The Rockstar CMO F'in' Marketing Podcast

Rockstar CMO

Does the world need another f'in' marketing podcast? Our host and 4xCMO Ian Truscott asked this 5 years ago. The world said "no", but he did it anyway - and each week with his guests and chums, he shares B2B marketing street knowledge - the authentic, practical marketing strategy advice that will bring out the rock star marketer in you. Learn more, follow, and get the show notes at https://rockstarcmo.com.

  1. The Story Fails and Finding Your Busker Box Episode

    5D AGO

    The Story Fails and Finding Your Busker Box Episode

    This week, our host Ian Truscott welcomes back former Forerster Research Director Jeff Clark after his holiday. Jeff turns the tables on Ian and quizzes him on the 5 F’in’ fails for the Story, one of our 5 F’in’ Marketing Fundamentals.   They discuss: Sales stops trusting marketing when the story is fractured. A distinctive story helps avoid the B2B beige trap. Buyers make decisions based on emotional connections, not just features. Competing solely on price leads to a race to the bottom. Content should be treated as a strategic asset, not just a tactic, and needs a proper launch plan to be effective. In the Rose & Rockstar, our virtual bar, Ian asks Robert Rose, Chief Trouble Maker at Seventh Bear, what he would do today if he were starting from scratch with a content program or a content creator today, in the current environment with social media algorithms and search experiences that seem to discourage organic growth versus paid.  If you have any comments or thoughts on this topic, we would love to hear them. We welcome your feedback.  Enjoy! — The Links The people: Ian Truscott on LinkedIn  Jeff Clark on LinkedIn  Robert Rose on LinkedIn Mentioned this week: The 5 F’in’ Marketing Fundamentals Robert’s newsletter: Lens, his websites, robertrose.net and seventhbear.com Ian’s firm - Velocity B Rockstar CMO: The Beat Newsletter that we send every Monday Rockstar CMO on the web and LinkedIn Previous episodes and all the show notes: Rockstar CMO FM. Track List: We’ll be right back by Stienski & Mass Media on YouTube Piano Music is by Johnny Easton, shared under a Creative Commons license You can listen to this on all good podcast platforms, like Apple, Amazon, and Spotify. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

    52 min
  2. The Community and Agent Authority Episode

    JAN 31

    The Community and Agent Authority Episode

    This week, our host Ian Truscott welcomes back Dennis Shiao to celebrate 10 years of the Bay Area Content Meetup, before he slips off to our virtual pub for a mix of marketing and mixology with the Chief Trouble Maker at Seventh Bear, Robert Rose.  In the studio, Dennis shares his experience of growing a content marketing community from a few like-minded bloggers at a local restaurant to an international virtual community with thousands of members and speakers that represent the great and the good of content marketing.  In the Rose & Rockstar, our virtual bar, Ian and Robert discuss some recent work he’s published on the Content Marketing Institute blog that looks at how we build authority ladders for our AI agents, the work that this takes and some of the risks if we don’t. If you have any comments or thoughts on this topic, we would love to hear them. We welcome your feedback.  Enjoy! — The Links The people: Ian Truscott on LinkedIn  Dennis Shiao on LinkedIn Robert Rose on LinkedIn Mentioned this week: Bay Area Content Marketing Meetup From Dennis: Attention Retention and the Content Corner Newsletter Robert’s article - Agentic AI in Marketing Part 3: How To Build an Authority Ladder Robert’s newsletter: Lens, his websites, robertrose.net and seventhbear.com Ian’s firm - Velocity B Rockstar CMO: The Beat Newsletter that we send every Monday Rockstar CMO on the web and LinkedIn Previous episodes and all the show notes: Rockstar CMO FM. Track List: We’ll be right back by Stienski & Mass Media on YouTube Piano Music is by Johnny Easton, shared under a Creative Commons license You can listen to this on all good podcast platforms, like Apple, Amazon, and Spotify. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

    57 min
  3. The CMS Relevance and Railways Episode

    JAN 24

    The CMS Relevance and Railways Episode

    This week, we go back to the old weekly format, with Ian Truscott hosting a guest in the studio before we slip off to our virtual pub for a mix of marketing and mixology with the Chief Trouble Maker at Seventh Bear, Robert Rose.  In the studio this week, Cathy McKnight makes her monthly visit to chat about all things content, asking the question: Do CMOs still care about a CMS when defining their tech stack?  They also dive into the challenge of disruptive requests within a marketing team, discussing her article Last Week's Crisis Shouldn't Affect This Week’s Work. Ian then joins Robert in the Rose & Rockstar, our virtual bar, to explore an analogy Robert has made about the railways in his recent article for Content Marketing Institute on deploying AI.   If you have any comments or thoughts on any of these topics, please get in touch with the links below. Enjoy! — The Links The people: Ian Truscott on LinkedIn  Cathy McKnight on LinkedIn Robert Rose on LinkedIn Mentioned this week: Cathy’s article - Bear Essentials: Last Week's Crisis Shouldn't Affect This Week’s Work Robert’s article - Agentic AI in Marketing for 2026 Robert’s newsletter: Lens, his websites, robertrose.net and seventhbear.com Ian’s firm - Velocity B Rockstar CMO: The Beat Newsletter that we send every Monday Rockstar CMO on the web and LinkedIn Previous episodes and all the show notes: Rockstar CMO FM. Track List: We’ll be right back by Stienski & Mass Media on YouTube Piano Music is by Johnny Easton, shared under a Creative Commons license You can listen to this on all good podcast platforms, like Apple, Amazon, and Spotify. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

    53 min
  4. The Rose & Rockstar: Stop the Press! PR is Not Dead

    JAN 17

    The Rose & Rockstar: Stop the Press! PR is Not Dead

    Welcome to The Rose and Rockstar - with the Chief Troublemaker at Seventh Bear, Robert Rose, behind the bar serving one of his splendid cocktails, while our Rockstar CMO host Ian Truscott picks his brain on a marketing topic.  This week, we dive back into the obsession marketing commentators seem to have with declaring things as dead. Recently, it seems PR has been getting the “it’s dead” treatment from the cool kids high on social media Kool-Aid, but in an age when networks, human-to-human marketing, and influence are so important, the chaps discuss why PR should be very much alive. They discuss: Modern PR requires building relationships with influencers, not just journalists. The skills needed for PR have evolved with the rise of social media. Integrating PR into overall marketing is crucial for success. If this resonates with you or if you have a suggestion for a topic in the bar, please get in touch with us - hello@rockstarcmo.com Enjoy! — The Links The people: Ian Truscott on LinkedIn Robert Rose on LinkedIn Mentioned this week This Old Marketing Podcast - The Death of Dead Marketing Robert’s newsletter: Lens, his websites, robertrose.net and seventhbear.com Ian’s firm - Velocity B Rockstar CMO: The Beat Newsletter that we send every Monday Rockstar CMO on the web, Twitter, and LinkedIn Previous episodes and all the show notes: Rockstar CMO FM. Track List: We’ll be right back by Stienski & Mass Media on YouTube Piano Music is by Johnny Easton, shared under a Creative Commons license You can listen to this on all good podcast platforms, like Apple, Amazon and Spotify. This podcast is part of the Marketing Podcast Network Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

    23 min
  5. The Rose & Rockstar: Desperately Seeking Storytellers

    JAN 10

    The Rose & Rockstar: Desperately Seeking Storytellers

    Welcome to The Rose and Rockstar - with the Chief Troublemaker at Seventh Bear, Robert Rose, behind the bar serving one of his splendid cocktails, while our Rockstar CMO host Ian Truscott picks his brain on a marketing topic.  This week, there is a story that has been doing the rounds on LinkedIn for the last three weeks, that keeps appearing in Ian’s feed from the Wall Street Journal called Companies Are Desperately Seeking ‘Storytellers’ that has got a lot of commentary, pointing out its flaws.  As an expert and author of three books on Content Marketing, Ian asks Robert: if he had written the story, what would he have written?  The answer? As you’ll hear, if he’d have covered the following: Storytelling is a crucial skill, but many companies misunderstand what it means Effective storytelling requires a blend of strategy and mechanics Tension and resolution are key elements of a good story, which marketing content lacks Businesses need to recognize existing storytelling skills within their teams. If this resonates with you or if you have a suggestion for a topic in the bar, please get in touch with us - hello@rockstarcmo.com Enjoy! — The Links The people: Ian Truscott on LinkedIn Robert Rose on LinkedIn Mentioned this week: Companies Are Desperately Seeking ‘Storytellers’ - WSJ Yes, You Better be a F**king Storyteller - Rockstar CMO Ann Handley's take on LinkedIn Lyla Rae Hightower Robert’s newsletter: Lens, his websites, robertrose.net and seventhbear.com Ian’s firm - Velocity B Rockstar CMO: The Beat Newsletter that we send every Monday Rockstar CMO on the web, Twitter, and LinkedIn Previous episodes and all the show notes: Rockstar CMO FM. Track List: We’ll be right back by Stienski & Mass Media on YouTube Piano Music is by Johnny Easton, shared under a Creative Commons license You can listen to this on all good podcast platforms, like Apple, Amazon and Spotify. This podcast is part of the Marketing Podcast Network Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

    24 min
  6. The Rose & Rockstar: AI Strategy is so 2025

    JAN 3

    The Rose & Rockstar: AI Strategy is so 2025

    Welcome to The Rose and Rockstar - with the Chief Troublemaker at Seventh Bear, Robert Rose, behind the bar serving one of his splendid cocktails, while our Rockstar CMO host Ian Truscott picks his brain on a marketing topic.  This week, as they lift their glasses to the new year, Ian and Robert dig into one of Robert’s favorite predictions for 2026, and they discuss: AI strategy will be integrated into everyday business and the term 'AI strategy' will be quickly outdated. AI tool use will increasingly be driven by personal productivity, rather than by a corporate mandate. The business need for human skills augmented by AI. Using AI to make work better rather than faster. Plus, a prediction about crypto, as both Ian and Robert show that they are not crypto experts.  If you have a question for the bar or an opinion on this week's discussion, please get in touch - just search “rockstar cmo” on the interwebs or LinkedIn. Enjoy! — The Links The people: Ian Truscott on LinkedIn Robert Rose on LinkedIn Mentioned this week This Old Marketing’s - 2026 Content & Marketing Predictions Robert’s newsletter: Lens, his websites, robertrose.net and seventhbear.com Ian’s firm - Velocity B Rockstar CMO: The Beat Newsletter that we send every Monday Rockstar CMO on the web, Twitter, and LinkedIn Previous episodes and all the show notes: Rockstar CMO FM. Track List: We’ll be right back by Stienski & Mass Media on YouTube Piano Music is by Johnny Easton, shared under a Creative Commons license You can listen to this on all good podcast platforms, like Apple, Amazon and Spotify. This podcast is part of the Marketing Podcast Network Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

    23 min
5
out of 5
11 Ratings

About

Does the world need another f'in' marketing podcast? Our host and 4xCMO Ian Truscott asked this 5 years ago. The world said "no", but he did it anyway - and each week with his guests and chums, he shares B2B marketing street knowledge - the authentic, practical marketing strategy advice that will bring out the rock star marketer in you. Learn more, follow, and get the show notes at https://rockstarcmo.com.