The Agile Brand with Greg Kihlström®: Expert Mode Marketing Technology, AI, & CX

What if the biggest obstacle to AI-driven ROI isn't the AI itself, but everything you’re feeding it? Agility requires not just the speed to adopt new technologies like AI, but the clarity to recognize when foundational elements, like your data strategy, must be fixed first to unlock true potential. Today, we're going to talk about the intense pressure on revenue and marketing leaders to demonstrat...

What if the infinite shelf of e-commerce hasn't made customers more confident, but has instead created a new kind of friction: the paralysis of endless choice? Agility requires brands to shift their focus from simply providing more options to actively helping customers navigate them. Today, we're going to talk about: - Understanding the modern customer journey when discovery is no longer the prima...

How much of your marketing and CX investment is being undermined in the final mile by a sales conversation that goes off the rails? Agility requires our customer-facing teams do more than recite a script; they need the situational awareness to navigate complex conversations in real time. This capability isn't just a sales skill—it's a critical component of the overall customer experience. Today, w...

In a world of infinite entertainment choices, how does a sports franchise earn a fan's loyalty when the game isn't being played? Agility requires meeting fans where they are, with the right message at the right moment, whether they're on their couch or in their seat. This means adapting communication strategies in real-time to create a conversation, not just a broadcast. Today, we're going to talk...

With every vendor claiming their platform is a revolutionary AI silver bullet, how do enterprise leaders distinguish between genuine innovation and what's essentially just marketing hype wrapped in a new algorithm? Agility requires a clear-eyed strategy for adopting new technologies, especially AI, focusing on practical outcomes over speculative promises. Today, we're going to talk about moving pa...

As generative and agentic AI promise to accelerate everything we do, are we at risk of becoming incredibly efficient at producing forgettable customer experiences? Today, we are here in Brooklyn at Forrester CX Forum East and we're going to talk about building better experiences with an AI-enabled design workflow. Specifically, we’ll cover: - Balancing the speed of AI with the intentional, human-l...

What if your next customer isn't a person, but an AI agent acting on their behalf? And what if that agent is evaluating your brand on a purely logical, data-driven basis, completely devoid of the emotional hooks your marketing has always relied on? Agility requires not just adapting to changing customer behaviors, but also redefining who—or what—our customer even is. It demands that we build opera...

What if the most common point of failure in your digital customer experience: the 'no results found' page, could become your greatest opportunity for conversion and discovery? Agility requires not just adopting new technologies, but fundamentally rethinking core customer interactions, like search, that have remained static for far too long. It demands a shift from rigid rules to responsive, intell...

Most leaders think about AI as a tool to analyze data or assist with tasks. But what happens when your AI becomes an autonomous agent, not just providing insights but actively orchestrating complex processes on its own? Today, we are at PegaWorld 2026 at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, and, we're going to talk about moving AI from a theoretical concept to a practical, value-driving reality. Specifical...

What if the marketing funnel, the foundational model we've relied on for decades, is fundamentally flawed and actively misleading us about what our customers actually want? Agility requires not just reacting quickly, but reacting with intelligence, which is impossible when your customer data is telling you the wrong story. Today, we're going to talk about the shift from legacy metrics to a more in...

What if the biggest barrier to your company's transformation isn't your legacy technology, but your legacy thinking about it? Today, we are at PegaWorld 2026 at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, and, we're going to talk about the immense challenge and opportunity of enterprise modernization. Specifically, we'll cover: - Translating a massive technology initiative into tangible improvements in the c...

We're told AI will revolutionize marketing, but many leaders are finding it just creates more content chaos and operational risk. Is the answer more AI, or a fundamentally different approach to how AI is managed? Today we are at PegaWorld 2026 at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, and, we're going to talk about: - The shift from generative AI for content creation to agentic AI for end-to-end campaign exe...

Nearly every marketing leader has been told to "do more with AI" — and many of them are now sitting on a pile of pilots, a growing bill, and not much to show their CFO. So why is it that adoption of AI in marketing is so high, while the number of organizations actually getting predictable returns from it is so low? Agility requires the discipline to reimagine how work gets done before automating i...

How many marketing leaders can confidently tell their CEO which specific AI use cases are actually driving revenue right now, and which ones are just running up the bill as experiments? Agility isn't just about adapting to new tech like AI. It's about building the solid data and operational models that let you connect those innovations directly to business growth. Today, we are here at CRMC 2026 i...

What if the future of marketing isn’t about creating better campaigns, but about designing intelligent agents that render campaigns obsolete? Agility requires not just adapting to new technologies, but fundamentally re-architecting our operating models to harness their potential. Today, we’re going to talk about the move from personalization to agentic experiences and what that means for enterpris...

As brands invest billions in AI to personalize the customer experience, are they inadvertently creating a more transactional, less human relationship with their most valuable customers? Agility requires not just the rapid adoption of AI-based solutions, but the wisdom to know when and how to apply them to enhance—without replacing—the human element of the customer relationship. Today, we're going...

What if the biggest risk of AI in marketing isn't about job replacement, but about creating more fragmented, siloed work? Agility requires more than just adopting new tools; it demands a fundamental rethinking of how teams collaborate and orchestrate work. When a technology like AI promises to accelerate individual tasks, true agility means ensuring that acceleration translates into collective mom...

To keep up in a changing market, are you building a responsive brand, or are you constantly playing catch-up? Agility requires more than just quick reactions; it demands a proactive understanding of evolving customer needs and emerging technologies. It also means building adaptable processes and systems that can flex with market demands. Today, we're going to talk about navigating the complexities...

Is the relentless pursuit of measurable ROAS fundamentally at odds with building long-term customer trust in a privacy-first world? Agility requires marketers to move beyond legacy attribution models and embrace a more dynamic approach to measurement and monetization. This is especially true in the rapidly evolving mobile ecosystem, where the rules of engagement are constantly being rewritten. Tod...

Twenty-five years ago, the goal was to build a website as a digital "single source of truth." In an era of AI agents and hyper-personalized realities, is the very concept of a single, universal brand "truth" now an obstacle to creating a truly relevant customer experience? Agility requires not just adopting new channels and technologies, but fundamentally rethinking the role of content and data in...

What's the hidden tax your organization pays every time a creative asset moves from a design tool to a marketing platform, and how can you shorten the time to gain important insights about how your campaigns perform? Agility requires more than just speed. It demands that we eliminate the friction between our systems and processes so teams can move from concept to customer with minimal translation...

In an era of relentless pressure for quarterly growth, is it even possible for a large brand to stay true to its core mission, or is compromising a brand’s values just an inevitable part of achieving scale? Agility requires more than just reacting quickly to market changes. It requires a resilient, long-term mission that acts as a north star, ensuring that every pivot and experiment builds endurin...

What if the biggest obstacle to delivering a world-class customer experience isn't your technology or your strategy, but the very way your teams are structured and enabled to work? Agility requires creating an internal environment that can fluidly adapt to—and even anticipate—the needs of the external customer. Today, we're going to talk about: the often-overlooked foundation of successful busines...

As a leader, you often spend so much time on the strategies and tactics that keep your brand growing that it’s difficult to keep up with what’s going on in the background with the platforms and the companies behind them. That’s why I’m always glad to talk with our guest today, who is both focused on the business of CX as well as the business behind CX and the SaaS platforms driving so many custome...

With the half-life of professional skills shrinking every year, is the traditional model of corporate learning and development fundamentally broken, and what role should employers play in the new era of continuous education? Agility requires a workforce that can adapt and acquire new skills as quickly as the market changes. This means the old models of education and professional development must b...