In this edition of the Marketing Blueprint Sessions, hosted by our CEO Kevin Kerner, our expert panel tackled the reality of "marketing inflation"—a landscape where channels are becoming more expensive, competition is higher, and performance is slipping.

According to data presented by Benchmarker during the session, the cost-per-lead (CPL) on platforms like LinkedIn has skyrocketed to nearly $400 for some sectors. The consensus is that the old playbooks are breaking. Here is an in-depth look at how our expert panel is rewriting their strategies to adapt for 2026.

The Research Perspective: Omar Akhtar (Benchmarker)

• The Insight: You cannot "do more with less." Omar’s research into B2B SaaS companies revealed a critical difference between those hitting growth targets and those missing them. Companies hitting their numbers are spending roughly equal amounts (50/50) on brand marketing and demand generation. Conversely, those missing targets are over-indexing on demand tactics (70/30 split), chasing short-term clicks that are becoming increasingly expensive.
• The Strategy:
  • Don’t Cut Paid, Get Creative: Despite rising costs, successful companies aren't abandoning paid channels; they are using them differently, such as focusing on retargeting rather than cold outreach.
  • Target the "Middles": While the Enterprise segment is expensive and crowded, the mid-market is currently an underserved segment showing the highest growth levels for SaaS.

The AI & Brand Perspective: Maura Rivera (Qualified)

• The Insight: AI Agents unlock the ROI of events. Maura highlighted that while events are back, human follow-up is often the weak link—SDRs typically deprioritize booth scans because they view them as low quality. Qualified solved this by deploying AI agents to handle pre-event booking and post-event follow-up.
• The Strategy:
  • The 352% Pipeline Increase: By using AI agents to work every lead (from booth scans to dinner attendees), Qualified spent 90% more on events but generated 352% more pipeline year-over-year.
  • Avoid "Peanut Buttering" Spend: Instead of spreading brand budget thinly across the whole country, Maura advises concentrated "surgical" strikes. Qualified dominated the Bay Area with billboards and sports sponsorships to create an inescapable brand presence where their buyers live, rather than diluting the budget nationally.

The Distribution Perspective: Aditya Vempati (MoEngage)

• The Insight: Stop paying the "Google Tax." Aditya challenged the status quo by cutting his Google brand search spend entirely to zero. The result was not a loss, but an increase in organic traffic and opportunities, proving that established brands don't always need to pay for their own name.
• The Strategy:
  • Bake in Distribution: Don’t create content and then look for an audience. Aditya integrates influencers and partners into the content creation process itself (like their "Adapt or Die" book), ensuring built-in distribution from day one.
  • Internal Productivity via AI: Beyond external marketing, Aditya uses NotebookLM to ingest all blog content, allowing sales teams to self-serve answers instantly. This reduced the marketing team's support load by 5-6 hours a week.

Our Take: The Era of "Coin-Operated" Marketing is Over

The takeaway from this Blueprint Session is clear: the days of predictable, low-cost arbitrage on ad platforms are behind us. The winning formula for 2026 blends the efficiency of AI with the authenticity of community.

Whether it is Maura’s AI agents handling the grunt work so humans can close deals, or Aditya’s refusal to pay for traffic he already owns, the future belongs to marketers who build genuine leverage—through brand, technology, and relationships—rather than just renting attention.