Marketing Trends

When everyone has access to the same AI tools, what separates the great from the forgettable is the human behind the screen.Fiverr’s VP of Global Brand Communications, Shiri Hellmann, joins Marketing Trends to break down how her team turns chaos into creativity. From producing the viral “Gary” campaign with real freelancers to writing a rom-com about avocados, Shiri reveals how Fiverr spots cultural moments early, takes smart risks, and proves that talent still beats the algorithm. CHAPTERS / KEY MOMENTS00:00 - The Weirdest Fiverr Requests Ever02:58 - How Fiverr Grew from Weird to Global Brand04:00 - Inside Fiverr’s Wildest Marketing Campaigns06:11 - Freelancers Behind Fiverr’s AI Ad "Gary"08:40 - How Fiverr Selects Top Creators10:00 - The Data-Driven Matchmaking Engine12:10 - Strategy Behind Creative Campaigns14:05 - From Vibe Coding to Avocado Apps16:20 - AI, Humans, and the Future of Creative Work18:55 - Taking Risks and Learning from Failures21:00 - The "F***-Up Night" and Courage Culture23:25 - Biggest Marketing Lesson: Marketers vs. Consumers26:30 - How Fiverr Stays Grounded and Human29:40 - Emerging Trends and The Future of Work33:10 - How Fiverr’s Culture Fuels Innovation37:25 - What’s Next for Fiverr and Freelancers41:00 - Shiri’s Advice for Marketers and Founders44:45 - Closing Reflections and Takeaways This episode is brought to you by Lightricks. LTX is the all-in-one creative suite for AI-driven video production; built by Lightricks to take you from idea to final 4K render in one streamlined workspace.Powered by LTX-2, our next-generation creative engine, LTX lets you move faster, collaborate seamlessly, and deliver studio-quality results without compromise.  Try it today at ltx.studio Mission.org is a media studio producing content alongside world-class clients. Learn more at mission.org. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Brands don’t live in campaigns… they live in memory. In this episode of Marketing Trends, Ulli Appelbaum, Founder & CSO of First The Trousers Then The Shoes, joins Stephanie Postles to unpack how brand associations and mental availability determine what people choose long after the ad ends. From Geico’s 15%, Snickers’ hunger fix, and Nike’s evolution of “Just Do It,” to Salesforce’s AI rebrand and Harley-Davidson’s Jumpstart, Ulli reveals why the brands that last are the ones that refresh old memories instead of chasing new fads. Key Moments:  0:00 The Hidden Power of Brand Associations2:03 Ulli Appelbaum Explains the Science of Memorable Brands4:20 The Problem With Trendy Marketing Playbooks6:00 How Geico and Snickers Built Brand Memories8:10 Changing Brand Perception Is Hard11:00 How Nike Avoided a Rebranding Fail14:00 Three Elements Every Effective Campaign Needs18:00 Evidence-Based Marketing and Brand Association24:00 US Marketers Have Lost Their Edge30:20 Most Customer Journey Maps Waste Time33:00 The Touchpoint That Changes Customer Behavior37:00 Creative Problem Solving and Destructive Thinking47:30 The 95 Percent Rule for Balancing Brand With Sales  This episode is brought to you by Lightricks. LTX is the all-in-one creative suite for AI-driven video production; built by Lightricks to take you from idea to final 4K render in one streamlined workspace.Powered by LTX-2, our next-generation creative engine, LTX lets you move faster, collaborate seamlessly, and deliver studio-quality results without compromise.  Try it today at ltx.studio Mission.org is a media studio producing content alongside world-class clients. Learn more at mission.org. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

How do you market the experience of walking through rooms of illusion that flip reality on its head? In this episode, Stephanie Postles chats with Andy Levey, the mastermind CMO behind the Museum of Illusions, to discover how to craft unforgettable moments that captivate audiences. Learn how to apply these strategies to market brands that sell experiences - from local business, SaaS, B2B, and more. Key Moments:00:00 Andy Levey Turns Wonder Into Marketing Strategy02:00 Inside the World’s Most Photographed Museum04:00 From Wall Street to Vegas Viral Experiences07:30 Building the Biggest Brand No One’s Heard Of09:30 Cracking the Local Playbook for Global Growth14:14 Data and Science Behind Going Viral16:44 Marketing FOMO With Radio and Influencers19:00 Winning Local Search and the AI-Discoverability Game24:00 Bringing Emotion Back to B2B Marketing27:23 How to Make Customers Feel Your Product33:43 Lessons from Failed Launches38:10 Using AI to Scale Creative, Not Replace It45:00 The Best Marketing Campaigns51:00 Marketing Trends Outro This episode is brought to you by Lightricks. LTX is the all-in-one creative suite for AI-driven video production; built by Lightricks to take you from idea to final 4K render in one streamlined workspace.Powered by LTX-2, our next-generation creative engine, LTX lets you move faster, collaborate seamlessly, and deliver studio-quality results without compromise.  Try it today at ltx.studio Mission.org is a media studio producing content alongside world-class clients. Learn more at mission.org. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

He became CMO of GoodRx in just five years, then started taking big swings: reviving nostalgic jingles, building an audio-first brand strategy, and proving that sound can punch through today’s visual overload.Ryan Sullivan joins Marketing Trends to share how he moved from performance marketer to CMO at record speed, why he’s betting on radio and podcasts, and how a singing prairie dog and memorable earworms can do serious brand-building work.Ryan and Stephanie dig into balancing art and science in measurement, evolving a beloved brand without throwing away equity, launching the “Savings Wrangler” platform largely in-house, and the PR and discoverability strategies built for an AI-driven search world. If you care about growth that lasts longer than a dashboard refresh, this conversation is for you.Listen for: how to rise to CMO in five years, making audio an advantage, crafting jingles that stick, designing a multi-horizon measurement system, and scaling brand salience without a costly rebrand. Key Moments: 00:00 Introduction to GoodRx’s Marketing Strategy01:37 How Ryan Sullivan Became a CMO in Five Years05:34 Measurement and Marketing Efficacy10:57 The Savings Wrangler Campaign29:50 Balancing B2C and B2B Marketing32:40 The Importance of Brand Consistency36:38 Contrarian Marketing Bets37:21 The Power of Audio in Marketing41:32 Leveraging Third Party Content for AI Brand Discovery45:15 Balancing Data and Intuition in Marketing51:26 Building a Robust Measurement System01:00:55 Lightning Round: Quickfire Questions For GoodRx’s CMO This episode is brought to you by Lightricks. LTX is the all-in-one creative suite for AI-driven video production; built by Lightricks to take you from idea to final 4K render in one streamlined workspace.Powered by LTX-2, our next-generation creative engine, LTX lets you move faster, collaborate seamlessly, and deliver studio-quality results without compromise.  Try it today at ltx.studio Mission.org is a media studio producing content alongside world-class clients. Learn more at mission.org. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Monster trucks, skeletons, and a CMO who doesn’t think about cost analysis very often. In this in-studio conversation, Torq CMO Don Jeter breaks down how brand-led world-building beats feature dumps, why entertainment now matters more than information on the trade show floor, and how a Monster Jam partnership and an episodic LinkedIn “junior intern” series created real pipeline by earning mental real estate long before buyers are in-market. We get into the 60-day rebrand sprints, showing up at Black Hat, aligning sales and product so bold creative actually converts, measuring what matters when attribution gets fuzzy, and using AI for brainstorming without shipping “AI slop.” Stick around to the lightning round where Don reveals his $10M marketing moonshot and the sacred marketing belief he thinks won’t age well. If you care about brand, demand, and breaking B2B sameness, watch through to the end and then queue it up on audio for the commute. Key Moments: 00:00: Brand > Features: Cold Open02:09: Rebrand to Stand Out (Not Blend In)03:53: Trade Show Strategy + Monster Jam Booth07:31: World-Building for B2B Brands10:02: Episodic LinkedIn: Meet “Intern Trevor”13:18: Do Bold Stunts Actually Drive Revenue?20:16: Brand x Product x Sales: Tight Alignment30:04: Polarizing on Purpose: Handling the Haters34:30: Collabs, Culture & Consistency (Beyond F1)38:52: AI for Ideas, Humans for Taste45:00: Hiring Creatives + Technical PMM Muscle48:03 Lightning Round (Super Bowl Ads, Hot Takes & More)  This episode is brought to you by Lightricks. LTX is the all-in-one creative suite for AI-driven video production; built by Lightricks to take you from idea to final 4K render in one streamlined workspace.Powered by LTX-2, our next-generation creative engine, LTX lets you move faster, collaborate seamlessly, and deliver studio-quality results without compromise.  Try it today at ltx.studio Mission.org is a media studio producing content alongside world-class clients. Learn more at mission.org. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

What does it take to rebrand a 40-year-old tech giant — and make it relevant for the AI era?Stephanie sits down with Ann Minooka, Chief Marketing Officer at Synopsys, to uncover how she’s redefining brand storytelling in one of the most complex spaces in tech. From repositioning a legacy company to pioneering demand generation strategies that deliver real pipeline, Ann shares her full playbook — including how AI is reshaping marketing, storytelling, and the future of customer search behavior.If you’re a CMO, marketing leader, or just fascinated by the intersection of AI, storytelling, and strategy, this is one conversation you don’t want to miss.Watch the full episode to hear Ann’s insights on positioning, growth, and preparing for the next era of agentic buying.Key Moments: 00:00: Who Is Ann Minooka, CMO Of Synopsys? 03:00: The Era of Pervasive Intelligence06:30: Shifting the Brand Narrative10:00: Storytelling & Positioning Playbook14:00: Measuring Marketing Impact22:00: Preparing for the AI & LLM Agentic Future25:00: Content & Storytelling in a Technical Space32:00: Advice for New Marketing Leaders36:00: Rapid-Fire Marketing Questions This episode is brought to you by Lightricks. LTX is the all-in-one creative suite for AI-driven video production; built by Lightricks to take you from idea to final 4K render in one streamlined workspace.Powered by LTX-2, our next-generation creative engine, LTX lets you move faster, collaborate seamlessly, and deliver studio-quality results without compromise.  Try it today at ltx.studio Mission.org is a media studio producing content alongside world-class clients. Learn more at mission.org. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Michael Walrath, CEO of Yext and a digital presence guru, reveals how AI is revolutionizing search and local SEO. He emphasizes the shift from traditional methods to structured data strategies, stressing that brands must adapt to thrive in this new landscape. Michael discusses the importance of hyper-local visibility for global brands and how AI-driven models are changing local queries. He also shares insights on the refragmentation of search, the emerging need for collaboration between marketing and IT, and the future of personalized AI responses.

How do you future-proof your marketing strategy when LLMs are rewriting the rules in real time? Salesforce Applications CMO Amber Armstrong has answers — and the data to back them up.Stephanie Postles sits down with Amber to unpack how Salesforce is rethinking SEO, scaling AI agents, and finally cracking the code on account-based marketing. From converting LLM traffic at 40% to building cross-cloud alignment with “guilds,” Amber shares tactical insights and bold bets that every modern marketer needs to hear.Key Moments: 00:00 How AI and LLMs Are Reshaping the Marketing Funnel03:54 Amber Armstrong’s Journey from IBM Intern to CMO at Salesforce06:35 The Expanding Role of AI in Modern Marketing Teams08:52 Inside Salesforce’s Guild System: How Amber Aligns Teams Across Four Clouds17:31 Real AI Use Cases from Amber Armstrong’s Marketing Team at Salesforce26:40 Amber Armstrong’s Playbook for Future-Proofing SEO in the Age of LLMs30:55 How Salesforce’s Website Converts 40% of LLM Traffic into Leads35:58 Building AI Agents at Scale: Lessons from Salesforce’s Agent Force Rollout37:53 The Ongoing Role of Third-Party Validation in Buyer Decision-Making39:49 Amber Armstrong on Adapting Marketing Metrics for an AI-First Future40:40 How Salesforce Aligns Content Strategy Across Business Units44:56 Amber Armstrong’s Advice for Getting Teams Comfortable with AI Tools51:24 Salesforce’s Next Big Moves: Account-Based Marketing and Cross-Cloud Growth This episode is brought to you by Lightricks. LTX is the all-in-one creative suite for AI-driven video production; built by Lightricks to take you from idea to final 4K render in one streamlined workspace.Powered by LTX-2, our next-generation creative engine, LTX lets you move faster, collaborate seamlessly, and deliver studio-quality results without compromise.  Try it today at ltx.studio Mission.org is a media studio producing content alongside world-class clients. Learn more at mission.org. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

What happens when your top-performing SEO strategy becomes obsolete in just 90 days?   In this special “fire drill” edition of Marketing Trends, host Stephanie Postles teams up with guest host Lacey Peace to tackle the urgent question every marketer is asking:   How do we actually show up in an AI-powered search world?   With explosive growth in LLM-powered search results, YouTube and podcast citations rising by over 300%, and AI agents reshaping how buyers make decisions, this episode delivers a practical, 5-step playbook to future-proof your content strategy. Whether you're leading a marketing team or building brand awareness as a founder, this is the episode you can’t afford to miss. Hit play to get the full strategy, and make sure your brand isn’t erased from the future of search. Key Moments:   00:00 Why AI Agents Are Rewriting the Rules of Marketing01:05 Why This Episode Is a Fire Drill for Marketers01:47 SEO Is Broken: What LLM Search Means for Content Strategy03:12 The Data Doesn’t Lie: 102% Growth in AI Overviews, 310% in YouTube Citations06:10 How to Create Content That Actually Shows Up in AI Results09:37 5 Urgent Steps Marketers Must Take to Win in the Age of AI22:48 What Happens If You Don’t Act Now? + How to Stay Ahead This episode is brought to you by Lightricks. LTX is the all-in-one creative suite for AI-driven video production; built by Lightricks to take you from idea to final 4K render in one streamlined workspace.Powered by LTX-2, our next-generation creative engine, LTX lets you move faster, collaborate seamlessly, and deliver studio-quality results without compromise.  Try it today at ltx.studio Mission.org is a media studio producing content alongside world-class clients. Learn more at mission.org. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Harmony Anderson, Head of Marketing and Growth Product at Superhuman, shares her dynamic journey in scaling B2B SaaS from $20M to $200M ARR. She emphasizes the importance of rapid execution by launching major campaigns early on. Harmony also discusses the evolving need for modern brand strategies in the age of AI and influencers, highlighting the challenges of balancing brand loyalty with enterprise growth. Plus, she reveals innovative approaches using AI in content creation and the resurgence of webinars, making this conversation a must-listen for marketers.