The B2B Marketing and PR podcast
Sword and the Script Media on audio
About the show
This podcast covers B2B marketing, PR, communications and social media. We look at studies and data to find what's working and what isn't to help you stay ahead of the competition.
Episodes
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Episode 165: Content marketing is skipping best practices because it's over reliant on AI
October 20th, 2026 | 8 mins 17 secs
b2b marketing, b2b sales, buyers journey, demand generation, generative ai, marketing strategy, sales, sales-marketing alignment, ux/cx
Orbit Media’s 2026 annual blogger survey finds content marketing results at a 12-year low as marketers skip best practices; skipping those steps IS, in this analysis, strongly correlated with AI adoption
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Episode 164: Prospective B2B customers are reading your content on personal time
October 13th, 2026 | 6 mins 27 secs
b2b marketing, b2b sales, buyers journey, demand generation, generative ai, marketing strategy, sales, sales-marketing alignment, ux/cx
A survey of 1,500 B2B respondents by DigitalZone finds that about 1/3rd report reading on their own time; but the gap between what they read, and what gives them confidence is plain to see
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Episode 163: Marketing (and PR’s) obligation to the business if they want credibility
October 6th, 2026 | 6 mins 41 secs
b2b marketing, b2b sales, buyers journey, demand generation, generative ai, marketing strategy, sales, sales-marketing alignment, ux/cx
80%-plus of CEO polled say marketing would have more credibility if they spoke the language of business and demonstrated a stronger commercial understanding
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Episode 162: Marketing and comms see AI visibility as significant but are still navigating how to improve it
September 29th, 2026 | 12 mins 6 secs
brand, branding, communications, corp comm, corporate communications, corporate reputation, financial analysts, media relations, pr, reputation
63% of marketing and comm pros surveyed say business leaders are asking about AI visibility, but in an odd twist, a plurality of respondents are leaning on marketing operations (17%) and paid media (35%) to influence it
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Episode 161: B2B CEOs think marketing is a waste: they can test that by turning marketing OFF
August 25th, 2026 | 3 mins 44 secs
b2b marketing, b2b sales, buyers journey, demand generation, generative ai, marketing strategy, sales, sales-marketing alignment, ux/cx
84% of B2B CEOs think marketing is a support function; 75% say marketing does not drive growth; let’s stop guessing and design a test that provides a definitive answer
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Episode 160: A theory on why B2B marketing requires so many darn customer touches today
August 18th, 2026 | 10 mins 18 secs
b2b marketing, b2b sales, buyers journey, demand generation, generative ai, marketing strategy, sales, sales-marketing alignment, ux/cx
When you step back and look, the trend line is clear: when companies cut B2B marketing brand and awareness programs, sales cycles grow longer and require more touches
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Episode 159: International travelers to the World Cup remind Americans to be grateful
August 11th, 2026 | 3 mins 35 secs
b2b events, b2b marketing, communications, corp comm, corporate communications, event marketing, events, media relations, pr
Global visitors traveling for the World Cup may well be the best ‘brand ambassadors’ for the U.S., but it’s Americans who needed that third-party validation
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Episode 158: Have we seen this movie before? AI visibility is giving marketing and comms déjà vu
August 7th, 2026 | 8 mins 37 secs
b2b events, b2b marketing, communications, corp comm, corporate communications, event marketing, events, media relations, pr
Cliff notes to 3 studies on AI visibility in marcom: lessons on visibility ownership, consistent messaging, and emerging manipulation from recent reports
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Episode 157: What is public relations? Trust, credibility and third-party validation [special guest post]
August 4th, 2026 | 4 mins 48 secs
b2b events, b2b marketing, communications, corp comm, corporate communications, event marketing, events, media relations, pr
Public relations is more than just social media, publicity or promoting an organization; it’s about two-way communication that builds trust, credibility and third-party validation
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Episode 156: 28 PR and B2B marketing statistics from studies published so far in 2026
July 21st, 2026 | 10 mins 28 secs
b2b marketing, b2b sales, brand journalism, buyers journey, content marketing, demand generation, earned media, earned media attribution, generative ai, marketing strategy, media relations, pr attribution, pr strategy, pr surveys, sales, sales-marketing alignment, ux/cx
Mid-2026 data reveals AI delivering underwhelming returns while B2B marketing and PR grapple with fractured media, longer sales cycles, and the enduring value of trust and reputation
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Episode 155: Gartner CMO spend survey shows marketing leaders have a third dilemma
July 14th, 2026 | 5 mins 50 secs
b2b marketing, b2b sales, buyers journey, demand generation, generative ai, marketing strategy, sales, sales-marketing alignment, ux/cx
CMOs face a new ‘trilemma’ of delivering stronger growth with flat budgets while rapidly implementing AI; 70% of them are not ready
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Episode 154: Legal, finance and procurement make for break B2B vendor deals
July 7th, 2026 | 6 mins 30 secs
b2b marketing, b2b sales, buyers journey, demand generation, generative ai, marketing strategy, sales, sales-marketing alignment, ux/cx
Some B2B marketing shops don’t even think about these groups on a buying committee, let alone develop messaging; a study by LinkedIn and Bain shows why that needs to change
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Episode 153: WSJ’s “revenge of the publicists” article; practical considerations for B2B leaders
June 23rd, 2026 | 6 mins 38 secs
brand, branding, communications, corp comm, corporate communications, corporate reputation, media relations, pr, reputation
PR and communications executives are gaining C-suite power, amid AI demands and polarized audiences, yet there are practical implications for reporting structures, rare dual-skilled leaders, and the case for separate CMO and CCO roles
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Episode 152: The growing problem of "no comment" and how it lets others shape public opinion
June 16th, 2026 | 6 mins 15 secs
brand, branding, communications, corp comm, corporate communications, corporate reputation, media relations, pr, reputation
The public increasingly distrusts sources who decline to comment on news stories when asked; this allows someone else to frame the coverage
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Episode 151: A seed to fix the growing public relations problem for AI companies
June 9th, 2026 | 11 mins
ai, ai's pr problem, communications, corp comm, corporate communications, crisis communications, media relations, pr
Public sentiment sours on AI as companies reap the consequences of alarmist messaging on jobs, energy costs and failed initiatives; the fix doesn’t start with a messaging exercise – it starts with a listening tour
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Episode 150: Does AI visibility provide PR with third-party validation?
June 2nd, 2026 | 4 mins 35 secs
brand, branding, communications, corp comm, corporate communications, corporate reputation, media relations, pr, reputation
Voice interfaces are normalizing AI as an arbiter of truth in everyday conversations, and introducing a human behavioral change with significant implications for credibility and third-party validation