The marketing workflow that will disappear completely over the next 3 years

Summary

Podcast Summary:

MarTech Podcast™ // Marketing + Technology = Business Growth
Episode: The marketing workflow that will disappear completely over the next 3 years
Date: August 8, 2026
Host: Benjamin Shapiro
Guest: Brendan Ferdinand, Co-founder & Chief Evangelist at Knack

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Episode Overview

In this episode, host Benjamin Shapiro speaks with Brendan Ferdinand, co-founder and Chief Evangelist at Knack, a SaaS company focused on marketing automation. Together, they discuss how artificial intelligence (AI) is reshaping enterprise marketing workflows and identify which traditional processes are likely to disappear entirely over the next three years. The conversation draws on Brendan’s insights gathered from meetings with over 100 enterprise marketing teams—including OpenAI, Google, Stripe, and AT&T—to explore the evolving roles within marketing departments and the increasing obsolescence of technical handoffs.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. State of Marketing Integration & Content Performance

• Brendan Ferdinand shares that deeply integrated content marketing, leveraging data and personalized outreach, far outperforms traditional TV advertising.
• Key Metrics Shared:
  • Open rates across programs and clients observed by Knack range from 55% to 65%.
  • Personalized, timed outreach is essential to campaign success.
  • “Getting brands authentically integrated into content performs better than TV advertising.” — Brendan Ferdinand [00:25]

2. The Short Lifecycle of Digital Content

• Benjamin Shapiro notes the limited window for content relevance:
  • “Typical lifespan of an article is about 24 to 36 hours.” [00:42]
  • Emphasis is placed on precise audience targeting and timing.

3. The Role of AI in Enterprise Marketing Campaigns

• Brendan Ferdinand has spent the last year meeting with over 100 enterprise marketing teams to analyze:
  • Where AI delivers real value in marketing campaign execution.
  • The distinction between companies merely experimenting with AI and those achieving significant, measurable improvements.

4. The Marketing Workflow Poised for Extinction

[Main Segment: 02:54–04:16]

• Benjamin Shapiro asks:
  • “What's one marketing workflow you think disappears completely over the next three years?” [02:54]
• Brendan Ferdinand responds emphatically:
  • The handoff to technical personnel or technical steps in campaign execution will “be gone in the next three years.”
  • “...If you look at marketers, what you hire them for: they are hired to be creative, to do amazing marketing campaigns, to make an impact on the audience that is meaningful to your products. And that doesn't involve any technical work.” [02:59]
  • There’s no longer a need for marketers to know HTML, Ampscript, or complex manipulation of marketing automation platforms—these are becoming obsolete due to advances in AI-powered SaaS.
• Even in enterprises where developer involvement is still common, Brendan argues that such roles in marketing workflows are on the verge of extinction:
  • “...let alone developers, a lot of enterprises that we bump into still have developers working with marketers...I think that will be completely gone in the next three years.” [03:40]
• The episode frames this shift not as a loss, but a realignment—so marketers spend more time on creative and strategic tasks.

5. Cold Outbound Emails—Here to Stay?

• Humorous Interlude:
  • Benjamin Shapiro: “I was really hoping you’d say untargeted, cold, outbound emails, but I don’t think that’s going away any.” [04:16]
  • Brendan Ferdinand: “I wish. We all wish, but...” [04:22]
  • Signals ongoing industry frustration with spam tactics, but resignation that these won’t disappear quickly.

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• “Any handoff to a technical person or technical part of the process, I think will be gone in the next three years.”
  — Brendan Ferdinand [02:59]

• “Nothing in that [marketer’s] job description is like, ‘Hey, you should have to know HTML or ampscript or how to manipulate a giant marketing automation platform. That’s overcomplicated. Those things will all be gone very soon, I believe.’”
  — Brendan Ferdinand [03:25]

• “A lot of enterprises still have developers working with marketers...I think that will be completely gone in the next three years.”
  — Brendan Ferdinand [03:40]

• “I was really hoping you’d say untargeted, cold, outbound emails, but I don’t think that’s going away any.”
  — Benjamin Shapiro [04:16]

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Key Timestamps

• 00:25 – Performance metrics of integrated content and outreach
• 00:42–01:00 – The critical importance of timing and targeting
• 01:15 – Introduction of Brendan Ferdinand and Knack’s AI workflow experience
• 02:54–04:16 – In-depth discussion: “The workflow that will disappear” (technical handoffs)
• 04:16–04:22 – Banter on cold outbound emails’ perpetual existence

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Tone & Language

• Pragmatic and insightful: Eyes-open about the complications of current enterprise marketing, but optimistic about the power of AI to liberate marketers for higher-value work.
• Conversational and candid: The discussion flows naturally, mixing industry expertise with real-world anecdotes and dry humor.

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Summary Takeaways

• The marketing workflow most likely to disappear in the next three years is the technical handoff phase.
  • Advances in AI are making it possible for marketers to focus strictly on creative and strategic tasks—without the need for coding or technical complexity.
  • These trends are already present in some enterprises and are accelerating rapidly.
• Despite ongoing frustration, impersonal outbound tactics like cold emailing are unlikely to die off soon.
• Marketers should prepare for a future where tech skills are less central to their daily workflows, and creative, strategic work takes precedence.

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This episode highlights a pivotal transformation in marketing: the erosion of technical barriers between creativity and campaign execution, with AI as the key enabler.

Transcript

[Podcast Announcer]

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[Brendan Ferdinand]

From advertising to software as a service to data across all of our programs and clients, we've seen a 55 to 65% open rate. Getting brands authentically integrated into content performs better than TV advertising.

[Benjamin Shapiro]

Typical lifespan of an article is about 24 to 36 hours. We're reaching out to the right person

[Brendan Ferdinand]

with the right message and a clear call to action. Then it's just a matter of timing.

[Podcast Announcer]

Welcome to the Martech Podcast, a member of the I Hear Everything Podcast Network. In this podcast you'll hear the stories of world class marketers that you technology to drive business results and achieve career success. Here's the host of the Martech Podcast, Benjamin Shapiro

[Benjamin Shapiro]

I'm Benjamin Shapiro and today I'm talking with Brendan Ferdinand, the co founder and Chief evangelist at Knack. Brendan spent the past year talking with more than 100 enterprise marketing teams including OpenAI, Google, Stripe, and AT&T, to understand where AI helps, where it breaks, and what separates companies experimenting with AI from the ones that are actually shipping better marketing and today, Brendan's gonna explain how marketing campaigns should function in the AI era.

[Shift Paradigm Sponsor]

Today's interview is brought to you by Shift Paradigm. Marketing today is buried in complexity. You've got the tech, you've got the tools, but moving the needle feels harder than ever. And the last thing us marketers need is another consultant pitching digital transformation. Enter Shift Paradigm. Shift is an integrated team of experts who help enterprise brands turn complexity into traction. Their work is insight led and strategically grounded, designed not to sell you a service or a piece of tech, but to actually solve real business challenges. What makes them different? Well, they're AI enabled but not AI dependent. They're human first, but plugged into the latest tools and models and the moments those models need to go through to prove themselves. They get techy without losing sight of the real person behind every click. And they don't just hand you a deck, they build the blueprints and stay to develop, deploy and run the engine. Growth isn't one size fits all, so stop settling for strategies that collect dust and start working with the team that actually builds for you. Visit ShiftParadigm.com to see how they can help you connect meaningfully with your audience. That's ShiftParadigm.com Last question for you, what's

[Benjamin Shapiro]

one marketing workflow you think disappears completely over the next three years?

[Brendan Ferdinand]

Any handoff to a technical person or technical part of the process, I think will be gone in the next three years. I think it's, you know, a lot of organizations that I'm seeing, it's already been eradicated. But, you know, if I, if you look at, you know, marketers, what you hire them for, they are hired to be creative, to do amazing marketing campaigns, to make an impact on the audience that. That is meaningful to your products and, and that doesn't involve any technical work. Right. That, like, nothing in that job description is like, hey, you should have to know HTML or ampscript or, or how to, you know, manipulate a giant marketing automation platform. That's overcomplicated. You know, those. Those things will all be gone very soon, I believe. Yeah. And let alone developers, a lot of. A lot of enterprises that we bump into are still. Still have developers, you know, working with marketers and all that kind of thing. And I think that will be completely gone in the next three years.

[Benjamin Shapiro]

I was really hoping you'd say untargeted, cold, outbound emails, but I don't think that's going away any.

[Brendan Ferdinand]

I wish. We all wish, but.

[Benjamin Shapiro]

All right, Brendan, I appreciate you coming on, telling us a little bit about marketing campaigns and sharing your knowledge and, oh, my God, you have five kids. You go get some rest, man.

[Brendan Ferdinand]

Thank you. I gotta go open the pickle jar at home.

[Benjamin Shapiro]

There you go. All right, that wraps up this episode of the Martech podcast. Thanks to Brendan Ferdinand, the co founder and chief evangelist at Knack, for joining us.

[Shift Paradigm Sponsor]

A special thanks to Shift Paradigm for sponsoring this podcast. Shift is an integrated team of experts who help enterprise brands bridge the gap between strategy data and customers. Human first, AI enabled and execution led. They build the blueprints, then state a, develop, deploy, and run the engine you need. So stop settling for decks that collect dust and start working with a team that actually builds for you. Visit ShiftParadigm.com to see how they can help you connect meaningfully with your audience.

[Benjamin Shapiro]

If you'd like to contact Brendan, you could find a link to his LinkedIn profile in our show notes or on martechpod.com or you could visit his company's website, which is knack.com k n a k dot com. If you haven't subscribed yet and you want a daily stream of marketing and technology knowledge in your podcast feed, hit the subscribe button in your podcast app or Visit us on YouTube and we'll be back in your feed every week. All right, that's it for today, but until next time, my advice is to just focus on keeping your customers happy.

[Podcast Announcer]

Thanks for listening to the Martech podcast and I hear everything. Production Looking to launch or scale a podcast like this one for your brand? Then visit iheareverything. Com.