’Hello $FirstName’ - marketing experts discussing the topic of personalization

In the chapters leading up to this point, we've explored how to create meaningful, personalised experiences across channels, campaigns, and touchpoints. We've talked about data, content, and the orchestration that brings it all together. We've introduced the Bowtie of Personalisation, the CX Layers, and the Pyramid of Personalisation to help structure that work. But what happens when the customer...

In Chapter 22 of Hello $Firstname, Arild Horsberg reads ‘Achieving Organisational Maturity for Personalisation’. Arild Horsberg is general manager of Forte Optimize in Oslo, Norway. In this chapter, he reads the final chapter of Part Four, where the book brings people and skills, technology, and governance together and turns the maturity model into action. Knowing the levels of the back end of the...

In Chapter 21 of Hello $Firstname, Yogita Wadhwa reads ‘Governance and Processes’. Yogita Wadhwa works in what she calls the messy middle, where strategy, technology, data, and execution have to come together for things to actually work. She has spent more than 25 years working with large enterprises across the US, Australia, and the Middle East. In this chapter, she reads the third deep dive into...

In Chapter 20 of Hello $Firstname, Matthew Niederberger reads ‘Marketing Technology’. Matthew Niederberger is a fractional head of martech at Martech Therapy, which mostly means he gets called in when a stack is not doing what the slide deck promised. He spends most of his working life inside other people’s martech stacks, so this is the chapter he would have picked himself. The chapter opens with...

In Chapter 19 of Hello $Firstname, Michel Stevens reads ‘People and Skills for Personalisation’. Michel Stevens is course director at CXM Academy and has spent his professional life on exactly what this chapter is about: the people and skills behind customer experience. In this chapter, he reads the first of three deep dives into the back end of the Pyramid of Personalisation. The chapter opens wi...

In Chapter 18 of Hello $Firstname, Fiona Ngaruro reads ‘Models of Organisational Maturity in Personalisation’. Fiona Ngaruro is a digital growth and marketing technology strategist based in Nairobi, Kenya, and the creator and host of the Martech Unraveled podcast, which explores how marketing and technology are shaping business growth across Africa. In this chapter, she opens Part Four of the book...

For two decades, personalisation has been something brands did to consumers. AI just flipped that. In this opening episode, Rasmus Houlind (Agillic, Hello $Firstname) and Frans Riemersma (MartechTribe, MartechMap.com) introduce Hello Me — an open, exploratory podcast about what happens to marketing once consumers start using AI to figure out who they want to be, instead of waiting for brands to te...

In Chapter 17 of Hello $Firstname, Steen Rasmussen reads ‘Conversion Rate Optimisation and Personalisation’. Steen Rasmussen is co-founder of Brand Leadership Community and IIH Nordic, as well as an international keynote speaker and consultant specialising in the commercial use of web data, optimisation, and personalisation. In this chapter, he reads the final chapter of Part Three, where the book...

In Chapter 16 of Hello $Firstname, Keanu Taylor reads ‘The CX Layers: How Data and Content Fuel Personalisation’. Keanu Taylor is Global Head of Research at The MarTech Weekly, a global analyst firm helping enterprise brands turn the complexity of marketing technology into clarity. In this chapter, he reads about the CX Layers framework and how data and content work in parallel to fuel personalisa...

In Chapter 15 of Hello $Firstname, Ida Söderbäck reads ‘The Basic Foundations for Personalisation’. Ida Söderbäck is a customer loyalty and CRM marketing expert currently at the Swedish Red Cross. In this chapter, she reads the opening chapter of Part Three, where the book turns from what personalisation is and how it creates value to when personalisation is actually the right tactic to use. The c...

In Chapter 14 of Hello $Firstname, Rasmus Houlind reads ‘Tying It All Up in the Bowtie of Personalization’. Rasmus Houlind is the author of Hello $Firstname and narrates this chapter himself because it brings Part Two together. The chapter revisits all four corners of the Bowtie of Personalization and shows how they come together across campaigns, marketing automation, and inbound platforms. The c...

In Chapter 13 of Hello $Firstname, Mark Robertson reads ‘Personalization on Inbound Platforms’. Mark Robertson is Partnerships Director at Mastercard Dynamic Yield and has spent around 25 years working across marketing, technology, sales, partnerships, and tools for both outbound and inbound marketing. In this chapter, he reads about personalization on websites, apps, and other inbound platforms....

In Chapter 12 of Hello $Firstname, Maria Moreau reads ‘Content, Part 2: Content Feeds’. Maria Moreau is CRM Director at Boozt.com, where she works with CRM for millions of users. In this chapter, she reads about the second content corner of the Bowtie of Personalization: content feeds. The chapter opens with HBO Max and the challenge of personalizing which movies, series, and episodes are shown to...

In Chapter 11 of Hello $Firstname, Jordie van Rijn reads ‘Personalization in Marketing Automation’. Jordie van Rijn is an email marketing and martech specialist who guides businesses in selecting marketing software through emailvendorselection.com. In this chapter, he reads about personalization in marketing automation and customer lifecycle communication. The chapter explains why marketing automa...

In Chapter 10 of Hello $Firstname, Morten Suhr Hansen reads ‘Insights, Part 2: Moments of Truth’. Morten Suhr Hansen is founder and senior partner at Subscrybe, where he works extensively with subscription businesses. In this chapter, he reads about the second insight corner of the Bowtie of Personalization: moments of truth. The chapter opens with FT.com and a usage digest designed to reduce chur...

In Chapter 9 of Hello $Firstname, Peter Anders Franch reads ‘Personalization in Campaigns’. Peter Anders Franch is Head of CRM, CLV, and Customer Insight at Matas in Denmark, where he works with Club Matas, one of Scandinavia’s largest loyalty programs. In this chapter, he reads about how personalization creates value in campaigns. The chapter defines what a campaign is and distinguishes campaign...

In Chapter 8 of Hello $Firstname, Ana Mourão reads ‘Content, Part 1: Messages’. Ana Mourão is a global martech and customer data leader, originally from Brazil and now based in the Miami area. In this chapter, she reads about the first content corner of the Bowtie of Personalization: messages. The chapter opens with FC Copenhagen and its season pass renewal campaign. It shows how a brand can use c...

In Chapter 7 of Hello $Firstname, Jens Hård reads ‘Insights, Part 1: Segments’. Jens Hård has around 20 years of experience in data-driven marketing and is CEO of Root Digital Group. In this chapter, he reads about the first insight corner of the Bowtie of Personalization: customer segments. The chapter uses the Canadian bank Groupe Desjardins as its opening case and explores how segments can help...

In Chapter 6 of Hello $Firstname, Tom Peace reads ‘The Bowtie of Personalization’. Tom Peace is CEO and founder of Sway Outcomes, a global customer strategy consultancy focused on loyalty and CRM. In this chapter, he introduces the central model of Part Two: the Bowtie of Personalization. The chapter explains how meaningful personalization is created by combining two kinds of customer insight, seg...

In Chapter 5 of Hello $Firstname, Kim Jong Andersen reads ‘Marketing Without Personalisation’. Kim Jong Andersen is Managing Partner at the Danish agency WDP. In this chapter, he reads a deliberately difficult exploration of what marketing would look like if we removed personalisation from the equation. The answer helps clarify what personalisation can and cannot do. Personalisation is a powerful...

In Chapter 4 of Hello $Firstname, Dr Matt Johnson reads ‘Why Does Personalisation Work?’ Matt is the author of Blindsight and Branding That Means Business, and he hosts the blog neuroscienceof.com. In this chapter, he brings the listener into the psychology behind personalisation. Why do people respond better to messages and content that feel relevant to them? The answer is connected to evolutiona...

In Chapter 3 of Hello $Firstname, Mhari Coxon reads ‘Defining Personalisation’. Mhari is a marketer from the United Kingdom, and in this chapter she takes the listener into one of the book’s central missions: creating a practical definition of personalisation that marketers can actually use. The chapter distinguishes personalisation from customisation, actual personalisation from perceived persona...

In Chapter 2 of Hello $Firstname, Dr Jason Pallant reads ‘What Is the Problem with Personalisation?’ Jason is Director of the Marketing Technology Lab at RMIT University in Melbourne, Australia. He has also used some of the frameworks from Hello $Firstname in the marketing technology curriculum at RMIT. This chapter explores why personalisation is such a difficult topic to align around. Marketers...

In Chapter 1 of Hello $Firstname, Kim Motroen reads ‘The Hype of Personalisation’. Kim is one of the founders of Publicis Foundry and has spent more than 20 years working with marketing, technology, and customer experience.  This chapter traces the roots of personalisation hype back to The One to One Future by Don Peppers and Martha Rogers, and explores why the idea of individualised communication...

Welcome to the audiobook edition of Hello $Firstname, the AI edition. In this opening episode, Rasmus Houlind reads the introduction to the updated edition of the book and explains why personalisation has changed so dramatically since the first edition. Generative AI has made the content challenge easier to solve, but it has also made the need for clear frameworks, shared language, and practical e...