Level Up: A Marketing Podcast

2023 has been a whirlwind when it comes to marketing, hasn't it? With the adoption of new technologies, such as generative AI, the marketing landscape has rapidly changed, and you need a plan that empowers you to be flexible and adapt your strategy quickly.

In this last episode of 2023, our Level Up hosts, Tyler Williams, Laura Madden, and Jordan Kraus discuss the biggest marketing lessons they learned throughout 2023 and how you can apply these insights when crafting your 2024 marketing strategy. Gain deeper insight into how you can build stronger relationships with customers by crafting seamless customer experiences with integrated data, a use-case mindset, and artificial intelligence.

In this Level Up episode, Jordan Kraus and special guests Brian Esham, Director of Technical Services, and Christy Glesing, Sr. Marketing Consultant, explore how AI has evolved throughout 2023 and its future for business applications. Together they discuss topics like building consent and trust into AI models, the steps to prepare your data foundation for successful AI integration, and how you can ensure its marketing use cases align with your company's goals.

Listen in for:

• 00:45 - 03:55 📈 The evolution of AI in 2023 and continuing to 2024
• 03:51 - 06:07 🤝 Data and building AI models, ensuring consent and privacy in the trust layer, policies
• 06:09 - 08:26 🔧 Preparing your data foundation
• 08:30 - 10:52 🔄 Understanding the customer lifecycle and the data gaps, narrowing focus
• 10:57 - 14:02 🤖 Traditional AI, Machine Learning, and Generative AI: is your data set up for these technologies?
• 14:10 - 17:05 📀 Data and breaking down silos that ultimately benefit customer experiences
• 17:06 - 18:26 🤦🏽‍♂️ "Do I really need to go through all this work for AI?"
• 18:22 - 20:59 ⏰ Do you need to have a majority of a data foundation before pursuing AI?
• 20:59 - 23:34 🙋 If you don't know where to start, consider bringing in a partner to consider and build an AI integration strategy
• 23:40 - 25:50 🏆 Small wins that lead to big wins with data cleanup and adopting AI
• 25:50 - 26:39 ✅ Use cases that align with company goals
• 26:39 - 29:36 What are the possibilities with AI once a data foundation has been created?
• 29:37 - 33:11 Salesforce announces free Data Cloud and Tableau trials. Considering other Salesforce tools and Einstein

In this Level Up episode, listen to Tyler Williams and Jess Endl, Marketing Strategy Manager on Lev's Creative Services team, discuss their favorite holiday campaigns and dissect what makes each unique and successful. In this episode, they explore how to maximize holiday campaign success,  from omnichannel campaign strategies to technical considerations like IP warming and data utilization. You'll gain expert insights, tips, and real-world examples that will empower you to thrive during the holiday season and beyond.

Listen in for:

• 06:15 - 08:16 ☕️ Favorite Holiday Campaigns: 1. Starbucks red cup
• 08:23 - 10:17 🧃Favorite Holiday Campaigns: 2. Lil Jon + Kool-Aid
• 10:20 - 11:47 🎵 Favorite Holiday Campaigns: 3. Spotify + Sonos
• 12:42 - 14:51 🐻‍❄️ Favorite Holiday Campaigns: 4. Coca-Cola polar bears
• 19:17 - 24:52 ⚖️ Unveiling the Elements of a Meaningful Holiday Campaign
• 25:16 - 29:43 🎁 Navigating multichannel marketing for an effective holiday campaign
• 30:19 - 34:05 💥 Unveiling the Power of Data: The Role of Analytics in Holiday and Long-Term Marketing Strategies
• 37:04 - 40:55 ⚙️ Navigating Technical Aspects for Successful Holiday Marketing Campaigns

In this insightful Level Up episode, join host Jordan Kraus and special guest Angela Ely, a seasoned senior marketing consultant at Lev, as they delve into how to create a customer experience-focused marketing strategy. Learn the four key steps to crafting exceptional customer experiences, including becoming customer-centric, breaking down organizational silos, leveraging technology wisely, gathering valuable customer feedback, and embracing adaptability.  

By the end, you’ll discover how to create personalized and emotionally resonant experiences that leave a lasting impact on your customers. Whether you're a seasoned marketer or a newcomer to the field, this episode will equip you with actionable strategies to elevate your marketing and boost customer loyalty. Tune in to level up your marketing knowledge! 

Listen in for:

[01:41 - 06:26] 🥲 Great customer experience stories

[08:23 - 12:36] 🗝️ Where to begin when building out your experience-focused strategy

[14:03 - 16:49] ⚒️ Breaking down the silos between marketing, sales, and service

[20:12 - 23:07] 🧩 Is the tech you use actually enhancing customer experiences?

[27:28 - 31:24] 🗣 Ask your customers for feedback

Unravel the truth behind personalized marketing. In this enlightening episode of Level Up, Jordan and Laura lay out the truth behind common misconceptions surrounding personalization.

They explore the power of data-driven marketing, sharing insights and expert tips to help you navigate the exciting and not-so-scary world of personalized experiences for your customers. From understanding the value of data transparency to embracing small wins and ambitious goals, these two provide actionable advice for marketers of all levels. So tune in and discover how to create meaningful connections with your audience through personalization.

Listen in for:

[09:01 - 13:55] 💡Personalization Myth #1: Data has to be perfect to be personalized

[14:08 - 18:45] Personalization Myth #2: I don't have enough data on my prospects or customers to personalize the customer experience

[19:52 - 24:29] 💥 Personalization Myth #3: I need every piece of content ready to deliver a personalized experience

[25:08 - 29:07] 🪄 Personalization Myth #4: You don't have a large enough team to focus on personalization

[30:28 - 35:52] 🧟 Personalization Myth #5: Personalization can be creepy, I don't want to scare customers away

[38:29 - 40:22] 🧩 Personalization Best Practices

Unleash the Art of Storytelling:  In this thought-provoking episode of the Level Up podcast, join Laura and Tyler to discover how to differentiate your brand in a sea of competition by crafting compelling narratives. We unravel the secrets behind successful storytelling and explore the power of crafting amazing customer experiences with dynamic stories that put your customers at the center of your brand.

If you’ve been online at any time this past year, you’ve most likely heard of how revolutionary many find generative artificial intelligence (AI) to be. Being able to generate written works and images in distinct styles, it’s easy to see how it can dramatically improve marketers’ productivity. But is AI something you can truly “set and forget?” 

In this Level Up episode, our hosts, Joe Kaltenthaler (Sr. Manager, Data/Identity Practice) and Laura Madden (Sr. Manager, Marketing Strategy & Services) discuss the current benefits and limitations of generative AI and how marketers can become better AI prompters to help automate the brainstorming process, strengthen the relevancy of their messaging, and personalize the customer experience.  

Ensuring your marketing strategy is innovative can feel overwhelming as it can take a massive amount of creativity and problem-solving. But innovations can be small and build on top of each other to craft truly innovative and unique customer experiences.

In this Level Up episode, our special guest Jenna Giles (Associate Principal Digital Designer) joins Laura Madden (Sr. Manager of Marketing Strategy and Services) and Jordan Kraus(Client Success Partner) to discuss how Lev and Huber Engineering worked together to use Huber Engineering's dynamic, innovative content to create hyper-personalized email campaigns.

Customers are constantly bombarded with ads and offerings every day, encouraging them to continually buy new products and services. But with so much noise in today's market, how can marketers and sales team increase their understanding of what encourages a customer to make a purchase?

In this Level Up episode, join Jordan Kraus (Client Success Partner) and Tyler Williams (Managing Sales Director) as they break down why people make subjective decisions and then find objective reasoning to support their purchases. As well, they provide some best-in-class tips on how marketing and sales teams can ensure they are meeting their customers where they are emotionally throughout their buyer's journey.

As technology has continued to rapidly evolve and enable high-quality experiences, we’ve seen the demand for dynamic customer experiences grow. Still, many marketing teams find themselves using outdated technology and processes that are hindering them from providing more personalized experiences.   

In this Level Up episode, Jordan Kraus (Client Success Partner) and Joe Kaltenthaler (Senior Manager of Lev's Data/Identity Practice) as they outline five practical tips that can help you stay informed on evolving customer expectations and optimize your marketing operations to empower experiences that exceed these expectations.