Description

Being Human is Your Greatest Advantage

2026 isn’t the year AI becomes new, it’s the year it becomes normal. And when technology shifts from novelty to infrastructure, everything about how we connect, market, and build trust changes.

Eric Hultgren unpacks the hidden forces reshaping marketing right now from the collapse of traditional search to the rise of answer engines, from the battle for human attention to the new currency of trust. He’ll show why flooding the zone with content no longer works, and what signals actually cut through the noise in an AI-saturated world.

This is not another “future of AI” talk. It’s a playbook for clarity, community, and creativity in a time when being human is your greatest advantage.

Eric Hultgren believes everything is marketing.
As National Director of Content at Advance Local, he leads content strategy across the healthcare, travel, recruitment, and education sectors guiding how each brand shows up and connects with its audience.

Eric has written extensively on AI and its impact on industries like travel, and he brings those insights to stages, classrooms, and podcasts. He hosts The Incredible Hult and Field Notes: A Podcast for Travel Marketers and guest lectures twice a year at the University of Michigan on the craft of storytelling.

A storyteller since age eight, Eric now averages more than 10,000 posts a year across platforms. His work is fueled by a weaponized curiosity and a deep belief in the power of consistent creation to build attention, trust, and growth.

The fourth Friday of each month is dedicated to the education and networking of MNTA members. Topics change each month. Join us via Zoom and join in the conversation. This event is free for MNTA members.