What is treatonomics and how is it useful for marketing? Find out in today's episode!

Remember to make it easy and stress free for your consumer. That's what it is all about!

SOURCES:

https://www.cnbc.com/2025/08/09/from-lipsticks-to-concerts-the-treatonomics-trend-is-booming.html

https://www.linkedin.com/news/story/the-treatonomics-trend-explained-6494332/

https://www.msn.com/en-us/money/personalfinance/treatonomics-how-small-luxuries-became-america-s-big-coping-mechanism/ar-AA1KobCN

The Marketing Gateway is a weekly podcast hosted by Sean in St. Louis (Sean J. Jordan, President of https://www.researchplan.com/) and featuring guests from the St. Louis area and beyond.

Every week, Sean shares insights about the world of marketing and speaks to people who are working in various marketing roles – creative agencies, brand managers, MarCom professionals, PR pros, business owners, academics, entrepreneurs, researchers and more!

The goal of The Marketing Gateway is simple – we want to build a connection between all of our marketing mentors in the Midwest and learn from one another! And the best way to learn is to listen.

And the next best way is to share!

For more episodes: http://themarketinggateway.com/

Copyright 2025, The Research & Planning Group, Inc.

The heyday of influencer marketing may be over in 2026!

Today we are discussing the impact of AI and bots on the industry and why brands need to rethink their strategies.

Important insight: Focus on real relationships, not vanity metrics!

SOURCES:

https://abcnews.go.com/GMA/Culture/tilly-norwood-creator-responds-fears-over-AI-actors/story?id=128262727

https://www.404media.co/hack-reveals-the-a16z-backed-phone-farm-flooding-tiktok-with-ai-influencers/ (FULL: https://archive.ph/20uwc)

https://www.fraud0.com/resources/tiktok-bots-fake-accounts-scam/

https://www.vogue.com/article/from-labubus-to-brain-rot-how-2025-unfolded-on-tiktok

https://www.tbsnews.net/economy/corporates/tiktok-releases-q1-2025-community-guidelines-1196201

https://clickpatrol.com/tiktok-bots-explained-how-fake-followers-and/

The Marketing Gateway is a weekly podcast hosted by Sean in St. Louis (Sean J. Jordan, President of https://www.researchplan.com/) and featuring guests from the St. Louis area and beyond.

Every week, Sean shares insights about the world of marketing and speaks to people who are working in various marketing roles – creative agencies, brand managers, MarCom professionals, PR pros, business owners, academics, entrepreneurs, researchers and more!

The goal of The Marketing Gateway is simple – we want to build a connection between all of our marketing mentors in the Midwest and learn from one another! And the best way to learn is to listen.

And the next best way is to share!

For more episodes: http://themarketinggateway.com/

Copyright 2025, The Research & Planning Group, Inc.

Are you still chasing the first page of Google? With AI searches taking over, being on page one isn’t enough anymore! 

Remember: Established brands have an edge, but new players need to innovate fast!

This is the final part of my series this week, but tune in next week as we look forward to 2026!

SOURCES:

https://www.mckinsey.com/capabilities/growth-marketing-and-sales/our-insights/new-front-door-to-the-internet-winning-in-the-age-of-ai-search

https://www.getpassionfruit.com/blog/are-ai-search-referrals-the-new-clicks

The Marketing Gateway is a weekly podcast hosted by Sean in St. Louis (Sean J. Jordan, President of https://www.researchplan.com/) and featuring guests from the St. Louis area and beyond.

Every week, Sean shares insights about the world of marketing and speaks to people who are working in various marketing roles – creative agencies, brand managers, MarCom professionals, PR pros, business owners, academics, entrepreneurs, researchers and more!

The goal of The Marketing Gateway is simple – we want to build a connection between all of our marketing mentors in the Midwest and learn from one another! And the best way to learn is to listen.

And the next best way is to share!

For more episodes: themarketinggateway.com

Copyright 2025, The Research & Planning Group, Inc.

Is email marketing becoming obsolete?

Join us as we uncover the harsh truth about email engagement in today’s digital world!

From spam filters to inbox blindness, it’s clear that we need to adapt!

This is part 4 of my 5 part series!

The Marketing Gateway is a weekly podcast hosted by Sean in St. Louis (Sean J. Jordan, President of https://www.researchplan.com/) and featuring guests from the St. Louis area and beyond.

Every week, Sean shares insights about the world of marketing and speaks to people who are working in various marketing roles – creative agencies, brand managers, MarCom professionals, PR pros, business owners, academics, entrepreneurs, researchers and more!

The goal of The Marketing Gateway is simple – we want to build a connection between all of our marketing mentors in the Midwest and learn from one another! And the best way to learn is to listen.

And the next best way is to share!

For more episodes: https://www.youtube.com/@TheMarketingGateway

Copyright 2025, The Research & Planning Group, Inc.

Feeling overwhelmed by AI hype? 

In today's episode, we unpack the reality of AI’s impact on marketing and introduce the idea of Authentic Humanity.

Authenticity is key in building trust with customers. 

AI can be a tool, but it’s not replacing the human touch anytime soon! 

This is part 3 of my 5 part series this week!

SOURCES:
https://aimagazine.com/news/mit-why-95-of-enterprise-ai-investments-fail-to-deliver

The Marketing Gateway is a weekly podcast hosted by Sean in St. Louis (Sean J. Jordan, President of https://www.researchplan.com/) and featuring guests from the St. Louis area and beyond.

Every week, Sean shares insights about the world of marketing and speaks to people who are working in various marketing roles – creative agencies, brand managers, MarCom professionals, PR pros, business owners, academics, entrepreneurs, researchers and more!

The goal of The Marketing Gateway is simple – we want to build a connection between all of our marketing mentors in the Midwest and learn from one another! And the best way to learn is to listen.

And the next best way is to share!

For more episodes: https://www.youtube.com/@TheMarketingGateway

Copyright 2025, The Research & Planning Group, Inc.

In today's episode, we dive into how major brands like Disney, Southwest Airlines, and Target strayed from their core values and faced the fallout.

The lesson? Staying true to your brand matters more than short-term gains!

This is part 2 of my 5 part series this week!

SOURCES:
https://metro.co.uk/2025/12/20/airline-starts-charging-double-plus-size-passengers-25651583/

https://www.cnbc.com/2025/03/04/target-outlines-plans-to-grow-sales-by-15-billion-by-2030.html

https://www.forbes.com/sites/pamdanziger/2025/12/15/target-withstood-dei-boycotts-to-show-signs-of-reputation-recovery/

The Marketing Gateway is a weekly podcast hosted by Sean in St. Louis (Sean J. Jordan, President of https://www.researchplan.com/) and featuring guests from the St. Louis area and beyond.

Every week, Sean shares insights about the world of marketing and speaks to people who are working in various marketing roles – creative agencies, brand managers, MarCom professionals, PR pros, business owners, academics, entrepreneurs, researchers and more!

The goal of The Marketing Gateway is simple – we want to build a connection between all of our marketing mentors in the Midwest and learn from one another! And the best way to learn is to listen.

And the next best way is to share!

For more episodes: https://www.youtube.com/@TheMarketingGateway

Copyright 2025, The Research & Planning Group, Inc.

In 2025, many brands like Apple TV and Microsoft made subtle changes that improved their image!

But then there are brands like the Philadelphia Museum of Art that learned the hard way that if you don’t engage your community, you might end up worse than you were before!

This is part 1 of a 5 part series I'm doing this week!

SOURCES:

https://www.dezeen.com/2025/12/02/rebrands-logo-2025/

https://www.fastcompany.com/91459850/7-designers-on-the-most-influential-rebrands-of-2025

https://techcrunch.com/2025/10/29/grammarly-rebrands-to-superhuman-launches-a-new-ai-assistant/

https://www.fastcompany.com/91375345/la-z-boy-rebrand-new-logo

https://hyperallergic.com/people-really-hate-the-philadelphia-art-museum-rebrand/

https://apnews.com/article/cracker-barrel-new-logo-why-ceo-stock-c64a8ae259cc1bcaa27aae89df56c961

The Marketing Gateway is a weekly podcast hosted by Sean in St. Louis (Sean J. Jordan, President of https://www.researchplan.com/) and featuring guests from the St. Louis area and beyond.

Every week, Sean shares insights about the world of marketing and speaks to people who are working in various marketing roles – creative agencies, brand managers, MarCom professionals, PR pros, business owners, academics, entrepreneurs, researchers and more!

The goal of The Marketing Gateway is simple – we want to build a connection between all of our marketing mentors in the Midwest and learn from one another! And the best way to learn is to listen.

And the next best way is to share!

For more episodes:

https://www.youtube.com/@TheMarketingGateway

Copyright 2025, The Research & Planning Group, Inc.

AI can’t do it all!

Did you know an AI named Claudius was tasked with running a vending machine and failed spectacularly? From selling products at a loss to bizarre identity claims, this episode highlights the amusing (and concerning) limitations of AI.

SOURCE: https://www.anthropic.com/research/project-vend-1

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The Marketing Gateway is a weekly podcast hosted by Sean in St. Louis (Sean J. Jordan, President of https://www.researchplan.com/) and featuring guests from the St. Louis area and beyond.

Every week, Sean shares insights about the world of marketing and speaks to people who are working in various marketing roles - creative agencies, brand managers, MarCom professionals, PR pros, business owners, academics, entrepreneurs, researchers and more!

The goal of The Marketing Gateway is simple - we want to build a connection between all of our marketing mentors in the Midwest and learn from one another! And the best way to learn is to listen.

And the next best way is to share!

For more episodes: https://www.themarketinggateway.com

Copyright 2025, The Research & Planning Group, Inc.

Today, I'm speaking with the 2 people that help keep this show going, Trish Mertens and Holly Wooten!

Trish is in charge of scheduling for the podcast, but she is also our interview coordinator on the RPG side. Holly is the in charge of production, but also does data analysis on the RPG side.

I enjoyed getting to have a casual chat with them, while getting to introduce them to our audience, and I look forward to getting to record our 2nd part!

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The Marketing Gateway is a weekly podcast hosted by Sean in St. Louis (Sean J. Jordan, President of https://www.researchplan.com/) and featuring guests from the St. Louis area and beyond.

Every week, Sean shares insights about the world of marketing and speaks to people who are working in various marketing roles - creative agencies, brand managers, MarCom professionals, PR pros, business owners, academics, entrepreneurs, researchers and more!

The goal of The Marketing Gateway is simple - we want to build a connection between all of our marketing mentors in the Midwest and learn from one another! And the best way to learn is to listen.

And the next best way is to share!

For more episodes: https://www.themarketinggateway.com

Copyright 2025, The Research & Planning Group, Inc.

Ever thought about how superheroes could relate to research?

Superman and Batman represent the two distinct styles of insights research!

While Superman can embody quantitative analysis with his broad strokes, Batman dives deep into a more qualitative understanding.

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The Marketing Gateway is a weekly podcast hosted by Sean in St. Louis (Sean J. Jordan, President of https://www.researchplan.com/) and featuring guests from the St. Louis area and beyond.

Every week, Sean shares insights about the world of marketing and speaks to people who are working in various marketing roles - creative agencies, brand managers, MarCom professionals, PR pros, business owners, academics, entrepreneurs, researchers and more!

The goal of The Marketing Gateway is simple - we want to build a connection between all of our marketing mentors in the Midwest and learn from one another! And the best way to learn is to listen.

And the next best way is to share!

For more episodes: https://www.themarketinggateway.com

Copyright 2025, The Research & Planning Group, Inc.