how brands convert in 2027
An exclusive, invitation-only brand & digital strategy session for growth-stage companies who are done with average and ready to convert.
Presented by Salt & Serif and Cannonball Digital
- September 16, 2026 | 2:45 – 4:45pm
- 5128 S Cliff Ave, Suite 100 | Sioux Falls, SD
we’re here to be
worth our salt.
what this is.
AI is changing everything about how brands communicate. Most companies are using it to move faster. The problem is they’re all moving in the same direction: toward average.
This session is about what happens before you touch the tools. The brand foundation that makes everything you produce, AI-assisted or not, actually work.
who this is for.
Owners, Founders, Marketing Directors and CMOs at growth-stage companies who know their brand and digital strategy could be working harder but aren’t sure where the gaps are.
If your messaging sounds like everyone else in your industry, your digital campaigns aren’t converting the way they should, or you’re not sure how to make AI work for your business instead of against it, this session was crafted for you.
speakers
sarah russell
Creative Director | Salt & Serif
Sarah Russell is the founder and Chief Creative Officer of Salt & Serif, a brand strategy and creative studio in Sioux Falls. Her path runs through both sides of the marketing table. She cut her teeth at a large regional agency in Sioux Falls, then moved to a tech-forward shop where her love of UI and web design took root. From there she went client-side at a global ag tech startup in California, sharpening her branding chops under a former CMO of PlayStation and Intuit. Seeing marketing from the agency seat and the client seat gave her a clear conviction: she could do it better. So she built Salt & Serif.
Today, Salt & Serif exists to solve a problem most brands misdiagnose: they think they have a creativity problem when they actually have a clarity problem. The studio’s clarity-before-creative approach helps growing B2B brands across the US, and right here in Sioux Falls, define exactly who they are and why they matter before a single pixel gets designed. In an era when AI pulls every brand toward the average, Salt & Serif builds the specificity that makes brands impossible to ignore.
justin point
CEO | Cannonball Digital
Justin Point is co-founder of Cannonball Digital, a full-service digital marketing agency in Sioux Falls. But Justin’s path didn’t start at other ad agencies. He spent years running Pizza Ranch locations as an Operating Partner and later served as the brand’s VP of Marketing, where he helped drive online ordering and pioneered the Pizza Ranch ordering app. Measuring marketing spend against real sales numbers gave him a unique perspective that was a driving force behind co-founding Cannonball Digital.
Today, Cannonball exists to answer a question many brands can’t: “We’re spending serious money on marketing, but are we showing up when buyers are actually researching, comparing, and choosing?” The agency’s proprietary AI-Forward SEO process is built specifically to close that gap, helping growth-minded clients discover where they’re invisible and fix it, rather than just doing more of the same. It’s an approach built by someone who’s spent marketing dollars, not just billed for them—and it shows: Cannonball chases visibility over vanity metrics.
get cool sh*t
All attendees receive a curated swag bag:
- Hand-stamped canvas tote, unique to you
- Salt & Serif branded YETI Rambler
- Salt & Serif branded pen and sticker pack
- ‘Get Clear or Get Ignored,’ a brand clarity workbook
- 1-in-50 limited edition letterpress Sioux Falls art print, created on Edith, our 1890 Chandler & Price platen press with signed certificate of authenticity
Entry into $2,500 Brand & Marketing Giveaway*
Every checked-in attendee is entered to win a $2,500 Salt & Serif service voucher, redeemable toward a brand workshop or any Salt & Serif service of your choice. Winner announced live at the event.
event schedule
| 2:45 PM | Doors Open & Check-In |
| 3:15 PM | Session Begins |
| 3:15 – 4:10 PM | How Brands Convert in 2027 |
| 4:15 PM | $2,500 Drawing |
| 4:30 PM | Chamber Ribbon Cutting |
| 4:45 PM – 6:30 PM | Open House |
venue & parking
Salt & Serif Studio
5128 S Cliff Ave, Suite 100
Sioux Falls, SD 57108
Located on the back/east side of the Health Source Chiropractic Building.
Parking is available in the rear and front of the building and neighboring lots. We encourage arriving by 3:00pm to get checked in and ready for the session.
reserve your spot
Space is limited to the first 50 attendees. The brand and marketing session is an invitation-only event. When event is sold out, a waitlist will become available.