Real Story on Martech

About Real Story on Martech

This no-BS podcast cuts through the hype to bring you the “real” stories behind marketing technology. Enterprise advisors Tony Byrne and Jarrod Gingras of Real Story Group share hard-won lessons, sharp insights, and candid takes from the buyer’s side of the table. From vendor bullying and the pitfalls of “headless” platforms to smart selection strategies and tech stacks that actually deliver, nothing’s off-limits. If you’re tired of vendor spin and craving unfiltered advice, you’ve come to the right place. With over 20 years of experience helping global brands navigate the ever-changing Martech landscape, Tony and Jarrod demystify and de-hype marketing technology. Listen to “Real Story on Martech” to learn how the best stacks really work, which vendors to avoid, and how to become your firm’s next MarTech hero. Listen to “Real Story on Martech” beginning April 30 on your favorite podcast apps, YouTube and realstorygroup.com.

Publisher

Tony Byrne and Jarrod Gingras

Category

business · business · business

Language

en

Explicit

No

First episode

24 Apr 2025

Latest episode

15 Oct 2026

Latest episodes

19 episodes in the feed.

1. 

   15 Oct 2026

   Getting to DAM 4.0: The Future of Digital Asset Management in the AI Era

   Tony Byrne talks with Jarrod Gingras about his new book, Getting to DAM 4.0: The Future of Digital Asset Management in the AI Era. They explore the evolution of DAM, why enterprises struggle to scale AI initiatives, and the shift from traditional content repositories to intelligent, AI-driven content delivery. Discover why metadata, taxonomy, and content architecture are critical to achieving hyper-personalization—and what MarTech leaders should prioritize to prepare for the next generation of digital experiences. Order Getting to Dam 4.0: The Future of Digital Asset Management in the AI Era on our website. https://www.realstorygroup.com/DAM4 or buy directly on lulu (https://www.lulu.com/shop/jarrod-gingras-and-sarah-iskander/getting-to-dam-40/paperback/product-nvrjrpv.html?page=1&pageSize=4). For more information, visit https://www.realstorygroup.com Connect with us on LinkedIn (https://www.linkedin.com/company/realstorygroup/) Watch our podcast on YouTube (https://www.youtube.com/@TheRealStoryGroup)

2. 

   1 Oct 2026

   MarTech 2030: A North Star for Success in the AI Era

   What will the enterprise martech stack look like in 2030? Tony Byrne and Jarrod Gingras explore the ideas behind Tony’s new book, MarTech 2030: A North Star for Success in the AI Era, including the rise of AI-powered consumer agents, the shift toward a post-channel world, and why enterprises need to invest in foundational data, content, and decisioning capabilities. They also examine how AI will reshape martech operations, organizational structures, roles, and technology investments—and what martech leaders can start doing now to prepare for what’s next. Get your copy of MarTech 2030: A North Star for Success in the AI Era at https://www.realstorygroup.com/2030 (https://www.realstorygroup.com/2030). The book is available for online purchase on Lulu (https://www.lulu.com/shop/tony-byrne-and-scott-brinker/martech-2030/paperback/product-zmwvd4m.html?page=1&pageSize=4) and Amazon (https://www.amazon.com/MarTech-2030-North-Marketing-Success/dp/1105948994/). For more information, visit https://www.realstorygroup.com Connect with us on LinkedIn (https://www.linkedin.com/company/realstorygroup/) Watch our podcast on YouTube (https://www.youtube.com/@TheRealStoryGroup)

3. 

   16 Jul 2026

   Getting to Martech 4.0

   The future of marketing won't be defined by channels—it will be defined by customer intelligence, AI, and connected architectures. In this episode, Tony Byrne and Jarrod Gingras introduce the concept of Martech 4.0, explaining why enterprise organizations must move beyond siloed channel strategies toward unified data, content, decisioning, and orchestration. They explore the rise of customer agents, AI-powered decision loops, evolving marketing roles, and the practical steps leaders can take today to prepare for the post-channel era. Real Story Group’s book will be released in August and you can find more information at realstorygroup.com/2030. In this episode: What is Martech 4.0? Martech 4.0 is the next evolution of enterprise marketing technology, where organizations move beyond channel-centric marketing and instead build customer-centric architectures powered by unified data, content, AI, decisioning, and orchestration, according to Real Story Group. What is the post-channel era? The post-channel era describes a future where websites, email, mobile apps and social platforms remain important but are no longer the primary organizing principle for customer engagement. Instead, organizations deliver experiences based on customer context and intent, regardless of channel. Why do enterprises need a Martech 3.0 foundation before reaching Martech 4.0? Organizations need unified customer data, structured content, decisioning capabilities, governance, and orchestration before AI can deliver scalable, personalized customer experiences. Martech 3.0 establishes these foundational services that enable Martech 4.0. For more information, visit https://www.realstorygroup.com Connect with us on LinkedIn (https://www.linkedin.com/company/realstorygroup/) Watch our podcast on YouTube (https://www.youtube.com/@TheRealStoryGroup)

4. 

   18 Jun 2026

   AI and the Future of Personalization

   Learn what Martech leaders should be doing today to build a scalable foundation for AI-driven personalization tomorrow. In this episode, Tony Byrne and Jarrod Gingras explore why most personalization initiatives struggle, how AI is changing the equation, and why success depends less on generative AI and more on content, context, data, and architecture. In this episode: How is AI changing personalization in marketing? AI is making it easier to deliver personalized experiences at scale by helping marketers generate content variants, analyze customer behavior, and make more informed decisions. However, successful personalization still depends on having strong data, content, context, and governance in place. Why do most personalization initiatives fail? Many personalization projects struggle because organizations underestimate the complexity of managing customer data, business rules, content variants, and measurement. Without a solid foundation, personalization often becomes too costly or difficult to scale. What is a context layer in AI architecture? A context layer provides the information AI systems need to make accurate decisions, including customer data, content metadata, business policies, governance rules, and real-time state information. It helps ensure AI-generated experiences are relevant, consistent, and trustworthy. What should Martech leaders prioritize to prepare for AI-driven personalization? Martech leaders should focus on building strong customer data foundations, improving content structure and metadata, developing context layers, and creating architectures that support orchestration across channels rather than relying on isolated AI features within individual platforms. For more information, visit https://www.realstorygroup.com Connect with us on LinkedIn (https://www.linkedin.com/company/realstorygroup/) Watch our podcast on YouTube (https://www.youtube.com/@TheRealStoryGroup)

5. 

   26 May 2026

   The Present and Future of Martech with Scott Brinker

   Hosts Tony Byrne and Jarrod Gingras sit down with Scott Brinker, chiefmartech analyist and advisor and creator of the iconic Martech Landscape Supergraphic, to unpack the biggest shifts happening across the marketing technology ecosystem. Scott shares insights from the newly released State of Martech 2026 report and discusses why the industry may be entering a new era defined less by applications — and more by AI-driven infrastructure. Also in this episode: What is the Martech Landscape Supergraphic? The Martech Landscape Supergraphic, created by Scott Brinker, is an industry-wide visualization that maps thousands of marketing technology vendors across categories including CMS, analytics, automation, commerce, data, AI, and customer experience platforms.Has martech reached peak growth?According to Scott Brinker, the Martech Landscape reached approximately 15,500 vendors in 2026 and showed signs of leveling off for the first time. However, significant innovation and vendor turnover are still occurring beneath the surface. What is agentic AI in marketing? Agentic AI refers to AI systems and assistants that can independently perform tasks, interact across platforms, and automate workflows on behalf of marketers. The episode explores where agentic AI is useful today — and where human oversight is still essential. What does the future of the martech stack look like? The future martech stack may become less visible to marketers as AI interfaces increasingly manage complexity behind the scenes. The discussion explores how infrastructure, orchestration, and AI-powered workflows could reshape enterprise marketing operations. What is the “factory and laboratory” approach to martech? Scott Brinker describes enterprise martech as a combination of a “factory” — stable, operational systems — and a “laboratory” where teams can experiment with emerging AI tools, workflows, and customer engagement strategies. For more information, visit https://www.realstorygroup.com Connect with us on LinkedIn (https://www.linkedin.com/company/realstorygroup/) Watch our podcast on YouTube (https://www.youtube.com/@TheRealStoryGroup)

6. 

   30 Apr 2026

   The Future of Agencies in an AI World

   As AI reshapes marketing, what happens to the role of agencies? In this episode, hosts Jarrod Gingras and Tony Byrne explore how enterprise teams must rethink agency relationships, ownership of data and content, and the shift from traditional supply chains to AI-driven demand chains. Discover why the future belongs to organizations that control their own learning loops—and what that means for your marketing strategy. In this episode: What is the future role of agencies in an AI-driven marketing world? Agencies will shift away from production and analytics work as AI automates those functions. Their value will increasingly center on creative strategy, fresh insights, and high-level thinking that machines can’t replicate. What is a marketing “demand chain” and how is it different from a supply chain? A traditional supply chain focuses on pre-building content and campaigns. A demand chain uses AI to respond dynamically to real-time customer signals, creating more personalized and efficient experiences. Why should enterprises own their marketing data and content? Owning data, content, and workflows ensures control over performance, insights, and long-term value. Relying on external partners for this can limit agility and create dependency. What are the four types of AI in marketing? The four types include Insights AI (understanding data), Decisioning AI (recommending actions), Generative AI (creating content), and Agentic AI (executing tasks). Together, they form a continuous learning loop. For more information, visit https://www.realstorygroup.com Connect with us on LinkedIn (https://www.linkedin.com/company/realstorygroup/) Watch our podcast on YouTube (https://www.youtube.com/@TheRealStoryGroup)

7. 

   19 Mar 2026

   Taxonomy and Your Martech Stack

   Hosts Jarrod Gingras and Tony Byrne welcome taxonomy expert Stephanie Lemieux, president & principal consultant at Dovecot Studio, to explore the critical role of taxonomies in modern MarTech stacks, particularly across content, data, and decisioning systems. Stephanie explains how structured metadata and semantic frameworks help organizations integrate platforms like CMS, DAMs, and CDPs while enabling capabilities such as hyper-personalization and AI-powered experiences. The conversation also examines why taxonomy has become more important in the era of AI. In this episode: What is a taxonomy in a business or MarTech context? A taxonomy is a standardized system for labeling and organizing concepts, content, and data. It defines how organizations structure terminology—such as product categories, audience segments, or content types—so that people and systems share the same understanding. Taxonomies control naming conventions, enable hierarchical relationships, support metadata fields, and provide semantic context that improves search, navigation, and system integrations. Why are taxonomies especially important in Digital Asset Management (DAM)? Taxonomies are crucial for digital asset management systems because multimedia assets like images and videos lack searchable text. Structured metadata and taxonomy tags help users find, filter, and organize assets. In addition, DAM platforms rely on taxonomy-driven metadata to power workflows, dynamic collections, and integrations with other marketing technologies such as CMS, PIM, and campaign management systems. How do taxonomies support AI and personalization initiatives? Taxonomies provide semantic structure and guardrails that help AI understand organizational data. Without structured metadata and taxonomy frameworks, AI systems may produce inaccurate or inconsistent results due to messy or ambiguous data. Taxonomies help define relationships between concepts, support knowledge graphs, improve training datasets, and provide explainability—making AI outputs more accurate, predictable, and scalable. Can AI automatically build and manage taxonomies? AI can assist with auto-categorization and tagging, but it works best when guided by existing taxonomy structures. AI tools can analyze content and suggest terms or classify assets, but subject matter experts are still essential to review and refine the taxonomy. Human oversight ensures the taxonomy reflects business context, avoids ambiguity, and reduces risk in sensitive domains such as compliance or policy content. For more information, visit https://www.realstorygroup.com Connect with us on LinkedIn (https://www.linkedin.com/company/realstorygroup/) Watch our podcast on YouTube (https://www.youtube.com/@TheRealStoryGroup)

8. 

   14 Jan 2026

   DAM and Your Content Demand Chain

   Tony Byrne and Jarrod Gingras interview each other, exploring how AI transforms digital asset management into an intelligent responder within the content demand chain.

9. 

   18 Dec 2025

   Agents and the Future of Your MarTech Stack

   Jarrod Gingras and Tony Byrne explore agentic AI's real value and risks in the MarTech stack, revealing practical use cases and future implications in this interview.

10. 

    6 Nov 2025

    What We’re Grateful for in Martech

    Tony Byrne and Jarrod Gingras express gratitude for positive Martech trends like the decline of outdated sales models and the rise of enterprise architects, offering practical insights for marketers and technologists.

11. 

    9 Oct 2025

    Is Your Vendor a Zombie?

    Jarrod Gingras and Tony Byrne of Real Story Group interview each other on identifying "zombie" MarTech vendors to protect your technology stack.

12. 

    11 Sept 2025

    Career Killers & Kudos for MarTech Leaders

    In this interview, Jarrod Gingras and Tony Byrne advise MarTech leaders on avoiding career pitfalls and building lasting influence through strategic vendor independence and data collaboration.

13. 

    7 Aug 2025

    A Roadmap for Your DAM Journey

    Jarrod Gingras and Tony Byrne guide listeners through the four phases of Digital Asset Management, offering a roadmap for optimizing content strategies.

14. 

    10 Jul 2025

    How Top Martech Leaders Tackle Big Challenges

    Host Jarrod and Host Tony interview Martech leaders about tackling enterprise challenges in customer data, personalization, and AI.

15. 

    13 Jun 2025

    Why IT Industry Analysts Suck

    Hosts Jarrod Gingras and Tony Byrne dissect the shortcomings of IT industry analysts, revealing conflicts of interest and offering strategies for enterprise MarTech leaders to make informed decisions.

16. 

    28 Apr 2025

    Martech Selection: The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly

    Real Story Group's Jarrod Gingras and Tony Byrne reveal the good, bad, and ugly of MarTech selection, guiding listeners toward successful platform choices.

17. 

    24 Apr 2025

    The Future is Legless: A New Martech Paradigm

    Hosts Jarrod Gingras and Tony Byrne explore the "legless" Martech paradigm, revealing how enterprises build future-ready stacks with omnichannel content, data, and decisioning.

18. 

    24 Apr 2025

    Vendor Bullying: What It Is and How to Stop It

    In this debut episode, hosts Jarrod Gingras and Tony Byrne of Real Story Group tackle a pervasive problem in the martech industry: vendor bullying. Drawing from over two decades of experience, they unpack the high-pressure tactics some vendors use—from fear-based sales and contract traps to backchanneling and undermining decision-makers. Through real-world examples and actionable advice, Jarrod and Tony explore how buyers can recognize bullying behavior, stand their ground, and make smarter, more empowered technology decisions. Whether you're deep in vendor selection or managing an existing martech stack, this episode arms you with tools to protect your team and your budget. In this episode: Introduction to Vendor Bullying in MarTech Defining Vendor Bullying The Sales Process and Vendor Tactics The Impact of Vendor Bullying Recognizing Common Bullying Tactics Strategies to Combat Vendor Bullying Conclusion and Call to Action For additional information, visit realstorygroup.com

19. 

    24 Apr 2025

    Trailer

    This no-BS podcast cuts through the hype to bring you the “real” stories behind marketing technology. Enterprise advisors Tony Byrne and Jarrod Gingras of Real Story Group share hard-won lessons, sharp insights, and candid takes from the buyer’s side of the table. From vendor bullying and the pitfalls of “headless” platforms to smart selection strategies and tech stacks that actually deliver, nothing’s off-limits. If you’re tired of vendor spin and craving unfiltered advice, you’ve come to the right place. With over 20 years of experience helping global brands navigate the ever-changing Martech landscape, Tony and Jarrod demystify and de-hype marketing technology. Listen to “Real Story on Martech” to learn how the best stacks really work, which vendors to avoid, and how to become your firm’s next MarTech hero. Listen to “Real Story on Martech” beginning April 30 on your favorite podcast apps, YouTube and realstorygroup.com.

Reach and audience

Public platform figures. Ratings count people who left a rating, not total listeners.

Apple Podcasts (US)

5.0 / 5

10 ratings

Spotify

5.0 / 5

3 ratings

Podcast Authority Score: 37 / 100

A composite of feed quality, social presence, YouTube performance and engagement. Read the methodology.

Quality

54

Social presence

0

YouTube

0

Engagement

51

Contact Real Story on Martech

Guest appearances

Books guests

Based on episode analysis; this does not confirm that the show is currently accepting guests.

Questions about Real Story on Martech