During his acceptance speech as ANA’s 2024 B2B Marketer of the Year, Cigna Group CMO Lou Aversano issued a call-to-action for the marketing community: It’s time for marketers to respect consumers’ ability to use facts, evidence, and reason to come to their own conclusions. He joined the On Scope podcast to discuss this idea further, outlining some of the issues that seem to plague marketers and prevent them from getting out of their own way. Along with host Mike Berberich, Lou covered the ways in which marketers have lost the plot on branding, why marketers seem to be chasing their own tail looking for the next innovation, and what is the best path forward for the industry.

On Marketing News You Might Have Missed, Mike and show producer Ryan Dinger discussed a Forbes editorial that outlined the reasons why a chief of staff might be the most important hire marketing teams can make right now.

Looking to get a hands-on walkthrough of Agile sprint execution, with real exercises and expert guidance to help your team move smarter and faster? Then you’ll want to sign for the ANA’s Agile 101 Virtual 90-Minute Workshop by visiting www.ana.net/agileburst.

The On Scope team would love to hear from you! If you have a topic or guest idea for the show, you can email us at onscope@ana.net.

Andrew Lipsman is an expert on retail media and other key technological trends in the media, advertising, and commerce ecosystem. He is also a self-described “AI skeptic” who joined the show to share a cautionary tale around the increasingly popular technology. He and host Mike Berberich made the case for why the marketing and business world might be overhyping AI, covering what laypeople typically misunderstand about it, why marketers and executives are so eager to embrace AI despite transparency issues, and Andrew’s concerns about agentic AI, which is powered by black box algorithms. The conversation wrapped with some of the AI functions Andrew believes have real, tangible value right now.

On “Marketing News You Might Have Missed,” Mike and show producer Ryan Dinger discussed a concerning report that shows marketing and advertising jobs shrunk again in April, marking the fifth straight month for this trend. The pair covered how this ongoing story might create an environment in which brand-side marketers and agency pros are reticent to take creative risks, an unfortunate development when brave decision making is key to standing out from the competition.

Did your brand develop a campaign that built authentic relationships with diverse audiences and drove real business growth last year? Submit it for consideration in the ANA’s Multicultural and Inclusive Marketing Excellence Awards by visiting www.anamulticulturalawards.org.

The On Scope team would love to hear from you! If you have a topic or guest idea for the show, you can email us at onscope@ana.net.

Starting a new brand from scratch might sound like a dream to some marketers and a nightmare to others. But it is exactly what Sherry Graziano was tasked with when she signed on as head of digital, client experiences, and marketing at Truist Bank back in 2019, right as the company was formed from a merger between BB&T and SunTrust Banks. She joined On Scope host Mike Berberich to discuss how she tackled the challenge head on, capitalizing on the opportunity to shape a new brand in her vision. The pair discussed the advantages of disadvantages of launching a brand from zero, how Sherry approached imbuing the new Truist brand through every customer touchpoint, how her team was able to pivot when the pandemic happened just before launch, and Sherry’s tips for managing the emotions and discomfort that came from the massive change of merging two already existing organizations.

On “This Week in ANA Magazine,” editor Matthew Schwartz joined the show to spotlight a new story on the new media landscape, which is being driven by the rise of news influencers and is changing how people — and particularly young people — engage with content in general. This new reality is forcing brands to lean into more weird content and a trend called “unhinged marketing.” In light of this new trend, Mike and show producer Ryan Dinger discussed some of their favorite examples of unhinged marketing.

Learn more about the ANA’s on-demand, self-paced Brand-Building Certificate Program and sign up by visiting www.ana.net/brandcertificate.

The On Scope team would love to hear from you! If you have a topic or guest idea for the show, you can email us at onscope@ana.net.

Doug Zarkin has spent his career helping brands deliver experiences that make them impossible to ignore. His book, Moving Your Brand Out of The Friend Zone, offers a master class on nuanced strategies that elevate the brand beyond surface-level connections to deeper, more engaged customer relationships. He joined host Mike Berberich to discuss how brands can empower frontline customer service employees to make empathetic choices when dealing with unhappy customers, what many brands get wrong in their approach to customer service, and how to communicate the importance of quality customer interactions at every touchpoint to the C-suite.

On “Marketing News You Might Have Missed,” Mike and show producer Ryan Dinger discussed a PQ Media report that suggests media might be facing an extinction level event and hypothesized what brands might do to succeed should traditional and digital media no longer be the boon for marketing that it once was.

Don’t miss your chance to attend marketing’s premier annual event! Check out the agenda and register for the 2025 ANA Masters of Marketing Conference by visiting www.ana.net/masters.

The On Scope team would love to hear from you! If you have a topic or guest idea for the show, you can email us at onscope@ana.net.

USAA has been putting on a clinic when it comes to PR and marketing collaboration. In this episode, USAA CMO Francesco Lagutaine and Chief Corporate Affairs Officer Lindsey O’Neill joined the show to give listeners an inside look at what the secret to their success is, especially when so many brands are falling short on getting marketing and PR in sync. Along with host Mike Berberich, the duo discussed the origins of the marketing-PR disconnect, how middle managers and associates can affect upward cultural change, and the brand’s annual Army Navy Game activation, which is a masterclass in communications execution.

On “This Week in ANA Magazine,” IBM’s new large language model tool, dubbed “Brand Brain,” is raising some eyebrows, but it might be a bellwether for some very powerful AI-powered applications that will soon be added to the marketer’s toolbelt.

If you’re an ANA member who wants to learn more about how to get the most out of your membership, you can register for the complimentary “Unlocking the Power of ANA Membership” webinar by visiting www.ana.net/mem-webinar.

The On Scope team would love to hear from you! If you have a topic or guest idea for the show, you can email us at onscope@ana.net.

Anne Bahr Thompson is an accomplished author and a brand purpose pioneer. In her book, Do Good: Embracing Brand Citizenship to Fuel Both Purpose and Profit, she deftly laid out the case for purpose and provided valuable insights for how brands can better execute on it. She joined host Mike Berberich in the ANA Studio to discuss how brands are currently failing to meet the moment on the purpose front. The pair discussed how brands are coming up short, practical advice for marketers to navigate the current social climate, and a few brands Anne believes are excelling with purpose right now.

On “Marketing News You Might Have Missed,” Mike and show producer Ryan Dinger discussed research that shows most consumers will abandon a brand after just two negative experiences.

If you're an ANA Member, you can learn about the cornucopia of "MemBens" (Member Benefits for the uninitiated) at www.ana.net/mem-webinar

The On Scope team would love to hear from you! If you have a topic or guest idea for the show, you can email us at onscope@ana.net.

Rich Antoniello has been making waves in the music industry for the last 20 years. But his latest venture with UPROXX Studios might just upend the way marketers think about branded content and music entirely. He joined host Mike Berberich to discuss all things marketing and music, including why many brands seem to get it wrong when it comes to working with musicians, how unexpected partnerships might be a powerful way forward, and what the future of IP looks like in branded content. The pair also looked at an activation UPROXX did with Qualcomm and popular electronic music duo ODESZA, which left attendees literally crying tears of joy.

On “This Week in ANA Magazine,” editor Matthew Schwartz joined the show to discuss a new story on what might be a disturbing new trend: fractional CMOs. Find out what they are and what their rapid adoption might mean for the industry going forward.

To learn more about the 2025 ANA Digital and Social Media Conference, explore the agenda, and register, visit www.ana.net/2025digital.

The On Scope team would love to hear from you! If you have a topic or guest idea for the show, you can email us at onscope@ana.net.

As the founder of MLA Consulting, Maarten Albarda is a bit like a doctor for brands. He’s looking beyond the surface-level symptoms that slow down the marketing practice and aiming to get to the root cause of disorganization and inefficiency. He joined host Mike Berberich to discuss his approach for “diagnosing” the issues hampering his clients and dove into the steps he then takes to make their marketing organization run more smoothly. The pair also discussed the most common barriers to efficiency among marketing teams and their partners and approaches for measuring the “how” of marketing.

On Scope producer Ryan Dinger also joined the show to share an exciting update and to discuss a new “rule” for listeners.

To check out the full agenda and register for the 2025 ANA In-House Agency Conference, presented by Monday.com, visit www.ana.net/2025in-house.

The On Scope team would love to hear from you! If you have a topic or guest idea for the show, you can email us at onscope@ana.net.