Nokia

Long B2B Sales Cycles Hinder Measurement

Long B2B sales cycles — sometimes months, years, or longer — create major challenges for marketing attribution, optimization, and proving ROI. The author argues that tracking microjourneys (website visits, downloads, webinars) provides faster measurement but has limits because those signals often do not measure quality or purchase likelihood. He recommends eliminating vanity metrics and building better models that assess fit, likely purchase value, and customer quality rather than simply counting raw events. The piece is authored by Mike Maynard, Managing Director of Napier, and published on MarTech (owned by Semrush).

Omar Karim's AI-first Reinvention of Boxfresh

The Drum profiles director Omar Karim’s AI-first production for heritage streetwear brand Boxfresh, commissioned after Luke Hodson acquired the brand in 2025. Karim used an advanced AI model and AI agents to conduct rapid ethnographic research and generate visuals, then applied human curation — including cultural consultant Steve Bryden and the Boxfresh team — to ensure historical and cultural authenticity. The resulting branded short film blends surreal, folded visuals with archival detail; VFX/animation/editing was credited to Brainclub 5000 and music to Audio Network. Karim emphasizes that the workflow mirrored conventional filmmaking (treatment, mood boards, rounds of feedback) and that AI increased creative possibility but also incurred significant token and human costs.

Suvi Latva: Changing Realities for Finnish Game Studios

Suvi Latva, chief business advisor at Neogames Finland who has advised Finnish game founders since 2005, discusses how digital distribution and tools like Unity shifted commercial responsibilities from publishers to developers. She argues AI lowers technical barriers but does not create demand, and warns founders that early choices — genre, platform, and self-publishing — lock in audience, monetisation, discoverability and risk. Latva highlights Finland's supportive developer community, the role of public funding (notably Business Finland), and Nokia's historical influence on Finnish mobile expertise. A recurring mistake she observes is teams building games they personally want without validating market demand or aligning costs, financing and marketing plans.