Don’t Put Digital First, Put It Everywhere

In 2025, brands must move beyond “digital-first” to a mindset where digital is everywhere. Jacques Du Bruyn, Co-CEO at Flume Digital Marketing, argues that digital fluency should anchor every campaign, blending traditional and online touchpoints into a seamless, human-centered experience. The modern sales funnel is no longer linear—consumers navigate a “hurricane of touchpoints,” from social media to reviews to influencers, before buying. True marketing success now depends on understanding human behavior through data, ensuring that digital becomes the connection, not just the channel, driving both engagement and authenticity across every platform.

Why Humanity Still Matters in the Age of AI Marketing

Jacques Du Bruyn, Co-CEO at Flume Digital Marketing, discusses why the human touch remains essential in the AI-driven marketing era. While AI excels at tasks like data analysis, audience persona creation, and ad optimization, it lacks the cultural nuance, emotional intelligence, and diversity of perspective needed to create truly resonant campaigns. In a landscape overflowing with AI-generated content, the brands that succeed will be those that combine AI’s efficiency with authentic human insight to forge deep, lasting connections.

Performance Marketing Isn’t Sexy, But It’s Pretty Smart

I was lucky enough to be invited to contribute a chapter to The Book Every Marker Should Most Definitely Read, alongside a group of people I regard as friends, colleagues and mentors. They had all sorts of amazing things to say about strategy, creativity, messaging, personalisation and the way the evolving digital world is changing the way marketing works, all the time.