The Digital Deep Dive With Aaron Conant

Hosted by Aaron Conant

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172

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Aug 2026

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About the show

This is the Digital Deep Dive Podcast, where we tackle the newest trends, strategies and pain points shaping growth across the digital landscape.

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60 recent

August 20, 202631 min

Reddit and Brand Trust: Why Every Brand Needs a Reddit Strategy With Jonny Waite

Jonny Waite is the Co-founder and CEO of RECHO, a full-service Reddit marketing agency helping brands grow through organic community management, paid advertising, and Reddit-native strategy. With 17 years of agency-side digital experience, Jonny built SEO, paid search, Amazon, and omnichannel programs for Fortune 500 companies and high-growth startups. He helps brands navigate Reddit authentically, manage reputation, and improve visibility across search and AI-driven discovery. In this episode… As AI-driven search changes how consumers discover products, brand-owned content is no longer the only influence on buying decisions. More people are turning to online communities for candid perspectives that validate what they find elsewhere. How can brands build trust when those conversations are already happening beyond their control? Reddit marketing and digital search expert Jonny Waite explains that brands can earn credibility by participating in communities authentically instead of relying on overt promotion. Success starts with listening to how users communicate, respecting community norms, and contributing expertise where it genuinely adds value. Jonny emphasizes the benefit of pairing organic engagement with targeted advertising while recognizing Reddit's long-term search impact, since indexed conversations can influence discovery and purchase decisions for years. A thoughtful Reddit strategy can strengthen trust, improve visibility, and create a lasting advantage across both search and AI-driven discovery. In this episode of The Digital Deep Dive , Aaron Conant welcomes back Jonny Waite, Co-founder and CEO of RECHO, to build on an earlier discussion about Reddit's rising importance and examine why every brand needs a Reddit strategy. Jonny covers AI search, community trust, and advertising opportunities. He also shares how authentic participation can create long-term brand value.

August 13, 202632 min

A Holistic View of the Digital Shelf With Rohan Philip

Rohan Philip is the Product and Strategy Lead at MetricsCart, a digital commerce intelligence platform that helps brands monitor and improve performance across online retailers and marketplaces. In his role, he shapes product strategy around pricing, availability, content health, search visibility, ratings, and reviews, translating complex shelf data into practical actions for brands. Rohan specializes in holistic digital shelf management, review intelligence, automation, and the emerging impact of AI-powered shopping. In this episode… The digital shelf is shaped by far more than product titles and images. Pricing, availability, reviews, search visibility, and advertising all affect conversion. How can brands manage these interconnected signals without overextending their teams? Rohan Philip, an expert in product strategy and digital shelf intelligence, recommends treating every performance signal as part of one system. Brands should prioritize the retailers driving the most revenue, automate monitoring across secondary channels, and use reviews to uncover product issues, improve marketing language, and guide development. Rohan stresses that pricing, content health, ratings, availability, and search performance must be evaluated together, especially as AI agents reshape discovery and purchasing. A coordinated, insight-led approach helps teams protect profitability while preparing for a more automated shopping journey. In this episode of The Digital Deep Dive , Aaron Conant talks with Rohan Philip, Product and Strategy Lead at MetricsCart, about taking a holistic view of the digital shelf. Rohan explains how to prioritize top retailers, connect pricing and content signals, and turn reviews into actionable insights. He also examines automation, AI shopping agents, and the future of product discovery.

July 23, 202636 min

Agentic Commerce Decoded - The 5 C's With Lauren Livak Gilbert and Max Sinclair

Lauren Livak Gilbert is the Executive Director of the Digital Shelf Institute, a community of more than 11,000 brands and retailers navigating eCommerce and the digital shelf. She leads research, education, and industry collaboration on emerging commerce trends. Lauren specializes in agentic commerce, product content, citations, measurement, and helping brands turn complex digital shifts into practical strategies that drive customer acquisition and growth. Max Sinclair is the Founder and CEO of Azoma (formerly Ecomtent), an agentic commerce platform helping brands improve visibility and performance across AI-powered shopping. He leads company strategy, growth, and enterprise partnerships while advising brands on product discovery, content, and conversion across ChatGPT, Amazon Rufus, Walmart Sparky, and Google Gemini. Max also co-hosts The New Frontier: The Agentic Commerce & Answer Engine Optimization podcast. In this episode… Agentic commerce is becoming a priority for brands, but many teams are still defining how it fits into their eCommerce strategies. Rather than replacing the digital shelf, it expands how AI systems discover, evaluate, and recommend products. How can brands turn this shift into measurable growth? Digital shelf strategist Lauren Livak Gilbert and agentic commerce entrepreneur Max Sinclair answer by organizing the challenge around five C's: completeness, context, citations, correctness, and customer acquisition. Their framework shows brands how to strengthen product data, answer detailed shopper questions, build trust through credible sources, and correct inaccurate information across AI platforms. Lauren recommends treating agentic commerce as an extension of existing digital shelf work while developing a deeper understanding of shopper needs. Max emphasizes monitoring the entire category, identifying the sources AI tools rely on, and connecting visibility efforts to conversion and incremental revenue. Together, their guidance offers a practical way to prepare internal teams, prioritize investments, and measure meaningful business impact. In this episode of The Digital Deep Dive , Aaron Conant talks with Lauren Livak Gilbert, Executive Director of the Digital Shelf Institute, and Max Sinclair, Founder and CEO of Azoma, about decoding agentic commerce through the five C's. Lauren and Max show how brands can improve data completeness, add richer context, strengthen citations, ensure correctness, and drive customer acquisition. They also discuss AI shopping behavior, brand accuracy, and practical measurement.

July 16, 202633 min

Understanding Amazon's New 75 Character Title Limit With Christian Rich

Christian Rich is the Founding US Sales Lead at Azoma, an agentic commerce optimization platform that helps brands improve visibility across AI-powered search and shopping experiences. Working with consumer brands, he focuses on how product content is discovered, interpreted, and recommended by ChatGPT, Amazon Alexa, Walmart Sparky, and other AI assistants. Christian specializes in digital shelf strategy, conversational search, content structuring, and LLM-driven product discovery and conversion. In this episode… Amazon's shorter title limit reflects a broader change in how consumers discover and evaluate products online. As mobile shopping, conversational prompts, and AI assistants reshape search, brands must create content that works for both people and algorithms. How can they adapt without sacrificing visibility or conversion? The answer is to treat concise titles as part of a wider shift toward prompt-based, agent-assisted shopping, according to Christian Rich, an expert in agentic commerce and digital shelf strategy. Brands should write clear, human-friendly titles, move valuable keywords and product details into structured content, and identify the category questions AI tools are prompting shoppers to ask. Christian also recommends making product pages specific enough for assistants to confidently match products with detailed consumer requests. By connecting marketplace content with broader AI-discovery strategies, brands can improve their chances of being surfaced, recommended, and selected. In this episode of The Digital Deep Dive , Aaron Conant talks with Christian Rich, Founding US Sales Lead at Azoma, about Amazon's new 75-character title limit and the rise of AI-assisted shopping. Christian explores cleaner titles, structured item highlights, and prompt-ready product content. He also examines Alexa-driven discovery and the connection between retailer pages and ChatGPT visibility.

July 9, 202639 min

Leadership First: Why AI Strategy Starts in the C-Suite, Not the Cloud With Kevin Williams

Kevin Williams is the Founder and CEO of Ascend AI Labs, an AI enablement firm that helps organizations build AI literacy, governance, and implementation strategies. A serial entrepreneur with roots in DTC brand building and digital marketing, Kevin helps companies align leadership, improve workflows, and implement practical AI strategies. His expertise spans enterprise AI adoption, governance, agentic workflows, and transformation for brands. Kevin is also the President of KDF Aegis LLC, a consulting and private equity firm. In this episode… Many brands are racing to adopt AI, but the biggest barrier may not be the technology itself. Before teams can improve workflows or build automation, leaders need to define what AI means for the organization. So where should companies begin when the pressure to move fast collides with uncertainty and unclear direction? As an AI adoption and digital transformation expert, Kevin Williams argues that AI strategy has to start with leadership before data, tools, or technical infrastructure. His approach is to create alignment at the top through a clear AI manifesto, practical governance, and a shared roadmap that helps teams understand how AI will support the business. Rather than waiting for perfect data, Kevin recommends building literacy, giving employees the right connected tools, and identifying high-value workflows where AI can reduce friction. The strongest AI strategies come from the leaders who combine vision, communication, and practical execution. In this episode of The Digital Deep Dive , Aaron Conant talks with Kevin Williams, Founder and CEO of Ascend AI Labs, about why AI strategy starts in the C-suite, not in the cloud. Kevin shares how leadership maturity, AI manifestos, and connected workflows shape adoption. He also touches on agentic automation, implementation costs, cybersecurity risks, and why context makes AI tools more valuable.

July 2, 202629 min

Brand Protection in the Age of TikTok With Megan Harmon

Megan Harmon is the Co-founder and Managing Partner of ThornCrest, a brand protection firm that helps brands recover revenue, enforce IP, grow sales, and expand across retail and eCommerce channels. In her role, Megan advises emerging and enterprise brands on channel control, MAP policies, authorized reseller agreements, warranty strategy, counterfeit takedowns, and supply chain leaks. She brings sales, legal, and marketplace expertise to help brands protect profitability and build stronger retail partnerships. In this episode… Brand protection has moved beyond chasing unauthorized sellers after the damage is done. With TikTok, marketplaces, and retail channels increasingly connected, brands need stronger systems for controlling where products appear, how they are represented, and how policies are enforced. How can brands stop playing whack-a-mole in a social commerce-driven environment? The answer starts with treating brand protection as a channel strategy, not just a takedown process. Megan Harmon, an expert in brand protection, channel control, and marketplace enforcement, explains that brands need to strengthen the fundamentals: warranty policies, MAP or UPP structures, authorized reseller agreements, and IP protections. Without those pieces in place, software can surface problems but cannot solve the root causes. Megan also emphasizes the importance of tracking compliance, creating clear repercussions for violations, and recognizing how TikTok, Amazon, Walmart, eBay, and other platforms are connected. Strong governance gives teams a practical way to protect profit, preserve retail relationships, and reduce recurring enforcement problems. In this episode of The Digital Deep Dive , Aaron Conant talks with Megan Harmon, Co-founder and Managing Partner of ThornCrest, about brand protection in the age of TikTok. Megan shares how brands can update warranty policies, track MAP compliance, and strengthen reseller agreements. She also touches on social commerce, counterfeits, stolen shipments, and profitability.

June 25, 202628 min

The Continued Fragmentation of eCommerce With Nicole Reich

Nicole Reich is the Chief Growth Officer at Blue Wheel, an omnichannel digital commerce agency that helps brands grow across Amazon, Walmart, DTC, social commerce, and retail media through connected strategy, performance marketing, and data-driven execution. In her role, Nicole leads growth strategy across sales and marketing, helping unify channels and reduce fragmentation across the eCommerce ecosystem to improve brand performance. She focuses on bringing together systems, teams, and insights to help enterprise brands scale more efficiently. In this episode… Brands today are operating in an environment where channels, platforms, and tools are multiplying faster than most teams can keep up with. This growing complexity is creating fragmentation across data, content, and execution, making it harder to maintain clarity and alignment. As expectations rise across every part of eCommerce, how do teams stay focused on what actually matters? Nicole Reich, a digital commerce strategy expert, unpacks why fragmentation has become one of the biggest challenges for modern brands. The issue isn't just more channels, but the compounding effect of new tools and workflows layered on top of existing systems. Clear KPIs and simplified decision-making frameworks are positioned as essential tools for cutting through the noise and refocusing teams on outcomes that drive performance. Nicole also highlights the importance of aligning teams and structuring content approaches so efforts across channels reinforce one another rather than compete or operate in isolation. These insights point toward bringing structure and clarity back into an increasingly complex ecosystem. In this episode of The Digital Deep Dive , Aaron Conant and Nicole Reich, Chief Growth Officer at Blue Wheel, discuss why fragmentation is reshaping digital commerce. Nicole addresses rising channel complexity and brand pressure, explains how clear KPIs reduce AI overload and improve decision-making, and shares how shifting search behavior is changing discovery and content strategy. She also touches on internal silos and AI-driven workflow changes across teams.

June 18, 202627 min

The Rising Importance of Reddit With Jonny Waite

Jonny Waite is the Co-founder and CEO of RECHO, a full-service Reddit marketing agency helping brands grow through organic community management, paid advertising, and Reddit-native strategy. With 17 years of agency-side digital experience, Jonny built SEO, paid search, Amazon, and omnichannel programs for Fortune 500 companies and high-growth startups. He helps brands navigate Reddit authentically, manage reputation, and improve visibility across search and AI-driven discovery. In this episode… Reddit has become a critical place where consumers discover, debate, and validate brands. As AI tools increasingly pull from Reddit conversations, brands can no longer afford to ignore what is being said there. What does it take to show up the right way before competitors, customers, and AI models define the narrative? According to Jonny Waite, a Reddit and SEO expert, the answer starts with listening before engaging. Brands should first understand where they are being mentioned, how competitors are showing up, and which subreddits matter most before jumping into the conversation. Jonny explains that Reddit rewards authentic, consistent participation, not brand-driven responses that only appear when reputation is at risk. For brands thinking about AI visibility, Reddit is becoming a long-term authority channel where early, thoughtful engagement can shape discoverability and trust. In this episode of The Digital Deep Dive , Aaron Conant chats with Jonny Waite, Co-founder and CEO of RECHO, about why Reddit has become essential for brand visibility. Jonny shares how LLMs are accelerating Reddit's influence, why brands should assess sentiment before acting, and how paid and organic Reddit strategies differ. He also touches on budget ownership, PR, SEO, and future-proofing AI visibility.

June 4, 202630 min

Mastering Agentic Commerce: How AI Is Reshaping eCommerce Strategy With Aaron Conant

Aaron Conant is the Co-founder and Chief Digital Strategist at BWG Connect, a leading platform for executive strategy and networking sessions. He is an eCommerce expert with over a decade of experience in digital commerce, providing advisory services to brands on Amazon sales strategies, retail media, DTC platform selection, and SEO. BWG Connect, in conjunction with BWG Global, has built an exclusive network of over 125,000 senior professionals and hosts over 2,000 virtual and in-person networking events annually. In this episode… The digital commerce landscape is evolving faster than ever, with AI and automated shopping systems transforming the way consumers discover and buy products. Traditional strategies like keyword stuffing and static product descriptions no longer guarantee success. How can brands stay ahead in a space where AI drives both discovery and conversion? Aaron Conant, an expert in digital commerce and eCommerce strategy, explains that adapting to agentic commerce is essential for brands aiming to thrive in this AI-driven environment. He highlights the shift on platforms like Amazon, where product images now play a bigger role in conversion, and AI systems analyze textual content to generate recommendations. Aaron suggests prioritizing bullet points that answer AI queries, leveraging TikTok and Reddit for traffic, and maintaining human oversight in AI-assisted content creation. By focusing on these strategies, brands can future-proof their online presence and optimize both discoverability and engagement. In this episode of The Digital Deep Dive , Chad Franzen of Rise25 sits down with Aaron Conant, Co-founder and Chief Digital Strategist at BWG Connect, to discuss why brands must adapt to AI-driven shopping. Aaron covers agentic commerce, optimizing product content for AI, and leveraging emerging platforms like TikTok and Reddit. He also touches on human oversight in AI content creation and strategic networking for modern brand success.

May 21, 202623 min

Amazon's Supply Chain Announcement With Corey Apirian

Corey Apirian is the CEO of Davinci Micro Fulfillment, a full-service logistics company that uses technology and partners with brands and retailers to help market, sell, fulfill, and ship their products. As an accomplished supply chain and operations leader, Corey has over 15 years of senior management experience. With more than 20 years of experience in the eCommerce fulfillment industry, Corey has been drop shipping for every major retailer since 2004 and has launched over 50 different subcategories through individual online and brick-and-mortar channels. In this episode… The supply chain conversation is shifting from simple fulfillment to a broader question of how brands move inventory across every channel with greater control, flexibility, and margin awareness. Amazon's latest supply chain announcement puts that shift into sharper focus, signaling a bigger move into logistics services beyond traditional FBA. As marketplace profitability gets harder to protect, how should brands think about Amazon's expanding role in the supply chain? Amazon Supply Chain Services can be useful when brands treat it as one part of a broader logistics strategy rather than a one-size-fits-all solution. Corey Apirian, an eCommerce, logistics, and supply chain expert, explains how Amazon is applying a familiar playbook: building powerful infrastructure for itself, then offering that capability to the broader market. Corey points out that brands may benefit from Amazon's rates, scale, and operational discipline, especially for storage, first-mile needs, or select freight opportunities. At the same time, carrier diversification, decentralized inventory, and sharper visibility are essential for protecting profitability and avoiding overdependence. In this episode of The Digital Deep Dive , Aaron Conant sits down with Corey Apirian, CEO of Davinci Micro Fulfillment, to talk about Amazon's Supply Chain announcement and what it means for brands. Corey examines why brands are watching Amazon closely, how logistics diversification supports profitability, and the best fulfillment strategies across marketplaces. He also touches on carrier networks, inventory placement, and the future of third-party logistics.