This Old Marketing

In the latest social media soap opera, TikTok has sued the US Government over its potential "ban," bringing out the unconstitutional card. Is this just a stalling tactic? Yes...and it's working.

More money is flowing into the creator economy after big product successes from MrBeast and Logan Paul. But will the new algo changes be the end of big content creators?

And Hollywood continues to lack standards with AI. Is it simply too la...

Joe and Robert do a deep dive into their CEX presentations...Joe's on the new business model for content creators and Robert's on the marketing MBA.

In the news, Instagram launches a new program that will highlight new content creators. They make it sound amazing. The problem is that this will hurt full-time content creators and content marketers.

Hits this week include Adidas and Phish (at the Sphere). Rants and raves include the ...

In a whirlwind week on The Hill, a TikTok ultimatum (sell or be banned) passed the House, the Senate and was quickly signed by the President. What happens now?

META's quarterly results were outstanding...and then the stock dropped 20 percent. What happened?

Taylor Swift does her own deal with TikTok, making the executive team at UMG furious. Is this something for creators and marketers to follow?

Hits and misses include Cedar Point...

John Deere's search for a new social media creator leads to an important conversation - are corporate social media handles dead?

Faced with possibly paying for the news, Google starts removing links to California news sites for some users. And the winner for the dumb move of the year goes to...

The VC market for creator startups is up the the first time in multiple quarters, while a group of TikTok influencers send a nasty gram to ...

Could marketers finally be waking up to the advantages of direct print? The relaunch of some high-profile magazines, and the launch of Robinhood's new print magazine leads our discussion.

In other news, Alphabet is reportedly looking at acquiring Hubspot and a new privacy bill is being drafted in Congress.

And...is synthetic AI training data setting us up for disaster?

Hits and misses include Jack Conte and Suno.ai. Rants and raves...

Robert and Joe run through the business books that have made the most impact on their lives and careers. They include:

• Marketing Management – Philip Kotler
• Discovery Driven Growth  – Rita Gunther McGrath
• Different – Youngme Moon
• How Will You Measure Your Life – Clayton Christensen
• Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance – Robert Pirsig
• Think & Grow Rich - Napoleon Hill
• Seven Habits of Highly Effective People - Stephen Covey
• ...

News this week as Florida governor Ron DeSantis signs a law restricting social media access for children. Is this the first step to full-on social media verification or just another fruitless attempt to tell people how to parent?

Trump's Truth Social goes public and hits meme stock territory. How long with the party last?

Spotify adds video learning to its platform. Is YouTube in Spotify's sights?

And print is back baby!

Hits and m...

In this special episode #420, Joe and Robert dissect the upcoming Apple/Google deal for AI and the iPhone. Is this a sign of weakness for Apple or are they just buying time?

OpenAI's chatbot store is filling up with spam. Are you surprised?

And a group of publishing experts launch Authors Equity to give more rights back to authors. Uh, we don't think so.

Hits and misses include Liquid Death and Coca-Cola.

Rants and raves includes a...

We are in post-social media and, now, a post-search environment. The next 12 months are critical to start getting your content assets in order for the AI Content wave.

The House passes a bill that could lead to a TikTok ban. Uh, we told you so. But does it really matter?

Google's Gemini AI refuses to answer political questions (among other things). This leads to a conversation on how AI Truth is coordinated and what we can do about...

In this special #ThisOldMarketing episode, Joe and Robert review their presentations from Social Media Marketing World 2024.

Robert shares his insights, including:

• The Value of Relationships
• The Product Content Mindset
• The Point of View Architecture
• The Trust Exercise - Audit Your Experiences

Joe runs through his secrets for content ...

Another media company bites the dust. This time it's the once-darling Vice Media.

Is the news media business model broken or is there something else at work here?

A big supreme court case involving social media moderation is being reviewed by SCOTUS. Could it happen? We'll see this summer.

Is Google on death row? It's clear the product is getting worse. Will ChatGPT come to the rescue?

And Tyler Perry shelves his studio project bec...

It's been a crazy two weeks for artificial intelligence.

OpenAI officially launched Sora, the text-to-video tool. At the same time, Google launched their AI-version of Gemini inside workplace.

Is podcasting really a racket? Maybe it's just more of the same.

Hits and misses include Paramount's bad timing and Nvidia's HUGE quarter.

Rants and raves includes the NYTime's ad tool and Billy Joel's new AI video.

This week's links:

Sign up...

In this special Blossom episode of This Old Marketing, Joe and Robert discuss the insights and secrets into creating a profitable content brand, for both content marketing and content creator goals.

Topics discussed include:

• How to truly differentiate and grow an audience
• How to create a content tilt
• Do you build or buy?
• Focus on creator, brand or content brand?
• and many more content marketing insights

This week's sponso...

The boys discuss Joe Rogan's new content deal with Spotify. Is this the future of podcast and YouTube deals, or is this just for the one percenters? Also, how should a brand approach this kind of deal?

Meta will label AI images across all their properties. Is this just a point in time or will it have lasting impact?

In addition, Meta cut off Facebook to developers. Like we didn't see that coming.

In hits and misses, Robert praises ...

Big tech CEOs ran to Washington to explain why they haven't protected US children.

YouTube and TikTok continue to dominate and grow in profit and usage. Is it imperative that all companies market on these channels today?

And George Carlin and Taylor Swift deepfakes dominate the news. Is there anything we can do about them or have we unleashed Pandora's box.

Rants and raves include small audience wins and a new place for the chief m...

Netflix Q4 earnings show how far the company is ahead in the streaming wars...plus...their licensing deal with WWE vaults them into a live-events leadership position. So, what's next and what can we learn from their strategy?

Sports Illustrated is "mostly" dead. Here's a big opportunity for a brand like Nike or Under Armour to make a content marketing buy. Why isn't this happening more often?

And does the creator economy need a cre...

Big news in media and marketing as Informa purchases a majority stake in TechTarget. Is their strategy of "focused scaling" correct for B2B?

Apple overhauls their podcast download system, sending podcast leaders into a panic over revised download numbers. Ah...rented land.

And OpenAI launches Chat GPTeams.

Rants and raves include Reddit's court victory over WallStreetBets and a big marketing mistake at Solo brands.

This week's link...

If you don't get the title, stay until the end.

In this episode, Joe and Robert discuss what's happening at CES, including the role of the creator/influencer inside a media company.

Netflix, Instagram and Amazon all make major streaming cutbacks. Is this just "right sizing" the business, or is everyone trying to figure out how to compete with TikTok?

In rants and raves, it's the end of the third-party cookie on Google, and a new sp...

Joe and Robert are back from a crazy 2023 with thoughts of Elon and crowdiness.

In this episode, Steamboat Willie is released from its copyright shackles. Is there an opportunity for brands in out-of-date content?

Fidelity lowers X's valuation even more. Is a turnaround to come?

Time appoints a new Chief Events Officer in a clear signal that there is a bull market for in-person events.

In rants and raves, Joe comments on the right-...