In the final show before the big 500 extravaganza, Joe and Robert discuss why individual creators are slowly taking over Hollywood — and whether there are opportunities for brands in this shift.

• The creator takeover: Ad Age: Why creators, not studios, will lead production by 2030

• Sports meets streaming: New Heights integration with Amazon Prime — Travis and Jason Kelce’s New Heights podcast will now stream on Amazon Prime.

• Buying media properties: Why a marketing consultant bought the largest real estate trade magazine in Canada (link).

Winners and Losers:

• Winner: Kit launches location-based creators.

• Loser: Unilever gives up on Ben & Jerry’s after its co-founder claims the company silenced activism.

Rants and Raves:

• Joe rants about job hugging.

• Robert rants about AI workslop.

And don’t miss our special #500 episode next week.

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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.

-------

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/

-------

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

This week, Joe and Robert dig into the Reddit phenomenon. Leading in AI findability (AEO) and trusted by geeks everywhere, the platform is having its coming-out moment. Is it time to ride the marketing train to Reddit town?
Here’s why Reddit marketing could be your next big business move

OpenAI wants to make a full-length animated movie that isn’t AI slop. Can they pull it off, or is this just a content marketing play? (Hint: the latter.)
OpenAI wants to make an AI movie that isn’t slop

Meanwhile, the team at Robinhood is rolling out a new social media app. But is now the right time for another platform?
Reddit, X get new rival with Robinhood Social's launch

Marketing winners and losers this week include Liquid Death (Yahoo Can Coolers – Liquid Death) and Ben & Jerry’s (Ben & Jerry's founders want to scoop out their brand).

Rants and raves feature the AI-driven destruction of the career ladder (AI isn't just ending entry-level jobs. It's ending the career ladder) and LinkedIn’s latest analytics upgrade (Post | LinkedIn).

-------

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.

-------

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

Get Joe's new book, Burn the Playbook, at 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/

-------

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

The marketing news of the week:

A federal judge has ordered a shakeup of Google’s search engine. Some call it a slap on the wrist, but it’s clear even the courts see Google’s dominance slipping. With AI search and new competitors on the rise, will Google’s empire burn down?
-- Judge orders search shakeup in Google monopoly case | PBS News

Meanwhile, the so-called “marketing AI boom” is running headfirst into a crisis of customer trust. But do people really care about privacy, or is it just talk? Joe and Robert debate whether it matters at all.
-- Marketing AI boom faces crisis of consumer trust

Winners and Losers: Creators landing SNL deals (Creators Take Over SNL 🌜), and the curious case of why one agency made an indie short film.

Rants and Raves: A content strategist for ChatGPT raises eyebrows, and the surprising death of VOA.

And to wrap things up: our annual NFL predictions. Who’s taking home the Lombardi Trophy this year?

-------

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.

-------

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

Get Joe's new book, Burn the Playbook, at 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/

-------

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

This week on the podcast, Joe and Robert break down the big takeaways from Content Entrepreneur Expo (CEX):

• The future of human content vs. AI content and why this tension may define the next decade.

• Why leaning into your “crazy” could be the smartest business move you’ll ever make.

• The rise of new search metrics and how they’re quietly reshaping the creator landscape.

Marketing news this week:

• Cracker Barrel’s Logo Backlash – A nostalgic flip-flop for the ages. Was this a brilliant PR stunt, or a brand fumble that shows just how powerful memory and meaning are?
  CBS News | Ad Age

• Perplexity’s Publisher Program – 80% of ad revenue promised to creators. But is this really a fair shake, or just another platform mirage?
  Digiday

Marketing losers of the week:

• A troubling study on gambling ads saturating sports broadcasts
  The Guardian

• The Atlanta Journal-Constitution ends its print edition.

And in rants and raves:

• AI ad networks invade ChatGPT – the future of monetization or the end of trust? [Ad Age]

• The strange, hilarious world of a print newspaper… from Uranus Fudge.

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This week's sponsor:

You don't become the world’s most valuable women's sports franchise by accident.

Angel City Football Club did it with a little help from HubSpot.

When they started, data was housed across multiple systems.

HubSpot unified their website, email marketing, and fan experience in one platform.

This allowed their small team of three to build an entire website in just three days.

The results? Nearly 350 new sign-ups a week and 300% database growth in just two years.

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

-------

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

Get Joe's new book, Burn the Playbook, at 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/

-------

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

Are we entering a new golden age of content marketing? In this week’s This Old Marketing, Joe Pulizzi and Robert Rose dig into why the industry feels more alive than ever and what this resurgence means for brands and creators alike.

The Big Stories:

• When Hollywood Hits the Break Room: A credit-card company launches a sitcom (Roomies) that blurs the line between branded content and binge-worthy entertainment. Read more →

• From Tackles to Talk Shows: The NFL’s Broadcast Boot Camp trains players to pivot from pads to teleprompters. Is this a new playbook for employee-driven media? Read more →

• Redline, Red Flag: Creators push back on restrictive contracts, but many brands are saying “no edits allowed.” What does this mean for the creator–brand relationship? Read more →

Marketing Winners of the Week:

• Taylor Swift (once again setting the standard for creator-driven marketing)

• MSNBC’s bold rebrand

• Billy Joel (yes, he’s still moving the needle)

Rants & Raves:

• A surprising return to print media: why it may be smarter than you think

• A deeper dive into the true meaning of “rented land” in today’s marketing mix

Key Takeaway:
Content marketing isn’t just back. It’s maturing into a stronger, more essential discipline. Brands and creators who double down on owned media, storytelling, and consistency will be the ones who thrive in this new golden age.

-------

This week's sponsor:

You don't become the world’s most valuable women's sports franchise by accident.

Angel City Football Club did it with a little help from HubSpot.

When they started, data was housed across multiple systems.

HubSpot unified their website, email marketing, and fan experience in one platform.

This allowed their small team of three to build an entire website in just three days.

The results? Nearly 350 new sign-ups a week and 300% database growth in just two years.

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

-------

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

Get Joe's new book, Burn the Playbook, at 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/

-------

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

Big news in the tech and marketing world this week.

AI search leader Perplexity stunned the industry with a $34 billion offer to buy Google Chrome. Is this just a headline-grabbing PR stunt… or could it actually give Google a way out of its ongoing antitrust mess?

Meanwhile, OpenAI is scrambling to turn lemons into lemonade after the botched ChatGPT-5 launch. Did they completely miss the mark with their audience, or has their technology hit a temporary wall — giving Google, Anthropic, X, and others a window to catch up?

Over on YouTube, creators who target children are sounding alarms over the platform’s new age verification and machine learning plan, which goes into effect this week. Many fear it could hurt discoverability and revenue.

Marketing Winners this week include Marketing AI Institute and the sweet, unexpected Oreos/Reese’s mashup.

Rants and Raves feature the surprisingly catchy Hampton Jitney Bus Song and a look at the Wall Street Journal/McKinsey partnership.

-----

This week's sponsor:

You don't become the world’s most valuable women's sports franchise by accident.

Angel City Football Club did it with a little help from HubSpot.

When they started, data was housed across multiple systems.

HubSpot unified their website, email marketing, and fan experience in one platform.

This allowed their small team of three to build an entire website in just three days.

The results? Nearly 350 new sign-ups a week and 300% database growth in just two years.

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

-------

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