Global Digital Marketing & Retail by Alex 64
Inspiration from across the world for retail enthusiasts, e-commerce professionals, marketing lovers and technology fans. Welcome back! I summarized some great links again, I stumbled upon this week.
🇺🇸 The Browser Company: building something new while keeping the core
There is a company called “the browser company”. Every time I read on them I get enthusiastic! They created a great browser: the Arc Browser, but they figured out now, that let people switch to another browser -even though it is much better- is very, very difficult.
If you want to claim the browser category, they need to change:
This story, this pivot, is product management in full action! Very nice to read. Instead of pushing forward with only Arc browser, they made a strategic decision to serve different audience segments. Great responsiveness!
I call it “innovative problem solving”: rather than overloading Arc with extra features to capture new users, they took a thoughtful approach. Building a new browser allows them to keep Arc’s essence while meeting broader needs through simplicity and AI.
They are very clear and transparent to their users. Current ARC users don’t have to be afraid their browser won’t be secure, the CEO gives a very honest and transparent talk. It also shows an enthusiastic team, really trying to innovate. Great communication and teaser!
Seems like a very nice company and I really hope and believe they can revolutionize the browser world!
The plan this time is to build not just a different interface for a browser, but a different kind of browser entirely — one that is much more proactive, more powerful, more AI-centric, more in line with that original vision. Call it the iPhone of web browsers, or the “internet computer,” or whatever other metaphor you like. The idea is to turn the browser into an app platform. Miller still wants to do it, and he wants to do it for everyone.
Miller has a couple of favorite examples of how a browser might help you get stuff done, which he’s said to me, on Decoder, and elsewhere in recent months. There’s the teacher who spends hours copying and pasting data between enterprise apps; the Shopify sellers who spend too much time looking up order numbers and then pasting them into customer-support emails. Those are the sorts of things that a browser, with access to all your web apps and browsing data, could begin to do on your behalf. And with AI tools like the new “Computer use” feature from Anthropic, that kind of thing is beginning to become automated and possible.
Details: https://www.theverge.com/2024/10/24/24279020/browser-company-ai-browser-arc
The company itself: https://thebrowser.company
💾Template : Value Proposition Messaging Canvas (free download)
I enjoy brainstorming (with myself🤣) about value propositions, strategies, and features, especially for companies facing new challenges.
I used Fletch’s “Value Proposition Messaging Canvas” as a starting point to create a Canva template. The main idea of Fletch's canvas is straightforward: your product looks best when you highlight how it solves the problems that other alternatives don’t. In product marketing, this means focusing on how the product itself tackles these specific weaknesses.
For this sample, I focused on Booking.com, the well-known travel platform. I designed this with the understanding that companies like Booking.com face a real threat from AI shopping agents, which could disrupt the traditional online booking model. AI agents can quickly compare prices and personalize experiences across multiple platforms, which risks reducing the relevance of platform providers like Booking. My draft canvas, explores strategies and features to make Booking.com resilient and valuable even in the AI-driven future.
I saved this canvas, I made, as a template in Canva, available for everyone to download and edit:
☕Starbucks CEO: explains the “back to starbucks” vision
Did you see the video from Starbucks’ new CEO, Brian Niccol? It’s worth watching. I like how he puts baristas, or “partners,” first. His message is all about supporting them by removing bottlenecks, giving them the right tools, and ensuring they have the time to make every drink feel personal. The near term focus is the US, but glad to hear they also improve the Starbucks experience across the globe. They specifically mention China, there is lots and lots of heavy competition there. Interesting to watch how that plays out. At least for mobile ordering they can learn a lot from China!
In my own experience, I skip Starbucks more and more in the Netherlands (its different in Asia). Usually there is a line (too much efficiency I guess) and I think the price does not equal the experience anymore.
🇸🇬 Ahrefs event: performance branding is the way forward
Ahrefs Evolve, was held, unfortunately I did not attend, but I checked X for important updates. One of the slides I think is useful is this one below. Marketing often treats Branding and Performance as separate functions with minimal overlap. I do not (always) agree on that, so it’s then great to find a slide and people who think alike.
A combination between brand and performance! Great slide to save and re-use!
Go for a 60 /40 split (conversion/brand awareness) to get immediate ROI but also brand growth. Plus, a video-first approach for ads gives brand marketers valuable data like who's actually engaged with your brand.
Solidify your goal post - Bigger & longer —> This emphasizes setting ambitious, long-term objectives that serve both performance (short-term conversions) and branding (long-term emotional connection). Don’t limit your campaigns to a month.
Respect the user journey - Correct KPIs → It’s essential to align with the customer journey stages and select KPIs that reflect both brand awareness (Brand) and conversion (Performance). use the right KPI’s across the entire user journey. Sure sales are important, but the only way to get more sales is to engage more customers.
60/40 Rule - Focus on Short & Long Term —> This rule supports both Performance (60%) and Brand (40%) objectives by prioritizing short-term conversions without neglecting brand-building. The overlap is managed so that while the immediate focus is on conversions, a significant portion is also directed toward fostering brand loyalty and recognition, helping to sustain sales and engagement over time.
Video First - Video serves as a bridge between Brand and Performance, enabling marketers to build a compelling narrative while also encouraging immediate action. It operates in the overlap, as it’s capable of emotional storytelling and direct calls-to-action in a single format. Turn your static ads into a video by adding music. Why? Because only 1-2% of people click. You pay based on CPM. Video allows you to see "Avg. Watch Time" which essentially allows you to measure the 98-99% of eyeballs you paid for and if your creatives have stopped the person in their scrolling tracks. Statics brand measurements are just impressions.
All Audiences are Assets —> Every audience segment holds potential value, whether or not they’re immediately ready to convert, and should be engaged as part of a holistic branding and performance strategy. Build audiences off of 𝐞𝐧𝐠𝐚𝐠𝐞𝐫𝐬, 𝐯𝐢𝐝𝐞𝐨 𝐯𝐢𝐞𝐰𝐞𝐫𝐬, 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐩𝐥𝐞𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐯𝐢𝐞𝐰𝐞𝐫𝐬, 𝐞𝐭𝐜. Similar to accumulating more STOCKS, you are stockpiling the amount of people that know you and you may want to speak to them differently.
🇰🇪 Kenya: local players still important → shift to digital
I really do want to travel to Africa somewhere soon, to see what is happening there on retail and e-commerce and that’s a lot.
Kenya's retail scene is undergoing a transformation as e-commerce and social commerce gain momentum, surpassing traditional shopping malls. Small retailers are increasingly moving online through platforms like WhatsApp and Facebook, enabling direct sales that help them avoid the high costs associated with mall spaces. This change is speed up by mobile payment options such as M-Pesa. Unlike many other regions where large e-commerce giants dictate, Kenya’s digital retail landscape is influenced by social selling, informal negotiations, and a strong emphasis on trust-based relationships, so pretty unique in global e-commerce. Hope to visit some time. I think there are many many e-commerce opportunities in Africa, see an earlier post as well.
Details: https://techcabal.com/2024/10/21/kenyas-silent-e-commerce-takeover/
🧪Revoluts’ growth marketer on AB testing : spoiler ignore it
Even though I switched mostly to Amex now, I still have, use and am a big fan of Revolut, as they constantly innovate. Amex has a horrible interface and segegreated apps, its really horrible to use. The only thing good on their app is the customer service chat on which Revolut is not so good. So how does Revolut innovates so fast? Part of the answer is told by Chief Growth & Marketing Officer Antoine Le Ne. He takes an unconventional point of view on A/B testing. That’s why it is nice to share, a different perspective. And if you think about it, he might be right. It’s a high(er) risk, high reward strategy. It fits Revolut with it’s high growth model and not a company like Apple, I think. Also I think without a formal AB test, but by just doing a canary release you can speed up things massively without the AB test bureaucracy. So extensive AB testing can fit some companies while not others. Always be open to other opinions and possibilities.
🇬🇧 Rickroll: AAA insurance teams up with Rick Astley
I regularly try to RickRoll collegues (yeah still, I know🤣). But I had not seen this commercial from AAA insurance. Its already from 2022, but worth a share. If you don’t know what a RickRoll is, google for it and you understand the idea of this commercial. They must have had great fun producing this commercial.
What is a Rickroll: https://www.google.com/search?client=firefox-b-d&q=what+is+a+rickroll
https://www.perplexity.ai/search/what-is-a-rickroll-i8IguZsVTaGqvT9JCOOFFw
➡️Earlier popular posts:
✨Read on performance marketing and digital strategy, convenient templates to use
✨Read on how to win at marketplaces and the Sean Ellis test
✨Checkout the 40 e-commerce trends by Greg Eisenberg
That is all, thank you so much for reading, sharing, liking