Upskilling employees to use AI within organizations is far behind what it should be, according to McDonald’s Chief Data & Analytics Officer Michelle Gansle. To reverse that trend, leaders must personalize the learning experience, take both a top-down and bottom-up approach to training, and put humans at the center of it. We review Gansle’s practical tips for companies to get started on upskilling their teams, shared during a keynote at the Marketing Artificial Intelligence Conference earlier this month.

Alienware and Twitch, two well-known brands among the gaming set, collaborated on an interactive, sci-fi activation taking place in New York City’s Grand Central Terminal during Halloween week. The goal of the alien-themed pop-up was to introduce the general public to the gaming brands while also providing a heightened experience for digital visitors via nightly Twitch streams. We spoke to the executives behind the activation about the partnership, key KPIs, challenges and more.

When McKinsey & Co. interviewed roughly 50 senior marketing officers at Fortune 500 organizations, not one could quantify the ROI of their martech investments—despite nearly four out of five companies planning to increase their annual martech expenditures during the next five years. The consulting firm diagnoses the causes of organizations’ lack of insight into the value of their marketing tech and prescribes a cure that includes thoughtful application of AI.

Sourhouse, which manufactures and sells its own sourdough bread baking tools, prioritizes earned media to grow its brand in the niche category. Co-founder Erik Fabian takes us through the company’s PR strategy, the return on investment from securing media placements and how generosity has contributed to building the brand.

Lastly, Doug Mead, Co-founder and Chief Marketing Officer at sparkling water brand Rambler, discusses the brand’s growth, marketing strategy, partnerships with charitable foundations and its new tagline, Chug Life.

Until next week,