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:
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Financial literacy is a required skill
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The role of the CMO is changing
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Where the buyer is versus where we pretend they are
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The organizational impact of AI
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Tensions defining 2026
Ian then joins Robert Rose in our virtual bar, The Rose and Rockstar, for one of his fabulous cocktails and a chat about a marketing topic.
This week, Ian and Robert discuss a recent issue of his Lens Newsletter.
In his newsletter, he said:
For two years, we’ve been trapped in the dumbest debate in the business: will AI replace marketers, or augment them into X-Men? Panel after panel. Carousel after carousel. The whole industry is squinting at a coin flip. And it was the wrong question the entire time – wrong enough that answering it cost us two years and a fortune in tokens.
The right question is one marketing has been dodging for 26 years: what work actually deserves a human’s time?
So, over a birthday cocktail, Ian asks – what work deserves human time?
Enjoy!
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The Links
The people:
Mentioned this week:
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Robert’s Lens newsletter issue: You Had To Be a Big Shot Didn’t You!
Rockstar CMO:
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The Beat Newsletter that we send every Monday
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Previous episodes and all the show notes: Rockstar CMO FM.
Track List:
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We’ll be right back by Stienski & Mass Media on YouTube
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Piano Music is by Johnny Easton, shared under a Creative Commons license
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Duran Duran – Ordinary World (Official Music Video) on YouTube
You can listen to this on all major podcast platforms, including Apple Podcasts, Amazon Podcasts, and Spotify.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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