Marketing Dojo #94: ⛔Drop Meetings;✅Chase Growth.
The Pitfalls of Collaboration, Meta-eBay Partnership, Community Notes and More.
Hello everyone,
Algorithm Gods smiled on me.
For context, I have been writing on LinkedIn for over 7 years, and the organic reach has exponentially dwindled, with my best posts capped at 3-3.5K impressions.
Until last week.
I posted a video about a book I enjoyed reading in 2024. The reach for the post was something I have never witnessed: 28K impressions with a reach of 15 K audiences - I learnt what it is like to be semi-viral.
But here's the plot twist: while LinkedIn doubles down on videos, engagement feels... underwhelming.
My sub-60-second clip racked up 5.5 hours of total watch time, yet the engagement was abysmal. Those thoughtful comments and rich conversations that written posts spark? Completely absent.
Ah, the mood swings of algorithms—no stranger to us marketers.
Here's what the human behind this newsletter has for you today:
🤯 Marketing’s over-collaboration problem
🎯 Purpose is not selling anymore
🤝 A match made in the marketplace
😂 Meme-time: Community notes are contagious
And lots more.
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The Case for A Less Collaborative Marketing Team
Marketing teams have a collaboration problem. Not too little—too much.
Here's a sobering stat from Gartner: CMOs and their teams spend nearly half their time on cross-functional initiatives. The kicker? 55% of collaborators say marketing actually inhibits success and has an inflated view of its importance. Translation: many folks wish marketing would just mind its own business.
When marketing elbows into every project, it creates a "collaboration drag": endless meetings, convoluted processes, and a bloated roster of stakeholders. And the fallout is real. Organizations with collaboration drag are 37% less likely to meet profit and growth goals. Worse, it fuels burnout and turnover.
But here's how CMOs can break the wheel with the "When-How-What" Framework
When: Decision Criteria
Set clear guardrails for when marketing actually needs to be involved.
Not every problem needs a marketing solution.
How: Contribution Clarity
Set crystal clear boundaries about what marketing will and won't do. Define those guardrails upfront. Make handoffs between teams explicit and clear.
What: Marketing Impact
Every cross-functional project you take on should tie directly back to marketing's core purpose and value. If it doesn't move the needle on your marketing objectives, maybe it's not your fight to fight.
This hits close to home. I once worked under a marketing leader who took everything personally. Sales leader mentions low channel partner morale? Suddenly it's marketing's problem to solve. A passing comment about Salesforce usage? You guessed it—marketing needs to fix that, too.
Our lean marketing team was crushed under the weight of initiatives that weren't ours to own. We were the hardest hit when company-wide layoffs occurred because marketing hadn't proven its impact. We were set up to fail.
Sometimes, the best collaboration is knowing when NOT to collaborate.
Have you experienced collaboration overload in your marketing team?
Meme-Time: Community Notes Are Getting Contagious.
Meta just ditched fact-checking for community notes, causing a much-deserved furore.
But here's a light-hearted twist - what if the good folks at LinkedIn were to introduce Community Notes?
Finally, someone could fact-check those "I hired the person who showed up late to the interview" stories.
What do you think? Should we start a petition to make LinkedIn spicier?
The Bitter Truth Of Purpose-led Products.
"We can't just talk about the mission at the expense of the product."
- Sadira Furlow, Tony's Chocoloney's Chief Brand Officer.
If you've ever bought Tony's Chocolonely, chances are it was because of its ethical sourcing. Known for being 100% slavery-free, their chocolate makes you feel good in your heart and tummy.
But the brand learned an expensive marketing lesson: purpose alone doesn't move chocolate bars off shelves.
In this refreshingly honest interview with The Drum, Tony's new CBO points to a simple market truth: to sell, you need a damn good product. Purpose? That's the cherry on top.
Now Tony's is pivoting. Their latest ad campaign focuses on its irresistible flavours and distinctive brand assets—like the irregularly shaped chunks and bold packaging.
The mission is still there, but now it's in a supporting role, not the star of the show.
eBay's Reddit Moment.
2024 was a banner year for Reddit. Its partnership with Google created a new revenue stream and boosted its visibility on search. Thanks to this partnership and a string of smart decisions, Reddit turned its first profitable quarter in 20 years.
In 2025, eBay might experience a similar breakthrough. Meta and eBay just announced a partnership spanning Germany, France, and the US: eBay's product listings will now appear on Facebook Marketplace.
The mechanics are straightforward: while customers can browse eBay products directly on Facebook Marketplace, all transactions will be completed on eBay's platform. This setup preserves eBay's revenue model while expanding its reach significantly.
For Meta, this partnership serves dual purposes:
It helps address European Union antitrust concerns about its Marketplace dominance
It significantly expands product selection on Facebook Marketplace
But eBay stands to gain even more. Once a giant in e-commerce, eBay's market share has dwindled to 3.5% of US e-commerce. While the broader US e-commerce market grew by 14% in 2021, eBay managed just 2.8% growth.
Both eBay and Facebook Marketplace specialize in customer-to-customer (C2C) transactions, creating potential synergies that could benefit both parties. The market seems to agree – eBay's stock jumped 10% following the announcement.
Could this be eBay's moment to reclaim a sliver of its former glory?
Short Stuff:
Reddit launched AMA ads (An interesting ad format).
X will boost entertaining light content in the algorithm update (Elections are over, so let’s lighten up).
The US Supreme Court appears to be poised to hold TikTok’s ban on national security grounds. (Biting close finish).
That’s a wrap on this week. Thank you for your time and attention. If you liked this week’s newsletter or found something interesting, please give me a like ❤️ or drop a comment🗨️. Your support helps drive the newsletter's discoverability.
I will see you in your inbox next Wednesday.
Regards,
I admire what Tonys Chocolonely stands for and their packaging innovation is fantastic, but they could innovate on their flavours because taste trumps everything. They even have a faux factory in Amsterdam where you can select a 'fresh bar'. Their 2024 advent calendar had two small chocolates on day 9, and none on day 10 to represent global inequality. They think hard about the customer experience and see an opportunity to educate their customers, who may not otherwise know about the cocoa industry or modern slavery.