43: How experimentation can fuel marketing effectiveness: Insights from General Motors Executive Director of Marketing and Consumer Engagement Laura Thornton

43: How experimentation can fuel marketing effectiveness: Insights from General Motors Executive Director of Marketing and Consumer Engagement Laura Thornton

Author: Alan B. Hart June 17, 2026 Duration: 22:35

At General Motors, modernizing marketing means more than just adopting new tools—it requires thoughtful experimentation and sound human judgment to apply AI and other innovations while protecting the customer experience. In this episode, Laura Thornton shares how General Motors (GM) approaches this balance through two parallel efforts: marketing technology modernization and Project Leapfrog, a pilot program where teams can test low-risk ideas outside the core operating model.  

She explains how this approach helps her team experiment with new AI tools to quickly solve problems and expedite workflows. Laura encourages marketing leaders to create room for testing, give teams permission to fail, build confidence through hands-on use of new tools while avoiding changing too much too fast.  

Laura also discusses a real leadership challenge for marketing and consumer engagement leaders: not only adopting AI, but helping employees throughout the enterprise adapt while keeping human judgment and customer connection at the center. 

"Taking risks is something that can feel very daunting, and as marketers, we have to be open to trying and testing new things. So that has to be fundamental." - Laura Thornton

In this episode, you'll hear about: 

AI adoption approaches that can bring change without putting core work at risk 

Experimentation insights that can help teams unlock better ideas, accelerate learning and improve adoption 

Leadership tips for fostering AI-driven change with humans-in-the-loop 

 

Key highlights: 

[00:00] Introduction 

[01:20] An auto industry family legacy 

[01:55] Laura's GM path: From account coordinator to executive director 

[03:25] Perspectives from the agency side vs. client side 

[04:15] Taking customer journeys from insights to action 

[05:10] Embracing MarTech transformation 

[06:25] Introducing Project Leapfrog 

[07:25] AI pilot experimentation 

[10:25] Integrating AI with the human workforce 

[11:45] Lessons for future transformations 

[13:00] An experience that defines you: Trusting the process through career pivots 

[14:15] Advice to your younger self: Find your voice early to grow confidence  

[15:10] A topic you're trying to learn more about: Change management 

[17:00] Latest curiosities: Analog, in-person experiences 

[18:45] Largest potential threat: Pressure to change too rapidly without a strategy 

 

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Hosted by Alan B. Hart, Marketing Beyond moves past the buzzwords and surface-level tactics to explore the real strategic decisions shaping modern business. Each episode features a candid, in-depth conversation with a chief marketing officer or a founder who has fundamentally changed how a brand connects with its audience. These aren't just success stories; Alan guides his guests into discussing the pivotal failures, the unexpected pivots, and the nuanced challenges that rarely make the keynote stage. You'll hear firsthand how leaders navigate the convergence of creativity, data, and technology in a rapidly shifting landscape. This podcast provides a rare, unfiltered look at the thinking behind major campaigns and business transformations, offering practical wisdom rather than just theory. For anyone curious about the human judgment and long-term vision required to build lasting brands, these discussions cut straight to the core. Listening feels like being a fly on the wall for a masterclass in strategic marketing, where the focus is always on what comes next.
Author: Language: en-us Episodes: 50

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