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Circus dreams and serious struggles: Lessons on leadership from a literal ringmaster

Uncategorized
December 7, 2025/by
Circus dreams and serious struggles: Lessons on leadership from a literal ringmaster Lights dim. Sounds hush. The aerialist spins into the air. Sequins sparkle in the warm light of a followspot, and my weird little brain wonders: “What does marketing look like for a travelling circus where every other week brings a totally new market?” When I went searching for the answer, I found, instead, one of the most genuinely profound and heartfelt conversations I’ve had in a long time. And the reinforcement of my belief that, sometimes, the most important lessons for marketers… don’t come from marketers at all. Kevin Venardos Owner/Founder/Ringmaster of Venardos Circus Fun fact: I’m sorry, what could be a more fun fact than that he owns his own circus?! Claim to fame: Kevin grew his circus from a rented tent at a state fair to two touring shows delighting 45 locations across the U.S. and over 200,000 attendees!   Lesson 1: Use your dream to help others achieve theirs. “All I owned was a significant amount of debt,” Venardos says, recounting the birth of his circus. “It started with a desire to keep working. To not have to rely on someone else thinking I was useful to keep around.” But life had a lesson in store that would change his very motivation. “I found this little in Snohomish, WA. And I said, ‘Hey, let me put my little circus by your event, and...
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How The Doux uses AI to engage community

Uncategorized
December 5, 2025/by
How The Doux uses AI to engage community “I think we're moving into a space where most beauty companies are tech companies,” says Maya Smith. It’s a striking claim from a brand that launched in 2012, long before AI was everywhere. But The Doux has always been ahead of the curve. Since day one, the haircare brand has been anchored in culture: hip-hop references, retro- and Afrofuturism, Black hair-salon nostalgia, all in service of marketing hair products to Black women. For all AI can do, Smith, who’s The Doux's co-founder, CEO, and creative director, is well aware that system biases are still rampant; the tech is accelerating faster than access and representation. “What I understood is that in order for that to change, you really have to start to train AI,” Smith tells me. “I wanted to be a part of .” Here’s how she’s doing exactly that. Partnering with Black Girls Code Collaborating with Black Girls Code (BGC), The Doux launched the Black Beauty AI Challenge back in June, calling on budding creators to submit their original AI-generated videos. Other than the requirement to use only free tools like Canva, Capcut, or Pika — “because a lot of the obstacles are to do with access” — participants were given intentionally broad parameters to showcase how they define Black beauty, for a chance to earn cash prizes and additional visibility opportunities. Winners will be announced later this month. “I understand that there‘s some apprehension, because a lot of...
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Intent-based marketing: How to target ready buyers

Marketing Strategy
December 5, 2025/by
Intent-based marketing: How to target ready buyers In business, to waste time is to waste money so you need a strategy that is efficient and the best use of your resources. With that in mind, intent-based marketing is an optimal strategy for marketers who want to ensure they are reaching audiences who have a genuine interest in what their business has to offer. But what is intent-based marketing and how is it different from traditional or account-based marketing. Let's dive in. Table of Contents What is intent-based marketing, and how is it different from ABM? Why Intent-based Marketing Matters Now How to Start Intent-based Marketing Intent Signals to Gather and Track How to Activate Intent-based Targeting Across Channels AI in Intent-driven Marketing How to Measure and Optimize Intent-driven Marketing 3 Intent-based Marketing Playbooks You Can Copy Frequently Asked Questions About Intent-based Marketing What is intent-based marketing, and how is it different from ABM? Intent-based marketing (IBM) is a strategy that focuses on delivering targeted messages to consumers based on their online behavior and preferences. Intent-based marketing differs from account-based marketing (ABM) in that ABM targets specific high-value accounts while IBM targets accounts that are actively searching for solutions. For intent-based marketing, you'll want a Smart CRM like HubSpot that utilizes AI automation to identify prospects who are actively showing interest and exhibiting buying signals, allowing you to prioritize and engage at the perfect time. Furthermore, you‘ll...
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3 bitter truths all marketers need to hear right now

Uncategorized
December 3, 2025/by
3 bitter truths all marketers need to hear right now When I saw a LinkedIn post from today’s master declaring, “Marketing’s job is not to drive revenue,” I did a little shimmy and thought, “She gets it!” We struck up a conversation, and I discovered an entire pharmacopeia of tough pills to swallow. “I love talking smack about marketing!” she grinned. I asked for three of the bitterest truths that marketers need to hear. And, folks… it’s time to take your medicine. Moni Oloyede Founder, Educator at MO MarTech Fun fact: Moni hails from the same town as Edward Norton, Aaron McGruder, Christian Siriano, and Druski. (Do you know it without googling?)   Lesson 1: Marketing’s job is not to drive revenue. Every CMO in the audience just reflexively jerked towards the “unsubscribe” button. Stick with us here. “The problem with being focused on revenue is that your marketing feels like you’re just throwing spaghetti at the wall,” says Oloyede. “You just chase leads all day. ‘They didn’t click my email, let me move on to the next topic, and see if that works. And you jump and jump and jump.’” She points out that the instant gratification within digital marketing has raised a generation of marketers who have never been given the fundamentals. Which works until it doesn’t. “I was raised in the digital marketing space. I didn’t know a time before that. And when I went to grad school, I realized:...
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Use the Ick to Create Better Marketing

Uncategorized
December 2, 2025/by
Use the Ick to Create Better Marketing Our expert this week has a few hot takes.  Here's one: "Any marketer that says they've never felt the ick from marketing isn't a true marketer. You do feel the ick." While that doesn't sound like the best lesson to open a marketing newsletter, stay with me. I swear this isn't a I'm-quitting-my-job-to-work-on-a-goat-farm hail mary.  It actually has more to do with foundational marketing than you think.  Meet the Master Cristina Jerome Creative Strategist and Founder, Off Worque Claim to fame: Leading social for Topical's infamous Faded Eye mask campaign. Fun fact: She was the voiceover for the Topical's brand campaign video. Lesson one: Feel the ick. And use it to create better marketing.  Cristina Jerome has had a whole host of jobs most marketers would kill for.  She's worked on content and social strategy for Jada Pinkett Smith's show Red Table Talk, plus Issa Rae's Rap Sh!t on HBOMax. She directed social content at Topicals, Sephora's fastest growing Black-owned skincare brand.  She's also dabbled in marketing for Adidas and Lobos 1707, a luxury tequila brand.  And, most recently, she launched her own non-profit social club, Off Worque, which emphasizes mental health and work-life balance. Phew. I'm exhausted just typing that up.  So my first question to Jerome was an easy one: How did building her own brand shift her approach to marketing? "It didn't change logically," she told me. "It changed spiritually. When you're working for...
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Forget B2B or B2C: It’s time for B2H

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November 26, 2025/by
Forget B2B or B2C: It’s time for B2H This pains me greatly to say, but: That typo in your last campaign may have made your audience more engaged. That’s because in a world where you don’t always know what’s real and what’s AI — and trust in general is in rapid decline — a little tyop indicates that a real human wrote it (see what I did there?). “We’ve been taught to think about B2B or B2C,” says today’s marketing master, “but I’m actually interested in B2H — there’s a human on the other side.” Meet the Master Bryetta Calloway Founder and CEO, Stories Seen Claim to fame: Calloway isn’t anti-AI by any means — her company has just produced the MVP of IDA, an AI tool that helps people tell their stories within systems that may have been built without them in mind. “AI is a really great tool to scale your strategy,” she says. “Not replace it.” Lesson 1: Emotion + Logic = Engagement. “I always say to start with emotional resonance,” Calloway tells me. “Literally, if you’re building a four-sentence story, start with emotion.” To find that point of connection, ask yourself: “What did you feel? What did you see? What did you hear?” And don’t underestimate humor — “if you can get your audience to laugh, you have already bypassed the part of the brain that‘s like, ‘I don’t trust this.’” Now you want to support that emotion with something...
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Loop marketing examples from companies we love

Loop Marketing
November 26, 2025/by
Loop marketing examples from companies we love Loop marketing represents a fundamental shift from traditional linear funnels to a continuous growth engine, where every customer interaction creates expansion opportunities. Companies practicing loop marketing — whether through growth marketing strategies, behavioral marketing triggers, or integrated offline marketing touchpoints — transform one-time buyers into active participants who fuel sustainable business growth. Loop Marketing is HubSpot’s four-stage framework for compounding growth through connected customer experiences that generate momentum at each stage. Unlike closed-loop marketing, which tracks attribution, proper Loop Marketing creates self-reinforcing cycles where satisfied customers naturally drive online word-of-mouth marketing, product adoption spreads organically, and each completed loop strengthens the next. For companies ready to implement these strategies, HubSpot’s Loop Marketing Playbook provides the tactical framework to identify, build, and optimize growth loops that transform customer success into sustainable business expansion. Moreover, this article will break down real-world Loop examples and demonstrate how to replicate their success using HubSpot’s Smart CRM. Table of Contents: Loop marketing examples from companies we love What is Loop Marketing? Loop Marketing Examples From Companies We Love Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) About Loop Marketing What is Loop Marketing? Loop Marketing is HubSpot’s four-stage, AI-enabled framework that creates compounding growth through continuous customer engagement cycles rather than one-way funnel progression. Unlike traditional marketing funnels, where customers exit after purchase, loop marketing transforms every interaction into fuel for the next cycle, building momentum that accelerates with each completion. The...
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“You need to be an event business”

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November 14, 2025/by
"You need to be an event business" “It's not enough to be a hospitality business anymore,” small-business owner Shelley Pippin says. “You need to be an event business.” Here’s why Brewnuts has been so successful at using events to carve out a niche for themselves, and what small- and medium-sized business marketers can learn from “Ohio’s first and only doughnut bar,” regardless of your industry. Meet the Master Shelley Pippin Founder and co-owner, Brewnuts When you think of bar food, you probably think of things like burgers and sandwiches. But Cleveland-based Brewnuts has a different vision: As Brewnuts’ “Ohio's first and only doughnut bar,” as co-owner and founder Shelley Pippin puts it, the business pairs a carefully curated selection of beer and coffee drinks with a rotating selection of homemade doughnuts. For Brewnuts, their menu is just the (sweet) start, however. “It's not enough to be a hospitality business anymore,” Pippin says. “You need to be an event business.” In addition to a menu of brews and dones, Brewnuts books weekends celebrating holidays (Halloween), pop culture (Twilight) and fandom lore (an annual December toast to Taylor Swift’s birthday called “Taylor Fest”). These special events often come with unique coffee drinks or theme-specific doughnuts; for example, a “Boston Scream!” for spooky season. Photo credit: Emily Drapp “I love creating things, and I see my job as being responsible for surprising and delighting people,” Pippin says. “That's why I love the hospitality industry. It’s a place where you...
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Generative AI tools every marketing team should use

ai-hidden, Artificial Intelligence
November 10, 2025/by
Generative AI tools every marketing team should use When I first started at HubSpot, I needed a new headshot fast. So, I turned to generative AI tools — and no one had any idea, at least not initially. Love ‘em or hate ‘em, generative AI tools are impressive. From text and data analysis to uncanny photos and celebrity videos, AI’s ability to imitate human voices and forms has improved dramatically in the past year. While they raise a lot of ethical questions, they can also help increase productivity and amplify marketing results when used strategically. Manufacturer Cold Jet, for instance, cut lead response time by 66% using HubSpot’s Smart CRM and Breeze. But what generative AI tools should your team use? In this article, we’ll discuss: Table of Contents What are generative AI tools for marketing? How to Evaluate Generative AI Tools for Your Team Where Generative AI Tools Deliver the Most Value in Marketing How to Select the Right Gen AI Tools The Best Generative AI Tools How to Integrate AI Tools with Your CRM and Automation Stack Frequently Asked Questions About Generative AI Tools for Marketing TL;DR Generative AI tools for marketing are software solutions that create content (i.e. videos, images, text, graphs), campaigns, and insights using artificial intelligence. Marketers use these tools to speed up content creation, personalize messaging, and improve campaign results across email, ads, social, SEO, and analytics. To choose the right tools, look for...
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