Notes from the firm.
Points of view, announcements and the occasional open role. Posted when there is something worth saying, and not otherwise.
What to offer instead of a discount
If the arithmetic of a percentage off does not work, and it usually does not, these are the levers that move conversion without coming straight out of margin.
Decide your margin floor before November
Costs rise for everyone in peak season. The brands that stay profitable are the ones that agreed, in October, the number they would not go below.
What a discount actually costs
Twenty percent off does not cost you twenty percent. On a typical consumer margin it can cost you more than half the profit on the sale.
Q4 is decided in September
By the time Black Friday arrives, the decisions that determine how it goes were made weeks earlier. Most of them are not advertising decisions.
Why we only work the $1M to $10M band
The middle of the market is underserved on purpose. Big agencies cannot afford to staff it seniorly, and small freelancers cannot cover the full problem.
Two continents, one working day
Australian founders, US operations. The time zones are not a complication. They are how the firm runs.
Platform-reported return is not a business metric
Every ad platform grades its own homework. The number that decides whether marketing worked has to come from somewhere else.
The list you already own
Paid channels rent attention by the click. The email and SMS list is the one asset a brand owns outright, and most are sitting on it.
Angles come from reviews, not brainstorms
The best ad copy for a consumer brand is usually already written. It is sitting in the reviews, in the customer's own words.
The measurement layer comes first
Before any budget moves, we build the thing that tells us whether it worked. Most brands in our band have never had one.
Delmonte International opens its doors
A new marketing consulting firm for consumer brands in the middle, operating across the United States and Australia.
A short note when something is posted, roughly twice a month. Nothing else, and one click to stop.