The Dave Gerhardt Show (from Exit Five)

Exit Five
  • 5.0 (6)
  • MARKETING
  • UPDATED WEEKLY

Interviews with top marketers sharing tactical tips, strategies, and lessons learned to help you grow your business. Hosted by Dave Gerhardt, founder of Exit Five, former CMO, and author of Founder Brand. Learn more at exitfive.com

  1. 2D AGO

    B2B Ad Campaigns That Actually Worked (From Five Demand Gen Marketers)

    #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 (05:18) - Session format and how to participate (07:10) - Cindy Dubon: $8K influencer campaign that generated $700K in pipeline (15:08) - Kelly Arndt: B2B surround sound with CTV, YouTube, and LinkedIn (25:04) - Jeremy Chung: Direct mail plus retargeting to book VC meetings (32:44) - Tess Pfeifle: Conference play with no booth and 2,000% ROI (39:39) - Richard Meyer: How GoHappy stopped overspending on LinkedIn (48:14) - 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: AirOps - The content engineering platform that helps marketers create and maintain high-quality, on-brand content that wins AI search. Go to airops.com/exitfive to start creating content that reflects your expertise, stays true to your brand, and is engineered for performance across human and AI discovery. 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. 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. Compound Growth Marketing - A full-funnel demand generation agency that helps high-growth cybersecurity, DevOps, and enterprise software companies drive more pipeline through AI SEO, paid media, and go-to-market engineering. Visit compoundgrowthmarketing.com and tell them Dave sent you. *** 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

    56 min

  2. 4D AGO

    From HubSpot Blog to CMO: Kipp Bodnar on Career Growth and Marketing Leadership

    #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: AirOps - The content engineering platform that helps marketers create and maintain high-quality, on-brand content that wins AI search. Go to airops.com/exitfive to start creating content that reflects your expertise, stays true to your brand, and is engineered for performance across human and AI discovery. 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. 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. Compound Growth Marketing - A full-funnel demand generation agency that helps high-growth cybersecurity, DevOps, and enterprise software companies drive more pipeline through AI SEO, paid media, and go-to-market engineering. Visit compoundgrowthmarketing.com and tell them Dave sent you. *** 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

    52 min

  3. MAR 19

    ABM (Account-Based Marketing) Overview with Brandon Redlinger

    #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: AirOps - The content engineering platform that helps marketers create and maintain high-quality, on-brand content that wins AI search. Go to airops.com/exitfive to start creating content that reflects your expertise, stays true to your brand, and is engineered for performance across human and AI discovery. 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. 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. Compound Growth Marketing - A full-funnel demand generation agency that helps high-growth cybersecurity, DevOps, and enterprise software companies drive more pipeline through AI SEO, paid media, and go-to-market engineering. Visit compoundgrowthmarketing.com and tell them Dave sent you. *** 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

    56 min

  4. MAR 17

    LinkedIn Advertising: What's Working Now in 2026 (with Davang Shah, VP Marketing at LinkedIn)

    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 (03:14) - Davang's background: 17 years at Google, now VP Marketing at LinkedIn (03:41) - The state of B2B marketing in 2026 and what CMOs actually care about (06:22) - How AI search is changing buyer behavior (94% of B2B buyers use LLMs) (09:01) - Why LinkedIn became a real social network, not just a professional one (10:25) - Thought leader ads: what they are and why they outperform single image ads (13:29) - Why brand and performance aren't two separate things (16:40) - How to build a full-funnel LinkedIn ads strategy (21:26) - The measurement problem: 211-day deal cycles and 22 decision-makers (23:20) - CRM sync, Conversions API, and Company Intelligence explained (30:01) - How AI will change the way marketers run ads (and what LinkedIn is building) (36:12) - 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: AirOps - The content engineering platform that helps marketers create and maintain high-quality, on-brand content that wins AI search. Go to airops.com/exitfive to start creating content that reflects your expertise, stays true to your brand, and is engineered for performance across human and AI discovery. 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. 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. Compound Growth Marketing - A full-funnel demand generation agency that helps high-growth cybersecurity, DevOps, and enterprise software companies drive more pipeline through AI SEO, paid media, and go-to-market engineering. Visit compoundgrowthmarketing.com and tell them Dave sent you. *** 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

    46 min

  5. MAR 12

    Building a Marketing Machine from Scratch (with Erin May, CMO at User Interviews)

    #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 (05:16) - How Erin identified the right audience to go all in on (07:18) - Building the UX Research Field Guide and the early SEO strategy (09:47) - Why she went ungated and still captured 13% email conversion (13:28) - What she'd do differently with content strategy today (16:04) - Stacking channels one at a time instead of doing everything at once (18:43) - How to plan for the next phase of growth before you need it (21:14) - Introducing Bangers: the quarterly marketing OS (23:42) - Top of funnel vs. bottom of funnel Bangers (30:25) - How LinkedIn and employee advocacy fit into the Banger playbook (34:44) - Why Erin started a podcast seven years ago when no one else was (38:07) - How to think about podcast ROI when attribution is fuzzy (40:59) - AI expectations for her marketing team (45:27) - Why the brand vs. demand debate is stupid (48:39) - 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: AirOps - The content engineering platform that helps marketers create and maintain high-quality, on-brand content that wins AI search. Go to airops.com/exitfive to start creating content that reflects your expertise, stays true to your brand, and is engineered for performance across human and AI discovery. 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. 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. Compound Growth Marketing - A full-funnel demand generation agency that helps high-growth cybersecurity, DevOps, and enterprise software companies drive more pipeline through AI SEO, paid media, and go-to-market engineering. Visit compoundgrowthmarketing.com and tell them Dave sent you. *** 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

    51 min

  6. MAR 9

    How Marketers Are Creating High Quality Content with AI (That's Not Slop!)

    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: AirOps - The content engineering platform that helps marketers create and maintain high-quality, on-brand content that wins AI search. Go to airops.com/exitfive to start creating content that reflects your expertise, stays true to your brand, and is engineered for performance across human and AI discovery. 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. 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. Compound Growth Marketing - A full-funnel demand generation agency that helps high-growth cybersecurity, DevOps, and enterprise software companies drive more pipeline through AI SEO, paid media, and go-to-market engineering. Visit compoundgrowthmarketing.com and tell them Dave sent you. *** 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

    1 hr

  7. MAR 5

    How to Build a Product Marketing Motion That Works (with Jeff Hardison)

    #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: AirOps - The content engineering platform that helps marketers create and maintain high-quality, on-brand content that wins AI search. Go to airops.com/exitfive to start creating content that reflects your expertise, stays true to your brand, and is engineered for performance across human and AI discovery. 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. 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. Compound Growth Marketing - A full-funnel demand generation agency that helps high-growth cybersecurity, DevOps, and enterprise software companies drive more pipeline through AI SEO, paid media, and go-to-market engineering. Visit compoundgrowthmarketing.com and tell them Dave sent you. *** 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

    59 min

  8. MAR 2

    What B2B Marketers Can Learn from Restaurant Marketing (with Jessica Serrano, CMO at Bagel Brands)

    #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) (03:33) - How COVID forced Dig Inn to rebuild as an ecommerce business overnight (06:55) - The math behind going after $500 catering orders vs. $15 walk-ins (10:33) - Building buyer personas for office admins, sports nutritionists, and universities (16:05) - Why Jessica switched from ChatGPT to Claude (and the breakthrough moment) (22:54) - Using AI for rapid product testing on a budget that wouldn't cover traditional research (30:06) - "Build the brand over time, drive sales overnight" and what that looks like at Bagel Brands (32:59) - Why you can't just copy a playbook from Taco Bell to Burger King (37:18) - The biggest lesson from working at brands with nearly 1,000 locations (40:46) - Google reviews as a source of truth for aligning marketing and operations (47:49) - 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: AirOps - The content engineering platform that helps marketers create and maintain high-quality, on-brand content that wins AI search. Go to airops.com/exitfive to start creating content that reflects your expertise, stays true to your brand, and is engineered for performance across human and AI discovery. 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. 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. Compound Growth Marketing - A full-funnel demand generation agency that helps high-growth cybersecurity, DevOps, and enterprise software companies drive more pipeline through AI SEO, paid media, and go-to-market engineering. Visit compoundgrowthmarketing.com and tell them Dave sent you. *** 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

    53 min
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Ratings & Reviews

5
out of 5
6 Ratings

About

Interviews with top marketers sharing tactical tips, strategies, and lessons learned to help you grow your business. Hosted by Dave Gerhardt, founder of Exit Five, former CMO, and author of Founder Brand. Learn more at exitfive.com

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