Andy Young

AI is now changing how we connect, date, and fall in love. Our new Norton Insights Report: Artificial Intimacy reveals that 77% of current online daters in the US would consider dating an AI, and a majority believe it’s possible to develop real romantic feelings for one. This is happening against a backdrop where more than four in five people feel lonely, especially younger generations, and are increasingly turning to technology to fill emotional gaps. But where emotions go, scammers follow. Social engineering threats, those that manipulate us and prey on our most human emotions, now account for over 90% of all digital attacks on people. AI can make relationships feel more “real,” but it also makes manipulation more scalable and convincing. At Gen, we’re focused on protecting people at the exact moments they’re most vulnerable, when they’re looking for connection, advice, and support online. With AI-powered Scam Detection, identity monitoring, and device-level protection, we’re working to ensure that technology can enhance human connection without putting our safety at risk. Learn more and read the full report: https://lnkd.in/eMmcKnau

33

The Strategic Imperative of Product Marketing: An Overview An explainer video I created on product marketing. For executives, founders, and marketing leaders, understanding the definitive function of Product Marketing (PMM) is no longer optional, it is a prerequisite for sustained market advantage. PMM is the critical bridge ensuring product development aligns precisely with market demand and customer value realization. https://lnkd.in/g8-gGe_Z #ProductMarketing #PMM #StrategicMarketing #GoToMarket #GTMStrategy #ProductStrategy #ExecutiveLeadership #BusinessStrategy #ProductManagement #MarketPositioning #Commercialization #MarketAccess #RevenueGrowth #SaaS #B2BStrategy #DigitalTransformation #Innovation #ProductLaunch #CompetitiveAdvantage #MarketInsights #ProfessionalDevelopment #CareerGrowth #MarketingLeadership #ExecutiveEducation #BusinessAcumen #SkillsDevelopment #StrategicThinking #ProductDevelopment #MarketingTrends #ThoughtLeadership #ExplainerVideo #VideoContent #BusinessInsights #LinkedInLearning #MarketingStrategy #ProductSuccess #StrategyExecution #TechLeadership #CorporateStrategy #ValueProposition

4

New Tow Center report highlights growing tension in AI-era search: “We’re the providers of information…but Google now wants to be the distributor.” As zero-click answers rise, publishers face renewed pressure to prioritize direct audience relationships. https://lnkd.in/gzxcsgtY

2

Most people focus on "Artificial Intelligence" -- rather than focusing on "Context Intelligence" -- aka: giving the AI the proper data to do its job. I love how Joe A. controlled the context that the AI receives. Nicely done. Big lesson to learn here: If at any time you are NOT happy with the output that you are getting from the AI (whether ChatGPT, Claude code or even CustomGPT.ai) -- ask yourself "What data did I make available to the AI for this task?" Think about it : We would never expect a fellow human to do something for us without giving him the proper context -- like would you go to Dunkin Donuts and have them read your mind and know exactly how they should make your coffee? Same holds true for AI.

7

AI is completely transforming how we work, but one of the biggest challenges I hear from other CMOs and business leaders is connecting different tools and solutions. I’m super excited about the launch of Gemini Enterprise, which brings all your company's data, tools, and people together in one secure place. Gemini Enterprise is bringing the full power of Google AI to everyone at work. Especially at big companies like ours, AI has incredible power to help us find information across internal documents, unlock new insights from our data, and deploy helpful agents that understand the context of our work and can help us get things done more efficiently. These tools are already saving thousands of hours on our team, and the boost to productivity and collaboration is helping unlock epic new ideas, move at the speed of culture, and drive real results. This is just the beginning, and I’m so excited to see what new campaigns are born with these new tools! 🪄 Congrats to Thomas Kurian, Alison Wagonfeld and the team on the amazing launch. Read more about what we announced → https://lnkd.in/gqiY-USZ

608

32 Comments

The creator economy is now valued at ~$250B+ and set to scale rapidly (thanks G2 for the stat). So now more than ever amid all the automation tools, generative-AI content, and omni-channel creator noise, people with true subject-matter expertise need a way to cut through. The new Udemy Production Hub helps creators, subject matter experts and learning design leaders transform their domain expertise into impactful dare I say authentic content (I did, I said it) that bridges the gap between passion and tangible impact. Shout out to Ava Plasse and Gaby Araujo Z. for leading this project and sharing their expertise with the community. It’s only the start. Link in comments. #content #learning #AI

92

12 Comments

Across dozens of plans, we see the same pattern. A small group of 20 to 40 publishers quietly drives most off-site commerce for an entire category. Most teams never notice. Because the plan is built like a phone book. Hundreds of domains. A dozen deals. Plenty of “coverage.” But when you pull performance apart, the outcome is concentrated in a small core. Review hubs. Comparison publishers. Best-of lists. Gift-guide engines. The places where people actually shortlist and decide. This is why Commerce Media AI starts with a publisher graph, not an audience graph. RECO AI maps a brand to a clean pool of 9,000 human plus AI vetted commerce publishers. Then it clusters them into sets that behave like a real media product. Core sets that do the heavy lifting. Test sets that expand reach without inviting garbage. Reserve sets that let traders scale without losing quality. It is the 2008 Celtics model. The Big Three carried the real possessions. The rest of the roster mattered, but nobody pretended the 12th man should run the offense. Most category plans are the opposite. They spread budget like everyone should get minutes. If you want to win, you find your Big Three plus the rotation. Then you build the plan around that core. If you want a sample “core plus rotation” publisher set for your category, connect with me and add CORE to your note. #MediaInvestment #CommerceMedia #Programmatic

4

I love conversations like the one I had with Joe Chernov! We examined the nature of the modern CMO role, how leaders need to think about strengths and weaknesses, and the reality behind the short tenure that often comes with the role. If you're a CMO, or aspire to become one, this is an episode of Insights Unlocked that you won't want to miss.

22

3 Comments

Stop chasing MQLs. If you only market to in-market buyers, you’re too late. Findings from 6sense's 2025 B2B Buyer Experience Report show buyers today don't behave the way most companies still market to them: - Only 5% of your market is actively buying at any given time. - Buyers don’t talk to sellers until they’re 2/3 through their journey. - Buyers initiate contact over 80% of the time. - Most buyers deliberately ignore unsolicited outreach until they're ready. And they typically do it only after they’ve defined requirements and ranked their shortlist. The vendor contacted first wins roughly 80% of the time. Meaning: buyers already have a favorite in mind long before your funnel ever sees them. They are not blank slates. They already know who feels credible, familiar, or trusted. That’s why CMOs need to stop focusing only on lead capture. Focus instead on nurturing the 95% who aren’t buying yet so you’re the default choice when they are. This requires a different kind of marketing approach that changes: from generation → to recognition from lead volume → to market preference from campaigns → to category value and POV from quarterly MQL targets → to longer-term share of mind It’s a fundamental mindset and resource shift. But it’s exactly how today’s B2B brands actually grow. Read the full report here: https://lnkd.in/eVvamnED #B2BMarketing #DemandGen #GTMStrategy #CMO #MarketingInnovation

10

Winding down after day one at #NRF2026. It's late in NYC but wanted to capture some initial thoughts. Every booth, every conversation, every session is talking about agentic AI and agentic commerce. The energy around it is real. Vendors are showcasing different use cases they're solving. Retailers are trying to figure out how to implement it. There's genuine excitement about what's possible. But there's something underneath all of this that keeps coming up in conversations. The data challenge. You can build incredibly smart AI agents, but they're only as good as the data they're working with. And most retailers have their data scattered across multiple systems that don't talk to each other. In supply chain and fulfillment, this shows up constantly. A retailer wants an AI agent to optimize carrier selection and delivery promises. Great use case. But first you need clean product data. Then shipping data. Then real-time inventory across locations. Then actual carrier performance data, not just contract terms. Most retailers have this spread across four different systems with different formats, different update frequencies, and different accuracy levels. The AI works fine. But the results fall short because the foundation isn't there yet. The good news is more companies are recognizing this. The conversations are shifting from "can we do agentic AI?" to "how do we get our data ready for it?" That's progress. More observations coming as the week goes on. Tomorrow should be busier.

66

9 Comments

Most startups don’t have a marketing problem. They have a product-market-fit problem. Udi Ledergor (Gong’s first marketer, now Chief Evangelist) joins Josh Schachter and Lauren Olerich to break down what actually matters when you’re building a brand and trying to create (or evolve) a category. In this episode: • The real indicators of product-market-fit • When you should hire your first marketer (and when you absolutely shouldn’t) • How Gong evolved from conversation intelligence → revenue intelligence → AI operating system • Why “brand as person” is the consistency cheat code • Why leaving raving fans > chasing titles If you’re building a category, a content engine, or a team that needs to stand out in a crowded market — this one’s a masterclass. 🎧 Listen or watch here 👉 https://bit.ly/46zU9cN

18

2 Comments

Most people search for “winning products” the wrong way. They copy product lists… Skip the research… And never ask why a product could actually work. In this video, I break down 10 unsaturated winning products for March and, more importantly, how to evaluate them like a marketer. Here’s what actually matters: • Profit margins and pricing potential • Who the product is really for • How to identify the likely buyer using product images, positioning, and price point • When to use bundles, quantity breaks, and subscriptions to increase AOV • Why the product page often matters more than the product itself • How to improve weak competitor creatives using better images, better angles, and stronger ad hooks • How to think about mobile-first product pages, upsells, and lifetime value A lot of beginners focus only on the product. The better approach is to look at: offer + angle + audience + creative + page structure That’s where real improvement happens. This video is useful if you want to learn how to: spot better dropshipping products build stronger product pages improve ad creatives think more strategically about targeting Want the full video? https://lnkd.in/gpgxRax6 #shopifydropship #dropshipping #dropshippingforbeginners #dropshippingbusiness #shopify #shopifyapps #shopifybeginner #ecommerce #productresearch #facebookads #tiktokads #shopifystore #ecomtips #viral #fyp #cro

3

2 Comments

Loved Laura Cushing's take on a frictionless user experience. A solid customer service experience creates brand loyalty, which creates more engagement and increased LTV: “Whether it’s a push notification that you get on your phone or whether it’s the print magazine, it’s that ecosystem that customers care about and it can take one bad experience, one paper cut, one friction point for them to not come back to that content.” And the Hearst and The New York Times teams chimed in on the popular topic of engagement. And, in this case, engagement > scale. How can brands take their current subscribers/members and build off of their existing engagement? What products/services/new formats can add additional value and entice your existing members to pay more? If your team isn't actively thinking about engagement and the customer experience (and joining acquisition and retention teams at the hip), it should be! Recap from FIPP - Connecting Global Media conference is worth a read, linked below: Great insights from: Jordan Vita Joe Martin Rosie Percy https://lnkd.in/g4_AMdtU

5

If 6Sense’s latest Buyer Experience research (and Kerry Cunningham) is right and buyers have prior experience with 80 percent of the vendors on their shortlist, then these are the implications for content marketing strategists: Buyers are smarter than you think they are: ---Your content should assume your buyers are aware of many of the available solutions out there. Add more comparative information to your assets: ---You need to consider putting comparative information in most mid-funnel and bottom-of-the-funnel assets, and even a lot of top-of-funnel pieces. Acknowledge competitive reality: ---Buyers have lots of choices and know of your competitors and are maybe even leaning to them. Admit there are multiple ways to solve buyer pain points, and suggest why your unique value proposition makes sense. Buyers are going to come to their own judgement about this anyway. Why not present your case? https://lnkd.in/eF-GEYZt #6Sense #ContentMarketing #INFUSE

7

3 Comments