In this special Thanksgiving edition of This Old Marketing, Joe and Robert dive into the future of AI and what it really means for marketers, creators, and anyone trying to build an audience in the next few years. The boys explore how long traditional marketing roles will remain intact and why we may be much closer to a tipping point than most people want to believe.

Joe and Robert revisit a theme they've both been writing about lately: the shrinking window of time before AI reshapes content, distribution, and discoverability. They break down what creators and marketers can still do right now to secure their position before the landscape shifts for good.

Their take: you have a few years. Maybe less. And waiting is not a strategy.

In a world where AI generates nearly everything instantly, Joe and Robert ask the big question: what will the actual marketing job look like five or ten years from now?

The answer isn't another technical role. It isn't prompt engineering. It isn't "AI operations."

The position of the future is rooted in skills AI can't replicate:

• Being known personally by real people

• Building in-person trust

• Hosting gatherings, leading communities, and showing up in the real world

• Connecting human beings to human beings

If AI floods the world with infinite content, the new scarcity becomes physical presence.

The boys outline the shift every marketer and content entrepreneur must make: from chasing reach to cultivating real connections. From relying on platforms to building owned audiences. From algorithmic exposure to human relationships that cannot be automated.

This special episode is a wake-up call and a roadmap rolled into one.

Thanksgiving is a time for reflection, and the episode closes with Joe and Robert reminding listeners that the next few years are arguably the most important years in the history of marketing.

AI will change everything. But it won't replace the marketers who understand what actually makes people move, trust, and gather.

Subscribe and Follow:
Follow Joe Pulizzi and Robert Rose on LinkedIn for insights, hot takes, and weekly updates from the world of content and marketing.

This week's sponsor:

Did you know that most businesses only use 20% of their data? That's like reading a book with most of the pages torn out. Point is, you miss a lot.

Unless you use HubSpot.

Their customer platform gives you access to the data you need to grow your business. The insights trapped in emails, call logs, and transcripts. All that unstructured data that makes all the difference. Because when you know more, you grow more.

Visit https://www.hubspot.com/ to hear how HubSpot can help you grow better.

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Get all the show notes: https://www.thisoldmarketing.com/

Get Joe's new book, Burn the Playbook, at http://www.joepulizzi.com/books/burn-the-playbook/
Subscribe to Joe's Newsletter at https://www.joepulizzi.com/signup/.

Get Robert Rose's new book, Valuable Friction, at https://robertrose.net/valuable-friction/
Subscribe to Robert's Newsletter at https://seventhbearlens.substack.com/

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This Old Marketing is part of the HubSpot Podcast Network: https://www.hubspot.com/podcastnetwork

This week, Joe and Robert cover three major AI stories shaping the creative and marketing landscape.

First, the guys break down the debut of Xania Monet, the first AI-powered artist to land on a Billboard chart. Is this the start of a new music era...or the beginning of the end for human creativity?

Next, they unwrap Coca-Cola's second annual holiday AI ad. But this year, it's not just Coke. Expect a wave of AI-generated holiday campaigns across brands. Joe and Robert debate what this means for creative differentiation and audience connection.

Finally, they analyze Bloomberry's massive study of 180 million jobs, revealing how AI is reshaping the global workplace faster than anyone imagined. Who's safe, who's not, and what can marketers learn from the data?

Winners and Losers:

• Robert's Winner: Gannett's bold rebrand to USA Today—a move that simplifies identity and aligns with its strongest brand equity.

• Joe's Winner: Print media. Joe points out the surprising long-term resilience of print and why physical media might be the next big comeback.

Rants and Raves:

• A new journalism collective forms to sell sponsorships - Robert shares his take on why collaboration is an important way forward for small creators.

• More college students are choosing double majors - Joe digs into what that says about the next generation of marketers.

Subscribe and Follow:
Follow Joe Pulizzi and Robert Rose on LinkedIn for insights, hot takes, and weekly updates from the world of content and marketing.

This week's sponsor:

Did you know that most businesses only use 20% of their data? That's like reading a book with most of the pages torn out. Point is, you miss a lot.

Unless you use HubSpot.

Their customer platform gives you access to the data you need to grow your business. The insights trapped in emails, call logs, and transcripts. All that unstructured data that makes all the difference. Because when you know more, you grow more.

Visit https://www.hubspot.com/ to hear how HubSpot can help you grow better.

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Get all the show notes: https://www.thisoldmarketing.com/

Get Joe's new book, Burn the Playbook, at http://www.joepulizzi.com/books/burn-the-playbook/
Subscribe to Joe's Newsletter at https://www.joepulizzi.com/signup/.

Get Robert Rose's new book, Valuable Friction, at https://robertrose.net/valuable-friction/
Subscribe to Robert's Newsletter at https://seventhbearlens.substack.com/

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This Old Marketing is part of the HubSpot Podcast Network: https://www.hubspot.com/podcastnetwork