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Santana Blanchette

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September 16, 2025
What e-commerce marketing leaders should do in their first 90 days

TL;DR New e-commerce marketing leaders face intense pressure to deliver results quickly, but the most successful ones resist the urge to make immediate changes. Instead, they spend their first 90 days listening, learning, and building relationships. The key priorities: understand your market and customers deeply, learn the business economics from finance, evaluate existing teams and partnerships fairly, and establish clear communication systems. Only after this discovery phase should you start making strategic changes.

5 minute read
Santana Blanchette
March 5, 2025
Ad targeting: is it really that precise?

Ad targeting is one of the biggest selling points of digital marketing, but how accurate is it really? In this episode, we challenge the assumption that ad targeting is as precise as marketers believe. We discuss the pitfalls of audience segmentation, the over-reliance on machine learning, and the growing importance of creative in a world where targeting is becoming less effective.

3 minute read
Santana Blanchette
February 5, 2025
Answering your biggest performance marketing questions

Performance marketing is constantly evolving, and we know you have questions. In this special Q&A episode, we took your questions about performance marketing, from AI’s impact to reporting best practices and answered them in this wide-spanning conversation.

3 minute read
Santana Blanchette
January 15, 2025
Marketing for early stage start-ups

Founders series: lessons in resilience and marketing for early-stage startups What happens when a seasoned marketer and investor reflects on lessons learned from building businesses and working in venture capital? In this special founder’s series episode of The Hypothesis with Thrive’s founder, Jonathan Becker, Kirby Winfield of Ascend shares candid insights into his entrepreneurial journey, the challenges of early-stage startups, and the importance of balancing grit with experimentation. We also dive into the nuances of effective marketing and how infrastructure plays a pivotal role in shaping the future of technology.

2 minute read
Santana Blanchette
December 11, 2024
Is your landing page hurting ad performance?

Marketers talk a lot about ads, but what about landing pages, where you get the real action you’re looking for from a consumer? In this episode, we dive into the nuances of landing pages—what they are, what they should do, and how to avoid common pitfalls. We also discuss whether content should be gated, the balance of personalization, and why every marketer should prioritize clarity above all else.

2 minute read
Santana Blanchette
November 27, 2024
Attribution is overrated

Attribution: why it matters and where marketers go wrong Attribution is overrated — or at least, that was our hypothesis going into episode 14 of The Hypothesis. In this episode, we dive into the complexities of attribution in marketing. What does it really mean? How can marketers assign value to their activities amidst flawed data and imperfect systems? Join us as we break down the concepts, discuss common pitfalls, and explore better approaches to measuring marketing effectiveness.

2 minute read
Santana Blanchette
November 13, 2024
If Meta ads don’t work for you, it’s your fault

In this episode, we dive into the common mistakes marketers make when running Meta ads and how to correct them. From creative testing to campaign objective misalignment, we discuss the nuances of effective ad strategy on Meta’s platform. Tune in to learn about the best practices for ad measurement, the strategic use of various ad formats, and optimizing for both e-commerce and B2B audiences. More of a skimmer? Keep reading for our top takeaways.

3 minute read
Santana Blanchette
October 30, 2024
Search is dying

Search is dying — or at least, that was our hypothesis going into episode 12 of our video series, The Hypothesis. In this episode, we discuss the evolving landscape of search and address the misconception that search is dying. Learn about search advertising strategies, the importance of local search optimization, search data for insights, keyword structures, comparing SKAGs vs keyword themes, and the role of automation in search campaigns. 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
October 16, 2024
Your Black Friday/Cyber Monday sales could be better

In this episode, we dive into what marketers may get wrong when running digital ads for major sales events like Black Friday and Cyber Monday (BF/CM). From poor planning to neglecting post-event strategies, we cover the most common pitfalls and how to avoid them. Watch now to hear our thoughts on planning, executing, and measuring success during these critical retail moments. More of a skimmer? Keep reading for our top takeaways.

3 minute read
Santana Blanchette