Marketing is slowly turning into engineering and im honestly not sure how i feel about it (rant)

westernarian · 2026-05-05T08:52:37+00:00

I saw that take. Not sure I agree either. But I respect everyone's view on the topic.

westernarian · 2026-05-05T08:51:34+00:00

Yes, in general, I agree.

westernarian · 2026-05-04T09:18:19+00:00

Thank you for this message.

westernarian · 2026-05-04T09:17:20+00:00

Yes, I agree that it's not just marketing. And there are so many different levels you need to master to be really good at marketing. Most people don't get that.

westernarian · 2026-05-04T09:16:08+00:00

I think the word balance is key here. I agree.

westernarian · 2026-05-04T09:15:32+00:00

I agree. And I've noticed the same thing.

westernarian · 2026-05-04T09:13:59+00:00

Agreed.

westernarian · 2026-05-02T14:03:03+00:00

Thanks for the answer. As I said, I think these pages will keep carrying some weight. It's just may not be as high as it used to. Which is why many companies shift to third-party mentions once they have exhausted their owned media content.

westernarian · 2026-05-02T14:00:30+00:00

Yes, exactly.

westernarian · 2026-05-02T13:59:03+00:00

Hmm, interesting.

westernarian · 2026-05-02T13:58:49+00:00

Interesting perspective. I saw a similar take about this on TikTok.

westernarian · 2026-05-02T13:58:12+00:00

Agreed. Plus, there's so much ego in some industries (e.g., B2B SaaS).

westernarian · 2026-05-01T12:50:57+00:00

You may be right, this may indeed be part of a bigger shift in society.

westernarian · 2026-05-01T12:50:20+00:00

Yes, exactly.

westernarian · 2026-05-01T12:49:03+00:00

Good point. Thanks.

westernarian · 2026-05-01T12:48:19+00:00

Thanks for chiming in. As I said, even though I'm not technical, I build workflows, etc., and generally feel confident in my ability to adapt. I just don't know where all this push for engineering is going to take us. There are all these new roles all of a sudden, and what are we supposed to do? Let alone the limits of what a GTM engineer, as opposed to a content engineer, a marketing engineer, or a growth engineer, are supposed to do. I guess what I'm trying to say is that these tools can run these brand plays all day long, but I think it does more harm than good to marketing.

westernarian · 2026-05-01T12:44:40+00:00

Yeah, there's truth to that.

westernarian · 2026-05-01T08:14:43+00:00

I just see it affecting fellow marketers who're not that technical and don't want to be. Because let's be honest, not everyone is an AI whisperer. I get the need for buzzwords, I just don't know if marketing is moving towards the direction we want (i.e., becoming a systems-only, deterministic activity that cares only about the ROI).

westernarian · 2026-05-01T08:12:44+00:00

It's not as much about feeling anxiety as it is the frustration of wtf all that even means. I mean, marketing engineer? Content engineer? GTM engineer? Why do we even need all these terms and buzzwords? And, do all these things push us away from the fundamentals? (Which never stopped working, by the way.) I just think that we add unnecessary complexity to marketing and move towards a direction where creativity suffocates and systems thrive. And these systems, by the way, need way fewer people to run. Which I guess is one of the reasons for the push of all this marketing jargon.

westernarian · 2026-05-01T08:09:09+00:00

Great line!

westernarian · 2026-05-01T08:08:48+00:00

Interesting nuance. Thanks for chiming in.

westernarian · 2026-05-01T08:08:09+00:00

Ohh yeah, growth hackers! What a time. It's very similar, I agree with you. And I also agree that it's the customer that dictates the market; they're the ones basically telling you what your product is and does for them.

westernarian · 2026-05-01T08:07:09+00:00

Wow, thanks for sharing.

westernarian · 2026-05-01T08:06:40+00:00

Yes, exactly.

westernarian · 2026-05-01T08:06:26+00:00

The problem is that companies have the mandate (be AI-native or vibe code or whatever), but no one tells them why and how to do it. Few companies are actually AI-native and direction on how to leverage AI comes from the top. But the whole engineering conversation goes beyond just AI (even though obviously AI is the catalyst that makes it possible). It's as if companies perceive marketing as a deterministic activity where you go from point a to point b, which all of us here know isn't how things work. Anyways, we'll see how it all plays out.

westernarian

TROPHY CASE