Why marketers chase active demand and miss the passive majority, with Indeed's CMO

Most marketing budgets are built to capture demand—people already searching—but Indeed CMO James Whitemore says that's leaving future demand on the table. He explains why Indeed is shifting spend beyond traditional demand capture toward passive and future job seekers, using culture, fandom and brand-building campaigns like "Jobs Need People" to do it.

Whitemore also breaks down how Indeed balances that brand investment with performance marketing, including the blackout and holdout tests it runs to prove top-of-funnel spending actually improves lower-funnel results rather than just adding cost.

He also discusses why he believes the current anxiety around AI and the labor market calls for a more empathetic approach to advertising—and what other marketers can learn from matching their tone to consumers' emotional state.

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