Likely Marketing

Hosted by Shivendra Lal

Business Marketing

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Episodes

150

Latest episode

Aug 2026

Language

EN-US

About the show

Exploring possibilities in Marketing.

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60 recent

August 18, 2026Episode 15013 min

#150: The martech stack is being re-written by AI agents

What if your martech stack stopped looking like a stack? CRM, CDP, automation, content, analytics and sales tools have long defined how marketers work. Now, agentic AI is beginning to blur the boundaries between them. AI agents can increasingly plan, execute and optimize multi-step marketing tasks while external agents interact with the platforms marketers already use. In this episode, we explore how agentic AI martech tools could reshape acquisition, retention and customer experience, and what this means for choosing the next tool in your stack. Is its AI truly agentic? Can it work with external agents? How reliable is the data? What controls and guardrails exist? The bigger shift could be a flatter, more composable martech stack, where agents assemble capabilities dynamically instead of marketers managing rigid point solutions. And as AI takes over execution, marketing judgment, not execution, could become the real competitive advantage. (00:00) Intro (00:55) A quick look at the types of martech tools available today (02:59) How each type of martech tool has adopted AI, and opened up to outside agents (06:37) What this means for retention, acquisition and experience (08:46) So, how do you decide what martech tool to adopt? (10:37) Where is the martech space headed?

August 11, 2026Episode 14919 min

#149: AI Agents for Marketing: AI doesn't just answer anymore

Marketing AI has quietly entered a new chapter. AI no longer just answers questions, it takes action. From researching competitors and analyzing campaigns to drafting content, managing workflows, and connecting your marketing tools, AI agents are changing what marketers spend their time on. In this episode, we explore how agentic AI, including OpenClaw, Manus, and Claude, could reshape marketing operations, productivity, and decision-making. But the real story isn't automation. As AI handles more execution, strategy, creativity, customer understanding, cultural insight, and human judgment become the true competitive advantage. AI agents won't replace marketers, they'll create more space for marketers to think. (00:00) Intro (01:20) OpenClaw, Manus, Claude - what these agents actually are (04:02) How do AI agents work? (In simple words) (06:25) What does agentic AI mean for a marketer’s actual day? (09:44) How does the cost of adopting agentic AI stack up? (13:44) Let’s talk about the caveats of using agentic AI, too (16:24) Where can AI agents take marketing going ahead?

August 4, 2026Episode 14819 min

#148: Luxury retail experience trends: Why belonging is the future of luxury

Luxury retail experience trends are changing what it means to own something extraordinary. A customer walks into a luxury store expecting products but discovers art, culture, hospitality and stories that linger long after the visit ends. That's the future of luxury. In this episode, we explore how changing luxury customer behavior is reshaping flagship stores across the US, UK, Europe, India and China. Discover why today's buyers seek craftsmanship, emotional connection and belonging instead of status, how luxury brands are reinventing customer experience through immersive retail, AI-powered personalization and cultural storytelling, and why physical stores are becoming destinations rather than points of sale. The future of luxury belongs to brands that don't just sell beautiful products, they create a reason to belong. (00:00) Intro (01:18) The global pulse of offline retail and luxury retail (04:23) Let’s talk about the shift in luxury customer behaviour (08:26) How major luxury brands are adapting to change in consumer behaviour (11:38) Why are luxury brands leaning into art? (14:29) Where is luxury retail is headed? And where does digital fit? (17:32) From logo to belonging…

July 28, 2026Episode 14716 min

#147: Open source LLMs for Marketing: Why AI infrastructure could be your next competitive edge

What if the biggest AI advantage in marketing isn't the chatbot you subscribe to—but the AI infrastructure you own? While most marketers compete to write better prompts with ChatGPT or Claude, another AI revolution is unfolding through open source (open-weight) LLMs. In this episode, we explore why companies like Meta, Google, Alibaba, Mistral and DeepSeek are releasing powerful language models, what they gain by doing so, and why this changes how brands should think about AI. Discover how open source LLMs can improve privacy, customization, cost efficiency and brand differentiation, and why AI infrastructure could become your next competitive edge. Because the future of marketing may not belong to the brands that rent intelligence, but to those that build it around their own strategy. (00:00) Intro (01:47) What are open source LLMs and who’s making them? (05:40) Why are tech companies releasing open source models? And how do they stack up against paid models? (10:45) What do marketers gain from open source models? (14:08) Is AI infrastructure becoming a marketing edge?

July 21, 2026Episode 14623 min

#146: Creator TV could be re-writing who owns the audience

What happens when the audience stops belonging to platforms and starts belonging to creators? Creator TV may look like creators making longer videos for bigger screens, but the real story runs much deeper. As connected TVs, streaming and long-form content reshape viewing habits, creators are beginning to function less like influencers and more like independent media networks. In this episode, we explore why brands are paying attention, why trust matters more than interruption, why long-form is becoming a strategic advantage, and how Creator TV could quietly rewrite the balance of power between platforms, creators and advertisers. Because the biggest shift isn't where we watch. It's who owns the relationship with the audience, and what that means for the future of marketing. (00:00) Intro (01:15) Creators on the big and small screen (06:05) What is “Creator TV”, actually? (10:06) What can brands expect out of Creator TV? (12:16) Is Creator TV only for large brands? (15:06) Is long-form really the future? (17:23) When the audience follows the person, not the platform

July 14, 2026Episode 14518 min

#145: Creator Economy growth isn't organic. It's being Built.

The creator economy isn't simply growing. It's being built. What started as a side hustle for a few has become a global economic system shaped by four powerful forces: changing audience behavior, platform monetization, lower barriers to content creation, and growing institutional support from governments and investors. Together, these forces are transforming creators from independent individuals into an organized media industry with capital, infrastructure, regulation, and long-term strategic importance. In this episode, we explore why creator economy growth is no longer organic, how platforms, governments, and institutional capital are accelerating it, and what this shift means for brands, marketers, and the future of media. This is the first episode of a two-part series examining the structural rise of the creator economy. (00:00) Intro (00:53) The massive size of the creator economy (02:55) The ‘4 Forces’ driving the growth of creator economy (07:13) Government institutions have entered the creator chat now (11:13) Money, money, money (15:44) The creator economy juggernaut

July 8, 202617 min

#144: Nostalgia Marketing isn't about the past. It's about connection.

Nostalgia marketing isn't about bringing back the past. It's about reconnecting people with emotions they already trust and making those emotions relevant again in today's world. In this episode, we explore why campaigns from McDonald's, White Rabbit, Frankie & Benny's and other brands succeeded by reviving authentic memories through modern experiences rather than simply recycling old logos, mascots or products. We also examine the psychology behind nostalgia, why Gen Z is embracing eras they never lived through, how nostalgia influences trust, engagement and purchase decisions, and why "nostalgia-washing" is becoming one of marketing's biggest creative mistakes. If you're wondering whether nostalgia marketing is a lasting strategy or just another trend, this episode shows why the brands creating genuine emotional connections, not just retro aesthetics, are the ones building long-term brand value. (00:00) Intro (00:47) 3 examples of brands who have successfully used nostalgia marketing (05:08) Why nostalgia marketing is having a moment, according to research (08:11) Why nostalgia marketing works, psychologically (11:17) If you’ve never tried nostalgia marketing, here’s how you can start (14:17) Nostalgia isn't a shortcut, even though it feels like one

June 30, 2026Episode 14314 min

#143: The Influencer Marketing strategy that turns trust into growth

Every brand begins its influencer marketing strategy by looking for reach. Bigger creators. Bigger audiences. Bigger numbers. But what if growth doesn't begin with followers at all? This episode reveals why the most successful influencer partnerships are built on something far more valuable: trust. As creators, brands, and audiences increasingly seek authenticity, shared values, and genuine relationships, the winning influencer marketing strategy is no longer about finding the biggest voice…it's about finding the right fit. Discover why long-term creator partnerships outperform transactional campaigns, why engagement matters more than reach, and how aligning purpose with credibility transforms trust into sustainable business growth. In an internet flooded with AI-generated noise, authenticity isn't just good marketing, it's your competitive advantage. (00:00) Intro (01:27) Why do influencers create content? (04:49) What do brands and consumers really expect from influencers? (08:56) The influencer and brand alignment problem that nobody's talking about (11:42) Key takeaways for brands and influencers (12:53) A few more words…

June 23, 202622 min

#142: When your brand has a body: Marketing in the age of humanoid robots

For decades, brands have obsessed over how they look and sound. Soon, they'll need to decide how they move. As humanoid robots enter stores, hotels, banks, and customer service environments, marketing faces a challenge it has never encountered before: designing a brand's physical behavior. A robot's posture, eye contact, gestures, reaction time, and presence may become as important as logos, colors, and tone of voice. In this episode, we explore the rise of Embodied Brand Identity—the idea that every movement a humanoid robot makes becomes an expression of the brand itself. We examine why physical interactions create deeper memories than digital experiences, how robots could become powerful trust-building assets, and the risks of uncanny valley, emotional manipulation, transparency failures, and reputational damage. Because in the age of humanoid robots, the question is no longer what your brand says. It's how your brand behaves. (00:00) Intro (01:16) How we got here… (04:41) “Embodied brand identity”: What is it? And why is it important? (11:31) Why embodied brand identity hits differently, psychologically (14:20) The risks behind adopting humanoids for human interaction (18:12) What founders and marketers should do right now… (20:52) The brief nobody has written as yet…

June 16, 202624 min

#141: Why thoughtful marketing wins in a tiered social media world

For years, brands could win on social media by publishing more content, chasing algorithms, and buying reach. But that era is fading. Subscription models, declining organic reach, stricter regulations, platform fragmentation, and audience fatigue are creating a new reality: a tiered social media world. In this episode, we explore how platforms like LinkedIn, Instagram, X, YouTube, Substack, Discord, and Bluesky are reshaping the economics of attention. As discovery, conversation, and community split into separate layers, brands can no longer rely on volume or virality alone. The winners will be those with clear perspectives, meaningful conversations, trusted communities, and direct audience relationships. Tiered social media marketing isn't changing how content gets distributed. It's changing what kind of marketing succeeds. (00:00) Intro (01:10) Social media has turned to the subscription model… (04:46) Reasons behind social media going subscription-based (06:25) The regulatory oversight wave is making subscribed social media necessary (09:07) Does this mean that organic social media is dead? (13:32) Are subscription-based social and decline in social media opening doors to alternative social media platforms? (19:22) Layering of social media has happened and is changing the course of social media marketing… (22:20) Subscription-based social media offers a hidden opportunity for founders, brands and marketers…