Human-Centered Marketing - by Ashley Faus Hardcover

About the Book

Transform your marketing strategy to place the audience front and center, building trust with consumers, developing brand awareness and driving sales.

Book Synopsis

WINNER: American Book Fest Best Book Awards 2025 - Business: Marketing & Advertising
DISTINGUISHED FAVORITE: NYC Big Book Award 2025 - Marketing & Public Relations

How can marketers rebuild trust in a crowded, data-driven world?

Human-Centered Marketing is a practical guide for mid- to senior-level marketers who want to design strategies that connect with real people, not just metrics. Written for professionals ready to evolve their approach, it introduces three proven frameworks to help you find, engage, and convert audiences with authenticity and impact.

Drawing on examples from brands including Adobe, HubSpot, and Edelman, this book shows you how to shift from linear funnels to dynamic, community-driven journeys, optimize your social strategy to go beyond conversation, and position yourself and your brand as a trusted industry voice.

You'll learn how to:
- Apply frameworks to build trust and drive measurable growth
- Map audience journeys that behave like playgrounds, not pipelines
- Evolve social strategies to nurture engaged, self-sustaining communities
- Develop thought leadership that shapes brand perception and loyalty

With detailed chapters, actionable tools, and field-tested examples, Human-Centered Marketing equips you to implement strategies that resonate in today's complex, fast-changing environment, while strengthening your career impact.

Themes include: strategy, principles, audience engagement, trust building, social media optimization, community leadership

Review Quotes

"All effective marketing is human-centered. While we're busy being distracted with shortcuts, Faus helps us refocus on what matters."-- "Seth Godin, Author "This is Marketing""

"As a CMO operating in an era of declining trust, very few marketing books offer practical insights into how company brands can build trust by tapping into the human element and the person-to-person connection. Ashley's book provides a unique collection of rich frameworks and real-world case studies that show brands how to keep humans at the center of their marketing."-- "Kerry-Ann Betton Stimpson, CMO and Forbes Communications Council Member"

"Business transformation doesn't happen through finger-pointing, it happens in teams, with the right frameworks. In this book, Ashley shares powerful, practical frameworks to drive clarity, alignment, and trust-turning your team into a high-performing go-to-market powerhouse."-- "Sangram Vajre, Terminus and former CMO of Pardot and WSJ best-selling author"

"Enterprises love the idea of transformation, but do they have the execution chops? Often, the answer is no. Ashley's proven mix of actionable marketing frameworks plus slide-ready metrics are spot-on for today's big, complex organizations."-- "Heike Young, Head of Content & Integrated Marketing, Microsoft"

"Most of the go-to playbooks are outdated, but it's hard to find a replacement for stale marketing practices. Ashley constructed a powerful new set of frameworks, along with practical advice and real-world examples. Human-Centered Marketing brings us back to what actually matters: the people behind the screen."-- "Nancy Duarte, best-selling author and CEO of Duarte, Inc."

"The frameworks Ashley shares are a game-changer for PMMs, especially those working at the enterprise level. Her playground mindset challenges outdated funnel thinking, encouraging PMMs to embrace a more holistic approach to channels and thought leadership. These insights are not just innovative but essential for anyone looking to elevate their impact in Product Marketing."-- "Mary Sheehan, author of The Pocket Guide to Product Launches"

"This isn't just another marketing book - it's a much-needed wake-up call. Ashley challenges outdated norms and introduces frameworks that make human connection the cornerstone of marketing. Human-Centered Marketing is THE blueprint to meaningful engagement and measurable results. In a world of AI, may we all be more human-centered!"-- "Hattie the PMM, Founder of productmarketers.com"

"Trust is under siege from nearly every angle. Yet marketers like you and me want (need!) to build trust with our audiences. The question is... How? Ashley draws you a map."-- "Ann Handley, best-selling author and Chief Content Officer, MarketingProfs"

"When I need marketing advice, Ashley is one of my top people to go to. In 'Human-Centered Marketing, ' Ashley Faus has masterfully captured the evolution of modern marketing. Her insights challenge outdated funnel-driven approaches, replacing them with trust-based, audience-first frameworks that align with how people actually engage today. This book is a must-read for any marketer looking to build long-term relationships and brand credibility in the AI era."-- "Morgan J. Ingram, Founder and CEO, AMP Creative"

About the Author

Ashley Faus is Head of Lifecycle Marketing, Portfolio at Atlassian. Based in San Francisco, CA, her work has been featured in TIME, Forbes, Content Marketing Institute and The Journal of Brand Strategy. As a speaker she's shared insights with audiences at conferences including DigiMarCon, Digital Summit, INBOUND and MarketingProfs B2B Forum. She has been awarded as one of the Top 100 Product Marketing Mentors 2024, 50 Top B2B Marketing Influencers, Experts and Speakers to Follow 2022 and 2023 and 50 Marchitects to Follow 2022.