Ted Rubin's Recent LinkedIn Posts

So great to reconnect with Megan (Morrow) Calloway this morning at Brand Innovators SXSW #biSummit. We met via Brand Innovators in 2014… the community that keeps on giving. RETURN ON RELATIONSHIP adds more to ROI than meets the eye.

Speak up, stand up… and support candidates who oppose this abomination.

Employer Branding Is Built on Belief… Recruitment Marketing Is Built on Motion A recent post by Susanna Rantanen started me thinking about the way employer branding and recruitment marketing are often blurred together. Her point was simple… when we collapse strategy into tactics, we shrink the entire discussion. That distinction matters.

Evergreen Trading’ Erica Meyer talking CPM, ROAS, and more importantly… EFFICIENCY, at Brand Innovators SXSW #biSummit. #mediatrade #mediastrategy… #mediasolutions

Hey The Home Depot, maybe you’re listening here, Meta clearly suppresses any negative brand posts these days. What’s the story??? Ordered Rheem Performance 30 Gal. Medium 4500-Watt Water Heater 4 days ago, first supposed to be available Thursday, then Friday, now no one seems to know. Yesterday noon I was told UPS had it and was 33 miles from the Pompano Beach store… today it’s a mystery. Your site currently says, Order Today, Ready for pick-up Tomorrow. I have now had to cancel 2 appointments to have it installed, and my tenant has been without hot water for close to a week 🤷🏻‍♂️🤷🏻‍♂️🤷🏻‍♂️

Evergreen Trading’s David Roberge sharing a bit about a year’s perspective as a member of the team, and participation in the Brand Innovators Community. #mediatrade #mediastrategy… #mediasolutions

Today is the 12th anniversary of Dad’s passing. I remember that day with such clarity. Niki and I were preparing to fly home from Raleigh after visiting Duke, and I was planning to get her settled and then head right back to the airport to fly down and be with my older Brother Jeff (who was there holding down the fort alone allowing me this special time with one of my girls) and Dad who was then in hospice. I kept thinking I still had time. Before I could leave Raleigh, Jeff called to tell me Dad was gone, and that there was no need to come. That moment is frozen in my memory. The shift from “I’ll see him soon” to “he’s gone” happened in an instant. It’s hard to believe how much time has passed, and yet some days it still feels very close. RIP Dad… you are missed 💞 —

Great conversation yesterday at Brand Innovators SXSW #biSummit, with Perion’s Nicole Guess moderating this important panel on “Women Defining the Next Era of Leadership.” The marketing landscape is changing quickly, and it’s encouraging to see so many thoughtful leaders sharing their experiences and perspectives on what it takes to lead through change. RETURN ON RELATIONSHIP at its finest. —

Nothing like reconnecting f2f with old friends… SXSW Brian Solis style 🤗 The most important RETURN ON RELATIONSHIP is FRIENDSHIP! P.S. Props to Stephanie Agresta for facilitating.

A Brand is what a business does, a Reputation is what people Remember and Share. Tell your story in a way people will care... #NoLetUp!👊🏻 RETURN ON RELATIONSHIP

And so it begins… Brand Innovators SXSW #biSummit 👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻 Relationships are like muscle tissue, the more you engage them, the stronger and more valuable they become. RETURN ON RELATIONSHIP adds more to ROI than meets the eye. —

Nicholas Cartisano talking Media Trade and Evergreen Trading… bringing the same passion and enthusiasm he puts on display every day. #mediainvestment #mediatrade #mediastrategy… #mediasolutions

Nothing like a golf ⛳️ day with the indomitable Barry Green 🏌️‍♂️

The biannual Evergreen Trading Advisory Board Meeting (Miami version) begins. RETURN ON RELATIONSHIP adds more to ROI than meets the eye.

MY 11th SXSW Brand Innovators #biSummit, since 2014 (there was no Sx in 2020 and 2021), with Marc Sternberg. Love being welcomed as a part of the Brand Innovators Community thanks to Marc and Brandon Gutman… and the whole Brand Innovators Team. The most important RETURN ON RELATIONSHIP is FRIENDSHIP! *photo credit… Lucy Brumberger 👏🏻

Don’t miss Jeanniey Walden ’s new book “THE TRUST THRESHHOLD ➡️ This isn’t a book about leadership tactics... it’s a book about trust, and how it’s actually earned. ⬅️ TRUST Simplified... TRUST is different from most things we earn. It is highly valued, but it can’t be bought, sometimes shared, but that window closes quickly when overused as it often is. It must be earned, but cannot be sold. Its lifespan will be as long as you are willing to nurture, respect, and care for it. —

EMPLOYER BRANDING AND RECRUITMENT MARKETING ARE OFTEN BLURRED TOGETHER. Recruitment marketing is about motion… it drives traffic, generates applications, optimizes conversions, and measures cost per applicant. It fills roles and addresses immediate hiring needs. It is performance-oriented and campaign-driven, and when executed well, it can produce meaningful short-term results. Employer branding operates on a different level… it shapes belief, it defines how an organization is experienced and remembered by employees, candidates, customers, and partners, and it reflects leadership behavior, cultural consistency, and whether the story told externally aligns with what people actually live internally. Recruitment marketing operates in campaigns, employer branding operates in culture… one is Activation, the other is Foundation. This is where RETURN ON RELATIONSHIP becomes essential. If the internal experience is inconsistent, no campaign can compensate for it. If leadership behavior contradicts stated values, no creative execution will repair that gap. Visibility does not create truth… it amplifies it. And it amplifies misalignment just as quickly. You can generate attention through tactics. You can generate applications through targeting. But you generate TRUST through consistency. Employer brand is not what you publish… it’s what your people confirm. When the internal experience is strong, recruitment marketing becomes more effective because it has something real to amplify. When the internal experience is fractured, recruitment marketing becomes expensive noise. Strategy must precede tactics. Employer branding should clarify who you are, how you lead, and what employees can reliably expect. Recruitment marketing should communicate that reality, not attempt to compensate for its absence. This is why I have long said, Empower your Employees… and they will Power your Brand. When employees feel respected, trusted, and aligned with purpose, they become your most credible storytellers… they extend belief… they strengthen reputation… they create compounding trust that no paid campaign can manufacture. A brand is what a business does… A reputation is what people remember and share. In today’s transparent world, where employees post, candidates research, and culture travels instantly, reputation compounds faster than any funnel ever could. Recruitment marketing drives applications. Employer branding drives belief. Belief sustains performance, reduces churn, and fuels advocacy. And belief is built the same way every meaningful asset is built… through relationships. Do for others without expectation of anything directly in return… the return will come. This applies to customers, it applies to communities, AND it absolutely applies to employees. Build belief internally… and the market will respond externally. That is a RETURN ON RELATIONSHIP no tactic alone can deliver. *See first comment RE: Susanna Rantanen --

Austin #SXSW Brand Innovators #biSummit bound. Looking forward to seeing so many. #tedsockie honoring my nieces, the Wonder Women who make my life better every day 💞 Make it a smooth ride, as always, Delta Air Lines, #deltamedallionlife ✈️

Looking forward to reconnecting f2f with so many at Brand Innovators SXSW #biSummit… everyone will be there at some point 👏🏻 Especially the Brand Innovators Team, the Evergreen Trading Team, and the Knox Management Consulting Team… ROCKSTARS ALL! RETURN ON RELATIONSHIP #RonR... #NoLetUp!👊🏻

Evergreen Trading hanging with the Perion Team at Brand Innovators SXSW #biSummit 🙌🏻 RETURN ON RELATIONSHIP adds more to ROI than meets the eye. —

CALL ME CYNICAL, BUT… maybe this is the disruption that finally gives CMOs the mandate many of us believed they should have had all along. AI governance is shifting from identity to intent. If CMOs are expected to safeguard brand trust in this new era, they must be structurally empowered to lead it. For a long time, identity has been the organizing principle of digital governance. We authenticated users, assigned roles, and aligned permissions to organizational charts. It made sense in a world where humans were the primary actors inside our systems. If you knew who someone was and what role they held, you could determine what they were allowed to do. That world is changing… AI agents do not log in and log out, they don’t wait for instructions…. they act continuously, they consume data autonomously, they make decisions at speed, they learn, they scale, and they operate without the natural pauses and judgment calls that humans bring to the table. In that environment, identity alone is no longer enough. What matters now is intent… Why is an agent acting? For how long? With what data? Under what constraints? On whose behalf? Governance in the AI era is no longer about who something is… it’s about what it is doing and why it is doing it. That shift has profound implications for leadership, particularly for the CMO. Today’s CMO sits at the intersection of customer experience, brand integrity, privacy, sustainability, and increasingly, AI-driven engagement. If AI agents are shaping how customers experience a brand, across marketing, service, personalization, and commerce, then governing intent is not simply a technical challenge. It is a BRAND CHALLENGE and a TRUST CHALLENGE. Here is where the tension lives… Many organizations are now suggesting that marketing leaders help define the new governance language for AI. Conceptually, that makes sense… BRAND is about promise, perception, and reputation. BUT STRUCTURALLY, most CMOs do not have authority across the functions required to fully govern AI intent. PR and corporate communications often report elsewhere. Internal communications are separated, HR owns employee voice and culture, Legal owns compliance, Technology owns infrastructure, Data teams own AI architecture. Yet brand trust touches all of it… This is not simply about AI governance… it’s about leadership alignment, it’s about recognizing that brand, reputation, culture, and accountability are no longer parallel conversations. They are the same conversation. If we expect CMOs to safeguard intent at scale, then we must give them the mandate, AND THE POWER, to do so. #CMO #Brand #AI

LinkedIn Response, When Someone Tells You What You Should and Should Not Post… First of all… curious who made you the arbiter of what does and does not belong on LinkedIn? Second, Third, Fourth, and Fifth…

Evergreen Media Trade: A Smart Strategy… Turning Untapped Assets into Real Media Value At its core, Evergreen Trading’s approach flips a familiar business challenge, unused or underperforming assets, into a strategic advantage. Instead of letting excess inventory, surplus real estate, or other corporate assets sit idle, Evergreen converts them into capital for media investment… giving brands an entirely new way to fund visibility and growth. The Evergreen Value Proposition…

Can You Prove That Marketing Works? The ART of Marketing (Part 1) ~via Katrina Klier This post was brought to my attention by John Andrews. I’ve known Katrina Klier for many years, and knew immediately seeing her name, and John recommending, that I needed to share it here. https://lnkd.in/e_yTpxMC RETURN ON RELATIONSHIP #RonR... #NoLetUp!👊🏻

One of my biggest takeaways from Jeanniey Walden’s book, “THE TRUST THRESHOLD” is that AIR isn’t something you just “have”… it’s something you practice intentionally. Real leadership isn’t about being perfect, it’s about being real. Jeanniey’s AIR Method shows how authenticity, inspiration, and relatability build trust, and how trust compounds into RETURN ON RELATIONSHIP. Like muscle tissue, relationships grow stronger the more you engage them... and this book shows you how to do that with intention. —

Yes indeed Susanna Rantanen… Recruitment marketing drives applications. Employer branding drives belief. One fills roles… the other shapes long-term trust and reputation. RETURN ON RELATIONSHIP applies here too. If the internal experience doesn’t align with the external promise, no funnel will fix it. Employer brand is the operating system. Recruitment marketing is just one output of it. Strategy first… Tactics second. A Brand is what a business does. A Reputation is what people remember and share.

If you send me a request to connect here without a personal note explaining your intentions, it will most probably get deleted… or I will possibly reply asking those intentions, and if/when you don’t respond, it will then get deleted. https://lnkd.in/eUMV478E

What’s Working in Social Media in 2026 — Backed by 20+ Experts ~via Hot in Social Media https://lnkd.in/ewXq7uhe Declining organic reach isn’t the real problem in 2026…declining intentionality is. It’s easy to blame the algorithm when distribution drops and competition rises, but the leaders seeing real growth aren’t obsessing over reach… they’re obsessing over relationships. Everyone can create content at scale now… AI has leveled THAT playing field. What hasn’t been leveled is care, discernment, and the willingness to engage consistently and meaningfully. The strategies driving real growth this year aren’t hacks or format tricks. They’re rooted in human presence. The brands and individuals winning understand that community beats audience every time. An Audience Consumes… a Community Participates. That difference shows up in the comments, in the DMs, in the follow-ups, and in the way people talk about you when you’re not in the room. Short-form video still works. Creator collaborations still work. AI-assisted optimization still works. But only when those tools amplify a clear point of view and real human connection. If the content feels hollow, the algorithm may distribute it briefly, but it won’t sustain it. Too many companies are blaming “declining reach” while quietly reducing real engagement, cutting community budgets, and automating touchpoints that once built loyalty. You can’t automate trust and then complain that growth feels transactional. The algorithm didn’t kill your reach… in many cases, inconsistency, sameness, and lack of relational investment did. Organic Reach may be shrinking, but Relational Reach is not… Reputation still compounds. Familiarity still compounds. Trust still compounds. The leaders driving sustainable growth in 2026 are the ones who treat social platforms like rooms they’re walking into, not billboards they’re renting. They listen, they respond, they show up repeatedly… they understand that engagement isn’t a metric to optimize, it’s a muscle to strengthen. Machines can help you publish faster and analyze smarter. They can support strategy and surface insight. BUT THEY CAN’T CARE. And in a crowded digital world filled with noise, caring, consistently and visibly, is still the ultimate growth strategy. That’s RETURN ON RELATIONSHIP in action.

SXSW AND Brand Innovators bring out the best conversations… Evergreen Trading’s Jonathan Sorkenn talks about Evergreen’s approach to Media Trade and Investment, and their value to Consumer Brands. #mediainvestment #mediatrade… #mediasolutions *video credits to Michael Cameneti and Mike Alexander

Let’s get real about the platforms we all rely on, whether for content, connection, or commerce. The algorithms aren’t neutral. They’re not just “feeding the content people want.” They are engineered to suppress anything that disrupts the plans, or profits, of those who control the platforms. #RonR

Visibility buys you a glance, but Trust engenders a commitment. Visibility might get you in the door, but only Trust keeps you in the room. Stop chasing views... they’re cheap. Start building trust... it’s everything.

AI: Advertising's New Channel ~via Robbie Caploe Robbie is focused on the next major shift in media: the commercialization of Large Language Models (LLMs). As the infrastructure for advertising inside generative AI is built in real-time, she is helping brands and platforms move beyond "old ad logic" to build the mental models required for this new medium. https://lnkd.in/eVWQwDKK RETURN ON RELATIONSHIP #RonR... #NoLetUp!👊🏻

"Some friends will be for when you just need someone to listen and offer comfort; some will be for when you need advice and support. Some will be there for just fun. And a rare few, they’ll ALWAYS be there, no matter what. Learn to differentiate… Acquaintances, Colleagues, Friends, Good Friends, Great Friends, Best Friends." #RonR

“It came during a discussion of the SAVE Act, a Republican bill designed to combat the FICTITIOUS scourge of noncitizen voting... Democrats, Trump claimed, only opposed the bill because ‘they want to cheat.’ And then he took it much further… ➡️‘Their policy is so bad that the only way they can get elected is to cheat,’ Trump said on Tuesday night. ‘We’re going to stop it. We have to stop it.’⬅️ Think about that for a second. This is the president of the United States, speaking to the country in a ritualized national address, claiming that the opposition party is not only wrong on policy but fundamentally illegitimate, so much so that if they win an election it must be because they cheated. Taken literally, that is the president announcing that the stated policy of his administration is preventing the opposition from winning any future election.” BECAUSE IF THEY WIN… IT’S ONLY BECAUSE THEY CHEATED. —

At its very core, Evergreen Trading converts a company’s underperforming, or even worthless assets, into the performing media of their choice. Don’t miss the chance to meet with Evergreen at POSSIBLE… #POSSIBLE2026 #mediatrade

Visibility without credibility is just noise. Knox Keith ✅’s new book VALIDATED shows how to build the TRUST that makes people pay attention. Truth be told… I didn’t know Knox could read, yet alone write 😅 But DAMN, the guy can serve a great scotch… you can TRUST that! 🥃 —

Strategy must precede tactics… EMPLOYER BRANDING should clarify who you are, how you lead, and what employees can reliably expect. RECRUITMENT MARKETING should communicate that reality, not attempt to compensate for its absence. #EmployerBranding #Recruitment

The Industry Just Discovered Practical AI. Here Is What We Learned Building It. Tech analysts are calling 2026 the year AI gets useful. Jay Thornton and Michael Fraser have been asking that question since they wrote their first line of code for LeadMachine.

LEADERSHIP… RETURN ON RELATIONSHIP

Real Impact in 2026: 20+ Marketers on Their Essential AI Tools and Workflows ~via Hot in Social Media and Adrian Domocoș In 2026, my AI “stack” is a lot simpler than people expect. I’m not running elaborate automated workflows or stacking ten different AI tools on top of each other. I’m using AI intentionally… primarily as a thinking partner, not as an autopilot.

Title-Bait Creates Credibility Debt I want to start by giving credit where it’s due. Jeanniey Walden recently shared a thoughtful post about the craft of writing headlines and titles that actually matter—ones that draw readers in with intention and clarity. She explored how a well-constructed headline can frame an idea, invite curiosity, and help a reader decide whether a piece of content is worth their time. That conversation about the value of a strong title is an important one. WHAT I WANT TO ADDRESS HERE IS… the misuse of that idea.

Visibility Gets You Noticed. Trust Gets You Chosen. ~via Knox Keith ✅ I’ve said for years that brand is what a business does… reputation is what people remember and share. Visibility might get you in the room, but trust is what keeps the door open. Thanks for sharing Knox... looking forward to our video content creation together coming up at Brand Innovators SXSW next week. https://lnkd.in/efxKU--4 RETURN ON RELATIONSHIP #RonR... #NoLetUp!👊🏻

The digital marketing trend that will actually drive results in 2026 isn’t AI itself… it’s AI discipline and governance. We’ve moved past experimentation. The brands that will win are the ones where leadership, especially the CMO, takes clear responsibility for how AI is deployed, measured, and aligned with brand voice and values. AI can absolutely accelerate insight, optimize workflows, and improve performance, but only when it is guided intentionally. Data should inform judgment, not replace it. Machines can surface patterns, but humans must make the calls. That’s where real ROI lives. What’s overhyped? Fully autonomous marketing. The idea that you can automate strategy, content, engagement, and customer experience at scale without meaningful human oversight is not innovation… it’s instability. More output does not equal more impact. Efficiency without empathy erodes trust… AND TRUST is still the ultimate growth driver. In 2026, results will come from brands that balance technology with accountability, scale with authenticity, and automation with real human discernment. It’s not about humans or machines… it’s about humans directing machines with intention. The companies that treat AI as a strategic partner, not a shortcut, will outperform those chasing the next shiny tool. Because Marketing still wins on Trust, Relationships, and Judgment… Technology just amplifies what’s already there. Thanka for always including me Adrian Domocoș and Hot in Social Media 🙏🏻

Heading home from SXSW… barrel of monkeys 🐒#tedsockie 🧦 Thanks to Brand Innovators, Evergreen Trading, Stephanie Agresta & Brian Solis, Kelley Troia & Steve Carnes, and many more for making this a great few days. #RippleOn y’all 🤗 Looking forward to my own bed tonight, so… make it a smooth ride, as always, Delta Air Lines, #deltamedallionlife ✈️

Speed Matters, but Trust Matters More Organizations have spent years trying to close the gap between incident and response. Social listening tools, crisis teams, and real-time communications strategies all exist to help brands react faster. But speed alone isn’t the real advantage. The real advantage is credibility built long before the crisis ever happens.

Organic Reach may be shrinking, but Relational Reach is not… Reputation still compounds. #RippleOn

Reclaiming Attention in a World Engineered for Distraction John Starkweather’s reflection on turning off notifications struck a nerve because it names something many of us quietly negotiate with ourselves every day. We tell ourselves the constant checking is professional vigilance, that being “always on” is part of the job. For marketers especially, it’s easy to justify the noise as research, relevance, or responsiveness. But John’s honesty cuts through that rationale. At some point, it stops being strategy and starts being habit, and more often than not, a dopamine loop disguised as discipline.