Marketing

BEST EXPLANATION OF HOW CUSTOMER BEHAVIOR ACTUALLY WORKS Fellow innovators, I just witnessed the most PERFECT metaphor for consumer psychology... Stumbled across this raw video from rural India. A herder guides his goats around a massive bonfire - once, twice, three times. Then he steps away. But the goats? They keep circling. Round and round. No leader, no destination, just pure momentum. Each one following the tail ahead, trapped in an endless loop around a fire that might not even matter anymore. And it hit me - THIS is our customer base. 🐑 Watch any consumer trend unfold: - Suddenly EVERYONE needs a Stanley cup (why? Because everyone has one) - Crypto explodes because "everyone's making money" - Plant-based everything because "that's where things are going" - Now it's AI assistants because "everyone's using them" The customers aren't buying solutions. They're not even buying products. They're buying the circle. The fear of being outside it. The comfort of following the herd. The validation that comes from being part of the movement. Here's what 15 years of building startups and innovations taught me: Your customers don't want innovation - they want to feel like they're keeping up. They don't want disruption - they want to be on the RIGHT SIDE of disruption. The most successful products? They don't create new behaviors. They give people permission to do what everyone else is already doing, just slightly better. - Instagram didn't invent sharing photos. - Tesla didn't invent electric cars. - Netflix didn't invent watching movies at home. They just built better fires for people to circle around. So here's my question for the builders in the room: Are you trying to pull customers OUT of their circles, or are you smart enough to build the next bonfire they'll want to dance around? 🔥 The goats will always keep circling. The question is: Are you building the fire or chasing the herd? P.S. - Yes, posting startup wisdom on LinkedIn is also following a trend. We're all circling some fire, friends. 🐐

Pure Leaf traded New Yorkers’ phones for iced tea. Here’s why it worked. Phone and social media fatigue is real. And more brands are finally waking up to it. The brands winning are using it as creative direction. Pure Leaf set up a vending machine in New York that didn’t take money. It took your phone. Ten minutes, locked away in exchange for a free iced tea. A quiet reset in the middle of a loud city. It worked because it spoke to something deeper. 76% of people say they feel better after a short break, but only 37% actually take one. So the brand removed the friction. Gave people permission to pause. Expect to see more of this from brands pushing back on phone and social media overload. More local, community-led, in-person activations. More social experiments designed to build real connection. Brands are leaning into a shared truth we’re all feeling. Phone fatigue is real, and we need moments away from the scroll. There’s a fine line between offering an intervention and upsetting people and going too far. Brands need to tread carefully here. People want to feel seen, not managed. The moment it feels like you’re pushing their buttons for content, it’s over. What other brands have you spotted doing this well?

Attribution is overrated. Incrementality is what actually matters Every new-age brand wants to know what’s working. Meta ROAS is looking good. CAC is steady. Revenue is growing But here’s the truth: Your Meta ad might get the conversion. But did it cause the conversion? That’s the difference between attribution and incrementality. Most dashboards, attribution tools, and agency reports stop at attribution. But if you’re a brand selling across Amazon, Flipkart, GT, MT, Q-com, and D2C—pure attribution will always lie to you Because the sale might happen on Amazon. But it might have been nudged by a Meta video or a YouTube bumper ad 4 days ago. You don’t need a full-blown Marketing Mix Model to get started. There are simpler, street-smart ways to directionally understand what’s working—and what’s not. Here are 4 that have worked for us at Atomberg: 1. Geo Split Testing Pick two similar markets. Run campaigns in one. Don’t run in the other. Then track: • Branded search volume • Sell-through on marketplaces • Secondary sales from GT counters If the test market moves faster than the control, you’re seeing true lift. That’s incrementality. 2. First-Time Buyer Growth vs Returning Buyer Growth Track whether your growth is coming from first-time buyers or repeats. If your campaigns are just bringing back old customers—you’re not creating net new demand. But if there’s a spike in new buyers across Amazon, Flipkart, D2C—your campaigns are likely working at an incremental level 3. Paid Traffic vs Organic Trend Lines If paid traffic, clicks and spends are going up—but your organic sales or branded search isn’t moving—you’re likely just harvesting demand that already existed. But if organic lifts alongside paid—your ads are creating interest. Not just closing it. Directionally, this is one of the simplest sanity checks most teams ignore. 4. Channel Crossover + Offline Signal Mapping Your Meta ad may not show up in last-click attribution. But it might have nudged the consumer to visit your store or buy on Amazon. You can detect this through: • Post-purchase surveys (Where did you first hear about us?) • Branded search + store footfall spikes in campaign-active cities • And most powerfully—offline signals passed back to Meta At Atomberg, we pass back data from installations and warranty registrations—including pincode and purchase timelines Sometimes, we’re even able to identify this at a unique customer level through their cookies for warranty registration This has helped us understand true incrementality of perf marketing campaigns even for offline sales If you’re only measuring ROAS, you might scale what’s only taking credit for sale about to happen anyway If you chase incrementality, you’ll scale what’s working. For more details, read the full post- link in first comment.

Brad Pitt’s new F1 film is a masterclass in how brands can show up in culture. A $300 million budget. Real F1 tracks. And luxury brands fighting to sponsor a team that doesn’t even exist. It’s entertainment, sport and marketing all blending together... and it’s re-writing the playbook for how brands embed themselves into culture. Here’s what makes it stand out: • A fictional F1 team, APXGP, filmed during real Grand Prix weekends. • Brad Pitt, trained in a modified F2 car, driving alongside actual F1 drivers. • Lewis Hamilton co-producing to capture the authentic essence of the racing world. • Real brands like Mercedes-Benz AG, SharkNinja, IWC Schaffhausen and Tommy Hilfiger actively sponsoring a fictional team. • Actual drivers, including Max Verstappen and Carlos Sainz, making cameo appearances. • All set for release in cinemas June 2025, followed by streaming on Apple TV+. This isn’t just clever product placement, it’s narrative integration at its best. Real brands woven into a fictional story, filmed in real-time at actual events. And it’s a glimpse of where brand marketing is heading. The film isn’t even out yet, and here we are talking about the brands already. That’s how you build long-term equity. This is the new standard in marketing: • Culture first, commerce second. • Stories over traditional advertising. • Integration, not interruption. If your brand isn’t part of the stories people care about, good luck buying their attention. Learn from this. Build worlds people want to be part of. Create stories they’d miss if they disappeared. And find ways to turn up in that culture and be part of the narrative. Rather than looking for ways to interrupt them.

For years, the biggest players in CPG and FMCG—Unilever, Nestlé, Kraft Heinz—built their empires on food. But now? They’re making a massive pivot..if you had told me 5 years ago that these brands would be pulling back from food, I would’ve raised an eyebrow. -Unilever is cutting loose its $8 billion ice cream division, choosing to focus on higher-margin beauty and wellness. -Nestlé is doubling down on health-science-based nutrition as food brands struggle with pricing power. - #CPG giants are seeing stronger growth in self-care, supplements, and skincare than in traditional food categories. The global personal care market is expected to hit $758 billion by 2030, while processed food growth slows. Why This Shift? 1. Margins in food are shrinking. Consumers are trading down, private labels are winning, and inflation-wary shoppers aren’t absorbing cost hikes like they used to. 2. Health & wellness are driving premiumization. Customers will pay more for skincare, supplements, and functional beverages—but not for basic pantry staples. 3. Brand loyalty in food is eroding. Over 50% of consumers are comfortable switching food brands based on price, but loyalty remains strong in beauty, healthcare, and wellness. Winning Brands Are Already Moving: -L'Oréal’s skincare division posted 9.1% revenue growth last year, while traditional CPG food brands saw single-digit declines. -The Coca-Cola Company is investing in functional drinks and non-carbonated wellness categories to stay relevant. -PepsiCo’s biggest success? Gatorade’s expansion into hydration and performance-based drinks, not soda. CPG Leaders: ✅ Stop thinking of food as the core driver of growth. Instead, align with evolving consumer behavior. ✅ Invest in personalization, self-care, and functional health. That’s where demand (and pricing power) is strongest. ✅ Rethink your brand mix. Is your portfolio weighted toward categories that will still be relevant in 5-10 years? So, here’s my question to FMCG execs: Are you future-proofing your brand strategy—or just managing decline? Let’s talk. #FMCG #CPG #ConsumerTrends #GrowthStrategy #Beauty #Wellness #RevenueShift #BrandEvolution "

Haldiram understood something that no one else did: a product isn’t just what it tastes like—it’s how it makes people feel. And that’s where the magic began. Bhujia was common. Every corner of Rajasthan had someone selling it. But Haldiram didn’t just want to sell bhujia. He wanted it to mean something. So, he gave it a name that would stand out in the crowded bazaars. Not just any name—Dungar Sev, after Maharaja Dungar Singh of Bikaner. Think about it. A simple snack, suddenly infused with an air of royalty. What was once just fried sev became a symbol of status, a delicacy that carried the weight of a Maharaja’s name. The people of Bikaner didn’t just buy bhujia anymore. They bought Dungar Sev. And unknowingly, they bought into an idea—a brand. At the time, words like ‘branding’ and ‘marketing strategy’ weren’t common parlance in India. There were no MBAs, no advertising agencies plotting out product positioning. But Haldiram did what modern marketers today struggle to achieve: he gave an everyday product a unique identity and a powerful story. Naming the bhujia after royalty wasn’t just clever. It tapped into something deeply psychological—the human desire for exclusivity. People weren’t just eating a snack. They were consuming something elite, something tied to the grandeur of a kingdom. But Haldiram didn’t stop there. He understood something even more profound: consistency builds trust. As the demand grew, he ensured that no matter where his bhujia was sold, it tasted the same, had the same texture, and carried the same name. And just like that, an unorganized market started getting shaped by a singular force—brand recognition. An iconic Indian-born brand

The ROI of Sustainability 🌎 Sustainability delivers measurable business value across key dimensions, making it an essential part of corporate strategy. Its benefits extend from driving revenue growth to enhancing operational efficiency, creating opportunities for long-term success. Revenue growth and market positioning are among the most evident advantages. Businesses offering sustainable products attract environmentally conscious consumers, differentiate their brands, and access premium pricing opportunities in emerging sustainability-focused markets. Access to capital and improved financial performance are increasingly tied to sustainability. Strong ESG performance attracts investors, lowers borrowing costs through favorable financing options, and can enhance stock value. Sustainability also strengthens competitive advantage. By embedding sustainable practices, businesses establish themselves as industry leaders, improve relationships with stakeholders, and foster innovation in products and services. Human capital management is another area where sustainability drives results. Companies aligned with sustainable values attract top talent, boost employee engagement, improve retention rates, and enhance productivity. Risk mitigation and operational efficiencies complete the picture. From ensuring regulatory compliance and building supply chain resilience to reducing energy costs and optimizing resources, sustainability reduces risks while improving processes and cutting expenses. The ROI of sustainability underscores its role as a strategic driver for businesses, delivering tangible benefits across financial, operational, and reputational areas. #sustainability #sustainable #business #esg #climatechange #climateaction #ROI

I asked Richard van der Blom, the man behind the LinkedIn Algorithm Report, how to win on LinkedIn. This is what he told me: 1️⃣ Focus on helpful content over vanity “LinkedIn now has a process where they steer the more knowledge-based content primarily to your followers. And as soon as you add a selfie, it goes more to your connection.” Knowledge-based content will target followers (and beyond), while personal content (the selfie) is more likely to reach connections. 2️⃣ Most LinkedIn users are still consumers “Only 1.1% is active on a weekly basis…there’s a huge opportunity if you become consistent in what you do on LinkedIn.” With a small percentage of users actively posting, there’s a significant opportunity for consistent creators to stand out and gain visibility. 3️⃣ Consistency > Frequency “Consistency is more important than frequency. If you can publish 3 times a week but maintain that for months, that’s much better.” Establish a consistent posting schedule that you can maintain over time to build a reliable presence on LinkedIn. 4️⃣ Diversify your content formats “At least have 3 formats and mix them up… I normally work 1 week ahead and make sure to have 4 to 6 posts.” Use a variety of content formats (text, images, videos, polls) to keep your audience engaged and avoid algorithmic penalties. 5️⃣ Polls are so back “Polls are really performing well compared to the median reach of all types of posts.” Utilize polls to engage your audience and generate insights for future posts. Polls can also be a lead generation tool by analyzing who votes and following up with them. 6️⃣ Posting daily doesn't require creating daily “I normally record 6 to 10 videos in 1 hour, 1 hour and a half.” Create content in batches when you're at your creative best. 7️⃣ Share the love in the comments “Consistently posting 10 quality comments daily for a month can lead to significant increases in profile views, engagement, and follower growth.” Engage with other people’s content regularly. It's important for the algo (and for human connection). 8️⃣ Try new features (but don't be afraid to revert) “I still use the text link instead of the customized button because I see a higher conversion for the text link.” Experiment with LinkedIn features like the custom button or text links in your profile to see what works better for your specific goals. 9️⃣ Turn viewers into customers in your Featured section “Have some low commitment offers in your featured section to tease people to take the next step.” Optimize your LinkedIn profile to guide visitors through a journey. Use the featured section for low-commitment offers like newsletter sign-ups or introductory calls. – If you liked this, follow Jay Clouse for more! And if you want to go deeper, listen to our full conversation here: https://lnkd.in/eaKr2u5Z

🚨Amazon has built a really cool new ad tech to monetise Prime videos, but it’s not what you would have thought! 🚨 To appreciate this new ad tech we need to go back in time and look at some history. We would have all watched on movies and tv shows where products have been strategically placed to drive brand awareness and recall. The hit show Stranger Things had about a 140 brands featured in the 4th season with some estimates sizing it to $27million in brand placement value. And this is just one season of one show. As more and more people are disengaging with intercepting ads, brands and media producers are trying innovative ways to gets brands in front of eyeballs without being skipped. Now if a studio had to integrate with brands, it requires for them to coordinate before hand with the brands and figure out where to strategically place the products and shoot the content. Enter Amazon’s Virtual Product Placement Technology. Virtual product placement is an emerging technology that inserts a digitally rendered product, billboard, or logo into a movie or TV series after it has been filmed. Amazon collaborates closely with content creators when determining placement locations and available product categories for each participating title. All decisions are made in line with the artistic vision for each movie or series, with a shared goal that placements will not interfere with the story or affect the viewer’s enjoyment. Brands are expected to spend upwards of $125bn by 2026 on video ads, so it’s a pretty huge market they are going after. Stats also show that 63% of viewers say they feel the urge to buy a product when they see it featured in a TV show with GenZ leading the pack. In a specific case study, Bubly a sparkling water brand saw a 18.1% lift in aided recall, 6.8% lift in brand favourability, 16.5% lift in purchase. This ad format becomes even more powerful when you combine it with Amazons e-commerce marketplace where marketeers can do full funnel advertisements all the way from awareness to purchase. Secondly, with post production virtual product placement, the same product placement could be bid by different brands for e.g the scene having bubly could very well also have any other canned drink which ever fit into the category. I must say this is by far one of the most impressive ad tech I have come across in recent times and Amazon is truly Priming us to purchase.

>> The True Anatomy of a Brand: Too many people confuse branding with flashy visuals and sleek websites. But that’s just surface-level thinking. Check out Kevin Russell the great brain behind this powerful visual reminder. A real brand is an experience, a journey—here’s what truly defines it: 📌 Emotional Connection: Your brand is the feelings you evoke, the bonds you create. It's about resonating deeply with your audience. 📌Memorable Experiences: It’s not just about what you offer; it’s about how you make people feel. Every interaction leaves an imprint. 📌Reputation: Your brand is what people say about you when you’re not in the room. It’s built on credibility, consistency, and excellence. 📌Trust and Promises: A brand is a promise kept. It’s the trust you earn by delivering on what you say—every single time. 📌Storytelling: Your brand is the narrative you craft as you chase your vision. It’s the story that unfolds with every step you take. 📌Core Values: It’s the principles you stand by, even when no one is watching. These values guide your decisions and shape your brand identity. 📌Communication: How you convey your message defines your brand. It’s not just what you say, but how you say it that counts. 📌Workplace Culture: Your brand is reflected in the culture you cultivate. It’s the environment you create that inspires and empowers your team. 📌Distinct Identity: A brand is what sets you apart. It’s the unique blend of characteristics that differentiates you from the competition. 📌Vision: It’s the future you’re building towards, the big picture that drives your actions every day. These elements are the heartbeat of your brand—they shape the entire brand experience. Remember, a logo is just the tip of the iceberg. Your brand’s true power lies in its depth. Dive deeper, and your brand will resonate longer. What part of your brand needs more focus? Let's discuss in the comments! 👇 --- 𝗜𝗳 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗹𝗶𝗸𝗲𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝘀, 𝗷𝗼𝗶𝗻 "𝗗𝗶𝗴𝗶𝘁𝗮𝗹𝗦𝘁𝗼𝗿𝗺𝗪𝗲𝗲𝗸𝗹𝘆" - 𝗺𝘆 𝗙𝗥𝗘𝗘 𝗔𝗜 𝗻𝗲𝘄𝘀𝗹𝗲𝘁𝘁𝗲𝗿 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗵𝗲𝗹𝗽𝘀 >330,000 𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗱𝗲𝗿𝘀 𝗮𝘁 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗽𝗮𝗻𝗶𝗲𝘀 𝗹𝗶𝗸𝗲 𝗔𝗽𝗽𝗹𝗲, 𝗚𝗼𝗼𝗴𝗹𝗲 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗠𝗶𝗰𝗿𝗼𝘀𝗼𝗳𝘁 𝗴𝗲𝘁 𝘀𝗺𝗮𝗿𝘁 𝗮𝗯𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝗔𝗜 & 𝘁𝗲𝗰𝗵: 🔗 https://lnkd.in/eFNvmcYa ❗ 𝗟𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗿𝗮𝗴𝗲 𝗔𝗜, 𝗮𝗰𝗰𝗲𝗹𝗲𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗲 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗰𝗮𝗿𝗲𝗲𝗿 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗠𝗮𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗿 𝗔𝗜 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝗺𝗼𝗿𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝗻 𝟴𝟬 𝗔𝗜 𝗕𝗲𝘀𝘁𝘀𝗲𝗹𝗹𝗲𝗿 𝗲𝗕𝗼𝗼𝗸𝘀 🔗https://lnkd.in/emSWFxrN --- ♻️ REPOST and teach your network something new   👋 Liked this post? 👉Follow me Dr. Joerg Storm