Marketing In The Now

Episode

• 
  Embracing AI as Your Superpower 29.07.2026 32mnt

  In this episode of Marketing in the Now, host David Reske sits down with Eleanor Kubacki, CEO of EFK Group, a socially responsible marketing agency with 30 years of experience serving clients like Nike, the U.S. Navy, and the CDC. Eleanor shares her personal journey from AI skepticism to full-scale reinvention, unpacking why women — especially those 50 and older — are uniquely positioned to lead in the AI era rather than be left behind by it. She breaks down her three-part framework for embracing AI (accepting it as a superpower, using it daily, and committing to reinvention), and gets candid about the fear, ethical questions, and internal culture shifts she had to work through before investing in her own AI software platform. The conversation is a practical, honest look at what it really takes for an established business — and an established leader — to reinvent itself in real time.
• 
  AI-Native Go-To-Market: Building Smarter Sales 14.07.2026 29mnt

  In this episode, David Reske sits down with Katie Sadler, owner of SDLR Consulting and go-to-market strategist, to explore what it really means to build an AI-native sales and marketing operation. Katie breaks down the difference between AI endpoint tools and truly AI-native workflows, shares practical examples of where AI is creating the biggest breakthroughs in B2B sales — from intelligent content hubs to AI-powered onboarding — and explains why the future of selling is less about replacing human connection and more about giving buyers a safe, informed space to research and engage. She also introduces her content diagnostic tool, designed to help companies understand how AI models are actually interpreting and representing their brand.
• 
  AI Answer Engines & GEO: The Future of B2B Marketing 30.06.2026 23mnt

  In this returning visit to Marketing In The Now, David Reske sits down again with Mark Goloboy, founder of Market Growth Consulting, to explore how AI is transforming the way B2B companies market, sell, and operate. Mark shares how he rebuilt his own website around a custom GPT — what he calls an "answer engine" — designed to function as a digital twin that responds to prospect questions in his own voice. The conversation digs into the strategy behind training AI on real visitor questions, the intersection of SEO and generative engine optimization (GEO), and why 2026 has shifted from AI experimentation to full production roadmaps. If you're a marketer or business leader trying to figure out where to invest in AI right now, this episode is your playbook.
• 
  How Great Brands Inspire Irrational Loyalty 16.06.2026 24mnt

  What separates a brand people use from a brand people love? In this episode of Marketing In The Now, host David Reske sits down with Lee Nadler — CMO of Flip and marketing veteran behind iconic brands like Snapple, DoubleClick, and MINI Cooper — to explore the discipline of building brand movements. Drawing on three decades of experience, Lee unpacks how the most powerful marketing goes beyond messaging to create communities of zealots, from Snapple fans sending love letters to Mini owners driving across the country together. He also reveals how AI — and Flip's voice technology specifically — is transforming customer service from a cost center into a competitive advantage, and how listening at scale can be the first step toward turning any customer into a lifelong fan.
• 
  How AI Is Rewriting the Buying Journey from Search to Purchase 02.06.2026 26mnt

  Mike Ensing, CEO and co-founder of Revere, returns to Marketing In The Now to go deeper on what he calls the "AI brand control crisis" — a fundamental shift in how brands are perceived, discussed, and recommended in the age of LLMs. Host David Reske and Mike pick up where they left off a year ago, exploring how dramatically the landscape has changed: from the rise of clickless search and AI-driven buying decisions to the coming wave of autonomous agents that will evaluate and execute B2B purchases on behalf of users. Mike explains why traditional SEO and even GEO strategies are no longer enough, and shares Revere's six pillars of AI brand transformation — technical SEO, GEO, brand management, company reputation, data readiness, and company practice — making the case that the brands winning in 2026 and beyond will be those that treat LLMs as the powerful, opinion-forming influencers they've already become.
• 
  The Missing Layer Under AI: A Marketing Operating System 19.05.2026 25mnt

  In this episode of Marketing In The Now, David Reske sits down with Maria Scheifler, a 15-year go-to-market veteran and Fractional CMO of MKT Velocity, to unpack her sprint-based marketing operating system — a framework built to help growing teams cut through chaos, align with revenue goals, and ship meaningful work consistently. Maria explains why AI alone can't fix a broken team dynamic, and why the real foundation of high-performing marketing is a combination of the right culture (trust, psychological safety, and a growth mindset) and agile practices borrowed from the world of software development. From two-week sprint cycles to transparent stakeholder reviews, this conversation is packed with actionable insight for any marketing leader who's tired of their team staying busy without moving the needle.
• 
  From Fear to Fluency: Leading Your Team Through AI 13.05.2026 28mnt

  In this episode of Marketing In The Now, host David Reske sits down with Pam Boiros — fractional CMO and creator of the Marketing AI Jumpstart — to explore why successful AI adoption is fundamentally a people challenge, not a technology one. Pam shares why AI literacy is the antidote to workplace fear, how to reimagine marketing workflows from the ground up rather than simply layering AI onto existing processes, and what it takes for marketing leaders to build a culture of responsible, high-impact AI use. Whether you're a CMO navigating organizational change or a marketer trying to future-proof your career, this conversation offers a practical and human-centered roadmap for thriving in the AI era.
• 
  Train AI to Sound Like You: Brand Strategy in the Age of AI 12.05.2026 31mnt

  In this episode of Marketing In The Now, host David Reske sits down with brand consultant, keynote speaker, and author Ernie Harker (Your Brand Sucks: How to Ignite a Brand That Doesn't) to explore how AI is reshaping the world of branding and design. Ernie shares his fascinating journey from storyboard illustrator to AI-powered brand strategist, and why the rise of AI image and content generation — rather than threatening his career — pushed him to become one of its biggest advocates. Together, David and Ernie dig into the difference between using AI generically (and blending in with everyone else) versus training it on your unique brand voice and strategy to produce content that is authentically, unmistakably you. They also tackle the big question: where does human creativity end and AI assistance begin when it comes to building a brand from the soul up?
• 
  How AI Is Changing the Role of Product Marketing 29.04.2026 32mnt

  In this episode of Marketing In The Now, David Reske sits down with Andy Donkin — growth strategist and former Amazon executive — to explore how AI is fundamentally transforming the role of product marketing. Andy makes a compelling case for reimagining the product marketer not as a tactical executor, but as a "marketing architect" — a strategic quarterback who leverages AI tools to synthesize customer insights, align product development with market demand, and drive consistent, personalized campaigns across channels at unprecedented speed. From the evolution of go-to-market strategy and the growing importance of storytelling in an AI-commoditized world, to the rise of AI-driven customer personas and generative engine optimization, this conversation is a must-listen for any CMO or product marketer navigating the fast-changing marketing landscape of 2026.
• 
  Why AI Can't Fix Marketing Without a Data Foundation 22.04.2026 28mnt

  In this episode of Marketing In The Now, host David Reske sits down with Marie Bahl, CMO of Uptempo and a three-decade veteran of enterprise software marketing, for a thought-provoking conversation about why AI alone won't solve marketing's biggest problem. Marie argues that before marketers can truly harness the power of AI, they need something the industry has long been denied: a unified data backbone that ties every campaign, dollar spent, and marketing effort back to measurable ROI. Drawing on her experience across energy, healthcare, education, and AI, she makes a compelling case for why marketers must stop accepting fragmented tech stacks, take ownership of their complexity, and demand the infrastructure that every other business function has had for decades.
• 
  Gut Instinct vs. Data: The Modern CMO 15.04.2026 27mnt

  In this episode of Marketing In The Now, host David Reske sits down with Kevin Dougherty, CMO of NeuraPoints, for a candid conversation about what it really takes to lead marketing in today's fast-moving, opinion-heavy business environment. Drawing on 26 years of experience — from boots-on-the-ground sales to executive marketing leadership — Kevin shares why trusting your gut isn't just intuition, but the product of deep customer knowledge built over time. The two explore how CMOs can cut through the noise of endless marketing options, how to earn credibility and autonomy with your CEO, and why building genuine relationships — with customers, teammates, and leadership — remains the most powerful strategy of all.
• 
  How AI Is Closing the Gap Between Marketing and Sales 25.03.2026 25mnt

  In this episode of Marketing In The Now, David Reske sits down with Scott Logan — CMO at Amplify AI and a 20-year veteran of B2B revenue growth — to explore how AI is transforming the relationship between marketing and sales. Scott breaks down how marketing can go beyond top-of-funnel support to influence every stage of the sales cycle, from AI-tailored demos and hyper-personalized account briefings to scalable one-to-few ABM that was once only possible for a handful of key accounts. He also shares what skills CMOs should be hiring for, how to build a "no excuses" sales enablement environment, and why staying relentlessly curious about what's new in AI is the only real competitive strategy heading into 2026.
• 
  From Boring to Bold: Making B2B Content Humans Actually Want 18.03.2026 25mnt

  In a world drowning in AI-generated, algorithm-optimized content, how do you actually get people to stop and pay attention? In this episode of Marketing In The Now, David Reske sits down with Matt Charney — content strategist, executive editor, and principal analyst with 15 years in content marketing and thought leadership — to explore why most B2B content fails and what bold, human-first storytelling looks like in practice. From empowering employees to tell their own stories, to using AI to uncover gaps in competitors' messaging rather than generate generic ideas, Matt shares a contrarian framework for creating content that makes your audience swear, share, or care — and why emotional resonance, not ROI bullet points, is what builds lasting B2B relationships.
• 
  Growth Strategies for Disrupting Legacy HR Tech 25.02.2026 31mnt

  In this episode of Marketing In The Now, host David Reske, CEO of Nowspeed Marketing, talks with Joshua Kiernan, CEO and Founder of Mosh JD, about the evolution of a startup from the "build it and they will come" phase to a sophisticated growth engine. Joshua details his mission to solve the problem of inaccurate and scattered job descriptions, which serve as critical data points for hiring and compensation. He shares transparent lessons on the necessity of "marketing hard" from the beginning and the importance of refining an Ideal Customer Profile (ICP) through frameworks like the Halo Strategy. Joshua also explains how he leveraged AI as an education tool to rapidly master technical SEO and web development, eventually pivoting from a DIY approach to a scalable, partner-led growth model.
• 
  Mastering AI Workflows and Agentic Marketing 11.02.2026 30mnt

  In this episode of Marketing In The Now, host David Reske, CEO of Nowspeed Marketing, interviews Frank Days, a fractional CMO and expert in AI workflows. Frank discusses his transition from manual prompting to building sophisticated agentic workflows using the open-source tool N8N. He shares how non-technical marketers can use "vibe coding" to automate repetitive tasks—such as content strategy building, deep research, and brand reviews—without a computer science background. The conversation explores the shifting bottlenecks in marketing, the potential for 100x productivity gains, and the provocative possibility that custom AI agents may eventually replace traditional, bloated SaaS products.
• 
  Human-Centric Marketing: Building a Confident Brand Voice 28.01.2026 30mnt

  In this episode of Marketing in the Now, host David Reske sits down with Tami Spencer, fractional CMO and founder of Suite Marketing, to discuss the transformation of "marketing chaos" into clear, consistent communication. Tami shares her unique approach to blending high-level strategy with creative systems, helping organizations simplify their core messaging and amplify their brand voice. The conversation explores how businesses can move away from overwhelming tactics and toward a more human, strategic model of modern marketing that prioritizes authentic storytelling and sustainable growth.
• 
  Marketing in the Age of Automation 15.01.2026 35mnt

  In this episode of Marketing In The Now, host David Reske and Matt Ranta of Nimble Gravity explore the shift from AI as a productivity tool to a force of "Task Displacement". Drawing on Daniel Susskind’s A World Without Work, they discuss how AI is automating cognitive tasks and eroding entry-level roles, potentially disrupting traditional marketing mentorship. The conversation provides a strategic framework for agencies to reimagine their workflows, identifying what to automate and where unique human judgment remains essential for long-term growth.
• 
  Revenue-Oriented Marketing: Aligning Your Spend with Business Outcomes 17.12.2025 28mnt

  In this episode of "Marketing in the Now," host David Reske sits down with Fernando Gonzalez Aguirre, CEO and Founder of Structured Rebellion, to explore the shift toward revenue-oriented marketing. With over 20 years of experience scaling B2B tech and SaaS companies, Fernando discusses why marketing should be treated as a revenue driver rather than a cost center. The conversation delves into the dangers of relying on vanity metrics, the necessity of aligning sales and marketing incentives, and the strategic importance of balancing short-term outbound tactics with long-term, high-value systems like SEO and content authority. Fernando also shares a cautionary tale about how failing to look at granular data during a scale-up can accidentally shrink your most profitable pipeline.
• 
  From Seed to Scale: Building Sustainable Growth Engines 02.12.2025 30mnt

  In this episode of "Marketing in the Now," David Reske interviews Osnat Lidor, a growth marketing leader with over 20 years of experience helping B2B SaaS companies scale beyond the initial seed stage. Osnat explains that sustained growth requires moving past expensive paid ads and founder-led sales to build a repeatable growth engine based on Authority, Experience, and Trust. She warns against "strategy paralysis," emphasizing that startups must execute and iterate, while investing in foundational assets like a strong website and content authority optimized for Generative Search (GEO). Osnat outlines how balancing organic, paid, and nurturing strategies creates a flywheel effect to reduce Customer Acquisition Cost (CAC) and deliver intentional leads.
• 
  Building Trust in the AI Era 06.10.2025 23mnt

  In this episode of "Marketing in the Now," David Reske interviews Kristin Oelke, author of Trust: Unlocking B2B Growth in Today’s AI World and Managing Director of BrightRose Ventures. Kristin explains that as AI scales content creation and is embedded in products, buyer skepticism is rising, causing deals to stall in the middle and lengthening sales cycles. She details the two dimensions of AI's impact on trust (in content and in products/services) , arguing that success requires elevating authentic customer voices and consistently building trust across every stage of the buyer's journey. Kristin also introduces the critical concept of Generative Engine Optimization (GEO), which ensures companies build credibility with AI search systems themselves.