Nikki Lindgren

Meta Advertisers: If your conversion tracking & ad structure are wrecked, creative can’t save you.   Just talked to a $25M brand running a strong creative motion.   But it looked like a 5th grader set up conversion tracking and ad accounts.   They’re putting out great statics & videos every week.   Starting with great creative frameworks & high-converting ad templates.   Even running a proper whitelisting play.   But it wasn’t enough to scale ads aggressively. B/c they had:   😡 Limited server-side tracking   😡 Only CAPI v. better options - Blotout, Elevar   😡 No micro-conversions - only orders   😡 Broken attribution - inaccurate GA4, no Northbeam   😡 Too many campaigns - crushing Meta’s ML’s potential   😡 Bad budget allocation - to Tests vs. Winners   😡 Too much ABO, too little CBO   😡 Too much retargeting - faking growth w/o incremental profit   --   Bums me out when good brands get in their own way (often bc of bad agencies). Yes, creative is a massive lever. But you’ll never be A+ if sleeping on the above.

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Is Wunderkind truly the savior of DTC email growth, or just a mirage? 👇👇👇 Opinions are split—while some hail it as a top revenue accelerator, others (like myself) are less enchanted, witnessing firsthand its disappointing underbelly. Enter Digioh , the dark horse revolutionizing the market right under Wunderkind's nose. I've dissected six reasons why Digioh is different. 𝗦𝗵𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝘁𝗵𝗼𝘂𝗴𝗵𝘁𝘀. Are you a Wunderkind lover, or on the fence about its superpowers? #emailmarketing #emailgrowth #dtcemails

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Some good points are made by PubMatic’s Andrew Baron in AdExchanger’s latest Data-Driven Thinking column. Ironically, cookies were never that big of a problem in the first place—your humble, anonymous cookie is far less personal than a hashed email (which, as the FTC recently reminded us, is in fact still PII). But to the writer’s point, years of worrying about their impending deprecation have led to some very positive changes. First- and carefully curated and enhanced second- and third-party data will always yield better results, assuming you can protect the privacy of the consumers who produced it. And yes, whatever more personally identifiable data you’re working with—whether it’s sell-side targeting, modeled audiences, or contextual signals—alternative IDs have shown great promise in creating a layer of privacy protection. However, the real challenge arises when these identifiers traverse the bidstream and are shared with third parties. No matter how secure your encryption, once data leaves your control, it’s vulnerable to exploitation or reverse engineering. Anything can happen. The signals aren’t the problem—it’s the way we’re sharing them. We built Symitri to solve these inherent privacy challenges in adtech infrastructure. By ensuring that personally identifiable data never leaves the control of its owner, Symitri offers truly deterministic targeting without sacrificing privacy. With Symitri, you can achieve precision, performance, and privacy—no compromises necessary. #Symitri #Privacy #DataProtection #Trust #TRUSTX https://lnkd.in/eS9Aem8B

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Cotopaxi has so much potential but needs to evolve to be different from everyone else (Patagonia), and their stores need more experience. Companies get stuck with the "textbook mission" and must innovate but remain authentic. Their sale during BF told me there is something amiss. https://lnkd.in/gAdNX-_q

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We know who is KING at interest-based targeting...but alas a challenger is coming... Reddit’s VP of Ads Product, Jyotsna (Jyoti) Vaidee, said “60% of Redditors actually want brands to participate in their communities and interact with them.” Personally, as a Reddit, Inc. user, I think that's wishful thinking! It would be helpful if "brands" gave value first, second, and third. Solve problems, post engaging content, and then that 60% stat might be realistic. 'Vaidee discussed Reddit’s approach to ad targeting, which primarily relies on interest-based targeting derived from users’ interactions with content on the platform. She mentioned moving towards auto-targeting, which leverages machine learning to analyze user behavior and deliver more relevant ads. This means advertisers can reach audiences based on their demonstrated interests, even if those interests aren’t directly related to the advertiser’s product or service.' Read more: https://lnkd.in/eP88QpiE

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Instacart not having negative keywords as an option is the best example of what "machine learning" actually costs brands to support. The best solution I've found? Take their auto applied keywords and make their bid the lowest possible (30 cents). I built a really solid ads structure supporting each of our Target sku's and woke up to us bidding on "Ben and Jerry's" as a "optimized auto applied suggesition" for our Vanilla Ice Cream Whey. Gee, I wonder what sophisticated dev team decided "auto bid on product title". Yeah, in the world of CPG there could neeevvverrr be issues with that. Who leads this team and how much do you make. (Hint: too much). Happy Friday to everyone except overpaid leadership that don't actually understand what they're building and get paid boat loads of money for it.

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Almost every week I talk to another surprisingly large organization still stuck in the same Advertising playbook as 2008—B2B and consumer brands. 🔻 Underspending on new customer growth: "Same budget as last year" 🔍 Overspending on lower funnel: "Paid search has the highest ROI" 😱 Terrified of investing in generating demand vs. just capturing 🥱 Stuck with the same boring (but safe) ad copy for years ⚰️ Living and dying with click-based attribution 🤷‍♂️ Clueless on whether any of it is contributing to incremental revenue Why would we expect different results if we keep putting the same stuff in market? A dash of efficiency improvement—a new search campaign here and a negative keyword there—isn't going to rock your world. I truly believe that 80%+ of mid-market brands are leaving tremendous growth opportunity on the table. Go get it! But you have to be willing to shake things up... explore new channels, take creative risks, capture new audiences, adopt new technology, move budget from "safe" to "educated guess," and invest in growth over a 3+ year horizon.

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Announcing Aperiam's Latest Investment: Gigi! 🍒 Aperiam continues to make strategic bets in commerce media and CTV, the fastest-growing segments of digital advertising. With Amazon Ads being the largest commerce media channel AND the fastest-growing Streaming TV ad platform, we are excited to introduce our latest investment: Gigi. Why Gigi? 1) The product. Gigi’s unique ability to integrate a brand's first-party commerce data with Amazon's data for audience enrichment and deterministic omnichannel measurement sets it apart. This powerful combination enables brands and agencies to buy and measure Amazon Streaming TV ads more effectively. 2) The team. The founders behind Gigi consists of experienced commerce media executives - led by cofounder and CEO, Adam Epstein - who have a bold vision for the future of Streaming TV, commerce media, and data collaboration and a history of success in commerce media. Their expertise ensures that Gigi is at the forefront of innovation in this space. We believe Gigi’s capabilities and the vision of its team will drive significant advancements in how brands leverage data to enhance their advertising strategies on Amazon’s platform. Check out Gigi here: https://gigico.tv/ cc: James Borow Joe Zawadzki Danilo Tauro, PhD

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What's a "Good Steward Of Ad Budget" even mean? We've gotten this question a few times when consulting with CMOs. So we figured we would explain what we mean when we talk about being a good steward of ad budget. Paid campaigns don't need to cost a fortune. By targeting prospects with cost-effective PPC campaigns, you can generate quality leads without the need for a massive budget. We take our job seriously as "good stewards of your ad budget." That basically means we can start small and build up. Or we can take a large budget and make it more effective.

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Why did Stitch partner with Talon.One? Three main reasons... 1️⃣ In working with Braze customers, we've seen an incredible amount of pain with their existing loyalty platforms (looking at you, Punchh & CrowdTwist, Inc.). 2️⃣ The platform is 👌. The response time and the ability to customize workflows is elite. 3️⃣ The combination of Braze + Talon.One is a marketer's dream. Scale, capability and efficiency bridging marketing & loyalty together.

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After you’re done with that, do this: 1. Note video styles that work 2. Go to JoinBrands  3. Hire a UGC creator or a few 4. Tell them to create in that style 5. Get videos featuring your product 6. Post them everywhere organically 7. Turn them into paid ads too Get the data. Make an informed guess. Test. Adjust. Start getting more sales. It won’t be easy, but it’s a lot more doable when you have the right tools. P.S. My UGC marketplace helps you find proven creators and get persuasive content made for affordable prices.  Hit the “visit my website” button to check it out.

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Exciting New AI-Powered Updates from Google Ads 🚀 We’re thrilled to announce new features in the G-Ads platform to supercharge results... 🌟 Asset-Level Conversion Reporting for Performance Max + Gain transparency with conversion metrics. + Optimize your creative with detailed insights. + Ensure brand suitability on YouTube and Display. 🎨 Expanded Generative AI Image Editing + Add, remove, or replace objects. + Expand backgrounds and crop to different ratios. 📱 Asset Generation for App and Display Campaigns + Accelerate creative asset building with improved AI tools. + Access new image generation models for better performance. 🤝 New Creative Partnership with Typeface + Seamlessly integrate assets from Typeface into Google Ads. + Follow best practices with provided templates for Performance Max. + Stay ahead of the curve and elevate your ad game with these powerful tools! https://lnkd.in/g8T5MzXi #GoogleAds #DigitalMarketing #AI #CreativeTools #PerformanceMax #Innovation

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CEOs, listen up: Your next game-changing hire isn't polishing their resume. They're: • Launching on ProductHunt • Building an audience on Twitter • Sharing insights on niche subreddits I've scaled multiple DTC brands. The best talent rarely comes through traditional channels. They're too busy actually doing the work. Examples I've seen: • A Shopify app developer hired from GitHub contributions • A growth marketer discovered via viral Twitter threads • A UX designer spotted through Dribbble projects The future of recruiting is active, not passive. It's about identifying doers, not credential collectors. My advice: 1. Identify platforms where your ideal candidates hang out 2. Engage authentically in those communities 3. Look for consistent builders and sharers 4. Reach out personally when you spot talent The war for talent is evolving. Are you adapting your recruitment strategies? #FutureOfHiring #TalentAcquisition

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As #thirdparty cookies near deprecation, ad tech companies are innovating to build audiences for media buyers. #Sellside curation is emerging as a key trend, where #firstparty customer data from buyers is matched with publishers' first-party audience data to create private marketplaces (#PMPs). This shift changes the traditional roles of #DSPs, #SSPs, and #DMPs, leading to new dynamics in the #programmatic ecosystem. Key Highlights: ✅ SSP Curation: SSPs now leverage first-party data from publishers, enabling large-scale activation of second- and third-party audiences without third-party cookies. ✅ Data Marketplaces: SSPs are partnering with third-party data providers to enhance audience matching, creating new data marketplaces. ✅ Real-Time Reporting: SSPs offer real-time data matching and reporting, improving transparency and efficiency. ✅ Flexibility and Control: Sell-side curation provides advertisers with more flexibility and control over audience identifiers, bypassing DSP limitations. ✅ Industry Impact: The evolving landscape is creating new opportunities and tensions, as SSPs gain prominence and DSPs adjust to reduced control. As the ad tech industry adapts to the loss of third-party cookies, sell-side curation is transforming how audiences are built and targeted, paving the way for a more connected and efficient advertising ecosystem. #sellsidecuration #programmatic #advertising

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Sounds like the first step in a potential break up Google's ad business (in addition to the Search / Chrome case) is incoming by end of year. Jason Kint talked about how Google's monopoly led to the death of the publisher side ad servers. If there is a break up, perhaps there will be room for publishers to take back some of that control. Perhaps with an open source ad server? Hmm =D https://lnkd.in/gJdnsuyc

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Syncing your product catalog with Pinterest could lead to a significant uptick in product saves, with some businesses seeing increases of up to 90%. This insight from Pinterest itself highlights the platform's power not just for inspiration but as a critical tool for driving direct sales. 🛍️ For businesses looking to expand their digital footprint and sales channels, Pinterest offers a unique opportunity. By making your products more discoverable, you're directly connecting with an audience actively seeking inspiration and ready to purchase. 📈 Interested in leveraging Pinterest's potential for your business or have insights to share? Let's dive into the possibilities together. 

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I want to double down on the idea of training your pixel/events with quality vs. quantity. This is a tactic that often scales new DTC brands or help people find new customer segments while still targeting broad. Meta ads are universally loved because their customer graph is very, very, nuanced and strong. Meta has a really, really, good idea of what people want. And their main input has been to pick the event that's most important to the business — and they'll find people who are most likely to do that. But imagine the thinking behind how they rank/classify people who are interested in X event. If 100 people go to a website that has only 1 person make a transaction vs. 20 people, what signal do you think would go to Meta's algorithm about the site's value, the customers' value — and your creatives' value? So let's assume under this premise that your creatives are REALLY engaging and will drive tons of qualified and unqualified traffic to the site. It seems like it'd only help your ads, but it might be cluttering the right type of people to serve that ad to — ESPECIALLY if you have a small budget. This is the AH-HA moment when I wanted to train a pixel. It's not your fault the creative is too damn good — but that's also leading to confusing signals to Meta since now it looks like your ads are clicky, but irrelevant to the users. If you want to have a weeding out less qualified people, think first on trying to create a canvas ad/Instant Experience. Yes the cost to get someone to your website will be higher, sometimes significantly, but Meta will go look at the people who actually landed on your website and converted quickly — and get a WAY better idea on who is an ideal customer. Remember that it's all about signals to Meta. Nothing more, nothing less. If you're not giving it the best signal to succeed, then what are we doing here? Let's start with the foundation — and keep moving forward.

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The forecasts you’re creating won’t scale your DTC brand to the new heights you think they will… Without the right actions to follow them up. Too often I see DTC brands  👉 Create forecasts of their desired future state,  👉 Distribute it across the management team,  👉 Then sit back and assume the numbers are just going to "happen."      A forecast is a planning tool that gives managers visibility into the ACTIONS their team must take to create the forecast.    Forecasts become reality in one of two ways  1️⃣ Luck - I don't recommend building a business upon this method  2️⃣ PEOPLE planning and executing activities that drive and create the numbers contained within the forecast.    DTC brand founders, my call to action for you is this -    The next time you create a forecast, sit down with your management team and make a list of the activities that PEOPLE in your company will take to CREATE the forecast in reality.    This simple framework will propel your brand's scale forward like never before. -- Did you find this post helpful? If so, consider resharing it and giving me Jon Blair a follow.

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