11Mar2025
Leader’s Digest | March 2025
by: Nordic Business Forum
Welcome to the March 2025 edition of the Leader’s Digest, Your monthly guide to business leadership. This time, we’ll explore the world of marketing.
Contents
- How to Balance Authenticity and AI in Marketing
- Building Brands from the Inside Out with Bozoma Saint John
- 3 Marketing Podcasts to Learn from
- Speaker of the month: Jonah Berger
- 2 New Speakers Added to the NBF 2025 Lineup
- NBF 2025 Ticket Prices Increase on March 21
- Inspirational Quote by Carla Harris
New Leadership Insights
How to Balance Authenticity and AI in Marketing
Should AI replace marketers? No. Why?
AI is revolutionizing marketing, from automating tasks to analyzing customer data. But while it enhances efficiency, it lacks the emotional intelligence, creativity, and ethical judgment that define great marketing. The key isn’t to replace marketers with AI but to find the right balance—using AI’s power while keeping marketing authentic and engaging.
☑️ Use AI for Data, But Validate Insights
AI can analyze large sets of data, identify patters, and suggest actions, but human oversight secures decisions align with business goals.
☑️ Automate Tasks, Not Strategy
AI allows to automate several tasks to increase productivity, but strategic thinking should remain a focus for marketers.
☑️ Support Creativity, Don’t Replace It
AI can suggest ideas and refine raw thoughts, but great marketers bring in storytelling and originality.
☑️ Keep Your Brand Voice Authentic
AI helps make rough first drafts and fix grammar, but humans ensure the tone stays natural and on-brand.
☑️ Personalize Without Over-Automating
AI enhances customer interactions, but real people build real relationships.
Want to learn more? Explore in our latest blog how to strike the balance between AI-powered efficiency and human creativity in marketing.
Building Brands from the Inside Out
— Interview with Bozoma Sain John
Bozoma Saint John, Former Global CMO at Netflix and Former Chief Brand Officer at Uber shared a number of great insights on branding and marketing at NBF 2024 last September. Here are a few key thoughts from Boz:
Internal Branding Matters as Much as External Branding
“When I joined Uber, employees didn’t even want to wear their company t-shirts in public. That’s a branding problem—both inside and out.”
Bozoma emphasized that brand loyalty starts within the company. Employees should feel proud of where they work, as they are the brand’s first ambassadors.
Curiosity is the #1 Skill for Marketers
“If your marketing team isn’t asking, ‘What’s happening in the world right now?’—fire them.”
Bozoma highlighted that the best marketers stay informed about global trends, culture shifts, and customer sentiments to create authentic and relevant messages.
Cutting Marketing Budgets is a Mistake
“It blows my mind that when times get tough, companies cut marketing and communications first. When your company’s in trouble, it is your brand that people are going to depend on.”
Bozoma underlined that branding is an investment, not an expense, and should remain a priority—even in economic downturns.
Catch the full discussion on our Youtube channel for more insights!
3 Marketing Podcasts to Learn from
There are countless great marketing podcasts out there, and we handpicked three that offer fresh insights from different perspectives:
The CEO’s Guide to Marketing
What: Seth Matlins, Managing Director of the Forbes CMO Network, engages in candid conversations about all things marketing with top marketers and executives.
Why: A great resource for marketing leaders looking to understand how marketing connects to the broader picture of business.
Episode recommendation: Discussion with Calvin Klein CMO Jonathan Bottomley
Social Media Marketing Podcast
What: A weekly podcast where Social Media Marketing World founder Michael Stelzner interviews leading marketing experts on social media and digital marketing.
Why: Perfect for marketing leaders seeking innovative ways to enhance their social media and content strategies.
Episode recommendation: Is Search Dying and Does Content Really Matter Looking Ahead
Marketing School Podcast
What: Neil Patel and Eric Siu share daily, practical marketing tips on AI tools, search, social media, and more.
Why: Ideal for marketing leaders who want to apply the latest industry trends in real-world scenarios.
Episode recommendation: The Real Future of Marketing with Seth Godin
NBF Spotlight
Join us behind the scenes as we introduce our speakers, share event updates, and more!
Speaker of the Month: Jonah Berger
Jonah Berger is a marketing professor at Wharton School and international bestselling author of Magic Words, Contagious, Invisible Influence, and The Catalyst.
Jonah is a world-renowned expert on natural language processing, change, word of mouth, influence, consumer behavior, and why things catch on. He has published over 80 articles in top‐tier academic journals, teaches one of the world’s most popular online courses, and popular outlets like The New York Times and Harvard Business Review often cover his work. Jonah also advises various early-stage companies, and consults organizations like Apple, Google, Nike, Amazon, GE, Moderna, and The Gates Foundation.
At Nordic Business Forum 2025, Jonah will give a keynote on Returning to Growth in the New World. His session sheds light on the science behind social transmission and shares practical tips on how to generate more word of mouth.
2 New Speakers Added to the NBF 2025 Lineup
We’re excited to share that two new speakers have been added to the Nordic Business Forum 2025 lineup:
⭐️ Diana Kander: serial entrepreneur and author
⭐️ Peter Hinssen: technology strategist and serial entrepreneur
Diana will give a keynote on simple questions to unlock innovation and Peter will explore how leaders can more from trendspotting to future-shaping. From both speakers you can expect an engaging keynote with plenty of actionable insights. Learn more about these speakers the NBF 2025 website!
NBF 2025 Ticket Prices Increase on March 21
On September 24–25, 7,000 business decision-makers will gather in Helsinki to learn and network around the themes of Foresight, Growth, and Culture. Already, over 6,200 people have decided to join us at Nordic Business Forum 2025!
If you haven’t secured your tickets yet, now would be a great time—Prices increase on March 21!
Stop and Think
“How do you build trust? You simply deliver, over and over again.”
– Carla Harris
