Bruno Luis, Head of Marketing at Bloq.it: “The sooner you move into this new age, of marketing and design-focused tools, the better and happier your team will be”

“You really can’t bore people to buy.” So says Bruno Luis, Head of Marketing at Bloq.it, and it’s one of many great lines in this wide-ranging interview.

For Bruno also suggests you “accept your inner laziness and embrace it as the wonderful trigger it can be”. But we don’t think he’s suggesting everyone hits the pina coladas at midday, more that we should embrace AI’s automation skills. “AI is your friend,” he adds. “And hopefully being lazy will inspire you to ask the proper questions.”

Perhaps you won’t be shocked that Bruno started his career in the creative side of marketing, as an advertising copywriter. Nor that he soon became a CMO and Head of Marketing for several SaaS companies; he now leads the marketing efforts of Bloq.it, the fastest-growing smart locker company.

So what else can you look forward to here? Rather than give away the ending of a good story, we’re going to share three out-of-context quotes. 1: “AI is here to stay and will shape our future as a species.” 2: “I believe tech will evolve into something like Tinder on steroids.” 3: “Take a minute to empathise with others. Even the rude ones.”

Read on and we promise you won’t be bored.

Why Dust or Magic? That stems from a quote by legendary American advertising creative director, William Bernbach: “An idea can turn to dust or magic, depending on the talent that rubs against it.” (And if you’re wondering where you’ve heard the name, Bernbach was the inspiration behind Don Draper of Mad Men fame.)

Could you please introduce yourself to our audience? What motivated you to pursue a career in marketing, and how did you embark on your journey in this field? 

At first, the promise to keep learning something new every day got me into the advertising world. The sole idea of handling different briefings fed my insatiable curiosity and after that, the power of the dopamine rush of a good brainstorming session got me hooked on the creative power of marketing. I still believe in creativity as the fuel for marketing your company. If you don’t have a creative edge in the way you present yourself to the world, congratulations, you made it onto the commodity shelf. 

What are your thoughts on the escalating integration of AI in digital marketing and its potential influence on the future of marketing, Martech and social media?

Every new tech that emerges will face naysayers. AI is no different. I still remember the laughs the iPhone got when it was launched, or the criticism coming from branding gurus that got thrown towards the iPad. Time proved them all wrong. AI is here to stay and will shape our future as a species.

Learning early how to master its power instead of fearing it, will dictate our success as individuals. I believe AI to be a catalyst for creativity, it’s helping everyone to get better results faster, breaking creative blocks, and helping small teams scale to higher outputs. I don’t think you can ever fully automate a unique social presence. But AI will surely help you get there.

Digital marketing was always a matter of scale. And humans are not that great at analysing things at scale. Mainly because we’re programmed to formulate opinions on what our eyes can see and hands can touch. AI will help our eyes see far beyond the horizon, by conquering piles and piles of data and making sense out of them in speeds we could only wish for. Knowing how to prompt them into existing systems, and extracting actionable insights will spawn our next Jedi masters. Fear not the wonders of highly intelligent systems, master it you must. Or something like that. 

How do you ready yourself for an AI-driven landscape as a marketing leader? What new skills do you need? 

Curiosity has always served me well. Being curious allows you to beat boredom every time. And it will also take you to ask powerful questions no one else has asked. What if? Let AI find your blind spots. Let it explore the endless unforeseeable conditions that will influence your hypothesis. Be curious and ask questions. 

Another great skill is to accept your inner laziness and embrace it as the wonderful trigger it can be. It sparked my interest in automation. Why repeat ordinary tasks if I can automate them? AI is your friend. And hopefully being lazy will inspire you to ask the proper questions.

Recommended reading: ChatGPT isn’t Star Trek, so don’t let science fiction cloud your AI thinking

How do you think AI might evolve B2B marketing and/or ABM strategies in 2024?

Helping to interpret in-market signals and easily connect searchers with the offerers. People won’t mind if the offers they see are relevant. That’s what boosted Google in the early days of contextual advertising. I believe tech will evolve into something like Tinder on steroids, matching up in-market companies looking for a solution that already exists somewhere. 

What core values have played a pivotal role in shaping your approach to marketing and communication?

Magnetism. You really can’t bore people to buy. No matter how hard some brands out there try to do it, it doesn’t work that well. I always polish the brands I manage to make them feel magnetic. Investing in unique aesthetics, supported by consistency in the messaging, rooted in real insights, from real customers is my cheat sheet.

Communication is more effective once it’s clear. I’ve tried smart-arsing people with clever headlines and puns that only appeal to writers, but in the end, I realised that a clear, laser-targeted message, based on a real message our support agents got one rainy Tuesday afternoon, is way more powerful.

What major hurdles have you encountered as a marketing leader, and how did you surmount them?

Egos. People can’t disconnect their sense of self-worth and their success rate. I mean, sure, a win is a win. But knowing that your value resides in getting the goals and not pushing your agenda over everyone else’s is a proper superpower. 

My career skyrocketed the moment I realised I was not hired to push my ideas. I’m hired to contribute. To give my push, that together with all the pushes from the rest of the team, will get our ball over the goal line. 

Nowadays I see myself as the facilitator. I facilitate ideas to fruition. They don’t even have to be my ideas. I’m there to align what the company needs to evolve with what the team thinks is the best path to go down. 

Egos are often the biggest hurdle in the way of great teamwork. I’ve seen great teams being blocked by ego-clashing. It’s almost like this high school feeling of rivalry under the same roof. I always feel like jolting them all and screaming into their ears the competition is out there, you fools, not under our own roof.

Recommended reading: Could you shoot a movie in Midjourney?

How do you ensure you’re up to date with the latest marketing trends and technologies, and how do you integrate them into your strategies?

Follow two, maximum three sources of great consistent insights. Don’t try to follow them all or you’ll get overwhelmed and overrun by heaps of information.

Podcasts are helpful if you stick to them. If you find yourself nodding positively and aggressively during a podcast episode, you found your top podcast. It really doesn’t matter if everyone agrees with you or not. If you identify with a source of information, stick to it and consume it.

What piece of advice would you offer to fellow marketing leaders that has been particularly beneficial to you personally?

Be a better listener. Once you learn how to ask questions and really hear what others are telling you, you become the most powerful leader you can be. 

More often than not, people stay silent waiting for their turn to speak their opinion. Once you master the art of being quiet and really listening between the lines, that’s when you can serve others properly. 

Everyone can hear a question. But can you hear the reason why someone chose to interrupt their day to go and ask you something? That’s where your attention should be focused. The question behind the question. Humans are complex creatures but we all crave the same. Reduce uncertainty and increase comfort. Take a minute to empathise with others. Even the rude ones.

What Martech technology has your company recently embraced and what difference has it made to your business?

Webflow has been a game changer for us at Bloq.it. We’re still deploying part of the strategy we have for it but it’s been nothing short of an incredible experience. Having worked with several CMS and having felt the despair marketing teams worldwide experience under the shackles of other famous options out there, I can tell you that the sooner you move into this new age, of marketing and design-focused tools, the better and happier your team will be. And you know what they say, happier marketing team, better revenue stream.