Veteran Strategist Josh Emington Joins Martec Group’s Partner Team After 10+ Years of Growth-Driven Leadership

The Martec Group, a leading provider of deep-dive market research and business intelligence, has promoted Josh Emington to Partner, effective July 17, 2025. The move recognizes a decade-plus of leadership and innovation by Emington, who most recently served as Vice President and led the firm’s value creation initiatives.

From Research Strategist to Strategic Partner

Emington joined Martec in 2014 and quickly carved out a reputation for delivering actionable insights across M&A advisory, franchise development, and corporate strategy. He was named Vice President in 2023, taking on broader responsibility for client engagement, internal growth strategy, and cross-sector consulting.

In his new role, Emington will help steer the firm’s long-term vision, working alongside the senior partnership team to expand service offerings, deepen relationships with mid-market and enterprise clients, and evolve how the company delivers value in a rapidly changing market landscape.

A Decade of Results—and Influence

“Josh has been a driving force behind the company’s forward momentum for more than a decade,” said Rick Claar, President of The Martec Group. “We’re thrilled to have him join our senior leadership as we chart the next decade of growth.”

Emington has long played a critical role in bridging Martec’s research capabilities with its clients’ real-world strategic needs. His focus on expanding client access to the firm’s full service suite has helped solidify Martec’s reputation as a trusted partner to private equity firms, corporate development teams, and Fortune 1000 executives.

Deep Roots in the Research Ecosystem

Beyond his role at Martec, Emington is active in industry organizations, including the Insights Association, Alliance of M&A Advisors, Association for Corporate Growth, International Franchise Association, and American Marketing Association. He also sits on the board of Michigan State University’s Master of Science in Marketing Research program, further cementing his place as a thought leader in the insights space.

For Emington, the promotion is both a milestone and a mission.

“Joining this incredible leadership team and building this amazing company has been a personal goal and a dream come true,” Emington said. “It is an absolute honor to carry on the rich 40-year history of serving private equity investors, mid-market companies, and Fortune 1000 leaders.”

A Signal of Martec’s Future Focus

As the business intelligence space becomes more crowded—and clients demand ever more tailored, data-rich decision support—Martec’s elevation of a relationship-first, insights-driven leader like Emington signals a clear strategic focus: bridging deep analytics with high-touch consulting.

In a sector often overloaded with dashboards and under-delivered in relevance, the promotion may mark Martec doubling down on what matters most: clarity, context, and trusted human insight.

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Ragan Communications has officially announced its Top Women in Marketing, Class of 2025—a standout group of marketing leaders driving transformation, creativity, and results across the industry.

Representing a broad cross-section of sectors including corporate, agency, nonprofit, and government, this year’s honorees are not just navigating marketing’s evolving challenges—they’re setting the pace.

Visionaries Driving Tomorrow’s Marketing Landscape

From brand storytelling and audience engagement to digital transformation and data-informed strategy, the 2025 class includes women who are leading with impact and redefining what’s possible in modern marketing. They’re the architects of campaigns that resonate, leaders building cultures of innovation, and mentors guiding the next generation.

These are the strategists launching purpose-driven initiatives, the creators behind award-winning content, and the executives shaping enterprise-wide marketing transformations.

Celebration Set for October in New York

The honorees will be celebrated at the Top Women in Marketing Awards Luncheon, set for October 22, 2025, at City Winery in New York City. The event will bring together peers and industry professionals to recognize the bold vision and lasting influence of this year's recipients.

For many, this isn’t just an individual accolade—it’s a signal of the evolving face of leadership in marketing, where diversity of voice, thought, and approach is being recognized as essential to progress.

Congratulations to the Class of 2025—your work is setting the benchmark for what comes next.

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In today’s digital-first economy, marketing isn’t just a support function—it’s a revenue engine. Whether you’re a startup looking for traction, a mid-sized firm scaling fast, or an enterprise optimizing conversions, your digital marketing strategy determines whether you lead or lag.

And in 2025, with evolving consumer behaviors, platform changes, and AI-driven tools reshaping the landscape, a structured approach to digital marketing is no longer optional—it’s mission-critical.

Here’s a breakdown of the 10 essential components that define a high-performing digital marketing strategy this year—and how to align with the right services to scale them.

1. Start with Business Goals & Customer Clarity

Strategy without direction is just noise. Before you invest in any digital tools or agencies, define your core objectives:

• Brand awareness?

• Website traffic growth?

• B2B lead generation?

• eCommerce conversion?

• Customer loyalty?

Equally vital is audience clarity. Who are your ideal customers? Where do they spend time online? What triggers their decisions? Understanding buyer personas, pain points, and preferred channels will shape your entire digital roadmap.

2. Conduct a Digital Audit

You can’t improve what you don’t measure. A thorough digital audit helps benchmark where you stand—and what’s underdelivering.

Evaluate:

• Website performance & UX

• SEO rankings & keyword coverage

• Paid ad metrics

• Social media traction

• Email engagement

• Analytics implementation (GA4, Hotjar, etc.)

Partnering with a full-service digital marketing agency or a specialized SEO company can reveal performance gaps and streamline your channel mix.

3. Leverage SEO for Sustainable Growth

SEO remains the long game in digital marketing—and the returns compound over time. If you're not showing up in search, you're not showing up at all.

Key pillars include:

• Keyword strategy (especially commercial-intent for B2B)

• On-page optimization (meta tags, internal linking, schema)

• Technical SEO (page speed, mobile-friendliness, crawlability)

• Backlink building

• Local SEO (for multi-location businesses)

Avoid “keyword stuffing.” The best SEO agencies prioritize relevance, user intent, and content depth over vanity metrics.

4. Build a Multi-Channel Content Strategy

Content fuels every stage of your funnel. A well-structured content strategy doesn’t just inform—it nurtures, persuades, and converts.

Smart formats include:

• Blog articles (optimized for SEO)

• Explainer & testimonial videos

• Infographics and data visualizations

• Email sequences and newsletters

• Social content tailored by platform

• Case studies and whitepapers

Your goal isn’t to flood the internet. It’s to provide value, answer questions, and build credibility with every asset you publish.

5. Invest in Paid Media with Performance Focus

If SEO is the marathon, paid media is the sprint. But sprints still need strategy. A strong performance marketing agency will help you:

• Set up targeted Google Ads and retargeting

• Use Facebook/Instagram for D2C or B2C plays

• Leverage LinkedIn Ads for B2B demand gen

• Test YouTube and programmatic channels

• Optimize creatives and landing pages through A/B testing

A data-driven approach ensures your ad budget drives measurable return—not just impressions.

6. Embrace Marketing Automation

Automation is your behind-the-scenes growth engine. It improves efficiency, reduces manual work, and enhances customer experience.

Leading platforms like HubSpot, ActiveCampaign, or GoHighLevel can help automate:

• Lead nurturing journeys

• Abandoned cart sequences

• Onboarding workflows

• Social media scheduling

• CRM-driven personalization

Work with digital partners who know how to customize—not just configure—these platforms.

7. Prioritize Mobile and UX Optimization

Your website is still your most valuable digital asset. But if it’s slow or hard to navigate on mobile, you’re leaking conversions.

Focus on:

• Responsive mobile design

• Fast load times (<2.5 seconds)

• Clear CTAs

• Easy navigation & intuitive layouts

• Accessibility and clean UI

Most top-tier digital marketing firms now bundle UX audits with their service stack—for good reason.

8. Let Analytics Lead the Way

Analytics isn’t optional. It's your GPS.

Track:

• Website sessions and traffic sources

• Conversion rates and customer journeys

• Email open/click-through rates

• ROAS (return on ad spend) and CPA

• Customer Lifetime Value (CLTV)

Integrate tools like Google Analytics 4, Meta Pixel, Hotjar, and Looker Studio to translate numbers into actionable insights.

9. Build a Funnel-Based Approach

Not all visitors are created equal. Some are window shopping. Others are comparing vendors. A few are ready to buy.

Segment your content and campaigns by funnel stage:

• Top of Funnel (TOFU): Educational blog posts, reels, infographics

• Middle of Funnel (MOFU): Lead magnets, webinars, email nurture

• Bottom of Funnel (BOFU): Product demos, comparison pages, testimonials

The best inbound marketing agencies build tailored journeys that move users from curiosity to commitment.

10. Stay Agile and Trend-Aware

The digital landscape is never static. What worked in 2023 may flop in 2025.

Stay adaptive by tracking:

• Google algorithm updates

• TikTok, Threads, and emerging platforms

• AI-based personalization and content tools

• Voice and visual search

• Shoppable posts and influencer integrations

A smart agency will not only keep up with trends—they’ll help you capitalize on them before your competitors do.

The Bottom Line

Digital marketing success in 2025 isn’t about being everywhere—it’s about being strategically present where it matters, with the right message and tools. Whether you’re working with an SEO agency, a performance marketing team, or a full-stack digital partner, ensure your strategy is goal-aligned, customer-centric, and data-led.

Don’t just go digital. Go deliberately digital.

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Queen One Secures $5.5M to Turn Static Commerce into Living Brand Experiences

Commerce is getting a much-needed creative overhaul. Queen One, a rising brand technology platform aiming to humanize and energize digital product experiences, has raised more than $5.5 million in Friends & Family funding, with backing from Charge VC, Inspired Capital, Red Swan Ventures, Prospeq, and an inner circle of founders and early collaborators.

Unlike many startups chasing AI buzzwords or incremental UX tweaks, Queen One is betting big on brand storytelling—not just as a marketing tool, but as a core business differentiator. The company wants to shift how consumers experience products online—less SKU, more soul.

From SKUs to Stories

Queen One's premise is refreshingly simple: every product has a story worth telling, and commerce platforms have done a lousy job of telling it. Where most online experiences reduce products to specs and data points, Queen One wants to infuse websites with life, movement, and emotional resonance.

“What Figma unlocked for designers, Queen One is now unlocking for brands,” said Brett Martin, Managing Partner at Charge VC. “They're turning static pages into living, breathing experiences.”

That kind of ambition is attracting serious attention. Inspired Capital’s Kamran Ali cited Queen One’s founding team as a rare blend of vision, execution, and cultural intelligence. “Reimagining how people experience commerce is a bold and timely mission,” he said, “and Queen One is the team to lead it.”

Already Moving Fast

Queen One isn’t just raising capital—it’s already building. The company has:

• Released its first product: Connect (powered by Dragon Tiles), a modular technology stack for brand storytelling.

• Secured $6 million in state economic development support to scale operations in New York.

• Grown to a 33-person team.

• Broken ground on the Rise & Fly Vision Centre, a sprawling 30,000 sq. ft. Brooklyn HQ designed to accelerate product, brand, and cultural innovation.

It's a bold move to anchor the company in Brooklyn, but one that fits CEO Ryan Urban’s ethos: “The time is now. New York is rising. I can’t think of a better place to build a worldscale company.”

Building Culture at Scale

Queen One is also shaping its internal culture with the same energy it brings to its products. Co-founder and COO Maricor Resente made it clear: this is a builder's company. “We know what it takes to work hard and ship big. Together with our investors, we’re ready to deliver immense value to every brand globally.”

Sandy Cass of Red Swan Ventures echoed that confidence: “Queen One isn’t iterating on the past — they’re architecting the future of commerce.”

In a digital landscape dominated by template-driven storefronts and one-size-fits-all engagement, Queen One is positioning itself as the connective tissue between performance and presence—between brands that sell, and brands that resonate.

And with over $5.5 million in new funding and momentum, it looks like Queen One isn’t just talking about a brand revolution—it’s building one.

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Audiense Just Made Audience Intelligence AI-Native—Here’s Why That Matters

In a bold step toward reshaping how marketers, strategists, and analysts interact with data, Audiense has launched MCP (Model Context Protocol) connectors—seamless integrations that embed real-time audience intelligence directly into tools like ChatGPT and Claude.

Forget toggling between dashboards, exporting data, or interpreting PDFs. Audiense now lets users tap into its Insights, SOPRISM, Demand, and Tweet Binder data sets using nothing but plain language prompts—no code required.

The result? You can generate detailed persona summaries, creative briefs, content calendars, and even full-funnel campaign strategies without ever leaving your AI chat interface.

From Static Dashboards to Conversational Data

“AI isn’t just a productivity hack,” said Audiense CEO Jim Swift. “It’s becoming the new interface for how brands engage with their audiences. MCP puts insights into that interface.”

It’s a shift from static data access to conversational intelligence. Instead of pulling insights manually, teams can now ask the AI things like:

• “Compare Gen Z and Millennial buying preferences for skincare.”

• “Generate a content plan targeting niche gaming communities.”

• “What are the whitespace opportunities for eco-conscious fashion?”

And instantly get contextualized answers based on Audiense’s robust consumer intelligence platform.

No Code, No Limits

MCP connectors are designed for non-technical users, making it easy for cross-functional teams to access deep audience insights in real time. Use cases include:

• Marketers building ad strategies and campaign messaging on the fly

• Analysts testing hypotheses and benchmarking audience segments

• Strategists identifying whitespace and emerging cultural signals

• Content teams adapting tone and messaging for every persona

It’s not just about speed—it’s about possibility, said Javier Burón, Product Strategist at Audiense. “Whether you’re writing a brief or developing an agent, MCP connectors give you a faster, more flexible way to turn insight into action.”

Plug-and-Play Intelligence for AI-First Workflows

The power of MCP lies in its interoperability and flexibility:

• Custom Prompts: Ask questions your way—no templates required

• Tool-Agnostic: Works across all Audiense products

• Secure by Design: Uses existing authentication, so your data stays protected

• Outcome-Oriented: Generates actionable deliverables—briefs, decks, slides, summaries

• Workflow-Ready: Integrates with other tools—e.g., turn summaries into Canva decks instantly

This launch also marks a broader industry shift: one where AI becomes the default interface for working with data—and where audience intelligence isn’t just something you look at, but something you talk to.

For an industry that's often buried under dashboards and static exports, MCP connectors feel like a future that finally talks back.

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Treasure Data’s AI Agent Foundry Lands in AWS Marketplace—Here’s Why That’s a Big Deal for Enterprises

Enterprise AI just got a serious upgrade. Treasure Data, the intelligent customer data platform (CDP) built for enterprise scale, has launched its AI Agent Foundry in the newly introduced AI Agents and Tools category of the AWS Marketplace. Now, with a few clicks and an AWS account, companies can build, deploy, and orchestrate AI-powered workflows without enduring the usual procurement drag.

This move puts Treasure Data's AI capabilities directly in front of the enterprise buyers already deep in the AWS ecosystem—accelerating everything from agentic workflow development to real-time personalization and data quality checks.

Agentic Intelligence, Now Easier to Access

The AI Agent Foundry, built on Amazon Bedrock, allows organizations to harness custom and out-of-the-box AI agents to automate decision-making, personalize experiences at scale, and surface insights in real-time.

In practical terms, this means marketers and data teams can:

• Automate next-best-action decisions

• Streamline audience segmentation

• Check and validate customer data quality

• Quickly spin up experimental campaigns—without writing a single line of code

"By offering our AI Agent Foundry through AWS Marketplace, we're streamlining access to agentic AI for our customers," said Rafa Flores, Chief Product Officer at Treasure Data. “Some of our biggest customers are already using it to transform how they handle decisioning, personalization, and experimentation.”

Built for Enterprises, Designed for Speed

Treasure Data’s AI Agent Foundry packs enterprise-grade punch:

• Flexible agent frameworks for custom development

• Low-latency decisioning to keep campaigns responsive

• No-code tools that let marketing and data teams operate independently

• Governance baked in, so compliance doesn’t get sidelined

Available through centralized AWS purchasing, the platform helps teams skip long vendor negotiations and move straight to execution—with full visibility into licensing and billing.

Meet MCP: Natural Language Meets Customer Data

Also in the spotlight is Treasure Data’s Model Context Protocol (MCP) Server, an open standard that allows AI agents to securely query enterprise data sources using natural language instead of SQL. This means anyone—from a CMO to a CX analyst—can interact with customer databases, explore trends, and pull insights by simply asking questions.

It's a democratization of data access without compromising on control, security, or compliance.

By reducing the friction of data exploration and expanding access to non-technical users, Treasure Data is reshaping how enterprises work with data—moving from dashboards to dialogues.

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Similarweb’s GenAI Toolkit Tracks Where You Show Up in Chatbots—And Whether It Drives Any Traffic

As AI chatbots begin reshaping the rules of digital discovery, Similarweb wants to help brands answer a new and pressing question: Are we showing up in AI-generated recommendations—and is it actually sending us traffic?

Enter the GenAI Intelligence Toolkit, Similarweb’s newest offering that tracks both AI Brand Visibility and AI Traffic, giving companies a clearer lens into how they’re represented across major generative AI platforms—and how that visibility translates into website visits, engagement, and revenue.

In short: visibility is good, but traffic is better. And with AI now driving more than 1.1 billion referral visits in June 2025 alone (a staggering 357% YoY increase, per Similarweb estimates), the stakes are rising fast.

AI Discovery Is the New Search—But Few Know What It’s Delivering

ChatGPT, Perplexity, Gemini, Copilot, and Grok are rapidly becoming the digital concierge for users researching products, services, and brands. But for marketers, these platforms have been a black box—until now.

With the GenAI Intelligence Toolkit, Similarweb makes it possible to:

• Connect visibility and traffic: Know not just if your brand appears in AI answers, but also whether it’s driving users to your site.

• Pinpoint sources of influence: Learn which media, review sites, or platforms are shaping AI responses—and favoring your competitors.

• Understand real user prompts: Unlike static keywords, AI queries reveal deeper intent, offering brands new clarity into what users really want.

• Benchmark performance: Compare AI-driven traffic to competitor pages and understand your share of visibility in specific queries or topics.

In other words, this isn’t just AI visibility—it’s visibility that converts.

Not Just Another Dashboard: Actionable Intelligence

What separates Similarweb’s toolkit from other AI visibility products is its ability to tie visibility to traffic—and offer contextual, actionable insights:

• Marketers can uncover prompt-level insights to refine content strategy and fill gaps before their competitors do.

• SEO teams can track brand mentions and adapt technical SEO to influence AI citations.

• Execs get boardroom-ready visuals to answer the now-frequent question: How much of our traffic is coming from AI?

“We get asked that exact question all the time,” says Jon Baldwin, Senior SEO Content Manager at pet care giant Rover. “Similarweb’s tool gives us compelling visuals for leadership and board-level reporting.”

Early Feedback from the Field

Digital leaders already testing the toolkit say it’s changing how they approach AI-driven marketing:

“It’s a game changer for brand discovery,” says Ben Newman, Insights Manager at agency Anything is Possible. “The prompts data alone is gold for understanding what matters to users before they land on a site.”

“We’re able to benchmark against competitors and evaluate how our content strategy translates into chatbot mentions,” adds Piotr Szpakiewicz of Displate.com. “It’s not just visibility—it’s strategic insight.”

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DatChat Expands Global IP Footprint with New Canadian Patent as Myseum Prepares for Launch

DatChat, the secure messaging and social media company, has been granted Canadian Patent No. 3,149,004 for its content transformation technology—a move that strengthens its global IP portfolio ahead of the upcoming worldwide release of Myseum, the company’s flagship platform for private digital media sharing.

Already patented in the U.S. and with approvals incoming from Mexico and Europe, the technology—officially titled “Systems And Methods Of Transforming Electronic Content”—is central to Myseum’s privacy-first approach to media sharing and content longevity.

“This patent supports our broader vision as we prepare to launch Myseum globally this fall,” said Darin Myman, CEO of DatChat. “We’re bringing powerful privacy features and a new user experience that makes photo and video sharing secure, permanent, and even fun.”

Building a Legacy of Privacy

DatChat’s strategy hinges on owning the underlying tech behind its privacy-centric platforms. The new patent covers core functionality that enables transformation and secure control of electronic content—essentially allowing users to manipulate, encrypt, or expire media even after it’s shared.

The Myseum platform, available on iOS and Android (with desktop coming soon), is positioned as a “Timeless Digital Shoebox” that offers users:

• 50 GB of free storage

• Encrypted galleries and private collections

• Limited-access sharing

• Customizable feeds and family digital libraries

In a market dominated by short-term, ad-driven social media, Myseum introduces a more permanent, legacy-minded experience—a place where families and communities can archive and revisit digital memories securely and on their own terms.

Why This Patent Matters

The Canadian patent follows a string of international filings and marks DatChat’s 17th issued patent, expanding its IP stronghold across major markets. With another Notice of Allowance recently received from both the Mexican and European Patent Offices, the company is cementing its competitive moat as it transitions from traditional secure messaging to a multi-tiered, privacy-centric social ecosystem.

The company’s existing DatChat Messenger already lets users:

• Control message lifespan before or after sending

• Prevent screenshots

• Delete conversations remotely

• Hide encrypted content in plain sight

These features are now being extended—and evolved—within the Myseum platform.

While the privacy tech market is often defined by arms races between surveillance tools and protective countermeasures, DatChat is leaning into a different narrative: one centered around control, longevity, and personal legacy in the digital space.

By pairing patented technology with a consumer-first interface, the company isn’t just building another app—it’s shaping a new category: part-private messenger, part-social network, part-digital vault.

And with patents stacking up across the globe, DatChat is signaling that it plans to own the rails of this emerging privacy-first media landscape.

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