Recent Writings – 1
The Retention Revolution: A Nayi Disha for Marketing: “Marketing needs a Nayi Disha moment – a movement towards a fundamental shift in priorities. Brands must pivot from acquisition to retention, from “one and done” to multi-monetisation, from focusing on new customers to nurturing existing ones, from profit killers to profit creators, from high Customer Acquisition Costs (CAC) to high Lifetime Value (LTV), from AdWaste to brand profits, from being profitless to building a profipoly (profits monopoly). Consider the potential impact: by 2025, half of the projected $700 billion annual digital advertising spend will be wasted. That’s $350 billion – and climbing – every year that brands could reallocate to customer retention, boosting profits, and sparking innovation. This shift could transfer trillions of dollars in value from BigTech to brands – a seismic change in the business landscape. While no single company or individual can drive this change alone, raising awareness of alternatives and sharing success stories can help make this new future a reality.” [Also see Part 4 of the essay which has charts showing the rise of adtech.]
I added: “Together, Agentic AI, AMP for Email, and the Progency will address the three pressing problems which have plagued retention through the years: the “Not for Me” problem where brands fail to anticipate intent due to insufficient data, the “No Hotline” problem, where brands struggle to influence actions because of attention recession, and the “Not by Product alone” problem, where the lack of intelligent services hinders the full utilisation and post-purchase customisation of the martech SaaS platform. Collectively, they will lay the foundation for the shift from retention marketing to retention re-engineering… The magic formula for success and creating a profipoly is elegantly simple: (Lo CAC + Hi LTV)n. With every additional data point from customers, the platform becomes stronger. The AI layer is fine-tuned to bring a new level of customer understanding, personalisation, and adtech and martech efficiency. Enhanced RoI will result in increased revenues and profits, generating free cash flows to invest in innovation and new products. The Profipoly Playbook is the best moat a business can construct: by draining the oxygen of profits from slower competitors, agile brands can emerge as the dominant players in their respective markets.”
The Coming Fight for Marketing’s Soul: Incumbent Acquis vs Challenger Antis: “As brands were spending more than ever on acquisition, many began to see diminishing returns. This led to a growing realisation: acquiring new customers was becoming not only more expensive but also less sustainable as the sole engine for growth. The “leaky bucket” phenomenon became more apparent – companies were pouring resources into acquiring new customers, only to lose them quickly due to poor retention strategies. I estimate that AdWaste consumes up to half of adtech budgets, driven by wrong or low-value acquisitions and costly re-acquisitions. Moreover, the focus on acquisition often came at the expense of customer experience. Brands found themselves in a perpetual cycle of acquisition and re-acquisition, treating all customers – new and existing – with the same broad-brush approach. This neglect of existing customers not only increased churn rates but also missed opportunities to cultivate brand loyalty and drive organic growth through word-of-mouth referrals. In this context, forward-thinking marketers began to question the dominance of an acquisition-first strategy. The focus has slowly shifted to a more balanced approach, recognising that true business growth could not rely solely on acquisition but also on nurturing and retaining existing customers.”
I added: “The battle between Acquis and Antis marks a pivotal moment in marketing history. For two decades, the Acquis reigned supreme, but their era of unchallenged dominance is coming to an end. As businesses grapple with rising acquisition costs, privacy concerns, and the imperative for sustainable growth, the wisdom of the Antis’ approach becomes undeniable. Their focus on retention, loyalty, and lifetime value, powered by AI and data-driven personalisation, is the future of marketing. The Antis are set to transform marketing from a cost centre to a profit driver, elevating the CMO to a key architect of business growth. As we stand at this crossroads, one thing becomes clear: The old paradigm is fading, and a new one is taking its place. Long live the Antis!”
