S3.E4: The Narrative Machine, with Kristian A. Alomá PhD
From Bullhorns and Bullseyes by Curtis Hays and Tom Nixon
June 9, 2026 · 57 min · Season 3 · Episode 4
About this episode
Kristian A. Alomá, PhD discusses how to effectively utilize customer insights in marketing.
Kristian A. Alomá, PhD — behavioral psychologist, founder and CEO of Threadline, and author of Start with the Story: Brand-Building in a Narrative Economy — returns to Bullhorns & Bullseyes for a second season to answer the harder follow-up question: once you have the customer truth, what do you actually do with it? Tom Nixon and Curtis Hays dig into signal loss, the STORY Framework, and why most organizations let the best insights die in translation. From Nike and FedEx to Peloton and McDonald’s, this conversation is a field guide for anyone who has ever come back from customer research with something real—and watched it get polished flat. N.B.: Learn more at threadline.com and kristianaloma.com . Connect with Kristian on LinkedIn. Takeaways: Signal loss is the real enemy. You can do the research right and still lose the truth at every handoff—brief to copywriter, copywriter to AI—until what started as something real comes out sounding like everyone else in the category. Your brand is not the hero. If your marketing centers on how great you are, there’s no room for the customer in the story. The relationship doesn’t go far from there. The STORY Framework: Struggle → Tool →…
People in this episode
Hosts: Tom Nixon, Curtis Hays
Guest: Kristian A. Alomá PhD
Topics covered
- customer truth
- narrative economy
- marketing strategy
- brand loyalty
- behavioral psychology
Keywords
- customer research
- signal loss
- STORY Framework
- brand storytelling
- marketing insights
Mentioned in this episode
Organizations: Threadline, Nike, FedEx, Peloton, McDonald’s
Books & works: Start with the Story: Brand-Building in a Narrative Economy
More episodes of Bullhorns and Bullseyes
- S3.E3: Customers Have Secrets to Tell, with Emily Bielak · May 27, 2026 · 51 min
- S3.E3: Customers Have Secrets to Tell, with Emily Bielak · May 27, 2026 · 51 min
- S3.E2: From Mind States to Messaging, with Will Leach · May 12, 2026 · 49 min
- S3.E1: The Chaos Tax: Marketing Drift in Action · April 28, 2026 · 56 min
- S2.E35: Season Finale — Storytelling, Algorithms & The Future of Community · December 2, 2025 · 44 min
- S2.E34: Opening the Lead Spigot, with Mario D'Aquila · November 25, 2025 · 48 min
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