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Strategic marketing intelligence for CMOs and marketing leaders.

81 articlesNewest firstMonday Brief archive

2026

What Your CEO Says About You When You Leave the Room LeadershipOct 812 min 85% of CEOs say their CMO builds trust inside the company. 13% are very confident marketing can show what its spend actually moved. Both numbers come from the same 150 CEOs.
The Decisions You Both Think You Own LeadershipOct 113 min Marketing is primarily responsible for pricing at 28.2% of companies and revenue growth at 42.5%. The middle of that list is where two executives both think they decide.
Plan for the Budget You Won't Get LeadershipSep 2413 min Marketing budgets sit at 7.8% of revenue, 18% below the mean allocation of four years ago. The AI line got funded anyway, out of lines nobody was defending.
The Job Is Splitting. Pick a Side. CareerSep 1712 min Chipotle named a chief brand officer and a chief digital officer in the same press release and put the digital half under the president and technology chief. Meta split the same seat nine weeks later.
Has Your Purpose Ever Lost an Argument? Deep DivesSep 109 min A values page with no decision behind it is copy.
The Bonus That Killed Blockbuster Deep DivesSep 310 min Antioco earned 200% of his 2006 target bonus under the board's own numbers. The board paid him none of it.
Brand Is a Balance Sheet Item Deep DivesAug 2710 min A CFO will pay eleven billion dollars for a brand in an acquisition and refuse to fund it with eleven million in a budget.
The RevOps Land Grab StrategyAug 2010 min Whoever writes the definition of a qualified lead writes marketing's performance review.
Pick Your P&L CareerAug 1310 min A budget is something the company gives you. A number is something it needs back from you. Only one of those survives a bad quarter.
The Board Doesn't Want Your Dashboard LeadershipAug 611 min Amazon banned the deck. What that says about the marketing review you are walking into next quarter.
Nobody Gets Fired for Cutting Brand BrandJul 309 min Everyone in that room already agrees brand works. They cut it anyway, because the structure pays them to.
The Cost-Center Trap Deep DivesJul 239 min When value goes up and budget goes down at the same time, you're not underperforming. You've been reclassified.
The Trust Premium Deep DivesJul 169 min As AI makes production free, the scarce asset stops being reach or quality. It becomes trust. Here's where to spend it.
What's Your First-Party Data Worth Now? Deep DivesJul 98 min The cookie that was supposed to die is still alive. The thing you built to replace it is the part now at risk.
Make Your Brand Machine-Readable Deep DivesJul 29 min Last week the agent did the buying. This week, how you get it to pick you, ranked by what's actually proven.
Marketing to Machines Deep DivesJun 258 min Agentic commerce isn't a new channel. It's the end of the relationship you're paid to build.
The Spreadsheet Decade AI & TechJun 187 min The optimistic case for AI in marketing, with receipts.
Distribution Is the Last Moat StrategyJun 117 min Evan Spiegel isn't worried about AI. Here's where he's actually moving the budget.
The CEO Doesn't Want a CMO CareerJun 412 min The JD said CMO. The scorecard says something else. That's not an accident.
The First 90 Days Is a Lie CareerMay 2811 min Every fired CMO I've met did exactly what the book said.
The Performance Illusion AI & TechMay 2111 min We measured everything and learned nothing. Here's how that happened.
Pricing Is a Marketing Job. We Just Don't Own It. GrowthMay 1410 min Finance can't do it. Product won't do it. It's worth more than the rest of your job combined.
The Fractional Ceiling CareerMay 79 min The LinkedIn bio that tells you the ladder is breaking.
What a PE CMO Actually Does LeadershipApr 3012 min Same business card. Different profession.
The CFO Problem LeadershipApr 2310 min The adversary you think you have isn't the one cutting your budget. And by the time you figure it out, the CFO has already drafted the memo that replaces you.
The Deal You Lost Was Never Real GrowthApr 1614 min The scoreboard is fiction. It always has been. And the CMO who runs the playbook like it's gospel is going to get fired by it.
Bring Your Own Agent AI & TechApr 99 min The rolodex, the resume, the agent stack. What you're really buying when you hire someone is changing again.
Most Incompetence Is Insubordination AI & TechApr 29 min The knowledge barrier collapsed. "I can't" became "I won't." And your team knows it.
Can OpenClaw Really Replace Your Marketing Team? OtherMar 2610 min Your demand gen lead just sent you a TikTok about an AI that runs marketing. Before you panic or dismiss it, read this.
The Most Expensive Thing in Marketing Is Being Unknown BrandMar 199 min Brand doesn't compete with performance. It subsidizes it. But brand's real problem isn't measurement. It's that the customer doesn't have a seat at the budget table.
Your Next Marketer Has Already Been Built AI & TechMar 128 min AI isn't replacing content creators. It's replacing entire execution layers. And the CMOs celebrating efficiency are walking into a trap.
The Proficiency Gap AI & TechMar 58 min The gap between AI tourists and AI operators is the new career risk.
Everyone's a Marketer (Until It Doesn't Work) LeadershipFeb 268 min Marketing is the only C-suite function where everyone thinks they can do your job. The reason is more structural than you think.
The Premium Stress Test BrandFeb 197 min Consumers are checking whether your premium is real or just marketing. A lot of CMOs are about to find out which one they have.
The Rent You Can't Negotiate GrowthFeb 126 min Retail media isn't a channel. It's a tax. And the landlord just raised it.
The Judgment Call AI & TechFeb 56 min Svedka bet their biggest moment on AI. Some CMO approved that. That CMO is about to find out if they were right.
The Authenticity Arbitrage BrandJan 296 min The gap between usage and belief is your 2026 opportunity.
The CMO-to-CEO Pipeline Is Finally Opening CareerJan 226 min She's not the only one. Here's what separates CMOs who ascend.
The K-Shaped CMO LeadershipJan 1510 min Two types of marketing leaders are emerging. Same title, diverging trajectories. Which arm are you on?
The Confidence Gap StrategyJan 88 min CMO budgets are up. CMO confidence is at a five-year low. The math doesn't add up until you understand what's actually being measured.

2025

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