The right marketing strategy doesn't pitch your brand or sell your product. It clearly states the problems you solve. It connects your solutions to your customer’s pain in a way they can immediately understand and can't resist. 

At Venveo, we're intentional experts in the intersection of who your customer is and where they interact online. I lead our team in creating data-based strategies to build brands that resonate with their audience and cut through the noise so they can be where their customer is when they're researching, sourcing and purchasing building products. 

Throughout my career in digital marketing, I've sat in almost every seat in our agency, and all of that experience has taught me that obsessing about our customers and our customer's customer is the only way to get the results no one else thought possible.

I believe in leading companies to dream bigger, reject the status quo and unlock their potential.

What our clients are saying about Venveo: 

"Knowledgeable and competent from top to bottom." - Founder of an online architecture videos company

"Venveo went above and beyond in many cases to help us determine the best path forward." - Executive for a bathroom fixtures manufacturer

"Their results are consistently better than their projections." - President at a construction company

Beth PopNikolov

The year is 2026. 

Protein creeps into building materials. 

Your driveway suddenly starts making gains 💪. 

No product is safe. Neither is your house. 





#buzzwords #branding #protein

Beth💥 PopNikolov

Your marketing should be a revenue maker—not a revenue taker. Marketing is Sales. Period. | CEO @ Venveo | Brand Champion & Strategy Expert for highly complex B2B industries

New year. Same economic uncertainty for the building materials industry.

I don't need to recap the tariff whiplash or cryptic jobs reports from last year.

But here's what we're actually seeing from folks in the industry: cautious optimism.

Construction spending is projected to exceed $2.2 trillion in 2026, continuing a trend of modest, steady growth.

Most manufacturers and dealers we're talking to expect this year to match or slightly exceed last year's performance.

What's changed isn't the unpredictability or the policy ping-pong, it's how companies are defining success.

In 2026, success means value over volume. Your customers are more selective than ever. They're operating under the same pressures you are: tighter budgets, rising costs, the expectation to do more with less. Add in pricing uncertainty and labor shortages, and every decision carries more weight.

As a result, buyers have less patience for friction and higher expectations for expertise. They want partners who help them make confident decisions without adding unnecessary complexity.

The manufacturers gaining ground are responding by investing in brand clarity, customer service, and digital marketing that builds trust earlier in the decision process.

From a marketing perspective?

Make yourself the obvious choice, faster. In a year where every buyer is being more selective, the brands that win will be the ones customers understand quickest and trust soonest.

The headlines will keep coming. Your job is to keep executing on what moves the needle.

And if you've been doing the work: building trust, reducing friction, staying consistent. You're already positioned to win in this environment.

Are we hitting peak AI Slopification in marketing?

I think so. 

Maybe you’ve seen the headlines: 

❌ McDonald's Netherlands pulled an AI Christmas ad after viewers called it "soulless" and "creepy." 

❌ Coke’s attempt to remake its classic "Holidays Are Coming" spot with AI was roasted for glitchy physics and zero emotional resonance.

❌ And if you spend any time on YouTube, you’ve definitely been served those bizarre, deep-faked "Tai Chi Walking" ads promising 8-pack abs for seniors.

We are getting dangerously close to a world of indistinguishable, infinite content. But right now? It’s mostly just "slop."

This brings up two massive issues every marketing leader needs to face:

1. Your Brand Reputation Is On The Line

Marketers are racing to use these tools for efficiency. But most current AI-generated creative isn't just "not quite there” … it's decidedly mediocre.

Your reputation is built on trust. Quality is what earns that trust. And a lack of quality (say, in your shoddy AI slop ads) is a surefire way to lose that trust. 

So, why are we racing to crank out subpar creative?

90% of buyers  (including those who use AI tools!) say they want media created by humans.

Customers aren’t flocking to your brand because you saved 6 hours making your ads.  

2. Speed Is Not Strategy

Here's the real temptation with AI: quantity before you've nailed quality.

Yes, you can now pump out five social posts a day. But should you?

For most brands, the answer is no.

Focus on creating the content your customers actually need—not a massive volume of content nobody's asking for.

If you don't have solid how-to videos yet, start there. Not with churning out daily reels.

If you're already doing content well, ask: How can I make what I'm doing even better? How can I increase engagement, quality, and conversions before I worry about volume?

AI's real value right now isn't in doing more. It's finally having the bandwidth and resources to do the basics right.

The fundamentals you've been putting off because you didn't have the people or budget? Now you can tackle them. Thoughtfully. Strategically.

Not by trying to become TikTok-famous as a lumber brand.

Are you seeing AI slop infiltrate your industry? What content fundamentals are you finally tackling now that AI can handle the busy work?

Garage doors aren’t just a checkbox anymore for builders. They are a major selling point.

We sat down with Tina Mealer, Director of Marketing at Haas Door, to talk about what builders actually care about right now, and how to shift the perception of a category most homeowners and contractors still treat like tires on a car: required, unremarkable, and replaceable.

Here are a few takeaways worth your time:

➡️ Garage doors as a real ROI lever (268 percent return)
➡️ Why dealers are often the strongest voices in the room
➡️ Builders getting savvier about curb appeal, energy performance, and even wind ratings
➡️ And yes, how influencer content is showing up in builder conversations more than you’d expect

It was great to hear firsthand how a building materials brand is approaching influencer strategy, but even more interesting to hear how closely builders are watching.

They’re not just looking to influencers for inspiration, but for specific materials, finishes, specs, and trends they can apply to real projects. They’re paying attention and turning that insight into real product decisions.

Huge thanks to Tina for joining us and sharing her perspective.

Highly recommend you check out the work she’s doing at Haas Door.

Full episode linked below ↓

And just like that, we’re back on the road. 

Who’s going to be at the Builder’s Show in Orlando? 

After that, we’re onto JLC Live in March.

What’s on your trade show schedule this season? 


#IBS2026

Gensler just released its annual design forecast, and it names what a lot of architecture firms are experiencing: 

AI is dramatically accelerating the parts of architecture that have historically absorbed billable hours: concept generation, massing studies, layout exploration, rapid iteration.

Work that once required large teams and long timelines now happens in a fraction of the time.

That doesn't make it unimportant. It makes it less scarce. And when time-based expertise stops being scarce, its value changes.

When AI compresses production work, value doesn’t disappear, it relocates.

It concentrates around judgment, synthesis, and decision-making. Helping clients understand trade-offs. 

Connecting design choices to outcomes. Taking responsibility for direction, not just generating options.

This isn't unique to architecture. AI compresses production-heavy work across marketing, product, and creative teams and exposes a bigger question: what are you actually being paid for?

For building materials brands, this matters. Faster early-stage design means decisions happen earlier. Influence moves upstream. Products enter the conversation when direction is still being shaped, not after choices are locked in.

AI raises the floor on execution. It also raises expectations around clarity and expertise.

The firms that win won't defend their process. They'll be explicit about their thinking.

Curious how others in architecture, AEC, or building materials are experiencing this. Are you seeing value move earlier in the process?

If 2025 was the year of AI panic, 2026 is where we actually (start) to figure this out.

Marketing Brew just asked CMOs from Intuit, Adobe, BetterHelp, and Zappi how they're thinking about AI for the year ahead.

Their biggest themes are exactly what you’d expect: How to show up in consumers' AI tools (AEO, GEO, LLMs) and training teams to actually use these tools effectively. 

Here's what stood out to me most.

These leaders are calling for the need to draw a clear line between what AI should do … and what marketing still requires from humans.

Intuit's CMO put it perfectly: "Execution is increasingly automated, so our teams' value comes from what AI can't do: deep customer insight, strategic judgment, and creative curiosity."

That's the actual strategy right there.

AI handles the execution. Humans own the insight, the strategy, the judgment calls that move the business forward.

If you've felt enormous FOMO this past year about mastering AI, here's the reality:

Every marketing team is still figuring this out. 

Adobe's VP of integrated marketing says her top priority is "giving people permission to experiment" and helping teams "test various tools, summarizing documents, refining messaging." 

We're all in the learning phase. But the direction is becoming clear.

Stop trying to be an AI expert. Start building teams that know when to use it and when human judgment matters more.

What's your AI strategy for 2026? Are you focused on the tech or the humans using it?







#AI #marketing

Last week when I predicted that TikTok's new owners would break the platform, I didn't think it would happen THAT quickly 🤔. 

While I'm not a software engineer, I know enough about marketing and algorithmic feeds to be skeptical that a simple 'power outage' could cause such a radical change to the entire user experience. 

This is the exact reason we diversify our channels. If TikTok is a part of your 2026 marketing plan or you’re already there and this is making you jittery, here are a few tips to hedge your bets: 

⬩Cross-promote aggressively: Use your TikTok profile (while it functions normally) to direct people elsewhere. Pin a video telling followers where to find you next, update your bio with links to YouTube/Instagram, create a simple landing page with all your channels. Do it today, so that if you need to make a transition, you’ve already laid the groundwork. 

⬩YouTube Shorts: If you're already making short-form content, this is a no-brainer. Just remember, YouTube is a search engine first, so optimize your titles and descriptions like you would a blog post. SEO principles matter here.

⬩Keep an eye on emerging platforms: Marketers love shiny objects, so don't bet the farm yet … but UpScrolled is emerging as a possible contender depending on how this transition shakes out. Stay curious, test small.





#TikTok

If you were enjoying Christmas with your family instead of obsessively tracking TikTok news, here's what you missed:

TikTok's getting new American owners. Oracle, Silver Lake, and MGX are taking a combined stake in the U.S. operations. The deal's supposed to close late this month. 

Here's what matters for marketers:

The algorithm stays, but it's getting retrained on U.S. data. What does that actually look like in practice? We don't really know yet.

Could be a minor hiccup. Could be fundamentally disruptive to content performance. Hard to say until we see it play out.

Here’s my unfounded but most likely accurate prediction: they’re gonna kill it. 

Is there anything about Oracle that screams "fast, high engagement, trendy, understands Gen Z"? No. 

Everything about them is enterprise software. Giant, bloated, sterile. Unless they're smart enough to hand this over to people who actually understand the platform and stay out of the way, this could go sideways fast. Time will tell. 

If TikTok is a key channel for you, just keep an eye on your metrics over the next few months. Watch for any shifts in engagement or reach patterns.

One thing worth noting: TikTok seems to be pushing LIVE hard. They hosted their first-ever awards show as a live stream and gave major recognition to LIVE creators. If the new ownership doubles down on this, LIVE could become a much bigger growth lever in 2026.

Might be worth testing if you haven't already.






#tiktok #aquisitions

Trying to get a real read on the housing market heading into 2026?

It’s tough to know which headlines and data points actually matter. 

One data set worth paying attention to is the latest Employment Markets to Watch Index from Zonda. 

It highlights metros where population growth and employment trends are still supporting housing demand.

Their top three markets this year:

📍 Charleston
In-migration remains strong, demand hasn’t cooled evenly, and supply is still tight. That imbalance is beginning to show up in pricing and product mix.

📍 Columbia
Not flashy, but steady. Employment stability and relative affordability are keeping activity consistent while other markets swing.

📍 Columbus
Population growth paired with long-term job investment. Less about short-term spikes, more about staying power.

The bigger takeaway isn’t which city wins. It’s that national averages can hide what’s actually happening market by market.

A high-level view can hide where momentum is actually building, and bellwether cities like these tend to show it first.

If you’re in building materials or construction, this kind of market-level view is becoming less optional. Strategy, inventory, and sales alignment all change when growth isn’t evenly distributed.







#housing #construction

$60 per 1,000 views and very little performance data.

3X the CPM of Meta.

These are the early numbers coming out on what it will cost to advertise on ChatGPT.

On the surface, that's a fortune. But there’s never been an ad platform with this level of contextual relevance before.

This is par for the course for a new platform testing pricing and what people are willing to pay. 

And we should expect to see their ad prices flex way up and way down in the coming months as they figure out just how much people are willing to pay. 

Eyeballs are one thing. What businesses are really willing to pay for, is actions. 

Conversions from ChatGPT ads is the metric to watch to see if they’ll be able to justify the premium pricing over the long term. 

If intent is truly that high, the math might actually work …






#ChatGPT #Ads

In honor of the Builder’s Show being right around the corner, I’m resurfacing this slightly sarcastic but important reminder ⬇️

And this year, I’ll add one more tip: follow up.

The most important thing you can do after a conference is follow up with the right connections while the conversations are still fresh.

If nobody on your team uses a CRM, use a shared Google Sheet. Jot down names, companies, what you talked about, and why the conversation mattered.

Every business card you collect is an opportunity to nurture a relationship.

And that opportunity gets weaker by the day if you don’t act on it.

You’ve flown out, paid for your booth, printed the collateral, booked the hotels.

If the follow-up doesn’t happen, you didn’t attend a conference.

You took an expensive field trip.

 #IBS2026

Friendly reminder to all the exhibitors heading to IBS this week, posting your booth on social with just the caption “come see us at booth #” is not going to drive foot traffic. 

See you guys out there 🫡

#buildersshow #nahb

National Association of Home Builders

Monique Caissie

Someone said to me, "If it weren't for the people, we'd be doing great!" It was while he was complaining about how hard it was to recruit new talent. This is a disconnect that many organizations are faced with.

He didn't get there overnight. Conflicts arise when folks have different priorities, or when they communicate from their blind spots. And then, when people problems upend your goals, that's when collaboration and productivity take a hit. AND your profits.

Here are 4 great benefits in us working together:

▶ To improve your bottom line when working and interacting with others.
▶ To win the approval of others and inspire them to be their best.
▶ To learn how to support others and encourage team collaboration.
▶ To gain strategies on how best to work effectively with others.

Don't wait for turnover and multiple stress leaves to look at disengagement in your organization. With the right tools and strategies, you can increase civility and collaboration so that people are more motivated to do their best work with each other.

As a Certified Human Behavior Consultant/ Accredited Trainer for DISC Personality Styles, while also drawing from 30 years of experience as a crisis interventionist, I work with organizations who want to reduce conflict and create a culture of collaboration, engagement and productivity.  

Different ways to work with me:

▶ Bring me in as a speaker for your convention, AGM or special events.
▶ Organize a day or 2 of training at your location (or retreat).
▶ Experience a monthly personalized after care.

Let’s see if we can transform those ineffective exchanges into confident, productive conversations.

"What a performance! She is as funny as she is relevant. Monique masters her topic, and to our delight, she also masters the art of delivery from the stage."  Sujata Vadlamudy, Attitude Orange

Want to reduce conflict and strengthen valued relationships? Let's talk and see if we're a fit.  
mc@moniquecaissie.com

DISC Certified Speaker, Trainer, Facilitator or Consultant - Certified Virtual Presenter

International Association of Coaching® (IAC)

Are you ready to have better relationships with the people who drive you crazy? Is it time to stop feeling like a Turtle and start feeling like a Tiger?

Staying up at night wondering what the hell to do next can be a thing of the past if you're ready to step into your power and take control of your life.  

This program is for people who hate conflict and are tired of feeling unheard. You are ready for authentic relationships based on mutual respect. Let's face it; you deserve it!

Communicating with more confidence and feeling more respected, fearless and alive is what my coaching program does for people. 

When I was first certified as a coach, my early clients nicknamed me "The Hope Coach"​.  They told me they thought there was no hope for them to feel happier and more in control. My program changed the way they related with those they valued. 

What they discovered by working with me transformed their lives. Now, after all these years, you can call me the "It's easier than you think Coach"​.

"The stuff that was going on was nuts and I thought I was in a bad dream. After my first session with Monique, I was shocked that anyone would believe me. She gave me a crash course on personality disorders. With her support, I feel less angry, less guilty and more hopeful. Also, my revived focus at work has been noticed by my superiors. I owe her a lot."  

Tony R. Engineer

If you think it's time to figure out what's bugging you and to bust through and overcome those barriers that have been holding you back, book a no strings attached conversation to find out if we are a fit. 

If you're ready to transform those difficult relationships, then take action today by reaching out.

Breakthrough Coaching

CIUSSS du Centre-Ouest-de-l'Île-de-Montréal | CIUSSS West-Central Montreal

AMI is a non profit organization that's been dedicated to Action on Mental Illness for 45 years. 

The help that local anglophones receive through this community organization is life changing.

Their role is to provide support, education, advocacy and guidance on how to be a better caregiver and/or helper to those struggling with mental illness. Without burning out yourself! Powerful stuff!

Here's the website if you'd like to dig through the enormous resources and information that will help demystify a new diagnosis and how you can help your loved one and yourself!
https://amiquebec.org/  (There is no LinkedIn page for AMI Quebec)

Coming from 30+ years of crisis intervention and mental health advocacy, I primarily worked with the hospital to meet with patient's loved ones while collaborating with different psychiatric departments.

The goal was to strengthen and increase the capacity to respond to the needs of families coping with mental health challenges. 

Feeling stuck? Unfortunately, there is no straight line when it comes to mental health. Local services may be hard to figure out.

But there is help to demystify what is happening to your loved one. 

You can call your local emergency room for a list crisis intervention numbers.
Another way to find local services is to call the local hospital to speak to a social worker.
Your own family doctor may also have some ideas and know how to navigate your health network and the laws. 

If you need help exploring your options, reach out to me and maybe I can help.

You are not alone! ❤

Family Peer Support Worker for caregivers 

McGilll University Health Centre

"My Tool Box: The Building Blocks of Self-Care"

Sponsored by the McGill University Health Centre, I co-facilitated this free, 6-week evidence-based workshop designed to help people living with chronic conditions (and their caregivers) develop practical skills for better health and quality of life. Topics include symptom and pain management, stress reduction, communication strategies, and healthy lifestyle planning. 

Based on Stanford’s Chronic Disease and Chronic Pain Self-Management Programs, this initiative empowers participants to take charge of their health with greater confidence and fewer hospital visits.

Workshop Facilitator – My Tool Box (Stanford University Program)

CIUSSS de l'Ouest-de-l'Île-de-Montréal

As a crisis centre interventionist, I worked with various populations experiencing a sense of overwhelm meeting them through the psychiatric department of our hospital or in community. Crises might be due to: personal conflicts, relationship or family issues; mental illness and other medical concerns; homelessness; legal problems; grief; substance abuse; existential questions; suicidal thoughts; work or school problems. 

This 24 hr Crisis Center housed up to 8 residents and works with the local government health agency and hospital to provide psycho-social interventions and suicide prevention for people living in the West Island of Montreal.

While I worked there, the Montreal Gazette, Quebec's largest daily English newspaper, did a huge write up where I was one of the featured workers.You can read it below.

If you are experiencing a sense of overwhelm, don't hesitate to contact your local hospital emergency room for the crisis line in your area. You are worthy of feeling well and happy.

Human Relations Agent / Counsellor in Crisis Intervention

Friends for Mental Health/Les Amis de la santé mentale

I loved this contract! When someone is diagnosed with a mental health issue, it impacts the patient and all those who love them. I helped parents, children, spouses, friends and even employers get a grip on how to help someone important to them. 

This is what my former employer says about me: 

"Families dealing with mental illness appreciated her support and knowledge in developing skills and personal awareness to better their quality of life. 

She was a beacon of hope for families in crisis with her practical and concrete guidance. Her creative ideas and infectious energy were put to good use in the development of a well appreciated self care workshop for caregivers. This workshop is still raved about at Friends. 

She possesses a vast knowledge from a variety of backgrounds and is a great communicator and effectively instigates positive change."

Lucie Discepola, Executive Director

Counsellor & Crisis Interventionist

Batshaw Youth And Family Centres

This Youth Protection mandate was to insure that court required actions were taken by parents whose child(ren) were retained as requiring protection. 

My goal was to create sustainable changes within the family dynamics, through regular counseling, support and practical information. Working with the parents and children, I assisted them in evaluating appropriate services available in the community and advocating for them, when necessary. 

When appropriate, I intervened in crisis situations and provided ongoing practical and psychosocial supports, promoting clients' problem solving and self-help activities and collaborating with internal and community resources which further the same goals.

Human Relations Worker / Crisis Interventionist

The Family Life Centre

This centre offers free counselling for individuals, couples and families in difficulty who could not otherwise afford counselling. The majority of calls were due to marital difficulties, parenting issues and job loss or illness. 

I was responsible for recruiting, training, supervising and supporting volunteers to take the emergency calls. I intervened when there was a caller who may be in crisis and required a more professional approach. 

I represented this organization in the community and spoke to various groups and West Island churches. I organized all training and social events as well as taking minutes to all the meetings. 

There were approximately 30 people involved and I was responsible for recruitment and fundraising. I was the link between all the actors in the organization which constituted the board, the counsellors and the phone volunteers.

Program Coordinator

Are you tired of tip-toeing around certain individuals, afraid to assert yourself? Do feelings of insecurity hold you back from taking charge of your life? If you constantly find yourself avoiding conflict and resorting to people-pleasing instead of confidently expressing your needs, you're not alone.

But it doesn't have to be this way.

For conflict-avoiders, asserting oneself with calmness, curiosity, and confidence can seem like an insurmountable challenge. Many have sought the guidance of therapists and coaches in hopes of finding a solution, and I've been there too. There's nothing more frustrating than wishing for a magic solution to finally step into your power and feel seen, heard, and respected.

Over 40 years ago, I embarked on my own journey to assertiveness. Through my experiences, I realized the importance of having a role model to guide the way. That's why I developed a model to help individuals ask for what they want confidently and respectfully.

I started sharing this professionally over 20 years ago as a crisis interventionist and mental health counselor for families.

My clients LOVED it! 

I was inspired by their stories of how they improved the quality of their home relationships with their younger children, their adult children, and their aging parents. 

Many of my clients used these skills to transform their professional lives with colleagues at work, even standing up to difficult bosses. I especially love celebrating promotions they never thought they’d get.

Empowering others to develop their confidence muscles isn't just about living a happier life—it's about advocating for oneself and achieving personal growth. And it's achievable for you too.

None of this is rocket science. But we do need to have usable frameworks to communicate with the difficult people in our lives. Otherwise, we get tripped up by our blind spots.

As a university-trained facilitator, certified NLP Professional Coach, Emotional CPR Educator, DISC certified trainer, and with over 35 years of firsthand experience in family dynamics, I bring a culturally empathetic, trauma-informed approach to my coaching, consulting, and speaking.

Unlock your potential with my transformative programs that improve communication. Receive personalized support tailored to overcome obstacles and reach your goals.

Ready to take the first step towards growth? I'm here to guide you on your journey. 

Schedule an appointment to see if we're a fit: https://bookme.name/moniquecaissie/free30mins

https://whentheydriveyoucrazy.com/
https://moniquecaissie.com/

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🇨🇦 Monique Caissie

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