Strategy
What We’re Testing in March 2026: Tools, Tactics, And What’s Actually Moving
January was about controlled experiments. February was about signal detection. March is about commitment. By now, the novelty of the year has worn off. Budgets are allocated. Campaigns are live. Leadership wants traction, not theories. This is the moment when test ideas either mature into strategy or get quietly retired. March is where marketing stops [...]
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Management Fees for Agencies Explained: What They Are, Why They Exist, and How Both Sides Benefit
Marketing budgets rarely fail because of the creative. They fail because the business relationship is unclear, underfunded, or structured in a way that forces the agency to make tradeoffs their clients never see. That is where management fees come in. They shape how an agency allocates time, talent, and accountability. They influence how a client [...]
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Brita’s Subversive TikTok Strategy: Personified Voice and Viral Engagement
Brita has recently rebranded its social media presence, especially on TikTok, into a surreal, subversive performance that’s racking up millions of views. Gone are traditional, polished product ads. In their place? Singing sharks, glum robots, and a kitten-inspired hydration anthem called “Bwita.” These chaotic characters anchor Brita’s absurdist, meme-friendly content strategy. They croon, lament thirst, [...]
Read More![Grow Smart: The ROI-Driven Marketing Playbook [Part 1]](https://hawkemedia.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/v2-Karlon-Group-Social-Post-819x1024.jpg)
Grow Smart: The ROI-Driven Marketing Playbook [Part 1]
Article #1 Introduction: The Fundamentals of Performance Marketing ROI This is the first article in a five-part series about performance marketing ROI, authored by Karlon Group. The series is meant for professionals in the digital consumer space that want to better understand how to measure ad spend ROI. If you’re a CEO, CFO, or CMO [...]
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Black Friday Without the Bleed: The Deep Discount Dilemma
Every November, the digital marketplace feels like a battlefield. Retailers drop prices by 40, 50, sometimes even 70 percent, hoping to drown out competitors and capture fleeting customer attention. But behind the curtain, a different story plays out: profits shrink, returns surge, and customer loyalty erodes. One founder described it bluntly after last year’s Black [...]
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Marketing in the Age of Scandal: How Astronomer Turned Infamy into Influence with a Paltrow-Powered Pivot
If marketing is, at its heart, the art of narrative control, then Astronomer’s cheeky, Gwyneth Paltrow-led ad campaign may go down as one of the decade’s most agile case studies in brand redemption—and perhaps even reinvention. Just a week prior, Astronomer was a relatively anonymous data infrastructure company, known mainly to a subset of developers [...]
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Digital Marketing 101: Basic Digital Strategies All Brands Should Know
Your business is set up. Your product is ready to sell. Now you need to get people to buy the product you worked so hard to bring to market - and that requires a comprehensive digital marketing strategy. Developing a marketing strategy is no joke. It requires deep analysis and an understanding of best practices [...]
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Spring Marketing Trends to Watch in 2025: A Deep Dive into Seasonal Opportunities
Spring is a season of renewal, and for marketers, it presents a prime opportunity to refresh strategies and capitalize on emerging trends. As consumer behaviors shift with the changing season, businesses must adapt to stay ahead. In 2025, a combination of AI-driven personalization, sustainability-focused campaigns, and experiential marketing will redefine the marketing landscape. Let’s explore [...]
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Experimenting with AI-Driven A/B Testing
The Evolution of A/B Testing in Marketing For decades, A/B testing has been the backbone of marketing optimization. Whether it was direct mail campaigns in the 20th century or modern-day digital advertising, marketers have used A/B testing to understand audience preferences and refine messaging. But the process has traditionally been labor-intensive: hypothesis formation, test setup, [...]
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Omnichannel Strategies for Seamless Growth: Best Practices for Cohesive Customer Experiences
In the modern marketing landscape, omnichannel strategies aren’t just a buzzword; they are the backbone of customer-centric growth. Imagine walking into a store where every associate knows your preferences, remembers past purchases, and provides a consistent experience whether you’re browsing online, in an app, or in-store. That’s the promise of omnichannel marketing—a seamless experience that [...]
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