Welcome to The Beat by Rockstar CMO. I’m Ian Truscott, not a rock star, but a CMO and trusted advisor, and in this newsletter, I’d like to share a mix of marketing street knowledge that I hope will help unlock the rockstar marketer in you.
Hello rock star!
The Content Marketing Institute has just published its 16th annual B2B Content and Marketing Trends Report, and while I am not sure I have followed all 16, it’s been something I come back to frequently when I need data on a trend or a peek at where my B2B marketing peers are going in terms of budget and priorities.
If, like me, you’ve geeked out on this report before, the first thing you’d observe is that there is now an “and” in that title, as it was formerly the Content Marketing Trends report and is now the Content and Marketing Trends report, which I think tells us something about the underlying trend - that content marketing is now marketing.
The report has evolved from a significant PDF download to a substantial web page, featuring insights from my chum Robert Rose, this year’s lead analyst, who has shared his 9 key takeaways from the responses of over a thousand marketers. And, if the 30-minute (estimated) read time seems a bit onerous, I suspect it’s the first year an audio version is also available.
However, many of the top challenges that marketers report remain the same, especially around content creation. Creating content that prompts a desired action, content relevance and quality, and building a decent thought leadership program remain top of the pain charts.
Of course, as it’s 2025, there is an AI thread throughout. However, it seems the majority of marketers are still just dipping their toes in the water with content creation, and only 68% consider themselves at the exploratory or development phase of a more sophisticated use case.
I could go on - there is LOADS of data in this report, and I recommend you dive in.
The subject line this week comes from Breathe by The Prodigy, which will definitely get your marketing mojo working, inspired by Robert’s closing thoughts:
AI may be the oxygen in the room, but it’s your people, your processes, and your portfolio of experiences that form the lungs. Exercise those well, and you won’t just ride the trend — you’ll have the endurance to outlast it.
Breathe!
Have a splendid week
Cheers!
Ian
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Ian Truscott
Host & Chief Bottle Washer - Rockstar CMO podcast
Managing Partner - Velocity B
Personal website: iantruscott.com
This week’s street knowledge
Some things from me, my chums and what inspired me this week.
Get your Monday Marketing Mojo Working
Breathe! It’s a classic….