The Agile Brand with Greg Kihlström®: Expert Mode Marketing Technology, AI, & CX

Episode #734: Focusing on the Marketing that Matters with Tara Corey, Optimizely

Release Date: September 15, 2025
Guest: Tara Corey, SVP of Marketing, Optimizely
Host: Greg Kihlström
Location: Recorded live at Opticon 25, New York City

Episode Overview

This episode spotlights the evolving role of marketing leaders in a landscape defined by AI, MarTech innovation, and rising customer expectations. Host Greg Kihlström interviews Tara Corey, SVP of Marketing at Optimizely, about how marketers can cut through the noise, balance brand and demand, harness AI responsibly, and drive authentic, measurable value for both businesses and customers.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Tara Corey’s Path to Leadership at Optimizely (02:25–03:35)

• Corey shares her unconventional journey from marketing operations and technology into a top marketing leadership position. Her hands-on expertise in operations, performance management, and marketing transformation shaped her approach.
• Quote:

  “I've had a bit of a probably more unconventional path to a marketing leadership role ... I feel I've earned my stripes more as a marketing operations leader... And when the role at Optimizely came up, it was a bit of a dream job.” — Tara Corey (02:34)

2. Evolving Marketing Leadership: Brand vs. Demand (04:11–05:19)

• Corey reflects on Optimizely’s transformation and the broader industry trend of over-focusing on demand generation at the expense of brand-building.
• She emphasizes the need for a better balance, pointing out that marketing teams must be top-of-mind before a customer's project is initiated—not just when intent signals spike.

3. Three Essential Modern Marketing Skills (05:40–07:45)

Corey highlights key competencies for marketing leaders today:

• Data & Operations Savvy: Deep understanding of data, technology, and marketing workflows.
• People-Centric Team Building: Bridging teams across marketing, sales, product, and IT. Collaboration is as essential as technology.
• Positioning & Storytelling: Mastery of value-based messaging and brand storytelling, critical for differentiation in a crowded marketplace.

Quote:

“We can't lose sight of the people or the how. One of the things I probably love the most about my role is bridging teams and helping build strong teams.” — Tara Corey (06:46)

4. The Impact of AI & Automation (08:46–10:04)

• Corey explains the challenge and cost of sprawling MarTech stacks and the importance of integrating intent data for ABM (Account-Based Marketing) at scale.
• Optimizely’s own AI tools enable precise content creation and delivery, overcoming traditional scalability barriers.

Quote:

“With Opal and our AI capabilities now, [we can] actually have the capacity across teams... to actually do ABM at scale by creating the right content and getting it into the right distribution channels at the right time.” — Tara Corey (09:36)

5. The Limits of AI—Creativity Still Rules (10:48–12:09)

• Over-reliance on AI risks “mediocre marketing”—the human creative element is irreplaceable.
• Organizations that successfully blend creative risk-taking with AI-driven efficiency will stand out.

Quote:

“The overreliance on AI can lead to mediocre marketing... We will have an even stronger appreciation for great artistry and creativity. Teams that can bridge creativity and leverage the tools... are going to succeed.” — Tara Corey (11:03)

6. Using Optimizely for Optimizely—The “Customer Zero” Approach (12:19–12:40)

• The internal marketing team acts as early adopters (“customer zero”), closely experiencing what their own customers do, ensuring authentic product development.

7. Ensuring Authentic, Measurable Customer Experiences (14:12–15:16)

• Data-driven continuous measurement is routine, using attribution tools (CaliberMind).
• Corey uses direct feedback mechanisms, like customer focus groups and “mystery shopping,” to experience the brand firsthand and identify improvement areas.

Quote:

“I ask friends to do some mystery shopping for me... I want, from a customer's perspective, to see how they're experiencing us. You learn so much from that.” — Tara Corey (14:44)

8. Breaking Down Silos for Personalization: The ‘MOB’ Model (15:55–18:05)

• Optimizely restructured integrated marketing teams around key personas, creating “Marketing Operating Boards” (“MOBs”)—cross-functional squads oriented by target persona.
• Teams are composed of leaders from product marketing, campaign, content, sales alignment, and others, breaking down silos for end-to-end personalized experiences.

Quote:

“We came up with a name and a framework, and it's stuck—we call it the Marketing Operating Board. There are four of them by our key Personas, and they're ‘MOBs.’” — Tara Corey (16:32)

9. Embedding AI Agents into Marketing Workflows (18:41–19:35)

• The MOB structure will soon include AI “agents” for competitive intelligence, geo/SEO, and more—integrating cutting-edge tools into real team processes.

10. B2B Buyers & The Need for MarTech Simplification (20:00–21:07)

• Buyers are frustrated by overgrown tech stacks and fragmented vendor relationships.
• Tara sees consolidation and simplification as the next phase, and positions Optimizely as a unified platform meeting those needs.

11. Conference Highlights and The Human Element in AI Change Management (21:17–21:57)

• Corey’s mainstage talk emphasized AI change management and the human side of transformation.
• Connecting with customers directly and seeing the MOB framework in action were conference highlights.

12. Building Agility: Skip-Levels & Team Empowerment (22:08–23:35)

• Corey attributes agility to understanding and removing team obstacles, not just personal adaptability.
• She highlights a recent example of her team’s rapid response to news with a campaign delivered within 24 hours, showcasing both technology and teamwork.

Quote:

“It's not so much about me being agile in the role as it is the team... How can I help them remove barriers so that they can be agile?” — Tara Corey (22:08)

“The team was able to turn around a campaign within 24 hours. To me, there's nothing like... all things coming together.” (23:15)

Notable Quotes & Moments

• Brand vs. Demand:

  “We've sort of over-tilted on demand and haven't invested enough in brand. I don't think we're alone … we've forgotten how important it is to be top of mind before a project initiates.” — Tara Corey (04:15)

• On Creativity & AI:

  “Nobody wants mild or mediocre marketing… I have a team that indexes high on the creativity side and we have leaders willing to take risks.” — Tara Corey (11:00–11:15)

• On Persona-Driven Collaboration:

  “At the end of the day, it's still people buying software… We've flipped it, and we have a framework called the Marketing Operating Board—MOBs—by key personas.” — Tara Corey (16:18–16:32)

• On Customer Feedback:

  “We’ve done focus groups... I ask friends to do some mystery shopping. I want firsthand feedback as a customer.” (14:35–14:54)

Timestamps for Important Segments

• 02:25 – Tara Corey’s marketing journey and background
• 04:11 – Brand vs. demand in modern marketing
• 05:40 – Essential skills for today’s marketing leader
• 08:46 – AI/MarTech innovation and ABM at scale
• 10:48 – The creative edge: Avoiding “mediocre marketing” with AI
• 12:19 – Optimizely as “customer zero”
• 14:12 – Measuring authentic customer engagement
• 15:55 – Breaking down silos with the ‘MOB’ persona framework
• 18:41 – Integrating AI agents into teams
• 20:00 – The consolidation of the MarTech stack
• 21:17 – Conference highlights and AI change management
• 22:08 – Building organizational agility

Tone and Style

Throughout the conversation, both host and guest maintain an energetic, pragmatic, and candid tone, combining optimism about AI and technology with a strong emphasis on creativity, collaboration, and real customer value.

Summary

This episode is a must-listen for B2B marketing leaders and practitioners seeking actionable insights on balancing technology and human creativity, breaking down silos for deep personalization, and remaining agile amidst rapid change. Tara Corey brings a practical, data-driven yet people-first approach to leadership—reminding listeners that truly effective marketing is as much about teams, culture, and human touch as it is about cutting-edge tools.