Marketing

Amazon just pulled off the biggest power shift in advertising since Google took over search, and most marketers are sleeping on it.   Netflix, Spotify, and Roku have opened their ad inventory to Amazon's DSP, putting purchase data from over 300 million shoppers directly behind your streaming campaigns.   I've been in digital marketing for over two decades, and I haven't seen a consolidation moment like this since the early days of Google Ads.   You will learn:   — Why Netflix, Spotify, and Roku collapsed their walled gardens and handed Amazon control of streaming ads  — How Amazon's first-party purchase data outperforms Google and Facebook targeting in a cookieless world  — The way programmatic advertising works inside Amazon DSP and why one remote click can close a sale  — How to know if your brand is ready for Amazon DSP and what to build toward if you're not there yet

IndiGo (InterGlobe Aviation Ltd) CRISIS WASN’T IN THE SKIES. IT WAS IN THE LEADERSHIP CABIN. Three things stood out. One: Employees were left alone to face furious customers. No leader should ever let that happen. If you don’t stand by your people in a storm, don’t expect them to stand by your customers in the sun. Customer experience collapses the moment employees feel abandoned. Two: In any crisis, honesty is the only strategy that works. This time, the communication wasn’t transparent. When leaders hide the full picture, years of goodwill can disappear overnight. A crisis can earn trust, but only if you tell the truth. Three: The belief that “we are too big to be ignored” has ended more companies than competition ever has. Customers always have a choice. And if they don’t, they will create one. We shouldn’t watch the Indigo crisis like spectators. This is a reminder for every leader to build their own crisis blueprint. Because crises will come, when they do, your response becomes your reputation. There is more to business than profits. There are people, trust, and how you show up when it matters most.

Disney’s Earnings Didn’t Just Reveal a Quarter — They Revealed a Strategy Shift Most headlines today will flatten Disney’s Q4 into a simple story: streaming up, revenue a little soft, linear TV still fading. But if you actually read between the lines, this quarter tells a much bigger story about where Hollywood is heading. Here are the signals that actually matter: 1️⃣ The center of gravity is shifting from “content” to “experiences.” The Experiences segment once again carried the quarter. Double-digit operating income. International especially strong. This isn’t a “nice win.” It’s a business transformation. It’s The Walt Disney Company quietly saying: theatrical doesn’t end the journey — it begins it. Look at Lilo & Stitch: mid-budget movie → huge streaming wave → $4B in retail → character momentum showing up across parks. That’s the new model. IP that lives across screens and spaces — and monetizes every step. 💡If you care about licensing, franchise health, global momentum… this is the signal to watch. 2️⃣ Streaming is no longer a subscriber race — it’s becoming the operating system. The DTC business posted another profitable quarter. But the bigger move is strategic: Disney is positioning streaming as the connective layer of the entire company. Streaming is now where theatrical, TV, social, and products ladder into each other. It’s where franchise momentum is measured. It’s how stories travel globally. 💡Not “another Netflix.” More like the nerve center of the entire Disney ecosystem. 3️⃣ Linear TV isn’t declining — it’s being deprioritized. Yes, the Networks segment dropped again. Yes, ad revenue took a hit. And yes, the YouTube TV standoff hurts. It’s as if they’ve already accepted where this ends and are now architecting around it. 💡Linear becomes a bonus — not the business. 4️⃣ Experiences are becoming the profit engine everyone underestimated. Parks and cruises aren’t just outperforming. They’re outpacing every other part of the company in a way that’s structurally meaningful. Because experiences create something content can’t: decades-long loyalty. A hit movie gives you a weekend. A hit show gives you a month. A hit attraction gives you repeat visits, lifetime spending, and memories people pass down. That’s why CapEx keeps flowing here. It’s a compounding engine. 💡And it’s why every studio with a recognizable IP library is now studying the Disney playbook. 5️⃣ The interesting part isn’t Q4 — it’s the setup for FY26 and FY27. Disney guided to double-digit EPS growth for the next two years. Not bold optimism — more like quiet confidence. The company is preparing for a world where: ⌙ streaming = core infrastructure ⌙ experiences = highest-margin growth ⌙ theatrical = premium marketing vehicle ⌙ linear = fading but managed ⌙ consumer products = global engine 💡 If you map this forward, Disney looks less like a traditional studio and more like a vertically integrated IP platform. #Media #Disney

We talk a lot about how brands can connect to women. But here’s where I think the conversation goes wrong: Women are not one group of like-minded consumers. The category of “women” comprises 4 billion people with different preferences, professions, purchasing habits, and personal lives. So how can brands connect with women? Authenticity. I'm talking about the kind of authenticity that comes from truly understanding, representing, and serving the people your brand reaches. Why does this matter? Let's look at the numbers first:  • Women are overseeing $32 trillion in spending globally.  • By 2028, 75% of discretionary spending will be controlled by women. These aren't just statistics—they're a wake-up call for brands trying to connect with women. Brands historically miss the mark when they focus on women as "consumers," rather than as people. Take Dove's work with the CROWN Act, a movement and legislation aimed at prohibiting race-based hair discrimination in workplaces and schools. By bringing attention to how women of color—particularly Black women—have historically been told how to wear their hair at work, Dove drove meaningful change that extended far beyond marketing. The result for Dove (and its parent company Unilever) hasn't just been products sold, but actual legislative change—all because they stood for something that impacts the day-to-day life of their consumers. The key to the consumer paradigm: You cannot effectively serve women if you don't represent them at every level of your organization. Women continue to hold relatively few leadership positions in industries primarily serving women. The fashion and beauty industries, for example, are dominated by male leadership. When brands get it right, it shows. A few examples? FERRAGAMO appointed a female CEO back in 1960—long before it was trending—and that commitment to women in leadership has been woven into their DNA ever since. It’s not a campaign. It’s who they are. Or formula company Bobbie, which doesn’t just have consumers, they have devoted brand ambassadors, families, and loyal subscribers. True representation isn't about optics—it's about women making decisions at all levels—from product development to marketing to the C-suite. Maybe we need to retire the word "consumer" altogether. Because if we're talking about real, authentic connections, shouldn't we instead be focusing on people as human beings. It's no longer about thinking what you “should” create to get them to buy—it's about genuinely making that woman’s life better because you know exactly who she is. And your company’s leadership reflects that. 

A very easy way to improve your Amazon ads efficiency by at least 10% Let’s say you’re spending ₹4–5 lakhs/month on Amazon ads. Your ACoS looks okay. Conversion rate seems fine. But your gut tells you—you’re still wasting some money on irrelevant traffic You’re not wrong At Atomberg, we had found that some of our Amazon spend was going toward search terms that had no business seeing our ads: - “cheap fan” -“rechargeable fan” - “usb fan under 1000” None of these users were in-market for a ₹3,000+ BLDC ceiling fan. But we were still showing up. And paying for those clicks. And it’s not just us. I’ve seen 6–7 brands' Amazon ad accounts across categories over the last few years—same problem, every single time The fix? N-gram analysis Takes less than an hour. You don’t need to be a performance marketing expert. But the results compound What’s N-gram analysis? It’s breaking down every search term into its word components—1-grams, 2-grams, 3-grams—and then identifying patterns that consistently drive waste… or conversion. Example: “cheap rechargeable fan for hostel room” turns into: 1-grams: cheap, rechargeable, fan, hostel, room 2-grams: rechargeable fan, hostel room 3-grams: fan for hostel, etc. When you do this across all your search terms, you start seeing the real picture. Why this matters more than just checking your search term report: Search terms ≠ keywords a) One keyword can trigger 100s of different queries. Some convert. Most don’t. You need to find the patterns. b) Waste is diluted across low-volume terms. Maybe “rechargeable fan for hostel” spent ₹300. You ignore it. But what if 12 other queries with “rechargeable” spent ₹6,000 in total with zero conversions? c) Long-tail is infinite. N-grams are finite. You can’t negate every bad search. But you can block the core terms—“cheap”, “usb”, “mini”—once and be done with it. d) It helps you scale campaigns too. You can find goldmine phrases like “white ceiling fan”, “silent BLDC fan”, “fan for living room”—with 5x+ ROAS. Those became exact match campaigns What you should do: a) Pull last 3 months of search term data b) Break them into unigrams, bigrams, trigrams c) Create a pivot with spend, orders, ROAS by N-gram d) Negate high-spend, low-conversion N-grams (e.g., “cheap”, “rechargeable”) e) Boost high-ROAS ones (e.g., “bldc”, “ceiling fan white”) f) Add exact match campaigns g) Rinse and repeat monthly Try it. Guaranteed to improve efficiency at whatever scale you are operating If you want to read an expanded version of the post, link is in the first comment

Introducing the web's first market map of the Product Analytics Market: I was floored when I couldn't find one of these online. Surely, Gartner or CBInsights or A16Z would have created one? It turns out not. So I spent the past 3 months: • Talking with 25 buyers • Researching the space myself • Interviewing 5 product leaders at key players This is what I learned about the most significant players in each space: (that PMs and product people need to know) 1. Core Product Analytics Platforms     The foundational tools for tracking user behavior and product performance Amplitude : The leader, an all-in-one platform for PMs to master their data Mixpanel : The leader in easy UX and pioneer in event-based analytics Heap | by Contentsquare: The automatic event tracking and real-time insights leader 2. A/B Testing & Experimentation     Platforms for analysis Optimizely : The premier tool for sophisticated A/B and multivariate testing VWO : The best for combining A/B testing with heatmaps and session recordings AB Tasty: The all-in-one solution for testing, personalization, and AI-driven insights 3. Feedback & Session Recording     Capture qualitative insights and visualize user interactions Medallia: The top choice for comprehensive experience management Hotjar | by Contentsquare: The go-to for visual feedback and user behavior insights Fullstory: The best for detailed session replay and user interaction analysis 4. Open-Source Solutions     Customizable, free analytics platforms for data sovereignty Matomo: The robust, privacy-focused open-source analytics platform Plausible Analytics: The lightweight, privacy-first analytics solution PostHog: The versatile, open source product analytics tool 5. Mobile & App Analytics     Specialized tools for mobile and app performance analysis UXCam: The best for in-depth mobile user interaction insights Localytics: The leader in user engagement and lifecycle management Flurry Analytics: The comprehensive, free mobile analytics platform 6. Data Collection & Integration     Gather and unify data across platforms Segment: The top choice for effortless customer data unification Informatica: The enterprise-grade solution for data integration and governance Talend: The flexible, open-source data integration tool 7. General BI & Data Viz     Non-product specific tools for data analysis and visualization Tableau: The leader in interactive, rich data visualization Power BI: The best for deep integration with Microsoft tools Looker: The modern BI tool for customizable, real-time insights 8. Decision Automation & AI     Systems for automated insights and decisions Databricks: The unified platform for data and AI collaboration DataRobot: The leader in automated machine learning and AI Alteryx: The comprehensive solution for analytics automation Check out the full infographic to see where your favorite tools fit and discover new platforms to enhance your product analytics stack.

Yesterday, yet another AmLaw100 firm announced a round of layoffs of associates & staff. The layoffs seem to be part of a broader trend driven by slowing demand as a result of rising interest rates. This isn’t the first time that’s happened btw. The legal industry goes through these cycles and usually firms re-hire for those same positions when the economy bounces back. This time might be different, though. Here's why: First, generative AI will enable partners to do more with fewer associates. I’m not sure if the AI is good enough to do that today, but it’ll get there soon. Especially since firms seem to be incorporating it into their workflows right now. When demand eventually returns, these firms will likely have far more tech-enabled processes than they do today—which means they’ll need fewer associates to complete the work. If you want to stay ahead of the curve, pay attention to what legal recruiters are saying about hiring patterns when things bounce back. Second, large clients are more savvy about buying legal services than they’ve ever been. The rise of legal ops over the past decade have helped in-house lawyers make better decisions about where to invest resources. There’s also been an explosion in tech and analytics (e.g. Persuit, SimpleLegal) to help with outside counsel spend. I expect a trend towards greater financial discipline among legal departments, similar to how insurance companies work with their outside lawyers. If you want to stay ahead of the curve, pay attention to rate increase data for various practice areas. Third, there’s an unprecedented amount of high quality talent that now exists outside of traditional Biglaw. The boom-bust nature of the industry means that capable attorneys are constantly being pushed out. It’s not just associates; it’s also partners who are being de-equitized for the sake of PPEP. That, combined with the generational trend towards remote work, rise of boutique / regional firms, and explosion in flex talent providers (e.g. Axiom, Paragon, Latitude). If you want to stay ahead of the curve, pay attention to layoff data & equity partner growth & attrition rates. Now don’t get me wrong. Many AmLaw100 firms and their people will be immune to these trends. Clients will still go to their same go-to firms for high stakes matters, like big time M&A or bet the company litigation. Basically anything that has boardroom visibility. CLOs and GCs are betting their careers on the successful handling of those matters, and they’re not going to be influenced by cost savings or efficiency. As they say, no one ever got fired for hiring Cravath. For everyone else though, you’ve got to stay ahead of the curve. Because it doesn’t matter what school you went to, what firm you worked at, or whether they promised to make you partner. Market dynamics dictate so much of success and failure in our careers—so you always want to be prepared for whatever comes. Good luck my friends. 

“Our messaging is not working” Enrique Ortiz, a veteran conservationist and founding member of the Andes Amazon Fund, has spent decades translating the complexities of ecosystems into action. But in his recent commentary for Mongabay, he issues a striking critique—not of science itself, but of how it’s conveyed. “Facts are not the most important part,” Ortiz writes. “The current narrative needs a re-thinking.” That rethinking, he argues, begins not with more data, but with deeper insight into how people process information, make decisions, and respond emotionally to the world around them. Ortiz’s concern is not that people are unaware of climate change. In fact, the majority of the global population acknowledges it. But many remain unmoved, caught in a web of abstract language, ideological filters, and emotional distance. Scientific accuracy, while essential, often falters in the face of cognitive and cultural barriers. Ortiz points to the findings of cognitive scientists and neuroscientists: facts rarely shift belief systems. Instead, people gravitate toward stories, experiences, and social cues. “When facing uncertainty,” he notes, “humans make decisions that are satisfactory, rather than optimal.” This disconnect, Ortiz argues, is especially clear in environmental communication. Words like “rewilding,” “green,” or “ecological” may have once inspired clarity, but have since become muddled through overuse or conflicting interpretations. Worse, they sometimes trigger skepticism or backlash. In this fog of abstraction, the human connection is lost. What’s needed, Ortiz suggests, is a new narrative strategy—one that harnesses the emotional power of stories and speaks to how people actually think and feel. He draws from his own experience as an educator: while his lectures on plant-animal interactions faded from memory, it was the stories that lingered. This phenomenon, known as “narrative transportation,” isn’t mere sentimentality. It’s a neurological reality that helps ideas stick—and decisions shift. Rather than continuing to warn of catastrophe, Ortiz believes we should share stories of adaptation and resilience. From Andean farmers modifying how they grow quinoa and potatoes, to everyday consumers making environmentally conscious choices, these narratives offer agency and hope. They bridge divides and foster shared values. “Our messaging is not working,” Ortiz writes bluntly. “We need a revolution in narratives—and in how we tell them.” That revolution may begin not in the lab or the newsroom, but in the quiet space where empathy meets understanding—and where change can finally take root. 📰 His piece: https://lnkd.in/gmrWBcc5 📸 Hoatzin. My photo.

Five years ago I would not have believed this. The biggest names in CPG are quietly taking food out of the center of the plate. Unilever is carving out an $8B ice cream portfolio to focus on beauty and wellness. Nestlé is leaning harder into health science. The categories with pricing power are not pantry staples. They are skincare, supplements, functional hydration, and performance nutrition. Why the shift is rational, not trendy: Food margins are getting squeezed. Trade down is real, private label is sharper, and price elasticity in core staples is hitting its ceiling. Health and wellness carry willingness to pay. Consumers accept a premium for outcomes, routines, and performance. They do not reward cost plus in pasta sauce. Loyalty is drifting in food. Promotions move share week to week. Self care and efficacy-led categories hold repeat. You can already see where momentum lives. L'Oréal skincare growth outpaced many classic food portfolios last year. The Coca-Cola Company is pushing deeper into functional and non-carbonated. PepsiCo’s most defensible engine is Gatorade’s ecosystem of hydration, not soda. These are not side bets. They are where pricing power and repeat accrue. What I am advising leadership teams to do now: • Reweight the portfolio. Map pricing power, repeat, and trade down risk by category. If the math says wellness and self care carry the margin story, allocate accordingly. • Build credibility before you buy it. If you are a food-first house moving into health, you need scientific muscle, regulatory fluency, and communities that care. Partnerships, acqui-hires, and advisory benches matter. • Treat personalization as a revenue lever. Recommendations, routines, and subscription logic are table stakes in self care. Own the data and make it useful. • Keep the core honest. Food will not disappear, but it must earn its space with cleaner RGM, fewer zombie SKUs, and real reasons to stick around outside of price. I am not declaring the death of food. I am pointing at where the next decade of pricing power is likely to sit. The winners will rebalance now, not after a third year of elasticities telling the same story. If you are leading a CPG portfolio, are you future proofing around outcomes and routines, or are you managing a slow decline in categories that no longer set the pace? #FMCG #CPG #ConsumerTrends #GrowthStrategy #Beauty #Wellness #RevenueShift #BrandEvolution

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.