How empathy in marketing can unlock your brand’s higher purpose
Episode web page: https://bit.ly/4lcY2tG
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What does it take to make marketing truly meaningful? In this episode of Insights Unlocked, we sit down with Steven Sakach, co-founder of AI CMO and CEO of Zero Company, to explore how businesses can create deeper emotional connections by putting empathy and purpose at the heart of their marketing. With decades of experience spanning journalism, digital media, and consciousness studies, Steven shares insights on the evolution of conscious capitalism, the role of AI in marketing with intention, and how brands can avoid the pitfalls of performative messaging.
Discover how companies like Patagonia and Dove have created enduring emotional impact, and learn how to articulate your own organization’s higher purpose to guide authentic, customer-first campaigns. Whether you're part of a lean marketing team or leading a larger brand, this episode offers actionable strategies to align your marketing with what truly matters.
What you’ll learn in this episode:
Why empathy and purpose are becoming essential pillars of effective marketing
How AI can help small teams scale emotionally intelligent campaigns
The concept of “building love into scalable systems” and why it matters
Lessons from brands that got it right—and those that got it wrong
How to discover and articulate your business’s authentic higher purpose
Resources & Links:
Steven on LinkedIn (https://www.linkedin.com/in/stephen-sakach-3181aa28b/)
Zero Company (https://www.zerocompany.com/)
aiCMO (https://aicmo.io/home_
Bliss Business podcast (https://www.theblisspodcast.com/)
Nathan on LinkedIn (https://www.linkedin.com/in/nathanisaacs/)
Learn more about Insights Unlocked: https://www.usertesting.com/podcast
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33:10
Winning with zero-click marketing starts with customer empathy
Episode web page: https://bit.ly/4lhHPCW
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Got a question? Want to recommend a guest? Or do you want to tell me how the show can be better?
Send me a voice message via email at [email protected]
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In this episode of Insights Unlocked, Rand Fishkin, co-founder of SparkToro and marketing industry icon, joins hosts Mike McDowell and Nathan Isaacs to unpack one of the most disruptive shifts in digital marketing today: the death of attribution.
Rand explains how platforms like Google, Facebook, and Reddit are cutting off referral data and turning into "walled gardens," effectively ending marketers' ability to track where traffic and conversions truly originate. This change calls for a radical new playbook—one that trades attribution modeling for brand lift, and prioritizes native content that meets audiences where they are.
What you'll learn in this episode:
Why attribution modeling no longer works—and what to focus on instead
The rise of zero-click marketing and how to succeed with it
How brands can build influence in a closed-platform world
The role of audience intelligence tools like SparkToro in top-of-funnel strategy
Why empathy and behavior observation are more powerful than ever for product and marketing decisions
How customer insights led to SparkToro’s recent product relaunch—and a major growth rebound
Resources & Links:
SparkToro: https://sparktoro.com/
Rand on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/randfishkin/
Snackbar Studio: https://snackbarstudio.com/
Mike on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mmcdowell1/
Mike’s YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/@mikedropvideos
Learn more about Insights Unlocked: https://www.usertesting.com/podcast
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49:22
Designing products people trust with Robinhood’s Dheerja Kaur
Episode web page: https://bit.ly/4l51qH3
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Got a question? Want to recommend a guest? Or do you want to tell me how the show can be better?
Send me a voice message via email at [email protected]
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In this episode of Insights Unlocked, we sit down with Dheerja Kaur, Vice President of Product Management at Robinhood, for a deep dive into how thoughtful design, strategic innovation, and customer obsession can transform industries—especially one as complex and regulated as finance.
Dheerja brings insights from her journey across major brands like ESPN and The Skimm, sharing how those experiences shaped her unique approach to building products that are not only functional and beautiful but also deeply human.
Designing for obsessive user bases: How Dheerja’s work with passionate communities—from sports fans to finance enthusiasts—has underscored the value of user loyalty and brand ethos.
Democratizing finance through design: A look at how Robinhood lowered economic barriers and emphasized intuitive user experiences to make investing more accessible to everyone.
Embracing complexity without sacrificing clarity: Dheerja discusses how her team balances regulatory requirements with elegant product design that promotes user education and confidence.
Coaching with ‘Spidey sense’: Learn how she develops product intuition in her teams without micromanaging, and how recognizing subtle signals can lead to better outcomes.
A culture of experimentation: Why Robinhood encourages teams to pursue bold ideas—even at the risk of failure—and how this fuels long-term growth and innovation.
Harnessing real-time insights: Discover how customer feedback from support, surveys, and experimentation informs Robinhood’s product strategy and user experience.
AI and the future of product design: Dheerja shares Robinhood’s early experiments with AI, including the new Cortex product, and how first-principles thinking guides their approach.
Championing inclusive leadership: Dheerja reflects on her own experience navigating imposter syndrome and why she prioritizes supporting women and underrepresented groups in tech.
Dheerja on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dheerja/
Robinhood website: https://robinhood.com/
Dheerja’s website: https://www.dheerja.com/
Bobby on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/bmeixner
Learn more about Insights Unlocked: https://www.usertesting.com/podcast
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Leading customer-centric transformation with empathy and AI with Tabitha Dunn
Episode web page: https://bit.ly/43Gxevp
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Got a question? Want to recommend a guest? Or do you want to tell me how the show can be better?
Send me a voice message via email at [email protected]
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In this episode of Insights Unlocked, hosts Nathan Isaacs and Bobby Meixner welcome customer experience (CX) leader Tabitha Dunn to discuss the intersection of empathy, artificial intelligence, and change management in building truly customer-centric organizations. Drawing on her executive experience leading CX and digital transformation at global brands, Tabitha shares actionable insights for business leaders navigating innovation and AI implementation—without losing sight of the human element.
Listeners will learn why beginning with an "empathy tour" is essential, how to avoid common pitfalls in transformation initiatives, and why governance and usability must be balanced in any AI strategy. Plus, she shares how CX leaders can broaden their influence by becoming fluent in cross-functional collaboration, change management, and business impact storytelling.
Topics Covered:
The Empathy Tour: Why leaders must deeply understand employee and customer perspectives before initiating change.
AI with Purpose: How to evaluate AI technologies through the lens of real human needs—not hype.
Governance Meets Usability: Balancing privacy, personalization, and user experience in AI-driven systems.
Cross-Functional Buy-In: Tips for engaging finance, IT, and product teams in CX-driven transformation efforts.
Skills for Modern CX Leaders: Why CX professionals should add sales training, change management, and project management to their toolkit.
Avoiding Common Missteps: The three most frequent reasons transformation initiatives fail—and how to prevent them.
Tabitha to the Rescue: How Tabitha steps in to course-correct projects that are stalling or misaligned.
Resources & Links:
Tabitha on Linkedin (https://www.linkedin.com/in/tabithadunn
Stage 2 Capital (https://www.stage2.capital
Bobby on LinkedIn (https://www.linkedin.com/in/bmeixner
Learn more about Insights Unlocked: https://www.usertesting.com/podcast
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UX for AI: Designing intelligent experiences with Greg Nudelman
Episode web page: https://bit.ly/4kw3gQJ
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Got a question? Want to recommend a guest? Or do you want to tell me how the show can be better?
Send me a voice message via email at [email protected]
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In this episode of Insights Unlocked, we dive into the rapidly evolving intersection of UX design and artificial intelligence with Greg Nudelman, UX architect at Sumo Logic and author of UX for AI. Hosted by Sean Treiser, this conversation explores why conventional UX tools and mindsets are no longer sufficient in an AI-driven world—and what design leaders can do to keep pace.
Greg challenges the status quo, likening traditional UI workflows to rearranging deck chairs on the Titanic, especially as AI becomes the centerpiece of digital experiences. He introduces the concept of “iceberg UX,” where visual design is only the surface, and the real value lies in content, data, and AI interactions beneath. He advocates for retiring “lorem ipsum” and instead prioritizing real, meaningful output that aligns with user context and workflows.
Key topics include:
Why UI alone won’t cut it in the era of AI, and what “iceberg UX” really means
The death of lorem ipsum and the rise of content as core design output
How to use the “value matrix” to assess risk and ROI in AI predictions
Practical frameworks for incorporating AI, data, and empathy into design processes
The skills UX and product teams need to thrive in a world of intelligent agents
Why Greg believes UX professionals must move fast or risk becoming obsolete
Greg also previews his AI UX bootcamp and shares insights from his viral content experiments, underscoring how AI is reshaping not just products but also how we market and communicate.
Whether you’re a product designer, UX strategist, or CX leader, this episode will challenge you to rethink your role in a world where machines are increasingly not just tools—but collaborators.
Episode links:
Greg on LinkedIn
https://www.linkedin.com/in/gregnudelman/
UX for AI book
https://www.uxforai.com/c/ux-for-ai-book
Learn more about Insights Unlocked: https://www.usertesting.com/podcast
What does it take to create experiences customers love, craft campaigns that captivate, and drive measurable results?
Insights Unlocked features candid conversations with the builders, creators, and innovators driving some of the world’s most impactful digital transformations. Tailored for marketing, product, UX and CX leaders, each episode delivers actionable insights to help you create customer-first strategies and stay ahead in today’s competitive landscape. Each episode is about 30 minutes long.
From optimizing product launches to leveraging AI for smarter workflows, Insights Unlocked is your go-to resource for designing experiences that resonate, drive loyalty, and achieve business results. Guests include influential leaders like Brian Solis, April Dunford, Kate Towsey, Jacob Nielsen, Teresa Torres, and Judd Antin among others, offering their expertise in CX, UX, and innovation. The podcast also highlights strategies and success stories from leading brands such as Verizon, Signet Jewelers, Figma, Microsoft, Tesco Bank, and more.
UserTesting leaders and industry experts join as guest hosts, alongside show producer Nathan Isaacs, award-winning journalist and Senior Manager of Content Production at UserTesting.
Brought to you by UserTesting, the leader in human insights and proactive customer experience strategies, Insights Unlocked empowers CMOs and marketing teams to craft experiences that drive growth, loyalty, and impact.
Listen and subscribe wherever you get your podcasts. Show notes, curated clips and more at usertesting.com/podcast.
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