Podcast Summary: The Agile Brand with Greg Kihlström®

Episode #769: Zoom CMO Kim Storin on Why Growth Problems Are Often Brand Problems
Date: November 17, 2025

Episode Overview

This episode dives into the critical (but often misunderstood) relationship between brand strength and business growth. Host Greg Kihlström welcomes Kimberly Storin, CMO of Zoom, to discuss why many perceived "growth problems" are, at their core, issues of brand strategy and perception. The conversation moves from the challenge of justifying brand investment to the evolving definition of brand, and how AI is being harnessed in marketing operations. Storin also shares how Zoom faces the double-edged sword of near-universal name recognition, and where the brand goes next.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Brand vs. Growth: The Foundational Link

• Brand as a Growth Lever
  • A weak or undefined brand often manifests as pipeline or performance marketing issues.
  • “Brands are our most valuable asset. They are the biggest driver of growth across the board. Your product can be mediocre ... but because of the loyalty to your brand, you can continue to grow your revenue.”
    —Kimberly Storin (02:48)
  • For emerging companies lacking Zoom’s awareness, cultivating brand is essential to drive both acquisition and retention, impacting long-term ARR (Annual Recurring Revenue).

2. The Brand Investment Dilemma—Making the Case to Leadership

• Marketing as a Revenue Driver, Not a Cost Center
  • The challenge is reframing brand investment as a core driver of future margin and market share, not a “nice to have.”
  • Demonstrate to CFOs/CEOs how brand impacts future pipeline, pricing power, and loyalty.
  • “Partnering with your CFO ... is probably the number one priority in terms of shifting that mindset … that is how you can drive the understanding across the organization.”
    —Kimberly Storin (04:45)
  • Sales teams usually ‘get it’—they rely on marketing-generated air cover for pipeline.

3. Defining Brand Beyond the Logo

• Brand = Perception + Distinctiveness + Activation
  • Brand is the holistic perception of your organization—product, company, executives, and more.
  • While logos and signature visuals create market distinctiveness, true brand impact comes from activation: sponsorships, partnerships, PR, and how/where you show up in the market.
  • “The most important thing your brand can do is drive distinctiveness ... It's not about differentiation, but distinctiveness is critical.”
    —Kimberly Storin (07:44)

4. Zoom’s Unique Brand Challenge: From Ubiquity to Misunderstanding

• Brand Ubiquity as a Double-Edged Sword
  • Zoom is a household name, but is seen almost exclusively as a meetings platform, which limits broader adoption of its portfolio (CX, webinars, employee engagement, AI, etc.).
  • “Our brand has become in some ways a double-edged sword because we have to pivot the market’s understanding from Zoom as a meetings platform into this breadth and depth as an AI-first collaboration or work platform.”
    —Kimberly Storin (12:23)
  • Communicating this expanded value is a major, ongoing challenge.

5. Growing Brand Awareness: The Strategy

• Shifting Market Perception Takes ‘Blocking and Tackling’
  • Meet audiences where they are now, not where they were. Prioritize reach and new discovery channels (including those influencing AI-driven search and social).
  • Equip all executives and advocates to tell “the expanded brand story,” reinforcing new capabilities at every touchpoint.
  • Encourage customer and partner advocacy; focus on being present wherever work and collaboration are discussed.
  • “There is no true funnel anymore, which means reach becomes even more important, advocacy becomes even more important.”
    —Kimberly Storin (15:40)

6. Brand Building and Performance Marketing: Not an Either/Or

• Demand Gen Depends on Brand

  • Effective demand gen requires both top-of-funnel brand investment and bottom-of-funnel product marketing—one without the other won’t move the needle.
  • “Who wants to give you their contact information for a crappy piece of content anymore?”
    —Kimberly Storin (18:06)
  • Performance marketing should serve the full customer journey, not exist in a silo.

• Measurement Philosophy

  • The focus shifts from vanity metrics (like MQLs) to holistic metrics: Net ARR, which encompasses both acquisition and retention.
  • “The MQL death cycle has finally run its course … It's about that full net arrangement, you know, beginning to end of that engagement with the customer.”
    —Kimberly Storin (20:01)

7. Using AI in Marketing: Zoom’s Experience

• AI as Workflow Augmentation, Not Siloed Tool
  • Embedding AI in daily marketing work—campaign strategy, content creation, localization, asset repurposing, measurement, etc.—yields greater productivity and strategy.
  • “AI doesn’t care if you sit in content or demand gen, AI cares about the workflow ... That’s how we're starting to shift that mentality across the marketing organization.”
    —Kimberly Storin (21:02)
  • The goal is seamless integration and augmentation, not ‘plopping AI’ in arbitrarily.

8. The Future: AI, Safety, and Trust

• Ongoing Conversations
  • Storin predicts that discussions around AI safety, trust, ethical use, and authenticity will remain top-of-mind a year from now.
  • “If we do, as we level the playing field because of AI, it means that marketers need to be more creative. They need to be focused on community and authenticity and engagement.”
    —Kimberly Storin (24:24)

9. Staying Agile and Curious

• Tools for Constant Renewal
  • Storin keeps a “Curiosity Journal” to document observations and broaden her input sources, fueling both agility and fresh thinking.
  • “Curiosity fuels agility … I keep a curiosity journal. I write down the weirdest things ... it’s enabling me to learn about what’s next or think about something in a different way.”
    —Kimberly Storin (25:27)

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On Brand’s Power:
  “Your product can be mediocre, your product can be non differentiated, but because of the loyalty to your brand, you can continue to grow your revenue.”
  —Kimberly Storin (02:48)

• On the Brand/Performance Divide:
  “If we think about performance marketing by itself and in service of just itself, we will be throwing money at a problem but not solving it.”
  —Kimberly Storin (18:37)

• On Measurement:
  “The MQL death cycle has finally run its course... It's not about an MQL, it's about an account buying group.”
  —Kimberly Storin (20:01)

• On AI’s Role in Marketing:
  “AI doesn’t care if you sit in content or demand gen, AI cares about the workflow.”
  —Kimberly Storin (21:02)

• On Future-Proofing the Brand:
  “We have to pivot the market’s understanding from this ubiquity of Zoom as a meetings platform into this breadth and depth of Zoom as an AI-first collaboration or work platform.”
  —Kimberly Storin (12:23)

• On Agility:
  "Curiosity fuels agility … I keep a curiosity journal."
  —Kimberly Storin (25:27)

Important Segment Timestamps

• Brand as Growth’s Primary Lever: 02:48
• Making the Case for Brand in the C-Suite: 04:45
• Expanding the Definition of Brand: 07:44
• Zoom’s Unique Brand Challenge: 12:23
• Growing Brand Awareness Tactically: 15:40
• Brand vs. Performance Marketing: 18:06
• Marketing Metrics & Measurement: 20:01
• AI Integration in Marketing Operations: 21:02
• The Continuing Challenge of AI Ethics: 24:24
• Agility and Curiosity: 25:27

Summary in the Show's Tone

Greg and Kim tackle hard truths with candor, challenging brands to look beneath the surface for the real root of growth issues. With practical advice and reflective insight, Storin brings real-world leadership experience, reminding listeners that “staying agile” isn’t just about speed or tactics—it’s about cultivating a brand so distinctive, it’s the engine for growth even in uncertain times.

For more on Kim Storin and Zoom, check the show notes. To keep learning about the evolving dynamics between brand, technology, and CX, be sure to subscribe to The Agile Brand.