AdExchanger Talks
Episode: Shifting Gears, With The CMO Of Genesis Motor America
Date: September 16, 2025
Host: Allison Schiff
Guest: Amy Marentic, CMO of Genesis Motor America
Episode Overview
In this episode, host Allison Schiff interviews Amy Marentic, the newly appointed CMO of Genesis Motor America. Amy shares her unconventional journey from aspiring astronaut to automotive executive, details her leadership experiences at Ford and Lincoln in China, and outlines how Genesis is tackling low brand awareness, broadening its appeal to women and families, and leveraging marketing technology. The discussion delves into adaptation across cultures, the evolution of automotive marketing, performance and programmatic strategies, AI adoption, and measuring marketing effectiveness.
Key Discussion Points & Insights
1. Amy Marentic’s Background and Career Journey
[01:41–06:49]
- Amy grew up in Muskegon, Michigan, inspired by figures like Sally Ride, dreaming of becoming an astronaut. She pursued aerospace engineering at the University of Michigan.
- A pivotal moment: her astronaut mentor cautioned her to have a solid career to fall back on, which led Amy to Ford, blending her passion for cars and engineering.
- Amy’s narrative demonstrates resilience and adaptability, setting the tone for her approach to career and leadership.
- Memorable Quote:
“Your career is a marathon, it's not a sprint. And it could take many different paths.”
— Amy Marentic [04:22]
2. Breaking Barriers and Leadership in China
[06:49–14:45]
- Amy reflects on overcoming gender bias as a student, with support from her father enabling her to pursue advanced math and, ultimately, a technical career.
- At Lincoln China, Amy was the second-ever female president in Ford’s history. She expanded the dealer network and had to deeply adapt to a vastly different market and cultural context.
- Key lessons included letting go of US-centric intuition, relying on team listening, and embracing the need to assimilate rather than impose one’s own norms.
- Notable Quote:
“When you go to a different country, they don't assimilate to you. You assimilate to that culture.”
— Amy Marentic [13:19]
3. Transition to Genesis Motor America
[14:51–19:02]
- On joining Genesis, Amy found the main challenge was brand awareness: only 6 out of 10 people know the brand.
- She lauds Genesis’s focus on craftsmanship, consumer-centric design, and quick adaptation to trends, comparing its nimbleness even to tech companies like Google.
- Genesis is a new luxury entrant, and Amy sees its “no legacy” status as a strength—a platform for innovation.
4. Rethinking Automotive Advertising
[16:09–19:02]
- Addressing overused car ad tropes (e.g., “car on a scenic road”), Amy emphasizes the importance of standout elements, such as Genesis’s striking interior features—like tufted diamond-patterned leather and novel EV crystal shifters.
- Genesis’s campaigns focus not just on the vehicle’s utility but on the emotional experience and aesthetic details.
- Memorable Anecdote: Amy recalls videoing the “crystal” shifter and sending it enthusiastically to Detroit friends [17:52].
5. Strategic Marketing to Women and Families
[19:02–21:41]
- Drawing from data, Amy identified an opportunity to appeal to women and families, who play an outsized role in car purchasing decisions.
- The “New Beginnings” campaign for the Genesis GV80 illustrates a fresh creative direction:
“You can be a family and have nice things.”
— Amy Marentic [20:23] - Instead of classic “SUV full of stuff,” their recent ad centers on imagination, with a young girl ‘wrestling a rainbow’ inside the car, tying to Genesis’s “Mood Curator” technology and creating space for creativity.
6. Performance Marketing & Funnel Sophistication
[21:45–24:25]
- Amy describes performance marketing as a seamless continuum with brand marketing: “It’s kind of how do you balance work and life, right?”
- Genesis’s dealer meetings focus on the marketing funnel, showing non-traditional assets and data-driven tactics rather than just TV commercials.
- Amy aspires for Genesis to become the most sophisticated marketer (not just automarketer), leveraging data to guide prospects through a frictionless purchase journey.
7. Building High-Performance Teams & Agency Relationships
[25:30–26:18]
- Amy underscores the unique, familial partnership with Inocean (creative) and Canvas (media), contrasting it with more transactional agency relationships at prior companies.
- “We win together... if we happen to fail… we fail together.”
— Amy Marentic [25:37]
8. Lessons from Failure & Learning Culture
[26:23–28:16]
- Amy encourages her teams to embrace failure in pursuit of innovation.
- She shares a China example: launching a digital retail tool that hit a regulatory roadblock but was later hailed as a foundational success globally.
- “If we're not failing, we're not trying hard enough.” — Amy Marentic [26:23]
9. Embracing AI in Marketing
[28:16–31:59]
- Genesis partners with Google on AI-driven ad initiatives (AI Max, Performance Max, Dynamic Creative).
- Amy stresses using AI responsibly—enhancing efficiency and ad delivery while maintaining Genesis’s handcrafted, luxury brand feel.
- AI is mostly used for optimizing, resizing, and customizing creative—not for generative, fully AI-made ads.
- Notable Quote:
“It would be probably inauthentic for us to develop a generative AI ad for Genesis, but... use AI to maybe cut a 30 down to a 15… make our production more efficient.”
— Amy Marentic [29:40]
10. Adapting to the Changing Purchase Journey & Search
[32:03–34:54]
- Amy observes that AI chat is reshaping car buying journeys; traditional website visits and lead forms are declining, while direct model interactions (e.g., through Performance Max, LLMs) are increasing.
- Genesis now considers both human website visitors and how Large Language Models (LLMs) “see” and interpret their site content.
11. Managing Brand Representation in LLMs & “Share of Model”
[34:54–37:11]
- Amy recognizes the challenge of controlling how Genesis is depicted in AI-generated recommendations—a developing area.
- Key strategies include:
- Ensuring discoverable, well-structured website content
- Amplifying media coverage to influence training data
- Paying close attention to new signals (e.g., Reddit being a top LLM source)
12. Programmatic Advertising & Targeting
[37:11–39:16]
- Programmatic is foundational—enabling first-party data targeting, dynamic bidding, nimble budget shifts, and effective “conquesting” (winning over competitive brand buyers).
- Real-time effectiveness and the ability to optimize on the fly are game-changers for automotive marketing.
13. Modern Measurement and Attribution
[39:16–42:24]
- Amy’s data-driven approaches draw on her experience at Circana, blending MMM, MTA, brand lift, and match-back analysis.
- Genesis aims for a unified, closed-loop view of the customer journey, linking high-value web actions to dealership sales.
- “Better every day. Our goal, better every day. A little bit better every day.” — Amy Marentic [41:18]
14. 360-Degree Campaign Example: “Freaky Friday”
[42:24–44:30]
- Genesis’s campaign for the GV80 included:
- TV spot (“Pull in Imagination”)
- Product integration in Disney’s “Freaky Friday” sequel
- A Disney-produced ad and influencer components
- Measurement across multiple funnel stages: reach, awareness, engagement, consideration, site analytics, influencer metrics, and search spikes.
15. Car Buying Trends & Evolving Commerce Models
[44:30–47:07]
- Discussing Hyundai’s Amazon partnership (not handled by Amy), she sees the growth of e-commerce car buying as inevitable.
- “Things that we thought would never happen in our industry are happening… we're going to see things shift and change so fast in the next three to five years.”
— Amy Marentic [46:10]
16. Personal Anecdotes: Learning to Drive
[47:07–48:55]
- Amy reminisces about her first car, a 1977 yellow Mustang with white leather—a symbol of her early mechanical curiosity, persistence, and resourcefulness.
- “I carried a stone with me… I'd have to put the stone in the choke in the carburetor… to start the car.” — Amy Marentic [48:11]
- Host Allison shares her contrasting New York City experience—licensed, but no car.
Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments
- [04:22] Amy: “Your career is a marathon, it's not a sprint. And it could take many different paths.”
- [13:19] Amy: “When you go to a different country, they don't assimilate to you. You assimilate to that culture.”
- [16:42] Amy: “When only 6 out of 10 people know about your brand, you need to do something that's a little bit more impactful and that stands out.”
- [20:23] Amy: “You can be a family and have nice things.”
- [26:23] Amy: “If we’re not failing, we’re not trying hard enough.”
- [29:40] Amy: “It would be probably inauthentic for us to develop a generative AI ad for Genesis, but... use AI to maybe cut a 30 down to a 15… make our production more efficient.”
- [46:10] Amy: “Things that we thought would never happen in our industry are happening… we're going to see things shift and change so fast in the next three to five years.”
- [48:11] Amy: “I carried a stone with me… I'd have to put the stone in the choke in the carburetor… to start the car.”
Timestamps for Key Segments
- 01:41 – Amy’s background & astronaut dreams
- 06:49 – Early barriers & resilience in education
- 09:54 – Leadership & adaptation in China
- 14:51 – Brand awareness challenge at Genesis
- 16:09 – Tackling automotive ad clichés
- 19:02 – Targeting women & families in Genesis marketing
- 21:45 – Performance marketing philosophy
- 25:30 – Agency partnerships & internal vs. external work
- 26:23 – Lessons from failure
- 28:16 – AI use in automotive marketing
- 32:03 – Changing customer search/journey
- 34:54 – Brand representation in LLMs
- 37:11 – Programmatic advertising strategies
- 39:16 – Measurement, attribution, and linking actions to sales
- 42:24 – GV80 & “Freaky Friday” campaign
- 44:30 – E-commerce car buying and industry change
- 47:07 – Amy’s first car and driving lessons
Summary
This episode provides a rich, behind-the-scenes look at the evolution of automotive marketing through the lens of a leader who’s experienced business across hemispheres. Amy Marentic shares candid stories of challenge and adaptation, the nuts and bolts of building brand awareness for a luxury challenger, and how Genesis is innovating at the intersection of brand, data, AI, and customer experience. For marketers, car enthusiasts, and business leaders alike, it’s a compelling exploration of how to thrive amid industry disruption and cultural shifts—always, as Amy puts it, getting “better every day.”