Marketing B2B Technology

Interviews with leading B2B marketers and marketing technology providers give you the latest insights into marketing business-to-business technology products.

Marketing B2B Technology is a business podcast hosted by Mike Maynard, Napier, with 100 episodes on record and a Required Pod Score of 80.

Mike Maynard, Napier hosts Marketing B2B Technology, a business show with 100 episodes published.

Our AI reads these to draft pitches. Use them as grounding for a pitch that cites a real guest and a specific topic.

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  Episode #146

  AI, Email and the Future of B2B Marketing: Balancing Automation and Human Creativity

  Sep 30, 202639 min

  Brendan Farnand, Co-Founder and Chief Evangelist at Knak, joins the podcast to talk about his marketing career at IBM and Trend Micro and the recurring challenge of turning campaign ideas into executed assets. Farnand argues email remains a highly effective, owned channel, potentially becoming even more important in the AI era, but B2B teams often “settle” for outdated templates due to technical complexity and bottlenecks. He discusses balancing marketer creativity with brand and regulatory compliance, and balancing brand consistency with conversion on landing pages through cross-team alignment and testing. Farnand says “conversion” and gating practices are still being redefined, making experimentation critical, but testing is hindered by the chaotic “messy middle” between ideation and execution platforms. He cautions against fully agentic marketing that creates undifferentiated “AI slop,” advocating intentional human/AI balance and continuous learning. About Knak Knak is the agentic production layer for enterprise marketing. It's the system between creative brief and send, where your team and AI build on‑brand campaigns that are more personalized, more tested, and live in days. About Brendan Farnand Brendan is the Co-Founder and Chief Evangelist at Knak, where he's on a mission to revolutionize the way marketing teams produce campaigns. A seasoned expert in demand generation, customer experience and all things MOps, Brendan is passionate about empowering marketers with agentic solutions that unleash creativity, speed up execution, and drive real results. With a keen sense of innovation, he empowers brands to develop high-impact campaigns that drive meaningful revenue - without roadblocks. Time Stamps 00:00 Welcome and Guest Intro 01:37 Why Knak Exists 02:33 Email Isn’t Dead 05:57 What Makes Emails Good 09:34 Freedom vs Brand Control 12:17 Landing Pages and Testing 14:42 Gating Content and Conversions 17:09 The Messy Middle Bottleneck 20:08 Can AI Build Everything 24:41 Enterprise Production Reality 27:26 Customer Obsession at Knak 30:04 Future of AI Marketing 34:35 Career Advice for Marketers 35:57 Best Advice Received 36:54 Where to Learn More 37:48 Closing Thanks Quotes “Even if you do get ChatGPT to generate you an on-brand, perfectly coded email, good luck — there’s many more steps to go through in an enterprise before you can actually go to market with the campaign.” Brendan Farnand, Co-Founder and Chief Evangelist at Knak. “What’s really important for every enterprise organization today is to sit down and have the discussion: where should humans be involved, and where should agents be doing the work?” Brendan Farnand, Co-Founder and Chief Evangelist at Knak. “Really listen to your customers, listen to the market, listen to the people around you… before you speak your mind, just listen and learn.” Brendan Farnand, Co-Founder and Chief Evangelist at Knak. Follow Brendan: Brendan Farnand on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/brendanfarnand/ Knak website: https://knak.com/ Knak LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/knak-/ Follow Mike: Mike Maynard on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mikemaynard/ Napier website: https://www.napierb2b.com/ Napier LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/napier-partnership-limited/ If you enjoyed this episode, be sure to subscribe to our podcast for more discussions about the latest in Marketing B2B Tech and connect with us on social media to stay updated on upcoming episodes. We'd also appreciate it if you could leave us a review on your favourite podcast platform. Want more? Check out Napier’s other podcast - The Marketing Automation Moment: https://podcasts.apple.com/ua/podcast/the-marketing-automation-moment-podcast/id1659211547

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  Episode #145

  Mastering B2B Marketing: Power of Differentiation with Alex Wood at Avnet

  Sep 11, 202632 min

  Alex Wood, Global Marketing Director at Avnet and Tria, joins the podcast to talk about his journey into tech marketing and why he has stayed at Avnet for eight years through acquisitions, restructures, and multiple rebrands. Wood explains that Tria designs and manufactures customizable compute modules for OEMs across many industries, helping customers start from standard modules and tailor specs such as ports, heat resilience, and vibration resistance, supported by in-house design and manufacturing in Germany and partnerships with Intel, NXP, and Qualcomm. He describes why Avnet moved from MSC to an independent Tria brand to avoid being perceived as a transactional distributor, and how distinctive pink branding drove awareness and clearer positioning. Wood shares approaches to marketing engineers with bold attention plus useful specs, warns against low-value AI content, and emphasizes lead quality and meaningful customer conversations as key success metrics. About Avnet Avnet Inc. is a global Fortune 250 tech company that supplies electronics components and solutions to OEMs all over the world. Avnet was founded in 1921 on Radio Row in New York, and today is a multi-faceted corporation comprising a range of well-known electronics and technology businesses worldwide, including Tria. Tria Technologies is an Avnet company that designs and manufactures embedded computing for OEMs and other businesses that need industrial, high-performance computing integrated into their products. From standard off-the-shelf compute modules to full-custom systems and even touchscreens and HMIs, Tria’s innovations have been used in everything from coffee machines to farming equipment. About Alex Wood Alex is a Marketing Director at Avnet, running marketing and communications globally for Avnet’s Embedded Solutions business unit, which includes the market-leading embedded computing brand Tria. Alex started his marketing journey under the sea, literally, working for a scuba diving brand. Today he specialises in highly targeted technology marketing as well as business strategy for rapid, international growth. In his spare time Alex is a photographer, hiker and outdoorsman, enjoying climbing mountains or finding himself back under the sea where he started. Time Stamps 00:00 Welcome and Introductions 02:32 What Tria Actually Does 03:53 Tria Differentiators 06:06 Why B2B Tech Marketing 07:29 Rebrand to Tria Story 11:31 Bold Pink Brand Identity 14:48 Did the Rebrand Work 16:58 Marketing to Engineers 21:45 Partner Marketing Balance 25:17 Measuring Campaign Success 27:39 Advice and Wrap Up Quotes “If you’ve got someone’s attention, you need to give them something valuable as quickly as possible and make them want more instead of just bombarding them with content.” Alex Wood, Marketing Director at Avnet. “Would you buy this? It seems overly simplistic, but a lot of the time marketers fall into this trap of selling a product to the customer in a way that they would never listen to themselves.” Alex Wood, Marketing Director at Avnet. “The pink logo is superliminal marketing. It is a ‘you cannot ignore us.’ Alex Wood, Marketing Director at Avnet. Follow Alex: Alex Wood on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/marketingforthewin/ Avnet website: https://www.avnet.com/americas/ Avnet LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/avnet/ Tria website: https://www.tria-technologies.com/ Tria LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/triatechnologies/ Follow Mike: Mike Maynard on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mikemaynard/ Napier website: https://www.napierb2b.com/ Napier LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/napier-partnership-limited/ If you enjoyed this episode, be sure to subscribe to our podcast for more discussions about the latest in Marketing B2B Tech and connect with us on social media to stay updated on upcoming episodes. We'd also appreciate it if you could leave us a review on your favourite podcast platform. Want more? Check out Napier’s other podcast - The Marketing Automation Moment: https://podcasts.apple.com/ua/podcast/the-marketing-automation-moment-podcast/id1659211547

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  Episode #144

  AI Meets Direct Mail: Enhancing Marketing Strategies with Brad Kugler at DirectMail2.0

  Aug 13, 202627 min

  Brad Kugler, CEO and co-founder of DirectMail2.0, joins the podcast to talk about moving from his family’s packaged media business hit by streaming-driven revenue declines after 2011–2012 into disrupting direct mail with technology and recurring revenue. Kugler explains how DM2.0 combines “ink on paper” with a bundled SaaS “performance stack” including landing pages, QR codes, email, USPS mail tracking, and attribution to measure real-time engagement rather than just ROI, typically targeting 3–5% engagement and identifying individual responders. He describes acquiring Who’s Mailing What to expand a direct mail database, using AI propensity modelling across 80,000 campaigns and two billion mail pieces, and applying multiple LLMs to grade creatives and recommend improvements. Kluger notes direct mail fits high-LTV sectors and is underutilized in B2B and advises persistence and learning AI skills. About DirectMail2.0 DirectMail2.0 is the creator of the industry's first Complete Direct Mail Performance Stack, a connected ecosystem that helps marketers plan, optimize, execute, and measure more successful direct mail campaigns. The stack combines Who's Mailing What! for direct mail intelligence and prospecting, DM20.ai for AI-powered campaign prediction and optimization, and DirectMail2.0 for omnichannel campaign execution, tracking, and attribution. Together, these platforms give brands, agencies, printers, and mail service providers everything they need to make smarter direct mail decisions and drive better marketing results. About Brad Kugler Brad Kugler is the CEO of DirectMail2.0, Who’s Mailing What!, and DM20.ai, three platforms dedicated to helping marketers and commercial printers achieve better results from direct mail. A lifelong entrepreneur and innovator, Brad combines data, technology, and market intelligence to help businesses make smarter marketing decisions, improve campaign performance, and uncover new growth opportunities in an increasingly competitive marketplace. Time Stamps 00:00 Welcome and Introductions 00:39 Brad’s Career Pivot 03:56 Why Direct Mail Works 05:01 Direct Mail 2.0 Tech 08:40 Scaling the Platform 10:21 Best Fit Industries 13:04 Tracking Engagement Data 15:33 Who’s Mailing What Data 17:29 AI Creative Grading 23:25 Advice and Wrap Up Quotes “No gatekeeper... No worrying about them getting 600 emails a day and deleting 590 of them in 10 minutes.” Brad Kugler, CEO at DirectMail2.0. “Direct mail... turns heads. It’s tactile. You can touch it. You can see it. You can feel it.” Brad Kugler, CEO at DirectMail2.0. “This AI revolution... will dwarf the internet e-commerce revolution of the early 2000s.” Brad Kugler, CEO at DirectMail2.0. Follow Brad: Brad Kugler on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/bradkugler/ DirectMail2.0 on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/directmail2.0/ DirectMail2.0 on X: https://x.com/directmail20 DirectMail2.0 on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/directmail2 DirectMail2.0 on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCcF4C08OsZIRbiMbWtG27hw DirectMail2.0 website: https://directmail2.com/ Follow Mike: Mike Maynard on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mikemaynard/ Napier website: https://www.napierb2b.com/ Napier LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/napier-partnership-limited/ If you enjoyed this episode, be sure to subscribe to our podcast for more discussions about the latest in Marketing B2B Tech and connect with us on social media to stay updated on upcoming episodes. We'd also appreciate it if you could leave us a review on your favourite podcast platform. Want more? Check out Napier’s other podcast - The Marketing Automation Moment: https://podcasts.apple.com/ua/podcast/the-marketing-automation-moment-podcast/id1659211547

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  Marketing B2B Technology

  The Evolution of AI in Marketing: A Discussion with Rafa Flores at Treasure AI

  Jul 22, 202631 min

  Rafa Flores, Chief Product and Growth Officer of Treasure AI, joins the podcast to talk about his career path from engineering recruiter to “boomerang” leader returning after six years away, and Treasure Data’s rebrand to Treasure AI. Flores says the shift is an evolution based on the company’s machine-learning and predictive heritage, its technical DNA of using AI internally, and a desire to create a lifestyle-like community brand. He explains Treasure AI Studio, which orchestrates CDP and activation in plain English across web and mobile, enabling faster troubleshooting, campaign deployment, and real-time insights. Flores argues first-party data remains a “goldmine” but must be activated incrementally with governed access; how AI helps answer questions quickly but requires guardrails, discusses fear and overemphasis on speed/cost versus value and predicts growth of “digital workers”. About Treasure AI Treasure AI is the agentic experience platform helping the world's most loved brands finally activate the customer data they already have. Founded in 2011 and backed by SoftBank, the company spent 15 years quietly building the infrastructure behind some of the most recognizable names in retail, automotive, CPG, and financial services — before rebranding in 2026 to reflect what it had always been building toward. Named a Forrester Wave Leader for B2C CDPs, Treasure AI unifies fragmented first-party data into a single living customer profile and puts AI to work on it in real time, on behalf of human marketers who set the strategy and make the calls. The result for brands like Nestlé, AB InBev, Stellantis, and Condé Nast is measurable: millions in recovered media spend, significant revenue generated, and marketing teams that finally get to go home on time. About Rafa Flores Rafa Flores is the Chief Product and Growth Officer at Treasure AI, where he leads product strategy and growth with a simple conviction: the best technology gives people their time back. A builder by nature and a father of four, Rafa has always believed that progress is personal — that the products worth building are the ones that free someone up to be more present, more creative, and more human. That belief drives everything from how he runs his teams to the unconventional call he made to give away free access to a platform traditionally reserved for Fortune 500 companies, a bet that raised eyebrows and is already showing results. He brings that same bias toward progress to every stage he walks onto. Time Stamps 00:00 Welcome and Guest Intro 00:39 Rafa’s Career Journey 01:53 Returning to Treasure Data 03:25 Move at Speed of Now 04:12 Rebrand to Treasure AI 07:22 Lifestyle Brand in B2B 09:57 AI Studio Use Cases 12:37 First Party Data Goldmine 16:29 AI Hype and Real Value 18:38 Digital Workers Ahead 20:31 SaaS Future and Guardrails 23:59 PLG Try Now Campaign 26:02 Advice and Wrap Up Quotes "It's not just about how much time AI can save you, it's also about how much revenue it can drive for the business." Rafa Flores, CPO at Treasure AI. "Digital workers are about better supporting the human in the loop." Rafa Flores, CPO at Treasure AI. "The biggest mistake is everyone wants to rush to deploy AI." Rafa Flores, CPO at Treasure AI. Follow Rafa: Rafa Flores on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ref2019/ Rafa Flores on Forbes: https://www.forbes.com/councils/forbestechcouncil/people/rafaelflores/ Treasure AI website: https://www.treasure.ai/ Treasure AI YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@TreasureData Follow Mike: Mike Maynard on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mikemaynard/ Napier website: https://www.napierb2b.com/ Napier LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/napier-partnership-limited/ If you enjoyed this episode, be sure to subscribe to our podcast for more discussions about the latest in Marketing B2B Tech and connect with us on social media to stay updated on upcoming episodes. We'd also appreciate it if you could leave us a review on your favourite podcast platform. Want more? Check out Napier’s other podcast - The Marketing Automation Moment: https://podcasts.apple.com/ua/podcast/the-marketing-automation-moment-podcast/id1659211547

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  Episode #142

  Harnessing AI for Breakthroughs in Marketing with Jon Benson at BNSN

  Jun 24, 202634 min

  Jon Benson, founder and CEO of BNSN, joins the podcast to talk about his path from writing the “Fit Over 40” book to becoming a leading direct-response copywriter and building AI tools for copywriting. Benson explains why video sales letters (VSLs) are effective, combining voice and text, narrative, and emotional pain points to reduce skepticism and improve message retention. He describes how his software BNSN generates higher-quality copy than generic chatbots by training on strong examples and running multiple rewriting passes to remove common AI artifacts. Benson argues B2B marketers should write to one person, focus on relieving the buyer’s pain rather than company features, and use tactics like strong subject lines and PS sections in emails. About BNSN BNSN.AI is an AI-powered copywriting platform built for small business owners to create high-converting ads, emails, and sales pages in minutes. It is trained on proven, high-performing marketing campaigns and designed to simplify the process of writing persuasive copy through promptless AI tools and built-in marketing frameworks. About Jon Benson Jon BENSON is a copywriter, entrepreneur, and AI pioneer whose work has quietly shaped how the world buys things online. Best known as the inventor of the Video Sales Letter, the format that became the backbone of modern digital marketing, he has spent decades writing words that move people to act—not through manipulation, but through what he calls “ethical persuasion.” In 2010, Jon turned his attention to copywriting software, becoming one of the earliest pioneers at the intersection of AI and sales copy. That work eventually evolved into BNSN, a platform trained exclusively on high-converting marketing campaigns and built for small business owners who sell good things to good people. BNSN reflects Jon’s core belief that the human element of business—community, coaching, and genuine connection—separates sustainable success from a flash in the pan. Time Stamps 00:00 Welcome and Introductions 02:22 Nontechnical AI Builder 05:33 Why VSLs Convert 08:28 Narrative and Pain 12:14 Customers and Big Ideas 16:31 Beating AI Slop 20:38 Fixing B2B Copy 25:16 Email Subject and PS 27:40 Career Advice on AI 31:58 Resources and Wrap Up Quotes “There’s no such thing as selling to a business. It doesn’t exist. You’re selling to a person at a business.” Jon Benson, CEO at BNSN. “If you don’t speak to the pain of your prospect, you’re not ever going to make them feel like they’re seen, heard, or understood.” Jon Benson, CEO at BNSN. Follow Jon: Jon Benson on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jonbenson Jon Benson on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/itsjonbenson/ Jon Benson on X: https://x.com/itsjonbenson Jon Benson on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/itsjonbenson Jon Benson on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCPDvmgurd-rym4pyPjviIuw BNSN website: https://bnsn.ai/ Follow Mike: Mike Maynard on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mikemaynard/ Napier website: https://www.napierb2b.com/ Napier LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/napier-partnership-limited/ If you enjoyed this episode, be sure to subscribe to our podcast for more discussions about the latest in Marketing B2B Tech and connect with us on social media to stay updated on upcoming episodes. We'd also appreciate it if you could leave us a review on your favourite podcast platform. Want more? Check out Napier’s other podcast - The Marketing Automation Moment: https://podcasts.apple.com/ua/podcast/the-marketing-automation-moment-podcast/id1659211547

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