The Marketing AI SparkCast with Aby Varma

AI is quietly rewriting how the consumer insights function works, from the personas researchers build to the way trends get validated. In this episode, Aby Varma speaks with David Jacobson, Global Senior Director of Applied Consumer Science at The Coca-Cola Company, about how AI is reshaping synthetic personas, audience segmentation, creative testing and marketing agents, and why human judgment st...

The Marketing AI SparkCast brings to you the Marketing AI Pulse Monthly Brief that curates the most relevant stories and examines the implications for CMOs and marketing leaders. This episode is the June 2026 edition of the Monthly Brief and focuses on a market splitting in two: AI is becoming the default infrastructure for how marketing gets made, even as the work — and the audiences — that win a...

The Marketing AI SparkCast brings you the Marketing AI Pulse Monthly Brief, a curated look at the most relevant stories shaping the field and what they mean for CMOs and marketing leaders. The May 2026 edition focuses on the widening gap between AI investment and AI execution, the structural transformation of search, the rise of AI agents as buyers, and the simultaneous automation of paid media ac...

The Marketing AI SparkCast brings to you the Marketing AI Pulse Monthly Brief that curates the most relevant stories and examines the implications for CMOs and marketing leaders. This episode is the April 2026 edition of the Monthly Brief and focuses on the convergence of AI powered creative tools, the rise of agentic customers, and the growing importance of AI visibility, authenticity and new adv...

Enterprise AI adoption is not a technology problem. It is an enablement problem. In this episode, Aby Varma speaks with David Kuoch, Vice President and AI Evangelist at Citi, about driving AI adoption across large enterprise organizations. From live demos to prompt engineering frameworks, they unpack how to raise the floor on AI literacy while raising the ceiling on business value. Kuoch shares hi...

The Marketing AI SparkCast brings to you the Marketing AI Pulse Monthly Brief that curates the most relevant stories and examines the implications for CMOs and marketing leaders. This episode is the March 2026 edition of the Monthly Brief and focuses on the rise of agentic AI, lagging enterprise adoption, and the growing importance of trust, governance, and brand visibility in an AI-driven marketi...

Leading AI transformation across an enterprise marketing team requires more than tools. It demands structured enablement, change management, and a clear understanding of how teams actually work. In this episode, Chloe Tambe, Director of AI Transformation for Marketing at HubSpot, joins Aby Varma, host of the Marketing AI Sparkcast, to discuss how to scale AI adoption across a large marketing organ...

Starting in 2026, The Marketing AI SparkCast alternates between the Marketing AI Pulse Monthly Brief and in-depth interviews with leading marketing AI innovators. This episode is the February 2026 edition of the Monthly Brief and focuses on trust and authenticity in an AI-driven world. Aby Varma and Matt Cyr explore the emergence of advertising inside LLMs, the strategic tension between reach and...

AI is shifting marketing from experimentation to operational integration. In this episode, Aby Varma speaks with Palmer Houchins, VP of Marketing at G2, about embedding AI into workflows, rethinking org design, and navigating rapid change across the MarTech landscape. From LLM copilots to agentic workflows, they unpack practical adoption lessons and the increasing importance of trust, governance,...

In this January episode of The Marketing AI SparkCast , host Aby Varma , founder of Spark Novus , which partners with marketing leaders to integrate AI responsibly and strategically, introduces a new recurring format called Marketing AI Pulse Monthly Brief. The purpose of this format is to cover the latest and most meaningful developments in AI and marketing so leaders can maintain a real-time pul...

In this episode of The Marketing AI SparkCast, Aby Varma—founder of Spark Novus, which partners with marketing leaders to adopt AI responsibly and strategically—hosts Frank Lazaro, author of Finding 12 Minutes. Their conversation reveals how marketers can practically implement AI into daily workflows and unlock measurable productivity—starting with just twelve minutes a day. Topics Covered: The Sp...

This episode of the Marketing AI SparkCast features Aby Varma, founder of Spark Novus, a strategic partner to marketing leaders adopting AI responsibly. Aby is joined by Todd Sawicki, CEO and co-founder of Gumshoe, an emerging platform built to help brands understand what large language models (LLMs) think about them and how to act on it. The conversation dives deep into the paradigm shift from tr...

In this episode of The Marketing AI SparkCast, Aby Varma—founder of Spark Novus, a firm that partners with marketing leaders to adopt AI responsibly and strategically—hosts Christian Herrity, Creative Director and AI Lead at Accenture Song. The conversation dives deep into how AI is reshaping the creative process, from rapid prototyping and world-building to storytelling and production. Herrity sh...

In this episode of the Marketing AI SparkCast, Aby Varma, founder of Spark Novus, an advisory firm that partners with marketing leaders to adopt AI responsibly and strategically, sits down with Philip Lakin, Head of Enterprise Innovation at Zapier. The conversation dives into how marketing teams are shifting from basic automation to fully autonomous, AI-driven workflows using orchestration, agents...

In this episode of The Marketing AI SparkCast, Aby Varma, founder of Spark Novus, a leading consultancy that partners with marketing leaders to adopt and scale AI responsibly and strategically, talks with Nicola Smith, Senior AI Programs Advisor at Southwest Airlines. They explore how enterprises can move beyond tool experimentation to embed AI into strategic workflows, why marketing leaders are u...

In this episode of The Marketing AI SparkCast, Aby Varma—founder of Spark Novus, which partners with marketing leaders to adopt AI responsibly and strategically—hosts Mike Ensing, Founder and CEO of Revere AI. They explore how LLMs are revolutionizing search, shifting the customer journey, and forcing a new marketing playbook where brand discovery is increasingly mediated by generative AI systems...

In this episode of the SparkCast, Aby Varma—founder of Spark Novus, a firm that helps marketing leaders adopt AI responsibly and strategically—sits down with Daniel Kravtsov, CEO and Co-Founder of Improvado. Daniel shares his unique journey from Russia to founding a cutting-edge martech company in the Bay Area. Together, they explore how AI agents are transforming the marketing analytics lifecycle...

In this episode of The Marketing AI SparkCast, Aby Varma, founder of Spark Novus, sits down with Piyush Saggi, co-founder and CEO of Parmonic, to discuss AI’s impact on video storytelling. They explore AI’s role in video transformation, storytelling challenges, and how brands can balance automation with authenticity. Topics Covered * The Rise of AI in Video Storytelling: AI is reshaping video cont...

Aby Varma, founder of Spark Novus, leads a discussion on how AI is reshaping marketing within large B2B enterprises. He speaks with Shonodeep Modak, CMO of Schneider Electric’s Energy Management Business, about their AI journey, operational challenges, and strategies for successful AI adoption in marketing. They highlight lessons learned, misconceptions, and the future of AI in enterprise marketin...

In this episode of  Marketing AI SparkCast, host Aby Varma, the founder of Spark Novus, a firm that partners with marketing leaders to adopt AI responsibly and strategically discusses the nuances of AI integration with marketing and content expert Rob Rose. Together, they explore that AI adoption is not a standalone strategy but technology that should be used to add strategic value. Topics Co...

In this episode of The Marketing AI SparkCast, Aby Varma, host, and founder of Spark Novus, discusses how AI is transforming the event planning industry. Joined by Michael Sorensen, Director of Product Management at Cvent, the conversation delves into how AI enhances both attendee experiences and event planner efficiencies in managing large-scale events. Topics Covered: AI in Event Tech: How AI pe...

Hosted by Aby Varma, founder of Spark Novus, this episode of The Marketing AI SparkCast features David DeWolf, CEO of Knownwell. They discuss how AI reshapes brand-agency relationships, blending human creativity with AI's efficiency to manage agency collaborations. In this episode of The Marketing AI SparkCast, Aby Varma, founder of Spark Novus—a company that partners with marketing leaders to ado...

In this episode of the Marketing AI SparkCast, Aby Varma, founder of Spark Novus, sits down with guest Jessica Hreha, Head of Marketing AI Strategy and Transformation at Jasper. The conversation delves into Jessica’s inspiring journey from her time at VMware to her leadership role at Jasper, where she fosters AI adoption across enterprises. They discuss practical strategies for marketing professio...

In this episode of the Marketing AI SparkCast, Aby Varma, founder of Spark Novus, hosts Ruth Favela, the AI Marketing Manager at Tomorrow.io. They explore the transformative impact of AI on marketing, focusing on practical applications and strategies for marketers. Topics Covered : Ruth’s Journey in AI Marketing : Ruth shares her transition from editor to AI Marketing Manager, highlighting her lea...

In the latest episode of the Marketing AI SparkCast, host Aby Varma, founder of Spark Novus, explores AI adoption with Ashley Gross, founder of The Prompt Community. This episode provides practical insights for marketers looking to begin their AI journey and leverage AI tools effectively. Gross shares her path from corporate marketing to founding The Prompt Community, highlighting her early use of...