Alex Paquin

Delusional. The ad industry is dead because of creatives. You’ve become so self-centered, you’ve lost touch with reality. My LI feed is full of creatives ranting about nothing but their own feelings. Some mediocre writer is angry because “Greg in finance” killed creativity and “old white men with receding hairlines run agencies” (even though he’s only a few years from being one). 1000’s of creatives celebrate a video comparing themselves to Van Gogh. Really? People pay to see what Van Gogh made. And they pay to NOT see what you made. Bernbach didn’t make the VW Beetle a success. It was successful in many countries where no Bernbach ad ever flighted. He just made the ad. 100’s of the world’s smartest engineers spent years making the car. My engineer friends don’t post pics of those verifiable geniuses with lines like “oh, how I miss good engineering”. Creatives brag publicly about winning awards for their idea that fed hungry kids. The entry makes it look like 1000’s of kids. The truth: 32 kids were fed. Once. The cost of the award entry could feed a 1000 kids. You’re literally lying about feeding hungry kids and then you use the award to get more business. Banksy isn’t talking about suits. He’s talking about YOU.

5

1 commentaar

The realities of communicating in a bilangual city. Dutch-speaking & French-speaking art directors, copywriters and content creators, do you stil think the difference in tone-of-voice between both languages is relevant and necessary? For everyone else: more explanation in the first comment. #advertising #copywriting

14

1 commentaar

This morning finds me rummaging around the digital attic in search of an old relic to share with Marko Bijelic about UX design and the art of information foraging While I was rummaging around I stumbled across this long lost example of the 'sprite de corps' that was the old excapite blog circa 2011 Titled: Getting a little too social with the business modelling process There is no doubt about it. So.Me (Think: Social Media) is significantly over rated. At least compared to sharing a beer with your mates. More over you can run through more ideas over a quiet ale with friends than you can canvas in a year's worth of blogging. For example you can reminisce about how advertising used to be "Back in the 80's you would run an ad on the TV and the effect was like tossing a hand grenade into the lounge room... everybody got hit. These days its more like a game a space invaders. You have to pick them off one by one and to make matters worse they shoot back!" You can also trade thoughts on why "design ugly" is once again the new "Black" across Silicon Valley. Delight in the possibilities of the iPad2. Lament the passing of the newspapers and the magazines. Contemplate the future of TV. Argue over the merits of enterprises walking away from outsourcing and renting in the clouds. Discuss the finer points of Agile Methodology and compare notes on the market caps and the second market valuations of Silicon Valley's finest. And that's all before you've finished the first glass... But the thing I like most about these discussions is when the beer mats are flipped over, the pens come out and the new Business Modelling begins in earnest. It is innovation crowdsourcing in the raw. It is fast, furious and instantly forgettable. At least once the effects of the alcohol have been worked off. Yesterday we managed to whip up something rather special. So I thought I would share it with you. It is "The Beer Drinkers guide to planning a "Fauxionary" new So.Me start-up". The methodology is quite simple. If you don't have an answer for each question as you move down the list then you simply drink enough beer until... a. you think you have the answer, or b. finding an answer doesn't really seem to matter any more. Next time you're are out having a drink with your mates after work give it a go. I think you'll all agree it is a quintessentially Australian solution to a very complex problem ;-)

3

3 commentaren

— Daddy, why don't you make a Heineken phone? 6 year old Avrora looked at me with her infinitely inquiring glance. She has these staring spells that I had in her age too — this is how a moment of epiphany looks. I sat there shocked. What a simple and brilliant thought — Heineken, a beer company, suddenly launching a phone. Because our lives are so much wrapped around the phones, so which kind of phone would Heineken have? The one that doesn't compete with your social life, because smartphones are too interesting. It might sound easy if we say "a first-grader got this idea". But it seems getting to the "first-grader" level of clear thinking, unclouded by advertising BS, is the hardest. I will learn from Avrora and her staring spells to launch more projects like this one. Of course, having the idea in this case is just a tip of the iceberg. Building a flip phone in 2024 requires a special kind of partner. And we found those in HMD, the brand behind current Nokia phones, with Lars Silberbauer and Mika Sarimo and their team delivering the dumbest possible solution for the most Boring Phone in history, styled and conceptualized by Bodega, I will never be able to list all the credits in here because LinkedIn simply won't let me, but this journey started with Alejandro Gutiérrez, Nikolay Malchev, Isaque Seneda, Valentino Borghesi and Geo Joseph shaping the project to what it currently is, Carmit Poleg being the backbone of the entire operation, as well as Roberto Ardigò, Stefano Zanoni, Mauro Mazzei, Vittorio Cafiero working as one LeGarage, day and night, to pull it off. Sure as hell, biggest credit goes to Bruno Bertelli , Cristiana Boccassini, the strategic Amsterdam gang of Sol G. & Charles Laporte Aust & Francois Rousseau and my long-time brother Eoin Sherry who actually pulled the weight of this campaign with Corina Patraucean and Rainor Marinho and their teams, as well as Sergey Mast, Cyril Louis and the whole SG brotherhood LePub | Singapore. A special shout out to Shirine Aoun, Rossana de Rosa, Adriana Dinu and their team to be the time keepers & project keepers and Isabella Cecconi's PR team too! But as usual, nothing would be possible without a client that believes in you, led by Bram Westenbrink, Nabil Nasser, Rob van Griensven, Larissa Koper, Daniela Iebba, Guilherme Retz, Natacha Volpini, JD O'Lone Ersi Tsoukaki Jan Bosselaers and many many many others. It was anything but Boring, and more things to come within this campaign, but to conclude, I want to answer to this headline from one of the many outlets covering it today: Yes, dears. Today. Heineken. The beer company. Launched. A. Phone. #TheBoringPhone

417

33 commentaren

Today is the best time to get tickets to Experimentation Live + Unite (Ex-CXL Live), early bird (35%) ends after today. Check the lineup is 🔥 SPEAKERS (experimentation at) - Lukas Vermeer (Vista) - Diana Jerman (Disney+) - Luke Mortensen (Capital One) - Chad Sanderson (Gable) - Melissa Weiss (Eventbrite) - Sidhant Bakhru (Hulu) - Stewart Ehoff (RS) - Shanelle Mullin (Shopify) TABLE SESSION MODERATORS (experimentation at) Dylan Lewis (Atlassian) Ana Catarina C. (Dell) Travis Brooks (Netflix) Kendra Bones (Yeti) Aaron Shaffer (GM) Divya AL (Target) Liona To (Lululemon) Omar Jabbar (Walmart) Mike Grabowski (Boats.com) Florent Buisson (Cars.com) Kalki Gillespie (NerdWallet) Sally Hall (Auctane) Catherine Crim (JCPenney) Jocelyn Czerwinski (U.S. Bank) Marc Miller (NRG) Alex Rolleigh (Rescue.org) Mike De Boer (Xfinity) Soumya Gujjar (Tipalti) Matt Leonard (PurpleCarrot) Sam McAlear (MongoDB) Sam Barber (Suncorp) Barry James (YNAB) Priscilla Leake (ADP) Peep Laja (my boss) Erika Sentz (WP Engine) Cory Peterson (LED) Robbie Williams (Dr.Squatch) But the magic is in who's at your table. Your peers in mini-groups to discuss your specific problems. Here’s how this works: We ‘match make’ you with your peers who share the same challenges and opportunities (through our attendee surveys). Then you all sit together. Discuss those issues. Learn and exchange ideas. In the end, you end up with lasting connections. Join us with a 35% off early bird coupon — 'earlybird35'.

35

9 commentaren

Besides the stupid visual. Interesting read about the added value of a decent modeling instead of last click attribution: "The last click is only a small part of the purchase journey, so choosing this way limits your options." "It turns out that using last click, and making sub-optimal choices about which media channels to buy, means leaving 35% of possible achievable sales for your budget on the table."

20

5 commentaren

In the world and industry of #digitalmarketing, this is why it is important to diversify your strategy, campaigns, and social platforms! #lookattheanalytics #demographics #salesfunnels #sustainability

7

Here's how we scaled a bootstrapped brand's profits from €40,000 to €100,000+ per month in Germany and the Netherlands ⬇️ Our Four-Step Strategy for Scaling a Bootstrapped Brand: 1. Localized Creative Approach → Implemented multi-language and localized creative strategies → Developed native advertising approaches for each country → Maintained a steady stream of fresh content & learnings → Leveraged Paid Social for significant revenue acceleration 2. Multi-Market Expansion → Targeted multiple markets simultaneously → Tailored strategies for each country's unique landscape → Focused on achieving consistent year-over-year growth → Adapted quickly to market feedback and performance data 3. Scalable Revenue Model → Boosted monthly revenue from €40,000 to €100,000+ → Achieved first-order profitability on ad spend → Maintained 70% year-over-year growth for two consecutive years → Reached €1.4M+ in sales in Germany and €1.47M+ in Netherlands 4. Continuous Optimization → Improved ROAS (Return on Ad Spend) consistently → Increased ad investment strategically as profitability grew → Lowered CPAs through localized, targeted approaches → Tested and scaled new content constantly for optimal performance Key Takeaways: • Results achieved through partnership starting June 2022 • Success hinged on adapting strategies to each country's market • Consistent profit growth required ongoing strategy refinement and optimization We can help your brand achieve similar profit growth. Visit our website to see how we can connect and view sample projects. (Link in the comments!) Follow Folkert van der Spek for more insights on scaling your ecom ad profits. 🚀

5

2 commentaren

So many endless possibilities with such tech.

2

My website https://lnkd.in/eBFwmrpR describes the struggles creative agencies face, using the balancing act metaphor of efficiency and creativity pulling in opposite directions. It's a tough battle with no clear victor in sight. Profitability and creativity can coexist harmoniously though. Too often, agencies lean too heavily towards one, neglecting the other. Prioritizing numbers and profitability may yield short-term gains, but it can lead to losses in retention, culture, quality, and brand value in the long run. Conversely, when creativity takes the lead, efficiency tends to take a back seat. While awards are great, they don't pay the bills. I specialize in finding that balance. By fostering mutual understanding within teams and cultivating a strong culture where creatives appreciate the value of efficiency and vice versa, I help agencies thrive. Intrigued by the idea of striking the perfect balance? Please feel free to reach out to me. #efficiency #creativity #advisory

21

1 commentaar

In a desperate attempt to solve growth brands repeatedly ADD NEW THINGS. More distribution more production more ads channel more people and instead they need to do the exact opposite. CUT WASTE. Scrutinize every dollar and make sure they are generating incremental business value.

40

11 commentaren

Good (long) read, underpinning some interesting insights about data driven advertising. A conclusion: combination of reach + context + transparent targeting should deliver the most incremental sales (not astonishing, but great to read an article gathering data to prove it). Some quotes: "Arielle, a former chief privacy officer at UM in the US, got her own data from a broker and found that she was in 500 different audience segments, both a man and a woman, worked in food service, agriculture, but was also a defence contractor, an engineer and was simultaneously below the poverty threshold and classified as high income." "The key word here is incremental. As Wiberg’s findings point out, the problem with targeting towards conversion optimisation is you are effectively advertising to many people who were already going to buy you." “When further considering data costs, we find that content interest – which can be seen as a form of contextual targeting – appears to be not only the most effective, but also the most cost-efficient tactic.” "The secret to effective, immediate action-based advertising, is perhaps not so much about finding the right people with the right personas and serving them a tailored customised message. It’s to be in the right places. The places where they are already engaging with your category, and then use advertising to make buying easier from that place." "My suggestion, given the complexity that always surrounds these topics, is that you do your own experiments with your own curious and sceptical minds. If you can do that before you’ve blown millions of dollars on data and technology, you might end up looking a little less stupid at the end of it." AdSomeNoise https://lnkd.in/eZpeh9zE

10

Commenting "ding-dong" on Jeff's post might get you a free book. And I'll sign the sucker with my poor penmanship for no extra charge. Thanks for having me on Jeff Abracen. And congrats on keeping this podcast going. In a world where we're drowning in shite content, we need more and more creative people to do their part to help unsuck the internet. I'm now going to comment ding-dong on your post. If the randomizer chooses me, we'll save some money on shipping! #copywriting #creativity #marketing #advertising

42

56 commentaren

What drove 14x more people than paid ads? Long-form branded storytelling, turned into a hit show on HULU created, produced, and hosted by Amanda Brinkman, called "Small Business Revolution”. Amanda, founder of Sunshine Studios and former CMO of Deluxe, got to star alongside Robert Herjavec, Ty Pennington, and Baron Davis. She’s a producer, filmmaker, branding expert, and sought-after keynote speaker, who’s held C-level positions in Fortune 500 companies, and has won just about every ‘Women in Business’ award there is. So when I wanted to dig into how long-form branded content could elevate businesses, I knew I had to chat with her. In this episode of the Up Arrow Podcast by Elumynt, Amanda and I dig into: ✅ What Ty Pennington was ACTUALLY like when the cameras weren’t rolling ✅ How she convinced the board at Deluxe to approve moving spend from paid ads to an “expensive” long-form content initiative ✅ The leading and lagging indicators of success from a long-form content initiative, and how to prove its success to shareholders ✅ Why one of my favorite quotes from previous guest, Matthew Bertulli, is “if you look at daily ROAS, you might survive long enough to witness your own death.” ✅ The three circles Amanda uses to help your brand figure out its ideal long-form branded storytelling idea (and why we love what the Barbie movie and Lego movie did for their brands) ✅ The typical roadblocks you might run into with your own board and how to overcome them ✅ The best way for brands to “cut through the noise” as David Brier would say ✅ An overview of Amanda’s new talk, Purpose Pursuit, and why you don’t need to find your purpose in a yurt in Patagonia (because Amanda’s already done all of that, haha) ✅ The brilliant advice Alex Hormozi gave me about finding one’s passion Plus, as always, we get into a little of the personal stuff as we talk about the high school teacher that really inspired Amanda, and the brilliant parenting advice her friend, Corie Barry Berry (CEO of Best Buy) gave her about traveling for work. You can watch the video here: https://lnkd.in/giHFG9W6 #contentmarketing #storytelling

35

19 commentaren

So the DOJ may force Google to start sharing our full search terms reports in Google Ads again??? 🥂 🎉 "Google’s unlawful maintenance of its general search text advertising monopoly has undermined advertisers’ choice of search providers as well as rivals’ ability to monetize search advertising. Mem. Op. at 226, 264–65. This conduct has also enabled Google to profitably charge supracompetitive prices for text ads while degrading the quality of those ads and the related services and reporting. " "...Plaintiffs are considering remedies that would allow Google search advertisers to receive transparent and detailed information (e.g., Search Query Reports and other information related to its search text ads auction and ad monetization) consistent with user privacy and to opt out of Google search features (e.g., keyword-expansion, broad match)."

5

4 commentaren

Ellis Verdi brilliantly captures the creative heartbeat of advertising, reminding us that data alone can’t replace the magic of great ideas. His insights on the industry’s shift from genuine creativity to data-driven conformity resonate deeply. As Verdi notes, when creativity is sidelined, brands pay the price. It’s a call to reintegrate imagination into our strategies for lasting impact. Kudos to Ellis for championing creativity’s role in making brands not just seen, but unforgettable. https://lnkd.in/eeK-ASFJ

4

2 commentaren

How do you activate the best Gen AI projects? "Fund the responsible rebels... Choose projects that are practical, quick wins and politically aligned... Link (projects) to the identity of the (organization)"

3

𝗥𝗲𝗮𝗱 𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗽𝗼𝘀𝘁 𝗼𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘁𝗿𝗮𝗻𝘀𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗺𝗮𝘁𝗶𝘃𝗲 𝗽𝗼𝘄𝗲𝗿 𝗼𝗳 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗕𝗿𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗞𝗲𝘆 𝗠𝗼𝗱𝗲𝗹 𝗶𝗻 𝗺𝗮𝗿𝗸𝗲𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴! This tool is crucial for marketers looking to crystalize their brand’s Unique Selling Proposition (USP) on a single page. Originally a Unilever tool, the Brand Key Model has been used widely in marketing for years. In my blog post, I delve into the model's nine essential elements that help brands define their core strength, understand their competitive environment, and connect deeply with their target audience. Check out how to leverage this model to refine your brand's strategy and see practical examples. It might be time to try it on your brand. https://lnkd.in/gCNF3e-P 👣 I post something daily on LinkedIn that will get you to think differently about marketing. Follow me on LinkedIn: https://lnkd.in/gfXyFCZ8 📕 I wrote the 𝗕𝗲𝗹𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗱 𝗕𝗿𝗮𝗻𝗱𝘀 playbook to help marketers think, define, plan, execute, and analyze the brand. We are proud that Beloved Brands has received 85% five-star reviews and has been called "the cheat code for brand leaders" You can find on Amazon https://lnkd.in/ep2W_Nh5 or Apple Books https://lnkd.in/enqY59jr 🌐 Explore how our Marketing Training can make your marketing team smarter, so they produce better work that drives stronger results: https://lnkd.in/gTcfiX4 📩 If you have questions, email me: [email protected]

79

4 commentaren

Procrastination is like a boss fight of game designing—distracting, relentless, and always lurking. But as Sid Meier, the creator of Civilization, once said: 'Games are a series of interesting decisions.' - You can also take decisions that applies to your workflow to help you overcome procrastination. One of the decision is to break the overwhelming task into smaller, engaging choices: - Start with one system, one mechanic, or one character. - Set a timer and design just one level or brainstorm a single feature. - Reward yourself for finishing a step—progress is progress. - During my marketing days I wrote an article on procrastination, it holds up for game designers as well—https://lnkd.in/ddc-7_Fw #wednesdaywisdom

7