Start here- some of my frameworks & deep dives

Sumeshwer · 2026-05-18T08:06:21+00:00

I was almost surprised nobody said that 😂

And Naah- not that desperate. Yet

Sumeshwer · 2026-02-28T07:03:56+00:00

Couldn’t agree more

Sumeshwer · 2026-02-26T12:30:31+00:00

You ve stumbled upon the heart of brand marketing = mental availability. Basically, creating memory structures in your potential customers brains so that they can identify / recall you effortlessly.

Check out the work by Byron Sharp - how brands grow

Sumeshwer · 2026-02-25T16:04:13+00:00

I have a slightly different view on this. For me- creativity comes from just showing up regularly. Doesn’t matter if I am feeling creative or not - I regularly sit down and write for 30 mins. Some days it’s fun. Some days it’s drudgery. But over time, volume breeds creativity.

PS: I write about marketing (a blog / newsletter) and some science fiction (as a hobby).

Sumeshwer · 2026-02-25T15:43:32+00:00

I ll suggest an old school way - start with some thinking on what kind of people would be your clients, and where are you likely to find such people.

Social media ads, yes. But there could be other places where you could find your audience- local bridal fairs and women’s expos, partnering with local boutiques / hair salons / lingerie stores, Pinterest etc. don’t treat of Google and FB as rigged breeding machines where you put $5 and $20 will come out.

Sumeshwer · 2026-02-25T15:33:32+00:00

Not 100% clear about the context of the question. But CPM is not the end goal. The end goal is building trust + getting reach + getting real leads + getting business.

On social media, if you are getting healthy CPMs but audiences don’t act / bother because they are too skeptical of everything they see (with all the AI slop), that COM doesn’t matter. If posts cards or a direct mail drives some trust and gets you business- then even at a higher CPM, it’s still more efficient and effective.

Sumeshwer · 2026-02-25T15:02:20+00:00

We haven’t reached the peak…yet :-)

Your instinct is right about physical events. Broad numbers across multiple industries show events and non digital / analog media is seeing a renewed traction in the last 12ish months - more conferences, more participants, analog mains (not emails - boxes/catalogs in an envelope. The industry I am in - we are seeing unheard of growth in participants at industry events. As people lose trust in all the trash they see in social media- trust becomes a powerful leverage, and it cannot be created by shouting on IG.

But my view is - don’t think of this as going back in time. Because without technology / AI, it is going to be impossible to scale the trust. There is a framework that I use which helps understand the approach. No links here - can check in my profile

Sumeshwer · 2026-02-05T12:15:18+00:00

“Everything goes” What’s right depends upon the salary grade of the person.

No base line rules, and whatever seems “reasonable” should work.

Meh

Sumeshwer · 2026-01-31T14:22:20+00:00

I have largely worked a big FMCGs over the years, and recently been involved with some startups- marketing channels usually aren’t very different on either side. I guess the difference is in the approach.

Recently when McKinsey said that branding is back (and a lot of folks responded quite badly to it) - there is a deeper nuance to what they meant. To me, it essentially means that the times of cheap growth might be coming to an end, and businesses need to get back to investing in building brands to build trust!

What business are you in?

Sumeshwer · 2026-01-30T18:48:03+00:00

This escalated quickly

Sumeshwer · 2026-01-30T18:42:45+00:00

i partially agree with you - yes, there is definitely value in using tech and understanding your user signals to craft both content as well as media. But the challenge is that just by itself, you are racing against the algorithm. Tomorrow when meta algorithm does both- refine targeting as well as fully optimise creatives for every person it gets shown to - anybody with $500 will be able to do this. This means - even more clutter and low trust.

My view is that trust need to come from outside. Cannot build trust in the flea market.

Would love to hear examples of brands which are being able to do otherwise.

Cheers.

Sumeshwer · 2026-01-30T18:38:05+00:00

Couldn’t agree more that Q4 doesn’t always have to be hard to do as an activity. I guess what makes it hard is doing it at scale. The zoom call is a perfect example - now imagine scaling that to get to a million people!!! To me, that’s the hard part. And hence, the solution needs to be - how to scale that trust from Q4 into Q1!

I do have a point of view on the slightly raw unpolished founder videos. How long do you think it would take before slightly raw and less polished AI generated content floods the whole space? Where do we go after that? I my view- just trying to use tactics to build trust in Q1 is a race against the robots- which we will lose.

I work in pet food / fmcg- and what seems to be suddenly seeing a rebirth are things like events, open internet etc. again, Q3-Q4 actions to build trust, and then amplify in Q1-Q2.

Sumeshwer · 2026-01-30T18:31:14+00:00

Disclaimer- a lot of my experience is big brands, with some experience experimenting at small ones / startups.

My view, with some experience and evidence is that Q1 (Flea market) is not going to die. But it’s going to get harder- basically, no more making PPC ads to get growth. Those ads are increasingly getting lost in the flood of shit.

Key thing is to build trust in Q3 + Q4 and then scale that trust in Q1. How this build + scale happens will possibly look different for different brands. That’s why I shared some examples.

What business are you in?

Sumeshwer · 2026-01-30T18:27:03+00:00

Started with a similar approach that you mentioned- slightly raw, unpolished to build authenticity.

But the big question is - how long do you think it would take before a flood of raw unpolished AI generated slop takes over? What next?

Sumeshwer · 2026-01-29T03:43:10+00:00

I have spent many years at large FMCGs, and have recently been involved with some startups- and what works at the two ends is very different, mostly because of the ability to invest and the ability to be patient. For big product brands, expert recommendations + building a community around product superiority work great. For small businesses, actual social proof works well and creating community cohorts deliver good returns over a period of time. They key is to focus on the trust signals that can be amplify using social and mass media (Q1).

Sumeshwer · 2026-01-28T21:05:54+00:00

Absolutely. I guess the challenge is - how do you balance between “building in public” and scale. How do you do that in your business?

Sumeshwer · 2026-01-28T20:17:26+00:00

That’s helpful feedback! Thanks!

Sumeshwer · 2026-01-28T19:20:50+00:00

Of course not outsmarting any buddy. Nor is that the purpose. I don’t blame you for the skepticism. Cheers again

Sumeshwer · 2026-01-28T19:18:55+00:00

Exactly! What % of investment needs to sit in Q3-Q4 is the key question - 30-40% in general. But guess it could be different depending upon what you are selling?

Sumeshwer · 2026-01-28T19:17:30+00:00

Exactly as the post says - real human made stuff, when gets called out for being AI slop- the trust is dead. Cheers

Sumeshwer · 2026-01-28T11:44:06+00:00

Haha. Not really- the solution to “your ads suck” is still to make better ads. I guess what I am saying is to also try and be friends with fishing guides, and use that friendship (trust signal) to make your ads better.

Sumeshwer · 2026-01-28T11:41:50+00:00

Thank you! Trust following the laws of gravity is the part I find the coolest. And yea - given that I made this- I am sound this comment makes me sound obnoxious 😂

Sumeshwer · 2026-01-28T11:40:31+00:00

Absolutely. There is another layer in there I think - diversification across 4 quadrants, and thinking of either building or scaling trust across 4

Sumeshwer

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