Stop Wasting Money on Marketing | Megan Bowen on the Unpolished MBA Podcast

CEO Megan Bowen and VP of Marketing Evan Hughes hosted VP Of Demand Generation Ciara Hopkins, and Senior Director of Demand Generation Matthew Sciannella to dive into the 2025 planning process.  Through the event, they addressed significant trends in the digital marketing space, emphasizing the need for adaptability and smart investment. Key topics include the saturation of B2B advertising platforms like LinkedIn, the critical role of content strategy, and the value of aligning business fundamentals with modern marketing tactics in order to enable your company to optimize its growth trajectory in an increasingly competitive market. Key Takeaways: Core Shifts in B2B SaaS: The landscape has changed significantly post-pandemic, emphasizing the need for updated digital strategies that focus on long-term growth and adaptability. The Role of Data in Planning: Historical data analysis and common sense are key components of setting realistic, data-driven marketing goals that align with business objectives. Importance of Brand Awareness: Despite the pressure for immediate ROI, investment in brand awareness is crucial for sustained business growth and should accompany demand generation efforts. Content Strategy as a Differentiator: A well-rounded and strategic approach to content creation, focusing on different stages of the customer journey, is essential for engaging potential buyers. See full videos and more on our YouTube channelStay on top of all Refine Labs news and events by subscribing to our newsletter.

Kerri Amodio, Director of Demand Gen, delivered a Keynote and Q&A session for SMX Masterclass. She focused on how businesses can leverage AI tools like ChatGPT to optimize their marketing campaigns. She emphasized the importance of using AI not merely to save time but to enhance the quality of marketing efforts, improve messaging, and boost revenue.  The discussion details the use of AI for refining ideal customer profiles (ICP), crafting compelling ad copy, and designing personalized marketing strategies. Kerri articulates the nuances of using tools such as ChatGPT, Microsoft Copilot, and Google Gemini in creating targeted, effective paid media campaigns. The conversation covers the importance of understanding customer data, competitor analysis, and the integration of AI in crafting messaging that resonates with specific audience needs. With insights on the ever-evolving landscape of digital marketing, listeners are guided on how to stay ahead of the curve with AI-enhanced strategies that deliver tangible results. See full videos and more on our YouTube channelStay on top of all Refine Labs news and events by subscribing to our newsletter.

Triana Mills, VP of Creative, joins Steph Crugnola on Stacking Growth Snacks to break down the differences between a Creative Strategy Package and a Creative Execution Package. She details what's included, who would benefit most, and the timeline investment you'd be looking at for each package. See the video on our ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠YouTube Channel⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Stay on top of all Refine Labs news and events by⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ subscribing to our newsletter⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠.

Evan Hughes and Steph Crugnola joined Corey Kossack of Aspireship on the Startup Skills Podcast to talk about the four essential roles in building a podcast. From Startup Skills Podcast: The second episode of the Startup Skills Podcast, Corey engages with Evan Hughes and Steph Crugnola from Refine Labs to discuss podcasting as a growth strategy for B2B tech companies. They explore the importance of podcasting for brand storytelling and audience engagement, emphasizing the need for a clear strategy and intention behind each episode. The conversation covers essential roles for podcast success, including the architect, host, creative, and distributor, and offers practical advice on developing these skills within a team. They also highlight the significance of content distribution across various platforms and building a strong network in the podcasting space.

Ragen Dodson joins Steph Crugnola on Stacking Growth Snacks to cover Data Democratization. In this episode, she guides listeners through specific talk tracks that can help convince leadership to make the change. She highlights the most important benefits of switching to a Data Democracy to make it attractive to your C-Suite and stakeholders. See the video on our ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠YouTube Channel⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Stay on top of all Refine Labs news and events by⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ subscribing to our newsletter⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠.

Our September Expert Session, featuring Malin Wijenayake and Chris Walker, focused on YouTube Ad Strategy! Through the session, they covered: tools for measuring impact most efficient targeting options for each ad type options for developing ad creative successful examples of current ads benchmark metric goals and examples ...and more!    If you want to watch the full video, you can access it here on our YouTube page.   And, if you enjoy these sessions, make sure you mark your calendars for what's coming in Q4: B2B Marketing Roundtable w/ Refine Labs —a live, three-part series to help you fine-tune your 2025 strategy and make the most of your paid media. Our CEO, Megan Bowen, VP of Marketing, Evan Hughes, and other Refine Labs experts will be talking through the practical stuff that really matters when it comes to your 2025 plan.   Here’s what we’ll cover: October Session: Goal Setting for 2025 – How to plan for success without locking yourself into something rigid. November Session: Paid Media Efficiency – How to stop overspending and get more from your budget. December Session: Driving Real Change in Your Go-to-Market – How large organizations can make impactful, lasting changes.  

In our August Expert Session, Chris Walker and Matthew Sciannella spent an hour delivering detailed analysis, actionable feedback, and tips on repurposing website content for ad creative.    Key takeaways include: The transition from paid search to paid social requires a deep understanding of platform user behavior and creative messaging strategies. Existing web content like feature pages, case studies, and product updates are the best starting points for repurposing into engaging ad formats such as carousel ads and short-form videos. Use metrics like dwell time on LinkedIn to measure the engagement of your content and adjust strategies accordingly.   If you missed the event, you can access it here on our YouTube page. You can also find previous months' Expert Sessions including Marketing in Competitive Categories, featuring Kyle ColemanScaling a Demand Engine, featuring Alice De Courcy Leveraging Social and Community to Create Demand, featuring Dave Gerhardt

Ragen Dodson joins Steph Crugnola on Stacking Growth Snacks to cover Data Democratization. In this episode, she talks about the important tools to refresh and rely on when building a Data Democracy. She covers how to make sure your self serve data tools and CRM are user friendly and accessible, aligning measurement and metrics between sales and marketing, and when to bring in an objective, third party agency to help kickstart the process. See the video on our ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠YouTube Channel⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Stay on top of all Refine Labs news and events by⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ subscribing to our newsletter⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠.

In our July Expert Session, Chris Walker was joined by Tom Wentworth, CMO @ Recorded Future, to talk about GTM programs and Marketing ROI. Their discussion focused on guiding marketers aspiring to senior roles, offering rich insights into account selection, demand creation, and the relationship between marketing and finance. Tom emphasizes the importance of narrowing down account focus, even for large enterprises, suggesting that a smaller, targeted set of accounts can yield better results. They dig into practical challenges and solutions in demand creation, attributing their lower cost per opportunity to a more strategic allocation of marketing spend. Tom’s advocacy for direct mail as a unique, effective tactic highlights an often-overlooked channel. Moreover, the value of robust financial relationships, notably with the CFO, and the innovative use of a news organization to drive engagement and brand authority are discussed in depth. Then, they spent time on listener questions, going into the specifics of Direct Mail tactics and messaging. 

Ragen Dodson joins Steph Crugnola on Stacking Growth Snacks to cover Data Democratization. In this episode, she talks about what Data Democratization is, what it looks like within a company, and the benefits it can bring for your teams. See the video on our ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠YouTube Channel⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Stay on top of all Refine Labs news and events by⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ subscribing to our newsletter⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠.