Why Innovation Isn’t Perfect—It’s Human: Advice from Jocelyn Lo
Marketing / And returns for Season 7 with conversations exploring how today’s marketing leaders are navigating constant change. Hosted by Bennie F. Johnson, the podcast centers on a deceptively simple question:
What advice would you give to today’s marketing leaders?
In this episode, Bennie sits down with Jocelyn Lo, Vice President of Global Brand and Communications at Seedtag, for a conversation that challenges one of marketing’s most persistent myths: that innovation must be flawless to be effective.
At Seedtag—creator of the Neurocontextual Advertising Program—innovation is grounded in understanding people. By combining neuroscience and AI to decode real-time signals of interest, emotion, and intent, the company is built on a simple premise: context should drive connection.
That belief shapes Jocelyn’s broader perspective on marketing, and what it takes to lead in an increasingly complex landscape.
Progress Over Perfection
For many marketers, innovation is synonymous with breakthrough. Something new. Something polished. Something that works—immediately.
Jocelyn disagrees.
“Innovation doesn’t need to be perfect… People think innovation means we’re going to create something new that works perfectly. But you can’t do that.”
Instead, she reframes innovation as iterative—built across stages that range from incremental to disruptive. Each step informs the next, and none of it happens without friction.
More importantly, innovation doesn’t end at launch.
It requires participation.
“If I create something, I want you to use it and tell me what you liked and didn’t like,” she says. “That’s the true innovation.”
The takeaway: without feedback, you haven’t innovated—you’ve simply released.
Curiosity is a Competitive Advantage
Jocelyn’s path into ad-tech wasn’t linear. She initially set her sights on fashion marketing before an early experience in consumer technology shifted her trajectory.
Working on product roadshows and attending major industry events like the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) exposed her to the speed and scale of innovation, and ultimately reshaped her career.
Today, that same energy defines the industry. And for Jocelyn, the only way to keep up is to stay curious.
“Just be curious, keep wanting to learn all the time.”
In a field marked by constant evolution—new platforms, new tools, new expectations—curiosity becomes more than a mindset. It’s a discipline.
It’s also what allows marketers to navigate the complexity behind the work. Because while marketing is often perceived as intuitive, Jocelyn is quick to point out the reality:
“Everyone thinks they can do marketing… but being a strong marketer takes a lot.”
That “lot” includes technical fluency, creative problem-solving, and a willingness to stay in the discomfort of not knowing—yet.
B2B is Still Human
Even in highly technical, business-to-business environments, Jocelyn returns to a foundational truth: marketing is about people.
“You’re not marketing to a business—you’re marketing to the people behind the business.”
It’s a subtle shift, but a powerful one.
By approaching B2B strategy with a B2C mindset—one rooted in emotion, relevance, and real-world context—marketers can create work that resonates beyond functionality.
Because at every level, decisions are still driven by human behavior.
And in a landscape increasingly defined by automation and AI, that human understanding becomes a differentiator.
Listen to the full conversation with Jocelyn Lo on Marketing / And—and explore how today’s leaders are building brands that connect, adapt, and evolve in real time.
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