Using AI to turn Comms Pros into Comms Builders, with Dan Lewis

You likely saw the six-hour CMO stunt pulled off by Air this summer - it took over LinkedIn and news feeds and was all people could talk about for a few days. This week, Lindsey sits down (with a screwdriver at 10:45 a.m. on a Wednesday, because some traditions are sacred) with Ariel Rubin, VP of Content at Air, the mastermind behind the satire that had every B2B marketer asking "wait, are they allowed to do that?" No budget, no boosted posts, no $200K production. They shot it in a day on a small camera, and it became the second-highest website driver of the year. Ari also explains why he's never had more prospects in his inbox, why he'd rather you say "I don't get it" than "great work," and what happened when a past campaign went too far. We also get into why AI keeps making your content nice and safe, why "but did it index in the LLMs?" is the wrong question, and why brand measurement is still a vibes-based necessity. Key Takeaways: Ship the work - find your brand's risk line, since you can't know where people push back until you try Don't copy the viral thing - Replicating someone else's stunt never works. Take the courage, not the script Know your audience. Not every brand needs to take huge swings, but you need to know what breaks through the noise for your buyers If you have to convince your CEO to let you have a voice, quit. Go work somewhere that does Good brand work starts arguments. Ari wants marketers debating whether a campaign is good. Indifference is the real enemy Toast of the episode: "Never above me, never below me, always with me." Listen if you've ever wondered: when was the last time you felt truly uncomfortable before hitting publish? Timestamps: (00:00) Introduction (03:55) Ari's path from human rights to Air (10:14) Making entertainment the brand (11:19) How to find your risk line (14:17) Why discomfort is the goal (16:27) Why AI content plays it safe (17:16) Weighing risk against your ICP (21:17) The campaign that went too far (22:36) How to get executive buy-in (26:00) Does a brand campaign show up in LLMs? (28:21) How to measure a brand campaign Check out the ebook " Trust Issues: How SaaS and AI-Native Brands Can Beat AI Credibility Fatigue" by PANBlast: https://www.panblastpr.com/resources/trust-issues-ai-credibility-ebook/  Top 53 SaaS Podcasts on the web: https://podcast.feedspot.com/saas_podcasts/  

Every fall, editors get flooded with predictions for the year ahead. The ones that stand out become trend stories, expert roundups and bylines. The rest disappear. For B2B marketers, a strong prediction is a great way to earn media coverage, build executive credibility with buyers and create content that keeps surfacing in LLM answers for years. Getting there means pushing past the safe, hedged or self-serving takes most executives start with.  In this episode, Kelsey Sowder, VP of Client Relations at PANBlast, shared how to get predictions worth running from your company spokespeople. She covers how to tailor questions to each executive, find the white space, and push the "why" and "how" until a lukewarm answer turns bold.  Kelsey and Lindsey also trade PANBlast's own predictions for B2B marketers, including why customer proof will become the credibility standard, comms will move to the front lines, and a newsletter reckoning is coming.  Key Takeaways: Ask "why" and "how" until an exec gives more than a lukewarm answer Strip hedging so every prediction is a bold, finite idea media will run Show customer proof without names, using aggregate data or "a Fortune 10 retailer" Give earned media time: older coverage still drives LLM answers today Timestamps: (00:00) Introduction (02:33) Kelsey's 11 years and role at PANBlast (04:28) Cocktail and mocktail (05:53) What prediction season is and why it still works (08:57) How to pull predictions out of executives (10:10) Four best practices for a meaty prediction (12:02) Pushing past predictions that are really product pitches (13:25) Prediction: customer proof becomes the credibility standard (16:33) Prediction: comms moves to the front lines (19:56) Prediction: the 2027 newsletter reckoning (22:29) How clients respond to new media opportunities (25:08) Is "more content" out as a strategy? (26:52) Why earned media still matters for AI visibility (28:03) When an Ad Age feature doesn't show up in LLMs Check out the ebook " Trust Issues: How SaaS and AI-Native Brands Can Beat AI Credibility Fatigue" by PANBlast: https://www.panblastpr.com/resources/trust-issues-ai-credibility-ebook/  

Your company can publish content every day and still have no narrative. Nicholas Lembo, VP of Marketing at Coast, argues narrative is what other people say about you when you're not in the room, and most brands chasing it are really just making more content. In this episode, Nicholas breaks down why content decays while narrative compounds and lays out his three rules for building one: stay consistent, share the mic and embrace imperfection. That consistency is where trust comes from, since no brand can simply announce it's trusted. As buyers turn to LLMs for answers, getting AI to tell your story depends more on surround sound than domain authority. Nicholas explains why so many companies suddenly hiring a Head of Narrative are really hiring a content marketer, why comms and marketing end up in a turf war when one owns the story and the other owns the P&L, and why the CEO should ultimately be the face of the narrative. Key Takeaways: Why narrative compounds while content decays, and why customers, journalists and LLMs get the final say The three rules for building a narrative: stay consistent, share the mic and embrace imperfection How comms and marketing can split narrative ownership when one holds the story and the other holds the budget Timestamps: (00:00) Introduction (01:12) Meet Nicholas Lembo (02:42) Why narrative matters in the AI era (03:37) Nick's path to Coast (04:57) From anthropology to marketing (05:45) A dinosaur-digging detour (08:20) Marketing chaos in the AI era (09:36) Defining content, story, and narrative (12:44) The concentric circles framework (15:47) Lessons from Coast and Patagonia (19:43) Building trust through consistency (24:58) Why brands must embrace imperfection (27:39) Who should own the narrative Check out the ebook " Trust Issues: How SaaS and AI-Native Brands Can Beat AI Credibility Fatigue" by PANBlast: https://www.panblastpr.com/resources/trust-issues-ai-credibility-ebook/  

One great article beats twenty passing mentions, and top-tier press does not guarantee AI even knows your brand exists. In this episode, Ashley Waters, VP of Media Relations at PAN Communications, breaks down why she runs earned media and AI visibility as two separate strategies, why the biggest headline isn't always the right placement, and why publications, podcasts, and newsletters like Substacks all now count as earned media.  Ashley also explains why reporter relationships still matter as newsrooms shrink, how Substack opened a real channel for coverage, why personalized outreach beats mass pitching, and how brands can use data on visibility, impact, and engagement to prove what their media strategy is actually worth.  Key Takeaways: Choose placements by business fit, not by which outlet has the biggest audience Count podcasts, newsletters, and Substacks as earned media, not just traditional press Timestamps: (00:00) Introduction (01:06) Meet Ashley Waters (04:02) Building a career in media relations (06:12) How earned media is changing (08:31) Why Substack and podcasts matter (10:34) How AI visibility changes media strategy (13:01) Why brands need parallel PR strategies (16:17) How AI defines earned media differently (20:24) Measuring the value of earned media (22:38) Why impact matters more than share of voice (26:23) What is changing in traditional PR (30:54) Why marketers should think about Substack (34:16) Building relationships with reporters (36:44) Why brands should think audience first (39:03) Why earned media is becoming more valuable   Check out the ebook " Trust Issues: How SaaS and AI-Native Brands Can Beat AI Credibility Fatigue" by PANBlast: https://www.panblastpr.com/resources/trust-issues-ai-credibility-ebook/

Human judgment becomes the real competitive advantage when AI makes average marketing work easier to produce. In this episode, Dan Lewis, advisor and consultant of The Comms Stack, explains how marketers and communicators can move beyond basic AI usage and build smarter workflows around AI. Dan shares why companies should focus on the business goals they want to achieve with AI instead of simply telling teams to use new tools, and why strong communication skills, context, and strategic thinking will become even more valuable in an AI-driven world. Dan also discusses how AI is changing the role of communicators, why generic AI-generated messaging can damage trust, and how marketers can use AI as a thought partner rather than a replacement for expertise. He explains how he built an AI chief of staff using Claude Code, why marketers do not need to become developers to benefit from AI, and how communications professionals can start building their own AI-powered tools to solve real problems. Key Takeaways: Why AI adoption should start with business goals, not tools Human judgment separates great marketing from generic AI output Marketers should learn to build with AI, not just prompt it Timestamps: (00:00) Introduction (01:19) Meet Dan Lewis (03:56) From law and storytelling to AI communications (06:18) Building The Comms Stack for the AI era (08:31) Will AI replace communications professionals? (11:53) Why generic AI messaging hurts brands (13:49) Building an AI chief of staff (16:15) How technical marketers need to become (18:49) Building AI-powered communications tools (21:14) What AI watermarks mean for marketers (24:39) Why companies need a better AI adoption strategy (27:42) Lessons from newsletter building and final thoughts Check out the ebook " Trust Issues: How SaaS and AI-Native Brands Can Beat AI Credibility Fatigue" by PANBlast: https://www.panblastpr.com/resources/trust-issues-ai-credibility-ebook/

When marketing an AI product to a non-technical audience, the standard marketing playbook doesn't work. In this episode, Ashley McGovern, Director of Marketing at Nurture Boss, explains why she ditched the standard HubSpot inbound playbook for an industry that doesn't buy in a straight line and doesn't respond to technical AI messaging. Ashley walks through how she talked a reluctant CEO into becoming the author of a company book, why she plans the distribution channel before she builds any campaign and how she measures brand-building work when there's no direct attribution to point to. Ashley also gets into the internal case she had to make to move budget away from e-books, checklists and webinars, and why marketing influenced closed-won matters more to her than MQL-to-SQL conversion right now. If your buyers don't respond to feature lists and gated content, this episode is a permission slip to get creative. Key Takeaways: • Why creativity is a competitive advantage when every AI competitor sounds the same • How print material makes an abstract AI product feel concrete • Why niche, relationship-driven audiences need a different playbook than the standard inbound model Timestamps: (00:00) Introduction (01:09) Meet Nurture Boss marketer Ashley McGovern (04:15) From healthcare marketing to PropTech (07:33) Marketing AI to a niche audience (09:19) Why Nurture Boss chose bold campaigns (11:36) Rewriting the traditional inbound playbook (13:52) Why conventional B2B content stopped working (15:43) Convincing a technical CEO to write a book (17:30) Making abstract AI feel concrete (18:42) Turning a book into a company resource (21:19) Building memorable print campaigns (23:43) Measuring creative brand marketing (26:58) Staying human in the age of AI Check out the ebook " Trust Issues: How SaaS and AI-Native Brands Can Beat AI Credibility Fatigue" by PANBlast: https://www.panblastpr.com/resources/trust-issues-ai-credibility-ebook/  

Greg Jung isn't worried about AI replacing experienced marketers. He's worried about the opposite: leadership trusting an AI's output over the judgment of a marketing team with decades of real scar tissue behind it. In this episode, Greg Jung, CMO Seven Corners and Founder of Marketing Encore - a mareting resoure for marketers over 50 - explains why he thinks seasoned marketers are the scarcest resource in the AI era, and how to operationalize this experience. He also breaks down his 10-80-10 framework for pairing AI output with human experience, one marketing function at a time.  Greg shares what he calls the slop tax, or the risk of letting AI-generated strategy pull a brand away from its core identity, and the AI voice agent that won his business during a holiday-weekend plumbing emergency. Key Takeaways: The 10-80-10 rule for combining human judgment with AI output Why trusting AI more than an experienced marketing team is the real risk, not job loss How to spot AI-generated content and strategy before it goes out under your brand's name Timestamps: (00:00) Introduction (03:17) Meet Seven Corners CMO Greg Jung (08:12) Helping seasoned marketers thrive with AI (11:13) Why more content is not better (13:48) Applying the 10-80-10 AI framework (16:49) How Nike abandoned its brand ethos (19:08) AI makes everyone feel like marketers (21:51) How to spot AI-generated marketing content (25:42) AI's future in advertising and SaaS (29:22) AI voice agent wins the business Check out the ebook " Trust Issues: How SaaS and AI-Native Brands Can Beat AI Credibility Fatigue" by PANBlast: https://www.panblastpr.com/resources/trust-issues-ai-credibility-ebook/

B2B marketers have spent a decade optimizing for one metric above all others: the form fill. Putney Cloos, CMO of Bombora, says it's time to let it go, and the data backs her up. In this episode, Putney unpacks how the company's 6,000-site data co-op has tracked buyer behavior shifting away from broad publishers and toward niche verticals, and increasingly into LLM conversations that never touch a brand's website at all. Putney explains how marketers can now see not just which accounts are showing intent but which members of the buying committee are involved and where they sit in the journey, and why that depth of signal matters more than ever as classic tactics lose steam. Putney also digs into the trap of using intent data to confirm a decision a team already wanted to make, practical starting points for marketers who feel behind and whether B2B content is splitting into two versions entirely, one written for human buyers and one written for AI agents. Key Takeaways: Why the form fill is losing its power as a primary B2B marketing metric How to read buying-committee intent instead of just account-level activity How to avoid using intent data to confirm decisions you'd already made   Timestamps: (00:00) Introduction (03:00) How studying history informs marketing strategy (04:21) Career journey to Bombora and B2B marketing insights (05:47) What buyers do when marketers are not watching (07:17) Evolution of intent data over the past few years (09:00) Identifying high-intent accounts and signals (11:00) How AI and LLMs impact buyer research behavior (13:18) Metrics that are losing relevance like form fills (15:00) Understanding the depth of intent across buying committees (17:37) Using intent data without falling into confirmation bias (19:15) Pros and cons of AI in marketing and content visibility (22:42) The dual-path internet challenge for content strategy (25:40) Practical steps for marketers to act on intent data Check out the ebook " Trust Issues: How SaaS and AI-Native Brands Can Beat AI Credibility Fatigue" by PANBlast:  https://www.panblastpr.com/resources/trust-issues-ai-credibility-ebook/

Andrew Wheeler, CEO of Skyword, has a simple test for brand sameness: swap your logo onto a competitor's content. Could anyone tell the difference? For a growing number of B2B brands, he says, the honest answer is no. In this episode, Andrew explains why he doesn't think AI killed brand authority so much as exposed how many companies never had a distinct point of view to begin with. Andrew breaks down why Skyword refuses to let AI write original content at all and why he believes brands should optimize for perspective and memorability instead of publishing volume. Andrew also shares the moment he caught an LLM quoting a person who doesn't exist, why marketers are now intentionally writing worse to prove a human wrote it and the three things he tells CMOs to fix before they ever open a prompt window. Key Takeaways: Why AI has made brand sameness a bigger risk than brand invisibility How to build a test to check whether your content is actually differentiated Where AI adds real value in content production and where it should stay out entirely   Timestamps: (00:00) Introduction (02:25) AI is making brands interchangeable (03:14) Andrew's journey to Skyword (05:47) Why AI mirrors early SEO (08:34) Why AI shortcuts will fail (10:40) The AI sameness test explained (13:40) Where humans beat AI content (17:49) Three ways to build authority (22:37) AI guardrails for brand consistency (24:02) Can AI replace human storytellers? (27:28) Stop chasing content volume Check out the ebook " Trust Issues: How SaaS and AI-Native Brands Can Beat AI Credibility Fatigue" by PANBlast: https://www.panblastpr.com/resources/trust-issues-ai-credibility-ebook/  Skyword: https://www.skyword.com/  

As AI reshapes how companies engage buyers, many B2B marketers are doubling down on automation, personalization, and digital channels. But while technology continues to evolve, one challenge remains the same: building trust and meaningful connections with customers. For many organizations, that means rethinking the role of community and in-person experiences in their growth strategy. In this episode, Gretchen Eischen, Chief Marketing Officer at Avetta, shares how her team transformed a traditional user conference into a community-driven experience that strengthened customer relationships, showcased product innovation, and created new opportunities for revenue growth. Gretchen explains how Avetta repositioned its brand around a simple, customer-centered message and then brought that vision to life through an event designed to serve the needs of both clients and suppliers. Gretchen breaks down the strategy behind securing executive buy-in for a significantly larger event investment, why she removed the traditional parade of executive presentations from the agenda, and how creating space for customer interaction, networking, and real-time product feedback led to stronger engagement. She also shares her perspective on why human connection and community building are becoming even more valuable as AI becomes a bigger part of the marketing landscape. Key Takeaways: How to build a community-first event strategy that drives business growth Why customer-led experiences create more value than executive-heavy agendas How to position in-person events as revenue and relationship-building investments Timestamps: (00:00) Introduction (02:53) From procurement to B2B marketing (06:02) How Avetta connects clients and suppliers (09:05) Building the "Ready to Work" brand (13:30) Making the case to double budget (17:01) Replacing executive keynotes with customers (19:53) The Connection Center networking experience (24:45) Measuring pipeline, not attendance metrics (26:40) Why event partners matter more (27:59) Gretchen's curated CMO circles program Check out the ebook " Trust Issues: How SaaS and AI-Native Brands Can Beat AI Credibility Fatigue" by PANBlast: https://www.panblastpr.com/resources/trust-issues-ai-credibility-ebook/