Welcome to the world’s most entertaining marketing podcast.

Note: Beginning in 2026, The Marketing Companion has a new owner and host, Sandy Carter. The podcast will continue to offer the brightest ideas in marketing today and will remain on the same site where you enjoy podcasts today. New episodes of the podcast are available on Sandy’s website.

The archive of past shows hosted by Mark Schaefer over nearly 13 years will remain here.

Mark Schaefer is a globally-recognized marketing author, futurist, college educator, consultant, and keynote speaker. Every other week, Mark brings one of his “marketing companions” alongside him to do a deep dive into the trends of today that forge the marketing innovations of tomorrow.

The Marketing Companion –among the top 1 percent of all podcasts on iTunes — is always fun, always interesting, and always on-target with insights and ideas that will turn up your marketing intellect to an “11.” Find a topic in the guide below or push one of the subscribe buttons to get episodes delivered free to your email account every other week.

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Reviews

Could not be better, two intriguing and thought-provoking minds who possess the perfect balance of intellect and entertainment – Rany Bowden

The marketing podcast equivalent of a Snicker’s bar wrapped in bacon. Satisfying, intreating, and leaves you wanting more. – Rosemary O’Neil

Mark & Tom live up to the podcasting holy trinity: educate/inform/entertain – Jamie Wallace

What’s a pod cast? – Mark’s mother?

Will Facebook be a permanent fixture in our lives?

Facebook is facing down controversy after controversy but none of it seems to matter. Their profitability and user growth continues to rise. Will Facebook be a permanent fixture in our lives?

The Brand Stand: Should your company put social issues ahead of profit?

The business news has been dominated about companies pivoting to take s stand on social issues, and even political issues. Is it time for you to take a brand stand?

Marketing addiction. Is this the goal, or is this the problem?

Getting people "addicted" to a product seems like an aspirational marketing goal but now it's actually happening in some cases. Is marketing addiction the solution or the problem?

The fast pace of marketing will get faster

On this retro look at marketing over the past five years -- Google Glass, Klout, Twitter and others -- the Marketing Companion episode shows the pace of marketing is fast and getting faster!

The Good, The Bad, and The Staticky: Podcast Recording Tools I’ve Loved (or Not)

How do you record remote interviews for your podcast? Here are a few podcast recording tools that can help you create great, reliable audio.

Insights into new media trends on podcasting, social media, and smart speakers

This annual research into new media trends is chock-full of insights and curiosities. Learn why you might need an audio strategy, the fastest tech segment right now, social media usage trends, wy YouTube means music, and more!

Personalized content marketing, deadly AI and more insights from #SXSW 2018

In this round-up post, Mark Schaefer shares nuggets about marketing, AI, podcasting and more from SXSW. Mastering personalized marketing means becoming a news stream native.

Is social media marketing still a thing?

Social media marketing has been the hottest marketing concept for the last 10 years. Is it losing steam, or just taking off? Is social media marketing still a thing?

Amazon puts experiential marketing at a crossroads

There is a consumer revolution afoot, perhaps enabled by Amazon. Does experiential marketing matter as much as it used to?