The Marketing Share

Alec Cheung & Barb VanSomeren
  • 5.0 (3)
  • MARKETING
  • UPDATED BIWEEKLY

Running a marketing department requires expertise in many domains, from branding, media and positioning to demand generation, sales enablement, and much more. As a business leader or a new department head, you may be an expert in one or more marketing areas but usually not all of them. The Marketing Share aims to close this gap.Co-hosts Barb VanSomeren and Alec Cheung are experienced marketing leaders who have been down the path of learning on the fly while managing a marketing team. They interview domain experts and ask the right questions so business leaders can learn what they need to know to run marketing.

  1. APR 21

    How Great CMOs Lead Marketing Today with Karl Van den Bergh (Ep. 61)

    What does it actually take to succeed as a CMO today? In this episode of The Marketing Share, Alec Cheung and Barb VanSomeren continue with the Marketing Leader Series, and this time they are joined by Karl Van Den Bergh, CMO at Illumio, about the reality behind one of the most complex roles in the C-suite. Karl’s path into marketing wasn’t traditional. From physics and computer science to product, strategy, and eventually the CMO seat, his perspective challenges how most people think about marketing leadership. Early in the conversation, he introduces a concept that sticks: the “complexity to appreciation ratio.” Marketing sits at the top of that scale, which helps explain why the role is both powerful and often misunderstood. From there, the conversation moves into what great CMOs actually do differently. Karl breaks down how he has led his role as a Chief Market Officer in Illumio from a technical category into a clear, market-facing story. He also shares why simplicity matters more than ever in complex industries, and how marketing leaders can better connect their work to real business outcomes. If you're leading marketing, stepping into a CMO role, or working toward it, this episode will give you a clearer picture of what the job really demands. Timestamps 00:00 Introduction to Karl Van Den Bergh 02:30 From physicist to CMO: an unconventional path 05:00 Why the CMO role is so complex (and misunderstood) 08:00 Chief Marketing Officer vs Chief Market Officer 10:30 Repositioning Illumio: from technical to clear storytelling 15:00 Why simplicity wins in complex markets 18:30 Bringing sales rigor into marketing (pipeline, forecasting, bookings) 23:30 How to prove marketing’s value to the board 27:00 Why brand still matters (and how to justify it) 31:00 The power of storytelling inside your company 34:00 A simple marketing planning framework (plan on a page) 37:00 How Karl is implementing AI across his team 43:30 Advice for first-time CMOs and marketing leaders 🎧 Subscribe to The Marketing Share Podcast to get unfiltered conversations with marketing leaders about growth, strategy, and the future of digital. Connect with our guest:  👉Karl Van den Bergh: https://www.linkedin.com/in/karlvandenbergh/ Explore the video content of each podcast episode on YouTube Want to be a guest on The Marketing Share Podcast?  Send us your bio and proposed interview topic to marketingsharepodcast@gmail.com, and our Podcast Manager will get back to you.  Want to connect with Alec and Barb to talk all things marketing and how they can help you leverage the marketing wing of your organization? Connect with Alec here Connect with Barb here Connect with Cinthya, Podcast Manager, here Cheers.

    48 min

  2. APR 7

    How to Turn Customer Reviews into Revenue with George Swetlitz (Ep. 60)

    To all marketers leading GEO SEO: What if we told you that reviews are actually one of the most powerful marketing and conversion channels out there?  In this episode of The Marketing Share Podcast, Alec Cheung and Barb VanSomeren talk with George Swetlitz, co-founder of Right Response AI and former CEO of a multi-location healthcare business, about how reviews really influence buying decisions, especially in B2C environments where trust is everything. George breaks down how reputation management and the key role the responses from companies play when it comes to driving revenue from reviews.  You’ll also hear how personalized responses can increase conversion, why generic replies actually hurt trust, and how AI can help teams turn reviews into something far more strategic than just customer support. This interview also dives into the reality of managing reputation across multiple locations, how to think about competition at a local level, and why reviews can act as an early warning system for deeper business problems. If you’re in a B2C business, managing multiple locations, or just trying to understand how AI is changing the way customers make decisions, this episode will change how you think about reviews. Connect with George via LinkedIn Explore the video content of each podcast episode on YouTube Want to be a guest on The Marketing Share Podcast?  Send us your bio and proposed interview topic to marketingsharepodcast@gmail.com, and our Podcast Manager will get back to you.  Want to connect with Alec and Barb to talk all things marketing and how they can help you leverage the marketing wing of your organization? Connect with Alec here Connect with Barb here Connect with Cinthya, Podcast Manager, here Cheers.

    45 min

  3. MAR 25

    How AI Is Reshaping the Role of the CMO with Kate Johnson (Ep 59)

    AI is reshaping marketing as we know it, and its impact is reaching the CMO role. In this episode of The Marketing Share, our co-hosts Alec Cheung and Barb VanSomeren talk with Kate Johnson, CMO at Dscout, about her transition from VP of Marketing to CMO, and why that shift looks very different today than it did even a year ago. Kate dives into her experience as a first-time CMO in the era of AI, and how this new technology is reshaping everything at once: how teams operate, how products are built, how fast companies move, and how marketing shows up in the business. If you're stepping into a leadership role or already in one, this episode offers a grounded look at what’s actually changing behind the scenes, and what it takes to keep up. Timestamps  00:00 Introduction, Alec and Barb 02:00 Kate Johnson’s journey from VP of Marketing to CMO 05:40 What surprised her most about becoming a CMO 10:00 How AI is changing marketing, products, and customer expectations 13:00 AI inside the marketing team: faster product cycles, new bottlenecks 16:00 Using AI tools in real workflows (automation, research, sales enablement) 20:00 Decision-making as a CMO when you’re not the expert 24:00 Hiring for new roles and evaluating talent outside your experience 28:00 What she had to let go of moving into the CMO role 36:00 Navigating brand messaging in an AI-driven market 40:00 Final thoughts and where to connect with Kate 🎧 Subscribe to The Marketing Share Podcast to get unfiltered conversations with marketing leaders about growth, strategy, and the future of digital. Connect with our guest:  👉Kate Jhonson: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kateathmer/ 👉 Sign up to be a Scout and get paid to participate in research! https://www.dscout.com/participate-in-research-studies Explore the video content of each podcast episode on YouTube Want to be a guest on The Marketing Share Podcast?  Send us your bio and proposed interview topic to marketingsharepodcast@gmail.com, and our Podcast Manager will get back to you.  Want to connect with Alec and Barb to talk all things marketing and how they can help you leverage the marketing wing of your organization? Connect with Alec here Connect with Barb here Connect with Cinthya, Podcast Manager, here Cheers.

    45 min

  4. MAR 10

    How Startup Founders Should Think About Marketing with Mark Donnigan (Ep 58)

    What happens when a company has great technology but struggles to explain why it matters? In this episode of The Marketing Share, our co-hosts Alec Cheung and Barb VanSomeren explore, in a conversation with Virtual CMO Mark Donnigan, what tends to break down when technical companies try to scale their marketing. In this interview, they unpack the reality many founder-led companies face: they know their product deeply, but that doesn’t always translate into a clear story for the market. Mark shares what he looks for when stepping into these environments and why the first step is often helping teams reconnect with the real problems their customers are trying to solve. Along the way, the conversation touches on why marketing execution matters more than marketing theory, how small teams can move faster than large organizations, and why many companies still rely too heavily on outdated lead generation tactics. If you're a founder, a first marketing hire, or a marketing leader working inside a technical company, this episode gives you a practical perspective on how to turn product expertise into messaging that resonates with the market. 🎧 Subscribe to The Marketing Share Podcast to get unfiltered conversations with marketing leaders about growth, strategy, and the future of digital. Connect with our guest:  👉Mark Donnigan: https://www.linkedin.com/in/markdonnigan/ Explore the video content of each podcast episode on YouTube Want to be a guest on The Marketing Share Podcast?  Send us your bio and proposed interview topic to marketingsharepodcast@gmail.com, and our Podcast Manager will get back to you.  Want to connect with Alec and Barb to talk all things marketing and how they can help you leverage the marketing wing of your organization? Connect with Alec here Connect with Barb here Connect with Cinthya, Podcast Manager, here Cheers.

    1 hr

  5. FEB 10

    Becoming a CMO: What You Learn in Your First Year as a Marketing Leader (Ep 57)

    Welcome back to The Marketing Share Podcast. In this kickoff interview episode of 2026, hosts Alec Cheung and Barb VanSomeren are joined by Michael Barber, CMO at StarTech, to talk about what it’s really like stepping into a CMO role for the first time. Michael brings a unique perspective shaped by an entire career on the agency side, with experience across creative, media, and account strategy. After years of advising brands from the outside and working early in his career alongside Jay Baer, Michael recently made the transition into an in-house executive role and is now navigating the realities of leading marketing from the inside. This episode unpacks the real challenges of marketing leadership, especially for those newly stepping into the CMO seat. You’ll hear: What changes when you move from agency partner to internal marketing leaderHow broad agency experience across creative, media, and strategy shows up in a CMO roleThe mindset shift required when you go from advising to owning outcomesEarly reflections from Michael’s first year as a CMOWhy more marketing leaders are navigating similar transitions today This episode is a must-listen if you’re a first-time CMO or considering a move in-house as the next stage of your career as a marketing leader. Explore the video content of each podcast episode on YouTube Want to be a guest on The Marketing Share Podcast?  Send us your bio and proposed interview topic to marketingsharepodcast@gmail.com, and our Podcast Manager will get back to you.  Want to connect with Alec and Barb to talk all things marketing and how they can help you leverage the marketing wing of your organization? Connect with Alec here Connect with Barb here Connect with Cinthya, Podcast Manager, here Cheers.

    45 min

  6. JAN 13

    The Future of Marketing Leadership Explained | Trends for 2026 (Ep 56)

    As we kick off 2026, co-hosts Alec Cheung and Barb VanSomeren take the stage to reflect on the biggest lessons from 2025 and what those lessons are telling us about the year ahead. This episode has been shaped by dozens of interviews with CMOs, business founders, marketing experts, strategists, and growth leaders over the past year. In this half an hour of value-packed content, Alec and Barb share with us why the most effective leaders in 2026 won’t be the ones who claim to have everything figured out, but the ones who know how to learn in public, adapt in real time, and make thoughtful trade-offs as the landscape keeps shifting. You’ll hear their perspective on: • The continued rise of fractional, interim, and advisory CMOs and why this model is expanding beyond marketing into the broader C-suite • Why sizing marketing investments correctly is becoming one of the most valuable leadership skills • Why the CMO CFO relationship is no longer optional and how it elevates marketing’s influence • What’s really happening with AI in marketing, from search behavior to internal team adoption • Why 2026 will reward leaders who embrace continuous learning over chasing expertise Whether you’re a CMO, a VP of Marketing, a founder, or a growth leader navigating change, this conversation will help you think more clearly about what matters most in 2026. Timestamps 00:00 Welcome to 2026 and why this episode is different 01:30 Reflecting on 2025 and the themes that kept coming up 02:05 The rise of fractional, interim, and advisory CMOs 06:00 Why sizing marketing investment is now a critical skill 08:20 Building a portfolio of marketing leadership skills 09:05 Marketing inside PE and VC owned companies 12:30 The growing importance of the CMO CFO relationship 15:45 Why CMOs still have the shortest C-suite tenure 17:20 AI in marketing: search impact vs internal adoption 19:00 Writing for humans again in an AI-driven world 21:45 From AI hype to measured evaluation 24:00 Creating a culture of continuous learning 26:40 Tool sprawl, ROI, and smarter tech adoption 28:40 Final thoughts and what excites us about 2026 Explore the video content of each podcast episode on YouTube Want to be a guest on The Marketing Share Podcast?  Send us your bio and proposed interview topic to marketingsharepodcast@gmail.com, and our Podcast Manager will get back to you.  Want to connect with Alec and Barb to talk all things marketing and how they can help you leverage the marketing wing of your organization? Connect with Alec here Connect with Barb here Connect with Cinthya, Podcast Manager, here Cheers.

    29 min

  7. 12/30/2025

    How AI Is Reshaping SEO in Digital Health with Noah Goldfarb (Ep 55)

    In this episode of The Marketing Share, Alec Cheung and Barb VanSomeren have a conversation with returning guest Noah Goldfarb, Head of SEO at Fire and Spark, to unpack what’s actually happening to SEO in an AI-driven world, especially in digital health and B2C-heavy industries. Noah shares insights from two recent studies: The Telehealth 20 and Fire and Spark’s AI Search in Digital Health report.  With this wealth of data, he explores why many fast-growing telehealth brands are still over-invested in traffic-driven SEO, under-invested in conversion-focused pages, and increasingly exposed to AI-powered search results that satisfy intent without sending clicks. This conversation reframes SEO around a core shift: websites are moving away from being information hubs and toward becoming decision-making environments. You’ll hear why: Traffic from Google is declining, while conversions are holding steadyAI and LLM-driven traffic converts at a significantly higher rateInformational content alone is no longer a sustainable growth strategyDiversification across SEO, AI search, brand, and conversion paths matters more than everNoah also breaks down what winning teams are doing differently, from fundamentals like UX, internal linking, and expert-led content, to more advanced strategies like programmatic SEO, branded AI search monitoring, and aligning marketing content with real sales and enrollment questions. If you’re a CMO or growth leader navigating declining traffic, rising AI summaries, and pressure to prove business impact, this episode offers a grounded, data-backed framework for where SEO is headed — and how to adapt without chasing hype. Explore the video content of each podcast episode on YouTube Want to be a guest on The Marketing Share Podcast?  Send us your bio and proposed interview topic to marketingsharepodcast@gmail.com, and our Podcast Manager will get back to you.  Want to connect with Alec and Barb to talk all things marketing and how they can help you leverage the marketing wing of your organization? Connect with Alec here Connect with Barb here Connect with Cinthya, Podcast Manager, here Cheers.

    51 min

  8. 12/16/2025

    Becoming an Indispensable CMO: Finance, Alignment & AI Advice with Alan Gonsenhauser (Ep 54)

    Welcome back to The Marketing Share Podcast.  This week, we're excited to present Part 2 of our conversation with Alan Gonsenhauser, where we dig into what it takes to move from VP of Marketing to an effective, indispensable CMO.  Alan lays out practical advice on speaking the language of business, aligning with the CFO, and leading cross-functional teams for measurable impact. What you’ll learn in this episode: How to focus on the three priorities that actually move the needle, and why “less is more.”The difference between activity metrics and business outputs, and how to present marketing as a financial contributor.Tactical steps for assessing a new marketing organization: relationship-first audits, six-week assessments, and the infrastructure checklist. 🔗 Connect with Alan Gonsenhauser Website: demandrevenue.com LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/alangonsenhauser Email: ag@demandrevenue.com 🎧 Subscribe to The Marketing Share Podcast to get unfiltered conversations with marketing leaders about growth, strategy, and the future of digital. Explore the video content of each podcast episode on YouTube Want to be a guest on The Marketing Share Podcast?  Send us your bio and proposed interview topic to marketingsharepodcast@gmail.com, and our Podcast Manager will get back to you.  Want to connect with Alec and Barb to talk all things marketing and how they can help you leverage the marketing wing of your organization? Connect with Alec here Connect with Barb here Connect with Cinthya, Podcast Manager, here Cheers.

    25 min
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5
out of 5
3 Ratings

About

Running a marketing department requires expertise in many domains, from branding, media and positioning to demand generation, sales enablement, and much more. As a business leader or a new department head, you may be an expert in one or more marketing areas but usually not all of them. The Marketing Share aims to close this gap.Co-hosts Barb VanSomeren and Alec Cheung are experienced marketing leaders who have been down the path of learning on the fly while managing a marketing team. They interview domain experts and ask the right questions so business leaders can learn what they need to know to run marketing.

Information

  • Creator
    Alec Cheung & Barb VanSomeren
  • Years Active
    2023 - 2026
  • Episodes
    61
  • Rating
    Explicit
  • Copyright
    © 2026 The Marketing Share
  • Show Website
    The Marketing Share