Nexxen CMO Ben Kaplan joins the pod IRL from New York City to discuss crafting a full-funnel b2b marketing program that drives both awareness and pipeline, rooting a story in unique data and media, and fostering a positive relationship with the CEO and CFO.

Adam Remson and Joe Zappa discuss an urgent mission for B2B marketers: making an economic contribution to the business. Adam and Joe talk full-funnel marketing, using data to spot opportunities and grow impact, and how marketers can improve their relationships with CEOs and CFOs.

First-time podcast guest Diane Anderson, Bill Brazell, and Joe Zappa discuss how to differentiate AI from human content, why AI content rankles so many people, and how to produce AI content with care. Plus: Joe's viral tweet on The Odyssey that pissed off Racist Twitter, what Heidegger has to do with AI content, and who the original marketing hack was (Cyrano de Bergerac!).

Joe shares his entrepreneurial journey in the hopes that other entrepreneurs might do the same for a new series on this podcast. Listen to find out how annoying Joe was as a second grader. And reach out at joe@sharppenmedia.com.

Workweek CEO Adam Ryan joins the podcast to discuss the roots of entrepreneurship including struggling in school and competing in sports, learning to confront failure and tell the truth, using AI to iterate faster and get closer to the customer, overcoming the fear of writing unpopular posts, and evaluating B2B marketing based on who, not how many people, you reach.

Joe, Jess, and Bill talk about how to get over the fear that prevents so many people, from CEOs to industry newcomers, from growing their personal brands and their companies by creating content. They discuss how Joe got started on adtech X and LinkedIn, what you should do to build a following, and why you shouldn’t fear controversy.

Joe and first-time pod guest Jess Ness discuss whether your adtech story needs a villain. They explore why Hollywood and political stories always have a villain, what adtech companies can learn from the Spencer Pratt mayoral campaign, why CEOs and marketers are shy to name villains, and how incorporating a provocative critique into your messaging can demonstrate empathy for your customers. Plus, Joe shares about the time he got fired for asking for a raise.

Joe Zappa and Adam Remson discuss a provocative Marketecture guest column by Brett Wilson for which the email subject line was “Only Hire Marketers Who Can Code.” Nice clickbait, Ari — game recognize game. Joe and Adam explore the gap between CEO and VC prognostications about AI and what it looks like in practice, how AI really is helping marketers become builders, and why you want to be like Josh Hart.