Marketers are being asked to do more with less and still hit the same (or bigger) goals.

In this episode, Brianna Ruiz (Director of Digital Advertising, Closed Loop) lays out how to balance brand and performance when budgets are tight, how to actually measure brand’s lift without magical thinking, and how to use AI as an enhancer, not a replacement for human judgment.

We cover:

• The “big squeeze” and why consistency beats one-off brand bursts.

• A practical 40/60 split (brand/direct) and when to ratchet up or down.

• Geo holdouts, blended CAC, and MMM as directional signals—not gospel.

• Mental availability & the 95/5 rule for staying in the consideration set.

• Why video outperforms static for storytelling and social discovery.

• Real-world AI workflows (like building an agent per client) that actually help.

• What to track when direct traffic declines: branded search & engagement.

Chapters

00:00 – Welcome to Demand Gen Confidential

00:15 – Golf, Scholarships, and Career Lessons

04:18 – From the Fairway to Funnels: Shifting Into Marketing

05:03 – The Big Squeeze: Today’s Marketing Challenges

06:30 – The 40/60 Split: Balancing Brand & Performance

22:22 – Beyond the Hype: Where AI Really Fits in Marketing

25:32 – Why Human Connection Still Wins in a Digital-First World

38:54 – Closing Playbook: Brianna’s Key Takeaways

Connect with Brianna on LinkedIn (https://www.linkedin.com/in/bri-ruiz/). Or Closed Loop (https://www.closedloop.com/).

If this episode helped, subscribe to Demand Gen Confidential and share it with a teammate who owns pipeline this quarter.

Want messaging that actually drives results? In this episode of Demand Gen Confidential, I’m joined by Chris Silvestri, founder of Conversion Alchemy, who brings a systems-thinking approach to copywriting rooted in psychology, strategy, and real customer insight.

We cover:

✅ How to shift your messaging in the profitability era

✅ The difference between positioning and messaging (most marketers blur it)

✅ Chris’s decision-making framework for conversion copy

✅ Tactical uses of AI that actually make marketers faster

✅ How synthetic research can help you scale messaging without sacrificing quality

Chris also shares his thoughts on music, marketing, and we discuss why marketers should think like scientists.

08:16 – From Drums to Conversion Copy: Chris’s Origin Story

10:55 – Messaging in the Profitability Era: Art Meets Outcome

18:51 – Positioning vs. Messaging Strategy: What Most Get Wrong

33:44 – Crafting a Point of View That Cuts Through the Noise

38:42 – Chris’s Decision-Making Framework for Conversion

45:25 – Practical AI Tactics for B2B Marketers

52:38 – Synthetic Research: A New Frontier for Customer Insight

Connect with Chris on LinkedIn.

Check out Conversion Alchemy.

👉 Subscribe for more conversations with world class marketers.

Stop doing what every marketer thinks they’re supposed to do. And start thinking really hard about what actually works.

In this episode of Demand Gen Confidential, I talk with Austin Sandmeyer of Sendoso about breaking out of the B2B marketing status quo. They killed MQLs, ditched traditional trade shows, and took a risk running a Severance-themed campaign. Austin is a heavy user of AI to empower - not replace - humans. Get the blueprint for intentional, high-impact marketing in today’s profitability era.

If you're a marketer navigating internal buy-in, metrics overload, or the pressure to be everywhere at once, this episode’s for you.

In this episode, we discussed:

• 00:00 - The Joys of Contact Naps
• 07:36 - Meet Austin from Sendoso
• 09:13 - B2B vs B2C: Why Austin Chose Relationships Over Transactions
• 13:27 - Keeping Marketing Weird: Campaigns That Break the Mold
• 17:23 - Innies vs Outties: A Severance-Inspired Strategy
• 20:24 - Getting Campaign Buy-In: Telling the Right Internal Story
• 24:58 - Thinking Hard About Metrics: Ditching MQLs
• 30:02 - Events Reinvented: Ditching Trade Shows for Real Relationships
• 42:19 - AI in Marketing: Automate the Mundane, Human the Valuable

Connect with Austin on LinkedIn.

👇 Like, comment, and subscribe if you want more episodes on bold, practical B2B marketing.