Owlcado Digital

About Owlcado Digital

Marketing insights, tools, and systems from real-world experience in digital strategy and communications. I break down what actually works in building, storytelling, and executing ideas in modern workspaces. bennieonthejets.substack.com (https://bennieonthejets.substack.com/s/owlcado-digital?utm_medium=podcast)

Publisher

Stephanie Benoit

Category

business · education

Language

en

Explicit

No

First episode

12 May 2026

Latest episode

3 Aug 2026

Latest episodes

5 episodes in the feed.

1. 

   3 Aug 2026

   You're a hoe

   You’re a hoe!I know…. And you know what… I did text that niggacause he was a good eater.He’d whisper how good I tasteAs a pillow covered my facescreaming into the abysswhy am I doing thisI’m proud of myself thoughcause I let him gohe was so bad for myself concept. I woulda thrown away my potential to cum on his tongue. and that my friends... is why I'm alone. Get full access to Learning with Stephanie Benoit at bennieonthejets.substack.com/subscribe (https://bennieonthejets.substack.com/subscribe?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_4)

2. 

   21 Jun 2026

   How to make a GenAI BrandKit useable.

   ChatGPT and other AI models have become somewhat better at generating content, but if you work in design, you know that it still leaves a lot to be desired. One of my favorite humans used ChatGPT to prompt her way into some mockups for a postcard and brand kit. She told me she reached out to folks on Fiverr only to find that no one could truly help her without source files. What ChatGPT got wrong The truth is that expecting AI to know what a seasoned ( or even a beginner) designer knows is expecting too much. Your prompting would require that you know exactly what to ask for, and that is still no guarantee. I’ve had AI offer a Hexcode for a blue that was actually an organge. In the case of this brand kit and graphic, ChatGPT didn't offer the names of the typefaces it used, nor the hex codes for the colors it chose. It matched her aesthetic for the brand, but that is where the “magic” ended. I will also point out that there are things that human designers consider that AI won’t. Monochromatic brand colors can be interesting, but that is a risk in and of itself. People might look past it, or you will have a hard time with accessibility if the colors you choose are too close.I will say that this was frustrating to work on because it was a lot of guessing and working to get as close as possible to what the AI generated. It was rebuilding logo lockups and monograms. The work included hunting down typefaces while considering that this would be for commercial use. There was a bit of manipulating standand are fonts to create custom typefaces for the brand. I also tried to reuse what makes sense to reuse and make recommendations on other small things that someone who doesn’t do brand design work might not consider. Steps to make ChatGPT graphics usable Step 1: Import photosI grabbed the files that she was able to pull from ChatGPT and brought them into Affinity Designer. My biggest struggle was the quality of the images. I couldn’t blow them up because they would get pixelated very quickly. So, as I took a closer look at all the elements, I decided to make a list of what she would need in order to create branded content down the line. I also took a look at the copy that ChatGPT generated for the postcard and the brand kit to get a read of the tone of voice. I did a quick audit of what would be hard to recreate and what would be a breeze, and I estimated how long it might take me to do it, and then added a bit of buffer. Step 2: Brand ColorsI looked at the brand kit that ChatGPT generated. There were 7 colors ranging from light tan to deep brown. It was a very neutral palette. I respected that choice, but wanted to add a shade of green or blue, with a similar hue to help add an earthy feel with an accent color palette. I used the color picker to quickly set the colors and typed out the RGB and Hex code for the colors, making it easy to use the same ones consistently. This took the least amount of time, so it is what I did first. I then organized it by what colors should be backgrounds, which were meant for typeface, and finally, the AA-rated to AAA-rated pairings for accessibility. Step 3: Finding a typefaceThis step took the longest. ChatGPT very vaguely said elegant Serif and sans-serif. I cried a little bit inside. Because I had no clue what font it used. I went through Google Fonts to see how close I could get with elegant Serif fonts. I played around with a few and then settled on Didot. I chose it for 3 reasons. * It is a public font and can be used for commercial purposes. * It is the font Vogue uses for its logo, playing into the associations that people make with high-end things. * It was easy to manipulate and would make for a nice elongated Title and heading font down the line. I decided to pair it with Avenir Next Condensed cause they both have an elegant elongated feel, due to the taller x-height. I also had a variety of weights to choose from, allowing us to add visual interest to any text-based content down the line.Step 4: cropping GenAI imagesThe AI-generated images of a woman doing pilates were stand-ins for stock photos and original photography, so I used them. I cropped them from the generated brand kit and added them to the brand kit I was creating. I also saved them as individual .webp and .jpeg files for use on Canva down the line. The quality wasn’t amazing, but as Mariah said, “imma do the best I can with what I got”. My recommendation here is to use the stock photos until you can get original photography for your brand. Human-made tracks better in a lot of cases. Step 5: Recreating the logo lockupsSo, ChatGPT generated a logo and icon for her that she said she liked. I wanted to honor it by keeping it as it was. However, keep in mind that the photo quality was low. I tried a few different ways to clear the background and create a .png file, but the quality was too low, and the result was extremely pixelated. So, I pulled it into Procreate and drew the icon by hand for a higher-quality finish. I exported it as a .svg and a .png. My thinking for the .svg file was that she could later import it into Canva and easily change the color. I later added it to the brand kit that I was building for her. For the monogram, I was able to rasterize the graphic, clear the background, and shape the image using Affinity Photo, but I still had to go back in and lay more color on top to hide how pixelated it got from enlarging it. Why didn’t I do that with the Icon? It was a line-based icon, and parts of it were getting lost as I tried to remove the background. It was easier to just re-drew it. Finally, for the wordmark, I used the Didot font with some minor modifications. I then created a full logo lock-up with the brand name and the logo, both horizontally and vertically.Step 6: IconsChatGPT generated Icons for the brand. I knew I could find a lot of them on Google icons library (https://fonts.google.com/icons), so I didn’t stress about it too much, but there were a few that had thinner lines. So, I recreated those in Affinity so that they matched the aesthetic more. Those icons didn’t take too long to do, as they are quite simple to make. Presenting drafts and next steps So, I’m not gonna lie, this project is not finished. I planned out about 3 working days to do it, since I wasn’t starting from scratch; however, I’m still waiting for her to get back with notes on the drafts I sent. There are still tweaks I want to make to the AI-generated copy for the Postcard graphic and reimagining how they are laid out for a few more options.Considering that she is running a business and taking care of a household, I know that this isn’t going to be the fastest turnaround, but I’m glad I was able to help her get started on branding.I’ll share updates soon. Get full access to Learning with Stephanie Benoit at bennieonthejets.substack.com/subscribe (https://bennieonthejets.substack.com/subscribe?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_4)

3. 

   10 Jun 2026

   Reinvest your conference budget

   Public relations is a part of Brand Marketing that often gets overlooked. PR teams are given lackluster stories to pitch to journalists in hopes that they will bite and report something with your name. A lot of the press releases that I’ve seen have made me sigh… “Who cares, honestly?”No offense to the engineers who put together the products, but how does this impact people in tactile ways? When I worked as a teacher, I had to write daily reports, and I sent a weekly newsletter to the parents. They were busy, but I knew they wanted updates on their children, so I would do a chart in a notebook and take notes throughout the day, observing the children as they played. The chart was what? So what? Now what?What? - What was I observing? What was the milestone? What am I reporting?So what? - Why was this important? Why is it worth talking about? What is the impact on the larger space/ niche?Now what? - What should we expect next? What can we do to leverage this new information or this new tool? What does it do for you? This is the basis for my thesis. You could be investing your marketing dollars in a way that is far more impactful for your bottom line. Dump that conference, invest in the community around it In 2024, I went to HubSpot’s Inbound conference. Outside the conference center, a local union was protesting low wages for hospitality workers, as conference attendees walked past unconcerned. If your conference isn’t making a tactile difference in the communities that you are in, why do them?My thought: drop the conference, invest in the community. You are probably thinking, “ Stephanie, that is an overzealous position.” Sure. But here is the thought. You spend $100,000 plus shuttling people from all corners of the earth, housing and feeding them for 3 to 5 days to get, let’s say, 500, maybe 1000 leads if you get lucky. ( Though, in 2026, you are using ABM as your strategy and cultivating relationships, so who cares about leads) Some might be hot leads, some might be cold. Your team is scoring based on the notes they took and what they think is happening with that person. You also invest in swag that people sign up to get, which means they are likely a cold lead, if a lead at all. The better approach is to send 2 or 3 people to the conference, get a session slot instead of a booth. Leverage thought leadership for that audience, and increase name recognition in that local community by donating to local organizations, creating swag bags, not for conference attendees but for people who are legitimately in need. Shelters need socks, tooth brushes, blankets, underwear, and items for doing hair. It’s a better way to spend.I remember going to Orlando with the Marketing team at Beefree, under the leadership of Luca Penati. One of the days, we went to donate time to an organization that needed help packing boxes for teachers and organizing the warehouse space. That was my favorite day. It’s actually the one I remember most.This is your bread and butter. Creating a PR strategy that focuses on helping others, especially in a tough economy.You can then put together a PR package after the conference, pr event highlighting how that time was spent. The story goes, “we came to town to promote X innovation at this annual tech conference/ company retreat, but while we were here, we worked with Y organization to help meet the needs of the local community by doing Z. This will help for X amount of time. We look forward to coming back again to support this initiative.” ( And then actually return).But Stephanie… that seems exploitative? Yes and no. It is, in some ways, because you are making a show of what you did to help. However, the helpful, generous giving of your time and money remains a net positive impact for that community. Skip the conference, invest in advertising at arenas If I know anything about the city I grew up in, it is that they love sports. Atlanta United, the Falcons, the Braves, the Thrashers, the Hawks, the Yellow Jackets, the Bulldogs, the Panthers. There is no shortage of teams or sports to cheer for. With the Center Parc stadium, Mercedes-Benz stadium, State Farm arena, Bobby Dodd stadium, Truist park, and the World Congress Center all located in the Atlanta city limits. (Truist is Smyrna-ish.. but don’t hold it against them. All of them have marquees, all of them offer sponsorship plans and ads. With Mercedes-Benz and State Farm being available year-round, with large concerts and festivals coming through, and a number of sports being played in both. This isn’t limited to professional and collegiate teams. There are semipro leagues, amateur and little leagues, as well as grade school teams that people come out en masse to see. People in Texas can also speak to this. Sports can help generate revenue by increasing name recognition. The ad just needs to make it clear what you do. This approach can also work in Europe. I went to soccer (football) games where the teams were sponsored by local and international companies. How do we measure success? This is the place where I know the resistance will live because it isn’t going to be a 1-to-1 proof of ROI with this strategy. This strategy needs to be supported by a strong content strategy and a clear and trackable customer journey. It also needs time to work. However, tracking success is doable. Since you can't always put a tracking pixel on a stadium sign and definitely can’t do it for local news stories, how do you know it puts money in your pocket? You don't look for clicks; you look for market lift. You track the spike in Branded Google Searches from that city or region. You watch your Share of Voice squeeze out competitors. You ask directly. “How did you hear about us?” is a fantastic question when your advertising goes beyond digital spaces. Marketing has to evolve as more organizations are using the same playbooks to talk to the same audiences about the same things that you are. Everyone is selling something to do with AI or selling an app experience. Everyone is selling saved time and streamlined workflows. Everyone sells “saved money”. That isn’t a differentiator anymore. Be human. Be in community with humans. Learning with Stephanie Benoit is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a paid subscriber. Get full access to Learning with Stephanie Benoit at bennieonthejets.substack.com/subscribe (https://bennieonthejets.substack.com/subscribe?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_4)

4. 

   13 May 2026

   Weaning myself off of AI

   In 2008 or 2009, I started a WordPress account. I was already writing a lot on Facebook, and I thought this was probably a better way to write. I posted regularly for a time. Then life happened, and I went back and forth between writing for the web and just journaling. I often talk about how I transition from teaching via content and copywriting. My first full-time marketing role was as a copywriter. I spent several years writing blogs, emails, social content, and more long-form content like ebooks. In 2023, everyone starts using AI.” It’s the future,” they’d say. I’m generally always an early adopter of. new things, but for GenerativeAI, I was hesitant. My boss encouraged me to use it. At first, I said, “This feels like cheating”, but then I embraced it. ChatGPT Addiction I used Gen AI for just boring tasks at first. Just the things that I didn’t really want to do. I would use it for documentation and other administrative tasks, but I was still heavily editing it because it was less than legible. Then I proceeded to start using it for the things I actually enjoyed, thinking I would have more time. That’s not exactly what happened. It was hallucinating a lot. Nothing it said was reliable, but I couldn’t stop. I got to the point where I didn’t even trust myself to write a Slack message without running it through AI first. The feedback I was getting regularly before I fully adopted AI was about my tone of voice. It was too casual, too playful, too relaxed. So, I used it to make my voice sound more like theirs. The feedback was almost always saying, “ You shouldn’t talk like that.” So, basically, I promoted my AI to sound like the corporate jargon machine. The aim was to sound more “professional”. Eventually, everything I wrote I doubted. Everything I submitted for review was nitpicked. So, I gave it all over to AI. Things I could easily say in conversation, I couldn’t write. I had more typos than usual, and my autocorrect was bonkers. I was creating so much with AI, I eventually stopped editing the output. I read it so much that it started to seem “ good enough.” By September of 2024, I could barely string 5 words together at work without getting AI approval. ”What do you think, Chad?” “Edit this, Chad.” “Is this right, Chad?”It was an abysmal experience for a writer.It reminded me a bit of that scene in Wish when the King or President or Governor ( I forget) was like, “ give your wishes to me, and once a year we will grant it for you, but then it’s revealed that he’s actually evil. Reclaiming my voice Then, in October 2024, I started A Black Girl’s Guide (https://bennieonthejets.substack.com/s/guide-for-black-gilrs) to write about my relationship with being a Black woman in corporate spaces, and that expanded to things I wish I knew before. Things to help to navigate life. There were letters to little me, and it really opened the door to getting my brain back and trusting my voice again.My true wake-up call came when I got a “wrapped” email, telling me how many prompts I sent, how many “conversations” we had. It was so bad, and I felt ashamed of myself. I decided to QuitGPT (https://quitgpt.org/).I wanted to do it cold turkey, but some people need bridges, Hi my name is some people. Here are the 8 steps I took to reclaim my brain * Stream of consciousness writing - I would just write what I wanted to say in paragraph form and then prompt the LLM to organize it for me. That helped me remember what my flow was. * Outlines - I would tell the LLM my thesis and what I wanted to work through, coupled with 4th stream of consciousness draft, and I would ask it to create an outline. That I would then fill in with my voice and research. * AI review only - After I stopped needing outlines from it, I would plug in completed work for review. I wanted to catch issues that would harm comprehension, as well as grammatical errors and typos. * Teach me prompts - Instead of asking it to do it for me, I would ask it to teach me.I would ask for the steps or where to go to get something done. Essentially treating it like a tutorial machine. * Setting a hard boundary - No AI writing for personal projects, I would outline and write those myself. My personal projects like the children’s books, my poetry we me. I didn’t need AI to tell me if they were good or bad cause it was my art. I also got back into writing essays for fun, and I wanted it to be my view and not the spin that an LLM wanted to put on it. * Setting a firmer boundary - No AI output for personal or work projects. I didn’t want my work to look like everyone else’s. Also, because my brain was becoming used to creating again, I did not need that support. * Training myself to use older research methods again. Google Scholar and Google News were my go-to for a time. I also reimplemented Boolean searches and leaned into going to the website to explore the resource myself. Library resources like Jstor or GALILEO have also been incredibly helpful. Wikipedia’s citation section has also been a good resource to go back to. * Going back to Grammarly, Free SEO tools, and Hemingway App. - These tools exist to help me improve my writing, NOT to think for me. they allow me to think through how I’ve phrased a sentence while considering the audience reading it. At this stage, I don’t touch it nearly as much as I used to. Writing again has been like riding a bike. I still have days where Google’s AI mode gets me, but not in the same way as ChatGPT. Once I figure out how to bypass that, we will be on the road to a mostly LLM-free life. Choose your struggle I remember a creator on Instagram saying that her therapist told her that she had the privilege of choosing her hard. She was talking about it in reference to washing her hair, but I am talking about it in reference to AI. Our brains often offload the things we don’t use. You build neural pathways and stronger brain/muscle connections when you do things over and over again. So, you can choose the challenge of maintaining your skills, or you can lose your skills to the addiction to a microwave answer ad struggle to communicate.Ultimately, having my skills stay intact is important to me. If this takes a bit more time, but looks better, reads better, and has more insight and value, this is the road I’d rather take. This isn’t a full rejection of AI. Grammarly is an AI-based tool. It has always been. Hemingway App has always been an AI-based tool. However, they aren’t doing the work for me. Turning down help seems silly to me, but help to me isn’t “doing it for me.” I have the ability to think, perceive and judge. I can use my emotions and my logic to come to conclusions that make for better content. A little honesty I’m not at all saying I don’t need or want help or guidance. I’m also not saying I only need guidance at the end of a creative journey. I am standing on the backs of the people who learned things and shared them on the internet. I also understand that the content creation space is moving at the speed of light. People are trying to stay ahead of the curve by using LLMs to take some things off their plate. I understand you. I’m not judging you. If you choose to continue to use AI… this is my advice to you. READ IT OUT LOUD. If the way it sounds annoys you to hear, it will bother a lot of other ears. Get full access to Learning with Stephanie Benoit at bennieonthejets.substack.com/subscribe (https://bennieonthejets.substack.com/subscribe?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_4)

5. 

   12 May 2026

   Systems for Success

   This is session 1 of a 3 parter explaining how the Owlcado digital methodologies are tried and true. They work in EVERY context. From weight loss to Scaling a business. Join me for session one. Get full access to Learning with Stephanie Benoit at bennieonthejets.substack.com/subscribe (https://bennieonthejets.substack.com/subscribe?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_4)

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