Hi Team,
I was recently made aware of a new marketing-centered role that certain companies are sourcing. Vibe Marketer is what it’s being referred to as. That’s a new one to me.
Purportedly, vibe marketing has evolved from “vibe coding.” Attributed to OpenAI co-founder Andrej Karpathy, vibe coding is basically coding by using just AI prompts. For example, instead of coding a login screen using traditional coding language, one can “vibe” with the code by communicating via prompt: “Make me a clean, minimal login page with email and password fields, centered on the screen, in dark mode.” Based on that initial design, they can continue the conversation and vibe back and forth.
So there you go.
Vibe coding has become somewhat mainstream. But vibe marketing? Well, from what I can tell, that has yet to catch on. Vibe marketing is initially being defined as a full stack marketing expert who fuses their creativity with AI’s productivity, scaling a brand’s voice and content. So, basically vibe coding, but you know, marketing.
Seeing as this is a bit opaque, I will take a stab at coming up with a fuller definition of a vibe marketing.
One we, particularly human audiences, can vibe with.
What a vibe marketer should NOT be
Even for those of us who have seen plenty of technology movements: growing up on AOL, graduating to Facebook, and migrating to TikTok, we've never seen anything like this AI revolution. Leaving the above aside, the closest parallel to this rapid adoption and obsession with new tools is actually the 2015 "pivot to video.”
The invention of cheaper consumer cameras and eventually the iPhone led to an explosion of “prosumer” video content across Facebook and YouTube. Leadership teams created and hired a new role called “preditors” (producer + editor + writer) to almost single-handlely commandeer their video creation—some publishers cranking out hundreds, if not thousands of videos a month.
But this rush, or “pivot” to video ignored what audiences truly wanted: authenticity, not just more content. When platforms shifted algorithms and audiences grew tired of an overabundant of stale videos, the people who mastered tools — preditors — were let go. The people who largely ended up taking their place, podcasters and TikTokers, were able to vibe with the audience using their own voice and ability to emotionally connect with people.
What a Vibe marketer can be
Turning on the spigot and letting AI prompts run your marketing plan is a real leap of faith. There should be a role that acts as the bridge between AI tools and human connection. They ensure that AI tools still provide authenticity. They validate more output equates to genuine scale. These responsibilities have long been absorbed by growth marketers, marketing directors, content creators, and creative directors—but it’s time to create a dedicated role designed specifically for them:
Vibe marketers manage the AI, strategically overseeing its connection with audiences and ensuring the message is resonating while overseeing their connection with audiences. What’s more, they understand AI’s place in a long term marketing strategy. They know how content, and its requisite tools, ebb and flow.
Vibe marketers know that culture moves in cycles, not straight lines. They know the value of their specific tool, and when they sense it loses value either become more personal and/or start vibing with something else.
The companies that survived the pivot to video weren't the ones who pivoted hardest—they were the ones who recognized what video actually offered: intimacy and authenticity at scale.
This isn’t to say AI is a flash in the pan, it is to say that the format, person, or medium that makes the most people feel listened to, wins.
Think of vibe marketers as the “Maitre’D” of a brand’s digital presence, ensuring every interaction—from a DM to a billboard—delivers the right emotional energy and the AI is vibing with the human audience.
Next Steps
If vibe marketing is of interest—maybe as a hire for your team or for you to become one—here are the traits to start seeking out beginning tomorrow:
Be able to define yourself as an AI Expert. Be on the cusp of the capabilities AI is offering – define trendy from game-changing. Perhaps most importantly, define what competencies it may be lacking. What vibe do you get from AI to know it’s not right for your current task?
Be an expert in human driven feedback systems. It’s easy to prove that AI is increasing output, but how can you show it’s vibing with your audience—it is strengthening the connection between audience and brand? Surveys, email drip campaigns, heck even cold calling are effective means of understanding how your message is resonating. Identifying when, how, and where to drop these into a marketing funnel is the job.
Be a student of the past and present. Be aware of what strategies customers were responding to five years ago and how/if they could apply today. Audiences are cyclical; what’s “old” could be new again, and what works are the strategies that stand the test of time. Human audiences aren’t going anywhere. For the most part, messages that resonated fifteen years ago still resonate today, what’s changed is how they get there and who gets to create them.
The marketers who make the most of AI tools will be the ones who amplify their distinct perspective rather than replace it.
The marketers who will see the most success will recognize that in a world of infinite content, genuine personality becomes the scarcest commodity.
The marketers who thrive in this market, will be those who can vibe with the moment, while building on lessons from the past.
The vibe marketers.
As Ever,
Paul Nyhart
Chief Connection Officer - Hi Team
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