Strategy Labs

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They say love is a numbers game. We say marketing is, too. Engagement, retention, and scalable growth. That’s the kind of love story we build for our clients.

For marketers, the Super Bowl isn’t just a game, it’s a masterclass in brand strategy. And this year, brands didn’t wait till game day to start generating buzz. From viral teasers to humor and nostalgia, here’s what we can learn from their approach. 1. Teasers roped in audiences More than 15 brands leaned into building hype on social media before the Super Bowl. From Pringles to Instacart, teasers sparked curiosity and built anticipation, and it sure paid off. Pringles landed in the top 1% of all Super Bowl ads tested in Ipsos’ Creative|Spark method. 2. Humor was the hook The use of humor in Super Bowl ads has increased from 71% in 2023 to 85% in 2025, according to Business Wire. Uber Eats promoted food delivery with a memorable comedic angle. Matthew McConaughey’s skits made us laugh, made us question if football is a ploy to make us eat more, and made us hungry, all at once. 3. Nostalgia stole our hearts Familiar faces and cultural throwbacks pull on emotions and make ads stick. Proof of that? In just the last 10 years, the use of nostalgia has increased in almost 60% of ads, per UVA’s Darden School of Business. Hellmann’s took advantage of that and brought back Meg Ryan and Billy Crystal to recreate their iconic When Harry Met Sally deli scene. At Strategy Labs, we know that Super Bowl ads extend beyond the game. Winning brands create conversations before, during and after the Big Game, often in high-traffic digital spaces. How will you use social media, teasers, and engagement strategies to maximize your next big moment? Sources:  - Businesswire.com, https://lnkd.in/dJt2u2dr  Ipsos.com, https://lnkd.in/gXVqrptG  - The University of Virginia Darden School of Business, https://lnkd.in/dSmQ3rfK  

What if you could drive 15% more revenue while decreasing ad spend? That’s exactly what we did for Black Friday-Cyber Monday 2024. Check out our infographic to see how we achieved record-breaking results for our e-comm clients. #BFCM #BlackFriday #CyberMonday #EcommerceInsights #DigitalMarketing #ROAS #GrowthStrategy #CyberFive

It's a brand new year 🎉 Ready for a new job? 🙋🏽 We have a position open for a Client Success Manager to join our team. If you or someone you know is a relationships-driven digital marketing pro with experience managing large accounts in a fast-paced environment, we want to talk! Read more about the position here and apply now: https://lnkd.in/dgKa4SMr  

How to keep up momentum after the holidays? 🎁 Go where other brands won’t: Opportunity Valley 🌄 Find out more in our newest blog post.

Why is January one of the most overlooked opportunities in e-commerce? Although the holiday rush is over, shoppers are still engaged while ad costs lower significantly. The momentum from Q4 can fuel serious growth if you know how to capitalize on it. Here’s how to make the most of it: 🎁 Appeal to gift card shoppers: These customers are ready to redeem, so target and retarget them to turn new customers into repeat purchasers. 📊 Run post-holiday sales: Engage loyal customers, first-time Q5 shoppers, and gift card users while appealing to people exchanging or returning gifts. 🌀 Refresh your creative: Consumers have seen a lot of ads during the holidays, so updating your visuals and messaging can help combat ad fatigue and re-engage fresh audiences. 🌟 New Year’s intent: “New year, new me” isn’t just a cliché, it’s a mindset. This is when people invest in their goals and your brand can be part of their transformation. Q5 is a powerful window of opportunity—don’t let it close. While competitors go quiet, this could be your brand’s next big win.

Turns out, 2024 was one for the books. We didn’t just walk 2,348 miles in our step challenge, we also hit record-breaking Cyber Five results. And 153 shoutouts later, we’re still not hyped enough. Here’s to 2025: Bigger wins, bolder ideas, and the same unstoppable team.

Everyone talks about UGC. But no one’s telling you about EGC. Employee-generated content (EGC) is created by the people who know your brand best: your employees. It’s the trending marketing tactic that humanizes your company, builds trust, and connects in ways user-generated content (UGC) alone can’t. 🤳 UGC: Your customers are your best ambassadors. Their posts, reviews, and photos show how your brand fits into their lives, making it relatable and trustworthy. UGC builds community and amplifies your reach organically. 🧑💻 EGC: Employee-driven content like day-in-the-life videos and behind-the-scenes moments gives a human face to your brand. It gives customers a peek into your company culture and production processes, building trust and satisfying curiosity. 🔑  And the key is to use them together: → UGC can make your audience fall in love with your product. → EGC can make them fall in love with your brand. When your customers and employees both have a voice, your brand becomes something bigger: a community.

How did we increase client revenue 15% YoY while keeping budgets flat over the Cyber Five weekend? Expert marketing tactics? Absolutely. But so much of our success was due to work going on behind the scenes: strategic planning and extensive communication. Beginning Black Friday-Cyber Monday prep in the summer helped a ton. But once it was game time, we didn’t slip (completely) into a turkey coma. Between holiday weekend festivities, our team dedicated time to: ➡️ address client performance in organization-wide syncs each day over the weekend.  ➡️ check on budgets and make adjustments that scaled success.  ➡️ maintain daily communication with clients and each other. Though we each had to take some time to work over the holiday, we coordinated carefully so that everyone got to enjoy time off. As a result, we executed for our e-commerce clients when they needed us most, and we had our least stressful, most successful Cyber Five yet. And we’re darn proud of that.