This article was based on the interview with Robbie Ferrara, Global Creative Director at monday.com by Greg Kihlström, MarTech thought leader for The Agile Brand with Greg Kihlström podcast. Listen to the original episode here:
The world of B2B marketing, particularly within the SaaS and technology sectors, has long operated under a set of unwritten, yet strictly enforced, rules. The dominant language is one of features, ROI, and logical efficiency. The preferred color palette is a reassuring, if uninspired, shade of navy blue.
The underlying assumption has always been that business decisions are made in a sterile, emotionless vacuum, where a well-argued spec sheet trumps a compelling story every time. Yet, as marketing leaders, we know the truth is far more complex. The people buying our software are, in fact, still people. They are overwhelmed, navigating a fractured media landscape, and increasingly weary of the endless, undifferentiated noise.
This challenge has been amplified to an entirely new level by the AI revolution. Every platform, service, and solution is now screaming “AI” from the virtual rooftops, creating a paradox of immense hype and tangible underwhelm. While the innovation curve shoots skyward, the adoption curve lags, hampered by anxiety and a healthy dose of skepticism. In this environment, how does a brand cut through? How do you market a technology that feels both transformative and intimidating in a way that connects, reassures, and even entertains? It requires a deliberate break from convention—a strategic pivot from the logical to the emotional, and a willingness to embrace the kind of creative thinking that has long been the domain of B2C.
Breaking the Convention of B2B
The first step in standing out is recognizing the homogeneity of the landscape. For monday.com, this process began with a candid audit of their own work and that of their competitors. The realization was clear: a logical, rational thread connected nearly everything, creating a sea of white noise where differentiation was nearly impossible. This insight led to a fundamental strategic question about the nature of B2B communication itself.
According to Robbie Ferrara, Global Creative Director at monday.com, the industry’s default posture is often unnecessarily rigid and counterintuitive to how modern communication works.
“Why, when you hear the word B2B or SaaS, do you suddenly feel that you have to go into convention of talking like bankers and it’s Navy blue and it’s kind of very logical and rational… I think now with the kind of media landscape we have, from digital and social platforms, I think almost every advertiser now is a B2C. And so you kind of really have to work hard to break out and to get people’s attention.”
This shift in perspective—viewing every brand as a B2C advertiser competing for the same finite human attention—is the unlock. For monday.com, the strategic foundation wasn’t manufactured; it was found within a core product truth. Through customer testimonials and feedback, a powerful emotional differentiator emerged: their platform was a product people genuinely loved to use. This isn’t a feature; it’s a feeling. Leaning into this feeling became the north star for their brand strategy, giving them permission to move beyond the conventional B2B playbook and into the realm of emotional connection.
Addressing AI Overwhelm with Human Truth
Armed with this strategy, monday.com turned its attention to the most hyped topic in technology: artificial intelligence. Instead of launching another campaign trumpeting AI capabilities, they chose to address the human reality of the AI conversation. Their campaign, humorously titled “I’ve Had the Time of My Life,” tapped into the collective feeling of “AI overwhelm.”
Ferrara points out the dissonance many professionals are experiencing—a constant barrage of AI messaging that doesn’t align with their day-to-day reality. This created an opportunity to connect with audiences not by making bigger promises, but by acknowledging their experience.
“I think there’s so much overwhelm, but we’re all feeling kind of underwhelmed by actually what the uses of AI are… we’re on one hand, we’re being screamed at by that AI and the other hand, none of us are really seeing tangible benefits. And so I think our software is intuitive, easy to use, and it leads to rapid adoption. And so I think our point of view on the world is whatever comes next AI on the next technology, it’s going to be adopted.”
This insight is a masterclass for any leader navigating the AI narrative. The campaign didn’t focus on the technical wizardry of monday.com’s AI sidekick. Instead, it used singing llamas to capture the carefree, joyful feeling of work getting done effortlessly. It addressed the cultural moment with wit and self-awareness, transforming a potentially intimidating technology topic into something approachable and entertaining. By grounding the campaign in a relatable human truth—the fatigue of the AI hype cycle—they created genuine resonance that feature-focused messaging simply cannot achieve. This is the difference between telling your audience what your product does and showing them how it will make them feel.
Building an In-House Engine for Agile Creativity
Executing a bold, global campaign in-house requires more than just a great idea; it demands a specific operational structure and, more importantly, a certain type of talent. In an always-on marketing environment, the old model of delivering one campaign per quarter is obsolete. Speed and agility are paramount, but they cannot come at the expense of quality. So how do you build a team that can move at the speed of a tech company without sacrificing creative excellence?
Ferrara highlights two critical components. The first is operational: creating a structure that empowers teams with the freedom to make decisions quickly. The second, and perhaps more crucial for marketing leaders, is philosophical and rooted in the hiring process.
“The most important one is autonomy, giving the teams, the individuals, the autonomy to move and make decisions quickly… But I think though, beyond the operations, one of the biggest mechanisms is the hiring process and trying to find those modern creative thinkers now that are at peace with ambiguity and aren’t scared of ambiguity, but see it as an opportunity… you’ve got to deal with only having 70% of the information in front of you.”
This is a profound insight for anyone building a modern marketing organization. The most valuable creatives are not necessarily those who require a perfect, fully-detailed brief. They are the ones who thrive in ambiguity, who can take an incomplete picture and begin moving in the right direction with intuition and confidence. This mindset, what Amazon’s Jeff Bezos famously called the “70% rule,” is essential for maintaining momentum. Waiting for 100% of the information means you’re already too late. For leaders, the directive is clear: hire for adaptability and comfort with uncertainty, and then build a culture of trust that gives those individuals the autonomy to act.
The Irreplaceable Value of the ‘Strange Human Brain’
As AI tools become more integrated into the creative process, a natural question arises about the future role of human creatives and their leaders. Ferrara’s perspective is pragmatic, not apocalyptic. He sees the immediate benefit of AI as an accelerator, a tool that speeds up the journey from concept to a tangible proof of concept, allowing teams to “feel” the work sooner. However, he also identifies the line that, for now, machines cannot cross.
The true, lasting value of human creativity lies in its ability to make unexpected connections—what he calls the “lateral jump.”
“I personally use four or five different AI tools in my work every day. I’ve yet to see them be able to do that lateral jump of what you need. And this advert is a singing llama doing a bad pun of a Rihanna song. I’m sure it will get there, but… there’s those little moments where I think only a strange human brain can get you there.”
This is the core of what creative leadership must protect and cultivate. AI can generate variations, optimize executions, and even produce stunning visuals. But the spark of a truly iconic idea—a talking gecko for an insurance company, or singing llamas for a work OS—comes from a uniquely human place. It’s the product of cultural context, emotional intelligence, and a touch of wonderful absurdity. The role of the creative director, and by extension the marketing leader, is evolving. It is less about managing the mechanics of execution and more about fostering an environment where these “strange human brain” moments can occur, and then having the courage to champion them.
Finding Your Llama
The lessons from monday.com’s journey offer a clear roadmap for B2B marketing leaders seeking to break through in a crowded, complex market. The path to differentiation is not paved with more feature lists or louder claims of technological superiority. It is built on a foundation of genuine human connection, a deep understanding of the cultural moment, and the creative courage to defy convention. Grounding a bold creative idea in a core product truth transforms it from a risk into a strategic imperative. When people truly love using your product, expressing that joy isn’t a gamble; it’s an authentic reflection of your brand.
As we look ahead, the central challenge for all technology brands will be bridging what Gartner calls the “AI adoption gap.” Innovation will continue to outpace adoption, and the winners will be the brands that build trust and make technology feel accessible, intuitive, and even enjoyable. This is where emotion and storytelling become critical business drivers. The ultimate goal is to move beyond explaining what your technology can do and instead focus on building a brand that customers feel connected to, a brand they trust to navigate the future with them. The question for every marketing leader is no longer just about logic and ROI; it’s about finding your own singing llama.
