Natasha Wallace, Chief Solutions Officer for Strategy, Planning and AI at Jellyfish, joins That’s What I Call Marketing to discuss how brands can become more visible and understandable to AI without sacrificing creativity, emotion or distinctiveness.
This episode explains how marketers should approach the growing challenge of serving two audiences at once: humans, who respond to stories, feelings and ideas, and AI models, which rely on clear signals, context, trust and specificity.
In this episode, we cover:
– Why Jellyfish’s research found almost no correlation between how humans and AI models judge creative work
– What “brand flattening” means and why marketers should resist making everything rational and functional
– How to make a brand legible to large language models without weakening its creativity
– Why brand trust, distinctive assets and consumer consensus still influence AI recommendations
– The role of YouTube, Reddit, creators, ecommerce and digital PR in shaping model perception
– Why paid, owned and earned media need to work together in an AI-led discovery environment
Natasha also explains Jellyfish’s concept of the “brand echo”: the conversation, reaction and community created around a brand, even when the original activity is not directly visible to an AI model.
The practical message is not that marketers need to abandon the fundamentals. It is that audience strategy, brand positioning, content, media and measurement need to work together more closely. The brands most likely to succeed will be clear enough for machines to understand and interesting enough for people to care about.
A useful listen for marketers interested in AI in marketing, GEO, brand strategy, creativity, content strategy, advertising effectiveness and the future of search and discovery.
That’s What I Call Marketing is the podcast for marketers who care about brand, B2B, creativity, effectiveness and the future of the profession.
Follow the show for more conversations with CMOs, marketing leaders, agency leaders, professors, authors, thinkers and practitioners.
Find more episodes at: https://www.thatswhaticallmarketing.com
**Timestamps**
00:00 Why marketers must not flatten their brands for AI
00:39 Introducing Natasha Wallace of Jellyfish
02:04 Natasha’s career across digital, media and emerging technology
03:35 Why AI feels different from previous industry shifts
05:23 Working globally with Heineken and major sports properties
07:05 Why Natasha joined Jellyfish
09:00 Bringing media, content, creative and AI strategy together
12:32 What humans and AI models see in award-winning advertising
15:31 The danger of brand flattening
16:36 How the “brand echo” influences AI models
17:35 Why brand trust and distinctive assets still matter
20:21 Why YouTube is frequently cited by large language models
22:28 How marketers should prioritise their AI and GEO activity
24:46 Leading and lagging indicators for AI visibility
26:01 The platforms and voices that shape model perception
27:27 Borrowed credibility, belonging and long-term brand associations
30:05 Testing creative work without making it formulaic
32:25 Why AI should strengthen human thinking, not replace it
That’s What I Call Marketing is the podcast for marketers who care about brand, B2B, creativity, effectiveness and the future of the profession.
Follow the show for more conversations with CMOs, marketing leaders, agency leaders, professors, authors, thinkers and practitioners.
Find more episodes at: https://www.thatswhaticallmarketing.com
This Cannes Sessions episode is produced in partnership with The Digital Voice.
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