In Episode 99 of the Digital Velocity Podcast, Erik Martinez sits down with Chris Seminatore, founder of GetGeofencing.com, to unpack how location-based targeting can help brands stop wasting budget and start reaching the people most likely to buy. As Chris puts it, "Location is the strongest indicator of buying intent."

For direct-to-consumer teams without a retail footprint, the key shift is thinking about location as a signal—not a storefront. Instead of geofencing "your" locations, you can target the places where your best customers already reveal intent: brick and mortar competitor locations, industry events and trade shows, and life-style locations that align with your customer's persona.

In this conversation, you'll learn:

· How geofencing works in plain English—and why it's best used to narrow your audience to the moments that matter most.

· Practical ways DTC brands can apply the same playbook across industries, even without physical stores of their own.

· Why "addressable geofencing" can be a powerful CRM companion: layer location targeting onto a direct mail or customer list to reinforce messaging across channels.

· How to use events and trade shows as a DTC growth lever by capturing attendees and continuing to reach them after they leave.

· What to watch for in programmatic so your spend doesn't disappear into low-value placements (and how Chris approaches blocking common sources of waste).

If you're a DTC marketer, brand leader, or agency strategist looking for smarter signals to find more customers, this episode offers a clear, practical framework for using location to reduce waste, increase relevance, and improve performance.

In Episode 98 of the Digital Velocity Podcast, Erik Martinez sits down with Jen Neumann, CEO and owner of deNovo Marketing, to break down the findings from the 2025 AI Consumer Survey—a study her team launched to understand how real people feel about AI showing up in ads, emails, and digital content. The results reveal a mix of curiosity, confusion, and contradiction that every brand—especially DTC brands—should pay attention to.

One of the biggest surprises? Marketers think they're great at spotting AI, but the survey shows they actually scored lower than non-marketers.

With AI-generated images looking more polished and more realistic than ever, many consumers now assume most content is AI—even when it's not. And in a moment where trust is already running low, that assumption can change how people interpret and react to a brand's message.

Listeners will learn:
• Why consumers say AI matters to their decisions—but don't always act that way
• How AI-generated content can unintentionally "make a brand look cheap"
• Why authenticity and a less-polished aesthetic are gaining importance
• The difference between impulse buys, necessities, and higher-stakes "considered purchases"
• What Agentic Shopping could mean for brand awareness and attribution

Jen shares why brands need clear boundaries around AI use, starting with an internal policy that aligns with who they are and how they want to show up in the market. Whether your brand is mass-market or premium, digital-first or experiential, the real takeaway is simple: consumers are paying attention, and AI can help—or hurt—depending on how thoughtfully it's used.

For brand leaders and marketers across industries, this episode offers a grounded look at what's shifting in consumer perception and how to stay authentic, trustworthy, and strategic as AI becomes a bigger part of the customer journey.

In Episode 97 of the Digital Velocity Podcast, Erik Martinez welcomes back Carla Johnson, globally recognized innovation architect, keynote speaker, and author of Rethink Innovation. Together, they explore how artificial intelligence is reshaping creativity, collaboration, and business innovation — and why human curiosity remains the ultimate competitive advantage.

Carla introduces her framework, the "Curiosity Compass," which helps leaders and teams shift from using AI solely for efficiency to harnessing it as a catalyst for imagination and strategic thinking. As she explains, "If innovation and creative thinking is all about connecting the dots, AI gives us the opportunity to collect an exponentially larger pool of dots to help us prompt that process." By distinguishing between the Efficiency Zone (tactical and logistical use) and the Imagination Zone (strategic and exploratory thinking), she reveals how AI can spark deeper creative inquiry rather than replace it.

The conversation explores how AI is reshaping the innovation process by helping people think more broadly, test ideas more confidently. Rather than relying on AI only for efficiency, Carla explains that the real opportunity lies in using it within the "imagination zone," where more strategic and exploratory questions unlock deeper insights.

Listeners will learn:
• How to use AI to move beyond tactical efficiency into strategic innovation
• Why creativity and curiosity are essential to human-AI collaboration
• How to apply the Curiosity Compass to everyday business challenges
• Why the next wave of AI will accelerate prototyping, entrepreneurship, and creative thinking across all industries

For business leaders, sales & marketing professionals, and operational teams, this episode offers a roadmap for building curiosity-driven cultures that leverage AI to expand — not limit — imagination. As Carla reminds us, "It's not that AI that will replace your job, but somebody who knows AI absolutely will." Whether you're leading a marketing team, launching new products, or designing smarter systems, this episode is a must-listen for anyone eager to redefine what innovation means in the AI era.