Podcast

Why RCS Is Rewriting Mobile Marketing

Partner Spotlight – Extole

RCS is transforming what's possible in mobile messaging. In this episode of Innovation Unleashed, Listrak Chief Product Officer Deanna Ballew and Cheryl Sanders, VP of Mobile Strategy, discuss how RCS is helping brands move beyond traditional SMS and MMS with verified branding, rich media, interactive experiences, and deeper customer engagement.

Drawing from Listrak's early RCS campaign experience, they share performance insights, emerging use cases, and practical guidance for marketers looking to test and scale RCS as part of their mobile strategy.

In this episode:

What RCS is and why adoption is accelerating
How verified branding builds trust and improves engagement
Early performance results from real-world RCS campaigns
Conversational commerce and interactive shopping experiences
Using RCS to collect first-party data and personalize messaging
Best practices for launching your first RCS campaigns
The future of mobile messaging and customer engagement

Exciting News! Innovation Unleashed is on Apple Podcast.

Episodes

April 3, 2026

Beyond the First Sale: Smarter Lifecycle Marketing

Unlock growth through smarter lifecycle and post-purchase marketing. While many teams focus heavily on acquisition, a real opportunity lies in what happens after the first purchase.

14:25

March 13, 2026

2026 Cross-Channel Benchmarks: What the Data Is Telling Us

Explore the key findings from Listrak’s 2026 Benchmark Report: Channel Performance – Lifecycle Messaging – Revenue Drivers – Industry Trends. Download the full report to benchmark your strategy: 2026 Cross-Channel Benchmark Report and the Beauty-Fashion Benchmark Report.

20:58

November 25, 2025

Why AI Means Marketers Must Stop Testing and Start Experimenting

On the Total Retail Tech Insights Podcast, Editor-in-Chief Joe Keenan speaks with Deanna Ballew, Chief Product Officer at Listrak, to explore today’s retail marketing landscape of creativity and innovation, and how AI experimentation is shaping strategy.

21:59

September 18, 2025

Omnichannel Is Back: DTC Goes IRL, SMS Takes Off & Fashion’s Holiday Playbook

Omnichannel is back! Hear what’s driving fashion in H2 2025: DTC Brands Opening Boutiques – Smaller Format Stores & Smarter Co-Tenancy – Value-Driven Fashion Trends – AI-Powered Marketing & Merchandising – SMS/MMS/RCS Growth – Inventory Alerts That Convert – Holiday Strategies to Lift AOV – Luxury Outlook and Entry Price Point Plays.

47:27

August 5, 2025

2025 Retail Outlook: AI, Loyalty, Mobile Growth & TikTok Shop Disruption | Listrak H2 Report Breakdown

Jamie Elden sits down with Allie Naughton to unpack Listrak’s H2 2025 Retail Outlook. From the explosive rise of TikTok Shop and the shift to experience-driven loyalty, to AI-powered personalization, mobile dominance, and price-sensitive shoppers – this episode explores the trends, challenges, and strategies shaping retail’s second half. Whether you're planning for holiday or navigating ongoing change, get the insights you need to finish the year strong.

50:36

April 9, 2025

Data Signals: A Deep Dive into Listrak’s 2025 Cross-Channel Benchmark Report

Listen to the data signals! Hear an analysis of Listrak’s 2025 Cross-Channel Benchmark Report: Send Volume Growth – Channel Performance – Campaign Successes - Plus trends and movement by retail industry. Download the full report to compare your email and SMS performance: 2025 Cross Channel Benchmark Report

21:32

January 30

Navigating 2025: Consumer Trends, Loyalty Evolution, and Omnichannel Innovation

Drive growth in the 2025 retail landscape! Discover insights from Listrak’s latest client survey, and retail marketing predictions for the year ahead: Evolving consumer behavior – Hyper-personalized marketing – Loyalty program shifts – The rise of 'click and mortar' shopping – and more.

19:35

December 18

2024 BFCM Holiday Recap: Performance – Tidbits – Trends – Predictions

Dive into holiday performance data as reported from Listrak’s platform and hear the key insights and trends from “The Cyber Five.” Revenue trends – Channel performance – Vertical-specific growth – AI-enhanced customer experience – Winning discount strategies – The in-store comeback – and more!

27:07

November 1

Retail Untangled: Putting Customer Data to Work

Recorded at Shoptalk Fall, Inside Retail's Amie Larter sits down with Cory Whitfield, Enterprise VP at Listrak, to discuss customer data—why retailers often struggle with information overload and how to turn it into actionable insights.

Inside Retail's Podcast, Featuring Listrak

13:39

October 30

Partner Spotlight: Listrak + Alchemy Worx Unleashed!

Allan Levy, CEO of Alchemy Worx, joins the podcast. Hear about the future of cross-channel digital marketing, the power of testing, data unification, and segmentation – How Alchemy Worx optimizes customer engagement with personalized email and SMS strategies – AI’s role in streamlining creative processes, improving campaign performance – Using unified data to unlock 1:1 marketing across channels this holiday season.

30:26

October 9

Partner Spotlight: Listrak + Structured Agency Unleashed!

Partner Spotlight – Structured Agency: Jake Schmidt, CEO of Structured Agency joins the podcast. Hear about the evolving ecommerce landscape, from iOS update to the rise of TikTok’s organic reach – Optimizing email deliverability – Personalizing messages – SMS, Push, and RCS – Maximizing platform potential – Future trends in DTC marketing – Top reason to consider using an agency.

15:51

June 21

Fireside Chat: Listrak’s Journey & Innovation

A special edition fireside chat with Ross Kramer, Listrak’s CEO and Jamie Elden, CRO. Learn Listrak’s journey – Their innovative approach to communications, company culture, client success – AI in marketing – Listrak’s expanded partnership with Shopify.

21:42

June 19

Partner Spotlight: Listrak + Extole Unleashed!

Partner Spotlight – Extole: Vince Riggio, Director of Partnership at Extole joins the podcast. Learn Extole’s approach to helping retailers build scalable, effective customer engagement programs – The importance of Personalized Loyalty.

23:42

May 22

Client Spotlight – Listrak + Hat Club Unleashed!

Welcomes Jason Edwards, Head of Marketing and Ecommerce at the Hat Club – Learn about this specialty retailer and its passionate, active, and connected community – How Jason and his team think differently about 1:1 experience – Unique acquisition, retention, and loyalty strategies energizing the base – The incredible cross-channel revenue Listrak is helping to drive.

35:25

April 24

Client Spotlight - Listrak + Movado Unleashed!

Client Spotlight - Listrak + Movado: Margot Grinberg, President of the Movado Brand and SVP of Ecommerce for the Movado Group joins the podcast. Hear Movado’s success with Listrak – The importance of data-driven campaigns, personalized marketing, cross-channel engagement – Movado’s business approach to product innovation

30:26

March 27

Shopify + Listrak + The Maze Group Unleashed!

Shopify + Listrak + The Maze Group: Special guest Nick Thomson, Head of Partnerships at The Maze Group, is in the studio – Hear about the dynamic world of ecommerce with a spotlight on Shopify and Shopify’s Extensibility – The significance of personalization to improve user experience – Challenges in transitioning from Legacy systems – The Impact of AI

23:55

February 28

Unleash Your 2024 Strategy!

Shape Your 2024 Strategy: Just launched, Listrak’s 2024 Cross-Channel Benchmark Report – Which email and sms messaging campaigns really move the needle for retailers and brands – ShopTalk 2024 is in 3 weeks – What to Expect on the tradeshow floor and the omnipresence of AI

27:15

December 20

Data Unleashed!

Data is Unleashed: A Cyber 5 industry performance wrap-up – SMS’ record-breaking Cyber Week – A preview of how customer data will be unleashed in the next-gen platform to power cross-channel journeys

29:00

November 22

Segmentation and Targeting Unleashed!

Segmentation and Targeting is Unleashed: Sneak a peek at the next-gen Listrak platform – Build and use segments for all your channels in a single platform – See the updates to Buyer Preference, Contact Behavior, and Product Behaviors – Plus Unified Contacts and Segment Management

27:30

October 25

Welcome to Innovation Unleashed!

A lively discussion about: The terms CDP, CRM, and marketing platform – Why data silos are bad – Right message, right time, right channel – How marketers can stress less – And MORE

35:47

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