Linktree rolled out new design-focused updates to make profiles more customizable. Key features include Enhance, an AI tool that suggests tailored design updates, deeper Canva integration with free access for all users and Canva Pro for Premium subscribers, and Restyle with AI to transform profile photos into artistic styles. The platform also introduced a smarter profile editor with live previews and Suggested Titles, giving brands easier ways to stand out.
Rounded prices attract more offers and increase the likelihood of negotiations compared to precise prices. Across 6 experiments and analysis of 11,203 real estate listings, people were 77.5% less likely to negotiate when given precise prices, and renters using precise offers were seen as 26.8% less flexible and 12.5% less likely to be engaged. The effect grows stronger as precision increases, with only 46.9% of people willing to negotiate a 4-digit precise offer versus over half for less precise ones. Researchers recommend starting with rounded prices to encourage offers, then switching to precise numbers during negotiations to achieve higher final prices.
After multiple pivots and a failed shopping app, Candle's founders successfully launched a viral social app. The app focuses on small, repeatable interactions where users receive a daily question or prompt, share quick photo updates, compare answers with partners or friends, and keep a visible “streak” that rewards consistency. Its lightweight design and points system called “sparks” turn relationship check-ins into a game, while TikTok-driven discovery and word-of-mouth helped it go viral early, especially among Gen Z and young millennials.
Use ChatGPT to “roast” your writing in the tone of a writer you admire.
Exclamation points make senders seem warmer and more likable without reducing perceived competence.
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In experimentation, following conventional best practices will lead to conventional results (or worse). To achieve truly exceptional growth, marketers need to follow a different playbook.
Mischief Marketing is emerging as a strategic response to ad fatigue. By intentionally breaking rules and expectations, marketers are creating campaigns that feel more exciting and fun. Burger King Brazil hijacked Google Maps by uploading coupons to competitors' photo galleries, reaching customers mid-search. Liquid Death leaned into taboos with “Kegs for Pregs,” showing Kylie Kelce drinking from water kegs while visibly pregnant. IKEA Canada texted customers “U up?” between 10 pm and 5 am to promote sleep products, blending flirtation with commerce.
BFCM revenue patterns in 2024 show that the real spike in consumer activity begins only 10 days before Black Friday. While brands often plan for an extended ramp-up, data reveals minimal customer movement in September and October. Instead, there is a sharp and fast climb in browsing beginning mid-November. Product views increase during this short window, but purchases lag behind until Black Friday hits, when orders then surge and browsing drops. Cyber Week is the core revenue period, and after this two-week stretch, both promotional activity and customer engagement taper off quickly.
This playbook outlines how Recall.ai defines a clear problem, builds a targeted lead list, collects proof points, and enriches data manually. Accounts are mapped to key personas, concise email copy is sent, leads are sequenced and qualified, and lists are refined based on responses. A simple data model, weekly cadence, and 14-day sprint plan keep outreach efficient.
Kellanova, the marketer of Pringles, Cheez-It, and Pop-Tarts, built a predictive scoring system that ties creative elements directly to campaign performance. After analyzing over 443 assets across Meta platforms and billions of impressions, the company identified 19 high-impact variables from more than 20,000 creative decisions. Top performing ads featured branding in the first few seconds, positive emotion, product consumption cues, characters, and overlays that reinforced key messages. The system had 83% accuracy in predicting view-through rates and an 11% lift in ROI.
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Web traffic gone? You're not imagining things. AI engines really are changing how people find content — and most marketing teams are struggling to adapt. Opticon Online [9] (October 21, free) [9] will be a celebration of what's actually working: Generative Engine Optimization, AI content workflows, and experimentation that moves the
ChatGPT introduced a new “GPT-5 Thinking” option that lets users control how much reasoning the AI applies. Plus, Business/Teams, and Pro accounts now see a dropdown to choose between Standard, which balances speed and reasoning, and Extended, which is slower but deeper. Pro users also get Light for faster output with less reasoning and Heavy for the deepest reasoning at a slower pace.
Gmail's updates shift visibility from timing to engagement. Brands need to separate transactional and promotional streams and remove upsells from service messages to keep them in the right tab. They should also make use of the expanded Manage Subscriptions by offering preference centers, throttling low-engagers, and treating unsubscribes as useful feedback. In the Promotions tab, visibility improves with specific subject lines, clear CTAs, and consistent sender identity. Tracking engagement speed, breadth, and persistence will now matter more than just counting opens.
Fyxer scaled rapidly by blending consumer and enterprise strategies. The product, built to simplify email for non-tech users, requires no setup and rewards users for team invites. Growth started with direct outreach to micro-influencers, followed by performance marketing treated like a DTC brand with viral-style creative and a focus on work email signups. Once enterprise potential was clear, pricing aligned with professional use cases at $30-$50 per user, with seat-based billing under review instead of usage-based models. As the AI improved, Fyxer doubled down on reactivation, targeting early users with founder-style emails and trial restarts to convince skeptics to try again.
Fashion brands often use vague scientific and eco-friendly terms to market products, but many of these claims lack substance and amount to greenwashing. Luxury companies like Gucci and Prada have promoted carbon-neutral or sustainable messaging, yet investigations revealed that these promises often do not match their actual environmental impact, leading Gucci to remove its carbon-neutral claim. The EU Green Claims Directive will require verification before brands can use terms like carbon neutral, eco-friendly, or net zero in campaigns. Despite these regulations, mass production and fast fashion remain unchanged, with companies relying on appealing but empty scientific language to maintain prestige and consumer trust.
Incrementality tests provide stronger starting points for marketing mix models (MMMs), making them more accurate when historic data is limited or missing.
A visual showing that hook, payoff, and action drive a winning brand.
Brands are shifting from casual iPhone-style posts to cinematic short-form films that stand out with higher effort and storytelling.
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You can't afford to ignore LLMs. Your SEO playbook is still relevant - but it needs a version update, pronto.
EU lawmakers are considering changes to the e-Privacy Directive that triggered the constant cookie consent pop-ups online. Ideas include browser-based consent settings or broader exceptions for essential cookies, reducing the need for repeated prompts. Industry leaders are pushing for alignment with GDPR's risk-based model, while privacy groups raise concerns that data protections could be weakened.
ChatGPT drives high-converting traffic but often generates faulty URLs, which can waste potential visits. An Ahrefs study found ChatGPT 5 links to error pages nearly three times more than Google Search. To recover lost traffic, start by tracking ChatGPT-driven 404 pages in Google Analytics using filters for session source and error page titles. Next, create helpful 404 pages that guide visitors when they land on hallucinated URLs. Use 301 redirects only for broken URLs that generate measurable traffic.
A custom social feed was built by outlining a framework with features like voting, saves, topic filters, timestamps, breaking news alerts, and weekly reading stats. Lovable handled the technical build with Supabase, PWA support, and responsive design, while conversational feedback shaped iterations and aesthetics. Specific news and culture sources were added, unwanted ones excluded, and a widget was placed on the phone's homepage. The result is a curated, distraction-free content hub distinct from traditional social media.
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Most marketing teams were early adopters of ChatGPT and Claude, using them for campaign briefs, social copy and more. But AI can do more than content generation.
Go Fish Digital is hosting a webinar that will cover how brands can get cited by top publications to boost brand visibility, SEO, and inclusion in LLM responses. The panel will discuss how PR drives visibility, the links and mentions that carry weight with LLMs, and how to influence knowledge panels and entity-driven results. The event takes place today at 2 pm ET.
Tapestry is an app that gathers content from blogs, RSS feeds, YouTube channels, and other sources into a single chronological timeline. No algorithm interferes with the feed. It prioritizes privacy with no tracking, allows muting of topics and spoilers across feeds, and offers customization of layouts, fonts, and icons.
LinkedIn's Company Intelligence API shifts B2B measurement from lead-level tracking to company-level insights that reflect how real buying decisions are made. Early adopters reported a 287% increase in companies reached, 75% more MQLs, 96% more SQLs, and a 43% reduction in acquisition costs. The tooling allows marketers to see the full buyer journey, prioritize high-value accounts, improve attribution accuracy, and link campaigns directly to pipeline growth and revenue.
Brands often fall into the “Tyranny of the OR,” choosing single-dimensional strategies rather than embracing paradoxical promises that deliver both seemingly conflicting benefits. Unsuccessful examples include Cracker Barrel returning to its original premise and Jaguar abandoning its legacy for a new identity, each potentially missing opportunities to balance heritage with innovation. Research shows consumers dislike trade-offs that force them to sacrifice something they value, preferring brands that satisfy multiple, even contradictory, needs at once. Successful brands like McDonald's, Apple, and Coke have grown by solving paradoxes rather than choosing one side.
This study examined the cognitive impact of using ChatGPT for essay writing. It compared participants who used an LLM, a search engine, or only their own brain across multiple sessions. EEG data revealed that reliance on the LLM reduced neural connectivity and engagement compared with the Brain-only and Search Engine groups, and participants using the LLM showed weaker memory recall and lower ownership of their work. While LLMs offer immediate assistance, extended use may impair cognitive effort and learning skills.
The head of content, social, and integrated marketing at Microsoft shares what's worked for their EGC program.
Examples of gamified emails built via Zaymo.
The new beta for Google Ads lets app marketers apply seasonality signals to Smart Bidding, enabling proactive bid boosts during major promotions without waiting for algorithm changes.
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You're using ChatGPT and other AI tools to research products. So are your prospects. But do you know:
Romance-driven marketing is gaining momentum as consumers seek more uplifting content amid a heavier news cycle. Campaigns range from Audible's immersive fan events to Neutrogena's influencer partnerships and Doritos' humor-infused romance parodies. The approach allows brands to test creative boundaries while connecting with consumers looking for entertainment and positivity.
Across the US, UK, and Australia, average recognition of brand purpose sits at just 18%, and likely closer to 9% after accounting for false positives. Nike stands out with 32% in the UK and 52% in the US, but this reflects broad brand reach rather than purposeful messaging. Brand purpose is unlikely to drive significant sales. Marketers should weigh the opportunity cost versus strategies that boost brand availability or support social and environmental causes directly.
Verify emails before form submission to prevent silent lead loss. Most missed leads come not from bounces but from mistyped addresses. This wastes ad spend, disrupts onboarding, creates support issues, and blocks re-engagement. One enterprise client discovered 5% of signups had typos, resulting in thousands of lost contacts and millions in potential LTV. Real-time verification keeps your funnel clean and conversion-ready.
Avoid calling your blog a blog, as the term now suggests low-value content. Instead, frame your content hub with names like Content Hub, Research Center, Insights, or Idea Hub, depending on your business. Audiences are less interested in generic listicles and more drawn to unique data and insights relevant to their field.
Pinterest's annual virtual summit is on September 25 and free to attend. It will showcase the latest product innovations and strategies to increase performance on the platform.
Page 15 of Anthropic's internal guide explains how its team uses Claude Code for growth marketing. They generate hundreds of new Google Ads variations using specialized sub-agents, produce up to 100 social ad creatives at once via a Figma plugin, and analyze Meta Ads campaign performance directly within Claude Desktop. A memory system tracks previous tests and hypotheses, enabling self-improving ad experimentation that would be impossible to manage manually.
CMOs estimate that 45% of the data their teams use is incomplete, inaccurate, or outdated. Poor-quality data costs organizations an average of $12.9M annually. 30% of CMOs view improving data quality as the biggest lever for marketing performance, ahead of automating data workflows and improving data democratization. The most common data quality problems are completeness and consistency.
The “content engineer” role is misguided as scaled AI content delivers diminishing returns, faces search penalties, and is easily copied by competitors. The real opportunity lies in experimentation, originality, and quality, with AI serving as a creative partner. As AI fluency becomes a baseline skill for all marketers, a dedicated engineering role is unnecessary.
Anthropic launched its "Keep thinking" campaign to position its AI assistant Claude as a creative tool rather than a threat. The 90-second ad contrasts pessimism with optimism, showing people solving problems with Claude and framing AI as a partner in creativity. Its warm visuals and retro style avoid the sterile feel common in AI ads.
These include trigger-based email sequences, using employees as LinkedIn content creators, and showing up to in-person events.