The Agile Brand with Greg Kihlström®: Expert Mode Marketing Technology, AI, & CX

WIth consumers increasingly skeptical of advertising, what's the real difference between a brand that's being genuinely helpful and one that's just being creepy?

Agility requires brands to not just react to consumer behavior, but to anticipate it with smarter technology. It’s about shifting from broad assumptions to a nuanced understanding of intent, especially when economic uncertainty changes the rules of engagement.

Today we are here at eTail Palm Springs, and we're going to talk about the evolution of performance marketing in an era of signal loss and consumer uncertainty. As traditional methods like third-party cookies fade away, marketers need new tools and strategies that are not just incrementally better, but fundamentally different in their approach to engaging customers and driving results.

To help me discuss this topic, I'd like to welcome back to the show Jaysen Gillespie, Global Head of Analytics and Product Marketing at RTB House. About Jaysen Gillespie Jaysen Gillespie is a seasoned product and analytics leader with over 15 years in Adtech and data science. As VP of Global Product Commercialization and Analytics at RTB House, he’s known for translating insights into simple narratives that marketers can actually use. Whether guiding global teams or speaking on stage, Jaysen has a knack for making performance results understandable and immediately relevant. His focus is always on what drives real business outcomes, not just what looks good on a dashboard. For him, data is only powerful when it leads to smarter decisions and measurable impact. Jaysen Gillespie on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jaysengillespie/ Resources RTB House: https://www.rtbhouse.com Take your personal data back with Incogni! Use code AGILE at the link below and get 60% off an annual plan: https://aglbrnd.co/r/c43e68ce5cfb321e The Agile Brand podcast is brought to you by TEKsystems. Learn more here: https://aglbrnd.co/r/2868abd8085a9703 Drive your customers to new horizons at the premier retail event of the year for Retail and Brand marketers. Learn more at CRMC 2026, June 1-3. https://aglbrnd.co/r/d15ec37a537c0d74 Enjoyed the show? Tell us more at and give us a rating so others can find the show at: https://aglbrnd.co/r/faaed112fc9887f3 Connect with Greg on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/gregkihlstromDon't miss a thing: get the latest episodes, sign up for our newsletter and more: https://aglbrnd.co/r/35ded3ccfb6716ba Check out The Agile Brand Guide website with articles, insights, and Martechipedia, the wiki for marketing technology: https://www.agilebrandguide.com The Agile Brand is produced by Missing Link—a Latina-owned strategy-driven, creatively fueled production co-op. From ideation to creation, they craft human connections through intelligent, engaging and informative content. https://www.missinglink.company

As a marketing leader, is your primary job to persuade human customers, or are you now preparing to negotiate directly with their AI agents?

Agility requires marketing leaders to not only react to market changes, but to become the primary architects of that change within the enterprise. It’s about transforming the marketing function from a cost center into the accountable growth engine for the entire business.

Today, we are recording from eTail Palm Springs, and we're going to talk about the expanding, and frankly, more demanding role of the CMO. It's a topic that’s front and center here at eTail, where many are discussing how marketing leaders must evolve beyond traditional brand stewardship to become true architects of change—driving cross-functional growth, owning the P&L impact of their investments, and steering the organization through continuous transformation.

To help me discuss this topic, I'd like to welcome, Ed See, Chief Growth Officer at Zeta Global. About Ed See As Chief Growth Officer, See leads the charge in accelerating the company’s growth strategy. His priorities include deepening CMO and c-suite engagement, demonstrating the transformative potential of Zeta’s AI-driven solutions, and helping businesses achieve measurable, high-impact marketing outcomes.  Bringing 30 years of practice to Zeta, Ed was most recently a Partner in McKinsey & Company’s Growth Marketing & Sales practice, focused on helping companies drive growth through modern marketing. While at McKinsey, he worked with large companies to identify growth opportunities and increase the value of their relationships with customers and consumers. His expertise includes digital strategy, digital marketing, growth and marketing analytics, segmentation, and advertising and marketing technology. Over the course of his career, Ed has advised some of the world’s major brands on how to apply new capabilities, analytics, and technology to improve their marketing and sales performance. Prior to joining McKinsey, Ed was a partner at Deloitte and held leadership roles at several other companies.   Ed See on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ed-see-496857/ Resources Zeta Global: https://www.zetaglobal.com The Agile Brand podcast is brought to you by TEKsystems. Learn more here: https://aglbrnd.co/r/2868abd8085a9703

Take your personal data back with Incogni! Use code AGILE at the link below and get 60% off an annual plan: https://aglbrnd.co/r/c43e68ce5cfb321e Drive your customers to new horizons at the premier retail event of the year for Retail and Brand marketers. Learn more at CRMC 2026, June 1-3. https://aglbrnd.co/r/d15ec37a537c0d74 Enjoyed the show? Tell us more at and give us a rating so others can find the show at: https://aglbrnd.co/r/faaed112fc9887f3

Connect with Greg on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/gregkihlstrom

Don't miss a thing: get the latest episodes, sign up for our newsletter and more: https://aglbrnd.co/r/35ded3ccfb6716ba

Check out The Agile Brand Guide website with articles, insights, and Martechipedia, the wiki for marketing technology: https://www.agilebrandguide.com

The Agile Brand is produced by Missing Link—a Latina-owned strategy-driven, creatively fueled production co-op. From ideation to creation, they craft human connections through intelligent, engaging and informative content. https://www.missinglink.company

What if the biggest friction point in your customer's journey isn't your checkout page, but the overwhelming paradox of choice you’ve intentionally created for them?

Agility requires not just reacting to consumer behavior, but proactively re-architecting the entire purchase journey based on what the data tells you they *truly* need, even before they know it themselves.

Today, we are here at eTail Palm Springs, and we're going to talk about tackling one of the biggest challenges in e-commerce: the high-consideration purchase. We'll explore how brands can move beyond simply offering endless options and instead use AI and behavioral data to create a guided, trust-based experience that actually simplifies decision-making and leads to conversion.

To help me discuss this topic, I'd like to welcome Dan Bennett, CMO at Furniture.com. About Dan Bennett Dan Bennett is Chief Marketing Officer and founding team member at Furniture.com, where he’s reshaping furniture retail through AI, data, and an open marketplace model. Since 2022, Dan has helped scale the company to 80+ employees across two offices, connecting millions of shoppers with hundreds of brands.Before Furniture.com, he was CMO at Packable, a Carlyle-backed e-commerce platform that grew into Amazon’s largest third-party marketplace partner and reached a $2 billion valuation. Earlier, Dan spent over a decade leading digital and brand strategy at McCann and Grey, driving growth for global names like P&G, Facebook, Microsoft, and Nike.Dan brings a focus on clear priorities, fast execution, and building teams that fuel sustainable growth. Dan Bennett on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/bennettdaniel/ Resources Furniture.com: https://www.furniture.com The Agile Brand podcast is brought to you by TEKsystems. Learn more here: https://aglbrnd.co/r/2868abd8085a9703

Take your personal data back with Incogni! Use code AGILE at the link below and get 60% off an annual plan: https://aglbrnd.co/r/c43e68ce5cfb321e Drive your customers to new horizons at the premier retail event of the year for Retail and Brand marketers. Learn more at CRMC 2026, June 1-3. https://aglbrnd.co/r/d15ec37a537c0d74 Enjoyed the show? Tell us more at and give us a rating so others can find the show at: https://aglbrnd.co/r/faaed112fc9887f3

Connect with Greg on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/gregkihlstrom

Don't miss a thing: get the latest episodes, sign up for our newsletter and more: https://aglbrnd.co/r/35ded3ccfb6716ba

Check out The Agile Brand Guide website with articles, insights, and Martechipedia, the wiki for marketing technology: https://www.agilebrandguide.com

The Agile Brand is produced by Missing Link—a Latina-owned strategy-driven, creatively fueled production co-op. From ideation to creation, they craft human connections through intelligent, engaging and informative content. https://www.missinglink.company

Agility requires a business to both react to market shifts while also building a foundational platform that allows it to scale globally without losing its local touch. It's about having the core infrastructure in place to seize opportunity, wherever it appears.

Today, we're going to talk about the principles of scaling a business from a local player to a global force. We'll explore how the role of a brand's primary digital asset—its website—is evolving from a simple storefront into a dynamic engine for customer experience and growth, and how to stay responsive in rapidly shifting markets.

To help me discuss this topic, I'd like to welcome, Daugirdas Jankus, CEO at Hostinger. About Daugirdas Jankus Daugirdas Jankus focuses on driving global growth and uncovering new opportunities in the fast-evolving digital landscape. With more than a decade of experience in sales, marketing, and business development, he brings a strong track record of scaling business operations worldwide. His insights span the transformation of locally established businesses into global players, the impact of shifting markets, and the evolving role of websites for both individuals and companies. Daugirdas Jankus on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/daugirdas-jankus/ Resources Hostinger : https://www.hostinger.com/1 This show is brought to you by Hostinger, a global all-in-one operating layer for businesses building and running online products. The company combines web hosting, domains, email, website and web-app creation, and business tools in a single environment, with artificial intelligence embedded across its products and operations. Hostinger develops its AI capabilities in-house, enabling rapid product iteration, automation of complex technical tasks, and AI-driven customer support.Start your online success now: https://www.hostinger.com/ Take your personal data back with Incogni! Use code AGILE at the link below and get 60% off an annual plan: https://aglbrnd.co/r/c43e68ce5cfb321e

Drive your customers to new horizons at the premier retail event of the year for Retail and Brand marketers. Learn more at CRMC 2026, June 1-3. https://aglbrnd.co/r/d15ec37a537c0d74 Enjoyed the show? Tell us more at and give us a rating so others can find the show at: https://aglbrnd.co/r/faaed112fc9887f3

Connect with Greg on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/gregkihlstrom

Don't miss a thing: get the latest episodes, sign up for our newsletter and more: https://aglbrnd.co/r/35ded3ccfb6716ba

Check out The Agile Brand Guide website with articles, insights, and Martechipedia, the wiki for marketing technology: https://www.agilebrandguide.com

The Agile Brand is produced by Missing Link—a Latina-owned strategy-driven, creatively fueled production co-op. From ideation to creation, they craft human connections through intelligent, engaging and informative content. https://www.missinglink.company

Most brands are investing millions in creating seamless, generous customer experiences. But what if a small fraction of your customers are exploiting that generosity, forcing your best, most loyal customers to unknowingly pay an 'abuse tax' through higher prices or stricter policies?

Agility requires moving beyond static, one-size-fits-all policies and embedding real-time intelligence into the moments that matter. It's about empowering teams to adapt not just to who the customer is, but what they intend to do right now.

Today, we are here at eTail Palm Springs and we're going to talk about a massive, and often invisible, threat to brand profitability and customer loyalty: post-purchase abuse. While brands have spent years optimizing the path to purchase, the moments that happen after the sale—returns, refunds, and support interactions—have become a significant source of margin leakage, pitting the goals of the CX team against the financial health of the business.To help me discuss this topic, I'd like to welcome, Breanna Moreno, Head of CX at NoFraud. About Breanna Moreno Breanna Moreno is CX Architect at NoFraud, where she helps ecommerce brands reduce post-purchase fraud and policy abuse while empowering customer experience teams to operate more strategically. With more than 13 years of experience building and scaling high-growth CX organizations, Breanna previously served as Vice President of CX and the first employee at True Classic, leading the support function through rapid DTC expansion and transforming it from a reactive cost center into a data-driven driver of brand performance. Today, she brings that brand-side perspective to NoFraud, serving as a bridge between fraud prevention technology and the frontline teams responsible for protecting revenue, loyalty, and customer trust. Breanna Moreno on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/breanna-moreno-183a8459/ Resources NoFraud: https://www.nofraud.com/ The Agile Brand podcast is brought to you by TEKsystems. Learn more here: https://aglbrnd.co/r/2868abd8085a9703

Take your personal data back with Incogni! Use code AGILE at the link below and get 60% off an annual plan: https://aglbrnd.co/r/c43e68ce5cfb321e Drive your customers to new horizons at the premier retail event of the year for Retail and Brand marketers. Learn more at CRMC 2026, June 1-3. https://aglbrnd.co/r/d15ec37a537c0d74 Enjoyed the show? Tell us more at and give us a rating so others can find the show at: https://aglbrnd.co/r/faaed112fc9887f3 Connect with Greg on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/gregkihlstromDon't miss a thing: get the latest episodes, sign up for our newsletter and more: https://aglbrnd.co/r/35ded3ccfb6716ba Check out The Agile Brand Guide website with articles, insights, and Martechipedia, the wiki for marketing technology: https://www.agilebrandguide.com The Agile Brand is produced by Missing Link—a Latina-owned strategy-driven, creatively fueled production co-op. From ideation to creation, they craft human connections through intelligent, engaging and informative content. https://www.missinglink.company