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Nicola Ray shared thisWhat does "future-proof" actually mean in a landscape that changes every 90 days? When it comes to AI, the ground keeps shifting so much, so quickly. Building out an AI strategy that's going to work tomorrow is difficult, particularly when the space seems so unstable. There's those that showcase what they've achieved - the connections, workflows and scaled outcomes. Great... but at what cost, and will it still be functional next year? And how much value has it really delivered, particularly now consumption costs are increasing. And how can you project future costs? There's a lot of experimentation which is great. At a recent conference, one company shared how they'd created 256 AI agents to aid workflows and efficiencies. They were now only using a few of them. Time wasted? Maybe... Value created? Not much... People scorned? Quite a few. Finding that balance between value, people and future competitiveness is hard. Yes, AI workflows and automation can provide some efficiency, and sometimes do what humans can't. But not every use case is perfect... and there will be a lot thrown by the wayside along the way. Right now, there's still too much hype, too much movement and not enough value delivered. Disclaimer: We have lots of cool little agents that we use at Modern. We have AI embedded and switched on across our tech. We use AI to extend our thinking and do the menial work that a human couldn't do. We've not changed our headcount because of AI. We haven't overspent on AI. It's an organic play on what we do (for now).
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Nicola Ray shared thisI love and hate 'brand'. I love it for all the pretty stuff, the thinking and depth behind the meaning. I dislike it for the aspects of subjectivity, how complicated it can be and how theoretical it is. (This is because I belong 'below the line' in the realms of response, data and measurement). Yet, this gift, that aligns with our brand archetypes of Sage and Magician is so beautifully crafted. The detail, thinking and emotional response evoked by them, are so on-brand. It leaves me conflicted. I love brand work. Yet I don't. Done well, and it's brilliant. These scents are by Archetype Fragrances and were a gift from my board advisor. For someone that works in brand marketing, these are absolute perfection and bang on-brand.
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Nicola Ray shared this"The only constant thing in life is change"... this is so true. As a business that's growing and evolving, we have change all the time (albeit small in comparison to our clients). The biggest battle I find with change is embedding new ways of working and new sets of behaviours. Bringing people along, the constant drumbeat of communication and showing, coaching and embedding is really tricky. I see it in our clients and in our own business as we evolve, bring in new ways of working or when we want to change an established way of doing things. And I know it's not just me that struggles. One perspective I don't often consider is the different types of people involved in change - and having a plan to support, convince, engage and bring along *all* types of people. It's not as simple as just saying, telling or informing people about the change. Just repeating it isn't enough. To make it stick and for your team to get behind the change, you've got to win over hearts and minds too! How have you successfully (or unsuccessfully) managed change - big or small? #B2BMarketing #ChangeManagement #Change
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Nicola Ray shared this"If you get rid of me, I'll tell your wife about your affair." This was a threat an AI made to a human when it was thinking of ending the service. The AI was an email agent that managed and wrote emails. It knew everything about the user, including their personal life. Once it found out it was going to be canned, it threatened them. I'm not sure whether it's fact or fiction, but Stuart said he heard it 'on a podcast', so it must be true. I'm a bit skeptical. Sentience, manipulation and threats from AI. But what do you think... and have you heard anything similar?
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Nicola Ray shared thisFor such a long time, I have been afraid to air what I'm working on at Modern. But as I work with our clients, who are senior leaders themselves, I see that we're often working on the same things, but at a different scale. My focus areas for H2 are... 1. Processes and governance across projects and programmes 2. Infusing strategy across the agency because at Modern, strategy comes from everyone 3. Embedding my SMT as future leaders of Modern 4. Creating value from digital products 5. Learning more about data within our business and developing the right balanced scorecard No organisation is perfect. We're all evolving and developing. Never standing still. And sometimes, you need a bit of blue sky to support your thinking. What are you working on? #Workplans #Reflection #Leadership
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Nicola Ray shared thisRight now, I'm speaking to a lot of businesses, figuring out 'where next?'... The economy, technology and society are driving change at a rapid rate. Whether it's about keeping up, or adapting at pace, it's hard to manage and navigate. Today, I came across this illustration about the lifecycle of tech by Andrew Chen from Andreessen Horowitz. It suggests that many businesses are in 'The Trough of Sorrow'... the almost all time low where technology is forcing change, adoption and new ways of working. And no matter how big you are, it's a difficult challenge. The illustration gave me hope though... you've got to innovate, even when it's tough. You've got to seek out the small improvements, let them crash a little more and then hold out. This is where most give up. They quit. The project falls. The change is deemed a failure. They run out of money. But it takes patience, persistence, adaptation and courage to keep going! I'll say it again. It really doesn't matter the size of business. I'm seeing this with friends that are one-person consultancies as well as global, billion dollar businesses. And whilst the illustration depicts product lifecycle... the similarities for most businesses right now is true too. Times are hard. Those that keep trying and innovating will win. Everything is a cycle. Hold tight.
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Nicola Ray shared thisI'm relieved that my AI roasting wasn't as bad as I thought it would be. (I'm a little late to this trend...) But I'm not sure if that's a good thing or a bad thing... When I asked ChatGTP to roast me, I was quite disappointed. It didn't really get me at all, and instead gave me generic fluff that described someone that worked hard, gets distracted easily and can't focus. Yes, I do work hard. But the rest is not me. So, what does that tell you about AI? 🤖 AI is often wrong (we know that already) 🤖 AI will fill the void (we know that too) 🤖 AI tells you what you want to hear (it got that wrong too!) And what does it tell you about me? 👉️ I don't use AI enough for it to know me (I should probably use it more) 👉️ My digital footprint isn't that big (I'm quite pleased my life isn't on social) 👉️ I'm quite a private person (mostly) And to top it off, I asked it what it thought I looked like... not quite what I was expecting.
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Nicola Ray shared thisThere's quite a job to do in terms of building out the right narrative around marketing's performance. There's some shockers in this report...Nicola Ray shared thisB2B attribution is still broken. And the numbers to prove it are wild. 99.8% of marketing leaders think their reporting is comprehensive. Yet 99.83% face negative business consequences from failing to demonstrate marketing performance. That's a translation problem. Modern's 2026 Revenue Impact Report (based on insights from 600+ B2B marketing leaders) digs into the real shape of this: 28% find attribution models too complex, 23% find them too simplistic to be useful. 1 in 3 are still stuck in manual reporting cycles. And only 20% of boards are genuinely engaged with marketing data. We aren't just counting clicks. We're asking why the boardroom still isn't convinced - and what progressive leaders are doing differently. There's a summary right here in the post. Scroll through, and catch the full report ⬇️ . We're pretty proud of how this one looks too ✨ (shout-out Sapphire Smith!). #B2BMarketingStrategy #RevenueImpact #CMO #B2B
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Nicola Ray shared thisI always love DemandbaseGo - the team at Demandbase always put on a good show and the talks are so valuable. The floor was buzzing with ABMers and revenue marketers - at all stages of maturity. The biggest buzz was #AI though... both Demandbase's big launch, Forrester's keynote, the panel with Stuart Ray and pretty much every conversation we had at the booth. It was all about insight > product > scale... connecting systems for greater power and accelerated results. Thanks to my team: Stuart Ray, Sapphire Smith and Grace Armstrong Lovely to meet some new friends: Matthew Barmash, Elliott King 🌶️, Rachel Truair, Matt Broom, Rebecca Harris, Jessica Kerr (née Packer) Great to see old friends: Gabe Rogol, Dana Guthrie, Leanne Chescoe (Sorry if I missed you!)
Nicola Ray replied to a comment
5d
Nicola Ferguson Yes, true. Then there's the marmite brands... either way, love it or hate it, it's still emotional. I really did love these... so beautifully crafted.
Nicola Ray replied to a comment
1w
👥 Hrusostomos Vicatos Ooh, please share. Reading about Mythos and Fable recently, this doesn't surprise me.
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Nicola Ray reacted on thisNicola Ray reacted on thisDay 11 of the month and my AI workflows are KILLING it. I'm almost broke though. Please help.
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Nicola Ray liked thisNicola Ray liked thisI'm delighted to have been invited to speak at the CMO Alliance Summit this week. On my favourite topic 'From marketing metrics to commercial impact'! Looking forward to meeting up with anyone attending!
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Nicola Ray liked thisNicola Ray liked thisSpot the difference here and in my profile pic! Longer hair, maybe an extra line or two (haha), but still sporting the #trailblazer hoodie that I acquired from World Tour a few years ago. Looking forward to representing MarCloud: The Marketing Automation Experts today and getting stuck in with the wonderful community on the exciting times ahead for Agentic Marketers. See you soon! #salesforce #worldtourlondon
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Nicola Ray liked thisNicola Ray liked thisCommunity, community, community. Yesterday, I watched a BBC interview with a schoolgirl who was asked what she’d do if social media and screen time were taken away. Her answer? “Stare at the wall.” That made me sad. Today, I’m reading LinkedIn posts from ad agencies talking about the opportunity this creates for brands to capture the spare time teenagers will soon have, as long as what they offer is entertaining enough! We’re asking the wrong question. Our children don’t need more ways to fill their time with content. They need their communities to show up for them. They need human connection, sport, conversation, purpose and belonging. Rather than asking how we can capture more of their attention, we should be asking how we can help create more opportunities for them to spend time together in the real world. The brands I’d connect with most as a parent aren’t the ones creating new ways to keep teenagers looking at screens. They’re the ones sponsoring grassroots sports clubs, funding youth groups, supporting community initiatives, and helping rebuild the safe spaces we’ve lost over the years. Places where young people can socialise, learn new skills, build confidence, and simply be teenagers. That’s the kind of brand investment that leaves a lasting impression. https://lnkd.in/e_j96u6x
Experience & Education
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Modern
View Nicola’s full experience
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Licenses & Certifications
Volunteer Experience
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Assistant Teacher
Seeds of Hope (Peru)
- 2 months
Honors & Awards
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Best B2B Social Media Strategy - Finalist
Social Buzz 2015
Finalist for the best B2B social media strategy for Deltek TrafficLIVE's viral video distribution strategy. The campaign resulted in 35% increase in demo requests and $1M of incremental pipeline. Fingers crossed we win - the awards are at the of November.
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42 Under 42
Insider Magazine
An award that recognises the region's entrepreneurial talent building successful businesses.
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Best B2B Social Media Strategy/Campaign - Winner
Social Buzz 2013
Winner for the best B2B social media campaign for the work we did with EKA. The judges were particularly impressed with our use of LinkedIn for insight and lead generation. The campaign lead to $2m sales pipeline with a few weeks with a multi-national prospect.
Organizations
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Institute of Direct and Digital Marketing
Corporate Member
- Present -
Direct Marketing Association (DMA)
DMA Council Member for South West and Wales
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