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.

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

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

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

Sampling is NO longer optional. With over 3,000 new launches annually only in fragrances, and Gen Z and Millennials, craving for experiences before commitment. Trying a products before buying is becoming a challenge for brands. +56% U.S. shoppers prefer to test a fragrance in-store before making a purchase. Gen Z and younger Millennials are driving the “Try Before You Buy” trend, often influenced by TikTok, YouTube reviews, and influencers. Sampling INCREASES brand recall by 30% and customer RETENTION by over 50%. >>FULLY Digital World<< As beauty shifts ONLINE, testers are the bridge between digital convenience and sensory experience. In e-commerce, where customers can’t test before buying, SAMPLE Kits and DISCOVERY Sets build the hype and boost conversions by 20–30%. Some Indie Brands have built entire models around SAMPLING, turning doubt into loyalty. For digital-native consumers, testers are how pixels become emotions. Also Digital PROFILERS, AI-powered tools are helping customers discover fragrances online without smelling them. >>Actionable TAKEAWAYS<< +Offer MINI formats → Sample sizes and discovery kits lower buyer resistance and encourage repeat purchases. +Create MULTI-sensory sampling experiences → Use in-store labs or AR tools to deepen customer engagement. +Leverage TESTERS in digital channels → Include samples in online orders or offer trial sets at checkout to reduce hesitation. +Use AI and personalization→ Recommend products based on user behavior and preferences for more accurate matches. +Align with SUSTAINABILITY values → Provide biodegradable packaging, refillable testers, and eco-conscious options. +Track KPIs → Measure conversion rates, return frequency, dwell time, and loyalty to optimize sampling impact. >>Regulatory LIMITS<< Sampling is effective, but free distribution is restricted in some countries due to safety, environmental, or cultural regulations, especially in the EU, Middle East, and parts of Asia, so: +Offer low-cost discovery sets online with redeemable value. +Bundle samples with orders. +Use sealed sample cards or scent-infused paper. +Implement virtual scent profiles using AI. The Outlook. As the global beauty market becomes more saturated, with over 3,000 new launches annually only in fragrances, brands that invest in innovative, strategic sampling programs will be the ones that truly cut through the noise. Find my curated search of examples and get ready for your next hit! Featured Brands: Boy Smells Dedcool Derek Lam D.S. & DURGA Dust & Glow KHUS+KHUS Maison Margiela RboW RetaW SMOKE X Neon Heart Scentery Tailor Made Essences UERMI Wild Rising Skincare White Zinfandel #beautyprofessionals #fragrancesprofessionals #luxuryprofessionals #beautybusiness #luxurybusiness #fragrancesbusiness

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?

We analyzed 4 million recruiting emails sent through Gem. Most get opened. But only 22.6% get replies. Half those replies are "thanks, but no thanks." We dug into what actually works. Here are 8 factors that drive REAL responses: 1. Strategic timing beats everything else - 8am gets 68% open rates. 4pm hits 67.3%. 10am lands at 67% - Most recruiters blast at 9am when inboxes are flooded - Avoiding peak times alone can boost your opens by 7-10% 2. Weekend outreach is criminally underused - Saturday/Sunday emails get ≥66% open rates consistently - Why? Empty inboxes. Zero competition. Candidates actually have time - Yet few recruiters send on weekends. Their loss is your gain 3. Keep messages between 101-150 words - Shorter feels spammy. Longer gets skimmed - You need exactly 10 sentences to nail the essentials - Every word beyond 150 drops performance 4. Generic templates kill response rates - Generic templates: 22% reply rate - Personalized outreach: 47% increased response rate - Even adding name + company to subject lines boosts opens by 5% 5. Subject lines need 3-9 words - Include company name + job title for highest opens - "Senior Engineer Role at [Company]" beats clever wordplay - 11+ words can work if genuinely intriguing, but why risk it? 6. The 4-stage sequence is optimal - One-off emails are dead. Send exactly 4 follow-up messages - You'll see 68% higher "interested" rates with proper sequencing - After stage 4, engagement completely flatlines. Stop there 7. Get the hiring manager involved - Having the hiring manager send ONE follow-up boosts reply rates by 50%+ - Yet most recruiters don't use this tactic - Weekend advantage: Minimal competition for attention 8. Leadership involvement is a cheat code - Role-specific timing (tech vs non-tech) matters - Technical roles: 3 of 4 best send times are weekends - Engineers check email differently than salespeople. Adjust accordingly TAKEAWAY: These aren't opinions. This is what 4 million emails tell us. Most recruiting teams are stuck in 2019 playbooks wondering why their reply rates won't budge. Meanwhile, recruiters who implement these 8 factors see dramatically better results. The data is right there. The patterns are clear. The only question is: will you actually change how you operate? Or will you keep sending the same tired emails at 9am on Tuesday? Your call.

It's NOT rocket science. I've built multiple 6-figures ($) in my online business through organic content. Here's what I've learnt: 1. You Are the Niche You don’t need to fit into a niche. → You are the niche. Your unique mix of experiences, skills, and personality is your competitive advantage. When you show up as your true self and share your story, you’ll naturally attract the right audience. Don’t overthink this step. Just start. 2. Focus on Your Personal Brand Building trust is the foundation of any successful online business. And trust comes from showing up consistently. Use platforms like LinkedIn or Instagram to share valuable insights, lessons learned, or even mistakes you’ve made. Your audience will value your authenticity. In a world that will be run by AI agents, your personal brand and being human will be everything. Your personal brand drives your business. 3. Engage, Don’t Just Publish Content Think of social media as a two-way conversation. Engage with your audience. Respond to comments, ask questions, and listen to what people want. This helps you activate the platform’s algorithm and the feedback loop helps you refine your offerings. If you engage with your followers they will feel seen and heard and invest more time in you. → Together you will build your business. 4. Monetize Through Value Start small. Offer something that solves a specific problem; an e-book, a course, or a consultation call. Once you understand what your audience needs, you can expand into subscriptions, done-for-you services, courses, memberships, or collaborations. 5. Stay Lean and Profitable It’s tempting to chase rapid growth, but in the early stages 💰 cash flow is more important than scale. Focus on creating a lean operation that serves your clients well and keeps expenses low. Growth will come naturally once you’ve built a solid foundation. Remember: 🐫 Camels are the new unicorns 6. You Don’t Need Complex Strategies and Fancy Tools to Monetize Your Audience You have indirect access to 5.5 billion people through the internet. You don’t need fancy tools to start monetizing your audience. Start with the basics. Once you’ve established workflows and understand your processes, introduce AI tools to save time and scale. From generating content ideas to automating customer engagement, AI can help you work smarter, not harder. The key is to keep it simple at the beginning and scale as you grow. 7. Great Things Take Time Lastly, don’t rush the process. Building something sustainable takes time. Test different ideas, gather feedback, and refine your approach as you go. Focus on showing up authentically, delivering value, and staying consistent. Over time, you’ll build not just a business, but a community of people who trust and believe in what you offer. Hope you found this helpful. 👋 Want more actionable advice like this? Subscribe to my free newsletter: https://lnkd.in/dT6GVaZc