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

What if the marketing funnel, the foundational model we've relied on for decades, is fundamentally flawed and actively misleading us about what our customers actually want?

Agility requires not just reacting quickly, but reacting with intelligence, which is impossible when your customer data is telling you the wrong story.

Today, we're going to talk about the shift from legacy metrics to a more intelligent, unified view of th...

What if the biggest barrier to your company's transformation isn't your legacy technology, but your legacy thinking about it?

Today, we are at PegaWorld 2026 at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, and, we're going to talk about the immense challenge and opportunity of enterprise modernization. Specifically, we'll cover:

- Translating a massive technology initiative into tangible improvements in the customer and partner experienc...

We're told AI will revolutionize marketing, but many leaders are finding it just creates more content chaos and operational risk. Is the answer more AI, or a fundamentally different approach to how AI is managed?

Today we are at PegaWorld 2026 at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, and, we're going to talk about:

- The shift from generative AI for content creation to agentic AI for end-to-end campaign execution.

- How to orchestrate m...

Nearly every marketing leader has been told to "do more with AI" — and many of them are now sitting on a pile of pilots, a growing bill, and not much to show their CFO. So why is it that adoption of AI in marketing is so high, while the number of organizations actually getting predictable returns from it is so low?

Agility requires the discipline to reimagine how work gets done before automating it — because pointing...

How many marketing leaders can confidently tell their CEO which specific AI use cases are actually driving revenue right now, and which ones are just running up the bill as experiments?

Agility isn't just about adapting to new tech like AI. It's about building the solid data and operational models that let you connect those innovations directly to business growth.

Today, we are here at CRMC 2026 in Frisco Texas, and we're goi...

What if the future of marketing isn’t about creating better campaigns, but about designing intelligent agents that render campaigns obsolete?

Agility requires not just adapting to new technologies, but fundamentally re-architecting our operating models to harness their potential.

Today, we’re going to talk about the move from personalization to agentic experiences and what that means for enterprise marketing.

We&r...

As brands invest billions in AI to personalize the customer experience, are they inadvertently creating a more transactional, less human relationship with their most valuable customers?

Agility requires not just the rapid adoption of AI-based solutions, but the wisdom to know when and how to apply them to enhance—without replacing—the human element of the customer relationship.

Today, we're going to talk about:

What if the biggest risk of AI in marketing isn't about job replacement, but about creating more fragmented, siloed work?

Agility requires more than just adopting new tools; it demands a fundamental rethinking of how teams collaborate and orchestrate work. When a technology like AI promises to accelerate individual tasks, true agility means ensuring that acceleration translates into collective momentum, not organizational fricti...

To keep up in a changing market, are you building a responsive brand, or are you constantly playing catch-up?

Agility requires more than just quick reactions; it demands a proactive understanding of evolving customer needs and emerging technologies. It also means building adaptable processes and systems that can flex with market demands.

Today, we're going to talk about navigating the complexities of modern business strategy...

Is the relentless pursuit of measurable ROAS fundamentally at odds with building long-term customer trust in a privacy-first world?

Agility requires marketers to move beyond legacy attribution models and embrace a more dynamic approach to measurement and monetization. This is especially true in the rapidly evolving mobile ecosystem, where the rules of engagement are constantly being rewritten.

Today, we're going to talk about the...

Twenty-five years ago, the goal was to build a website as a digital "single source of truth." In an era of AI agents and hyper-personalized realities, is the very concept of a single, universal brand "truth" now an obstacle to creating a truly relevant customer experience?

Agility requires not just adopting new channels and technologies, but fundamentally rethinking the role of content and data in a constantly shifting landscape...

What's the hidden tax your organization pays every time a creative asset moves from a design tool to a marketing platform, and how can you shorten the time to gain important insights about how your campaigns perform?

Agility requires more than just speed. It demands that we eliminate the friction between our systems and processes so teams can move from concept to customer with minimal translation errors and maximum impact. It al...

In an era of relentless pressure for quarterly growth, is it even possible for a large brand to stay true to its core mission, or is compromising a brand’s values just an inevitable part of achieving scale?

Agility requires more than just reacting quickly to market changes. It requires a resilient, long-term mission that acts as a north star, ensuring that every pivot and experiment builds enduring value, not just short-te...

What if the biggest obstacle to delivering a world-class customer experience isn't your technology or your strategy, but the very way your teams are structured and enabled to work?

Agility requires creating an internal environment that can fluidly adapt to—and even anticipate—the needs of the external customer.

Today, we're going to talk about: the often-overlooked foundation of successful business transformation:...

As a leader, you often spend so much time on the strategies and tactics that keep your brand growing that it’s difficult to keep up with what’s going on in the background with the platforms and the companies behind them.

That’s why I’m always glad to talk with our guest today, who is both focused on the business of CX as well as the business behind CX and the SaaS platforms driving so many customer experi...

With the half-life of professional skills shrinking every year, is the traditional model of corporate learning and development fundamentally broken, and what role should employers play in the new era of continuous education?

Agility requires a workforce that can adapt and acquire new skills as quickly as the market changes. This means the old models of education and professional development must be re-engineered for a world that...

Most leaders see Marketing Ops as the team that keeps the trains running on time, essentially the plumbers of the marketing department. But what if I told you they’re actually positioned to be the architects of your company’s most durable competitive advantage?

Agility requires moving beyond the transactional nature of campaigns and technology. It demands building a durable, responsive ecosystem around your brand, on...

As you race to adopt AI-powered shopping experiences, are you creating a new data black box that will make your customer journey less understood, not more?

Agility requires not just the speed to adopt new channels like generative AI, but the foresight to ensure these new touchpoints don't become blind spots in your customer journey. It demands that our data strategy evolves as quickly as our customer-facing technology.

Today,...

When you look at your five-year strategic plan, how much of it is dedicated to defending your current market share versus actively making it obsolete?
Agility requires more than just reacting quickly to market shifts; it demands the foresight and structure to initiate those shifts yourself.

This episode is brought to by CRMC. Drive your customers to new horizons at the premier retail event of the year for Retail and Brand mar...