Chief Marketing Officer & Executive Vice President of Global Marketing, Adobe
Search every verified Lara Balazs interview, podcast appearance, and on-the-record quote — each transcript cross-checked by AI and human review to confirm speaker identity. Lara Balazs, Chief Marketing Officer and Executive Vice President of Global Marketing at Adobe, spoke on a panel at the Cannes Lions festival about the evolution of the marketing funnel. She stated that the funnel is no longer linear or conical, but still provides a useful mental model for marketers. Balazs noted that touch points traditionally associated with the bottom of the funnel, such as product reviews or comparisons on TikTok, are now functioning at the top of the funnel, and that earned media can now operate at both brand and demand generation levels. Balazs argued that focusing solely on bottom-of-funnel metrics would "mortgage your future" and that marketers should also invest in brand-building, which she described as "demand creation." She said that using this terminology helps marketers advocate for budgets and demonstrate value in boardroom settings because "it sounds more concrete." Balazs concluded that despite the funnel's non-linear nature, it remains a useful tool for budget advocacy and that creativity continues to matter.
“The funnel today is not a linear funnel, it is not a conical funnel, but it does give people a mental model to help a marketer think through it.”
“How many times do you see a TikTok video that's a review or comparison of a lip gloss that causes you to then purchase it even though you had never heard about the brand before?”
“Some of the touch points that traditionally would have sat at the bottom of the funnel are playing top of funnel.”
“Back in the day, linear TV was sitting at the top. Now it's like if you do great earned, you're going to be at brand level, demand generation level.”
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