Marketing

Markiplier just broke Hollywood's playbook, and most studios still don't understand what happened. His horror film Iron Lung opened this weekend to $21M worldwide. On a $3M budget. Self-financed. Self-distributed. Virtually zero marketing spend. Let that sink in for a second. No studio backing. No bank financing. No distribution deal. He wrote it, directed it, starred in it, and released it under his own Markiplier Studios. When it came time for theatrical distribution, he didn't go hat-in-hand to distributors. His fans called theaters directly and demanded they screen it. The result? All three major US theater chains. 3,000+ venues in the US and Canada. 1,200+ screens internationally. Opening weekend? He rivaled Disney's Send Help for first place, a film with a $40M budget. He beat Melania's theatrical release as well. 7x return on budget in three days. Here's what the entertainment industry needs to reckon with: The traditional model assumes you need studios for financing, agencies for packaging, distributors for access, and massive marketing budgets for awareness. Markiplier needed none of it. He had something more valuable, a direct, loyal audience built over a decade on YouTube. This isn't a one-off anomaly. It's a preview of where entertainment is heading. MrBeast is building a content empire. Ryan Trahan just launched a feature. KSI, Logan Paul, and others are expanding into media businesses. The creator-to-studio pipeline is real, and it's accelerating. The question for traditional entertainment companies isn't whether creators can compete at the box office. Markiplier just answered that. The question is: what's your strategy when the talent doesn't need you anymore?

In a MAJOR ruling for European copyright law, the Munich Regional Court has sided with Germany’s music rights society GEMA against OpenAI, finding that the company’s ChatGPT model unlawfully used copyrighted song lyrics in its training and responses. The decision, issued this morning, marks the first major European court judgment holding an AI company liable for using protected works without a licence. I got into AI through being Director of Legal Affairs and Regulatory Compliance in IMRO, the Irish counterpart of GEMA - and I know the people in GEMA - so this is very interesting to me. The case centred on GEMA’s allegation that OpenAI trained ChatGPT on its repertoire of German song lyrics, allowing the chatbot to reproduce works by artists such as Helene Fischer and Herbert Grönemeyer. The court agreed, concluding that the model’s ability to reproduce lyrics word for word demonstrated that the works had been used in training. It ruled that OpenAI is liable for copyright infringement and prohibited ChatGPT from reproducing lyrics from GEMA-represented artists unless a licence is obtained. The court also held that the European Union’s Text and Data Mining exceptions cannot shield generative AI systems that “memorise” and reproduce copyrighted material. This reasoning undermines one of the primary legal defences AI developers have relied upon in Europe. While damages will be determined in a separate proceeding, the court’s finding of liability alone sets a powerful precedent. OpenAI has announced plans to appeal. The 42nd Civil Chamber of the Munich Regional Court had indicated its position in September, when it observed that the model’s outputs could not be explained without training on copyrighted material. The final judgment confirmed that assessment. For the wider AI sector, the ruling suggests that AI companies operating in the European Union may need explicit licences for any copyrighted content used in model training or risk litigation. The decision also has regulatory implications. It aligns with growing momentum within the EU to enforce transparency and rights-holder protections under the AI Act and the Copyright in the Digital Single Market Directive. The GEMA v OpenAI ruling diverges sharply from Bartz v Anthropic in the United States. In Bartz, Judge Alsup found that AI training on copyrighted material could qualify as fair use, meaning no licence is required when the use is deemed transformative and non-substitutive. He viewed training as an analytical process that teaches the model general patterns rather than reproducing expression. The Munich court took the opposite view, holding that using protected works in AI training without permission constitutes reproduction requiring a licence. This illustrates the growing divide between the U.S. model, where fair use can exempt AI developers from licensing duties, and the European approach, which treats copyright as an enforceable economic right demanding prior authorisation.

The ABCs of Greenwashing 🌍 Greenwashing weakens trust and slows down meaningful progress. When companies present overstated or unverified claims, it creates confusion across markets, misleads stakeholders, and reduces pressure for real change. The cost is not only reputational, it also undermines the credibility of sustainability efforts more broadly. As sustainability becomes a business priority, the risk of misleading communication continues to increase. The pressure to report progress has led to claims that are not always backed by substance. Recognizing the signals of greenwashing is essential to ensure integrity in reporting, communication, and strategy. The ABCs of Greenwashing is a practical reference that outlines common red flags, from vague wording and selective data to unverifiable targets and weak transparency. These signs often appear in sustainability reports, websites, product labels, and corporate campaigns. There is a growing demand for better sustainability communication. However, clarity must come with accuracy. Narratives that focus on ambition without showing results raise concerns. Authentic communication requires alignment between commitments, measurable progress, and public disclosures. Expectations are shifting. Stakeholders, regulators, and investors expect more than general statements. Claims must be supported by credible data, meaningful metrics, and consistent reporting. The absence of independent verification or full scope analysis is no longer seen as acceptable. Regulatory frameworks are evolving to address this. New directives and standards are increasing pressure on companies to validate their statements with clear evidence. This shift will affect how sustainability is communicated, measured, and governed across sectors. Avoiding greenwashing requires clear internal structures, cross functional accountability, and regular review of communication practices. Sustainability performance must be integrated into operations, not added as a marketing layer. This is not a communication issue alone. It is a strategic and operational matter. Claims must reflect business decisions, investment priorities, and outcomes that can be tracked over time. The ABCs of Greenwashing is a reminder of the need for precision, transparency, and consistency. Improving the quality of sustainability communication is essential for building trust, reducing risk, and advancing long term business goals. #sustainability #sustainable #business #esg #greenwashing 

The most expensive mistake in business is assuming your customers will never change. Last year, something shifted in Indian retail. Gen Z (377 million) overtook millennials (356 million) to become our largest consumer group, influencing $40-45 billion worth of apparel and footwear purchases. But they're not shopping at the stores we built for them. [Et Retail] Brands watched their growth collapse in just 12 months. → ZARA fell from 40% to 8% growth, [Et Retail] → Levi Strauss & Co. crashed from 54% to 4% growth [Et Retail] → H&M dropped from 40% to 11% growth [Et Retail] Here's why the growth has slowed down: 📌 Gen Z discovered new brands like Freakins and Bonkers Corner, offering trendy clothes at ₹500-800 📌 They chose self-expression over brand loyalty 📌 70% of their shopping moved online, heavily influenced by Instagram 📌 They demanded inclusive sizing (XS to XXL) and unisex options that legacy brands ignored Take FREAKINS, which clocked ₹25 crore in FY2023, or Bonkers.corner, clocked ₹100 crore. [The Economic Times] [Et Retail] These brands understood what Gen Z wanted: crop tops, baggy clothes, Korean pants, and oversized tees at prices that let them experiment with three different outfits daily. Body positivity isn't a marketing campaign for this generation. It's how they think. When they couldn't find the sizes or styles they wanted at premium stores priced at ₹1,200-1,500, they simply went elsewhere. Myntra saw the shift and launched FWD with ₹500 price points. The result was explosive: 100% year-on-year growth and 16 million Gen Z users, who now represent one in three e-lifestyle shoppers. [Et Retail] Legacy brands bet that Gen Z would "grow up" and pay premium prices. Instead, 377 million young Indians chose values over logos. The most expensive mistake in business? Assuming your customers will never change. What changes in your customer base have surprised you recently?

The worst cold email I received this month started with: "I'd love 15 minutes to introduce myself and show you what we do." Nobody cares about your introduction. Nobody has time for a generic pitch. After analyzing thousands of outreach sequences, I've discovered a psychological shift that's doubling meeting rates for innovative sellers. The best performers aren't focusing on their product. They're focusing on buyer psychology. Here's what's actually working in 2025: 1. The Curiosity Gap When you write "Other VPs in your space are seeing X trend" instead of "We help companies do Y," you create an information gap buyers want to fill. Our brains hate incomplete information. Use this. 2. Relevance Triggers Generic outreach gets generic results. When you mention a buyer's LinkedIn post or recent initiative, you're bypassing their "sales defense system." Relevance is required. 3. Specificity Signals "This could help you grow revenue" gets ignored. "Companies like yours are seeing 22% reduction in CAC" gets attention. Specific numbers signal you actually know what you're talking about. 4. Miniature Commitments Don't ask for 30 minutes. Ask for feedback on one specific insight. Small asks lead to bigger conversations. 5. Value-First Mindset Position yourself as a resource, not a vendor. Share insights without expecting anything in return. Reciprocity is powerful. The old playbook of "smile and dial" is dead. Meeting quotas in 2025 requires understanding human psychology. What psychological principle has worked best in your outreach?

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

You don't have to have the most innovative or cool product to make millions. This is the story of how a 100+ year old product jumped from $74 million in 2019 to $750 million in 2023. In the last few years, we've seen quite a few weird products thrive...Liquid Death, flamethrowers, and even JPG art fetching millions. Yet, Stanley's remarkable brand success stands out as one of the most extraordinary and weird business stories...ever! How the heck an ugly, not innovative, not unique, very old product became the most desired water container in the world? Here's how... Community Over Product: Like Stanley, brands that focus on fostering a sense of belonging and identity among their users can transcend the physical value of their products. It's not just about owning a Stanley cup; it's about being part of a broader narrative that celebrates sustainability, health, and collective identity. People trust people: Stanley's explosion in popularity, significantly boosted by TikTok, underscores the power of digital platforms in creating and amplifying brand narratives. Content creators and customers become brand ambassadors, weaving personal stories that resonate deeply with their audiences. Old but new: The once blue-collar cup remained relevant by introducing innovative marketing strategies without altering the core product and its quality. This balance of tradition and innovation is crucial for long-standing brands looking to rejuvenate their image. Crisis as Opportunity: Challenges like customer concerns and competitive criticism were handled with transparency and led to reinforcing brand trust. Stanley's adeptness at managing potential setbacks highlights the importance of responsiveness and responsibility. Brand is slow but pays: Stanley's gradual ascent to success is a testament to the value of building brand affinity over time. Instant success is rare and often unsustainable. Brands should focus on gradually building a loyal customer base through consistent quality and engagement. Cultural Contagion: Stanley's ability to become a 'cultural contagion' demonstrates the power of a brand to not just participate in, but shape cultural conversations and identities. This level of engagement is something competitors are keenly looking to emulate. Conclusion: Stanley's journey is a masterclass in brand resilience and relevance. It teaches us that true brand strength lies not in the novelty of the product but in the emotional and cultural resonance it achieves with its audience. As marketers, embracing these principles can lead to enduring brand loyalty and unprecedented growth.

Last week, I shared how Gen AI is moving us from the age of information to the age of intelligence. Technology is changing rapidly and the way customers shop and buy is changing, too. We need to understand how the customer journey is evolving in order to drive customer connection today. That is our bread and butter at HubSpot - we’re deeply curious about customer behavior! So I want to share one important shift we’re seeing and what go-to-market teams can do to adapt. Traditionally, when a customer wants to learn more about your product or service, what have they done? They go to your website and explore. They click on different pages, filter for information that’s relevant to them, and sort through pages to find what they need. But today, even if your website is user-friendly and beautiful, all that clicking is becoming too much work. We now live in the era of ChatGPT, where customers can find exactly what they need without ever having to leave a simple chat box. Plus, they can use natural language to easily have a conversation. It's no surprise that 55% of businesses predict that by 2024, most people will turn to chatbots over search engines for answers (HubSpot Research). That’s why now, when customers land on your website, they don’t want to click, filter, and sort. They want to have an easy, 1:1, helpful conversation. That means as customers consider new products they are moving from clicks to conversations. So, what should you do? It's time to embrace bots. To get started, experiment with a marketing bot for your website. Train your bot on all of your website content and whitepapers so it can quickly answer questions about products, pricing, and case studies—specific to your customer's needs. At HubSpot, we introduced a Gen AI-powered chatbot to our website earlier this year and the results have been promising: 78% of chatters' questions have been fully answered by our bot, and these customers have higher satisfaction scores. Once you have your marketing bot in place, consider adding a support bot. The goal is to answer repetitive questions and connect customers with knowledge base content automatically. A bot will not only free up your support reps to focus on more complex problems, but it will delight your customers to get fast, personalized help. In the age of AI, customers don’t want to convert on your website, they want to converse with you. How has your GTM team experimented with chatbots? What are you learning? #ConversationalAI #HubSpot #HubSpotAI

In today's digital age, leveraging celebrity brand ambassadors has become a popular strategy for businesses, including startups. As someone who's been a brand ambassador for various companies over the years and dabbled in startups myself, I've seen firsthand the ups & downs of this approach. People often ask if it's always beneficial to have a celebrity endorse your products or services. I’ll break it down to the most important things to consider. Visibility - Celebrities bring a massive following, offering increased visibility & reach to a wider audience that may have been difficult to engage otherwise. This exposure could enhance brand recognition & create positive associations in consumers' minds. Credibility -  The right kind of celebrity could inject a dose of credibility into your brand. Consumers may in turn perceive your product as reliable, particularly important for startups aiming to build a solid reputation & carve out a slice of the market. Engagement - Some celebrities are able to forge personal connections with their community. By aligning your startup with a celebrity, you may be tapping into that emotional connection & that community may be more likely to show interest in your brand. Costs - Engaging a celebrity ambassador comes at a price. Even if you opt for an equity-based deal, you still need to allocate valuable resources to amplify the association, potentially diverting funds from other key areas of requirement. Authenticity - The alignment between the celebrity & your product must seem genuine. If the partnership feels like a misfit or forced, the results can be counter productive. Today's consumers are evolved & can sense inauthenticity from a distance. Sustenance - While celebrities can generate a buzz in the short term, building interest & loyalty requires consistent effort & a solid value offering that goes beyond the celebrity association. Your product still needs to deliver exceptional value beyond the initial buzz.. Relevance - Ensure the celebrity aligns with the startup's target audience, values & offerings. The endorsement should make sense within the startup's brand identity & goals. Budget - Assess whether the startup can afford the associated costs, especially including the ongoing marketing efforts. Do not assume that bringing a celebrity on board itself is going to win you the war. It’s just a head start. Long-Term Strategy - A well-crafted partnership should naturally integrate into your overall marketing & branding strategy & solidify your position & bring sustained growth. Timing - Most importantly, remember, spending so much in early stages, or early dilution in equity can have long-term consequences, so ask yourself if you’re really ready at this stage. Ultimately, the decision to engage a celebrity brand ambassador should be based on your unique circumstances & goals. Hopefully this will help some make an informed decision. #BrandAmbassadors #CelebrityEndorsements #InfluencerMarketing

Campaign operators are the behind-the-scenes rockstars. Without campaign ops you get: ❌ Random acts of marketing – Launching campaigns without a clear process. ❌ Poor coordination across teams – Marketing, sales, and ops working in silos. ❌ No feedback loop for optimization – Campaigns go live and are never adjusted. The result? 🚨 Missed goals. Wasted budget. Frustrated teams. The map of campaign operations shows just the tip of the iceberg of what these teams do. 📌 1. Campaign Planning & Strategy Define objectives & KPIs (so you know what success looks like). Segment your audience (no more spray-and-pray marketing). Nail down value props & messaging before launch. 📌 2. Build & Setup Develop the right assets (creative, landing pages, forms). Set up automation & nurture flows (so leads don’t get lost). Ensure tracking is in place before launch (ever had missing UTM data? Yeah, it’s a nightmare). 📌 3. Execution & Launch Coordinate across multiple channels (email, paid media, social). Activate the right audience segments. QA everything (because broken links kill conversions). 📌 4. Monitoring & Optimization Track performance in real time (if a campaign isn’t working, fix it fast). Adjust bid strategies, messaging, and audience segments. Don’t “set and forget”—optimize as you go. 📌 5. Campaign Reporting & Insights Measure attribution & ROI (not just vanity metrics). Document best practices for the next campaign. Use data to refine future strategies. If you’re running campaigns without a structured Campaign Operations framework, you’re leaving revenue on the table. Does this diagram resonate with you? What would you add or change? PS: I'm writing more about this in my weekly newsletter https://lnkd.in/g_3YC7BZ subscribe for free to stay updated. #marketing #martech #marketingoperations