Blowing up the Dashboard: Rethinking Data, AI and the Real Customer Journey with Philip Armstrong
What if everything you thought you knew about being “data-driven” was wrong?In this episode of Playbook Broken, host Marc Sirkin talks with Philip Armstrong, SVP and Go-to-Market Head of Insights & Analytics at Truth in Data (and formerly of Nike), about why most dashboards fail, how to overcome data paralysis, and why AI might be breaking more playbooks than it’s fixing. Philip unpacks how Fear of Better Options (FOBO) shapes customer behavior, why no one truly “owns” the customer journey, and how generative AI is changing the meaning of intelligence inside organizations. Together, they explore what it takes to rebuild a playbook that actually helps people buy.This conversation dismantles the illusion of perfect data and exposes why “being data-driven” so often means pretending to be. Philip’s pragmatic approach—treating data as an informed opinion rather than a command—offers a smarter, more human path forward for marketing, analytics, and AI adoption.Timestamps00:00 - Introduction – Meet Philip Armstrong: ex-Nike data leader redefining customer intelligence at Truth in Data.02:00 - Fear of Better Options (FOBO) – How decision paralysis sabotages conversions and why incentives must target emotional reassurance.05:00 – What’s Broken – Why throwing money at tech stacks doesn’t create adoption, and why dashboards rarely inspire action.08:00 – Ownership Crisis – Who really owns the customer journey (spoiler: no one), and how silos kill accountability.12:00 – AI’s Double-Edged Sword – Machine learning’s untapped potential vs. generative AI’s hallucinations, blind spots, and the danger of “average” insights.18:00 – Personalization Limits – Why 1-to-1 marketing still fails, even for Netflix and Amazon.24:00 – Metrics That Lie – Open rates, attribution models, and other vanity KPIs that marketers cling to.27:30 – New Rules – Why smaller qualitative insights often beat massive data sets and how to find meaning on the edges.31:00 – When Data Meets Creativity – Inside Nike: how Philip learned to frame data as a “seat at the table,” not the only truth.36:00 – Takeaways – Redefining data-driven decision-making for the AI era and connecting with Philip online.This podcast is produced by MarTech, a Third Door Media property.
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What comes after 'data-driven' marketing?
For the past several years, “data-driven” and “marketing” have gone together like milk and cookies. You might even describe yourself as a “data-driven” marketer in your LinkedIn profile. But have you thought about what comes next?Neej Gore, chief data officer at Zeta Global, says advances in AI and predictive capabilities might soon mean data-driven is looking backwards, which is exactly the opposite of what everyone was hoping to accomplish with being data-driven in the first place. I sat down with Neej at Zeta Live!, the company’s annual event in New York City, to talk about what comes after data-driven marketing, why systems might overtake stacks and the importance of context moving forward.Neej also shares the one word he would use to describe the future of marketing, and it’s going to surprise you. Episode guide0:38: Meet Neej Gore1:51: From data-driven to answers-driven3:10: Why context matters to data and AI5:00: Marketing as a system, not a stack6:14: The urgency around data governance7:45: One word to describe the future of marketingThis podcast is produced by MarTech, a Third Door Media property.
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Your Workflow Is Dead! How AI Just NUKED Marketing as We Know It
This podcast is produced by MarTech, a Third Door Media property.
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How to make sense of all of that marketing data with Anssi Rusi
Marketers are collecting more data than ever before in the rush to be data-driven, but the amount of data is overwhelming, especially for small teams that don’t have access to data scientists. In this conversation with Anssi Rusi, CEO of Supermetrics, we dive into the challenges marketing teams face with their data and whether AI is the force equalizer to help marketing teams find the insights and value hidden in their data faster. We also discuss the state of the customer data platform (CDP) market, as earlier this year Supermetrics acquired real-time CDP Relay42.Episode guide0:18: Meet Anssi Rusi1:50: Where are marketing teams struggling with data?3:42: What are marketing teams doing to grow their data IQ?6:02: What are the best use cases for using AI to get value from data?7:53: Why did Supermetrics buy a CDP?10:30: What is the state of the CDP market?This podcast is produced by MarTech, a Third Door Media property.
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Playbook Broken: Mind Over Machine: Nate St. Pierre's AI Uprising
Playbook Broken: Mind Over Machine: Nate St. Pierre's AI UprisingJoin us as we discuss with Nate St. Pierre, founder of Youbots.ai, about democratizing AI, the nuanced role of AI in creativity, and the balance between human ingenuity and automation. Discover insights into marketing strategies in the age of AI, evolving agency playbooks, and enabling small businesses to punch above their weight class using AI tools. Nate shares his inspirational journey from a marketing strategist to an AI builder, emphasizing the power of context in utilizing AI effectively. #AI #MarketingStrategy #Youbots #Creativity00:00 Introduction to Playbook Broken00:31 Meet Nate St. Pierre: AI Builder and Strategist00:58 The Nuances of AI in Creativity01:45 Nate's Journey into AI02:50 Building AI Tools for Writers06:12 From Fiction to Screenwriting07:08 The Role of AI in Creativity and Business09:29 Balancing Automation and Human Creativity11:37 The Future of AI and Human Creativity16:53 Ethical Considerations in AI Development19:37 Exploring the Benefits of Nate Bots20:38 Transitioning to Custom Bots21:18 Challenges and Solutions for Agencies23:35 Empowering Small Businesses and Nonprofits30:35 Personal Journey and Philanthropy38:53 Final Thoughts and Contact InformationThis podcast is produced by MarTech, a Third Door Media property.
As publishers turn to low-value and AI-generated content, they’re missing out on authenticity and original points of view. Conversations with MarTech is a new series highlighting interesting points of view and interesting roles in the marketing and marketing operations space.Season 1 of Conversations with MarTech debuts in January 2025. The premier season has already recorded five episodes, including:Kara Heater, Director of Marketing for the Savannah Bananas baseball club (What can marketers learn from the Savannah Bananas?)Mark Stouse, CEO of ProofAnalytics (What do C-level executives think of their GTM strategies?)Len Devanna, VP of Customer Experience of Cortico-X. (Voice agents will change how you think about your brand and website)Natalie Silverstein, Chief Innovation Officer, Collectively. (How influencer marketing became an essential channel)Mike Rizzo, founder, MarketingOps.com (Want to understand marketing ops? Talk to this guy)Subscribe to keep up-to-date on all things Conversations with MarTech!
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