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July 15, 2025 49 mins

Great marketing doesn’t start with a message; it starts with a mindset shift. If you want to make people feel something, you need more than a clever campaign. You need a story that invites them in and reflects something true.

That’s the magic of the “Assume That I Can” campaign, where simplicity meets significance, and storytelling sparks real cultural shift. In this episode, we unpack the power of that message with the help of our special guest, Mike Barton, VP of Corporate Communications and Content Marketing at AudioEye.

Together, we explore what B2B marketers can learn from building accessible experiences, confronting audience assumptions, and crafting stories that create real connection.

About our guest, Mike Barton

Mike is a marketing and communications leader dedicated to making the internet more accessible for all. As Vice President of Corporate Communication & Content Marketing at AudioEye, Mike leads marketing strategy, driving awareness and demand through blogs, social media, PR, video, and digital storytelling. Previously, at Adobe, he shaped content and executive messaging across Experience Cloud, Creative Cloud enterprise, and Document Cloud. With deep expertise in customer engagement and industry-specific storytelling, Mike excels at aligning business objectives with audience needs—crafting compelling narratives that resonate with C-suite leaders, end users, and decision-makers across industries.

What B2B Companies Can Learn From “Assume That I Can” campaign:

  • Start with the barrier, not the message. Before you talk about your product, talk about what’s standing in the way. The best campaigns don’t lead with features; they lead with mindset shifts. “If your audience already believed what you want them to believe, they'd be acting on it,” Mike explains. “What's the belief barrier that we need to identify and then either bring it down or address it?” Identify the roadblock first. Then your message has somewhere to go.
  • Simplicity scales. Forget the fluff. The most effective campaigns are clear, precise, and emotionally resonant. Mike says, “The best ideas don't need paragraphs, they just need precision.” That’s what made the “Assume That I Can” campaign so powerful: four words packed with meaning. Make your message easy to share and impossible to forget.
  • Build stories people can see themselves in. If your marketing is talking at people, you’ve already lost them. Great content invites the audience into the story. Mike explains, “Connection and empathy really manifest when the person you're talking to sees themself in the story.” Whether it’s about accessibility or enterprise software, lead with humanity. That’s what makes people care.

Quote

*“ Data informs, but emotion transforms. And it's not that these are two mutually exclusive delivery mechanisms…it's really bringing data and emotion together. And as we saw in the “Assume That I Can” campaign, it was through the voice of somebody who had Down Syndrome. So we're constantly bringing in blind people or deaf people, or people who have mobility issues and letting them tell their story.”

Time Stamps

[0:55] Meet Mike Barton, VP, Corporate Communication & Content Marketing at AudioEye

[01:13] Why the 'Assume That I Can' Campaign?

[03:04] Mike's Role at Audio Eye

[07:23] Breaking Down the 'Assume That I Can' Campaign

[11:33] How to Make Your Content Accessible

[15:13] B2B Marketing Takeaways from the Campaign

[29:44] Addressing Belief Barriers in Marketing

[31:58] Connecting Through Empathy and Storytelling

[33:09] Marketing Strategy at Audio Eye

[35:09] The Importance of Accessibility in Digital Experiences

[36:02] Combining Data and Emotion for Impact

[46:00] Final Thoughts and Takeaways

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