Brand Experience Committee Meeting

This event is virtual only and no in-person option is available.

Announcements & Introductions (11:00 - 11:10 a.m.)

AI and CX: The Empathy Gap (11:10 - 11:45 a.m.)
AI drives significant CX wins through scale and cost reduction, but it creates a trust problem when it misses nuance, gets facts wrong, or sounds cold in high emotion moments.

Research shows an empathy gap where customers still prefer humans in service and sales. The next step is artificial empathy, which combines cognitive empathy and affective empathy so AI can detect emotion, adapt its response, and handle sensitive moments without breaking the relationship.

This talk shares a practical playbook to map empathy needs across journeys, audit AI touchpoints, instrument emotion signals in voice and text, and measure impact on both loyalty and business outcomes.

Speakers:
Lee Hsieh, Head of Marketing and Patient Experience, Ventura Neurosurgery
Professor Yuping Liu-Thompkins, Head of Loyalty Science Lab, Old Dominion University

Member Discussion: AI and Customer Experience (11:45 a.m. - 12:20 p.m.)
It's no secret that AI is poised to disrupt the entire marketing industry, and many brands have already embraced AI in various customer-facing touchpoints such as customer service and drive-throughs. The question is, how has that been going for those brands? What's been working and what hasn't? And what's next on the AI frontier as it relates to brand and customer experience? Come prepared to discuss, debate, and learn in this member discussion.

Moderator:
Professor Ryan Baltrip, Clinical Assistant Professor of Marketing, Old Dominion University

Break (12:20 - 12:25 p.m.)

Session II: From First Impressions to Forever: What It Really Takes to Build Lasting Brand-Consumer Relationships (12:25 - 1:00 p.m.) (Download the Presentation)

What makes a consumer fall for a brand and stay loyal over time? Informed by a national survey of consumer attitudes and expectations, Inspira’s Relationship Report: How Consumers Choose, Connect, and Commit uncovers the emotional drivers behind long-term brand relationships.

In this session, we’ll unpack key findings from the report and explore how brands can translate insight into action by showing up with relevance, consistency, and purpose at critical moments in the consumer journey. To bring these insights to life, International Delight will join the Inspira team to share how the brand set out to deepen cultural relevance with younger consumers, meeting them where they already are through immersive, culturally fluent experiences. The conversation will spotlight two years of International Delight’s Coachella activations, including the brand’s 2025 program, which marked the first time a Danone brand activation incorporated AI to enhance personalization and engagement in a live experience.

Attendees will walk away with:

·         Fresh, data-backed insights into what consumers expect from brand relationships today

·         A clearer understanding of the emotional drivers that influence brand choice, trust, and loyalty

·         Practical guidance for building culturally relevant brand experiences that foster real connection

·         Real-world inspiration from International Delight’s approach to innovation, including the thoughtful use of AI to elevate consumer engagement

Speakers:
Ann D'Adamo,Vice President of Marketing & Communications, Inspira Marketing
Regina Fiedel, Senior Director of Integrated Strategy, Inspira Marketing
International Delight

Speaker Bios
Lee Hsieh
Lee previously led CRM and first-party data at Johnson & Johnson driving lifecycle strategy, personalization, and measurable retention across a mult-brand portfolio. He partnered with marketing analytics, and technology teams to unify customer data, improve consent and preferences, and activate segments at scale. He now serves as Head of Marketing and Patient Experience at Ventura Neurosurgery, where he is modernizing patient acquisition, intake, and communications. His focus spans AI-enabled workflows, Web & CRM, and experience design that reduces friction for patients and staff.

Lee brings experience across consumer health and marketing transformation, with prior roles at Kenvue, Reckitt, AIG, and WPP. He speaks on CRM, first-party data, and practical operating models that teams use every day.

Yuping Liu-Thompkins
Yuping Liu-Thompkins is Associate Dean for Research & Faculty, Professor of Marketing, and Director of Loyalty Science Lab in the Strome College of Business at Old Dominion University. Dr. Liu-Thompkins is an expert on building customer loyalty and habit through effective marketing programs. She specializes in combining customer data with consumer psychology to derive useful customer insights and actionable marketing strategies. Through collaboration with national and international companies in travel, retail, financial, and other industries, Dr. Liu-Thompkins has studied extensively the design and effectiveness of loyalty program as a tool for customer retention, cross-selling, and customer growth.

With a personal passion for technology, Dr. Liu-Thompkins is also known for her expertise in digital marketing, especially the use of social media for branding and customer engagement purposes. Dr. Liu-Thompkins has published her research in top marketing journals such as Journal of Marketing, Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, Journal of Retailing, Journal of Interactive Marketing, and Journal of Advertising. She has made media appearances in New York Times, Washington Post, CNN Business, Fortune, NPR’s Marketplace and With Good Reason programs, and various podcasts.

Ryan Baltrip
Ryan Baltrip is Executive Director of the Loyalty Science Lab at Old Dominion University and Clinical Assistant Professor of Marketing focused on loyalty, trust, and AI-enabled engagement. He is also the author of the forthcoming book The Golden Algorithm: How to Build Ethical, Profitable AI and helps brands translate research into practical frameworks for intelligent engagement.

Regina Fiedel
Regina Fiedel is the Senior Director of Integrated Strategy at Inspira. With over 15 years of experience, she has developed strategic initiatives for brands like illy Caffè and Saratoga Spring Water. Prior to Inspira, Regina worked in the fashion industry, specializing in brand media, social media, influencer marketing, and e-commerce. Most recently, she led brand and digital marketing for Citizen Watch, spearheading successful and innovative campaigns.

Ann D'Adamo
Ann D'Adamo is Vice President of Marketing & Communications at Inspira, where she leads thought leadership and agency communications.For the Relationship Report report, she led proprietary consumer research on consumer–brand relationships, examining how trust, emotional connection, and perceived value influence loyalty and engagement. As the author of this original research, Ann brings a data-driven lens to how brands communicate, educate, and build credibility with today’s consumers.