Marketing In The Now

The Missing Layer Under AI: A Marketing Operating System

In this episode of Marketing In The Now, David Reske sits down with Maria Scheifler, a 15-year go-to-market veteran and Fractional CMO of MKT Velocity, to unpack her sprint-based marketing operating system — a framework built to help growing teams cut through chaos, align with revenue goals, and ship meaningful work consistently. Maria explains why AI alone can't fix a broken team dynamic, and why the real foundation of high-performing marketing is a combination of the right culture (trust, psychological safety, and a growth mindset) and agile practices borrowed from the world of software development. From two-week sprint cycles to transparent stakeholder reviews, this conversation is packed with actionable insight for any marketing leader who's tired of their team staying busy without moving the needle.

From Fear to Fluency: Leading Your Team Through AI

In this episode of Marketing In The Now, host David Reske sits down with Pam Boiros — fractional CMO and creator of the Marketing AI Jumpstart — to explore why successful AI adoption is fundamentally a people challenge, not a technology one. Pam shares why AI literacy is the antidote to workplace fear, how to reimagine marketing workflows from the ground up rather than simply layering AI onto existing processes, and what it takes for marketing leaders to build a culture of responsible, high-impact AI use. Whether you're a CMO navigating organizational change or a marketer trying to future-proof your career, this conversation offers a practical and human-centered roadmap for thriving in the AI era.

Train AI to Sound Like You: Brand Strategy in the Age of AI

In this episode of Marketing In The Now, host David Reske sits down with brand consultant, keynote speaker, and author Ernie Harker (Your Brand Sucks: How to Ignite a Brand That Doesn't) to explore how AI is reshaping the world of branding and design. Ernie shares his fascinating journey from storyboard illustrator to AI-powered brand strategist, and why the rise of AI image and content generation — rather than threatening his career — pushed him to become one of its biggest advocates. Together, David and Ernie dig into the difference between using AI generically (and blending in with everyone else) versus training it on your unique brand voice and strategy to produce content that is authentically, unmistakably you. They also tackle the big question: where does human creativity end and AI assistance begin when it comes to building a brand from the soul up?

How AI Is Changing the Role of Product Marketing

In this episode of Marketing In The Now, David Reske sits down with Andy Donkin — growth strategist and former Amazon executive — to explore how AI is fundamentally transforming the role of product marketing. Andy makes a compelling case for reimagining the product marketer not as a tactical executor, but as a "marketing architect" — a strategic quarterback who leverages AI tools to synthesize customer insights, align product development with market demand, and drive consistent, personalized campaigns across channels at unprecedented speed. From the evolution of go-to-market strategy and the growing importance of storytelling in an AI-commoditized world, to the rise of AI-driven customer personas and generative engine optimization, this conversation is a must-listen for any CMO or product marketer navigating the fast-changing marketing landscape of 2026.

Why AI Can't Fix Marketing Without a Data Foundation

In this episode of Marketing In The Now, host David Reske sits down with Marie Bahl, CMO of Uptempo and a three-decade veteran of enterprise software marketing, for a thought-provoking conversation about why AI alone won't solve marketing's biggest problem. Marie argues that before marketers can truly harness the power of AI, they need something the industry has long been denied: a unified data backbone that ties every campaign, dollar spent, and marketing effort back to measurable ROI. Drawing on her experience across energy, healthcare, education, and AI, she makes a compelling case for why marketers must stop accepting fragmented tech stacks, take ownership of their complexity, and demand the infrastructure that every other business function has had for decades.

Gut Instinct vs. Data: The Modern CMO

In this episode of Marketing In The Now, host David Reske sits down with Kevin Dougherty, CMO of NeuraPoints, for a candid conversation about what it really takes to lead marketing in today's fast-moving, opinion-heavy business environment. Drawing on 26 years of experience — from boots-on-the-ground sales to executive marketing leadership — Kevin shares why trusting your gut isn't just intuition, but the product of deep customer knowledge built over time. The two explore how CMOs can cut through the noise of endless marketing options, how to earn credibility and autonomy with your CEO, and why building genuine relationships — with customers, teammates, and leadership — remains the most powerful strategy of all.

How AI Is Closing the Gap Between Marketing and Sales

In this episode of Marketing In The Now, David Reske sits down with Scott Logan — CMO at Amplify AI and a 20-year veteran of B2B revenue growth — to explore how AI is transforming the relationship between marketing and sales. Scott breaks down how marketing can go beyond top-of-funnel support to influence every stage of the sales cycle, from AI-tailored demos and hyper-personalized account briefings to scalable one-to-few ABM that was once only possible for a handful of key accounts. He also shares what skills CMOs should be hiring for, how to build a "no excuses" sales enablement environment, and why staying relentlessly curious about what's new in AI is the only real competitive strategy heading into 2026.

From Boring to Bold: Making B2B Content Humans Actually Want

In a world drowning in AI-generated, algorithm-optimized content, how do you actually get people to stop and pay attention? In this episode of Marketing In The Now, David Reske sits down with Matt Charney — content strategist, executive editor, and principal analyst with 15 years in content marketing and thought leadership — to explore why most B2B content fails and what bold, human-first storytelling looks like in practice. From empowering employees to tell their own stories, to using AI to uncover gaps in competitors' messaging rather than generate generic ideas, Matt shares a contrarian framework for creating content that makes your audience swear, share, or care — and why emotional resonance, not ROI bullet points, is what builds lasting B2B relationships.