Connecting the dots

The marketing skills gap (pt. 2)

In this second part of our conversation with Jan Montwill, Global Media Strategist at H&M, Precis' CMO Stefania Casciari Carter tackles the question underneath all the AI anxiety: did marketing teams ever really build the foundations that make automation useful in the first place? Haven't seen Part 1 yet? Catch it here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IxxOGstNXs4 [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IxxOGstNXs4]  In this episode, we dive deep into: * The marketing skills gap: why the deskilling of the industry happened long before AI arrived and why automation is just making it impossible to ignore * Marketing fundamentals in the age of AI: why the four P's (Product, Price, Place and Promotion) are still the only strategic framework the algorithm can't replicate * AEO vs SEO: why 90% of agentic search optimisation is just good SEO, and why the brands with strong organic foundations, PR relationships and YouTube presence are already ahead * The future of agencies: what Jan expects from agency partners in the AI era and why the ones evolving are thriving while the ones clinging to old models are struggling 📩 Get the bonus content  We asked Jan what agencies can learn from their clients and what clients can learn from their agencies. His answer on briefing might be the most useful thing in this episode. Subscribe to the newsletter to read it: https://www.precis.com/resources#newsletter [https://www.precis.com/resources#newsletter]  📚 Read the recap of this episode: https://bit.ly/4xjGK4f Chapters:  00:00 The AI Revolution in Marketing 03:23 Evolving Roles of Media Specialists 07:02 Control in an Automated World 09:03 The Importance of Marketing Fundamentals 11:26 Upskilling Marketers 14:20 AI's Impact on SEO and AEO 18:05 The Role of Agencies in the AI Era 22:52 Rapid Fire Round: Insights and Recommendations ---------------------------------------- Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy [https://acast.com/privacy] for more information.

The gap between platform data and business results (pt. 1)

In this episode of Connecting the dots, Precis' CMO Stefania Casciari Carter sits down with Jan Montwill, Global Media Strategist at H&M, to look under the hood of media execution at one of Europe's largest retailers. In this first part of the episode, we dive deep into: * The platform paradox: why following platform best practices blindly means you are prioritising their user retention and revenue over your own business growth. * The creative ad fatigue myth: why marketers refresh assets far too often, and why shifting budget from endless variations into working media behind a single strong creative yields much higher returns. * Measurement as an operating system: how H&M uses marketing mix modelling (MMM) and regression-based attribution (RBA) to build a holistic picture that aligns internal teams and satisfies the CFO. * Scaling enterprise logic for mid-size brands: how advertisers without massive budgets can leverage their agency as a golden ticket to access advanced econometric models and platform partnerships. 📩 Get the bonus content! We asked Jan a bonus question about moving past vanity metrics to measure true contribution to business outcomes. Subscribe to the newsletter to read his answer: https://www.precis.com/resources#newsletter Read the recap of this episode here: https://bit.ly/4fwtuTt [https://bit.ly/4fwtuTt] ---------------------------------------- Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy [https://acast.com/privacy] for more information.

How Personio wins on AI adoption, creative and marketing

In this episode of Connecting the dots, Precis' CMO sits down with Alex Venus, Director of Growth Marketing at Personio, to look under the hood of one of Europe’s fastest-growing B2B engines. While many marketing leaders feel overwhelmed by the pace of AI adoption, Alex argues that the real shift isn't about the tools—it’s about the team. As automation handles more of the execution, the role of the marketer is fundamentally changing from a technical specialist to a strategic conductor. We dive deep into: - Why Alex is moving away from hiring technical channel specialists and why "marketing generalists" are the key to scaling B2B in the AI era. -How Personio uses AI agents to allow buyers to research and book meetings on their own terms (even at 10 pm on a Sunday). - How to lead a high-growth team through the AI wave, balancing the evangelists with the skeptics while maintaining a "Care to challenge" culture. - Why you should "shut the laptop" for creative briefs and why LLMs can't help you find a fresh POV in a B2B sea of sameness. - Why 80% of your focus should be on demand creation and brand narrative, rather than just optimising demand capture. 📩 GET THE BONUS CONTENT What is the one belief about marketing that Alex has completely reversed in the last decade? We asked him a bonus question about the future of brand building that didn’t make the final edit. Subscribe to the newsletter to read his answer: https://www.precis.com/resources#newsletter ---------------------------------------- Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy [https://acast.com/privacy] for more information.

Why AI Overviews decreasing your traffic is actually an opportunity

In this episode of Connecting the dots, we sit down with Kristina Bergwall, SEO Director at Precis and a 14-year veteran of the search industry. While many CMOs are panicking over a "search apocalypse" and declining organic clicks, Kristina argues that the story is actually much more positive. It’s not about losing traffic; it’s about a massive redirection of value. By treating AI as a "premium filter" for your brand, you can stop chasing noisy clicks and start winning the customers that actually matter. We dive deep into: - The $12M replacement cost: Why we analysed four major industries to find where "missing" organic traffic is going—and why it’s actually a high-value real estate opportunity. - Agentic commerce (E-com): Why e-commerce brands need to optimise their feeds now to prepare for a future where AI agents help customers shop directly on the results page. - The "invisible churn" (B2B): Why gatekeeping your content is the biggest risk to your leads and how to ensure your brand makes the AI's shortlist. - The banking "penalty tax": Why missing out on AI summaries for high-value terms like "mortgage rates" forces you to buy that traffic back through expensive ads. - Healthcare’s authority gap: How to bridge the 67% citation gap by turning academic medical titles into the actual questions patients are asking. 📩 GET THE BONUS CONTENT How does a search professional transition from a "traffic driver" into a "trust curator"? We asked Kristina a bonus question about the future of the industry that didn’t make the final edit. Subscribe to the newsletter to read her answer: https://bit.ly/4pEx0gi 📖 READ THE FULL RECAP Check out the blog post for a short recap and actionable takeaways ---------------------------------------- Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy [https://acast.com/privacy] for more information.

Building a culturally relevant brand

Can a brand be too old to be relevant? Or too new to have a legacy? In this episode of Connecting the dots, we sit down with Alexander Matt [https://www.linkedin.com/in/alexmatt/], former Global CMO at Fjällräven and the strategic mind behind iconic brand moments at Adidas Originals and Levi’s. Many leaders feel the pressure to deliver short-term revenue, often at the expense of long-term brand equity. Alexander challenges the idea that "legacy" equals strength, arguing instead that cultural relevance is the only way to build a brand people will actually "fight for". We dive deep into: * The 3 pillars of relevance: Why you need community, a strong point of view, and radical consistency to stay ahead. * The Stan Smith relaunch: How Adidas took a discounted shoe off the market for a year to save its soul—a masterclass in internal alignment. * Commercial brand building: Why loyal, active consumers are the most profitable growth engine for your business. * Measuring what matters: Why you should ditch vanity metrics for NPS and active consumer growth. 📩 GET THE BONUS CONTENT What’s the one thing Alexander would do differently if building a brand from scratch today? We asked him a bonus question that didn’t make the final edit. Subscribe to the newsletter to read his answer: https://bit.ly/4pEx0gi [https://bit.ly/4pEx0gi] 📖 READ THE FULL RECAP Check out the blog post for a practical recap and applicable takeaways: https://bit.ly/45hMOhu ---------------------------------------- Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy [https://acast.com/privacy] for more information.