DAD011: Bots, Boudoir, and Business Growth. The Three B’s for a Marketer’s Guide to Automation

In this episode of Digital After Dark, hosts Andrew and Matt welcome their first-ever guest who reached out to join the show: Reed Hansen, Chief Growth Officer at Market Surge. Reed brings a wealth of experience in digital marketing and automation, offering a fresh perspective on how businesses—especially SMEs—can scale using smart, data-driven strategies.

The conversation dives into the real-world applications of marketing automation, from abandoned cart emails and personalized lead magnets to CRM-driven ad targeting and real-time customer engagement. Reed shares how automation isn’t just about efficiency—it’s about removing human error, enabling timely communication, and creating scalable systems that drive growth.

The trio also explores the challenges of privacy regulations, the decline of third-party cookies, and the increasing importance of first-party data and user opt-ins. Reed emphasizes the value of behavioral data over demographics and shares creative examples like a boudoir photography quiz that doubled as a lead generation tool.

The episode wraps with a discussion on the future of automation, including predictive marketing, composable CDPs, and the role of AI in democratizing data analysis for non-technical marketers.

• What marketing automation really means—and what it doesn’t
• Real-time engagement: from cart abandonment to cross-device personalization
• Lead magnets and quizzes as powerful opt-in tools
• The shift from demographics to behavioral targeting
• Navigating GDPR, CCPA, and cookie deprecation
• Using CRMs to build dynamic ad audiences
• The rise of composable CDPs and automation stacks
• AI tools like ChatGPT and GitHub Copilot in marketing workflows
• Turning digital analytics from a cost center into a profit center
• The importance of retention and referrals in automation strategies