Magic and Wonder: Marketing Lessons from Jimi Gibson on Marketing / And
Season six of Marketing / And is in full swing, and one question AMA’s CEO and podcast host, Bennie F. Johnson, loves to ask always lands with impact:
“What advice would you give to marketers?”
In this episode, Bennie sits down with Jimi Gibson, VP of Brand Communications for Thrive Internet Marketing Agency—where he helps brands clarify their message, amplify their presence, and drive real growth. Gibson also happens to be a magician, a passion he’s had since childhood. And throughout the conversation, he draws a surprising but powerful connection between magic and marketing: both are about designing moments of wonder that earn trust.
Here are a few of his standout insights.
Authenticity Is the Only Strategy That Works
In an age of AI-generated content, Gibson warns that playing it safe may feel comfortable, but it’s the fastest way to disappear. AI can scale content, but it can’t read emotions, spark delight, or create genuine connection. Humans still hold that advantage.
His advice for marketers and brands?
- Lead with a point of view.
- Embrace a voice that’s unmistakably yours.
- Be willing to repel the wrong audience to attract the right one.
As Gibson puts it:
“Playing it safe is certainly a comfortable place to be. But if you’re trying to play it safe, you’re basically not saying anything to anybody. And marketing is as much about repelling the people you don’t want as it is about attracting the people that you do want.”
In other words, neutrality isn’t strategy—it’s an invisibility cloak.
Creating the Emotional Arc: The Marketer as Magician
Gibson believes magic and marketing follow the same emotional arc. A magic trick doesn’t start with the big reveal. It builds connection, sparks curiosity, and then—only then—delivers the moment of transformation.
Marketers should do the same.
Rushing past connection to get to the call to action breaks the spell. Trust is built gradually, not forced.
Empower Teams to Bring Their Full Selves to the Work
Gibson also shares leadership lessons grounded in culture, trust, and ownership. At Thrive, their core values spell GROWTH—Gratitude, Respect, Ownership, Work ethic, Think bigger, and Honesty, and they reinforce them weekly.
Every Thursday, the entire company takes part in “Thank a Thriver Thursday,” where each person thanks a colleague for demonstrating a core value. With 175 employees, that’s 175 ripples of acknowledgment every week, an energy Gibson calls “infectious.”
The expectation is simple:
If someone is struggling, ask what’s going on. Offer help if you can.
This kind of culture empowers people to contribute, experiment, and bring passion to their work.
Gibson practices what he preaches. He could leave his background in magic out of his professional life, but he doesn’t. He brings his own “abracadabra factor” to the table because that’s where authenticity and differentiation live. He urges others to bring their own “abracadabra factor” to their work.
His challenge to leaders:
“What power are you willing to give to your team to be themselves and to be involved in a passionate pursuit?”
At its best, marketing is more than strategy and storytelling. It’s about creating moments of wonder, sparking emotion, and building connections that last. Listen to the full interview here.
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Marketing / And explores life through a marketing lens, diving into the moments where creativity, purpose, and culture intersect. Each episode introduces you to visionaries whose stories you might not know yet—but absolutely should. Because at its best, marketing isn’t just about selling something. It’s about shaping stories, shifting perspectives, and inspiring what comes next.