It’s tempting to add some sauce to your content to give it flavor. But if the meat isn’t there, what’s the point? You have to make sure there’s substance to your work before adding style. That’s one of the things we talk about with Caroline Van Dyke. In this episode, we’re taking marketing lessons from Hot Ones with Caroline’s help. She’s the Head of Content at Skilljar. And together, we talk about making customers the star, focusing on the meat of the content, and much more.

B2B content is often impersonal. It may be clean and polished and dialed in, much like an F1 race car. But as pretty as it is, it may blend into all the rest. But if you let your audience under the hood, that’s how you win them over. You show them your personality, that there are real people behind the brand. That’s one of the things we’re talking about today as we take marketing lessons from Drive to Survive. All with the help of the VP of Global Executive Marketing at Salesforce, Kexin Chen. Together, we talk about letting people under the hood, how confusion equals no sale, and tapping into new channels to open to the door to new audiences.

Have you ever predicted your next campaign’s success with uncanny accuracy? You will. That’s because we’re bringing you marketing lessons this week from AT&T’s “You Will” campaign with the help of our special guest, Rokt CMO Doug Rozen. Together, we talk about demonstrating the future, using intrigue as a marketing tool, closing your copy strong, and increasing the frequency of your ads.

B2B marketers take themselves so seriously. A little self-deprecating humor wouldn’t go amiss. It makes your brand more relatable, your content more shareable, and builds trust by acknowledging your brand’s imperfections. That’s one of the things we’re talking about today with Reveal CMO Isaac Morehouse. Together, we’re taking marketing lessons from the Emmy-nominated show, Silicon Valley, including using self-deprecating humor, showing the hero’s journey, and trusting your audience’s intelligence.

There’s no shame in taking one good idea and reusing it. In continuing to improve and tweak it to get more juice for the squeeze. Especially when you’re struggling to come up with something new. That’s what J.R.R. Tolkien did in The Lord of the Rings. When asked for “more hobbits” by his publishers, Tolkien had to get crafty. Because he never meant for The Hobbit to have a sequel. That’s one of the things we’re talking about today with the Director of Content Marketing at Ahrefs, Ryan Law. With Ryan’s help, we’re chatting about the power of iteration, world-building around your product, and much more.

The fastest growing entertainment industry is not music and it’s not film. It’s video games. And they’re doing a lot of things right when it comes to marketing. Ever since arcades opened in the 1970s and Pong became popular, video games drew in a massive audience. So let’s talk about how the industry draws in all the eyes, ears, and thumbs. In this episode, we’re chatting with the VP of Marketing at Hackuity, Skyler Schmanski. Together, we talk about how spending money doesn’t equal making money, and making money doesn’t equal business efficiency, and much more.

In the early 2000s, showrunners Carter Bays and Craig Thomas were pitching ideas for sitcoms to CBS. And on only their second pitch, they struck gold. Why? Bays said, “It’s like the whole idea of ‘Write what you know.’ If you’re going to pitch someone and say, ‘Give me millions of dollars to write 100 or 200 episodes, you better have material. … Mine your life.” In this episode, we’re taking a look at the result: their Emmy nominated show, How I Met Your Mother. And with the help of our guest, Director of Content Marketing at AssemblyAI, Kelly Moon, we’re talking about marketing lessons from the show, including standing out, knowing your end goal, showing social proof that others trust you, and being the thing people want to come back to.

Vanderpump Rules is proof that a spinoff can not only be hugely successful, but be its own Sexy Unique Content. Not only did the show capitalize on the success of Real Housewives of Beverly Hills, but on the star power of Lisa Vanderpump. Those are a few of the things we’re talking about today with the Senior Content & Communications Manager at UserGems, Amber Rhodes. Together, we explore the marketing lessons of Vanderpump Rules, including capitalizing on the moment, using character-driven storytelling, and much more.

In a world with lots of content noise, play to the silences. Let your messaging be simple and clear, and even short. In this episode, we’re learning from the musician who let there be simplicity and space. Who played his trumpet in a sparse style so that each note was beautiful and carefully chosen. That’s Miles Davis. And with our special guest, Ben Lempert, Director of Content & Web at Heap, we’re talking about creating simple messaging, capturing different voices, leaving room for spontaneity, and the importance of feeling in your marketing.

There’s a lot of great content out there. So why not find inspiration there? Sample it, remix it and make it your own. In this episode, we’re turning to one of the greats when it comes to sampling: the late rapper and producer J Dilla. Together with the help of our guest, Head of Marketing at Crowdcube, John Hills, we’re talking about borrowing from content that’s already out there, building your content IP, and never losing your human touch.