Cordial’s Real-Time Bet: Why Future Marketing Starts with Relevance, Not Reach

Rob Garf on agentic search, dynamic data, and what the new attention economy really demands.

There’s no shortage of marketing platforms promising personalization—but very few that start by asking a better question: what problem are you solving for the customer?

At Shoptalk 2025, Rob Garf, Head of Strategy & Insights at Cordial, laid out a vision that sidesteps the usual marketing jargon. His focus is grounded: understand intent, act in the moment, and connect with consumers where they are—not where your platform is comfortable.

Garf joined Cordial just three months ago, following a career that spans retail consulting, IBM strategy, and executive roles in enterprise tech. His belief: most platforms are built for campaigns. Cordial is built for conversations.

The Problem with “Personalization”

Most brands still treat personalization as a postscript—customizing messages after they've already decided what to push. Cordial flips that approach. Instead of working off just last-click behavior or static profiles, its platform combines stated preferences with predicted intent in real time—delivering what Garf calls directed intent.

Whether it’s a shopper scanning for skincare tips on TikTok or someone researching a new couch via Perplexity AI, Cordial’s approach listens across channels and tailors engagement dynamically—across email, SMS, social, or wherever the shopper appears next.

Designed for the Attention Economy

Today’s shoppers are traversing up to nine different touchpoints before they convert—more for high-consideration products, less for replenishment. Cordial’s value is in recognizing the full context: what consumers told you yesterday, what they’re signaling today, and what data reveals they might do tomorrow.

And it’s not about collecting all the data—it’s about combining the right data in real time. Garf emphasized the need to go beyond static journeys and embrace a model where the brand isn’t just pulling the shopper through the funnel—it’s pushing the brand into new agentic front doors like AI-driven discovery platforms.

A Platform That Listens—and Builds

Garf spoke openly about Cordial’s product strategy: move fast, build quickly, and don’t get romantic about roadmaps. In one recent weekend, the team spun up a chatbot prototype using Cordial’s unified product, consumer, and brand data—just to see what was possible. For a customer-facing product? Not quite yet. But a signal of velocity? Absolutely.

This iterative mindset is key to helping customers like LL Bean, Bob’s Discount Furniture, and others adapt in real time—not six months from now.

Retail’s Blind Spot: In-Store Context

One of the biggest gaps in retail marketing today? Uncaptured context in physical stores. Garf referenced a fast-growing footwear brand that asks about occasion and profession in-store—but doesn’t store that data anywhere.

Cordial is working on solutions to capture and connect that insight with digital channels—so that what happens at the cash wrap can influence what gets served online, over SMS, or via an AI assistant later.

What Rob Garf Wants Retail Leaders to Know

1. Don’t chase AI hype—chase solvable customer problems

2. Stop launching data projects in isolation—they fail without use-case context

3. Measure every initiative against top-line and bottom-line value

4. Think beyond the journey—because AI agents don’t follow funnels

Garf is bullish on what’s next, but clear-eyed on how to get there. For brands chasing relevance in a world where attention is currency, Cordial isn’t just another email engine—it’s a platform for showing up in the moments that matter.

Disclaimer: The above podcast episode was generated using AI based on an interview transcript. While the content remains true to the original conversation, the voices, tone, and delivery were synthesized and do not represent actual recordings of the speakers. This AI-generated format is intended to enhance accessibility and provide an alternative way to engage with the discussion.

Independently Created. Not affiliated with Shoptalk.

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