Episodes
Published 03/29/24
News this week as Florida governor Ron DeSantis signs a law restricting social media access for children. Is this the first step to full-on social media verification or just another fruitless attempt to tell people how to parent? Trump's Truth Social goes public and hits meme stock territory. How long with the party last? Spotify adds video learning to its platform. Is YouTube in Spotify's sights? And print is back baby! Hits and misses include a Ryan's World movie and Comscore. Rants and...
Published 03/29/24
In this special episode #420, Joe and Robert dissect the upcoming Apple/Google deal for AI and the iPhone. Is this a sign of weakness for Apple or are they just buying time? OpenAI's chatbot store is filling up with spam. Are you surprised? And a group of publishing experts launch Authors Equity to give more rights back to authors. Uh, we don't think so. Hits and misses include Liquid Death and Coca-Cola. Rants and raves includes a full overview of the TikTok banning bill and why it's...
Published 03/22/24
We are in post-social media and, now, a post-search environment. The next 12 months are critical to start getting your content assets in order for the AI Content wave. The House passes a bill that could lead to a TikTok ban. Uh, we told you so. But does it really matter? Google's Gemini AI refuses to answer political questions (among other things). This leads to a conversation on how AI Truth is coordinated and what we can do about it. MrBeast tells everyone to slow down a bit...that less...
Published 03/15/24
In this special #ThisOldMarketing episode, Joe and Robert review their presentations from Social Media Marketing World 2024. Robert shares his insights, including: The Value of Relationships The Product Content Mindset The Point of View Architecture The Trust Exercise - Audit Your Experiences Joe runs through his secrets for content marketing success, including: Building the Base The Content Tilt Acquiring Content Assets Creators over Content Pillar Content Projects The NEW Print...
Published 03/08/24
Another media company bites the dust. This time it's the once-darling Vice Media. Is the news media business model broken or is there something else at work here? A big supreme court case involving social media moderation is being reviewed by SCOTUS. Could it happen? We'll see this summer. Is Google on death row? It's clear the product is getting worse. Will ChatGPT come to the rescue? And Tyler Perry shelves his studio project because of Sora. Hits and misses include Bitcoin and Air...
Published 03/01/24
It's been a crazy two weeks for artificial intelligence. OpenAI officially launched Sora, the text-to-video tool. At the same time, Google launched their AI-version of Gemini inside workplace. Is podcasting really a racket? Maybe it's just more of the same. Hits and misses include Paramount's bad timing and Nvidia's HUGE quarter. Rants and raves includes the NYTime's ad tool and Billy Joel's new AI video. This week's links: Sign up to CEX and use code TOM100 to win a guest spot on This...
Published 02/23/24
In this special Blossom episode of This Old Marketing, Joe and Robert discuss the insights and secrets into creating a profitable content brand, for both content marketing and content creator goals. Topics discussed include: How to truly differentiate and grow an audience How to create a content tilt Do you build or buy? Focus on creator, brand or content brand? and many more content marketing insights This week's sponsors: Smart sales software for today's multitasking reps that's built...
Published 02/16/24
The boys discuss Joe Rogan's new content deal with Spotify. Is this the future of podcast and YouTube deals, or is this just for the one percenters? Also, how should a brand approach this kind of deal? Meta will label AI images across all their properties. Is this just a point in time or will it have lasting impact? In addition, Meta cut off Facebook to developers. Like we didn't see that coming. In hits and misses, Robert praises L'Oreal and misses on Taylor and the right. Joe hits on...
Published 02/09/24
Big tech CEOs ran to Washington to explain why they haven't protected US children. YouTube and TikTok continue to dominate and grow in profit and usage. Is it imperative that all companies market on these channels today? And George Carlin and Taylor Swift deepfakes dominate the news. Is there anything we can do about them or have we unleashed Pandora's box. Rants and raves include small audience wins and a new place for the chief marketing officer. This week's links: Elmo's Wellness...
Published 02/02/24
Netflix Q4 earnings show how far the company is ahead in the streaming wars...plus...their licensing deal with WWE vaults them into a live-events leadership position. So, what's next and what can we learn from their strategy? Sports Illustrated is "mostly" dead. Here's a big opportunity for a brand like Nike or Under Armour to make a content marketing buy. Why isn't this happening more often? And does the creator economy need a creators' union? The boys say no. Rants and raves include...
Published 01/26/24
Big news in media and marketing as Informa purchases a majority stake in TechTarget. Is their strategy of "focused scaling" correct for B2B? Apple overhauls their podcast download system, sending podcast leaders into a panic over revised download numbers. Ah...rented land. And OpenAI launches Chat GPTeams. Rants and raves include Reddit's court victory over WallStreetBets and a big marketing mistake at Solo brands. This week's links: TechTarget x Informa The Incredible Shrinking...
Published 01/19/24
If you don't get the title, stay until the end. In this episode, Joe and Robert discuss what's happening at CES, including the role of the creator/influencer inside a media company. Netflix, Instagram and Amazon all make major streaming cutbacks. Is this just "right sizing" the business, or is everyone trying to figure out how to compete with TikTok? In rants and raves, it's the end of the third-party cookie on Google, and a new sports bar opens with access to sports from women athletes...
Published 01/12/24
Joe and Robert are back from a crazy 2023 with thoughts of Elon and crowdiness. In this episode, Steamboat Willie is released from its copyright shackles. Is there an opportunity for brands in out-of-date content? Fidelity lowers X's valuation even more. Is a turnaround to come? Time appoints a new Chief Events Officer in a clear signal that there is a bull market for in-person events. In rants and raves, Joe comments on the right-sizing of creator businesses, while Robert pontificates on...
Published 01/05/24
Joe and Robert take time out of their regular programming to talk about key marketing career challenges and how they overcame them. In addition, the boys do a speed round on content marketing pet peeves. This week's links: Sahil Bloom's Annual Review This week's sponsors: Hubspot's Campaign Assistant is a game-changer for creating marketing campaigns at scale. It quickly turns your key selling points into a cohesive pitch, which helps you deliver knockout emails, ads, and landing pages in...
Published 12/29/23
It's here! The annual episode where Robert and Joe predict everything that will not go right in the content marketing and media world. This year, the boys predict: A social media collapse - TikTok and YouTube see big surges as the waves of the strike Tsunami hit. AI goes mainstream and actually starts to earn its keep – but NOT in creating externally focused content  but rather conversational Advertising and behind the scenes marketing work. Brands go "all in" on owned media  - especially...
Published 12/22/23
The latest social media usage results by Pew are out and...surprise, surprise...almost half of all teenagers are on social media "literally all the time." It seems that short-form videos are ruling the day on nearly all platforms. Mega-publisher Axel Springer does a deal with ChatGPT to include news. What does this mean for media companies and the future of search? And everything you know about podcasts might actually be wrong. Rants and raves include permissions on Dropbox and...
Published 12/15/23
Google makes their big AI announcement regarding Google Gemini. Can the new AI suite save Google's stalling search business? Is purpose-driven content dead after failures by Bud Light and Target? Joe is skeptical but Robert thinks there is a big opportunity. Spotify announces some big layoffs and a strategic change, while the NCAA might be hiring students in the very near future. Rants and raves include TikTok shopping and a new model for digital ad revenue. This week's links: Google's...
Published 12/08/23
Elon Musk's remarks at the recent Dealbook conference show (inconclusive) evidence that he is actually trying to lower X's valuation to such a point to where he can buy the company back (from debtors) at pennies on the dollar. Synthetic (AI) content is on the rise. Google is having major problems with it, and some (experts) say that over 90 percent of all content will be AI generated by 2026. And finally, should creators (and marketers) start thinking about protecting their digital...
Published 12/01/23
Note: This was recorded before Sam Altman was reinstated at OpenAI. Go figure! Joe and Robert go indepth on the soap opera that is OpenAI, and the ramifications on marketers and content creators. X sees another exodus of advertisers. Is this the end of the road for the former blue bird? And TikTok is now used at a key news source for 30 percent of young adults. Should we be scared? Rants and raves include ideas to save local journalism and Buzzfeed's new business model. This week's...
Published 11/24/23
The new actors' agreement and Meta's newly released guide for political advertisements tell us one big thing - AI content will begin to flourish. Get ready for massive process and job changes in the very near future directly because of these two announcements. In other news, YouTube has ad blockers going crazy with their new AI-sniffer tools. Have we seen the end of ad blockers? In rants and raves, Joe raves about SNAP's CEO and rants about the new ESPN Bet. Robert raves about Mark Ritson's...
Published 11/17/23
A very special episode where Joe and Robert review their content and marketing predictions from the previous year. Do they make the grade? You need to judge for yourself. TikTok will be banned. Netflix will merge with another streaming platform. LinkedIn will rise to the top. First party data will rule. AI dominates. Google uses AI detector. Content acquisitions on the rise. Recession will be localized to tech only. Cryptopunks and Bored Apes double. Apple will introduce a headset. This...
Published 11/10/23
A special 400th episode of This Old Marketing. And yes, the boys are getting up there! Joe and Robert discuss AI announcements by the US President and Microsoft (launching of Copilot), as well as Google integrating AI into search. For AI to work well, it needs to be working from a correct set of information. Is that the case or should we be worried? Elon holds a company meeting and talks about X doing almost everything. It's too bad that Apple and Google have a head start in this area. And...
Published 11/03/23
Breaking news as X year-over-year numbers plummet. Can the Elon-run social media site recover? Meta, and more specifically Instagram, is being sued by 33 states. The charge? That the company repeatedly misled the public about the dangers of being on their platform. Joe and Robert discuss the sad truth: Meta puts profits (and addiction) ahead of the future of America. Done and done. And finally, new research suggests that trust in media is at an all-time low (and getting worse by the...
Published 10/27/23
This week the all-knowing Elon announced their "everyone gets charged a dollar" plan. Musk made this sound like it was a "bots" move. Joe and Robert know it's something completely different. Tucker Carlson makes his well-telegraphed move to media company (we called this). What can creators and marketers learn from the move? And marketers are as tense as ever. Is this temporary or just stating the obvious? Rants and raves include a bit of Shakespeare, following by Google and Taylor Swift. ...
Published 10/20/23