Main Character Energy: What Black Panther Can Teach You About Inclusive Marketing “Inclusive marketing is all about brands acknowledging the many ways that people are different,” says this marketing master. Her voice drops to a conspiratorial tone. “And this is the very important part: Choosing which identities you’re going to serve.” Also important (to this Marvel fan, anyway): What does inclusive marketing have to do with the … MCU? Meet the Master Name: Sonia Thompson, Founder, Inclusion & Marketing Job: Thompson consults with brands that want to use inclusive marketing to grow their business Lesson 1: Toss out your checklist. I can barely make myself breakfast without a checklist, but Thompson’s got me convinced to throw them out when it comes to inclusive marketing. As a marketer, you have to choose which identities your product or service is serving, “and that’s where a lot of people are nervous,” Thompson says. “Sometimes people take a checkbox approach — like, ‘let’s get everybody in there.’” But inclusive marketing doesn’t mean “marketing to everybody.” She gives an example of a recent commercial with a woman in a wheelchair. “You can’t see her face, and there’s no speaking role — she’s just there.” Your reaction might be, “There’s someone with disabilities in the commercial. It’s inclusive!” But Thompson says that wheelchair users weren’t this brand’s target audience, and she cautions: “All representation isn’t created equal.” If you’re checking identity boxes instead of thoughtfully choosing your audience(s) and thinking about their...

AI Agents Today: How Google Gemini, Stream Realtime & Claude are Rewriting Marketing I’ve spent decades analyzing shifts in marketing, but the rise of AI agents is the most disruptive one yet. These systems are quickly taking over the user journey — but unlike humans, they evaluate structured data, analyze backend specifications, and make decisions in milliseconds. Major players are already taking note and adapting. For example, Adobe recently introduced AI agents that brands can use to help consumers navigate through their websites. Businesses can then enable personalized marketing based on real-time user behavior and unique customer attributes. From a practical perspective, however, what does it actually look like when AI agents take over key stages of the user journey? And, what does that mean for marketers? To find out, I put three leading AI agent-powered tools to the test by assigning them real marketing tasks. Here's what happened and what every marketer needs to do next. What are AI agents, and why are they important in marketing? AI agents are autonomous systems that research, analyze, and take action on behalf of users. Unlike traditional AI-powered tools that assist with isolated tasks, AI agents actively manage workflows, interact with software, and execute complex processes — without direct human input. In marketing, these agents are quickly becoming the new gatekeepers, deciding which brands, products, and services get surfaced and used. Instead of persuading consumers directly with creative campaigns or paid advertising, marketers must now optimize for AI-driven decision-making. So,...