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How DICK’S Sporting Goods Built Its Varsity Influencer Team—And What Marketers Can Learn from It

How DICK’S Sporting Goods Built Its Varsity Influencer Team—And What Marketers Can Learn from It

by | Oct 25, 2025 | Events & Programming, Partnerships

In today’s creator economy, brands aren’t just buying influence—they’re building it from the inside out. That message came through loud and clear during The Platform Mini Series, a collaboration between AMA Pittsburgh and our partners at The Cohort, which brought together top marketing minds and content creators for unfiltered, practical conversations on what actually works in the creator space.

The Cohort Mini Series

These bite-sized sessions aren’t just appetizers for this year’s main event—they’re our regularly scheduled reminder that you’re not alone, and that there’s an exciting path between where you are and where you want to be. Listen to your favorite creators, brands, and thought leaders have the conversations that actually matter. Think: pay equity, brand relationships, creating content, pricing and negotiation, building a business, setting boundaries, and more.

The Cohort and AMA Pittsburgh share a mission: to elevate real conversations about marketing, creativity, and growth—not the highlight reels, but the stories behind the work.

Watch the Webinar

From Employees to Ambassadors: The Varsity Team Origin Story

When Nicole Marcus, Influencer Marketing Lead at DICK’S, first helped launch the Varsity Team, it wasn’t meant to be a public program. “It started as an employee-only initiative,” she explained. “We wanted to give our store associates and staff a way to share their real experiences with our products.”

That experiment quickly gained momentum. Over two years, participation and engagement metrics convinced leadership that the concept could scale far beyond corporate walls. By 2025, the Varsity Team had opened applications to the public, inviting anyone who makes sport great—coaches, parents, athletes, and fans—to join. The response? More than 4,300 applications for just 50 slots.

The result is a content engine that feels less like advertising and more like a community. Members of the Varsity Team create lifestyle content that merges their expertise with DICK’S product knowledge. They’re not reading from a script; they’re showing how the brand fits naturally into their lives.

“As marketers, we often look to the biggest campaigns for inspiration,” said Katerina Konovalova, Event Communications Manager for AMA Pittsburgh and panel moderator. “But what made the Varsity Team story so compelling was how intentional, human, and scalable it is.”

The Creator’s View: Treating Influence Like a Business

Joining Marcus on the panel was Dana Balden, a longtime lifestyle influencer, coach, and mother of two. Her story reflected how preparation meets opportunity in the creator world.

“I literally put DICK’S on my vision board,” she laughed. “When I saw the Varsity Team application come up on my feed, I knew it was meant for me.”

For Balden, success as a creator comes from structure and intention. She’s been a full-time influencer for eight years and attributes her longevity to treating her platform like a business. “DICK’S is a business that moves millions of dollars,” she said. “So I approach my partnerships with that same level of seriousness. I study the brief, align it with my audience, and create something that meets both of our goals.”

“That balance between freedom and structure came up again and again,” Katerina reflected. “When brands trust their creators—and creators respect the process—you get content that performs because it’s real.”

Behind the Scenes: How the Brand Manages Collaboration

From the corporate side, DICK’S Sporting Goods has built a streamlined but collaborative influencer workflow. Campaign briefs are followed by brand-side reviews for business goals, compliance, and legal accuracy—while leaving creativity in the creators’ hands.

The team also tracks qualitative metrics alongside traditional engagement numbers. “We care about what people are saying,” Marcus noted. “If our vendors, employees, and communities are talking about the content with excitement, that’s a win.”

That focus on sentiment and authenticity is what distinguishes the Varsity Team from traditional sponsorship models. The influencers aren’t just spokespeople—they’re active participants in the brand story.

Lessons for Marketers and Creators

  • Empower, don’t dictate. Trust your creators’ instincts and audiences.

  • Start from within. Internal advocates can be your most credible storytellers.

  • Fit beats fame. Micro and nano influencers deliver engagement and trust that celebrity campaigns rarely achieve.

  • Protect the process. Every exchange—paid or gifted—should include a clear contract and disclosure plan.

  • Community compounds. When creators feel invested, they stay—and they help the brand grow.

“Partnerships thrive when brands pick creators they truly believe in—then step back and let them shine,” Katerina said. “The best marketers curate talent rather than control it.”

Looking Ahead: Where the Creator Economy Is Going

Marcus pointed to LinkedIn as an emerging space for authentic creator storytelling. “It feels like what TikTok was in 2020—early adopters are getting incredible organic reach,” she said. She also sees a rising crossover between social creators and entertainment media, where influencers are shaping new formats in sports, lifestyle, and TV.

Balden added that community is still the foundation. “On the Varsity Team, all 50 of us are in a group chat,” she said. “We share ideas, wins, and feedback. That kind of support keeps us—and the brand—strong.”

Yinzfluence: How VisitPITTSBURGH Builds Authentic Partnerships with Creators

Yinzfluence: How VisitPITTSBURGH Builds Authentic Partnerships with Creators

by | Sep 15, 2025 | Events & Programming, Professional Development

AMA Pittsburgh’s Lunch & Learn is a monthly webinar series bringing together marketers, business leaders, and creative minds from across the Pittsburgh region. We invite industry-leading marketers to share their insights and experiences and present real-world strategies, giving attendees the opportunity to learn from experts, exchange perspectives, and build valuable professional relationships.

 

 

Bringing the city’s stories to life through local voices

Influencer marketing has matured. It’s no longer about one-off campaigns or chasing quick likes. It’s about connecting with audiences through trusted voices and making sure those collaborations serve a brand’s larger goals. That was the focus of AMA Pittsburgh’s recent webinar, Yinzfluence, featuring Courtney Kuzemchak, Senior Social Media Manager at VisitPITTSBURGH.

Courtney guided attendees through how her team partners with creators to showcase Pittsburgh’s neighborhoods, food, and culture in authentic ways. She shared the organization’s approach to strategy, creator selection, measurement, and maintaining the distinctive “yinzer” voice that sets Pittsburgh apart. Throughout, she also answered questions from marketers on budgets, micro vs. macro influencers, and managing partnerships—turning the session into both a case study and a practical playbook.

Why Influencers Matter for Place-Based Marketing

VisitPITTSBURGH’s brand is Pittsburgh itself. Promoting a city requires more than polished advertising; it requires lived-in perspectives. Creators act as storytellers who give potential visitors a glimpse into the real Pittsburgh.

Courtney explained that her team looks for creators who can authentically bring the city to life. The measure of success is not whether someone can recite tourism talking points but whether they can share experiences that ring true to their own followers. That might be as simple as a neighborhood walk-through, a behind-the-scenes look at a local festival, or a meal at a beloved restaurant.

She reminded marketers not to discount small creators. “Sometimes a creator with 5,000 followers gets more meaningful interaction than someone with 100,000,” Courtney said. Audience size matters far less than the trust a creator has built with their community.

Building a Strategy That Fits Your Brand

Influencer work cannot exist in a vacuum. Courtney stressed that campaigns must connect to an organization’s broader goals. For VisitPITTSBURGH, that often means raising awareness about specific neighborhoods, drawing attention to seasonal events, or encouraging tourism during slower months.

The team begins by clarifying campaign objectives, then selects influencers whose audiences and styles align with those goals. This is where the question of micro versus macro influencers often comes up. Larger creators can expand the city’s visibility beyond the region, while smaller, community-based voices may resonate more deeply with locals and repeat visitors.

Courtney added that planning includes thinking through budgets and deliverables. She reminded attendees that influencer campaigns don’t have to be prohibitively expensive. Some partnerships involve paid contracts, while others are based on organic exchanges of experiences or event access. Blending these approaches allows VisitPITTSBURGH to stretch resources while keeping the content authentic.

Vetting the Right Creators

One of the most common questions from marketers is: how do you choose the right influencers when so many options exist? Courtney’s answer was clear—don’t be swayed by follower counts alone. “We look closely at engagement rate and how people interact with them,” she explained.

That interaction is a signal of trust. If audiences are leaving thoughtful comments and the creator is responding in kind, the relationship feels real. If the feed is filled with endless sponsored posts, the connection is weaker and the content risks blending into noise.

Courtney also described the importance of long-term relationship building. “We stay in touch with our influencers year-round, even when we’re not running a campaign. That way when we do ask, it’s a true partnership,” she said. By maintaining contact outside of active campaigns, the VisitPITTSBURGH team ensures that when creators share content, it feels natural rather than transactional.

Defining Success Beyond Likes

In many organizations, influencer work is still judged by surface metrics. Courtney cautioned against this mindset. “Likes and shares are nice, but they don’t tell us if someone actually visited or booked a trip,” she explained.

VisitPITTSBURGH measures outcomes that matter to its mission—hotel bookings, attendance at cultural events, and website visits tied to tourism planning. To do this, the team uses trackable links and codes, connecting specific influencer content back to measurable results.

Just as importantly, they track results in real time. “We check performance mid-campaign so we can adjust if something’s not working,” Courtney said. This agility allows them to double down on what resonates and shift strategies before a campaign ends.

Keeping the ‘Yinzer’ Voice

Perhaps the most distinctive part of VisitPITTSBURGH’s approach is its commitment to local authenticity. “We always want the yinzer voice to come through,” Courtney emphasized. “That’s what makes Pittsburgh different. It’s not polished. It’s real.”

This philosophy shapes every partnership. Rather than forcing creators into rigid scripts, the team encourages them to show Pittsburgh through their own lens. That might mean embracing the quirks of Pittsburghese, highlighting community pride in a neighborhood parade, or sharing an unscripted moment that captures the city’s character.

By leaning into what makes the city unique, campaigns resonate with both residents and visitors. Locals see their culture represented with pride, and outsiders glimpse a side of Pittsburgh they might not encounter through traditional ads.

 

What Marketers Can Take Away

Courtney’s insights, combined with the audience’s questions, form a roadmap that marketers in any industry can follow when developing influencer strategies. Here are six steps to guide your approach:

  1. Clarify your goals first. Before reaching out to influencers, define what you want the campaign to achieve. Are you driving awareness, event attendance, or direct sales? Objectives should shape every decision that follows.

  2. Choose alignment over audience size. Look for creators whose values and voice align with your brand’s. A smaller influencer with genuine credibility may drive more meaningful action than a larger name who lacks relevance.

  3. Evaluate engagement, not just numbers. Review how influencers interact with their followers. Healthy two-way conversations signal trust. Avoid feeds that are dominated by repetitive sponsored posts.

  4. Treat creators as long-term partners. Build relationships beyond individual campaigns. Staying in touch year-round creates stronger partnerships and makes collaborations smoother.

  5. Measure real business outcomes. Likes and shares may look good on a report, but conversions, bookings, or sales are what truly matter. Use trackable links, codes, and dashboards to connect content to measurable results.

  6. Lean into authenticity. Encourage influencers to highlight what makes your brand or community unique. For VisitPITTSBURGH, that means celebrating the yinzer voice. For your brand, it might mean embracing culture, quirks, or customer stories that only you can tell.

 

Moving Forward

Influencer marketing is evolving into a more strategic and measurable discipline. As Courtney made clear, the brands that will thrive are those that think beyond vanity metrics and focus on authentic partnerships.

For VisitPITTSBURGH, this means working with creators who reflect the city’s neighborhoods, culture, and people in ways that feel real. By doing so, they ensure that every campaign carries the distinctive yinzer spirit—and they demonstrate a model that marketers across industries can adapt.

Mapping Your Marketing Career Journey with Pete Schramm

Mapping Your Marketing Career Journey with Pete Schramm

by | Aug 30, 2025 | Events & Programming, Partnerships, Professional Development

AMA Pittsburgh’s Coffee Connections is a monthly roundtable discussion designed to bring together marketers, business leaders, and creative minds from across the Pittsburgh region. This casual yet insightful gathering is where big ideas meet real-world strategies, giving attendees the opportunity to learn from experts, exchange perspectives, and build valuable professional relationships.

 

Each Coffee Connections session focuses on a timely and relevant marketing topic, featuring industry leaders, guest speakers, and thought-provoking discussions. Whether you’re a CMO shaping strategy, a startup founder looking to grow, or a marketing professional eager to stay ahead of industry trends, Coffee Connections is your chance to gain actionable insights and network with the region’s top marketers.

 

Your career isn’t a straight line—it’s a map you create as you grow. That was the central message from Pete Schramm, Founder & CEO of Lattitude, who led August’s AMA Pittsburgh Coffee Connections. In an energetic and personal session, Pete shared how marketers can market themselves with the same intentionality they bring to their organizations.

“Life is what you make of it—why not make it amazing for yourself and those around you by inspiring potential and igniting the fire inside others?” Pete told the group.

His framework for building a Personal Board of Advisors resonated strongly with attendees. Much like a brand depends on diverse input to succeed, individuals thrive when they surround themselves with the right people.

The 10 People You Need on Your Personal Board of Advisors

Pete emphasized that every professional should create a personal board, a network of trusted people who provide guidance, feedback, and accountability. Just as companies rely on boards of directors to navigate strategy, your board helps you chart your career map.

“You wouldn’t run a company without advisors,” Pete explained. “Why would you try to run your life and career without them?”

The ten roles Pete outlined include:

  1. Mentor – Someone who has walked your path and can provide lessons learned.
  2. Sponsor – An advocate who opens doors and speaks your name in the right rooms.
  3. Peer Coach – A colleague who understands your challenges and helps you problem-solve.
  4. Challenger – The person who pushes you out of your comfort zone.
  5. Visionary – Someone who helps you dream bigger.
  6. Connector – The networker who introduces you to new people and opportunities.
  7. Listener – The trusted confidant who gives you space to process.
  8. Accountability Partner – The one who keeps you on track with your goals.
  9. Technical Expert – A specialist who sharpens your skills.
  10. Cheerleader – The encourager who celebrates your wins and keeps you motivated.

For marketers, these roles can be invaluable. A sponsor may introduce you to a CMO opportunity. A technical expert might be the analytics colleague who helps you interpret campaign data. A challenger could be the creative partner who refuses to accept “safe” ideas.

“Having the right ten people around you gives you balance,” Pete said. “It keeps you from relying on just one perspective—and it accelerates your growth.”

How to Build Your Personal Board of Advisors

Pete shared practical steps to intentionally create this network rather than leaving it to chance.

1. Clarify your aspirations.

“First, you have to be clear on what you want,” Pete stressed. “If you can’t communicate your professional aspirations with clarity, no one can help you get there.” For marketers, that may mean defining whether you want to be known for brand strategy, analytics, or leadership.

2. Identify gaps in your current network.

List the ten roles and ask yourself: who do I already have? Who’s missing? If you have several peers but no sponsor or visionary, you’ll know where to focus.

3. Reach out intentionally.

Pete recommended asking for short, focused conversations rather than vague networking. “Say, ‘I admire your path in digital marketing. Could we talk for 20 minutes about how you approached your career decisions?’ That’s specific and respectful.”

4. Diversify your board.

“Don’t just find people who look like you, think like you, or are in your same industry,” Pete reminded attendees. “You need variety—different perspectives sharpen you.” For marketers, this could include advisors from sales, product, or even outside the industry.

5. Maintain the relationship.

Pete advised following up with gratitude, updates, and reciprocity. “It’s not a one-way street. Think about how you can also add value to your advisors.”

LinkedIn as a Career Marketing Tool

Pete also shared tactical ways to use LinkedIn to strengthen your board and tell your story.

“LinkedIn is your personal brand’s billboard,” he said. “If people can’t see who you are, what you stand for, and where you’re going, you’re missing opportunities.”

He encouraged marketers to:

  • Post consistently, sharing lessons and insights from their work.

  • Use the headline to state not just a job title, but a value proposition.

  • Engage with mentors, sponsors, and peers publicly to strengthen connections.

  • Share career aspirations openly—“Don’t just say what you’ve done. Say what you want to do next.”

Pete emphasized that LinkedIn isn’t just about job hunting; it’s about demonstrating expertise and attracting opportunities.

Lessons for Marketers

Throughout the discussion, Pete drew parallels between marketing brands and marketing yourself.

“Marketers are often great at telling the story of their company, but not their own,” he said. “Your personal board helps you see yourself clearly and communicate that story.”

For professionals at any stage—whether charting a new move, strengthening their current role, or building their executive presence—the framework is actionable.

Some key takeaways:

  • Think long-term. Just like a brand strategy, career strategy unfolds over years.

  • Invest in relationships. Your network determines opportunities.

  • Blend aspiration with action. Define your goals, then align mentors and sponsors to help you achieve them.

  • Keep evolving. As your career map changes, so should your board.

 

Why This Matters for Marketing Professionals

In a field where change is constant—AI, data privacy, new platforms—marketers need guidance from multiple vantage points. A personal board gives you that diversity of thought and accountability.

For leaders, it’s also a retention strategy. Encouraging employees to build boards helps them feel supported and reduces the risk of burnout or disengagement.

Pete’s message ultimately challenged attendees to view their careers as a brand campaign. “If you were a product, how would you position yourself? Who are the voices you’d want influencing that positioning?”

About Pete Schramm

Pete Schramm is an entrepreneur, TEDx speaker, and author who thrives on uniting people and leading diverse teams through complex challenges. Raised on a farm in Butler, PA, he built his work ethic early and cultivated a passion for connections. After earning mechanical engineering degrees from Catholic University and excelling at Lockheed Martin, Pete founded Lattitude in 2020 to empower engagement through meaningful conversations. His clients include the Army, Air Force, UPMC, and financial institutions. Certified in Lean Six Sigma, Agile HR, and Project Management, Pete also contributes to boards like HCEF and Sewickley Academy. His mission: to kindle potential and inspire others’ passions.

Turning Ideas into Impact: The Marketing–Innovation Connection

Turning Ideas into Impact: The Marketing–Innovation Connection

by | Aug 1, 2025 | Events & Programming, Partnerships, Professional Development

AMA Pittsburgh’s Coffee Connections is a monthly roundtable discussion designed to bring together marketers, business leaders, and creative minds from across the Pittsburgh region. This casual yet insightful gathering is where big ideas meet real-world strategies, giving attendees the opportunity to learn from experts, exchange perspectives, and build valuable professional relationships.

 

Each Coffee Connections session focuses on a timely and relevant marketing topic, featuring industry leaders, guest speakers, and thought-provoking discussions. Whether you’re a CMO shaping strategy, a startup founder looking to grow, or a marketing professional eager to stay ahead of industry trends, Coffee Connections is your chance to gain actionable insights and network with the region’s top marketers.

 

At AMA Pittsburgh’s special edition Coffee Connections on July 30, two seasoned innovators—Jennifer Sydeski, Head of Growth with EKTO VR and Michael Skrzypczyk, innovation consultant, shared best practices for how breakthrough ideas move from concept to commercial reality.

The conversation spanned industries from consumer products to health tech, revealing that innovation, branding, and customer experience are inseparable when building products and services that resonate deeply in the market.

Innovation Is More Than an Idea—It’s a System

Both speakers emphasized that ideas are only the starting point. What determines success is the system around them: a repeatable process for testing, refining, and launching new products and services.

Michael framed it as building “innovation pipelines”—structured yet flexible frameworks that turn raw concepts into viable business opportunities. This includes:

  • Defining a clear process for moving from insight to concept to prototype to launch.

  • Integrating cross-functional teams so marketing, product, operations, and leadership all share ownership.

  • Setting KPIs for innovation, ensuring teams know how progress will be measured and celebrated.

That process orientation doesn’t just keep projects moving—it builds trust across teams and gives leadership the confidence to back new ideas.

The Role of Culture in Scaling Innovation

Culture emerged as a recurring theme. “Culture is the hardest thing to shape, but it’s where innovation really scales,” Michael noted. Without a culture that embraces curiosity, openness, and calculated risk-taking, even the best ideas can stall.

Trust, confidence, and an “action orientation” were cited as essential cultural ingredients. Teams need to feel safe sharing early ideas, confident enough to move forward without perfect certainty, and empowered to act decisively.

Emotional Intelligence as a Competitive Advantage

One of the most powerful points was the importance of “other orientation”—the skill of focusing intently on others, whether customers or colleagues, rather than on oneself.

Listening, empathy, and emotional intelligence aren’t just soft skills—they’re innovation accelerators. They help teams:

  • Spot emotional drivers that shape customer decisions.

  • Build brand messages that speak to identity and values, not just function.

  • Anticipate unspoken needs that can lead to category-defining solutions.

“When you really hit on that deeper need—that deeper emotion—that’s where it lasts,” Michael said, noting that billion-dollar brands often succeed because they tap into a cultural shift or identity-level desire, not just a functional gap.

The Brand–Innovation–Customer Loop

Innovation and branding are often treated as separate disciplines, but both speakers argued they should be intertwined from the start.

New products should align seamlessly with the brand’s promise, while brand strategy should evolve based on what’s learned through innovation. Marketing isn’t just a go-to-market function—it’s a co-creator in shaping what gets built and how it’s experienced.

Jenn described this as “experience marketing”—understanding the customer journey so deeply that you design not just a product, but the entire experience around it. That means aligning brand touchpoints, customer interactions, and product features so they tell the same story.

Timing Is Often the Deciding Factor

One surprising insight came from Jenn’s discussion of startup success factors. Research shows that 42% of startup success can be attributed to timing—launching at the right moment in the market’s readiness cycle.

She described “converging technologies” as a sweet spot for innovation: when two or more advances mature at the same time, they open up opportunities that didn’t exist before. The challenge is spotting these moments early and aligning innovation pipelines to capitalize on them.

The AI Factor—Promise and Pitfalls

The group dove into the emerging role of AI in innovation and customer research. Both speakers acknowledged AI’s ability to speed up analysis and idea generation, but warned against overreliance.

Today’s AI excels at reassembling what’s already been done, which means it risks steering everyone toward similar, predictable answers. Human creativity and context-setting remain essential for producing original, market-defining ideas.

Jenn advised using AI to “accelerate the learning loop” rather than replace it—letting it handle data-heavy tasks so teams can spend more energy on creativity, insight gathering, and strategic thinking.

Practical Advice for Marketers

Throughout the session, the speakers offered practical advice for marketers aiming to play a bigger role in innovation:

  • Start with insight, not solutions. Spend more time listening to customers, understanding their stories, and identifying needs before generating ideas.

  • Keep customers involved throughout the process. Test concepts early, refine them with feedback, and make customer input a continuous loop.

  • Simplify your internal message. A clear mantra—like “The consumer is the boss”—helps embed customer focus in organizational culture.

  • Leverage in-person engagement. While digital tools are powerful, nothing replaces the trust and understanding built through face-to-face interaction.

  • Think beyond your category. Borrow ideas and methods from adjacent industries to spark new ways of thinking.

Where Marketing Fits

The conversation reinforced that marketing is not just the final step in launching an innovation—it’s a driver throughout the journey. Marketing teams:

  • Surface the insights that spark new ideas.

  • Shape concepts so they connect emotionally and align with brand values.

  • Influence product design through understanding of customer experience.

  • Build narratives that accelerate adoption and loyalty.

When innovation, brand, and marketing are integrated, companies can move faster, connect more deeply with customers, and build products that last.

As Michael summed it up, “The product, the brand, and the strategy all need to fit together. Play nice. Show up as one story.”

Purpose-Driven Presence in An Age of Distraction

Purpose-Driven Presence in An Age of Distraction

by | Jul 21, 2025 | Events & Programming, Partnerships, Professional Development

AMA Pittsburgh’s Coffee Connections is a monthly roundtable discussion designed to bring together marketers, business leaders, and creative minds from across the Pittsburgh region. This casual yet insightful gathering is where big ideas meet real-world strategies, giving attendees the opportunity to learn from experts, exchange perspectives, and build valuable professional relationships.

 

Each Coffee Connections session focuses on a timely and relevant marketing topic, featuring industry leaders, guest speakers, and thought-provoking discussions. Whether you’re a CMO shaping strategy, a startup founder looking to grow, or a marketing professional eager to stay ahead of industry trends, Coffee Connections is your chance to gain actionable insights and network with the region’s top marketers.

 

In a world saturated with pings, platforms, and competing demands, marketers often find themselves reacting rather than intentionally leading.

At July’s Coffee Connections, Dr. Stephanie Romero challenged participants to consider: What would your work look like if it were grounded in purpose and presence, rather than stress and speed?

Romero, founder of Awaken Pittsburgh, guided a compelling discussion on the power of mindful awareness and emotional regulation—not only as tools for personal well-being, but as foundational skills for leadership and effective marketing.

The Cost of Constant Distraction

Stephanie opened the conversation by exploring how distraction and stress affect our ability to think clearly, make aligned decisions, and connect with others. She explained how:

  • Distraction erodes our inner clarity, reducing both the quality and quantity of our output.

  • Under stress or sleep deprivation, our brain’s prefrontal cortex—responsible for decision-making and empathy—gets overpowered by the “lizard brain” (limbic system), which prioritizes survival over reason.

  • This disconnect often results in knee-jerk reactions, emotional reactivity, and reduced empathy—all of which undermine leadership and collaboration.

Romero reminded participants that attention is a limited resource, and protecting it is a professional and personal imperative.

Your “Inner Economy”

Romero introduced the idea of the “inner economy”—our internal reserves of clarity, intention, and emotional regulation. Marketers, she argued, work in an external attention economy, but navigating it effectively requires building strength in the inner economy.

Key components of the inner economy include:

  • Clear values and purpose

  • The ability to notice and regulate emotional states

  • Intentional focus on the present moment

For marketers and creative professionals, this isn’t just about wellness. It’s about making decisions from a grounded place, avoiding misalignment, and fostering deeper resonance with audiences.

Boundaries as Leadership: Redefining Urgency

A standout moment came when the conversation turned toward workplace communication. Participants discussed how lack of clarity around urgency creates tension and distraction. Romero and others advocated for:

  • Clearer timelines when assigning tasks

  • Respecting after-hours boundaries

  • Using tools like email scheduling to avoid unintentionally pressuring colleagues

These micro-decisions build a culture of respect and reduce “urgency inflation,” where everything feels like a fire drill—eventually leading to burnout and disengagement.

Presence is a Professional Asset

Romero emphasized that presence isn’t passive. It’s a skill that helps leaders:

  • Notice when they’re misaligned with their values

  • Sense when a project or conversation doesn’t “feel right”

  • Reconnect with purpose, especially in high-stakes or emotionally charged moments

She gave the example of a challenging situation at her own nonprofit, where an emotionally charged incident could have led to a hasty, reactive response. Instead, she paused, regulated herself, and ultimately approached the situation with empathy—learning that a misunderstood employee was operating under significant personal duress. The takeaway: Presence creates space for better judgment.

The Role of Purpose in Sustaining Resilience

Romero spoke candidly about how reconnecting to purpose fuels resilience. This doesn’t mean everyone needs to quit their job and launch a nonprofit. Purpose can be cultivated through small, everyday choices—like volunteering, supporting causes, or mentoring others.

In marketing, purpose is also strategic. When an organization’s messaging aligns with the audience’s values, it creates deeper emotional resonance. This is not only good for society—it’s good for business.

Mindfulness in Action: Practicing Attention

To close, Romero led attendees through a brief mindfulness exercise to demonstrate that attention can be trained like any other skill. She emphasized:

  • Attention is neuroplastic—it can be strengthened at any age.

  • Anchoring attention to a physical sensation or visual object can reduce reactivity and increase calm.

  • The practice of noticing distraction and gently returning attention builds the muscle of mindful presence over time.

This practice offers marketers a path toward clearer thinking, better collaboration, and more authentic connection with their work.

Final Reflection: Steering with Intention

Romero left the group with a memorable metaphor: “You can’t steer the ship if you’re never at the wheel.” For marketers constantly chasing the next deadline, this was a call to pause—not as a luxury, but as a leadership necessity.

By reclaiming attention, clarifying purpose, and practicing presence, marketers can transform not just how they work, but the impact they make.

Want to Learn More about Mindfulness?

Awaken Pittsburgh supports individuals and organizations with mindfulness-based programs that build resilience, compassion, and emotional well-being—especially in high-stress environments. Learn more at http://awakenpittsburgh.org.

What Every Website Needs in 2025: A Wake-Up Call for Marketers

What Every Website Needs in 2025: A Wake-Up Call for Marketers

by | May 24, 2025 | Events & Programming, Partnerships, Professional Development

AMA Pittsburgh’s Coffee Connections is a monthly roundtable discussion designed to bring together marketers, business leaders, and creative minds from across the Pittsburgh region. This casual yet insightful gathering is where big ideas meet real-world strategies, giving attendees the opportunity to learn from experts, exchange perspectives, and build valuable professional relationships.

 

Each Coffee Connections session focuses on a timely and relevant marketing topic, featuring industry leaders, guest speakers, and thought-provoking discussions. Whether you’re a CMO shaping strategy, a startup founder looking to grow, or a marketing professional eager to stay ahead of industry trends, Coffee Connections is your chance to gain actionable insights and network with the region’s top marketers.

 

Many websites still fall short in 2025—confusing users, loading slowly, and missing key standards. In this edition of Coffee Connections, Ben Kostenbader shared the four must-haves every marketer needs to build a flexible, fast, and future-ready site that actually drives results.

 

Most marketers know their website is important. But not everyone realizes just how quickly it can become the weakest link in your digital strategy. At the May 2025 AMA Coffee Connections, Ben Kostenbader, founder of Dot Foundry, delivered a refreshingly practical and timely guide for marketers tasked with modernizing their web presence.

Your Website Is Still Your Funnel’s Front Door

Websites have been central to digital marketing for decades, but surprisingly, many still fail to do their job. Despite all the advancements in platforms, tools, and design options, too many marketing sites confuse visitors, load slowly, or fail to convert. That’s not just a missed opportunity—it’s a strategic liability.

Ben Kostenbader opened the session by pointing out that in 2025, marketers can no longer treat the website as a static brochure or IT-owned artifact. It must be a living, evolving platform that reflects your strategy, adapts to your audience, and supports your funnel—without breaking under the weight of its own complexity.

Ben reminded the group that websites serve three fundamental marketing purposes: build brand identity, funnel visitors to action, and convert them. “Your job doesn’t end at driving traffic,” he said. “It starts when they arrive.”

That’s why performance and clarity matter so much. If a visitor doesn’t immediately understand who you are, what you do, and why they should care, they’re likely gone. Worse, if the site drags on load time, you may never even get that chance. With a bounce rate that spikes dramatically when load times exceed 2.8 seconds, performance and clarity are no longer optional. “If your page loads too slowly, visitors are gone,” Ben warned.

Beyond performance, there’s also emotional impact. Ben cited research showing that long load times can trigger the same physiological stress responses as watching a horror movie. “That’s not the brand association you want,” he added.

All of this reinforces a simple truth: your website isn’t just another channel. It’s the first—and often the most important—test of your brand’s credibility. It must perform, persuade, and convert. Every time.

More Tools, More Trouble: The Hidden Risk of Too Much Choice

Today’s marketers have more tools than ever for designing and building websites—WordPress, Shopify, Squarespace, Webflow, Framer, Sanity, Lovable, Durable, and more. But with more choice comes more complexity. And when those tools are poorly configured or misunderstood, the results can be frustrating at best—or brand-damaging at worst.

“Every tool makes promises,” Ben said, “but not every one of them gives you real flexibility or clean architecture.” Some hide essential SEO settings. Others make content migration nearly impossible. And AI-powered site builders, while novel, often generate bloated or unusable pages that are hard to maintain or evolve.

Ben urged marketers to look beyond flashy demos and focus on long-term sustainability. “If your CMS can’t grow with you, you’re building technical debt into your marketing foundation,” he said. “And you’ll pay for it later—in time, budget, and credibility.”

Marketers must be just as strategic in choosing their CMS as they are in crafting their campaigns. It’s not just about what looks good out of the box. It’s about building a platform that can deliver results—and evolve with the business.

Four Website Must-Haves in 2025

Ben structured the rest of the session around four non-negotiables—what he called “table stakes”—for any website project or redesign in 2025. These aren’t fancy extras. They’re the baseline expectations your stakeholders, users, and marketing stack demand.

1. Flexible Content Editing

In today’s marketing environment, speed matters—not just on the front end, but in the backend too. Ben emphasized that marketers need to update content frequently without waiting on developers. “Your CMS should empower you to pivot with your strategy,” he said.

He pointed to the growing popularity of block editors like the one in WordPress, which allows non-technical users to make real-time content changes while preserving brand consistency. Good content editing systems also support proper SEO tagging, maintain styling guidelines (so pages don’t go rogue), and streamline site-wide updates.

Without this flexibility, marketers risk outdated messaging, slower campaign rollouts, and content that doesn’t reflect evolving user needs or business goals.

2. User-First Design

Design isn’t just about looking good—it’s about being understood. Great design delivers clarity, builds trust, and reinforces brand identity at every touchpoint. “Your website is ground zero for brand perception,” Ben noted, referencing the Rule of Sevens: users need consistent exposure to your message across multiple visits to build trust.

Design also plays a vital role in accessibility. Beyond usability, there are legal implications. ADA noncompliance can result in significant penalties. Ben encouraged marketers to treat accessibility as a design requirement, not an afterthought. “It’s not about checking boxes,” he said. “It’s about making sure everyone gets the same great experience.”

3. Realistic Privacy Practices

Data privacy is no longer just a legal checkbox—it’s a user expectation. With laws like GDPR, CCPA, and emerging state-based regulations, your site must be designed to respect consent from the start.

Ben outlined the basics: integrate a consent management platform (CMP), use Google Tag Manager to control what fires based on user permissions, and don’t rely on generic cookie banners that look out of place. “Your CMP should feel like part of your site, not an annoying popup from another universe,” he advised.

He also clarified a common mistake—hardcoding third-party tracking tools like Meta Pixel without consent. “That’s a lawsuit waiting to happen,” Ben cautioned. Tools like Cookiebot and Tag Manager can help marketers stay compliant without sacrificing analytics and ad performance.

4. AI-Readiness (With Guardrails)

AI is already shaping how marketers plan, write, and publish content—but it comes with caveats. Ben and attendees agreed: AI can be a powerful tool for ideation, SEO structuring, and speed, but it should never be used in isolation.

Tools like Jasper and ChatGPT can help generate page drafts or extract metadata, but human oversight remains essential. “Use AI to scale,” one attendee noted, “but don’t ship raw output.” The best results come from pairing AI with strong strategic direction, brand-specific style guides, and editorial judgment.

Ben also mentioned emerging trends in AI-optimized SEO (GEO), and how citing authoritative sources can improve your visibility in large language model queries. It’s early, but the rules of the game are changing fast.

Build for the Future, Not Just the Launch

Ben closed with a reminder that your website isn’t a one-time project—it’s a five-year investment. From your CMS to your compliance practices, design language, and content strategy, every decision should anticipate growth, change, and new demands from users and platforms.

“If there’s ever a reason to be perfect,” he said, “it’s when you’re building a website. Because that’s where your audience makes their first judgment—and maybe their last.”