Our latest Marketers on Fire profile featuring Kelly Calabria, Chief Marketing and CSR Officer at Blue Cross Blue Shield of North Carolina, examines three challenges her brand is facing in 2024 that likely ring true for many: activating the right data to build customer relationships through personalization; continued collaboration between sales and marketing (particularly on the data story flowing between the two); and solidifying business use cases for generative AI. In a recent conversation, Calabria explored these challenges and her marketing team’s approach to tackling them.

With the onset of Google Chrome’s third-party cookie deprecation, which officially began on Jan. 4 for one percent of randomly-selected users, brands have been focusing on bolstering their first-party data strategies in the meantime. Here’s how several companies have leveraged customer data to inform their commerce strategies as the cookie dissipates and measurement challenges proliferate. 

Speaking of measurement, Meta recently released its own AI-powered platform, Meta Advantage+, to help brands automate paid ads and social media campaigns to optimize budgets for marketing and communications programs. But the potential value of such solutions varies between brands. Read how incrementality testing can help maximize the value of AI-based platforms.

Lastly, we recently brought you an in-depth look at Dos Equis’ college football Tailgate Throwdown, where one lucky fan scored the opportunity to design his dream tailgate experience. Here’s a look at how other brands have shown up across the tailgate scene, from Bud Light’s Backyard Tour to Nike’s Yardrunners activation to e.l.f. Cosmetics’ pink glow-up bar.

Until next week,

Kaylee Hultgren
Editor
Chief Marketer

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