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

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 ChatGPT later this year. The honeymoon phase of AI is officially over, and the business model phase has arrived. Joe and Robert explore what ads inside conversational interfaces really mean for brands, creators, and trust.
Finally, Salesforce steps up to answer MrBeast's call for the "most amazing Super Bowl ad ever" for Super Bowl 2026. When enterprise software meets YouTube spectacle, expectations get set very high. And history suggests that rarely ends quietly.
Marketing Winners:
Dos Equis, for proving that great brand storytelling and humor still cut through, even in an AI-flooded content world.

Breeze Airways, for smart positioning and customer-centric marketing in an industry that desperately needs both.

Rants and Raves:
The continued rise of AI-generated music hitting the charts, raising uncomfortable questions about creativity, authorship, and what "human" even means in popular culture.

A rave for Viktor Frankl's Man's Search for Meaning, and why its lessons about purpose, suffering, and responsibility feel more relevant now than ever in a world optimized for convenience and automation.

As always, the episode ends where This Old Marketing lives best, at the intersection of technology, media, and the timeless human need for meaning, trust, and something real to hold onto.
Subscribe and Follow: Follow Joe Pulizzi and Robert Rose on LinkedIn for insights, hot takes, and weekly updates from the world of content and marketing. 
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This week's sponsor:

Did you know that most businesses only use 20% of their data? That's like reading a book with most of the pages torn out. Point is, you miss a lot.

Unless you use HubSpot.

Their customer platform gives you access to the data you need to grow your business. The insights trapped in emails, call logs, and transcripts.  All that unstructured data that makes all the difference. Because when you know more, you grow more.
Visit https://www.hubspot.com/ to hear how HubSpot can help you grow better.
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Get all the show notes: https://www.thisoldmarketing.com/
Get Joe's new book, Burn the Playbook, at http://www.joepulizzi.com/books/burn-the-playbook/
Subscribe to Joe's Newsletter at https://www.joepulizzi.com/signup/.
Get Robert Rose's new book, Valuable Friction, at https://robertrose.net/valuable-friction/ 
Subscribe to Robert's Newsletter at https://seventhbearlens.substack.com/
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This Old Marketing is part of the HubSpot Podcast Network: https://www.hubspot.com/podcastnetwork

In this special episode of This Old Marketing, Joe and Robert tackle one of marketing's favorite habits: declaring things dead.
Every year, marketers rush to pronounce entire channels, strategies, and ideas obsolete. But many of the things we keep writing off are not only alive, they're quietly doing the hard work of building trust, relevance, and long-term value.
Joe and Robert break down what marketers think is dying (but isn't), why these fundamentals continue to matter, and what actually deserves to be put out of its misery.
Things Marketers Think Are Dead (But Aren't)
The Website Why the website is still the center of gravity for trust, clarity, and audience ownership, especially as platforms become more volatile and AI-driven.

Traditional PR and Communications How earned media, relationships, and credibility haven't disappeared, they've become harder to fake and more valuable as synthetic content explodes.

Purpose-Driven Marketing Why purpose didn't die. Performative purpose did. Authentic values still matter, but only when they're proven through action over time.

In-Person Events The enduring power of physical connection, shared experiences, and real community in a world dominated by digital noise.

Things That Probably Should Be Dead
Safe Marketing Why playing it safe is the fastest way to be ignored, and how clarity, conviction, and point of view beat neutrality every time.

The Myth of Personalization After 25 years of trying to get personalization right, most marketing still confuses data with relevance. True one-to-one personalization at scale remains elusive, often resulting in content that feels generic, invasive, or hollow. The real opportunity isn't more personalization, it's better positioning and messages that resonate deeply without pretending to speak to everyone individually.

Coming Soon: Listener Questions Episode
In a few weeks, Joe and Robert will be recording a special listener Q&A episode, and they want to hear from you.
Have a marketing question you want answered on the show? Submit your question in text or audio form at: https://www.thisoldmarketing.com/
Subscribe and Follow: Follow Joe Pulizzi and Robert Rose on LinkedIn for insights, hot takes, and weekly updates from the world of content and marketing. 
-------
This week's sponsor:

Did you know that most businesses only use 20% of their data? That's like reading a book with most of the pages torn out. Point is, you miss a lot.

Unless you use HubSpot.

Their customer platform gives you access to the data you need to grow your business. The insights trapped in emails, call logs, and transcripts.  All that unstructured data that makes all the difference. Because when you know more, you grow more.
Visit https://www.hubspot.com/ to hear how HubSpot can help you grow better.
-------
Get all the show notes: https://www.thisoldmarketing.com/
Get Joe's new book, Burn the Playbook, at http://www.joepulizzi.com/books/burn-the-playbook/
Subscribe to Joe's Newsletter at https://www.joepulizzi.com/signup/.
Get Robert Rose's new book, Valuable Friction, at https://robertrose.net/valuable-friction/ 
Subscribe to Robert's Newsletter at https://seventhbearlens.substack.com/
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This Old Marketing is part of the HubSpot Podcast Network: https://www.hubspot.com/podcastnetwork

This week, Joe and Robert break down the latest signals in the economy, media, and marketing, from stabilizing job data and corporate tax incentives to AI's growing influence on content, platforms, and creative work. They also dig into where responsibility lies in an AI-saturated world and which organizations are adapting well…or getting it wrong.
Key Topics Discussed
Economic Update: Jobs and Stability
Joe and Robert open the show with a look at recent U.S. economic data. After months of uncertainty, layoffs appear to have slowed, and job numbers are showing signs of stabilization. While not a return to boom times, the data suggests the labor market may be finding its footing heading into 2026.
Corporate Tax Incentives and 2026 Profits
The conversation turns to tax policy and its impact on business. Joe and Robert discuss how the permanent reduction of the corporate tax rate from 35% to 21%, along with other incentives, is setting mid-sized and enterprise companies up for significantly higher profits in 2026. They explore what this means for cash flow, reinvestment, and corporate behavior moving forward.
Instagram, AI, and the Burden on Creators
Next up, Joe and Robert analyze comments from Adam Mosseri and Instagram around AI-generated content. Mosseri makes it clear that Instagram does not intend to fully police AI content, instead emphasizing the importance of human creativity and authenticity. Joe and Robert question whether platforms are abdicating responsibility and placing the full burden on brands and creators to stand out in an increasingly cluttered, AI-driven feed.
Final News: Uber's Co-Creation Ad Strategy
In final news, the guys highlight Uber and its growing advertising business. Uber's co-creation media tactics are viewed as a smart, forward-thinking approach to revenue generation. Joe and Robert agree that too many enterprises still underestimate marketing's role as a direct revenue driver, not just a cost center.
Marketing Winners and Losers
Marketing Winner (Robert)
Equinox Robert praises Equinox for its ad campaign that pokes fun at AI-generated content, using humor and human insight to cut through the noise and reinforce brand identity.
Marketing Loser (Joe)
Nebula Awards Joe calls out the Nebula Awards for their new rules banning any use of generative AI in the creative process. While intended to protect writers, Joe argues the decision is short-sighted, unenforceable, and misunderstands how creative tools evolve.
Rants and Raves
Robert's Rant: Robert takes aim at Digiday and what he sees as an overly cozy fascination with Accenture, questioning the value and objectivity of that coverage.

Joe's Commentary: Joe closes with thoughts on the Corporation for Public Broadcasting winding down operations. He clarifies that PBS itself is not shutting down, but explains how the loss of federal funding disproportionately impacts rural and small-market stations, potentially reshaping public media into a more urban-centric system.

Subscribe and Follow: Follow Joe Pulizzi and Robert Rose on LinkedIn for insights, hot takes, and weekly updates from the world of content and marketing. 
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This week's sponsor:

Did you know that most businesses only use 20% of their data? That's like reading a book with most of the pages torn out. Point is, you miss a lot.

Unless you use HubSpot.

Their customer platform gives you access to the data you need to grow your business. The insights trapped in emails, call logs, and transcripts.  All that unstructured data that makes all the difference. Because when you know more, you grow more.
Visit https://www.hubspot.com/ to hear how HubSpot can help you grow better.
-------
Get all the show notes: https://www.thisoldmarketing.com/
Get Joe's new book, Burn the Playbook, at http://www.joepulizzi.com/books/burn-the-playbook/
Subscribe to Joe's Newsletter at https://www.joepulizzi.com/signup/.
Get Robert Rose's new book, Valuable Friction, at https://robertrose.net/valuable-friction/ 
Subscribe to Robert's Newsletter at https://seventhbearlens.substack.com/
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This Old Marketing is part of the HubSpot Podcast Network: https://www.hubspot.com/podcastnetwork

Joe Pulizzi and Robert Rose kick off this week's episode by unpacking the TikTok "sale" and what actually happened behind the headlines. Was it really a sale? Why was a true divestiture nearly impossible? And what does the outcome tell us about platform risk, regulation, and the future of rented audiences.
From there, Joe and Robert shift into what they believe will be the most important marketing, content, and AI stories of 2026. Not predictions, but the conversations marketers will be having once the year is underway.
They dig into whether the long-awaited AI bubble ever actually bursts in marketing, how AI changes headcount and team structures, and what happens to the brand website when search and discovery are increasingly mediated by AI systems instead of humans.
The episode wraps with rants and raves. Robert rants about marketers' obsession with declaring everything dead, while Joe rants about Denmark's decision to shut down its postal service and what that signals for the future of physical letters and communication.
In this episode, you'll learn:
What really happened with the TikTok deal and why it was never a traditional sale

Why the AI "bubble" may never pop in marketing the way people expect

How AI could lead to fewer marketing jobs, or more leverage for the right roles

Why the role of the website is changing for brands and creators

What Denmark ending postal service delivery says about the future of letters

Rants and raves:
Robert's rant: Marketers love predicting the death of everything

Joe's rant: Denmark shuts down postal service delivery and the slow disappearance of letters

Subscribe and Follow: Follow Joe Pulizzi and Robert Rose on LinkedIn for insights, hot takes, and weekly updates from the world of content and marketing. 
-------
This week's sponsor:

Did you know that most businesses only use 20% of their data? That's like reading a book with most of the pages torn out. Point is, you miss a lot.

Unless you use HubSpot.

Their customer platform gives you access to the data you need to grow your business. The insights trapped in emails, call logs, and transcripts.  All that unstructured data that makes all the difference. Because when you know more, you grow more.
Visit https://www.hubspot.com/ to hear how HubSpot can help you grow better.
-------
Get all the show notes: https://www.thisoldmarketing.com/
Get Joe's new book, Burn the Playbook, at http://www.joepulizzi.com/books/burn-the-playbook/
Subscribe to Joe's Newsletter at https://www.joepulizzi.com/signup/.
Get Robert Rose's new book, Valuable Friction, at https://robertrose.net/valuable-friction/ 
Subscribe to Robert's Newsletter at https://seventhbearlens.substack.com/
-------
This Old Marketing is part of the HubSpot Podcast Network: https://www.hubspot.com/podcastnetwork

Joe and Robert kick off their annual predictions episode by grading last year's forecasts using ChatGPT. They revisit what hit, what missed, and why context often ruins otherwise solid predictions. Along the way, they discuss AI's uneven progress, platform power shifts, crypto hype, nostalgia marketing, podcast attrition, and the growing tension between tech optimism and cultural fatigue.
The episode closes with fresh predictions spanning marketing, media, sports, and culture.
Key Topics and Takeaways
2025 Predictions Reviewed (with AI grading)
BlueSky stalls while X stabilizes and improves monetization

TikTok avoids a ban and continues to grow despite regulatory pressure

AI image tools (including early Sora) underwhelm initially

Bitcoin fails to hit $200K despite strong institutional momentum

Generative AI stumbles, but without a single catastrophic "AI Chernobyl"

Online sports gambling faces increased scrutiny and structural pullbacks

Podcast attrition accelerates quietly ("pod fading")

Major brands lean hard into nostalgia as a hedge against AI sameness

One major political prediction completely misses

2026 Prediction Overview
Joe goes deep into the importance of email as an indication of humanity and states that the reply rate will be the key KPI for email moving forward. In addition, he makes big bets on:
- Famous creators stopping their channels
- Elon Musk's net worth at the end of the year
- Apple buying Disney
Robert believes that AI strategy will no longer be in vogue, and marketers will stop using it altogether because AI will be integrated into everything. Robert also discusses "the Mamdani effect" and how it will take over the election process.

Tune in to the episode to get all the predictions right up to the very last minute. 
Subscribe and Follow: Follow Joe Pulizzi and Robert Rose on LinkedIn for insights, hot takes, and weekly updates from the world of content and marketing. 
-------
This week's sponsor:

Did you know that most businesses only use 20% of their data? That's like reading a book with most of the pages torn out. Point is, you miss a lot.

Unless you use HubSpot.

Their customer platform gives you access to the data you need to grow your business. The insights trapped in emails, call logs, and transcripts.  All that unstructured data that makes all the difference. Because when you know more, you grow more.
Visit https://www.hubspot.com/ to hear how HubSpot can help you grow better.
-------
Get all the show notes: https://www.thisoldmarketing.com/
Get Joe's new book, Burn the Playbook, at http://www.joepulizzi.com/books/burn-the-playbook/
Subscribe to Joe's Newsletter at https://www.joepulizzi.com/signup/.
Get Robert Rose's new book, Valuable Friction, at https://robertrose.net/valuable-friction/ 
Subscribe to Robert's Newsletter at https://seventhbearlens.substack.com/
-------
This Old Marketing is part of the HubSpot Podcast Network: https://www.hubspot.com/podcastnetwork