Brands are micro-cultures

&, as Eliot Peper says

Culture is a collective project in which we all have a stake and a voice.

Brands are also collective stories. Stories where the story the business tells about the brand intersects with the story the customers tell about the brand.

The goal is to have two nearly overlapped circles for this Venn diagram.

Because this is where positive word of mouth happens. And the brand story spreads.

You want this advice from Eliot to happen:

So when you fall in love with a story, tell your friends

🍄

Your brand isn’t in the pixels, it’s in the work you put in to build it and co-create a reputation of meaning.

As Seth says:

It’s worth noting that when asked to name a great logo or a great brand name, almost everyone picks a brand they like and trust. The name is simply a symptom of that, not a cause.

More ads in more places: Discord edition

Discord has begun rolling out In-Game Rewards — branded video ads tied to game-related perks.

How it works:

• Unskippable, immersive video ads. These ads pause if users look away, ensuring full engagement.
• Opt-in personalization. Users can enable “In-Game Rewards” to receive promotions tailored to their gaming activity.
• Privacy-friendly targeting. Discord doesn’t rely on real names or invasive personal data, giving brands interest-based targeting with fewer privacy concerns.

Tracking a submit button click is not the same as tracking the submission.

Measure the action you want taken, not a loose proxy or the easy thing that’s kind of the same.

Lots of people focus on getting attention.

Stopping the scroll.
Perfecting the hook.
Pausing the swipe.

But what are you going to do once you get that attention?

Ad targeting is no longer what you think it is

Changing who performs the action is rarely about targeting. Impact the people you attract with your ad copy, creative, and offer. Create form questions that apply to your ideal lead.

-Jon Loomer

Craft your message in a way that resonates.

Use the language of your audience—both verbal and visual.

Understand what they want and deliver it in your unique way.

rearrange the stack

Could be handy when working out potential audience size

Population Around A Point tool

Sometimes you just need to acknowledge the state of reality and keep things simple

It’s not just about delivering the right message to the right person.

It’s about delivering the right message to the right person at the right time in the right context.

In the words of Phill Agnew:

Our surroundings always anchor us.

Louis Grenier & co shared some great nuggets on a fun CXL webinar earlier this week:

• “Strategy is deciding what not to do”
• Don’t just aim for no, but say no
• Do something unrelated to your core services to stand out
• Don’t be broad, be focused in your messaging

And, of course, the key to this whole business thing:

Find a group of people that have struggles in common that you can serve by solving them in your own unique way

What memorable message is your marketing leaving?

Is it easy to remember?

Does it focus on the customer or action?

The Art of the Deal author and Big Daddy Xi continue their game of tariff checkers with a new round of negotiations.

In the near term, penalties are way down

Amid the 90-day pause, Trump’s 20% fentanyl-related tariffs on China, imposed in February and March, will remain. That means Chinese goods entering the US will face a 30% tariff, down from 145%, while US goods going the other way will be subject to a 10% levy from Beijing, down from 125%.