The Thrive Performance Marketing Blog

Learn about all things performance marketing and paid digital with the Thrive blog.
October 2, 2024
What’s wrong with the marketing funnel?

When we talk about the marketing funnel and different strategies we employ for the top, middle, and bottom of funnel, what do we actually mean? Are we speaking the same language? Often, we are not. Awareness, intent, interest, consideration, research, engagement, desire, decision, action, retention, demand generation, capture, reengage, loyalty: a plethora of terms used to dissect the customer journey and describe our day-to-day marketing strategies.

5 minute read
Madeline Silver
September 11, 2024
Performance creative should be journey-based

Performance creative should speak to where the buyer is at in their journey— or that was our hypothesis going into episode 10 of our video series, The Hypothesis. In this episode, we discuss why creative messaging should go beyond buy now, how to create an emotional bond with your consumers, where you need to place these ads, and tailoring for each channel. Watch the full video below or listen to the episode here to hear the full conversation. More of a skimmer? Keep reading for our top takeaways.

3 minute read
Santana Blanchette
August 28, 2024
We can do better at marketing budget cuts

Marketing teams make budget cuts worse than they already are— or at least, that was our hypothesis going into episode nine of our video series, The Hypothesis. In this episode, we talk about why marketing teams should always be looking for places to cut budget, how bottom of funnel is not the solution for every problem, methodologies behind effective spend reductions, and why you should be working with other departments. Watch the full video below or listen to the episode here to get this conversation in its entirety. More of a skimmer? Keep reading for our top takeaways.

3 minute read
Santana Blanchette
August 14, 2024
You’re wasting your marketing budget

Marketing teams are wasting part of their marketing budget— or at least, that was our hypothesis going into episode eight of our video series, The Hypothesis. In this episode, we define waste vs learning, why trusting automation too heavily leads to more waste, how the wrong KPI’s and targets incentivize waste, and more. Watch the full video below or listen to the episode here to get this conversation in its entirety. More of a skimmer? Keep reading for our top takeaways.

3 minute read
Santana Blanchette
July 30, 2024
Ugly ads are better than polished ones

Ugly creative is more effective than highly produced creative— or at least, that was our hypothesis going into episode seven of our video series, The Hypothesis. In this episode, you’ll learn how we define ugly creative, what pattern interrupt is, how to harness more unconventional creative in your ad program, and why ugly creative is so useful. Watch the full video below or listen to the episode here to get this conversation in its entirety. More of a skimmer? Keep reading for our top takeaways.

3 minute read
Santana Blanchette
July 17, 2024
Automated campaigns take advantage of marketers

Automation isn’t the holy grail we’ve been promised — or at least, that was our hypothesis going into episode six of our video series, The Hypothesis. In this episode, we tell you what exactly advertising automation is, where we think it goes wrong, how it takes advantage of busy marketers, how we use it, where we test to ensure its effectiveness, and more. Watch the full video below or listen to the episode here to get this conversation in its entirety. More of a skimmer? Keep reading for our top takeaways.

2 minute read
Santana Blanchette
July 3, 2024
When to expand advertising beyond Google and Meta

Marketing teams should think about expanding beyond Google and Meta— or at least, that was our hypothesis going into episode five of our video series, The Hypothesis. In this episode, we discuss why so much ad spend goes into these two channels, how to better optimize them to get the most out of your investment, what “di-worsification” is, why and when to start considering new channels, and where to expand. Watch the full video below or listen to the episode here to get this conversation in its entirety. More of a skimmer? Keep reading for our top takeaways.

2 minute read
Santana Blanchette
June 19, 2024
Marketers should be taking more big swings

Marketers are playing it too safe with their advertising dollars and losing money and opportunity because of it. They should be taking more big swings — or at least, that was our hypothesis going into episode four of our video series, The Hypothesis. In this episode, we talk about what big swings are, what marketers lose when they play it too safe, how to take calculated big swings, finding the right opportunities and budget, getting team buy-in, and more. Watch the full video below or listen to the episode here to get this conversation in its entirety. More of a skimmer? Keep reading for our top takeaways.

2 minute read
Santana Blanchette
June 5, 2024
Incrementality is the only important marketing metric

Incrementality is the only metric that matters — or at least, that was our hypothesis going into episode two of our video series, The Hypothesis. In this episode, we delve into the challenges and considerations of using incrementality as your primary method of understanding marketing effectiveness. Our chat includes seasonality, how long these tests take, and the level of sophistication required for different advertising programs. Learn about the importance of regular testing, questioning assumptions in marketing measurement, and how to start your own incrementality tests. Watch the full video below or listen to the episode here to get this conversation in its entirety. More of a skimmer? Keep reading for our top takeaways.

2 minute read
Santana Blanchette