Welcome to “Brand Champions,” where we dive deep into the art and science of building unforgettable brands. Join us on Advertising Champions TV as branding gurus share their secrets to creating brand loyalty and driving impact. Discover the strategies behind iconic brand stories and learn how to stand out in a competitive marketplace. Today our host, Howard Wolpoff spoke with Andy Crestodina of Orbit Media Studios
Andy Crestodina
CMO of at Orbit Media Studios
Website Address: orbitmedia.com
Short company description:
Orbit is a 25-year old digital agency focused on web development and website optimization for B2B lead generation at midsize brands.
Transcript:
Howard:
Welcome back to Brand Champions. I’m Howard Wolpoff, your host. This show is brought to you by Teal The Agency, and we’re excited to welcome Andy Crestodina from Orbit Media Studios. Andy, welcome to the conversation.
Andy:
Glad to be here, Howard. Thanks for having me.
Howard:
I’m excited to learn more about the conversations you’re having with clients right now. As 2025 winds down, it’s been a huge year for media and branding, with companies making bold statements and facing rapid change. What are you hearing from clients as they look toward 2026? Are they staying the course, or are they rethinking their messaging?
Andy:
A lot of brands are adapting to major disruption in search. Organic traffic from search engines is down, but there’s a big opportunity emerging—capturing visibility and demand through AI recommendations.
Prospects are increasingly starting with AI, asking questions like, “What’s right for me?” or “Who’s the best partner?” Helping brands understand how AI recommends certain companies—and how to influence that—is now a huge part of our work.
Howard:
That’s a really important point. I know I’ve changed how I search as well—sometimes I don’t even scroll past the AI-generated answers at the top of Google. That has to be significantly impacting web traffic for many companies.
Andy:
It absolutely is. For many informational queries, there’s no longer a reason to click through to a website because the AI provides the answer directly. Traffic for what we call “information-intent” queries is down.
But here’s the opportunity: when someone tells AI about their needs, goals, and challenges, the AI often recommends specific brands. Across hundreds of Google Analytics accounts, we see that visitors coming from AI sources convert at much higher rates. Why? Because it’s essentially a word-of-mouth channel—AI is recommending brands on your behalf.
The key is giving AI the right information. Your website needs to clearly explain who you’re for, what you do, your pros and cons, and the impact of your work. When you do that, you significantly increase the likelihood that AI will recommend your brand over competitors.
Howard:
That efficiency is incredibly powerful. Decisions are being shaped before someone ever lands on your website. But for companies that are struggling with lower traffic or awareness, what other channels or approaches are they using to compensate?
Andy:
Some people call this the “zero-click era” of marketing, and while that may be overstated, it’s true that platforms are holding onto more traffic. Organic traffic is harder to earn, while paid media still works as expected.
What many brands are missing, though, is clarity and specificity in their messaging. Think of it this way—your job now is to train AI to be a sales representative for your brand. That might sound strange, but if you want AI to say, “Yes, this is the best option,” you need to give it the evidence.
Your homepage and service pages are your best opportunity to do that. Those pages should clearly communicate your value, credibility, and differentiation so AI can confidently recommend you.
Howard:
For established companies that have been around for years, these shifts may feel like part of an ongoing evolution. But what about new companies or brands launching right now? How do you help them set the right foundation from day one?
Andy:
First, you need to build and fix the mousetrap before you make the cheese. Your website should be a minor masterpiece of persuasion, conversion optimization, and behavioral science.
Include urgency where appropriate. Add proof points, testimonials, data, and evidence of impact. Then, create two or three deeply researched, long-form content pieces—content that others will reference, cite, and link to.
Beyond that, get active where your audience already spends time. That might be trade publications, industry magazines, podcasts, or YouTube channels. Collaborate with editors and influencers. Put your message directly in front of an already-assembled audience. It’s one of the few real shortcuts in digital marketing—and it’s accessible to almost anyone.
Howard:
That’s an incredibly clear and actionable answer. Making things simple is harder than ever, and you’ve done a great job of laying out a path people can actually follow. I know our audience—and your clients—will really appreciate that.
I’m glad you joined us today to share these insights.
Andy:
Thanks for having me, Howard. This was fun.
Howard:
I enjoyed it as well. And thank you to everyone watching. Search has changed. AI is growing fast. Getting your message in front of people now requires new thinking and new approaches.
If you take one thing away from today, it’s this: make sure AI has the right information about your brand so it can recommend you with confidence. This was packed with insight, and honestly, it’s worth watching again.
Have a great rest of your day, and we’ll see you next time.
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