Introducing Marketing Mindshift Academy

In this episode of the Vera Shafiq podcast, Vera discusses the importance of integrating AI into marketing strategies and introduces the Marketing Mindshift Academy. As we reach the midpoint of 2025, Vera highlights key statistics from the 2025 State of Marketing AI report, revealing that a significant portion of marketers are already experimenting with AI, but many face education and training barriers. 

The Marketing Mindshift Academy offers nine comprehensive modules designed to provide franchise and multi-location marketers with practical, AI-powered solutions for tasks ranging from data analysis to creative production. Vera passionately explains each module's value and encourages listeners to explore the benefits of structured AI training for improved productivity and efficiency. For more information, visit verashafiq.com.

00:00 Welcome to the Vera Shafiq Podcast

00:31 Mid-Year Reflections and AI Introduction

01:04 Introducing Marketing Mindshift Academy

01:34 The Importance of AI in Marketing

02:58 Addressing the Education Gap in AI

03:22 Overview of Marketing Mindshift Academy Modules

04:23 Detailed Module Breakdown

08:28 Addressing Common Objections to AI Training

10:07 Final Thoughts and Next Steps

Marketing Mindshift Academy - https://verashafiq.com/mm-academy/

The 2025 State of Marketing AI Report (Marketing AI Institute) - https://www.marketingaiinstitute.com/2025-state-of-marketing-ai-report

Connect with Vera on LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/vera-shafiq/

Episode Transcript

Vera Shafiq (00:16):
Hello everyone.
Welcome back to the Vera Shafiqpodcast.
This is the show where franchiseand multi-location pros can get
straight talk strategies thatyou can put to work today.
I'm your host, Vera Shafiq.
I'm thrilled that you're here.
It is almost halfway through2025.
We are halfway through the year.

(00:37):
I really hope that you've beenable to get some big wins under
your belt this year.
And I hope that your marketingteams are feeling energized and
excited about everything that iscoming up our way here in the
second half of the year.
I hope you've been able to testsome new things, whether that be
new digital channels newstrategies.

(00:58):
Maybe you've tried out some newtechnologies, maybe even dipped
your toes into some ai.
And speaking of AI, today we areunpacking Marketing Mindshift
Academy.
This is the brand new classseries that I built to help you
move from testing chat GPT, toactually running AI powered

(01:18):
marketing programs that savetime, stretch your budgets, and
make your results pop.
So just wanted to take a stepback and talk about why this
really matters right now and whyI created the classes.
Let's ground this in the realworld.
The 2025 State of Marketing AIreport just dropped recently.

(01:39):
This is a report that theMarketing AI Institute develops
and a few numbers jumped off thepage for me.
One of them was that 60% ofmarketers say that their teams
are piloting or scaling AIacross the organization.
So that's 60%, which is,probably not surprising, but at
the same time, it's easy to seethat this is on everyone's minds

(02:02):
right now, right?
82% list reducing time spent onrepetitive data heavy tasks as
the number one outcome that theywant from ai.
So I'll say that again.
Reducing time spent onrepetitive data heavy tasks is
the number one outcome thatmarketers want, or 82% of those

(02:23):
interviewed want from ai.
And also these marketers,companies are really
understanding and getting itbecause 61% of companies now
provide chat, GPT, either teamsor enterprise licenses to their
employees.
And just to give you a quicknote about who this survey asked

(02:43):
specifically, this was about1900 marketers who are members
of the marketing AI Institute.
So as we can see from thosenumbers, adoption is no longer a
question of if it's happening,but guess what?
Still blocking progress.
62% point to lack of educationand training as the top barrier.

(03:06):
And a sobering 68% say thattheir companies don't offer any
structured AI training at all.
That disconnect is exactly why Icreated Marketing Mindshift
Academy.
So what is Marketing Mind ShiftAcademy?
Think of it as a nine modulehands-on lab for franchise and

(03:26):
multi-location marketers whoneed practical wins.
Each class is live on Zoom.
And also if it's a group classand you prefer teams or you
prefer a different virtualconference platform, I'm happy
to accommodate that.
Most of the classes are 120minutes long.

(03:47):
The foundational one is 90minutes long.
They are camera on questions,welcome and completely
standalone modules, so you cantake one or you can stack them.
Or you can take them all.
And it's really an a la carteapproach to picking and choosing
the modules that are gonnaprovide the most value to you
and your team.

(04:07):
And so we'll work together inreal time using all of the AI
tools that I deploy and thatI've really found to be the best
tools for the job.
And you'll get the workflows asdownloadable templates at the
end of each session.
So let's take a look at eachmodule individually.
So the module snapshot.

(04:28):
Module one is Foundations AIBeyond Prompts.
We are gonna kick off byreframing AI as a strategic
asset and really understandingwhere AI can be slotted into
your daily workflows to providemore efficiencies, more
productivity, and just betterresults.
Module two is automating dataanalysis and reporting.

(04:51):
So if you've ever copied metricsfrom three separate spreadsheets
into one deck, or had tomanipulate data from different
sources in order to get the dataanalysis that you're looking for
or the report that you'relooking for, that is going to be
solved With this module, we'regonna automate those merges and

(05:12):
spit out stakeholder readyvisuals in minutes.
Module three is creativeproduction and personalization
at scale.
So we will use AI to build afull social ad set where the
headlines are localized for,multiple franchise locations.
And these will be doneautomatically using ai.
So no more copying and pasting.

(05:34):
Module four is data wranglingand Management.
So this is all about cleaning,de-duping, reshaping your data,
whether it be multi-locationdata or other performance data.
So potentially taking thingslike GA four, meta, Google point
of sale system, CRM data andputting them all together into a

(05:57):
kind of a system or a frameworkthat they can speak to each
other in.
And speaking the same languagein this one data set.
Module five is AI as a thoughtpartner.
So from pitch decks tounderstanding your audience or
your competitive market I willgo through some safe structured

(06:18):
ways to let an LLM co-writewithout losing your own brand
voice or brand identity.
Module six is computer visionfor marketing automation.
So we're gonna use.
The computer vision part of AItechnology to do things like
auto tagging UGC photos,flagging off-brand images,

(06:40):
checking storefront selfies thathave been taken by franchise
owners, for example, to see ifthey are compliant, things of
that nature.
Module seven is franchiseecommunication and education, so
we will use AI to auto draftperformance recaps.
That franchisees are actuallygonna read and schedule AI

(07:01):
generated training to make thatkind of communication feel very
human, but at the same time takethat heavy lift off of our team
members and really empoweringfranchisees in an automated way.
Module eight is building simpleAI powered chatbots.
So you'll train a QA chatbot onyour own F FAQs and on your own

(07:24):
brand information and knowledgebase so that support tickets.
The number of support ticketscan go down and your customer
satisfaction can go up.
And then finally, module nine isthe AI Marketing Playbook.
So using AI to create a playbookwhere strategy, analysis,

(07:44):
research, and then evenbudgeting and campaign structure
and setup is handled by ai, butguided by a human.
So those are the nine modules.
If you need more information,please go ahead and check out my
[e-mail], slashdash academy.

(08:08):
And I'd really love to hear anyfeedback that you have from me
based on what you're seeingthere.
There are some FAQs on mywebsite if you have other
questions.
Hopefully the FAQs will answerthem.
Otherwise, I'm happy to respondto an email or a message if you
have any questions or follow upsafter that.
And then finally, to address theskeptics in terms of objections

(08:32):
to putting your team or yourselfthrough a class like this.
Some people may say, Vera, myteam already plays with chat,
GPT.
What is there left to learn?
There's plenty left to learn.
Having a license, like the 61%of companies who do have a
license doesn't equal.
Process maturity or full usageof the platform and tool.

(08:54):
'Cause basically we're gonnamove away from that prompt
tinkering phase to audit proofworkflows and documented
governance.
Things that you're going to beable to use in a much more
robust and meaningful way.
Other objections I get are AIsounds great, but we are a
regulated industry.
Isn't it risky to use ai?

(09:15):
That's a big one that comes up alot.
And I'm gonna cover things likerisk mitigation and making sure
that you handle legal aspectsand all of that good stuff in
all of the prompts that you use,as well as the way that you use
these tools.
Another thing that I get a lotis we're swamped and we just

(09:36):
don't have bandwidth for AItraining.
But think of it this way, a twohour class could reclaim dozens
of hours per month.
So it's an ROI conversationessentially.
And I think most CMOs have wisedup to this and already see the
benefit and the value of this, Idon't think that we can say we
have no time for AI training atthis point.

(09:57):
Just two hours of a class isgoing to provide so much value
and ROI on your time that Ireally think it's a no brainer.
All right, that's the course.
The next step is really if youare one of the 62% who feel held
back by lack of training or ifyou're part of the 68% who are

(10:19):
still waiting for your companyto deliver the training.
You don't have to wait anymore.
Just take ownership.
Head to my website.
Check out the modules.
Go ahead and book your session.
It's a very, it's a soft bookingprocess, so you're not gonna put
down any money there.
And then you're just gonna letme know what you're interested
in, what dates you'd like totake the classes, and then I'll

(10:40):
get back to you to finalize allthe details.
I do have group rates available,so if you wanna bring your whole
team with you and create ashared language from day one, I
am happy to accommodate teams offive plus and I can do special
pricing for that.
Just really excited to share myknowledge, share all of the

(11:02):
information and experience thatI have gained over the past six
to eight months.
And.
Bring your team up to speed andhelp your teams to shine and
really use AI in a smart way.
So yeah, looking forward tohearing from you on that.
Marketing is sprinting towardsAI integration, whether we're

(11:23):
ready or not.
So my goal with this MarketingMind Shift Academy is simple
just to equip you to lead thatchange confidently, ethically,
and profitably.
Thanks for spending these 15minutes or so with me.
If this episode sparked an idea,please tag me, share it on
LinkedIn.
Subscribe to this podcast, sharewith your friends and colleagues

(11:47):
and let me know which module youare eyeing right now.
Until next time, keep shiftingthose marketing minds and
remember, put AI to work foryou.