This Old Marketing - News Podcast Weekly with Joe Pulizzi and Robert Rose

Sign up for Robert Rose's exclusive July event here. https://www.seventhbear.com/bearing-table-july/ This week, Joe and Robert dig into what happens when marketing, publishing, and customer data all collide with AI. First, the guys break down McKinsey's vision for the future of marketing, where brands must move from campaigns to continuous growth systems and become trusted by both people and machi...

This week on This Old Marketing, Joe and Robert dig into a very strange new reality for marketers: the next audience may not be human. First, Anthropic's Fable and Mythos models get caught in the middle of U.S. export controls, raising a huge question for any company building on AI platforms. Then OpenAI reportedly floats the idea of giving the U.S. government a five percent stake in the company....

In this episode, the boys cut in with two breaking stories. First, Walmart buys Vibe.co , a connected TV advertising platform, in a move that could make Walmart's already-growing ad business even more interesting. Robert believes the strategy is right, especially with Walmart's retail media business and Vizio already in the fold, but thinks the price tag may have been a bit too rich. Then Joe and...

This week, Joe and Robert lead with Anthropic's safety warning and what it means for marketers building AI-driven systems. Joe sees a real challenge ahead: how can marketers confidently build AI platforms and processes when models, access, regulations, and rules keep changing? Robert is not so sure and thinks some of this may be more theater and marketing than actual danger. Who's right? Maybe nob...

We lead with the possible IPOs from OpenAI , Anthropic and SpaceX, and the much bigger question behind them: where is all that money supposed to come from? The capital markets seem to believe the answer is labor. If AI valuations are going to make any sense, then the bet is not simply that AI companies will sell more software. The bet is that AI will absorb, replace or reorganize a massive piece o...

This week, Joe and Robert dig into the media reckoning hitting some of the biggest names in digital publishing. Vice, BuzzFeed, Vox, and others once represented the future of media, with massive valuations, venture money, and platform-driven scale. Now, many of those same companies have been sold, split apart, or pushed into bankruptcy. The boys ask the uncomfortable question: how did companies wo...

This week, the boys open with Meta's new subscription plans for Facebook , Instagram, WhatsApp and Meta AI. The features are mostly small upgrades, but the bigger story is clear: Meta is building a toll road around access, visibility and creation. The rent on rented land keeps going up. From there, Joe and Robert talk about LinkedIn's campaign against "AI slop." LinkedIn says it wants to reduce lo...

This week, Joe and Robert start with Google's massive AI search shift and the uncomfortable reality for marketers, publishers and creators: the click may no longer be the point. Google has turned search into something closer to an answer engine, and Joe has officially come around to Robert's long-held view. Google may have created an even better business model than the one it already had, and the...

This week on This Old Marketing , Joe and Robert break down OpenAI's latest move: launching a full-blown AI consultancy for enterprise companies. The big question: is this a smart response to large companies moving too slowly on AI integration, or is it a sign that OpenAI is feeling pressure to generate revenue wherever it can? The boys also follow up on OpenAI's move into shopping and advertising...

In this episode of This Old Marketing , Joe and Robert dig into OpenAI's very rough week . From missed targets and questions about future contract payments to legal proceedings involving Elon Musk, the company suddenly looks a lot less inevitable than it did just a few months ago. Then OpenAI launches a self-service advertising platform , which leads Joe to ask the big question: Is ChatGPT turning...

This week, Joe and Robert break down a Wall Street Journal article about big brands putting more money into individual creators. While micro-influencers continue to be an important trend, the boys believe there may be an even bigger opportunity sitting inside most companies: employees. If brands want trusted voices, they should not only rent them from the outside. They should invest in their own i...

In this special episode of This Old Marketing , Joe and Robert step away from marketing and talk about something more personal: the health changes they've made, why they made them, and what they've learned along the way. Both share the specific moments that pushed them to take their health more seriously, along with the physical, mental, and long-term brain health concerns that made those decision...

Joe and Robert dig into Anthropic's launch of Mythos and Project Glasswing and ask the bigger question: is this the moment marketers need to wake up to the fact that AI is not just a tool shift, but a business model shift? Joe argues this may be AI's Napster moment, the point where the future is suddenly visible and the old rules no longer apply. They also discuss the attack on Sam Altman's house...

What would Joe Pulizzi and Robert Rose do if they had to build a media company from scratch in 2026? In this special episode of This Old Marketing , Joe and Robert tackle that exact question. Starting with zero audience, limited resources, and a media landscape flooded with AI-generated content, shifting algorithms, and declining trust, they break down what kind of media company they would actuall...

Anthropic may or may not have "accidentally" leaked its code, but Joe and Robert think the bigger story is what the company's newest release says about the future of white-collar work and marketing itself. They also tackle the slowing labor market, whether marketing jobs are in danger, and if a recession is actually coming. Rounding out the episode: Cameo's TikTok partnership, Oracle's ugly layoff...

This week, Joe opens the show with a quick take on the banning of "AI Fruit Love Island" and can't believe Robert isn't already a loyal subscriber. Joe and Robert then dig into a landmark legal verdict against social media platforms, focusing on Meta's Instagram and Google's YouTube. The big shift? Instead of the usual failed arguments around Section 230, these new cases are targeting platform des...

A new piece from the  Wall Street Journal introduces the idea of being "alternatively influential" …people who drive real impact without massive follower counts. Joe and Robert break it down: Is this just a rebrand of "niche creator" or "thought leader"? Or is it actually the future of influence in an AI-saturated world? And most importantly…does audience size matter less than trust, proximity, an...

This week, Joe Pulizzi and Robert Rose dig into fascinating new research from Anthropic that reveals how large language models are already capable of executing many traditional marketing tasks. The conversation quickly turns into a deeper question. Is the real disruption AI itself, or the fact that many leaders in mid-size and enterprise organizations never truly valued marketing in the first plac...

It was a wild week in artificial intelligence. Joe and Robert break down a surprising stumble from OpenAI and the aggressive counter-moves coming from Anthropic . The hosts unpack what these developments signal for the broader AI landscape and why the growing concentration of power among a small number of platforms should concern marketers and creators alike. If a handful of companies ultimately c...

This week, Joe Pulizzi and Robert Rose tackle one of the boldest statements in recent marketing memory. The CEO of Unilever says big brand advertising is dead . Is he right? Or is this a Trojan horse for something much bigger? Big Brand Advertising: Dead or Disguised? When the head of one of the largest consumer goods companies in the world questions traditional brand advertising, it's not a throw...

Companies like Meta and other social platforms are facing serious scrutiny over the effects of social media on mental health, teens, misinformation, and society at large. Lawmakers are circling. Hearings are happening. Headlines are dramatic. But is this real regulatory momentum… or political theater? Joe and Robert debate: Whether meaningful regulation is actually possible What history tells us a...

This week, Joe and Robert break down one of the boldest marketing decisions the NFL has made in years and why it continues to pay off. NFL + Bad Bunny: A Strategic Win The NFL's move to spotlight Bad Bunny wasn't just a halftime performance decision. It was a strategic signal about where the league is headed as it expands globally and looks to connect with younger, more diverse audiences. Joe and...

It's the episode you've been waiting for. Joe Pulizzi and Robert Rose bring together their favorite rants and raves in one fast-moving supercut that tackles the biggest questions facing marketers and creators right now. Is print really making a comeback, or are we just nostalgic for a slower, more thoughtful era of media? Why does everyone seem so certain in a world that's becoming more complex by...

In this special episode, Joe and Robert answer all the questions from the This Old Marketing audience.  How do backlink strategies (SEO) and citations (AEO) work together, and what unified content strategy can help brands earn both? In the age of GEO, how should membership organizations decide what content to keep free versus behind a paywall, especially when balancing search visibility with exclu...

This week on This Old Marketing , Joe and Robert unpack a trio of headlines that perfectly capture the optimism and overconfidence of the AI era. First, Apple and Google announce a multi-year partnership on AI. Two of the most powerful companies on the planet, joining forces to shape the future of intelligence. What could possibly go wrong? Then OpenAI confirms that advertising is coming to ChatGP...