The Thrive Performance Marketing Blog

Learn about all things performance marketing and paid digital with the Thrive blog.
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
May 22, 2024
Does in-platform reporting show business results?

In-platform reporting doesn't show business results — or at least, that was our hypothesis going into episode two of our video series, The Hypothesis. In this episode, we get into why the data from in-platform analytics is easy to manipulate, how too many data points can hurt your reporting (or data puke as Eric so eloquently calls it), and where to use in-platform reporting. Watch the full video below or listen to the episode here to get this conversation in its entirety.

2 minute read
Santana Blanchette
May 8, 2024
How should we use the marketing funnel in 2024?

It’s time to retire the marketing funnel. Or at least, that was our hypothesis going into episode one of our new video series, The Hypothesis. Over the course of the episode, we talked about how marketers use the funnel today, where they go wrong, how they can use it to their benefit, how we think of it for ads, and where we see this concept 5 years from now. 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
April 3, 2024
Measuring incrementality with geo experiments

TL;DR: Geo experiments can show us the real sales impact of ad campaigns but should be designed and interpreted carefully. These experiments assess how advertising influences sales without compromising privacy, dividing regions into test and control groups. It's crucial to consider regional variables, historical data shifts, and test duration when designing experiments — validating results through multiple tests is essential. This form of measurement can help us with over-reliance on cookie-based attribution.

7 minute read
Eric Sloan
March 25, 2024
How to use influencer marketing in your next campaign

Influencer marketing strategies to consider for your next campaign TL;DR Influencer marketing is an important component in your social media strategy amidst declining organic reach. Key tactics include prioritizing authenticity, emphasizing engagement over follower count, leveraging User-Generated Content (UGC) creators, focusing on storytelling, aligning values and content style, and selecting influencers adept at platform-specific content creation.

4 minute read
Mikka Azores
March 20, 2024
All about hypothesis testing: an expert Q&A

We juggle a lot as growth marketers. Different tools, platforms, campaign types, strategies, creative options, and business objectives — just to name a few. But for all the testing we do to stay ahead of the curve, how do we test for the effectiveness of what we choose to focus on? Enter hypothesis testing.

6 minute read
Santana Blanchette