The Rockstar CMO F'in' Marketing Podcast

This week, our host Ian Truscott is joined by Jason Falls, Chief Strategy Officer at Falls+Partners, author of Winfluence, host of the Winfluence podcast, and godfather of The Marketing Podcast Network. 

It’s been a few years since Ian has had Jason on the show, so they catch up on what’s been happening with him, before diving into some research from his company Falls+Partners - The 2027 Influence Imperative - and how influence is changing in the age of AI.

They discuss:

This week, Cathy McKnight, Chief Problem Solver at Seventh Bear, returns for her regular visit to discuss how being efficient doesn’t make you different, and her colleague Robert Rose joins Ian in the bar to share that not all AI mentions are equal.

Cathy and Ian discuss a recent article of hers from her Bear Essentials series - Efficient Isn't the Same as Different.

Key points from this chat:

This week, as the podcast migrated to SimpleCast, Ian noticed that if you add all the regular shows, additional mini-series, and mid-week specials, we hit 400 episodes on the stream. 

Ian celebrates with regular guest and former Forrester Research Director Jeff Clark, who joined the show as a regular in episode 40, as they pick their favorites from the occasional “One Hit Wonder or Wonderwall” series they did on and off over the last six years. 

The One Hit Wonder series kicked off in 2020 with Attribution to Causal Analytics, which they discussed a couple of weeks ago. Breaki...

This week, Cathy McKnight, Chief Problem Solver at Seventh Bear, returns for her regular visit to discuss reach and recognition, and her colleague Robert Rose joins Ian in the bar to discuss AI disclosure.

Before they dive into Cathy’s Bear Essentials article, Reach is Rented. Recognition is Owned, Cathy shares her experience of presenting at SMASH in Las Vegas and Content Marketing World.

Key points from this chat:

This week, Sebastian Hardung, the CMO of Priint, joins our host Ian Truscott to discuss his career and adding print to our marketing mix, before Ian joins Robert Rose in our virtual bar to discuss the term “marketing engineer”.

Priint is best known for priint:suite, an enterprise publishing platform that bridges the gap between digital data sources and print production.

As you’ll hear, Sebastian has been their CMO for 3 years, following a career in product management and data management, after starting his career as a developer. 

Their conversation was inspired by a previ...

This week, former Forrester Research Director Jeff Clark is back in the studio and joins our host Ian Truscott to test whether a new trend, technique, buzzword, or technology is a one-hit wonder or a Wonderwall. In other words, is this something we should pay attention to, or a fad?

This week, they focus on causal analytics: whether it is the answer to the challenge of attribution and our dependency on vanity metrics, or a new buzzword we can safely ignore.

They discuss:

This week, Ian and Cathy McKnight, Chief Problem Solver at Seventh Bear, dive into her “Bear Essentials” article series to discuss whether we are curating a martech museum and avoid overbuying while staying up to date.

They discuss:

This week, our host Ian Truscott goes solo, comparing the electrification of the automobile industry with AI for marketing. 

Ian sees a parallel for marketers: as electric engines in relatively inexpensive cars make performance numbers like 0-60 times and horsepower less relevant indicators of desirability for exotic cars, they need to lean on the brand experience. 

An obvious analogy there for marketers, with all the horsepower of AI, we can either do more with slop or do something differentiated. 

Thirsty after all that talking, Ian then joins Robert Rose in the virtual bar, The...

This week, Mark Demeny, Senior Director, Product Marketing at OpenText, joins our host Ian Truscott in the Rockstar CMO studio to discuss the changes in content technology and where the industry is headed as the term DXP, or Digital eXperience Management, is being dropped, and how our enterprise marketing technology platforms need to work with AI.

They then move on to the question many B2B tech marketing organizations ask: should product marketing sit under product or marketing?

They discuss:

The decline of the DXP category and its implications

The importance...

This week, Ian and Cathy McKnight, Chief Problem Solver at Seventh Bear, discuss some research that she’s just published covering the State of Content Operations in 2026.

But first, they discuss Optimizely's recent retirement of the Digital Experience Platform (DXP) label, a prominent vendor in this category, but is the switch to an agent platform any better?

They then dig into Cathy’s research and discuss five key points:

Speed went up. ROI did not

AI wins here. Falls flat there

Three bottlenecks. None of them AI

It w...

This week, former Forrester Research Director Jeff Clark is back in the studio and joins our host Ian Truscott to discuss a research project from the B2B CMO Project called The New Rules of B2B Marketing in 2026 - How the Best B2B CMOs Are Rewriting the Role.

The B2B CMO Project, is a research and community initiative founded by Jon Miller (best known as the co-founder of Marketo) and Sydney Sloan (former CMO of Salesloft and G2) and the report is based on interviews with more than 50 B2B CMOs at companies including...

This week, former Forrester Research Director Jeff Clark is back in the studio after his summer break with our host Ian Truscott to discuss an article in The New York Times called “I Helped Run Lululemon. Companies Need to Stop Kidding Themselves About A.I.” written by Julie Averill, the former chief information officer of Lululemon, and some interesting research from McKinsey that supports her experience.

The article discusses A.I. wishing and A.I. washing, and Jeff and Ian discuss how to get A.I. working and share 5 tips:

Create an effective business case

This week, our host Ian Truscott goes solo to share some work from Jon Evans, host of Uncensored CMO and experienced B2C CMO, and digs into what he calls the 4 P’s of the CMO - what marketing leaders need to pay attention to beyond Product, Price, Place, and Promotion. Jon suggests it’s Politics, People, Planning, and Persuasion, and Ian digs into these 4.

Thirsty after all that talking, Ian then joins Robert Rose in the virtual bar, The Rose & Rockstar, and over a refreshing cocktail, they discuss an idea that Joe Pulizzi shared in their podc...

This week, Ian and Cathy McKnight, Chief Problem Solver at Seventh Bear discuss a recent post from her Bear Essentials series on the Seventh Bear blog: Your Marketing Org Chart Is Fiction.

They discuss:

The VP everyone quietly routes around

How do we make the most of the AI opportunity?

If everyone kinda knows how to get shit done, why does this matter?

What should marketing leaders be doing instead?

What should marketing leaders be trying this week?

On the topic of getting shit done...

This week, our host Ian Truscott is joined by Ken Schwartz from Peer Survey Professionals, an expert on win/loss analysis.

They have a fascinating discussion about the value of having a good win/loss program, speaking directly with customers, avoiding the blame game, and the surprising insights Ken has found doing this over the years.

Then, Ian moves to our virtual bar, The Rose and Rockstar, and joins Robert Rose, Chief Trouble Maker at Seventh Bear, to discuss GEO and SEO, drawing on data and experience from the Content Marketing Institute website, and how...

This week, former Forrester Research Director Jeff Clark is in the studio with our host Ian Truscott to discuss an article from Matt Heinz on his Substack - Most GTM Alignment Is Theater - What two decades of alignment frameworks miss, and what the GTM teams actually winning are doing instead.

The discuss 5 things that inspired them from the article:

It’s not the process, it’s the discipline

What AI is changing/not changing

The ICP conversation

The Win/Loss conversation

The importance of trust

Th...

This week, Simon Daniels, Principal Consultant at Accenture Song, a marketing and revenue operations expert and former Forrester analyst, is back in the studio, and he arrives clutching the results of the “Accenture Song Client Buying Index 2026”- which was shared at a recent “Rethink’ event, and in keeping with the editorial policy of the show, he shares his 5 f’in’ favorites.

Ian then joins Robert Rose, Chief Trouble Maker at SeventhBear, in our virtual bar, to discuss the tension of quality, price, or convenience when it comes to having AI create our content, as we assume everyone wan...

This week, Ian and Cathy McKnight, Chief Problem Solver at Seventh Bear discuss a recent post from her Bear Essentials series on their blog - Your Voice and Tone Aren’t Guidelines, They’re Discipline

They discuss:

A brand voice guide is only useful if it becomes a habit

AI makes brand discipline more important, not less

Voice and tone belong to everyone, not just the brand team

Make guidance practical and measurable

Test whether your brand actually sounds like itself

Ian then joins Robert Rose...

This week, Thomas Peham, former CMO at StoryBlok and co-founder of Otterly.ai joins our host Ian Truscott to share his journey of leaving corporate leadership and becoming an entrepreneur.

They cover:

The leap of faith from corporate to startup

Building a remote team

The transition from CMO to founder

Education as a marketing strategy

Navigating competition and market dynamics

What’s next for Otterly and GEO?

Enjoy!

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Sadly, no fun in our virtual bar this week as Robert Rose...

This week, former Forrester Research Director Jeff Clark is in the studio with our host Ian Truscott to return to their One Hit Wonder or Wonderwall treatment, when they decide if something in marketing will fade away or stand the test of time.

Getting this scrutiny this week is the role Head of AI role that is being talked about. The idea that we need someone in the leadership teams responsible for all things AI. Will this endure, like the CIO role, or be transient like the Head of Digital Transformation?

Once they decide, Ian...

This week, Ian and Cathy McKnight, Chief Problem Solver at Seventh Bear discuss a recent post from her Bear Essentials series on the Seventh Bear blog - You're Not Scaling Content. You're Scaling Chaos.

 They discuss: 

Difference between scale and volume in content creation

Impact metrics vs. production metrics

Organizational governance and foundational systems

The risks of scaling content without measuring impact and ROI

Content quality and originality in AI-generated content

Content bottlenecks and downstream effects

Ian then joins Robert Rose in the vi...

This week, former Forrester Research Director Jeff Clark is in the studio with our host Ian Truscott, to discuss a mid-year review from Matt Heinz called The State of the B2B CMO (almost) Halfway Through 2026. 

They share 5 f’in’ things they take from his research are:

Financial literacy is a required skill

The role of the CMO is changing

Where the buyer is versus where we pretend they are

The organizational impact of AI

Tensions defining 2026

Ian then joins Robert Rose in our virtual bar...

This week, former Forrester Research Director Jeff Clark is back in the studio with our host Ian Truscott, and they discuss the impact of folklore within a business, which can be positive or it can hold your business back. 

Their conversation is inspired by some work by Kerry Cunningham at 6Sense: Folklore Debt: The Stories That Build B2B Companies — and the Ones That Hold Them Back | 6sense

They share 5 f’in’ takeaways from Kerry’s work:

Companies thrive on their origin story

Being defined by features

Technical debt constrain...

This week, former Forrester Research Director Jeff Clark is back in the studio with our host Ian Truscott, and they discuss the impact of LLMs on the big analyst firms and the general advisory around B2B buying decisions. 

They share 5 f’in’ tips for buyers, analysts, and vendors in this new buying environment

LLMs only work on publicly available information

Vendors need to broaden the scope of AR/IR/PR

Where do I go for unbiased, original research?

Beating FOMU or FOFU

How can we connect buyer...

This week, Ian and Cathy McKnight, Chief Problem Solver at Seventh Bear discuss a recent post from her Bear Essentials series on the Seventh Bear blog - AI Isn't Your Content Problem. Your Content Is Your Content Problem.

 They discuss: 

The value of Content Operations and AI

The challenge of context in unstructured content for the LLMs

Governance and ownership with AI

Recommendations for effective content operations

Ian then joins Robert Rose in the virtual bar, The Rose & Rockstar, to pick his brains on a marketing topic ov...

This week, former Forrester Research Director Jeff Clark, is back in the studio with our host Ian Truscott to discuss 5 tips for getting your content into the LLMs, pulling at a thread that has come up a couple of times in previous episodes.

They discuss:

Leading with a clear, structured need definition.

Publishing useful things for the audience and the robots

Maintain consistent naming and terminology

Brand is still important

Distribute content across high-authority contexts

Due to a scheduling challenge caused by family commitments over...

This week, former Forrester Research Director, Jeff Clark, is back in the studio with our host Ian Truscott to discuss an article from Anthony McPartlin, Principal Analyst at Forrester, Agentic Prospecting: Seven Reasons The Hype Falls Short.

Demand generation and prospecting have changed, with sales teams now armed with tools that allow them to run lead generation campaigns across LinkedIn and email, which was traditionally the role of marketing, but now this role is being handed to the robots, with agentic prospecting handling everything from deciding the ICP, buyer personas, to executing the campaign. 

Picking 5 f...

This week, with his guests away, our host Ian Truscott takes a turn in the studio, going solo, and shares 5 f’in’ things that have caught his eye this week. 

Those things were:

Email has become earned, not owned - inspired by an issue of Ann Handley’s newsletter - Email Is Dead, Long Live Email

Building a campfire - inspired by Joe Pulizzi’s newsletter - Stop Trying to Build a Community

AI disruption of the software industry, at both ends of the scale

Getting the creative balance right wit...

This week, former Forrester Research Director, Jeff Clark, is back in the studio with our host Ian Truscott to discuss a predictions post from Jon Miller on the ChiefMartec blog, from back in January. 

Jon Miller is described as a legend in our industry, the co-founder and original CMO of Marketo, and the former CMO of DemandBase; his opinion is well worth watching. 

The extensive article that inspired this conversation makes 13 predictions, and, of course, following the show's editorial policy, Ian and Jeff pick 5 that resonate most with them.  

They discuss: 

Marke...

This week, Ian and Cathy McKnight discuss a recent piece of research from Cathy on her Bear Essentials series on the Seventh Bear blog - Bear Essentials: You Can’t Personalize What You Don't Understand

 They discuss: 

Audience segmentation beyond job titles

Building and operationalizing personas

The role of AI and content in marketing

Customer journey mapping and needs analysis

Ian then joins Robert Rose in the virtual bar, The Rose & Rockstar, for a classic cocktail and a chat. 

This week, Ian and Robert discuss Rober...

This week, former Forrester Research Director, Jeff Clark, is back in the studio for a discussion with our host Ian Truscott, to discuss how marketing can help sales defeat the biggest competitor in many B2B deals - do nothing. 

They discuss: 

Quantify the cost of inaction

Understand persona needs

Lower risk of change

Bring proof

Build internal consensus

Ian then joins Robert Rose in the virtual bar, The Rose & Rockstar, to celebrate 6 years of the podcast.

Over a fabulous cocktail, they revisit th...

This week, former Forrester Research Director, Jeff Clark, is back in the studio for a discussion with our host Ian Truscott about buyer education, inspired by an article by Kerry Cunningham, of 6Sense: “Buyers are not blank slates”, and give it the 5 f’in’ things treatment. 

They discuss: 

Some categories still need basic education

Keep the education grounded

Present your unique POV on how to solve buyer challenges

Do buyers want to be experts?

Campaigns need to master “answer engine optimization”

Ian then joins Robert Rose in the vi...

This week, Ian and Cathy McKnight discuss a recent piece of research from Cathy on her Bear Essentials series on the Seventh Bear blog - The Funnel Isn’t Dead, Your Version of It Is. 

They discuss: 

The funnel is not dead, but it needs a refresh 

The impact on marketing when this foundational work is broken.

What a modern funnel looks like (and it’s not about attribution)

Mapping to the customer journey, and thinking beyond the buying journey 

Focusing on solving the customer's problems, not showcasi...

A slightly different episode this week, as our host Ian Truscott has two guests in the studio sharing their marketing street knowledge. Catherine Nichols and Jeremy Laight, two successful fractional CMOs who founded The Slice in July 2025, a community for fractional marketers that has expanded rapidly to over a thousand members from across the globe. 

They discuss:

The Slice community and what inspired it

Defining fractional CMOs

Why organizations choose fractional talent

Lessons Learned from the Community

Advice for transitioning to fractional marketing

What they w...

This week, Jeff Clark, former Forrester Research Director, has been reading  Enshittification: Why Everything Suddenly Got Worse and What to Do About It by Cory Doctorow, and rather than host a pity party, he dug into some research and shares 5 f’in’ tips for marketers dealing with enshitification with our host Ian Truscott.

The five tips:

Have a clear strategy

Provide expertise and education

Nurture your community

Tell stories that engage and entertain

Don’t treat the platform like an advertising channel, but advertise!

Ian then jo...

This week, Cathy McKnight, Chief Problem Solver at Seventh Bear, is back to share her latest Bear Essentials research. This week, she and our host Ian Truscott dig into her post, "Your KPIs Are Measuring Activity, Not Impact."

Highlights from their chat:

The “Data Barf Binder”-  where marketing teams measure activity, not impact.

Investing in employee communications leads to better outcomes.

Awareness metrics can only be useful if connected to outcomes.

Quality and context are more important than quantity in content.

OKRs help align marketing efforts with...

This week, Simon Daniels, now Principal Consultant, B2B Customer Growth at Accenture Song, is in the studio to share 5 f’in’ tips for getting your Revenue Operations rocking, which include:

Making the business case

Aligning with business goals, outcomes, and stakeholders

Customer focus

Building on 4 key foundations

Proving value and scaling what works

Ian then joins Robert Rose in the virtual bar, The Rose & Rockstar, for a classic cocktail and a chat, and Robert unveils his new Audience Trust Index research that he is publsihing on the...

This week, former Forrester Research Director, and now champion of clean technology, Jeff Clark, and our host Ian Truscott discuss a fun research paper from one of Ian’s favourite podcasts, Uncensored CMO and agency network Worldwide Partner titled “Confessions of a CMO”. 

As is the editorial policy of the show, they pick 5 f’in’ things that jumped out of this work:

The CMO needs to be the voice of the customer

Trading authority for influence

When chaos reigns, stabilize the ship

The long and the short of it

T...

This week, our host Ian Truscott chats with B2B marketing leader Lisa Bonnano, and then he and Robert tackle the topic of vibe coding killing SaaS software over a cocktail.  

Lisa Bonanno is a revenue and customer-focused marketing executive with 20+ years of experience optimizing and scaling global pipeline engines from inquiry to advocacy for B2B SaaS businesses.

Ian dives into Lisa’s marketing leadership experience, what drew her to marketing as a profession, her views on getting a marketing education, what we can learn from B2C, and:

What is on Lisa...

This week, Cathy McKnight is back in the studio to discuss changes content marketers need to make in 2026, and as Robert Rose couldn’t make it to our virtual bar this week, our host Ian Truscott shares his 3 D’s of product content marketing.   

Ian and Cathy discuss:

Marketing teams are often organized around outdated models

The pandemic accelerated the need for digital transformation

Organizations must focus on outcomes, not just outputs

Silos in organizations are inevitable, but should be permeable

AI should enhance human creativity, not replace...