The Marketing Companion

What company uses neuroscience to make us addicted to social media? Former Facebook Sean Parker says the company is going too far and fears for the impact on our children and society. Hosts Mark Schaefer and Tom Webster discuss this impact, along with observations on Twitter, Tencent, and the art form that is spam.

Listen in as we explore three uncomfortable topics: How greed and algorithms are combining to hurt our children and our customers. 2) Evidence that a popular content marketing strategy is not working and 3) how social media is being used to create these watershed moments like the Weinstein case. They also introduce "Nipsey" the Marketing Companion smart speaker system!

Humor is one the most effective marketing tactics but always a tricky strategy. In this episode, the hosts interview humorist and marketing expert Tom Fishburne (The Marketoonist) who explores the process and pitfalls of adding humor into a marketing campaign. And Mark and Tom have the first Marketing Companion joke-off.

Marketing insight isn't going to come from looking at the same data and statistics the whole market can see. Exploring lessons from Tom Webster's new speech, the Marketing Companion hosts connect the dots to show why the focus should be on small data, why the end of personas is near, and why content marketing has become "pay to play.

Why is there so much pressure to create content? In this episode, learn what the actual key to content success is, and what to do if your industry doesn't have the best option.

Listen in to some of the best talks delivered at Content Marketing World: Content marketing lessons from the world of politics and how the future of corporate branding may be personal branding. And then of course you won't want to miss the Burt Bacharach tribute ...

Cataclysmic forces are rocking the advertising industry. How is the industry changing, and what do you need to be aware of to make it to the other side? Hosts Mark Schaefer and Tom Webster look at the forces of change in the ad world and what it means to you and your business.

In this very personal episode of The Marketing Companion, hosts Mark Schaefer and Tom Webster reveal their own best marketing successes and failures. Learn why desperation may be a key to success, how money is made in the margins, and why a dial-up internet connection destroyed a great business. Mark and Tom also announce plans for the first human-powered self-driving vehicle!

Is Amazon primed for social media success? In this episode, hosts Mark Schaefer and Tom Webster explore predictions about augmented reality, YouTube strategy, customer service and Amazon's new social network, "Spark."

Brand-new research shows how the smart speaker category is dramatically changing consumer behavior, decimating traditional search strategies, and re-creating how we think about content. In this show, hosts Mark Schaefer and Tom Webster explore the significant implications for business, for commerce, and for our lives

Influencer marketing has evolved from a marketing side project to an extremely important mainstream channel. Mark and Tom dissect a new research report discussing the progress in influencer marketing measurement, execution, and strategy.

The annual "Meeker Report" is a treasure trove of digital marketing trends and facts that attract massive media attention each year. But can it be trusted? Hosts Mark Schaefer and Tom Webster explain why the report is increasingly slanted toward the company's own investment portfolio and even includes a sponsored section of data this year. The podcast hosts also pluck out a few statistical surprises of note from the report.

Standing out in a noisy world is probably the most pressing challenge for any marketer today. Citing new research and reports, hosts Mark Schaefer and Tom Webster look at the role of habit, disrupting habit, and segmentation in the digital marketing era.

For some marketers, Artificial Intelligence may provide a threat, for others an opportunity. In this episode, hosts Mark Schaefer and Tom Webster take a candid and provocative look at the near-term impacts of AI on our profession, including martech, analytics, service, and content. They also demonstrate what happens when Alexa goes rogue!

Traditional publishers are struggling to keep up as advertisers re-trench and pour money into mobile advertising. Host Mark Schaefer and Tom Webster discuss the new media hierarchy and what this means to organizations trying to monetize their content. They also review the world's worst games.