Hi {{first_name}} ,
Welcome to 2026! I’m proud of myself for writing and sending this each month for 6 months! I want to make sure this newsletter serves you. What topics should I cover more in 2026?
Each month, I cut through the marketing noise to bring you real talk from other leaders, what’s actually worth reading, and the occasional hot take that makes you think.
In today’s newsletter:
Table of Contents
What’s On My Mind
What happens when AI mediocrity floods our feeds? We stop trusting anything AI-generated.
2026 will be the year we reject AI-content in favor of handmade, human-verified content.
Because once we recognize AI can only deliver mediocrity, we stop trusting anything that looks too polished, too perfect, too... AI-generated. And when trust is lost, people reach for what they know is real.
2025 saw Sora videos with AI babies and fake Taylor Swift filling our TikTok feeds; and Nano Banana Pro photos churning out nearly pixel-perfect replicas of real photos. The surge of AI-generated content led to a swift and overwhelming backlash, as people recognized our new reality: we can no longer trust what we see online.
We’ve already seen brands embrace this trend during the 2025 holiday season, marking early acceptance of AI-rejection by some, even while others double down on AI content. Spotify’s 2025 Wrapped completely revamped its visual identity to meet the desires of its customers, and as a response to criticism from 2024’s AI-generated content. “We were aware of the AI criticism and went the other way,” Jeremy Wirth, Spotify’s global head of creative, told ADWEEK. “We wanted something that felt more handmade and a bit messier by design… to feel fresh and human,” Wirth said. The new design was inspired by a pre-streaming technology era: the homemade mix-tape culture of the 1990s and early 2000s.
Retail brands like Burberry, Hermes, and Lacoste tapped into the craft trends for their holiday campaigns with hand-drawn illustrations and animated short-form content that “brought warmth and personality to social feeds, allowing brands to connect on a more intimate, joyful level,” according to Because of Marketing.
People want to consume authentic content, and now it’s on brands to prove said content is human-made. Brands like Patagonia and Everlane, long champions of transparency, are testing “100% human-made” badges on ads. Marketing leaders are already pivoting. One agency head told CNN that clients demand “human-certified” campaigns to stand out, signaling a potential $10 billion market for authenticity verification tech by decade’s end. Brands have an opportunity to not only right-size their use of AI for content creation and turn to humans instead, they can also get ahead of consumer backlash by proactively articulating when, where, and how they’re using AI.
And if you do use AI in content creation, say so. Your customers are smart. They’ll figure it out anyway. Don’t lose trust by hiding it. Better yet: go the other direction. Put people front and center. Lean into the warmth and authenticity of our pre-AI era. Make things that feel handmade, even if that means they’re imperfect
Companies that stand out in 2026 won’t be the ones that automate everything fastest. They’ll be the ones who know how to create human connection, and that means keeping people front and center.
Open Browser Tabs
Here’s where I share what I’ve found worthwhile among the myriad newsletters, podcasts, and open tabs across my devices lately. No fluff, just the good stuff.
🌸“AI-powered” is the new “florals? for spring?” It’s time to go back to Product Marketing 101: Message your benefits, not your features! In an effort to make sure everyone knows your product is “AI-native,” you’ve probably lost the benefits your product provides that your customer is actually looking for. This Fast Company article makes the argument I’ve been making for months with my own clients: “Customers are not thinking “If only I could infuse synergistic LLMs into my workflow!” Instead, they’re thinking: “Why is this report taking six hours to build?” “Why is our customer support so slow?” and “Why is this expensive? Is there a more efficient way?””
tl;dr: The article, written by a Google Maps PMM, articulates the frustration many marketers are having, yet we’re all falling prey to anyway. When higher-ups want to make sure the market knows we have an AI product, messaging becomes about the feature—AI—and not the value delivered by AI. I’m hoping 2026 is the year we go beyond AI-washing our marketing, and can go back to showcasing the benefits and value delivered instead. You know, the true differentiation.
What I’m Working On
A bit of my own writing, recent engagements, client updates, and things I’m doing.
📊 How PMMs actually earn roadmap influence. Between coaching clients on PM/PMM dynamics and moderating a Sharebird panel on earning roadmap influence, I’ve gathered some nuggets on how the best PMM teams work with their product counterparts. The tl;dr:
Be the market expert PMs can't ignore: Set up competitive alerts, read what your customers read, and attend their conferences to gather the best, most recent market insights. When you genuinely understand the market better than anyone else in the room, product teams start pulling you in early and often to guide their thinking.
Synthesize customer insights, don’t just catalog them: Product doesn't want raw customer feedback dumped in their lap. They want patterns, business impact, and your recommendation on the best path forward. Try sharing a quarterly synthesis of customer feedback showing the revenue at stake if you don’t build what’s being asked. Tie the product team’s impact to tangible business outcomes for them if they’re not doing so already.
Show up consistently with insights: Bring 1-2 concrete market or customer insights to every product meeting. Do this for six months and watch how the relationship shifts. When product asks "what should we build?" instead of telling you "here's what we built, go launch it,” you’ll know you’ve made it.
🤖 Will 2026 be the year we put AI in its place? I might be a little too obsessed with AI, if my 2026 prediction posts are any indication. But it’s not what it sounds like: I think 2026 is the year we recognize how much we’ve ceded to AI, and instead reframe where, when, and how we use AI. From recognizing AI is only as helpful as the person who’s prompting it, to valuing human-made content and people-first stories, over on Substack I’m writing about how we’ll shift the role AI plays in our work, our marketing, and our careers. What do you think—is this the year we admit AI isn’t actually a good marketer?
Need Help With Your Q1 Goals?
I have room for just a few more Q1 engagements, otherwise I’m booking now for Q2! I can help:
Train your team on storytelling and messaging that differentiates and resonates (Interested in my new messaging workshop? Let me know!)
Speak at your event or off-site about marketing, messaging, and how to make launches not suck
Coach marketing leaders on strategy, launches, and team development
Strategize messaging, launches, and content strategies that work across every channel
One last thing…
If you’re hiring, let me know—I know a bunch of talented marketers from Senior Manager to VP looking for their next role, and I’d love to connect you! I like helping great people work for great people.
Jodi