Why Personalization Should Be Reconsidered

In this special episode of This Old Marketing, Joe and Robert tackle one of marketing's favorite habits: declaring things dead.

Every year, marketers rush to pronounce entire channels, strategies, and ideas obsolete. But many of the things we keep writing off are not only alive, they're quietly doing the hard work of building trust, relevance, and long-term value.

Joe and Robert break down what marketers think is dying (but isn't), why these fundamentals continue to matter, and what actually deserves to be put out of its misery.

Things Marketers Think Are Dead (But Aren't)

• The Website Why the website is still the center of gravity for trust, clarity, and audience ownership, especially as platforms become more volatile and AI-driven.

• Traditional PR and Communications How earned media, relationships, and credibility haven't disappeared, they've become harder to fake and more valuable as synthetic content explodes.

• Purpose-Driven Marketing Why purpose didn't die. Performative purpose did. Authentic values still matter, but only when they're proven through action over time.

• In-Person Events The enduring power of physical connection, shared experiences, and real community in a world dominated by digital noise.

Things That Probably Should Be Dead

• Safe Marketing Why playing it safe is the fastest way to be ignored, and how clarity, conviction, and point of view beat neutrality every time.

• The Myth of Personalization After 25 years of trying to get personalization right, most marketing still confuses data with relevance. True one-to-one personalization at scale remains elusive, often resulting in content that feels generic, invasive, or hollow. The real opportunity isn't more personalization, it's better positioning and messages that resonate deeply without pretending to speak to everyone individually.

Coming Soon: Listener Questions Episode

In a few weeks, Joe and Robert will be recording a special listener Q&A episode, and they want to hear from you.

Have a marketing question you want answered on the show? Submit your question in text or audio form at: https://www.thisoldmarketing.com/

Subscribe and Follow: Follow Joe Pulizzi and Robert Rose on LinkedIn for insights, hot takes, and weekly updates from the world of content and marketing.

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Get all the show notes: https://www.thisoldmarketing.com/

Get Joe's new book, Burn the Playbook, at http://www.joepulizzi.com/books/burn-the-playbook/ Subscribe to Joe's Newsletter at https://www.joepulizzi.com/signup/.

Get Robert Rose's new book, Valuable Friction, at https://robertrose.net/valuable-friction/ Subscribe to Robert's Newsletter at https://seventhbearlens.substack.com/

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This Old Marketing is part of the HubSpot Podcast Network: https://www.hubspot.com/podcastnetwork