We recently sat down with 25 senior marketers across telco, tech, legal and professional services. The format was deliberately informal. No panel, no itinerary. Just an opportunity to facilitate an honest conversation about what’s working, what’s stuck and where marketing is heading next. 

We of course expected a few familiar themes, but what really stood out to us was the urgency. Marketing leaders aren’t just talking about change; they understand that marketing is going through a rapid reshaping due to technology and are actively experimenting and pushing for progress. While no two companies are on exactly the same path, there were three big shifts that came through loud and clear. 

Interestingly also, these shifts echo what we found in this year’s Art & Science report, our annual research piece into how your customers really feel about your marketing. When we compared what leaders are prioritising internally with what customers are asking for externally, the parallels were hard to ignore. 

Marketing and Sales Alignment: Relevant as Ever 

Everyone is talking about marketing and sales alignment. Everyone is working on it. And yes, it’s still one of the most persistent pain points facing marketing leaders today. 

Leaders we spoke to admitted that despite years of effort there was still found to be a fundamental disconnect between the departments, especially when it comes to defining success. One CMO told us “Sales and marketing are running the same race, just not always in the same lane”. 

So, the obvious next question is – what’s working? The most promising examples included shared metrics, co-developed campaign plans (ABM was a great area to facilitate this) and regular joint reviews. When success is tied together, alignment often follows. 

AI Is Changing the Game for ABM 

Okay, you’re probably sick of hearing about AI now, but bear with us. No one is asking “What is AI”, we’ve moved past that. The conversation has now shifted to how AI is changing what’s possible, especially in account-based marketing. 

Some leaders did share some examples of how AI has allowed them to restart ABM departments that were previously discontinued due to a lack of resources. AI-generated account insights and scalable personalisation were two uses that came up in our discussions. 

AI isn’t replacing strategy, but it’s speeding up experimentation, unlocking deeper insights and lowering the barriers of what is possible with smaller teams. 

That said, a word of caution – and one that showed up on the Art & Science data too. While marketers are excited about the potential of AI, many buyers are wary. In fact, 73% said that they believe humans will always create better content than GenAI. The opportunity? Use AI to power scale and insight, but keep the human voice front and centre. 

Long-Form Content Isn’t Dead – It’s Evolving 

In the age of endless scrolling and shrinking attention spans, you’d be forgiven for thinking that long-form content is on its way out. Not so. 

Leaders we spoke to agreed that deep, thoughtful content still matters, especially in complex B2B sales. In Art & Science, our data revealed that customers’ top 5 content preferences are all longer form and 72% prioritise different content when buying services over content. What’s changing however is how it’s delivered, promoted and measured. 

Our data also shows that nearly three-quarters of your readers are likely to give up by the time they reach halfway through your content. This means marketing teams need to be innovative to increase engagement. 

Differentiated tackles this challenge by the use of SensAI, an AI tool that is trained on your content and your messages, and allows for your target audiences to talk to your content, increasing engagement and relevance. 

Where This is All Going 

If this group had one thing in common, it was a bias for action. These are leaders building marketing engines that can adapt in real-time, to new tech, news buyers and new behaviours. 

They’re not clinging to old playbooks, but they’re not blindly chasing trends either. Instead, they’re asking the hard questions: What’s actually working? What’s worth experimenting with? What needs to be unlearned? 

That’s what both the event and the research showed: the best marketing teams are finding the balance – the art of storytelling and empathy, and the science of insight and scale. They’re not choosing sides. They’re building both. 

The balance is also what we’re exploring with SensAI, our AI-powered tool that helps your content connect more effectively by making it interactive, relevant, and built to engage. Check out the video below to learn more.