Timeless Marketing Principles in the AI Era: A Conversation with Meta's CMO, Alex Schultz

Oct 9, 2025

In this insightful conversation, Alex Schultz, CMO of Meta and author of 'Click Here,' shares his journey through nearly two decades of digital marketing evolution. He discusses the importance of incrementality measurement for marketing success and how timeless principles still drive effective strategies. Alex highlights AI's role in enhancing marketing efforts rather than replacing them and emphasizes the need for teams to adapt to new tools. Plus, he reveals his book's inspiration and its aim to bridge gaps in classic marketing texts.

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ANECDOTE

Why He Wrote A Modern Classic

Alex wanted a modern classic like Hopkins' Scientific Advertising for digital marketing.
He wrote Click Here to fill the gap and provide a single comprehensive book for online marketers.

ANECDOTE

Drafts Written On Planes And Beach Holidays

Alex wrote the first draft on planes and expanded it during a holiday in Turks and Caicos.
He used editor and candid friends' feedback to grow the manuscript from ~70k to 104k words.

ANECDOTE

Used AI To Prototype The Cover

Alex used Meta AI to generate a cover concept that he then refined with the publisher.
He acknowledges AI contributed to the cover but not the book's writing.

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Welcome to this episode of the Marketing Vanguard podcast. Today, Jenny Rooney speaks with Alex Schultz, Chief Marketing Officer and VP of Analytics at Meta, about his newly released book "Click Here: The Art and Science of Digital Marketing and Advertising

As Jenny's repeat guest, Alex brings battle-tested insights from his 18-year tenure at Meta, where he's witnessed digital marketing's complete transformation. He reveals his motivation for writing "Click Here" - the definitive guide to online marketing that fills a critical gap left by classic texts like Claude Hopkins' "Scientific Advertising." Alex argues that while technology evolves at breakneck speed, the core principles that drive marketing success remain surprisingly constant across decades.

What You'll Learn:

Alex's 18-year journey at Meta and his unique dual role in marketing and analytics
The writing process and inspiration behind "Click Here: The Art and Science of Digital Marketing and Advertising"
Why incrementality measurement is the key to marketing success
The importance of North Star goals versus metrics
How AI will enhance rather than replace marketing roles
The timeless principles that have guided successful marketing for decades
Team structures that work across different marketing eras

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