Tell NY Dispatch: Tech Bros, Finance Bros, Candy Canes and Taylor Swift

 If You Read One Thing

To be or not to be? That is the question, and this time it is whether AI can replace Bloomberg.

In the Wall Street Journal, Isabelle Bousquette looks at what happened earlier this month, when a wave of posts and a pretty chaotic social media fight claimed AI tools like Perplexity could replace the Bloomberg Terminal, the system most professional investors rely on to track markets in real time. For traders and investment teams, Bloomberg is practically sacred. It is where they execute trades and talk to clients. Some have met their spouses through chat. Someone even made a wedding cake shaped like the terminal. 

What followed was a full-on clash between tech and finance. On one side, tech people argued this is exactly what AI is built for, remaking expensive legacy systems for a fraction of the cost. On the other, finance professionals reacted like someone had questioned the foundation of their entire workflow. 

This conversation keeps coming up as new AI tools promise to rebuild complex products faster and cheaper. What makes this worth reading is that it shows where these “AI vs. something” debates are headed. AI will force people to let go of systems they trust, identities they built around them, and ways of working that feel untouchable. That friction may end up mattering more than the technology itself.  

👉 Read the full article here: Finance Bros to Tech Bros: Don’t Mess With My Bloomberg Terminal

Bonus: If you watch one thing 😉

It’s not every day that our favorite newsletter shares gold marketing hacks for free – but a $32 billion acquisition closing is certainly a good reason to do so.

Tom Orbach, Director of Growth Marketing at Wiz and one of the absolute best marketers out there (we’re not biased – it’s common knowledge!), recently released a free session on his newsletter that breaks down years of marketing tactics into just four words: unexpected audience, unexpected format.

He shares his core principles for creating viral content for B2B companies, encouraging organizations to embrace a more B2C-style marketing approach. With examples like Toy Story for cybersecurity experts or a meditation app for chief security officers, this session will, in less than 25 minutes, help you understand the recipe behind the kind of marketing that makes teams stop and think, “How did I not think of this before?” – all explained in a simple, accessible way.

Come enjoy.

👉 Watch here: The marketing playbook behind a $32 billion exit 🦄

Our Version of RSA: Really Stand Apart

We all know what RSA – the Mecca of cybersecurity – looks like. Our calendars were packed, too. Which is why we were genuinely excited to host a full-house happy hour with dozens of marketers, comms leaders, and even a few founders from cybersecurity companies and venture capital firms coming together to break down marketing, branding, and comms with two of the most notable brands on this year’s expo floor: Torq (did someone say inflatable skeleton?) and Wiz (we personally spent an hour a day in their “no AI zone”).

For those who missed it – or had a drink in hand instead of their notes open (good job – that’s the goal of an open bar!) – here are a few ideas that stuck:

• Look at what everyone else is doing, then push the opposite: Don Jeter, the legendary CMO for Torq, shared his gold piece of advice; If everything feels loud, shiny, and predictable, go in a completely different direction. If you see animals and glitter everywhere, maybe the answer is something darker, unexpected, even uncomfortable. You can certainly get where the Torq brand is coming from now.
• It is about creating the most interesting story: Trying to get Taylor Swift to invest in Wiz, for example, is a story people want to follow. Raaz Herzberg, a person that we wouldn’t be exaggerating to say changed marketing in cyber, pointed out that even what companies often consider “big news,” like launching a new product, isn’t inherently interesting. What matters is the story you build around it, and the angle you choose to tell. That’s what travels.
• Stay on it all the time: Both Raaz and Don emphasized the importance of paying attention to what’s happening online, what people actually react to, and start connecting dots. Creativity often comes from combining things that don’t obviously belong together. Don shared that the inspiration for their RSA booth came from Louis Vuitton, not cybersecurity. That’s the point: borrow ideas from unexpected places. If a racing brand is using skulls, for example (like Torq’s symbol) – offer them a collab.

We had great drinks and even better conversations, and we are looking forward to seeing you at the next Tell NY event!

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