Think First, Prompt Second: How to Use AI Without Losing the Plot
AI is not a strategy. It is a tool that works best when it supports clear thinking, solid research habits, and responsible marketing practice. In this hands-on workshop, participants will learn how to use AI to understand people more deeply, not replace the work of audience insight or ethical decision-making.
The workshop will start with what AI does well, where it falls short, and why curiosity, empathy, and human judgment still shape effective engagement. Participants will see real marketing examples where AI weakened the message through generic content, incorrect assumptions, or a clear lack of consumer understanding. These moments will set the foundation for a simple truth: good marketing still depends on how well the marketers understand their audiences.
The workshop will then get practical. In small groups, participants will map a customer journey, define what their audience is trying to accomplish, and practice structured prompts that turn customer needs into early insights. They will also run quick ethical checks around privacy, consent, and transparency so their work stays grounded and responsible.
Participants will leave with a worksheet they can reuse for any project, along with a checklist for safe prompting and a framework for evaluating the quality of AI outputs. The goal of this session is not to turn participants into AI experts; it is to help them think more clearly, work more ethically, and use AI in a way that strengthens their marketing practice.
Bio:
Kellie (Reinert) Vivanco is a consultant and fractional marketing leader who helps early-stage and growing organizations create marketing that works in the real world. Through her practice, Kellie V Marketing, she serves as a go-to-market strategist and customer marketing partner for SaaS, publishing, membership, and AI-driven companies. Her work centers on helping teams understand their audiences, build trust, and create marketing programs that are thoughtful, ethical, and grounded in consumer behavior.
Vivanco brings more than fifteen years of experience leading lifecycle, growth, product, and customer marketing across SaaS, EdTech, large-scale publisher, and membership organizations. Before launching her consulting practice, she led marketing strategy for Totango, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, and Pearson Online Learning Services. Her work spans product-led growth transitions, customer journey redesigns, enterprise onboarding programs, and the development of customer engagement frameworks used across global teams.
In her consulting work, Vivanco supports organizations navigating growth, complexity, or major transitions. Her projects include AI-powered research and insight development, enterprise customer engagement strategy, B2B content and campaign planning, and audience segmentation. She also advises early-stage founders on building foundational marketing programs that help small teams move from reactive tactics to clear, audience-first strategy.
At West Virginia University, Vivanco teaches Audience Insight and Customer Engagement Ethics and Strategy in the Integrated and Digital Marketing Communications program. She brings real-world examples to the classroom, showing students how to connect theory with practice, make responsible marketing decisions, and think critically in an AI-driven environment.
Vivanco earned her MBA with an emphasis in Integrated Marketing Communications from West Virginia University and a Bachelor of Science in Journalism from the University of Florida. She lives in Orlando, Florida, with her husband and German Shepherd. Outside of work, she loves to travel, read, play golf, and explore cultures and languages around the world.