Welcome to The Rose and Rockstar - with the Chief Troublemaker at Seventh Bear, Robert Rose, behind the bar serving one of his splendid cocktails, while our Rockstar CMO host Ian Truscott picks his brain on a marketing topic. 

This week, over a splendid seasonal cocktail, Ian and Robert discuss the apparent shift in LinkedIn from a community platform we perceive it to be to an attention-grabbing ad platform, with reported changes in the algorithm and the experience of folks with big audiences not getting the impressions they once did. 

They ask if LinkedIn is still a great platform for organic reach or is now pay-to-play, and Robert shares some advice on how content needs to perform rather than depend on individual follower counts.

If you have a question for the bar or an opinion on this week's discussion, please get in touch - just search “rockstar cmo” on the interwebs or LinkedIn.

Enjoy!

—

The Links

The people:

Ian Truscott on LinkedIn

Robert Rose on LinkedIn

Mentioned this week

Robert’s newsletter: Lens, his websites, robertrose.net and seventhbear.com

Ian’s firm - Velocity B

Rockstar CMO:

The Beat Newsletter that we send every Monday

Rockstar CMO on the web, Twitter, and LinkedIn

Previous episodes and all the show notes: Rockstar CMO FM.

Track List:

We’ll be right back by Stienski & Mass Media on YouTube

Piano Music is by Johnny Easton, shared under a Creative Commons license

You can listen to this on all good podcast platforms, like Apple, Amazon and Spotify.

This podcast is part of the Marketing Podcast Network

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week, Jeff Clark, former Forrester Research Director, and our host Ian Truscott, Managing Partner at Velocity B, kick off predictions season and discuss some new research from MomentumABM, who predict a reset of B2B marketing in 2026, based on five forces they’ve identified:

B2B buying dynamics shift

AI moves from pilot to priority

Growth bets consolidate

The demand engine rebalances

Capability gaps emerge

Which they share in a report and a webinar (links below).

As always, we welcome your feedback. If you have a hot topic you'd like us to discuss, please get in touch using the links below.

Enjoy!

—

The Links

The people:

Ian Truscott on LinkedIn

Jeff Clark on LinkedIn

Mentioned this week:

Marketing Priorities Survey 2025 - MomentumABM

2026 Marketing Reset: Why the Old Playbook Won’t Win - MomentumABM

Girl You Know It's True - The Latest Beat Newsletter

Ian’s firm - Velocity B

Rockstar CMO:

The Beat Newsletter that we send every Monday

Rockstar CMO on the web, Twitter, and LinkedIn

Previous episodes and all the show notes: Rockstar CMO FM.

Track List:

Stienski & Mass Media - We'll be right back

Papa's Got A Brand New Bag - James Brown

You can listen to this on all good podcast platforms, like Apple, Amazon, and Spotify.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Welcome to The Rose and Rockstar - with the Chief Troublemaker at Seventh Bear, Robert Rose, behind the bar serving one of his splendid cocktails, while our Rockstar CMO host Ian Truscott picks his brain on a marketing topic. 

This week, over a seasonal cocktail with a biscuit rim (yes, it’s a thing), they discuss the idea of being good at AI - and whatever the hell that means. 

They discuss a study by a University in Finland covered by Inc magazine and the Dunning-Kruger effect it found, both in people’s perceptions of their own AI abilities and in the subject matter they are using AI to create.

If you have a question for the bar or an opinion on this week's discussion, please get in touch - just search “rockstar cmo” on the interwebs or LinkedIn.

Enjoy!

—

The Links

The people:

Ian Truscott on LinkedIn

Robert Rose on LinkedIn

Mentioned this week

Robert's post on LinkedIn

New Research Warns That AI Is Causing a 'Reverse Dunning-Kruger Effect' - on Inc.com

Beware the Robot Yes Man - from Ian’s blog

Robert’s newsletter: Lens, his websites, robertrose.net and seventhbear.com

Ian’s firm - Velocity B

Rockstar CMO:

The Beat Newsletter that we send every Monday

Rockstar CMO on the web, Twitter, and LinkedIn

Previous episodes and all the show notes: Rockstar CMO FM.

Track List:

We’ll be right back by Stienski & Mass Media on YouTube

Piano Music is by Johnny Easton, shared under a Creative Commons license

You can listen to this on all good podcast platforms, like Apple, Amazon and Spotify.

This podcast is part of the Marketing Podcast Network

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week, Jeff Clark, former Forrester Research Director, and our host Ian Truscott, Managing Partner at Velocity B, discuss creating a joined up sales and marketing team - The Revenue Department - and if we can use the ART (Awareness, Revenue and Trust) framework and their 5 F’in’ Marketing Fundamentals to guide that process. 

As always, we welcome your feedback. If you have a suggestion for a topic that's hot for you that we should discuss, please get in touch using the links below.

Enjoy!

—

The Links

The people:

Ian Truscott on LinkedIn

Jeff Clark on LinkedIn

Mentioned this week:

The Revenue Department - on Ian’s blog

Creating ART - on Ian’s website

Rockstar CMO Presents: The 5 F'in' Marketing Fundamentals

Ian’s firm - Velocity B

Rockstar CMO:

The Beat Newsletter that we send every Monday

Rockstar CMO on the web, Twitter, and LinkedIn

Previous episodes and all the show notes: Rockstar CMO FM.

Track List:

Stienski & Mass Media - We'll be right back

Marcus Miller-Come Together

You can listen to this on all good podcast platforms, like Apple, Amazon, and Spotify.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Welcome to The Rose and Rockstar - with the Chief Troublemaker at Seventh Bear, Robert Rose, behind the bar serving one of his splendid cocktails while our host Ian Truscott, a former CMO but not a rockstar, picks his brain on a marketing topic. 

This week, over a fancy martini, Ian and Robert discuss a keynote from P&G’s Marc Pritchard at this year’s ANA Masters of Marketing Conference, where he outlined his five marketing fundamentals and Robert’s take in an article for the Content Marketing Institute blog. 

The five points from Pritchard’s keynote that they discuss:

Know your consumer

Know your brand

Fall in love with advertising

Build memory

Nurture creativity

If you have a question for the bar or an opinion on this week's discussion, please get in touch - just search “rockstar cmo” on the interwebs or LinkedIn.

Enjoy!

—

The Links

The people:

Ian Truscott on LinkedIn

Robert Rose on LinkedIn

Mentioned this week

5 Marketing Fundamentals That Still Work in 2026

​​Marc Pritchard: Why marketing’s old rules still work in a new world | The Drum

Robert’s newsletter: Lens, his websites, robertrose.net and seventhbear.com

Ian’s firm - Velocity B

Rockstar CMO:

The Beat Newsletter that we send every Monday

Rockstar CMO on the web, Twitter, and LinkedIn

Previous episodes and all the show notes: Rockstar CMO FM.

Track List:

We’ll be right back by Stienski & Mass Media on YouTube

Piano Music is by Johnny Easton, shared under a Creative Commons license

You can listen to this on all good podcast platforms, like Apple, Amazon and Spotify.

This podcast is part of the Marketing Podcast Network

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week, Cathy McKnight, Chief Problem Solver at Seventh Bear, makes her monthly visit to the studio and shares her perspective on the changing role of the CMO with our host Ian Truscott, Managing Partner at Velocity B.

Highlights from this week:

Cathy shares her experiences from various conferences, highlighting the inspiration gained from Adobe Max and emphasizing that creativity cannot be derived solely from tools like AI or Canva.

They discuss Cathy’s view on the identity crisis of the CMO role, the challenges they face in balancing short-term metrics with long-term brand-building, and the lack of a clear career path compared to other C-suite roles.

Cathy shares her client experience, emphasizing the importance of collaboration between marketing and sales teams and the evolving landscape of technology selection and buyer behavior in B2B marketing.

If you have any comments or thoughts on this topic, we would love to hear them, we welcome your feedback. 

Enjoy!

—

The Links

The people:

Ian Truscott on LinkedIn 

Cathy McKnight on LinkedIn

Mentioned this week:

Cathy’s firm - Seventh Bear

Rockstar CMO:

The Beat Newsletter that we send every Monday

Rockstar CMO on the web and LinkedIn

Previous episodes and all the show notes: Rockstar CMO FM.

Track List:

We’ll be right back by Stienski & Mass Media on YouTube

You can listen to this on all good podcast platforms, like Apple, Amazon, and Spotify.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Welcome to The Rose and Rockstar - with the Chief Troublemaker at Seventh Bear, Robert Rose, behind the bar serving one of his splendid cocktails while our host Ian Truscott, a former CMO but not a rockstar, picks his brain on a marketing topic. 

This week, Ian learns that Robert is re-reading a marketing classic, Different by Youngme Moon, and asks why Robert keeps revisiting this book. They discuss the importance of differentiation, how different is better than better, and how we need to be wrong for some to be right for others.

Plus, the importance of knowing whether your cider is hard or soft. 

If you have a question for the bar or an opinion on this week's discussion, please get in touch - just search “rockstar cmo” on the interwebs or LinkedIn.

Enjoy!

—

The Links

The people:

Ian Truscott on LinkedIn

Robert Rose on LinkedIn

Mentioned this week

Different: Escaping the Competitive Herd by Youngme Moon | Goodreads

Sally Hogshead - Different is Better than Better

Robert’s newsletter: Lens, his websites, robertrose.net and seventhbear.com

Ian’s firm - Velocity B

Rockstar CMO:

The Beat Newsletter that we send every Monday

Rockstar CMO on the web, Twitter, and LinkedIn

Previous episodes and all the show notes: Rockstar CMO FM.

Track List:

We’ll be right back by Stienski & Mass Media on YouTube

Piano Music is by Johnny Easton, shared under a Creative Commons license

You can listen to this on all good podcast platforms, like Apple, Amazon and Spotify.
This podcast is part of the Marketing Podcast Network

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week, Jeff Clark, former Forrester Research Director, and our host Ian Truscott, Managing Partner at Velocity B, take a break from their usual B2B beat to discuss marketing for non-profits, advocacy, and cause organizations. 

They explore if their 5 f’in’ marketing fundamentals are relevant to this sector, and Jeff shares his experience of each of them working within non-profit organizations. 

Highlights from the conversation:

Marketing for a cause requires understanding multiple audiences.

The knowledge phase is crucial for nonprofits to identify needs.

A master plan aligns organizational goals with fundraising efforts.

Storytelling is essential for emotional engagement in nonprofits.

Campaigns serve as the product in nonprofit marketing.

Data management is critical for tracking donor engagement.

Nonprofits must balance awareness and fundraising objectives.

B2B marketing skills are transferable to nonprofit marketing.

As always, we welcome your feedback. If you have a suggestion for a topic that's hot for you that we should discuss, please get in touch using the links below.

Enjoy!

—

The Links

The people:

Ian Truscott on LinkedIn

Jeff Clark on LinkedIn

Mentioned this week:

Ian’s firm - Velocity B

Rockstar CMO:

The Beat Newsletter that we send every Monday

Rockstar CMO on the web, Twitter, and LinkedIn

Previous episodes and all the show notes: Rockstar CMO FM.

Track List:

Stienski & Mass Media - We'll be right back

Public Enemy - Fight The Power - On YouTube

You can listen to this on all good podcast platforms, like Apple, Amazon, and Spotify.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Welcome to The Rose and Rockstar - with the Chief Troublemaker at Seventh Bear, Robert Rose, behind the bar serving one of his splendid cocktails while our host Ian Truscott, a CMO but not a rockstar, picks his brain on a marketing topic. 

As Robert is a prolific writer, Ian returns to pulling at the thread of Robert’s writing process that they discussed last month. This week, they explore the process that Robert has developed for using ChatGPT as a writing and research assistant.

The discussion includes:

Robert’s 8-point process for developing content with AI

Training ChatGPT to interview Robert about a topic

Creating a 'show Bible' for a topic for a collection of content assets

Pressure testing an idea with AI and the unexpected insights this can give

How this process actually takes more work and time, but improves the quality

Robert also shared an excellent point about having ChatGPT create the content, versus following this sort of process that takes you on a creative journey.  

“Constructed content is only loved after it exists, while created content is loved before it exists”.

If you have a question for the bar or an opinion on this week's discussion, please get in touch - just search “rockstar cmo” on the interwebs or LinkedIn.

Enjoy!

—

The Links

The people:

Ian Truscott on LinkedIn

Robert Rose on LinkedIn

Mentioned this week

Robert’s podcast with Joe Pulizzi - Atlas Shrugged: Is OpenAI Coming for Google? (503)

Ian’s firm - Velocity B

Robert’s newsletter: Lens, his websites, robertrose.net and seventhbear.com

Rockstar CMO:

The Beat Newsletter that we send every Monday

Rockstar CMO on the web, Twitter, and LinkedIn

Previous episodes and all the show notes: Rockstar CMO FM.

Track List:

We’ll be right back by Stienski & Mass Media on YouTube

Piano Music is by Johnny Easton, shared under a Creative Commons license

You can listen to this on all good podcast platforms, like Apple, Amazon and Spotify.

This podcast is part of the Marketing Podcast Network

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week, due to a clash in Jeff and Ian’s schedules, it’s a solo episode this week and Ian takes to the studio alone.

In this episode Ian explores the importance of remaining human, while still benefiting from the efficiency benefits that AI powered marketing automation offers. 

Enjoy!

—

The Links

The people:

Ian Truscott on LinkedIn

Mentioned this week:

The Era of AI-Made Everything (501) - This Old Marketing podcast

The Rose & Rockstar: Personalization is Still Creepy

Why AI Generated Content Wont Move You - Nudge podcast

Velocity B

Rockstar CMO:

The Beat Newsletter that we send every Monday

Rockstar CMO on the web, Twitter, and LinkedIn

Previous episodes and all the show notes: Rockstar CMO FM.

Track List:

Stienski & Mass Media - We'll be right back

You can listen to this on all good podcast platforms, like Apple, Amazon, and Spotify.

This podcast is part of the Marketing Podcast Network

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices