Bridget Esposito has been the Vice President and Global Creative Director at Prudential Financial for nine years. She is also a visual problem solver, a mother of two, a professor teaching design to non-designers, and a former D1 softball player and coach. Bridget still plays softball and credits the sport with her philosophy around leadership, team dynamics, and culture. The best piece of advice she has received is that “the game doesn’t know” anything about you. All it knows is your level of effort on that given day. This advice has helped her fight the fear of hierarchies in business and approach her career with a “why not me?” attitude.

In this episode, Bridget and I discuss the launch of Adobe Firefly and how it’s helping calm fears and answer questions about AI for marketers and creatives. She advises professionals not to be scared of AI replacing them but instead to use it as a tool and understand how it can support them. She also gives us insight into the marketing focus at Prudential and the benefits and challenges of being a 150-year-old company. Prudential is pushing for innovation with a customer-first mindset and a culture that empowers everyone to understand they have the responsibility and ability to solve problems and improve processes. Bridget finishes with advice about the necessity of failure to achieve innovation and the importance of having a holistic business understanding to facilitate effective creativity.

In this episode, you’ll learn:

  • Why AI isn’t a threat but rather a tool
  • Why innovation is so prudent for Prudential
  • Lessons learned from softball

 Key Highlights

  • [00:30] Introduction
  • [01:20] Lifelong athlete
  • [02:15] Takeaways from the summit
  • [03:15] AI copyright conversation
  • [04:10] Prudential’s marketing journey
  • [05:50] Culture at Prudential and accountability at the top
  • [06:45] Content Creation to Personalization
  • [08:25] Tips for marketers trying to change business lines and improve partnerships
  • [10:00] Her biggest lessons learned
  • [11:00] The best piece of advice she’s ever gotten
  • [12:25] Learn ALL aspects of marketing.
  • [13:25] The love of teamwork

Resources Mentioned:

 Follow the podcast:

 Connect with the Guest:

 Connect with Marketing Today and Alan Hart:

Post-Production Credits:

Alan B. Hart is the creator and host of “Marketing Today with Alan Hart,” a weekly podcast where he interviews leading global marketing professionals and business leaders. Alan advises leading executives and marketing teams on brand, customer experience, innovation, and growth opportunities. He has consulted with Fortune 100 companies but is an entrepreneur at his core, having founded or served as an executive for nine companies.