AI is moving faster than most marketing organizations can handle and many AI initiatives are quietly failing.

In this episode of the AI Marketing Podcast, host Mark Fidelman sits down with Steve Wunker, innovation expert, former collaborator of Clayton Christensen, and author of AI and the Octopus Organization, to break down:

• Why treating AI like a "tech upgrade" is a massive mistake

• How most companies are "AI-ifying broken processes" instead of rethinking them

• The difference between pilots that learn vs. pilots that waste time

• Why AI doesn't replace great marketers, it amplifies them

• How marketing orgs can cut campaign timelines in half (real-world example)

• Why experimentation, not tools, is the real AI advantage

• What skills will keep marketers employable over the next 5 years

• How AI changes the relationship between marketing, sales, and leadership

• Why AGI isn't the benchmark people think it is

• The Octopus Organization model for building truly AI-native companies

Steve shares practical frameworks, real case studies, and a clear roadmap for CMOs, VPs, and marketers who want results and not hype.

📘 Steve's book: AI and the Octopus Organization
🔗 Available on Amazon
🌐 https://aiandtheoctopus.com

👤 Connect with Steve Wunker on LinkedIn

In this episode of AI Marketing Today, host Mark Fidelman sits down with Diego Lomanto, Chief Marketing Officer at Writer, to explore the frontier of Agentic Marketing. They move beyond simple "personal productivity" tools and dive into how AI agents are orchestrating complex team workflows, transforming how enterprises like Qualcomm and American Eagle operate.

Get our Book on becoming Agentized in your company

• Defining Agentic Marketing: Diego explains the shift from using AI as a personal assistant (writing a blog post faster) to process orchestration. It's about building autonomous workflows where agents handle data segments, content creation, and campaign execution.

• The Human Bottleneck: Why technology isn't the problem, but mindset is. Diego shares his "top-down" approach to forcing a mindset shift: before spending money or fixing a process, always ask, "Can an agent do that?"

• Case Study - Qualcomm: How the tech giant moved from simple copywriting agents to 70+ workflows spanning legal reviews, trademark protection, and product launches.

• Case Study - American Eagle: Using AI to handle the "derivative content" (the many iterations needed for different segments), freeing up human creatives to focus on the core, differentiated brand strategy.

• The "Pipeline Kit" Agent: A look at Writer's internal "champagne-drinking" strategy, where they built an agent to automatically generate LinkedIn messages, call scripts, and look-books for sales reps the moment new content is published.

• The One-Year Outlook: Diego predicts that within a year, we will see "digital teammates" for every department—demand agents, content agents, and product marketing agents—working together autonomously.

• Don't Settle for "Better or Faster": The real ROI of AI is taking the efficiency gains and reinvesting those resources into things that move the needle, like high-touch events or hyper-personalized customer relationships.

• Stay Differentiated: As AI makes content creation infinite and cheap, a strong, human-led point of view is the only way for a brand to stand out.

• Diego Lomanto: LinkedIn

• Writer: writer.com

• Book: Agentized by Mark Fidelman (Upcoming)

• Tools: Writer Agent, Claude (Anthropic), Google Meet

Host: Mark Fidelman
Guest: Julian Goldie

Main Topics Covered:

• The rapid evolution of SEO in the age of AI
• How AI tools like ChatGPT, Perplexity, and Grok are changing online search behaviors
• Similarities and key differences between traditional SEO and optimization for AI search engines
• Importance of being omnipresent across platforms (YouTube, LinkedIn, Reddit, blogs, etc.) for better AI engine ranking
• Essential tactics: in-depth keyword research (using tools like Ahrefs), competitor analysis, content strategy, and authoritative backlinks
• Special techniques such as creating industry listicles to boost authority
• Discussion on ChatGPT's "Agent mode," its potential impact on search, and the importance of structuring information for both users and AI agents
• Predictions for the future: the increasing role of large language models (LLMs) like ChatGPT in search, and how Google is rapidly integrating AI into its own results
• Budgeting advice for marketers: integrate SEO and "AEO" (AI engine optimization), focusing on an all-encompassing strategy

Action Items:

• Follow up with Julian for deeper insights into AI agent modes and evolving tactics
• Use Ahrefs for ongoing keyword research
• Reverse-engineer and improve upon competitor content
• Focus on acquiring industry-relevant backlinks
• Experiment with authoritative list-based content

Guest Contact:

• Julian Goldie, SEO specialist. Visit JulianGoldie.com for a free SEO strategy session and more resources