10 Reading & Watch Recommendations This Week 🍫
Marketing Unfiltered #25 - Recent Articles & Podcasts To Help You Figure Out This Evolving Landscape
Happy Thursday, Marketers!
We are back a day early (to beat the brands about to flood your inbox all Easter weekend here in the 🇬🇧). This week, we are offering something a little different, a few reads for the long weekend to help reshape your thinking for the next few weeks.
If you missed last week’s post, here is my take on it’s time to remix, rework, curate and craft for your customers, not for spiders and bots
It's Time To Remix, Rework, Curate and Craft For Your Customers, Not Bots 🤖
Marketing Unfiltered Newsletter 24 -- Why We Are In Control To Improve Our Customers’ Experiences & Lottie Unwin On Solving Your Own Problems To Solving Community Problems
www.marketingunfiltered.co/p/remix
☕️ The Recommended Articles ☕️
1/ How the new YouTube & X live tech show is showing us the future of content 👏
📝 As Marketing & Growth leaders we are constantly looking for new formats or a revisit of old formats to inspire us and be part of. Live social is already swamped, maybe this format will be something you leverage or become part of…
TBPN The New Blueprint For Podcasts & Live Long Form Content — Danny Denhard
Why TBPN, the new tech and business live show is the future of live and long-form content, and maybe inspiration for new form podcasters
www.dannydenhard.co.uk/blog/is-tbpn-the-new-blueprint-for-podcast
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2/ A16z VC and Growth legend Andrew Chen dropped a blog last week about why every marketing channel sucks right now, here’s a good challenge from Emily at MKT1 🍿
📝 Marketing is increasingly difficult in this ever-evolving landscape it’s essential to remember some channels will hit saturation, while you might find one that pops off for you, while others say it’s not working for them.
Does every marketing channel *actually* suck right now?
A reaction to Andrew Chen's Substack post: "Every marketing channel sucks right now"
newsletter.mkt1.co/p/does-every-marketing-channel-suck
3/ We are seeing several brands struggle and tackling turnarounds all in different ways, including rebranding and going back to “Brand first” activities. This is a good post on how long and what it takes to turn around a brand 🥤
📝 Starbucks have brought back the black shirt and green apron in US stores, placing brand and uniformity front and centre - another key move by chief brand officer
How long does it take to turn around a brand?
(And how do you do it?)
embeddedbrandstrategy.substack.com/p/how-long-does-it-take-to-turnaround
4/ FT Interview: How Google is rethinking its place in the market and evolving its search product (alternative link) 🔎
📝 Google is in the prime position to win the AI arms race with their Search product and 6 other products with over 2m MAUs - will they mess search up to win AI? Or will AI win over search first… if we’ve learnt anything, we know not to bet against the incumbents and monopolies
Google’s Elizabeth Reid: ‘Human curiosity is boundless and people ask a lot of questions’
The search executive behind the push to reinvent the group’s core product says users are driving change in how to seek information
www.ft.com/content/decc6853-4fff-448c-b1c3-be8824ab511f
5/ Openai’s ChatGPT is growing at a rapid rate, and their app is exploding in downloads, ranking 1 in app stores, outranking TikTok & Instagram 📲
📝 The way many chatbot apps will become sticky is going to the phone, driving more desktop app downloads and being installed in browsers. Are you using them enough to get ahead of the curve?
» If you’re feeling a little left behind, don’t worry. It’s likely time for the team AI workshop
ChatGPT became the most downloaded app globally in March | TechCrunch
ChatGPT became the world's most downloaded app in March, excluding games, topping the usual contenders for the No. 1 spot, Instagram and TikTok. This is
techcrunch.com/2025/04/11/chatgpt-became-the-most-downloaded-app-globally-in-march/
6/ WhatsApp is slowly rolling out new features for Marketers, many Marketers will love this idea, but will your customers? Unlikely. 💬
📝 While WhatsApp works out its monetisation strategy, Marketers will be the perfect guinea pigs for them…it is essential to question will this hinder or hurt your relationships with your customers?
WhatsApp Adds New Ways for Businesses To Send Promotional DMs
Users will be able to opt out of future direct messages.
www.socialmediatoday.com/news/whatsapp-adds-business-broadcasts-ads-to-previous-contacts/744441/
7/ A look into Duo and Duolingo’s Marketing Strategy & why their bold approach worked for them and is unlikely to work for so many others. (alternative link) 🦉
📝 With 15% of new customer acquisition coming from social media, Duolingo is a unique brand confidently embracing quirky social media and a bold mascot to win over net new customers. In a performance-first market, can the classic tactics like a brand Mascot work for you?
Hi! It's Duo: The Marketing Strategy Behind the Internet's Favourite Green Menace
Ranging from silly to threatening, Duo the Owl is the envy of social media managers.
www.adweek.com/brand-marketing/duolingo-duo-owl-marketing-strategy
🎧 Podcasts: More Your Thing? 🎧
Here are three good investments of your time
Adam Mosseri is back on his PR creator tour with what works and doesn’t work for Instagram… (listen out for views, shares & 🪦 to hastags)
Rory Sutherland joins Uncensored CMO and drops some brilliant stories and gems from behavioural sciences
Rory Sutherland on why marketing is the answer to economic growth
The algorithm driving the pricing of French fries
The Algorithm Running Up French Fry Prices
And a little humour to end with from Carl Hendy on LinkedIn
Have a great weekend, and we will land in your inbox next week.
Thanks,
Danny Denhard