Storytelling and simplicity with Bridget Esposito
When you’re heading up brand and creative for a global financial services powerhouse, complexity is part of the job. But what happens when you choose to meet that complexity with clarity and a human-first mindset? In this episode of The CMO Show, Bridget Esposito, VP and Head of Creative & Brand at Prudential, shares how she’s helping a 150-year-old company stay relevant in a fast-moving, tech-driven world.
Her approach is grounded in storytelling and simplicity. But it’s not just about the message, it’s about the mechanics. Bridget’s leadership style is all about thinking like a conductor, bringing together people, platforms and processes to create harmony across the business. Whether it’s aligning cross-functional teams, engaging senior stakeholders or integrating new technologies, her focus is on unifying everyone around a shared goal. Tune in to hear how Bridget navigates the challenges of scale, legacy and transformation and why embracing risk and building strong relationships are essential to modern marketing.
Making complexity human
In the world of financial services, complexity is unavoidable, but Bridget Esposito believes simplicity is essential. At Prudential, she’s made it her mission to translate intricate financial concepts into clear, relatable narratives that resonate with everyday people. Her creative strategy hinges on storytelling that’s not only emotionally engaging but also easy to understand, regardless of where someone is in their financial journey.
“People want things simple, they want it quick, but they also need to know why they’re doing what they do.”
She sees storytelling as the bridge between data and human experience, a way to make financial wellbeing feel personal, not transactional.
Staying relevant at 150
Prudential has been around for over 150 years, but Bridget knows that legacy alone isn’t enough to stay relevant. In an era of rapid change, she’s focused on continuous reinvention, not just of the brand’s messaging, but of its mindset. That means embracing new technologies, adapting to shifting customer expectations, and always putting people first.
Think like a conductor of an orchestra
Bridget doesn’t see herself as a traditional leader, she sees herself as a conductor. Her role is to orchestrate people, platforms and processes so that every part of the business plays in harmony. That means aligning cross-functional teams, engaging senior stakeholders, and ensuring that every customer touchpoint reflects a unified brand experience.
“It becomes an orchestra, and when one of them is off, the rest of them will feel it wholeheartedly.”
She focuses on setting a clear vision, building trust, and creating space for creativity to flourish all while keeping everyone on the same score.
The three-legged stool of innovation
Innovation at Prudential isn’t just about adopting new tools, it’s about balancing tech, people and process. Bridget refers to this as the “three-legged stool” of transformation. Without all three working together, the system collapses. She’s candid about the challenges of integrating AI and automation, especially in a highly regulated industry, but she’s also passionate about the opportunities.
“You’ve got to stay on trend. Don’t wait for someone else to do it.”
Bridget encourages marketers to take smart risks, build strong relationships across departments, and embrace change with confidence. Her advice? Be bold, be curious, and don’t be afraid to lead the way.
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This episode of The CMO Show was brought to you by host Mark Jones, producers Kate Zadel and Kirsten Bables and audio engineers Ed Cheng and Daniel Marr. This is an edited excerpt of the podcast transcript.
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Mark Jones
One of the greatest challenges we face in marketing is simplifying complex ideas. And the challenge of course, is that our world keeps getting more complex. The technology gets more complex, the people, the customers, the clients we work with continue to become more complex. So, what does it take to really get your eye in to know what is the most important thing my brand and my story should tell?
Hello. Mark Jones here, thanks for joining us. Welcome to The CMO Show, brought to you by ImpactInstitute in partnership with Adobe. My guest today is really special, all the way from the States, Bridget Esposito. She is vice president and head of creative and brand at Prudential. This, of course, is a really large, multinational financial services company. And one of the interesting things about speaking to her in her role is this idea of complexity and simplicity. When you are building out a big team, trying to solve really difficult problems and staying relevant as a global brand, it can get a little overwhelming. So, somebody like Bridget has enormous wisdom to share from doing the work.
In our interview today, we're going to talk about teams. How do you bring people along the journey? How do you engage senior stakeholders? How do you get the right tech into the picture? And also, a little bit of a secret source perspective here: We touch on the role of thinking about yourself as a conductor of an orchestra.
Great to have you on the programme. Tell me about Prudential. 150 years old, how do you keep an old brand relevant?
Bridget Esposito
Yes, 150 years old, and counting. And I love that because we're really working on how to keep people living a better life longer. And that requires reinventing yourself on the regular so that you stay relevant with your audience and that you stay active and you make sure that you're always putting their best interest first. So, we've had to constantly look at what does that mean. Who is our audience? What do they need from us?
And look at it from a technical side and say, "Are we giving them what we need from an ease of use? Are we giving them what they need from a personalization aspect? And are we giving them what they need from a human connection?". So, it's been a lot of work, but it's very exciting.
Mark Jones
One of the things that fascinates me about big global brands like yours, particularly in financial service, is the crossover between B2B and B2C.
Bridget Esposito
Yes.
Mark Jones
So, it's starting with this big picture stuff.
Bridget Esposito
Mm-hmm.
Mark Jones
Tell me about how you manage that dynamic.
Bridget Esposito
We really work on making sure that we've keyed into what is so important to people, what are the insights, what do they need from us. And we have to look at it from a technical perspective to say, "How are we making things look right from an orchestration perspective?".
So, is the user having the same experience with one brand where they might be on an employer side and they might have our benefits in that space from a B2B perspective, all the way to the D2C where they might be looking at our products from an annuity or an investment aspect. It has to be the same thing across the board. They have to feel like they're accessing one prudential all the way through.
So, that is one of the bigger challenges. But luckily the way that we've set up organisation and being able to work so tightly together, and then obviously the tech really becomes a big part of how we orchestrate such a big affair.
Mark Jones
I think that's really important because, again, one of the biggest challenges with big brands like this is just that sheer complexity.
Bridget Esposito
Yes.
Mark Jones
Part of the solution, of course, is marketing automation, one of the reasons for chatting with you.
Bridget Esposito
Yes.
Mark Jones
How do you make really complex things simple, just from an overall management point of view?
Bridget Esposito
First off, you've got to get the buy-in on it, so once you pick the platform that you're saying, "I want to be a part of this." And for us, personally, we wanted to make sure that we had a platform that was going to be seamless, meaning everything can plug into it, and it's one space for all.
And that's a big undertaking for most companies. And it's scary for most companies, because they think, wow, that's a lot of information that I've got to get right, my CDP and then all the different aspects of it. It's a lot. But it's worth it when you invest and you create that foundation.
And then I think from there, we worked through and said, "What are the key points of being able to bring people along?". So, how do we show them what that vision's going to look like and get the buy-in? Because it is a very scary task. It's a daunting task.
Some people say, "It's fine. We're doing it just great the way we're doing it.", so we had to find small wins along the way. What are small things that we could take on where we could show that just by taking that automation level and taking it off the plate of some of our people that are working, we're creating a faster, more efficient programme?
Mark Jones
One of the challenges I imagine is this giant machine that you've really built or are building. You mentioned bringing people along the journey. I imagine your peers and senior leaders in the organisation. What's the vision? How do you get them to buy into something? Because we're talking about a very heavy, sustained lift in terms of investment in tech, people, processes.
Bridget Esposito
Yes.
Mark Jones
What's the vision?
Bridget Esposito
The vision is that we either buy in and get on board or we're going to be left behind. And I think the thought of being left behind for your customers is a really scary thing. And I think when you show the benefit of if we do this right, not only do we get it right for our users and our customers when they have a better experience, but we also have a better experience for the people working at Prudential.
And that's also just as important, taking care of the inside and the outside. That vision really helps people understand why we want to buy into it. And when you tie it into your business goals and you're saying, "We're going to help people live a better life longer in that space.", but also your employees are going to have the work taken off their plate on a lower funnel so they can really think more higher level and more complex in that space, it starts to become a win for everyone and people jump on board very quickly.
Mark Jones
At a practical level, we're talking about the broader financial services space, there's insurances, there's a whole raft of products. I don't want to get too gloomy, but what would a bad experience look like? What's the motivator? What's the thing you're trying to avoid? Because it's very complicated.
Bridget Esposito
Yes.
Mark Jones
It's hotly competitive. The business itself is susceptible to all of the same big market shifts and interest rates and all sorts of stuff that push you around.
Bridget Esposito
Yeah.
Mark Jones
What are you looking to avoid? What does the bad experience look like?
Bridget Esposito
The bad experience is complexity and confusion. For someone to not understand who we are and find things easy and go on to our prudential.com and not know what to turn to, that's what bad looks like. Not understanding truly, or being able to understand what products they need to help them succeed, that is what bad experience looks like for us.
I think being able to create this ecosystem where we're personalising items, where people are starting to see what is really meant for them and what their path and journey could be like for success, that's where we want to go. So, the opposite of that is what that would look like.
And I think that becomes a key part of success for us in the long run. It's just someone being able to log on to prudential.com or file a claim or figure out and talk to one of our amazing advisors and things, and just be able to see their journey and their life path and really understand that they have a lot to protect and it's more than just their money right? It's about protecting their life's work. I think that's the vision that we really want to get to, and that's what success looks like.
Mark Jones
One of the ways I'll love to talk about that is friction, right? People haven't got time, they've got no attention. They have a very low tolerance for complexity, and they just want straight away, right?
Bridget Esposito
Yes.
Mark Jones
That's the world that we live in. You have a background, interestingly, in creative and tech and all sorts of interesting things, right?
Bridget Esposito
Yes.
Mark Jones
So what have you brought from those other spaces into humanising this world?
Bridget Esposito
Storytelling and simplicity.
Mark Jones
I love that you've got two things straight off the bat.
Bridget Esposito
Yeah, without a doubt. When I look at the financial world... And I have to tell you, so when I first entered into work at Prudential, I've always been a creative who loves strategy. I love strategy. I love being able to dive in and understand who someone is, what they want, what they need, and kind of crack open the insights of what drives them to do what they do. And when we came into Prudential, I remember sitting down and reading my first creative brief and saying, "Oh, someone who doesn't understand this, lives paycheck to paycheck, kind of takes the money and doesn't invest it. Takes the money out of time." I'm like, "I am hitting all these boxes. I am the target audience here."
And early in your twenties when you're like... These are a lot of things I didn't know. And I think for me, I was like, number one, we need to simplify the language so people understand it truly, from no matter where you sit in life, right? And no matter where you are in your journey, being able to understand it. But then the storytelling aspect it, that's where the power comes from. So even when we look at all of our tools from a tech perspective and we start talking about personalization and we start looking at how to really drive and bring the viewer through, storytelling is still at the heart of all those things. And that's what becomes most important. Because at the end of the day, people do want things simple, they do want to be quick, but they also need to know why they're doing what they do.
Mark Jones
You've mentioned this better life narrative at the beginning.
Bridget Esposito
Yes.
Mark Jones
How do you take that big picture idea of wellbeing and then customise that for the different audiences in the context of story? Because we probably have a similar idea of what storytelling looks like through a corporate lens, but there's a million ways of doing this. So how do you connect those dots?
Bridget Esposito
I love that question. So when I look at connecting and pulling it through, one of the newer campaigns we've been working on is protecting your life's work. And that kind of becomes this foundation for us to talk about. You're more than the sum of your life's work. It's about more than your money. It's about everything you're doing, whether it's your career, whether it's your family, whether it's something that you're really passionate about. That is why you invest in these products, to make sure that you're protecting all of that together, that you're leaving that legacy and that you have that space. And I love that storyline, because that allows us to think about everybody's journey is different, everybody else has something different to protect.
What I'm protecting in my life is different than what you are. And I think when you start to have, that becomes a really good basis to tell everybody's story where they can see themselves in that, in that area. And so we've had a lot of fun with it and created multiple different campaigns. But one of the more recent things that we've worked on that I love is called FlashForward. And so it's this multi-sensory AI tool that we created, where you're taking your photo, you're answering some questions generated by AI that all kind of are built off of a custom model, and then it's actually outputting what your story is and then applying it to your photograph. So your photograph gets aged, you get aged into 70.
Mark Jones
No, thanks.
Bridget Esposito
Actually, I got to tell you, they look pretty good for ageing in that space.
Mark Jones
All right. There's a bit of touch-up involved. Yeah, okay.
Bridget Esposito
Yeah, it's a little bit of touch-up involved. But it puts you in the environment of these questions that you ask, which aren't your typical questions, and it derives a story. And the stories are wildly accurate, right? We're allowing AI to do what it does best, a little bit of hallucination, but it creates a storyline based on some interests that you have that you go, "Wow, I didn't expect that I would do that." And it's become this kind of fun storytelling space where people are seeing, "Well, I have a lot to protect. And then also, here's what could be next for me in ways that we're expecting."
Mark Jones
So there's got to be a call to action hidden in there, right?
Bridget Esposito
Yes, of course.
Mark Jones
So how does that work?
Bridget Esposito
So what we're doing is making sure that we're connecting them to the right product. So there's different keywords, there's different things that come through that allow us to put people into different funnels and connect them in the right way to make sure that, "Okay, we're putting them in the life insurance space, that they're going to need this," along with talking to a prudential advisor or investments in things of that space. So it's been a really fun way to pull this through, all the way from what it looks like from a storytelling perspective, all the way down to an actually direct take action call to action space.
So the nuances of culture and... I guess this plays into AI, and one of the reasons I ask is I've just got this question about, well, this sophisticated way of engaging with customers, if I'm not mistaken, used to be a human job. So the insurance broker would come in and talk to you about your future and all that sort of stuff. How does all of that work? Are we effectively replacing the AI... I've got no interest in agents, by the way, either way.
Bridget Esposito
Yeah.
Mark Jones
Just kind of curious. Are you sort of recreating a human experience?
Bridget Esposito
So, the human still lives, the human will go on. And I will say that very much though, even through all the things that we're doing, even the experience I was just telling you about FlashForward, we actually have a human that's moderating in the background.
Mark Jones
Oh, nice.
Bridget Esposito
Still very important. And our moderation rates have gone down from where it used to be 85% and now it's about to 20% of that moderation that needs to happen because there are still so much in AI that is not ready. It's a matter of there's just some things from an empathetic lens or even a diversity lens. It's just not there for yet. And so we still have that moderation aspect. We still, within Prudential, our Prudential advisors are real people doing their thing and still being a part of that and I think when you look at what's next with Agentic AI and seeing some of those agents come to play, I think there's spaces for those and places and they work in different very quick answers, very lower funnel, where do I find this? How do I do this? That I think works really well. But when it comes down to, I want to really understand what my future is about, people still want that human to human connection. And for those that don't want that, we still have solutions for that. But the person part of it is still a very big part of how people want to interact.
Mark Jones
How would you describe your role in practical terms? How do you see yourself in all of that?
Bridget Esposito
So if you were saying, how do I see myself as more of an orchestrator?
Mark Jones
I wondered if that was actually the word.
Bridget Esposito
Orchestrator is the word. I know.
Mark Jones
I think Adobe is very happy that you use that word, by the way.
Bridget Esposito
I know, because what is it, global orchestration?
Mark Jones
Yeah.
Bridget Esposito
Is that what they call it?
Mark Jones
It's an AI thing.
Bridget Esposito
Yes, an AI thing. And I think when you look at, listen, I'm going to talk specifically about creatives, because when we look at AI, one of the biggest fears in the beginning for creatives was, it's going to take my job. Our roles are going to change in that space. And so I think once the creatives saw, well, it's going to take that lower funnel work off for me and I can still create my big ideas, but now I can create faster, that is what the key was for success for a lot of people. And so yeah, when you're looking at, what is this for us, we are now kind of the curators of what these experiences look like.
Mark Jones
How do you learn to do that job?
Bridget Esposito
Well, I think just like anything, you have to re-skill yourself and you have to rethink your thought process on things. And I think if you take a step back, it's just more of looking at it from a larger picture. This is going to happen whether we like it or not, let's look at what it can really do for us and the benefits of what it can do for us and how our job can get tremendously better by using it. We can automate faster. I know there's 385-ish people within marketing and brand at Prudential, and all of them are using AI at this point.
Mark Jones
Okay.
Bridget Esposito
We are 70% faster to first draught than we ever were. When I look at that and I say, "Great," this thing can do the stuff that was low-hanging fruit, making iterations faster while I still look at the global picture and think of the really big idea and then have it broken out in seven different ways for myself or be able to create some imagery that gets me faster to a storyboard, all those things are exciting. And I think once you start showing people that possibility and say, "but now you need to be the moderator of that. So here's my idea. Let's filter it through, but now we need to edit that," is the storyline still strong? I think once people can drop their ego and their fear, that's when they really start flying with AI.
Mark Jones
This metaphor may or may not resonate, but it feels more like you're a conductor of an orchestra.
Bridget Esposito
Oh, there you go.
Mark Jones
Yeah.
Bridget Esposito
Nice.
Mark Jones
Have you thought about in those terms at all?
Bridget Esposito
Well, no, I haven't, but I do remember it's like one, two, three, four. One, two, three, four.
Mark Jones
Yeah, yeah, yeah. Right.
Bridget Esposito
I got it.
Mark Jones
And I'm not a massive buff of classical, but you also have lead violins or first violinist and so on through the entire orchestra, so you've actually got team heads, as it were.
Bridget Esposito
Yes.
Mark Jones
So the reason I bring that up in this story here is that I think one of the things that gets lost in the AI conversation is the art and skill of tying humans together with systems, processes, creative thinking, story.
Bridget Esposito
Yes.
Mark Jones
And then a global view on why we're doing all of this. You've got the unique perspective at a large organisation where this is operating at scale. So I wonder, what's the biggest headache you've got as a conductor, if I can borrow the phrase?
Bridget Esposito
I love the way that you're thinking about this, and I would say to make sure that everybody's on the same score. Is that okay? All right.
Mark Jones
Yeah, well done. Yeah. Yeah.
Bridget Esposito
That everybody's on the same score, because I think a lot of times, because as you mentioned it, there's different groups doing different things, sometimes the immediate goal isn't aligned and that becomes very hairy. So it's making sure that people understand the first goal is this and we're all laddering up to that same thing. And then also everyone is understanding what the limits are as far as what we'll do and what we won't do with AI. So I think setting the ground rules and the foundation of here's what we're expecting out of it, here's what we will do, here's what we won't do, and then here's from a brand perspective what's okay and not okay.
I think once you set that too, it helps people all start to get on the same beat and the same tune. Because it is an orchestra, and when one of them is off, the rest of them will feel it wholeheartedly. So it becomes that, and the relationship part of it is so important.
Mark Jones
I'm going to push it just a little bit further on this metaphor because I'm enjoying it. Let's just say that you're conducting the New York Philharmonic.
Bridget Esposito
Oh, I got big. Look at me.
Mark Jones
Right. But also people could go to your experience or they could go and listen to the London Philharmonic, competition. So how do you make sure that this system that you're building is not just good for us, it's actually competitively useful? This is, I think, one of the biggest challenges in all the markets that you serve, is that ultimately it's very transactional, it's very low margin, high volume. So, there's got to be, at some point, an experience level that makes people want to do... or to go to your concerts, so to speak.
Bridget Esposito
Yeah. And what I will say is all the different concerts might not necessarily be doing it better, but they are just doing something different. And so I've yet to come across something where I was like, "This is the most perfect musical experience I've ever had," but there might be something that's very attractive to me as a person.
Mark Jones
Yes.
Bridget Esposito
So, I think this is where target audience becomes really important.
Mark Jones
Yes.
Bridget Esposito
Is the group of people that we are trying to serve... Are we doing the right things for them?
Mark Jones
Yes. I think one of the biggest challenges CMOs face now is operating efficiently at scale and being individually relevant. So, in other words, you've got to be both.
Bridget Esposito
It is tough to be everything to everyone. But again, I still believe that the power of brand and story is what really helps people stand apart to do those things.
Mark Jones
Love it. Last little bit of advice for marketing professionals?
Bridget Esposito
The last bit of advice is I'd say relationships become key, because even in this space of tech, tech will not succeed unless the people in the different areas are working together for the same goal. And that you've got to make sure to just take the plunge, try it. If it fails, it fails, but you've got to try it. You got to stay on trend. Don't wait for someone else to do it. I think a lot of times you hear, "Well, do we want to be first? Second sounds great. Let someone else try it and go through the kinks and figure it out." I think being the first person and just trying and not worrying about anybody else, seeing what works, that's the risk to take.
Mark Jones
So, people in marketing who embrace risk can learn the tech, be good with humans. It's kind of a both end situation again, right? Do both.
Bridget Esposito
Yes, do both. Do both. Take the risk. And especially, I know it's hard. I work in the financial industry as well. I know what that can look like, but when you build good relationships with your legal team and your MRU and those spaces, you can actually get to a good spot where they understand why maybe taking the risks. And maybe it's a smaller risk at first so that it gives them comfortable for the larger one, but they can see what that's like and what that can do for their customers at the end. And it becomes a good space, but that's part of the relationship aspect of it.
Mark Jones
Nice. I said last question, but actually an addendum.
Bridget Esposito
That's okay. That's okay.
Mark Jones
One more question.
Bridget Esposito
Yes.
Mark Jones
Adobe Summit , you’re here in Sydney.
Bridget Esposito
I'm so excited.
Mark Jones
Yeah, right. Welcome, by the way.
Bridget Esposito
Thank you.
Mark Jones
What are you going to be sharing with the audience? What's your main message?
Bridget Esposito
We're going to... Well, I'm going to be talking a little bit about the Prudential journey and what it's been for us to go through in that space. And I think as we look at it again, it comes down to the same thing: tech, people, process. As you said, those become the most biggest foundation. And if you are not preparing them properly and doing the right things to set it up before you launch, your stool is going to fall over, the three-legged stool is going to fall over. So, we're going to talk a lot about how Prudential, as a 150 year old company, continuing to try to surprise and delight people, has had to really lean on those three things and fight through the challenges to get us to a good spot.
Mark Jones
Love it.
Bridget Esposito
Yeah.
Mark Jones
Well, have a great experience.
Bridget Esposito
Thank you.
Mark Jones
Yeah. Thanks for joining me.
Bridget Esposito
Yeah, no, thank you for having me. This has been great. Yeah.
Mark Jones
One of the things in our interview that we spoke about, you would've heard Bridget speaking about all of these campaigns flowing down into individual experiences for customers, this idea of a customer experience that's being orchestrated by a combination of people of tech and other mechanisms they bring through the system, if you like. The traditional funnel is allowing them to keep a really clear focus on what value will be created. The bottom line, of course, is wellbeing. If you are selling insurance and various other services that support wellbeing, it's really good to know that that bottom line remains the focus. The interesting thing for brand and marketing people is: how well do you understand all the different threads across a large multinational organisation? There are more than we could count. And so, of course, that's where the tech starts to become invaluable.
And I quite like the AI they're using to create these individual experiences at scale. Really great example of a company like Prudential that is leaning into new opportunities and not just sort of sitting back and relying on their legacy and all of the power that can come with that, and really being aware that people have options, so you've got to stay engaged. So, that's it for this episode of The CMO Show. Thanks for joining us. Make sure you subscribe and share it with your friends, and we'll see you next time.