👉🏻 SUM NEWS: Your mid-week marketing update

March 05, 2025

In partnership with

As the calendar flips to March, we're here to help put a spring in your marketing step. In this issue, we’re diving into everything from Facebook's growing purchase influence to the top marketing trend of the year (you already know it’s AI-related).

Plus, we’d love to hear how honest you are about using AI in your marketing efforts. Scroll down to take our poll!

IN THIS ISSUE

  • 🔥 Marketer Spotlight

  • 🌎 Around the Web: Google, Facebook, IG, Marketing Trends

  • 📌 SUM Community Events

  • 💡 ICYMI: Bite-Sized Insights

  • 😂 In the Meme Time

Marketer Spotlight: Jessica Brandt

We recently caught up with SUM Advisory Board member Jessica Brandt, Senior Director of Marketing at Lily AI. Jessica shares her insights on career growth, the power of feedback, and marketing strategies that helped Lily AI achieve impressive revenue and customer growth. Meet Jessica

Interested in sharing your POV on a relevant topic? Submit your pitch for publication on the SUM site.

Building Digital Experiences

Michael Verez Mora joined Mack McKelvey and Heidi Keele on the SUM Disruptors Podcast to discuss the evolving world of web development, from the enduring power of WordPress to how startups can break free from the "sea of sameness" in their digital presence.

From Product Vision to Customer Reality

On this episode of the Brilliantly Wrong podcast, host Alex Stonehouse sits down with product marketing pro Christine Moore to unpack what product marketing really is (and isn’t). They dive into the circle of influence, the power of cross-functional collaboration, and the job she had “no business” getting that kickstarted her career pivot.

AROUND THE WEB

  • Google processes over 5 trillion searches annually—more than double the last reported figure from 2016. The volume of queries has actually increased since the launch of AI Overviews. (Search Engine Land)

  • Facebook is the top social platform for purchase influence (25%), ahead of TikTok (21%) and Instagram (20%), Relex reports. But with 84% of consumers buying from social discovery and only 11% purchasing within 24 hours, tracking the full buyer journey is the tricky part. (eMarketer)

  • AI-powered personalization is the leading trend for marketers this year, RSW/US reports, with short-form video seeing a decline. Other key trends include a focus on story-driven content, first-party data strategies, and an increase in in-housing and intent monitoring. (Marketing Charts)

  • Instagram is considering launching a standalone Reels app, potentially mirroring TikTok with a full-screen, scrolling display of videos. (Social Media Today)

  • 73% of marketing teams use generative AI, according to a Gartner survey of 418 marketing leaders. (Search Engine Journal)

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SUM POLL

How transparent are you about using AI in your marketing?

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SUM COMMUNITY EVENTS

We’re shaking things up this month—Thursday events now start at 1 pm ET! These events are exclusively available to SUM members. Not a member? 👉 Join now 👈

Tea Time with Miriam Kendall

3X CMO Miriam Kendall breaks down her approach to building high-performing marketing teams, structuring for growth, and what it takes for candidates to stand out. This informal, AMA-style conversation will be moderated by SUM Advisory Board member The Kay Prince, so bring your burning questions. 

Building Your AI Marketing Stack

David Cardiel demystifies the process of building an effective AI marketing stack and integrating AI "employees" to transform your workflow and campaign performance. You’ll get practical frameworks for evaluating AI tools, implementation strategies that avoid common pitfalls, and real-world examples.

Using Technology to Connect Events with Sponsors and Speakers

Step into the future of event marketing with Erik Caputo, event technology pioneer, as he reveals how technology can be used to create meaningful connections between events, sponsors, and speakers in today's hybrid landscape. 

ICYMI: A BITE OF INSIGHT

FEEDBACK VELOCITY

"The sooner you get to 'feedback velocity'—taking and actioning on that feedback quickly—the better for your career trajectory. Feedback is always a gift.”

AI IN MARKETING

“It’s often—if you’re doing your job right—just as invisible as working with a team of humans. You’re not going to take the first thing that falls out of your team’s head and hand it over to your CEO, but you might take the fourth thing after you’ve refined it.”

MARKETING RESEARCH

“You have to look at actual buyer behavior versus just surveys because people say they want things all the time, but whether they really want them and will actually use them is another story. Like, I go to a gym and they sent out a survey that asked “If we added classes at these times, when would you go to them?” And I was like, I’d go to all of these! Now, have I gone to any? No.”

IN THE MEME TIME