Welcome: Where Marketing Meets Intelligence

We've spent years in the C-suite watching marketing executives nod enthusiastically at AI demos, then whisper to us afterward: "But what do we actually do with this?" We've been in those rooms—CMOs, MarTech leaders, innovation chiefs—and we've lived through the hype cycles, the failed implementations, the unexpected wins, and yes, the hilariously awkward moments when the AI chatbot goes rogue during a client presentation.

Now we're pulling back the curtain.

Who We Are (And Why We're Doing This)

We're a collective of C-level marketing and MarTech executives who've been in the trenches building, implementing, and sometimes spectacularly failing at AI-driven marketing initiatives. We've managed eight-figure budgets, led digital transformations, pitched boards, and occasionally had to explain why the AI recommended we target retirement communities with energy drinks.

This isn't a corporate blog. This isn't sponsored content disguised as advice. This is us—sharing what we've actually learned, the war stories nobody tells at conferences, and the honest insights that only come from having skin in the game.

We're doing this because the gap between AI theory and marketing reality is enormous, and we're tired of watching people waste money on shiny tools while missing the real opportunities. Plus, after enough expensive dinners debating these topics, we figured we should just write it down.

What You'll Actually Get Here

Forget the polished case studies that conveniently leave out all the messy parts. Here's what we're bringing:

Real Talk from the Exec Level – Strategic decisions we've made, the ones that worked and the expensive mistakes we'd love to have back. How do you actually get board buy-in for AI investment? What does a successful MarTech stack look like in 2025? We'll tell you.

The Stories They Don't Share at Conferences – Like the time our AI-powered personalization engine sent 10,000 customers emails addressing them as "Dear [FIRST_NAME]." Or when we discovered our chatbot had developed a mysteriously passive-aggressive tone. These moments teach you more than success stories.

Unfiltered Opinions – Which vendors overpromise? What's genuinely innovative versus repackaged hype? Where should you actually spend your budget? We're not selling anything, so we'll say what we really think.

Practical Expertise You Can Use – Tools we actually use. Frameworks that survived contact with reality. The 80/20 of AI in marketing—what delivers results and what's just busy work.

The Human Side – Leadership challenges when your team fears automation. How to hire for an AI-augmented marketing org. Maintaining creativity when machines handle execution. The stuff that keeps us up at night.

Who This Is For

If you're a marketing leader trying to figure out where AI fits in your strategy, a MarTech professional drowning in vendor pitches, an entrepreneur competing against bigger budgets, or anyone who's exhausted by AI hype but knows there's something real underneath—you're our people.

We're writing for folks who want the truth, not the sales pitch. Who appreciate that transformation is messy. Who understand that the best insights often come with a good story attached.

Why Listen to Us?

Fair question. The internet isn't exactly short on marketing advice.

Here's the thing: we've been responsible for the outcomes. When the AI implementation works, we celebrate with the team. When it fails, we're the ones explaining to the board why we just burned through Q3 budget on a tool that promised miracles and delivered mediocrity.

We've built marketing orgs from scratch and transformed legacy departments. We've championed AI adoption and pumped the brakes when it wasn't ready. We've hired data scientists, negotiated with vendors, and yes, occasionally made decisions we'd love to travel back in time and undo.

This collective experience—across industries, company sizes, and challenges—gives us a perspective you won't get from a single case study or a vendor white paper.

What's Coming

In the weeks ahead, we'll explore everything from building your first AI-powered campaign to understanding how large language models can transform customer research. We'll break down the tools that matter, share case studies from the front lines, and tackle the tough questions about creativity, authenticity, and the future of work in marketing.

We're building this channel for the marketing community—and with it. Your questions, your experiences, your challenges will shape what we cover. This is a conversation, not a broadcast.

Let's Begin

The future of marketing is being written by people willing to experiment, share their failures as openly as their wins, and have a sense of humor about the chaos.

We're done with the perfectly curated LinkedIn posts. We're here for the real conversations—the ones that happen after the conference panel ends, when people actually tell you what's working.

Welcome to the group chat. Glad you're here.

Got a question we should tackle? A disaster story that still makes you laugh? An opinion hot enough to start arguments? Drop it in the comments—this channel runs on collective wisdom and battle scars.