How to Stay Relevant as a Marketer in the World of AI with Mark Schaefer

#261 AI & Creativity | In this episode, Dave is joined by Mark Schaefer, marketing strategist, keynote speaker, and author of 11 books, including his latest, Audacious: How Humans Win in an AI Marketing World. Mark has spent decades studying the intersection of marketing, tech, and human behavior, and his ideas have helped reshape how B2B brands think about relevance, creativity, and differentiation in a noisy digital world.Dave and Mark cover:Why playing it safe is the biggest threat to B2B marketers in the AI eraHow to create marketing that actually connects by disrupting the story, the channel, or the storytellerReal examples of B2B brands ditching “best practices” and standing out with emotional, human-first marketingYou’ll come away with a fresh perspective on how to stay relevant, creative, and impactful, especially as AI becomes a bigger part of your marketing stack.Timestamps(00:00) - – Intro (02:00) - – Why most marketing is boring (06:30) - – The danger of “best practices” (10:30) - – Why AI is amplifying bad marketing (14:00) - – The rise of raw, lo-fi, human content (17:00) - – What AI can’t replicate: shared experiences (20:30) - – Fear, risk, and the big brand trap (24:00) - – Using AI to enhance, not replace, creativity (28:00) - – The real framework behind Audacious (31:00) - – B2B examples that break the mold (36:30) - – Why now is the time to stand out (41:00) - – Making bold marketing happen inside your org (45:30) - – Liquid Death, Nutter Butter, and brand disruption (50:00) - – B2B doesn’t mean boring (54:00) - – The one question every marketer should ask Join 50,0000 people who get Dave's Newsletter here: https://www.exitfive.com/newsletterLearn more about Exit Five's private marketing community: https://www.exitfive.com/***Brought to you by:Webflow - A website platform built for the agentic web, helping modern marketing teams build fully custom sites—no developer needed—that perform in AI search. Learn more at webflow.com/for/exitfive.Markup AI - A content quality platform that scans your content against brand voice, preferred terms, messaging standards, and AI-search readiness before it goes live, right inside Google Docs. Learn more at markup.ai.Optimizely - A no-code AI platform where autonomous agents execute marketing work across webpages, email, SEO, and campaigns. Learn how to deploy agents on your marketing team at Agents in the Mix. Learn more at optimizely.com/exitfive. Walker Sands - An integrated B2B marketing and growth services agency that helps marketing leaders turn strategy into measurable business impact through their Outcome-based Marketing model. Learn more at walkersands.com/exitfive.Knak - A no-code, campaign creation platform that lets you go from idea to on-brand email and landing pages in minutes, using AI where it actually matters. Learn more at knak.com/exitfive, or check out the MCP server by clicking this link.***Thanks to my friends at hatch.fm for producing this episode and handling all of the Exit Five podcast production.They give you unlimited podcast editing and strategy for your B2B podcast.Get unlimited podcast editing and on-demand strategy for one low monthly cost. Just upload your episode, and they take care of the rest.Visit hatch.fm to learn more