Mike Kott

The Strategic Imperative of Product Marketing: An Overview An explainer video I created on product marketing. For executives, founders, and marketing leaders, understanding the definitive function of Product Marketing (PMM) is no longer optional, it is a prerequisite for sustained market advantage. PMM is the critical bridge ensuring product development aligns precisely with market demand and customer value realization. https://lnkd.in/g8-gGe_Z #ProductMarketing #PMM #StrategicMarketing #GoToMarket #GTMStrategy #ProductStrategy #ExecutiveLeadership #BusinessStrategy #ProductManagement #MarketPositioning #Commercialization #MarketAccess #RevenueGrowth #SaaS #B2BStrategy #DigitalTransformation #Innovation #ProductLaunch #CompetitiveAdvantage #MarketInsights #ProfessionalDevelopment #CareerGrowth #MarketingLeadership #ExecutiveEducation #BusinessAcumen #SkillsDevelopment #StrategicThinking #ProductDevelopment #MarketingTrends #ThoughtLeadership #ExplainerVideo #VideoContent #BusinessInsights #LinkedInLearning #MarketingStrategy #ProductSuccess #StrategyExecution #TechLeadership #CorporateStrategy #ValueProposition

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Jen Miller's recap from AMA Atlanta's "Building teams that thrive in the age of AI" captures 9 questions I hear from enterprise leaders every week. Both via demos of our Aethova BRIDGE Platform and in my AIReadyIn180 Trainings. These aren't theoretical. They're the exact friction points where AI initiatives stall. My honest answers to a few: #𝟭 (𝗰𝗵𝗮𝘀𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘀𝗽𝗮𝗰𝗲 𝘃𝘀 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗱𝘂𝗰𝘁𝗶𝘃𝗶𝘁𝘆): Yes. The teams actually scaling AI aren't the ones doing more. They're the ones who finally have time to think. Automation creates breathing room. Without it, you get "AI-busy" instead of AI-effective. #𝟱 (𝗔𝗜 𝘀𝘁𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗴𝘆 𝘃𝘀 𝗯𝘂𝘀𝗶𝗻𝗲𝘀𝘀 𝘀𝘁𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗴𝘆): Your business strategy should drive AI, not the reverse. But most organizations don't have enough visibility into their actual workflows to know where AI can serve the strategy they already have. That visibility gap is where AI initiatives die. #𝟳 (𝗿𝗲𝘀𝗽𝗼𝗻𝘀𝗶𝗯𝗹𝗲 𝗔𝗜 𝗼𝗻 𝗮 𝗻𝗼𝗿𝗺𝗮𝗹 𝗧𝘂𝗲𝘀𝗱𝗮𝘆): Human review always. But also: creating environments where people can experiment, make mistakes, and learn collaboratively. The companies succeeding are the ones building psychological safety around AI experimentation, not fear-based policies that drive usage underground. #𝟴 (𝗻𝗼𝘁 𝗵𝘆𝗽𝗻𝗼𝘁𝗶𝘇𝗲𝗱 𝗯𝘆 𝗔𝗜 𝗮𝘀 𝘀𝗼𝗹𝘂𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻): Workflow first. Always. If you can't explain the process without mentioning AI, you're building tech looking for a problem. Jen's "How might we..." framing is exactly right. #𝟵 (𝗰𝘂𝗿𝗶𝗼𝘀𝗶𝘁𝘆 + 𝘀𝘁𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗴𝗶𝗰 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗸𝗶𝗻𝗴): Absolutely core. ++ 𝗔𝗻𝗱 𝗜'𝗱 𝗮𝗱𝗱 𝗼𝗻𝗲 𝗺𝗼𝗿𝗲: 𝗢𝗽𝗲𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝗮𝗹 𝗗𝗶𝘀𝗰𝗶𝗽𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗲. The ability to document, iterate, and scale what works. That's the missing piece between "cool demo" and "production system." Which of these 9 questions is top of mind for your team right now? Carlos Pimenta Tom Daly Lisa West Shilvi Gandhi Leinwand ... Did I miss anything? What are your thoughts? #AITransformation #AIReadiness #TransformationReadiness #Transformation

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Canada 🇨🇦 I’m heading your way In June, I’ll be at DSA Canada Connect 2026 and I want to talk about something I’m seeing across almost every Direct Selling company right now: the massive AI acceleration gap opening up. On one side: companies moving fast, solving real problems, building capability. On the other: companies stuck in planning mode, waiting for the “right” strategy. The difference isn’t technology. It’s action. In my session, I’m going to run you through something we’ve done with many of the 20+ direct selling companies we work with, something that accelerated their progress significantly. You’ll learn: → Where you are right now (honestly) → Where your immediate opportunities are → How to lead this, regardless of your title or technical background → Real examples of what’s working and what’s not And we’ll tackle both sides of this transformation: the incredible capability AI unlocks AND the very real risk it poses to human connection at the absolute heart of direct selling. It’s my first time in Canada (getting in a week early to explore), and I can’t wait to help you get on the right side of the acceleration gap. Thanks to Peter Maddox for inviting me and Ben Robinson for recommending me. If you’re there, see you in June!

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Atlanta isn’t just participating in the AI revolution—it’s leading the way with a unique focus on how humans and technology actually work together. 🚀 Great to see Sean Wood and the #AtlantaAIWeek community highlighting the startups and innovators making this happen. It’s not just about the code; it’s about the culture and the talent building the future right here in the South. 🍑 Which Atlanta AI startup is on your radar right now? #AtlantaAI #AIStartups #FutureOfWork #Innovation

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"Start with strategy and vision" is good but "Start with getting your team aligned on strategy and vision" is better. Too often planning derails because disagreements on the future state aren't surfaced and addressed. Read this article to find other ways to save time and create a solid plan. #annualplanning #startups #alignment #earlystage #strategy #vision

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Your weekly marketing clarity fix: Signal & Noise, ready to binge. Catch up on all the episodes: https://gag.gl/yJ3NYf MediaRadar, Inc.’s podcast dives into the real conversations shaping marketing, media, and advertising. Hosted by Brett House and Rio Longacre, each episode features industry leaders unpacking trends, challenges, and strategies you won’t hear anywhere else. Listen and subscribe wherever you get your podcasts! #MediaRadar #SignalAndNoise #MarketingIntelligence #Podcast #AdvertisingInsights #MarketingStrategy

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Every marketer should validate data accuracy, no matter the provider, before they activate. Literally takes 2 minutes with Truthset.

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Large enterprise CMOs are facing a critical challenge: Drive AI transformation while doing right by the teams that built your organization. The C-suite wants AI transformation yesterday. Their teams—many with decades of institutional knowledge—are skeptical, exhausted, or both. Here's what I keep hearing: "I know we need to move fast. But I can't just blow up my team in the process." These leaders aren't stuck because they don't understand AI. They're stuck because they understand people. They need a plan for that first and foremost when the org gets to a certain size. They know that legacy expertise is still valuable and long-tenured employees deserve honesty about what's coming, not false promises. Transformation that breaks trust isn't really transformation—it's just chaos with better tech. This is the real leadership challenge of AI transformation - navigating the human complexity of change in organizations where relationships, tenure, and culture run deep.

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B2B tech CMOs face a critical moment as traditional brand influence strategies falter. With a decline in web traffic and engagement, many lack the resources to effectively adapt to the new landscape dominated by AI and zero-click purchasing. To seize this moment, it's essential to craft a distinctive brand narrative, invest in multimedia content, and establish robust sales enablement processes. Learn how your organization can redefine its approach and reclaim influence in this evolving market.

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Love this - AI is the Oppenheimer moment for marketing. It fundamentally collapses the time and cost of production. A $2.5 million campaign that used to take four months can now be delivered for $500,000 in four weeks. Legacy firms that charge based on hours with the 'time-driven' model are existentially threatened by this.

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Leaders from the Massachusetts AI Coalition are working with their teams to drive impact across the Commonwealth. Here's a quick update for those interested in following along. - Beacon Taskforce: A Founder Starter Pack is being assembled from the feedback of 30+ founders. Consistent themes are present (fast/flexible capital, free work space, GPU credits, connections to founders/operators), making consistent solutions testable. Excited for the first Founder Starter Pack to go live in early H1. - Tavern Taskforce: Tomorrow's event is ON. Excited for Luke Winston-Almanzar, Co-Founder & CEO of Reservoir, Ryan Jacobs, Co-Founder & CEO of Agency Robotics, and Shilpi Gupta, Founder & CEO of her company will be speaking on the "Industrial AI Builders Panel." - Banners Taskforce: Heads down. Cranking away. Working on a launch of our first big initiative on April 1st. Remember folks: The weather in New England is a feature, not a bug. 😉

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GEO versus SEO strategy? … wow, how things have changed. Have you adjusted? Running SCALEUP Maryland with Marjie Cota is a joy for me. And Diane Devaney continues to deliver the goods around MARKETING to our companies. Generative Engine Optimization is a whole new ballgame in the ai-age. Content matters more than ever (more than anything?) This session around scaling your Marketing was a stunner. Clearly it’s time to pivot your marketing spend. (Better be sure you have a Devaney & Associates, Inc. advising you. ) RIP SEO. bwtech@UMBC Research and Technology Park Aaron Miscenich University of Maryland Baltimore County UMBC Department of Computer Science and Electrical Engineering Lauren Weinberg Maryland Department of Commerce Impact Principals #baltimore #maryland #scale #impact

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Go-to-market deserves the same rigor as product development. We prototype products, we obsess over UX, we debate pixels…and then we run sales as a loose collection of decks, demos, and instincts. What Jeanne DeWitt Grosser (COO of Vercel) articulated so clearly in this clip from our podcast conversation is that sales is an experience. Being sold to is an experience. And if you don’t choreograph it, you’re still creating an experience (just accidentally). If you treat GTM like a product, the experience is deliberately created.

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