In this episode, Katherine Turnoff talks with Meg Douglass, VP of Marketing at Tonal, about brand as a living conversation shaped by audience signals. They discuss real-time data, experimentation, community-driven momentum, and why some “rules” should be broken.

Guest Quote:

“ One of my old coworkers said that brand is a shared hallucination between a customer and a business, and really brand is everything in that conversation. All of the experiences, all of the touchpoints and all of the signals that you're getting from your audience about that brand evolves over time because of the audience, because of the usage, because of the signals they're getting. Brand is data to some degree.”

[01:51] Alchemy Unveiled

Brand is a conversation: Meg shares why brand is shaped by audience signals across experiences and touchpoints — and how resonance and stickiness show up beyond traditional metrics.

[12:33] From Nuggets to Campaign Gold

Break the rules to break through: A logo-placement experiment challenges “best practices,” reinforcing that storytelling and judgment sometimes matter more than rigid frameworks.

[18:52] Gold Rush Round

Signals that matter: Meg shares what she’s learning from social communities, what she’d automate to free up brainpower, and what member language signals real brand health.

Connect with Katherine: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kathrynturnoff/
Connect with Meg: [https://www.linkedin.com/in/megdouglass/
Learn more about Tonal: https://www.linkedin.com/company/tonal-strong/

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This episode. Kathryn discusses finding the right person, at the right time, with the right message with Greg Licciardi,  Professor of Marketing and Vice President of Partnerships at ANA. The discussion covers the impact of AI on marketing, useful tactics and innovative case studies from brands like Wendy's, e.l.f., and Harry's.

Guest Quote:

•  ”Marketing is moving at breakneck speed with all the new technologies coming in and AI. Marketers need like a north star, a framework to guide them through this complex time we're in.”

Episode Breakdown:

[02:21] Alchemy Unveiled: The Holy Grail of Marketing

The Holy Grail of Marketing includes the five Rs: right person, right time, right message, right outcome, right environment.

[28:10] From Nuggets to Campaign Gold: Case Studies in Creative Targeting

Greg shares a case study that demonstrates how small behavioral signals, testing in real time, and a willingness to pivot can turn early campaign learnings into breakthrough performance gains

[35:55] Gold Rush!

Reach is the most overrated marketing metric. Spray and pray is not the right approach.

Links & Resources:

Connect with Kathryn

Connect with Greg

Learn more about Deluxe

Check out Holy Grail of Marketing

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This episode, Kathryn digs into the art and science of customer experience with Bennett Fox-Glassman, SVP of Customer Journey at Macy’s. Together, they explore how listening, context, and authenticity shape memorable interactions in modern retail.

Guest Quotes

• “One of our first focuses was taking stock of what was working and what wasn't. And in our CRM programs, when we looked at them, we believed we could actually get more by sending less, which was maybe counterintuitive at first, but in fact, we have. And so it used to be that it was Tuesday and so everybody got the coats email, and now we are much more attentive to where you are in your journey. So if you recently bought something at home, for example, we wanna be talking to you about how do you style it and how do you complete that room. And that becomes our priority over talking to you about the fact that it happens to be Tuesday.”

Episode Breakdown

[01:42] Alchemy Unveiled: Rewiring Around the Customer

[14:13] From Nuggets to Campaign Gold: Power of Iconic Moments

[21:00] Gold Rush Round: Bennett’s Bumper Sticker Wisdom

Links & Resources:

Links & Resources:
Connect with Kathryn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kathrynturnoff/
Connect with Bennett: https://www.linkedin.com/in/bennettglassman/?skipRedirect=true
Learn more about Macy’s: https://www.linkedin.com/company/macy/

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