What we are thinking about.
Notes from running 8 publications and building tools for them. Restaurant SEO, local marketing, the boring parts that move the needle.
Sports Marketing’s Lazy Pivot: Agencies Hiring Ex-Athletes Won’t Save Your Brand
Hiring ex-athletes and leaning on AI won’t save your sports marketing campaigns. The real win comes from obsessing over fans, not quick fixes.
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Nike’s Boston Marathon Billboard Backlash Sparks Inclusive Riposte From Asics and Ecco
Nike’s Boston Marathon billboard calling out walkers sparked backlash and swift removal, prompting Asics and Ecco to launch inclusive campaigns celebrating all movement.
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Taste Trumps Tech: Why AI’s Ubiquity Means Creativity, Not Code, Wins Marketing Wars
AI tools flood the marketing landscape with interchangeable content, but real competitive edge now comes from human taste — a muscle no algorithm can flex.
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Coca-Cola’s World Cup TV Ads Are Just the Tip of Their Sports Marketing Iceberg
Coca-Cola’s Powerade World Cup campaign proves TV ads alone are dead. The brand’s 360-degree strategy blends traditional and digital channels to maximize impact.
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Devonshires Breaks Legal Mold with First-Ever CMO Hire — And It’s About Time
Devonshires is finally admitting that old-school legal marketing won’t cut it anymore by appointing its first-ever CMO to drive real growth strategy.
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Stop Pretending Your Marketing Career Is Accidental and Start Owning Your Climb
Most marketers treat their careers like accidents waiting to happen. It’s time to ditch that lazy narrative and start climbing with ruthless intention.
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Holland & Barrett’s Latest Campaign Proves Quick Visibility Gains Aren’t Magic, Just Smart Execution
Holland & Barrett’s latest campaign isn’t just talk—it’s delivering immediate, measurable boosts in brand visibility. Here’s why your slow-burn awareness strategy is outdated.
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Lucky Saint’s Electrolyte Lager Is a Half-Baked ‘White Space’ Play That TikTok Shops Won’t Save
Lucky Saint’s new electrolyte lager and TikTok Shop debut highlight a lazy, trend-chasing approach to ‘white space’ that lacks real innovation or consumer demand.
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Santander’s Global Branding Push: Marketing Theater or Growth Engine?
Santander’s new global brand positioning is being hailed as a game-changer, but is it just marketing theater dressed up as growth strategy?
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Fox News Sunday Hits 30 — Proof That Legacy Media Clings to Yesterday's Ratings Playbook
Fox News Sunday’s 30th anniversary spotlights the stubbornly outdated nature of legacy political talk shows in a media landscape that demands innovation, not nostalgia.
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HP's Stealth Streaming Play: Turning Your Laptop Into an Ad Farm
HP’s new streaming app isn’t about content; it’s a stealthy ad platform preloaded on laptops to monetize your viewing habits. Here’s why this move stinks.
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CBS Morning Show Growth Breaks the Mold Amid NBC’s ‘Today’ Dominance
NBC’s 'Today' remains king of morning news, but CBS’s morning show is the only one showing meaningful growth, exposing stagnation at ABC and the rest of the pack.
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NBC’s Jenna Bush Hager Scores a Rare Scoop Interviewing Four Former U.S. Presidents at the WHCD
NBC News’ Jenna Bush Hager broke the mold at the White House Correspondents’ Dinner by securing live interviews with four former U.S. presidents, elevating the cable coverage beyond the usual political fluff.
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NBC and CBS Evening News Actually Gain Ground in the Key Demo — But Don’t Celebrate Yet
NBC and CBS posted gains in the key Adults 25-54 demo during the week of April 13, 2026, but don’t mistake this for a comeback in traditional evening news.
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PayPal’s Streaming Adtech Play: A Clumsy Power Grab Targeting TV Advertisers
PayPal’s new streaming TV ad partnerships with Spectrum Reach, Tubi, and Warner Bros. Discovery are a desperate bid to turn payment data into ad dollars—without truly understanding the adtech landscape.
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Social Media Week 2026: What Actually Moved the Needle and What Was Just Noise
Social Media Week 2026 brought the real social media operators together to cut through the noise and call out the industry's lazy strategies and hype. Here’s what actually matters.
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The Devil Wears Prada 2: How Brand Placements Just Became a Runway for Corporate Sellouts
The Devil Wears Prada 2 isn’t just a movie sequel; it’s a parade of shameless brand placements by Diet Coke, Grey Goose, and L’Oréal. Welcome to the new era of corporate grift.
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Shawna Thomas Trades CBS Morning Chair for MS NOW’s Executive Producer Role — Here’s Why It Matters
After five years leading CBS Mornings, Shawna Thomas is moving to MS NOW, signaling a shift from traditional broadcast news to digital-first, interactive storytelling.
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