Marketing Against The Grain

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454

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Aug 2026

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About the show

Kipp Bodnar (HubSpot’s CMO) and Kieran Flanagan (Hubspot's SVP of Marketing), lead you down the rabbit hole of marketing trends, growth tactics and innovation. On the way you’ll pick up undiscovered strategies to give you that slight edge for success. These are not your typical twitter thread regurgitated marketing tactics that everyone is doing. These are new methods, with unfiltered examination of successful fresh ideas.

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September 1, 202633 min

How I Turned Codex Into My Personal Research Assistant (Matt Wolfe)

*Build your AI Research Desk in Codex:* https://clickhubspot.com/inyh Ep. 449 Is informational content on the internet dead? Kipp, Kieran, and guest Matt Wolfe (Future Tools) dive into how you can reclaim hours each week by automating newsletter reading, brand mentions, and industry news updates with your own personal AI system. Learn more on building a custom info dashboard with AI agents, the future of media consumption and creator-business relationships, and how you can leverage open-source tools to create a second brain for your work and life. Mentions Matt Wolfe https://www.youtube.com/@mreflow Loop: Outlearn. Outmarket. Outgrow https://www.hubspot.com/loop-marketing-book GitHub https://github.com/ Gemini Omni 1.1 Flash https://blog.google/innovation-and-ai/technology/developers-tools/build-with-gemini-omni-1-1-flash/ Codex https://chatgpt.com/codex/ Claude https://claude.ai/ Obsidian https://obsidian.md/ Ask Kipp and Kieran a question! https://form.asana.com/?k=U4n5W_3WC2SkQO1bwK8Xzg&d=8587152060687 Get our guide to build your own Custom GPT: https://clickhubspot.com/customgpt Resource [Free] Steal our favorite AI Prompts featured on the show! Grab them here: https://clickhubspot.com/aip We’re on Social Media! Follow us for everyday marketing wisdom straight to your feed YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@matgpod  Twitter: https://twitter.com/matgpod  TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@marketingatg Thank you for tuning into Marketing Against The Grain! Don’t forget to hit subscribe and follow us on Apple Podcasts (so you never miss an episode)! https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/marketing-against-the-grain/id1616700934   We really appreciate your support. Host Links: Kipp Bodnar, https://twitter.com/kippbodnar   Kieran Flanagan, https://twitter.com/searchbrat  ‘Marketing Against The Grain’ is a HubSpot Original Podcast // Brought to you by Hubspot Media // Produced by Darren Clarke.

August 27, 202622 min

Claude vs. Human Marketer: Which Is Actually Better?

Build your AI marketing department with this Claude skill: https://clickhubspot.com/uyon Ep. 448 Can you really fire your entire marketing team and replace them with AI? Kieran dives into the reality behind agentic marketing systems by putting an AI-powered marketing “team” to the test for a fast-growth AI company. Learn more on how AI audits and rewrites website copy, tackles product positioning, competes in search and LLMs, and whether these emerging systems can actually outperform the average marketer or just generate average results. Mentions Open Source GitHub system https://github.com/Yuzzyuk/marketing-os Loop: Outlearn. Outmarket. Outgrow https://www.hubspot.com/loop-marketing-book Claude https://claude.ai/login ChatGPT https://chatgpt.com/ Ramp https://ramp.com/ 1Mind https://www.1mind.com/ Ask Kipp and Kieran a question! https://form.asana.com/?k=U4n5W_3WC2SkQO1bwK8Xzg&d=8587152060687 Get our guide to build your own Custom GPT: https://clickhubspot.com/customgpt Resource [Free] Steal our favorite AI Prompts featured on the show! Grab them here: https://clickhubspot.com/aip We’re on Social Media! Follow us for everyday marketing wisdom straight to your feed YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@matgpod Twitter: https://twitter.com/matgpod  TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@marketingatg  Thank you for tuning into Marketing Against The Grain! Don’t forget to hit subscribe and follow us on Apple Podcasts (so you never miss an episode)! https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/marketing-against-the-grain/id1616700934   We really appreciate your support. Host Links: Kipp Bodnar, https://twitter.com/kippbodnar   Kieran Flanagan, https://twitter.com/searchbrat  ‘Marketing Against The Grain’ is a HubSpot Original Podcast // Brought to you by Hubspot Media // Produced by Darren Clarke.

August 25, 202639 min

How to Stop AI from Killing Your Critical Thinking w/ David Epstein

Get our anti-AI slop checklist: https://clickhubspot.com/lhug Ep. 447 For most people, AI is making your marketing worse. For a select few, it's making it 10 times better.  Kipp and guest David Epstein (author of Range (#1 NYT bestseller) and the new Inside the Box: How Constraints Make Us Better (May 2026)) dive into why AI is creating a wave of “slop marketing” and what marketers can do to protect—and strengthen—their critical thinking in an age of automation. Learn more on proven frameworks for defining the right problems, the power of independent team thinking, and how cutting through complexity helps you deliver clear, remarkable marketing. Mentions Loop: Outlearn. Outmarket. Outgrow https://www.hubspot.com/loop-marketing-book David Epstein https://davidepstein.com/ Inside the Box: How Constraints Make Us Better https://a.co/d/0dSEv0R5 Nest https://home.nest.com/ Scite https://scite.ai/ Get our guide to build your own Custom GPT: https://clickhubspot.com/customgpt Resource [Free] Steal our favorite AI Prompts featured on the show! Grab them here: https://clickhubspot.com/aip We’re on Social Media! Follow us for everyday marketing wisdom straight to your feed YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@matgpod Twitter: https://twitter.com/matgpod  TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@marketingatg  Thank you for tuning into Marketing Against The Grain! Don’t forget to hit subscribe and follow us on Apple Podcasts (so you never miss an episode)! https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/marketing-against-the-grain/id1616700934   We really appreciate your support. Host Links: Kipp Bodnar, https://twitter.com/kippbodnar   Kieran Flanagan, https://twitter.com/searchbrat  ‘Marketing Against The Grain’ is a HubSpot Original Podcast // Brought to you by Hubspot Media // Produced by Darren Clarke.

August 20, 202649 min

How to Run a Marketing Agency With 0 Employees ($100k to $1M)

Free: build a Claude-powered content engine https://clickhubspot.com/mslb Ep 446 What does it actually take to 5x your solo marketing business in a year using AI? Kipp, Kieran, and guest Barbara Jovanovic (Founder of Startup Cookie) dive into how top solo marketers are scaling agencies with agentic AI systems, and why most automated LinkedIn content totally misses the mark. Learn more on how agentic systems drive efficiency and scale for one-person teams, the difference between building a real content workflow versus relying on prompts, and why authentic insights—not just automation—are the secret to standout founder-led growth on LinkedIn and X. Mentions Loop: Outlearn. Outmarket. Outgrow https://www.hubspot.com/loop-marketing-book Barbara Jovanovic https://www.linkedin.com/in/barbara-startup-cookie StartupCookie https://startupcookie.com/ Claude https://claude.ai/ ChatGPT https://claude.ai/ ChatGPT Codex https://chatgpt.com/codex/ Granola https://www.granola.ai/ Buffer https://buffer.com/ Wispr Flow https://wisprflow.ai/ Get our guide to build your own Custom GPT: https://clickhubspot.com/customgpt Resource [Free] Steal our favorite AI Prompts featured on the show! Grab them here: https://clickhubspot.com/aip We’re on Social Media! Follow us for everyday marketing wisdom straight to your feed YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@matgpod Twitter: https://twitter.com/matgpod  TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@marketingatg  Thank you for tuning into Marketing Against The Grain! Don’t forget to hit subscribe and follow us on Apple Podcasts (so you never miss an episode)! https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/marketing-against-the-grain/id1616700934   We really appreciate your support. Host Links: Kipp Bodnar, https://twitter.com/kippbodnar   Kieran Flanagan, https://twitter.com/searchbrat  ‘Marketing Against The Grain’ is a HubSpot Original Podcast // Brought to you by Hubspot Media // Produced by Darren Clarke.

August 18, 202621 min

Automate Boring Marketing Work With This Claude System

Ep. 445 Everybody online is telling you that the only marketers who will survive in the AI era are systems builders. But what does that even mean—and how do you actually build your own AI-powered marketing system? Kieran dives into the essential starting stack every marketer can implement to become a systems builder and thrive with AI. Learn more on the key layers of a marketing AI system, how to create a personalized intelligence layer that powers your skills and plugins, and the tools you can use to automate your workflow, scale yourself across your team, and stand out with a differentiated product story. Mentions Loop: Outlearn. Outmarket. Outgrow https://www.hubspot.com/loop-marketing-book Claude https://claude.ai/ ChatGPT https://chatgpt.com/ Get our guide to build your own Custom GPT: https://clickhubspot.com/customgpt Resource [Free] Steal our favorite AI Prompts featured on the show! Grab them here: https://clickhubspot.com/aip We’re on Social Media! Follow us for everyday marketing wisdom straight to your feed YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@matgpod Twitter: https://twitter.com/matgpod  TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@marketingatg  Thank you for tuning into Marketing Against The Grain! Don’t forget to hit subscribe and follow us on Apple Podcasts (so you never miss an episode)! https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/marketing-against-the-grain/id1616700934   We really appreciate your support. Host Links: Kipp Bodnar, https://twitter.com/kippbodnar   Kieran Flanagan, https://twitter.com/searchbrat  ‘Marketing Against The Grain’ is a HubSpot Original Podcast // Brought to you by Hubspot Media // Produced by Darren Clarke.

August 13, 202617 min

How Top 1% Marketers 10X Their Memory With AI

Build your AI knowledge base (template + kit): https://clickhubspot.com/fhfs Ep. 444 Stop outsourcing your intelligence to AI assistants—build your own personal intelligence layer instead! Kieran dives into how to construct your own marketing intelligence layer that you can plug into any AI assistant for a serious competitive edge. Learn how to capture and structure career learnings, keep your intelligence portable and up-to-date, and turn your unique insights into the biggest differentiator in the age of AI. Mentions Loop: Outlearn. Outmarket. Outgrow https://www.hubspot.com/loop-marketing-book ChatGPT https://chatgpt.com/ Claude https://claude.ai/ Gemini https://gemini.google.com/ Obsidian https://obsidian.md/ Get our guide to build your own Custom GPT: https://clickhubspot.com/customgpt Resource [Free] Steal our favorite AI Prompts featured on the show! Grab them here: https://clickhubspot.com/aip We’re on Social Media! Follow us for everyday marketing wisdom straight to your feed YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@matgpod Twitter: https://twitter.com/matgpod  TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@marketingatg  Thank you for tuning into Marketing Against The Grain! Don’t forget to hit subscribe and follow us on Apple Podcasts (so you never miss an episode)! https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/marketing-against-the-grain/id1616700934   We really appreciate your support. Host Links: Kipp Bodnar, https://twitter.com/kippbodnar   Kieran Flanagan, https://twitter.com/searchbrat  ‘Marketing Against The Grain’ is a HubSpot Original Podcast // Brought to you by Hubspot Media // Produced by Darren Clarke.

August 11, 202614 min

How To 5x Your Business Overnight With Influencer Marketing

Influencer-Led Growth Stack (10 prompts): https://clickhubspot.com/gfdr Ep. 443 What’s the clever, better alternative to pouring more money into Google or Meta ads? Kipp dives into a step-by-step playbook for launching your first influencer campaign that any marketer can use to break away from rising ad costs and stale channels. Learn more on how to find the right influencers for your brand, calculate smart budgets and ROI for partnerships, and use a proven scorecard to evaluate creators for long-term success. Mentions Loop: Outlearn. Outmarket. Outgrow https://www.hubspot.com/loop-marketing-book Unilever https://www.unilever.com/ Founders Podcast https://www.founderspodcast.com/ Claude https://claude.ai/ Perplexity https://www.perplexity.ai/ Get our guide to build your own Custom GPT: https://clickhubspot.com/customgpt Resource [Free] Steal our favorite AI Prompts featured on the show! Grab them here: https://clickhubspot.com/aip We’re on Social Media! Follow us for everyday marketing wisdom straight to your feed YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@matgpod Twitter: https://twitter.com/matgpod  TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@marketingatg  Thank you for tuning into Marketing Against The Grain! Don’t forget to hit subscribe and follow us on Apple Podcasts (so you never miss an episode)! https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/marketing-against-the-grain/id1616700934   We really appreciate your support. Host Links: Kipp Bodnar, https://twitter.com/kippbodnar   Kieran Flanagan, https://twitter.com/searchbrat  ‘Marketing Against The Grain’ is a HubSpot Original Podcast // Brought to you by Hubspot Media // Produced by Darren Clarke.

August 6, 202616 min

Where to Spend Your 2027 Ad Budget, Explained Simply

Paid Ads Rebuild: 3 Workflows + 8 Prompts to Fix What AI Broke: https://clickhubspot.com/jgvk Ep. 442 50% of Google searches now result in zero clicks, how does that affect your 2027 ad budget? Kipp dives into how AI has completely disrupted the paid ads landscape, changing where you should spend your marketing dollars and what those ads actually cost. Learn more on which ad channels have become more expensive, where you can still find underpriced opportunities like YouTube Shorts, and why most 2027 marketing budgets are already broken if they don’t account for these rapid changes. Mentions Loop: Outlearn. Outmarket. Outgrow https://www.hubspot.com/loop-marketing-book HeyGen https://app.heygen.com/ Captions https://captions.ai/ Canva https://www.canva.com/ Get our guide to build your own Custom GPT: https://clickhubspot.com/customgpt Resource [Free] Steal our favorite AI Prompts featured on the show! Grab them here: https://clickhubspot.com/aip We’re on Social Media! Follow us for everyday marketing wisdom straight to your feed YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCGtXqPiNV8YC0GMUzY-EUFg  Twitter: https://twitter.com/matgpod  TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@marketingatg Thank you for tuning into Marketing Against The Grain! Don’t forget to hit subscribe and follow us on Apple Podcasts (so you never miss an episode)! https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/marketing-against-the-grain/id1616700934   We really appreciate your support. Host Links: Kipp Bodnar, https://twitter.com/kippbodnar   Kieran Flanagan, https://twitter.com/searchbrat  ‘Marketing Against The Grain’ is a HubSpot Original Podcast // Brought to you by Hubspot Media // Produced by Darren Clarke.

August 4, 202636 min

How Liquid Death Turned Going Viral Into Millions in Sales

Map your media spend with our full-funnel audit template: https://clickhubspot.com/ckev Ep. 441 Distribution is undefeated—and if you’re not building systems to measure real sales impact, you don’t have a business. Kipp and guest Benoit Vatere (Liquid Death’s Chief Media and Digital Commerce Officer) dive into the untold story of Liquid Death’s explosive growth, and the critical role of full-funnel marketing systems behind the brand. Learn more on how to measure incrementality instead of just chasing ROAS, why big home-run tests matter more than small optimizations, and the approach to creative and channel strategy that actually builds both brand and revenue.  Mentions Benoit Vatere https://www.linkedin.com/in/benoitvatere Liquid Death https://liquiddeath.com/ Loop: Outlearn. Outmarket. Outgrow https://a.co/d/08By5k2w Mike Cessario https://www.linkedin.com/in/mikecessario Landman https://www.paramountplus.com/shows/landman/ Get our guide to build your own Custom GPT: https://clickhubspot.com/customgpt Resource [Free] Steal our favorite AI Prompts featured on the show! Grab them here: https://clickhubspot.com/aip We’re on Social Media! Follow us for everyday marketing wisdom straight to your feed YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCGtXqPiNV8YC0GMUzY-EUFg  Twitter: https://twitter.com/matgpod  TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@matgpod  Thank you for tuning into Marketing Against The Grain! Don’t forget to hit subscribe and follow us on Apple Podcasts (so you never miss an episode)! https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/marketing-against-the-grain/id1616700934   If you love this show, please leave us a 5-Star Review https://link.chtbl.com/h9_sjBKH and share your favorite episodes with friends. We really appreciate your support. Host Links: Kipp Bodnar, https://twitter.com/kippbodnar   Kieran Flanagan, https://twitter.com/searchbrat  ‘Marketing Against The Grain’ is a HubSpot Original Podcast // Brought to you by Hubspot Media // Produced by Darren Clarke.

July 30, 202616 min

Use AI to never run out of winning content ideas

Weekly AI Content Ideation System: https://clickhubspot.com/rtjed Ep. 440 Are you still stuck regurgitating the same content ideas that everyone else is using?  Kieran dives into the secrets behind building a world-class AI content ideation system that delivers fresh, high-impact ideas every time. Learn more on mapping proven content patterns to your platforms, crafting rich audience profiles (that go beyond basic ICPs), and building a personal content queue to keep your creativity flowing—all while making AI your creative superpower, not a shortcut. Mentions Loop: Outlearn. Outmarket. Outgrow https://a.co/d/08By5k2w Claude https://claude.ai/ ChatGPT https://chatgpt.com/ Substack https://substack.com/ Atomic Habits https://jamesclear.com/atomic-habits Get our guide to build your own Custom GPT: https://clickhubspot.com/customgpt Resource [Free] Steal our favorite AI Prompts featured on the show! Grab them here: https://clickhubspot.com/aip We’re on Social Media! Follow us for everyday marketing wisdom straight to your feed YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCGtXqPiNV8YC0GMUzY-EUFg  Twitter: https://twitter.com/matgpod  TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@matgpod  Thank you for tuning into Marketing Against The Grain! Don’t forget to hit subscribe and follow us on Apple Podcasts (so you never miss an episode)! https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/marketing-against-the-grain/id1616700934   If you love this show, please leave us a 5-Star Review https://link.chtbl.com/h9_sjBKH and share your favorite episodes with friends. We really appreciate your support. Host Links: Kipp Bodnar, https://twitter.com/kippbodnar   Kieran Flanagan, https://twitter.com/searchbrat  ‘Marketing Against The Grain’ is a HubSpot Original Podcast // Brought to you by Hubspot Media // Produced by Darren Clarke.