The Agile Brand with Greg Kihlström®: Expert Mode Marketing Technology, AI, & CX
Episodes
#746: Microsoft's Kelly Soligon on personalizing the DTC customer experience
06 Oct 2025
Contributed by Lukas
In a world saturated with marketing messages, how can brands cut through the noise and create truly resonant experiences that go beyond transactions t...
#745: Digital experience analytics and VOC with Dave Anderson, Contentsquare
03 Oct 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Is your brand agile enough for the changing expectations of your customers in a world increasingly driven by AI? Agility requires more than just fast...
#744: Journey management and driving business results with Mark Smith and Raymond Gerber, Institute for Journey Management
02 Oct 2025
Contributed by Lukas
The customer journey guides the lifetime value of our most important audiences, yet how do we ensure that we are planning, mapping, managing, and opti...
#743: Always-on collaboration between AI and marketing with Devin Kunysz, Salesforce
01 Oct 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Are marketers ready to relinquish some control and embrace a future where autonomous agents handle complex tasks and act as always-on collaborators? ...
#742: Making frictionless payments a reality with Peter Galvin, NMI
29 Sep 2025
Contributed by Lukas
How do we future-proof the digital payment experience so it becomes invisible to customers—yet keep it working harder than ever for brands?Agility r...
#741: Managing your brand reputation in real-time with Jeff Hahn, Hahn Agency
26 Sep 2025
Contributed by Lukas
AI, real-time marketing, and influencer partnerships can be amazing ways to reach customers, but how do you manage the risk they could potentially bri...
#740: Navigating Build vs. Buy with Luv Kapur, Bit
25 Sep 2025
Contributed by Lukas
This episode is brought to you by Bit. In the age of AI, don’t just generate code - compose software. Bit helps you create and reuse independent com...
#739: Doing Gen Z marketing right with Smita Wadhawan, Constant Contact
24 Sep 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Is your brand's marketing strategy feeling a little… seasoned? In today's social media landscape, clinging to outdated tactics can mean clinging to ...
#738: Building marketing strategy when change is the constant with Heidi Bullock, Tealium
22 Sep 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Successful marketers are able to anticipate and act on opportunities and trends, but what happens when the next 10 days can be as difficult to predict...
#737: Unlocking sustainable growth using AI with Bryan Gernert, Resonate
19 Sep 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Is artificial intelligence just another shiny toy for marketers, or is it the key to unlocking true agility and sustainable growth in today's turbulen...
#736: Taking ROI models from confusion to clarity with Carlos Manalo, The Office of Experience
18 Sep 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Are your marketing investments driving real business value, or are you simply throwing money at the latest trends? Agility means being able to react ...
#735: Creating a winning personalization and testing approach with Muqtadaa Miandara, Upbound Grou
17 Sep 2025
Contributed by Lukas
When it’s a struggle for marketers to even keep up with the latest trends, are brands truly keeping pace with their customers, or are they stuck pla...
#734: Focusing on the marketing that matters with Tara Corey, Optimizely
15 Sep 2025
Contributed by Lukas
With so much noise around AI, changing customer expectations, and the ever-evolving martech landscape, how can marketing leaders avoid the noise to fo...
#733: Agentic AI delivering business value with Rupali Jain and Kevin Li, Optimizely
12 Sep 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Marketers' roles are changing, but their goals are still the same: reach and engage customers, meeting them where they are, and for better or worse, o...
#732: Using AI to see video content with Meenal Nalwaya, Reka
11 Sep 2025
Contributed by Lukas
This episode is brought to you by Reka, a developer of industry-leading, multimodal, AI models that enable individuals and organizations to deploy gen...
#731: Automation and innovation with Karthik Ramakrishnan, Tapestry
10 Sep 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Being strategic means asking the right questions and meaningfully applying the learnings. How do you do this while innovating and outpacing the compet...
#730: Chasing perfection when agility is what's needed with Tom Schmitt, CEO of Radial
08 Sep 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Is the pursuit of the "perfect" customer experience actually holding brands back from achieving true agility? Agility requires a willingness to embra...
#729: The mindset shift needed for AI integration success with Rafael Flores, Treasure Data
05 Sep 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Is the hype around AI in marketing justified, or are we setting ourselves up for another "tech bubble" disappointment? Agility requires not only embr...
#728: The marketing jobs market and AI's role in the job search with Sue Keith, Landrum Talent Solutions
04 Sep 2025
Contributed by Lukas
This episode is brought to you by Landrum Talent Solutions, a national recruiting firm specializing in marketing and HR positions.My guest today has b...
#727: Growing sales in uncertain times with Chris Cubba, Snipp
03 Sep 2025
Contributed by Lukas
What happens when your best sales strategy from a year ago is now driving customer attrition instead of acquisition? Agility requires brands to rethi...
#726: How AI is changing the search experience and what to do about it with Sean King, Chief Revenue Officer at Veritone
01 Sep 2025
Contributed by Lukas
If Google sent you zero traffic tomorrow morning, would your P&L still be breathing by lunchtime? Agility requires re-engineering your revenue model ...
#725: Consumer confidence...and caution...with Eric Miao, Attentive
29 Aug 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Are brands prepared for a consumer base that's simultaneously more confident and more cautious? Agility requires not just reacting to current consume...
#724: Social commerce and the customer journey with Janna Navarro, Wpromote
27 Aug 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Are most brands still designing customer journeys, or are they just trying to keep up with where their customers are leading them? Agility requires ...
#723: Building loyalty across different generations of travelers with Jeff Zotara, arrivia
25 Aug 2025
Contributed by Lukas
If you had to pick one of the biggest challenges facing CMOs today, how high on your list would customer loyalty be? Agility requires a deep understa...
#722: Agentic AI in retail with Dan Russotto, Furniture.com
22 Aug 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Building on the talk of AI in recent years, Agentic AI is an exciting area for retailers. But beyond talk, finding real-world examples and best practi...
#721: Making the most of peak season with Helaine Rich, ePost
20 Aug 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Is your brand ready to thrive, not just survive, in the face of evolving global consumer expectations and market shifts? Agility requires more than j...
#720: Building stronger customer relationships using AI with Noah Zamansky, Stitch Fix
18 Aug 2025
Contributed by Lukas
AI can create immersive, human-centric experiences that not only drive sales but also foster enduring brand relationships in a rapidly evolving market...
#719: Composable Customer Data Platforms with Tejas Manohar, Hightouch
15 Aug 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Are you building your customer data strategy around your goals, or are your goals constrained by your data platform? Agility in today’s marketing t...
#718: Building trust while building a brand with Meika Hollender, Nara Organics
13 Aug 2025
Contributed by Lukas
When consumer trust is more fragile than ever, how can brands, particularly in highly scrutinized categories like infant nutrition, utilize the latest...
#717: Understanding customers by simulating them first with Mike Taylor, Ask Rally
11 Aug 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Is the most effective way to understand real human behavior to simulate it first?Agility requires a willingness to test ideas that sound strange at fi...
#716: Streamlining brand partnerships with Alan Gould, Mutual Markets
08 Aug 2025
Contributed by Lukas
What if building a brand partnership with a major entertainment property could happen in 5 minutes instead of 6 months—and drive 10x better results?...
#715: Increasing speed to insights with Sid Banerjee, Medallia
06 Aug 2025
Contributed by Lukas
What could your CX teams do to strategically move your brand forward if they weren’t tethered to dashboards? Agility requires CX teams to move bey...
#714: Keeping up with e-commerce evolution with Lena Moriarty, eTail and Worldwide Business Research
04 Aug 2025
Contributed by Lukas
One thing is for certain: the world of e-commerce never sits still. But what should retailers be paying attention to now?Agility requires not only ada...
#713: Agentic AI that improves the customer experience, with Manisha Powar, Qualtrics
01 Aug 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Agility requires more than just speed—it demands relevance and empathy, especially when AI is stepping in to play a bigger role in the customer expe...
#712: Compounding returns on your marketing campaigns with Chris O'Neill, GrowthLoop
30 Jul 2025
Contributed by Lukas
If your marketing grew like a dividend-reinvestment plan, would you still let a quarterly target dictate every decision? Agility requires stacking re...
#711: Making accessibility a priority with Make Paciello, AudioEye
28 Jul 2025
Contributed by Lukas
The 35th anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) was July 26, so today's episode is a special one. Most companies obsess over SEO, ...
#710: Empowering Employees to Lead Meaningful Change from Within with Steven Malony, CEO of Belkin
25 Jul 2025
Contributed by Lukas
How often do big, meaningful shifts inside a company actually start small? And more importantly, how do you avoid squashing them before they have a ch...
#709: The state of CX and the value of hyperpersonalization with Adrian Swinscoe, Punk CX Podcast
24 Jul 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Agility requires that brands have a fundamental understanding of why they’re doing things, and what customer expectations are, rather than chasing t...
#708: How commerce media is changing advertising with Eric Brackmann, Koddi
23 Jul 2025
Contributed by Lukas
If you think commerce media is just a buzzword or a trend, think again. It’s reshaping the ad landscape—fueled by AI, first-party data, and secto...
#707: Building ROI in the Creator Economy with Brit Starr, CreatorIQ
21 Jul 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Agility requires marketing leaders to evolve from campaign-based thinking to relationship-based strategy—especially when working with creators who i...
#706: Building more connected digital experiences with Eric Stine, CEO of Sitecore
18 Jul 2025
Contributed by Lukas
If the web is no longer one-size-fits-all and instead geared towards segments of one, how do brands avoid creating a thousand disconnected experience...
#705: What happens to your KPIs when both CLV and Customer Acquisition Costs rise? With Jamie Domenici, Klaviyo
16 Jul 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Customer lifetime value is a critical KPI, but with customer acquisition costs rapidly rising, what can brands do to successfully build long-term valu...
#704: Delivering personalization at scale with Yaniv Navot, Mastercard
14 Jul 2025
Contributed by Lukas
With all the data at our fingertips, why do so many companies still struggle to deliver truly personalized experiences at scale? Agility requires bei...
#703: How AI and Deep Learning is affecting advertising with Jaysen Gillespie, RTB House
11 Jul 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Are we on the brink of advertising becoming too smart for its own good, or is Deep Learning finally getting us closer to what customers actually want?...
#702: What it takes to keep customers loyal with Anna Convery, Verint
10 Jul 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Does your brand deliver answers faster than your customer can send a text message? Agility in CX is about answering customers before they finish the ...
#701: No-Code as a Strategic Weapon, with Aytekin Tank, Jotform
09 Jul 2025
Contributed by Lukas
If your team spends half its days searching for documents and filling out spreadsheets you built years ago, how long will it be before your competitor...
#700: Winning and retaining the distracted consumer with Kelsey Chickering, Forrester
07 Jul 2025
Contributed by Lukas
If your brand can’t hold a consumer’s focus for eight seconds, what makes you think you deserve nine? We are here at Forrester CX in Nashville, T...
#699: Being real about synthetic personas with Narek Vandanyan, Prelaunch
04 Jul 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Marketers spend a fortune trying to understand their audience, conducting surveys, focus groups, and market research—but what if they could just ask...
#698: Staying customer-centric in the race to adopt agentic AI with Stephanie Liu, Forrester
02 Jul 2025
Contributed by Lukas
We are here at Forrester CX in Nashville, TN and hearing all about the latest insights and ideas for brands to create better experiences for their cus...
#697: Building the total experience for customers with AJ Joplin, Forrester
30 Jun 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Does your AI-based interface talk to customers the way a real person would or is it tech for tech’s sake? We are here at Forrester CX in Nashville,...
#696: The network effect on CX of AI plus employees with Jay Pattisall, Forrester
27 Jun 2025
Contributed by Lukas
If AI can amplify every employee’s reach ten-fold, how ready is your organization to harness that network effect? We are here at Forrester CX in N...
#695: Why Trust Is a Strategy, Not a Sentiment with Dana Bodine, Trustpilot
25 Jun 2025
Contributed by Lukas
If nearly half of consumers spend more with brands they trust, why aren’t more companies making trust a core business strategy instead of just a tag...
#694: What's your plan for Q5 this year, with Xavier de Baillenx from Ramdam
23 Jun 2025
Contributed by Lukas
What if your most profitable campaign window isn’t Black Friday or Cyber Monday… but after the holidays, when everyone else is quiet? While most ...
#693: Optimizing the post-click customer experience with Riikka Söderlund, Katana Cloud Inventory
20 Jun 2025
Contributed by Lukas
What if your biggest customer experience problem isn’t your marketing… but your inventory spreadsheet? In the era of one-click checkouts, Prime d...
#692: The lifetime value of milliseconds in the customer experience with Jaxon Repp, Harper
18 Jun 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Agility can often get framed as driving massive transformation—but sometimes it’s the milliseconds that matter. When every digital moment counts, ...
#691: Gaining agility and results with composable CMS, with Mark Wheeler from Storyblok
16 Jun 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Is your CMS holding your creativity—and marketing growth—hostage? When speed and agility are everything, most marketing teams are still stuck in ...
#690: Focusing on long-term customer value using next best action with Tine Van Calster, Telenet
13 Jun 2025
Contributed by Lukas
What if your most loyal customers are the ones you helped spend less?Agility in marketing isn't just about moving faster — it's about aligning brand...
#689: Building a culture of agility with Eugenie Lamprecht, Reka
12 Jun 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Welcome to this episode, brought to you by Reka, a developer of industry-leading, multimodal, AI models that enable individuals and organizations to d...
#688: Building a Customer Brain and how it benefits customers and the business with Christian Nelissen, National Australia Bank
11 Jun 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Agility at enterprise scale means building systems that not only make millions of micro-decisions, but also keep humans at the center — creating exp...
#687: Customer Experience Design using Generative AI, with Tara DeZao, Pega
09 Jun 2025
Contributed by Lukas
What if you could test drive your entire customer experience — before even writing a line of code? Agility isn’t just about reacting fast — it’...
#686: Autonomous innovation using predictable AI agents with Peter van der Putten, Pega
06 Jun 2025
Contributed by Lukas
What if your agentic AI could innovate autonomously—and still follow your business rules? Agility in the age of AI doesn't just mean speed. It mean...
#685: Using AI in UX research, design, and testing with Jason Bowman, The Office of Experience
04 Jun 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Agility requires finding ways to stay one step ahead of the competition, as well as in anticipating customers’ needs. So how does a brand maintain...
#684: The founder of Reebok and CEO of Syntilay talk about AI-generated product design
02 Jun 2025
Contributed by Lukas
When consumers can get AI-generated designs completely customized to their needs, what does this mean for the future of brands and the customer experi...
#683: Navigating the effect of AI on marketing jobs and the job market with Sue Keith, Landrum Talent Solutions
30 May 2025
Contributed by Lukas
My guest today has been keeping us up to date with the current state of hiring for marketers on a quarterly basis, which has taken us on quite a rolle...
#682: Consequential AI and customer loyalty with Raj De Datta, CEO of Bloomreach
28 May 2025
Contributed by Lukas
If brand loyalty is so critical, why does it feel like most companies are treating it like an afterthought by propping it up with outdated programs an...
#681: Building a cohesive brand while personalizing every message with Emily Ward, Turnitin
26 May 2025
Contributed by Lukas
With AI as an accelerant, marketing is evolving at a breakneck pace, and brands are being challenged to maintain authenticity while scaling globally. ...
#680: Agile is about more than velocity, with Gabrielle Wieczorek
23 May 2025
Contributed by Lukas
This show is brought to you by the Online Scrum Masters Summit, taking place virtually on June 17-19, with more information at: http://www.onlinescrum...
#679: Growing a brand by focusing on the details that matter with Dominic Minogue, Dirty Water
21 May 2025
Contributed by Lukas
There are a lot of great ideas for products and brands out there, but sometimes the difference between success and failure lies in getting the details...
#678: AI gains emotional intelligence with Joshua Goldberg, Zenapse
19 May 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Have you ever wondered why, despite having access to advanced AI tools, your marketing strategies still don’t hit the mark? Could it be that you’r...
#677: Why thought leadership is more important than ever with Benjamin Shapiro, host of the MarTech Podcast
16 May 2025
Contributed by Lukas
If content rules, why does it feel like there are 100,000 royal families? In a world drowning in blog posts, videos, and AI-generated everything, cont...
#676: The consumer is no longer navigating the map—they are the map, with Ken Hughes, the King of CX
14 May 2025
Contributed by Lukas
The consumer is no longer navigating the map—they are the map.Welcome to the era of the Blue Dot Consumer: always centered, always scrolling, and al...
#675: Being true to customers and your values with Phyllis Rothschild, CMO at Pete & Gerrys
12 May 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Consumers today aren’t just buying products, or even experiences—they’re buying into values. As more people align their shopping habits with bra...
#674: The continued evolution of e-commerce with Eitan Koter, Vimmi
09 May 2025
Contributed by Lukas
With the rapid rise of shoppable video, AI-driven recommendations, and immersive technologies like AR and VR, are traditional e-commerce strategies be...
#673: Predictive and proactive customer experiences, with Vinod Muthukrishnan, Cisco
07 May 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Customer expectations have skyrocketed—people now demand instant, personalized, and seamless interactions across every touchpoint. But are companies...
#672: What can we learn from teaching others about AI? Featuring Greg Shove, CEO of Section
05 May 2025
Contributed by Lukas
AI is no longer just a tool—it’s reshaping business strategy, workforce morale, and even personal productivity. But are executives truly prepared ...
#671: Going national while staying true to your local roots with Jay Rushin, H&H Bagels
02 May 2025
Contributed by Lukas
How do you take something that's iconically local and make it feel authentic—everywhere? That’s the challenge facing every regional brand trying ...
#670: Embracing Chaos to Get Better Results with Mark DeCarlo
30 Apr 2025
Contributed by Lukas
We talk a lot about agility, and today, we’re going to talk about how lessons of agility can come from unexpected places - like the set of Seinfeld ...
#669: It's already time to start planning for the holiday shopping season with Carey Cockrum, Cella by Randstad Digital
28 Apr 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Retailers are facing a rapidly evolving landscape where consumer expectations, AI advancements, and social media platforms like TikTok are redefining ...
#668: The Five Levels of AI with Courtney Baker, Knownwell
25 Apr 2025
Contributed by Lukas
As AI continues to evolve, how can marketing leaders ensure they’re staying ahead of the curve instead of simply keeping up with it? And how do you ...
#667: The Evolving Role of Visual Data in Construction with Marca Armstrong, Sensera
23 Apr 2025
Contributed by Lukas
When you think of cameras in construction, do you see them as just security tools—or could they be the key to unlocking full jobsite intelligence? ...
#666: Balancing AI-driven efficiency and responsibility with Pasquale DeMaio, Amazon Web Services
21 Apr 2025
Contributed by Lukas
For many brands, AI is revolutionizing customer experience, but with increased adoption comes widespread concerns about job displacement, ethical risk...
#665: Developing strategies that cut through the omnichannel noise, with Arianna Vogel, Foursquare
18 Apr 2025
Contributed by Lukas
With the increasingly complex omnichannel customer journey, it seems like attribution is getting harder than ever—do you know which of your marketin...
#664: Tying CX outcomes to commercial goals with Markus Engel and Linzi Hindle at DHL
16 Apr 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Recorded live at Medallia Experience in Las Vegas. Having a great customer experience is critical for many reasons, but some companies have had a hard...
#663: AI in retail marketing with Uldis Baumerts, Bryj
14 Apr 2025
Contributed by Lukas
As AI reshapes the retail advertising landscape, are you leveraging it as a competitive advantage, or are you at risk of being left behind in a data-d...
#662: Making your returns strategy a competitive advantage with Katherine Lehman, ReturnBear
11 Apr 2025
Contributed by Lukas
We are here at ShopTalk 2025 at the Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas and seeing and hearing all about the latest in retail, e-commerce, and more. How much a...
#661: Creating a world-class student experience with Mike Milliron, IMG Academy
09 Apr 2025
Contributed by Lukas
We are recording live at Qualtrics X4 in Salt Lake City and seeing and hearing all about how to create and enable amazing customer experiences. If t...
#660: Enabling and accelerating customer experience improvements using AI with Isabelle Zdatny, Qualtrics
07 Apr 2025
Contributed by Lukas
We are recording live at Qualtrics X4 in Salt Lake City and seeing and hearing all about how to create and enable amazing customer experiences. Toda...
#659: The current state of the job market with Sue Keith, Landrum Talent Solutions
04 Apr 2025
Contributed by Lukas
This episode is brought to you by Landrum Talent Solutions, a national recruiting firm specializing in marketing and HR positions. We’ve talked abo...
#658: Winning retail by reducing customer frustration with Jean-Christophe Pitié, ContentSquare
02 Apr 2025
Contributed by Lukas
We are here at ShopTalk 2025 at the Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas and seeing and hearing all about the latest in retail, e-commerce, and more. If custome...
#657: Augmenting front-line employees with AI for better experiences, with Fabrice Martin, Medallia
31 Mar 2025
Contributed by Lukas
We are here recording live at Medallia Experience at the Wynn in Las Vegas, and have been seeing and hearing some amazing things about how AI can enha...
#656: Integrating CX and EX to create better customer outcomes with Sasha Fard, Capital One
28 Mar 2025
Contributed by Lukas
We are here at Medallia Experience at the Wynn in Las Vegas and seeing some examples of amazing customer experience and employee experience and the la...
#655: AI and Automation in the supply chain with Nick Stuart, RSM
26 Mar 2025
Contributed by Lukas
We are here at eTail Palm Springs and seeing and hearing the latest and greatest in e-commerce and retail. AI and automation are transforming retail ...
#654: Translating research into cross-functional strategic change with Adam Hagerman, Indeed
24 Mar 2025
Contributed by Lukas
We are recording live at Qualtrics X4 in Salt Lake City and seeing and hearing all about how to create and enable amazing customer experiences. It’...
#653: Accelerating speed to insights using synthetic feedback with Ali Henriques, Qualtrics
21 Mar 2025
Contributed by Lukas
We are recording live at Qualtrics X4 in Salt Lake City and seeing and hearing all about how to create and enable amazing customer experiences. How ...
#652: The power of multimodal AI with Dani Yogatama, Reka
19 Mar 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Is your organization just jumping on the AI bandwagon, or do you have a solution that will support your company’s needs in the short and long term? ...
#651: AI and in-house creative teams with Jen Rapp, Superside
17 Mar 2025
Contributed by Lukas
With AI’s ability to augment in-house creative teams, how does that change the way organizations should approach both their creative strategies and ...
#650: Maximizing your ad spend with Matt Wasserlauf, Blockboard
14 Mar 2025
Contributed by Lukas
We are here at eTail Palm Springs and seeing and hearing the latest and greatest in e-commerce and retail. This year, many advertisers - especially re...
#649: How to look at ROAS with Mitsu Kikuchi and Rocco Baldasarre of Shirofune
12 Mar 2025
Contributed by Lukas
We are here at eTail Palm Springs and seeing and hearing the latest and greatest in e-commerce and retail. In digital advertising, are we chasing the ...
#648: Breaking down silos between paid and organic search with Matt Shenton, Croud
10 Mar 2025
Contributed by Lukas
We are here at eTail Palm Springs and seeing and hearing the latest and greatest in e-commerce and retail. Retailers are constantly shifting budgets b...
#647: Achieving retail media success with Ben Dutter, Power Digital
07 Mar 2025
Contributed by Lukas
We are here at eTail Palm Springs and seeing and hearing the latest and greatest in e-commerce and retail. Retail media plays a critical role, but ar...