AI broke the old marketing playbook. Here’s the new one
The 4 shifts B2B marketing teams need to make, and the ripple effects that got us here
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Two weeks ago I defined a new generalist role in marketing, Gen Marketers, and you all responded loudly (thank you). The takeaway: We need to shift from siloed specialists to generalists who are well-versed in generative AI and ready to handle a generational shift. And it’s not just the team makeup that has to change—we also need a new high-level playbook for Gen Marketers to run.
Since then, summer’s ended and annual planning season is upon us. HubSpot—the inventors of “Inbound,” on stage at their own Inbound conference—declared a new playbook: Loop Marketing. Clay hosted its first Sculpt conference and UserEvidence put on a microconference in Jackson, WY; proving how creative differentiation, big bets, and strong ecosystems drives growth. And Stripe announced a partnership with OpenAI just yesterday to make buying directly from your ChatGPT a reality. Meanwhile, more marketers lost their jobs as leaders bet (wrongly) that AI can do their entire jobs.
All of this points to the same reality: The ground in marketing is shifting fast. The old playbooks aren’t enough anymore, and neither are teams made up of narrow specialists. As AI ripples through B2B marketing, companies need not just a new kind of marketer, Gen Marketers, but a new playbook. Get those right, and marketing becomes your company’s moat in the AI era.
This newsletter explains that new playbook.
But first, a soothing image, and consider this your fair warning because I’m about to say “ripple” 26 times in this newsletter.
In this newsletter…
This newsletter is part short-term history lesson on what AI has done to B2B startup marketing and part strategic advice to handle all these changes in 2026 and beyond.
Direct & ripple effects of AI: From declining search traffic to derivative content overload, inboxes flooded with “personalized” outbound, and blurred GTM roles—AI’s impacts are reshaping marketing. A breakdown of how we got here (so you can be the most on top of it at the next B2B marketing micro-conference or board meeting).
The new playbook: Four strategies to adapt in the AI era: standing out with authentic content, building a proactive account-based strategy, running coordinated high-impact campaigns, and staffing teams with AI-powered generalists. Plus, how to implement them with Krameworks™.
Looking forward: Predictions on what the next ripple effects will be.
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🎁 Offer: Book a free 30-minute call and get a custom marketing plan built around your goals.
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HubSpot’s Loop Marketing: HubSpot made “Inbound” a thing. Now they’re saying: that’s not enough. So they built Loop Marketing. A smarter way to think about growth today. If you love MKT1 frameworks, this feels familiar in all the right ways.
🧠 Offer: Get the playbook at hubspot.com/loop-marketing >>
Part 1: A look back at what AI did to B2B marketing (so far)
If you feel up to date on how all these changes occurred, jump down to look at what I recommend B2B startup marketing teams do now.
First we saw direct impacts of AI on B2B marketing (green in the diagram). These were fairly obvious results (at least in hindsight). At this stage, AI felt like all fun and games: Look at this blog post I wrote with ChatGPT! OMG, I can get contact data without seven tools and a lot of luck! Look at this fake photo I made with a prompt! Simpler times for sure.
Next came the ripple effects or second and third-order consequences of AI that reshaped marketing (gold in the diagram). These are harder to notice when you’re heads down in the day-to-day, but once you connect the dots it’s clear you need to adapt. By this point, running the old playbook was already an uphill battle.
Here’s how it all flowed…