Personalization, Profit & the CFO: Scaling Martech Engines with Eloise Gillespie
In a recent episode of Making Sense of Martech, Optus’s Associate Director of Personalization and Martech, Eloise Gillespie, explains how AI‑driven personalization can scale only when the underlying infrastructure aligns with real‑world business constraints. She details the shift from treating data as a by‑product to a product, and how that change helped secure CFO approval for a nine‑figure budget by anchoring every decision in margin and ROI. The conversation also covers the practical role of composable CDPs and incentive‑optimization engines in delivering credible, profit‑focused experiences. Ultimately, Gillespie argues that true personalization balances customer desire with commercial viability.
Meta, Google Set to Launch Soon?
SMB advertisers continue to prioritize Google and Meta for ad spend, while also allocating portions to emerging AI products. Morgan Stanley reports a 4% year‑over‑year rise in Google search ad usage and a 13% boost in advertiser ROI. AI Overviews,...
How I Created a Claude Skill So Every PDF, Deck, and Doc Comes Out On-Brand
The post walks readers through building a Claude brand skill—a reusable design system that automatically injects a company’s colors, fonts, logo, and layout rules into PDFs, presentations, and docs. By feeding Claude a single master prompt, users can extract visual...
How TikTok Shop Predicts Sales
TikTok Shop is emerging as both a discovery engine and a conversion platform for beauty brands, influencing purchases across in‑app, e‑commerce, and physical retail channels. The platform’s halo effect has generated double‑digit growth in brick‑and‑mortar sales and a measurable lift...
How To Build A Winning HVAC Marketing Strategy
HVAC firms must dominate local search by mastering Google Business Profile and Local Services Ads. Their website should act as a conversion‑centric hub, mobile‑optimized with instant contact options. Reputation management, content marketing, and targeted paid ads amplify trust and lead...
How to Build a Video Asset Library That Drives Revenue Across Email, Ads, and Landing Pages
The article outlines how ecommerce brands can build a video asset library to repurpose Facebook and Instagram videos across email, SMS, landing pages, and paid ads. It provides a quick decision framework, step‑by‑step download methods, format guidelines, and a simple...
6 Ways To Encourage Word-of-Mouth Marketing Among Your Customers
The article outlines six tactics Shopify merchants can use to turn satisfied buyers into a word‑of‑mouth engine, including stellar customer service, frictionless checkout, shareable packaging, a visible referral program, active social engagement, and systematic amplification of customer stories. It claims...
Meta's GEM: Bringing LLM-Scale Architectures to Ads Recommendation
Meta introduced GEM (Generative Ads Model), a foundation‑model approach that treats ad recommendation like a large language model. The architecture separates sequence and non‑sequence features, uses an InterFormer to handle long user histories, and adds a Student Adapter to keep...
EBay Beta Testing Video Ads in Promoted Listings Priority Cost-per-Click Placements Starting in Australia
eBay has begun beta‑testing a video‑enabled version of its Promoted Listings Priority in Australia. The feature allows sellers to attach 5‑ to 60‑second videos that auto‑play in eligible ad placements, reverting to static images where video isn’t supported. Pricing remains...
The 20 STEPS Lovable Growth & Virality Guide
The post presents a 20‑step framework that reframes growth as a trust problem rather than a channel problem. It argues that product delight fuels sharing, which builds trust and drives sustainable virality. The guide outlines tactics—from a minimum lovable product...
Here's What I Learned After 100 Posts on Substack
The author celebrated 100 Substack posts for Tracy’s Tidbits, reflecting on lessons learned about audience composition, publishing cadence, and content formats. Consistency—publishing every Wednesday—proved essential, while cross‑posting to LinkedIn emerged as the primary traffic source. Visuals and short “Notes” added...
8 Variables To Determine Your LinkedIn Posting Strategy
The article identifies eight variables that determine the optimal LinkedIn posting format—short post, long‑form text, carousel, or video. It highlights that LinkedIn’s algorithm now rewards dwell time, giving an edge to lengthy text and carousel slides, while vertical videos excel...
SEO vs GEO... LMAO, STOP IT!
The author dismisses the SEO‑vs‑GEO debate as a distraction, arguing that the real challenge is evolving strategy for AI‑driven search. He highlights that large language models now surface answers based on citations, digital PR, and brand signals rather than classic...
Visa’s Formula 1 Commitment Defines What Big-Brand Sport Deals Look Like
Visa announced a renewal of its partnership with Formula 1’s Oracle Red Bull Racing and the Visa Cash App Racing Bulls, extending the deal through 2030. The agreement expands on‑car branding, hospitality assets, immersive fan experiences, and adds support for two...
Eco or Budget Hotels? How To Market to Those Seeking Both
In 2026 sustainability has become a mainstream guest expectation, yet price sensitivity remains a dominant driver of travel decisions. The TravelBoom Leisure Travel Study shows 21.8% of travelers would pay more for eco‑friendly hotels, while 45% are actively cutting back...
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How to Use Salesforce for Marketing [Maximizing CRM for Effective Campaigns]
Salesforce Marketing Cloud consolidates customer data, campaign management, and analytics into a single platform, enabling marketers to deliver personalized experiences across email, social, mobile, and web. Features such as Journey Builder and Einstein AI automate multi‑step journeys and predict customer...
Stop Selling Unseen Vanilla
The post argues that big brands waste billions on generic "vanilla" advertising that rarely reaches consumers. Traditional metrics like GRPs only estimate potential reach, not actual views, leading to inflated performance claims. Gary Vaynerchuk advocates replacing mass‑market campaigns with highly...
The Dark Psychology of ‘Limited-Time Offers’: How Marketers Use 5 Hidden Psychological Traps to Make You Impulse Buy in 1...
Marketers increasingly weaponize limited‑time offers, embedding five covert psychological traps that drive impulse purchases within seconds. By exploiting scarcity, loss aversion, countdown timers, social proof, and anchoring, they compress decision cycles and bypass rational evaluation. The blog illustrates how a...
The Power of Saying No
Anthropic turned down a U.S. government request to use its Claude AI for surveillance, opting for an ethical stance over immediate revenue. The refusal resonated with privacy‑concerned consumers, propelling Claude to the top spot in the App Store. This episode...
10 Types of Digital Marketing You Need to Master in 2026
The article outlines ten digital marketing disciplines essential for 2026, emphasizing that businesses should focus on a handful of channels rather than spreading resources thin. Email marketing delivers the highest return on investment, generating $36‑$42 for every dollar spent, while...
Ioana Stoica on Co-Creation, Digital Platforms and the Governance of Place Branding
Ioana Stoica, a senior lecturer in digital marketing, argues that place branding is a long‑term governance of meaning rather than a conventional marketing exercise. She emphasizes that residents, not customers, co‑create a place’s identity through everyday experiences and digital storytelling....
Social Media Marketing in Pakistan: How SMM Panels Are Changing the Game
Social media marketing panels are gaining traction in Pakistan, where over 70 million users drive demand for rapid audience growth. Panels offer cheap, drip‑feed follower and engagement services that can boost an account’s credibility within 24‑72 hours, sparking algorithmic favor. The model...
Why Branded USB Sticks Still Earn Their Place in a Shopify Brand’s Marketing Mix
Branded USB sticks remain a high‑ROI promotional tool for Shopify merchants targeting B2B audiences, especially those earning $100 K–$2 M and attending trade shows. At $8–$25 per unit, a single drive can generate 50–100 impressions daily and up to 700 over its...
5 Ideas For The Interested This Week
The Clients From Content community is delivering hands‑on support, from polishing a member’s blog post to teaching how to monetize high‑visibility LinkedIn comments. Josh Spector shared his writing partnership growth strategy, including outreach emails and pricing, while members accessed five...
The Simple Formula Behind an 8-Figure Sustainable Brand
Lauren Gropper’s Repurpose has built an eight‑figure sustainable brand by diverting 727 million plastic items from oceans and landfills and selling compostable tableware and essentials through retailers like Target and Walmart. The company survives early market indifference and a costly geographic...
PPC Landing Page: Tips for Designing PPC Landing Pages
Pay‑per‑click (PPC) landing pages act as the conversion bridge between paid ads and the desired user action. Successful pages mirror the ad’s headline, tone, and offer, eliminating distractions and focusing on a single call‑to‑action. Removing navigation bars can lift conversion...
Reciprocity in Marketing: How To Use Reciprocity Effectively
Reciprocity—one of Cialdini’s core persuasion principles—is gaining traction as a marketing tactic that goes beyond data‑driven offers. Brands such as Vessi, Spotify, Sephora and Kloo illustrate how free samples, trial periods, referral discounts and exclusive clubs can spark a sense...
How To Use Video in Email Marketing: Best Practices for 2026
Integrating video into email campaigns is becoming a core tactic for marketers seeking higher engagement and conversion rates. By linking thumbnail images or embedding short clips, brands can turn static newsletters into dynamic experiences that capture attention. Recent studies show...
The AI SEO Checklist For Restaurants
AI‑driven search engines like ChatGPT, Gemini and Perplexity no longer rely on traditional SEO signals such as meta tags or backlinks. Instead they pull from third‑person, recommendation‑style content and trusted mentions across the web. For restaurants, this means they can...
An Experiment
The author notes LinkedIn’s ever‑shifting distribution algorithm and questions the long‑standing Monday‑Wednesday‑Friday posting rhythm. A new theory suggests Tuesday‑Wednesday‑Thursday may yield better reach, prompting the writer to restructure their posting schedule accordingly. Starting next week, primary LinkedIn posts will follow...
AstroBiz Launches BizOne Rewards Campaign for Food and Beverage Outlets
Astro BizOne, Astro’s dedicated pack for food and beverage outlets, has unveiled the BizOne Rewards Campaign, allocating up to MYR 17.5 million in guaranteed marketing support. The program replaces the previous lucky‑draw format with a model that ensures every qualified outlet receives...
Why Hotels Should Add Bing to Their Channel Mix
Hotels traditionally rely on Google Ads for paid search, but the article argues that adding Microsoft Advertising (Bing Ads) can broaden reach and drive incremental direct bookings. Bing’s network, which includes Bing, Yahoo, and partner sites, captures a sizable share...
How Smart Shopify Brands Are Using AI Personalization to Grow AOV Without Spending More on Ads
Shopify merchants earning $200K‑$5M are turning to Rebuy’s AI‑driven personalization to lift average order value by 11‑25% and subscription revenue by up to 63% without extra ad spend. The platform layers recommendation widgets across five key touchpoints—homepage carousel, product detail...
I Was Inconsiderate but Now I’m Everywhere
Derek Sivers announced that he is expanding his personal content beyond his own website to a suite of social and video platforms. He likens his previous single‑site approach to a record producer who forced everyone to travel to a remote...
Sorry for Your Glossier
Glossier is set to launch a new fragrance called Soie in the coming weeks, marking its latest attempt to gain traction in the crowded perfume market. The brand’s recent history includes three perfume releases within a five‑month span, a rollout...
Delta Launches Euro Summer 2026 Travel Inspiration Campaign With Interactive Destination Quiz
Delta Air Lines has rolled out a digital campaign called Delta Destinations to inspire European summer travel for 2026. The initiative pairs curated city guides—starting with Amsterdam, Malta, Porto and London—with an interactive “Euro Summer Destination Match Quiz” that aligns...
Why Restaurants Should Embrace the Inner Kidult
The article highlights the growing "Kidult" trend—adults, especially Gen Z, who gravitate toward nostalgic, child‑like experiences—as a low‑cost, high‑impact lever for restaurants. Data from Placer.ai shows that promotions such as McDonald’s Grinch Meal and Starbucks’ Bearista generated the largest traffic spikes...
Website Redesign SEO: How To Preserve Organic Traffic
A website redesign reshapes the SEO signals that search engines rely on—URLs, navigation, content density, and load speed—often causing a short‑term traffic dip of 0‑20 % in the first month. Conducting a full SEO audit before any visual work creates a...
What Premium Actually Buys You on CTV
Premium CTV inventory, while more expensive, offers advertisers higher-quality audience engagement. Vevo, partnering with measurement firm Amplified, has produced rigorous attention data demonstrating that premium placements deliver longer view times and stronger brand recall. The partnership’s findings provide concrete evidence...
Hyatt Promo: Earn 2K Bonus Points per Night at Under Canvas Properties
World of Hyatt has introduced a limited‑time promotion that awards 2,000 bonus points for each night stayed at its Under Canvas glamping locations. Members must register between March 10 and June 30, 2026, and the stays must occur from March 13 to July 1,...
Guest Post - From Belgian Speculoos Biscuits to One of the World’s Most Popular Brands
Lotus Bakeries transformed its traditional Belgian Speculoos biscuit into the globally recognized Biscoff brand, a move that went beyond marketing to secure robust trademark protection. Since 2020 the company has registered nine EU trademarks covering the name, three‑dimensional biscuit shapes,...
How to Catch the Attention of Etsy’s Marketing Team
Etsy released a guide for sellers aiming to be featured in its marketing campaigns, such as Editor’s Picks and seasonal guides. The advice centers on discoverability, visual quality, brand storytelling, and buyer experience. Sellers are urged to maximize tags, use...
Channel Accumulation Is Not Distribution Architecture
The post argues that marketing failures stem from a missing distribution architecture, not from the number of channels deployed. It defines distribution as an architectural layer that must connect identity, motion, and market, and outlines five structural truths about how...
Starting a Consulting Business: How to Get It Right From Day One
The article uses Sara Guttman’s consulting launch to illustrate why new consultants must design their business from day one, not merely react to early client work. It argues that positioning as a strategic partner—rather than a task‑oriented service provider—drives higher...
Zero Click Marketing: The Strategy For When Clicks Stop Working
The Zero Click Marketing podcast launched, targeting marketers adapting to a world where most digital interactions happen without a website click. The show defines Zero Click Marketing as driving comprehension, trust and demand directly within the platforms where audiences reside....
Should Your Brand Start a "Side Quest" Account?
The article proposes that brands launch dedicated "side quest" social media accounts rather than cramming all content onto a single main page. It notes that platform algorithms now surface fresh accounts quickly, citing creators who amassed millions of views within...
Podcast with Phil Carter on Agentic Growth and Bootstrapping a Network
In a recent podcast, Phil Carter unpacked the origins of SuperMe, a self‑service networking platform, and explored how growth can be driven in an agentic environment where users propel expansion. He detailed the bootstrapping journey, highlighting the reliance on existing...
The Rebrand You're Considering Is Probably the Wrong Move.
The piece argues that most companies jump to a full rebrand when their brand feels off, but the problem is usually misalignment rather than obsolescence. It stresses diagnosing the specific issue—refinement, refresh, or rebrand—before committing resources. Full rebrands are costly,...
The Hidden Economics of World Cup Sponsorship
The article argues that World Cup sponsorship is often reduced to logo exposure, while the true value lies in creating immersive fan experiences in venues such as bars, fan zones, and hospitality spaces. Brands like Adidas, Visa, Budweiser and Coca‑Cola...
Why Physical Post Outreach Is Useful for Modern Consumer Engagement
Physical post outreach is gaining traction as marketers seek tactile, trustworthy channels amid digital overload. Studies show direct mail achieves a 4.4% response rate—about 37 times higher than email—and delivers a 112% return on investment. Personalization can slash acquisition costs...