LinkedIn thought leader ad examples

I can say confidently that 9/10 of content marketers on LinkedIn are measuring the WRONG things. The organic metrics LinkedIn surfaces (impressions, likes, etc.) are the ones that reward the broadest content, so upper funnel posts will always produce the highest impressions and the fastest follower growth. Those numbers will tell you the strategy is working... while producing no pipeline. (womp womp) Mid and low funnel content on the other hand (eg. playbooks, frameworks) will underperform relative to total impressions and likes because it is reaching a smaller and more qualified subset of your audience. But they will outperform when it comes to driving ICP Followers, ICP Engagement, Website Clicks... the stuff people actually want. If your goal is credibility and broad market visibility, then sure, impressions are a reasonable proxy. But if your goal is pipeline or target account pressure, the only measure that matters is ICP-qualified metrics like ICP Followers, ICP Engagement, etc.

I'm calling my shot... the next big thing on LinkedIn is CPG brands doing trade marketing. In the last three months alone, I have talked to a 10+ consumer brands who are coming onto the platform to do UPPER FUNNEL TRADE MARKETING... something that has never existed before. They are using LinkedIn content and thought leader ads to influence a very small but powerful list of category managers and buyers. FOR EXAMPLE: Say you run a beverage brand trying to get into 500 more retail locations. You have one 60 minute meeting per year to convince the buyer you deserve shelf space. That's MILLIONS of dollars, riding one a person's opinion in a 60 minute meeting. Now imagine that category manager has spent the previous six months seeing your LinkedIn content about consumer data, category shifts, and how your products are capitalizing on those shifts. That is now a VERY different meeting. The buyer goes in knowing your company, your products, how you are capturing customer attention, etc. --- B2B companies figured this out a long time ago. Upper funnel awareness allows your to accumulate familiarity before you enter a sales conversation. Consumer brands can now use LinkedIn to do the same thing with category managers, distributors, brokers and food service operators. Very few of them are currently. I doubt that lasts.

For decades, the strength of a firm was measured by its hierarchy: layers of process, lines of authority, everything neat and defined. But today, that’s a liability. The firms I see thriving aren’t the ones with the biggest rulebooks. They’re the ones designed to adapt. Systems that flex. Teams trusted to make decisions. Leaders who respond quickly to change rather than wait for permission. It’s the same with your brand. Rigid guidelines and locked strategies might feel safe, but they rarely survive contact with a fast-moving market. Brands that build for agility with clear principles but room to flex are the ones that stay relevant, distinctive and trusted. Structure is the starting point. But adaptability wins today. #BrandStrategy #LawFirmMarketing #ProfessionalServices #B2BBranding #Leadership

In The Blandscape™, firms often bury their best proof points. Awards, accreditations, rankings, client logos, press features are either missing or hidden three clicks deep. The Blandscape™ scores how well you surface trust at the right moments. It's not about showing off or grandstanding, it's about building credibility and rapport with the right kind of clients. When trust signals are built into your brand story, they do half the selling for you. Clients see that others have trusted you before. And that builds confidence before you ever get on a call or meet in the room. Get your firm's free Blandscape scorecard: https://lnkd.in/ep8zUFgC #branding #brandstrategy #professionalservices #lawfirmmarketing #theblandscape

Our rebrand didn’t start as a branding problem. It started 12 months ago when I looked at everything that was going on and was thinking, "what the hell??!" Externally: AI coming in full force, NZ recession, US tariffs. Internally: Existential angst. Will agencies exist? Are we all going to be farmers? I really wondered for a while whether Insight had a future. But you know what? I'm stubborn. I wasn't ready to stop with Insight. I'd just worked for the last year to pull us out of debt. I had an amazing team. We had freaking awesome clients.... I'm not giving this up. Ok, Kim, but what to do. Well, we gathered intel. Big discussions with clients, team, business partners and coaches. And slowly, we formed a new strategy, a new plan. Out of that mash of activity, one project was the rebrand. Haha, as I write this, I realise the rebrand is the reflection of a lot of internal change that's been going on for the past two years. Would I do anything differently? Probably very little.... (mulling). I think the amount of energy we expended internally was the right place to focus. Maybe.... (and I can't believe I'm saying this) I'd give myself more of a break as we finish off the last piece of this mixed up puzzle I call my business. Ahhhh what a trip. Thanks for letting me blab. How's your year gone? I hope easy and full of success. ----- #follow for stories about running Insight Online, strategy, marketing, and occasionally, my mum.

The ads are coming to AI results. ChatGPT started trialling eCommerce ads in their results a few weeks back and now reports have started to surface showing ads in AI mode at the top of Google Search. I don't think anyone is particularly surprised, we all knew it was coming. I'm really interested to see how they integrate this into the existing Ad infrastructure. For example: 1. Will it be another channel accessible through the Google Ad interface? 2. How will they handle targeting? There's so much more nuance in LLM queries. 3. How will they start in terms of pricing? My thoughts: They'll start it cheap to get people to start advertising on the platform while building case studies to promote it. 📌 Read the full article in the comments below! 𝘗𝘩𝘰𝘵𝘰 𝘣𝘺 𝘉𝘳𝘰𝘥𝘪𝘦 𝘊𝘭𝘢𝘳𝘬

Your Brand Doesn’t Need Another Campaign, It Needs A Voice Thrilled to have an article published in B&T today on a topic I believe is reshaping marketing. In a low-trust environment where budgets are tightening and consumer expectations are shifting fast, brands do not need another campaign. They need a voice people can trust. In the piece, I talk about why thought leadership has become one of the most cost-effective brand-building tools available, not as a content tactic, but as a trust strategy. When leaders consistently show up with genuine perspective and generosity, it creates something a traditional brand message simply cannot. It makes the organisation feel human. Thought leadership works because it teaches before it sells. It builds credibility long before a customer is ready to buy. And when budgets are tight, showing up with substance is often the most powerful differentiator in the room. If you are a marketer, founder or leader thinking about how to grow influence in 2026, I hope this article gives you a useful lens on where to invest your energy. Thank you to the team at B&T for the feature. Read the full article here: https://lnkd.in/dZrBPwcp Human Digital | B2B Marketing Agency Canned the Marketing Podcast Alex & Sloane Eugene Healey Brilliant write-up in B&T

Are you the brand that ChatGPT, Gemini, and other AI engines mention when a user asks for a recommendation near them? I’m seeing too many Multi-Location and Franchise leaders hesitate to shift their marketing spend toward AI SEO and Answer Engine Optimization (AEO) because they treat it as "experimental." In 2026, being the "verified answer" for AI isn't an experiment. It’s your new baseline for visibility. It’s no longer just about ranking #1 on a list of blue links. In our upcoming webinar, I'm breaking down exactly why you need to pivot your strategy (and your budget) to capture this new traffic, plus 4 other shifts you can’t afford to ignore next year. It's taking place on 12/18 @ 11am PT. Make sure to save your spot here ➡️ https://lnkd.in/g-SgX8aT

For decades, the franchise playbook was simple: "Pour 80% of the budget into the National Ad Fund for brand awareness, and hope the franchisees catch the overflow." In 2026, that strategy isn't just inefficient, it’s dangerous. I speak with franchise leaders every week who are seeing diminishing returns on national spend, while their local competitors (who are hyper-focused on the 3-mile radius) are stealing market share. The brands that will win next year are the ones flipping the funnel. They are empowering franchisees to dominate local search and local social. We aren't just guessing at this. We’ve modeled it. Join me and my esteemed colleagues Krishnan Coughran and Karen Devlin on Dec 18th at 11am PST. We are going to share the specific budget allocations needed to drive ROI for our multi-location and franchise partners while increasing profitability in this new landscape. Make sure to save your spot here: https://lnkd.in/ew-xdRTd

What's your marketing destiny for 2026? The tarot cards don't lie, and your fate is already written in the data stars. Will your campaigns be blessed by insight, doomed by dull content, or rescued by AI at the last minute? We have conjured something special: our B2B Fortune Read. Seven questions that'll reveal your true marketing archetype, from the Brand Magician (hello, that's me) to the AI Oracle, and the Lover of Leads. It's part tarot, part truth serum, and fully Human Digital. Fair warning: you'll either feel deeply seen, slightly attacked, or spiritually aligned with your CRM. Possibly all three at once. ⚡ 7 questions 🎴 5 archetypes 💡 Instant insight 💬 100% fun Take the quiz, discover your destiny, then comment with your card below. Let's see who's ready to work their magic in 2026. Reveal your marketing destiny: https://lnkd.in/gFRud39J #HumanDigital #B2BMarketing #MarketingQuiz #DigitalCreativity #BrandStrategy #WorkThatWorks #PredictiveMarketing Human Digital | B2B Marketing Agency

We had a PPC nightmare last week 😳 On a core brand campaign, we removed it from a portfolio bidding strategy, into it's own isolated bid strategy. Same targets, same caps, but impression share PLUMMETED below 50%. Not ideal, its a key time for the client, and we'd been brought on to revolutionise performance 😫 We shouldn't of changed the bid strategy, but we thought minor change from portfolio to individual wouldn't have any negative effect. How wrong we were. It was going to take 3-5 days minimum to recover, which we didn't have time to wait for. So we switched off automated bidding and moved to manual. You can see the blip in the chart, impression share and conversion rates recovered quickly. At it's worst impression share dropped to 43%, and conversion rate to 0.93% 😭 Now it's recovered, we'll wait for. a less critical time to implement a new bid strategy on this campaign. Manual will have to do until then. The saving grace here was our eagle eyes and agility. We monitored the change and fixed it really fast, and it's already recovered 🙏 So, if tweaking bid strategies, work with extra care, because they're more sensitive than we knew! #googleads #brandppc #ppc

I know the job market is tough but recruitment is hard. Picture: Email response from someone (employed by someone else!) not turning up to a 10am interview that had been scheduled for a week 🙃 Happy weekend!

Nobody is a social media expert. Trust me.

MQLs don’t die in Salesforce. They die in the handover. In HubSpot, everything looks great. Engagement. Content downloads. Lead scores climbing. Then the lead hits Salesforce… and disappears. Why? Because sales and marketing are operating in different worlds. If a salesperson has to leave their CRM to hunt for context in a marketing platform, they won’t. And if they can’t immediately see: • Where the lead came from • What they engaged with • Whether it’s inbound or outbound • Whether it’s content syndication or a demo request …they treat it like every other lead. Not all leads are equal. The fix? Marketing needs to understand how sales actually use Salesforce (or whatever CRM is in place). - Surface the intelligence where sales live. - Provide context that changes their approach. - Make the difference visible. Because alignment isn’t about generating more leads. It’s about making sure the right information travels with them.

The lower the CPL, the lower the confidence in the leads - but content syndication isn't the problem. Why? Because marketing has been pushed to prove revenue impact. And when you’re measured on volume, the easiest lever to pull is scale. More leads. Lower CPL. Bigger numbers. But low CPL often means low quality. And when quality drops: - Engagement drops. - Accuracy drops. - Trust drops. Content syndication hasn’t failed. Expectation management has. If you’re buying purely on price, you’re racing to the bottom. Instead: • Vet the vendor properly • Understand where your content is hosted • Understand how leads are generated • Focus on quality over volume You don’t need hundreds of leads. You need a handful that convert. Because once sales see real opportunities from syndicated leads, confidence returns fast. Revenue isn’t driven by volume alone. It’s driven by quality throughout the funnel. Own the full funnel - not just the top.

Rozhodli jsme se, že si tohle výběrko uděláme pěkné. Chceme všem uchazečům věnovat pozornost, nespěchat a vybrat někoho, s kým nám bude dobře. A hlavně – kdo do týmu přinese něco* navíc. Otevřenou copy pozici jsme měli naposledy před dvěma roky. Shodou okolností nám přinesla přesně takového "více než copywritera", jakého hledáme i tentokrát. Věřím, že se to povede i teď 🤞 Myslím, že moc podobných příležitostí už zase nějakou dobu nebude. 🕵♂️ Inzerát: https://lnkd.in/dQ3J4vqv *Něco = Hledáme M-shaped profíka. Dlouho jsme hledali íčka - lidi hluboko ponořené do copy. Pak téčka - ty, kteří mají navíc multioborový rozhled a chápou širší kontext. A teď je to emko, někdo, kdo má více než jednu expertízu, a umí těžit z jejich propojování.

V Hook & Tell nabíráme! 📣 Nedávno jsem tu oznamovala zmenšení týmu a teď přicházím s tím, že hledáme nového člověka. Ano, vím, že to může to na první pohled působit trochu schizofrenně. Vysvětlím. Tak jako v IT světě zaniká poptávka po lidech, co jsou „jenom“ programátoři, přestává ve světě marketingu stačit úzká specializace na copywriting. Jako agentura už dávno nedodáváme „jenom“ texty ...připravujeme strategie, zpracováváme videa i doprovodnou grafiku a pomáháme firmám najít směr, kudy se v marketingové džungli vydat. A tak jsme se rozhodli po 2 letech otevřít jednu pozici. Nemáme ji úplně specifikovanou (blíž to popisujeme v inzerátu). Proto ten klišoidní název „více než copywriter/ka“. Hledáme někoho, kdo má přesah do nějakého dalšího oboru, který by s námi vytvořil ten správný match. Pokud vás láká dělat marketing pro firmy, jejichž obory nejsou vyloženě lifestylové, takže vyžadují pochopení tématu a ochotu jít fakt do hloubky, mrkněte na inzerát - možná jste náš člověk. 👇 https://lnkd.in/d9HfCfKp

Ich stehe gerade vor einer strategischen Entscheidung und würde gerne von den Erfahrungen anderer regionaler Medienhäuser profitieren. Wir beschäftigen uns aktuell intensiv mit der Frage, welches Vermarktungsmodell heute wirklich zu einem regionalen Publisher passt. Braucht es noch einen nationalen Vermarktungspartner für die programmatische Vermarktung? Oder liegt der größere Hebel inzwischen darin, regionale und ausgewählte überregionale Kunden selbst zu entwickeln? Falls ihr mit einem nationalen Partner arbeitet: Welche Leistungen sind für euch heute wirklich entscheidend? Geht es vor allem um die programmatische Vermarktung, um die technologische Infrastruktur (Ad Server, Yield Management etc.) oder ist es das Gesamtpaket, das den Unterschied macht? Wir schauen uns den Markt bewusst offen an und interessieren uns für ehrliche Praxiserfahrungen. Mit wem arbeitet ihr zusammen? Wen könnt ihr empfehlen? Und worauf sollte man bei der Auswahl besonders achten? Ich freue mich auf eure Erfahrungen – gerne auch per Direktnachricht.

Yllättävä seuraus AI-näkyvyydestä: kansainväliset liidit. Kun vaikkapa Clauden käyttö on yleistynyt tietotyössä, sitä käytetään myös palveluiden etsimiseen. Tällä viikolla saimme terveysalan liidin Portugalista. Sytyke oli Hopkinsin eurooppalaisittain korkea osaaminen mainonnan seurannan ja digianalytiikan tietosuojakysymyksissä, jota Claude oli ilmeisesti kuvannut riittävän houkuttelevasti. Claude kertoi etsijälle Hopkinsista, koska olemme tuottaneet aiheesta materiaalia nettiin. Tässä näkyy se, mitä toitotamme asiakkaillekin: Mitä täsmällisemmin kerrotte julkisesti, mihin tarpeisiin palvelunne sopivat, sitä todennäköisemmin AI mainitsee teidät, kun käyttäjä kirjoittaa promptiinsa samoja tarpeita.

"Quel est le meilleur CRM ?" C'est la première question qu'on nous pose dans presque chaque mission. Et c'est la seule à laquelle je refuse de répondre avec un nom. Voici pourquoi. En 2026, ouvrez le capot de Salesforce, HubSpot, Zoho, Dynamics ou Pipedrive. Vous trouverez à peu près les mêmes briques. Un pipeline commercial. Du marketing automation. Un agent IA. Du ticketing. De l'attribution. etc… Tout le monde a rattrapé tout le monde sur la fiche produit. La checklist de features ne départage plus personne. Mais un CRM, ce n'est pas sa fiche produit. C'est son ADN de départ. Salesforce est né plateforme sales. Sa force, c'est la vente. Son coût, c'est un admin certifié dédié. HubSpot est né marketing. Il évolue tout seul par l'équipe métier, mais peut encore avec quelques lacunes de customisation lourde. Pipedrive est né pour vendre. Simple, voir simpliste, sans vrai service client natif. Odoo est né ERP. Il remplace 10 outils, au prix d'un intégrateur, mais sans réelle communication entre ses briques. Zoho est né suite low cost. Imbattable sur le pricing, inégal d'une app à l'autre. Chacun a empilé des briques par-dessus son ADN. Aucun n'a vraiment changé d'ADN. Et c'est là que les projets déraillent. On choisit sur une démo brillante, une case cochée, une promesse d'IA. Puis on découvre à l'usage la vraie ligne de fracture : est-ce que mon équipe fait évoluer l'outil seule, ou est-ce qu'il me faut un admin à 100k par an pour bouger un champ ? Le prix facial ne dit rien. Chez les géants, l'implémentation peut peser 2 à 3 fois le coût des licences. Le meilleur CRM n'existe pas. Il n'a jamais existé. Ce qui existe, c'est votre contexte. Vos contraintes métiers. Vos collègues. Votre capacité à faire vivre l'outil dans 3 ans, pas juste à le lancer dans 3 mois. C'est exactement pour ça qu'un comparatif ne suffit jamais. Un bon choix de CRM, c’est un diagnostic. NB : la notation ici est un exemple par rapport à un contexte et non une vérité 😉

Brand eller Performance? Brandformance! Brand och performance behandlas ofta som två helt skilda världar. Antingen bygger du varumärke, eller så jagar du konvertering. Men jag upplever att den bästa effekten ofta uppstår precis i mötet mellan de två. Vi brukar lite skämtsamt kalla det för Brandformance. Det handlar om ett mindset där vi försöker skapa innehåll som jobbar på flera nivåer samtidigt. Att våga göra performanceannonser som både jagar konvertering och bygger en relation på vägen. Tanken är att försöka optimera mot tre steg i samma kreativa uttag: 1️⃣ Uppmärksamhet (Får vi våra personas att stanna upp?) 2️⃣ Retention (Lyssnar de faktiskt på vad vi säger?) 3️⃣ Konvertering (Har vi byggt verklig intent?) När man lyckas med balansen blir det ett sätt för performancebudgeten att faktiskt vara med och stötta varumärkesbyggandet, istället för att bara jobba isolerat. I videon luftar jag lite tankar om hur man kan få ihop den här hybriden.

When Aaron Schwartz and I started Hook 20 years ago, we didn’t call it “being innovative,” we just treated every project as a chance to learn and build something better. We spent our time finding new ways to solve old problems and new solutions to problems that didn't exist yet, and when the answer wasn't out there, we built it ourselves. Today, Fast Company named us #6 on their Best Workplaces for Innovators list (and also named us a winner in Marketing, Advertising, and PR). Seeing that maker mindset recognized is incredible, but the credit goes entirely to our team. They are the ones who show up every day with relentless curiosity, bring their biggest ideas to the table, and push the craft forward. Huge thanks to Fast Company for the recognition, to our clients for building alongside us, and to the entire Hook team for making this place what it is. https://lnkd.in/ga5srVik

My Friday Forecast: McDonald’s will launch a frozen Cook at Home range in Tesco next year. Let me explain why it’s not just a good idea, but essential for McDonald’s to do something different in the UK market. ▪️Performance pressure McDonald’s has reported consecutive global sales declines, with the UK singled out as underperforming against internal benchmarks. It needs new ways to drive relevance and volume without relying solely on restaurant footfall. In its latest UK accounts, turnover dropped by £14 million, small in absolute terms but directionally worrying for a brand built on consistency. ▪️The freezer aisle is heating up The UK’s eat-at-home market is booming. Frozen food sales are forecast to grow by a CAGR of around 6–7% in 2025, driven by affordability, convenience and resilience to inflation. Shoppers are rebuilding their freezers, with nearly 60% of UK households now buying frozen ready meals weekly. For brands, the aisle offers both stability and mass reach. ▪️Why Tesco? Aldi and Lidl may dominate headlines with price-led stunts, but this would be a marketing coup for Tesco and a sales opportunity for McDonald’s. Tesco has the scale to match McDonald’s audience, with over 24 million Clubcard households, deep data-driven targeting capabilities and an ongoing overhaul of its frozen aisle that’s crying out for a brand with pulling power. Add some golden-arch shelf theatre and the partnership starts to look like perfect symbiosis. ▪️The proven playbook Greggs’ Bake at Home line started as an Iceland exclusive before expanding into more than 800 Tesco stores. The appetite for quick, branded, heat-and-eat formats is proven and growing. ▪️The business case for McDonald’s A Cook at Home range would open a new revenue stream with no capital expenditure on restaurants, extend household penetration via grocery and offer insulation when guest counts are fragile in core markets. It’s an evolution that aligns with how British consumers are eating today, brand-first, budget-aware, and freezer-friendly. The more I think about it, the more it feels like an absolute no-brainer. Do you agree, or have I completely lost it? - Image provided by ChatGPT (who also thinks it's a great idea).