The Marketing Share

As we kick off 2026, co-hosts Alec Cheung and Barb VanSomeren take the stage to reflect on the biggest lessons from 2025 and what those lessons are telling us about the year ahead.

This episode has been shaped by dozens of interviews with CMOs, business founders, marketing experts, strategists, and growth leaders over the past year.

In this half an hour of value-packed content, Alec and Barb share with us why the ...

In this episode of The Marketing Share, Alec Cheung and Barb VanSomeren have a conversation with returning guest Noah Goldfarb, Head of SEO at Fire and Spark, to unpack what’s actually happening to SEO in an AI-driven world, especially in digital health and B2C-heavy industries.

Noah shares insights from two recent studies: The Telehealth 20 and Fire and Spark’s AI Search in Digital Health report. 

With this wealt...

Welcome back to The Marketing Share Podcast. 

This week, we're excited to present Part 2 of our conversation with Alan Gonsenhauser, where we dig into what it takes to move from VP of Marketing to an effective, indispensable CMO. 

Alan lays out practical advice on speaking the language of business, aligning with the CFO, and leading cross-functional teams for measurable impact.

What you’ll learn in t...

In this episode of The Marketing Share Podcast, Alec Cheung and Barb VanSomeren have an exciting conversation with Alan Gonsenhauser, interim CMO, advisor, and trusted voice in the CMO Coffee Talk community.

Alan has decades of experience guiding marketing leaders and stepping into complex growth environments, and he brings his expertise to the show to explore why fractional and interim CMOs have become essential in today’s rapidly ...

In this episode of The Marketing Share Podcast, hosts Barb VanSomeren and Alec Cheung sit down with Brian McHale, CEO of Brandience, a full-service marketing agency based in Cincinnati that helps national and franchise brands grow while staying true to their identity.

Brian brings decades of experience in media, production, and brand strategy, including helping leading franchise and retail brands navigate expansion, maintain brand c...

In this episode of The Marketing Share, our co-hosts Barb VanSomeren and Alec Chung sit down with Chae O’Brien, GTM specialist and principal strategist at Thought Bakery, for a grounded conversation about what it really takes to build a modern go-to-market strategy.

Chae has worked with leading SaaS brands like Bombora, G2, and Simulogic, helping them refine how they connect with customers and scale with purpose. She bring...

What if we told you that your copy isn't the problem, but your messaging is? 

In this episode of The Marketing Share Podcast, our co-hosts Alec Cheung and Barb VanSomeren have an insightful conversation with message market fit expert Chris Silvestri, founder of Conversion Alchemy.

With a background that spans software engineering, UX design, and behavioral psychology, Chris brings a unique perspective to copy...

How do you go from corporate law to leading one of the most innovative social media management platforms? In this episode, Emeric Ernoult, CEO of Agorapulse, shares his entrepreneurial journey, the lessons learned from pivots and challenges, and the evolution of social media strategies over the years.

Emeric dives into how Agorapulse transformed from running Facebook contests to pioneering the social media inbox, and explo...

How do you scale healthcare marketing without losing patient trust?

In this episode of The Marketing Share Podcast, hosts Alec Cheung and Barb VanSomeren sit with Alex Membrillo, CEO of Cardinal Digital Marketing, to unpack the fast-changing world of healthcare marketing.

From the influence of private equity on multi-site practices to the evolving rules of digital advertising, Alex shares the challenges and opportunities healthcare m...

In this episode of The Marketing Share Podcast, marketing experts Alec Cheung and Barb VanSomeren are joined by Stephanie Brooks, a seasoned marketing leader with a wealth of experience in website development. Together, they dive into the work it takes to build and maintain effective websites.

Stephanie shares her journey from journalism to marketing, highlighting her expertise in website projects, including a notable 400-...

In this episode of The Marketing Share Podcast, co-hosts Alec and Barb welcome a dynamic marketing duo—Tanya and Tony Thorson, co-authors of the refreshingly bold book, Get Off Your (M)ass. 

Together, they unpack how marketing must evolve in the age of automation, AI, and customer overload.

Drawing from their combined B2C, B2B, and B2A (Business to Anyone) experiences, the Thorsons break down how to move beyond mass marketing and lea...

Is AI your teammate or just another tool?

In this episode, marketing leader and AI strategist Liza Adams joins Alec Cheung and Barb VanSomeren to reframe how marketing teams think about AI. With decades of experience in tech and SaaS, Liza brings a deeply strategic lens to AI’s evolving role—not just in campaigns, but in how teams collaborate, operate, and drive outcomes.

From rethinking workflows to reshaping messaging, Liza urges m...

Are LLMs your new buyers' first touchpoint? 

In this episode, B2B marketing strategist David Kirkdorffer joins Alec Cheung and Barb VanSomeren to unpack how AI is reshaping buyer enablement—and why your content might be invisible to large language models like ChatGPT, Gemini, and Claude.

David breaks down how marketers can adapt from traditional SEO to what he calls “AI enablement”—from restructuring site content to ensuring you...

Is the CMO role the coldest seat in the C-suite?

In this episode, Drew Neisser, founder of CMO Huddles and author of Renegade Marketing, joins Alec Cheung and Barb VanSomeren to unpack why today's marketing leaders are under more pressure than ever… and how to lead through the chaos with clarity, courage, and just a bit of fun.

From launching a CMO community during the height of the pandemic to advising marke...

Is SEO still SEO… in the age of AI?

In this episode, SEO strategist Noah Goldfarb from Fire and Spark joins Alec Cheung and Barb VanSomeren to unpack how search is shifting under the weight of AI and large language models—and what marketing leaders should actually do about it.

From the early days of backlink chasing to today’s era of AI-powered overviews, Noah’s seen the evolution firsthand. He shares how authenticity, evidence-based...

In this episode of The Marketing Share, co-hosts Alec Cheung and Barb VanSomeren tackle one of marketing’s most persistent dilemmas: Should you hire hyper-focused specialists or versatile generalists? 

Spoiler: The answer isn’t black-and-white—it’s buried in your budget, your storytelling, and how you use AI.

From debating the pitfalls of “full-service” agencies to navigating AI’s role as a digital intern, Alec an...

What separates a brand flop from a phoenix-worthy comeback? (Spoiler: It’s not just a logo swap.)

Fractional CMO and brand reinvention expert Todd Allard joins Barb VanSomeren and Alec Chung to unpack how brands pivot from public missteps to powerhouse reputations. From rebooting Lumber Liquidators after a multi-million dollar scandal over tainted wood imports to renaming Everest University post-60 Minutes exposé, Todd reveals how t...

Ever feel like your marketing metrics are just… noise?

In this episode, fractional CMO and growth strategist Monique Olan joins co-hosts Alec Cheung and Barb VanSomeren to cut through the clutter. We’re talking about how to ditch vanity metrics, align KPIs with real business outcomes, and turn data into your team’s storytelling superpower.

Monique shares her battle-tested framework for diagnosing growth bottleneck...

In this episode of The Marketing Share, our cohosts Alec Cheung and Barb VanSomeren sat down with Scott Cate—a tech veteran who’s been building software since the days of floppy disks—to chat about one of marketing’s most overlooked headaches: broken links.

Scott’s company, 301.Pro, helps marketers like you turn those frustrating “404 errors” into opportunities. Imagine QR codes that actually work, links that update themse...