Hi again. Lately I’ve been gratefully working with a B2B software client that originally asked Ideas for Animals for help with writing, design and creative. As they’re a rather geeky software company and I usually work on consumer stuff, I was learning a lot as it was. But when the CEO got swamped with new business and brought in a fractional CMO to run things, suddenly my partner and I found ourselves effectively working in a software company marketing department. It was awesome. And still is. Because instead of fighting it, I was like “oh, this is gonna be fascinating.” And it really has been.

But I gotta tell ya, at first I didn’t get it. It seemed as though it was all happening based on some kind of routine everyone except me knew about. Luckily, I know a genius entrepreneur who was kind enough to listen as I tried to describe this “strange new process.” To which she said (for more elegantly than this) “Uh, dumbass, your client is playing straight from the Performance Marketing playbook.”

As a longtime advertising writer & creative director, of course I’ve heard of Performance Marketing for years. But I’ve always just been the one coming up with big ideas, writing/directing them, and working with brands that want that. It’s like I’ve spent my whole career off in some ivory ideation tower. But now I find myself in a whole new chapter of growing and learning. I am definitely late to the party, but this new client is giving me what seems like a graduate-level marketing degree. Only one that’s paying me to learn.

So what have I learned? Performance Marketing is healthily removed from attachment. Curious to try things. Watch and learn. It’s zen like that.

I’ve learned I’m not a hater. I see how it can be a super balance to brand creative. This “masterclass” has helped me broaden my ability to help clients, taught me how to better speak modern marketing language and understand what to recommend, where and when. I’m finally getting the tension that many of my peers have been feeling for years. My colleague Drew Pautler at Good Fortune Collective says some of his clients believe “if it can’t be measured, it’s not worth doing.” Drew’s not a hater either, but he often tries to coach clients on the importance of keeping brand marketing in the mix at a higher percentage than the “measurable stuff.” Here’s a quote he shared from a super smart, somewhat famous strategist (if you know who said this, email me and I might send you something vegan):

“Not everything that can be measured works. Not everything that can’t be measured doesn’t.”

Ok this is too long. A definite performance marketing “NO NO.” So in closing, here’s a quote from me. Longer than the one above, not as good, not really a quote and kinda dumb to put in red font. But still, it has quotes around it, so it’s a quote. And if you read it, you’re learning big stuff:

“If you’re the only oat milk brand on vegan island, your brand can be a freaking automoton and still do fine with performance marketing. But what happens when some other oat milk docks their yacht and sets up shop? Say that new oat milk does that kind of marketing too, but also focuses on being a relevant brand that walks its own walk, solves problems for people, offers recipes, makes people laugh, gives back, holds to an ideal or simply has a packaging design that looks a lot better in the fridge? I’ll tell you what happens. That first oat milk is fucked.

Brick & Mortar Work Tip 75: If you work in an open co-working space and use a mechanical keyboard that “clickity clack click clacks” at a remarkable volume and you fail to at least acknowledge how distracting it might be for your co-workers, you will probably come back in the next life as a porta-potty.

I love helping clients. I love learning about new things in my career. I love coming up with ideas, big and small, name, write, direct and help with strategy. I am a whore for great design. And now I’m versed in Performance Marketing. Here’s a “CTA” that proves I’m learning this:

I also love to mentor creatives in a way that isn’t necessarily directly about climbing the ladder to “more and more.” But can still get you there. And here’s another performance marketing CTA for that: