Marketing in Progress

Five years of building a business means learning lessons no playbook can teach you. In this special episode of Marketing in Progress, Kristin Allaben serves as host and interviews Gayle Birkelund Kalvert, founder and CEO of Creo Collective. Gayle shares how a layoff led her toward entrepreneurship, what she learned about building a financially sustainable business, and how she navigated the pressu...

AI is changing B2B marketing faster than many teams expected. But adopting more tools isn’t the same as building a smarter marketing organization. In this episode of Marketing in Progress, Gayle Kalvert talks with Ray Wizbowski, Chief Marketing Officer at ECI Software Solutions, about how AI is reshaping go-to-market strategy, marketing teams, and the way businesses drive growth. Ray shares why AI...

AI can create content faster. But faster doesn't always mean better. In this episode of The Shortcut, Gayle Kalvert and Kristin Allaben unpack the difference between content strategy and content creation—and why getting the strategy right has to come first. AI will amplify whatever you give it. If you hand it a strong idea? Great. But if you give it a bad one? It just gets worse faster. In Th...

What happens when a B2B marketing team decides to take a “bonkers” idea seriously? In this episode of Marketing in Progress, Gayle Kalvert talks with Keelia Estrada Moeller, Marketing Content Specialist at Broadcom Software’s Mainframe Division, about the creative thinking behind Big Iron Bits —a mockumentary series that brought humor, relatability, and real industry challenges into B2B marketing....

What drives growth when marketers are dealing with limited resources, more channels, and an overwhelming number of AI tools? For Cahill Camden, the answer starts with focus. In this episode of Marketing in Progress, Cahill shares lessons from his experience as a CMO in high-growth crypto and fintech companies and how those lessons still apply in today’s AI-driven marketing environment. We talk abo...

Experiential marketing can create memorable moments, but how do you ensure those moments actually drive business results? In this episode of Marketing in Progress, Gayle Kalvert talks with Sam Eitzen, CEO & Co-Founder of SnapBar, about what makes experiential marketing work, how to measure it, and why the best event experiences start with understanding your audience and your business goals. Fr...

Your event is one day. Your campaign shouldn’t be. In Episode 2 of Marketing in Progress: The Fix, Gayle Kalvert and Kristin Allaben unpack why marketers need to stop treating events as one-off moments and start treating them as campaigns. From setting the right goals and aligning sales and marketing to planning content before, during, and after the event—and measuring what actually matters—this e...

Entrepreneurship can look glamorous online, but the reality comes with incredible highs, difficult valleys, and plenty of outside opinions. In this mini episode, Brianna Doe shares why having a clear “why” matters—and why the people and content you surround yourself with can shape how you navigate the journey. She introduces the idea of building a “personal board of directors”: a trusted group of...

Pretty good isn't going to cut through in 2026. In the first episode of The Fix, Gayle Kalvert and Kristin Allaben break down how B2B marketers can cut through the noise without overhauling their entire marketing strategy. They cover what it takes to create content that gets attention, show up in AI-powered search, and build messaging that actually resonates with the humans behind the buyer....

Most sales outreach doesn't convert after one or two touches. In this mini episode, Andre Lachlan shares why it can take 15+ touches before a prospect responds—and why persistence only works when you're actually building a relationship, not just sending more messages. The goal isn't to chase. It's to stay relevant, helpful, and top of mind until the timing is right. This is Mar...

What gets someone hired as a CMO? It's not just experience. It's not just results. According to executive recruiter Kate Bullis, the marketing leaders who stand out have built a reputation beyond the companies they've worked for. They've developed a personal brand rooted in how they show up, how they lead, and how others describe working with them. This is Marketing in Progress...

Sales and marketing don't have an alignment problem. They have a leadership problem. In this Marketing in Progress: The Shortcut episode, Kristin Allaben sits down with Gayle Kalvert to unpack why sales and marketing alignment remains one of the biggest challenges in B2B organizations. From structural barriers to simple ways leaders can foster collaboration, this conversation offers practical...

AI is changing the marketing industry faster than any technology before it, but it's not replacing marketers. It's changing how they work. In this episode of Marketing in Progress: The Shortcut, Heidi Malden, Head of Americas Marketing at Pigment, explains why AI should be viewed as a competitive advantage, how marketers can reinvest time and budget into higher-value work, and why brand...

Marketing and sales can't succeed in silos. Jenn Parrino and Candice Wright share how consistent sales alignment transformed marketing from a guessing game into a strategic partnership, leading to better insights, stronger content, and more meaningful pipeline conversations. This is Marketing in Progress: The Shortcut. A quick, hyper-focused insight you can put to work today.  In This Episode...

If five people in your company give five different answers to the question, "What does the company do?" you don't have a marketing problem—you have a messaging problem. Kate Hamilton, narrative-driven strategic marketer, shares a simple internal test that can quickly reveal whether your company is aligned around its value proposition and story. This is Marketing in Progress: The Sho...

Marketing teams don't fail because they launch the wrong campaign, they fail because they keep the wrong campaign alive. In this episode of Marketing in Progress: The Shortcut, Gayle Kalvert sits down with Cari Jaquet, a full-stack B2B marketing leader with over 20 years of experience building category-defining cybersecurity and data companies. Cari shares why marketers need to let go of ego,...

Most companies are creating content that AI can generate in seconds. Market leaders are creating content that AI can't. David Newman, CSP, Certified Speaking Professional, keynote speaker, and author of Market Eminence , shares the three content pillars that help leaders stand out, build authority, and capture attention in an increasingly crowded market. This is Marketing in Progress: The sho...

Your event budget isn't the problem. How you spend it might be. In this episode of Marketing in Progress: The Shortcut, Stephanie Worthington, Head of Events and Field Marketing at Upstart, shares practical ways marketing leaders can improve event ROI without asking for a bigger budget. From re-evaluating low-performing events to prioritizing pre-scheduled meetings and measuring what actually...

When partner marketing works, it scales your brand faster than any single campaign could. Lucy Greenaway, Global Channel Marketing Director at XM Cyber and CRN Women and Diversity in Channel Awards finalist, shares the three non-negotiable tactics every partner marketer needs in their playbook. This is Marketing in Progress: The shortcut giving you a quick, hyper-focused insight you can put to wor...

Marketing leaders are expected to deliver growth, align with sales, lead high-performing teams, and adapt to constant change. But where do you start? In this episode of Marketing in Progress, Gayle Kalvert sits down with Michelle Randall, CMO at Onspring, to discuss the leadership habits, customer-first mindset, and practical strategies that have shaped her career—and why the best marketing leader...

The CMO hiring process has changed.  Boards and CEOs aren’t just looking for marketing operators anymore; they want leaders who can drive transformation and business growth. Kate Bullis , Global Marketing Practice Leader and Managing Director at ZRG Partners , shares what boards, CEOs, and recruiters are looking for in modern marketing leaders — and why many highly experienced candidates still str...

Your events aren’t failing. They’re just being evaluated the wrong way. Stephanie Worthington , Head of Events and Field Marketing at Upstart , has spent 30+ years turning trade shows into revenue drivers, not money pits. She breaks down the framework that actually makes an event program work – from how to decide which shows are worth the spend to why traditional ROI metrics miss the real impact. ...

B2B marketers are asked to do the impossible every single day. Be data-driven, but not too data-driven. Build pipeline, but also build brand. Prove ROI on a broken attribution model. Never miss a trend. Never need more headcount. And whatever you do — don't let them see you scrambling. We see you. And we made something for you. Marketing in Progress is a podcast where B2B marketers talk to B2B mar...

Not long ago, companies resisted adopting analytics. Now it’s table stakes. AI is next, but we’re still in the messy middle. So how do you market when your audience isn’t fully ready yet? Heidi Malden , Head of Americas Marketing at Pigment , gets real about what it takes to market an AI-driven company when your buyers are at very different stages of adoption. Heidi shares how she's building pipel...

Most B2B marketing teams are sitting on untapped data. The ones winning deals are actually using it. Tal Peretz , Co-Founder & CEO of Onfire AI , shares why generic AI outreach is failing marketers and what a smarter, data-first GTM strategy looks like. Tal breaks down the myths around AI adoption and how contextual intelligence is becoming the real differentiator in B2B. In this episode, you'...