In Clear Focus: Privacy-First Advertising and Multicultural Consumers with Alia J. Daniels
Release Date: 05/19/2026
In Clear Focus: Expert Context For Strategic AI Research with Piers Fawkes
In Clear Focus
IN CLEAR FOCUS: Marking our 350th episode and 25th season, Piers Fawkes of PSFK explores the future of strategic AI research. As generic LLMs homogenize insights into a "race to the middle," Piers explains how tracking weak signals provides a vital competitive edge for modern brand marketers. Discover how his new venture, , acts as an advanced context layer, using curated knowledge graphs and digital twins of human experts to deliver traceable AI outputs that preserve human judgment.
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In Clear Focus: The Tangible Brand with Betsy Davis
In Clear Focus
IN CLEAR FOCUS: Our guest is Betsy Davis of , who explores the lasting power of phygital media and physical brand experiences. Discover how combining targeted direct mail with digital channels significantly boosts consumer response rates. Betsy also shares how to leverage spending data for personalization without crossing into the "creep factor". Learn how embedding conversational AI agents into printed mail via QR codes offers deep insights and accelerates marketing workflows.
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In Clear Focus: Customer Passion with Steven Van Belleghem
In Clear Focus
IN CLEAR FOCUS: This week's guest, Steven Van Belleghem, explores how to build a customer culture competitors can't copy. Discussing this month's Bigeye Book Club selection, "," Steven explains the 95-5 rule and why AI makes human empathy vital for complex interactions. Discover how to ignite deep loyalty using friction hunting, the 10-star mindset stretch, and empowering frontline employees to surprise and delight buyers.
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In Clear Focus: Culture Stores with Ibrahim Ibrahim and Koral Ibrahim
In Clear Focus
IN CLEAR FOCUS: Ibrahim and Koral Ibrahim, the co-authors of "," explore the future of physical retail. As transactions shift online, they argue that physical spaces must evolve into media platforms designed for community recruitment and retention. Discover how to turn customers into loyal fans by embracing culture-graphics over demographics and creating "Fifth Places" that merge physical and digital commerce.
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In Clear Focus: Earned Media and AI Visibility with Brett Farmiloe
In Clear Focus
IN CLEAR FOCUS: Our guest this week is Brett Farmiloe, CEO of , who explores the link between earned media and AI visibility. Discover why Featured acquired Help A Reporter Out (HARO), how to unlock internal subject matter experts, and why human-written pitches perform three times better than AI-generated ones. Brett explains how public relations drives generative search results and shares practical ways to use AI co-pilots without sacrificing authentic human authority.
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In Clear Focus: AI Strategy for Sales and Marketing with Katie King
In Clear Focus
IN CLEAR FOCUS: Katie King, CEO of AI in Business, discusses the all-new, second edition of her book, "". Discover how brands can move from AI experimentation to scaled transformation by prioritizing strategy over technology. Katie explains the importance of consent-first, ambient personalization and how ethical AI acts as a trust multiplier rather than a cost center. Listen now to learn how to implement Katie's AI Playbook framework and prepare for Agentic AI.
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In Clear Focus: Retail Architecture As Brand Strategy with Alexander Josephson
In Clear Focus
IN CLEAR FOCUS: World-renowned architect Alexander Josephson, co-founder of , discusses his approach to retail architecture as brand strategy. The physical space a customer enters is the most concentrated expression of a brand. Discover why separating architecture and marketing budgets damages credibility. From Bar Raval to Union Station, learn how treating store environments as brand infrastructure shapes customer behavior, builds authentic connections, and drives commercial success.
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In Clear Focus: The Digital Shelf, Tested with Daniela Bolzmann
In Clear Focus
IN CLEAR FOCUS: Daniela Bolzmann, founder of and the Design Proof Substack, explores how data-driven creative optimization transforms e-commerce conversions. Drawing from over 1,000 consumer polls, Daniela shares how Amazon split testing, A+ Content, and main image tweaks reveal what shoppers actually want. Discover how to bridge the say-do gap, leverage AI for data analysis, and build a repeatable experimentation practice that converts testing into predictable sales lifts.
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In Clear Focus: The DNA of Brand Storytelling with Park Howell
In Clear Focus
IN CLEAR FOCUS: Park Howell, founder of , and author of "Brand Bewitchery," explores the DNA of brand storytelling. Discover why narrative clarity must precede the creative brief and how to use the 10-step Story Cycle System™ to build compelling messaging. Park explains the AND, BUT, THEREFORE (ABT) framework, why brands must make the customer the hero, and how the uses AI to elevate brand narratives rather than flattening them into "a sea of sameness."
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In Clear Focus: EFFECTIVE: How To Do Great Work in a Fast-Changing World with Melissa Swift
In Clear Focus
IN CLEAR FOCUS: Our guest this week, Melissa Swift, author of "" explores the modern reality of work intensification. Discover why today's workplace mirrors the early Industrial Revolution and how the "curse of competence" impacts top performers. Melissa shares actionable strategies to navigate complex interdependence, manage AI anxiety, and build team effectiveness. Learn why hope is a vital leadership skill in a fast-changing world.
info_outlineIN CLEAR FOCUS: Alia J. Daniels, COO of Revry and President of PrismRiot, discusses the power of privacy-first advertising. She explains why reaching LGBTQ+ and multicultural consumers is a business imperative, not a charitable exercise. Discover the massive addressability gap in programmatic media, why Revry walked away from The Trade Desk to protect audience data, and how a privacy-by-design exchange connects brands to diverse audiences at scale without ever compromising user trust.