In this episode of Trust and Influence in B2B Marketing, Joel Harrison sits down with Paul Collier, CMO at Funnel Fuel and a serial B2B marketing leader who's worked with Fortune 50 tech companies. They unpack the FT's landmark "Bridging the Trust Gap" report, which reveals that companies measuring trust are three times more likely to report stronger profits—yet only 22% actually do. Can B2B advertisers afford to ignore trust when planning their media strategies?

➡️ Paul brings hard-won client-side experience to the conversation, sharing his own wake-up call when his digital advertising spend flatlined without explanation. Together, they explore the five pillars of B2B trust (reliability, human competence, data security, ethics, and integrity), why trust gaps exist across industries, and how AI is rapidly reshaping the advertising landscape. They also tackle platform opacity, the balance between trusted media and social channels, and practical steps marketers can take to demand transparency from their advertising partners.

00:00 - Introduction: The FT Trust Gap Report

02:15 - Paul Collier's Background & Journey to Funnel Fuel

05:30 - First Impressions of the Trust Gap Report

08:45 - The Five Pillars of B2B Trust

12:20 - Trust Gaps Across Industries: Why B2B Marketers Should Care

15:40 - Paul's Wake-Up Call: The Christmas Spreadsheet Story

19:25 - Trust Differences Across Media Channels

23:10 - Measurement Gaps in B2B Marketing

26:35 - AI, Transparency & the Future of Advertising

31:20 - What Questions Should Marketers Ask Their Partners?

34:50 - Why Paul is Optimistic About B2B Advertising's Future

37:15 - Closing Thoughts & Key Takeaways

Follow Paul Collier

https://linkedin.com/in/paulcollier/

https://funnelfuel.io

If you care about making B2B marketing more meaningful, useful, and memorable, this conversation is for you. It's honest, reflective, and packed with takeaways that can help elevate your approach to thought leadership—whether you're a content creator, strategist, or brand leader.

🌐 Visit Joel Harrison's website to explore exclusive reports, upcoming events, and join the B2B marketing community ➡️ https://www.joelharrisonb2b.com/

💬 What do you think comes first—measuring trust or building it organically? Let us know in the comments below.

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In this episode of Trust and Influence in B2B Marketing, Joel Harrison sits down with Daniel Mohacek, Founder and CEO at Truth Engine, a company building technology to detect fake reviews at scale. Daniel has spent 25 years in digital marketing, including time at Yahoo in its early days and involvement with SwiftKey, the predictive text keyboard acquired by Microsoft. But it was an unexpected discovery a few years ago that set him down a completely different path—while trying to turn around a struggling B2B website business, he uncovered a coordinated attack of fake negative reviews that traditional marketing playbooks simply don't address. What happens when your company's reputation is being systematically destroyed by fake reviews, and the advice you receive about fighting back raises serious ethical and legal questions?

➡️ Daniel reveals the sobering truth about review manipulation across platforms we all rely on—from Trustpilot and G2 to Google and Glassdoor. The scale of the problem is far greater than most marketers realize, with fake reviews now representing over 50% of all reviews analyzed across hundreds of millions of data points. He explains the rise of "negbombing" (coordinated fake negative reviews), why businesses have felt compelled to fight fire with fire, and how new UK legislation coming into force in Q1 2026 creates real legal and financial risks—including fines of up to 10% of global turnover. Daniel also unpacks how AI search tools and large language models are changing the game, why they rely heavily on reviews, and what this means for businesses with manipulated review profiles. From the impact on brand reputation to the shift in consumer behavior, this conversation challenges everything we thought we knew about online reviews and trust signals in B2B marketing.

If you care about building authentic trust, protecting your brand reputation, and understanding the new legal landscape around reviews, this conversation is essential listening. It's eye-opening, practical, and packed with actionable insights for marketers, brand leaders, and anyone responsible for managing their company's online presence.

Follow Daniel Mohacek

https://linkedin.com/in/danielmohacek/

https://truthengine.com

🌐 Visit Joel Harrison's website to explore exclusive reports, upcoming events, and join the B2B marketing community ➡️ https://www.joelharrisonb2b.com/

💬 What do you think—are fake reviews a bigger problem than most B2B marketers realize? Let us know in the comments below.

🔔 Subscribe to the channel for weekly insights, interviews, and on-the-ground perspectives from the world of B2B marketing. https://youtube.com/@JoelHarrison-B2B?sub_confirmation=1

📲 Follow Joel Harrison and Trust & Influence in B2B across the web:

LinkedIn ▶ https://linkedin.com/in/joelharrison/

Podcast ▶ https://trust-influence-in-b2b.captivate.fm/

Instagram ▶ https://instagram.com/joelharrisonb2b/

#JoelHarrisonB2B, #B2BMarketing, #ThoughtLeadership, #ContentStrategy, #MarketingTrends, #B2BContent, #BrandVsDemand, #Storytelling, #MarketingPodcast, #B2BInsights, #JoelHarrison, #B2BVideos, #B2BStrategy, #FakeReviews, #ReviewAuthentication, #TrustInMarketing, #DMCCAct, #ReputationManagement, #CustomerAdvocacy, #B2BTrust, #MarketingCompliance

In this episode of Trust and Influence in B2B Marketing, Joel Harrison sits down with Carla Johnson, a globally recognized marketing and innovation strategist, speaker, and author of Rethink Innovation. Carla has helped some of the world's top B2B brands—from Emerson and Dell to Intel—reimagine how they inspire creativity, tell authentic stories, and earn lasting trust. What does it really take to build trust in an era where buyers believe peers and employees more than brand advertising, and how can B2B organizations unlock creativity when risk aversion still dominates?

➡️ Carla doesn't hold back. He reveals why trust is the hidden currency that powers innovation, why consistency matters more than perfection, and how storytelling transforms credibility into real influence. They explore how brand values must translate into employee freedom, why thought leadership requires taking the heat along with the glory, and what AI means for the future of authentic marketing. From the importance of making people uncomfortable with your ideas to how a 125-year-old industrial company used Barbie as inspiration for a values campaign, this conversation challenges conventional B2B wisdom at every turn. Carla also shares practical frameworks from his work, including why 90% of innovation happens outside traditional innovation teams and how B2B marketers can use AI to think with them, not for them.

00:00 Introduction to Trust and Influence in B2B

00:27 Meet Cara Johnson: Marketing and Innovation Strategist

01:03 The Role of Trust in B2B Marketing

02:28 Consistency and Creativity in Building Trust

05:40 Thought Leadership and Trustworthiness

10:31 Employee Advocacy and Authenticity

17:21 Storytelling as a Currency of Trust

20:22 AI's Impact on B2B Marketing and Trust

29:15 Innovation and Trust in Risk-Averse Environments

35:33 Future of Trust in B2B: Key Takeaways

Follow Carla Johnson

https://linkedin.com/in/carlajohnson

https://www.carlajohnson.co

If you care about making B2B marketing more meaningful, useful, and memorable, this conversation is for you. It's honest, reflective, and packed with takeaways that can help elevate your approach to thought leadership—whether you're a content creator, strategist, or brand leader.

🌐 Visit Joel Harrison's website to explore exclusive reports, upcoming events, and join the B2B marketing community ➡️ https://www.joelharrisonb2b.com/

💬 What do you think comes first—building trust internally with employees, or externally with customers? Let us know in the comments below.

🔔 Subscribe to the channel for weekly insights, interviews, and on-the-ground perspectives from the world of B2B marketing.

https://youtube.com/@JoelHarrison-B2B?sub_confirmation=1

📲 Follow Joel Harrison and Trust & Influence in B2B across the web:

LinkedIn ▶ https://linkedin.com/in/joelharrison/

Podcast ▶ https://trust-influence-in-b2b.captivate.fm/

Instagram ▶ https://instagram.com/joelharrisonb2b/

#JoelHarrisonB2B, #B2BMarketing, #ThoughtLeadership, #ContentStrategy, #MarketingTrends, #B2BContent, #BrandVsDemand, #Storytelling, #MarketingPodcast, #B2BInsights, #JoelHarrison, #B2BVideos, #B2BStrategy, #TrustInMarketing,...