Most marketing budgets aren’t built. They’re inherited. Last year’s numbers, adjusted at the margins—a little more here, a little less there, based on which channels reported the best efficiency. The problem: “working” and “working according to ad platforms” aren’t the same thing. Jordan Crawford has seen this play out across enough accounts to know that… Continue reading Which Dollars Are Actually Working Across Your Marketing Mix? Shifting Marketing Budget Allocation From Gut Feel to Data-Backed
Author: Neil Welsh
Neil Welsh founded Silverback Strategies in 2007 with one goal: build the agency he always wished had had when he was a Marketing Director. Back then, he was stuck working with agencies that talked in clicks and impressions while he was focused on revenue. The disconnect cost time, money, and trust -- and he knew there had to be a better way. Today, Neil leads one of the most respected digital performance agencies in the country. Under his leadership, Silverback has been named an Ad Age Best Place to Work, Inc. Best Workplace, and Washington Post Top Workplace. He's been recognized as a DIGIDAY Top Boss and continues to champion a culture of speed, accountability, and real business impact. Beyond the agency, Neil is a Programming Leader for the YPO Digital Campus and will soon serve as Assistant Learning Officer of the YPO Marketing Network, helping top executives stay sharp in a fast-moving digital landscape. Before building marketing strategies, Neil sold used cars--a crash course in human behavior, persuasion, and grit. He still thinks about going back one day a month just for fun.
Translating Media Performance Data Into Something the C-Suite Can Actually Use
Jordan Crawford has sat in this room before. The marketing team walks in with a report that looks like good news. Cost per lead is flat or improving. ROAS is climbing. Across the table, the board asks why revenue is flat (or even declining) when the plan called for 15% year-over-year growth. Nobody’s lying. That’s… Continue reading Translating Media Performance Data Into Something the C-Suite Can Actually Use
Where SEO Ends and Paid Media Begins: How Both Channels Work Together
For years, SEO and paid media have been treated as separate operations, run by different teams with different goals, KPIs, and timelines. But today’s digital landscape doesn’t reward silos. It rewards integration. Your customers don’t experience your brand in channels. They experience a journey. Whether they first see your brand through organic search, a Google… Continue reading Where SEO Ends and Paid Media Begins: How Both Channels Work Together
Why Your Competitor Analysis Is Missing the Mark
Every marketing team has heard some version of the same directive: “Keep an eye on what the competition is doing.” But without a clear framework, competitor research quickly becomes noise. Teams obsess over keywords, mimic ad copy, or chase fleeting SERP gains. These reactive decisions pile up to dilute your positioning and confuse your audience.… Continue reading Why Your Competitor Analysis Is Missing the Mark
Last Click Addiction: How We Fucked Up Marketing
Let’s start here:We fucked up. Not just us. The entire performance marketing industry. We let ad platforms define success. We optimized conversions, not the P&L. We built media plans on flawed data, patted ourselves on the back, and called it performance. And it worked. Until it didn’t. The Setup: Performance Marketing’s Dirty Secret On paper,… Continue reading Last Click Addiction: How We Fucked Up Marketing
There’s War in Your C Suite, And Growth Is The Casualty
The CEO wants growth. The CFO wants proof. The CMO wants credit. What do they get instead?Confusion, conflicting dashboards, and a standing meeting that feels more like group therapy. Sound familiar?Welcome to the marketing mess at mid-sized companies. Measurement Theater Let’s stop pretending. You’re measuring marketing the wrong way, and you know it. It’s not… Continue reading There’s War in Your C Suite, And Growth Is The Casualty
ChatGPT Has a Billion Users. Most of Them Aren’t Shopping. Here’s What That Means for Marketers.
A new study from OpenAI analyzed over 1.5 million ChatGPT conversations between May 2024 and June 2025.