If this is your first visit here, welcome. We’re Seventh Scout, a small but mighty team of digital marketers who believe good work starts with being human.
We build award-winning websites, create the content that fills those pages, and curate social media strategies that help our clients grow and thrive. Our motto is simple and intentional. Be Nice. Make Better. It guides how we show up for our clients, our partners, and each other.
We work closely with every client we serve. Their industries are diverse, from public health to construction, hospitality to education, so we don’t pretend to know their work better than they do. Instead, we rely on their thought leadership, lived experience, and expertise. They rely on us to listen carefully, translate what matters, and implement marketing strategies that actually support their business goals.
We’re not chasing the bleeding edge of marketing strategy. We see ourselves as thoughtful stewards of our clients’ content, brands, and long-term growth, balancing creativity, strategy, and care in everything we build.
As we step into 2026, we’ve been thinking about what this past year taught us and what we’re intentionally leaving behind, and bringing forward, as marketers and as a team.
Note-Taking in Meetings
Leaving behind: Transcript-only meeting records
We’re leaving behind tools that simply tell us what was said. Transcript tools like Otter and Firefly did their job, but rereading a conversation isn’t the same as understanding what actually happened, what decisions were made, or what needs to happen next. We don’t want a robot to simply dictate what happened in the meeting, and we certainly don’t want it to do the work for us without our input.
Bringing forward: AI that creates clarity and momentum
We’re bringing in AI tools that support understanding, not just documenting. We’ve incorporated AI notetakers like Fathom because they do more than listen. They organize conversations into summaries, decisions, and tasks, turning our meetings into action. These new notetakers allow us to stay present in conversations and ensure clarity and accountability. This balance matters. That’s our kind of robot.
AI in Marketing Strategy for 2026
Leaving behind: AI without accountability
AI showed up everywhere in 2025. And yes, we used and covered it, too. What we’re leaving behind is the idea that automation should replace thinking, voice, or judgment. Efficiency matters, but not at the cost of authenticity, originality, or connection. As Harvard Business Review noted, today’s AI can’t substitute for human judgment or experience.
Bringing forward: thoughtful, human-led AI use
In 2026, we’re doubling down on AI as a support tool, not a replacement. We use AI to assist, streamline, and analyze while keeping human strategy, creativity, and decision-making firmly at the center. Tools should serve the work, not replace the thinking behind it.
Human-First Marketing and Brand Storytelling
Leaving behind: Polished perfection
We’re leaving behind overly polished messaging that says very little. People are tired of jargon, buzzwords, and brands that feel distant. Marketing should feel like a conversation, not a performance, because we have seen that trust is built on humanity and authenticity.
Bringing forward: Human-first storytelling
In 2026, we’re doubling down on stories that center real people, real work, and real impact. Being human is how brands build trust. Seventh Scout was recently featured in The Evolution of Brand Storytelling Report by The Communicator Awards, which highlights how we miss authentic storytelling. This is what authentic storytelling looks like to us:
I miss when brands told stories about real people .. Not actors or influencers .. just everyday folks with something honest to share. There was space for humor. for imperfection. for moments that felt real. I wish more brands would bring back the kind of storytelling that made you feel something instead of selling you something."
Clarity in Communication & Design
Leaving behind: Clever over clear
This one’s on us. We’re leaving behind a website that didn’t grow alongside our business. It was clever, well-designed, and polished, but not always clear. As a digital marketing agency, we knew better and still fell into that trap. Lesson learned.
Bringing forward: A clearer Seventh Scout website
We’re redesigning our website to reflect who we are today, not who we were when it was last built. We are making it more useful and less clever. Like the award-winning work we do for our clients, we want visitors to quickly understand what we do, how we work, who we work best with, and whether this feels like the right fit.
Search and Content Marketing Trends for 2026
Leaving behind: Search as a keyword game
We’re leaving behind the idea that websites are found by simply optimizing for keywords and hoping someone types the right phrase into a search bar. Search isn’t just search anymore. It’s interpretation. Whether someone is asking Google a question, speaking to Siri, or starting a conversation with an AI tool, their intent is being mediated, summarized, and answered by systems designed to help, not just retrieve. That means discovery no longer happens in a single place or format. It happens across platforms, tools, and AI models that decide what content is worth surfacing and why. Optimizing only for traditional search assumes a static environment, and that search has sailed.
Bringing forward: GEO and AI-driven search
Search is constantly changing, and it is changing quickly now. We’re bringing forward a deeper focus on GEO (Generative Engine Optimization) and how search intent is interpreted by tools like ChatGPT and other large language models. People aren’t just typing keywords anymore. They’re asking questions and expecting curated answers. That means content has to be clear, authoritative, structured for understanding, and rooted in real expertise. As thoughtful stewards of our clients’ content and business goals, we’re paying close attention so our clients remain visible, credible, and discoverable as search continues to evolve.
How We Work Together
Leaving behind: The obligation to be in the office
In 2025, we went 100% virtual. Our lives led us in that direction, so we left behind the assumption that good work requires a shared physical space. What we found instead was focus, flexibility, and a deeper respect for how and where each person does their best thinking. We call it “respecting our dots.” Going fully remote isn’t about doing less together. It is about being more honest about what actually matters.
Bringing forward: Intentional connection and shared time
What we didn’t leave behind was each other. In 2026, we’re bringing forward a stronger commitment to intentional time together. Not accidental “water cooler” moments but purposeful, planned connections. We are keeping a very deliberately structured work week, our annual restorative week, and now investing in quarterly, in-person team trips. Time that’s about shared meals, collaborations, conversations, and creating space for both strategy and each other. These moments don’t replace our day-to-day remote rhythm. They strengthen it.
Look out, New Orleans. The Scouts are coming.
As we move into 2026, our focus is simple. We continue to center around work that lasts with the people we trust, like our clients, our partners, and our team. We want our work to feel aligned and humane, and we will keep learning, refining, and listening while always coming back to the same foundation of being nice and making better. If you’re thinking about what your marketing needs to look like this year, we’d love to show you how we work.
