Protect Your Brand

TL;DR: There is nothing AI-related in this issue. Promise.

Now two weeks after the Super Bowl, things are “back to normal”. We are midway through the 2nd quarter and the pressure is on marketing teams to deliver. The first thing you must get right: Your Brand.

📊 Goal: Create Connection

The number of times I have been asked in my career, “What is the value of brand marketing?” To steal a line from one of my former bosses: “What is the ROI of your mother?” (h/t to Gary Vaynerchuk)

What all brands need and what marketing leaders must maintain is what the CMO Alliance calls, the narrative architecture. It answers why the team is doing the work, why the urgency, and how this connects to ICP desired actions. To do that, everything and everyone must be connected.

This goes for internal teams like technology, sales, and of course, marketing.

💳 Ensure Products Fit Your Values

As a Financial Services marketing executive, I often had to ask the question when new product ideas would pop up, “Does this fit our values and our strategic vision?”

BNPL (Buy Now, Pay Later) is one of those products I had to say that on more than one occasion. PYMNTS recently came out with new research that details not only who is using the payment structure, but how it could potentially negatively impact the user’s financial wellness. It’s a key question to ask to protect your brand (see the first story).

😕 AEO is No Longer an Option

A LendingTree study from mid-2025 found that 49% of AI chatbot users reported that AI had directly influenced at least one financial decision. Okay, so there is a little AI in this issue, but it’s not about AI. It’s about how your brand is participating in new technology, and ensuring you are protecting the house. AEO and GEO is no longer an option; it is a must-have.