Jennifer Helfrich Mannion

Make it make sense. What is driving voters to support progressive-leaning ballot measures (think protecting abortion rights and raising the minimum wage) while voting for conservative candidates? My colleague Meisha Thigpen brings a behavioral lens to it. And the answer is kind of simple. As Meisha says, "few of us really understand how to “fix” the economy. Or Gaza. Or racism. I’d bet that even fewer people truly understand what their preferred political candidates will do about these issues". Whereas local issues are easier to understand and, importantly, easier to connect how the consequences will impact you and your life.

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Every business has two VERY distinct journeys: Buyers and Customers. Please don't fall into the trap of grouping everything into one journey and thinking it will be a catchall strategy. It won't work well, and your marketing will fall short. This blog only touches on the surface of the differences between the two, but I'd encourage all business owners and C-suite execs to take a read: https://lnkd.in/gi9HukRZ #marketing #customerjourney #buyerjourney #brandstrategy #marketingstrategy

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If you read (or listen) one book on positioning, make it April Dunford’s Obviously Awesome. I’m late to the April Dunford fan club, but I’m here now thanks to the recommendations from so many other #productmarketers. I’ve positioned 20+ products and this book felt like it created a framework of what’s inside of my head and added a lot of credible reasoning and experience for reference. It’s short (only 3.5 hours to listen to) and so worth it. And not just for marketers, but for anyone looking to uniquely position their product or services. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ 5/5 #bookreview #positioning #productmarketing #saas

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Even before we know the outcome of this election, seven key things stand out for brands. #brandmanagement #brandstrategy #presidentialelection J. Walker Smith https://lnkd.in/g8aRMVdH

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Anyone in my network in Kansas City? I have an event for you! Br8kthru Consulting’s Sales + Partnership Director, Cory Docken, is going to be presenting “AI in Action: Transforming Marketing” at an American Marketing Association, Kansas City event on Monday, September 24. This event will cover topics like what AI is, how it evolved, and how it can be used in marketing contexts. From strategy to content and beyond, AI has so many applications in digital marketing that are just waiting to be uncovered. #AI #AMA #MarketingStrategy #ContentStrategy #DigitalMarketing

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#Repositioning or #Rebranding? Often seeking the same goal, my latest story in Forbes breaks down the differences: https://lnkd.in/g-bXGcWB #rebrand

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The market has officially shifted from a lazy river to whitewater rapids (and it's about time). We're seeing a 50% uptick in referral-based business at Chief Brand Advisory (CBA). The species of engagements ranges from brand strategy, design, and identity systems to advertising, social content, go-to-market materials, pitch decks, and videos. Here's a list of the types of requests we've received in the last 30 days alone: ➕ 2 Global M&A Rebrand Assignments: Establishing a unified identity post-acquisition. ➕ New Brand/Product Launch: Introducing fresh, innovative products to the market. ➕ Agency of Record for a Major Marketer: Leading a brand refresh including messaging evolution, a new TV campaign, and social content. ➕ Later-Stage Company Shifting Focus: Moving from an acquisition-centric strategy to a balanced brand and acquisition focus. ➕ Updated Go-To-Market Materials: Repositioning a software company to target new audiences. ➕ Updated Pitch Deck and Founder/CEO Videos: Enhancing investor presentations and leadership communication. If you're a seasoned PM or Account Lead, Writer, Graphic Designer, or a .ppt/Keynote Samurai who develops investor presentations and can come in through a referral (someone who knows me), please reach out to [email protected]. It looks like Q4 is going to be incredibly busy. Whoot! #brand #brandbuilding #marketing #founders #mergersandacquisitions

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AI Tip for Copywriters: Ask ChatGPT to give you the 20 Worst Headlines it can come up with for your client. Its headlines often focus on the weaknesses of the product or brand. Now write copy that challenges those weaknesses.

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Harness AI To Harmonize Your Brand Voice: A Step-by-Step Guide https://buff.ly/453Js09

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I was thrilled to attend the MnSearch - Digital Marketing Networking Summit last week. For those of you who don’t know, MnSearch is Minnesota’s premier search and digital marketing network. We attended talks about AI, ABM, and CRO — oh my. Here are some of our top takeaways. ➡️ John Kocon learned a lot from Aleyda Solís in her talk, “The Impact of AI in SEO: How is it Going and What to Expect Next.” As you may have seen, Google unveiled — then walked back — its new AI overview in SERPs. This glimpse will allow us to better prepare and position ourselves for success in the future ➡️ Steve Sworsky learned that “content is for community, not a commodity” from Wil Reynolds’ talk, “How to Maintain Your Job Relevance in an AI World.” People are seeking out human interaction, like on LinkedIn and Reddit, more and more than ever before, which can — and should — guide our content. ➡️ Finally, I was reminded of a couple important lessons from Abby Gleason in her talk “CRO for SEOs: Optimizing for Conversions in an Era of Declining Traffic.” Always conduct testing before and after any sort of change to your site, and be confident in the story and narrative of what you see, not just the data. Did you attend MnSearch? What was your favorite session? Share takeaways below! #MnSearch #MnSearchSummit #ContinuousImprovement

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What’s kept me going in entrepreneurship for over a decade? The ability to create an environment like this 👇 A lot of people start working for themselves because they want freedom. IMO, one of the best things about starting and running a company for the last 11 years is the ability to create that freedom for others, too. It has been a privilege and a (big) challenge to learn what people need from their workplace—and how to make changes. Jenny Weeden and I have been running our internal NPS for a handful of years now and I’m not going to lie… I definitely shed some tears over the first couple of surveys. The NPS does exactly what it should: unearths the things in our workplace that people are unhappy about. When discovered, we set out to find the root of each issue, and determine how we can make change. Change, by the way, is an imperfect process, with bumps in the road, false starts, wins, and losses. Fast forward to this year’s NPS, we received our highest score yet thanks to the willingness of our team to be honest, to engage in meaningful conversations, and to make change together. We're still constantly evaluating our environment and I expect that we will be as long as the company exists. Thank you, team Accelity. 💛 There is no group of people I’d rather spend my time at work with. (Mostly remote, because that’s how we want it! 😇)

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Many #GTM teams are starting to focus on the cost of inaction (COI) -- something that Jen Allen-Knuth (Founder of DemandJen) talks a lot about. For example, Kantata's new report "Agency Transformation: The Cost of Inaction" focuses on key areas vulnerable to market changes including operations, client relations, talent management, and innovation. You can read the report at: https://lnkd.in/ehdbYAJD However, the COI stories they're telling are still industry and persona stories vs. the specific cost of inaction story for named accounts. This is something that we're starting to work on at Personal ABM: An Account-Based GTM Firm in partnership with ROI Selling. We are creating a cost-of-inaction calculator and putting together content solutions that will help sales and marketing teams tell a better cost-of-inaction story. If you're interested in learning more, put "COI" in the comments and I'll DM you with more info.

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Frustrated by LinkedIn’s New Organic Post Layout? Here are Five Ways Visual Communicators can Adapt and Thrive Recent layout changes to LinkedIn's news feed present severe challenges for visual communicators. The new layout shrinks organic post images to a "postage stamp" size and compresses headlines to less than 70% of their previous size, reducing the impact of visuals. Here are five workarounds to re-empower visual communicators. READ MORE: https://bit.ly/4cFaltU #VisualCommunication #LinkedIn #AdaptAndThrive #BrandForward

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The marketing org chart is evolving for the AI age. CMOs are reimagining their teams and processes to harness the power of artificial intelligence. New roles like AI Ethics Officer and Augmented Insights Manager are cropping up to ensure AI is used responsibly and effectively. Rigid silos are giving way to agile, cross-functional pods that enable seamless collaboration between humans and AI. These org charts of the future reveal marketing's metamorphosis as it adapts to an AI-driven world. I believe having an AI-fluent, agile marketing organization will be a major competitive differentiator going forward. It will be fascinating to see which new marketing roles and team structures become the norm in the coming years. Which potential new marketing roles or restructured teams do you think will have the biggest impact? https://lnkd.in/giT7evyq ___ I'm Lawrence Lo and I help #DTC & #ecommerce brands grow! Visit my website to learn more. Like + Follow + 🔔 for daily marketing news.

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While cookies are phasing out, retail media is ramping up to provide alternative opportunities to reach target audiences. (84%) US marketers said they are more likely to invest in retail media. #firstpartydata #retailmedia #nonendemicadvertising #advertising #adplatforms https://lnkd.in/gANqzZ85

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This is a great episode of The Rebooting - specific to publishers. While it touches on a lot, including the impact of AI driven search (we all saw that coming!) and the increasing value and importance of data, I found the discussion around audience & content curation particularly interesting ... as well as the evolving role of SSPs. Worth a listen on your commute. https://lnkd.in/gyc64cqk

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