The Dave Gerhardt Show (from Exit Five)

#345 | Luke (Head of Growth & Marketing, ElevenLabs), Liz (CMO, Brain Labs), Vicente (Creative Director, Bitly), and Carter (Global Brand Team, UiPath) join this Exit Five Live session to show how they're actually using AI to do creative work. Luke breaks down how his team built a full brand video with one person in one day using voice cloning, image models, and AI video tools. Liz shows the Claude skill her team built so anyone in the org can self-serve on-brand design without going through a designer. Vicente walks through how Bitly cut video production time by two weeks using AI. And Carter shares how he's leading a video initiative that's changing the way a global brand team operates. If you're tired of AI hype and want a look at what people are actually doing, this one's for you. 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:Customer.io - An AI powered customer engagement platform that help marketers turn first-party data into engaging customer experiences across email, SMS, and push. Learn more at customer.io/exitfive.Consensus - An AI-powered interactive demo platform that lets you put personalized, self-serve demos on your site to turn anonymous researchers into high-intent leads. Learn more at goconsensus.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.Convertr - The enterprise lead data management platform that sits between your lead sources and your CRM, automatically validating, enriching, and standardizing every lead before it touches your systems. Check them out at convertr.io/exitfive.***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

#344 | Dave sits down with Katelyn Bourgoin, founder of Unignorable, to talk about the one strategic move most B2B marketers overlook: owning an idea so tied to you that it sounds like an echo coming from anyone else. Katelyn breaks down the six types of ownable ideas, from coined categories to named problems to X vs. Y frameworks, and walks through how to find the central argument your brand should be built on. They also get into why category creation isn't always the answer, what made "conversational marketing" work at Drift, and why ownable ideas matter more now than ever.Timestamps(00:00) - - Intro and Dave recaps the Exit Five Marketing Leadership Retreat (03:27) - - Katelyn introduces the concept of ownable ideas (07:58) - - Katelyn's background: failed startup, buyer psychology, and finding her niche (10:45) - - What an ownable idea actually is (and why it's not category creation) (13:00) - - The 6 types of ownable ideas with examples (18:39) - - How to find your central argument (the webinar software example) (21:20) - - Katelyn breaks down Dave's own central argument back to him (26:48) - - The chocolate covered almond analogy (28:49) - - How Dave extracted the ownable idea at Drift (30:12) - - Why the founder has to own marketing (and what to do if they don't) 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:Customer.io - An AI powered customer engagement platform that help marketers turn first-party data into engaging customer experiences across email, SMS, and push. Learn more at customer.io/exitfive.Consensus - An AI-powered interactive demo platform that lets you put personalized, self-serve demos on your site to turn anonymous researchers into high-intent leads. Learn more at goconsensus.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.Convertr - The enterprise lead data management platform that sits between your lead sources and your CRM, automatically validating, enriching, and standardizing every lead before it touches your systems. Check them out at convertr.io/exitfive.***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

#343 | In this session from Drive 2025 titled “Building Pipeline in the Shiny Object Era”, Jen Allen Knuth unpacks why deals stall even when your product is objectively better, how the explosion of shiny tools and AI noise is making it worse, and why most teams are unintentionally fueling the problem with me-centric messaging. Jen shares the two zero-dollar exercises every team should run to quantify how much pipeline they’re losing today, align sales and marketing around the true blocker, and rebuild outbound messaging that creates curiosity.PS. Want to join us at Drive 2026?Head over to exitfive.com/drive to grab your ticket.  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:Customer.io - An AI powered customer engagement platform that help marketers turn first-party data into engaging customer experiences across email, SMS, and push. Learn more at customer.io/exitfive.Consensus - An AI-powered interactive demo platform that lets you put personalized, self-serve demos on your site to turn anonymous researchers into high-intent leads. Learn more at goconsensus.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.Convertr - The enterprise lead data management platform that sits between your lead sources and your CRM, automatically validating, enriching, and standardizing every lead before it touches your systems. Check them out at convertr.io/exitfive.***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

#342 | Recorded live at Exit Five's Marketing Leadership Retreat, this episode features Dave Kellogg sharing his framework for being the CMO everyone wants to work with. Dave draws on 12 years as a CMO across three companies, two CEO stints, and ten board seats to cover CMO failure archetypes, how to build a real partnership with your CRO, and why internal marketing is just as important as running marketing. Last time we had Dave on the podcast it was one of the most downloaded episodes of all-time, and this one is even better. Get your notebook read.Link to slides 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:Customer.io - An AI powered customer engagement platform that help marketers turn first-party data into engaging customer experiences across email, SMS, and push. Learn more at customer.io/exitfive.Consensus - An AI-powered interactive demo platform that lets you put personalized, self-serve demos on your site to turn anonymous researchers into high-intent leads. Learn more at goconsensus.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.Convertr - The enterprise lead data management platform that sits between your lead sources and your CRM, automatically validating, enriching, and standardizing every lead before it touches your systems. Check them out at convertr.io/exitfive.***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

#341 | In this Exit Five Live session, Cindy Dubon (Director of Growth Marketing, Goldcast), Kelly Arndt (Sr. Demand Gen Manager, Vector), Jeremy Chung (Founder and CEO, Ads by Jer), Tess Pfeifle (Associate Director of Marketing, AirVet), and Richard Meyer (Director of GTM and Growth, GoHappy) each break down a real ad campaign — the channel, the creative, the targeting, the spend, and the results. From influencer-led LinkedIn thought leader ads and CTV surround sound campaigns, to direct mail sequences, conference plays without a booth, and multi-channel signal-based targeting, these are campaigns you can actually steal from. Co-hosted by Jess Cook, VP Marketing at Vector.Ad campaigns linked here. Timestamps(00:00) - Intro and why real examples beat LinkedIn theory (06:15) - Session format and how to participate (08:07) - Cindy Dubon: $8K influencer campaign that generated $700K in pipeline (16:05) - Kelly Arndt: B2B surround sound with CTV, YouTube, and LinkedIn (24:56) - Jeremy Chung: Direct mail plus retargeting to book VC meetings (32:36) - Tess Pfeifle: Conference play with no booth and 2,000% ROI (39:31) - Richard Meyer: How GoHappy stopped overspending on LinkedIn (48:06) - Rapid fire Q&A with all five marketers 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:Customer.io - An AI powered customer engagement platform that help marketers turn first-party data into engaging customer experiences across email, SMS, and push. Learn more at customer.io/exitfive.Consensus - An AI-powered interactive demo platform that lets you put personalized, self-serve demos on your site to turn anonymous researchers into high-intent leads. Learn more at goconsensus.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.Convertr - The enterprise lead data management platform that sits between your lead sources and your CRM, automatically validating, enriching, and standardizing every lead before it touches your systems. Check them out at convertr.io/exitfive.***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

#340 | Dave sits down with Kipp Bodnar, CMO of HubSpot, to talk about the journey from running a company blog to leading marketing at a $2B business. Kipp started at HubSpot in 2010 when it was doing $10M in revenue and grew the blog from 200k to 1M monthly uniques before taking on more and more of the marketing function. They get into how to set big goals and work backwards from them, how to move fast without losing focus, and the mindset shift that separates individual contributors from marketing leaders.  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:Customer.io - An AI powered customer engagement platform that help marketers turn first-party data into engaging customer experiences across email, SMS, and push. Learn more at customer.io/exitfive.Consensus - An AI-powered interactive demo platform that lets you put personalized, self-serve demos on your site to turn anonymous researchers into high-intent leads. Learn more at goconsensus.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.Convertr - The enterprise lead data management platform that sits between your lead sources and your CRM, automatically validating, enriching, and standardizing every lead before it touches your systems. Check them out at convertr.io/exitfive.***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

#339 | Dave is joined by Brandon Redlinger, former VP of Marketing and co-founder of The Forge, for a conversation about how to build an ABM program that works. They cover how to know if your company is ready for ABM, how to select and score target accounts, and why most teams fail by spreading themselves across too many accounts too fast. Brandon also shares the plays that generate real pipeline, how to think about measurement without overcomplicating it, and why ABM and demand gen shouldn't be two separate functions. 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:Customer.io - An AI powered customer engagement platform that help marketers turn first-party data into engaging customer experiences across email, SMS, and push. Learn more at customer.io/exitfive.Consensus - An AI-powered interactive demo platform that lets you put personalized, self-serve demos on your site to turn anonymous researchers into high-intent leads. Learn more at goconsensus.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.Convertr - The enterprise lead data management platform that sits between your lead sources and your CRM, automatically validating, enriching, and standardizing every lead before it touches your systems. Check them out at convertr.io/exitfive.***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

Dave is joined by Davang Shah, VP of Marketing at LinkedIn, for a conversation about what actually works with LinkedIn ads right now. They cover why brand and performance aren't two separate strategies, how to think about measurement beyond last-click attribution, and why 95% of your buyers aren't in market at any given time. Davang also shares the data behind thought leader ads, what most marketers get wrong about the buyer journey, and how he's leading his own team through the AI shift.Timestamps(00:00) - The stat that explains why B2B marketing is so hard (04:11) - Davang's background: 17 years at Google, now VP Marketing at LinkedIn (04:38) - The state of B2B marketing in 2026 and what CMOs actually care about (07:19) - How AI search is changing buyer behavior (94% of B2B buyers use LLMs) (09:58) - Why LinkedIn became a real social network, not just a professional one (11:22) - Thought leader ads: what they are and why they outperform single image ads (14:26) - Why brand and performance aren't two separate things (17:37) - How to build a full-funnel LinkedIn ads strategy (22:23) - The measurement problem: 211-day deal cycles and 22 decision-makers (24:17) - CRM sync, Conversions API, and Company Intelligence explained (29:53) - How AI will change the way marketers run ads (and what LinkedIn is building) (36:04) - Making the case for keeping marketers: creativity, human connection, and trust 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:Customer.io - An AI powered customer engagement platform that help marketers turn first-party data into engaging customer experiences across email, SMS, and push. Learn more at customer.io/exitfive.Consensus - An AI-powered interactive demo platform that lets you put personalized, self-serve demos on your site to turn anonymous researchers into high-intent leads. Learn more at goconsensus.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.Convertr - The enterprise lead data management platform that sits between your lead sources and your CRM, automatically validating, enriching, and standardizing every lead before it touches your systems. Check them out at convertr.io/exitfive.***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

#337 | Dave sits down with Erin May, CMO at User Interviews, who joined as the company's first marketer with a two-page website and zero recurring revenue and helped grow it to $20M+ ARR over eight years. Erin breaks down how she picked one niche audience and went all in, why she led with ungated content, and how she built a quarterly operating rhythm around "Bangers," tentpole marketing moments that get the entire company involved. They also get into podcasting ROI, what she'd do differently with AI-driven search today, and why she thinks the brand vs. demand debate is just noise.Timestamps(00:00) - Intro: 8 years, one niche, a two-page website, and $20M ARR (06:13) - How Erin identified the right audience to go all in on (08:15) - Building the UX Research Field Guide and the early SEO strategy (10:44) - Why she went ungated and still captured 13% email conversion (14:25) - What she'd do differently with content strategy today (17:01) - Stacking channels one at a time instead of doing everything at once (19:40) - How to plan for the next phase of growth before you need it (22:11) - Introducing Bangers: the quarterly marketing OS (24:39) - Top of funnel vs. bottom of funnel Bangers (30:17) - How LinkedIn and employee advocacy fit into the Banger playbook (34:36) - Why Erin started a podcast seven years ago when no one else was (37:59) - How to think about podcast ROI when attribution is fuzzy (40:51) - AI expectations for her marketing team (45:19) - Why the brand vs. demand debate is stupid (48:31) - The real secret: making your customer the hero 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:Customer.io - An AI powered customer engagement platform that help marketers turn first-party data into engaging customer experiences across email, SMS, and push. Learn more at customer.io/exitfive.Consensus - An AI-powered interactive demo platform that lets you put personalized, self-serve demos on your site to turn anonymous researchers into high-intent leads. Learn more at goconsensus.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.Convertr - The enterprise lead data management platform that sits between your lead sources and your CRM, automatically validating, enriching, and standardizing every lead before it touches your systems. Check them out at convertr.io/exitfive.***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

Eoin Clancy (VP of Growth at AirOps), Connor Beaulieu (Senior SEO Manager at LegalZoom), and Adina Timar (Head of AEO at Weflow) join this live session to talk about how to create high-quality content with AI. Connor walks through a workflow his team built at LegalZoom to automatically source expert quotes.. Adina shows how she rebuilds competitor pages from scratch using sales calls, LLM data, and live competitor analysis. And Eoin shares the research behind why content quality is now the single biggest lever in AI search. If you want to see what content engineering actually looks like in practice, this one is for you. 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:Customer.io - An AI powered customer engagement platform that help marketers turn first-party data into engaging customer experiences across email, SMS, and push. Learn more at customer.io/exitfive.Consensus - An AI-powered interactive demo platform that lets you put personalized, self-serve demos on your site to turn anonymous researchers into high-intent leads. Learn more at goconsensus.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.Convertr - The enterprise lead data management platform that sits between your lead sources and your CRM, automatically validating, enriching, and standardizing every lead before it touches your systems. Check them out at convertr.io/exitfive.***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

#335 | Jeff Hardison, now VP of Product Marketing at Sanity, joined Dave when he was running product marketing at Calendly to break down what the product marketing role should actually look like inside a B2B company. They get into how Jeff structured his team to serve both a PLG motion and an enterprise sales team at the same time, why he hires for specialization instead of making everyone a generalist, and how he thinks about measuring a function that touches almost every team in the company. Jeff also shares his take on positioning and messaging, how to run product launches that actually rally the company, and the two interview questions he uses to figure out if someone will be happy in a product marketing role. 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:Customer.io - An AI powered customer engagement platform that help marketers turn first-party data into engaging customer experiences across email, SMS, and push. Learn more at customer.io/exitfive.Consensus - An AI-powered interactive demo platform that lets you put personalized, self-serve demos on your site to turn anonymous researchers into high-intent leads. Learn more at goconsensus.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.Convertr - The enterprise lead data management platform that sits between your lead sources and your CRM, automatically validating, enriching, and standardizing every lead before it touches your systems. Check them out at convertr.io/exitfive.***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

#334 | Dave is joined by Jessica Serrano, CMO at Bagel Brands (Einstein Brothers, Noah's, Bruegger's, Manhattan Bagel), for a conversation about what B2B marketers can learn from consumer restaurant marketing. They discuss why consumer and B2B marketing are way more similar than people think, how she’s using AI across her marketing and sales process, and her philosophy that her job is to ‘build brand over time and drive sales overnight.’ Jessica shares how COVID forced Dig Inn to rebuild itself as an e-commerce business, how she built a B2B catering sales motion from scratch using HubSpot and buyer personas, and how filtering work emails out of a consumer list became a real customer acquisition tactic. Listen to this episode to learn tactics that work whether you're selling bagels or software.Timestamps(00:00) - Why a consumer CMO listens to B2B marketers (and vice versa) (04:30) - How COVID forced Dig Inn to rebuild as an ecommerce business overnight (07:52) - The math behind going after $500 catering orders vs. $15 walk-ins (11:30) - Building buyer personas for office admins, sports nutritionists, and universities (17:02) - Why Jessica switched from ChatGPT to Claude (and the breakthrough moment) (23:51) - Using AI for rapid product testing on a budget that wouldn't cover traditional research (29:58) - "Build the brand over time, drive sales overnight" and what that looks like at Bagel Brands (32:51) - Why you can't just copy a playbook from Taco Bell to Burger King (37:10) - The biggest lesson from working at brands with nearly 1,000 locations (40:38) - Google reviews as a source of truth for aligning marketing and operations (47:41) - Why organic-first content matters more in the age of AI and dead internet theory 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:Customer.io - An AI powered customer engagement platform that help marketers turn first-party data into engaging customer experiences across email, SMS, and push. Learn more at customer.io/exitfive.Consensus - An AI-powered interactive demo platform that lets you put personalized, self-serve demos on your site to turn anonymous researchers into high-intent leads. Learn more at goconsensus.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.Convertr - The enterprise lead data management platform that sits between your lead sources and your CRM, automatically validating, enriching, and standardizing every lead before it touches your systems. Check them out at convertr.io/exitfive.***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

#333 | Dave is joined by Clare Schmitt, a seasoned marketing leader and a member of our CMO community, to walk through what it actually takes to lead a rebrand at a mid-market B2B company. Clare shares how she partnered with her CEO to drive a full rebrand, from hiring a naming agency and running an RFP, to managing a small decision-making council, rolling out the new brand across every department, and measuring success post-launch. If you're a marketing leader thinking about a rebrand, this episode is a practical, top to bottom playbook from someone who just did it.Timestamps(00:00) - Why rebrands come up and what this episode covers (03:55) - Clare's role at Piedmont Global and how the rebrand got started (06:10) - Should you hire a naming agency? What it costs and what they actually do (09:38) - Running an RFP and why they chose Focus Lab (10:24) - Why the CEO has to own the rebrand go-to-market (12:00) - Keeping the decision-making council small and who was in it (19:01) - How to get CEO buy-in: framing a rebrand as infrastructure, not a marketing initiative (21:38) - Timeline: how long a rebrand actually takes ($50M+ companies) (23:20) - The rollout: project management, execution, and building the website internally (25:17) - Measurement, post-launch QA, and tracking whether your narrative is sticking 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:Customer.io - An AI powered customer engagement platform that help marketers turn first-party data into engaging customer experiences across email, SMS, and push. Learn more at customer.io/exitfive.Consensus - An AI-powered interactive demo platform that lets you put personalized, self-serve demos on your site to turn anonymous researchers into high-intent leads. Learn more at goconsensus.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.Convertr - The enterprise lead data management platform that sits between your lead sources and your CRM, automatically validating, enriching, and standardizing every lead before it touches your systems. Check them out at convertr.io/exitfive.***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

#332 | Dave is joined by Domi de Saint-Exupéry, CMO at Lemlist, a bootstrapped $40M ARR sales engagement platform, to break down exactly how she turned $1.2M in marketing spend into $31M in new ARR in 2025. Domi shares the full breakdown of every channel, agency, influencer strategy, and partnership play that drove results. This includes how they went from $0 to $500K in paid ads, why partnerships are the most underrated B2B growth channel, how they built a micro-influencer program, and what AI use cases are actually working (and which are overrated). If you want real numbers and real playbooks, this one's for you.Timestamps(00:00) - Introduction: $1.2M in spend, $31M in new ARR (04:30) - What Lemlist does and how the company got to $40M ARR (07:45) - Going from $0 to $500K in paid ads: what triggered the shift (12:00) - How to execute paid ads well: outsourcing vs. in-house, and scaling by channel (18:15) - LinkedIn ads creative: why "on-brand and safe" was the wrong approach (22:45) - Mistakes made in paid: Snapchat, Spotify, and channels that didn't work (26:15) - The micro-influencer playbook: how to find, brief, and measure creators (36:36) - How influencer content compounds with paid ads and outbound (the Julio story) (42:06) - Partnerships: why $450K went here and why it's the most underrated B2B channel (50:36) - AI in marketing: what's overrated (content generation) and what's actually working 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:Customer.io - An AI powered customer engagement platform that help marketers turn first-party data into engaging customer experiences across email, SMS, and push. Learn more at customer.io/exitfive.Consensus - An AI-powered interactive demo platform that lets you put personalized, self-serve demos on your site to turn anonymous researchers into high-intent leads. Learn more at goconsensus.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.Convertr - The enterprise lead data management platform that sits between your lead sources and your CRM, automatically validating, enriching, and standardizing every lead before it touches your systems. Check them out at convertr.io/exitfive.***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

#331 | Dave is joined by a group of marketing leaders from Ramp, Snowflake, and Hightouch for a discussion about ABM and their plans for 2026. Casey Patterson (Director of ABM, Snowflake), Drew Pinta (Director of Growth Data Science, Ramp), and Brian Kotlyar (CMO, Hightouch) break down what ABM actually looks like in 2026 and what’s working right now inside of their companies. They share how they’re picking target accounts, aligning with sales, and building programs that go way beyond running ads. The group also digs into measurement, personalization, and how teams are using better data and AI to scale ABM without wasting budget. If you need a deeper dive on ABM tactics right now, this is the episode for youTimestamps(00:00) - - Why ABM is still a top topic in 2026 (05:25) - - Intros: Snowflake, Ramp, and Hightouch (08:45) - - Defining ABM (and why sales alignment is everything) (14:55) - - The “stop list”: ABM tactics they’ve killed (17:25) - - Why paid social “ABM awareness” is overrated (20:45) - - Shifting ABM to in-person and physical plays (24:55) - - Budgeting for ABM and how to start small (29:36) - - Why ABM measurement is different than traditional demand gen (34:56) - - How they build ABM audiences using data + signals (40:16) - - Scaling personalization without making it manual (45:56) - - Final takeaways and wrap-up 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:Customer.io - An AI powered customer engagement platform that help marketers turn first-party data into engaging customer experiences across email, SMS, and push. Learn more at customer.io/exitfive.Consensus - An AI-powered interactive demo platform that lets you put personalized, self-serve demos on your site to turn anonymous researchers into high-intent leads. Learn more at goconsensus.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.Convertr - The enterprise lead data management platform that sits between your lead sources and your CRM, automatically validating, enriching, and standardizing every lead before it touches your systems. Check them out at convertr.io/exitfive.***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

#330 | Dave is joined by Ryan Narod, VP of Marketing at Rippling, to break down how Rippling has built one of the stand outbrands in B2B right now. Ryan walks through real examples of campaigns they’ve run over the last year, from scrappy iPhone videos and webinar promos to high-production customer stories and their 2026 Super Bowl commercial. They talk about how Rippling shifted from being great at growth marketing to building a brand people actually recognize, how they inject more personality and “human” into everything they ship, and how they measure brand marketing without losing pipeline accountability. To see Ryan's real campaign examples, head over to youtube.com/@heydavegerhardt.Timestamps(00:00) - - Why Rippling is going all-in on brand (03:45) - - Ryan’s background and why he joined Rippling (05:08) - - What Rippling does and how they position the platform (09:08) - - What “brand marketing” means at Rippling (11:28) - - Building a story that makes HR the hero (20:41) - - Ryan shares Rippling marketing examples (ads, videos, webinars) (27:54) - - High-production customer storytelling (Berries) (33:16) - - The “HR Deserves Better” campaign (36:14) - - How Rippling measures brand and pipeline impact (43:51) - - The Super Bowl commercial and what it takes to pull it off (45:54) - - Final takeaways and wrap-up 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:Customer.io - An AI powered customer engagement platform that help marketers turn first-party data into engaging customer experiences across email, SMS, and push. Learn more at customer.io/exitfive.Consensus - An AI-powered interactive demo platform that lets you put personalized, self-serve demos on your site to turn anonymous researchers into high-intent leads. Learn more at goconsensus.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.Convertr - The enterprise lead data management platform that sits between your lead sources and your CRM, automatically validating, enriching, and standardizing every lead before it touches your systems. Check them out at convertr.io/exitfive.***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

#329 | Dave is joined by Jay Schwedelson, Founder of SubjectLine.com and GURU Media Hub, to break down why most webinars and email programs underperform and what to do instead. They talk about how packaging drives performance, why the word “webinar” kills registrations, and how small tweaks like renaming your session, shortening it to 22 minutes, or adding an “attend to receive” hook can dramatically increase show rates. Jay also shares tactical email plays, from using white space and tighter subject lines to increasing reply rates and improving inbox placement.Timestamps(00:00) - Why packaging matters more than the content (03:58) - Jay’s virtual event business and the GURU acquisition (06:44) - Why you should stop calling it a “webinar” (08:39) - The “attend to receive” tactic to boost show rates (11:13) - Why on-demand is hurting your engagement (15:22) - Why Fridays and Sundays outperform for B2B email + webinars (18:55) - How to choose webinar topics based on your goal (19:22) - Why 22-minute webinars and shorter podcasts win (29:52) - The white space + no preview text email hack (38:04) - The “reply with GUIDE” tactic to boost engagement (39:50) - Final takeaways and wrap-up 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:Customer.io - An AI powered customer engagement platform that help marketers turn first-party data into engaging customer experiences across email, SMS, and push. Learn more at customer.io/exitfive.Consensus - An AI-powered interactive demo platform that lets you put personalized, self-serve demos on your site to turn anonymous researchers into high-intent leads. Learn more at goconsensus.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.Convertr - The enterprise lead data management platform that sits between your lead sources and your CRM, automatically validating, enriching, and standardizing every lead before it touches your systems. Check them out at convertr.io/exitfive.***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

#329 | Dave is joined by Emma Robinson, Head of B2B Marketing at Canva, and Kristine Segrist, Global Head of Consumer Marketing at Canva, to break down how Canva is scaling growth across both enterprise and consumer audiences. They talk about how Canva balances brand-building with pipeline accountability, how they turn bottom-up product adoption into enterprise deals, and why brand investment is a long-term growth lever. Emma and Kristine also share how their team structure, data science investments, and creative bets like the Love Your Work campaign help Canva scale without losing the brand identity that made them famous.Timestamps(00:00) - – Intro (04:15) - – Canva’s marketing org structure (07:15) - – Blurring B2B and B2C (12:15) - – How Canva measures marketing impact (17:15) - – Turning free users into enterprise deals (22:15) - – Data science’s role in marketing (25:15) - – Balancing brand bets with ROI (31:36) - – Inside the “Love Your Work” campaign (38:36) - – How Canva executes large campaigns (42:36) - – Building enterprise credibility and trust (45:36) - – FedEx case study on brand governance (49:36) - – Lessons from Google and Meta (53:36) - – Why creativity is a marketing superpower (55:36) - – Closing thoughts 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:Customer.io - An AI powered customer engagement platform that help marketers turn first-party data into engaging customer experiences across email, SMS, and push. Learn more at customer.io/exitfive.Consensus - An AI-powered interactive demo platform that lets you put personalized, self-serve demos on your site to turn anonymous researchers into high-intent leads. Learn more at goconsensus.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.Convertr - The enterprise lead data management platform that sits between your lead sources and your CRM, automatically validating, enriching, and standardizing every lead before it touches your systems. Check them out at convertr.io/exitfive.***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

#328 | Jess Lytle is joined by Bill Glenn, SVP of Marketing at Esper, for a conversation about what it actually looks like to lead a marketing team through the AI shift. They talk about why most teams are still figuring AI out, how leaders should think about adoption beyond just tools, and why curiosity and experimentation matter more than having the “right” answers. Bill also shares how Esper is rolling out AI across the company with guardrails, the internal process they use to evaluate new tools, and why the biggest opportunity right now is using AI to eliminate busywork and unlock better thinking.Timestamps(00:00) - Why AI feels overwhelming for marketing leaders (05:00) - What Esper does and why software powering hardware matters (07:45) - Why AI feels like the early internet shift (09:35) - Leading with curiosity instead of pretending to be an AI expert (12:15) - Why AI adoption is a behavior change problem, not a tools problem (14:15) - How Esper is rolling out AI with guardrails across the company (20:00) - Why “boring AI” that saves time matters most (21:15) - Phase 1 vs Phase 2 AI adoption in marketing teams (32:46) - AI, mentorship, and preparing the next generation of marketers (45:31) - Leadership advice for first-time CMOs and VPs (50:36) - Final takeaways and wrap-up 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:Customer.io - An AI powered customer engagement platform that help marketers turn first-party data into engaging customer experiences across email, SMS, and push. Learn more at customer.io/exitfive.Consensus - An AI-powered interactive demo platform that lets you put personalized, self-serve demos on your site to turn anonymous researchers into high-intent leads. Learn more at goconsensus.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.Convertr - The enterprise lead data management platform that sits between your lead sources and your CRM, automatically validating, enriching, and standardizing every lead before it touches your systems. Check them out at convertr.io/exitfive.***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

#326 | Dave is joined by Eoin Clancy, VP of Growth at Airops, to break down what it takes to create great content without pumping out AI slop. They talk about the rise of the content engineer role and why more teams are hiring for it and three dead-giveaway signs content is low-quality AI generated. Eoin also shares why webinars are Airops’ best growth channel right now, including how they choose topics, source guests, why the sessions are ungated, and how to follow up in a way that drives revenue. A tactical episode for marketers trying to move faster with AI while keeping quality high.Timestamps(00:00) - Why AI content, content engineers, and webinars matter right now (04:38) - What Airops does and the AI search problem they’re solving (05:33) - What a “content engineer” actually is (17:13) - How to use AI without creating AI slop (20:29) - The 3 signals content is AI slop (35:00) - Why webinars are Airops’ best growth channel (37:25) - How they choose webinar topics and guests (53:37) - Other channels working (enablement, community, events) (56:37) - Final takeaways and wrap-up 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:Customer.io - An AI powered customer engagement platform that help marketers turn first-party data into engaging customer experiences across email, SMS, and push. Learn more at customer.io/exitfive.Consensus - An AI-powered interactive demo platform that lets you put personalized, self-serve demos on your site to turn anonymous researchers into high-intent leads. Learn more at goconsensus.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.Convertr - The enterprise lead data management platform that sits between your lead sources and your CRM, automatically validating, enriching, and standardizing every lead before it touches your systems. Check them out at convertr.io/exitfive.***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