Tenex Labs Aims to Outperform McKinsey with Single AI-Powered Marketer

New York, NY – Alex Lieberman, co-founder of Morning Brew and Tenex Labs, recently unveiled an ambitious marketing strategy, asserting his company's ability to surpass traditional consulting giants like McKinsey with a lean team comprising just one full-time marketer, heavily augmented by artificial intelligence. Lieberman presented this "crazy plan" to 300 marketers, outlining 10 core principles designed to redefine modern marketing efficiency and impact.

The strategy posits that AI acts as a significant force multiplier, enabling unprecedented output from minimal human resources. "AI is accelerating marketing front & back-of-house & if you're not using it in your org, you're falling behind," Lieberman stated, further adding, "We are putting out more, high quality content than every major consultancy with only 1 FTE. It is only because of the AI workflows they are using." This approach directly challenges the conventional wisdom of large, resource-intensive marketing operations.

A cornerstone of Lieberman's philosophy is the "Master the audience funnel," differentiating between rented, owned, and monetized audiences to maximize growth while mitigating risks associated with platform changes. He also emphasizes transforming internal talent into brand advocates, noting, "The influencer marketing space is massive... But most companies aren't thinking about making their employees and customers influencers, first." At Tenex Labs, the plan is to empower engineers and AI strategists as influencers.

Lieberman advocates for treating marketing like a "sitcom," creating episodic content with recurring themes and characters to consistently engage audiences and "own a corner of the internet." This is coupled with a call to "Make legal sweat," urging for bold, authentic brand voices that resonate personally with consumers, moving away from "PR-tainted copy." The "Logo test" is proposed: if a post's voice isn't unique enough to be recognized without the logo, it lacks distinctiveness.

Further principles include "Content is the product," shifting focus from 90% marketing to 90% value, exemplified by Tenex's "Human in the Loop" AI show. The "Squeeze the lemon" principle, inspired by Gary Vaynerchuk, details how one piece of anchor content can be repurposed into numerous assets across various channels. This ensures broad reach and maximizes content utility.

The strategy also highlights that "Modern content is creator-led & niche," leveraging the internet's infrastructure for individuals to wield significant influence within specific communities. "Newsletters are not dead," according to Lieberman, who views them as powerful full-funnel marketing tools for building trust and converting leads, as demonstrated by Tenex's "ultrathink" newsletter. Ultimately, these principles underscore a belief in AI's transformative power to create a highly efficient, impactful marketing engine with a dramatically reduced headcount.