30% Open-Rate Boost, 45% Content Gap, and Why 53% Pivot to Events

Good morning, ! This week we’re breaking down what’s driving B2B performance: headlines with real dollar figures lift opens by up to 30%, SEO and email continue to outperform flashier channels, and 45% of marketers still lack a scalable content model. We’re also tracking the rise of midday webinars, LinkedIn’s B2B spend dominance, and why 53% say exclusive events drive the strongest impact. The takeaway: leverage, timing, and credibility beat volume.

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AUDIENCE DATA DIVE

What Directors in the Consumer Industry Are Really Clicking On

Consumer leaders aren’t just skimming headlines, they’re scanning for signals that matter. Our latest engagement analysis reveals that directors and decision-makers open stories grounded in data, brand scale, and measurable behavior. Headlines mentioning specific dollar figures or well-known consumer brands see open rates up to 30% higher than average. The takeaway? Executives want clarity, credibility, and context, not noise.

From Temu’s $83B BNPL wave to the $250M loyalty reset, performance spikes when content connects financial reality with evolving digital habits. This is where storytelling meets strategy: insight-driven narratives that decode how consumers spend, react, and evolve.

For advertisers and brand leaders, this isn’t just newsletter data, it’s a roadmap to relevance. (More)

AD INTEL

SEO, Email, and Organic Win the Leverage War in B2B Marketing

While new channels grab headlines, B2B marketers continue to double down on the fundamentals. The most leveraged channels today are not the flashiest—they’re the ones marketers control.

Websites, blogs, and SEO sit at the top of the stack, reinforcing that owned content remains the backbone of B2B growth. Close behind, organic social and email marketing tie as core leverage points—channels that compound over time without rising media costs.

Paid social still plays a critical role, but it now trails owned and organic efforts, signaling a more disciplined approach to acquisition. Notably, brand awareness remains a priority, but execution is increasingly routed through scalable, measurable channels rather than pure reach plays.

The takeaway is clear: B2B marketers aren’t abandoning paid media—they’re anchoring performance on assets they own. In a market defined by efficiency and accountability, leverage beats volume every time. (More)

PUBLISHER SPOTLIGHT

Reach 73,000+ Consumer & Retail Decision-Makers 

Consumer150 is where consumer brands, operators, investors, and advisors stay ahead of the trends shaping modern commerce. Each issue reaches the executives driving strategy across retail, ecommerce, DTC, consumer technology, and PE-backed consumer brands—placing your company alongside the insights they rely on to scale growth, optimize operations, and build enduring brands.

We work closely with partners to structure campaigns that fit their goals, from awareness to demand generation. Our team supports campaign strategy, messaging, and creative development to ensure your placement feels native, compelling, and effective within the Consumer150 format.

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THE FUNNEL REPORT

Why Midday Webinars Are Winning the B2B Funnel

Webinars haven’t lost relevance—but timing has become a silent performance lever. The strongest registration and attendance rates cluster squarely in the middle of the workday, with early-afternoon sessions emerging as the clear sweet spot.

For most B2B software and services audiences, midday webinars align with how buyers actually consume content: between meetings, after inbox triage, and before end-of-day fatigue sets in. The result is not just higher sign-ups, but stronger show-up rates—critical for turning interest into pipeline.

That said, the funnel isn’t uniform. In financial services, healthcare, and education, engagement often shifts outside traditional business hours, reflecting the realities of clinician schedules, investor behavior, and academic calendars.

The lesson for demand teams is simple: webinar performance isn’t just about topic or promotion. Schedule design is a conversion strategy. Get the timing right, and the entire funnel tightens. (More)

BUDGET SHIFTS

Why Social Budgets Are Tilting Hard Toward B2B Channels

Social media isn’t losing budget—but it is being reweighted. In 2025, LinkedIn has clearly emerged as the center of gravity for B2B social spend, with paid formats now leading all social tactics used by marketers.

The shift signals a broader strategic reset. Rather than chasing volume on consumer-heavy platforms, B2B teams are prioritizing guaranteed reach to decision-makers, even at higher CPMs. Organic posting still matters—particularly on LinkedIn and Instagram—but paid distribution is increasingly the lever that ensures impact.

What’s also changing is experimentation. Platforms like Reddit and Bluesky are gaining attention as niche environments where professional context and community relevance matter more than scale.

The message behind the budget movement is consistent: social success in B2B is no longer about being everywhere. It’s about being precise, credible, and present where buying conversations actually happen. (More)

BUYER’S ROOM

When Scale Becomes the Sticking Point

Nearly half of B2B marketers (45%) say their organization lacks a scalable content creation model, according to CMI’s 2025 research. Only 35% report having one in place, and 20% aren’t sure—suggesting that for many teams, content production still relies on ad-hoc processes or the efforts of a few overextended contributors.

For buyers, this gap is more than an operational headache—it’s a deciding factor when evaluating vendors. A content strategist who sees that a tool or partner can’t support growth without breaking workflows will walk away. As Andi Robinson of Hijinx Marketing puts it, companies without a robust framework risk bottlenecks, misaligned messaging, and brand inconsistencies. On the flip side, scalable systems lead to better quality, consistent delivery, and more efficient resource use—exactly the capabilities buyers prioritize when making purchase decisions. (More)

CREATIVE THAT CONVERTS

Why Experiential Creative Is Becoming a Top B2B Conversion Driver

A new survey of B2B marketers reveals a clear shift: experiential tactics are moving from “nice to have” to core components of high-performing creative. The most effective format? Exclusive networking events for industry leaders, with 53% saying they create the strongest brand experiences. Close behind are interactive product demos and immersive workshops (both at 47%), signaling growing demand for hands-on, participatory content over static assets.

Interestingly, only 19% view VR activations or pop-up experiences as impactful—proof that B2B buyers value practicality and depth over spectacle. Meanwhile, gamified trade-show engagement trails at 28%, suggesting that novelty alone doesn’t convert.

For creative teams, the takeaway is simple: build experiences that educate, involve, and humanize. Whether it’s a workshop, a live demo, or a curated leadership meetup, experiential creative is quickly becoming one of the most reliable ways to earn attention—and create real connection—across the funnel. (More)

CASE STUDY

How Oracle Cloud Used Personalization to Accelerate Pipeline Performance

Oracle Cloud’s personalization initiative shows how tailored digital experiences can move the needle across the B2B funnel. Facing declining engagement from one-size-fits-all journeys, Oracle rebuilt its web and email experiences around audience-level intelligence.

By unifying firmographic, behavioral, and purchase data, Oracle created precise segments and delivered dynamic content in real time—from personalized homepage layouts to role-based email messaging and AI-driven content recommendations. The result was a tighter alignment between buyer intent and what prospects actually saw at each stage.

The impact was material: web engagement climbed, qualified leads increased meaningfully, and demo conversions improved as relevance rose. Just as important, shared dashboards gave marketing and sales a common view of account behavior, improving follow-ups and coordination.

The lesson is clear: personalization isn’t a surface-level tactic. When powered by unified data and continuous testing, it becomes a scalable growth engine for enterprise B2B teams. (More)

PUBLISHER PODCAST

No Off Button: He Built North America's Largest AI Conference (& Had A Winning Exit)

Champions don’t quit when the plan breaks—they adapt. No Off Button is Aram’s publisher-led podcast honoring founders, executives, and creators who don’t have an off switch. Each episode spotlights operators who keep building through pivots, pressure, and imperfect conditions.

This week’s guest is Michael Weiss, co-founder of Ai4, the largest AI conference in North America. Michael walks through the pivot that changed everything—from an ambitious attempt to revive the 1893 Chicago World’s Fair to identifying AI as the defining opportunity of the decade before the boom. The conversation unpacks the realities of the event business, the discipline behind timing a market, and why surviving the compounding phase matters more than chasing early wins.

Why it matters: this episode is a blueprint for founders and investors alike—niche selection, execution, and resilience are what turn failed ideas into category-defining outcomes.

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