When AI can help people research health concerns, choose an insurance plan, or decide where to spend an afternoon, a brand’s first impression may happen before anyone reaches its website. At the same time, photos and videos can prompt questions about authenticity. For marketers, earning trust increasingly means thinking about how people discover a brand and what happens when they experience it for themselves.
At a recent Marketers That Matter® Forum hosted by Mall of America in Minnesota, four marketing executives explored how they are responding to those changes while building their brand, offering differentiating customer experiences, developing their teams, and leading during these disruptive times.
Our expert panel of speakers included:
- Jill Renslow, Chief Marketing and Business Development Officer, Mall of America (hear more from Jill here)
- Lynn Farmer, Chief Audience and Engagement Officer, Minneapolis Institute of Art (hear more from Lynn here)
- Jennifer Seyller, Chair, Department of Marketing, Creative, Operations and Experience, Mayo Clinic (hear more from Jennifer here)
- Michelle Barbeau, Chief Revenue Officer, eHealth (hear more from Michelle here)
Moderated by Kathy Hollenhorst, Chief Community Officer of Marketers That Matter®, the conversation covered changing consumer behavior, brand authenticity, experiences that build loyalty, responsible AI use, and the skills marketers need to lead. Here are key insights from the conversation:
Stream the MTM Visionaries podcast on Apple, Spotify, Amazon, or wherever you like to listen!
Recognizing Where the Customer Journey Now Begins
The leaders described a changing relationship between how people find information and how they decide which organizations to trust.
Lynn Farmer of the Minneapolis Institute of Art, known as Mia, shared an example with direct implications for her organization. While researching online, she noticed that an AI-generated search summary wasn’t telling people that general admission to the museum is free. Her team made that message explicit on the website’s visit page. She said the information then began appearing in the summary.
“Our real front door is our website,” Farmer said. “And sometimes our front door is the AI summary.”
For Jennifer Seyller of Mayo Clinic, the shift is showing up in conversations between patients and physicians. People arrive at appointments with AI-generated information to better understand their conditions. Rather than dismiss the trend, she said, it helps to recognize the need behind it: people trying to understand what’s happening to them. That creates a responsibility to get accurate clinical expertise into those channels so people are better informed, whether they ultimately seek care at Mayo Clinic or with their home physician.
Michelle Barbeau of eHealth described a related expectation: People want complex decisions to become easier. Her team offers ways to compare and enroll in health insurance online, along with access to licensed advisors by phone, chat, and video. In the video experience, consumers can see their advisor and share a screen as they work through options together.
“For us, it still is about the human aspect and trust,” Barbeau said. Convenience helps people engage, but the larger objective is forging a relationship that extends beyond a single enrollment decision.
Making Authenticity Visible and Believable
Authenticity became a focal point when the speakers described audiences questioning content that was real.
Jill Renslow of Mall of America recalled a sales conversation about an image of a crowded rotunda. Graphics had been added to illustrate a potential activation, but the crowd itself was real. Still, the image prompted a question about whether AI had generated the packed house.
For a brand built on in-person experiences, those questions matter. Renslow said her team has discussed whether explicitly labeling authentic content could help audiences better understand what they are seeing. That idea reflects a broader concern about preserving trust in storytelling.
Farmer shared a similar experience. Mia shared a social media post of a soccer ball bouncing down its stairs to announce a collaboration with the Minnesota Aurora women’s soccer team. Some viewers assumed it was AI-generated and questioned why the museum would use it. But the ball was real, as were the people waiting out of view to catch it.
“I think it’s really interesting because trust is so fragile,” she said.
At eHealth, Barbeau described transparency as the foundation of the brand her team developed during a company turnaround. Its advertising features real people using the service and interacting with real advisors. The work also addresses practical sources of skepticism, including how the service is funded and how advisors are paid.
Rather than relying on promises alone, the approach lets prospective customers see the experience and understand how it works. Barbeau linked authenticity to improved business performance, while crediting the broader turnaround team.
Creating Experiences That Give People a Reason to Return
Across the businesses, the discussion moved from getting attention to creating an experience worth repeating.
For Renslow, Mall of America’s appeal comes from balancing discovery with tradition. Visitors should be able to find a new retailer, restaurant, or event while returning to meaningful family experiences. Technology can help with planning and personalization, but the memories come from being there.
“AI is not going to deliver memories,” she said. “You need to do that in person with your friends and family.”
Barbeau described eHealth’s work to extend relationships beyond an annual insurance decision. Some communications that previously came from the company now come from the customer’s advisor. She said that shift increased open rates and engagement.
Her team is also expanding a pilot with Hallmark that allows advisors to send cards to customers. Barbeau said the pilot improved retention, illustrating how a simple gesture can strengthen relationships.
That work requires looking across the organization. “You can’t think in functional silos about marketing over here, sales over here, tech, operations,” she said.
Seyller offered a different perspective on experience and loyalty through Mayo Clinic Platform. She described how access to de-identified patient data can support research and innovation by outside organizations, extending Mayo’s expertise through relationships with business partners. The purpose is to help advance work that Mayo cannot accomplish alone.
Keeping Human Judgment at the Center of AI Adoption
The speakers saw useful applications for AI, particularly behind the scenes, while emphasizing the human expertise necessary to recognize problems.
At Mall of America, Renslow said much of the focus is on giving employees tools to handle repetitive tasks more efficiently. Consumer-facing uses are being introduced cautiously, she said, so the mall doesn’t overwhelm visitors with AI or put their trust at risk.
At Mia, Farmer distinguished between administrative uses of AI and the work of interpreting human creativity. The museum continues to employ writers who truly understand art and its creators. She also emphasized following links to original sources when using AI summaries for research.
For Seyller, accuracy and review are essential to Mayo Clinic’s communications. She described governance processes that involve human review and clinical expertise, along with the growing need to continually evaluate AI outputs against established standards.
“It’s a tool, it’s a team member. It is not a replacement for our people,” Seyller said.
Seyller shared an example of an experience director coming to her to say the team would delay a website update by two weeks. Experienced leaders and contractors had worked on it, but the result wasn’t where it needed to be, so the team chose to take more time and get it right.
So, even as production speeds up, teams need judgment to identify problems and the support to raise them before a launch.
Building Teams That Can Learn, Connect, and Think Critically
When the conversation turned to their people, the leaders emphasized curiosity, adaptability, and the ability to work across functional disciplines. They also raised a question about how people will develop judgment if AI takes over the tasks through which earlier generations learned.
Renslow described Mall of America’s work with interns, educators, and employees exploring future career paths. As AI handles more routine work, she wants to preserve the practical experience that helps early-career professionals develop strategic thinking. Providing tools and training is only part of that process.
Farmer reflected on a career that began before laptops, email, and the internet were standard parts of the job. Continuing to learn new platforms matters, she said, but so does the ability to think critically and communicate directly with other people.
Barbeau emphasized an enterprise perspective. Marketers need to understand how their decisions connect with sales, technology, operations, and the full customer experience. They also need to account for business results beyond engagement metrics. “My big belief is that marketing is not just about driving top line,” she said, explaining that she looks at how marketing contributes to bottom-line growth as well.
At Mayo Clinic, Seyller said her team has elevated people who are actively experimenting with AI to help colleagues develop their capabilities. The department has also brought data analytics and architecture more deeply into its work to scale experimentation.
“We’re also looking for the systems thinkers,” she said. Experimentation matters, but so does understanding how the pieces connect and how an effective approach can scale.
Career Lessons from Following Curiosity and Purpose
The leaders closed by reflecting on career moves that expanded their responsibilities and gave them new reasons to learn.
Seyller spent 24 years at Hallmark, beginning as a product manager for Easter greeting cards and moving through several roles. She sought change that offered learning and a sense of purpose. Moving to Mayo Clinic meant adapting to a different industry and culture while maintaining a connection to people’s well-being. “I didn’t just want to go find another job. I wanted to find something with purpose,” Seyller said.
Farmer traced her path from retail into higher education, public media, and an art museum. Curiosity about how people behave and staying ‘creator adjacent’ connected those moves. “So don’t be afraid to go searching in some unexpected places because you’ll never know where you end up,” Farmer said.
Barbeau reflected on two major transitions: moving from consumer products to healthcare and later expanding from chief marketing officer to chief revenue officer. The first brought a steep learning curve and renewed purpose. The second broadened her focus from marketing performance to the performance of the enterprise, including how functions work together around customer needs.
Renslow offered a reminder that significant career changes can also happen within one organization. Over her 29 years at Mall of America, she has taken on different responsibilities across a changing mix of brands, events, and partners.
“People talk about climbing the ladder. I climbed a jungle gym to get here,” she said.
Renslow’s experience reflected a common theme in the advice shared by the leaders: stay curious, be open to new ways of doing things, be a constant learner and always stay aligned to your purpose. And whether it be for a brand or a professional, remaining authentic and trustworthy are at the center of remaining relevant in this age of AI-everything.
About the Speakers
Jill Renslow, Chief Marketing and Business Development Officer, Mall of America
Jill Renslow oversees Mall of America’s brand functions, including sales, marketing, communications, events, tourism, and creative. She co-leads the property with a colleague who oversees operations, connecting the visitor experience with the mall’s marketing and business development priorities.
Renslow began her career at Mall of America as an intern and recently celebrated 29 years with the organization. Her experience spans a range of roles and collaborations with retailers, entertainment partners, and brands creating experiences at the property.
Lynn Farmer, Chief Audience and Engagement Officer, Minneapolis Institute of Art
Lynn Farmer leads audience and engagement work at the Minneapolis Institute of Art, known as Mia. Her responsibilities include marketing, communications, branding, digital experiences, public programs, and the docents, tour guides, and volunteers who help shape visitors’ experiences.
Farmer’s career includes high-end retail at Neiman Marcus, 18 years at Target in merchandising and marketing, and communications leadership roles in higher education and public media. At Mia, she draws on that background to build audiences and communicate the role art can play in people’s lives.
Jennifer Seyller, Chair, Department of Marketing, Creative, Operations and Experience, Mayo Clinic
Jennifer Seyller leads Mayo Clinic’s marketing team, helping connect people with its clinical knowledge and expertise and reach those who may benefit from its care. Her work includes communicating the organization’s role in treating serious and complex health conditions and developing the capabilities needed to support its marketing and experiences.
Before joining Mayo Clinic, Seyller spent 24 years at Hallmark in a range of roles, beginning as a product manager for Easter greeting cards. Her move into healthcare continued a career focused on people’s well-being while introducing new challenges in academic medicine and nonprofit leadership.
Michelle Barbeau, Chief Revenue Officer, eHealth
Michelle Barbeau leads a broad portfolio at eHealth that includes corporate strategy, marketing, sales, enterprise data analytics, partnerships, and new business development. She joined the health insurance marketplace as chief marketing officer during a turnaround and subsequently became chief revenue officer.
Her background includes consumer products marketing at General Mills and healthcare experience across the insurance carrier, provider, and broker sides of the industry. At eHealth, she focuses on connecting business transformation with customer needs and building relationships that extend beyond insurance enrollment.
Forum moderator Kathy Hollenhorst is a Marketers That Matter® Advisor & Chief Community Officer.
Marketers That Matter® is a community of top marketing executives coming together to pioneer the future of marketing by sharing real-time experiences and solving current challenges.
Our parent company, 24 Seven, specializes in helping you find exceptional marketing, creative and tech talent for your teams.
