MarTech Podcast ™ // Marketing + Technology = Business Growth

AI sales forecasting promises to predict deal outcomes but fails to account for unique deal complexities. Blue Bowen, Research Principal at G2, explains why revenue intelligence tools that rely on historical data fall short in enterprise sales environments. He discusses how AI struggles with contextual nuances that make each B2B deal distinct and why current forecasting technology remains an imperfect science for predictin...

AI SDRs dominate B2B sales adoption despite mixed reviews. Blue Bowen, Research Principal at G2, reveals surprising findings from their latest AI impact research. The study shows AI sales development representatives lead adoption rates due to pipeline pressure, while AI sales coaching and training tools remain significantly underutilized. Bowen identifies AI-powered revenue forecasting as overhyped, citing the unique compl...

Attribution models are failing B2B marketers in today's complex buying journey. Blue Bowen, Research Principal at G2, explains why traditional first-touch and last-touch attribution creates misleading vanity metrics. He recommends using AEO (Answer Engine Optimization) tools like Profound to track LLM visibility and adopting holistic attribution approaches that analyze multiple touchpoint patterns rather than single conver...

B2B buyers now use AI for 60% of software evaluations, fundamentally changing sales dynamics. Blue Bowen, Research Principal at G2, explains how AI is reshaping buyer behavior and what sales teams must adapt to succeed. The discussion covers shifting from SEO to answer engine optimization for LLM visibility, using AI for account prioritization and signal detection, and automating activity capture to improve data quality fo...

Publishers face shrinking traffic as AI disrupts content discovery. Amanda Martin, Chief Revenue Officer at Mediavine, explains how the largest independent ad management firm helps publishers navigate programmatic complexity. She discusses blocking AI crawlers to force commercial agreements, diversifying traffic sources beyond Google search, and implementing pay-to-crawl barriers that create negotiating leverage with LLMs.

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Programmatic budget allocation remains challenging for marketers targeting niche audiences. Amanda Martin, Chief Revenue Officer at Mediavine, explains how to maximize $10 million in programmatic spend for specialized markets. She recommends starting with seed audience data to build lookalike models, letting DSP algorithms identify where your actual customers consume content rather than making assumptions, and testing smal...

Programmatic advertising complexity is overwhelming publishers despite 18% revenue growth. Amanda Martin, Chief Revenue Officer at Mediavine, explains how publishers can navigate privacy regulations, AI disruption, and buyer sophistication. She covers blocking AI crawlers to force commercial negotiations, diversifying traffic sources beyond Google search, and implementing attention metrics beyond basic viewability threshol...

Publishers face mounting pressure as AI disrupts traditional traffic sources. Amanda Martin, Chief Revenue Officer at Mediavine, explains how the largest independent ad management firm helps publishers navigate programmatic complexity and declining search visibility. She discusses implementing crawler blocking technology through Cloudflare, developing diversified traffic acquisition strategies beyond Google Search dependen...

Publishers face declining traffic as AI disrupts content discovery. Amanda Martin, Chief Revenue Officer at Mediavine, explains how the largest independent ad management firm helps publishers navigate programmatic advertising's evolution. She discusses blocking AI crawlers to force commercial partnerships, diversifying traffic sources beyond Google search, and implementing pay-to-crawl models similar to Netflix's shift fro...

AI automation threatens traditional marketing roles across campaign management and optimization. Alex Schultz, CMO and VP of Analytics at Meta, explains how marketers can adapt to platform-driven campaign creation. He outlines a three-category framework for evaluating which marketing functions will be automated, which expensive tasks become viable through AI, and which entirely new opportunities emerge. Schultz emphasizes ...

Most executives misunderstand how Mark Zuckerberg approaches marketing decisions. Alex Schultz, CMO and VP of Analytics at Meta, reveals Zuckerberg's core philosophy of learning from domain experts before making strategic choices. Schultz explains how Zuckerberg brought in creative legend David Droga for Meta's company rebrand and demonstrates the CEO's willingness to acknowledge knowledge gaps. The discussion highlights h...

Meta's AI hiring surge creates company-wide excitement and talent consolidation. Alex Schultz, CMO & VP of Analytics at Meta, explains how the company's aggressive AI talent acquisition strategy affects internal culture and industry dynamics. He discusses the galvanizing effect of high-profile hires like recent AI executives, the public nature of tech talent poaching between major companies, and how Meta's investment i...

Apple's iOS 14.5 App Tracking Transparency disrupted digital advertising measurement. Alex Schultz, CMO and VP of Analytics at Meta, shares his candid first reaction to Apple's privacy changes and their strategic impact. He explains how Meta leveraged synthetic data modeling and predictive analytics to recover from reduced tracking capabilities. The conversation covers how privacy constraints forced stronger data science p...

AI search features are transforming traditional marketing approaches. Alex Schultz, CMO and VP of Analytics at Meta, explains how AI-powered search and chat experiences will reshape digital advertising strategies. He discusses AI engine optimization as the new SEO, the competitive landscape between Google's Gemini and OpenAI's ChatGPT, and Meta's positioning through AI glasses and voice interfaces that integrate real-world...

Meta's CMO tackles balancing creativity with AI automation. Alex Schultz, CMO and VP of Analytics at Meta, shares his framework for marketing in an AI-first world where nearly 2 million advertisers now use Meta's generative AI ad creation tools. He discusses the "North Star goal" methodology for aligning marketing strategy, explains how to break out of automated campaign optimization traps through active testing and accoun...

AI integrations fail when they replace human connection entirely. Stephen Roach, VP of Ecosystems and AI at Qualified Digital, explains why customers immediately reject automated experiences that lack human touchpoints. He outlines designing better handoff triggers between AI and human agents, implementing contextual personalization that adapts to individual customer needs, and creating hybrid experiences that enhance rath...

AI implementations fail when companies eliminate human touchpoints entirely. Stephen Roach, VP of Ecosystems and AI at Qualified Digital, specializes in integrating machine learning models for Fortune 500 brands like McDonald's and Hyundai. He advocates for strategic handoff triggers that route complex queries to human agents and contextual personalization systems that adapt AI responses to individual customer profiles. Th...

Most marketing leaders are automating AI without human oversight. Stephen Roach, VP of Ecosystems and AI at Qualified Digital, explains why customers reject purely automated experiences and demand human interaction. He outlines designing better handoff triggers between AI and human agents, implementing contextual personalization that adapts to individual customer plans and needs, and creating quality checkpoints where huma...

AI customer interactions fail when companies prioritize automation over human connection. Stephen Roach, VP of Ecosystems and AI at Qualified Digital, explains why Fortune 500 brands need strategic human oversight in their AI implementations. He outlines better handoff triggers between AI and human agents, contextual personalization frameworks that adapt to individual customer needs, and experience design principles that i...