Uncorking Brand Truths
Trends & Tastings
Something special happens when you gather a bunch of marketers in a room together. Add in a few hot takes, honest perspectives and a glass of wine, and suddenly you’ve got the recipe for brilliant conversations.
At our latest Trends & Tastings event, we met at Michael Angelo’s Winery for an afternoon full of enlightening discussion centered around one increasingly important question: are brands actually listening?
In fact, 95% of companies collect customer feedback, but only 10% use it to improve. At the same time, 75% of CEOs say customer feedback is critical to growth, yet 55% of companies admit they fail to meet customer needs.
What does that mean for midsize brands? We gathered the experts to break it down. Because you cannot market effectively if you’re not deeply listening. And listening goes beyond collecting responses or reviewing dashboards.
Our speakers didn’t shy away from this reality but focused on how brands can better listen, interpret and apply what their audiences are actually saying rather than relying on assumptions or surface-level insights.
In his presentation, "Customer Input in the Age of AI: How Brands Can Truly Listen When Signals Come from Humans and Machines," Dave explored the new reality facing marketers. While AI can help organizations gather and analyze information at scale, it cannot replace genuine customer understanding. His key message was simple: brands that succeed will be the ones that balance technological efficiency with authentic human insight and avoid mistaking AI-generated signals for real customer perspectives.
In "Building Brands Through Social: Turning Everyday Moments into Meaningful Brand Equity Where Audiences Actually Engage," Abi challenged marketers to recognize that most brands are more similar to their competitors than they think. What creates separation isn't always a product or service but perception.
Customers choose the brand that feels most familiar, trustworthy and relevant. That's brand equity, and social media is one of the most powerful tools for building it. Every interaction becomes an opportunity to strengthen trust, reinforce relevance and create the certainty that influences buying decisions.
Sidebar: Want to see these presentations for yourself? Shoot us a message, and we’ll send them your way!
With voices spanning customer insight, communications, creative and client services, the discussion reflected the reality of modern marketing. And across every topic, one thing stood out: the pace of change is accelerating.
But “sit-back-and-listen" isn’t really our style. Trends & Tastings is built to feed the conversation, so we like to leave plenty of time after the presentations for attendees to grab a drink, exchange perspectives and meet new friends. It was an opportunity to continue the conversation, build new connections and learn from peers facing similar challenges. And by the end of the afternoon, everyone walked away with something new to ponder.
To add a little extra excitement, thunder::tech also raffled off three marketing audits: a Reputation Audit, SEO/AEO Audit and Social Media Audit. Congratulations to the winners—we can't wait to uncover new opportunities together.
That's why we created Trends & Tastings. These events give marketers a chance to step away from their day-to-day work, hear new perspectives, challenge assumptions and leave with ideas they can put into practice immediately. Our goal is simple: share knowledge, spark meaningful conversations and help our clients and marketing community continue to grow.
Because when marketers get smarter, brands boom.
At our latest Trends & Tastings event, we met at Michael Angelo’s Winery for an afternoon full of enlightening discussion centered around one increasingly important question: are brands actually listening?
Why customer feedback isn't driving better marketing decisions
Brands today are collecting more data than ever, but failing to do anything with it.In fact, 95% of companies collect customer feedback, but only 10% use it to improve. At the same time, 75% of CEOs say customer feedback is critical to growth, yet 55% of companies admit they fail to meet customer needs.
What does that mean for midsize brands? We gathered the experts to break it down. Because you cannot market effectively if you’re not deeply listening. And listening goes beyond collecting responses or reviewing dashboards.
Our speakers didn’t shy away from this reality but focused on how brands can better listen, interpret and apply what their audiences are actually saying rather than relying on assumptions or surface-level insights.
Customer insights in the age of AI
Guest speaker Dave Loomis, founder and president of Loomis Marketing and author of Customer Outsight, brought decades of voice-of-customer expertise to the conversation. Having conducted more than 10,000 customer interviews and worked with companies such as DuPont, GE, Goodyear, IBM, Motorola and Xerox, Dave understands the difference between reading data and understanding.In his presentation, "Customer Input in the Age of AI: How Brands Can Truly Listen When Signals Come from Humans and Machines," Dave explored the new reality facing marketers. While AI can help organizations gather and analyze information at scale, it cannot replace genuine customer understanding. His key message was simple: brands that succeed will be the ones that balance technological efficiency with authentic human insight and avoid mistaking AI-generated signals for real customer perspectives.
How social media builds brand equity and trust
Abi Warrell, Director of Communications at thunder::tech, shifted the conversation toward the role social media plays in shaping brand perception.In "Building Brands Through Social: Turning Everyday Moments into Meaningful Brand Equity Where Audiences Actually Engage," Abi challenged marketers to recognize that most brands are more similar to their competitors than they think. What creates separation isn't always a product or service but perception.
Customers choose the brand that feels most familiar, trustworthy and relevant. That's brand equity, and social media is one of the most powerful tools for building it. Every interaction becomes an opportunity to strengthen trust, reinforce relevance and create the certainty that influences buying decisions.
Sidebar: Want to see these presentations for yourself? Shoot us a message, and we’ll send them your way!
What marketing leaders are talking about right now
We challenged our panelists with the questions marketers are actively navigating today, including:- What trends are keeping marketers up at night
- Where teams should look to stay ahead of trends
- The risks of relying too heavily on AI-driven insights
With voices spanning customer insight, communications, creative and client services, the discussion reflected the reality of modern marketing. And across every topic, one thing stood out: the pace of change is accelerating.
Key marketing takeaways from Trends & Tastings
The event reinforced that audience understanding requires more than surface-level data. AI and social platforms continue to create new opportunities, but they also introduce new complexities that demand thoughtful strategy.But “sit-back-and-listen" isn’t really our style. Trends & Tastings is built to feed the conversation, so we like to leave plenty of time after the presentations for attendees to grab a drink, exchange perspectives and meet new friends. It was an opportunity to continue the conversation, build new connections and learn from peers facing similar challenges. And by the end of the afternoon, everyone walked away with something new to ponder.
To add a little extra excitement, thunder::tech also raffled off three marketing audits: a Reputation Audit, SEO/AEO Audit and Social Media Audit. Congratulations to the winners—we can't wait to uncover new opportunities together.
Why we love hosting marketers
At thunder::tech, we believe the best marketing conversations happen when people come together to learn from one another.That's why we created Trends & Tastings. These events give marketers a chance to step away from their day-to-day work, hear new perspectives, challenge assumptions and leave with ideas they can put into practice immediately. Our goal is simple: share knowledge, spark meaningful conversations and help our clients and marketing community continue to grow.
Because when marketers get smarter, brands boom.
Join us at the next Trends & Tastings
Events like Trends & Tastings create space to step back, ask better questions and explore how marketing is evolving in real time. Interested in joining the next event? Follow thunder::tech on LinkedIn for updates and invitations to future events.