Skip to content
All posts

The Future of Content Marketing - An Interview with Robert Rose

Picture of Nicholas Page   Nicholas Page  ·  2 minute read

 

Content marketing has always been about building trust and delivering value, but today the field is evolving faster than ever. In this episode of Tech Marketing Trends, host Jakob Löwenbrand speaks with Robert Rose, Chief Strategy Advisor at the Content Marketing Institute and founder of The Content Advisory. With decades of experience helping companies craft winning strategies, Robert offers an insider’s perspective on where content marketing is heading, how AI is changing the landscape, and what marketers must do to stay relevant.

 

How Robert Rose found his way into content marketing and strategy

Robert shares how his journey began as a CMO for a startup, where he realized the key to competing against industry giants wasn’t budget or noise, but creating deeper, smarter content. This mindset eventually led him to join Joe Pulizzi at the Content Marketing Institute, helping shape the very definition of content marketing.

“We’ll never be as loud as the big players, but we can be much deeper in our thinking. That’s where great thought leadership comes in.” - Robert Rose

 

 

The evolution of content marketing beyond lead generation

Content marketing has long been associated with top-of-funnel awareness and inbound strategies. But Robert emphasizes how the practice has expanded across the customer journey, from onboarding to loyalty programs, enabling brands to provide real value at every stage.

“Companies started to realize that content wasn’t just for brand awareness. It became about improving every part of the customer’s journey.”

 

 

AI’s disruption: challenge or opportunity?

Generative AI has dominated recent conversations, but Robert warns against overreliance on it. He suggests marketers should view AI as a tool for expression and efficiency rather than a replacement for creativity. The real danger, he argues, lies in the flood of mediocre content it produces.

“Generative AI doesn’t give us the best content. It gives us the most probable content. The real point of view still has to come from us.”

 

 

pexels-nanamusic-31566915

 

Building trust in a noisy, AI-saturated market

With so much average content flooding channels, Robert stresses that the long-term differentiator is trust, not attention. Rather than chasing clicks with provocative messaging, marketers should focus on delivering consistent, valuable, and trustworthy content that audiences actively seek out.

“We have to start indexing more toward trust than attention. Becoming a trusted source of interesting things is the ultimate goal.”

 

 

Preparing for the future: first-party data and operating like media companies

Robert also highlights the importance of first-party data as privacy laws tighten and platforms control more of the audience relationship. He urges marketers to think like publishers by creating ecosystems that audiences want to subscribe to and return to regularly.

“The secret to content marketing success is not campaigns but operating like a media company. Treat content as a strategic asset, not a byproduct.”

 

 

Learn more