B2B Marketing with Dave Gerhardt

How to Stop The Busywork in B2B Marketing (with Dmitry Shamis)

Apr 17, 2025

Dmitry Shamis, former Head of Brand at HubSpot and founder of Oh Snap, shares his expertise in B2B marketing. He discusses the true essence of brand identity and how many teams become overwhelmed by busywork rather than focusing on impactful marketing. Dmitry emphasizes the importance of having a unique point of view and aligning marketing with product strategies for genuine differentiation. The conversation also explores how AI can streamline processes and enhance creativity, while reminding marketers of the value of human ingenuity.

46:25

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Episode guests

Dmitry Shamis

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Episode notes

Podcast summary created with Snipd AI

Quick takeaways

Marketing teams often get bogged down by busy work, which detracts from productivity and leads to burnout and frustration.

A strong brand identity in B2B encompasses more than visuals, focusing on a cohesive narrative that aligns with the company's mission.

AI is a valuable tool in B2B marketing, designed to automate mundane tasks and enable marketers to focus on strategic initiatives.

Deep dives

The Challenge of Busy Work in Marketing

Marketing teams often find themselves overwhelmed by busy work, spending significant amounts of time on routine communications instead of focusing on core marketing tasks. The episode highlights that, on average, marketing professionals dedicate around 28 hours a week managing communications, which leads to frustration and burnout. This busy work detracts from productivity and effectiveness, preventing teams from achieving their goals. It is emphasized that while teams are busy, they must gain clarity on their priorities to avoid getting sidetracked by tasks that do not drive results.

Intro

3min

Navigating B2B Marketing Challenges

20min

Navigating Lifecycle Marketing: Goals and Strategies for Success

4min

Balancing Brand and Performance Marketing

11min

Building a Future-Proof Creative Agency

2min

Building a Strong B2B Brand

4min

Building Connections in B2B Marketing and Navigating Performance Measurement

3min

#238: Brand | In this episode, Dave sits down with Dmitry Shamis, former Head of Brand at HubSpot and now founder of Oh Snap, to talk about what brand really means in B2B and why so many teams are stuck doing busy work instead of meaningful marketing. After leading a team of 150+ creatives and scaling HubSpot’s brand across multiple products, Dmitry shares lessons on building brands that actually stand out.

Dave and Dmitry cover:

How to stand out in a crowded market
How to develop and refine your point of view
Why marketers get lost in busy work and how to stop it
What to look for when hiring great designers
The role of AI in B2B marketing today (and what it won’t replace)

Timestamps

(00:00) - – Intro to Dmitry
(05:33) - – What brand actually means in B2B
(07:53) - – Why your POV is the foundation of your brand
(10:03) - – How to uncover a real, differentiated POV
(14:02) - – How to stand out in a crowded, same-sounding market
(16:37) - – Why differentiation requires alignment between product and marketing
(19:27) - – Building trust with product teams
(20:16) - – Busy work in marketing: how to spot it and stop it
(22:58) - – Why marketers burn out and how poor prioritization is killing teams
(27:02) - – Making the case for brand work when it’s hard to measure
(28:37) - – The “fishing” analogy: performance vs brand marketing
(33:08) - – The real opportunity with AI in B2B marketing
(37:07) - – How AI can eliminate bottlenecks and speed up creative execution
(38:37) - – Why Dmitry’s starting a creative agency (Oh Snap) and how it’s different
(41:45) - – How to hire great designers: what to look for beyond the portfolio

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***

Today’s episode is brought to you by Grammarly.

Ever have one of those weeks where you spent more time replying to Slack and email than doing actual marketing work?

You’re not alone. The average marketing team spends 28+ hours a week just keeping up with comms.

That leads to burnout, frustration, and a whole lot of performative productivity that doesn’t actually move the needle.

AI-fluent marketing teams are changing that. Grammarly’s 2025 Productivity Shift Report shows how they’re using AI to:

– Cut down on back-and-forth

– Automate content, research, and reporting

– Eliminate busywork

– Make space for strategy

We’re marketers because we love crafting campaigns, driving revenue, and proving impact – not spending all day buried in messages.

Get the report and see how top teams are making AI actually useful.

Visit go.grammarly.com/exitfive to grab it.

***

Thanks to my friends at hatch.fm for producing this episode and handling all of the Exit Five podcast production.

They give you unlimited podcast editing and strategy for your B2B podcast.
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B2B Marketing with Dave Gerhardt

How to Stop The Busywork in B2B Marketing (with Dmitry Shamis)

Episode guests

Podcast summary created with Snipd AI

Quick takeaways

Deep dives

The Challenge of Busy Work in Marketing

AI's Role in Marketing

Understanding Brand Identity

Prioritization and Clarity in Marketing Goals

The Future of Creative Agencies

Remember Everything You Learn from Podcasts