Interviews

Rethinking the Agency Model: An Interview with Michael Farmer, Chairman and CEO, Farmer & Company

Agencies are trapped in a financial vice between the profit demands of the holding companies, and the relentless pressure by clients to cut fees, despite the growing complexity of the work, according to industry sage Michael Farmer.

Mastering Agentic AI: An Interview with Martin Kihn, Senior Vice President, Strategy at Salesforce

Martin Kihn is the SVP Strategy for Marketing Cloud at Salesforce and author of the book “Agentforce” This interview has been edited for length and clarity. Never before have so many people become as infatuated as quickly and as enthusiastically with an emerging technology as they have with AI. According to one estimate, 66% of […]

Designing for Emotion: An Interview with Jean-Pierre Lacroix, Founder and President, Shikatani Lacroix Design

Many consumer buying choices are largely driven by subconscious emotions rather than rational thought and they are often made in the “blink of an eye”. That’s why brands need to identify and own the one emotion that triggers their choice, according to design expert Jean Pierre Lacroix who calls this the “Blink Factor”.

True Loyalty: An Interview with Aaron Dauphinee, Partner, The Wise Marketer Group

Where most loyalty programs go wrong is rewarding customers solely on the basis of their past buying behaviour. But true loyalty is as much an emotional commitment to the brand as it is a behavioural habit, according to loyalty expert Aaron Dauphinee.

The One-to-One Future Is Here (Almost): An Interview with Jim Sterne, President, Target Marketing

The long promised era of one-to-one marketing may finally have arrived, thanks to the alchemy of AI. Now marketers should have greater time to think more creatively about value creation, believes Jim Sterne, the longtime pioneer in web-based marketing.

Beyond Rewards: An Interview with Zsuzsa Kecsmar, Co-founder and Chief Strategy Officer at Antavo AI Loyalty Cloud.

Customers have grown tired of the old “earn and burn” loyalty model, seeking greater value for their money. To keep them engaged, loyalty programs will need to go beyond rewards, according to the latest Antavo Global Loyalty Report, co-authored by Antavo’s Zsuzsa Kecsmar.

Leading with CX: An Interview with Tom DeWitt, Founder and Executive Director of the XMGlobal Collaborative

Improving CX quality is often limited to fixing what’s broken. But for CX to make a true difference in the health and success of a business, management must set their sights higher, aiming to improve the everyday lives of customers. In order for that to happen, according to CX pioneer Tom DeWitt, the concept of “helpfulness” should become the governing ethos.

The Loyalty Puzzle: An Interview with Dr. Yuping Liu-Thompkins, Founder, Loyalty Science Lab

The study of loyalty remains an ongoing area of investigation for academic research, mainly because there are still so many unsolved puzzles, a challenge that Dr. Yuping Liu-Thompkins is taking on through her Loyalty Science Lab.

Fixing CX: An Interview with Michael Lowenstein, Founding Principal, The Linkage Group

Most companies today practice “CX Theatre”, declaring themselves customer centric when they only really care about the bottom line. The companies that truly care about customers have learned to put people first, argues renowned CX expert Michael Lowenstein.

Humanizing the Customer Relationship: An Interview with Christina Garnett, CX Evangelist and “Pocket CCO”

Brands still employ a playbook today that calls for bombarding customers with messaging. A new playbook is needed, according to CX expert Christina Garnett, which fosters communal spaces called “brandoms” where brand building and relationship building intersect.

Digital Campfires: An Interview with Sara Wilson, Founder and Principal, SW Projects

People are increasingly favouring private spaces online over the big social media platforms to connect with their circle of friends. As these “digital campfires” become the preferred forum for conversation, brands will become invisible, according to community marketing expert Sara Wilson.

Why New Products Fail: An Interview with Tony Ulwick, Founder and CEO, Strategyn

Companies routinely struggle to introduce new products to market that are a hit with customers. The main reason is that they fail to identify what customers actually need, according to innovation expert Tony Ulwick.

The Power of Points: An Interview with Richard Schenker, Founder, Loyal Strategy Consulting

Loyalty points programs may be a proven way to lock in customers but they fail to build true loyalty to the brand, according to loyalty expert Richard Schenker, who advises companies to go beyond rewarding customers with points and create an experience they will truly value.

Frictionless Growth: An Interview with Ryan Hamilton, Associate Professor of Marketing at Emory University, Goizueta Business School

The pursuit of rapid brand growth can sometimes lead to incompatibility between what new and existing customers want, according to Ryan Hamilton, a leading marketing academic and expert in consumer behavioural psychology.

Customer Portfolio Management: An Interview with Michael D. Johnson, Marketing Department Chair, Wisconsin School of Business

Marketers still lack a foolproof method for differentially investing in different segments within the customer portfolio. To address this gap, says the renowned marketing academic Michael Johnson, they need a strategic framework for managing the most promising relationships based on growth potential.

The New MarTech Landscape: An Interview with Frans Riemersma, Founder, Martech Tribe

The Martech industry is going through a burst of growth and innovation that is transforming the contours of the marketing technology landscape. Martech expert Frans Riemersma says the rapidly evolving AI-centric “marchitecture” will liberate marketers from the onerous challenges of platform integration and workflow management, making the tools easier to use than ever.

The Future of Customer Data Management: An Interview with Chris O’Hara, Global Product Marketing Lead, SAP Data and Analytics

Chris O’Hara leads the customer data solutions practice at SAP and is the co-author of Data Driven: Harnessing Data and AI to Reinvent Customer Engagement. This interview has been edited for length and clarity. Back when mainframe computers ruled the world customer data at the individual level was kept under lock and key by the […]

Personalization at Scale: An Interview with Mark Abraham, Global Leader, Boston Consulting Group

Until recently personalization at scale has been more of a wish than a reality. But with the rise of AI, it has become easier to do than ever before. All marketers need to do now, according to BCG’s personalization expert Mark Abraham, is to start thinking differently.

The B2B Journey Map: An Interview with Jim Tincher, President, Heart of the Customer

B2B companies tend to rank low in CX maturity due to their exclusive focus on the path to purchase. But digital disruption is forcing them to give greater attention to improving the post-sale journey, according to Jim Tincher, a leading expert in B2B experience design.

Saving Market Research: An Interview with Brett Townsend, SVP of Strategy, Quester

Brand marketers have lost faith in old school methods of market research, too slow in their view to keep up with the pace they have to move at. To regain their trust, the consumer insights industry has to be less caught up in the science behind the research and more concerned with making a strategic difference, says Brett Townsend, a leading market research authority and reformer.

Buyer Personas: An Interview with Jim Kraus, President, Buyer Persona Institute

Buyer Personas have proven to be an effective tool for creating customer empathy. But where they can fall short is failing to identify the reasons behind a buying decision, according to persona design authority Jim Kraus.

Cultural Intelligence: An Interview with Anastasia Karklina Gabriel, Senior Insights Lead at Reddit and Cultural Theorist

In these polarized times, marketers will have a much better chance of their message being heard if they are able to honestly depict the diversity of society in their brand communications, according to cultural theorist Anastasia Karklina Gabriel.

Customer Equity: An Interview with Allison Hartsoe, AI Value Creation Consultant and Author

Allison Hartsoe is a leading expert on customer-centricity and the author of “The Age of Customer Equity: Data-driven Strategies to Build a Sustainable Company”. The story is a familiar one, played out year after year, decade after decade. Under pressure by investors to drive up earnings, companies keep spending a disproportionate amount of time and […]

Transforming the Customer Experience: An Interview with Jon Picoult, Founder and Principal, Watermark Consulting

CX quality has declined in recent years as companies struggle to meet the rising expectations of customers. According to renowned CX expert Jon Picoult, they can only succeed if they commit to delivering a distinctive and memorable experience.

Social Media Marketing: An Interview with Andrew Jenkins, Chief Executive Officer, Volterra

For all its flaws social media has become the preferred way for people to interact with each other. Yet marketers still fail to take it seriously. The time has come, says social media expert Andrew Jenkins, for marketers to give it the respect it deserves.

Brand Health: An Interview with Jenni Romaniuk, Research Professor and Associate Director at the Ehrenberg-Bass Institute

Brand tracking studies are heavily relied upon by marketers to tell them how people feel about their brand. The problem is that they are not very helpful in explaining how they can grow their brand, according to brand health expert Jenni Romaniuk.

Content Marketing Strategy: An Interview with Robert Rose, Founder, The Content Advisory

The only way for brand marketers to get their content noticed is to transform their content operations teams into specialized publishing units closely attuned to audience interests and needs, according to the renowned content strategist Robert Rose.

Marketing Science: An Interview with Koen Pauwels, Vice Dean of Research, Northeastern University

For marketing to be more effective, a fact-based approach to decision making is needed, supported by rigorous performance analysis and scenario forecasting, according to Koen Pauwels, one of the world’s leading marketing scientists.

Marketing Transformation: An Interview with Brent Chaters, Managing Director, Accenture

For marketing to be viewed as more of a difference maker by the C-Suite, it must expand its role beyond branding, according to Accenture’s Brent Chaters, and earn a greater say in the strategic direction of the business.

Values-Based Segmentation: An Interview with David Allison, CEO, Valuegraphics

In order to make more meaningful connections with customers, marketers must first understand how they differ in their values, according to Valuegraphics founder David Allison.

Brand Experience: An Interview with Allen Adamson, Co-Founder of Metaforce

For brands to succeed today they must be indispensable to customers, offering them a distinctive experience that earns them an everyday role in their lives, according to brand expert Allen Adamson.

Digital Transformation: An Interview with Howard Tiersky, CEO of FROM

If businesses hope to avoid market disruption due to the momentous technological changes ahead, they need to accelerate their digital transformation. But first they have to embrace the need for continuous transformative change, according to digital transformation expert Howard Tiersky.

Customer Valuation: An Interview with Peter Fader, Professor of Marketing, the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania

A longstanding debate in marketing is whether to go after as many category buyers as possible, or maximize the value of existing customers. The answer lies in examining the behavioural patterns of current customers, according to Wharton Professor Peter Faber.

Future Proofing Marketing: An Interview with Alison Simpson, Chief Executive Officer, Canadian Marketing Association

Marketers can help their organizations adapt to the massive wave of change ahead; but only if they first “future-proof” themselves, says the Canadian Market Association’s Alison Simpson.

Digital Banking: An Interview with Greg Brown, Vice President, North American Digital Product Management, BMO Financial Group

The mainstream banks are facing massive disruption due to the rise of fintechs, forcing them to speed up digital transformation. Leading the way at BMO Financial Group is Greg Brown, in charge of steering the bank into the future.

Brand Positioning: An Interview with Ulli Appelbaum, Founder, First the Trousers Then the Shoes

To come up with truly novel positioning statements, according to global branding expert Ulli Appelbaum, marketers must give up formulaic thinking in favour of generating as many potential ideas as possible.

Brand Community: An Interview with Mark Schaefer, Executive Director, Schaefer Marketing Solutions

By building brand communities, marketers can turn customers into lifelong fans, according to the acclaimed marketing consultant Mark Schaefer, who believes it’s the “last great marketing strategy”.

Loyalty 2.0: An Interview with Matthew Seagrim, Senior Vice President, Scene+

In a bid to win front-of-the-wallet status, the Scene loyalty program now includes new partners in the grocery, e-commerce, and travel sectors. But its greatest strength, claims Scene’s Senior Vice President Matthew Seagrim, is a strategic emphasis on creating member value.

Brand Activism: An Interview with Scott Goodson, Founder and CEO, StrawberryFrog

Defining a brand purpose that goes beyond making money is now expected of corporate leaders. But for that purpose to truly resonate with all stakeholders, argues Scott Goodson, it must be activated through a grassroots social movement.

Lifestyle Segmentation: An Interview with Jan Kestle, Founder and CEO, Environics Analytics

Even in a digital age lifestyle segmentation remains a highly effective tool due to the increasing segregation of society into like-minded communities, according to Jan Kestle, head of Canada’s largest marketing analytics company.

The Customer Experience Gap: An Interview with Colin Shaw, CX Pioneer and Founder/CEO, Beyond Philosophy

Despite all of the effort being made by businesses to improve the customer experience, customers do not seem to be any happier for it. Companies are still falling short of their expectations. The answer, advises CX pioneer Colin Shaw, is to make those experiences more memorable.

Transformative Marketing: An Interview with Professor V. Kumar, Ph.D Marketing at St. John’s University (NYC), CEO of IMC Institute

Every preceding era of transformative change in marketing was due to major shifts in the media habits of people. But now people are looking for more meaningful engagement, according to Professor V. Kumar, triggering a new era of transformative marketing.

Marketing Accountability: An Interview with Neil Bendle, Chair (Advisory Council) of the Marketing Accountability Standards Board

The lack of financial acumen amongst marketers has always undermined their influence and made CMOs expendable. But finance is also to blame, too focused on short-term results at the expense of future growth. According to MASB’s Neil Bendle, they need to agree on a standardized measurement model that gives credit where credit is due, and treats marketing spending as an investment in the growth and health of the business.

E-Mail Still Rules: An Interview with Chad White, Head of Research, Oracle Marketing Consulting

Despite its lowly status e-mail marketing continues to thrive as a media channel, preferred by marketers everywhere. Today it is used extensively to support all stages of the customer journey. And the future looks even more promising, according to leading e-mail expert Chad White.

A Question of Loyalty: An Interview with Fred Reichheld, Loyalty Guru and Creator of the Net Promoter System

Fred Reichheld is a Bain & Company Senior Advisor and the Creator of the Net Promoter System. It’s been touted as the “one number a business needs to grow”. A number based on asking just one question: “How likely are you to recommend us to a friend or colleague?”. Since it was first introduced in […]

The Connected Omnichannel Experience: An Interview with Marty Kihn, SVP Strategy, SalesForce

Martin Kihn is Salesforce’s SVP Strategy for Marketing Cloud and the co-author of “Customer Data Platforms”. There is a tug of war going on in the marketing world these days between two opposing schools of thought. On one side are the creatively minded brand marketers who remain convinced that the only sure way to achieve […]

The Golden Record: An Interview with David Raab, Founder of the CDP Institute

For most marketers the dream of a “single view of customer” remains as elusive as ever. Tired of waiting for IT to deliver a “golden record”, marketers are turning to commercial solutions called Customer Data Management Platforms, a trend likely to accelerate in coming years, according to the world’s leading CDP expert David Raab.

The Future of Retail: An Interview with Doug Stephens, Founder and President, Retail Prophet

Battered by the pandemic, and facing even more disruption ahead, retailers need to adopt a new retail model, argues retail futurist Doug Stephens, and offer shoppers a more distinctive and appealing in-store experience.

The State of Martech: An Interview with Scott Brinker, VP Platform Ecosystem at HubSpot and Editor of Chiefmartec

Marketing technology is now essential to business success. Yet marketers continue to struggle with the complexity of their bloated marketing automation solutions, citing lack of application integration amongst their toughest challenges. The answer, according to Hubspot’s marketing technology expert Scott Brinker, is to develop more open and compatible platform ecosystems that make it easy for marketers to add on any application they want.

Brand Stewardship: An Interview with David Kincaid, Founder and Managing Partner of Level5 Strategy

For companies to succeed in the wake of the pandemic, the discipline of brand management needs to be revived, according to branding expert David Kincaid. The brand must become the face of business strategy, he says, championed by the CEO and led by senior leadership to ensure the long-term health of the business.

Retail Reimagined: An Interview with Shawn Stewart, Senior Vice President, Customer and Triangle, Canadian Tire Corporation

Named Canada’s favourite brand in 2019, the century-old retailer Canadian Tire is using its 10-million member database to deepen its relationship with customers under the stewardship of its Senior VP Shawn Stewart.

Digital Darwinism: An Interview with Brian Solis, Global Innovation Evangelist, Salesforce

As businesses recover from the trauma of the pandemic, they face even more disruption ahead with the dawn of the “novel economy”, as digital prophet Brian Solis calls it. To adapt, Solis argues that businesses will have to treat transformation as more than simply a technology upgrade.

Agency Transformation: An Interview with Mark Penn, Chairman and CEO, MDC Partners

MDC CEO Mark Penn believes his team of partner agencies is best positioned to provide clients with the end-to-end support they need through the fusion of technology and creativity.

Context Marketing: An Interview with Mathew Sweezey, Director of Market Strategy at Salesforce

Instead of trying to harness a world of infinite media, marketers should focus on creating value for customers in the context of the moment.

Content That Matters: An Interview with Ann Handley, Chief Content Officer, MarketingProfs

In times of crisis, brands struggle to find something meaningful to say. The key to producing content that matters is to “do less and obsess” at producing quality content, Ann Handley argues.

The Future of Marketing: An Interview with Philip Kotler, the “Father of Modern Marketing”

He is universally acknowledged as the “Father of Modern Marketing”. He has been called the “most influential marketer” of all time. World-famous Philip Kotler shares his perspective on the future of marketing in this exclusive interview.

Reimagining Loyalty Programs: An Interview with Bryan Pearson, Loyalty Marketing Pioneer

Most loyalty programs today do little to make people feel more loyal to the brand. They are mainly promotional tools designed to drive repeat sales by giving away margin in the form of redeemable currency or discounts. Which is why it may be time to reimagine loyalty programs, according to Bryan Pearson, transforming them into dynamic platforms that are a more integral part of the customer experience.

Brand Advocacy: An Interview with Jay Baer, President of Convince and Convert

How do marketers balance the pressure to drive growth with the need to create a better customer experience? Jay Baer argues that the only way is to create novel experiences that inspire “word of mouth”.

The Content Experience: An Interview with Randy Frisch, President and Co-Founder of Uberflip

Randy Frisch explains why marketers must put as much effort into designing the right content experience as they do creating the actual content.

Decoding the Future: An Interview with Mitch Joel, Founder of Six Pixels Group, and Digital Seer

Mitch Joel is one of Canada’s foremost experts on digital marketing and a renowned podcaster, speaker and author.

As the digital economy takes full control, changing how people live their lives, businesses need to prepare themselves for even more convulsive change ahead, according to Mitch Joel.

Transforming Marketing Strategy: An Interview with Niraj Dawar, Professor of Marketing, Ivey Business School

Niraj Dawar is the Professor of Marketing at Ivey Business School, one of the premier business schools in the world. He is the author of the book Tilt: Shifting Your Strategy from Products to Customers.

Marketing needs to do much more than find new buyers, Professor Dawar argues – it has to take charge of the entire customer relationship.

Experience Thinking: An Interview with Tedde van Gelderen, President at Akendi

Tedde van Gelderen is the President of Akendi, one of the first-ever design consultancies in Canada, focused on the end-to-end experience lifecycle. He recently published a book called Experience Thinking which describes his holistic approach to creating fully connected experiences.

Design thinking has taken on a central role in freeing the corporate imagination. But what’s missing is a broader view of the end-to-end customer experience. In this interview Tedde van Gelderen explains his framework for reimagining the customer experience.

The State of Digital Advertising: An Interview with Seraj Bharwani, Chief Strategy Officer, Acuity Ads

Seraj Bjarwani is the Chief Strategy Officer for one of the fastest growing adtech companies. He shares his perspective on the past and future of digital advertising, as well as his ideas for industry reform.

The State of Relationship Marketing: An Interview with Jagdish Sheth, Professor of Marketing at Emory University, Goizueta Business School

Jagdish Sheth proposes a new “purpose-driven” form of relationship marketing where customers have a more values-based connection with brands. He calls it “share of heart”.

1:1 Marketing: An Interview with Don Peppers, Marketing Oracle and CX Expert

Don Peppers co-authored one of the most influential marketing books of all time (“The One to One Future: Building Relationships One Customer at a Time”. He explains why it is so hard for businesses to “put customers first”.

Artificial Intelligence: An Interview with Gary Saarenvirta, CEO, Daisy Intelligence Corporation

Exactly what types of marketing challenges can be turned over to “deep learning” algorithms? How well is AI being used today to drive marketing decision making? These questions and more are addressed by one of Canada’s analytical savants, Gary Saarenvirta, whose award-winning Toronto-based company is using AI to revolutionize retail planning and promotion.

Journey Analytics: An Interview with Lori Bieda, Head of Analytics Centre of Excellence, Bank of Montreal

Lori Bieda heads up the Bank of Montreal’s Centre of Analytics Excellence. She explains why journey analytics is an emerging practice area that can isolate the “make or break” moments in the digital experience.

The Future of Marketing: An Interview with Philip Kotler, the “Father of Modern Marketing”

He is universally acknowledged as the “Father of Modern Marketing”. His classic textbook “Principles of Marketing” is now in its 16th edition. He has been called the “most influential marketer” of all time. World-famous Philip Kotler shares his perspective on the future of marketing in this exclusive interview.