TLDR MARKETING 2025-10-01

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DO HAPPY PEOPLE SHOP MORE?

Happier people spend more money than less happy people. This effect is strongest for indulgent or discretionary items, while spending on utilitarian products can be lower. In a study where participants received $10 to spend freely, those with higher trait happiness spent more overall and were more likely to buy non-essential items. The effect depends on the type of product, with happiness increasing spending on indulgent items and reducing it on highly utilitarian ones. Happiness drives greater engagement with enjoyable purchases.

HOW PEOPLE USE CHATGPT

This report analyzes ChatGPT's global adoption, usage patterns, and economic impact. Users under 26 and women now make up a large share, with adoption fastest in low and middle-income countries. Non-work queries account for 70% of messages, mostly on Practical Guidance, Writing, and Seeking Information. Writing dominates work use, often modifying existing text, supporting decision-making and productivity in knowledge-intensive jobs.

HOW TO SEND POST-PURCHASE EMAILS AT THE RIGHT TIME

Many brands send post-purchase emails at the wrong time, reducing relevance and impact. For example, ASOS sent a review request before a customer even tried the products, missing the chance to align messaging with actual behavior. A better approach is to use order and return data to trigger automated flows. When multiple sizes are purchased, mark the order as high return likelihood and delay review emails until returns are processed. This ensures post-purchase emails are timely and more likely to drive engagement.

WHAT HAPPENS WHEN YOU CHANGE PRICING?

Price changes are overwhelmingly non-destructive and often growth-positive for SaaS companies. Only 4% of companies saw revenue decline after making a change, while 74% experienced either no drop or an increase in growth. One in four companies see growth exceed 20%, which shows that pricing is an underused strategic lever.

HOW TO MARKET TO A HIGHLY TECHNICAL AUDIENCE

Experts Exchange turned a failed newsletter into a successful product by shifting from presenting themselves as experts to curating valuable content for IT professionals. Its ByteSize newsletter now has 206K subscribers, a 47% open rate, and generates revenue through sponsorships. The company achieved this by writing in a consistent “Tony Stark” voice, refining content through performance data, and cutting its list from 400K to 206K to focus on engaged readers. By acknowledging its audience's expertise and delivering useful, witty, and curated content, it transformed a skeptical community into an active subscriber base.

HOW TO BUILD A USER JOURNEY MAPPER ON ROCKET.NEW

FOOM!

WatchFoom.com is a 24/7 live broadcast platform created by Runway, the AI startup behind generative video models like Gen-1 and Gen-2 and an original collaborator on Stable Diffusion. It streams continuous live content and invites users to submit content or pitch shows. It serves as both a creative showcase and a promotional channel for Runway's AI-powered video tools.

THE ART OF THE CELEBRITY AD DEAL

Building a campaign around a celebrity requires more than booking appearances. The brand must map its objectives to the talent's schedule and branding, then co-develop a campaign with clearly defined deliverables. Pre-campaign research must include timing windows, past brand collaborations, and public perception. Activation should start well before the campaign launch to build rapport and secure deeper buy-in. To improve performance and reduce costs, brands should bundle deliverables across departments, reduce repetitive asset requests, and tailor content to match the celebrity's natural voice and audience.

AI BROKE THE OLD MARKETING PLAYBOOK. HERE'S THE NEW ONE

AI has reshaped B2B marketing, making old playbooks and siloed specialist teams ineffective. Companies now face declining search traffic, derivative content overload, outbound saturation, and blurred GTM roles as ripple effects of AI adoption. The new playbook requires authenticity and differentiation in content, account-driven growth strategies, and fewer but higher-impact campaigns. Teams should also restructure around AI-powered generalists, called “Gen Marketers,” who can combine creativity with AI tools to drive results. This approach positions marketing as a company's moat in the AI era.

WE'VE NEVER SPENT MORE ON ADVERTISING. IT'S NEVER DONE LESS FOR US

Global ad spend is on track to hit $1 trillion in 2025, up nearly 30% in real terms over the past 15 years.

THE REAL MARKETING CURRICULUM

A crowd-sourced initiative of 29 marketing lessons.

YOUTUBE ENABLES USERS TO GENERATE ALTERNATIVE ENDINGS FOR SHORTS WITH AI

The AI tool that lets users easily generate alternate endings by selecting from pre-written prompts.