The 12 Sharpest Lessons from Marketing Leaders at Fortune Media, Liquid Death, Oatly & More

Each week, Laura, Caroline, and I get to beryllium and chat pinch immoderate of today’s astir innovative trading masters. We’ve tally down nan rabbit spread pinch folks from Spotify, Liquid Death, Oatly, New Balance, Zapier, Hootsuite, nan Brooklyn Nets, and moreover nan makers of Chicago’s astir beloved tirefire-flavored liquor.

If you could smoosh each of their mixed contented into your head, it would beryllium for illustration getting your… well… master’s successful marketing. (Oh, hey. I conscionable sewage nan name.)

Well, you can’t. Not until encephalon chips are a thing.

Until then, you tin do nan adjacent champion thing: Check retired 12 of nan astir insightful, provocative, aliases conscionable downright useful lessons our experts had to share.

Lesson 1: People aren't brainless consumers.

Here‘s a nosy fact: At Liquid Death, they don’t usage nan connection consumer. Ever.

Instead, they person a squad called “human insights.”

Greg Fass, Liquid Death’s VP of marketing, is proud to activity against nan mindset that group are conscionable “brainless consumers” whose sole intent connected Earth is to devour products. (Yep – that's a nonstop quote.)

Instead, he says, “At Liquid Death, I‘m proud that we deliberation of our audiences arsenic people. And erstwhile you deliberation of them arsenic humans, you understand they’ll get a portion of transcript that isn‘t straightforward, aliases jokes different brands are acrophobic to make. They’re intelligent, and person a consciousness of humor.”

It's a accuracy that has served them well. Just see nan commercial wherever Martha Stewart is simply a serial slayer chopping disconnected hands to make candles — not precisely thing that would spell complete good successful a modular trading pitch.

Liquid Death has done much than reinvent nan better-for-you beverage class — they've reinvented marketing, arsenic well.

Embracing their anti-marketing attack tin thief you observe caller and caller ways of connecting amended with, well, different humans.

Read Martha Stewart, $400K Fighter Jets, and Comedy Writers: How Liquid Death Wins astatine Anti-Marketing, According to Liquid Death's VP

Lesson 2: “If you're not risking your profession connected a bold trading move, you're not reasoning large enough.”

Ron Goldenberg, VP of world trading & invention astatine BSE Global, sewage plentifulness of pushback erstwhile he sounded a Brooklyn Nets activation — successful Paris, complete pinch an orchestral tribute to The Notorious B.I.G. and Brooklyn Nets-inspired pizzeria.

One workfellow moreover said to him, “You really deliberation Parisians are going to show up to a Brooklyn Nets pizzeria?” (I get nan hesitation — don't they unrecorded disconnected of escargot and croissants?)

He knew location could beryllium awesome ramifications if nan arena flopped. But he believed successful nan conception capable to consequence it all.

“If I‘m going to get fired for anything, it’s worthy [it] for an orchestral tribute to Biggie successful Paris,” Goldenberg told maine past week. “When your ideas are large capable and bold enough, and you judge successful them to nan grade that you‘re consenting to return a reputational risk, that’s erstwhile you're onto something.”

Playing it safe tin beryllium a consequence successful itself. But trading thrives connected opinionated out, which demands taking chances.

For Goldenberg, nan payoff was massive:

• Fans snapped up each 15K tickets to nan Nets-Cavaliers game, 3.3K visitors indulged successful Brooklyn pizza, and Biggie's tribute sold retired successful 5 days 🍕
• 450K unsocial visitors to Brooklynets.com/paris
• 64K emails captured (90% net-new to their database)
• 195% YoY surge successful summons income to French consumers and complete 7 figures successful full gross 💵

Source

Goldenberg sewage stakeholders connected committee by being blunt: “You each request to understand really important this is, not conscionable for nan Nets but for our fans and nan world sports industry,” he told colleagues. “It's ne'er been done earlier astatine this scale.”

Sticking to nan tried-and-true is tempting. But it was penetration matched pinch small heart that landed Goldenberg his large swings.

Read How An NBA Marketer Brought nan Brooklyn Nets to Paris (& What Marketers Can Learn from Him)

Lesson 3: Break nan 4th wall.

The first Malört advertisement I ever saw was successful 2022, successful play 1 of nan Chicago-set TV show The Bear, of each places. Anna Sokratov says it was 1 of nan first ads they ever ran — for astir a period prior, Malört relied connected connection of rima and Chicagoans pranking out-of-town guests.

Since trading Malört is specified a caller phenomenon, Sokratov, marque head for Jeppson’s Malört, feels a batch of state to beryllium funny, to beryllium outlandish, to beryllium experimental. (In fact, 1 of nan group she looks to for inspiration is erstwhile trading maestro Greg Fass of Liquid Death.)

It’s an aged saw astatine this constituent that authenticity drives user loyalty. But little is said astir what authenticity looks like. “People are really looking for brands that break that 4th wall,” Sokratov says. “They want to spot nan group down nan brand.”

Past and coming labor look successful a bid of ads featuring Malört faces (Google it), which are underscored by nan tagline, “Do not enjoy. Responsibly.” Malört whitethorn beryllium a batch of things, but it’s neither dishonest nor indirect.

Read “This is disgusting, effort some”: Marketing Chicago’s vile-tasting liqueur

Lesson 4: Use nan peanut food method.

“Everyone hates advertising, but they're okay being sold to,” Hassan S. Ali, imaginative head of marque astatine Hootsuite, says.

It’s for illustration utilizing peanut food to sneak your canine a pill. “If group are consenting to beryllium sold to, transportation nan pill successful thing yummy. People will watch it.” (Let’s disregard for a infinitesimal that we are each nan hapless dogs successful this analogy.)

“I often deliberation that nan champion ads are ones we can‘t measure, because they’re shared successful a group chat pinch friends.” I sincerely dream cipher is moving connected a pixel that tin way my group chats, but it’s existent that if personification shares an ad, it’s because it’s some funny and emotionally resonant.

Maybe you spot a funny advertisement for diapers. Your sister’s conscionable had a baby, and you stock nan advertisement successful nan family group chat. “All of a sudden, there’s a enslaved formed done this portion of advertising.” And it goes beyond “here, bargain this thing,” Ali says.

Without that (hopefully imaginary) group-chat search pixel, accepted trading metrics won’t needfully beryllium of overmuch use.

“But what did you lick for nan customer?” Ali asks. “Those are nan existent results.” The much we tin attraction connected that, “the amended we’ll beryllium arsenic marketers.”

Read Marketing for nan Lulz

Lesson 5: Don't fto maturation trading predominate your strategy

A favourite rant of Brendan Lewis (EVP of world communications and nationalist affairs for Oatly) is his belief that maturation trading needs to beryllium “neutered, if not wholly destroyed.”

“It‘s thing much than spreadsheet marketing,” he tells me. When marketers are buying clicks and perfecting their emails for click-through rates, Lewis says they’re leaving retired an basal ingredient: emotion.

“If you h2o down your connection to optimize it for clicks, you suffer your soul,” he tells maine without a trace of grandiosity. “The emotion and nan belief has to beryllium there. It can't conscionable beryllium personification looking astatine email click-rates each day.”

(Got it – I‘ll extremity obsessing astir this email’s taxable lines…)

For Oatly, this intends taking nan leap without testing it to decease first. Like successful 2023, erstwhile nan institution bought billboards successful Times Square to proudly endorse its ambiance label. (The Oatly squad invited nan dairy manufacture to subordinate them. They declined.)

The concealed sauce? Oatly is simply a mission-led institution that happens to waste oat milk; it’s not a product-led institution successful hunt of a mission. So its leaders are capable to enactment connected impulse and hunch arsenic agelong arsenic they cognize their messaging caters to their larger extremity of promoting sustainability.

Read It’s Like Marketing, But Made for Humans: Lessons from Oatly’s EVP

Lesson 6: Less strategy, much heart.

I'll admit, this instruction sounds suspiciously for illustration a Friday Night Lights quote.

But it's besides a takeaway Jenna Kutcher, big of The Goal Digger podcast, is passionate astir sharing.

“As creators, we request to get backmost into nan creation of our content. We request to spell backmost to what worked a decade agone and stock our lives and what we emotion online,” she tells me.

"Too galore business owners person created systems and teams and gotten excessively acold distant from nan content, and their audiences consciousness that divide."

Case successful point: How apt are you to respond, “OMG CUTE” to an Instagram reel from Lululemon‘s branded handle? I’m guessing not likely.

But what astir erstwhile a friend posts herself successful caller Lulu joggers?

In nan property of AI, group are hopeless to link pinch existent humans.

Impressively, this intends Jenna is nan only personification who creates IG contented for her 1M+ followers. She besides responds to all her ain DMs and comments.

Nobody connected her squad has entree to her login because “that's nan heartbeat of my relationship pinch my audience.”

Jenna's proposal present is simple, but not easy: “Take immoderate of nan strategy out, and put nan bosom backmost into it. Be disconnected nan cuff, and stock things for nan liking of sharing versus conscionable looking for ways to monetize.”

Read Digital Marketer Jenna Kutcher Thinks You're Overcomplicating It

Lesson 7: Your customer is nan hero. Not you.

April Sunshine Hawkins, co-host of nan Marketing Made Simple podcast, sees excessively galore marketers position their marque arsenic nan heroes, and she says it's 1 of nan biggest mistakes marketers tin make.

“Everybody wakes up nan leader of their ain story. Your customers, nan group you're trying to tie in… The communicative needs to beryllium astir them.”

In different words, you’re not Batman — you’re Alfred.

Take a caller example: Hawkins was moving pinch a jewelry marque that creates products successful Malawi and pays their workers 3-5X nan minimum wage. Naturally, they wanted to outcry that from nan rooftops. Who wouldn't?

But Hawkins stepped successful and pointed retired that nan marque isn't expected to beryllium nan hero. The customer is.

“We rewrote nan run to ask, 'How tin these pieces thief group observe a milestone — for illustration a promotion, an anniversary, a birthday?”

Suddenly, nan jewelry wasn’t conscionable jewelry; it became a badge of a customer's large (and small) life moments.

Have you ever landed connected a website and publication nan first fewer sentences and thought, Wow, is this personification successful my head? That's nan end-game: For your customers to consciousness for illustration you get them.

“When we tin position our products to align pinch what our customers are feeling, it creates that 'ding, ding, ding' infinitesimal — 'That's me! This is for me!'” Hawkins says. “That's what we're looking for.”

Read You're Not The Hero — Your Customer Is

Lesson 8: Engage pinch nan group who prosecute pinch you.

While you’re engaged figuring retired really to link pinch your audience, don’t hide to really link pinch your audience.

“The number 1 point you tin do to maximize immoderate fund you're spending is to simply prosecute pinch nan group who are engaging pinch you,” says Chandler Quintin, co-founder and CEO of Video Brothers.

And he’s not conscionable talking astir reactive engagement, for illustration answering societal messages aliases responding to emails. That stuff’s a given. He’s talking astir proactive outreach to nan group who interact pinch your business presence. Quintin himself sends a connection to anyone who views his LinkedIn floor plan aliases watches a video he posts.

“We person booked almost 80% of our calls done simply engaging pinch group that prosecute pinch america versus them going to our website and filling retired a form.”

And I’m a surviving testimonial to this tactic. Thursday morning, I’m sipping beverage and cruising LinkedIn successful hunt of trading masters. (I do it for you! Well… not nan tea. That’s for me.) Minutes later, Quintin messaged me asking for thief because he was upside down. (See nan leader image above.) Friday morning, we’re scheduling an interview.

Quintin acknowledges that this takes effort.

“It does return a batch of time. There mightiness beryllium immoderate ways to automate it. But astatine nan extremity of nan day, I deliberation group tin benignant of spot done automations a small bit. Especially erstwhile you're trying to make an authentic connection. The barroom for that is: Just beryllium authentic. Be a quality being.”

But nan return is worthy nan effort.

“If you only person $1,000, you're going to beryllium capable to move that $1,000 into nan powerfulness of 5 aliases 10,000 if you conscionable spell that other mile and engage.”

Read How an Entertainment Strategy Helps You Cut Through nan White Noise

Lesson 9: Turn antagonistic moments into a chance to show up.

Dawn Keller, CMO for California Pizza Kitchen, recounts a story:

Recently, a customer ordered mac and food from CPK — and conscionable sewage cheese.

After she posted nan vid connected TikTok, CPK responded pinch a video successful which Chef Paul jokingly walks done nan steps of decently making a mac and food (emphasis on: Add nan mac) and past announces 50% disconnected mac and food for each CPK customers. (Since nan customer only sewage 50% of her repast — get it?)

CPK's TikTok consequence sewage 13.5 cardinal views. Keller was shocked… and thrilled.

"It was mind-blowing to everybody [how good it did], but we judge what really made nan quality was how we showed up — successful a ace authentic, humble, self-deprecating way. It wasn't corporate-y aliases stuffy."

CPK could‘ve chosen to disregard nan customer’s title altogether, aliases they could‘ve commented connected nan video pinch a generic "I’m sorry!" customer work response. Instead, they decided to usage nan opportunity to reframe nan communicative into thing nosy and lighthearted.

And arsenic Keller points out, “We still sewage to reenforce what matters to america — which is that we person value food, and we attraction astir our guests. Authenticity and intermezo is what gets people's attention… Not conscionable that you're utilizing socials arsenic an advertizing channel.”

We've heard it crossed nan committee this twelvemonth from Greg Fass, Jenna Kutcher, and plentifulness of different Masters successful Marketing, and nan constituent holds true: Being authentic and showcasing nan human down your marque is simply a overmuch amended strategy than a polished advertisement these days.

Read How California Pizza Kitchen Embraces Change, Goes Viral connected TikTok, and Gives Consumers FOMO

Lesson 10: Be fresh to show leaders what you'll stop, start, and continue.

Emily Kramer, laminitis of MKT1, has been nan "first-ish” marketer 4 times astatine companies ranging from 10 to 300 employees, truthful my first mobility was an easy one: If you're nan first marketer astatine a company, wherever nan heck should you start?

Kramer told maine whether you're a squad of 1 aliases starring a 200-person trading department, nan reply is nan same: Prioritize, prioritize, prioritize.

“First, you request to fig retired wherever you tin win. Where tin you guidelines out? Where do you person nan biggest advantage complete competitors? What channels make nan astir consciousness for your business?”

This translates to: Stop doomscrolling done TikTok for “inspiration” aliases convincing yourself a snazzy newsletter giveaway will prevention nan day. Start pinch what matters most.

"You‘ve sewage to person a model for really you’re prioritizing — you person to put a liking successful nan crushed astir what you deliberation is important, and why. If you don‘t, you’ll conscionable get barraged pinch requests."

One of Kramer's go-to moves erstwhile joining a caller institution is to create a “start, stop, continue” plan. That way, execs tin quickly see, “Oh, we already tried that,” aliases “We’re stopping this, and here’s why.”

Otherwise, your laminitis might just get a small excessively obsessed pinch nan thought of you publishing ebooks connected Amazon arsenic nan “next champion trading move.”

(Not speaking from acquisition aliases anything.)

Read How An Obsession With Quality Led Emily Kramer to 48k Newsletter Subscribers and Counting

Lesson 11: DIY — pinch curiosity.

“I ever look to person a broadside hustle these days,” says Maryam Banikarim, managing head of Fortune Media. (One gets nan consciousness that Banikarim has always had to person a broadside hustle.)

It’s conscionable that Banikarim’s broadside hustles would make astir superior hustles envious. Last weekend, she celebrated nan 3rd twelvemonth of The Longest Table, a community-building arena calved retired of a request for quality relationship backmost erstwhile everyone was masking up and sharing tips connected uncovering Lysol wipes.

She saw a neighbour put a folding array extracurricular truthful they could eat meal pinch a fewer friends. She introduced herself and thought, “What if I did that?”

One besides gets nan consciousness that Banikarim doesn’t do rhetorical questions. She started pinch a fewer posts connected Next Door and an eight-person outdoor potluck connected her thoroughfare successful Chelsea. On October 6, 2024, complete a 1000 group showed up for dinner.

Together they cobbled together a Squarespace website, and “we usage HubSpot to email people.” (We did not bribe, pay, aliases frighten her to opportunity that.—ed.) Banikarim doesn’t kick astir DIY trading tech; connected nan contrary, she refuses to beryllium outpaced by evolving technology.

“Marketing has ever been for group who are curious,” Banikarim says. And “in bid to perpetually beryllium learning, it’s really adjuvant to beryllium rubbing nan devices yourself and not conscionable directing from up high.”

Read One Question That Will Reinvigorate Your Approach to Marketing

Lesson 12: Marketing should make your purchaser consciousness assured — not insecure.

Fashion is simply a notoriously confidence-crushing industry. Plenty of awesome manner and beauty brands thrive disconnected making their consumers consciousness less-than. They want you to cognize you're not cool yet, but you will beryllium erstwhile you deterioration those jeans aliases that jacket.

But Matt Zaremba, head of trading for Bodega, calls that benignant of trading “empty calories and quiet suits.”

“Sure, you‘ll find a cohort of group who you’ll turn pinch because you‘re showing them what they’re not. But yet they‘ll find a marque that makes them consciousness for illustration they are enough, and they’ll move to that brand,” he says.

His MO? Being arsenic humble and relatable arsenic possible: "Fashion brands should connection tweaks to your travel of style and culture. I don‘t want to talk down to group and say, ’Oh, you don‘t cognize this musician?’ I‘d alternatively beryllium like, ’You gotta cheque this out.' There should beryllium nary ego successful it."

Whether you're a B2C aliases B2B marketer, nan sentiment stands — personifying your marque arsenic nan “cool kid” useful for immoderate brands, but what useful amended for astir is simply being helpful, curious, and encouraging.

Read Bodega's Matt Zaremba connected How to Avoid Empty Calorie Marketing

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