#321 | Jess Cook, VP of Marketing at Vector, joins Dave to break down what’s actually working in early-stage B2B marketing. They dig into how she thinks about attribution for brand channels, how Vector's podcast became a top marketing channel, why they created a brand mascot, and details on what content strategy is working on LinkedIn right now. They also cover shift from content leader to VP of Marketing and how to drive demand without a massive team or budget.

Timestamps

(03:06) - — Meet Jess Cook & What is Vector?
(07:39) - — B2B Influencer pilot setup: why this channel, why now
(14:57) - — The result: 45 demos, ~$1.1M pipeline, and how she tracked it
(16:55) - — How to run influencers
(22:20) - — Scaling idea: retainer-style influencer partnerships
(26:00) - — Vector’s podcast: “awareness magnet” and the format that works
(28:24) - — The production system: in-person batch recording a full season in 2 days
(42:10) - — Jess’s LinkedIn strategy: why she started posting and what she optimizes for
(53:58) - — Content → VP shift: the two muscles she’s building (metrics + leadership)

Join 50,0000 people who get Dave's Newsletter here: https://www.exitfive.com/newsletter
Learn more about Exit Five's private marketing community: https://www.exitfive.com/

***

Brought to you by:

Optimizely - A no-code AI platform where autonomous agents execute marketing work across webpages, email, SEO, and campaigns. Get a free, personalized 45-minute AI workshop to help you identify the best AI use cases for your marketing team and map out where agents can save you time at optimizely.com/exitfive.

AirOps - The content engineering platform that helps marketers create and maintain high-quality, on-brand content that wins AI search. Go to airops.com/exitfive to start creating content that reflects your expertise, stays true to your brand, and is engineered for performance across human and AI discovery.

Visit exitfive.com/retreat to apply for Exit Five’s first-ever, in-person Marketing Leadership Retreat, March 18–20, 2026 in Scottsdale, Arizona. Join 100 CMOs and VPs of Marketing from companies like like Zoom, Snowflake, Manychat, Bitly, G2, HP, and more for two days of thinking bigger around a trusted group of peers in marketing.

***

Thanks to my friends at hatch.fm for producing this episode and handling all of the Exit Five podcast production.

They give you unlimited podcast editing and strategy for your B2B podcast.
Get unlimited podcast editing and on-demand strategy for one low monthly cost. Just upload your episode, and they take care of the rest.
Visit hatch.fm to learn more

Influencer Marketing, Podcasting Strategy, and Brand Driving Demand with Jess Cook (VP Marketing at Vector)

The Dave Gerhardt Show (from Exit Five)

Influencer Marketing, Podcasting Strategy, and Brand Driving Demand with Jess Cook (VP Marketing at Vector)