Meeting Title: Movers and Shakers AI Strategy Sync Date: 2026-02-20 Meeting participants: John Winkleman | Group Director, Business Partnerships, Luke’s Notetaker, Luke Scorziell
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1 00:00:03.740 ⇒ 00:00:04.660 John: December.
2 00:00:17.320 ⇒ 00:00:18.339 John: Hey, Luke.
3 00:00:18.340 ⇒ 00:00:23.529 Luke Scorziell: Hey, John, so sorry, I was, like… I don’t know if this is,
4 00:00:23.750 ⇒ 00:00:26.569 Luke Scorziell: Which account? I can pause the recording.
5 00:00:26.730 ⇒ 00:00:31.589 Luke Scorziell: It’s, like, planning content, and then it was like, oh my gosh, wait, it was 3 o’clock.
6 00:00:31.850 ⇒ 00:00:34.230 John: No worries.
7 00:00:35.000 ⇒ 00:00:46.689 John: Having the ex… having the extra time was nice. It’s been… it’s been a very full week, and even, like… even Fridays, like, aren’t typically very call-heavy, but today became…
8 00:00:47.900 ⇒ 00:00:49.300 John: Became so, but…
9 00:00:50.140 ⇒ 00:00:53.580 Luke Scorziell: Yeah, what are you… what are you working on? I’d be curious.
10 00:00:54.330 ⇒ 00:00:59.019 John: So we’re, I can’t remember how much I told you about
11 00:00:59.440 ⇒ 00:01:01.790 John: what I was doing when we talked last.
12 00:01:02.290 ⇒ 00:01:09.780 Luke Scorziell: I think a little bit. I know we talked a lot about movers and shakers, and just your career, kind of, in general.
13 00:01:11.310 ⇒ 00:01:18.480 John: Yeah, so I… so I work with two of our clients, Staples, the office supply store.
14 00:01:18.600 ⇒ 00:01:21.760 John: And, and then Microsoft.
15 00:01:22.070 ⇒ 00:01:36.740 John: And, two very different types of organizations, but interestingly, like, very… asking very similar questions, you know, especially as it relates to…
16 00:01:37.820 ⇒ 00:01:49.239 John: You know, how to be on social, how to appear on social, who to reach, what channels to be on, what type of content to develop, you know, and…
17 00:01:49.490 ⇒ 00:01:51.230 John: Yeah, so it’s,
18 00:01:51.820 ⇒ 00:01:57.720 John: There’s been kind of a lot on both of late, you know, and my… my role is,
19 00:01:58.900 ⇒ 00:02:04.189 John: you know, I work… I work between the clients and our teams, although I’m…
20 00:02:04.450 ⇒ 00:02:13.440 John: Moving out of more of, like, the day-to-day delivery, And more into, like…
21 00:02:13.800 ⇒ 00:02:26.899 John: the, like, organic growth, you know, of accounts, so looking at, like, what… how could we continue to, like, help them, serve them, you know, like, build more business with them in the ways that they need?
22 00:02:27.240 ⇒ 00:02:29.250 John: And,
23 00:02:30.470 ⇒ 00:02:46.699 John: and help with, like, just some of the planning for that. Like, you know, mapping… mapping out a little farther, like, what’s coming up next, and how we can continue to help, and position the agency, and, you know, be able to do more with them. And we’ve kind of reorganized our team so that
24 00:02:47.210 ⇒ 00:03:05.309 John: we have an integrated producer and then an account manager that’s working on, like, the… more of the day-to-day for each account. So while I’m still, like, involved in the day-to-day and need to be knowledgeable about what’s happening in the day-to-day, the idea is that they’re, like.
25 00:03:05.710 ⇒ 00:03:10.559 John: Running, you know, things in order to free me up to…
26 00:03:11.120 ⇒ 00:03:20.319 John: Like, build relationships, and talk to people, and, you know, ask more questions about what’s coming next, and what do they have planned for this year, and what…
27 00:03:20.590 ⇒ 00:03:26.870 John: problems are they trying to solve, or what business challenges are they encountering? And,
28 00:03:27.290 ⇒ 00:03:34.209 John: Yeah, and then, like, basically kind of, like, build a pipeline, right, of, you know, new, new work with those clients.
29 00:03:34.920 ⇒ 00:03:43.080 Luke Scorziell: Yeah, dang. So it’s… and before that, you’ve been kind of more focused on, like, the specific content planning and…
30 00:03:43.510 ⇒ 00:03:44.320 Luke Scorziell: And…
31 00:03:44.700 ⇒ 00:03:53.819 John: Well, more… I would say more of, like, the… like, the account management day-to-day. So, you know, in terms of, like.
32 00:03:54.860 ⇒ 00:03:58.080 John: I mean, working, like, with the project manager on…
33 00:03:58.290 ⇒ 00:04:04.949 John: Like, our current status, and what deliverables are coming up this week, and…
34 00:04:05.450 ⇒ 00:04:21.320 John: you know, when are we scheduling briefings, and when are we scheduling, you know, concept reviews and being a part of, like, the concept review process? And, like, I’m still… I still am involved in that, but the idea is that there are others that are kind of, like, driving
35 00:04:21.730 ⇒ 00:04:23.299 John: You know, that part of it.
36 00:04:23.600 ⇒ 00:04:32.200 John: So that I’m more freed up in terms of, like, kind of the larger client relationship and, you know, relationship building.
37 00:04:32.330 ⇒ 00:04:33.560 Luke Scorziell: Yeah. Process.
38 00:04:33.880 ⇒ 00:04:38.069 Luke Scorziell: And are you guys doing… it’s mostly organic, right? That… or…
39 00:04:38.070 ⇒ 00:04:38.890 John: That’s right.
40 00:04:39.290 ⇒ 00:04:44.290 John: Yeah, it’s mostly organic, social,
41 00:04:44.670 ⇒ 00:04:46.920 John: I mean, it is… yeah. Hmm?
42 00:04:46.920 ⇒ 00:04:50.860 Luke Scorziell: Which platforms is… are… are you guys most on? Or using?
43 00:04:50.860 ⇒ 00:04:57.070 John: You know, it really… it varies by client. I mean, the agency kind of got its start
44 00:04:57.330 ⇒ 00:05:05.399 John: in, like, I think it was 2017 or 2018, working with e.l.f. Cosmetics.
45 00:05:05.630 ⇒ 00:05:10.390 John: And, really kind of building its presence on TikTok.
46 00:05:10.510 ⇒ 00:05:17.430 John: You know, and at the time, TikTok was still relatively new, more people were coming onto the platform.
47 00:05:17.550 ⇒ 00:05:28.140 John: And, there were, you know, some posts in those very early days that kind of went viral, and helped put ELF on the map, helped put,
48 00:05:28.170 ⇒ 00:05:40.379 John: movers and shakers, you know, in… kind of on the agency map as well. The agency was known as, like, the TikTok whisperers, you know, at the time, I think was the… the term that was used. And…
49 00:05:41.160 ⇒ 00:05:47.300 John: you know, what we’re… what we’re finding, you know, and I’ve been with the agency for, like, a year…
50 00:05:47.960 ⇒ 00:05:52.699 John: And… Four months, maybe? So, coming up on a year and a half.
51 00:05:52.890 ⇒ 00:05:53.360 Luke Scorziell: Huh.
52 00:05:53.360 ⇒ 00:05:54.280 John: and…
53 00:05:54.600 ⇒ 00:06:05.170 John: I think that, like, where it’s all going is it’s… it is becoming more, like… I think we’re becoming more channel agnostic, in that it’s, you know.
54 00:06:05.700 ⇒ 00:06:08.710 John: It’s… it starts, of course, with the client.
55 00:06:09.430 ⇒ 00:06:11.989 John: Who they are, what they’re trying to do.
56 00:06:12.250 ⇒ 00:06:17.729 John: like, what is their business about? Who are they serving? Where are those people?
57 00:06:17.860 ⇒ 00:06:25.290 John: You know, on social, And, you know, and then basically having that inform
58 00:06:25.470 ⇒ 00:06:31.519 John: The platform and content strategy that’s developed.
59 00:06:31.640 ⇒ 00:06:38.740 John: And, you know, and interestingly, like in the case of Staples, with theirs…
60 00:06:39.040 ⇒ 00:06:47.150 John: there’s… it’s been shifting a lot. We started our work with them at the beginning part of last year.
61 00:06:47.270 ⇒ 00:06:50.950 John: And, like, our key strategy at that time was
62 00:06:51.110 ⇒ 00:06:57.060 John: This is a brand that has, like, kind of gone adrift over the last 20 years or so.
63 00:06:57.220 ⇒ 00:07:05.549 John: It’s, you know, has a very heavy core base of millennial, Gen X, even Boomer audience, you know, customers.
64 00:07:06.220 ⇒ 00:07:12.710 John: Yet… yet it has, like, lost relevance among emerging generations, Gen Z.
65 00:07:12.930 ⇒ 00:07:17.229 John: And… there being a desire to, like.
66 00:07:17.460 ⇒ 00:07:32.520 John: kind of rebuild cultural relevance, you know, by engaging those emerging audiences. But it has been… there has been sort of tension throughout the process because they have, like, a core customer base that is older.
67 00:07:33.150 ⇒ 00:07:37.939 John: Many of them that work, like, B2B is a bigger thing for them.
68 00:07:38.160 ⇒ 00:07:45.050 John: And so, there’s always been a little bit of this tension about how… Much do they embrace?
69 00:07:45.580 ⇒ 00:07:51.720 John: you know, Gen Z and cultural moments that are relevant to Gen Z,
70 00:07:52.100 ⇒ 00:08:00.769 John: And interestingly, you should, like, do some searching on this. The la- the reason why I couldn’t talk last week is that last week became…
71 00:08:00.930 ⇒ 00:08:11.410 John: We were all a little bit consumed because there was a content creator who’s a Staples employee.
72 00:08:11.850 ⇒ 00:08:17.149 John: She started, like, posting her own content, on her channel.
73 00:08:17.620 ⇒ 00:08:32.470 John: like, just highlighting all the different things that Staples does. She, like, did this on her own volition, and and, like, it went viral. Like, there were, you know, there was, yeah, there was one post that she did that I think
74 00:08:32.549 ⇒ 00:08:49.689 John: Got over 4 million views, and it just took off. And interestingly, it was… our team, like, saw that she was doing this about a month ago or so, and we flagged it to the client and recommended that we figure out how do we work with her.
75 00:08:50.020 ⇒ 00:08:52.669 Luke Scorziell: Get her involved in terms of, like.
76 00:08:52.700 ⇒ 00:08:55.219 John: Creating this type of content, and…
77 00:08:55.470 ⇒ 00:09:01.650 John: They were reticent to do so, And…
78 00:09:02.130 ⇒ 00:09:10.579 John: she just kept doing it on her own, and then she went viral. And there were, you know, and then there was, like, all these
79 00:09:10.870 ⇒ 00:09:18.740 John: you know, posts about how is Staples supporting her? Is Staples gonna get her on, you know, the Staples channel?
80 00:09:18.880 ⇒ 00:09:20.910 John: And just a lot of, like…
81 00:09:21.220 ⇒ 00:09:26.580 John: you know, this is something Staples hadn’t, like, ever encountered before, and…
82 00:09:26.900 ⇒ 00:09:33.409 John: There was a little bit of, like, decision paralysis on what to do, and so there was a lot of work that we were doing this last week.
83 00:09:33.780 ⇒ 00:09:42.659 John: To help, like, quantify the value of, you know, all of the posts that this person had put out, and there were a number of them.
84 00:09:42.870 ⇒ 00:09:47.349 John: And, you know, help quantify, you know, the…
85 00:09:47.970 ⇒ 00:10:00.870 John: business impact to Staples, because a lot of people were talking about, like, going into the store, you know, taking new notice, you know, in the brand, and…
86 00:10:01.180 ⇒ 00:10:11.780 John: And then to figure out, like, what could a influencer arrangement look like with her, you know, which is, like, still kind of, like, in process. Like, we’re a week later, after we were supposed to talk.
87 00:10:11.780 ⇒ 00:10:12.230 Luke Scorziell: Yeah.
88 00:10:12.420 ⇒ 00:10:17.779 John: They actually don’t have quite the contract in place yet, but we’re getting closer.
89 00:10:18.080 ⇒ 00:10:24.910 John: But it’s just, you know, it’s, it’s interesting, like, something like that. You’ll have to, like, look up…
90 00:10:25.140 ⇒ 00:10:25.969 John: The state
91 00:10:26.390 ⇒ 00:10:32.829 John: Print Queen or Print Baddy, and you’ll just, like, find kind of a whole, like, world of…
92 00:10:33.310 ⇒ 00:10:52.789 John: you know, of her posts and, you know, others that have, you know, posted and have, you know, added her hash, you know, her handle and hashtags and so forth, and it has, like, become a big thing. And… and it’s been, like, really fascinating for me, because it’s, like.
93 00:10:53.700 ⇒ 00:10:59.170 John: I think it really, emphasizes the point that
94 00:10:59.650 ⇒ 00:11:11.310 John: in, like, marketing to… marketing today is, like, so different than what it was. I mean, even, like, a year or two ago. I mean, it has changed so rapidly.
95 00:11:11.440 ⇒ 00:11:16.240 John: On social, and that… If you…
96 00:11:16.400 ⇒ 00:11:22.899 John: You just never know, you know, what might happen, and, like, this is a case where You know…
97 00:11:23.790 ⇒ 00:11:37.019 John: Staples, you know, has done a lot to, like, control brand image, and to, you know, have a very kind of controlled, intentional marketing approach and message and all those things, and this is something where it was just, like.
98 00:11:38.300 ⇒ 00:11:44.939 John: now what do you do? And how do you respond to it? And, like, you have to respond to it now. You know, you can’t, like, just let it, like…
99 00:11:45.180 ⇒ 00:11:48.950 John: Yeah. Go on, or else it could backfire.
100 00:11:49.090 ⇒ 00:11:51.189 John: So it’s been, like, those kinds of…
101 00:11:51.330 ⇒ 00:11:55.040 John: Conversations and things that we’ve all been talking through and wrestling with.
102 00:11:55.650 ⇒ 00:12:02.020 Luke Scorziell: That’s… that’s so interesting, because it’s like, they’re maybe reticent to move into… the Gen Z…
103 00:12:02.850 ⇒ 00:12:07.750 Luke Scorziell: age, it sounds like, but then it’s kind of like, well, you don’t really have a choice, I guess, if…
104 00:12:08.390 ⇒ 00:12:19.670 John: I mean, Gen Z moved… Gen Z just did it. So, like, they were, you know, they were reticent about, like, well, how much do we engage Gen Z? And it’s like, well, Gen Z decided for you.
105 00:12:20.500 ⇒ 00:12:21.220 John: you know.
106 00:12:21.220 ⇒ 00:12:21.660 Luke Scorziell: Gen Z.
107 00:12:22.650 ⇒ 00:12:29.510 John: They did it, and they’re now engaged with this person, and now aware of the brand, and looking to the brand.
108 00:12:29.680 ⇒ 00:12:32.010 John: On how it will respond.
109 00:12:32.630 ⇒ 00:12:37.150 John: Yeah, that’s so interesting, because that’s such a unique opportunity, I would imagine, for, like.
110 00:12:37.300 ⇒ 00:12:43.589 Luke Scorziell: Because I think, like, I always… what I’ve noticed with friends and myself and whatnot over social is just…
111 00:12:44.210 ⇒ 00:12:52.220 Luke Scorziell: You… Like, it’s so interesting to discover, rediscover things that have been around forever, like stores,
112 00:12:52.350 ⇒ 00:12:59.570 Luke Scorziell: and products, I guess, that… Maybe, like, other generations have been more involved with, but then…
113 00:13:00.050 ⇒ 00:13:13.490 Luke Scorziell: you get… you get, like, a reel or something, and you’re like, oh, I didn’t realize that I could buy that at Staples, or I didn’t realize that that’s how I could use this thing, or… I’m trying to think of some specific examples, but I know I’ve seen stuff, and it’s like.
114 00:13:14.480 ⇒ 00:13:23.309 Luke Scorziell: either, like, a toy or something that’s, like, pretty dated, but then I… you see it, and you’re like, oh, that’s really cool, like, now I kind of want to get one.
115 00:13:23.740 ⇒ 00:13:24.510 John: Right.
116 00:13:24.510 ⇒ 00:13:27.310 Luke Scorziell: And I mean, the same thing happens with music, too, where it’s like…
117 00:13:27.430 ⇒ 00:13:36.399 Luke Scorziell: There’s a couple songs that have gotten repurposed recently that are, like, 20 or 30 years old, and now they’re, like, trending.
118 00:13:36.700 ⇒ 00:13:40.270 Luke Scorziell: So, yeah, it’s, like, really interesting how you can kind of
119 00:13:40.400 ⇒ 00:13:43.469 Luke Scorziell: How social media does bring back the,
120 00:13:43.830 ⇒ 00:13:49.800 Luke Scorziell: like, historical brands, maybe, or brands that you’d expect, like, I don’t know, like…
121 00:13:50.420 ⇒ 00:13:56.500 John: Well, like, I mean, Chili’s did this recently, you know, like, this was, you know, this was…
122 00:13:56.640 ⇒ 00:14:11.760 John: I mean, I, you know, when I was in high school in the 80s, that’s when we started going to Chili’s. I remember when Chili’s opened, and, you know, with my family, like, we… that was a treat, you know, to get to go to Chili’s, and…
123 00:14:11.900 ⇒ 00:14:15.240 John: And then into college in the early 90s, and then…
124 00:14:15.380 ⇒ 00:14:20.269 John: I can’t even remember the last time I’ve been to a Chili’s, it’s been decades. But, but…
125 00:14:21.240 ⇒ 00:14:30.980 John: through social, They were able to tap into this, sense of nostalgia.
126 00:14:31.090 ⇒ 00:14:36.380 John: that Gen Z has for, especially, like, 80s and 90s right now.
127 00:14:36.530 ⇒ 00:14:42.849 John: And, you know, here’s a brand that is, like, born of that era, and…
128 00:14:43.060 ⇒ 00:14:47.069 John: Many of their store locations haven’t changed that much since that era.
129 00:14:47.210 ⇒ 00:14:54.570 John: And they were able, through social, to, like, engage a new audience, tapping into this…
130 00:14:54.690 ⇒ 00:15:13.190 John: kind of cultural trend right now of nostalgia for that period of time, and really capitalize on that. And, like, that, you know, there have been a number of articles, case studies written about this of late. I mean, this is just all within the last year or so that they’ve been able to, you know, to,
131 00:15:13.610 ⇒ 00:15:30.839 John: kind of reinvigorate the brand and brand image, you know, with a new generation, but doing it on social. It’s not like, you know, some kind of planned advertising campaign with millions of dollars behind TBC and Out of Home and…
132 00:15:31.190 ⇒ 00:15:40.179 John: email marketing and, you know, a whole kind of, like, paid digital marketing or, you know, digital social kind of thing. It’s like…
133 00:15:40.440 ⇒ 00:15:45.899 John: More through organic means, so that it’s not coming across as an ad.
134 00:15:46.000 ⇒ 00:15:58.740 John: And… and it’s been catching on, you know? And then there’s other user-generated content and comments that are created in response to that, and it kind of, like, starts to, like, build a fandom.
135 00:15:59.090 ⇒ 00:16:03.890 John: and then ideally, you’re building that fandom around the brand. So, like, what has happened…
136 00:16:04.000 ⇒ 00:16:06.649 John: with Staples over this last week is that
137 00:16:07.090 ⇒ 00:16:10.380 John: A fandom has been built around this person.
138 00:16:11.880 ⇒ 00:16:20.089 John: That’s associated with the brand, and so the brand is, like, kind of sucked into that as well because of it, but… but…
139 00:16:20.930 ⇒ 00:16:24.950 John: You know, a month ago, we were saying.
140 00:16:25.590 ⇒ 00:16:30.110 John: Like, let’s… let’s have this person create content
141 00:16:30.270 ⇒ 00:16:47.919 John: on behalf of Staples that goes on our channels, and then use… and then that would have built, fandom around the brand. I mean, still the person, but a little bit more closely associated with the brand itself. So…
142 00:16:48.430 ⇒ 00:16:52.889 John: it’s… Definitely an opportunity. There’s a little bit of a missed opportunity.
143 00:16:53.230 ⇒ 00:17:00.360 John: In this case, but there’s still opportunity to, you know, to capitalize on it, and that’s what they’re…
144 00:17:01.300 ⇒ 00:17:05.319 John: Hopefully working on as we speak, actually.
145 00:17:06.339 ⇒ 00:17:08.049 Luke Scorziell: Yeah, that’s funny.
146 00:17:08.339 ⇒ 00:17:08.929 Luke Scorziell: Yeah.
147 00:17:08.930 ⇒ 00:17:11.659 John: And what have you been up to lately?
148 00:17:12.020 ⇒ 00:17:26.039 Luke Scorziell: Yeah, no, well, that’s interesting. I love thinking about those ideas, too, and I’ve seen some of the Chili’s TV commercials and stuff, and so they’re definitely in my, like, thinking, too, as you’re mentioning that, but…
149 00:17:26.390 ⇒ 00:17:29.359 Luke Scorziell: Yeah, it’s been, an eventful…
150 00:17:30.020 ⇒ 00:17:36.350 Luke Scorziell: couple of months, I think I… so I joined this, like, AI Consultancy.
151 00:17:36.470 ⇒ 00:17:43.759 Luke Scorziell: Full-time in January, and then… part-time, I started doing, like.
152 00:17:44.070 ⇒ 00:17:48.139 Luke Scorziell: just marketing consulting with them in December.
153 00:17:48.800 ⇒ 00:17:53.049 Luke Scorziell: And so, yeah, it’s been crazy. I mean, it’s like the first time I’m
154 00:17:53.310 ⇒ 00:18:06.000 Luke Scorziell: I guess, technically I have an official marketing position at a company, but then I’m, like, also now leading their marketing, so I’m kind of figuring out how to do it, and then also doing it at the same time.
155 00:18:06.680 ⇒ 00:18:09.140 John: And sorry, you said you… when did you join them again?
156 00:18:09.560 ⇒ 00:18:12.910 Luke Scorziell: January was when I joined full-time.
157 00:18:13.310 ⇒ 00:18:15.509 John: Oh, okay, alright, congratulations.
158 00:18:15.510 ⇒ 00:18:17.829 Luke Scorziell: Thank you, yeah, so it’s pretty recent.
159 00:18:18.200 ⇒ 00:18:24.050 Luke Scorziell: And… and then, yeah, I kind of worked with them separately in December for…
160 00:18:24.260 ⇒ 00:18:33.200 Luke Scorziell: A little bit, and… yeah, it’s been… it’s kind of won, like, a whole new world for me. I think, like, the data and AI space is, like.
161 00:18:33.410 ⇒ 00:18:38.260 Luke Scorziell: I mean, I’m familiar enough with, like, general AI technology, but,
162 00:18:39.120 ⇒ 00:18:46.530 Luke Scorziell: Like, this is pushing my knowledge, like, a lot deeper. Then… then I’ve gone,
163 00:18:46.680 ⇒ 00:18:49.999 Luke Scorziell: Yeah, and then the data side of things, like, is…
164 00:18:50.610 ⇒ 00:18:56.260 Luke Scorziell: I’m familiar with, like, company names, but, beyond that, it’s been, like, learning, like.
165 00:18:56.750 ⇒ 00:19:08.000 Luke Scorziell: Yeah, what the heck, like, are these things used for? Like, why do you… how do they store data? Like, getting data all into one warehouse, as opposed to being in, like.
166 00:19:08.170 ⇒ 00:19:16.770 Luke Scorziell: all these different locations, so… yeah, it’s been… it’s been really interesting. It’s been fun. I’ve been doing a lot more on, like, the content side of…
167 00:19:16.970 ⇒ 00:19:20.750 Luke Scorziell: the brand, so, like, doing… using LinkedIn.
168 00:19:22.200 ⇒ 00:19:28.950 Luke Scorziell: with, like, the founders, and then kind of separately doing, my own, I guess, research and learning to see
169 00:19:29.100 ⇒ 00:19:31.940 Luke Scorziell: How we can position…
170 00:19:32.610 ⇒ 00:19:38.150 Luke Scorziell: Yeah, our solutions, because it’s pretty… we’re able to help, like, a variety of industries, and so it’s just thinking, like.
171 00:19:38.890 ⇒ 00:19:43.769 Luke Scorziell: what are the ones that maybe would be the most interested in working with us?
172 00:19:44.260 ⇒ 00:19:45.780 Luke Scorziell: And,
173 00:19:46.010 ⇒ 00:19:52.240 Luke Scorziell: Yeah, so that’s kind of been the journey that I’m on right now, and then I was like, well, I have all these… I have, you know, some background in the agency.
174 00:19:52.440 ⇒ 00:19:58.040 Luke Scorziell: landscape, too, so I’m like, I wonder, like, you know, how can… if there’s… are ways that,
175 00:19:58.410 ⇒ 00:20:00.780 Luke Scorziell: I can help there, too, so…
176 00:20:02.390 ⇒ 00:20:10.209 Luke Scorziell: Yeah, so it’s… I feel like I’m, like, working out constantly in, like, a workout that I’m, like, I, like, enjoy, but it’s also, like.
177 00:20:11.120 ⇒ 00:20:12.140 Luke Scorziell: Strenuous.
178 00:20:12.200 ⇒ 00:20:17.549 John: Yeah, that’s, like, the best way. That and drinking out of a fire hose are, like, the two ways that I’ve…
179 00:20:17.790 ⇒ 00:20:20.990 Luke Scorziell: Been able to, describe it, but…
180 00:20:21.130 ⇒ 00:20:30.220 Luke Scorziell: Yeah, and then it’s like working with people that, I think, think and operate a little differently than I do. Just, like, the engineering-type mind.
181 00:20:30.690 ⇒ 00:20:31.170 John: Right.
182 00:20:31.170 ⇒ 00:20:35.310 Luke Scorziell: That’s, like, learning how to communicate and relate,
183 00:20:35.800 ⇒ 00:20:40.030 Luke Scorziell: with… with that… those personality types, too, I think has been…
184 00:20:40.030 ⇒ 00:20:41.010 John: Yeah.
185 00:20:41.730 ⇒ 00:20:54.089 John: So I didn’t… I didn’t get a chance to read through the white paper that you had sent, but… but maybe just tell me a little bit, like, what, like, the… the AI product or products that you’re developing, like, what…
186 00:20:54.330 ⇒ 00:21:01.399 John: What are they designed to do, or, like, what are some of the use cases that you all have defined?
187 00:21:01.670 ⇒ 00:21:05.549 Luke Scorziell: Yes. And are you good to go? I know it’s 3.30.
188 00:21:05.550 ⇒ 00:21:06.759 John: Yeah, yeah, no, I’m fine.
189 00:21:07.010 ⇒ 00:21:11.569 Luke Scorziell: Cool, yeah, sorry, Egan, for that. Yeah, the,
190 00:21:12.020 ⇒ 00:21:17.339 Luke Scorziell: Yeah, it’s been really interesting. So we have one agency client that we’re working with right now, and…
191 00:21:17.620 ⇒ 00:21:18.880 Luke Scorziell: a lot of…
192 00:21:19.250 ⇒ 00:21:24.009 Luke Scorziell: I mean, I guess, backing up, like, a lot of what we’re seeing with AI is that
193 00:21:24.330 ⇒ 00:21:37.429 Luke Scorziell: one, like, most companies aren’t really seeing the return on investment that they want, from AI, and the theory that I’m kind of developing is that I think that’s because there are very general, like, use cases.
194 00:21:37.620 ⇒ 00:21:38.900 Luke Scorziell: that they’ve…
195 00:21:39.180 ⇒ 00:21:44.620 Luke Scorziell: Like, it’s like, oh, here’s, like, ChatGPT subscriptions or cloud subscriptions for everyone in the company, and it’s like.
196 00:21:44.740 ⇒ 00:21:48.870 Luke Scorziell: figure out, you know, what to do to make your job more efficient, I guess.
197 00:21:49.230 ⇒ 00:21:52.060 Luke Scorziell: But, yeah, what we’ve started to build are, like.
198 00:21:52.670 ⇒ 00:21:59.260 Luke Scorziell: Custom workflows and custom knowledge bases that help companies do specific tasks.
199 00:21:59.550 ⇒ 00:22:06.819 Luke Scorziell: So, with, the agency, we’ve built them, like, an internal platform that allows them to generate
200 00:22:07.300 ⇒ 00:22:12.960 Luke Scorziell: It kind of has… it has, like, brand guidelines, product positioning, and…
201 00:22:13.110 ⇒ 00:22:17.269 Luke Scorziell: Like, any other kind of just standard,
202 00:22:17.820 ⇒ 00:22:31.240 Luke Scorziell: like, standards that you would need for a campaign brief, in a knowledge base, and so then when you’re prompting it to generate a new brief, you don’t have to go back and say, like.
203 00:22:31.580 ⇒ 00:22:38.579 Luke Scorziell: here’s, you know, I need all of these different things, and you’re not re… kind of rehashing a lot of the same information that you’ve
204 00:22:38.770 ⇒ 00:22:40.070 Luke Scorziell: already…
205 00:22:40.310 ⇒ 00:22:54.359 Luke Scorziell: maybe even written, like, dozens of times or hundreds of times before. And so, yeah, we saw that drop, like, I think they were specifically running email campaigns, email marketing campaigns, and the brief creation time went from, like, 4 hours to…
206 00:22:54.790 ⇒ 00:22:56.409 Luke Scorziell: About, like, 45 minutes.
207 00:22:57.430 ⇒ 00:23:00.089 Luke Scorziell: Which was, like, pretty huge time savings for them.
208 00:23:00.200 ⇒ 00:23:06.029 Luke Scorziell: So that would… that to me has… has been really interesting, and kind of something I’m trying to see, like, is that valuable for…
209 00:23:06.470 ⇒ 00:23:11.349 Luke Scorziell: every agency? Are there, like, certain agencies that find that more valuable?
210 00:23:12.390 ⇒ 00:23:19.909 Luke Scorziell: So that’s one, and then, the… Other, kind of, like.
211 00:23:20.700 ⇒ 00:23:26.060 Luke Scorziell: Interesting one that we’re developing now has been… There’s, like, data…
212 00:23:27.360 ⇒ 00:23:33.860 Luke Scorziell: So, I mean, reporting, I guess, and a lot of this is… I mean, probably Organic does it too, but there’s…
213 00:23:34.010 ⇒ 00:23:41.430 Luke Scorziell: obviously on, like, the paid side, when you’re running ads across platforms, or… I guess you’re probably tracking, like, impressions and engagements and whatnot on…
214 00:23:41.570 ⇒ 00:23:43.650 Luke Scorziell: On organic, it’s like, how much time…
215 00:23:43.650 ⇒ 00:23:52.419 John: We use Exalite. I don’t know if you’re familiar. I’m a little less familiar with, like, all the specific tools. We’ve used Sprout.
216 00:23:53.120 ⇒ 00:23:57.690 John: Or maybe we are using that along with Exalite, but…
217 00:23:57.690 ⇒ 00:23:59.120 Luke Scorziell: listening type tools.
218 00:23:59.550 ⇒ 00:24:00.470 John: Yeah.
219 00:24:01.000 ⇒ 00:24:05.069 John: There might be others, but I’m…
220 00:24:05.920 ⇒ 00:24:15.130 John: I see the reporting that we do. I don’t get as involved in, like, all of the source data and use of the various tools to pull it.
221 00:24:15.680 ⇒ 00:24:31.709 Luke Scorziell: Yeah, yeah, well, so there’s, like, on the one side, like, just polling the data, and we’ve found for some clients, like, they’re still… they’re spending, like, you had to go through, like, Facebook ads, meta ads, or Facebook and Meta, Google, and, like, whatever other ad platforms you’re running on.
222 00:24:31.940 ⇒ 00:24:34.890 Luke Scorziell: To pull data manually.
223 00:24:35.080 ⇒ 00:24:40.420 Luke Scorziell: And so there’s, like, integrating all of that, but then the other cool thing that we’ve started to build are,
224 00:24:41.000 ⇒ 00:24:42.590 Luke Scorziell: Kinda, like, chat.
225 00:24:42.900 ⇒ 00:24:49.950 Luke Scorziell: With your data, and so you can get, like, insights on the…
226 00:24:50.960 ⇒ 00:24:57.439 Luke Scorziell: like, with ad campaigns, like, you can ask specifically, like, can you calculate, like, ROAS across the different.
227 00:24:57.440 ⇒ 00:25:04.690 John: Oh, by… go ahead and keep… go ahead and keep talking. I’m… I have the earbud in. I have to let the dog out. I hear the dog scratching at the dog.
228 00:25:04.690 ⇒ 00:25:06.920 Luke Scorziell: No, no worries.
229 00:25:07.100 ⇒ 00:25:13.980 Luke Scorziell: And so, yeah, I think what we’ve found with that is that it’s allowing more…
230 00:25:14.270 ⇒ 00:25:17.220 Luke Scorziell: What would have been technical analysis?
231 00:25:18.130 ⇒ 00:25:23.029 Luke Scorziell: before… Like, more non-technical users can do
232 00:25:23.280 ⇒ 00:25:26.940 Luke Scorziell: Technical analysis that maybe they would have required an analyst to do.
233 00:25:27.240 ⇒ 00:25:32.370 Luke Scorziell: In the past. So that’s been… a pretty…
234 00:25:33.330 ⇒ 00:25:36.219 Luke Scorziell: Yeah, also interesting, and then I think the other area
235 00:25:36.460 ⇒ 00:25:40.760 Luke Scorziell: Kind of on that is just, like, forecasting for…
236 00:25:40.970 ⇒ 00:25:49.459 Luke Scorziell: like, future growth. So, yeah, those are… those are, like, two of the… the big areas. I don’t know, I’d be curious, too, if, like, I don’t know how… how much of,
237 00:25:50.360 ⇒ 00:25:52.849 Luke Scorziell: That overlaps with things that you think about.
238 00:25:54.270 ⇒ 00:26:01.549 John: Well, you know, it’s interesting. We… we recently brought on a new director of…
239 00:26:01.820 ⇒ 00:26:08.169 John: innovation and technology, and, well, and we have a new VP of analytics,
240 00:26:08.360 ⇒ 00:26:23.070 John: But the Director of Innovation and Technology, he has been… Developing, like, AI-enabled tools, to help…
241 00:26:24.270 ⇒ 00:26:27.910 John: to do a number of things. I think, like, first of all, in terms of…
242 00:26:28.290 ⇒ 00:26:31.440 John: Like, for strategy and creative.
243 00:26:31.440 ⇒ 00:26:32.110 Luke Scorziell: Yeah.
244 00:26:32.110 ⇒ 00:26:36.720 John: develop, like, AI tools that will, you know, based on
245 00:26:37.000 ⇒ 00:26:44.370 John: You know, certain businesses and, you know, customer inputs and so forth will basically pull
246 00:26:44.680 ⇒ 00:26:54.720 John: Data, information, insights, related to whatever, like, that, you know, client or product or topic might be.
247 00:26:55.080 ⇒ 00:27:00.759 John: And that can even… than through AI,
248 00:27:01.100 ⇒ 00:27:07.079 John: Develop, like, an, you know, high-level creative ideas or concepts.
249 00:27:07.320 ⇒ 00:27:18.690 John: That our team could use and then modify to then even take to the next level of, like, building out a concept with even, like.
250 00:27:19.540 ⇒ 00:27:25.849 John: You know, for reference images, you know, and or stock or whatever.
251 00:27:26.460 ⇒ 00:27:29.310 John: you know, motion, I suppose, is needed, too.
252 00:27:29.470 ⇒ 00:27:36.660 John: And even build out, like, beatboards or storyboards for, like, how we see the piece being developed.
253 00:27:36.800 ⇒ 00:27:53.849 John: You know, like, it’ll… like, AI will kind of, like, generate sort of an initial version of that based on certain inputs. And, you know, and it’s all designed along the way that, you know, a strategist is working with it, you know, at the upfront stages of it.
254 00:27:53.920 ⇒ 00:27:59.890 John: And then, you know, creative director, art director, copywriter is working with it.
255 00:28:00.010 ⇒ 00:28:03.919 John: You know, then farther down the process in terms of the creative development.
256 00:28:04.610 ⇒ 00:28:08.460 John: To get it to a place where we then share it with the client.
257 00:28:08.660 ⇒ 00:28:16.389 John: And then get feedback. But, like, even, like, those upfront steps will help,
258 00:28:16.580 ⇒ 00:28:23.330 John: you know, just expedite the process. And, like, in the case of social, where there is…
259 00:28:23.700 ⇒ 00:28:27.160 John: you know, going back to, like, my Staples example, where there’s, like.
260 00:28:27.540 ⇒ 00:28:38.539 John: You know, the need for speed at times, well, and not just at times, all the time, because we’re always on in terms of content that we’re putting out on the channel, so…
261 00:28:38.640 ⇒ 00:28:47.080 John: Like, we have agreements in place with clients where there’s a certain commitment around a certain volume of content each month that we’re putting out.
262 00:28:47.210 ⇒ 00:28:53.499 John: And we have to just have, like, a regular rhythm and cadence for developing that, because it is always on.
263 00:28:54.020 ⇒ 00:28:59.210 John: And… I think that, like, within the agency space in particular.
264 00:29:00.160 ⇒ 00:29:07.990 John: I mean, the agency space is just constantly challenged, and has been so for… for quite some time. You know, the, like.
265 00:29:08.350 ⇒ 00:29:17.909 John: there’s a lot of margin pressure, you know, the need to do more with less, and with fewer people. Agencies have, you know.
266 00:29:18.330 ⇒ 00:29:25.729 John: been consolidating, they’ve been acquired by holding companies, you know, that whole space is just sort of, you know, contracting.
267 00:29:26.000 ⇒ 00:29:34.659 John: And, and AI, you know, I mean, every agency on some level is looking to AI to figure out how can it
268 00:29:34.850 ⇒ 00:29:35.660 John: Help.
269 00:29:36.040 ⇒ 00:29:38.999 John: You know, make the process more efficient.
270 00:29:39.300 ⇒ 00:29:44.709 John: And how can it help elevate the creative as well?
271 00:29:44.980 ⇒ 00:29:53.370 John: And then you mentioned performance, like, how is it then being used to… You know, gather…
272 00:29:53.910 ⇒ 00:30:02.840 John: Then all the performance data, Insights that then lead to, you know, actions that can be taken to optimize.
273 00:30:03.010 ⇒ 00:30:06.830 John: as we move forward. So…
274 00:30:07.210 ⇒ 00:30:07.910 Luke Scorziell: Huh.
275 00:30:07.910 ⇒ 00:30:14.979 John: A lot of these tools are, like, some of the tools are still in development, others are coming online.
276 00:30:15.110 ⇒ 00:30:24.970 John: But, yeah, it’s something that, like, for our agency, it’s… it’s really leaning into, and I think it’s especially because of that combination of…
277 00:30:25.500 ⇒ 00:30:36.259 John: just the agency space in general, and the challenges there. But I think, like, the particular challenges around social, and the need for…
278 00:30:36.380 ⇒ 00:30:41.350 John: You know, quick turn, high volume…
279 00:30:41.460 ⇒ 00:30:46.430 John: You know, lower fidelity type content that feels more organic.
280 00:30:48.180 ⇒ 00:30:56.449 John: you know, all within a certain budget, you know, that clients have. And so there’s just, like, a lot of challenges and,
281 00:30:56.990 ⇒ 00:31:06.000 John: tension points to… to do that, and so we are looking, like, we are leaning more on AI to… to help to, you know, to help… to help with that.
282 00:31:06.530 ⇒ 00:31:10.410 Luke Scorziell: Yeah, well, it’s interesting, because I’ve been on…
283 00:31:10.870 ⇒ 00:31:17.959 Luke Scorziell: like, the exploration of kind of a… like, I was kind of looking to get a job at an agency,
284 00:31:18.200 ⇒ 00:31:23.549 Luke Scorziell: Last year, and then… Just ended up doing a lot of networking through that, and…
285 00:31:24.070 ⇒ 00:31:31.609 Luke Scorziell: Like, it seems like a pain point is turnover and just burnout among.
286 00:31:31.610 ⇒ 00:31:32.150 John: Totally.
287 00:31:32.150 ⇒ 00:31:33.360 Luke Scorziell: It’s cause it’s like…
288 00:31:34.050 ⇒ 00:31:46.940 Luke Scorziell: you just… it’s… yeah, like, as long as there’s work you need to do and produce as much as possible so that, you know, you can see. So that’s… I don’t know, it’s been interesting as I’ve thought about some of these AI solutions where it’s like.
289 00:31:47.160 ⇒ 00:31:48.910 Luke Scorziell: What if you could buy back?
290 00:31:49.230 ⇒ 00:31:56.230 Luke Scorziell: Some of that, like, stress and pressure that the… everyone in the agency gets put under, and then…
291 00:31:56.420 ⇒ 00:31:57.529 Luke Scorziell: use that.
292 00:31:58.170 ⇒ 00:32:06.839 Luke Scorziell: That emotional energy to… to actually then maybe think more strategically, or how can we get people to stay longer, and… and improve?
293 00:32:06.970 ⇒ 00:32:15.789 Luke Scorziell: retention, so… so that’s been interesting to me, because, like, yeah, I mean, I think a lot of the solutions that you’re mentioning, too, are similar to
294 00:32:15.940 ⇒ 00:32:18.559 Luke Scorziell: Other things that we’ve built out for,
295 00:32:18.730 ⇒ 00:32:24.130 Luke Scorziell: or we built out, like, I think the two founders of this agency had helped us
296 00:32:24.510 ⇒ 00:32:28.259 Luke Scorziell: Had crafted, like, some kind of image guidelines of what… what…
297 00:32:28.630 ⇒ 00:32:34.909 Luke Scorziell: How they wanted to, like, create, initial, like, Visual direction,
298 00:32:35.130 ⇒ 00:32:44.029 Luke Scorziell: for, campaigns, too, that they were doing, and then… so now you can, like, prompt the image generator, I think, with that. So it just… yeah, it’s like,
299 00:32:44.510 ⇒ 00:32:46.939 Luke Scorziell: But it’s, like, the agency world…
300 00:32:47.160 ⇒ 00:32:52.459 Luke Scorziell: It’s so demanding, so it’s like, how do you keep up with that without…
301 00:32:52.790 ⇒ 00:32:57.230 Luke Scorziell: I guess, like, obviously raising headcount is more expensive.
302 00:32:58.690 ⇒ 00:33:01.000 Luke Scorziell: And then I don’t even know if that really solves…
303 00:33:01.250 ⇒ 00:33:03.930 Luke Scorziell: Always solves the… the core problem.
304 00:33:06.160 ⇒ 00:33:09.469 John: Right. Yeah. It’s… well…
305 00:33:10.020 ⇒ 00:33:26.939 John: And for us, it can be difficult to hire people, because we’re a part of a holding company, and then, you know, because more and more agencies are being bought by holding companies, and, you know, holding companies are looking to build out more efficiencies.
306 00:33:27.320 ⇒ 00:33:33.140 John: Bringing someone on full-time, you know, is… a…
307 00:33:33.630 ⇒ 00:33:39.009 John: You know, there’s a financial investment in doing that, and it’s significant.
308 00:33:39.660 ⇒ 00:33:45.830 John: Whereas, you know, And this is the dual-edged sword of AI, because, like.
309 00:33:45.830 ⇒ 00:33:46.460 Luke Scorziell: Yeah.
310 00:33:46.730 ⇒ 00:33:53.820 John: Yeah, the, you know, the agencies are definitely interested in, like, how can AI fill the gap?
311 00:33:54.280 ⇒ 00:34:04.429 John: In terms of just, like, In terms of how it could be used to help alleviate,
312 00:34:04.780 ⇒ 00:34:10.790 John: Some of the work that people are doing, that the work is less of… the,
313 00:34:13.280 ⇒ 00:34:15.740 John: which… what would I call it? Like…
314 00:34:15.949 ⇒ 00:34:33.330 John: it’s less of the, you know, it’s basically allowing people to do more higher-level work, right? And thinking and analysis, that a lot of the more mundane type of tasks are being handled by AI, or even just a lot of the research.
315 00:34:33.770 ⇒ 00:34:36.250 John: You know, but that does displace.
316 00:34:36.750 ⇒ 00:34:40.819 John: Other people, you know, who could be… who could be doing that.
317 00:34:41.030 ⇒ 00:34:46.139 John: And it does it… it can do it quicker, and then it’s used by
318 00:34:46.730 ⇒ 00:35:03.530 John: People who, like, you know, strategists or the creative directors or other creatives to then, like, interpret or enhance or, you know, elevate in some way, you know, based on just their own experience and knowledge of the client and all those things.
319 00:35:04.410 ⇒ 00:35:04.940 Luke Scorziell: Yeah, I bet.
320 00:35:04.940 ⇒ 00:35:17.359 John: But yeah, it’s definitely a two-edged sword, but, like, definitely, like, within the agency space, where margins are super tight, and timing is super tight, and people are feeling burnt out, let…
321 00:35:17.490 ⇒ 00:35:25.110 John: Yeah, that there’s… every agency is trying to figure out how to incorporate AI into their workflow.
322 00:35:25.750 ⇒ 00:35:32.040 Luke Scorziell: Yeah, I… yeah, it’s an interesting… I mean, I’m like, are we just building…
323 00:35:32.500 ⇒ 00:35:36.649 Luke Scorziell: like, are, like, digging our own grave with, like, some of the AI.
324 00:35:36.650 ⇒ 00:35:37.190 John: Right.
325 00:35:37.580 ⇒ 00:35:41.349 Luke Scorziell: Because it’s like, I was thinking today, like, it’s like, okay, well, like.
326 00:35:41.550 ⇒ 00:35:45.710 Luke Scorziell: I could have AI do this for me, but then, like, but I can still do this, right? And then it’s like, well…
327 00:35:46.040 ⇒ 00:35:50.879 Luke Scorziell: like, I don’t know, I could probably ask it to do that, too, and it’s just kind of an endless, like.
328 00:35:51.670 ⇒ 00:35:54.870 Luke Scorziell: Where do we…
329 00:35:55.570 ⇒ 00:36:02.879 Luke Scorziell: I don’t know, like, I’m kind of wrestling internally with that question, too, as I’m, like, now seeing more on, like, the bleeding edge of, like.
330 00:36:03.590 ⇒ 00:36:10.000 Luke Scorziell: thing, like, yeah, like, it’s, like, positive, but then, you know, where are the…
331 00:36:10.630 ⇒ 00:36:13.169 Luke Scorziell: Job’s going to… to go.
332 00:36:13.170 ⇒ 00:36:13.800 John: Yeah.
333 00:36:13.800 ⇒ 00:36:21.920 Luke Scorziell: Are they just disappearing, or will there emerge some other… kind of unknown… Thing that we don’t really…
334 00:36:22.140 ⇒ 00:36:27.990 Luke Scorziell: know about, because even, yeah, with, like, an, some of… we did some work with insurance agencies, and
335 00:36:28.780 ⇒ 00:36:41.419 Luke Scorziell: a lot of what they were doing is, like, manually creating these, like, risk profiles for… I think it was just leads and prospects, and it could take up to 20 hours to do one.
336 00:36:41.420 ⇒ 00:36:42.120 John: Right?
337 00:36:42.120 ⇒ 00:37:00.149 Luke Scorziell: And it’s just… it’s, like, all manual data entry and… and taking things… taking things from one document to the other. And so we built a solution that basically, like, can do that within minutes, and it will cite all of the documents that it got it from. So, like, on the one hand, like, that saves…
338 00:37:00.840 ⇒ 00:37:05.460 Luke Scorziell: A ton of money for the company, not having to… I guess.
339 00:37:05.680 ⇒ 00:37:14.080 Luke Scorziell: Pay someone to do that, but then on the other hand, it’s… you know, Where did that job go?
340 00:37:14.500 ⇒ 00:37:15.160 John: Yeah.
341 00:37:15.390 ⇒ 00:37:20.850 Luke Scorziell: So, yeah, I don’t know, I’m wrestling with that and, like, kind of trying to figure out where I land, too.
342 00:37:21.090 ⇒ 00:37:24.710 Luke Scorziell: And I think I’m…
343 00:37:24.870 ⇒ 00:37:28.440 Luke Scorziell: It still seems like there’s a lot of jobs to be done and work to do, but…
344 00:37:28.740 ⇒ 00:37:31.920 Luke Scorziell: Right. I don’t know what the endgame of all this is.
345 00:37:32.470 ⇒ 00:37:33.340 John: I know.
346 00:37:33.530 ⇒ 00:37:35.450 John: Yeah, there was just… I just saw…
347 00:37:35.620 ⇒ 00:37:40.389 John: I think in the New York Times, I haven’t read it. Must… maybe it was this morning,
348 00:37:40.620 ⇒ 00:37:43.919 John: But an article about that idea of…
349 00:37:45.110 ⇒ 00:37:48.830 John: Are those… basically, are those that are developing
350 00:37:49.020 ⇒ 00:38:00.180 John: AI digging their own grave, you know, through creating this thing that could potentially replace, you know, what they’re doing. And yeah, I don’t know, it’s…
351 00:38:01.060 ⇒ 00:38:07.209 John: I would like to think, you know, I’d like to be positive, I guess, about it, and think that, you know.
352 00:38:08.190 ⇒ 00:38:16.460 John: May… it’s, like, creating… New jobs, or different jobs, or different opportunities, or whatever, but… I don’t know.
353 00:38:16.930 ⇒ 00:38:17.830 Luke Scorziell: Yeah.
354 00:38:17.830 ⇒ 00:38:18.979 John: Please share with us.
355 00:38:18.980 ⇒ 00:38:25.579 Luke Scorziell: Part of the reality of it is that we’ve been on this momentum for the last, like, 20 or 30 years, so it’s like… I mean…
356 00:38:25.580 ⇒ 00:38:26.040 John: I…
357 00:38:26.040 ⇒ 00:38:27.670 Luke Scorziell: Or even longer than that, but it’s like…
358 00:38:28.310 ⇒ 00:38:33.309 Luke Scorziell: You know, it’s like manufacturing, all these different industries, the technology has slowly…
359 00:38:33.310 ⇒ 00:38:33.990 John: Yeah.
360 00:38:34.170 ⇒ 00:38:40.089 Luke Scorziell: And I guess the trend that I’m thinking about is, like, really what it’s enabled us to do is, like.
361 00:38:41.920 ⇒ 00:38:47.569 Luke Scorziell: greater things than what we can… than we can imagine, I guess, like, of scale, and so it’s…
362 00:38:48.210 ⇒ 00:38:51.140 Luke Scorziell: I don’t know, like, maybe humans using AI will…
363 00:38:51.430 ⇒ 00:38:56.289 Luke Scorziell: like, you know, we’ll have new technologies that it’s… that’s insane. So…
364 00:38:56.630 ⇒ 00:39:02.309 Luke Scorziell: Yeah, that’s, you know, kind of… Churning, always in the background.
365 00:39:02.730 ⇒ 00:39:06.959 Luke Scorziell: I think it was before I joined Brainforge, too, but
366 00:39:07.970 ⇒ 00:39:14.599 Luke Scorziell: Yeah. I mean, do you think that’s, like, a sentiment within the agency space, too, that a lot of people are feeling? Of,
367 00:39:14.890 ⇒ 00:39:17.770 Luke Scorziell: kind of skeptically leaning into AI.
368 00:39:20.170 ⇒ 00:39:24.760 John: Yes, I mean, it depends on who you talk to.
369 00:39:24.970 ⇒ 00:39:31.660 John: Like, if you talk to our senior leadership, it’s… you know.
370 00:39:31.960 ⇒ 00:39:38.830 John: very gung-ho, very excited, embrace, lean into AI, like, that’s, like…
371 00:39:39.070 ⇒ 00:39:43.490 John: Agency mandate from… or leadership mandate, you know, from the very top.
372 00:39:43.720 ⇒ 00:39:50.970 John: And… And then I think as you talk to others, like, on the creative team.
373 00:39:51.190 ⇒ 00:39:59.770 John: you know, I’ve heard it more, like, on the creative team. Heard it from our production team, as well. Like, you know, especially when, what is it, this last week.
374 00:40:00.430 ⇒ 00:40:07.460 John: there are these clips of, these sort of, like,
375 00:40:08.130 ⇒ 00:40:15.990 John: yeah, these fake movie clips, you know, that were created using AI, where just, like, the fidelity of it was…
376 00:40:16.650 ⇒ 00:40:26.430 John: like, has, like, taken a step up, to where it’s not as discernibly AI as, like, AI slop.
377 00:40:26.580 ⇒ 00:40:27.910 John: And…
378 00:40:28.540 ⇒ 00:40:41.229 John: you know, and I, like, in talking to production people, it’s like, there’s a lot of fear there that, you know, because production, more implementation, you know, it’s…
379 00:40:41.970 ⇒ 00:40:49.390 John: maybe more easily done, or perhaps, you know, replaceable through some… through some AI.
380 00:40:49.830 ⇒ 00:40:53.319 John: Creative, definitely.
381 00:40:53.990 ⇒ 00:40:58.659 Luke Scorziell: But yeah, so it’s like a mixed bag, and I think it, like, it really depends on…
382 00:40:59.200 ⇒ 00:41:02.800 John: Depends on who you’re talking to, and how… how close…
383 00:41:03.620 ⇒ 00:41:08.980 John: is what they’re doing to a job that can be done by AI.
384 00:41:09.820 ⇒ 00:41:13.540 Luke Scorziell: Yeah, huh. No, that’s interesting.
385 00:41:14.250 ⇒ 00:41:19.760 Luke Scorziell: Yeah, I could, I mean, I can see that. So, that’s, yeah.
386 00:41:20.890 ⇒ 00:41:23.629 Luke Scorziell: I don’t even want to think about it more, so…
387 00:41:24.620 ⇒ 00:41:27.000 Luke Scorziell: Yeah, I guess I’d be curious, like.
388 00:41:27.470 ⇒ 00:41:33.040 Luke Scorziell: Are there people that you know that would be, like, interesting to talk to, or, like, maybe learn from some of…
389 00:41:33.300 ⇒ 00:41:35.580 Luke Scorziell: Like, what’s… yeah, what…
390 00:41:35.580 ⇒ 00:41:54.169 John: You know, I… so I was thinking, let me reach out to Jeff, who is our Director of Innovation and, and Technology. Jeff McDonald is his name, and he works at Movers and Shakers, and let me see if he would be up for a conversation with you,
391 00:41:54.430 ⇒ 00:42:02.029 John: to, you know, I would say, like, at minimum, information sharing, you know, and…
392 00:42:02.170 ⇒ 00:42:07.610 John: You know, I don’t… I don’t know if there would be any…
393 00:42:08.040 ⇒ 00:42:15.460 John: you know, need beyond that, or even just from a networking standpoint, too. I think, like, that… that would always be helpful, but, like.
394 00:42:16.110 ⇒ 00:42:26.729 John: that, like, Jeff is someone who’s, like, he is, like, right in that same space, and, like, working through… working through that for us right now.
395 00:42:26.860 ⇒ 00:42:28.950 John: And…
396 00:42:29.400 ⇒ 00:42:35.869 John: Yeah, I… he… he would be great to talk to. Let me… let me ask him if he’d be up for a conversation, and I could…
397 00:42:35.970 ⇒ 00:42:55.309 John: then get you guys connected. That’s who comes to mind right away. But, like, you know, we’re connected on LinkedIn, and if there’s, you know, anyone that you see in my network that you would want, like, an introduction to, or be interested in talking to, like, let me know, and I’d be happy to… happy to reach out to them.
398 00:42:56.010 ⇒ 00:43:01.299 Luke Scorziell: Yeah, no, I appreciate that. Yeah, I think Jeff sounds really interesting, I mean, even just for me to…
399 00:43:01.600 ⇒ 00:43:05.980 Luke Scorziell: Be able to, like, I mean, out of my own curiosity to know, like.
400 00:43:06.440 ⇒ 00:43:14.639 Luke Scorziell: what the heck is happening, and how are higher-up leaders thinking about this? And then also, like, just as we’re positioning and thinking about agencies, like.
401 00:43:15.500 ⇒ 00:43:18.780 Luke Scorziell: What are some of the pain points that they’re trying to solve?
402 00:43:19.610 ⇒ 00:43:20.150 John: Yo.
403 00:43:20.630 ⇒ 00:43:27.240 Luke Scorziell: So… Yeah, I was doing some outreach last night, and I sent a couple cold emails to
404 00:43:27.340 ⇒ 00:43:31.880 Luke Scorziell: people and someone replied to me within, like, 10 minutes, so I was just like, this is, like…
405 00:43:32.280 ⇒ 00:43:36.810 Luke Scorziell: Must have hit some kind of… Nerve.
406 00:43:36.810 ⇒ 00:43:38.740 John: Right, yeah, exactly.
407 00:43:38.740 ⇒ 00:43:41.690 Luke Scorziell: I was like, yeah, so…
408 00:43:42.020 ⇒ 00:43:54.950 Luke Scorziell: Yeah, that’d be interesting, and then I, like, if, you know, maybe there’s ways that we can be of support, or help, or if, yeah, even if it’s just meeting someone interesting. So, yeah, I would super appreciate that. Any way that I can be of help to you?
409 00:43:55.080 ⇒ 00:43:58.630 Luke Scorziell: Like… Happy to be.
410 00:43:59.310 ⇒ 00:44:00.160 John: Definitely.
411 00:44:00.750 ⇒ 00:44:02.129 John: Yeah, I appreciate it, Luke.
412 00:44:02.400 ⇒ 00:44:05.800 Luke Scorziell: Yeah, yeah, likewise. Well, it’s good to catch up. Thanks for…
413 00:44:06.260 ⇒ 00:44:12.100 Luke Scorziell: Bearing with my delay and adding… giving some extra time, so…
414 00:44:12.100 ⇒ 00:44:16.989 John: Yeah, of course, yeah, no, not a problem. Will you be in, Berkeley anytime soon, or…
415 00:44:17.220 ⇒ 00:44:21.580 Luke Scorziell: I… don’t… I know Anna’s going up.
416 00:44:21.780 ⇒ 00:44:25.200 Luke Scorziell: In March?
417 00:44:25.520 ⇒ 00:44:34.070 Luke Scorziell: I think for, like, UCLA’s, finals week, and then… Otherwise…
418 00:44:35.380 ⇒ 00:44:44.080 Luke Scorziell: Yeah, I don’t know when the next one is. We have… I have a few weddings down here. Are we… because we probably would have gone up for Easter, but then my,
419 00:44:44.540 ⇒ 00:44:47.069 Luke Scorziell: Cousin is getting married on…
420 00:44:47.210 ⇒ 00:44:49.470 Luke Scorziell: the Saturday before, and then my whole family’s gonna…
421 00:44:50.240 ⇒ 00:44:54.190 Luke Scorziell: Down in San Diego for… for Easter, so…
422 00:44:55.760 ⇒ 00:44:59.819 Luke Scorziell: But I’m sure I will make it up in the not-too-distant future.
423 00:45:00.090 ⇒ 00:45:01.149 John: Sounds good.
424 00:45:01.370 ⇒ 00:45:10.800 John: Yeah, well, let me, let me, reach out to Jeff, I’ll let you know, and, yeah, and then let’s, let’s stay in touch, and then…
425 00:45:10.930 ⇒ 00:45:13.419 John: I’ll see you when I see you sometime up here.
426 00:45:13.680 ⇒ 00:45:17.140 Luke Scorziell: That sounds great. Yeah, I’d love to. So, I’ll keep in touch, too.
427 00:45:17.550 ⇒ 00:45:18.519 John: Sounds good.
428 00:45:18.520 ⇒ 00:45:19.460 Luke Scorziell: Thanks, John.
429 00:45:19.460 ⇒ 00:45:21.009 John: Alright, enjoy your weekend, Luke.
430 00:45:21.010 ⇒ 00:45:23.049 Luke Scorziell: I will. Alright, bye.
431 00:45:23.050 ⇒ 00:45:23.640 John: Bye.