Marketing Campaign Tactics

Don’t Trust Companies Who Put Customers First “Our customers are our number one priority,” is the oft-heard mantra of so many companies these days. “We put our clients first,” is uttered by so many CEOs one loses track. But there’s a problem with putting customers first. It means that employees come at least second. Customers should never be the priority. People should be the priority. Some of those people buy from us, some of those people work for us, and it’s only a behavioral difference. They are all people and all business decisions should be made considering the impact on the people who are on the receiving end of our decisions. All customers and employees should both be treated equally and treated well. Not because of what they do or how they are seen but because they are both people. Customers and employees both bleed red. Customers and employees both feel happy and hurt. Customers and employees both live to feel valued for the effort they exert and the expense they put forth.

One of the strongest medicine ads I've seen But which would you use? Johnson & Johnson's brilliant Calpol team currently have these out-of-home ads running across the UK. It obviously gets so much right but there's two different versions - speaking to very different #OOH uses. If you had to back just ONE horse, would you go left or right? Why? System1 tested them with 300 UK consumers to understand a little more. First off, they both get something right that half of OOH fails to do. We've shown via research with JCDecaux & Lumen Research that posters get about 2sec of attention. Triggering brand recognition within 2sec is the least your ad can do. 90% of consumers recognise Calpol within this time for both posters, half of global poster exposures fail to trigger brand at all! Secondly, they both manage to do something only 5% of global posters do. They create intense branded positive emotions - key for influencing future consumer behaviour through the affect heuristic and dramatically increasing any chance of fame. It does this through proper brand, comms & creative strategy. Calpol fixes kids > It's a parent's speedy friend to bring back smiles > Someone's feeling better. Then we see a simple execution or an execution with a product shot and a "reason to believe". This is probably the output of divided opinion. "Let's go with both". The extra branding, copy, and product do nothing extra for brand recognition, so is it in aid of the viewer and the idea? Does it create more emotion? Does it build different associations? Yes, for both! The ad on the right creates less neutrality and more positivity. The idea suddenly means more, makes more sense, and still works with little attention. Left gets 3.7 Stars, right 4.0 Stars in our long-term creative potential scoring. The ad of the left builds "Children", "Medicine" & "Relief" associations. All great for salience. The ad on the right does the same but also builds associations for "Fast Acting", "For Fever" and "Efficient". Less important but still useful for influencing choice. You could argue that the ad of the right is "the creative brief in the ad". Who cares!? The consumer likes it more, gives it more attention and remembers more about the brand. I'd put my chips on the right. It also builds their packaging as a distinctive device! Which would you choose? Either way - what a brilliant idea and ad. I've linked the full System1 research for each ad in the comments. I share #advertising and #marketing insights daily, follow for more.

Your influence in the board room and executive team is 90% communication with measurable examples. The words you use can make or break you. Naturally, I've been compiling a list of "instead of saying this, say this" with measurable results. Many are based on my gotcha moments where I've failed miserably at explaining what marketing does. I've said things like: “We’re increasing brand awareness.” “Our demand generation efforts are working.” “We’re improving our SEO strategy.” Every marketing leader has said some version of these. The problem? Nobody in the boardroom or executive team cares about (or understands) marketing buzzwords. They care about revenue, efficiency, and business impact. Let's flip the script. I've compiled a list of marketing-speak and translated these statements into terminology a room full of non-marketers would understand. And bonus, I've included the right metrics to back them up. Example: 🚫 Don’t say: “We’re generating a lot of leads.” ✅ Say this instead: “We’re bringing in people who are actually interested in buying.” 📊 Measure it with: Organic Traffic, Demo Requests, MQL-to-SQL Conversion Rate I put together a full table of these translations and a template so you can ensure your marketing efforts land in the boardroom. I'll share the list and other communication tips this weekend in my newsletter, but if you just want the table. Let me know. Drop a “TABLE” in the comments, and I’ll send it over.

I spent a year at Gong creating content for the 95% of buyers who weren't ready to buy. We grew from 12K to 220K LinkedIn followers and generated millions in pipeline — and never talked about our product. Here's the exact playbook I used (and why most B2B marketers get it backwards): Most marketing teams burn budget chasing the 5% who are actively buying.  They're fighting over scraps. Meanwhile, 95% of your market isn't even looking for you yet. That's where the real opportunity is. 𝗔𝘁 𝗚𝗼𝗻𝗴, 𝗜 𝗵𝗮𝗱 𝗼𝗻𝗲 𝗿𝘂𝗹𝗲: 𝗡𝗼 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗱𝘂𝗰𝘁 𝘁𝗮𝗹𝗸. For an entire year. No features. No demos. No "why Gong is better" posts. Just pure value for sellers trying to hit quota. Sound crazy. But here's what happened: LinkedIn: 12K → 220K followers  Podcast: 100K downloads in 18 months Webinars: 500 → 2,500 registrations  Email open rates: 28% (industry average: 15%) But the real win? Sales reps using our content in their calls.  Buyers showing up to demos already trusting us.  Inbound pipeline grows quarter over quarter without fail. 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝟵𝟱-𝟱 𝗙𝗿𝗮𝗺𝗲𝘄𝗼𝗿𝗸 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗰𝗵𝗮𝗻𝗴𝗲𝗱 𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘆𝘁𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗴: 𝟭. 𝗞𝗻𝗼𝘄 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗮𝘂𝗱𝗶𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗲 𝗯𝗲𝘁𝘁𝗲𝗿 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝘆 𝗸𝗻𝗼𝘄 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗺𝘀𝗲𝗹𝘃𝗲𝘀 We mapped every micro-frustration in a rep's day: -Writing cold emails that get ignored -Running discovery calls that feel like interrogations -Handling pricing objections without panicking Each pain point became content gold. 𝟮. 𝗕𝗲 𝗮 𝗽𝗿𝗮𝗰𝘁𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝗲𝗿, 𝗻𝗼𝘁 𝗮 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗱𝘂𝗰𝘁 𝗽𝘂𝘀𝗵𝗲𝗿 We asked ourselves: -What are they doing that's not working? -What have they accepted as "just the way it is"? -What would actually help them tomorrow? Then we created it. No strings attached. 𝟯. 𝗨𝘀𝗲 𝗛𝗼𝗹𝗹𝘆𝘄𝗼𝗼𝗱 𝘀𝘁𝗼𝗿𝘆𝘁𝗲𝗹𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝗮𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗰𝘀 Instead of "Here's what the data says..." We'd start with: "You're 5 minutes into a discovery call. Your buyer just said your price is too high…." Emotion first.  Data second. People remember stories, not statistics. 𝟰. 𝗦𝗵𝗼𝘄 𝘂𝗽 (𝗻𝗲𝗮𝗿𝗹𝘆) 𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘆𝘄𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗲, 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝘀𝗶𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗹𝘆 Blog posts for readers.  Podcasts for listeners.  Videos for visual learners. Same value, different formats. Because your audience consumes content differently. Meet your audience where they already are. 𝟱. 𝗠𝗲𝗮𝘀𝘂𝗿𝗲 𝗹𝗶𝗸𝗲 𝗮 𝗯𝗿𝗮𝗻𝗱, 𝗻𝗼𝘁 𝗷𝘂𝘀𝘁 𝗮 𝗳𝘂𝗻𝗻𝗲𝗹 Forget last-touch attribution. (It’s mostly pointless). Track: -Follower growth -Direct traffic (brand recall) -Inbound opportunities -Pipeline influenced by content 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗵𝗮𝗿𝗱 𝗽𝗮𝗿𝘁? You HAVE to play the long game. Create value without asking for anything back. Trust that helping the 95% today will create customers tomorrow. Most marketers fight for existing demand. The smart ones CREATE demand. Which game are you playing? PS: Want the full 95-5 playbook? I broke it all down for HubSpot. Link to the article in the comments. #marketing #partnerpost 

Stop inviting clients to shop your offer around. Big branding client. Discovery call. They're excited. Then I show them 3 options. Not one. Three. "Why would you give us choices?" they ask. "Doesn't that complicate things?" Actually, it simplifies everything. Here's what 30 years of running two 7-figure businesses taught me about options: • Option 1: DIY (10% price) Digital course. Templates. Self-paced. For those who aren't ready to invest yet. Infinitely scalable. Zero touch from you. They get value. You get a customer. • Option 2: DWY - Done With You (x price) Finite deliverables. Some customization. You do the work together. Sweet spot for most buyers. • Option 3: DFY - Done For You (10x price) White glove. Bespoke. Custom everything. Training, coaching, custom software if needed. You handle it all. They write the check. The magic isn't in the options. It's in what happens next. When you present one option, they think: "Should I buy this or not?" Binary decision. Easy to say no. When you present three options, they think: "Which one should I buy?" The conversation shifts from IF to WHICH. Psychology 101: People hate missing out more than they love getting a deal. Give them one option? They'll shop around. Give them three? They'll shop your menu. Your 10% option captures future buyers. Your 10x option makes your middle option look reasonable. Your middle option? That's where 80% of sales happen. Price anchoring and why it works. But here's what most people miss: Each option must solve the same problem. Just at different levels of involvement. Not different services. Different depths of the same service. What three options could you offer today? Have you tried options in your offer? What happened? Drop a comment below and share your story. Small Business Builders #pricingstrategy #salesstrategy #businessgrowth

Decathlon chose to zoom in (literally) and take a different perspective. Their “Choose Your Way” campaign doesn’t push product features or promotions. Instead, it invites you in through close-up, tactile moments that make you feel something. These are memory triggers. Emotional cues. It’s simple, sensory and surprisingly powerful. A reminder that the most effective creative work doesn’t just show what something is. It makes you feel something about it. This shift didn’t come out of nowhere. Last year, Decathlon rebranded and it marked the beginning of a new chapter for a brand that had always been big, but rarely emotional. This campaign builds on that foundation. It shows what happens when you stop trying to say everything and focus instead on creating a feeling. You don't have to lead with product to make people care. You just need to show up in a way that resonates. Other brands are doing this too. British Airways rolled out its “A British Original” campaign with eye-catching out-of-home executions that use minimal branding and focus on expressions of wonder from people gazing out of plane windows. PepsiCo also nailed it with work that zoomed in on their logo hidden in plain sight on other brand packaging. A smart, subtle flex. It's all about shifting the perspective and zooming in to bring something visually interesting to life. What brand have you seen recently that made you feel something without saying too much?

I have always believed if you nail one acquisition channel well, it is enough to scale in the first 1-2 years. And that will most often always be Meta as true incremental demand gen happens here Our entire growth in mixer grinders in the last 7-8 months ( from 0 to about 4 crs/month) have come only executing Meta ads ruthlessly The broad goal for us has been to pass on enough signals back to Meta so that Meta can continuously reach out to new relevant in-market audiences. And then have extremely strong creatives that ensures hook rate, hold rate and video views are high so that the in market audience also gets to understand the product USPs Two things that helped here which you can also implement today itself in your campaigns 1. Smart Exclusions from prospecting campaigns- brings highest incremental sales and relevant reach While custom audiences (e.g. video viewers, website visitors, past purchasers etc) are typically used for retargeting, you use them as exclusions in your prospecting campaigns. This ensures your budget isn’t wasted on people already in your funnel and forces Meta’s algorithm to seek fresh, in-market prospects. For example: Exclude recent website visitors (e.g., last 30 days) and past buyers to focus solely on new users who resemble your converters but haven’t yet engaged. This sharpens Meta’s machine learning to prioritize users showing intent without prior brand exposure, increasing the likelihood of reaching active seekers. Significantly helps in increasing new relevant reach 2. First Party Data for Algorithmic Training Wheels Instead of optimizing solely for purchases on the website ( the number of conversions on the website can be limited), pair the website conversions with the Conversions API to feed precise, first-party data back to Meta, enhancing audience modeling even with limited pixel signals due to privacy changes. This data can come from your CRM data, Amazon data etc. In our case, we get most of the first party data as buyers register their warranty for 1 year additional warranty With additional buyer data, the campaigns come out of learning way faster Try doing both of the above things. Your campaigns will scale profitably as well as bring incremental sales and reach

A click from an LLM converts 4.4X better than a click from traditional search. (Source: Semrush) Why? Because it’s not just a casual question, it’s a signal of real intent. LLMs aren’t just another way to find information. They’re where people ask highly specific questions, think through options, ask follow-ups, and narrow in,  all in one conversation. You’re not just searching for “vegetarian restaurant in SF.” You’re asking: “What’s the best vegetarian spot in SF with a great view, a 4.5+ Yelp rating, and enough patience for hungry teenage boys?” When you get that answer, you’re not browsing, you’re booking. By the time someone clicks through from an LLM, they’ve already done the research. They’ve clarified what they want and gotten a tailored recommendation. That makes the click more informed, more qualified, and much closer to conversion. Traditional search often brings people at the top of the funnel. LLMs bring them when they’re ready to act. This is a massive opportunity for marketers. Your content shouldn’t just inform — it should convert. Be specific. Build for action. Obsess over intent. That’s how you win in the LLM era.

Here's how to simplify your pitch and 10x your sales: 1. Talk less, sell more. Short sentences = more sales. Hemingway once bet he could write a story in 6 words that'd make you feel something: "For sale: baby shoes, never worn." Your pitch should pack the same punch. 2. Complexity is for people who want to feel smart, not be effective. The worst salespeople make simple things sound complicated. The best make the complex simple. 3. Complexity says, "I want to feel needed." Simplicity limits to only what is needed. 4. Read your pitch out loud. I remember when I'd asked my COO to read the manuscript of my book. He chose to do it aloud. All 258 pages. Ears catch what eyes miss. The final version reads like butter. 5. "Be good, be seen, be gone." This was the best sales advice I ever got. - Good: Deliver value - Seen: Make an impression - Gone: Don't overstay your welcome People buy from those they remember, not those who linger. 7. Speak like your customer, not a textbook. We like to sound sophisticated. "We create impactful bottom-line solutions." But we like to listen to simple. "We help small businesses explode their sales." Which one would you buy? 8. Every word earns its place. Your pitch should be lean and mean. - Be specific - Avoid cliches - Check for redundancy - If it doesn't add value, cut it out 9. Abstract concepts bore. Concrete examples excite. ❌ "We'll increase your efficiency." ✅ "We'll save you 10 hours a week." Paint a picture. 10. People buy on emotion & justify with logic So tap into their feelings: - Fear of missing out - Desire for success - Need for security Then back it up with facts. 11. The "Grandma Test" never fails. If your grandma wouldn't get your pitch, simplify it. No jargon. No buzzwords. Just plain English. 12. Benefits > features. Dreams > benefits. ❌ "Our group hosts 10+ events per year." ✅ "Our program helps you close deals." 🚀 "Let's take back Main Street through ownership." 13. Use power words: - You - Free - Because - Instantly - New These words grab attention and drive action. Two final things to keep in mind... Simplicity isn't just for sales. Apply these principles to: - your business operations - your thinking processes - your next investment - your relationships - your to do list Sales isn't just for car dealerships. You pitch when you: - Negotiate a raise - Interview for a job - Post on social media - Hire someone for a job - Talk to an owner about buying their biz If you found this useful, feel free to share for others ♻️

Claude is quietly becoming the most powerful AI tool in marketing. And almost nobody is using it right. I'm watching it happen in real time. Marketing leaders are still figuring out ChatGPT while their competitors are building entire campaign engines inside Claude. I spent 30 days going deep. Testing every feature. Breaking things. Rebuilding them. What I found changed how I run marketing permanently. Here are 9 Claude features most marketers don't know exist: → Projects — Your marketing command center. Upload brand voice, ICPs, positioning docs. Every chat remembers them. Every output sounds like your brand from prompt one. → Custom Instructions — Tell Claude exactly who your buyer is. "VP of Marketing, mid-market SaaS, 50-200 employees." Now every response is written for that person. Not some generic audience. → Extended Thinking — Turn this on for strategy work. I ran a competitive analysis using Playing To Win. The output read like a $20K consulting brief. Not a blog post. → Search — Claude pulls live data mid-conversation. I asked for our competitor's latest product launches. Had a competitive brief built without opening a browser tab. → Artifacts — I asked Claude to build a campaign ROI calculator. It built one I could edit live inside the chat. Input ad spend and ACV. Get projected pipeline instantly. → File Uploads — I dropped in 3 months of email data. Claude found the subject line patterns driving our highest open rates. Took 45 seconds. → Connectors — I linked Google Drive. Asked Claude to find our Q3 performance deck and summarize wins and misses. No uploading. No screenshots. Just answers. → Cowork — Pointed Claude at a folder of campaign assets. It read our positioning deck and built a full campaign brief as a Word doc. Right into the folder. → Styles — Created a custom style from my top 3 LinkedIn posts. Now every draft sounds like me without touching a word. Last Tuesday I built a full campaign plan in one afternoon. Messaging hierarchy. Channel strategy. 30 assets. Landing page wireframe. One brief. One tool. The marketers figuring this out right now will look like geniuses to their boards by year end. Here's a cheat sheet that will give you everything you need to start now.