Next-level marketing is about people – and Omar Johnson, the visionary marketer behind Beats by Dre, understands this better than anyone. By redefining what it means to connect with audiences, he transformed Beats from a product into a cultural movement, proving that emotional resonance and storytelling are just as powerful as strategy and data.

At our first Fwd: Thinking virtual event, Omar shared his perspective on why marketing should always be B2H – business-to-human. Drawing from his experience at global brands like Nike, Beats, and Apple, he emphasized how marketers can blend AI-driven insights with authentic storytelling to create campaigns that truly resonate.

 

Go beyond demographics and focus on behavior

 

Omar’s approach is clear: successful marketing happens at the intersection of behavior, culture, and technology. It’s not about targeting static demographics which has been common in traditional marketing, it’s about understanding real people, their interests, and their shared experiences. He highlighted how AI is revolutionizing marketing by enabling real-time personalization, but he also cautioned that AI should enhance human connection, not replace it.

B2H is about challenging marketers to think beyond traditional segmentation and focus on behavior-driven engagement – where insights into what people do, rather than just who they are, fuel more effective marketing.

7 Marketing lessons we learned from Omar Johnson

 

1. Business-human integration: It’s never been more important to take a business-to-human approach and integrate AI in marketing to create authentic connections and personalized experiences.

2. Behavior-driven marketing: Understanding human behavior and shared interests is crucial for effective marketing.

3. AI-driven personalization: Marketers can leverage AI to gain real-time insights and create hyper-personalized marketing experiences.

4. Community-based targeting: Community building and targeting based on shared interests can lead to more effective and authentic marketing campaigns.

5. Interest-focused campaigns: Focusing on behaviors and shared interests rather than static demographics helps ensure authenticity and impact in your campaigns.

6. Customer-centric strategies: Spending more time with customers is essential for marketers to inform their strategies and maintain a human-centric approach in the age of AI.

7. Leadership: Future marketing leaders need to embrace prompt engineering, leverage their unique experiences, and focus on human connections to succeed in an evolving marketing landscape. 

Approaching marketing at a 1:1 level

 

AI offers opportunities for hyper-personalized marketing. As Omar points out, demographic snapshots tend to be static, which doesn’t match up to a world that is moving quickly. What’s more important, then, is being able to see the world in real time and observe trends. Combine that insight with a focus on behavior and shared interests and marketers can reach new levels of personalization.

Marketing to one means “I understand you, your interest, your behavior, your affinities and the things that you care about.” With this understanding, marketers can craft more human-centric messages that speak directly to their audience’s sentiment today.

Turn insights into action

 

This is where Acoustic Connect can help brands move beyond static segmentation and engage customers meaningfully at a 1:1 level. Whether it's delivering timely messaging based on real behaviors or optimizing campaigns with AI-driven insights, Acoustic Connect empowers marketers to create authentic, behavior-driven experiences that Omar champions. To learn more, explore our Fwd: Thinking series, or get more info about Acoustic Connect.