Be creatively brave. And, remember - when it comes to measuring success a download is not a listen! ------------------------- The Ahead of the Game podcast is brought to you by the Digital Marketing Institute and is available on our ⁠⁠⁠⁠website⁠⁠⁠⁠, ⁠⁠⁠⁠Apple Podcasts⁠⁠⁠⁠, ⁠⁠⁠⁠Spotify⁠⁠⁠⁠, and ⁠⁠⁠⁠YouTube⁠⁠⁠⁠. Check out the DMI's extensive digital marketing library of ebooks, toolkits, podcasts, webinars, guides, templates, advice, and more! ⁠⁠⁠⁠Join for free today⁠⁠⁠⁠. And if you enjoyed this episode please leave a review so others can find us!

On this week's episode of Ahead of the Game, Will Francis is joined by Catherine Flynn, Director for Agency Development and Marketing Education at LinkedIn APAC. From her early days at Eircell and Facebook (Meta) to her current role, Catherine discusses her 20+ year career in marketing, touching on the evolution of B2B marketing and why creativity is more crucial than ever to connect with today's decision-makers. Plus, we learn why Catherine sees working closely with sales and product teams as key to B2B marketing success. ---------------- The Ahead of the Game podcast is brought to you by the Digital Marketing Institute and is available on our ⁠⁠⁠website⁠⁠⁠, ⁠⁠⁠Apple Podcasts⁠⁠⁠, ⁠⁠⁠Spotify⁠⁠⁠, and ⁠⁠⁠YouTube⁠⁠⁠. Check out the DMI's extensive digital marketing library of ebooks, toolkits, podcasts, webinars, guides, templates, advice, and more! ⁠⁠⁠Join for free today⁠⁠⁠. And if you enjoyed this episode please leave a review so others can find us!

Are you making sure your brand appears the way you want to when people search for it in Google? That's what Jason Barnard has set out to tackle for his clients, and in thie episode he downloads plenty of tips to host ⁠Will Francis⁠ on how to own your profile on Google and AI-driven search. Check out Jason's free downloadable guides at his site Kalicube. The Ahead of the Game podcast is brought to you by the Digital Marketing Institute and is available on our ⁠⁠website⁠⁠, ⁠⁠Apple Podcasts⁠⁠, ⁠⁠Spotify⁠⁠, and ⁠⁠YouTube⁠⁠. Check out the DMI's extensive digital marketing library of ebooks, toolkits, podcasts, webinars, guides, templates, advice, and more! ⁠⁠Join for free today⁠⁠. And if you enjoyed this episode please leave a review so others can find us!

In this week's episode, host Will Francis speaks with Niamh Delaney, co-founder of TeamVirtual, who shares her journey from providing virtual assistant services to coaching others in building their own businesses. They chat about the role of different social media platforms and strategies, as well as email, in generating leads and maintaining strong relationships. Niamh is a great believer in the power of community support, especially when dealing with challenges and while working as a digital nomad between Ireland and Australia, and points inbetween. Find Niamh Delaney on Instagram and her website. The Ahead of the Game podcast is brought to you by the Digital Marketing Institute and is available on our ⁠website⁠, ⁠Apple Podcasts⁠, ⁠Spotify⁠, and ⁠YouTube⁠. Check out the DMI's extensive digital marketing library of ebooks, toolkits, podcasts, webinars, guides, templates, advice, and more! ⁠Join for free today⁠. And if you enjoyed this episode please leave a review so others can find us!

In front of the microphone this week is DMI's own head of marketing, Mischa McInerney. Her particular passion is the psychology of marketing and she chats with Will Francis about all aspects on the "Why", covering  examples of some key brands who have benefitted from smart application of the science. The Ahead of the Game podcast is brought to you by the Digital Marketing Institute and is available on our website, Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and YouTube. Check out the DMI's extensive digital marketing library of ebooks, toolkits, podcasts, webinars, guides, templates, advice, and more! Join for free today. And if you enjoyed this episode please leave a review so others can find us!

In this episode, host Will Francis⁠⁠⁠⁠ chats with ⁠ Archana Haarnack, Pinterest specialist. They explore what makes Pinterest such a unique social platform, and how organizations can build their brands there. (It’s not just for arts and crafts!) They also tease out some best practices and creative strategies for posting on Pinterest, as exemplified by brands such as HOOG and MADE. And they highlight some common mistakes that people make when they try to establish themselves on the platform. Looking to expand your social media skills? Don’t forget to register for our upcoming Instagram webinar. --------- The Ahead of the Game podcast is brought to you by the Digital Marketing Institute and is available on ⁠⁠⁠⁠YouTube, Apple Podcasts⁠⁠⁠⁠, ⁠⁠⁠⁠Spotify⁠⁠⁠⁠, and ⁠⁠⁠⁠all other podcast platforms. And if you enjoyed this episode please leave a review so others can find us! If you have other feedback for or would like to be a guest on the show, email the podcast team!

In this episode - our 100th! - host Will Francis⁠⁠⁠⁠ chats with ⁠Brian Finnerty, the CMO of educational software company D2L. They look at Brian's long career in educational technology where he sees the learner as always taking the central role, especially in the age of AI. He explains how he manages their global marketing strategies, and offers insights into the ideal relationship between marketing and sales, as well as tips for anyone considering working in marketing. "Marketing is a great profession. It's plugged into the heartbeat of a company and its growth and its commercial viability. --------- To listen to more great conversations with professionals in digital marketing subscribe to Ahead of the Game on ⁠⁠⁠Apple Podcasts⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Spotify⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, and the video version on YouTube⁠⁠⁠⁠. And visit the Digital Marketing Institute for thousands of educational resources. You'll find ebooks, toolkits, podcasts, webinars, blogs, guides, and more! ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Join as a member for free today⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ If you enjoyed this episode please leave a review so others can find us! If you have other feedback for or would like to be a guest on the show, ⁠⁠email the podcast team⁠⁠!

How does the current job market look for digital marketing professionals? How is AI impacting the jobs scene? In this episode, Will Francis⁠⁠ interviews Terry Payne, Global Managing Director at Aspire Recruitment and learns about: the demand for digital marketing skills in high-growth markets, cultural differences in hiring practices, the shift towards hybrid work models, and the importance of demonstrating AI skills on CVs. They also touch on the significance of company culture, the average tenure in marketing roles (now 1.5 years!), key skills and roles for 2025, and the findings from Aspire's salary survey across the UK, US, MENA and APAC, available on the DMI website. "We've seen a 221 % increase in marketing professionals now listing AI on their CV. Upskill yourself now... get ahead of the curve." Terry's top 3 tips for jobseekers: Showcasing your tangible results Have realistic expectations Keep upskilling Resources mentioned: 2024 Salary Guides for Digital Marketers --------- The Ahead of the Game podcast is brought to you by the Digital Marketing Institute and is available on ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠YouTube⁠, ⁠Apple Podcasts⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Spotify⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, and ⁠⁠⁠⁠all other podcast platforms. And if you enjoyed this episode please leave a review so others can find us! If you have other feedback for or would like to be a guest on the show, ⁠email the podcast team⁠!