Law Talk with the Flock · 2026-01-08 · 14 min
Key moments - from our scoring
Substance score
24 / 100
Five dimensions, 20 points each
Marianne O'Brien, founder and CEO of OBI Creative (an Omaha-based national advertising agency), joins Gina from Guzman Law Firm to discuss 2026 planning through a marketing and brand lens. The conversation centers on building research-based marketing plans aligned with product roadmaps, refreshing creative assets, and timing campaigns around seasonality - with real examples from law firm services like divorce work. O'Brien emphasizes that consumers receive 33,000 messages daily, making strategic positioning and "air cover" essential for staying in the consideration set. She advocates for understanding customer journeys rather than brand-centric messaging, and critically, connects company culture to external brand perception, noting that employee experience directly impacts how prospects are greeted and treated. The episode also addresses AI adoption: O'Brien positions AI as a strategic tool for efficiency and competitive advantage, not a job eliminator, urging teams to embrace it rather than resist it. Legal operators and B2B leaders planning 2026 strategy will find practical frameworks for marketing roadmaps, the role of internal culture in brand delivery, and perspective on integrating AI into professional services without sacrificing the trust and consultative relationships that differentiate firms.
O'Brien cites 33,000 messages per day that consumers receive across all channels - social media, billboards, digital, and traditional media - emphasizing the need for strategic brand "air cover" to stay in customers' consideration sets.
O'Brien argues that employees are a brand's primary customers; their attitude and behavior when interacting with prospects (like how they answer the phone) directly conveys brand values and impacts whether leads convert, making culture integral to marketing success and customer retention.
O'Brien uses AI daily for auditing, research, and competitive discovery, and encourages staff not to fear AI as a job threat. She frames AI adoption as a competitive necessity, saying "not using AI might take your job" as industries shift, and promises strategic roles for employees who embrace these tools.
OBI Creative builds marketing plans by aligning product/service roadmaps with brand positioning and primary messages, then developing go-to-market tactics spanning digital, traditional, earned, and paid media, while refreshing creative and accounting for seasonal demand patterns.
O'Brien stresses that effective marketing is about sending the right message at the right time when customers are ready to respond, not when the brand wants them to; it requires understanding the prospective customer's emotional and factual needs rather than focusing on the brand itself.
Our reviewer’s read on each dimension, with quotes from the episode.
The episode is dominated by generic marketing platitudes - refresh creative, plan ahead, culture matters, AI is a tool - with almost no non-obvious claims a B2B operator wouldn't already know. The only remotely concrete idea is the seasonality point, and even that is presented at a surface level.
if you don't have a plan, you're using hope as a strategy
33,000 messages a day we're getting as consumers. And when you think of a consumer...it's probably more than this
The episode recycles some of the most well-worn marketing clichés in circulation - Bezos's brand quote, the hope-as-strategy line, and the 'we survived the internet' AI analogy - without adding any new framing, evidence, or contrarian angle.
your brand is what people say about you when you're not in the room
if you don't have a plan, you're using hope as a strategy
Marianne O'Brien is a genuine practitioner - founder and CEO of an operating agency with a named proprietary research methodology - but the agency is regional in scope and the appearance is transparently promotional, as she is an active vendor to the host's firm.
I am m the founder and CEO of OBI Creative. We're uh, a national advertising agency. Um, our headquarters is in Omaha
I came up with a study many years ago called the o' Brien Voice of the Customer
The only quantitative claim offered is a self-acknowledged stale and approximate figure ('33,000 messages a day...it's probably more than this'), and the only named example is the host's own firm. No campaign results, budget figures, timelines, or verifiable outcomes are provided.
it's 33,000 messages a day we're getting as consumers. And when you think of a consumer, don't think of just a, you know, um, a consumer that's buying, you know, household goods
for example, in a law firm, um, if you do divorce work, there may be seasonality around divorce work. Like after the holidays, there might be a lot of, um, divorce work that comes in
The host leads the witness at almost every turn, explicitly compliments the guest mid-interview, and never once challenges a claim or asks for evidence. The interview functions as a mutual promotional exchange between a vendor and her client rather than an interrogative conversation.
you are so smart
Don't you, Marianne? Like, it's not just something that you're reacting to all the time. It's very strategic.
Computed from the transcript - who did the talking, and the words that came up most.
In this episode of Law Talk with the Flock, CEO Jeana Goosmann sits down with Mary Ann O’Brien, CEO of OBI Creative, to explore how smart planning and strategic communication help businesses start the year on solid footing. Together, they pull back the curtain on what organizations should be thinking in 2026, from building intentional roadmaps to navigating the tens of thousands of messages customers absorb every day. They discuss the importance of culture and internal communications as well, highlighting how the story your employees believe becomes the story your customers feel. They also dive into a topic top-of-mind for every industry: AI. Mary Ann explains how companies can adopt AI to improve efficiency and free teams to operate more strategically without compromising ethics or trust. Jeana adds perspective on how legal professionals can embrace AI while maintaining the expertise, judgment, and credibility clients rely on. Tune in to learn more about staying relevant, planning growth, and positioning your business for the year ahead. Learn more at goosmannlaw.com. Visit our Website
Transcribed and scored by The B2B Podcast Index.
Speaker A: M
Speaker B: Do complex legal issues hold you back?
Speaker C: Let's get energized and bring clarity to your top legal question. This is Law Talk with the Flock by Guzman Law Firm.
Speaker B: For today's episode, I have with me Marianne o'. Brien. Marianne is the CEO, uh, of OBI Creative. Welcome to the podcast, Marianne.
Speaker A: Thank you, Gina. I'm happy to be here.
Speaker B: Marianne, could you briefly introduce yourself to our listeners?
Speaker A: Sure. Uh, I'm Marianne o'. Brien. I am m the founder and CEO of OBI Creative. We're uh, a national advertising agency. Um, our headquarters is in Omaha. Um, but we've got clients and employees kind of all over. And um, we are known for our research based marketing. And so um, I came up with a study many years ago called the o' Brien Voice of the Customer. And that study has served as the foundation for a lot of great um, ad campaigns and results. And we, we still use that same approach today. We get kind of under the hood, try to understand what our, what our clients, customers want and what our clients are good at delivering. And we put those two things together and um, then we advertise. So yeah, that's what we do.
Speaker B: Well, wonderful. I'm excited to have you on. I know Gooseman Law Firm worked with you and you did a research study for us and uh, helped us refine our brand and we uh, have been appreciative of that and I think it's been a good success in the marketplace. So you do great work and I'm excited to have you uh, share some, what you do with our listeners and our audience. And we're going to focus a little bit on what people do to plan for the new year because we're starting out a new year in business. We're 20, 26. So what are some of the things that you help guide people through as they're. They're planning?
Speaker A: Yeah, I mean one of the, the primary things that we do, um, even at the end of the year, but you know, we're starting to execute now at the beginning of the year is build up the marketing plans and marketing roadmaps. So aligning kind of what the product or service roadmaps are with the primary messages and positioning with the brand m in the marketplace and then building from there, um, what the go to market tactics are. So um, like for, for Gooseman, for example, we've got a go to market plan that um, we're already executing against. That includes media, different types of media, digital media, traditional media, um, earned media, um, paid media, those kinds of things, um, we also are always looking at refreshing creative at the beginning of the year to make sure that there's not lethargy in, um, that creative. So, um, in a world where people get so many messages, uh, we have to keep kind of the creative fresh. So it's always at the beginning of the year that we're, um, talking to clients about, you know, new creative campaigns, um, just to, Just to make sure that, um, we don't get any, you know, any, any, any tiredness in the market. Um, we're also always looking for seasonality at the beginning of the year. So looking down the calendar year around what is seasonality? So, um, for example, in a law firm, um, if you do divorce work, there may be seasonality around divorce work. Like after the holidays, there might be a lot of, um, divorce work that comes in. So is our messaging, um, on point for the brand, but also for the time of year and the seasonality of the product or service that we're marketing. So, um, we're always looking forward and trying to be the best earning partner we can be for our clients.
Speaker B: That's wonderful. I know we're reviewing contracts and thinking about corporate governance, and you're thinking about brand and how to get it out there in the marketplace. But, um, really, I think it's important to have a plan for the year too. Don't you, Marianne? Like, it's not just something that you're reacting to all the time. It's very strategic.
Speaker A: Yeah, I mean, I definitely believe in being a strategic marketer. I think, you know, everybody works hard to earn the money that it takes to, to. To pay for the advertising. And if you don't have a plan, you're using hope as a strategy. And to me, hope is not. And so as a marketer, I want to make sure that we have a solid plan and that we have a plan that. And we're flexible and nimble enough to adjust based on, you know, the real results that are coming in. So, um, we absolutely have a plan that we set at the beginning of the year, and then we're measuring and managing against that plan to make sure that if there is something that changed or maybe we overestimated in one area or, or underestimated, that we can redeploy dollars, um, into the places that are driving the biggest results. Um, because at the end of the day, that's what it's about, is you're investing money into marketing so you can drive results.
Speaker B: And I know you've talked about how many decisions and how many things are Coming at people every day. Can you speak to that a little bit more? Because those numbers are just astounding.
Speaker A: It's insane. It really is. And I've used this number for many years, so it's probably more than this. But it's 33,000 messages a day we're getting as consumers. And when you think of a consumer, don't think of just a, you know, um, a consumer that's buying, you know, household goods. A consumer is any, that they're, they're intersecting with you. So they could be a business consumer during the business hours, they could be a home consumer during the, you know, early mornings and evenings. Um, so we're getting all kinds of messages, whether that be social media messages, whether that be a billboard that we're seeing or a hundred billboards we're seeing as we're driving down the interstate. Those are all inputs and they all are um, you know, weighing into what choices we make. And so I call it air cover. But we need to have air cover as a brand to make sure that you're in the consideration set. No one will consider you if they don't think of you. So you have to have awareness and then once you have awareness, you want to intersect that awareness with what I would call more call to action type of activities. So where we're actually offering something a ah, benefit for the, the, the consumer. So there's a lot of different messages coming at people all day, every day. And it's really not about when you, the brand want your, your prospects or your customers to respond. It's when the customer it, when they're ready to respond. So you have to be in the consideration set. So there's a lot of, a lot of messages coming at us every day and, and more and more frankly, um, as you know, digital technologies come, come to play and so um, making sure that you have a strategic marketing partner and that they've put a plan in place that they've done their research to understand where you should be and when you should be there to intersect your, your prospect of customers, when it's most useful for them. Um, and that's that, that's the key. Sometimes as brands we think about us as the brand, but it's really about our customers, what makes sense to them. When that's really what a good forensic marketer will do is understand who is the prospective customer and when does it make the most sense to intersect them with the message like to kind of take that down to fifth grade level. Really it's about sending mail to the right address. When are, when are we sending the message and when is it the most, um, you know, critical time? Is that an emotional message because it's an emotional time or is that a fact based message? Um, so lots of messages coming at us all the time and um, you know, just making sure that you have a partner that is really thinking about the customers and the journey they're on, um, when you're building your marketing plans is really, from my perspective, very, very important. And how about company culture?
Speaker B: That's a, been a hot button for a long time now, but how does that play into a brand and then how it hits the marketplace?
Speaker A: You know, you are so smart, um, I mean like the most progressive marketers and you are one of them, um, understand that culture is a huge part of your marketing plan. So your primary customer in any business is your employee. And so treating them just like you would a prospective customer, figuring out what the right messages are at the right time, how to deliver those messages in an emotional setting or in a fact based setting. Same, the same science applies to your internal, um, employees. Your internal customers. Your employees, um, as it would to your prospective customers or your existing customers. And so culture really matters because if you are, um, investing in advertising and you're trying to drive a lead, let's say, and that lead responds to your message and they call, they call your office and the culture can be felt, uh, in just how they answer the phone. Are they smiling when they answer the phone? Are they happy to be there? Are they attracting the prospective customer to the brand? Those are all things that really matter and that takes a lot of hard work. And so, um, making sure that your marketing plan incorporates culture and employee, uh, communications is really, really important.
Speaker B: I think it really affects retention and then who you even attract for hiring as well.
Speaker A: Absolutely. I mean, um, you know, your brand is what people say about you when you're not in the room. And so as the founder, Gina, you, you have the brand down, you know why you started it, you know what drives the mission and vision. And so making sure that every employee that, that is at Guzman understands that same story and has the same narrative and belief is really, really important. That is, you know, the compounding effect of a great culture. And so, um, when everybody is singing from the same song sheet and is aligned, it really does matter and it drives retention. Amazing retention. Um, so yeah, I think culture is really critical now.
Speaker B: We can't have a 2026 podcast and not talk a little bit about AI and how that is playing into the marketplace. And how are you adapting, um, as in marketing and with brands to accommodate AI for AI.
Speaker A: I mean, we're using AI every day. Uh, any, I think any good business is trying to find the right opportunities to use AI in an ethical way and um, inviting our teams to not be afraid of AI, to really see it as a tool to help, um, be more strategic for our customers. For obi, we're using AI, um, to audit some of the things that we do every day to do research and discovery around um, our clients and around their competitors. So for me, um, you know, AI, I've been talking about AI at OBI for a long time because um, to a lot of people, they are afraid to engage with AI because they're afraid it's going to take their job. And at obi, what we say is AI is never going to take your job, but not using AI might take your job. So, um, if you get more efficient because you're using AI, I promise you as the founder, I'm not going to eliminate you as a, as a contributor. I'm actually going to find more strategic things for you to do because you're so willing to look towards the future. Um, but if you are someone who is putting, digging their heels in and saying I'm not going to use it, I don't, I don't see the value that might be, that might be a future eliminating factor for your job. So I hate to be that blunt, but I really do mean that. I mean we had the Internet 30 years ago and if we would avoided the Internet or put our heels in, where would we be? We would not be in business today. You know, so there are just industrial shifts that happen in any generation or any decade and we have to, we have to really wrap our arms around it and, and you know, as leaders support it and put some governance and guidelines around how we use that and how we don't and um, I guess encourage our people and empower them to, to use whatever tools are in our tool set and in our tool belt. And so, um, yeah, I'm sure, you know, for, for legal it's probably similar, you know. Oh my gosh, is this going to take our, our jobs away? No, because as, as a client of yours, I want your strategic thinking. I, I don't maybe need you to um, have to proof as hard as, as maybe you had to those contracts. So being able to use AI in the, in the ways that are most beneficial for your customers and for your employees is, is I think the right approach.
Speaker B: I agree with you I think it's really important to be able to adapt, uh, and use AI and like you said, we're just really consultative. And because of that, you know, we can also use those tools. But at the end of the day, people want somebody that they can trust, and I think that's really a differentiator, as if you're working on consultative things. Uh, people at the. They still want somebody that they know, um, backs that information. And for us on the legal side, you can kind of get AI to say whatever you want it to say. It's just a few ask it the right question. So I think that it's important to know the tools that you're working with for sure. Well, this has been fantastic, uh, information as we plan for 2026. I'm so excited to have you on the podcast today, Marianne. Thank you for your time and your expertise in sharing that with our listeners.
Speaker A: Thank you so much. I love being here. And, um, we love Guzman.
Speaker C: Thanks for joining us for Law Talk with the Flock by Guzman Law Firm.
Speaker B: We hope you feel energized and ready
Speaker C: to soar past your goals, become a Flock fan, and subscribe to our podcast. Learn more@goosemanlaw.com.
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