A CMO Confidential Interview with Mike Kaput, the Chief Content Officer at SmarterX and Marketing AI Institute and co-host of "The Artificial Intelligence Show."

Mike shares research across 2000 companies regarding AI adoption and highlights the gap between what companies say they are doing and what is happening, the fact that only 25% of companies have achieved "scaling" status, and how larger companies can be slowed by complexity.

Key topics include:

- Why training and education represent the biggest obstacle to progress

- Why you should measure "tool usage"

- Why job clarity is important for agents.

Tune in to hear about rising AI pessimism and building yourself a "second brain."

This episode is sponsored by Typeface - the agentic AI marketing platform that turns one idea into thousands of on-brand assets. Learn more: typeface.ai/cmo

Subscribe for weekly episodes featuring world-class marketing leaders, board members, and C-Suite executives.

⏱️ Chapters

01:12 – Intro: Meet Mike Kaput & AI topic overview

02:37 – State of AI report: how the data was gathered

05:53 – Key insight: people vs organizations gap

06:43 – What scaling AI actually looks like

08:06 – Pilot phase reality across companies

10:11 – AI hype vs real adoption

13:02 – The “say vs do” gap in execution

14:15 – AI literacy is the #1 barrier

16:13 – How to assess AI maturity (individual & company)

20:06 – Biggest mistake: tools without training

23:20 – AI agents, risks, and what’s next

#AI #ArtificialIntelligence #AIMarketing #AIBusiness #GenerativeAI #AIAgents #MarketingAI #DigitalTransformation #AIAdoption #AITrends #FutureOfWork #Automation #MarketingStrategy #EnterpriseAI #AIWorkflows #AIEducation #AProductivity #AIInnovation

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

This week on CMO Confidential, we're revisiting our conversation with Tom Goodwin from August of 2025 - this is one of our favorites with topics just as relevant to marketers today.

Tom discusses his belief that today's CMO's are overly focused on efficiency versus marketing principles and that the contemporary playbook has been created by tech companies focused on performance metrics.

Key topics include:

-An unhealthy focus on the speed of measurement and short-term results

-Marketers having a "feeling of vulnerability" if they haven't heard of new tech

-The fact that many of the hyped direct-to-consumer brands like Casper and Ridge Wallets aren't actually doing that well

Tune in to hear the underestimated impact of "beauty" and a story about being locked out of a self-driving car.

This episode is sponsored by Typeface - the agentic AI marketing platform that turns one idea into thousands of on-brand assets. Learn more: typeface.ai/cmo

Subscribe for weekly episodes featuring world-class marketing leaders, board members, and C-Suite executives.

⏱️ Chapters

00:00 – Intro: Meet Tom Goodwin

02:28 – Would 1950s Marketers Beat Today’s CMOs?

05:41 – Is Marketing Actually More Complex Today?

09:15 – Fundamentals vs Growth Hacking & Performance Tactics

11:05 – DTC vs Traditional Brands: What Actually Works

15:13 – Short-Term Metrics, AI Hype & Tech Overload

28:36 – Dark Social, Hidden Influence & What Data Misses

34:21 – Predictions, AI Reality & The Power of Simplicity

#MarketingStrategy, #CMOConfidential, #TomGoodwin, #BrandMarketing, #DigitalMarketing, #PerformanceMarketing, #MarketingFundamentals, #GrowthMarketing, #Advertising, #MarketingTrends, #AIinMarketing, #FutureOfMarketing, #CreativeStrategy, #CannesLions, #AdTech, #BrandBuilding, #ConsumerBehavior, #DirectToConsumer, #MarketingLeadership, #MarketingInsights

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

A CMO Confidential Interview with Kim Whitler, professor at the University of Virginia Darden School of Business, board member and former GM and CMO.

Kim shares recent research which details why the largest and best companies often get dragged into conflicts they can't win, the three main forces of pressure and how they affect different management levels, and tips on picking the right company for you.

Key discussion topics include:

- The only stance agreed on by 100% of consumers

- How to think about non-divisive activism (e.g. Dove's Real Beauty Campaign)

- The danger of in-group bias

Tune in to hear why "You don't have to get engaged," and tips for getting an unbiased view.

⏱️ Chapters

01:12 Introducing Kim Whitler

01:39 Why Corporate Activism Creates Business Risk

02:51 Inside the “Executive Flip-Flop” Study

04:11 Mapping the 3 Sources of Pressure on Leaders

06:01 Internal vs External Pressure Dynamics

11:19 The “Pressure Meter” Framework Explained

12:33 Key Insight: Pressure Varies by Level (C-Suite vs Managers)

14:18 The Myth of “You Must Take a Stand”

17:09 Flawed Research Driving Activism Decisions

21:19 When Brand Activism Works vs Backfires

27:04 Choosing the Right Company as a Marketer

31:06 AI Bias, Media Influence & Finding Truth

38:11 Practical Advice: Avoiding In-Group Bias in Leadership

43:25 Final Takeaways for Marketers

This episode is sponsored by Typeface - the agentic AI marketing platform that turns one idea into thousands of on-brand assets. Learn more: typeface.ai/cmo

Subscribe for weekly episodes featuring world-class marketing leaders, board members, and C-Suite executives.

#CMOConfidential, #MarketingLeadership, #BrandStrategy, #CorporateActivism, #MarketingStrategy, #CMO, #AIinMarketing, #ExecutiveLeadership, #BrandReputation, #ConsumerTrust, #DigitalMarketing, #MarketingInsights, #ThoughtLeadership, #BusinessStrategy, #CustomerCentric

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

A CMO Confidential Interview with Jean English, CMO of CoreWeave, formerly the CMO of Juniper Networks, Armis, Palo Alto Networks and NetApp.

Jean discusses the dynamics driving the voracious demand for computing power, why cloud infrastructure matters so much, and the ongoing AI shift from training to inference.

Key topics include:

- How models are leapfrogging each other at speed

- The importance of B2B brands at a time when decisions are often made by teams of people

- Why marketing is a great use case for AI

- Creative uses for hackathons

Tune in to hear why "80% right" is okay and a story about using AI for parenting advice.

This episode is sponsored by Typeface - the agentic AI marketing platform that turns one idea into thousands of on-brand assets. Learn more: typeface.ai/cmo

Subscribe for weekly episodes featuring world-class marketing leaders, board members, and C-Suite executives.

⏱️ Chapters

01:31 Guest Intro: Jean English (CMO, CoreWeave)

02:39 What CoreWeave Does (AI Cloud Explained)

04:20 AI Hype vs Reality

07:05 The AI Market & Competitive Landscape

09:40 Building an AI Brand

11:00 Buying Groups & Enterprise Complexity

13:01 Measuring AI Infrastructure Performance

15:32 Why Brand Matters in AI

18:11 IPO, Growth & Market Expansion

20:34 AI’s Impact on Marketing Teams

24:32 Infrastructure, Scale & Future Demand

28:26 Final Advice for Marketers + Closing

#AI #ArtificialIntelligence #CMO #MarketingLeadership #B2BMarketing #AIMarketing #GenerativeAI #AIInfrastructure #CloudComputing #DigitalTransformation #MarketingStrategy #FutureOfWork #AITrends #TechLeadership #BrandStrategy #EnterpriseAI #Innovation #MarketingAI #Leadership #ContentAtScale

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

A CMO Confidential Interview with Joe Perello, the founder of PROPS, a creator marketing technology platform, formerly the first CMO of New York City under Michael Bloomberg.

Joe shares his take on why consumer brand trust is declining, how viewers can be both distracted and disciplined, and why AI agents can be more trusted than brands.

Key topics include:

- The difference between influencers, celebrities and creators

- A restaurant analogy designed to help marketers think through their line-up of choices

- Some methods to gauge and measure authenticity.

Tune in to hear a case study on Patagonia and a fantastic story about a giant popsicle in Union Square.

This episode is sponsored by Typeface - the agentic AI marketing platform that turns one idea into thousands of on-brand assets. Learn more: typeface.ai/cmo

Subscribe for weekly episodes featuring world-class marketing leaders, board members, and C-Suite executives.

⏱️ Chapters

01:30 Meet Joe Perello & Today’s Topic: The Credibility Challenge

02:26 Making Content Is Easy, Earning Trust Is Hard

03:55 Why Credibility Doesn’t Scale

05:23 Are Consumers Distracted or Disciplined?

06:03 Trust in B2B vs B2C Marketing

07:09 The Long Decline of Trust in Brands & Institutions

08:08 Is There Still a Trust Reservoir?

09:30 Do Consumers Trust AI More Than Brands?

10:39 Optimizer vs Persuader: Why It Matters

11:00 Break: Typeface Marketing Orchestration

12:20 Did AI Cause the Trust Crisis or Amplify It?

14:07 Why AI and Creators Feel More “Objective”

15:02 Creator vs Influencer vs Celebrity Marketing

17:29 The Restaurant Analogy Explained

19:33 Real Creator Example: AAA & Road‑Trip Storytelling

21:25 When Creators Become Influencers

23:36 Authenticity Depends on the Story You Ask Them to Tell

25:03 Do Consumers Understand These Distinctions?

26:50 How Brands Should Use Celebrities, Influencers & Creators

28:50 What’s Easiest to Measure and Why CFOs Care

31:38 Patagonia: A Gold Standard for Creator‑Led Trust

33:22 Content First, Brand Second = Trust

34:21 Can You Measure Trust? Proxies That Matter

36:37 Storytime: The 50‑Foot Snapple Popsicle Fail

41:11 Final Thoughts & Where to Find More Episodes

#CMOConfidential, #MarketingLeadership, #BrandTrust, #CreatorMarketing, #InfluencerMarketing, #AuthenticityInMarketing, #AIandMarketing, #MarketingStrategy, #BrandCredibility,, #ModernMarketing, #B2BMarketing, #B2CMarketing, #ContentStrategy, #TrustEconomy, #MediaAndMarketing

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

A CMO Confidential Interview with Rishad Tobaccowala, former Publicis Groupe Strategy & Growth Officer, speaker, podcast host of "What's Next," and author.

Rishad discusses why marketing will thrive in an AI world, the reason all companies should systematically re-evaluate their business starting with a blank sheet of paper, and why the future will be determined by those over 65.

Key topics include:

- Why AI will obliterate marketing silos

- The concept of managing humans, aliens and replicants

- Why he's an optimist

- The case for investigating if you are building a brand or executing optimization math.

Tune in to hear about the concept of unbossing and a fabulous shipping container analogy.

This episode is sponsored by Typeface - the agentic AI marketing platform that turns one idea into thousands of on-brand assets. Learn more: typeface.ai/cmo

Subscribe for weekly episodes featuring world-class marketing leaders, board members, and C-Suite executives.

⏱️ Chapters

01:22 Meet Rishad Tobaccowala

02:27 The Marketing Industry Is Being Rewritten by AI

03:00 Why Silos (Ads, CRM, Sales) Are Breaking Down

06:26 What Marketing Really Means Today

08:00 Humans, AI, and Agents in the Workforce

13:31 Efficiency Isn’t the Disruption—Business Models Are

18:00 AI as a New Brain, Not a Tool

27:00 Why People Over 65 Will Shape the Future

31:00 Five Hard Truths Every Leader Must Face

35:29 A Bold Prediction for Agencies by 2026

38:00 Final Advice: Lead with Optimism, Not Fear

#CMOConfidential, #RishadTobaccowala, #MarketingLeadership, #FutureOfMarketing, #ArtificialIntelligence, #AgenticAI, #AIInMarketing, #BusinessTransformation, #DigitalStrategy, #MarketingStrategy, #BrandBuilding, #FutureOfWork, #WorkforceTransformation, #Leadership, #CMO, #EnterpriseAI, #ContentOrchestration, #MarketingInnovation, #CustomerCentricity, #MediaIndustry

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

"The Unit Economics of AI - Can Large Language Models (LLMs) Actually Make Money?"

A CMO Confidential Interview with Dr. Dan McCarthy, Professor at Maryland and leading practitioner of Customer Lifetime Value (CLV).

Dan shares how the CLV lens can shed light on the LLM drive to acquire customers, spend billions to improve the models, ultimately pay back investors and the potential implications on both marketers and consumers.

Key topics include:

- Why Gemini has a built in pricing advantage which forces all freemium offerings to be very good

- Why all companies should have a “diversity of providers”

- The rationale for constantly evaluating each model

- Why “AI foundational knowledge” is key to generating success from both employees and students.

Tune in to hear about the "customer barbell" and why you should “talk to your phone.”

This episode is sponsored by Typeface - the agentic AI marketing platform that turns one idea into thousands of on-brand assets. Learn more: typeface.ai/cmo

Subscribe for weekly episodes featuring world-class marketing leaders, board members, and C-Suite executives.

#AIEconomics #CustomerLifetimeValue #CLV #GenerativeAI #AIBusinessModels #OpenAIEconomics #ChatGPTMonetization #AIValuation #AIUnitEconomics #InferenceCosts #AITrainingCosts #FreemiumModels #SubscriptionEconomics #SaaSProfitability #MarketingStrategy #CMOInsights #MarketingLeadership #AIForMarketers #EnterpriseAI #AIRetention #AICustomerAcquisition #LargeLanguageModels #LLMEconomics #AIAdvertising #AIRandD #FutureOfAIBusiness

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

A CMO Confidential Interview with Shiv Singh, CEO of Savvy Matters, Co-Founder of AI Trailblazers, former CMO of Lending Tree, and author of Marketing with AI for Dummies.

Shiv discusses how to operate in an environment where "We have no idea about what is coming," how managing humans and AI agents impacts leadership, and why he believes marketers will need to make fewer, harder decisions. Key topics include: why losing isn't fatal, but forgetting is; the risk of thinking human beings are special; and the concept of "invisible failure." Tune in to hear why you should rewrite your job description and become a "wartime" leader.

Topics Covered:

- Where Is AI Taking Marketing?

- Leadership in a Human + AI Workforce

- Fewer, Harder Strategic Bets for CMOs

- AI’s Impact on Creativity and Marketing Processes

- Context Graphs, Memory, and the Future of Marketing Operations

This episode is sponsored by Typeface - the agentic AI marketing platform that turns one idea into thousands of on-brand assets. Learn more: typeface.ai/cmo

Subscribe for weekly episodes featuring world-class marketing leaders, board members, and C-Suite executives.

⏱️ Chapters

00:00 – Welcome to CMO Confidential

01:38 – Meet Shiv Singh

02:35 – Where is AI Taking Marketing? The "Jagged Frontier" of AI

06:10 – What Does Leadership Look Like Managing Humans + AI Agents

09:35 – Making Fewer, Harder Strategic Bets

10:50 – Budget Pressure, Boards, and AI Expectations

14:43 – Invisible Failure in AI Adoption

17:26 – AI and the Future of Creativity

21:26 – Governance, Consumer Acceptance, and AI Bias

26:05 – The End of the Marketing Brief

27:40 – Who Remembers Wins: Context Graphs Explained

31:47 – Building a Marketing Context Layer

35:30 – What Marketers Should Be Doing Now

37:38 – Anthropic vs. Government: AI Ethics & Risk

42:38 – Predictions Through 2026

45:04 – The Changing Definition of a Marketer

45:50 – Funniest Story and Practical Advice

#AIMarketing #MarketingLeadership #CMOConfidential #ShivSingh #GenerativeAI #FutureOfMarketing #AIStrategy #CreativeAI #MarketingTransformation #EnterpriseAI

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.