Suzanne Reed, Chief Marketing Officer at LBMC, joins Sara to unpack the modern marketer’s biggest challenge: keeping pace with AI-driven change without losing the human touch.

Together, they explore why a smaller, integrated MarTech stack delivers better results, how buying communities reshape the B2B playbook, and why AI can accelerate great marketing—but can’t replace the marketer’s critical thinking.

Suzanne also reveals LBMC’s recent experiment comparing AI-generated brand outputs across competitors—an eye-opener about commoditization and the importance of brand distinctiveness in the age of large language models.

You’ll learn:

• Why simplifying your MarTech stack may be your highest-ROI move
• How “HGO—Human Engine Optimization” reframes modern marketing
• What AI can (and can’t) do when it comes to buyer understanding
• How to equip early-career marketers to thrive in an AI-heavy world
• Why direct mail is back—and what personalization really means today
• What LBMC discovered when analyzing competitors via LLMs

Suzanne:
“I call it the HGO… Human Engine Optimization. The human is the hub of all of this.”

“Marketing has always been about the psychology of the buyer. AI can help us be smarter and faster, but it cannot address those things.”

“We think we control our brands—but the models showed we’re all in the same bucket. We’re commoditizing ourselves.”

Links & Resources:
Connect with Sara: linkedin.com/in/sara-faatz-b67213
Connect with Suzanne: linkedin.com/in/suzannereedfranklintn
Learn more about LMBC: www.lbmc.com
Learn more about Progress: www.progress.com

Timestamps:
00:40 – Marketing Challenges and Technology
01:20 – MarTech Integration and Success
03:17 – Human Element in Marketing
05:15 – Advice for New Marketers
08:56 – Hyper-Personalization in Marketing
09:58 – Experimentation and Brand Differentiation
10:57 – Inspiration and Industry Leaders

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2025 was the year AI stopped being a headline and became a reality in every marketer’s workflow. In this special year-end edition of 10 Minute Martech, we revisit the most impactful insights from guests across the season—operators, CMOs, analysts, and innovators who helped define what human-centered marketing looks like in an AI-first world.

You’ll Learn:

• How leading marketers are redefining “human in the loop” to drive creativity, strategy, and better outcomes
• Where AI is delivering real, measurable impact across workflows, personalization, and productivity
• The hottest Martech takes of the year—from content strategy to customer experience to rethinking systems entirely

You’ll hear from:
 Mariam Tariq, SVP, Marketing & Digital Strategy, Progress [00:44]
 Scott Brinker, Martech Analyst & Advisor, chiefmartec [01:52]
 Karen Steele, Founder, Steele-Alloy [03:20]
 Jennifer Ortiz, EVP & CMO, Progress [04:32]
 Juan Mendoza, CEO, The MarTech Weekly [05:34]
Tom Wentworth, CMO, Incident.io [06:54]
Elizabeth Edwards, Founder & CEO, Volume Public Relations [07:58]
Frans Riemersma, Founder, MartechTribe [08:47]
Mallory Russell, Award-Winning Content Marketing Strategist [09:40]
 Hazem El Zayat, Chief Experience Officer, Ogilvy One [10:13]
Amanda Cole, CMO, Bloomreach [11:08]

Links & Resources:
Connect with Sara: linkedin.com/in/sara-faatz-b67213
Learn more about Progress: www.progress.com

Timestamps:
00:40 – The Role of Humans in the AI Era
04:25 – Practical AI Tools in 2025
05:40 – Martech Hot Takes

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Elizabeth Edwards, Founder & CEO of Volume Public Relations, joins Sara to explore how modern marketing is being reshaped by AI, affective science, and rising expectations around trust.

She breaks down the pitfalls of weaponized language, the risks of false scarcity, and why brand credibility matters more than ever in an era of generative search and offsite reputation signals.

You’ll learn:

• Why false urgency and hyper-personalization can erode trust—and even violate compliance norms
• How behavioral science can guide healthier, more resonant customer communication
• The emerging risks of AI-driven emotional manipulation
• How to rethink AI as a verbal collaborator for richer context and better outputs
• What it means to design marketing for relationship-building rather than rapid reaction

Elizabeth:
“You do not need to encode false scarcity, urgency and fear into everything. It's a hyper manipulation… and it doesn't make me feel like you're an authentic company I want to trust and do business with. Marketers need to downshift a gear or two and realize we are here to create relationships, not just reaction.”

Links & Resources:
Connect with Sara: linkedin.com/in/sara-faatz-b67213
Connect with Elizabeth: linkedin.com/in/volumepr
Learn more about Volume PR: www.volumepr.com
Learn more about Progress: www.progress.com

Timestamps:
01:30 — Ethical Marketing in the Age of AI
03:00 — Examples of Manipulative Marketing
04:50 — The Importance of Ethical Communication
10:25 — Legal and Business Implications
11:50 – Final Thoughts and Advice

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.