GTM Live – “What 4 Days in Florida Taught Us (AI, SEO, Product Marketing, Brand Investments & More)”

Date: March 2, 2026
Hosts: Carolyn Dilks & Amber (Passetto Co-Founders)

Episode Overview

This episode serves as a candid debrief of Carolyn and Amber’s recent trip to the "Above the Fold" marketing conference in Florida. It covers in-person networking, lessons from fellow SaaS marketers, the evolving realities of AI, SEO, and product marketing, as well as deeply honest reflections about the real challenges of measuring ROI and justifying brand investment, especially for high-growth B2B companies. Throughout, the hosts balance practical takeaways with personal anecdotes and spirited commentary.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. The Value (and ROI) of In-person Events

• Amber organized a last-minute trip, persuading Carolyn to leave freezing Toronto for sunny Florida. The event became their first chance to meet and work together in person, which led to fresh team chemistry and deeper collaboration.
  • “I can’t believe that you let me convince you to come down to Florida from freezing Toronto… And we made it happen.” (Amber, 01:48)
  • "It's great to share each other's energy..." (Carolyn, 00:50)
• Pros and cons were hotly debated before the event:
  • Carolyn admits to being skeptical about the value of conferences for small agencies: "Is there really a point going? … What are we gonna get out of it?" (Carolyn, 04:37)
  • Amber insisted on the "obvious ROI" after the fact: networking, deep feedback, creative content, strategic troubleshooting (05:09).
  • The ROI is often intangible and delayed: new connections, future collaborations, learning about other agencies/vendors. It can’t always be measured in immediate dollars.

2. Networking Styles & the Power of Chemistry

• Amber’s extroversion shines, easing Carolyn into successful networking:
  • “You can be my wing woman. Because I really get uncomfortable… but when we went to the first networking event together, you would walk up to people… and it was like, I could swear you guys had, like, a friendship.” (Carolyn, 02:35)
  • Amber shares she made deliberate efforts to learn networking skills as a career advantage (03:29).

3. AI in Product Marketing & Content

• Carolyn admits skepticism toward much AI hype but found unexpected inspiration in real cases at the conference.
• Eric Holland’s “Mojo PMM” was a standout:
  • Using AI to maintain product marketing integrity across different teams, e.g. sales decks tailored by persona but sticking to core messaging and creative standards.
    • "Mojo... using AI to take your creative messaging, but enabling everybody else in the company... to ensure it adheres to the standards..." (Carolyn, 10:03)
  • The platform audits internal/external usage of approved messaging and gives compliance scores.
    • “It pulls from your call recordings… and then it scores you based on how close you’re actually conforming to your documentation. I thought that was really cool.” (Amber, 12:00)

4. AI & SEO: Pitfalls and Opportunities

• Key learnings from SEO experts at the event:

  • Gitano (SEO expert):
    • Warned against using AI to generate shallow, generic SEO content—“a race to the bottom.”
    • Success today depends on bottom-of-funnel, expert-led, and specific content, not just high volume.
    • "When you’re just using AI for volume, you get a lot of generic content." (Carolyn, 14:06)
  • Jess Cook (VP Marketing at Vector):
    • Echoed the above, advocating for smarter, more differentiated content strategies.

• Practical advice:

  • “You gotta go a lot closer to your topic because that’s how it’s gonna help you show up.” (Amber, 15:20)

• Both experts highlighted that mindless content automation with AI is counterproductive for companies that want meaningful search visibility.

5. The Attribution Dilemma

• Attribution tools were a hot topic; still considered "the default" for proving marketing value, but also increasingly obsolete:
  • AI and zero-click search are making true attribution harder, even as companies ramp up brand and tooling investments.
    • “For most marketing organizations that don’t have a sophisticated measurement model, they’re going to suffer… stuff is going to be increasingly harder to measure.” (Carolyn, 16:44)
• Emphasis on making the most of first-party data and understanding what's happening in the sales cycle—still areas of untapped opportunity for many.

6. Internal Politics & The Real Job of Marketing Leaders

• Carolyn has a major “aha” that the hardest part of CMO/VP marketing roles isn’t tactics or analytics, but the internal politics: convincing boards, navigating executive doubts, and "buying time" to show results.
  • “So much of what makes a job hard is navigating politics… and don’t want to be caught in the nuance of all of the analytics and shit like that… It’s not so much about the analytics, it's about buying time…help me tell a story that instills confidence.” (Carolyn, 21:00)
• Passetto’s mission is evolving to recognize this reality: their work isn’t just technical, it’s about helping leaders articulate progress and hold credibility with stakeholders.

7. RevOps, Sales-Marketing Alignment, and “Leaking Revenue”

• CMO guest (ex-Amazon marketing exec, upcoming on the show) argued that fixing “leaks” in the funnel is more valuable than more marketing activity.
  • "You don't need marketing to do more stuff... What you guys need is to stop leaking revenue throughout your entire cycle.” (Amber quoting, 26:49)
• Slow sales handoffs (3-day wait for MQLs) is a common operational failure, often a mix of technical and attitude problems.
• Discussion of misalignment exemplified by a sales attendee’s flippant advice: “Just lie on your reports… just say it came from paid search.” (Sales attendee, 29:03).
  • Both hosts see this as emblematic of broader disconnects and “derogatory” attitudes—problems Passetto wants to help solve.

8. Brand Investments: Why the Cautious Approach Fails

• Jess Cook’s breakout session revealed how pivotal major brand building was to Vector’s explosive early growth—and they didn’t measure brand, just revenue.
  • "Single handedly probably one of the most important things to be doing, you know?" (Carolyn on brand investments, 19:41)
• Most companies are overly cautious, prioritizing measurement over meaningfully differentiated brand and messaging—even though, paradoxically, that’s likely the source of real growth.

9. Upcoming Website & Positioning Refresh

• Announcing new collaboration with Fletch PMM for sharper positioning and homepage—catalyzed by learnings from Florida.
  • “We’ve been talking… about really honing in on what we do and who our ICP is… It’s time now. We know who we are, we know what we do.” (Carolyn, 32:51)
• Aim: one clear, memorable “thing” Passetto will be known for in the GTM ecosystem.

10. Showdown with Notorious B2B

• The hosts faced “Notorious B2B” talk show—TMZ-style B2B podcast—during a live event segment. Light-hearted “beef” with Chris Walker and Passetto referenced.
  • “They created the pot and then you went and stirred it.” (Carolyn, 30:02)
  • Used the drama as a unique opportunity for public website teardown and playful community engagement.

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• The Power of Events:
  “I’m glad we made it work because I feel like the ROI of the event is very clear … Our in person time. We got so much content recorded. … We ended up doing a lot of troubleshooting and strategy … and you get so much direct feedback.” (Amber, 05:09)

• ROI is Often Intangible:
  “What’s the ROI on that? I don’t know. Like, are we gonna like close a new deal tomorrow out of it? … I think so much of the value is not measurable.” (Carolyn, 06:48)

• On AI Content:
  “It is a race to the bottom … when you’re just using AI for volume, you get a lot of generic content.” (Carolyn paraphrasing Gitano, 14:06)

• Internal Politics Matter:
  “It’s not so much about the analytics, it’s about buying time… help me tell a story that instills confidence.” (Carolyn, 21:00)

• RevOps Reality Check:
  “You don’t need marketing to do more stuff… What you guys need is to stop leaking revenue throughout your entire cycle because you are leaking revenue everywhere.” (Paraphrasing Amazon CMO, 26:49)

• Blunt View on Reporting:
  “Just lie on your reports and just say that that came from paid search.” (Sales attendee, 29:03)

• Brand Over Measurement:
  “She said, honestly? … Full blown brand … They didn’t measure it… measured revenue.” (Carolyn quoting Jess Cook, 19:13)

• Positioning Progress:
  "We want people to know us for one thing." (Amber, 34:06)

Timestamps for Key Segments

• [04:37] – Is attending events worth it? Debating ROI & pushback.
• [05:08] – Making events work for content, strategy & feedback.
• [10:03] – AI in product marketing: Mojo PMM case study.
• [13:10] – AI SEO, with takeaways from Gitano & Jess Cook.
• [16:39] – Attribution models and the “zero-click” search challenge.
• [19:13] – Brand, growth, and "not measuring" (Jess Cook’s philosophy).
• [21:00] – Internal politics: credibility, buying time, and storytelling.
• [26:49] – RevOps: Fixing revenue leaks vs. more martech.
• [29:03] – Sales/marketing misalignment: "Just lie on your reports."
• [32:51] – Announcing new positioning refresh with Fletch PMM.

Takeaways for B2B GTM & Revenue Leaders

• In-person events are invaluable for strategy alignment, direct feedback, and meaningful networking—even if the ROI isn’t immediate or easily measured.
• The future of AI in marketing is less about hype and more about practical, cross-functional tools that actually reinforce standards and drive real results.
• Content and SEO strategies must move beyond automation and volume—subject-matter expertise matters more than ever.
• Attribution remains a challenge; focus on using the right measurement tools for the right problems and don’t get stuck on vanity metrics.
• Navigating politics and internal credibility is often the difference-maker for marketing leaders—not just data or tactics.
• Major investments in brand are critical and shouldn’t be delayed until “everything can be measured.”
• Continuous clarity of message and ICP focus will be Passetto’s next evolution, aiming to cut through B2B noise.
• Staying plugged into the community (even through playful beefs like the Notorious B2B segment) is both fun and informative.

Listener Call-to-Action:
The hosts invite feedback from listeners on what makes Passetto unique and what value the podcast brings. They plan to directly incorporate this into their upcoming positioning work.