In Clear Focus

IN CLEAR FOCUS: Honorable Paul Johnson and Larry Aldrich, authors of " What's Right with America ," challenge fear-driven narratives dominating media. They discuss how optimism drives innovation, the power of individual agency over collective thinking, and the economic strengths of the United States. The conversation explores marketing lessons from their data-driven approach to countering pessimis...

IN CLEAR FOCUS: Recorded at Coverings 2025, North America's largest tile and stone trade show, Seth Segura discusses Bigeye's creative direction for the event branding. Interior designers Marc Thee and Carmina Ozeata explore innovative materials, sustainability trends, and evolving design approaches. Marc explains his "positive energy" tile collection, while Carmina highlights artisanal techniques...

IN CLEAR FOCUS: Peter Wilken, known as "the father of Brand DNA," shares insights from his 30+ years of experience, working with iconic brands like Coca-Cola, BMW, and Disney. Peter explains his " Dim Sum Strategy " approach to brand building, the concept of "owning territory in the mind," and the vital components of Brand DNA. He discusses balancing long-term brand building with short-term perfor...

IN CLEAR FOCUS: Chris Peterson, author of " Red & Blue Customers " and co-founder of Lifemind.ai , explores how worldviews influence consumer behavior. Chris outlines purchase values that distinguish liberal and conservative customers, how popular brands align with different perspectives, and reveals the secrets of effective ad creative strategies for both groups. Chris also reveals how fear shift...

IN CLEAR FOCUS: Jean-Éric Pelet, author of " Consumer Behaviour: Understanding Consumers in a Digital Landscape ," explores technology's impact on consumer psychology and decision-making. Jean-Éric shares insights on website color psychology, sensory marketing, and China's advanced digital ecosystem. He also discusses emerging technologies, such as voice commerce and AR, and previews his new biome...

IN CLEAR FOCUS: Nick Valenti, CEO of NYC and San Diego-based agency Mādin , shares successful marketing strategies for bringing European sports to American audiences. Nick discusses launching San Diego FC without traditional brand assets and reveals how their Chrome Ball Tour unified 18 cities. Nick also reveals the strategy behind the "Sensory Overload" campaign for the F1 Las Vegas Grand Prix an...

IN CLEAR FOCUS: Tom Woodnutt of Feeling Mutual discusses the evolution of online qualitative research. Tom explains how asynchronous methods yield authentic insights by allowing participants to share in real-world contexts without the social pressure of focus groups. He explores maintaining engagement, AI's impact on research, and the "qual at scale" trend. While embracing AI as a powerful tool, T...

IN CLEAR FOCUS: Strategic foresight consultants Scott Smith and Susan Cox-Smith discuss Foom , an immersive strategic simulation for exploring AI futures. Unlike static scenario planning, Foom creates environments where teams experience real-time consequences of decisions. As participants navigate progress toward Artificial General Intelligence, this "escape room for strategy" reveals insights abo...

IN CLEAR FOCUS: Emeric Ernoult, the CEO of Agorapulse , discusses social media management. From pioneering the first social inbox to developing ROI tracking tools, Emeric shares insights on measuring social media effectiveness, leveraging employee advocacy, and achieving 4-10x reach through strategic content distribution. Learn how this bootstrapped company grew to $20M+ revenue, helping brands st...

IN CLEAR FOCUS: Alan Barker, author of " The Complete Copywriter ," explores the evolving craft of copywriting. Alan shares four core competencies: curiosity, mental mobility, design thinking, and objectivity. He distinguishes between copy, which sells - and content, which informs. He discusses managing creative risk and emphasizes customer-focused conversations over interruption marketing. Hear w...

IN CLEAR FOCUS: Satej Sirur, CEO of  Rocketium , discusses how AI is transforming creative operations for brands like Amazon and Walmart. Satej explains how Rocketium combines creative automation, brand governance, and analytics to streamline content production while maintaining brand consistency. Satej also shares insights on using AI to improve creative workflows, how performance analytics revea...

IN CLEAR FOCUS: Andrew Geoghegan, CMO at William Grant & Sons and author of the new book " Effective Brand Building ," shares frameworks for brand growth. Andrew explains why consumers don't care about brands, the importance of organizational awareness, his 6C's audit approach, and strategies for different brand stages. Using case studies, he illustrates principles for balancing short-term results...

IN CLEAR FOCUS: Mona Kinal, CMO at G2A.com , discusses digital entertainment marketing. She shares the strategy behind G2A's evolution from gaming to a broader marketplace and the use of the Explorer and the Caregiver archetypes in brand communications. Mona discusses the uses of AI at G2A.com, key partnerships, and combining traditional media with innovative channels. Mona also highlights opportu...

IN CLEAR FOCUS: Lisa Avvocato, VP at Sama , explores AI in retail and how it's reshaping customer experiences. She outlines five key areas where AI drives revenue and cuts costs: personalized recommendations, search relevance, virtual fitting rooms, inventory management, and AI agents. Lisa contrasts luxury retailers Nordstrom and Bloomingdale's with Amazon, emphasizing brand-aligned implementatio...

IN CLEAR FOCUS: This week's guest, Corey Morris, the CEO of Voltage and author of "The Digital Marketing Success Plan," discusses his START planning framework for effective digital marketing. Corey explains why strategy must precede tactics, the dangers of "checklist SEO," and how to connect marketing metrics to business outcomes. He shares insights on AI's impact on search marketing, the importan...

IN CLEAR FOCUS: William Beutler, founder of Beutler Ink , explores the role of Wikipedia for brands. He explains why brands must approach Wikipedia ethically, how to navigate its guidelines, and best practices for managing a company's presence. Bill shares insights on WikiWatch, AI's impact on Wikipedia, and the risks of misinformation. Learn why Wikipedia remains a critical, yet challenging, plat...

IN CLEAR FOCUS: Nick Bennett, co-founder of TACK and author of " B2B Influencer Marketing ," discusses the evolution of creator partnerships in B2B marketing. Nick shares insights on building authentic relationships, measuring ROI, and leveraging LinkedIn effectively. He emphasizes the growing importance of micro-influencers, video content, and maintaining authenticity in an AI-driven landscape. L...

IN CLEAR FOCUS: Guest Shaheen Samavati, CEO of VeraContent , discusses multilingual content marketing. She shares insights on the challenges brands face managing global content, the importance of cultural adaptation, SEO considerations, and AI's impact on the industry. Our conversation also covers quality control, influencer marketing, and how best to measure campaign success. Learn how Shaheen's...

IN CLEAR FOCUS: Jeff Greenfield, co-founder and CEO of Provalytics , discusses AI-driven marketing attribution in a privacy-first world. As third-party cookies and user-level tracking decline, Jeff explains how the Provalytics platform combines marketing mix modeling with the granularity of multi-touch attribution. Learn how marketers can measure effectiveness across channels, including "no-click"...

IN CLEAR FOCUS: Marketing expert and futurist Rohit Bhargava makes a return appearance to discuss his latest book, " Non-Obvious Thinking: How to See What Others Miss ." Discover how Rohit's SIFT framework (Space, Insights, Focus, Twist) uncovers hidden opportunities and innovative solutions. Rohit shares compelling examples of non-obvious thinking in action, from questioning map accuracy to lever...

IN CLEAR FOCUS: Jordan Morrow, SVP of Data and AI Transformation at AgileOne and the "Godfather of data literacy," discusses the intersection of AI and data literacy. Jordan shares insights on the four levels of analytics, the "three C's" of data literacy, and practical steps for organizations to build data confidence. As the author of " Be Data Literate ," Jordan emphasizes that while not everyon...

IN CLEAR FOCUS: Ron Levac, Chief Innovation Officer at  Spectrio , explores the transformation of retail through digital signage and Retail Media Networks (RMNs). As brick-and-mortar stores influence 80 percent of purchases, Ron reveals how retailers can leverage digital displays, AI, and data analytics to enhance customer experiences. Learn how emerging technologies like MicroLED are revolutioniz...

IN CLEAR FOCUS: Peter Benei, remote work expert and AI marketing practice lead at Intercept Scale, explores the evolution of marketing leadership. Benei shares frameworks from his book " Leadership Anywhere ," including the Transparent Leadership Triangle and Asynchronous Communication Matrix. He discusses AI adoption in marketing, highlighting implementation challenges and opportunities. Learn ho...

IN CLEAR FOCUS: Rich Kahn, co-founder and CEO of Anura.io , delves into ad fraud, projected to cost businesses $100B this year. Rich shares insights on identifying fraudulent traffic, including Sophisticated Invalid Traffic (SIVT), using advanced detection techniques. He emphasizes third-party certification, cohesive fraud prevention strategies, and why marketers must reject fraud as a business co...

IN CLEAR FOCUS: Lynn Daniel, founder and CEO of The Daniel Group , shares insights on differentiating B2B customer experiences. He discusses building trust through communication, leveraging feedback with phone surveys and AI tools, and improving frontline engagement. Learn how understanding the 'why' behind customer satisfaction and responding promptly can transform business success. Lynn describe...