Podcast Summary: The Agile Brand with Greg Kihlström®

Episode #796: Shutterstock's Allison Sitzman on how to counter the marketing impact gap
Date: January 9, 2026
Guest: Allison Sitzman, Vice President of Brand Strategy at Shutterstock
Host: Greg Kihlström

Episode Overview

In this episode, Greg Kihlström sits down with Allison Sitzman from Shutterstock to unpack trends and challenges in today’s marketing landscape, especially focusing on Shutterstock’s recent “Creative Impact Report.” Together, they examine the “impact gap”—the widening chasm between soaring marketing spend and dwindling marketing impact. The conversation spans fundamental shifts in consumer behavior, the critical role of authentic creative, emotional resonance, the promise and pitfalls of AI, measurement of creative impact, and sector lessons—all framed by Allison’s frontline perspective at Shutterstock.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. The Impact Gap: Marketing Spend vs. Marketing Effectiveness

• Shutterstock’s Report Headline Finding: From 2023-2024, media spend increased by 33%, but purchase intent rose only 17%. By 2025, this “impact gap” has widened to 20%.
  • Quote:
    • “Spend is outpacing purchase intent and the gap in problem is getting wider.” — Allison Sitzman (03:21)
• Drivers of the gap:
  • Oversaturation and content noise.
  • AI-generated, generic content adding to “the noise.”
  • Unprecedented consumer skepticism; authenticity is at a premium.
  • Brands failing to deeply understand and connect with their audiences.
  • Shift toward low-funnel, performance media at the expense of broad brand building.
    • “We’ve never lived in a noisier time. There’s fragmentation of consumer attention.” — Allison Sitzman (03:55)

2. The Challenge of Cultural Relevance & Risk Management

• Paradox: While cultural relevance is key, 66% of brands have faced cultural backlash/boycotts.
• Balancing Act for Leaders:
  • Brands must use “cultural intelligence” to focus on what their specific audience cares about—knowing when to take a stance and when not to.
  • Authenticity matters more than trend-chasing or performative gestures.
  • Nearly half of brands report struggling to even diagnose why backlash occurred.
  • Quote:
    • “There’s not necessarily an obligation for brands in all cases to take a stance against a culturally relevant moment... It’s pairing: who is my brand, and what do my audiences care about?” — Allison Sitzman (06:52, condensed)

3. Emotional Resonance: Creativity That Connects

• Emotion in Creative: Data shows that emotions like pride and belonging drive believability; anger fuels virality.
• Risk vs. Reward:
  • Marketers may shy away from evoking strong emotions for fear of backlash, but emotional connection is fundamental for brand loyalty.
• Practical Application:
  • Brands should translate core human needs—pride, belonging—into their campaigns, ensuring the message is tailored to their audience and the cultural moment.
  • It’s not just about campaigns, but the whole brand experience.
  • Quote:
    • “When someone feels something for your brand, that’s what promotes deep loyalty... Those are fundamental human needs.” — Allison Sitzman (09:52)

4. AI: Beyond Efficiency—Toward Bolder Creative

• AI’s Creative Potential:
  • 59% of creatives in Shutterstock’s survey see AI’s value in making choices bolder, not just more efficient.
  • AI can offer real-time “gut checks” on emotional resonance by simulating target personas’ responses.
  • Still, human insight and iteration remain essential.
  • Quote:
    • “There’s an insight behind the insight: creatives hope AI will help make their work bolder—and that these bolder ideas will be approved and go out the door.” — Allison Sitzman (12:01)
  • Use case: AI helps test and refine creative concepts by forecasting how different audiences might respond—helping marketers tailor boldness and emotional tone.

5. Measurement: Quantifying Creative Impact

• Introducing the Creative Impact Score:
  • Shutterstock developed a metric to link creativity with business outcomes—specifically, purchase intent and revenue.
  • For marketers defending budgets, Allison suggests translating creative quality into business value: demand, purchase intent, lower acquisition cost, and increased retention (lifetime value).
  • Also highlights cost avoidance—effective creative reduces waste and risk.
  • Quote:
    • “CFOs and CMOs—we’re not on different teams, we just speak different languages... Creative is a strategic growth lever.” — Allison Sitzman (15:53)

6. Sector Insights & Best Practices

• Surprising Data:
  • Consumer sector scored lowest in creative impact (down 24%); aerospace and energy are highest (plus 45%).
• Potential Reasons:
  • B2B sectors (like aerospace/energy) have less clutter and larger, more considered purchases.
  • CPG/retail is highly competitive and often “emotion-forward.”
• Universal Principles:
  • Emotional resonance, cultural intelligence, and authenticity are relevant across all sectors.
  • Quote:
    • “Tenets around emotional resonance... and showing up authentically transcend industries.” — Allison Sitzman (20:21)

7. Looking Ahead: Major Events and the Case for “Less is More”

• 2026 Preview: Olympics, World Cup, political cycles—a marketing “gauntlet.”
• Advice for Brands:
  • Instead of trying to outspend bigger competitors, focus on two to three highly impactful, emotionally resonant messages.
  • “Less is more”—quality and focus matter in a noisy environment.
  • Find channels, creative, or tactics where your brand can “zig where others are zagging.”
  • Quote:
    • “Focusing on two to three high-impact, emotionally resonant messages was more performant than volume or mass at scale.” — Allison Sitzman (21:50)

8. Immersive Formats: AR and Believability

• Finding:
  • Augmented reality (AR) can boost believability by 61%, but adoption is still niche.
• Outlook:
  • Immersive technologies will grow, but should be deployed for authentic engagement—not just for the sake of it.
  • Quote:
    • “Never a format for format’s sake... AR and VR have a lot of potential as we continue to see growth in adoption.” — Allison Sitzman (24:09)

9. The Human Edge: The Future of Marketing in an AI World

• Prediction:
  • The “impact gap” may get worse before it gets better; the best marketing will pair human creativity and cultural intelligence with AI tools.
  • Agile, emotionally resonant, and culturally aware marketing—guided by humans, executed at scale with AI.
  • Quote:
    • “Pairing the two together—human creativity and AI—will produce marketing that is smart, agile, emotionally resonant and culturally aware.” — Allison Sitzman (26:35)

10. Personal Philosophy: Staying Agile

• Advice from Allison:
  • Stay curious, listen, experiment, be willing to fail/iterate, trust your creative team.
  • Quote:
    • “For me, staying agile means staying curious... really listening to customers... being iterative and trusting your creative team.” — Allison Sitzman (27:09)

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On the marketing impact gap:

  • “If I ask any marketer: does it feel like you’re spending more and constantly getting less? Everyone would say yes.” — Allison Sitzman (03:24)

• On risk and creative boldness:

  • “Oftentimes there’s risk aversion... and creative approaches that started a little bolder get watered down along the way.” — Allison Sitzman (12:23)

• On the lessons for brands in a noisy world:

  • “Less can be more when done right.” — Allison Sitzman (21:26)

Timeline of Key Segments

• 00:51 — Introduction of the impact gap concept
• 03:21 — Fundamental shifts causing spend-impact disconnect
• 06:26 — Balancing cultural relevance with risk
• 09:09 — Emotion as a driver of believability and loyalty
• 11:58 — AI’s role in making creative bolder
• 15:07 — Measurement: Justifying creativity to the CFO
• 18:19 — Cross-sector creative impact & industry comparison
• 21:13 — 2026 marketing gauntlet and “less is more”
• 24:07 — AR, VR, and immersive formats
• 25:38 — The future: Human + AI in closing the impact gap
• 27:02 — Allison’s approach to staying agile

Conclusion

This episode highlights a paradox confronting today’s marketing leaders: growing budgets no longer guarantee impact, and simply increasing spend only widens the gap. Brands must double down on emotional connection, cultural intelligence, and authentic creative, all while leveraging AI as a co-pilot to break through the noise—not just to scale efficiently, but to be bolder and more resonant. Measuring creative impact and translating it into business language will be key for marketers to prove—and improve—the value of their work in the years ahead.

For more: Check out the full episode and the Creative Impact Report by Shutterstock, and follow Allison Sitzman and Greg Kihlström for ongoing insights on martech, AI, and customer experience.