Author: Franz Malten Buemann

We wondered how the most innovative brands use CDPs to deliver cutting edge customer experience and drive revenue, so we dived deep into various data on CDP users.  In this article we summarized and analyzed some of the most important findings.

Overall conclusions are simple: 

CDP users meet their marketing goals twice as oftenThey are twice more satisfied with creating relevant customer experiences⅔ of them saw ROI and value in the first year!

And that’s not all, because in subsequent years the empowering CDP effect on all KPI’s manifested even more clearly.

Now consider the fact that still, 64% of eCommerce marketers haven’t even measured their customer engagement processes in the past month, and nearly one-fifth (17%) have never measured them at all You should definitely see this as your chance not only to outrun your competition, but to basically run circles around them.

Now for the details:

Sources:

CheifmartecSALESmanago Internetretailing McKInsey Thealium  Gallup Profitwell

We’ve always aimed to chart our own course at Buffer for how we approach traditional business practices, and severance is no different. Recently, we’ve adjusted our severance policy to apply in more situations. We’ve introduced the concept of “mutual separations” for the cases when a teammate and their manager both feel that the teammate’s chapter at Buffer has come to an end. We strive to be generous to these teammates who have spent a portion of their careers and lives with us at Buffer.In this post, we’ll detail our severance policy, the concept of mutual separations, and our adjustments over the last year. Buffer’s severance policyInvoluntary departures are the traditional cases for severance. This term captures any instance of teammates being let go or laid off. Our regular severance policy for involuntary departures of teammates who’ve been on the team for at least 90 days is:  6 weeks of base salary + 2 weeks for each full year past the first year at Buffer, with a maximum of 12 weeks total.For example, if someone had been on the Buffer team for three years, they would be eligible for six weeks of severance pay, plus four additional weeks (2 years * 2 weeks each), so they would receive ten weeks of severance pay. Teammates also keep any equipment Buffer purchased, including their computers.What are mutual separations?A few years ago, we began using the concept of “mutual separation.” Mutual separations are different from traditional involuntary departures, which happen because of layoffs, a role elimination, or if a teammate is not performing at the level needed for their role. In a mutual separation, both the teammate and their manager feel that the role is no longer a good fit, and the best-case scenario is a planned, amicable departure.When that happens, the teammate and manager work together and come to an agreement about the timeline for the teammate’s last day. Otherwise, the teammate may choose to wait until they have another job lined up and then only give two weeks’ notice (or less), or the manager may choose to let the teammate go. Compared to these alternatives, mutual separations are usually easier on everyone involved. Mutual separations also often feel much more human; the transition is more organized, and the process is less emotionally taxing, which has many benefits to the remaining team. By paying full severance in these cases, we hope to invite and incentivize teammates to feel comfortable starting these conversations about their future without concern that they will miss out on severance if that conversation feels a little bit too much like a resignation.With all of this in mind, we decided to give full severance to teammates who leave due to mutual separation. It feels like the best way to honor their time spent building Buffer alongside us and to make the transition as easy as possible for everyone.How the mutual separation policy has worked out so farSince introducing the concept of mutual separations at Buffer, we have seen more departures happening this way. For example, in 2022, 19 percent of our departures were mutual (3 out of 16). We still have some folks move on purely voluntarily, but now we also see teammates open up the conversation earlier when they can feel that they are no longer a great fit for the role needed. This feels healthy to us, and we want to continue to enable teammates and managers to consider this option when it feels right. Not all resignations fall into this category; it is not an exact science. Ultimately it’s up to the manager (with support from leadership and/or the People team) to determine what falls into this category. Generally, we will consider a mutual separation when a teammate has a history of good performance, and either a role change is necessary that takes the role in a direction that’s at odds with the teammate’s skills or interests or the teammate’s performance is no longer meeting the needs of the role and team. We are hoping that this shift to giving severance to folks separating from Buffer mutually encourages and allows teammate departures— a hard but natural event in a company’s lifecycle —to be mutual, organized, amicable, and ultimately in everyone’s best interest. We’d love to hear what you think of this policy at Buffer, send us a tweet anytime to share your thoughts!

Welcome to HubSpot Marketing News! Tap in for campaign deep dives, the latest marketing industry news, and tried-and-true insights from HubSpot’s media team. 
Many YouTube viewers click “skip ad” as soon as possible, but Nissan figured out how to keep viewers engaged for four hours without reaching for the “skip” button. Keep reading to learn how.
The automotive industry is ripe for marketing innovation. Traditionally, outside of the occasional car commercial featuring vehicles driving through various terrains and excursions, most of the marketing happened at car dealerships.
Until the pandemic.
Between travel restrictions, high interest rates, and supply chain issues that caused manufacturing disruptions, the automotive industry has had major growth challenges over the past few years, and relying on dealerships alone to push sales isn’t cutting it.
With more customers looking to facilitate the car buying process online, car manufacturers’ ability to embrace digital marketing tactics is more important than ever for making sales.
Earlier this year, Nissan launched a new ad that is refreshingly different from traditional marketing tactics associated with car companies.

The manufacturer posted a four-hour-long video to its YouTube channel featuring a custom Lofi playlist that serves as the soundtrack to an animated character’s road trip. The animated character happens to be driving a Nissan ARIYA and passes several Nissan billboards on their drive.
Since launching in February, the video has racked up over 17 million views and 3,500 overwhelmingly positive comments. Here’s what viewers had to say:

“I’ve been letting this ad run for 20 minutes.  I’ve sent it to friends, saved it in my favorites, and hadn’t ever considered a Nissan before – but who knows now?  I genuinely want to shake the hand of whoever greenlit this in the advertising department.  It’s a very normal chill hop reel, but that’s what’s so uncommon and endearing about it. Amazing job & sincere kudos for having your finger on the pulse on this one!”
“At first, I was like? ‘Is this really a 4-hour ad?’ Then I was like, ‘Damn, this beat is fire.’”
“This might be the first-ever ad (and longest) that I didn’t want to skip.”

In addition to having the video listed on its own channel, Nissan also runs the ad on other Lofi YouTube channels. The spot blends right in with the Lofi playlists audiences are looking for, and doesn’t tempt Lofi fans to click “skip ad.”
Why is the Nissan ARIYA Lofi ad so captivating?
Well, the music, for starters. Lofi stands for low fidelity, a genre that combines elements of jazz, hip-hop, and pop to create dreamy, laid-back music tracks.
Originating in the early 2000s, Lofi music has become a popular genre, particularly on YouTube, that people often listen to while working, studying, or trying to relax.
Many commenters on Nissan’s video complimented how good the music was, and noted it was a playlist they would want to come back and listen to again and again.
Inspired by Lofi Girl
The ad takes clear inspiration from Lofi Girl, a popular YouTube channel that streams Lofi music 24/7 and has racked up billions of views (yes billions, with a B) since 2017.
Recently, the Lofi Girl YouTube channel made headlines for unlocking a new character.
Fans of Lofi Girl were in for a surprise when a mysterious countdown timer popped up on the channel and the familiar Jane the Lofi Girl character temporarily disappeared. The countdown eventually introduced a new live stream called Synthwave from the point of view of a new Lofi Boy character.
Nissan’s ad relies heavily on subliminal marketing, creating an association between Lofi music and driving a Nissan. While it’s ultimately a long-game play, Nissan hit it out of the park reaching a new audience with this innovative effort.
Elsewhere in Marketing
The latest marketing news and strategy insights.
Snapchat is releasing its”My AI” chatbot to all users on the platform for free.
Podcasts are here to stay: according to Pew Research, nearly half of American adults regularly listen to podcasts for news and education. 
Meta is now allowing teens as young as 13 to use its virtual reality app Horizon Worlds. The app was previously only available to users over the age of 17.
LinkedIn marketing: here’s how to generate leads on LinkedIn in 2023.