VC-backed B2B SaaS companies often undermine brand marketing by prioritizing short-term growth and ROI over long-term brand-building. This leads to internal contradictions and underfunded efforts. Brand work relies on emotional resonance and consistent storytelling, which doesn't align with VC incentives focused on speed and quick investor returns. This misalignment makes it difficult for marketers to thrive, not because of a lack of skill, but because they're working in a structure that doesn't support the value they bring.
Originality isn't rewarded until it's repeated in AI-first search. Unique ideas must gain traction across multiple sources before LLMs recognize or surface them. Without clear labeling, plain-language definitions, and off-site mentions, even strong concepts risk invisibility in zero-click summaries.
In the 2000s, advertising often referenced fine art, like Ellen DeGeneres' Botticelli-inspired poster or Scion's Damien Hirst homage. Jim Heimann, editor of All-American Ads of the 2000s, believes the rise of digital ads led to a drop in creativity, replacing visually bold print with simpler, cheaper formats. His book explores how tech, sexuality, and cultural shifts shaped that decade's campaigns. Heimann also questions how AI, economic shifts, and political changes will affect the future of ad-making.
A timeline of the evolution of automobile logos.
Ugly branding uses raw, chaotic design to stand out in a sea of polished visuals.
Create custom reports by filtering the traffic to include “Session source/Medium” containing ”gpt”.
Photos of brand activations at Coachella from Pinterest, Sol de Janeiro, and Poppi.
Tariffs have raised costs and slowed sales, forcing US brands to work with smaller marketing budgets and higher performance demands. Retail sales are expected to grow 2.7-3.7% this year, with 94% of advertisers anticipating 6-10% budget cuts. Marketing teams are adopting agile, performance-based strategies using real-time data and modular campaigns.
More than a decade after acquiring Instagram and WhatsApp, Meta is facing a trial that could force it to divest both. The FTC argues these deals consolidated Meta's dominance by eliminating potential rivals in a narrowly defined personal social networking space. Meta counters that it competes broadly with platforms like TikTok, YouTube, and iMessage, making the market definition itself a central issue.
Start by identifying evergreen, high-performing content from the past 6-12 months, such as guides or how-tos. Use AI to break it into key themes, match them to relevant audiences and pain points, and suggest tailored approaches for each segment. It can also recommend the best platforms and formats, like videos for urban dog owners or carousels for instructional content.
Brands are moving from mega influencers to a mix of nano, micro, and macro creators across TikTok and Instagram. El Pollo Loco reached 46.7M impressions with 20 creators, while SiuKay's challenge drew 2M views and 190K engagements. Garage Beermixes saw 86% purchase intent from 445K viewers. Voilà saw an 8x order jump, and NotCo gained 300K followers and 65M impressions in two months.
49% of US shoppers expect personalized product recommendations. Pop-ups triggered immediately after a customer adds an item to cart or browses related products convert better when personalized using survey insights and purchasing history data. Tactics include using high-resolution product images, tailoring copy to highlight benefits over features, and creating urgency through limited-time language.
Instead of chasing "unicorn" hires, founders should split marketing into 2 roles: a part-time strategic architect and a full-time execution-focused builder. Companies should also form advisory groups, build freelancer networks, and create power-user councils. Reduce dependency on any one person and prioritize repeatable processes.
Gong used bright visuals, a bulldog mascot, and regional Super Bowl ads promoted early on LinkedIn to stand out. It bought short Times Square billboard slots, regional Wall Street Journal ads, and virtual placements, then amplified them through social media and employee networks to appear larger than it was. This low-cost strategy drove record pipeline and strong brand recall. Gong also targeted content to long-term buyers, aligned closely with sales, and focused on standout event marketing to grow.
Macro shifts are happening faster and affecting customer behavior, budgets, and risk tolerance. With AI driving rapid change and a recession looming, teams must reprioritize for value, not velocity. Focus on retention, ROI-driven messaging, and features that solve immediate needs. Collaborate with finance and GTM teams, reassess pricing strategies, and plan with longer time horizons. Strategic awareness is now essential, not optional.
AI marketing agents can automate repetitive tasks and handle most of a campaign's execution. However, they lack the nuance and empathy needed for human-centered marketing. After spending $20 to test one, this marketer found it underwhelming. Real success comes from understanding people, not automating workflows.
Ford and Dame responded with value-oriented pricing moves while others, such as MeUndies and Labucq, turned cost increases into promotional hooks.
49% of marketers still track metrics that don't guide decisions.
BeReal is launching in-feed ads and brand takeovers in the U.S. after being acquired by Voodoo for €500 million. It claims 40 million monthly active users, with 5 million in the U.S., and says 85% of its users are Gen Z. Downloads have declined sharply, dropping 60% from 31.5 million in 2023 to 12.7 million in 2024. The app aims to stay relevant in a crowded market while trying to monetize its user base.
As digital experiences become more automated, brands are turning to experiential marketing to create human-centered moments. This shift, called the New Age of Romanticism, pushes back against algorithm fatigue and AI sameness. Consumers are seeking imperfection, surprise, and real connection. Brands like LEGO and Salesforce are leading with immersive experiences that prioritize emotion over efficiency. Rather than relying solely on tech, marketers are designing tactile, in-person activations that spark curiosity and feeling.
A homepage is crucial for B2B brands because it shapes a buyer's first impression and affects whether they take the next step. If the messaging is unclear or generic, prospects may bounce or arrive at sales calls confused, leading to lost revenue. A strong homepage should clearly state the problem solved, the value offered, what makes the brand different, and who it serves. These elements depend on brand positioning first being clearly defined.
Use data to find who actually needs your product. Start with research from internal data, interviews, and tools like SparkToro or Google Trends. Look for patterns in behavior, pain points, and goals. Segment by behavior, tech use, or generation. Test your assumptions with small campaigns and track what works and adjust. Keep everything in one place and review regularly. Assign ownership so personas stay current.
To deliver truly personalized email experiences, start by combining first and third-party data to build detailed customer profiles. Use website behavior, surveys, and enrichment tools, then apply AI to uncover behavioral insights you can't capture manually. Analyze patterns in purchase activity, engagement, and brand interactions to define named segments. Then match each segment with tailored messaging using modular email templates. Test variations to find what drives results, and use tools like Zapier or Clay to automate.
Canva is expanding beyond design with the launch of a new AI suite called Canva AI. The platform now includes an AI assistant capable of generating content, coding mini-apps, and offering design suggestions, while Canva Sheets introduces features like Magic Insights and automated charts. With partnerships like Anthropic and integrations with HubSpot and Google Analytics, Canva is positioning itself as an end-to-end visual productivity tool for creative and enterprise teams.
Oreo, owned by Mondelez, sells over 60 billion cookies annually in 100+ countries and dominates social media with 39M+ followers on Facebook alone. Its viral marketing strategy relies on nostalgia, humor, and constant flavor experimentation, including wild limited-edition drops that drive urgency and engagement. Collaborations with brands like Supreme, Pokémon, and Lady Gaga elevate it beyond food, turning it into a pop culture icon. On shelves, Oreo uses variety and block shelving to crowd out competitors and grab shopper attention.
The high-profit era of repeatable big-idea advertising is over, replaced by high-volume, low-impact digital content. Agencies are losing strategic ground as holding companies downsize experienced talent, while consultancies gain influence with CMOs. To stay relevant, agencies must reposition creativity as business problem-solving, not just campaign output, and invest in the skills needed to deliver measurable brand performance.
5 Perplexity prompts to uncover user problems in minutes, without conducting interviews.
Shopify's CEO says using AI is now mandatory for new hires.
Tesla, which has historically avoided advertising, is now leaning on “edgy” humor and meme-style content on X as a primary marketing tactic.
Nearly half of Gen Z and millennials say they prefer social media content over TV and movies. This is a shift in how people define quality. Traditional markers like big-name stars and high production value matter less as audiences seek relevance and connection with creators. Choosing content is now influenced by ease, attention span, and mental effort. The media industry risks falling behind if it clings to outdated ideas of what makes content valuable.
Trump paused most planned tariffs for 90 days on non-retaliating countries, but kept a 10% tariff on most others and increased the tariff on Chinese goods to 125%. The entertainment industry may suffer from advertising pullbacks and risks tied to China, such as a ban on U.S. films or intellectual property issues. Companies like Disney could benefit if trade deals reduce recession fears. Small and medium businesses, including celebrity-backed product lines, face the biggest risks from ongoing tariff uncertainty.
Going viral isn't about luck or timing, it's actually about emotional resonance and cultural relevance. The most shareable content combines strong emotional impact, social value for the sharer, and simple, remixable formats built for interaction. Today's viral content most often invites participation and gives people something they want to be associated with, making them feel part of the story.
Weglot grew to over 40,000 paying customers by using CMS app stores like WordPress and Shopify as its main distribution channel, with 80% of signups coming directly from these platforms by 2021. It maintained high visibility through top-rated reviews, strong SEO, and active community involvement across ecosystems. Weglot also built a partner network of 4,500 agencies by 2024, which generates leads and handles onboarding, lowering acquisition costs. It supplements this with events, third-party reviews, and creative entry points like Webflow's gallery to scale without heavy ad spending.
This webinar on April 24 will be looking at how top brands are adapting to shifting consumer behaviors, fading loyalty, and rapid tech changes. Marketing leaders will share what tactics they're leaving behind, what they're investing in now, and how they define success in a digital-first world.
To grow on Instagram, focus on feed posts for visibility while recognizing that Stories and DMs are more for direct interactions. Share short, engaging videos instead of long-form content to align with Instagram's priorities. Hashtags are no longer a reliable tactic for increasing reach, so focus on quality and relevance instead. Engage with your audience around the time you post to drive more profile visits. Most algorithm changes are small, so major drops in reach are often tied to outside events.
This glossary of AI terms offers a great reference for marketers. It breaks down the essential AI terms marketers need to know, from agentic AI and generative content to prompt engineering and AI-powered personalization.
As Meta eases restrictions on political news, publishers are experiencing a dramatic rise in Facebook referrals, with some seeing up to 10x year-over-year growth. At the same time, Apple News continues to underperform as an ad platform, falling short in both sales execution and publisher value.
AI can boost content volume and production speed, but without the right systems, it creates more complexity. To scale effectively, teams need well-defined workflows that go beyond one-off prompts, combining multiple tools, human checkpoints, and prompt iterations. Editorial QA is also essential to catch bland or inaccurate output, while strategy and analytics are needed to guide the whole process.
Most consumers are not in the market for a given good or service at any given time, which makes the job of the marketer to become known to them.
8 examples of great B2B content.
A content framework for small B2B marketing teams.
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Pet influencers are seen as more trustworthy than human influencers on social media. Ads featuring animals like Nala the Cat or Bunny the button-pressing dog perform better in terms of reach and engagement compared to those featuring people. Viewers perceive pet endorsements as more sincere, especially when the messaging is aligned with immediate gratification. This is due to rising influencer fatigue and the belief that pets have no hidden agenda.
AI can translate content quickly, but it often misses local preferences. For instance, a US retailer's European expansion suffered due to a lack of cultural context. Campaigns perform better when trust signals align with local values. While AI handles tasks like translation and pricing, human insight is still key for tone and cultural nuances.
Emailing an apology with a benefit after a trivial mistake increases revenue, email open rates, and click-through rates. One study showed an apology email generated 126.9% more revenue than a non-apology one (€628.74 vs €277.13). Apologies are most effective for small technical issues and for brands not already seen as warm. This strategy backfires for major mistakes or when overused.
Many products fail not due to poor quality, but because they don't capture enough attention. A strong go-to-market strategy and well-timed launch are critical in standing out, especially in markets filled with similar AI-generated offerings. Ten common mistakes include launching too early or too often, failing to enable sales and CS teams, lacking clear differentiation, and using one-size-fits-all GTM playbooks. Phased rollouts and involving both PMs and PMMs early can reduce risk and misalignment. A successful launch depends on clear storytelling, targeted outreach, and ensuring the product solves top-priority customer problems.
Marketing teams that face tighter budgets and limited headcount should prioritize smarter workflows and tools to maintain impact. This article shares 10 efficiency-focused tactics, such as using AI for content ideation, automating routine reporting, repurposing user-generated content, and aligning teams around a shared ‘north star' metric.