And just like that, we’re back. But this time, a little less often.
Somewhere between the chaos of 2025 and the realisation that I don’t have time to write a short novel every fortnight, I’ve made the executive decision – Marketing Thoughts is now monthly. Because the marketing industry moves fast, but my caffeine intake has limits.
This month, I’m thinking about why brands are making everything huge, how LinkedIn just made commenting a core strategy, and why Dove’s latest move has me feeling slightly betrayed. Also, a little Green Thumb Threads update, because building in public is proving to be both exciting and mildly unhinged.
Let’s get into it.
Make it Supersize
There’s a reason why brands are suddenly making everything big. Not just figuratively, but physically. Giant handbags, massive lipstick sculptures, oversized product displays – it’s everywhere. And it works.Heck, I’ve even got a giant 2m long pencil behind me in my office as I type this #bigisbetter.
The first time I saw Jacquemus’ giant Bambino bag parked in the middle of Paris, it was just as cool as seeing an EPICCCC pop-up store done just right. It wasn’t just an ad; it was a moment. And that’s the shift we’re seeing. Advertising that doesn’t feel like advertising at all, but instead a cultural event. A landmark. Something you need to take a photo of, not just walk past.
What’s wild is how quickly this approach is catching on. Brands are throwing traditional media placements out the window in favour of these huuuuge, immersive spectacles. And it makes sense. A billboard is a flat, passive experience. But a supersized product, placed unexpectedly on a path? In the middle of the city? On the beach (or at least, the CGI makes it appear that way)? That invites participation. It forces interaction. And in an era where attention is the hardest currency to earn, these kinds of activations aren’t just creative – they’re pretty much essential.
The interesting part is WHY this is happening. There’s an argument to be made that it’s a direct response to digital fatigue. People are tired of scrolling. They want real-world experiences again, but they want them to be extra. The sheer size of these activations taps into that desire for something tangible, something unforgettable. It’s a visual interrupt in a world where everything is competing for your focus.
But like everything trendy in marketing – does this have a shelf life? Are we just in an era of visual maximalism until people get exhausted and swing back to minimalism again? Or is this the new normal? If the goal of marketing is to stop people in their tracks, what happens when everyone is trying to go bigger than the last?
“Commenting for Reach”
LinkedIn’s new comment impressions feature might not seem like a big deal at first, but I actually think it signals a major shift. For years, community management has been the unsung hero of social strategy. The thing that happens behind the scenes. The part of marketing that doesn’t get celebrated the way big campaigns do. But suddenly, the algorithm is catching up to what social media managers have known for years – the comments section is where the real magic happens.
Brands have always leveraged commenting to get visibility, but now that there’s a metric for it, I guarantee we’ll start seeing a lot more intentionality behind it. The Duolingo “RIP Duo” stunt was a perfect case study. Brands weren’t just jumping in for fun; they knew that by commenting, they’d get prime real estate on a viral moment. It was an easy win. Free reach. A way to insert themselves into a trending conversation without spending a cent.
And we’re already seeing this on a personal level. LinkedIn’s algorithm lurrrrrves engagement. A comment from the right person can push a post back into the feed for days, sometimes weeks. So if commenting is this powerful for individuals, why wouldn’t brands approach it the same way?
What’s pretty crazy is that just a few years ago, I’d see proactive commenting strategies maybe once in every five social media plans. It was always seen as a “nice-to-have,” mostly because it required time and effort that teams didn’t always have. But now? It feels like a non-negotiable. If your brand isn’t actively engaging in the right spaces, you’re missing out on free impressions. And in a world where organic reach is getting harder to come by, that’s not something you can afford to ignore.
Marketing can be a (very) long game
A recent post of mine went viral (lol humble brag), and the reason why still fascinates me. It wasn’t a groundbreaking insight. It wasn’t even particularly strategic. It was just a reminder of something every marketer knows but forgets: people are always watching, even when they don’t engage.
I think we’ve conditioned ourselves to believe that if something doesn’t get immediate likes, shares, or conversions, it wasn’t/isn’t successful. But that’s just not how marketing works. There are brands I’ve followed for years before ever buying from them. There are newsletters I read every week but never reply to. That doesn’t mean I’m not paying attention. It just means I’m not ready to act – yet.
Marketing isn’t about making someone buy right now. It’s about making sure that when they are ready to buy, they think of you first (and that is not my wisdom, I have no idea where I read that – but I can’t take credit for those words!). And that’s a hard thing to measure. But if you’ve ever had someone say, “I’ve been following you for a while, and now I’m finally reaching out,” you know exactly what I mean.
The reality is, some industries have crazy long decision cycles. Cars, real estate, software – these aren’t impulse buys. You’re not going to win someone over with a single ad. But if you’ve been showing up consistently, if you’ve been building trust over time, when the moment comes, you’ll already be top of mind.
Dove: The Ryan Reynolds Edition
Dove’s new campaign has me feeling real confused about how I should feel.
For years, they’ve been the gold standard in purpose-driven marketing. Think Real Beauty, self-esteem initiatives, and that signature brand voice that always felt like it was speaking to you, not at you. Dove built an empire on sincerity – on making people feel seen, valued, and part of a bigger movement. Their campaigns weren’t just ads; they were statements. They tapped into something deeper, something that felt like it mattered.
And now? Suddenly, they’re doing humour thanks to a partnership with Ryan Reynold’s agency.
I don’t hate the ad. It’s cool. But I can’t shake the feeling that it cheapens what Dove has spent years building. It feels like they took the easy way out – because humour often is easier (i know, i know – not always!). Ryan Reynolds’ agency has a formula, and of course it works. We’ve seen it over and over again: witty, self-aware, slightly absurdist comedy that makes people laugh and share. But does it work for Dove? Or does it just feel like another brand jumping on the “make everything funny” bandwagon because funny = viral?
Maybe this is just where marketing is headed. Maybe audiences are over emotional storytelling. Maybe Dove saw engagement declining on their heartfelt campaigns and thought, let’s switch it up before people stop caring entirely. And maybe that’s the right move. But I can’t help but feel like this is a brand stepping away from what made them Dove in the first place.
There’s also a bigger question here – what happens when every brand decides that humour is the only way to cut through? Right now, it feels like we’re in an era where emotional sincerity is taking a backseat, and comedy is the default. But if everyone is making jokes, where does that leave the brands who built their identities on something deeper?
I really don’t know the answer to that question, but I just feel a bit sad that a brand whose marketing I admired so much, kinda took the easy way out instead? In saying that, I’ve never once bought Dove in my life – so maybe, it was the right move? Oh god, why is this taking up so much space in my brain?!
Why does this keep happening #FACEPALM
Every time a brand screws up publicly, I find myself asking the same question: How did this make it out the door? And that was fresh in my mind this week with Marty Sheargold’s horrible words on live radio (seriously, what was he thinking?????).
And obviously it’s one thing when a PR disaster happens in a live setting, like radio or TV, where there’s no buffer. But when it’s a premeditated social media post? When there were multiple layers of approvals? When someone had to write it, someone had to design it, and someone had to schedule it? That’s what baffles me.
What I think we forget is that brand perception is fragile. One bad take, one misread of the cultural climate, and years of goodwill can vanish overnight. And yet, it keeps happening. A brand will post something so wildly out of touch that you know they didn’t run it by a single person with a diverse perspective.
But I do think the instinct when this happens is always to ask, “How did no one catch this?” But I wonder if the real question is, Why did they think this would land in the first place? Because bad takes don’t happen in isolation. They’re a reflection of the internal culture of the brand. The meetings they have. The voices they prioritise. The conversations they aren’t having.
It’s easy to point fingers at social media managers when something goes wrong, but in reality, the problem usually starts much earlier. A brand that screws up publicly probably has an internal culture that’s just as disconnected. And that’s the real lesson. If you want to avoid disaster, you don’t just need better approvals. You need better perspectives in the room from the start.
Green Thumb Threads Update: The Power of Small Details
Green Thumb Threads (ICYMI – my e-comm marketing tester playground!) is officially moving into the paid ads phase. Organic growth has been fun (and mildly chaotic), but now it’s time to see what happens when we start putting money behind it.
In the launch phase, there was one thing I didn’t really expect: the things people are obsessed with aren’t the big, flashy elements. It’s the tiny details. The small, thoughtful touches that make the brand feel like more than just a store. It’s the decision to swap “Cart” for “Wheelbarrow” on the checkout page. It’s the placeholder text in the email signup form that makes people chuckle before they even hit submit. It’s the fact that every single order confirmation email is written like an actual human sent it – not a robot.
I always knew branding mattered, but this has made me realise just how much of it comes down to experience. The product itself can be great, but if people enjoy the process of shopping with you, they’ll remember it. And they’ll come back. And more importantly – they’ll tell people about it.
This has been my biggest takeaway from building Green Thumb Threads in public: e-commerce isn’t just about selling things. It’s about inviting people into a world. The brands that nail this are the ones that feel like something you want to be part of, not just buy from. It’s these learnings that have inspired things like these cards, which are included with every order:
It’s also made me rethink how I approach marketing in general. We talk so much about performance metrics – CAC, LTV, conversion rates – but at the end of the day, people aren’t just numbers. They’re looking for connection, personality, something that makes them feel like they’re part of an experience rather than a transaction. And the brands that get this right? They don’t just sell – they build loyalty (and hopefully, I’m on the right track too!).
Aaaaaand that’s it – somehow, we’re already in March (and I hate myself for saying that). Time is moving at an alarming pace, brands are getting bigger (literally), and my to-do list is growing at the same rate.
Let’s see what chaos the next month brings.
