Spent the afternoon at HotTopics CMO Studio at Abbey Road. Smart people. Strong opinions. A few themes kept surfacing:
๐ฆ๐๐ผ๐ฝ ๐ฐ๐ฒ๐น๐ฒ๐ฏ๐ฟ๐ฎ๐๐ถ๐ป๐ด ๐ด๐ฟ๐ฒ๐ฒ๐ป. Most teams still present an overly positive picture, desperate to dial up the green. The real leverage is in what's broken - and having the courage to say it out loud and fixing it.
T๐ฟ๐ฎ๐ป๐๐ณ๐ผ๐ฟ๐บ๐ฎ๐๐ถ๐ผ๐ป ๐ถ๐๐ป'๐ ๐ฎ ๐ฝ๐ฟ๐ผ๐ด๐ฟ๐ฎ๐บ๐บ๐ฒ. ๐๐'๐ ๐ฎ ๐ต๐ฎ๐ฏ๐ถ๐. The best operators aren't doing big-bang change. They're fixing 1-2% inefficiencies, relentlessly. Over time, that compounds. Itโs about operational efficiency.
๐๐ ๐ถ๐ ๐๐ผ๐๐ฟ ๐ฎ๐บ๐ฝ๐น๐ถ๐ณ๐ถ๐ฒ๐ฟ, ๐ป๐ผ๐ ๐๐ผ๐๐ฟ ๐๐ฒ๐ฎ๐บ๐บ๐ฎ๐๐ฒ. Speed, scale, efficiency - yes. But accountability, judgment and sleepless nights still sit firmly with humans. Co-pilot, not auto-pilot.
๐ง๐ต๐ฒ ๐ฟ๐ฒ๐ฎ๐น ๐๐ ๐ฟ๐ถ๐๐ธ? ๐ฆ๐ฎ๐บ๐ฒ๐ป๐ฒ๐๐. Everyoneโs using the same tools = same outputs = diluted brands. The edge will come from how you think, not what you prompt.
๐ง๐ต๐ฒ ๐ฏ๐๐๐ฒ๐ฟ ๐ท๐ผ๐๐ฟ๐ป๐ฒ๐ ๐ถ๐ ๐ฎ ๐บ๐ฒ๐๐. Non-linear, multi-person, and for many B2B brands often starting years before "intent" shows up. If you're still clinging to a neat funnel, you're modelling a world that no longer exists.
๐ ๐ค๐๐ ๐ฎ๐ฟ๐ฒ ๐ผ๐ป ๐น๐ถ๐ณ๐ฒ ๐๐๐ฝ๐ฝ๐ผ๐ฟ๐. The shift is clear: from leads to signals. From volume to pipeline + velocity. From activity to revenue impact. Plenty of teams quietly admitting they've killed them.
๐ ๐ฎ๐ฟ๐ธ๐ฒ๐๐ถ๐ป๐ด ๐๐ฒ๐ฎ๐บ๐ ๐ฎ๐ฟ๐ฒ ๐ฏ๐ฒ๐ถ๐ป๐ด ๐ฟ๐ฒ๐๐ถ๐ฟ๐ฒ๐ฑ. New roles emerging (hello "marketing engineers"). Old structures breaking. More expected with less budget. This isn't evolution - it's a rebuild.
The big takeaway? Marketing is becoming less about campaigns and more about systems, signals and continuous improvement.
Less Mad Men. More operators.