Is Performance Marketing Dead?
Vol. 176: Also, are you even on Rakuten Rewards?!
HelloZ
Hi friendZ! Hope you had a lovely Thanksgiving weekend and are getting right back into the swing of things with the kickoff to December. Between personal happenings and work happenings, the month is a long (but also short) one, filled with the joy of the holiday spirit and … who am I kidding?! It’s a stressful month! Give yourself grace and take care of yourselves. After all, you only have until 4:30pm of natural light.
Today, I have Zlata Thoughts on the standings of performance marketing, so my paid subscribers and I will be super deep diving into that down below.
LFG, people!
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Let’s Talk Rakuten Rewards
Do you already know about Rakuten and how you can be getting a sh*t ton of money back for any purchases you make? It’s literally affiliate marketing for the consumer’s benefit and I’m going to teach you how it works and how you can make it work for you. Literally.
Brands get on Rakuten Rewards and offer - let’s say - 10% commission.
Rakuten splits that commission with those of us who use the app/plugin, giving 5% cash back. So for a $100 purchase, Rakuten would get $10 commission and we would get $5 in our Rakuten bank, i.e. $5 off our purchase. Each month we receive a check for the amount in our bank.
There are several ways to use Rakuten:
If you’re shopping online from your phone, go to the the Rakuten App, and find the store or items you want to shop for. Since the Rakuten App takes you to the store, the conversion trigger is activated and your purchase will have the cash back.
If you’re shopping online from your computer, add the Rakuten extension to your browser so it automatically pops up to let you know that [this store] is offering % cash back. By clicking on the pop up, the conversion trigger is activated and your purchase with have the cash back.
If you’re shopping in store, the Rakuten app offers ways to activate the cash back.
4 . Fun Rakuten Strategy: Let’s say you need to buy your child a pair of Nike sneakers. You go to Rakuten.com or the app and search “Nike sneakers.” This way, you’ll see what stores are offering the most cash back. Do if Dick’s is giving you 12% cash back and the Nike store is giving 3% cash back, do you care where you’re buying the sneakers from? No! You care about the highest cash back.
Here for any questions on this! I encourage you to sign up with this link (I do get a referral fee because it’s an affiliate link, so thank you!) and once you sign up, you also share your own link with family and friends because HELLO YOU’RE AN INFLUENCER, BABE!
NewZ and ShowZ
The Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade on NBC attracted more than 30 million viewers, its largest audience ever. But what about the Dog Show, though?
Paramount+ with SHOWTIME’s “Dexter: Original Sin,” will premiere December 13 on streaming and on demand for Paramount+ subscribers with the Paramount+ with SHOWTIME plan, before making its on-air US debut on December 15 at 10p. The 10-episode prequel series follows Dexter (Patrick Gibson) as he transitions from student to avenging serial killer.
Australia passed a law banning social media for children under 16. Systemic failures to keep children off their platforms could cost TikTok, Snapchat, X and the like up to $33 million. “Platforms now have a social responsibility to ensure the safety of our kids is a priority for them,” said Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese. Prime Minister Anthony Albanese for President of the United States of America. I fully support this!!!!
“Saturday Night Live” alum and four-time host Chris Rock will host the show on December 14 with musical guest Gracie Abrams. Another “SNL” vet, Martin Short, takes to the stage the following week, with Hozier as musical guest.
Jason Clarke will play convicted killer Alex Murdaugh opposite Patricia Arquette in Hulu’s Untitled Murdaugh Murders limited series.
Is Performance Marketing Dead? (Hint: NO!)
I’ve seen a few articles out there lately referencing a shift in perspective when it comes to modern strategies for branding and marketing, and it’s hard not to notice the common thread. Digiday recently called out how rising ad costs and tighter privacy regulations are driving performance marketers to embrace brand building. Martech took a similar angle in an article earlier this year that mentioned how brands like Airbnb have made a “decisive pivot to focus on brand identity.” The storyline goes like this: Performance marketers, once laser-focused on squeezing every drop of ROI out of digital campaigns, are suddenly grappling with new challenges in the marketplace, and they’re turning to long-term strategies for brand building.
Here’s the kicker, though: Nothing about this is new. What’s being framed as a “shift” is really an exercise in rediscovery. It’s also a perfect opportunity to break down how PR fits neatly into the equation and why I believe this pivot isn’t necessarily the saving grace marketers think it is.
— Keep reading to learn why performance marketers are pivoting, some PR 101, why PR is CRUCIAL to a brand’s success, and what PR can do that performance marketing can’t. In fact: study these and add them to your new biz decks, people!