Six months in, FLEX MARKETING is moving fast. The independent agency, built to modernize healthcare marketing, has not only secured six new client partnerships across biotech and medical device sectors but also grown its staff by more than 75%. Now, it’s bringing on three senior leaders to strengthen its client-first model:

• Ryan Woelfel, Client Partnership Director

• Stephanie Hosmer-Pipes, Executive Creative Director

• Jenn Threlfall, Executive Client Partner

The hires arrive as FLEX celebrates being certified as a California Small Business, giving clients the added benefit of aligning with supplier diversity and procurement goals.

Rethinking the Healthcare Agency Model

FLEX was founded by veterans of healthcare marketing who wanted to strip out the inefficiencies of traditional agencies—think fewer layers, no hourly rate billing, and judicious use of tech. Instead, FLEX leans on senior leadership, a curated FLEX Hive of execution partners, and an operating model that promises faster decisions, smarter execution, and cost savings without cutting strategy or creativity.

“Clients want experienced leadership, quality work, and faster, more cost-efficient delivery without sacrificing strategy or creativity. Our model delivers all three, and these new leaders strengthen that promise,” said Amber Rogers, Partner, Brand Strategy at FLEX.

The New Leaders at a Glance

• Ryan Woelfel will oversee day-to-day client partnerships, drawing from more than a decade in healthcare marketing, most recently as VP, Group Account Director at Propel Health Communications.

• Stephanie Hosmer-Pipes brings two decades of creative leadership, formerly SVP, Group Creative Director at Inizio Evoke. She’ll ensure creative work stays strategically aligned and human-centered.

• Jenn Threlfall adds 25+ years of agency and client-side experience in product launches, most recently with Avalere Health and Inizio Evoke. She’ll focus on senior client relationships and growth initiatives.

Why It Matters

Healthcare marketing is under pressure to deliver results faster, at lower cost, and across increasingly complex therapeutic landscapes. FLEX’s early traction suggests its streamlined model resonates with clients tired of big-agency overhead.

“Clients are getting the strategic depth and creative quality they need, without the overhead they don’t—and top talent is excited to be part of an agency that values expertise, collaboration, and results over allocations and utilization,” added Adam Gelling, Partner, Client Engagement.

What’s Next

With momentum building, FLEX plans to expand further in 2025—deepening partnerships with U.S. and global healthcare brands while continuing to scale its team. If the first six months are any indication, FLEX is carving out a place as the agency built for healthcare marketing’s new realities.

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REMAX® is putting marketing on autopilot—literally. The world’s No. 1 real estate brand has announced the launch of Marketing as a Service (MaaS), a new AI-powered platform designed to help its 145,000+ agents across the U.S. and Canada create smarter campaigns, connect with clients, and win more listings.

Powered by Realforce, MaaS combines automation, customization, and performance tracking into a single interface. Think of it as a one-stop marketing engine for real estate pros, offering everything from instant listing packages to targeted ad programs—without requiring agents to wrestle with multiple tools or steep learning curves.

“This is about giving REMAX affiliates every advantage in this highly competitive industry,” said Abby Lee, EVP of Marketing, Communications and Events at RE/MAX Holdings, Inc. “Marketing as a Service is designed to run in the background while REMAX agents stay front and center with their clients.”

What MaaS Brings to the Table

Key highlights include:

• Simplified tools: Automated listing assets and campaigns accessible via one intuitive dashboard.

• Smart automation: Pre-set campaign preferences let the system auto-launch tailored outreach across digital and social channels.

• Performance reporting: Real-time, shareable dashboards agents can pass along to sellers and teams.

• Quarterly market emails: Delivered via MAXTech® powered by BoldTrail, keeping clients in the loop with branded, local insights.

• Brand consistency: Every campaign reflects REMAX’s refreshed, digital-forward branding.

The base MaaS package—free to all REMAX affiliates—includes flyers, digital/social content, and campaign tracking. Premium add-ons such as lead-gen tools, print mailers, video, and recruiting campaigns will roll out later this year.

Part of a Bigger Innovation Push

MaaS is only the latest in a string of digital investments by REMAX. Earlier this year, the company introduced:

• MAXReferSM, a global AI-driven referral platform.

• MAXEngageSM, a rewards-based app that motivates agents to amplify their social presence.

• AspireSM, a next-gen onboarding program aimed at grooming top-producing agents.

Together, these initiatives underscore REMAX’s strategy: make marketing easier, keep agents front and center, and maintain the brand’s edge in an increasingly digital-first real estate market.

Why It Matters

The real estate industry has been reshaped by digital platforms, with buyers starting their home search on social and mobile channels long before they call an agent. By consolidating advanced marketing into a plug-and-play system, MaaS arms REMAX agents with what amounts to an always-on marketing department—without adding cost or complexity.

Lee put it more bluntly: “We’re being very aggressive in providing REMAX affiliates with difference-making competitive advantages that help them stand out—especially on social and digital platforms where most people begin their home search.”

For agents, that means less time in marketing dashboards and more time closing deals. For REMAX, it’s another step toward ensuring that, as competitors pile into AI and automation, its agents remain the most visible—and trusted—brand in real estate.

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C5i, the pure-play AI and analytics company, has deepened its partnership with Databricks with the launch of the Marketing Data Cloud (MDC)—a validated Built on Databricks solution designed to unify fragmented marketing data and measure outcomes across channels with AI at the core.

For businesses, fragmented data has long been a barrier to understanding customers and proving ROI. MDC addresses this challenge by consolidating marketing data from every channel and touchpoint, then applying AI-driven ingestion, harmonization, predictive insights, and real-time activation. The result: marketers can achieve a 360° customer view, smarter segmentation, and hyper-personalized engagement at scale—while accelerating time-to-value.

“The Marketing Data Cloud combines C5i's expertise in data, AI, and marketing with Databricks' scalability to drive precision and impact in a complex marketing landscape,” said Ashwin Mittal, Executive Chairman of C5i. “This expanded partnership marks a significant milestone in unifying data and AI for advanced intelligence.”

Built on Databricks’ Open Lakehouse Foundation

At the core of MDC is the Databricks Data Intelligence Platform, which democratizes access to analytics and AI applications by unifying all marketing data into a single environment. With open formats and governance, enterprises maintain full control of their data while tapping into AI models tuned to their specific business needs.

“C5i is a pioneer in applying advanced analytics and AI to real marketing outcomes,” said Sarah Branfman, Global Vice President, Databricks ISV. “Their Marketing Data Cloud empowers enterprises to transform raw data into actionable intelligence. Together, we’re setting a new standard for performance-driven marketing across industries.”

Advanced Analytics for Smarter Marketing

The MDC doesn’t stop at unification—it provides Performance Analytics including:

• Marketing Mix Modeling – optimize spend allocation across channels.

• Brand Measurement – track brand equity and market impact.

• Campaign Analytics – assess effectiveness across paid, owned, and earned media.

• Multitouch Attribution – evaluate how every customer touchpoint contributes to conversions.

Industry-agnostic and scalable, MDC is designed to serve enterprises of all sizes, helping marketing leaders refine strategy, improve ROI, and gain a competitive edge.

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In a global coaching market projected to surpass $20 billion by 2030, competition and client expectations are intensifying. Yet, one of the biggest challenges for coaches remains the same: building sustainable, scalable businesses. Despite deep expertise, many coaches struggle with operations, visibility, and client acquisition.

The Launch Accelerator, developed by business strategist Sai C.N.G. Blackbyrn, addresses this gap with a done-for-you business growth system designed to help coaches establish fully operational practices within just 30 days.

Meeting a Growing Demand for Predictability

Industry observers note the rise of hybrid models in coaching, where practitioners seek predictability, credibility, and measurable outcomes over generic frameworks. By combining strategy and execution, Launch Accelerator is emerging as a blueprint for modern coaching businesses in a data-driven economy.

The impact is measurable:

• 80%+ of participants report significant growth within six months.

• The program maintains a 92% satisfaction rate.

• In just three years, it has supported 500+ coaches globally, generating 124,000+ leads.

A Turnkey Infrastructure for Growth

What sets Launch Accelerator apart is its infrastructure-first approach. Rather than offering abstract guidance, the program delivers:

• A clearly defined niche and high-value offer.

• Client acquisition funnels designed for conversion.

• Automated email campaigns and tested sales copy.

• A complete business framework coaches can launch immediately.

“Coaches are often deeply skilled in their fields, but building a scalable business requires infrastructure, not just inspiration,” said Sai C.N.G. Blackbyrn, Founder of Coach Foundation. “The Launch Accelerator was designed to provide that infrastructure, so coaches can focus on their work while building long-term credibility and impact.”

Hybrid Model: Execution + Skill Development

According to Edge360 Marketing’s review, the differentiator is the hybrid design. The program pairs done-for-you execution with advanced training in sales, positioning, PR, SEO, and publishing. This ensures participants not only launch a fully functional business model but also acquire the skills to sustain and scale.

With hundreds of success stories and rising demand in an increasingly crowded coaching landscape, Launch Accelerator is positioning itself as a market-defining solution for coaches seeking growth, efficiency, and long-term impact.

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Climaty AI, a global CliMarTech company powered by Agentic AI, has officially launched under the leadership of Founder & CEO Neel Pandya. With operations spanning APAC, GCC, EU, UK, and North America, Climaty AI is set to become the default climate layer for all media decisions—delivering a SaaS platform that integrates carbon responsibility with high-performing media campaigns.

Unlike point solutions or ESG add-ons, Climaty AI introduces the industry’s first end-to-end CliMarTech infrastructure, bringing together sustainability and performance at scale.

Key Differentiators of Climaty AI

• Cross-Media Carbon Intelligence – The world’s first engine measuring ad emissions across all media touchpoints, recommending AI-driven strategies to cut CO₂ footprints substantially.

• Agentic AI Suite – Autonomous AI agents that streamline workflows, personalize creatives, deliver real-time intelligence, and continuously optimize campaign performance.

• Programmatic+ – Premium, MFA-free inventory powered by direct publisher deals and carbon-aware bidding.

• Ad Net Zero Pathway – Full accountability with verified carbon credit offsets.

“Climaty AI is the answer to every CMO asking, ‘How do I grow responsibly?’” said Neel Pandya, Founder & CEO of Climaty AI. “With Agentic AI at the core and sustainability at the heart, we’re not just solving problems—we’re re-engineering the operating system of modern marketing.”

Leadership with Proven Global Impact

At the helm is Neel Pandya, a recognized Top Global Inspirational Leader and Most Powerful Influencer in the marketing industry. His career spans senior leadership roles at L'Oréal, Vodafone, and GroupM (Unilever), as well as serving as CEO of Pixis, where he helped scale the AI-driven marketing platform into a $225M-funded global brand.

Pandya has also headed the Society of Advertisers’ Media Forum, shaping industry-wide initiatives. Now, with Climaty AI, he is steering the dual wave of Agentic AI and Climate Tech to create solutions that align business growth with environmental responsibility.

“After years of working on performance optimization across global brands, agencies, and AI platforms, I felt a responsibility to lead the next critical shift where marketing intelligence integrates environmental impact,” Pandya added. “The future of marketing lies in AI-powered automation, measurable outcomes, and purpose.”

About Climaty AI

Climaty AI is a global CliMarTech (Climate + Marketing Technology) company, delivering the world’s first end-to-end AI-powered infrastructure that unites performance-driven marketing with measurable carbon responsibility. Built for CMOs, agencies, and enterprises, Climaty AI enables organizations to scale sustainably while optimizing growth outcomes.

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When a company promotes someone to Chief Marketing Officer just a year after joining, it usually means they’ve shaken things up—for the better. That’s the case at Highspring, which today announced Katie Strout as its new CMO, following her rapid ascent through the organization after spearheading a sweeping brand overhaul.

From Brand Transformation to Growth Engine

Strout didn’t waste her first year. She streamlined Highspring’s go-to-market identity, modernized its brand architecture, and aligned marketing operations with the company’s long-term strategy. The result: a marketing function no longer seen as a back-office service, but as a central growth driver.

As CMO, Strout will now oversee enterprise-wide marketing across Highspring and its talent solutions arm, Vaco by Highspring. Her mandate? Drive large-scale demand generation, build deeper market connections, and keep marketing firmly embedded in business strategy.

“Marketing has become a high-impact partner to our business units under Katie’s leadership,” said Highspring COO Steve Kass. “Her promotion is both well-earned and critical to our next chapter.”

A Track Record of Modernization

Strout isn’t new to high-stakes marketing. With nearly two decades of experience across professional services, gaming, and technology, she’s led teams where brand, digital, and demand intersect. Before Highspring, she served as VP of Performance Marketing at a Fortune 500 professional services firm, where she drove measurable results across brand campaigns and revenue-focused initiatives.

Her career also includes senior marketing roles in gaming and tech—industries where agility and customer engagement aren’t optional. That background seems to be informing her approach at Highspring, which emphasizes adaptability and data-driven execution.

Why It Matters

Highspring is betting big on marketing as a lever for growth—something not every professional services organization gets right. In an industry where marketing often plays second fiddle to sales, Strout’s elevation signals a shift: marketing isn’t just about polishing the brand anymore, it’s about fueling pipelines and scaling demand.

The move also reflects broader trends in B2B services. Firms are under pressure to modernize their marketing engines with digital-first strategies, brand clarity, and performance metrics to match. Rival organizations are making similar moves—EY recently restructured its global marketing leadership, and Accenture has doubled down on demand-generation functions in recent years. Highspring’s appointment fits neatly into this industry narrative.

Looking Ahead

For Strout, the new role is about maintaining momentum. “We’re building a brand and marketing approach that matches the scale and opportunity of this organization,” she said. That scale is significant: Highspring operates across 50+ countries, supporting more than 10,000 professionals worldwide.

The company’s challenge will be translating its brand transformation into measurable business impact—especially as professional services firms race to differentiate in a crowded, digital-first market. If Strout’s track record is any indication, Highspring’s next chapter could see marketing sitting at the head of the table, not just the sidelines.

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When generic AI tools promise speed but deliver chaos, someone eventually builds a smarter alternative. For Sappington, a firm known for its enterprise technology marketing chops, that meant creating its own: the Sappington Expedite Platform, an AI-powered solution designed to slash production time and cost for essential marketing assets—without sacrificing brand standards or human-caliber quality.

Why Not Just Use ChatGPT?

That was CEO Tim Goggin’s exact question back in 2022, when AI hype was swelling and tools like ChatGPT began creeping into marketing workflows everywhere. His answer? Because off-the-shelf AI solutions rarely deliver what enterprise marketers actually need: secure, accurate, on-brand content that can scale across complex campaigns.

“We saw where the market was headed and knew our clients needed something purpose-built,” Goggin said. “Off-the-shelf AI solutions often promise speed but deliver chaos, lack quality, or don’t align with brand standards. We built a platform that does what marketers need—to move faster and spend less while retaining human-caliber quality.”

That distinction matters. While smaller businesses can experiment freely with open AI tools, enterprise brands are governed by compliance, data security, and the need for consistency across dozens of channels. A single rogue output can be costly.

Built for the Realities of B2B Marketing

The Expedite Platform is not just a “wrapper” for a public LLM. It combines custom-trained models, advanced prompt engineering, and secure infrastructure, all layered with Sappington’s two decades of B2B marketing expertise.

The result is an AI environment where Sappington’s strategists and writers can churn out polished eBooks, case studies, competitive analyses, blogs, solution sheets, and even full campaign Bills of Materials at a fraction of the usual time and cost. Importantly, the content isn’t shipped straight from an algorithm—it still runs through human editors, brand checks, and quality assurance.

That hybrid approach addresses one of the most common complaints about AI-generated content: robotic tone, factual inaccuracy, and endless revisions. “We’ve been able to dramatically cut timelines and costs,” Goggin noted. “And help our clients be AI-forward while they navigate AI tools within their companies.”

Differentiating from the Pack

In an AI-saturated market, differentiation is tough. Microsoft, Adobe, HubSpot, and Salesforce have already injected generative AI into their marketing suites. But Sappington’s bet is that enterprises don’t just want AI baked into existing tools—they want a controlled, secure, and branded environment that matches their specific workflows.

Think of Expedite as the opposite of the “move fast and break things” mantra. It’s more “move fast and still look professional.” That’s a subtle but critical nuance in B2B, where a poorly written whitepaper or misbranded case study can tank credibility overnight.

Human + AI, Not Human vs. AI

One thing Goggin stresses is that Expedite isn’t about replacing people—it’s about scaling them. High-touch services like keynote development, executive storytelling, sales presentations, video production, and experiential marketing remain untouched. Expedite instead handles the repeatable content layer: the essential assets that can slow down marketing teams but don’t always need to start from a blank page.

In other words, Sappington isn’t handing over the creative reins to AI. It’s using AI as a force multiplier.

Industry Implications

The launch taps into a broader trend across enterprise marketing: AI as a co-pilot, not an autopilot. Gartner predicts that by 2026, 80% of B2B marketing organizations will use AI to personalize and scale content production. But the challenge has always been balancing speed with control.

By building a proprietary platform instead of leaning on public tools, Sappington is positioning itself as both a service provider and a product innovator—something rival firms may have to consider as clients demand more AI-powered efficiency without losing the bespoke, brand-safe touch.

The Takeaway

Sappington’s Expedite Platform represents a middle path in the AI marketing arms race: faster, cheaper, but not reckless. It’s a move that could resonate strongly with enterprise clients who want to leverage AI without sacrificing brand trust.

For B2B marketers overwhelmed by the choice between generic AI tools and expensive, slow human-only processes, Expedite may just offer the “best of both worlds.”

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Applebee’s Neighborhood Grill + Bar is shaking up its leadership team with two high-profile hires aimed at accelerating marketing innovation and operational excellence. Michelle Chin joins as Chief Marketing Officer on Sept. 2, and Jerrold (Jay) Wong will start as Chief Operations Officer on Sept. 15.

The appointments come amid a period of momentum for the brand, which reported increased traffic and sales in Q2, signaling renewed growth potential in the casual dining segment.

Michelle Chin: Leading Marketing with Data and Creativity

Chin brings more than 20 years of marketing experience from global consumer brands like Starbucks, Godiva, and Unilever. At Applebee’s, she will oversee the brand’s entire marketing strategy, including national advertising, social media, digital campaigns, menu innovation, and integrated initiatives.

“Applebee’s has a unique place in American culture—welcoming, familiar, and full of heart,” Chin said. “I’m energized by the opportunity to deepen guest engagement, evolve our brand presence, and drive bold, creative marketing that keeps Applebee’s top of mind and top of table.”

Her mandate aligns with Applebee’s broader strategy: connecting with a new generation of guests while strengthening the emotional bonds with existing customers. Data-driven insights and storytelling will guide her approach, balancing bold creativity with measurable results.

Jay Wong: Operational Excellence Meets Hospitality Expertise

Wong joins with a strong background in hospitality leadership, having scaled teams and led transformations at Four Seasons, Starwood/Marriott Hotels, and Exclusive Resorts. As COO, he will focus on improving operational consistency, supporting franchisees, and driving system-wide performance to enhance the guest experience.

“Applebee’s is one of the most iconic names in American casual dining,” Wong said. “I’m thrilled to join this team and help move faster, serve guests better, and unlock new avenues for growth.”

Strategic Implications

The moves reflect Applebee’s commitment to innovation in an increasingly competitive casual dining landscape. By investing in marketing leadership and operational rigor, the brand aims to reimagine its restaurants, expand menu offerings, and create meaningful guest connections. Competitors like Chili’s and TGI Fridays are similarly focusing on experiential upgrades and digital engagement, making leadership with proven consumer-brand expertise critical.

With Chin and Wong at the helm, Applebee’s hopes to combine marketing sophistication with operational efficiency, leveraging both to sustain growth and maintain relevance in a crowded market.

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