ChatGPT Ads Are Here. How Challenger Brands Win Anyway
ChatGPT just started testing paid placements at $60 CPMs with no clear ROI framework or brand safety controls — but that's not the interesting part.
The 5 Insight Decks you Absolutely Need to guide your strategy for scaling CPG brands
Most CPG brands skip consumer insights because they think it requires a Fortune 500 budget—but you can get 70-80% of the way there with five foundational decks built scrappily. Here's how to stop making six-figure bets without knowing who you're actually selling to.
The Onomatopoeia Effect
Most CPG brands overlook their most defensible assets: the sensory moments their formulation, packaging, or ingredients already create.
Pringles owns the "pop," Snapple the "snap"—but these weren't invented, they were noticed.
Challenger brands have distinctive experiences built into their products that could become ownable brand assets, yet most aren't naming or building around them.
ChatGPT Is Recommending Your Competitors (Not You)
Go to ChatGPT right now. Type in the problem your product solves. (Example: "What's the best high-protein pasta for meal prep?" or "Best pasta alternatives for someone trying to build muscle?")
Are you in the top 3 brands it recommends? If not, find out how challenger brands can win in AEO.
CPG founders: AI is Your New Category Maker
And most brands aren’t ready for it.
I follow the same advice I give founders: Repurpose your content. Watch your analytics like a hawk. This morning I checked my website analytics and saw something new: a referral hit from ChatGPT.
No, ChatGPT didn’t magically “discover” my site. Someone asked it a question, it used my content in its answer, and the user clicked the source link pointing back to me.
That’s where marketing is headed: AI Search Optimization (AEO).
No Nielsen data? No problem.
“What should a brand do if they don’t have access to big data when pitching a buyer?”
Buyers are measured on a handful of metrics you can actually influence. Here’s what really matters to retail buyers (beyond sales & velocities).
If I Were a Brand Founder… Part 2
You can win Black Friday and still lose the quarter.
The difference? Systems that turn sales into sustained momentum.
Here’s how the best brands do it 👇
(Part 2: Conversion Strategies — the follow-up to Tuesday's Strategic Foundations.)
If I Were a Brand Founder…Part 1
Here’s How I’d Be Prepping for Black Friday, starting with strategic foundations for both DTC and retail businesses.