Brand or demand? Most marketers have wrestled with that question, and in this conversation, Charlie Riley sits down with Sara Ajemian to explore why it shouldn’t be a divide at all.

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Sara shares how storytelling, awareness, and demand must connect across the funnel — from awareness metrics to demo interest, from billboards to nurture campaigns. She explains why pre-work, shared goals, and a clear North Star allow marketers to measure success, plan campaigns, and align with sales and product teams.

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This episode unpacks how brand becomes the connective tissue across the organization, why tension and pain points drive powerful campaigns, and how marketers can confidently say “no” when ideas don’t fit the plan.

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👤 Guest Bio

Sara Ajemian is VP of Brand & Communications at SOCi, where she leads creative, brand, comms, PR, content marketing, and market research. A self-described t-shaped marketer with two decades of experience, her passion is storytelling — helping companies tell fun, memorable stories that connect with audiences and stand out.

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📌 What We Cover

• Why brand and demand should be integrated, not divided
• How storytelling creates connective tissue from awareness through conversion
• The role of measurement in linking top-funnel engagement to demo interest
• A real-world example of competing brand and demand goals on a landing page
• How out-of-home campaigns connect to search traffic and demand attribution
• Why social proof and touchpoints like NASDAQ billboards become campaign “spokes”
• Using pain points, tension, and aha moments to drive emotional campaigns
• The importance of a North Star and guardrails to keep messaging consistent
• How planning empowers marketers to say “no” and stay aligned

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🔗 Resources Mentioned

• Scrappy ABM Podcast (mentioned ad read)
• NASDAQ billboard in Times Square (example referenced)

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