Building Brand Gravity Podcast

Steve Halsey: [00:00:00] In every industry, eventually you reach a moment where technology moves faster than trust.

Adam Gittins: AI, I believe, is going to be one of the great equalizers in the business world of our time.

Greg Ehm: It challenges a common marketing assumption that we have to trust the technology before we're gonna adopt it. It's kind of the complete reverse with AI right now.

Steve Halsey: Welcome to Building Brand Gravity. I'm Steve Halsey.

Anne Green: And I'm Ann Green. I'm glad to be back on the pod with you, Steve.

Steve Halsey: Same here, Ann. Same here. So one of the things we've talked about throughout this series is that in every industry, eventually you reach a moment where technology moves faster than trust, and that's, that's a topic we're hearing more and more.

And when that happens, organizations have to figure out how are they gonna bridge that gap [00:01:00] if they want their innovations to succeed. So today we're looking at that challenge through the lens of agriculture. And as many of our listeners may know, we have two agencies under our group, Morgan Meyers and GNS Business Communications.

And across both firms, our teams have spent literal decades helping companies across the agriculture and food value chain really introduce new technologies, everything from crop protection and seed innovations to precision agriculture, sustainability initiatives, uh, digital farming, and even now different ways to integrate artificial intelligence into their operations.

And like many of the complex sectors we focus on, in agriculture, adoption is not driven by marketing hype. It's earned through trust, proof, and real-world results on what I would call farms like mine

Anne Green: Mm-hmm. And I, I loved how you [00:02:00] framed that earlier, Steve, when technology moves faster than trust. I agree that's an incredibly important point for communicators and marketers, and really all leaders, uh, to reflect on right now, so all of our listeners.

And I think it crystallizes one of our key challenges and frankly, opportunities in this moment. But I also really agree with your observations about the agriculture sector. You know, we closely follow a number of different sectors right now, and I think agriculture is one of the most fascinating to study when it comes to AI because on the one hand, people often think of AI as something brand new, but agriculture, as, you know, some of our listeners who know this sector understand, has been using AI-embedded or driven technologies for a lot of years.

And you mentioned precision agriculture, but there's also robotics and drones and sensing technologies and also predictive analytics. Um, yet the underlying technology is evolving fast, and I think the bigger change is that [00:03:00] generative AI has suddenly become so accessible to almost everyone with a smartphone or laptop.

So that, that's a bit of the change now from what we've seen, and that's causing an explosion of new opportunities and tools and insights, but it's also causing a whole lot of noise to sort through, and it can be hard to know what to follow and what to trust.

Steve Halsey: Exactly. And you know, that's one of the reasons why Morgan Meyers recently conducted some proprietary research, and it was with farmers, ranchers, and ag retailers to better understand how they're actually using AI and maybe, probably most importantly, whether they trust it.

You know, and some of those findings were, were really, really interesting. You know, nearly half of farmers told us that they are already using general AI tools with some regularity to support their operations. But most really view it as still experimenting rather than really relying on it every day to make kind of [00:04:00] key decisions around the farm

Anne Green: Yeah, I, I noticed that too.

I mean, God, the research has so many data points in it that are pretty fascinating. But what stood out to me wasn't hesitation toward technology. You know, folks who are not connected to ag sometimes miss how incredibly advanced and tech-savvy this sector is. I think what stood out more to me, and I'm sure to you, was the distinction between, I guess, we'd say usefulness and trust, right?

So the survey shows farmers, ag retailers, they, they said AI is valuable. 84%, that's high, said it's delivering at least some value to their operation, but only a quarter, so that 25% or less, fully or somewhat trust AI-generated recommendations when it comes to operational decisions, which are really critical 'cause they only get, you know, a couple shots a year of those.

And that's a pretty remarkable gap, and it's one, frankly, we're seeing in many other sectors and more widely across society as a whole.

Steve Halsey: [00:05:00] Yeah, I mean, that really is such a remarkable gap, and when you dig deeper, you know, the reasons are incredibly practical. You know, farmers want AI just like the rest of us, help me save time, organize information, become better at my decision-making.

But they also want proof, and they want the transparency, and they want to understand where the recommendations come from and the rationale and experience behind them. And above all, they really wanna make sure that that human expertise remains part of the equation. You know, to me, that's a lesson, Anne, that, that expands beyond agriculture.

Anne Green: Absolutely, and you know, and whether we're talking about healthcare, which is a sector I'm working in quite extensively recently, or manufacturing, financial services, or agriculture, the challenge isn't simply introducing AI. I think we understand that now. It's creating enough confidence that people are willing to incorporate it into real-world decisions.

So at its heart, [00:06:00] this is a trust conversation, and that's exactly one of the topics we love to explore here on Building Brand Gravity.

Steve Halsey: So today we're gonna be joined by two people who see this from pretty complementary perspectives. So Greg Emm is one of our leaders in agricultural communications at Morgan Meyers, and he really helped shape this research.

And Adam Gittins brings the perspective of both a technology leader in this space and a farmer making these decisions every single day. So let's dive into what AI really looks like on today's farm, what every business can learn from how trust gets built.

Anne Green: Let's get into the conversation with Greg and Adam.

Steve Halsey: So today we're gonna talk about something that may be interesting for a lot of our listeners, and that's that agriculture may be showing every industry what successful AI adoption should look like. It's not just about replacing [00:07:00] people, and it shouldn't be about replacing people. It's people learning to trust AI through experimentation, proof, and human expertise.

So joining us today are two people looking at this challenge from very different but very complimentary lenses. We have Adam Gittins, who's president of HTS Ag, and our very own SVP of Agriculture at Morgan Meyers, Greg Aame. Adam, let's start with you first. For those who aren't that familiar with HTS Ag or I, I'd posit even precision ag, can you give us a little bit about what you do and how AI is, uh, coming into the work that you're doing from both a technical and a farms side?

Adam Gittins: Absolutely, Steve. HTS Ag provides high-tech solutions for agriculture. We've been in the, in the industry in precision agriculture now for a little over 30 years, back before precision agriculture was even an industry. But precision agriculture by definition is just [00:08:00] applying the right product at the right place at the right time and in the right amount.

And so if you think through utilizing technology to accomplish all of that, we're able to, to get a lower rate of fertilizer, a better outcome, we can take care of this land that we're farming, we can reduce the inputs, we can save some money. It's, it's really a win-win-win when we use technology in agriculture, and AI is just enhancing that

Steve Halsey: Oh, that's great.

Yeah, and, and Greg, like from, from your standpoint, where you, where you're sitting, you've spent decades helping agriculture brands earn trust. What made you and the team at Morgan Meyers decide that now is the right time to try and study AI and it, and its adoption?

Greg Ehm: Well, Steve, we saw a lot of discussion regarding AI, but not enough ground-level understanding of what was actually happening on farms and with [00:09:00] retailers.

As Adam mentioned, agriculture has been using AI-adjacent tools for years through precision ag, livestock monitoring, robotic milking systems. But what has changed is the visil- visibility and that accessibility to AI. It's, as we all know, it's much more direct, it's easier to access, and it is literally in our pockets every day.

So we wanted to separate the hype from the reality and understand how farmers, ranchers, and retailers are using AI today, what value they see in AI, and what concerns still need to be addressed about the technology in their mind.

Steve Halsey: Well, and, and that's what I think is gonna be interesting to the point that you both have made, is that for those that are not i- not as deep in agriculture, you may not realize how deeply embedded technology, um, already is.

And before we really dive into the findings, which I think is just gonna be a [00:10:00] fascinating discussion, Greg, maybe you can give our viewers and listeners just a quick overview of how the study was conducted so that they have a, have a quick frame of reference.

Greg Ehm: Yeah, absolutely. We actually partnered with a ref- research firm called Ag Access to conduct a proprietary quantitative research with US farmers, ranchers, and retailers.

So we surveyed 166 farmers and ranchers representing row crop, dairy, uh, cattle, and swine operations, along with 35 ag retailers to better understand how they're using AI, where they see value, what barriers they see existing with the tool, and perhaps most importantly, what it's going to take to build trust in AI moving forward.

But we also looked at it, you know, what are the differences between operation size, commodities, age to better understand where adoption is accelerating and maybe where that [00:11:00] skepticism still remains.

Steve Halsey: Well, there's, there's lots of good stuff to get, get in here, a- and I'm gonna, I'm gonna pull out my handy dandy little cheat sheet here, Greg.

But these, these were, uh, these were eight of the key findings, uh, that, that came out of the Morgan Meyers research. The first was that AI adoption is already meaningful with nearly half of farmers and ranchers using general AI to support their operation with some regularity. The second big finding was that AI usage though is still largely experimental.

Frequent use among farmers and ranchers was actually on par with what we're seeing in the broader US workplace. The third key finding was that general purpose AI outpaces ag platform AI, basically suggesting, um, that people are using it to do research and different things, but I'm gonna be really interested in Adam's take when it, when it's how does this really get into the embedded AI in [00:12:00] some of these programs.

Your fourth finding was that A ad- AI adoption is uneven by segments. Dairy producers and younger farmers, those under 35, and large operations were the highest users. Um, so that's gonna be a good area to get into. Your fifth finding was that farmer and rancher use of AI can largely be classified as practical and business-oriented, so I thought that was kind of interesting.

AI is viewed as promising but improvent, so there's perceived value in it, but there's a lot of distrust and skepticism. Your seventh finding was that retailers are much more cautious than farmers, lagging in adoption, value, and trust. And your final finding was that proof, transparency, and human validation are really needed to build trust.

And Greg, I'm, I'm gonna, gonna hit, hit you up in a little bit to get a little bit deeper in that. But, but Adam, out of those key findings, was there one that surprised you the [00:13:00] most?

Adam Gittins: Well, I think it falls well in line with what we are seeing. You know, AI has become a force multiplier, and it's well-suited to agriculture because we have a shortage of labor in agriculture.

And so utilizing AI to help make up and, and stretch or spread that gap- It, it really starts to make sense, I think. The, the idea that the embedded platforms are not as, as readily adopted as just the general AI, I don't know that I was surprised by that, but it, it makes sense when you say it because I think people are out using the tools like, you know, ChatGPT and Claude and some of the others that are out there, and they're doing creative things with them that a dedicated focused tool may not be able to do.

You know, we're thinking outside the box, and so we're using the tools in ways that the integrated technology or the integrated AI in some of these platforms may not be capable of.

Steve Halsey: So Greg, what about, what about your perspective? You've been doing agri-marketing for just a few years now. What, what really stood out for you as, as being, [00:14:00] uh, uh, distinct or, or really of importance for communicators and marketers?

Greg Ehm: The biggest surprise to us is that usage and trust are not moving at the same pace.

Anne Green: Hmm. Interesting.

Greg Ehm: I mean, as you said, you know, almost a l- nearly half of farmers and ranchers are using and experimenting with AI tools with some regularity, and 84% of those using AI tools, uh, believe it delivers some level of value.

But- N- only a quarter, or only a quarter of those farmers surveyed, around 26%, really trust AI-generated recommendations for real operational decisions. So this tells us that adoption and skepticism are happening at the same time. Farmers are willing to experiment, but they're not ready to relay... They're not ready to rely on AI until it proves [00:15:00] itself in real-world ag conditions.

And I would say that's not resistance, that's just farmers being practical.

Steve Halsey: Mm-hmm. Yeah, it's, it's a, it's a fascinating, um, challenge when you put it that way, when you're having rapid adoption but low trust. That creates a lot of risk for brands, doesn't it?

Greg Ehm: It, it does. I think it's a case, too, is that, you know, but at the same time, too, farmers don't really n- or necessarily need to fully trust AI to start experimenting with it, and that's what we're seeing right now.

Um, you know, they're using it in practical, low-risk manners and ways, um, but they're also comparing against their other data that they collect on their farm, their experience and their judgment. So, you know, when we d- did the survey, we asked, you know, "How are you using it?" Well, they're using it for product research and comparisons, helping them write [00:16:00] communications and email.

Uh, but they're also using it maybe to pressure test some of their ideas, maybe some of their plans, um, and maybe some of their decisions. And, but so the model maybe looks a little bit more like it's experimentation first, then we validate the results, we build confidence, and then trust gradually grows.

And, you know, I think that matters because it challenges a common marketing assumption that we have to trust the technology before we're gonna adopt it. It's kind of the complete reverse with AI right now. And if AI keeps pr- proving useful, that confidence is going to continue to grow, and that's how trust will start to form long term.

Steve Halsey: So Adam, what about, what about from your perspective? So if you have experimentation, you have trial, uh, maybe you have some second-guessing of, of the [00:17:00] recommendations. I mean, how is this, um, kind of adoption, uh, that Greg is talking about, rapid adoption, low trust, how does that impact how you guys work with customers or, or how you're delivering solutions?

Adam Gittins: Well, and I think that can be explained. If anyone that has used AI is aware that it can confidently lie to you. You know, that's something that's of significant importance. I think the idea here is trust but verify. Anything that, that AI puts in front of me, I wanna make sure I've got sources to back it up.

But that, that fits well with what we're seeing for, for the use case, where writing that email, it may be able to generate the first draft. We go back through and, and proofread and edit and finalize that, or building presentations or even, uh, crunching data. If I have an AI model do math for me, I ask it to show me its work.

I treat it like a school student would, and the teacher asking for the work to be [00:18:00] shown. Because it, it can get ahead of itself and not give you a correct answer, and that can really start to snowball the, the project in a bad way.

Steve Halsey: Yeah. And, and one of, one of the things that, that you had, you had mentioned, uh, when, when we had a quick discussion before we started, you were just talking about some of the ways you're using it, really practical win, meeting summaries, but even things like coding and, and ROI calculator.

So maybe you can talk a little bit from both, like the precision ag and ag tech side of things. What, what is this unleashing for you, and, and what lessons can those maybe who aren't in ag take from how you guys are really leading that adoption?

Adam Gittins: AI, I believe, is going to be one of the great equalizers in the business world of our time, and I say that because I have the ability as a small company to put out products or put out information to my customers that previous were unaffordable to me.

I can quickly sit down and I can use an AI tool to generate an ROI calculator. [00:19:00] You know, precision agriculture is heavily focused on the return on investment. If we can save 10 or 15% of the seed that they're going to plant by not over planting it, and we can start to look at all of these different angles and different approaches.

Well, we've for years used an Excel spreadsheet to show them the math and put their numbers in, give them back some information about how it impacts their operation. Well, now we have that in a web portal. It's generated in HTML. It's much cleaner. It's, it's much sleeker. It looks like a product that a much larger company would've put together with a web designer that probably got a lot bigger price tag than what the AI tool cost me, and that's the type of thing that really levels the playing field.

Instead of being a 100-person company, you know, a 10 or 15-person company now has the ability, a one-person company has the ability to use that AI tool and generate some of those more professional looking pieces to be out in front of [00:20:00] customers and engaging with them So that, that to me is just such a valuable tool.

When we've got that data in front of our customers in a meaningful way, we're no longer selling them a product, we're educating them on how they can make a change in their operation, and we're using technology to highlight technology.

Steve Halsey: Yeah, and I think, I think that's one of the things is, is ironically, w- whether you wanna use the term make you more human, but, but, but it allows you to really focus on, like you said, that service and that sale.

And you probably both heard the comment that, you know, it's not AI that's gonna put you out of a job. It's the person who knows how to use AI really well who's going to, uh, uh, put people out of their jobs. But I also just the point that you're talking about something that is such a deep expertise field like agriculture, you know, those that are willing to really adopt AI and use it, like you said, what you can do as a small company or an individual consultant versus what the large company can do is, is a [00:21:00] pretty significant shift.

I guess here's a question for both of you guys. Jump balls, whoever wants to take it first, and then the other can comment on there. What was one moment, uh, probably within the past six months or so, when you stopped and thought, "Wow, this AI thing is going to fundamentally change the way we work"?

Adam Gittins: Being a, a technical company, as you can imagine, we're working with technology that requires a lot of tech support.

And so as we roll this technology out to our customers, there's an awful lot of questions, there's an awful lot of troubleshooting, and it's a lot to know and to understand. Anybody that's worked on a computer can relate. We're just putting computers in tractors, so same concept as it relates to agriculture For years, it's been such a challenge to get my staff trained up and have them capable of handling that, that tech support for our customer base.

When someone calls in with a question, even some of the simpler questions, it's an awful lot to remember. So we've [00:22:00] used AI to build a tool. We fed it the information we want. We told it, "These are the... Th- this is the folder with the documents that you can go search, and you can look at this one website that's a, a portal for one of our manufacturers.

Outside of that, you're not allowed to look any other, any other place for information, and if you don't know the answer, make sure you state that if it, if it is not completely clear." That tool has generated a very, very clean way for my internal staff to be able to type in questions and offer that entry-level tech support to our customers accurately, repeatably, and with, with a high level of accuracy that previously I, I don't know how we could have built that short of a, a big investment in time to be able to get everybody up to speed on all those products.

Steve Halsey: That is a really, uh, amazing and practical example. Greg, how, how about you? What, what is, what, what in the past few months has just blown your mind a little bit here?

Greg Ehm: I think [00:23:00] one is, you know, in the, in the last, um, couple months is, is how some, how advanced some of these tools have become in a sense that, as Adam was talking about, how you can use it as a smaller organization or smaller firm to create a very professionally looking tool, um, you know, like he put together, uh, for, for ROI.

And I think that's where these tools have come, and that's what's really clicked with me the last two months, is just how advanced these tools have become and- You know, with a little bit of coaching and being the adult in the room, what you can create with these tools, um, it's just, it's incredible.

Whether it's, it's doing an ROI calculator, but also making that look professional that companies are able to do that on their own, and you didn't have that capability maybe six months ago.

Steve Halsey: Yep. Great. Yeah, Greg, you ment- you mentioned, uh, being the adult in the room. It reminded me of, uh, something Adam said the other day, where he said, [00:24:00] "Hey, I view AI as..."

How did you describe it? "A highly capable college intern." Ad- Adam, can you, you give a little more context to that? That's, that's just a really memorable anecdote in my mind.

Adam Gittins: Yeah, I think that's such a great way to think about AI. It's a tool that can really... I can hand off a project to the AI tool and give it some direction and s- you know, go start this for me.

Whether it's, uh, the most recent one just here within the past week, I was cross-referencing a couple of different Excel spreadsheets, and I wanna know how much overlap there is between the two of, uh, customer lists. So I have this list, and I have this list. How much overlap is there between the two of people that have done both things?

And I can dump, uh, dump both of those spreadsheets into the, the AI tool and have it compare those. It found a, you know, 33% overlap. And then just all of that type of information can be crunched and ran without me having to sit and spend the time staring at the screen doing it. But it, it will [00:25:00] do really good at starting a project.

Uh, created a PowerPoint presentation that I gave to a group of teachers here just a few days ago, and that presentation I, I prompted AI and told it the premise of what I wanted to teach to, or tell to the teachers, gave it bullet points, gave it some information, let it create and format the presentation, and it, it does a great job of getting us, you know, 70 or 80% of the way there.

It can do a good job of starting a project in the first five minutes and get over that writer's block even to start a presentation or an article, or just to get that information started and out there, and then I go back through, proofread, edit, adjust, change, and, and get to a final product. But we have an internal AI policy in our company, and I, I've told everyone on our team, "You are the adult in the relationship."

That to me is the most important thing that I tell them because we don't want, we don't want that college intern sending information out to our customers. We don't want it [00:26:00] to be the final set of eyes across anything that's produced or, or used. We want it to maybe start the project, and then for the human set of eyes to finish, confirm, and verify that project

Steve Halsey: Yeah, and I, and I think, I think that's very, very important.

I mean, when you read the news headlines, you know what sells is clicks, so it's this versus that. The Terminator robots, all our jobs are going away. But it really feels like this intentional framing of human versus machine isn't accurate, at least not in how you guys are talking about the way it's being used in ag, and neither of you seems to see it that way.

So Greg, is that what the research pointed out? Is that what it found?

Greg Ehm: The research does not point to human versus AI. It points to human plus AI. And when you look at how farmers make decisions, they typically use data, experience, and intuition, and it's kind of a combination of those [00:27:00] three. One farmer may rely more on data than the other two.

One may rely more on experience, and another may rely more on their intuition before making decisions, but they're gonna use all three of those. AI can just help strengthen that. It can help speed up the analysis, um, but it still has to be filtered through human judgment. But it also can help us, um, think through, you know, what, what does that data tell us, and compare that to my experience and my intuition.

And I think what came out in the survey is farmers do not want and do not anticipate AI to replace their human judgment and expertise and intuition. They just want it to help them make better and faster decisions. You know, and so I don't believe it's the, the future's not human versus AI. It's really human plus AI.

Steve Halsey: Yeah, I really, I really like that framing, Greg, that idea of data, experience, and [00:28:00] intuition, and you could see AI feeds into all of those different things depending upon what you wanna do. Adam has given great examples of data and ROI. You know, you could even catalog your experience. Heck, you could even just record audio of that experience, which kinda creates that database of the farm.

And for that intuition, you could even use it to, uh, use it to game plan a little bit. So, so Adam, is this farmer with machine, uh, consultant with machine, is, is that really much more of what you guys are living every day versus, uh, you know, Star Wars and the robots, uh, doing the fields themselves?

Adam Gittins: Sure. And so some practical agriculture applications, AI is being heavily used already and, and farmers may not even understand that they're using AI sometimes.

But we can fly a drone over a field and we can get high resolution imagery of that whole field very quickly, and nearly on demand, right? It's, it's very easy to do. We now have [00:29:00] software that can analyze that imagery, and it can start to identify weed pressure, insect pressure, diseases. We can even start to ID different types of weeds in the field and be able to start making some smart recommendations about that.

But again, that's the start, that's that first 80%. We want a human to verify it, send that information back to the, the monitor that may go apply a treatment to that, and make sure that it's accurate and makes sense.

Steve Halsey: So Greg, I'm, I'm guessing that's, you know, based on some of the key findings that I was kind of reviewing at, at the beginning of the podcast.

This idea that AI should amplify human judgment, not replace it. Is that, is that really what you saw come through in the research and the findings?

Greg Ehm: Yeah. Steve, I think that's exactly the w- the correct way to frame it. You know, it's most... AI is just most useful when it helps farmers learn, research, analyze, plan, and even pressure test some of those decisions.

Um, the value's not in [00:30:00] replacing judgment, it's just helping that farmer make better and faster decisions. And ultimately, you know, the final decision is still gonna be grounded with farmers in that experience, intuition, and real world context.

Steve Halsey: Well, and one of the things I, I think is really interesting about seeing the adoption and experimentation in agriculture is, you know, I can remember 15, 20 years ago, um, working on messaging and, and product strategies with companies that were really to talk about traceability and sustainability and these type of things.

And it met a lot of, um, kind of resistance because, you know, growers were concerned about giving away the data to their farm. You know, they were really concerned about somebody else having all those details, yet trying to balance that with, oh my gosh, if we're able to get that data out there, guess what?

That traceability [00:31:00] may mean that if there's a brand that's gonna pay me a premium if I can prove how I reduce my carbon footprint, or maybe I used a little bit, um, uh, you know, less fertilizer, needs to create that, that traceability. So, so Adam, one of the things I'm really interested about from your perspective, you've been talk- talking to farmers about data privacy for jeez, probably 15, 20 years.

Has, has AI or more specifically generate, generative AI changed that conversation of how people are thinking about data privacy and what they're willing to share?

Adam Gittins: It certainly brought it to the front of the spotlight again, in my opinion. You know, a lot of the platforms out there were asking farmers to upload their data, and the thing that I, I often told our customers, "If it's free, you are the product."

You, you know, they're gaining value from your data in some fashion. And so just be aware of what's happening. If you get enough value out of the free tool they're offering you, [00:32:00] great, go for it, but understand what that trade-off is. And over and over again in our customer meetings for, like you said, the, the last 15 years probably, Steve, we've been showcasing data privacy and security.

We, we pull up and, and highlight certain sections on, on the slides in, in the presentation and show our customers what these privacy policies from some of these big companies say, and sometimes their jaws drop because it's not always friendly toward the farmer, that you're giving away maybe more than you know you are.

And in the case of AI, it's the same type of thing. If you're willing to load your information into a large language model, into a chatbot, you've gotta understand that it can potentially be out there for the rest of the world to view. And so you've gotta be a little bit protective of what type of data and what type of information that you're loading into these different engines to be able to get the information that you want.

Now, there are some ways around that, and that's one of the reasons we utilize Copilot primarily for more of the sensitive data because it allows, [00:33:00] allows a, a way to build that firewall, if you will, in between us and the rest of the world. We can keep that data private and protected. And so that's something that as we're talking about AI with our customers, as we're sharing with them what we're doing and as we're helping them get started with it, that's something that we're definitely bringing up and having as part of the conversation

Steve Halsey: So, so Greg, one of the things that the, that the research showed which I thought was interesting was that brand reputation wasn't actually what built trust here, right?

And particularly in parts of ag when you're dealing with equipment or with seeds, and that loyalty, that brand reputation is really deep here. But, but that isn't what you found in the research. Can you, can you expound like what, what builds trust in ag when it relates to the use of AI?

Greg Ehm: Well, the, the research showed that farmers still say brand reputation matters, but it's not the [00:34:00] strongest driver.

Uh, trust was, in their mind, is gonna be built through proof. 62% of the farmers said real-world farm results would increase their trust. So knowing that the, the insights the AI tools get back to them, they're sourced to, you know, to real-world ag research, whether that's university, it's, it's seed company, crop protection company, ag equipment dealer, um, manufacturer, um, data.

That's what they wanna know. They wanna know what those sources are, and so they can verify and make sure that that recommendation or those insights are rooted in real ag, uh, experiences. And I- they also told us they really wanna know how the tool works. They wanna know where those recommendations came from.

And like I said, Earl, they wanna verify it. Um, so I would say, you know, adoption is not earned through positioning alone. [00:35:00] It's more or less earned through the outcomes, transparency, and proof that that AI tool is going to deliver.

Steve Halsey: Well, and I think one of the things that, that's kind of interesting, and I'll be...

I, I'm really interested to get your guys' take on it. You know, one of the challenge with agri-marketing is at the end of the day it comes down to will it work on a farm like mine? Okay, I'm farming in Northeast Missouri. That doesn't mean everything that happens in Northeast Missouri is applicable to my farm.

Even what happens in a county may not be applicable to my farm, but maybe, you know, two farms down the dirt road, that is really what, what becomes relevant to a farm like mine. So what are y- what are your guys' respective thoughts on how localized the AI recommendation can actually get? Or, or Adam, maybe that's that data set or maybe that's where your team's expertise comes in with the knowledge of that farm, but how do you really make it relevant to a [00:36:00] farm like mine?

Adam Gittins: Well, and that's always the big question. Is more local data more valuable, or do we need to go find what those extra elements are that match up in a broader, larger data set? And so maybe you have similar soil characteristics on your farm as one that's in Northwest Iowa or Minnesota or wherever it may be.

But if we can figure out what those characteristics are, and this is, this is the thing that gets me so excited about AI and its potential usefulness in the future of agriculture, is we have been collecting piles and piles of data for so many years in this industry. We have information that most people would just roll their eyes at.

On every pass across the field, I can tell you what speed I was driving, what direction I was driving, everything that was happening in the field. And what are we gaining from that? I mean, we're using a lot of the data, but I think there is so much more information [00:37:00] there that we've not yet figured out how to unlock.

And so AI has the ability to look at these tremendously large data sets and to analyze and see patterns in those data, in that data that we may not, may not ever have seen any other way. So the localized data, Steve, maybe it works on your farm. Maybe those same things apply to my farm, and we can figure out what those things are that overlap and align between our farms.

Then we know how to benchmark against each other or how to utilize the data from one farm to another.

Steve Halsey: Wow, that's, that is, that is a really, uh, really fascinating way to look at it and think about in both the micro and, and macro standpoint. And again, as you're saying, the ability to make this analysis and connection that you otherwise never could because it would take the whole sum of human existence like to run all those data points.

So Greg, you know, you're spending a lot of time advising companies in this space on AI-enabled [00:38:00] products, how they get introduced. So I wanna ask you a question with a little bit of a twist. What's one mistake you tell them not to make?

Greg Ehm: Uh, the mistake would be selling AI instead of selling the outcome AI generates.

Um, farmers don't wanna use AI for the sake of AI. I mean, they want to know that what problem it can solve, what pain point it can, it can relieve, how the recommendation is created, and whether the recommendation's gonna work on farms like theirs. So the path I see with companies offering AI solutions or options, it's pretty straightforward.

Show the results, explain how- You got there, and that's gonna help you earn confidence over time. And companies that can demonstrate that, um, are more likely to earn that long-term adoption [00:39:00] and that trust with the farmer, and I think that's what's the key piece of it. Lead with the outcomes, and you don't lead with AI because I think that's going to s- that's gonna turn farmers off, number one, because of that trust factor right now.

They're more focused on, how can it help me solve my problems?

Steve Halsey: Mm-hmm. All right, so Greg, Greg got the one mistake you'd tell them not to make. Adam, what's one thing that you would tell them to do to see positive growth in their business?

Adam Gittins: I can't stress this one enough. Go try it, and go use it on a real problem.

Don't make up a problem that you're trying to solve and use AI to do. Find a task or a problem that you actually want to solve and let AI try it first. Even if you wasted 10 or 20 minutes on it and realize, "Hey, this just isn't going to work. I'm gonna do it myself," all you're out is a little bit of time.

Most of the platforms that are out there offer some type [00:40:00] of a, a free version or at least a free trial. And once you start to see what it can and can't do for you, then I think you can start to understand what platforms are best for the types of things you're doing. Maybe the paid platform has some extra features that would be worth unlocking.

I, I'm a big proponent of that. We, we pay subscription to a couple of different platforms that we use internally, and we understand where they have their strong suits and what they can do well. Uh, that to me is, is just something... Go try it. Go use as many different tools as you can find and see what outcomes are working best for you.

Steve Halsey: Definitely. Definitely great advice. Well, we're kinda cruising into the home stretch here, so I thought we'd have a little bit of fun since we were talking all about AI. I'm gonna take you guys back to the back of your parents' station wagon, Mad Libs style, on that late summer trip. So if you remember, that was kind of the fill-in-the-blank style.

So I'm gonna [00:41:00] start a sentence, and then you get to complete it. Um, and Greg, you know, since you're part of our team, you get the luck of going first. So Greg, how would you complete the following sentence? You ready? Farmers will trust AI when

Greg Ehm: It still leaves them in control. And I think the, the process, the thinking behind that is, is one mistake in farming can have huge consequences.

So it's still bringing in I've got control because I'm gonna use my experience and my intuition along with data to make the best decision for my farm operation.

Steve Halsey: I like that. Keep control. Keep control. All right, Adam, getting my Mad Libs out for you. Um, here is your sentence to complete. AI will never replace

Adam Gittins: AI will never replace farmers.

There's always going to be a need to do the physical labor, and it's a labor of love oftentimes in [00:42:00] agriculture. I'm in- been in the industry my whole life. I love everything about it, but it's certainly not something that you get out of bed and go do just to make money, right? There, there is a love of the land and the, the pride of growing something with your own hands.

And even though we're using machinery and even though we're using technology, you still have to have that farmer that wears a whole bunch of different hats. He's an agronomist, he's a mechanic, he's a businessman. You know, he's gotta have a lot of different skill sets there. And so I don't think AI could completely replace a farmer.

Steve Halsey: Yeah. Yeah, that's, uh, that is, that is, that is true and, and powerful. And what did somebody say to me? What are the three things every farmer takes when he walks out of the house? His, uh, ball caps, his car keys, and his smartphone. So, you know, AI's traveling with him every day, so. Well, Adam and Greg, thank you both so much for being on the show.

This was a really, really insightful discussion, and it's one that I really think has lessons that [00:43:00] ex- extend far beyond agriculture to other highly regulated industries, advanced manufacturing, healthcare, professional services. There are a lot of lessons that can be learned by studying how adoption is happening in agriculture, where and when trust is built.

And, you know, as I reflect on today's discussion, one of the themes that kept coming up throughout this whole thing, and Greg, I think you summed it up very nicely, farmers have always made decision through three things. You said data, experience, and intuition. And AI could be used on all three of those areas to make better, better decision-making.

And as you guys talked about, it doesn't replace any of those. It kind of strengthens the first, accelerates the second, and ultimately has to be filtered out through the third. And I think that's why agriculture is just such amazing lessons to teach other industries. You know, as, as you guys were talking, you know, [00:44:00] farmers and ranchers aren't really asking, "Is AI good?"

They're asking, "Does it work on farms and ranches like mine?" Right? Is, is that a fair assessment?

Greg Ehm: Yes.

Adam Gittins: Yeah, absolutely.

Steve Halsey: And they wanna see it proven in operations like their... And, and I think, Adam, that, that i- that concept of it's not just the micro but the macro analysis that could really unlock new things, uh, is a, is a really, really powerful insight.

To just really think about how this all comes together. And Greg, it's gonna be interesting to track over time when does adoption level off and when does trust really begin to build, uh, to a point. And I think as you said, it's really understanding what's behind the recommendations and the comparisons and that, that transparency.

So really, really powerful insight, guys. So, and for our listeners, I wanna thank you for joining us on the latest episode of Building Brand Gravity. We appreciate all of your support and hope you will continue to join future conversations. So until [00:45:00] next time, let's keep building trust, creating momentum in the market, and helping you grow your brand.

Matt Ragas: [00:00:00] We need a seat. The senior folks consistently that I talked to said, "That's great. We're getting that seat at the table, but now what do we do with it?" Right? Are we gonna take advantage of this opportunity? Are we gonna squander it? Are we gonna add value actually as counselors and advisors

Benjamin Thiele-Long: We have to think about who we're speaking to most of all.

And that is the scenario, the audience, the size, what time of day you're talking, the level of experience. It can be all manner of things, but we forget that at our peril. And so many poor presentations that I've seen are by brilliant people that have just not tailored what they're saying to the audience they're speaking to.

Greg Galant: the more you can kind of package up what the story is, the more powerful it is for, especially for a journalist because that dictates a lot. 'Cause there are still some journalists out there that might, might be feature writers and they do, you know, one or two stories a month. And the way you interact with that journalist is probably gonna have to be completely different than how you interact with the journalist who's writing three or [00:01:00] four stories a day.

Dr. Rochelle Ford: They're searching for information. And how do you make sure that your stories come up in their searches? How do you make sure that when they're, you know, talking to ChatGPT or some other generative AI source, that your, your company, that your story, your information is showing up?

Natalie Nixon: So prototypes are a beautiful thing.

They, they, they simultaneously excite teams and terrify them because prototypes mean that it, you're experimenting. It means that the answer can be, "Wow, that was a total fail." But what did you learn?

Bradley Akubuiro: But what they need to know even before they know that is that you have the situation under control and they can trust you to manage through it.

If you can't convince them of that, then you fail way before you get to the root cause.

Steve Halsey: Welcome to the 50th episode of Building Brand Gravity. I'm Steve Halsey.

Anne Green: And I'm Ann Green. [00:02:00]

Steve Halsey: You know, normally, Ann, we would be welcoming a guest at this point, but today, little bit of celebration of our major milestone here for our podcast. We figured we'd switch things up a little bit. So what we're going to do is we are going to reflect on those things that we've learned so far and use this to kind of fe- figure out where we're gonna go.

Anne Green: Yeah, when we started this podcast, we simply wanted to have better conversations, and we wanted to bring together smart people and ask thoughtful questions, you know, and explore what it takes to build brands that matter. What is the gravity that attracts people into your orbit? How can leaders best inspire followership?

What helps turn brand communications or marketing strategies into reality?

Steve Halsey: You know, and since we started this podcast, Ann, we've talked to CEOs, we've talked to founders, researchers, professors, journalists, communications leaders, innovators, and a lot of friends from around the world. [00:03:00]

Anne Green: Yeah, and what I think what surprised us, Steve, um, wasn't the differences between each topic or interviewee.

I think we've been most struck at how often they spoke to similar ideas or themes. So again, we've covered different industries, very different roles and experiences, um, but remarkably similar, similar concerns, and also similar wisdom.

Steve Halsey: Yeah, and so when we thought about today and what we wanted to put together, we, we decided we really didn't wanna do a best of.

This really isn't about our favorite guest, although I don't know how you can pick a favorite from who we've had. It's really our attempt to answer one primary question. What have the 50 conversations taught us about building brands, about building business, and leading in a more complex world? So let's take a moment to reflect on and discuss what we've learned along the way as we kick off.

Anne Green: Can't wait. Let's do it.

Matt Ragas: Whatever that solution, whatever that decision might be, we do know [00:04:00] that as communicators, uh, our job is gonna be to really explain these programs and the specifics of them, and to tie it, increasingly what we're seeing, to, uh, the business, and business outcomes and business benefits.

Rob Jekielek: And it's a very human story too, right? I think that's one of the, one of the key things that, you know, as, as communicators and as storytellers, human stories work much better than, um, jargony technical stories.

Dr. Rochelle Ford: But if you're just simply talking and telling beautiful stories and there's no actions, nothing concrete to point to, confidence doesn't rise.

Steve Halsey: One of the biggest things we've learned, communications is no longer something organizations do. It's increasingly becoming part of how organizations operate. So when you really think about this first lesson, Anne, you know that communicators don't just shape messages, they shape businesses, what really stands out to you?

You

Anne Green: know, for me, one of the things I often share with our leadership team is [00:05:00] elite communications inside and out, and so much of business strategy, its effectiveness and the ability to actually implement it, has to do with how well, you know, human beings are connecting and communicating with each other.

And that is the point of leadership, too. I mean, we're gonna talk about that more in the podcast, but shaping the message and starting with your own people, we've heard that again and again and again, that importance of the employee as that first receiver of the message, and how that message is carried out to all other stakeholders.

How a communications or marketing lead may be sharing that with their peers so that that message can be carried consistently. Another thing we will speak about several times on this podcast. I mean, to me, that's, that's what comes to mind immediately, but what comes to mind most for you with this first lesson, Steve?

Steve Halsey: Well, I think what comes to mind to me is, you know, we really started, um, at least the first interviews that I was doing were all really focused heavily on comms, and every single conversation ultimately came back [00:06:00] to what is business? What is the business value? Um, how does communications really encompass everything for that business strategy?

And it's really thinking about communications or brand as assets of the business, assets that need to be protected, assets that need to be invested in, um, assets that need to be curated over time. And so I think that's one of the things that was really interesting over the four years we've been doing the podcast, is just that shift from almost from talking about communications as a function to it as an essential driver of business value

Anne Green: Yeah, I agree.

And there's, uh, some interesting things a number of guests have said, including Dr. Rochelle Ford from Paige, some of the research they've done with the Harris Poll, where, where is it that messages, clarity in messaging plus action then builds business, builds trust, builds impact for stakeholders. So those are some of the things too, I think, that have really, really come through.

Bradley Akubuiro: It's [00:07:00] really difficult to be neutral in a pressure test. Uh, even saying nothing is equivalent to saying something. And so we've got to figure out where we stand, and we've got to actually stand there

Dr. Rochelle Ford: What are the rules? What are the ethics that you have? What are the values that your company stands by, and how do you demonstrate that those things are real?

Matt Ragas: Perhaps there's no more powerful form of communication than actual communication grounded in actions, and the alignments of, uh, words and, and deeds

Anne Green: So our second lesson is all about trust. Cl- clearly trust is top of mind for any organizational leader, and especially these days, and especially I feel those who are charged with engaging their organization stakeholders and also safeguarding and building reputation.

We've had a lot of those people on the podcast. So two things for us to reflect on today, Steve, in terms of trust is earned long before a crisis really arises, right? Two questions is the first is, has our thinking about trust evolved over these 50 episodes? And [00:08:00] also, has our thinking about crisis and crisis preparedness changes?

So I'm gonna put you on the spot and ask you those first.

Steve Halsey: Well, and I'll, I'll do a good, uh, media trading technique. I will start with the last question and kind of pivot from there. And, and I really, really enjoyed your conversation with Bradley and what you were talking about. And it, it, we used it to kind of come into this, uh, this segment right here, but when he was really talking about it's really difficult to be neutral in a pressure test, right?

Whether you engage or you don't engage, that says something. But he, but he made the comment there of, "We've got to figure out where we stand," and this is the really hard part, we actually have to stand there as things come from different sides and directions. So when I think about the fundamental aspects of trust, there are certain parts of those conversations that have not changed.

It's all about really understanding that core, what you stand for, the values, how that drives everything. [00:09:00] It was all the way from, uh, my first conversation, uh, with Dr. Matt Regus, all the way to ultimately what I think we're talking about is narrative as an operating system. So I think there's some foundational things around trust that haven't changed.

One thing that has changed, and this feels like I'm talking about something like decades ago, believe it or not, Anne, when we started building brand gravity, the large language models were not out in the universe, right? So even just the transition of in this always on environment, things like the GEO that we're talking about, if you're gonna maintain trust, you've got to make sure that your communications are clear, are credible, are everywhere, and that old information's no longer out there

Anne Green: Yeah, and to build on what you said about Bradley Akabiro from Bully Pulpit, that was one of our recent episodes that I think was just pure gold, like everything he had to say.

It's based on a book he wrote recently. But the knowing where you stand and standing there, the [00:10:00] other piece I really took away from that is we see a lot of organizations struggling with the dynamics of today, which is often, you know, vehement disagreement online, some of that fueled by bots and social media.

There's just this intensity of dialogue, kind of breakdown of that civility of, of having discussions across different opinions, the polarization piece. I think one thing organizations have really struggled with is this question of, well, how do we not step into a hornet's nest, which can turn into how do we appease or keep all the stakeholders calm, which can come off as highly inauthentic and can come off as, as really not a great way to build trust with stakeholders if it feels like an organization is just trying to placate or tell someone what they want to hear versus, as you said earlier, knowing where they stand and standing there even if they know that some in their stakeholders may not love what they're sharing.

But I do like the [00:11:00] assertion, and I believe it, that that builds more trust over time, and it does prepare you ahead of a crisis. So lots of good food for thought across all these 50 episodes on this issue.

Dr. Rochelle Ford: AI is coming up in every single conversation, whether it's internal, external, whether you're talking to people in Japan or Singapore or in England and, or in, um, the Netherlands or here in the US or, or Brazil or Canada. It's coming up in every conversation.

Natalie Nixon: The qualitative dimension of work is going to be increasingly important in a world where basic tasks are increasingly going to be taken over by AI and such.

So that qualitative dimension of self-compassion will be best reflected in, in premier organizations by leaders who show compassion, who show curiosity. The reason why I say that we're not in the midst of a tech revolution, we're in the midst of a human [00:12:00] revolution, is just, number one, the root of that is just my total frustration with our tech crush.

I call it our tech infatuation or tech crush, where we forget the, at the end of the day, the technology is a tool.

Steve Halsey: Well, Anne, I think we're finally at a point where we can stop asking the question of whether AI will change communications. I've come to a conclusion: it does. And, but one of the things that's really coming through with the conversations we're having, uh, particularly lately, I think the better question isn't what becomes, uh, more robot- But what becomes uniquely human and, and how does a human factor into the equation?

What are your thoughts on that?

Anne Green: Oh my God, so many. Um, Natalie Nixon, who we've had on the podcast twice, who's a consultant and writer and, and creativity expert and sort of catalyst for change and innovation, she made the assertion that we're in a human revolution as much, if not more, than a technology [00:13:00] revolution, and I think that's really, really powerful.

There's a philosopher and writer, Stewart Brand, who's been around since the days of the hippies in San Francisco. He founded the Whole Earth Catalog, and he's written a million books, and I just heard him interviewed and he was talking about the fact that AI is gonna really force us to contemplate humanity in a much deeper way.

What are the ... What is the value of human judgment? Where does it come in? So I do think we are seeing strong evidence of, yes, there'll be all kinds of ways in which AI is making us already more efficient and productive and all those good things, but where is it that that humanity and that human judgment and the revolution we need to have in understanding our own value in the mix here, especially as marketers and communicators.

I love that we're thinking really intentionally about that, and it's something at GNS we're inviting everybody from whatever their role, most junior to most senior, to really actively contemplate as they adopt AI into their workflows. I mean, what else would you add to, to your thinking here?

Steve Halsey: [00:14:00] Yeah. I think for me, the, the thinking really evolved.

You know, the initial conversation was, well, AI in the loop. Let's put AI in the loop, and then it evolved to, well, let's make sure we keep the human in the loop. My view on it, uh, kind of as I've matured, that my thinking in this area is human as architect, and I really believe that, that we should create the systems and the structure.

Um, you know, that's the part that's gotta be innately human because, you know, I've been working the last almost three years training, uh, training my own model, jokingly call it ChatGP Steve. And it does a really good job, but what's interesting is even with something that you've curated so close, at the end of the day, it is the human as the architect.

Because if you just let the AI run, it's gonna run wild, not because it's nefarious, just because it's not getting that check. One of the other things I thought was interesting, I was at a, uh, PR council meeting last week, and the conversation of [00:15:00] AI came up. And, um, you know, one of our, one of our peers there said, "Hey, we've actually started building into our test for new hires the use of AI."

And, you know, there was a lot of conversation, "Oh my gosh, what? Are you doing that? How can you really gauge?" And they said, "Well, we want to see whether these individuals can think critically." You know, not just does the AI come up with a good strategy, but how are they thinking as the human of the architect to bring that creativity, to fact-check it, to do that.

So I thought that was, was really interesting with how things have evolved from, "Oh my gosh, every job is going away," to now the conversation is really, okay, how can humans be the architects to really use AI to create more, to be better? But then kind of like what Benjamin said in, in his comment, and, and I, I'd appreciate your, your thought on this, but that idea that, you know, leaders are ultimately going to be evaluating on the [00:16:00] human things, that ability to show compassion, curiosity.

Anne Green: Yeah, Benjamin Thiele-Long, amazing communicator, has been a barrister, um, a comms lead, you know, very senior, and a writer. And when we were talking about this holistic view of presentation skills, media training, just presenting in general, he has a very holistic view of it, which I'm very bought into. He's really right that those are very high order skills that are often under leverage, and they're gonna be the skills where paired with AI, but not really replaced by it, are gonna be paramount.

And the other thing that you make me think of, Steve, is we're in an interesting position in our industry where we are both adopting for our own organization and driving in that way, but we're also counselors for our clients, and working with them, walking this path with them, advising them. And so that allows our people

I do want them, and I love that story from the PR council meeting. I do want to see how people are thinking [00:17:00] critically about the whole breadth of AI and what that means to us, the good, the bad, the ugly, the amazing opportunities. Because at the end of the day, we in our field have to embrace and think deeply about both, or else we can't do our job.

And I think that puts us in such a great position to step back and watch this revolution unfold, even as we're participating in it.

Ron Culp: If you understand the business of the business and you can do an annual report and an earnings release, then you understand the business. They're hiring people who have more strategic view and a higher business IQ because they know that good writers make good thinkers, but good thinkers also need to understand the business.

David Albritton: But you should also learn as much as you can outside of your function to, you know, really develop your business acumen and understand [00:18:00] how the organization makes money, whether that's a for-profit, nonprofit, education organization, uh, whatever it may be How your function relates to that is your going to be, and your understanding of that is going to be your success factor.

Howard Handler: In brand management, you are taught to think about the whole business and that you're not there to just deliver one thing like sales revenue or market share. You're there to deliver the profit. And that's something that never really left me.

Steve Halsey: You know, Anne, looking back, this may have been, been the biggest evolution in my own questioning and discussions over 50 episodes.

Earlier episodes like we covered earlier, we're, we're really talking about communications, because that's kind of where the foundation of building brand gravity started. But today we're now really asking how communication shapes business itself, right? We've moved on from the conversation of, "Hey, should we have a seat at the table?

Do we [00:19:00] have a seat at the table? What should we do about it?" Now it's really moved on to business fluency really is leadership fluency.

Anne Green: Yeah. I, I couldn't agree more. You know, one of my favorite, personal favorite interviews over the 50 was speaking with Howard Handler, who has had an incredible career. And I met him first when he was chief marketing officer of Virgin Mobile USA when I was involved in launching that brand in the US with the Virgin company and Sprint.

And Howard had already been at Burley Bear and NFL and Lorne Michaels' company Broadway Video, and he went on to Major League Soccer. And he's ... He, he's had an incredible career as a very communication savvy marketer. But Howard was talking about from the very beginning in, in his path, brand management, but also how he understands the communications function.

He knew understanding the whole business was so, so critical, and being in partnership with oth- others, he's very people-focused in that way, and we'll kind of come to that theme again later. But it's funny because [00:20:00] everything he was talking about echoes one of our most recent podcast episodes with Megan Noel, who's chief corporate affairs officer at Covisint.

Um, she was speaking about that evolution of that role, the CCO plus role, that she frames it as the storytellers being put all together. And then she also talked about the absolute critical nature of understanding she cannot do her job alone. She's in a matrix and a partnership with all her other C-suite leaders.

She has to know all parts of the business. She has to go deeper than ever before on all parts of the business and really own them Despite, you know, she's executing maybe something different than the CFO obviously, et cetera. So I think this idea of business fluency and leadership and the role of comms and marketing is absolutely central to this podcast.

Steve Halsey: Well, and, and, and I think as you think about business fluency, there, there's a part of actually understanding how the [00:21:00] financial sheet work, right? The, that ability to do an annual report, to have that discussion, to be able to shape and offer perspective on that. But I think part of the, part of really having that business fluency means spending time in the business, you know?

One of the things I was absolutely blessed with, you know, early in my career was the ability to do ride-along with sales reps. You know, and that ability to walk into a conference room or a meeting or a factory floor and actually see how the sale and the discussion happens really opens up your mind to really understand what matters most for the business.

And so when you understand, um, you know, not just the, the numbers, the X's, the O's, but you really understand what drives that business decision, the communications program that can come out of that, the gravity that you can build is so much greater. So, you know, one thing I would say to all of [00:22:00] our, uh, corporate listeners out there, if you have the opportunity with your junior staff, with your agency partners, find an opportunity for them to do a ride-along with your sales reps and really see the business in action because the payoff, the ROI will be tremendous.

Anne Green: Steve, you literally took the words straight out of my brain. I g- what I was about to say, I want to weigh in and say one of the things that was hard coming out of COVID is we were all virtual obviously. It was a public health emergency, et cetera. But also it's a budget-pressed time, and we can do a lot more virtually.

I mean, look at our podcast here. But the fact is, is that there's been such a change from when you and I started our career where of course you were at the client site all the time. Of course when I worked with GE Appliances I was on the factory floors in Louisville watching the refrigerators fly through the air in this factory that was the size of two football fields.

And you and I have a gazillion stories of this, as do many of our listeners. And I've seen a really slow return, you know, in some cases faster. [00:23:00] But we, we have got to get our folks out there more, and we want to be in partnership with our clients on that. And even recently, you know, as we've shifted as a business our real estate footprint, released more capital, we're funding, you know, meetings of our largest teams in our sectors to come together in person, do on-the-ground visits, either client visits or experiential visits to, you know, ex- experiences that really matter for their sector and their discipline and their expertise.

And I think we all in this industry need to be committed to that. I, I love that you brought that up.

Howard Handler: So getting a door slammed in your face doesn't feel good, but there's something to learn from that. And, and, you know, do you have a certain amount of tenacity? Are you willing to, to be persistent? Um, and I don't know, I, I just, I think a lot of those things helped me get to where I needed to [00:24:00] be.

Matt Ragas: But whether it's a topic like business acumen or data and analytics or DEI or AI, um, as long as we embrace curiosity and lifelong learning and being open to what we don't know and wanting to keep having that explorer mentality, um, this is one of the best fields that you could possibly be in.

Benjamin Thiele-Long: Whether you are just starting out your career in comms, wanting to get a foot on the ladder and be part of that team, advising those people, the way that you do that, of course, is by assimilating information. It is, of course, by learning. It is, of course, by using technology to your strengths. But ultimately, you've got to translate that

Anne Green: Our lesson five is all about curiosity and tenacity as a competitive advantage.

And you know, and Steven, thinking about our episodes to date, uh, I feel like many of our guests rarely claimed absolute certainty, and I think this is true of a lot of people who are actually truly expert. They're simply deeply curious about the topics we explored with them. Now, [00:25:00] these are all experts in their space.

Without a doubt, we wouldn't have hit them up to be on here if they weren't, weren't. You know, we wouldn't be honored with their presence if they weren't. But they were so clear time and again about all there is to still explore and learn, especially with technology, leadership. You know, did that strike you as well?

Steve Halsey: It, it did. And, and one of the things kind of reflecting at, like the body and work and aggregate of all those discussions is I don't think we had a single person on the podcast who wasn't curious, you know? And I think that's part of what makes a great communications leader, maybe what's required to be a great communications leader, is that curiosity to, and, and a little bit of that wonder of how does it work.

And you've, you've heard me say this, and, and no, no disrespect to people making cheesier pizza, but if you're trying to market a cheesier pizza, what is a lie? It's got more cheese, right? But you think about some of these really in-depth B2B markets that we're [00:26:00] doing where we're talking about nitroalkanes.

Who doesn't love a good nitroalkane, right? But that ability to really get in and be curious and talk to the chemist and then understand, oh my gosh, well, this is the stuff that makes, uh, makes makeup go on a little bit better, or makes toothpaste come out a little bit better, or has less splatter when you're putting paint on the wall.

Being curious allows us as communicators to find stories that are often missed, and an opportunity to make a connection and to educate in, in, in ways that we otherwise wouldn't if we just took the dry language and then just put it in AP style. I mean, that's my initial reaction

Anne Green: Yeah, you know, it's funny, I'm often asked as you are too, if we're interviewing younger people or I'm mentoring, I do a lot of mentoring of students or young folks in their careers, what do I look for?

I've always said intellectual curiosity. That sounds highfalutin, but it really is about being intellectually curious, wanting to learn new things. And I think that's so [00:27:00] critical today because it is an overwhelming environment. Change is happening so fast. There's stuff that, you know, we don't know where it's going, and the news cycle can be intense around AI.

There's all the promise, but there's also the scary thing about workforce and labor, and what does our society look like in 5, 10, 20 years? So the curiosity piece lets you find that excitement and enthusiasm and optimism that you need to move forward, the hope and the what- the gee whiz of it all. I love people who are into things.

I love fans. I love fandom. I never, I never liked the whole too cool for school attitude where I don't get-- I don't show excitement about anything. In our field, especially in client service, to show the passion and the excitement you have for the work you do, the work your client does, is such a superpower, and it brings so much joy to the work.

But the other piece we identified here is tenacity. And I know going back to Howard Handler, he talked about you get a lot of doors slammed in your face early on. [00:28:00] And, you know, Benjamin talked about where you start off on that first rung of the ladder as a communicator and how you grow. We've heard that time and again.

Um, so you know, one of the things Natalie Nixon talked about was that pairing with wonder and rigor. So you have the wonder and the curiosity, but you also have the rigor to keep pushing and learning and driving and making it more precise. So, you know, I don't know, Steve, if you have any final thoughts on tenacity for this lesson.

Steve Halsey: Well, ten- tenacity, I loved, uh, Howard's story, and, and that's another one. I think every great communications leader that, that, that I've, I've met, worked for, worked with, served, whatever terminology you wanna do, have been very tenacious, and, you know, in terms of where they're going. But, but I think, you know, actually our very first guest, Dr.

Matt Ragas, you know, he was really talking about it, and he, he really talked about embracing curiosity and lifelong learning and having an explorer's mentality. And he, and he said [00:29:00] something to the effect that if you do that, this is one of the best fields you could ever possibly be in. You know, and this is somebody who's educating, uh, the next generation of leaders.

He's written a bunch of books. He's talked to executives. And he still is full of that wonder and that curiosity, and then very, being very tenacious and finding that story, delivering that business impact. So yeah, I think those have been really, really strong themes in terms of creati- creativity, curiosity, tenacity throughout this, uh, 50 episodes to date.

Anne Green: Absolutely love that.

Steve Halsey: AI doesn't replace narrative, but it exposes whether you have one and whether it's a right one, honestly. When narrative isn't clearly defined, AI can very quickly become a liability because it ends up becoming the de facto substitute for leadership clarity, and you really don't want that.

Dr. Rochelle Ford: It is a new narrative [00:30:00] battleground.

You have to humanize things. And when you, when you put that human face onto what it, what it matters to me, I think that that actually helps and also helps you to break into other areas in which you can tell stories.

Anne Green: So the questions that come to mind for me, what are the guiding principles behind a given strategy?

Can we articulate the narrative around and behind them tied to organizational mission, vision, values, as well as current business objectives, right? Does this all hang together executive to executive, no matter what their functional area may be? Can this narrative scale up and down and across to reach into every part of the company?

Those to me are some of the key questions that you're raising with this premise. The next lesson in some ways quotes us, Steve. I'm gonna take credit 'cause we've been talking all year about a concept we call narrative as an operating system. You know, it's something you raised, Steve, in our [00:31:00] 2026 predictions episode at the start of the year.

Go back and check it out if you wanna test how we're doing. It really resonated strongly with us at the time, and I actually truly fell in love with the phrase almost immediately 'cause it struck something so true and so timely for me. We knew we were onto something with this concept of narrative as an operating system.

But wow, I have to tell you, the response to it has been even stronger than I think you or I anticipated. Every time I speak about it, and I do often, leaders in our field just intuitively get it. They just get it. It lands, right? The importance of thinking about your narrative as a true operating system, not just like, oh, here's a page of messages.

It's the spine that connects the entire organizational nervous system. That importance just grows and grows to me, particularly In an age of, like, low trust and channel fragmentation and a lot of technological change. So I mean, this was your term, Steve, so what's your take on how this has resonated for you and how it's evolved over, you know, since we [00:32:00] first talked about this in January?

Steve Halsey: Well, and one of the things I think is really interesting as we think about narrative, and, and I liked in, in that discussion, and you used the definition of big N narrative versus small N narrative. You know, the small N narrative is a message we wanna deliver. When we talk about big N narrative, we're really talking about, like, the DNA, the, the essence of a company, how decisions are made.

And, and for me, really where that, where, where the concept kind of developed is, yes, we all understand what reputation is. We understand what brand is. We understand what trust is. We understand what makes trust erode. We understand all these different factors. But the reality is, is every organization has a rhythm, almost like a, like a living being, that really carries itself forward.

So if you have leaders that all agree on the same direction, but they execute it very differently, the narrative that employees are gonna feel, that customers, that communities, [00:33:00] is not gonna be in sync. You know, it's going to be a little bit, uh, little bit fragmented. So it's this really id- really the idea of narrative should guide what we do because we all understand, um, what our purpose is.

We all understand what would be for the betterment of the organization. And you're ... Everything is operating within a set of, uh, of a unifying context, I guess, in the ethereal grand w- grand way to think about it.

Anne Green: To kind of get our hands around how big and central this is, you know, this is one way I'm thinking about it.

We talk about leadership, great leadership needs a great narrative. It also takes courage for leaders, especially at large, multilayered organizations, and we work with many of them, with lots of employees, lots of divisions, lots of pieces. It takes a lot of organizational courage and cooperation and leadership will, tenacity- To [00:34:00] align a narrative so that whatever touchpoint is out there, I'm s- this team is speaking with employees.

This group is out in a sales call. This is what is showing up online that the large language models and AI will discover and feed without anybody clicking on your website. The AI piece of this, GEO AI discovery, makes it even more acute now to have the leadership courage to come together around a more unified narrative.

It doesn't mean it's, uh, stale or rigid or lockstep, or that it's just a bunch of people reading off the same script. N- not at all. In fact, in an age that needs real human connection and authenticity, and where people have a high BS meter for corporate speak, it, it really means knowing that operating system, knowing the spine of the narrative, and then being able to translate it to your division, to your stakeholders in this moment, in this digitally human-to-human.

So this is a [00:35:00] drum I think we're gonna be beating intensely going forward, 'cause I do not see this getting less important, and I also don't see it getting easier for organizations. This is not easy to do always.

Steve Halsey: Well, a- and, and it really requires, as you point out, to be a realist. You, you, you can ignore a narrative at your own peril because it exists, it is there, and as you mentioned, particularly, uh, with the large language models pulling everything and all these previously disparate points of communications or stories, um, or sentiment about a company, that's now all being instantly aggregated whether you ask for it or not.

So I think that's the other important part about narrative is it really requires you to take a critical, realistic look as to how your organization, your business strategy, your products are showing up in the world so that you can really build and sustain over time the [00:36:00] narrative that moves you in the direction that you wanna go, that's consistent with your values, that's consistent with your leadership philosophy, that's consistent with your business strategy.

But that really requires a realistic look at your narrative and where it, where it resides and how you move it forward, and then how you get your own people and your customers to be ambassadors to share that narrative.

Anne Green: And frankly, what more fun and engaging work is there for our field, truly?

Howard Handler: I've been really, really lucky in terms of the people who are willing to, to mentor me and help me see things that at the time I couldn't see for myself or teach me some things

Benjamin Thiele-Long: That comes from learning, giving good advice, and having that human impact and that empathy that allows you to communicate your ideas effectively and to be trusted.

And ultimately, if you can do that, you're on the right path [00:37:00] to a great communication strategy or a great career. It doesn't matter what it is, they, they apply the same way. Um, and we forget that to our peril, I think.

David Albritton: I encourage everyone to have as many mentors as they can, uh, to kind of help them understand more about the marketplace, about the industry they're in, about the job function, whatever those things in.

And you should open your mind up to learning from everybody in a 360 degree, uh, you know, uh, circle, cir- you know, kind of circle. When you open your mind up to that, I think what you'll find is that you become a w- m- you know, much more rounded individual and a much better leader overall. And, uh, so that's, uh, kind of the takeaway I'd love for you all to think about today.

Steve Halsey: You know, Ann, across every conversation we've had, whether we've talked about AI, yes, I had to say it again, crisis, business, journalism, leadership, marketing, communications, or even creativity, you know, the common denominator in all of those was people

Anne Green: Yeah, a- [00:38:00] absolutely. And it really goes to show, Steve, that the concept of building brand gravity is all about that.

It's about those human insights and human connections. And, you know, to go back to Howard, um, when I met him at Virgin Mobile, he was so clear about the importance of human connection and mentoring and creating strong relationships over time. And his episode is a real blast just given his wide-ranging career, but there was so much good food for thought.

But I think every single guest we talk about, whether it's, again, Megan talking about working with your C-suite peers in a matrix, or Natalie talking about what is it that catalyzes a team to be curious and creative, that creates and fuels innovation, crea- Or it's David Grossman talking about what it is that employees are or aren't telling you and what truly exceptional leadership is needed today.

It's all about those connections with people.

Steve Halsey: Yeah. And, you know, one of the earlier episodes we did with, uh, David Albritton, uh, right now he's a very noted, uh, [00:39:00] executive coach, but he was a chief communicator who actually became a business leader and a CEO. And, you know, when we were talking, he was sharing his lessons and, and it was really be open to finding as many mentors as you can, and listen and learn.

But he was also making the point that your mentor doesn't just need to be a fellow communicator or a fellow marketer. It's somebody that you can learn from about the business, about life, about leadership, about how you carry yourself. But, but that was really, I thought, was a interesting, um, thing that David said.

And you'd mentioned Howard mentioned it. Um, Ron Culp had mentioned it. Uh, there ... So many of our leaders, you know, through these discussions were really talking about the importance- Of mentorship, of learning, of being curious. And, you know, like you said, at the end of the day, that all comes down to people and investing [00:40:00] in people, investing in ourselves.

Anne Green: Which I think is so important because as, at the stage we're at in our careers and many of the people we're engaging with, mentorship and bringing other people into our field, making it vibrant, diverse, um, enc- encouraging younger people to be still in a field that is this exciting and, and fuels your curiosity and learning and c- lets you do creative work, strategic work, be project manager, but also be guiding clients.

I, I, I can't say enough of still how vibrant I feel this field is. And I think it's particularly important in a time where we're reflecting so much on what jobs of the future look like because of technology.

Steve Halsey: And, and one of the things I've really found interesting through my career is, is yes, it's a very, very competitive field in a lot of ways, but I have always found that people have been very open and very generous with their time and with their perspective.

And honestly, that's part of the reason we're, you know, we made a very conscious [00:41:00] decision, um, in even the guests we invited, to have people from fellow agencies, to have people we compete with in some way, shape, or form, to share ideas, to learn from each other, to exchange knowledge, and to share that more broadly for everybody.

So, so again, while it's a, a highly competitive field, I have found every step of the way that people have been amazingly generous on a personal level of, of sharing their perspectives, their views, and, and trying to help each other out.

Anne Green: So before we start to wrap up, Steve, let's reflect for a minute. Um, looking back, what surprised you or sticks with you most over the 50 episodes?

Steve Halsey: What surprised me the most, Sara, is, well, honestly, that we're here at episode 50. I remember, I remember, uh, when, when we sold in the concept and said, "Yeah, we're gonna start up a, uh, we're gonna start up a podcast and it's building brand gravity, and we're, it's about pulling people in the org-," and we had a great construct And then it [00:42:00] was sitting around trying to get the courage to do that first interview, and then that second interview, and to build that muscle memory.

So probably not the answer that you were, you were thinking about, but, but for me, one of the most interesting things was to go through the process of, you know, we've counseled, we've sold, we've supported clients creating different podcasts and things like that. But it was going through the process of creating it and then having the discipline to stick with it, and now to learn and, and to see what's gonna be next.

How about for you?

Anne Green: Well, I, I would build on that because, um, I've always said when I'm doing media training that for me, when I do media interviews as a CEO or as an expert in a certain field of communications or a sector, which I, which I do fairly often, or I appear on a podcast as a guest, it is making me sit in that driver's seat so I'm not just the armchair quarterback or the backseat driver giving you all the [00:43:00] important tips on how to speak well and do a good interview.

I'm, I'm having to live my own advice. And I do agree, Steve, that bringing this to life, um, you know, I wouldn't say there were naysayers, but definitely there's a lot of podcasts in the podcast graveyard out there. And I think that going back to one of our lessons, to me, maybe not surprising, but the biggest lesson is curiosity and tenacity are required to make it to 50 episodes and beyond.

We have invested time and care in this because there are conversations worth having. There's people we wanna talk to. You and I love being out there circulating and learning. We like to share and lift others up and share what they're thinking. And when you come to it that spirit, people come, as you said, with tremendous generosity.

And, um, I think sometimes people get hung up. You know, you as chief growth officer have to talk to folks a lot about networking or staying connected, and the biggest lesson I have, and the podcast is a manifestation of that, is [00:44:00] that it's truly just about the joy of connecting with other people in ways that you learn about them and you learn new things, and you talk about issues that matter to you, and you also have fun, and you talk about fun stuff too.

And I think we all learn and grow from that. So I can't wait to keep this going for the next 50 episodes. It's obviously a lot of work for us, but that, that to me is the big reflection.

Steve Halsey: And I was also gonna say just, just our guests, you know? We would have an episode and you'd be doing the editing, you're like, "Wow, that's great.

I don't know how it gets better than that." And then we have another guest and you're like, "Wow." Yeah. I mean, these conversations have been so dynamic, so powerful, but yet each of them gives you some really tangible nuggets that you can, uh, you can take away. So, um, there's amazing professionals out there and some amazing perspectives.

But like you said, I, I think a lot of that comes down to stories of curiosity and tenacity.

Anne Green: Yeah, and it's funny. Yeah, Steve's heard me say so many times, "Oh my God, this is the best conversation ever. Wait [00:45:00] till you hear it." So I am nothing if not enthusiastic. So this is actually a wonderful transition to our close, and for those sticking with us through the whole episode, thank you.

Before we close today, wanna take a moment of gratitude. We have a lot of people to thank as we reach this 50th milestone.

Steve Halsey: Yes, absolutely, and we, we really wanna thank our many, many guests and recognize them, and you, our listeners who, uh, who have been tuning in. And our core Building Brand Gravity team, especially Chris Martin, who came up with and helped sell in the initial idea of doing a podcast.

Whitney Fincannon, who picked up the reins and really drove this forward. And, uh, you, you, you... She's herded Ann and I very well through this process. Callie, our guest coordinator extraordinaire. And then from the Sweetfish team, Jeremy Rife and the entire team. Um, lots of ideas, lots of production support, really pushing us through, um, these early 50 episodes.

And our incredible [00:46:00] colleagues across the, the entire GNS Integrated Marketing Communications group. Our people at GNS Business Communications and Morgan Meyers, we couldn't do this without your support, inspiration, and even your guest ideas.

Anne Green: Yeah, and we have to also acknowledge all the friends of the pod out there, which really includes everyone at The Page Society, Roger Bolton and his team, and now Richelle Ford and her team.

And, and also a special shout-out to all of you who took a moment to share an episode on the socials or who sent a link to a friend or a colleague. We love it when people share, as well as when they weigh in to challenge our thinking or share another point of view, so please keep it up.

Steve Halsey: And that makes those mailbag episodes even better when, when, uh, when we've got your feedback to work from.

So I think if there, if there's one thing as I reflect back that, that these 50 conversations have taught us, Ann, it's that, you know, brands aren't built just by logos. They aren't built just by campaigns. They're built one decision, one relationship, [00:47:00] one conversation at a time.

Anne Green: Yeah, and that's really why we started Building Brand Gravity.

Steve Halsey: And so as we finish what will be now our 50th conversation on this podcast, we believe that more than ever.

Anne Green: Thank you for joining us, and here's to the next 50 conversations. Woo. Thank you, Steve, for being my great co-host. Woo.

Steve Halsey: Thanks, Anne. And join us soon for another episode of Building Brand Gravity

Steve Halsey: [00:00:00] The old silo model just, it just doesn't work anymore.

Megan Noel: Can we just have PR die? Because I think that term should be retired, killed off, disintegrated. It, it, it should go away.

Anne Green: No one's harder than our own folks for the best reasons. These are skeptical folks, type A, working hard, heads down on clients.

Megan Noel: The point about brand refreshes, we know from doing them that a big part of them fail.

Steve Halsey: We are increasingly in a zero-click environment, and people may not go directly to a website and review somebody's carefully crafted material. They may simply ask, or they may just get served a summation

Megan Noel: Things like press releases that perhaps had gone by the wayside are now back.

Steve Halsey: Welcome to Building Brand Gravity. I'm [00:01:00] Steve Halsey

Anne Green: And I'm Ann Green

Steve Halsey: And today we're talking about brand, but maybe not brand in the way that most people default to thinking about it. Because when people hear the word brand, they often think first, Ann, about the external expression, the name, the logo, the visual identity, the website, the campaign, the launch moment, all that fun stuff.

And it matters of course, but increasingly you and I are seeing that the work of actually building a brand, and especially relaunching or reintroducing one, is much more operational, much more cross-functional, and much more deeply connected to trust these days than perhaps it once appeared from the outside.

Anne Green: Oh, I completely agree, Steve, and that's why I'm so excited for today's conversation that we're gonna be sharing. I recently had the chance to speak with Megan Noel. She is chief corporate affairs officer at Covista. And Covista is a new brand, and Megan's [00:02:00] been right there in the middle of the work of helping to bring that identity to life.

And what I appreciated so much about the conversation, Steve, is we didn't talk about brand as a surface level exercise. We really talked about it as an enterprise level undertaking, and it's, um, one that really requires corporate affairs, marketing, comms, HR, internal teams, business leaders, I mean, pretty much every major partner to be aligned around what the organization is, what it promises, and how it earns belief from the people who matter most, whether inside or outside the walls.

Steve Halsey: You know, and that is such an important distinction because the shorthand is still often that brand, quote-unquote, "belongs to marketing," even though chief communications and chief corporate affairs officers are owning the corporate brand more and more these days. And to be clear, marketing is obviously essential to building a brand at both the product and corporate levels.

But when brand is treated only as a product or marketing functions, I think that's when [00:03:00] organizations miss the bigger picture. They can miss the connection to reputation, to culture, to employee understanding, to stakeholder trust, to public affairs, to risk. I could go on and on, but ultimately to leadership behavior

Anne Green: Yeah, and that's one of the pieces, you know, relative to this conversation that I think you and I have watched over the years, and I've been thinking a lot about in the context of this discussion today.

So we know a brand launch is just one small piece of a larger and ongoing effort. And, and I think what I'm mulling over most now is a brand has to be contextualized. It has to be made legible so stakeholders can really understand it, and even more important, find their own ways into it to personally connect.

And it has to have a meaning that is both believed but also believable, and that has to be delivered across the organization. And this means employees need to know what the impact is to their actual day-to-day work. Leaders need to understand how it connects to [00:04:00] business strategy. External stakeholders need to see evidence that a brand promise is real in every single touchpoint, and the organization needs to have enough internal coherence that the experience matches the expression in every channel and at every touchpoint.

And that is way harder, I think we, we acknowledge, Steve, than writing a positioning statement or even launching a new visual identity.

Steve Halsey: Yeah, I think it, I think it certainly is. And, and this connects to something we've been talking about often on this podcast this year, which is the idea of narrative as an operating system.

And we see that when a narrative is strong, it gives the organization a way to make choices. It helps people understand what matters, what the company stands for, where it's going, and just how to explain that in a consistent manner But conversely, when the narrative is weak or when brand is fragmented across functions, every team can end up telling a slightly different story.

Marketing says one [00:05:00] thing, communication says another, leaders emphasize something else, and in that situation, employees are left in the situation of trying to interpret it all on their own, and the brand loses impact in that case. And then the market gets the muddled signal. And, and this is especially true today in the age of AI discovery, as we've been talking about.

Anne Green: Yeah, it's interesting. Today I've just been working on a project where we're trying to apply that lens of corporate as a, as a, you know, operating narr- narrative, as an operating system for an organization that is feeling fragmented that way. And that, I think, is where corporate affairs can play such a powerful role.

You know, one of the things that Megan and I discuss is how the function is actually sometimes misunderstood, especially chief corporate affairs officer, which is a less known title to some. And I think the issue is people still say public relations as a shorthand for our field, you know, and I know where that came from historically.

They're often thinking of media relations, which in reality the [00:06:00] remit of communications is so much broader. It's truly amazing in its breadth, and frankly, that's been true for a long time, uh, I mean, as long as you and I have been in the field now, Steve, which is over 30 years. So corporate affairs and communications leaders are typically working at that intersection of reputation, stakeholder engagement, employee understanding, executive positioning, public policy, issues management, culture, risk, trust, and ultimately, I think one of the most important is business impact.

That is a super wide lens. And in a moment where organizations are under more scrutiny from more stakeholders, that wide lens is not a nice to have. It's really, really necessary.

Steve Halsey: Yeah, and that also means that the old silo model just, it just doesn't work anymore You know, brand obviously has a C-suite steward, but it does not, and, and I believe it should not, just live in one department.

Just like reputation does not live in one department, trust does not live in one department, and as we all know, risk [00:07:00] certainly does not stay contained nice and neatly within one department. So the work really requires a much more matrixed approach. And, and corporate affairs, they have to partner with marketing.

Marketing has to partner with HR and people team. Internal communications has to be connected to external communications, legal, policy, operations, digital sales, IT. I mean, when you think about all these components, and the senior-most leadership, they all have a role to play here.

Anne Green: Yeah, I wanna sit on this internal piece for a minute there too, because I, I think when you and I both started in the agency world, Steve, internal communications was often treated as secondary to the external push.

You'd launch something externally, and of course employees would be informed. And, and you know, sometimes it worked better than others. Some, some folks took it really seriously from the beginning. But the real attention and the real gravitational pull was usually on the marketplace, the media investors, customers, policy makers, whoever those external [00:08:00] audiences might be.

I think that narrow view of internal comms has changed, or at least it should have changed, because employees are not a secondary audience. You know, you've heard my metaphor, Steve, the drop of water falls in the pond, and that first ring that radiates outward is your own people. They are the carriers of the brand.

They're the interpreters of the brand. And in many ways, they are the first test of whether a brand is credible.

Steve Halsey: You know, and that's, that's such a good point. I mean, based on experience, if employees do not understand the story or if they don't believe the story, it becomes very difficult for the outside world to believe it.

So you really have to succeed first internally with the brand before you can go externally. And then you've got this AI dimension that raises the stakes even further. I mean, we've talked about it before, how generative AI and search are just changing the way that people encounter brands. I mean, we are increasingly in a zero-click environment And people may not [00:09:00] go directly to a website and review somebody's carefully crafted material.

They may simply ask, or they may just get served a summation of what a company does, what it stands for, whether it's trustworthy, and what its reputation is. So in a AI platform, or just Google search for that matter, it's simply serving up a summary.

Anne Green: Yeah, and that means, um ... And we've been talking about this a lot, both with our, you know, service teams, our digital teams.

That story of the brand, the clarity around it, has to be both human readable and machine readable. It's not the first time we've been talking about this, but it's as salient as ever. So it's not enough for the story to live in a launch deck or, you know, a m- you know, a campaign platform. It has to be expressed consistently across the digital footprint.

It has to show up in leadership content and employee communications and in media coverage of course, and in own channels, and when your leaders are out speaking, thought leadership and videos, and basically that broader ecosystem of signals [00:10:00] that so clearly, and we can really document this, shape how a company is understood today.

And when that doesn't happen, and we're seeing this all over the place, the system, so to speak, fills in the blanks for you.

Steve Halsey: Yeah, and that, that really brings us back to, I, I think the importance of partnership. You know, a strong brand today requires the creativity and market orientation of marketing of course, but it also requires the stakeholder lens and the reputation discipline that comes from corporate affairs.

It requires the support of sales, it requires the credibility that comes from employee engagement, and it really requires leadership alignment so that the organization is not just saying something compelling, but as you know, Anne, they're actually operating in a way that supports the promise.

Anne Green: Yeah, I think that's a core to me.

We all know a brand is not simply what an organization says about itself, but it's that cumulative effect of what people experience in the real world or digitally, what they hear, what they find, what [00:11:00] they believe, and whether the organization behaves consistently over time, which is a callback to our wonderful Building Brand Gravity with Bradley Akabiro, who's talking about you gotta know where you stand to stand there, so folks should check out that episode.

But whether you're launching or relaunching a brand, or simply seeking to bring the brand you have today more to life, I think the work is to create the identity and then create the conditions for that identity to be understood and trusted, and then frankly, to ensure that that work never stops.

Steve Halsey: Yeah, I think, I think that's very well said, Ann.

And to me it seems like the perfect setup for your conversation with Megan because she has been working directly that intersection we're talking about of corporate affairs, brand, internal alignment, marketing partnership, and stakeholder trust.

Anne Green: Yeah, she really has. I've known her for over a decade now, and she brings such thoughtful insights to the evolving role of corporate affairs and what it takes to lead this work inside a complex organization.

She and I are both committed to the idea of working [00:12:00] in a matrix. The other thing I love is she has a lot of perspective on career development in this field because she's been both quite a long time on the agency side and then on the in-house corporate side. And, which was very nice, she was recently included among the 2026 PRWeek Women of Distinction honorees, which is a great honor and one I'm very happy to celebrate with her.

So with that, let's hear my conversation with Megan Noel. I'm particularly thrilled to have Megan Noel on the podcast today. Hi, Megan.

Megan Noel: Hi, Anne.

Anne Green: Yeah, we've known each other now over 10 years. It feels like longer in the best way, but I'm gonna ask you to tell a little about your role, but just to give our listeners some context, you've been on the agency side at Edelman for almost 10 years, the start of your career, tons of interesting clients.

You... People can check you out on LinkedIn. But it was during your time at PWC where you had a huge impact on really, I think, um, transforming the communications function there for a decade, and most recently senior managing [00:13:00] director and leader of US and Mexico Communications and Corporate Affairs. But today you've got that chief corporate affairs officer role at Covista, and that's part of what we'll talk about today, but welcome again.

And I guess I'd-- I would kick off to say not every single person is familiar with the chief corporate affairs officer role. I'd love to give you some con- to get some context on that, 'cause I think people understand CCOs, CMOs, but tell me a bit about that role from your perspective and, and how you're playing it currently.

Megan Noel: Yeah, it's such a good question, and it's one that I get a lot. Um, it is still an emerging role within Fortune 1000 companies. Um, essentially, it's a CCO plus role. Um, for me at Covista, it incorporates, uh, communications, investor relations, government relations and public policy and public affairs, impact and sustainability, thought leadership, brand, [00:14:00] um, and alumni, and so it's a, a really fulsome role.

The reason that we put all of these disparate functions together at Covista is because Steve Beard, our CEO, wanted all the storytellers to sit together. So whether you're communicating to the media or employees or policymakers or investors, it's an opportunity for us to tell a consistent story and narrative across all of our stakeholders and all of our audiences.

We are starting to see the role pop up more in Fortune 1000 companies, and I think, um, one, I'm just excited to see that, uh, especially I think it was more prevalent in the UK or in European, um, companies, uh, but we're seeing it more pop up in US companies. And I'm excited to see that because it's a recognition at the highest levels with CEOs and boards that storytelling is a C-suite role and that [00:15:00] storytelling to all of our stakeholders is something that is critically important to the business.

Anne Green: I think that's a very interesting way to frame it. And, um, you know, in some ways it's so funny, Megan, sometimes it almost feels like saying storytelling is a cliche, but it's ac- it's actually so, so critical. And framing, 'cause when you went through the list of everything that you're engaged with, responsible for, it's a big list.

But I can see how, like you said, that corporate narrative, the story is embedded everywhere within those roles.

Megan Noel: Yeah, um, Sally Susman, who was the chief corporate affairs officer at Pfizer for a very long time, probably one of the pioneers of the, that type of role and, and in the profession, she wrote a book and she has been on this road for a while and saying, "Storytelling is a skill, and it is a skill that you have to develop, hone in, cultivate, refine."

And, um, by bringing disparate functions together, there's a [00:16:00] recognition that storytelling is something that we have to get right, especially today and in, in a world where audiences, the way they get their information is hyper-fragmented, trust is low, um, people are getting their news from social influencers more than they're getting it from top-tier media.

And so the way in which we effectively tell our stories or not can either drive growth, drive our reputation, or not. So it, it is something that I think is increasingly recognized, um, as a, as a skill and a specialized skill.

Anne Green: It's interesting, my colleague Steve Halsey, our chief growth officer who hosts the podcast with me, we've been talking a lot about, um, this concept that he coined that I, I, I think it's not, you know, other people think about this too, but he calls it a narrative as the operating system of a company.

That it's not just, oh, a message is something I've put on a messaging document for you to prepare for a given interview. It's just [00:17:00] what is that spine that goes through everything, or whatever metaphor you want, that is the operating system, and how does that narrative manifest itself into... Does that resonate with you at all in terms of how you're framing this, Meaghan?

Megan Noel: It does, and I think, I know we'll talk about this a little later, but I think with the advent of AEO and AIO, that consistent storytelling is even more important because that's what the algorithms are using to reward companies that are doing that. And so, um, it, it's been something that we have spent a lot of time at Covista really trying to stitch together a consistent story across all of our stakeholders, so ultimately we can build a brand that's trustworthy and that's tackling business and societal issues at the same time.

Anne Green: Well, let's get into Covista. This is a new brand. It's a, it's a v- it's a long existing entity and an important one. For those that don't know, you know, I've done a lot of work in the healthcare space over the last few decades, and health [00:18:00] workforce education in all of its, all of the roles, is absolutely critical.

But you got to play a part in conceiving and launching and partnering on creating a new brand. So tell me more about the background of how you approached it, and obviously what Covista is just, or Covista, so that people have grounding in, in what the entity is.

Megan Noel: Yeah. It was, in fact, it was one of the reasons why I, I was so attracted to this role.

Um, let, let me step back and give you a little bit of history. Um, our prior name was Adtalem Global Education. It was a proprietary and diversified higher education organization. So there was, we had a Brazil business, we had a financial services business, we had a little bit of a healthcare business. Um, over time, as Steve Beard took on the role of CEO, he made, um, an investment in Walden, which is the third largest nursing school in the country, the second-largest education school in the country.

We made some divestitures, and we ended up with an organization, um, [00:19:00] between our five institutions that was 90-plus percent focused on healthcare education. Yet our brand and our positioning in the marketplace Had not caught up to where we were as a company. And so the challenge and opportunity in building the Covisint brand was a couple fold.

One, was to create a brand positioning that reflected both the business and societal challenge of tackling the healthcare workforce shortage at scale meant, and that we could be a big part of that. Second, was to create an employer brand in the marketplace that would retain the amazing talent that we have.

We have 10,000 colleagues and faculty across the US. Um, and also be one that could be a talent attractor and bring in new and different talent. And third, is to create an enterprise brand that could sit alongside our institution brands and be a powerful force in the marketplace. Think about the [00:20:00] way other holding companies like Unilever or P&G have made that transformation of not only having powerful consumer brands, but also having a powerful enterprise brand that can sit behind and, and stitch all of it together.

So, so with that challenge, that was, um, a place for us to take a look at, how do we do this that can really hit on all of those different pillars and create a big mark in, i- in the environment? And typically, Anne, that's something that's given to the CMO to do. And yet, uh, Steve was, again, he's, he's, uh, so deliberate as a CEO.

He gave that as, uh, an opportunity for both me as the CCAO and the CMO to partner on to bring to life together. So we created the name, the brand positioning, um, the, the-- We spent more time than I can count on the, the colors, which are so important. Um, but equally, [00:21:00] we did the work behind the, uh, the visual identity.

We refreshed our purpose, vision, and values. We created an employee value proposition. We had never had one before, right? And we started to bring an impact commitment to life to be able to underscore that we're here to drive growth in the marketplace, but also we're here to play a meaningful role in tackling that healthcare workforce shortage at scale in a, in a big societal way.

So it, it's been, um, a career-defining assignment, um, and one that I have thoroughly enjoyed.

Anne Green: It, it was great to see this unfold. You know, I'd known you had taken the role and said, "Oh, this is interesting," and then watched this unfold and with great interest. And, um, you're absolutely right. You know, first of all, branding, rebrands from the outside are often not well understood, even by the employees of an organization.

It's easy to pick on a new name or just say, "Oh, what is that?" I remember [00:22:00] when Verizon first launched, when Accenture first launched, you know, these are names that are so common now, but it was, you know, it was easy to poke fun when you first see it or, oh, what does that mean? But you're so right that to do it fully, and it sounds like you have, there's so many pieces and parts.

And I loved what you said about that equal partnership with your marketing counterpart, 'cause you're absolutely right. You know, one of my clients used to be Siegel and Gale back in the day, and it was often the marketing team that would work with them. So I would think that you feel this work can't and shouldn't be done in a silo.

What is your point of view why that partnership's so critical today?

Megan Noel: Yeah. L- let me first just pick up before I answer your question around the point about brand refreshes. We know from doing them that a big part of them fail. So there's a lot of risk in doing brand refreshes, and when we were embarking on this journey, a lot of the data was the best that you can get to is neutral, and neutral is not [00:23:00] what I strive for.

Um, and I, uh, I-- being a competitive person and being someone that also wants to drive both business and societal good, I was like, "I know we can do better than neutral." But the, the cards are stacked against you, right? People are skeptical. Everybody has an opinion. Everybody can be a keyboard warrior and, and, and put their opinion out there for those to opine on.

Um, and we had a diverse stakeholder set, right? We had internal stakeholders. We had diverse external stakeholders. We're a regulated business, and so we had to consider that. We are focused in the US, but we have students coming from around the world, and so we had to be globally conscious while US-centric.

Um, so there was a lot of variables to think about, and, um, that I think made the challenge even more great when you are able to launch and there's positive receptivity in the marketplace from stakeholders. Um, and, and so that's something that I just think as [00:24:00] anyone that is going to embark on this, either as a, a par- a part of their career or, um, a part of their, uh, an assignment within their portfolio, um, to really think about the brand risk but also the brand opportunities that are a part of this.

Anne Green: Which areas do you feel, based on the research and your own assessment and knowledge and those of your colleagues, presented the greatest risk? Is it those internal stakeholders and the diversity of them coming along for the ride? Is it, is it really everything inside and outside?

Megan Noel: I had the privilege at PwC to, as part of my role, to oversee change management, and that was, um, so enlightening in so many ways because you learn that people hate change.

Doesn't mean if they don't-- Even if they don't like the status quo, they hate change more, right? And so that is the biggest risk is whether you like it or not, it's familiar. You understand it. You know how to navigate it. In some instances, folks say, "Well, I was just starting to get the Adtalem [00:25:00] brand out in the marketplace, and now we're gonna change it all again?"

Um, and, and so to get people over the mindset shift around the change and get people to understand the why, and that why is gonna look different for all different types of stakeholders- Is the biggest hurdle that you need to do. And, um, the opportunity there is if you get your employees bought in first, then they can become ambassadors with all the rest of the stakeholders, um, to help drive that change.

But if they aren't bought in, they also can be the biggest detractor. So we knew when we were embarking on this, we had to do a heavy buy-in around our employee population, especially those who may say, "Gosh, I sit in this holding company, but I identify with the institution of which I'm a part of. Why should I even care about this holding company over here?

And [00:26:00] why should I have any sort of brand affinity to that?" And so to be able to, uh, get people to understand that why and that change And then to build that affinity even before we launched was an important, um, step along the way to making this a success.

Anne Green: This so ties to-- I just had a conversation with David Grossman, whose recent book, "The Heart Work of Modern Leadership," just came out, and there's a whole connection to this, listeners.

You know, j-j- listen to that one, come back to this one, tie it together. But let's go back then. So you know the challenge, and you know we have to land this Y, and it's gonna be multifaceted work, and we want this to be the upside, not just neutral or worse . And you're partnering with your marketing counterpart.

Why is that partnership important, and how do you-- I think for some people, working across a matrix is difficult. It's much easier to... They don't love being in a silo, but it's a lot easier sometimes when you're kind of running your own world. What was the importance of working [00:27:00] across that, and what are some of the things that you observed as you did it?

Megan Noel: I've been really blessed throughout my career in my in-house roles that marketing has always been a peer and an equal partner. I know that's not the case, and I know that that, um, in, in saying that, that is a luxury that not every organization, whether you're a CCO or a CCAO have. But in, in that structure, the CMOs have become some of my best friends at the organization, some of my biggest challengers within the organization, and ones that I have learned the most from.

I think the communications function and the corporate affairs function can learn a lot from the marketing function. I equally know that the marketing function can learn a lot from us. So when you approach it from a point of learning and curiosity, and knowing that you're coming at it with slightly different perspectives but with the same end goal in mind, that's when the best work happens, even if there's some [00:28:00] tough conversations, some tension points along the way.

The CMO that I worked with on this one was super creative, and he could be able to push the limits on creativity that frankly I couldn't e-ever get to. I am very good at operationalizing, um, the work. And so together, we were able to create an amazing creative product, but also one that can flow through the organization and inside and outside seamlessly.

And so by, by using that partnership together, we were able to create magic. Um, and so I think you should learn and embrace a lot from the marketing organization. Uh, I also think- For those of us sitting in communications roles and corporate affairs roles, you have to understand that success comes from integration and partnership, and that is a big part of the job.

Yes, it's easy to sit in silos, but you will [00:29:00] not be successful. Said differently, you probably won't have a job, um, because success is being able to partner closely with your peers across the business, with your peers across finance, HR. You have to be dangerous enough, especially in my role, where, um, I'm a peer to the business leaders, I'm a peer to finance and HR and marketing.

I have to understand the business segments and their strategy enough to be dangerous and walk into that room. I have to understand our employee engagement strategy and our talent strategy to go toe-to-toe with our HR leader. I have to understand our, our growth strategy and our AI strategy in order to go toe-to-toe with our CMO and our CDO.

Um, and I have to know the numbers enough to be able to sit down and have an intellectual and thoughtful conversation with our CEO-- our CFO, excuse me, and then stitch it all together to have conversations with our [00:30:00] CEO. And so working within a matrix organization is absolutely critical, and I think that has made me, um, more curious about the business, and it has forced me to lean in to understand avenues of our business that I would have not thought that I would have had to understand, um, as deeply as I do in order to be successful at the role.

Anne Green: I couldn't co-sign hard enough on this conversation. Um, you know, you and I have both worked with so many organizations across our career. I've been thirty-four years on the agency side, and I've had just immense privilege to work with hundreds of clients across sectors, many different sizes. And there's so many wonderful organizations out there, and the people are wonderful, but we're also in those normal human systems and mindsets that can hold us back in ways we don't even see.

And like I said, I find working in a more matrixed environment so [00:31:00] wonderful and inspiring. It, it really gives me energy, but it takes a lot of that emotional intelligence and human skill to relate to each other, and also the rigor and the curiosity, pushing yourself to learn and to be bold, to build relationships, though.

I mean, communications folks know how to do this, but it is just interesting because as, as I was alluding before, I find humans find it as much as we chafe being in a silo, that hierarchy can be a little bit more legible. And there's a normal human thing of us versus them, like, "This is our world. What are you doing?"

You know? And that, that's a normal thing. But that, that's actually something that brings me to my next question for you because The idea of what is communications, how we widen our lens as we describe our function and our roles, and as you try to translate that to others, picking up on something you said, I've worked with marketers and advertising agencies and others for years.

There is so much shared perspective and language, but there are nuances, turns of the [00:32:00] dial that can be difficult to translate, where you don't even know you're not speaking the same conversation quite. So public relations is how we used to be known, right? And think it's broader than that. So what is your take on what is this role today?

What is communications today to you, Megan? How is it understood? How is it misunderstood?

Megan Noel: Can we just have PR die? Because I think that term should be retired, um, killed off, disintegrated. It, it, it should go away. I actually absolutely loathe that word public relations. I think it, um, doesn't reflect the totality, the intellect, the evolution of where our profession has gone and, um, the role that we play in supporting the business in, in a really fulsome way.

And so when I hear that, I'm saddened by [00:33:00] it. I also look to correct people. Um, and, and I think over time, uh, that, that, that has happened. I'll, I'll give you an example of this. When I took on the role at, at PWC, I think you know this, we were the PR department, and I called my boss at the time and I said, "I, I have to change the name to communications."

And we had a, a, a really big back and forth around that, and he was like, "Why? Why, why? We-- you guys do press." And I was like, "But we don't just do press. We connect the dots. We reconcile diverse opinions We help build and protect the brand in the marketplace. At that point, we were on the precipice of social media, right?

And so we were starting to embark on new tools and new channels and be on the frontier of how people were communicating. And, and so I said it, it does the team a disservice [00:34:00] internally and externally just to put us in this, this bucket. And I got him there, and we changed the name. Um, and while the name changes seem just, just that, is just, it's, it's a, it's a, uh, identity shift, it created an entire perception shift within the organization that we were seen differently, we were thought of differently in the organization, and more, most importantly, Anne, we were valued differently in an entirely g- new level.

It wasn't just, "We're gonna call Megan and her team when we've made a decision, and they'll put out a press release, or they'll call the press." It was more that we're gonna engage communications in a conversation, and the risks and opportunities around that decision and how it impacts our stakeholders.

And so similar to where we're having brand conversations at the enterprise and organizational level, for our profession, the identity shift is so important [00:35:00] and, and I continue to hope that we get sharper on how we communicate, um, that today internally and externally.

Anne Green: You know, when I took over the CEO role here at GNS, and now we've got two agencies under our integrated marketing communications group brand, that idea of integrated marketing communications was to me really important because we do many different things, including things that are understood as marketing, advertising, et cetera.

And it, and I wonder sometimes, you know... And, and it's interesting, I've been very involved with the PR council on the agency side. I've been on the board. Um, there's a heritage to understanding public relations as kind of a unique field. But at the same time, I've wondered, it sounds so silly, but I've wondered sometimes that the initials PR also being press release is somehow

It's just, it, it sucks you into this vortex of diminishment sometimes. So, and it's been exciting. We're gonna get to AI in a moment to sort of see how discovery and search is changing and what, how that changes it. But if there was one thing that, [00:36:00] you know, you've articulated so much about the richness of what is communications today, which I very much agree with.

What is one thing that you would encourage corporate peers at any organization, not just Covista, to understand about what communications is today?

Megan Noel: Yeah, I'm, uh, if I was talking to business leaders, um, uh, who were still trying to understand and grapple with the evolution of the function, I, I would tell them a couple things.

First and foremost is that we're beyond press releases or PR, and that we are really, um, the, the dot connector and the integrator, um, within and throughout an organization across all of our different audiences. Um, second is that to see us as a business partner first and a storyteller second, right? Going back to the conversation around we have to understand the business enough, a big part of where I think this profession has really evolved and has been c- uh, [00:37:00] front and center at conversations within the CCO and CCAO community over the past several years is heightening and deepening our business acumen And, um, if we are able to do that, then we are able to be true business partners to the organization and help them reach their employee engagement goals, or help them reach their growth goals, or help them reach their reputation goals, or help protect them from regulatory pressures that are happening.

And so it just changes the whole vernacular, um, and I think that makes us a better partner to the business. Uh, and so that's what I would, I would say to those folks who still maybe see something in the profession that is outdated. That said, the business leaders that I have encountered and work for, and maybe that's not by accident, the CEOs that I've worked for deeply believe in, in the profession and the power of the profession to do amazing [00:38:00] work.

I've been so lucky. I've worked for four very different CEOs, but the red thread throughout each of them is that they believed in the power of that, of this function beyond just the media and press releases.

Anne Green: And I tell-- It's wonderful to hear, and they're certainly out there and growing. I do think that there's such a body of evidence that's coming from all sides about what are the skill sets needed for effective leadership today.

I remember a few years ago, Harvard Business Review did a whole package on what is the CEO of today, you know, of tomorrow, and things like emotional intelligence, ability to create followership, ability to speak and connect with multiple stakeholders, which is not all about performance. You know, Megan, you do a lot of training of executives over the years.

You know that's a specialty of mine, and it's far more than just, "Oh, I know how to plant and, and stand and project." You know, it's, it's so much about how they bring themselves to it. The other thing that's so interesting is in this [00:39:00] world today, you know, you see entities like Gartner reporting on, hey, as AI shifts workflows and workforce, things like sentiment, understanding human connection, counsel, crisis counsel, you know, interpretation, uh, dot connecting, a lot of those human skills which are so central to the communications function are going to be more important and not commodity.

So I think those are the types of things that That I'm really looking at. Before we get into the AI of it all, which we have to, one area of communications that I've always thought a lot about, but I felt it was highly undervalued, especially, you know, 35 years ago when I entered the agency world, was this idea of internal communications.

It was often siloed off, perhaps owned by our colleagues in HR, which is very important, this incredible partnership. My chief people officer and I are joined at the hip in our work. But, or it was sort of a, quote unquote, "backwater" [00:40:00] of comms compared to, like, if you're running around at an Edelman or a Burson-Marsteller, it's like, "I'm crisis.

I'm corporate." What is your take on those internal audiences and the importance of that to your role today?

Megan Noel: I'm thrilled that internal comms is finally having its heyday. Um, you know, I grew up on the external side, and so I deeply understand and value and have experience in creating a brand and a reputation for external audiences.

Um, and l- let me tell you a little story a- about this and wh- what, why I think it's so important. I was... When I was at PwC, I had come in through the external route. I, I-- By the time I got done with that job or th- th- when I left PwC, I had every job on that team, but I was coming up through the ranks on the external side.

And when I had gotten to the external comms leader, we, uh, it was a- around 2020, my CEO, uh, Tim Ryan at the time, um, called me. We had just entered [00:41:00] into the pandemic. We, sort of early days and didn't know, right, how long this thing was going to last, um, what the impact it was going to be on our internal stakeholders, our clients, the, you know, organizations writ large.

And when you get a call from your CEO with no, little to no context, um, most people get a little scared, a little worried, like, "Okay, what, what, what's gonna happen here, and, and how is this gonna play out?" And he calls me in early spring, and he said, "Megan We, we don't know how long this pandemic is going to last.

The real challenge, right? We have 100,000 people within PwC all across the United States and, and even more that spread across our acceleration centers globally. And a big part of what I wanna be able to do is continue to do work for our clients. We n- we are-- we need to be there for our clients, but we also need to be there for our people.

So I'm nodding along and I'm like, [00:42:00] "Yes, yes, of course, of course, this all makes complete sense." And he said, "With that, I need a real partner to help me continue to rally our people during this critical time, and someone that is going to take storytelling and stakeholder management and thoughtfulness to what we've done externally and bring that inside, um, and navigate a change that we don't know quite where we're going just yet," right?

And it was a challenge that I was absolutely thrilled to take on, but also really nervous too, right? At the same time, he had said, "We're gonna go embark on a ton of changes, and so the internal comms and the change management side of the role need to go hand in glove." I had no change management experience

So to take that on and to lead an organization during the pandemic, to lead them through a [00:43:00] massive strategy change, to lead them through major technology changes, and, and PwC did a brand change at that same time, was, uh, a- another career-defining move of, of, I, I know will be of, of my entire career. Um, but the, what that taught me is the importance of h- how to engage and bring employees along, that it's not just operational comms.

There's things that employees need to know to do their job. But to your point about leadership and inspiration, it's the empathy, it's the engagement, it's how you reach your employees. We're now dealing with ch- uh, four generations in the workforce, and they all get their information and want their information in a different way.

It's how to work within matrices and understand how to communicate in pockets that will help managers who are on the front lines be successful. So all of those skills are so critical to [00:44:00] building the right toolbox for a communicator and help us as business leaders really help and support the business during times of important change.

Anne Green: It's such a great story and, um, you know, h- knowing Tim Ryan's leadership and what every company was facing at that moment, 2020 was a real crucible in terms of, I think, organizations understanding audiences a little differently, knowing employees are important and those inner rings of connection, but looking at it a bit differently.

And, you know, it, it's, it's funny, too, I, I joke being in an agency environment, I've started to say some, to some of my leaders, 'cause we're going through all kinds of change in a very positive way in order to pivot and continue evolving in a landscape that's changing fast and needs to under a lot of pressure.

W- workers are under so much psychological and real pressure today. I mean, it's a tough world out there in that way. But, you know, people want to try new things, but as you say, change [00:45:00] is hard. Even something that they didn't like before, if you're gonna change it, it's, it's tough. And I joke with my leaders, say, "Hey, we- work on some tough challenges for our clients in reaching audiences that are hard to reach, but no one's harder than our own folks, for the best reasons.

These are skeptical folks, Type A, working hard, heads down on clients. So I, I love hearing what you're saying about this and just reflecting on those moments of your career that have felt like a real step change forward and expansion. And keeping on the employees for a moment, let's use that as a way to think about AI.

We are in the midst of one of the greatest changes, I think, that we'll see in our lifetimes. I mean, I don't think that's an exaggeration. And the technological changes is, the pace of it is blistering. I think that as one way in, the workforce, the pressure on it, and the psychological pressure, and the questions about it are a lot.

And then the adoption is key. And I watched you at PwC start to walk that adoption [00:46:00] path- Yeah ... and start to help that with your own team and then with others. Now you're part of an ecosystem that has to scale that in much bigger ways and in, uh, diverse environments. But how do you look at this big thing called AI as it's transforming our field?

If you have to step back, like, how do you get your hands around what it means, what the top things you're thinking about, and how it's shifting the focus for you?

Megan Noel: I think we started a couple years ago when A, when AI started to come to the forefront, and we were thinking about it as a productivity and efficiency and a scale tool.

And it absolutely is. I think if you ask many communications corporate affairs departments now, they are using AI as an opportunity to do, ma- create content more quickly, to A/B test it, um, uh, better, as well as do, um, uh, personalization at scale. And so it, it absolutely is an efficiency and productivity tool.

It [00:47:00] also is a, a co-creator of thoughts and someone to bounce ideas off of in a really safe and iterative, very quickly, um, way. I think now organizations are turning to the AI search engines and the answer engine economy and saying, "Wow, regardless of which tool that you are using, these platforms are spitting out information that people are making real decisions off of.

Which vacation do I go on? Which car do I buy? Which university do I attend," right? These are, these are major decisions that people are using AI to help them think through. And so as businesses and organizations are thinking through how to influence in the right way, we can't forget that AI is playing a big role in that influencing decision.

And yet there's a lot of [00:48:00] inputs that go into that, right? Things like press releases that perhaps had gone by the wayside are now back and really a valuable tool to influence the AI engines. Things like Wikipedia are increasingly important as an influencing tool. Certain media outlets. I can go on and on and on But the, the real opportunity as someone is thinking through this is how do we create the right ecosystem that will flood these platforms in the right way to give consumers, stakeholders the right information that they need at their fingertips, and ones that we want them to know about in our organization.

It's hyper-personalization at scale. I think that is a fascinating challenge for us, right? I've been in the profession for 20 years. I'm learning this alongside our most junior folks, right? And so talk about democratization of learning. [00:49:00] They may get it more quickly than me, which I hope they do. That's awesome, right?

Uh, but this is one where years of experience and skill doesn't give you the leg up. We're all learning this together, and so I, I've loved learning. Curiosity and learning are a big part of any-- You know, you take leadership profiles, and that's... Oh, I always get that as, um, I'm a big learner. I'm a big, uh, sort of focused on curiosity, and so I think this is fascinating, but it's also a huge challenge as we're trying to shape reputation, um, for organizations.

Anne Green: Yeah. It's such a multi-layered thing and, and how on the flip side of the coin, AI is, you know, fuels misinformation, disinformation at scale. It's just, there's a whole ecosystem to balance, and it's gonna be so interesting to see. I love your thoughts about how do we, yes, gain efficiency, gain productivity, but also increase our speed to strategy, sharpen ourselves, learn faster, get to the insights faster.

I think that's where experience can [00:50:00] still help mentor to say, "Hey, I can gut check what I'm seeing." But then how do we understand, again, that narrative is an operating system, that's an ecosystem, and you've got a lot of stakeholders out there you've gotta share that message with, you know? And it's a, it's an interesting time to build, build that ecosystem out and have the why behind it even clearer, I think.

Megan Noel: I also would say it's creating a, a ton of new jobs and new opportunities. We're hiring for AI, um, embedded in roles. We're also hiring specialists. And so while there may be a efficiency gain in the types of content creation skills that we used to spend a lot of time on, it's also creating new pathways for employment, um, within our profession that w-wasn't there even just one or two years ago.

And so, uh, I always see these disruptive moments as g- and in the end, going to push us forward. It may [00:51:00] be two steps forward, one step back, two steps, but that's progress still, right? We're still getting 50% of the way- Uh, further than we had before. I also think this is one where the profession has an opportunity to continue to learn from marketing and what it's doing, and be a collaborator with marketing as you go forth, because what the AI search engines are doing is democratizing content.

Just as much as you're getting it from the media, you're getting great information from our website, you're getting great information from newsrooms. And so how do we create a new type of ecosystem that's working together? It requires even closer partnership with marketing than it had ever been before.

Anne Green: Absolutely. And from some of our marketing counterparts and clients, you know, paid is changing. The impacts of paid digital, it's changing, and they're very wary of that as well. And I think that's where, again, we've got to bring those clicks of the dial where we may have those different perspectives. That becomes so much more powerful when they're put together.

So [00:52:00] we d- in the last couple minutes, I w- wanna just hit you with a few sort of fun questions and, you know, hopefully those who listen, we have a wide range of listeners, some younger and older in their career in different places, and I know you've got a lot of wisdom to share. So you've been both agency and corporate side of the house.

I am, as Kim Sample once said from PR Council, an agency animal, so, you know, I've been agency the whole time. But when you think about those two sides of the house in this career, what, what have you brought from each of those?

Megan Noel: I have loved that I have spent 50% of my career on agency and 50% in-house. Um, I think that it brings a perspective of both sides of the profession that is so necessary.

When you are on the agency side, you are on the edge of the profession, on the edge of creativity. You're seeing a broad swath of clients, a broad swath of business challenges and mega trends, and you can have your hand in, in a lot of different [00:53:00] opportunities. It also, especially earlier in your career, gives you a chance to learn what you like and, more importantly, what you don't like to do.

And, and then what you don't like to do is just as important, if not more important, because it helps you narrow h- how do you chart your career path forward, um, and, and what, what opportunities you wanna take on versus not. In-house has allowed me to hone my business skills and really get close to those that are not living day in and day out in the communications corporate affairs world and, um, test my business acumen and test my business knowledge.

Um, it also helps me ensure that I am creating teams, goals, and my career that's close to what the business needs are, as opposed to just doing something for the creativity or the wow factor. For those that are just starting in their careers, I, as I said, I [00:54:00] encourage you to go to the agency, try stuff out, learn a lot.

I also encourage people to go in-house because you get that, that, uh, business acumen that you wouldn't have gotten being on the agency side. Um, but what I've learned is that spanning both agility is so important. The only constant is change, and, um, you have to be able to, when you're the agency side, switch from client to client, challenge to challenge, the same as in-house.

Curiosity is critical, right? If you don't know something, go deep and learn it. Um, and, and really try to be, um, a close partner to those that are, that are in the business or on the client side. I'll, I'll give you example with this, this role too, is I come up from a communications background. I had-- at PWC, GR was a partner to me.

Now GR reports to me, so I had to really understand public policy and our lobbying and [00:55:00] our, our, um, advocacy agenda in a deeper way than I had ever been before Equally, this is my first time at a public company, and so understanding investor relations and what it means to report earnings quarterly and how to engage with our investors in a meaningful way each quarter, but more importantly beyond that quarter to keep them engaged in our s- business strategy and where we're going and why we're going to that.

Um, each of those different experiences has made me, I think, a better professional. I, I talked to you a little bit about change management. I thought I'd hate change management. In fact, it was the area that I have loved the most overseeing. It was also the hardest.

Anne Green: Yeah. Often the things that are in leadership of all kinds, the things that are hardest, you learn the most, become most proud of.

It's not easy, but, you know, that's, that's where that growth comes from. It's like building that muscle. [00:56:00] I love that reflection. Um, another fun thing is you were named to the 2026 PRWeek Women of Distinction list. Congratulations. Thank you. That was a very fun honor. I was

Megan Noel: in good company with you, Anne.

Anne Green: We were both on the list at the same time, which was very fun and special to me.

Awards come and go, but this one did feel a bit special. What did, what did it mean to you? What did, what does that mark for you right now at this stage of your career, Megan?

Megan Noel: I think the award, PRWeek started doing this 20 years ago, so at that point I was just a young cub looking up and, and hoping I'd still have a job at some point.

Um, but I remember those lists coming out, and I remember I was at Edelman, and I remember one of my clients was on the list, and I remember celebrating her. We went to the award luncheon, and sitting there and saying to myself, "I wanna be on this list one day." Not for vanity, but because I wanna do something so meaningful, um, in my [00:57:00] career, and more importantly, to advance the profession that people will wanna put me on this list.

Um, I love this profession. I couldn't think of myself doing anything else. And to be On a distinguished list is incredibly humbling, um, and to be amongst amazing and powerful, and most importantly, kind women. I look across our class, and I know many of them personally, and each one of us is incredibly great at our jobs, but we're also incredibly kind.

Uh, you can't ask for anything more. Um, I also have two daughters, and so for their daughters to see their mom get an award and, uh, and, and have them be proud of me is, is just something incredibly special.

Anne Green: Well, I think that's an amazing place to end. Um, this is a very generous field, and this conversation is just a great [00:58:00] example of that.

And Meaghan, thank you. This was so fun, and I especially enjoyed some of the p- topics we dug into. So thank you for appearing on Building Brand Gravity, and I encourage folks, there's been a lot of good episodes lately, so if you loved what you heard here, go check out the others. Thank you.

Megan Noel: Thank you, Anne.

Jon Woods: It's just too much of a game changer for an organization to not step in. And I think what we're gonna find is that there will be organizations that if you ask them today, they would've said, "Oh yeah, we're using AI. We've got a enterprise license with ChatGPT," or, "We, we're using Copilot." But what they'll find is just enabling the licenses and not doing the work with their team and not doing the work with their people, it's going to lead to them looking around one day and saying, "We missed the boat here."

Steve Halsey: Welcome to Building Brand Gravity. I'm Steve Halsey.

Anne Green: And I'm Ann Green. Thanks as always to our listeners for joining us today.

Steve Halsey: You know, today's episodes gets into one of the most talked about, and frankly, one of the most misunderstood topics in our industry right now. You and I know it, [00:01:00] love it, we talk about it, we can't avoid talking about it, and yes, once again, I'm gonna talk about AI.

And this time, AI not as the headline and not as the tool, but how does AI show up as a real shift in how communications and marketing teams actually operate, how they make decisions, and how they build relevance in the marketplace?

Anne Green: Exactly, and one of the things we've been digging to in, uh, into quite a bit this year on the podcast is how AI is not just a technology story.

It's as much about leadership and culture as it is about a massive technological leap forward. I think that's sinking in more, but we have to keep talking about it. So we're seeing firsthand how it's starting to change how teams work, how we ideate and expand our toolkits, so to speak, and also in how decisions are being made as, as you implied earlier, Steve.

And in many cases, we're also seeing how it exposes whether organizations, everybody's really, actually have [00:02:00] clarity in how they operate. That's because, and this is a theme we've been discussing a lot, AI doesn't fix broken systems. It's a bit like that old saying, garbage in, garbage out. I mean, when you apply a technology like AI to a system or a strategy that's essentially broken or, or even simply not aligned, I think we feel pretty strongly, Steve, that AI just amplifies what's not working.

Steve Halsey: Yeah, that's right. And,

Anne Green: and it's also raising, I think, some important questions for leaders. So there's many, many of them. But questions like how do you create space for experimentation while still maintaining standards? And also protection, given the continued issues around cybersecurity and protecting client IP, and those issues are gonna become more intense as you have models like Anthropic Mythos coming onto the scene.

How do you build confidence and acceptance across teams that are at very different levels of AI adoption? We're facing that just like everyone, especially when there's so much negative news flying [00:03:00] around the whole topic today, including potential jobs impacts. That weighs on people. And, and also how do you make sure, this is very important for us, that human judgment, the part that must own and build trust and credibility, doesn't get lost as more of our workflows become either more automated or are driven by agentic systems?

So these are the questions and the tensions that we're seeing play out across organizations right now. We're deep into this, Steve, I know, but d- it, it really still feels like only the beginning.

Steve Halsey: You know, and that, and that's really what sparked today's conversation. A few weeks ago, we hosted the first Americas AI Summit with our partners.

We're part of an independent agency network called PROI Worldwide, and we brought together agency leaders from across North and South America, even had a few from Europe came over and joined us, basically to share what's actually working, like you said, where are teams struggling, and how expectations from clients are evolving over time.

And you were a big part of putting together that, that [00:04:00] summit and that discussion. And what came out of that summit was pretty clear. Like you said, this isn't just a technology conversation, it's really a leadership conversation.

Anne Green: Yeah, I couldn't agree more on that, Steve. It's a leadership conversation.

It's also a very human conversation. So today we're gonna continue that discussion right from the PROI summit to, to now, to a discussion you had with two agency leaders who are right in the middle of the shift, working directly with clients to navigate how AI is changing everything from workflow to visibility to reputation, to really what the agency-client relationship will look like in the future.

So joining Steve on this episode of Building Brand Gravity are our PROI colleagues, um, Hailey Driscoll from Walker Sands and John Woods from gl- Ground Floor Media. They're both bringing a thoughtful, but I think also highly practical on-the-ground perspective on what they're seeing and how they're advising themselves and other organizations like clients to move forward.[00:05:00]

And the conversation, I know, Steve, that you had definitely goes beyond just the products associated with AI. You dig into where leaders are getting stuck, how AI is shifting from a tool to really a full channel in some ways. You know, we can define our terms, but it, it's much bigger, and what it really means to build past what we call the baseline of AI adoption.

Steve Halsey: Yeah. So, so whether you're leading communications, marketing or, or just thinking about how your organization stays relevant in such a fast-changing environment, this really is a conversation about what actually matters in AI right now, and, and, and I'm excited to share it with our viewers and listeners.

Anne Green: All right. Let's get into it.

Steve Halsey: Welcome to Building Brand Gravity. I'm Steve Halsey, one of our hosts. And with me today, uh, two very esteemed guests that I'm excited to hear their points of view on AI. We have Haley Driscoll, who's the SVP of PR and the managing director of [00:06:00] Boston for Walker Sands. Haley, welcome to the podcast.

Hailey Driscoll: Thanks. Good to be here.

Steve Halsey: And we've got John Woods, who's a partner with Ground Floor Media. John, excited to hear your points of view as well.

Jon Woods: Excited to dive in. Thank you, Steve.

Steve Halsey: Yep, ready to go. Well, we're gonna call this episode AI Is Changing the Rules: Are You Leading or Reacting? And I had the great opportunity to talk with John and Haley.

Uh, we're all part of PROI International, which is, uh, a group of independent agencies around the US, around the world actually, uh, that, that come together to share best practices and, uh, to really expand our knowledge and our capabilities. And, and we hosted The first ever AI summit a few weeks ago, so we had about 30 participants from throughout North America, Central, South America, even had a few of our friends from Europe that snuck over because they thought it'd be a little more fun to be here with [00:07:00] us.

And we were talking about a number of things in ter- and I'm just gonna hit a couple of these because I have these in my notes, and then we'll get into, into some questions. But one of the things that, that we really spent a lot of time talking about was this bifurcation of maturity in terms of where AI is sitting or kind of this messy middle.

Everybody is doing something to some point. Some are really far ahead, some are at a little bit more at the nascent stage. So you're seeing this bifurcation, not just within the agency world, but also we're seeing that among a lot of clients. We're seeing that AI is already being embedded in a lot of our core functions, creative, how we do our media, workflow, strategy, crisis simulation, all of these things, which really then begs the question of where does value sit in that, that setup?

And I think one of the biggest constraints that we really talked about was it was less about the technology and more about driving [00:08:00] behavior. And to me, I thought that was the really interesting one. So I guess I'll start on that and, and, and Haley, we'll kick it to you first. When you think about AI and the conversations you're having with clients and with your team, what are the biggest misperceptions or blind spots that, that, that you see out there from a communication standpoint?

Hailey Driscoll: Yeah, it's a great question. I think there are, there are several. Um, one of them I think, which I, I hope we get into a little bit more as we go, is just the idea that a lot of people are really focused on AI as an efficiency tool, which is, is understandable. Um, I have a lot of clients that come to us and come to their internal teams and say, "Build me an agent that can do X."

And, um, it's something that is probably, uh Not the best use of team's brainpower and time, but it's also not moving the needle. So instead of thinking about what AI can deliver that we weren't able to do [00:09:00] previously at all, um, they're stuck on focusing on it as just an efficiency tool. So I think that's one challenge.

Um, the other really big one that I'm seeing right now is not looking at the fundamentals or the building blocks that you need for AI. So I think because of everything we're reading in the media, the pressure to innovate, people are jumping very quickly to wanting to create these efficiency tools, these agents, right?

Um, but they're not thinking about some of the building blocks that might be critical to get there. For example, do you have the right data that's going to ensure that you get really high-quality outputs, um, from AI that you're using? Does your team know how to prompt in a way that is going to most effectively deliver those outcomes?

And so, um, summarizing, I think, uh, some of the challenges or misconceptions are this propen- or this drive to move very quickly without stopping to think about, A, what are we really trying to achieve here, and B, do we have the right building blocks in place [00:10:00] to actually make that possible?

Steve Halsey: John, what about from your perception?

Do you see a lot of, uh, common blind spots?

Jon Woods: I do. I think the, um, gravitation towards efficiency and time savings, even if it's in service of spending more time on strategy and creativity and things that We as humans excel at is, it, it's leading to, uh, disappointment in some circumstances, and it's leading to, while there are things that can be done and automated now that can help find time for more, more productive, more valuable activities, there's, to Haley's point, setting up the systems and building the context and all of those pieces that need to be in place to get, um, appropriate output, and the, the human layers that need to be built on top of those processes, the review, the verification, um, even how it's communicated [00:11:00] within an organization of how did you use AI?

Did you not use it? Are we, are we using AI on top of AI? You s- it was created in one tool, and then somebody from the proofing team or from a reviewer is also running it through AI, so you're getting skewed results. Those processes aren't yet in place, and it's, it, it's almost as if when you think about the internet and the, the change in, in the late '90s and early aughts when the internet and e-commerce and all those tools changed the way we worked, it happened slowly.

It ha- this is like if you to- if you went back all the way to the early '90s and you just dropped today's internet on them and said, "Figure out how to make this work in your business," people wouldn't have known where to start. They got... There was a, there was a slow, steady drip there comparatively to what we're now facing, um, and it's creating, it's creating issues with adoption and inconsistencies and, and making sure that, that team members understand where the organization is, uh, and where they're going.

And [00:12:00] to, to Haley's point, many people aren't taking the time to t- to truly understand what are our processes, what are our goals, what are our values around how we use these tools before they race and try to build.

Steve Halsey: Yeah, and I, and I, I think a big part of it, too, is to give some granularity to the definition.

It's like saying print Or digital. You know, those are, those are some pretty big things. So I, I think people feel like they need to use the word AI, but then it's thinking about how do you use that? Where do you put that in context? And, and one of the ways I like to think about it is, is almost as three different layers, right?

At one level, yes, there is an efficiency layer and the ability to very, very quickly process data or information or things like that. There's a certain automation, uh, efficiency to it at, at a really base level. But then there's a mid-level of, hey, how does this really improve the work that we're doing? How does it, how does it do the quality?

Uh, not just the analyzation of the, of [00:13:00] the data, but just really using it as a thought partner, partner, creative partner, ideation, a research tool, whatever is going to make that human better at the council. And then for me, then that third layer is, but then what kind of new IP can we create if in the markets that we serve you're getting deeper and deeper and building that data set to which you could create some really new IP.

But I'm, I'm interested in your take. But for me, that's where I kind of think of it as at three levels. What is that AI level for efficiency? What makes the work better? And then what new cool, fun stuff can we, uh, can we create that creates a lot of value for the clients and the brands we serve?

Jon Woods: What excites me about it and, and what I've s- seen excite some of our, our clients is a lot of barriers have been removed.

So the, the things that were holding us back from wanting to create more, um, more personalization for our customers to deliver better [00:14:00] messages at, at better times, to deliver better products and services. Um, a lot of the things that have been stopping us from, from going as far as we want to, to truly create experiences and tools for our, our customers and us in turn for our clients, um, i- There, there shouldn't, uh, many of those barriers are gone now.

Um, it re- still requires a level of creativity, it still requires technical know-how and, and most importantly, the data to get it done. But the, the sky really is the limit on what we create now. So there is a little bit of prioritization. Uh, if we can build everything and we can build anything, well, what do we do first?

And how do we make sure that we're not trying to build everything and we're not trying to build, um, anything? So, uh, prioritization on, on what we're doing, and making sure that, that we're, we're bringing everyone along, that we're not leaving team, team members and customers behind, and that we're putting the thoughtfulness into how and what we're [00:15:00] building to ensure that we should be building it.

Uh, and making sure, uh, getting comfortable with that idea of this, you hear with AI, "Oh, I'm getting left behind," or, "It's moving so fast." Getting comfortable with the idea that you're never gonna be in front of AI. You're always gonna be behind at some level, and if you're doing what's right for your organization and right- what's right for your customers, then that's okay.

Hailey Driscoll: Yeah, I think it's a good point, this letting go of the fear of where am I relative to the industry as a whole, um, whether that's the PR industry or just AI in general, right? I, I work with a lot of companies who are, they are AI companies, and they themselves ... I had a, an executive say to me this morning, "The story I would've told you about AI adoption last week is different than what I would tell you this week."

So I think letting go of that and staying really focused on, on your own progress and how that maps to the strategy that you've ideally identified before you, you start building and moving, um, that's the only [00:16:00] benchmark that I think is, is realistic. Um, in terms of what I'm seeing with clients and sort of different levels of, of interest and adoption, I do think there's been a really nice reinvigoration of, of what we do in our craft, right?

I have clients that, you know, we always wanna be a partner to clients, a thought partner, um, rather than just a vendor, but I think that's- Coming to life in a very different way now, where I have clients coming to me or me coming to them and saying, "Hey, I have an idea for how we can approach this challenge in a very different way with a mix of our team members and technology.

Would you be up for, for trying this together?" And vice versa, I have clients coming to me and saying, "I wanna experiment in this way. Do you wanna do this with me?" And so I think that is taking that thought partnership that we've always valued in working with clients to a new level of we are really building processes and systems in, in a new way together, and that is a [00:17:00] really special way for our, um, us to work with clients, but also I think our industry to advance.

I will say, though, that with that, I think, and I'd be curious if you all are seeing the same, I think there's a very large gap between those companies, agencies or in-house communicators that are wanting to move forward and willing to take those risks, and then, um, other organizations or individuals who perhaps it's not as big of a priority or, um, there's still a little bit of concern about How deeply or how much to trust technology beyond really basic use cases, um, since as I mentioned, the story and the reality is changing so much every day.

So I'm personally seeing such a discrepancy. I would say that's even true of internal team members, like adoption is very varied in terms of like comfort level with it, and, um, curious if, if you're seeing the same across your organizations [00:18:00] or client organizations.

Steve Halsey: Yeah, I, we, we are, we are seeing a big change and, and at least how I'm talking about it, uh, both to clients and internally, is you've got to think about it in two ways, kind of, I call it competency and relevancy, right?

It is moving whether we wanna be there or not, and you've got to get some level of proficiency as an organization and as an individual to have that base competency, and that's gonna be required to stay relevant. Stay relevant to your clients, to the market, to the conversation, to the speed of pace, and I think that's really interesting.

And I think one of the things for me, um, that's been really interesting about this is, you know, over my almost, uh, three decades, uh, i- in this industry, most of the innovation that we saw was being driven very heavily by agencies, by tech startups. I mean, that was really where-- And then it was, "Hey, how do we convince the corporate clients and brands to move along?"

There are so many [00:19:00] CCOs that I'm talking to right now that are really driving the innovation and leaning in here because it really allows them to optimize even tighter budgets now, even tighter staff, um, and just thinking about how that can make them almost function like a larger department. One of the, um, largest companies in, uh, biopharma research was talking to their, um, CCO, and she said, "You know, it's kind of funny, like 20 months ago, we were just kind of playing with, oh, let's see what ChatGPT and Copilot could do."

She said, "Now my expectation is you don't come into a meeting with me without having used AI in some meaningful way to improve what you're about to present or the decisions we have to make." So you have companies like that are really leaning forward, then we have others who are still, I think, fighting with their legal team and their IT team as to is AI a...

What, what is it? Is it a technology that needs to be governed under IT rules? I, [00:20:00] I don't know about you, John. What are, what are you seeing? Are you seeing that same mix of early adopters, laggards, and those trying to figure out, uh, the middle?

Jon Woods: The, uh, big time. And I think that, I think that it's, there's such a variety of situations.

Everyone's personal journey, um, here at, at, Groundfloor Media with our clients is unique. So it's, it's, I, I hesitate to even put them into, to two buckets, three buckets, 10 buckets of, of what that adoption looks like. And, and we've been-- it's been really interesting to see, um, which folks are, are wanting to experiment, which folks wanna wait and understand what's the tool that, tool, and tool set that we're gonna use, and, and who is hesitating.

And I, w- we are, uh, as an agency, we use Enneagram, and we use Emergenetics, and, and we understand how, um, how different people think differently. And I haven't, within those tools, um, [00:21:00] haven't seen a, a consistent, oh, someone who's more of a blue thinker is l- or someone who's more of a yellow thinker loves AI.

It's, it's across those different, um, thinking types. Um, so I don't know what that, that driver necessarily is or what's holding people back, but it's very, very, um, different for, for everyone. And it's, that's another thing that's holding organizations back from making sure that the team is at at least a base level of consistencies.

Everyone needs, at some level, unique, um, guidance and unique teaching on how to adopt those tools. And then with the, the organizations that we work with, there's a lot of, there are, there are, um, situations like that, Steve, where one department has kind of h- they've, they've been given the freedom to, or, or they have a leader who buys in, and they can explore and use tools, and they're, they're showing other organ- o- other groups in that organization how these tools can help them.

But even in [00:22:00] those teams where we're seeing companies struggle is where there isn't just full across the board buy-in. Um, almost always where it's done well, that's come from the top. It's come from a CEO and a C-suite who, who open the doors to say, "This is something that we're going to use. This is something we encourage you to use.

It is okay. We're going to experiment," whatever it is, that it's not necessarily coming from those individual departments and it's an or- it's an organization-wide f- uh, flag in the ground saying, "We're going to do this," because it, it doesn't create those individual pockets, but it creates an organizational buy-in.

And I think in the future what we'll see is those companies are more successful because if in two years from now the marketing department and the ops team have figured out how to use it, but now you're saying, "Okay, finance, um, okay, legal, it's time for you to get on board," and they're starting back from square one, you're gonna, you're gonna repeat a lot of these issues over again.

So it's, it, it really [00:23:00] requires organizational-wide buy-in that, that starts, that starts at the top and starts from a, a C-suite that understands the value and, and buys in and isn't, isn't afraid.

Steve Halsey: And I, and I think when I hear you say that, I mean, it really is really becoming a bit of a leadership competency.

So Haley, kind of from your, your perspective, you know, as a comms leader, how are you pushing your teams? How are you pushing the brands you work with to, to think about what's right for them?

Hailey Driscoll: Yeah, it's a really good question. I think that there are a couple of questions that I like to work through with a client when they, or even an internal team member, frankly, if they come to me and say, "I think we should use AI to do this project," or, "We should build an agent to do this function."

There are a couple of questions to make sure that we're grounded in something that is going to be really effective. One being, is this new, um, and worth investing significant time and resources [00:24:00] into? And two, is there a way to measure the success or the quality of the result or the output? And I know it's really common to, to look at AI and measure it in terms of like time saved or dollars saved.

That's not even necessarily what I'm talking about, but do we have a framework through which we can evaluate the output of AI to assess whether it's actually helping, um, us to do something in, in a more, not only efficient, but in a more strategic way? Um, or are we just creating more of a drain or like an AI debt through, through creating material that we're not actually able to assess the efficacy of?

Um, to give you an example, I think that one area where I'm seeing a lot of promise, and we talked about this when we were all in New York together, is actually testing messages, uh, against au- specific audience data before that goes live. So, whether that's campaign [00:25:00] messages or pitch angles you wanna test on a certain kind of, uh, media subset There's a lot of potential there, and, uh, a lot of agencies, Walker Sands being one of them, because we're integrated, we have a lot of data that our marketing strategy team collects on different, on different audience types and, and whatnot.

And so being able to use that sort of data to validate, um, campaign messages is, is a huge opportunity. However, I think just trusting an AI output without actually looking at other, um, signals in the market, doing fresh research of your own, speaking to human stakeholders, all of that stuff, um, you know, we can't, we can't take that as a single output.

And so that's an example of where I do think it, it answers the question of being able to deliver something new, but also you are able to assess the quality of it by taking AI's output as just one consideration rather than the end answer or [00:26:00] the end result.

Jon Woods: There's just such an additive, um, an additive element to what these tools can provide us with.

You mentioned, um, earlier the ability for smaller teams to now be so much more enabled because of what some of these tools can deliver. Um, uh, the, uh, for us as an agency, the, um, the additions to research and pressure testing and message testing and, um, uh, personas and all those different things that, that we've always been able to do, but haven't always been able to do, um, for, um, clients without b- budgets that were big enough, um, where we were always balancing resource loads within our own team.

Um, and then we've seen with our clients the ability to, to test, to go into campaigns, um, more prepared, um, the ability to [00:27:00] segment and personalize, as I mentioned before. There is just-- It's, it's just too much of a game changer for an organization to not step in. And I think what we're gonna find is that there will be organizations that, that if you ask them today, they would've said, "Oh yeah, we're, we're using AI.

We've, we've got a enterprise license with ChatGPT," or, "We, we're using Copilot." But what they'll find is just enabling the licenses and not doing the work with their team and not doing the work with their people, it, it's gonna, it's going to lead to them looking around one day and saying, "We missed the boat here.

We, we didn't get what we expected, uh, expected to." And I know that we, we, we started this question with, is this a leadership competency now? And I think that the So much of what, when we approach AI, so much of the skills that are needed and the approaches that are needed are not new. I mean, I think even as we're, we're, we're working with clients on [00:28:00] how they adopt AI, it, it goes back to what we've been doing for two dec- 25 years with internal com- uh, communications and employee engagement and making sure that everyone, uh, on a team is working together.

Those are s- those are things that we've been doing with clients for decades, and AI is a new use case there, but it's not a new skill.

Steve Halsey: Well, that's, that's really good food for thought, John. Haley, you know, you had said something interesting when we were in New York, uh, that was about thinking about AI as a channel, right?

We've been talking a lot about it as a tool, but maybe you can talk a little bit, what do we need to know about it as a channel in terms of visibility, GEO, reputation? All that good stuff. It's really multifaceted, I guess.

Hailey Driscoll: Yeah, this is another area where I think agencies have a lot of exciting opportunity for innovation.

I also think a lot of the clients that I'm working with, their leadership teams are [00:29:00] aware of this shift of AI and how that's increasingly a marketing channel. Um, but not everyone really knows what to do about that, and so it's another area where we're having a lot of conversations with clients. I think when it comes down to it, the, the crux of the situation is that, um, search behavior is really changing.

I saw a stat that for the first time in, I think, 10 years, Google's market share, uh, for search dropped below 90%, which is still fairly high, but in the context of how we've always searched, it, it marks a really significant change. And that's because buyers, whether that's consumers or even B2B buyers, are increasingly turning to LLMs at all stages of the buying journey to answer questions, see how one company stacks up against another, and really do their research.

And so now brands are contending not only with needing to be visible in traditional search, but also within generative [00:30:00] search. So how do they surface, um, in responses, prompt responses in ChatGPT or Claude, Google AI Overviews? And what's really interesting about this is, I mean, there's so many things I could geek out over this, but for one thing, all of the traditional levers that, uh, made a brand more visible in SEO are not necessarily the same things that are going to help the way that you show up, um, in generative engines.

But I also think that, um, the really exciting opportunity for PR people and comms teams that we're working with is that earned media is actually one of the most cited sources that's influencing gen AI prompt responses. And so it brings additional gravitas back to brand storytelling. The other thing is, uh, because AI prompt responses are not only determining whether a brand is visible, but they're also determining, um, how you are positioned because the generative [00:31:00] engines are actually writing responses about your brand or your category, right?

The story really matters. And so for people in our profession, the clients that we're working with, um, again, this resurgence of brand storytelling is really key because One of the very basic 101 ways that you can ensure the perception that you have in a generative engine prompt response is, um, consistent or accurate is by making sure that you have a very consistent story that you are telling across all of your channels.

So we are re-entering a timed where, a time where earned media is really critical, but also the story behind all of your channels, um, is arguably more important than ever before. And so, um, I'm very excited about, uh, how this shift is changing the marketing landscape. Um, and a, a lot of our clients have a lot of curiosity around this too.

Steve Halsey: So John, I, I guess they, they can't kill the press release, right? We've been hearing, uh, [00:32:00] decade after decade that the press release is dead, but it still has importance today, resurgent like the Phoenix, uh, now that we have, uh, have AI out there. What's, what are your thoughts as AI as a channel, and how are you counseling brands on, on thinking of it in that lens?

Jon Woods: The search component is, is so huge right now, and it, it's It, even though it's being built off of k- the, the structure and, and the, uh, architecture of a, of a search and SEO, uh, system, that was still just-- that was solving for Google. That was, yes, Bing and Yahoo, they, they get traffic, but it was solving for Google.

I think we all would focus there and, um, and then worry about the others later or, or not. But it's... This is so different. I, I just, uh, got back from vacation last week, and I hadn't noticed until I was in that situation, but I've-- between the tools I've... For Gemini, I use Gemini when I wanna learn something, [00:33:00] when I want to find s- the type of thing that I would search on Google.

What- tell me more about this landmark, or what's the story behind XYZ? It was a Gemini search. And then when I wanted a cocktail recipe, something that was personal to me, what kind of cocktail should I order here? Here's the menu. I went to Claude. That's where I've, I have my, more of my personal context.

And, and then when I wanted to learn how to do something, how do I fix this? Or why, how do I make this fan work in the hotel room? I went to, uh, to ChatGPT. And I'm not saying that that's a, a, a typical experience, but at where we haven't even mentioned, um, Perplexity and Grok and Meta's, uh, Meta's tools.

It's, it's, th- there's, it's just so much more complex of an ecosystem. And you can't say, "Hey, we're gonna show up in ChatGPT, and we're gonna call it a day." Because if you're not showing up in Claude, you're missing a huge percentage of your audience. So you're trying to solve why there's sim- similarities between them.

You're trying to solve a lot of problems at once. Um, and yes, [00:34:00] some of those typical SEO components still matter. Um, but to, to Haley's point, the getting mentioned by third parties through PR, through social, through influencers, all of those tools are more and more important. And to get those mentions, you have to, A, you have to have a talented agency that knows how to, uh, that has the right relationships and knows how to tell the right, the right stories.

But you also have to make sure that you, your, your brand story and the way that you live it, the, the way your customers experience it is, is perfect. I mean, it really needs, every positive mention is so valuable, but every negative mention is so much more damaging now than it used to be. Um, Will Reynolds, um, sen- at Seer Interactive wrote a story about how for them, they, when he was doing searches, um, there was all this, these positive reviews, and they would always show up, but all of the tools started surfacing one negative re-review that was, like, 10 years old [00:35:00] because they, the tools were inherently looking for something negative to include.

So that one negative r-review where we would even, we would counsel, um, clients, uh, a year ago, "Hey, that negative review, you've got 100 positive and one negative, and it's 10 years old. Don't worry about it." That's changed the game a little bit because if, if every single person is seeing that over again It becomes infinitely more damaging.

And then even as we're, we're all building for this, today's ecosystem and these tools today, maybe we're looking a little bit down the road, it's changing so quickly. W- we're, we're, we're not far away from a world where people don't go to the website anymore. The, the tools are doing all that work for us.

They're doing the e-commerce, they're transacting. I was-- We were looking at summer camps for our, our two boys recently, and I w- I, I looked at probably 10 different options, 12 different options, and only, only for the final one that we chose after we had chosen it did I go to the website and transact. So all those other sites never got my visit.

They couldn't [00:36:00] remarket to me. They couldn't... They didn't see any-- They didn't see the impact of me joining, what pages I looked at and get that data. Only the one that I transacted on did. And we're not far from a world where I could have just said, "Great, uh, Claude, now go enroll my boys in this camp and, and let me know when everything is done."

So it, it requires a level of, of foresight and, and building for the future that's really, really hard to do right now.

Steve Halsey: Well, and, and, and one of the things I, I think is interesting, and we've been doing this, uh, a lot in the counseling we're doing around issues in crisis, just to the point that you were talking about, you know, we used to call it data hygiene.

What is it? Hygiene has a good ... That kind of to build off of Hailey's point, there's a lot of story hygiene we have to do. If you've got old information out there around your company, when an issue or crisis hit or somebody searches it, guess what's gonna be front and center, right? So I think a big part of, uh, issues and crisis preparedness that brands need to do is [00:37:00] to think ahead of what are those likely scenarios and think about what information do we need to start staging and telling a credible story now so that the large language models, if somebody searches, will be pulling that information and, you know, less of maybe old information that you've led on there.

So I also think it's important, it's not a set and forget, as you both talked about. There's also a lot of I gotta think ahead, but I also gotta look behind and see what's out there and make sure we've got some good story hygiene. I mean, from, from your, your perspective, Hailey, what, what other things should CCOs and CMOs be thinking about right now?

Hailey Driscoll: I do wanna double-click on what you've both been saying. I love, Steve, what you mentioned about story hygiene, and Jon, the example that you gave about how you're, you aren't even going to the website when you're doing research into a product or service that you want to, uh, look into. To your point, I think that that reality is [00:38:00] closer than we think, and imagine what that means for brands' ability to tell their own story.

That's why I'll, I'll say again, the, the ability to have a very crisp and well-articulated and consistent, consistency is the key, story across all of your channels is really critical because not only is Claude deciding whether or not Jon and his family are going to assess your camp, they're als- Claude is also deciding what are the key messages that Jon is going to learn about that camp, right?

The AI is actually, um, shaping the perception that someone is going to have about your product or service in addition to just determining whether or not it's visible. And your own channels, while still relevant today, are becoming less and less of, um, a source that, that can be counted on to tell the full story.

And so I do think that story hygiene issue is just so important, and I would encourage CCOs and CMOs to look at it from the [00:39:00] perspective of starting with the story and then thinking about how it goes through every channel, including, um, growth, growth channels, sales motions, but then also the traditional communications and marketing channels, of course.

So that's, that's a really big one. And then the other thing that I would encourage them to think about is, again, going back to, uh, the data that they have that they're using to, um- Build or test messages on because there is so much data out there, but I, I still think there's a tendency to rely a little bit more on, uh, base level of, uh, source material if you're creating a custom GPT or just rely on ChatGPT or Claude's knowledge and ability to scrape the internet.

But, um, really if you subscribe to this belief that we are going to be using AI more and more as a channel for search, as a marketing channel, but also as a tool, as [00:40:00] professionals, um, making sure that you have the data foundation in place so you, you've as- assessed what is the really critical data for your brand or for marketing, you have consistency in how it's formatted.

And I, I realize this is the boring stuff, but I think figuring out those fundamentals now is not only critical for how you are using the technology today, but also, like I said, if, if we subscribe to the belief that this is only going to increase in relevance, making sure that you are taking the time now to have those fundamentals figured out is critically important, and I think it's a step a lot of people are missing.

Steve Halsey: Yeah, I, I agree. I agree. And, and John, a, a, a question, a question for you as, as, as I reflect on those examples you talk about and how omnipresent AI as a channel, AI as tools are getting in all of our lives, how do we stay curious? What, what, what a- what advice do we have so we, we don't just become [00:41:00] one with the machines, but we use it to unleash our creativity and curiosity?

What, what advice do you have?

Jon Woods: It's a great question. Um, it's, it's-- these tools are such an en- enabler, um, to, to learn and to experiment, but there are, there are so many, um, and they're changing every day. There's-- it's obviously there's a big, um, a big cost component. I think it's, a- and I think it's a l- it's not entirely aligned with your question, but I think it's really important that for those folks that aren't inherently experimenters, that they're at least experimenting, with quotes for those that are listening, within one tool.

Like get really good at one tool and understand its in and outs and its capabilities. And when I say tool, I'm mostly leaning towards, um, the, the, the Claude and, and ChatGPT and even Copilot and understanding do I-- am I really using [00:42:00] all of its capabilities or a good percentage of what it can do, and do I understand this tool?

That I think is so much more valuable than saying, "I know a little bit about a lot of tools." If you know, if, if you're, you've gotten good at one tool, you're, you're ahead of a big percentage of the, the population. And I think it's, uh, it's gonna be different for everyone, um, but it's, it's keeping a curious mindset and being able to filter out a lot of noise because, uh, the, the buzzword around even within AI, you know, right now it's agents and what can agents do for us?

It'll be something different in six months, and then as soon as that buzzword hits kind of a fever pitch, you've got every company adding in and talking about how they're utilizing it. But going all the way back to the beginning of our conversation, understand-- starting with outcomes, um, and starting with here's what I'm trying to do, what tools can help me do that, versus what new features do these tools have that I may or may not [00:43:00] need is, is incredibly valuable.

And then finding the right sources for you, whether it's a coworker or a blog or an email newsletter, um, finding those sources that, that deliver the information in a way and at a level that you're comfortable with. If you're doing that and you're, even if you're missing out on part of the conversation, that's okay.

Again, you're still staying ahead of, of most people. Uh, find time. I, I think every-- one of the things that We've seen that's been really important is finding an hour a week to just, to just experiment. And it doesn't have to be work-related. If, if that's something that you don't have time to and don't wa- uh, during the week, and don't wanna do it on a weekend, find a, find something to do, um, a- and experiment with AI for whatever it may be that interests you.

For a hobby. If you're a runner, how can this help me improve my, my times? If, if you're a reader, how can this help me find new books and log the books I'm reading? Um, really think about how can this, how can I learn [00:44:00] about this in a way that's enjoyable versus feeling like a chore?

Steve Halsey: So Haley, last question.

It's been a fascinating Building Brand Gravity episode. Last question goes to you. If you were to go back in time a year ago, a month ago, a week ago, a day ago, to give yourself advice on AI, what would it be?

Hailey Driscoll: Um, I think regardless of the time period, if I were to go back in time and give myself advice on AI, it would be just start experimenting and being curious.

I think the real unlock for me and for a lot of other people that are really passionate and seeing the potential here was one day sitting down and thinking, "I have something that I want to be able to do that I haven't been able to do before. How can I start tinkering with technology and, and figure it out?"

Um, I think the more that people, I love that John said curiosity is, is really key to this because I think that's the, the crux. Um, so the more that people [00:45:00] are willing to just dive in and just start learning in a hands-on way, um, the more value you're gonna be able to get out of it, and that's certainly been true for myself.

And, um, I think going back, just being willing to dive in more quickly and more fearlessly, um, is the advice that I would give to myself.

Steve Halsey: Well, wonderful. Well, thank you both for being guests on today's Building Brand Gravity. And again, Haley Driscoll from Walker Sands and John Woods from Ground Floor Media.

I invite you to check both of them out on LinkedIn. Check both of their companies. Amazing firms that we would highly recommend. Thank you so much for being with us today on Building Brand Gravity. And to our viewers, any questions or comments, please send them our way, and we look forward to seeing you on another upcoming episode of Building Brand [00:46:00] Gravity.