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.
This week, over a classic tipple, Ian and Robert step into the minefield of controversial content. How edgy and different should we be?
Based on a recent article Robert published on the Content Marketing Institute’s blog - Surprise! Your Most Controversial Content Might Be Your Weakest”
The main points from the bar this week:
People are becoming numb to controversial content
Applying the MAYA principle to content strategy
Brands must believe in the positions they take
Brands need to earn their place in the conversations
Content strategy should include both familiar and surprising elements
Do you have a question for the bar? Or maybe an opinion on what we’ve discussed? Please get in touch - just search “rockstar cmo” on the interwebs or LinkedIn.
Enjoy!
—
The Links
The people:
Ian Truscott on LinkedIn and Bluesky
Robert Rose on LinkedIn and Bluesky
Mentioned this week
Thompson Bros at Dornoch Distillery
Surprise! Your Most Controversial Content Might Be Your Weakest
The Four-Letter Code to Selling Just About Anything - Derick Thompson
Robert’s podcast - This Old Marketing
Robert’s regular series on Content Marketing Institute
Seventh Bear
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:
Piano Music is by Johnny Easton, shared under a Creative Commons license
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.
This podcast is part of the Marketing Podcast Network
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
--------
22:50
The Rockstar CMO Studio: Cathy’s Take on 90 Days
This week, Cathy McKnight, Chief Problem Solver at Seventh Bear, makes her monthly visit to the studio, and our host Ian Truscott gets her take on a marketing leader's first 90 days.
Some talking points from this week:
Cathy is a fan of the first 30/60/90 day plans - but also day 1 and week 1
The first 30 days are about listening and building trust
The importance of a comms plan
Where measurement, data, and analysis fit in
Employee engagement as part of marketing amplification
Focus on leveraging team strengths rather than just fixing weaknesses
Common mistakes when moving too quickly
AI’s role in all of this
As always, we welcome your feedback. If you have a suggestion for a topic that is hot for you, please get in touch using the links below.
Enjoy!
—
The Links
The people:
Ian Truscott on LinkedIn and Bluesky
Cathy McKnight on LinkedIn
Mentioned this week:
Seventh Bear
Cathy and Robert’s fortnightly video thingy - Bear in Mind
Content Marketing Friday Forum - May 9
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
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
--------
42:11
The Rose & Rockstar: Gartner’s Digital Detox Prediction
Welcome to The Rose and Rockstar - with the Chief Troublemaker at Seventh Bear, fractional marketing leader and author 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.
This week Ian and Robert discuss a prediction from Gartner that we will need to put 70% of our marketing budget into offline to reach an audience who will be digital detoxing.
The main points from the bar this week:
Digital detoxing could be a thing, especially as trust and authenticity are reduced
This will have an impact on marketing strategies and the budget
Print media is gaining value as an alternative messaging channel
The rise of gated communities that marketers will need to earn their way into
Identity-based content consumption and personalization
Do you have a question for the bar? Or maybe an opinion on what we’ve discussed? Please get in touch - just search “rockstar cmo” on the interwebs or LinkedIn.
Enjoy!
—
The Links
The people:
Ian Truscott on LinkedIn and Bluesky
Robert Rose on LinkedIn and Bluesky
Mentioned this week
The Gartner Top Marketing Predictions for 2025 (webinar)
Robert’s podcast - This Old Marketing
Robert’s regular series on Content Marketing Institute
Seventh Bear
Ian’s Marketing Profs Webinar
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:
Piano Music is by Johnny Easton, shared under a Creative Commons license
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.
This podcast is part of the Marketing Podcast Network
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
--------
22:42
The Rockstar CMO Studio: First 90 Days in The Machine
This week, Ian and Jeff finalize their discussion about a CMO’s first 90 days, coming to the last of the 5 F’in’ Marketing Fundamentals - The Campaign.
The Machine, roughly equates to Marketing Operations a role that Jeff knows well, having created several marketing operations teams before going on to advise enterprises through his work at Sirius Decisions and Forrester.
In this episode, Ian and Jeff step through the five cylinders of the machine and what the new CMO needs to pay attention to in those first few months:
Data
Technology
Analytics
Processs
People
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 and Bluesky
Jeff Clark on LinkedIn
Mentioned this week:
Rockstar CMO Presents: The 5 F'in' Marketing Fundamentals
Get Your Buyers AMPED with our Customer Journey - Rockstar CMO
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
Man Machine - Robbie Williams
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
--------
36:26
The Rose & Rockstar: Slowing Down the Vibe
Welcome to The Rose and Rockstar - with the Chief Troublemaker at Seventh Bear, fractional marketing leader and author 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.
This week, Ian and Robert discuss an idea Robert shared in his Content Marketing Institute column about slowing down marketing.
The main points from the bar this week:
The idea of vibe marketing
Speed in marketing often correlates with quantity, not quality
Slowing down marketing advocates for thoughtful and strategic approaches.
Checkboxes and agile marketing methodologies can lead to a loss of creativity
Marketing should prioritize thoughtful processes over rapid execution
The integration of AI should enhance creativity, not replace it
Successful marketing often comes from iterative processes, not just quick wins
Do you have a question for the bar? Or maybe an opinion on what we’ve discussed? Please get in touch - just search “rockstar cmo” on the interwebs or LinkedIn.
Enjoy!
—
The Links
The people:
Ian Truscott on LinkedIn and Bluesky
Robert Rose on LinkedIn and Bluesky
Mentioned this week
Slow-Motion Marketing is the Antidote to Vibe Marketing
Robert’s podcast - This Old Marketing
Robert’s regular series on Content Marketing Institute
Seventh Bear
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:
Piano Music is by Johnny Easton, shared under a Creative Commons license
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.
This podcast is part of the Marketing Podcast Network
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
In this 5-star rated weekly marketing podcast, host 4xCMO Ian Truscott says he's no rockstar, but with his chums, he shares what he calls marketing street knowledge, authentic, practical marketing strategy advice that will bring out the rock star marketer in you. A show that Jason Falls described as a "variety show for marketers". Learn more, follow, and get the show notes at https://rockstarcmo.com.