Smarter, Not Harder: How AI Is Revolutionizing Performance Marketing

Discover how AI is transforming performance marketing — from Google’s AI Max to synthetic personas outperforming media teams. The future isn’t just automation. It’s smarter strategy, human meaning, and a redefined marketer’s role.

Two nights ago, I found myself in a room filled with LLMs, wine (and water), and wonderfully opinionated minds — a roundtable hosted by Future Forward AI, where the conversation spun around deceptively simple questions such as: is AI here to augment us, or to replace us quietly?

We discussed synthetic data. Accountability when things go south. And most provocatively, the new power dynamic at play: as machines become the decision-makers, where does that leave us, and for me, this refers to the growth hackers and the human strategists? Are we evolving into directors of the play… or just the extras no one remembers in the final scene?

This post is my reflection on that night — a deep dive into how AI is no longer knocking on growth marketing’s door; it’s already moved in, rearranged the furniture, and started running the show. From Google’s AI Max to agents outperforming human media teams, the signals are loud and clear: the game has changed.

So pour yourself a strong coffee (or a bold Syrah), and let’s uncork the future of marketing. Spoiler alert: it’s smarter. Not harder.

1. AI Is (Already) Redefining Targeting and Optimisation

Let’s start with the elephant in the ad account.

AI hasn’t just joined the marketing team, it’s rewriting the SOPs. The clearest sign? The way we target and optimise campaigns today.

We’ve moved from AI as an assistant (“Hey, help me clean up this audience segment”) to AI as a replacement (“Hey, you don’t need to build the segment, I already did. And I launched it.”).

AI isn’t just a better spreadsheet. It’s a strategy engine.

It reads signals, interprets intent, allocates budgets, and even rotates creatives, often in real time, across thousands of permutations.

Tools like Google Ads’ Performance Max and Meta’s Advantage+ aren’t just “helpful”—they’re becoming mandatory for anyone serious about scale and efficiency. You feed them assets and objectives, they run with the rest.

The result?

💼 Leaner teams.

🚀 Faster tests.

💰 Smarter bets.

💡 “We used to A/B test. Now we A/B delegate.”

The algorithm doesn’t just suggest. It decides.

2. AI Max: Google Just Gave the Algorithm the Keys

If Performance Max is the autopilot, AI Max is the self-driving car.

And yes, Google is firmly in the driver’s seat.

According to Search Engine Land, Google’s latest launch— AI Max for Search, hands over full autonomy to the machine. No more partial control. It dictates bidding, creatives, audience combinations, placements, and timing. All of it.

It’s not just about doing more. It’s about doing without us.

Why does this matter? Because it marks a tipping point. The marketer’s job is no longer to steer the car, it’s to decide where we want to go and let the machine figure out the how.

Let’s unpack that:

  • Algorithmic Bidding: Gone are the days of manually tweaking CPCs. AI updates bids every millisecond based on thousands of signals you can’t even see.
  • Predictive Audiences: The AI now predicts intent before users know it themselves. It’s targeting based on probability, not just past clicks.

🧠 “In the past, we optimised based on history. Now, we optimise based on probability.”

Welcome to quantum marketing.

3. AI Agents Outperforming Human Teams: The Tipping Point?

Still not convinced? Let’s talk outcomes.

In a recent case from Adweek, PMG deployed AI agents, built on Mobian’s synthetic personas, for a health brand’s campaign on Fox News.

Now here’s the mic-drop moment:

🧠 Just 18% of the budget went to Fox…

🎯 …but it delivered 34% of total conversions

💸 …at 46% lower cost per conversion.

Why? Because AI agents don’t rely on human gut feelings.

They pick up sentiment, emotion, and micro-signals no spreadsheet can see. They place ads not based on where you think your audience is… but where they actually are.

These agents aren’t replacing interns.

They’re replacing entire departments.

And they’re doing it by:

  • Creative Automation: Testing hundreds of variants in minutes. No approvals, no bandwidth issues. Just cold, calculated iteration.
  • Personalisation at Scale: AI knows when you’re stressed, sleepy, or ready to buy. Humans still think in personas. AI thinks in probabilities.

🤖 “What happens when the intern, the strategist, and the designer all show up… inside a single AI agent?”

The question isn’t whether AI can run your campaigns.

It’s whether you’re still needed in the room when it does.

4. But… What’s the Role of the Human Growth Marketer Now?

Let’s be clear, this isn’t the obituary for growth marketing.

It’s the redefinition of it.

The best growth marketers today?

They’re not writing copy or pulling audience lists.

They’re orchestrating strategy, interpreting insight, and setting the ethical and emotional compass of the brand.

Your job isn’t to out-optimise the machine.

It’s to ask better questions, shape better stories, and steer the AI toward impact.

Because let’s be honest, if 80% of your job is building dashboards, you’re officially in AI’s crosshairs.

🎹 “AI is becoming the pianist. You? You better be the composer.”

Final Thoughts: The Future of Performance Is Less About Performance

Here’s the paradox: the more AI nails performance (clicks, conversions, cost-efficiency) the less we need to chase it.

Machines are winning the execution game. But they can’t (yet) tell us why we matter. They don’t understand emotion, context, or culture. That’s still our job.

Your role isn’t to out-optimise the machine.

It’s to give it purpose. Direction. Meaning.

In a world of infinite automation, meaning is the new performance.

Key Takeaway:

The future of growth marketing is smarter, not harder.

Let AI handle the how. You focus on the why.

🫶🏻 Thanks for reading till the end.

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The Terroir of Growth: What Wine Taught Me About Building Brands That Thrive

Just like wine, growth is shaped by context. Discover how terroir — the unique character of place — mirrors market dynamics, and why localization, culture, and user behaviour hold the key to scaling brands globally.

So this happened to me over the weekend… I went to another blind wine tasting event.

Didn’t win this time, but I walked away with something arguably better — a crash course in white wines. From steely Chablis to oily Eden Valley Riesling, it hit me: I knew shockingly little about how regional differences shaped what was in my white wine glass.

Every sip told a story. Of limestone-rich soils, sun exposure, elevation, and centuries of trial and error. It’s called terroir — the French notion that place changes everything. Not just how a wine tastes, but what it is.

And somewhere between swirl, sniff, and sip, it clicked.

Marketing has terroir too.

What works in Tokyo won’t fly in Jakarta. A Facebook ad that crushes it in Toronto might flatline in Bangkok. Growth isn’t some universal cheat code. It’s not plug-and-play. Especially in this APAC region, where we have 48 countries and more than 2,300 languages!

Just like wine, the success of a brand is shaped (and sometimes limited) by the soil it’s planted in: geography, culture, behaviour, and timing. Ignore that, and you’re not just tone-deaf, you’re toast.

Because in branding, like in winemaking, if you don’t respect the terroir, you miss the magic.

1. Localisation is Not a Line Item. It’s Your Lifeline

If you think localisation is just slapping a translation on your homepage and calling it a day, you’ve already lost.

Global brands don’t fail locally because their product sucks. They fail because they assume fit is universal. But in growth, as in wine, the soil matters. A great Burgundy grape doesn’t automatically thrive in Barossa heat.

Take McDonald’s. In the U.S., it’s Big Macs and fries. But step into a Singapore outlet and you’ll find the Chicken McSpicy is a local cult favourite that would torch your average Western palate. In Japan? You’ll see seasonal Tofu Teriyaki Burgers and Ebi (shrimp) Filets on the menu. This isn’t cultural fluff. It’s product strategy as localisation.

Even digital players aren’t exempt. Netflix, for example, doesn’t just dub its shows for APAC audiences; it rewrites the playbook. Titles like “Sacred Games” in India, “Trese” in the Philippines, and “Alice in Borderland” in Japan are tailor-made to resonate with local audiences, from the scripts to the story arcs to the font styles on the title cards.

Takeaway: Localisation strategy isn’t a checkbox on your go-to-market adaptation plan.

It’s the make-or-break foundation for product localisation that actually scales.

2. Behaviour is Culture-Coded: One Size Rarely Fits All

We like to think data is our universal truth. But behaviour? That’s a different beast, shaped more by habit than by numbers.

In India, for instance, mobile-first isn’t just about UI design. It’s about microeconomics. Missed calls (literally ringing someone once and hanging up) are a communication strategy, not a bug. Brands that get it? Use “give us a missed call to subscribe” as a CTA.

In China, if you think WeChat is just a chat app, you’re already 7 years behind. It’s a payments platform, social network, food delivery app, e-commerce portal, and health passport all rolled into one. That’s not user behaviour. That’s a culture-coded ecosystem.

Too many marketers treat users like logic-driven personas. But here’s the truth: consumers aren’t rational agents. They’re cultural by-products.

Takeaway: To win across markets, you need to stop exporting strategy and start importing insight.

Consumer behaviour by region and user behaviour patterns must inform every cultural marketing strategy you build.

3. Messaging That Travels Starts with Listening

Your clever pun might kill in Sydney. But drop that same line in Seoul, and you’ll get crickets.

The problem? Brands don’t just mistranslate words, they mistranslate emotion.

In the U.S., you sell with “freedom,” “choice,” and “individuality.” In Asia? The winning cards are often “belonging,” “family,” and “respect.” The same message with a different flavour, and if you miss the nuance, your campaign falls flat.

Because messaging is more than copy. It’s cultural translation. It’s context over cleverness. And in this game, the best copywriters aren’t just wordsmiths, they’re anthropologists with keyboards.

Take Apple’s “Shot on iPhone” campaign. It works globally not because it’s universal, but because it’s interpretative, allowing local creators to bring their world to life on their terms. The message flexes with the market, not against it.

Takeaway: You’re not just writing. You’re listening. The most successful brand messaging localisation starts with empathy not ego.

And that’s the heart of any marketing communication strategy that moves people.

Final Thoughts: Growth Has Roots

Back to that white wine flight. I couldn’t guess the grape. But I learned something better: how to taste the place.

That’s the magic of terroir, and the same applies to growth.

We chase hacks, tools, and channels. But the real unlock? Context.

Brands don’t grow in a vacuum. They grow in soil, geography, culture, and behaviour.

Know your soil before planting your seeds.

So before your next campaign, pause. Ask not just what you’re selling, but where and to whom.

Because in wine and in business, the truth is simple:

Terroir is everything.

🫶🏻 Thanks for reading till the end.

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From Barbell to Brand: What Branding Can Learn from Strength Training

Building a strong brand is like building a strong body — it takes reps, not magic. Discover how branding, like training, demands consistency, clarity, and compound effort over time.

“Long-term consistency trumps short-term intensity.” – Bruce Lee

As a fight fan who spends more time staring at dumbbells than lifting them (especially on Mondays!), this quote hits harder than a spinning back kick. Not just in the gym. In life. At work. And, unexpectedly, in branding.

We live in an era obsessed with intensity. Startups chase viral launches. Marketers bet the house on one-off campaigns. Everyone’s swinging for the fences, hoping for that overnight success story that hits #1 on Product Hunt or racks up 1M views on TikTok. But let’s be honest, when was the last time your biceps grew after one HIIT class? Exactly.

Here’s the truth no one on LinkedIn wants to admit:

The secret to building a great brand isn’t a flash of genius. It’s the discipline of repetition.

Like strength training, branding is a game of delayed gratification. You show up. You do the work. You build muscle — message by message, rep by rep. You won’t see a six-pack overnight, but over time? You’ll build something real. Resilient. Recognisable.

What branding can learn from barbells?

Not with intensity. But with consistency.

Let’s lift.

1. Brand Building Takes Reps, Time, and Trust

You don’t walk into a gym, slap 200kg on the bar, and casually knock out a deadlift. You start with the bar. You build up 5kg at a time. It’s humbling. It’s repetitive. And it works.

Branding is no different.

The most iconic names in the world — Nike, Patagonia, Apple, didn’t emerge fully formed. They earned trust through repetition, not reinvention. Every ad, every tagline, every product reinforced a simple narrative. Just Do It. Built to Last. Think Different.

According to a LinkedIn study, it takes 5 to 7 brand impressions before someone even remembers your brand name. Translation: do more reps. And then do them again.

Too many brands quit at the warm-up set. They post once, don’t see results, and declare branding doesn’t work. But branding isn’t a campaign. It’s a practice. A long-term discipline of showing up, building trust, and earning mental shelf space.

💡 Takeaway: If you want a memorable brand, train it like a muscle. Repetition isn’t boring—it’s branding’s best friend.

2. Consistency Over Flash

Let’s face it: the fitness world loves drama. Extreme before-and-afters, shredded influencers, 30-day transformations. But real strength? That’s built by the guy who hits the gym 5 times a week for 10 years. Quiet. Unassuming. Relentless.

Brands, too, are obsessed with flash.

Viral stunts. Shocking rebrands. One-hit-wonder campaigns that burn bright and then vanish.

But the strongest brands? They’re consistently boring. In a good way.

Take Coca-Cola. Their logo has barely changed in over 130 years. Their red-and-white colour scheme? Cemented. Their voice? Timeless, familiar, comforting. And they’re still one of the most recognised brands on Earth.

Branding isn’t a fireworks show, it’s a drumbeat.

You define your voice, your story, your look, and then you repeat it until you can’t stand hearing yourself anymore. That’s usually when your audience is just starting to hear you.

💡 Takeaway: Consistency compounds. Flash may turn heads, but consistency keeps them.

3. Measurement Over Guesswork

Ask any serious lifter: What’s your max deadlift? They’ll know the number. Down to the decimal. Because in strength training, if you’re not tracking progress, you’re just flailing weights.

Branding needs that same discipline.

You wouldn’t run an ad campaign without tracking clicks, conversions, or CAC. So why run a brand without tracking sentiment, awareness, or equity?

Modern branding isn’t woo-woo anymore.

It’s a blend of emotion + data, gut instinct tempered by Google Analytics. Brands that measure lifetime value, brand lift, and recall can course-correct, test hypotheses, and actually build long-term equity.

This is why the smartest DTC brands don’t just track revenue, they track relationships. Metrics like Net Promoter Score (NPS), social sentiment, and branded search volume. They all paint a picture of how your brand is landing.

💡Takeaway: If you’re not measuring, you’re just guessing. And in branding, guessing is expensive.

Final Thoughts: The Discipline of Becoming

Bruce Lee was right. Whether you’re sculpting a stronger back or a stronger brand, the magic isn’t in the moment, it’s in the momentum. Not in the one-off hero workout or the headline-grabbing launch, but in the discipline of showing up. Again. And again. And again.

Brands aren’t born fully formed.

They’re built — one rep at a time. Under pressure. Over time. Forged in the unglamorous grind of consistency, clarity, and compounding trust.

So the next time you sketch out your brand sprint, launch calendar, or influencer collab, pause and ask:

👉 Am I in this for the six-pack?

Or just the six seconds of fame?

Because real branding (like real strength) doesn’t flex. It endures.

Now get back under the bar. Your brand’s next set is waiting.

🫶🏻 Thanks for reading till the end.

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Level Up IRL: What Diablo IV Taught Me About Growth Mindset

What if levelling up in life felt more like playing Diablo IV? This thought-provoking post explores how dungeon grinding, side quests, and loot chests reveal powerful truths about personal growth, mindset, and the magic of embracing the grind—both in-game and IRL.

Level up IRL
Explore the World
Open the Chests
Do the Grind

Last weekend, I had some free time. Instead of cleaning the house (a side quest I’ve been conveniently ignoring for weeks), I dusted off my digital sword and fired up Diablo IV. A few hours into building a new seasonal character — neck-deep in dungeon runs, loot chests, and gear experiments, I had a strange moment of clarity. This wasn’t just nostalgia-fueled escapism. It was a masterclass in personal growth. (Also, a flawless excuse to justify my weekend gaming binge.)

Here’s the thing: whether you’re slaying hellspawn or slaying to-do lists, the rhythm is oddly familiar. Progress (real, meaningful progress) doesn’t come from playing it safe. It comes from exploring uncharted territory, embracing uncertainty, and grinding through challenges. RPGs don’t just feed our fantasies; they mirror our journey to become better, stronger, and more resilient.

The best lessons on mindset, effort, and levelling up aren’t in self-help books, they’re hidden in loot chests and side quests.

If Diablo IV had a real-world counterpart, it wouldn’t be another fantasy epic, it would be your personal growth journey. Think of it as an RPG where the main quest is becoming the best version of yourself. And like any good game, the real magic happens when you embrace the mechanics.

Here’s the 3-part RPG Framework that Diablo IV (and honestly, life) runs on:

🗺️ 1. Explore the World: The Non-Linear Map of Growth

In-Game

Every RPG starts the same way: a blank map, an underpowered character, and endless directions to explore. You could follow the main questline, but let’s be real, some of the best moments happen when you wander off course. Maybe you discover a hidden dungeon. Maybe you meet an NPC who gives you a side quest that leads to unexpected treasure (or trauma).

Whether you’re building a shadow-dagger assassin or a poison-laced ghost dancer, it’s your journey. No two players take the same path, and that’s what makes it beautiful.

In Life

Real-life growth? It’s the same. There’s no linear roadmap to success. You might start in marketing and end up in product. Or study finance and discover you love coaching. Every “detour” is data. Every “failure” is feedback.

It’s easy to feel behind when you see others sprinting ahead on their own paths. But maybe their route isn’t meant for you. Maybe your greatest unlocks come from choosing the side quest, not the main story.

Takeaway: Don’t get pigeonholed. Stay curious. Chase what sparks interest even if it seems unrelated. Growth doesn’t move in a straight line. It branches. Like a skill tree.

🪙 2. Open the Chests: Risk, Reward, and the Gacha of Life

In-Game

We all know the Loot game. You defeat a mini-boss, open a glowing chest, and boom — a legendary item drops. Other times, it’s a disappointing blue-tier axe you’ll scrap in seconds. Welcome to gacha mechanics: where probability and preparation dance a delicate waltz.

In Diablo, the bigger the challenge, the better the loot.

Higher difficulty = higher risk = higher potential payoff.

But there’s a place for those low-level side missions too, they build momentum and bank XP fast.

In Life

Every risk you take — applying for a stretch role, launching that weird idea, asking a mentor out for coffee, is a figurative chest. You don’t always know what’s inside, but you have to open it anyway. Sometimes you get gold. Other times? Just another learning curve.

But here’s the kicker: not everything has to be “epic tier.” Small wins stack. And sometimes, going after the “easy” quests early can build your confidence (and skillset) faster than aiming straight for the final boss.

Takeaway: Balance effort and impact. Go after some big wins, but don’t underestimate the power of stacking smaller, consistent victories. That’s how you build momentum and resilience.

⚔️ 3. Do the Grind: XP Only Comes from Doing the Work

In-Game

Ah, yes, the grind. That repetitive, sometimes mind-numbing stage where you’re clearing dungeons, slaying monsters, and hoarding gold. It’s not sexy. It’s not shareable. But it’s the backbone of any RPG.

No grind = no level-ups. Period.

In Life

The real-world equivalent? Waking up early to write before work. Repeating that pitch until it clicks. Reading the boring technical docs. Getting rejected. Repeating. Refining.

Everyone loves the idea of instant success. But here’s the truth: mastery is monotonous. It’s reps. It’s a habit. It’s turning “ugh, again?” into “yep, still here.”

Takeaway: You can’t skip the grind but you can make it efficient. Build systems. Automate the mundane. Track your XP. The work compounds, even when it doesn’t feel like it.

Final Thoughts: Equip the Mindset, Embrace the Grind

So the next time you hit a wall, whether it’s at work, in the gym, or during that frustrating third attempt at learning Python, pause and ask yourself: What would my RPG character do?

Explore a new area?

Take on a quirky side quest?

Maybe re-spec your build and start fresh?

Here’s the truth: life isn’t all that different from Diablo IV or any other MMORPG you’ve ever sunk hours into. It’s messy. It’s unpredictable. It rarely goes according to plan. But with the right mindset? It’s also deeply rewarding.

You don’t need cheat codes. You need curiosity. You need courage to face the boss battles, and the humility to grind when the XP is low and the rewards are slow. Growth isn’t something you chase, it’s something you play.

So treat it like gameplay:

🎮 Stay curious.

🧭 Take risks.

⚒️ Embrace the grind.

🎒 And for the love of Tyrael (IYKYK), check your inventory, you’re probably more equipped than you think.

Game on, hero. IRL. 💥

🫶🏻 Thanks for reading till the end.

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The AI Wars Just Got Personal: Google’s AI Agents Are Now Running Your Ads

Google just changed the rules of digital marketing at I/O 2025 with the launch of AI agents in Google Ads. Discover what this means for growth marketers, how to adapt, and why working with AI—not against it—is your next competitive edge.

So this just happened earlier this week… The AI Wars Just Got Personal and They’re Inside Our Ads Account

We are now living in the AI Wars, and Google just sent in the ‘Terminators’.

At I/O 2025, the tech giant didn’t just unveil new features. It unleashed a battalion of AI agents — smart, tireless, and fully integrated into Google Ads. For growth marketers, this isn’t science fiction.

Forget faceless robots waging war in distant dystopias. These are inside your ad platform, rewriting headlines, adjusting bids, and optimising performance before you’ve had your morning coffee. If ChatGPT were the polite intern, this? This is Skynet learning to run media buying.

And here’s the twist: it’s not here to kill your job but to challenge it.

The bigger AI picture is becoming clearer: OpenAI leads in user adoption, Microsoft in enterprise productivity, but Google is coming for the growth stack. With unmatched access to user intent (hello, Search) and now Gemini-powered agents baked into every corner of its ecosystem, Google is rewriting what it means to do marketing in the AI era.

This isn’t about automation anymore. It’s about augmentation, and the marketers who know how to ride the wave instead of running from it will be the ones standing when the smoke clears.

If you thought performance marketing was already moving fast, buckle up. The new era isn’t just faster — it’s smarter, always on, and increasingly… not human.

Google I/O 2025: What Just Hit Us?

Google didn’t just update its product roadmap. It reprogrammed the marketing playbook.

At I/O 2025, it launched a suite of AI innovations that feel less like feature upgrades and more like an existential retooling. The most headline-worthy? AI agents are now fully embedded inside Google Ads. They don’t just help marketers. They do what we used to do — only faster, cheaper, and without needing coffee or a quarterly bonus.

But before we jump to “machines-are-taking-over” paranoia, let’s decode the actual announcements and what they mean for us on the front lines of growth.

🧠 AI Mode in Search: From Keywords to Conversations

Google’s new AI Mode turns traditional search into a full-on dialogue engine. You no longer get a list of links. You get synthesised answers, action steps, and the option to “keep going” with contextual follow-ups.

For growth marketers, this is both a dream and a nightmare. A dream because the customer journey becomes frictionless. A nightmare because we now need to optimise for conversations, not just clicks. Your SEO strategy just got an AI-shaped curveball.

🌊 Project Mariner: Your Agent Will Google That For You

Project Mariner is Google’s multitasking AI assistant. It doesn’t just respond — it acts. Think of it as the intern who not only researches the best CRM tools but also signs you up for trials, syncs your calendar, and sends a Slack update to your boss.

Implication? Expect a rise in fully automated conversion flows — all handled by AI. From a growth perspective, this means our new funnel touchpoints may no longer be human at all.

🧬 Gemini 2.5 Pro & Deep Think: Strategy as a Service

The brains behind the operation are Gemini 2.5 Pro, now with Deep Think mode. This isn’t your average autocomplete. It simulates layered reasoning, evaluating options before delivering an answer, like an analyst who’s actually good at their job.

This upgrade unlocks new possibilities in campaign planning, budget modelling, and even creative strategy. You’re not just delegating execution to AI — you’re increasingly delegating thinking.

AI Agents in Google Ads: Meet Your New Teammate (or Replacement?)

Google’s bet is clear: AI isn’t just a tool — it’s the new teammate. And these AI agents? They’re here to handle the grind so you can focus on the strategy.

⚙️ Functionality

These agents chew through your campaign data, generate creatives on the fly, optimise bids in real time, and even draft your performance wrap-up reports. They’re not perfect, but they’re relentless.

📈 Smart Bidding, Upgraded

AI-powered Smart Bidding Exploration takes historical data, cross-references with live signals, and calibrates for ROAS like a hedge fund algorithm. It’s not just about cost-per-click anymore; it’s about predictive profitability.

🎨 Creative Superpowers

Pair this with tools like Veo and Imagen, and you’ve got a creative engine that drafts high-quality ad visuals and videos at scale. We’re entering a world where every growth marketer is also a creative director, without needing to learn Photoshop.

What This Means for Growth Marketers?

Now let’s talk reality.

This isn’t just another shift in platform mechanics. It’s a redefinition of what “marketer” even means. AI won’t replace your job, but it will replace parts of it.

So the question isn’t “Will AI take my job?” It’s: “Will I know how to work with AI, or will I be replaced by someone who does?”

⏱️ Efficiency Gains: The End of Busywork

You’ll spend less time toggling through dashboards and more time making actual decisions. That’s a win. Campaign builds, creative iterations, and performance reviews are all streamlined.

🧭 Strategic Shifts: From Operator to Orchestrator

You’re not setting the dials anymore. You’re telling the system what outcomes matter and letting it figure out the rest. The value now lies in judgment, creativity, and context, not in button-clicking expertise.

🧠 Skillset Evolution: The 2025 Growth Stack

To stay ahead, you’ll need:

  • Comfort with prompting and AI workflows
  • Fluency in interpreting AI-generated insights
  • The ability to spot strategic angles machines still miss

This is your call to upskill — not just with courses, but with curiosity. Learn to speak AI as fluently as you speak ROAS.

Read more about how AI is impacting Performance Marketing here.

⚠️ Challenges Ahead: Not All Smooth Scaling

  • Control & Oversight: What happens when the AI makes decisions that don’t align with your brand voice or creative instinct?
  • Transparency: Can you explain to your client (or your boss) why the AI paused half the ad groups at 2 AM?
  • Adaptation Fatigue: Yes, it’s exhausting. But the 1% daily improvement mindset? That’s your edge. Don’t chase perfection. Compound progress.

Read more about the 1% compounding effect of improving your life here.

Final Thoughts: Embracing the AI-Driven Future

In 2023, we learned to prompt. In 2024, we started experimenting. In 2025? We partner with AI, or risk being left behind by those who do.

Google’s latest announcements don’t kill the role of the growth marketer. They kill the old definition of what a growth marketer is. What rises in its place is someone more strategic, more curious, and more adaptable.

So, my fellow comrades, the war is on. But you’re not being replaced by a robot.

You’re being upgraded.

🫶🏻 Thanks for reading till the end.

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The Math Behind Going Viral: What Marketers Can Learn from Growth Loops, Network Effects, and Nerdy Equations

Discover the math behind going viral — from K-factors to growth loops, network effects, and Gladwell’s tipping point. Learn how to engineer shareable growth.

With the recent Meta-FTC trial dominating headlines, I found myself rewatching The Social Network — a film that, for all its dramatisation, still captures the raw energy of the early internet age. Somewhere between Jesse Eisenberg’s cold genius and that infamous “I’m CEO, bitch” line, something stirred. Maybe it was nostalgia. Or maybe it was the ghost of young Zuck whispering in my ear. Either way, my inner math nerd jolted awake, suddenly obsessed with one question: What’s the math behind going viral?

Because here’s the thing, in my line of work, this request is as common as coffee on a Monday: “Hey! I want to create this piece of content. Can you make sure it goes viral?”

As if virality is some checkbox you forgot to tick in the last campaign. (Spoiler: it’s not. But there is a formula. And yes, it involves math.)

In today’s landscape, growth marketers aren’t just creatives or copywriters. We’re system designers. We’re builders of loops, nudges, incentives, and networks, all engineered to nudge users into not just using a product, but spreading it. Because of the real growth? It happens when your audience becomes your distribution.

This post unpacks the real mechanics behind virality — from K-factors that measure how fast your user base grows, to network effects that make every new user more valuable than the last, to Malcolm Gladwell’s iconic “Tipping Point” and the underrated art of word-of-mouth.

Forget cat videos and dance trends for a second. Let’s talk about the equations (and human behaviours) that make ideas spread like wildfire. Because going viral isn’t magic. It’s math.

And it’s time we learn how to use it.

1. The Science of Spread: Understanding the Virality Coefficient

What is the Virality Coefficient (K-Factor)?

Let’s get to the math-y heart of virality: the K-factor. To put it simply, this number tells you how contagious your product or content is.

K = i × c

Where:

i = number of invites sent per user

c = conversion rate of those invites

So if each user sends 5 invites (i = 5), and 20% convert (c = 0.2), then:

K = 5 × 0.2 = 1

The Golden Rule:

  • If K > 1, your growth is exponential.
  • If K < 1, you’re leaking users faster than you can gain them.

Key takeaway:

If your K-factor isn’t above 1, your content isn’t viral — it’s just loud.

This isn’t just a SaaS metric or an investor buzzword. It’s a diagnostic for whether your product is self-propelling or reliant on paid crutches.

Where Network Effects Come In

The virality coefficient measures spread, but network effects determine value.

Here’s the upgrade in nerd math:

Metcalfe’s Law states that the value of a network is proportional to the square of the number of connected users.

Translation? If 10 people are using your product, it has 100 potential value points. With 100 people? That jumps to 10,000.

Why? Because each new user doesn’t just add value, they multiply it.

  • WhatsApp with just one user is useless.
  • With ten friends? It becomes essential.
  • With everyone? It becomes the default.

Network effects amplify virality. They don’t just help you grow, they make every new user more motivated to bring another.

2. Designing for Sharing: Growth Loops & Referral Engines

Growth Loops vs Funnels

Traditional marketers love funnels. But here’s the truth: Funnels are dead. Loops are alive.

❌ Funnels:

  • Linear. One-way.
  • Acquisition → Activation → Retention → Revenue → Referral

✅ Growth loops:

  • Circular. Self-sustaining.
  • Every user action feeds into acquiring the next.

Think of it like a flywheel: once you get the loop spinning, every bit of friction removed — and every ounce of value added — keeps the loop spinning faster.

Referral Incentives and Smart Nudges

Let’s talk behavioural economics meets viral design.

People don’t share just because you ask. They share because it:

  • Makes them look smart or generous
  • Gives them tangible value
  • Feels effortless

Great example:

Other success stories:

  • WhatsApp: seamless invite link in chats
  • Airbnb: $25 credit system that feels like gifting

Key takeaway:

The question isn’t “How do I make this go viral?”

It’s “How do I design this so the user wants to bring a friend?”

The Human Element: Word of Mouth and the Tipping Point

Gladwell’s Tipping Point and the Law of the Few

In his seminal book The Tipping Point, Malcolm Gladwell explained how ideas spread like epidemics but only when the right people are involved.

There are three types of viral agents:

  • Connectors — They know everyone. Social butterflies who can spread your idea across different groups.
  • Mavens — These are your product geeks. People who know all the details and love to educate others.
  • Salesmen — Persuasive personalities who can sell ice to an Eskimo.

Together, they form the perfect storm for virality. Without this mix? Even the best idea dies on arrival.

Why You Need the Right Influencers, Not the Biggest Ones

In the age of “#ad” fatigue and inflated follower counts, influence ≠ reach.

Real influence is about:

  • Trust
  • Relevance
  • Engagement

That’s why micro-influencers and community leaders often outperform celebrities. They speak directly to niche tribes, and those tribes listen.

Case study:

  • Glossier built an empire by sending products to 100 micro-influencers and superfans, not A-listers.

Word of Mouth is a Slow Burn That Becomes a Blaze

If you’re expecting overnight virality, you’re in the wrong game. Word of mouth is like compound interest — slow, steady, and eventually explosive.

  • One share leads to three…
  • Three to nine…
  • Nine to twenty-seven… until the curve bends, and momentum takes over.

But here’s the catch: This only works if your content is worth sharing. No nudge, network, or formula can fix boring.

Click here to read more about the effects of compounding in marketing and in life.

Key takeaway:

It’s not about mass media.

It’s about mass intimacy. One-to-one connections that scale, not one-to-many blasts that bounce.

Final Thoughts: Can You Engineer Virality?

Let’s get real: you can’t guarantee virality — not with the best creative team, not with the biggest ad budget, not even with a dance challenge that slaps.

But here’s the good news: You can architect for it.

Virality doesn’t happen by accident. It’s a function of intentional design, behaviour-driven nudges, and yes — a healthy dose of math. The most successful campaigns aren’t lucky; they’re engineered for shareability, built on systems that turn one user into many.

Key Takeaways for Every Marketer:

  • ✅ Know your K-factor — measure it, track it, and optimise it like your job depends on it (because it might).
  • 🔁 Build growth loops, not linear funnels. Great products don’t end at “conversion” — they feed themselves.
  • 🎁 Incentivise sharing — and more importantly, remove friction. Make the act of spreading feel like a reward.
  • 🎯 Find the right connectors — not just the loudest voices, but the ones who can truly move people.
  • 🧠 Create remarkable content — because if it’s not worth talking about, no formula in the world can save it.

At the intersection of psychology, design, and data lies the modern marketer’s greatest superpower: the ability to spark momentum that grows on its own.

Virality isn’t magic. It’s math, multiplied by human behaviour.

Master both — and maybe, just maybe, you’ll catch lightning in a bottle.

🫶🏻 Thanks for reading till the end.

➡️ Follow Mervyn Chua and reshare to help others.

📌 Save this post for future reference!⁣⁣⁣⁣

The Hidden Power of Compounding in Customer Lifetime Value & Life

What if small, consistent efforts were the secret to exponential growth — in business and life? Discover how the compounding effect powers customer retention, lifetime value, and personal success.

So this just happened to me last night… I stayed up till 3 am to catch Tony Robbins’ Thrive 2025. I was expecting the usual adrenaline rush. The kind of high-octane, fire-walking motivation Tony’s famous for. What did I get instead? A masterclass in compounding. And not just in finance, my friend, but in life.

It wasn’t about grinding harder or waking up at 4:45 am to chug protein and cold plunge into greatness. It was about patience. Yep, patience, my young padawan. The idea that the tiny, often invisible things we do every single day — like writing one blog post, tweaking that onboarding email, setting up a basic CRM flow, or meditating for five damn minutes. Those aren’t minor. They’re seeds. And over time, they grow. Quietly. Exponentially.

This isn’t just life advice. It’s marketing strategy 101. Because what’s true in self-improvement is equally true in business: Customer Lifetime Value (LTV) isn’t built in a day. It compounds. And at the heart of LTV is one underrated, under-budgeted, and often misunderstood superpower: retention. Just like your habits, retention works in the background, and when done right, it multiplies everything you’ve already worked for.

Welcome to the compounding era. Whether you’re chasing better customers or a better version of yourself. It starts with the small stuff. Let’s dig in.

1. Retention: The Underrated Growth Lever

Let’s start with some marketing math. Not the kind that gives you a headache, but the kind that makes your CFO smile.

Customer Lifetime Value (LTV) is the total revenue a business can expect from a single customer over the course of their relationship. The classic formula looks like this:

LTV = (Average Order Value × Purchase Frequency) × Customer Lifespan

Simple, right? But here’s where it gets juicy.

Most marketers obsess over Customer Acquisition Cost (CAC) — how much it costs to win a new customer. That’s fine. CAC is sexy. It’s a metric that gets budget approvals, earns high-fives in boardrooms, and keeps paid media teams employed. But if CAC is the sizzle, LTV is the steak. (You can obviously tell I’m getting hungry!)

Here’s the dirty little secret: Retention is the multiplier marketers overlook.

Acquiring new customers gets headlines. Retaining existing ones gets results.

Every improvement in retention does two things:

  1. It extends your value tail: meaning customers stick around longer and spend more.
  2. It reduces your payback period: meaning you recover your CAC faster, freeing up cash to reinvest.

The key insight?

Retention doesn’t just improve LTV, it compounds your return on CAC.

Every touchpoint that increases engagement, builds loyalty, or reduces churn is a small investment that quietly pays off… again and again.

Want to find out more on why LTV & Retention is the untapped growth engine for sustainable app growth? Click here to read!

2. Why 1% Improvements Can Lead to 100% Revenue Growth in 70 Days

Let’s play a quick thought experiment.

If you improved your product, UX, CRM, or user onboarding by just 1% every single day, how much better would you be in 70 days?

Not twice as good. Not three times.

Exactly 2x better. That’s the magic of compounding.

Mathematically, if you grow 1% daily, by Day 70, you’re at 2.01x your starting point. You’ve doubled your output. Not by going viral, but by going consistent.

This is what the best brands and people do. They improve incrementally. They iterate. They optimise. They test.

That blue curve? That’s not just data. That’s your edge.

Key Insight: Tiny improvements don’t feel revolutionary in the moment. But given time, they stack. That’s the power of compounding. It’s not sexy, it’s unstoppable.

3. How the Growth Mindset Mirrors Lifetime Value Strategy

Let’s step outside the marketing dashboard for a moment.

Compounding isn’t just a business strategy. It’s a life philosophy.

As the late Steve Jobs once said:

“You can’t connect the dots looking forward; you can only connect them looking backward.”

Think about that. The effort you put in today — learning a new skill, running that extra mile, reading one chapter before bed, it doesn’t feel like much. It might even feel pointless. But months or years later, you’ll realise those micro-efforts were your game-changers.

Just like in LTV, your life has a hidden balance sheet. And you’re either making deposits or letting it sit idle.

  • Write one page a day? That’s a book in a year.
  • Reach out to one new contact daily? That’s 365 new connections.
  • Show up at the gym three times a week? That’s 150+ workouts that future-you will thank you for.

Key Insight: Growth isn’t always visible in the now. But it’s always accumulating. You just need to keep making deposits.

Final Thoughts: The Compound Effect Is Your Competitive Advantage

In both business and life, the winners aren’t the ones who sprint the fastest. They’re the ones who just don’t stop walking. It’s not the viral campaigns or the once-in-a-blue-moon breakthroughs that build greatness. It’s the daily reps, the quiet consistency, the marginal gains that stack like bricks.

Whether you’re fine-tuning your CRM flow, optimising a push notification, or trying to squeeze out one more rep at the gym, the results won’t show up overnight, but they will show up. And when they do, they’ll look like momentum. Growth. Progress. Maybe even mastery.

So let’s stop worshipping at the altar of “overnight success” and start celebrating what really moves the needle: patience, persistence, and process. The stuff that compounds. The stuff that lasts.

Here’s your moment of truth:

What’s one small thing you’ll commit to today — in your work or your life — that your future self will thank you for?

Make that deposit. The compound effect is already ticking.

“If It Ain’t Fun, Don’t Do It”: How Joy, Not Hustle, Drives Sustainable Success in Work and Life

Discover why fun is the ultimate fuel for motivation, creativity, and career growth. If it ain’t fun, don’t do it—and here’s why that matters.

About five years back, I realised I needed to be more active. I was feeling sluggish, mentally foggy, and I was dragging my body through life instead of actually living in it. Like many of us caught in the hustle loop, I reached for the usual suspects — running, walking, even those 25-minute high-intensity home workouts with names like “T25” that promise to transform you if you survive the sweat. Spoiler: I didn’t.

None of it stuck. Not because I lacked discipline, but because none of it felt fun.

Then, one day, I stumbled into a boxing gym. Gloves on. Music thumping. The coach yelling motivational threats that somehow felt oddly empowering. And for the first time, something clicked.

Since then, I’ve been boxing consistently, up to four times a week, for over five years. And here’s the kicker, it’s never felt like a chore. It feels like play.

That one shift, from doing something I felt I should do to something I actually wanted to do. changed everything. Not just for my fitness, but for how I think about work, creativity, and life itself.

Because when joy becomes your compass, momentum follows. Whether it’s marketing campaigns, career pivots, or Monday morning meetings, the things that energise you are the things that move you.

Welcome to the philosophy of “If it ain’t fun, don’t do it.”

1. Fun Is a Force Multiplier

Think of the last time you tried to learn a new board game or picked up something like snowboarding. Remember that steep, awkward learning curve? The one where you’re fumbling with rules or falling on your backside every 30 seconds? And yet, you stuck with it. Why? Because somewhere between the chaos and the challenge, it was fun.

Before you knew it, hours had flown by. You weren’t just playing the game, you were in the zone. That’s the state we should all be chasing — in life, work, and everything in between.

When you’re looking for motivation, don’t just chase discipline, chase delight. We’ve all been sold the hustle gospel: grind harder, push through, suffer now, succeed later. But here’s the truth, the most sustainable motivation doesn’t come from guilt, fear, or FOMO. It comes from fun.

When something is fun:

  • You return to it not because you have to, but because you want to.
  • You get better at it because effort feels effortless when you’re enjoying the ride.
  • You invest more time, energy, attention, and do so willingly.

Even hard work becomes something you look forward to, because it’s anchored in joy. The task may be tough, but the experience is energising. And that’s the ultimate productivity hack no one talks about.

2. In Growth Marketing, Fun = Curiosity

Growth marketing is often described as scientific. Data-driven. Methodical. All true but also a bit… dry. Let’s be honest: if your workday feels like assembling IKEA furniture with one missing screw and instructions in Swedish, something’s gone wrong.

Instead, imagine it’s like playing Zelda. You explore. You test things. You get knocked down by a Bokoblin (or a busted campaign), then you respawn smarter. You collect insights. You find hidden mechanics. You play the game.

The best growth marketers treat challenges like puzzles, not problems. Every funnel drop-off is a clue. Every failed A/B test is just another iteration closer to gold. They gamify experimentation. They play with data like kids with LEGOs.

It’s not about chasing perfection, it’s about chasing the thrill of insight.

So if you’re bored, burnt out, or just slogging through the motions, maybe the problem isn’t what you’re doing, maybe it’s how you’re looking at it. What if the campaign was a level? The audience segments were boss fights? The budget? Your power-up bar.

Growth happens when curiosity leads the way. And curiosity, my friend, is fun in disguise.

3. If It’s Not Fun, It Won’t Be Great

Let’s bring in the big guns. Steve Jobs once said in his 2005 Stanford Commencement address:

“The only way to do great work is to love what you do. If you haven’t found it yet, keep looking. Don’t settle.”

This isn’t just philosophy, it’s performance strategy.

Because here’s the thing: fun isn’t frivolous. It’s a compass. It tells you when you’re in the right arena.

People who love what they do don’t just clock in and out. They show up fully.

They solve better problems because they’re emotionally invested.

They inspire others because enthusiasm is contagious.

Whether you’re launching a new brand, leading a team, or just trying to make sense of your career path, fun is the fastest way to find your edge. Because joy fuels effort. Effort fuels mastery. And mastery? That’s where greatness begins.

Final Thoughts: Fun Is Fuel, Go Find It

“If it ain’t fun, don’t do it.” — Jack Canfield

It’s a deceptively simple quote, but one that packs a punch (much like a clean jab in the boxing ring). And maybe, just maybe, it’s the clarity we need in a world that often glorifies burnout, busyness, and doing things just because we “should.”

Here’s the truth: life is short, and work is long. If we’re lucky, we’ll spend decades building, creating, striving. That’s a long time to be stuck in something that drains you. Real meaning is found somewhere between joy and challenge.

But don’t get me wrong: fun doesn’t mean easy. It means energising. It means doing the hard thing because it matters. Because it lights you up. Because it’s worth showing up for, even on the days you’re tired.

So ask yourself and ask it honestly:

“If today were the last day of my life, would I want to do what I am about to do today?”

If the answer is “No” for too many days in a row, then maybe it’s time to change something. A shift in direction. A spark of curiosity. A return to joy.

Work can be hard. Life can be messy. But fun is fuel. Go find it. Then build a life (and a career) that runs on it.

Growth Marketing ROI: Think Like a Portfolio Fund Manager

What if you managed your marketing channels like a financial portfolio? Discover how to drive smarter ROI by applying investment principles—diversify, monitor, and optimize like a fund manager.

So… with the recent market turmoil caused by a policy-tweeting President, I began to obsess over my personal investment portfolio. Mapping out my risk tolerance, allocating between equities, bonds, and even a cheeky play on thematic ETFs. Then it hit me, this is exactly how I’ve approached growth marketing for years.

Campaigns are like stocks. Channels are your asset classes. And ROI? That’s your return on capital. Whether it’s a bullish Meta campaign or a stable Google Search ad group, every move in marketing has its risk profile, expected return, and opportunity cost, just like managing a fund. It’s all the same game, just different dashboards.

And here’s where my finance training rears its analytical head: whether you’re investing $10K into ETFs or $1M into paid media, the fundamentals still hold. Know your objective. Balance risk and reward. Monitor religiously. Growth marketing isn’t about throwing money at shiny new platforms, it’s capital allocation with a creative twist.

So what happens when you start managing your campaigns like a portfolio manager? Let’s dive in. Your marketing mix may never look the same again.

1. Define Your Investment Mandate (a.k.a. Growth Objective)

Before a fund manager touches a single stock, they define their investment mandate. Income, growth, capital preservation — the goal shapes the portfolio.

Marketing isn’t any different. Are you acquiring new users? Building brand awareness? Maximising ROAS? Each objective requires a different mix of tactics, channels, and creative risk-taking.

And while I’d argue that every marketing dollar should ultimately ladder back to ROAS (let’s not pretend we’re a charity), the level of aggressiveness varies. Some brands want immediate cash flow; others play the long game with upper-funnel storytelling.

Your objective is your compass. It dictates how much you allocate to Google Search versus YouTube, branded versus performance, retention versus acquisition.

“Without a mandate, you’re just guessing with money.”

2. Diversify Campaign Bets (Like Building an Asset Allocation Strategy)

Enter Modern Portfolio Theory (MPT), the finance nerd’s holy grail. MPT says investors are naturally risk-averse and should diversify across assets to optimise returns while minimising volatility. The same logic applies to growth marketing.

Every channel has its own risk-return profile. Facebook might have a 10% ROAS upside, but it swings wildly depending on algorithm changes. Google Search? A reliable blue-chip with steadier returns. Influencer campaigns? The crypto of marketing: moonshot or dumpster fire.

Let’s break it down:

If you have four equally weighted channels with expected ROAS of 5%, 8%, 12%, and 18%, your portfolio’s expected ROAS is:

(5% x 25%) + (8% x 25%) + (12% x 25%) + (18% x 25%) = 10.8%

Not bad, but here’s the kicker: thanks to channel correlation (or lack thereof), your total portfolio risk could be lower than the sum of individual risks. That’s the magic of diversification. Facebook and TikTok may perform differently during the holiday season; one could tank, the other could thrive.

So design your stack accordingly:

  • Core Holdings: Your proven, high-conviction channels: Google Search, Meta, CRM.
  • Growth Picks: TikTok, UGC, influencer seeding, affiliate plays.

Base channel weightings on historical performance, CAC consistency, and campaign volatility. Measure each channel’s ‘variance’ using historical data, and track cross-channel correlations to understand how one campaign’s success (or failure) might affect others.

“Diversification is not just defense — it’s intelligent offense.”

3. Monitor Performance Like Stock Positions — and Cut the Losers, Double Down on the Winners

Fund managers have Bloomberg terminals. You have dashboards, or at least you should.

Every marketer should have a real-time view of channel spend, ROAS, CAC, CPM, and variance. Not just per channel, but in aggregate. Are you up overall? Or just being buoyed by one runaway success hiding a handful of underperformers?

But data’s only useful if you act on it. Set hypotheses for each campaign, like you would set target prices for stocks.

  • If Meta Ads doesn’t hit CPA targets in two weeks? Trim the position.
  • If YouTube starts outperforming by 20% with lower CPA? Scale it.

Here’s the tough love part: detach emotionally. The fact that “Instagram always worked before” doesn’t mean it’s a forever hold. In both markets and marketing, rational detachment is your moat.

“Be a performance pragmatist. Love the result, not the channel.”

4. Rebalance Regularly

The market changes. So should your marketing mix.

Just as fund managers rebalance portfolios quarterly, smart marketers reassess their stack frequently. What’s working? What’s stale? Are you overexposed to a declining channel? Is there a new ad format or beta worth testing?

Your media mix should reflect today’s consumer behaviour and not last quarter’s case study. Stay close to martech developments, algorithm shifts, and platform evolutions. What’s volatile today might be a stable performer next month (and vice versa).

Rebalancing isn’t just housekeeping. It’s strategic foresight.

“Past performance is not indicative of future results — in finance and in marketing.”

Final Thoughts: From Markets to Marketing – ROI Is All About Discipline

At the end of the day, growth marketing and investing share one simple truth: results come from discipline, not gut feel.

Thinking like a portfolio fund manager forces you to zoom out. It pushes you to look past the shiny new platform or viral ad and ask: Is this worth the risk? Does this align with my objective? How does this play with the rest of my mix?

It’s a mindset shift — from reactive tinkering to strategic capital allocation. It removes emotion, enforces structure, and most importantly, keeps your decisions grounded in risk-adjusted returns.

“The best marketers don’t just launch campaigns. They manage capital. Thoughtfully. Strategically. Relentlessly.”

So the next time you’re about to drop $100K on a campaign, pause. Take a breath. Ask yourself — would your portfolio manager do the same?

And now I want to hear from you.

👉 What’s your current “blue-chip” channel? The one you’d bet the farm on?

👉 And what’s your “high-risk, high-reward” play? The TikTok of your portfolio?

Drop them in the comments or DM me. Let’s compare portfolios. Who knows, your next winning bet might just come from someone else’s allocation.

🫶🏻 Thanks for reading till the end.

➡️ Follow Mervyn Chua and reshare to help others.

📌 Save this post for future reference!⁣⁣⁣⁣

Growth Lessons from a Bottle: Why Great Campaigns (Like Wine) Need Time

What if your underperforming campaign just needs time to breathe? Discover how wine and performance marketing share surprising growth lessons — from learning phases to long-term ROI.

So, this happened to me over the weekend. We opened a bottle of red that we had high hopes for. Big name. Good vintage. Great reviews. But right out of the bottle? Flat. Harsh. Tannic in all the wrong ways. Honestly, a letdown.

But an hour later? After it had time to breathe, open up, and evolve… it was stunning. Balanced. Complex. Worth the wait. The kind of wine that makes you pause mid-sentence and just feel the glass.

And it hit me: this is exactly how many of our marketing campaigns behave. We launch with big expectations, pour it all out at once, and when the early results don’t sing, we panic. We start tweaking headlines, slashing budgets, and questioning the whole strategy.

But what if the problem isn’t the campaign… but our impatience?

In growth marketing, just like in wine, time, patience, and the right environment can turn something disappointing into something extraordinary. Campaigns, like Cabernets, go through phases. Raw at first, misunderstood midway, and (if nurtured well) magic in the end.

Let’s decant this idea a little. Because your next high-performing campaign might not need a new funnel or fresh creative, it might just need to breathe.

1. Let It Breathe: Campaigns Have a Learning Phase

You don’t chug a bold Cabernet Sauvignon right after popping the cork. At least, not if you want to enjoy it.

Just like wine needs oxygen to open up, your digital campaigns need time to exit their learning phase. And this isn’t just a poetic analogy — Meta and Google literally call it that.

When you launch a new campaign, the algorithm is like a blindfolded sommelier. It’s sniffing around, trying to figure out: Who’s clicking? Who’s converting? What creative actually works?

The platform needs space to gather data, test hypotheses, and refine delivery. Kill it too early, and you’re judging the wine by the first whiff of the cork.

Lesson: “You can’t judge a campaign (or a Cabernet Sauvignon) by the first sip. Give it oxygen. Let it gather data.”

Rushing to optimise too soon is like swirling a Merlot once and declaring it lifeless. Patience isn’t a virtue here, it’s a strategy.

2. Some Wines (and Campaigns) Just Take Time

Some things, like Barolos, Bordeaux blends, and customer acquisition on a new channel, need time to shine.

Sure, your TikTok ad might blow up in a day. But that LinkedIn lead gen campaign for your B2B SaaS product? That’s not a sprint, that’s a marathon in slow motion.

Different campaigns operate on different time horizons. Why? Because of:

  • Different user intent: Not every click is conversion-ready.
  • Different buying cycles: A $5 impulse buy behaves very differently from a $15K software subscription.
  • Different value: High LTV users are worth waiting for.

Yet too often, marketers give up after three days and declare the campaign a flop. (Imagine dumping out a 2010 Margaux because it didn’t sing at first sip. Blasphemy.)

Lesson: “Just because it doesn’t convert in 3 days doesn’t mean it’s not working. Judge your work by its lifetime contribution, not its launch day.”

The trick is knowing which wines (and which campaigns) are worth the wait.

3. Time + Environment = Enhanced Performance

Wine doesn’t age well just because of time, it needs the right environment: temperature, humidity, and a wine fridge (or a dark calm cellar).

Campaigns are no different. If you don’t have the right setup of audience signals, attribution, and conversion events, you could be ageing vinegar, not value.

Let’s talk about the numbers — the nerdy stuff that saves budgets and reputations. To decide if a campaign is truly working, you need statistical significance. That means:

  • You’re not reacting to noise.
  • You’ve hit the sample size to validate your KPI.
  • You’re making calls with confidence, not vibes.

The ideal sample size is driven by:

  • Confidence level (typically 95%)
  • Margin of error
  • Baseline conversion rate

So, before you switch off a campaign based on 7 conversions and a hunch? Don’t. Let the data cook. Aim for at least 100 conversions per variant for directional reads, and one clear KPI to rule them all. Everything else? Supporting actors.

Lesson (Use this mini-framework):

  1. Reach statistical significance
  2. Validate the trend over time
  3. Test incremental lifts

Because a great campaign isn’t built in a day, and neither is a Pinot Grand Cru.

Final Thoughts: Sip Slowly, Scale Wisely

That wine wasn’t bad. It was just misunderstood.

Same with some of our campaigns.

In our rush to optimise, scale, and show ROI by yesterday, we sometimes forget that growth (like fermentation) takes time. It’s not about sitting still; it’s about letting the right things evolve under the right conditions.

Good campaigns, like good wines, reward patience.

The great ones? They get better with time, attention, and just the right environment.

So the next time your dashboard screams “underperforming,” take a pause. Ask yourself:

  • Has it had time to breathe?
  • Is it being judged too soon?
  • Are we measuring the right things, or just reacting to noise?

Because maybe, just maybe, that underwhelming campaign is your next best-seller in disguise.

🍷 Call to Action

What campaigns have you written off too early? What if you just needed to let them breathe?

Let’s start decanting, not discarding.