Marketing Against The Grain

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.

  1. 1D AGO

    Google is overhauling Search - what you need to know

    Audit your AI Search Visibility with our free resource: https://clickhubspot.com/orjh Ep. 428 93% of searches in Google’s new AI mode end without a single click—are your SEO dashboards lying to you? Kipp dives into Google’s biggest search overhaul in 25 years and what it means for marketers and businesses. Learn more on why keyword ranking is dead, how AI-driven search is changing consumer behavior, and the three strategies you need to shift your marketing for the new era of AI-powered search. Mentions Logan Kilpatrick https://x.com/OfficialLoganK Google I/O https://io.google/2026/ ICODA https://icoda.io/ 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.

    20 min
  2. MAY 21

    How Dhar Mann Built A 65B View Machine Without Chasing The Algorithm

    Steal our strategy to create better campaigns: https://clickhubspot.com/jyhu Ep. 427 Are Dhar Mann videos more therapeutic than talking to friends, family, or even a therapist? Kipp, Kieran, and guest Dhar Mann (founder of Dhar Mann Studios), dive into how brands can unlock explosive growth and deep audience connection. Learn more about what it takes to move hearts and communities through storytelling, how to balance emotional connection versus gaming the platform algorithm, and the step-by-step HEART framework that transforms content into impact. Mentions Dhar Mann https://www.youtube.com/@DharMann What Happens Next - The Dhar Mann Podcast https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCR9M5Nh-CftZxJZqfcNnIYw/featured Adobe Premiere https://www.adobe.com/products/premiere.html Loop: Outlearn. Outmarket. Outgrow https://a.co/d/0bliMe9t 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.

    43 min
  3. MAY 14

    This Is the End of Chatbots

    Get the Voice AI Prompt Pack for Marketers: https://clickhubspot.com/fd5a Ep. 426 AI will give your brand an actual voice. Kipp dives into the hottest trend in AI that not many are talking about—Voice AI—and how it’s set to revolutionize your brand’s customer experience. Learn more on why real-time voice is the new marketing channel you can’t afford to ignore, how foundational advances from OpenAI and Thinking Machines make AI conversations faster and more human than ever, and the steps every marketer should take to define, audit, and upgrade their brand’s voice in the age of AI. Mentions GPT‑Realtime‑2 https://openai.com/index/advancing-voice-intelligence-with-new-models-in-the-api/ Thinking Machines https://thinkingmachines.ai/ Willow Voice https://willowvoice.com/ ElevenLabs https://elevenlabs.io/ 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.

    19 min
  4. MAY 12

    This AI Second Brain Remembers Everything I Save (Codex)

    Free Guide to Build Your Personal AI Wiki: https://clickhubspot.com/fcmt Ep. 425 You can create a second brain in 15 minutes and for free. Kipp and Matt Wolfe (Future Tools) dive into how to build your own "second brain" using tools like Obsidian and Codex, so you can finally make use of all the information you’re gathering. Learn more on setting up a personal wiki to organize your knowledge, harnessing AI-powered agents to automate and interlink content, and turning your information hoarding into proactive recommendations and smarter business decisions. Mentions Matt Wolfe https://www.linkedin.com/in/matt-wolfe-30841712/ Future Tools https://futuretools.io/ Obsidian https://obsidian.md/ Obsidian Web Clipper https://obsidian.md/clipper Codex https://openai.com/codex/ Claude Code https://code.claude.com/docs/en/overview Cursor https://cursor.com/ Andrej Karpathy https://karpathy.ai/ Visual Studio Code https://code.visualstudio.com/ Notion https://www.notion.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/@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.

    30 min
  5. MAY 7

    How Brands Win in ChatGPT Search

    Get the Winning AEO Playbook: https://clickhubspot.com/oksd Ep. 424 “I can't go a single second without someone asking me what the heck answer engine optimization is.” Kipp and Kieran have Beeri Amiel (Product at HubSpot and founder of XFunnel) and Aja Frost (Sr. Director of Global Growth and Paid at HubSpot) dive into the launch and demo of HubSpot's brand new AEO tool, built to track your visibility in answer engines and help you win the next evolution of search. Learn more on building your AEO strategy, measuring share of voice and sentiment, and using actionable insights to drive results your boss will love. Mentions Aja Frost https://www.linkedin.com/in/ajafrost/ Beeri Amiel https://www.linkedin.com/in/beeri-amiel/ HubSpot AEO Portal https://clickhubspot.com/aeo Dell https://www.dell.com/en-us HP https://www.hp.com/us-en/home.html Lenovo https://www.lenovo.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/@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.

    17 min
  6. MAY 5

    Use AI for Ideas, Not Content (Here’s How)

    Grab our Claude Code Skill to find a unique content angle: https://clickhubspot.com/lhdv Ep. 423 There’s one Claude skill that will separate you from the other AI content. Kipp and Kieran dive into how AI content creation is broken—and how you can use the “Opposite Start” framework to break out of the red ocean of repetitive ideas and truly stand out. Learn more on why most marketers use AI the wrong way, how to find blue ocean ideas by inverting mainstream narratives, and practical strategies to turn AI into an ideation powerhouse—not just a content machine. Mentions Claude https://claude.ai/ Perplexity https://www.perplexity.ai/ LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.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/@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.

    14 min
  7. APR 30

    How to Rank #1 on Google in 2026 (The 6-Step SEO Playbook)

    Get our Guide to Rank #1 on Google in 2026: https://clickhubspot.com/lmfv Ep. 422 How can you differentiate valuable content from generic AI-generated slop? Kipp dives into how to create non-commodity content that AI and your competitors can't replicate, giving you an edge in the new search-driven world. Learn more on the crucial differences between commodity and non-commodity content, the six key checkpoints every marketer should hit (like proprietary evidence, expert takes, and a real point of view), and how to use a free grader tool to level up your blog, landing pages, and newsletters for better rankings and more traffic. Mentions Barry Schwartz https://x.com/rustybrick Danny Sullivan https://www.linkedin.com/in/dannysullivan Dharmesh Shah https://www.linkedin.com/in/dharmesh Brian Halligan https://www.linkedin.com/in/brianhalligan 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/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.

    20 min
  8. APR 28

    They Spent $150,000 on AI Tokens (And Got Nothing)

    Get the most out of AI with our free AI ROI Scorecard: https://clickhubspot.com/epkj Ep. 421 What if your team burned through your entire AI budget in just six months? Kipp and Kieran dive into the wild world of “token maxxing”—the new Silicon Valley trend of spending as much as possible on AI tokens without clear outcomes. Learn more on why AI token usage is skyrocketing, the difference between “token maxxing” and “outcome maxxing,” and powerful frameworks every marketing leader can use to turn AI spend into real business growth. Mentions Nvidia https://www.nvidia.com/en-us/ All In Podcast https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gwW8GKwHB3I Claude https://claude.ai/ Perplexity https://www.perplexity.ai/ Manus https://manus.im/ Gemini https://gemini.google.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/@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.

    16 min
4.8
out of 5
358 Ratings

About

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.

More From HubSpot Media

You Might Also Like