Ab’s Labs Blog
BRAND STRATEGY & MESSAGING:
Many of the traditional marketing assumptions have more to do with historical preferences, generational bias, and legacy marketing plans than with how the audience actually behaves today. With consumption trends changing this fast, brands have a real opportunity to investigate the customer experience before launching a new campaign or product. Learn how to allocate your marketing mix to fit today’s consumer.
Right now, when someone searches using ChatGPT, Perplexity, or Google's AI Overviews, the results are built almost entirely from earned, owned, and organic content, not paid placements. Roughly 94% of links AI search tools cite are non-paid media. So what does this mean for your marketing budget? Think of paid media as a faucet. When you turn it off (and sometimes, even when you just turn it down) it stops. You always have to pay for more to come out. Most brands haven’t mastered the art of earned media yet and it is an invaluable marketing tactic for 2026 and beyond. Earned media compounds. And it can be one of the most valuable strategies with long term ROI for years to come.
For 5 years, Conversate Labs has helped brands do something most marketing firms can't: understand their audience deeply, and then execute on new insights. We've run focus groups for Fortune 100 companies, designed research that informed global product launches, and helped brands and leaders communicate in a way their employees and customers actually respond to.
We are putting the “I” in AI at Conversate Labs. Over the past few months, we have all been hearing and talking at length about AI. Just like you, we are committed to bringing the latest technology to our clients. But the question still remains, what value does it bring to you and the work you do everyday? After talking with so many clients, vendors, suppliers, and thought leaders, Conversate Labs has been working to help answer this question and maximize the value AI can bring in helping solve complex problems. Whether you are entering a new market, trying to find new customers, launching a new campaign, or evolving a product line, there are many ways to integrate AI solutions to connect with you audience to help make great decisions to grow your business. So where do we see AI in the future of insights? Turns out, it starts with you and “I”!
A new year. A clean slate. A chance to start fresh. We all get to start the new year with hope and optimism. But the best brands today take it as an opportunity for a chance to look back and learn, while also understanding what’s relevant to today’s consumer. Affordability will be a top concern and be at war with brand affinity. The Best Global Brands according to Interbrand reported increases in global brand value to $3.6 trillion, up 4% in 2025. So what are the best brands doing right that we can learn in a price sensitive market?
Bud Light, Nike, Apple, and American Eagle. When it comes to knowing what to say and when, it seems like no brand is safe. Take the recent American Eagle ad that went viral for offending many for its reference to “good jeans”, a stray from its All-American brand strategy. The ad briefly caused a small stock increase, then produced a -80 point swing in brand sentiment. Our blog will explore how your team can create a winning brand and communications strategy, without offending customers, in 2025.
How do you stay relevant in a politically charged year? A recent study found a swing towards more positive opinions from Americans wanting companies to take a stance on important topics. However, this does not mean to to jump in right away. Yes, being more open and transparent will win over workers and customers, but ensuring it aligns with your values and strategic objectives is key - they will call you out on if you miss the mark. Let’s explore the top messages of 2025.
Will you ever forget March 2020? I remember vividly my family was going on vacation for Spring Break until the news broke of the Coronavirus. Airports shut down. Hotels closed. Freeways were empty. Offices were quiet. We spent the next several days, weeks, months, and years fearing the unknown and adjusting to our new life at home.
It’s no secret the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on Americans were profound. Conversate Labs knows the importance of continuing the conversation when an unprecedented event like this has had such a significant impact on our lives and work.
In a world of AI and modern technology, we are producing more goods faster than ever before, but have we forgotten to bring the customer along with us in our journey? Today’s customers have high expectations. From quality to delivery, people expect an exceptional experience with your brand and want a two-way interaction with your product or service in real-time. As innovations soar and technology investments are made to improve the supply chain, companies today are struggling to tell their story and reach the next generation of customers. Without a clear focus on customer touchpoints that greatly improve the experience, companies are missing opportunities to build trust and long-term loyalty. That’s why we recommend going back to the basics of connecting with your customers in 2025.
Marketing & Communications:
Many of the traditional marketing assumptions have more to do with historical preferences, generational bias, and legacy marketing plans than with how the audience actually behaves today. With consumption trends changing this fast, brands have a real opportunity to investigate the customer experience before launching a new campaign or product. Learn how to allocate your marketing mix to fit today’s consumer.
Right now, when someone searches using ChatGPT, Perplexity, or Google's AI Overviews, the results are built almost entirely from earned, owned, and organic content, not paid placements. Roughly 94% of links AI search tools cite are non-paid media. So what does this mean for your marketing budget? Think of paid media as a faucet. When you turn it off (and sometimes, even when you just turn it down) it stops. You always have to pay for more to come out. Most brands haven’t mastered the art of earned media yet and it is an invaluable marketing tactic for 2026 and beyond. Earned media compounds. And it can be one of the most valuable strategies with long term ROI for years to come.
For 5 years, Conversate Labs has helped brands do something most marketing firms can't: understand their audience deeply, and then execute on new insights. We've run focus groups for Fortune 100 companies, designed research that informed global product launches, and helped brands and leaders communicate in a way their employees and customers actually respond to.
We are putting the “I” in AI at Conversate Labs. Over the past few months, we have all been hearing and talking at length about AI. Just like you, we are committed to bringing the latest technology to our clients. But the question still remains, what value does it bring to you and the work you do everyday? After talking with so many clients, vendors, suppliers, and thought leaders, Conversate Labs has been working to help answer this question and maximize the value AI can bring in helping solve complex problems. Whether you are entering a new market, trying to find new customers, launching a new campaign, or evolving a product line, there are many ways to integrate AI solutions to connect with you audience to help make great decisions to grow your business. So where do we see AI in the future of insights? Turns out, it starts with you and “I”!
It was a stressful day at work, as usual, so I decided to go on a walk with my son. I was talking to him about the things I do for work in a way that a 10 year old would understand. “Mom helps people talk to each other about what they do best.” To which he responded, “You help people be good?” Yes, finding the good in what we do every day is just another reason I love my job.
With so many brands and leaders today struggling to find the right words to say about sustainability, it would be an understatement to say our Labs have been busy lately. There’s good all around us, we just need a little focus on what we care about most, who we want to tell, and how we can say it in a way that is authentic, even to a 10 year old.
Sustainability and ESG have been around for a long time, but everyone is asking right now, “How do we rebrand it for the next generation?”
Will you ever forget March 2020? I remember vividly my family was going on vacation for Spring Break until the news broke of the Coronavirus. Airports shut down. Hotels closed. Freeways were empty. Offices were quiet. We spent the next several days, weeks, months, and years fearing the unknown and adjusting to our new life at home.
It’s no secret the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on Americans were profound. Conversate Labs knows the importance of continuing the conversation when an unprecedented event like this has had such a significant impact on our lives and work.
When the leaves fall and winter weather sets in, we are reminded of a new year and new beginning ahead of us. If you are like us, we don’t like to go into something unprepared! We decided to take the time to reflect on all we accomplished and learned in 2023 so we can help our clients go into the new year with the confidence they need to achieve their goals. How can you create a winning brand strategy in 2024? Drum roll, please…
We have been talking about the growing disconnect between companies and their workers. We decided to ask professionals around the country about their work experiences post-pandemic over the past few years. As we all embrace the new ways of work, some talked about the welcomed change to remote or hybrid work while others were glad to be back in the office. But the conversation quickly turned to what was missing from their career. This wasn’t just a job to them, they were searching for something more. Some talked about the lack of respect or sense of culture, while others want higher pay and flexibility. But there was one thing all workers said was missing from their work experience. But first, let’s start with a story.
Research & Insights:
You have approval to launch a new brand campaign and everyone on your team is so excited. But now you ask, “What should we say?” So many of us get captivated by fancy designs, new ads, and empty promises. But the real work of great marketers and communicators today lies in their ability to connect and care, or what we are advising our clients to focus on the 5 Cs of great communications. What makes someone stop endless scrolling? Why does one ad make you laugh or cry and the other to take a bathroom break? How can we figure out what makes us purchase that product a month later after several online campaigns? I’m going to give you a sneak peek into the art and science of great branding and explore why focusing on the Top 5 Cs will help you create a winning strategy.
Whether you're stepping behind the glass for the first time or revisiting the experience, the benefits of being in a research venue with your team are extensive. There's a ritual to conducting research in-person, a commitment that transcends observation. If you're a road warrior, you know the feeling. Your body is almost programmed to these moments. When you’re sitting on the airplane with your own thoughts, there's a profound connection between the researcher and the journey of discovery. These moments can lead to unique ideas and directions. When you’re in-person, your attention is dialed in, focused on what's happening on the other side of the glass – fewer distractions, more clarity – something that only being in an environment designed for insights can allow for. Discover how to maximize your in-person research.
Ever wonder how a company gets started, why a consumer chooses to spend their money or where a store chooses to first open its doors? Figuring out the motivation behind your actions can be a powerful exercise. Purpose isn’t driven by a company, it starts with passionate employees, managers and leaders. Coming together to serve each other, a mission, values, and common goals can’t happen without each other. So how to you reach the next generation when it comes to talking about your core purpose and workplace culture?
Have you ever taken a survey and quickly answered the last few questions just to get it over with? Or have you been chasing data and updating dashboards with little thought on what to do with it? With so much data and so little time these days, we have prioritized speed over quality and we are often left paralyzed as a result. Our recent conversations with marketing leaders indicate a need for solving some of the toughest questions business leaders have faced in years. But is there really an “easy” button?
It is well known the role of the manager has been evolving over the past few years. Managers have always been responsible for achieving goals, fostering teamwork, and managing priorities, but Conversate Labs has found that many managers describe themselves much differently. Taking on more roles during the pandemic like problem solvers, therapists, strategists, and much more, all while leading virtual teams, the role can seem like a daunting task. So we thought we would ask, “What do employees want from their managers in 2023?”
We all have a bit of stress these days when confronted with new social situations. Stemming from the pandemic, most of us are transitioning to more in-person events and find it difficult to speak freely or feel heard by those closest to us. Do our new social fears have any relation to what’s causing American workers to quit their jobs at alarming rates today? Conversate Labs recently spoke with professionals all across the country about their work experiences in the hopes of answering why it seems like the only option is to quit their job.
In the summer of 2020, when we were fully immersed in quarantine life, I got the good news that our Club’s course was opening up again and my friend wanted to make a tee time. We agreed to meet on the course, promising each other a safe distance or whatever we had to do to play the game. Little did I know that the game of golf that day would help me and so many others heal from one of the most difficult times in our life.
There has been a lot written about The Great Resignation. We have analyzed, surveyed, and hypothesized at length, but something is still missing. After talking with so many colleagues, leaders, and friends in the business community, it was clear to us at Conversate Labs an in-depth conversation just might be the key to finding out what’s really going on.
We recently hosted two focus groups where we talked to professionals across the country who changed their jobs in the past two years. There is no survey alone that could get to the real answers of why people are leaving their jobs, and therein lies the problem. What we are now calling “The Great Disconnect” is a multi-faceted issue that requires intense understanding and listening with the people impacted the most so we can begin to work together on solutions for retaining talent and improving the work experience.
Conversate Labs in the News:
Conversate Labs Publishes New Research for Consumer Electronics Show on The Great Resignation.
Don’t Mix up Your Marketing Mix
Many of the traditional marketing assumptions have more to do with historical preferences, generational bias, and legacy marketing plans than with how the audience actually behaves today. With consumption trends changing this fast, brands have a real opportunity to investigate the customer experience before launching a new campaign or product. Learn how to allocate your marketing mix to fit today’s consumer.
Why Earned Media and Digital Marketing Are the Most Powerful Combination in 2026
Right now, when someone searches using ChatGPT, Perplexity, or Google's AI Overviews, the results are built almost entirely from earned, owned, and organic content, not paid placements. Roughly 94% of links AI search tools cite are non-paid media. So what does this mean for your marketing budget? Think of paid media as a faucet. When you turn it off (and sometimes, even when you just turn it down) it stops. You always have to pay for more to come out. Most brands haven’t mastered the art of earned media yet and it is an invaluable marketing tactic for 2026 and beyond. Earned media compounds. And it can be one of the most valuable strategies with long term ROI for years to come.
Conversate Labs Is Evolving: Introducing Our Full-Service Marketing, Research, and Digital Capabilities
For 5 years, Conversate Labs has helped brands do something most marketing firms can't: understand their audience deeply, and then execute on new insights. We've run focus groups for Fortune 100 companies, designed research that informed global product launches, and helped brands and leaders communicate in a way their employees and customers actually respond to.
Merging Marketing & AI Best Practices
We are putting the “I” in AI at Conversate Labs. Over the past few months, we have all been hearing and talking at length about AI. Just like you, we are committed to bringing the latest technology to our clients. But the question still remains, what value does it bring to you and the work you do everyday? After talking with so many clients, vendors, suppliers, and thought leaders, Conversate Labs has been working to help answer this question and maximize the value AI can bring in helping solve complex problems. Whether you are entering a new market, trying to find new customers, launching a new campaign, or evolving a product line, there are many ways to integrate AI solutions to connect with you audience to help make great decisions to grow your business. So where do we see AI in the future of insights? Turns out, it starts with you and “I”!
Fostering Connection Beyond Sharing
In today’s world of modern marketing, reaching your customer, or should I say grabbing their attention, seems like a daunting task. With an insurmountable list of things to do or staffing below industry standards, many marketers today are pushing content and programs that underwhelm their target market. In the endless scrolling of digital content, what is going to make your next customer stop, listen, and eventually purchase?
Branding Wars: Affordability vs. Affinity
A new year. A clean slate. A chance to start fresh. We all get to start the new year with hope and optimism. But the best brands today take it as an opportunity for a chance to look back and learn, while also understanding what’s relevant to today’s consumer. Affordability will be a top concern and be at war with brand affinity. The Best Global Brands according to Interbrand reported increases in global brand value to $3.6 trillion, up 4% in 2025. So what are the best brands doing right that we can learn in a price sensitive market?