In this episode of Markigy: The Science of Marketing Strategy, Leanne talks with Melissa Rosenthal, co-founder of Outlever and former BuzzFeed, Cheddar, and ClickUp leader. They discuss why vanity metrics like traffic and impressions fall short, how AI is fueling saturation, and why owned narratives matter more than ever. Discover how human-first content and trusted networks shape the future of marketing.
Owning Your Brand Narrative with Melissa Rosenthal
In this episode, Leanne is joined by Melissa Rosenthal, co-founder of Outlever and former executive at BuzzFeed, Cheddar, and ClickUp. Melissa shares her journey from scaling media and SaaS brands to building a company that helps others own their narrative and ditch the outdated playbook. Their conversation dives into the collapse of traditional marketing metrics, the hype (and hollowness) of AI-powered content, and what truly drives sustainable growth today.
Key themes from the conversation include:
Vanity Metrics vs. Real Impact: Why traffic, impressions, and clicks are often distractions—and what to measure instead if you want to build long-term brand value.
The AI Gold Rush & Content Saturation: How overreliance on generative tools is flooding the market with sameness—and why human-first, POV-driven content cuts through.
Distribution That Actually Works: Why Melissa believes distribution isn’t about channels, but about people—and how to tap into referral networks and real relationships that compound over time.
Owning the Message, Not Renting It: The risk of building brand visibility on borrowed channels—and how Outlever helps companies become their own media powerhouse.
The Collapse (and Rebuild) of GTM Strategy: A candid take on how go-to-market models are breaking under AI-era pressure, and what new strategies high-growth teams are testing instead.
From missed opportunities in content strategy to Melissa’s take on why outbound is on life support, this episode is packed with real talk, marketing strategy that’s built to last, and the mindset shifts needed to thrive in 2025 and beyond.
Where to find Melissa:
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