Musa Tariq

🚀 "We built Unloop Connect to support the founders who are really feeling the pinch," Michael Pignatelli reveals. As I dove deep into the everyday challenges that emerging brands face on Amazon with Michael Pignatelli, CPA, MAcc, Co-Founder of Unloop Accounting, it was clear that the path to simplifying e-commerce finance is more vital than ever. Michael's insights into accounting automation and the strategic use of Unloop Connect are game-changers for any brand looking to navigate the complexities of Amazon's marketplace efficiently. Michael's dedication to making high-quality accounting accessible reflects our mission at ExpertCPG Commerce—to empower brands with the tools and strategies they need to thrive on Amazon without getting bogged down by the details. How has automating mundane tasks changed the way you manage your business? What results have you seen from integrating new technologies? 🎧📺 Listen or Watch the Full Episode here: https://ecpg.us/3Qhk2pN #CPG #ecommerce #Amazon #podcast #UnloopAccounting #businessgrowth #financialmanagement

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Are you an early-stage founder or on the marketing team of a consumer brand looking to make content that is impactful and converts heading into the second half of the year? Dash Hudson have released their latest Cross-Channel Benchmark Report where they analyzed the activity of over 4,700 brands across TikTok, Instagram, and YouTube during the first half of 2024 to report on content strategy trends you need to know to set yourself up for success during Q4. Check out the report to discover: - How to leverage the strengths of each platform for maximum impact ✅ - What content types drive the highest engagement and growth 📈 - The most effective posting cadences for TikTok, Instagram, and YouTube 📅 - How to utilize niche communities to boost brand presence 🌐 - How to leverage creators and celebrities in amplifying engagement 📣 The 20-page benchmark report is a free resource and packed with valuable insights and actionable tips to help you optimize your content strategy, based on real-world data. Seriously, it’s worth downloading (and it's free) ✨  https://lnkd.in/gF-4upK2 ✨ #marketingtips #ecommerce #consumerbrand #socialstrategy

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We need representation of all. women. in. advertising. I'm so happy to unveil #RepresentMe, a new campaign built for WACL (Women in Advertising & Communications Leadership ), in partnership Pinterest, Snap Inc., and YouTube, spotlighting the crucial need for greater representation of ALL women in advertising. Representation is a marketing imperative. Too many women remain unseen or underrepresented in the media. Critically... (though the spectrum of womanhood expands far past this): ⚈ Women with disabilities are nearly invisible in ads. Research shows only 0.8% of people in ads have a disability, and just 25% of those are women. ⚈ Women of colour, especially Black and South Asian women, are vastly underrepresented compared to their population share, perpetuating harmful stereotypes. ⚈ Ads often push unattainable ideals of beauty, emphasising youth, thinness, and flawless skin - all of which is so damaging Creators have become a driving change in our industry, challenging the status quo in an unprecedented way and highlighting the need for greater representation. Creator Marketing puts new voices, diverse voices, representative voices at the heart of advertising. This campaign features four amazing creators that I've had the privilege to get to know... each of them use their platforms to fight for representation: 💫 Trina Nicole, body confidence influencer and founder of the UK’s first plus-size dance class. 💫 Ellen Jones, writer, speaker and activist for neurodiversity and LGBQT+. 💫 Jamelia Donaldson, founder and CEO of TreasureTress and a woman transforming the natural hair care landscape. 💫 Lucy Edwards, broadcaster, journalist, author and disability activist. This isn't just a campaign; it's a movement pushing the advertising industry to better represent all women, both on and off the screen. Yet there's still much work ahead...Representation must be a marketing priority. Watch the full videos, linked in the comments. ----- Thank you to WACL - specifically Leigh Thomas who spearheaded and led this amazing campaign, along with the amazing women Nishma Patel Robb 🪩⚡️, Lori Meakin, Caitlin Ryan , Selma Nicholls , Chloe Davies, Beth Ford, Jessica Lovell, and Rebecca Fuller for this opportunity to bring this incredible mission to life. Our amazing partners,  Milka Privodanova from Pinterest, Zoe Clapp and Alison Lomax from YouTube, Kate Bird and Ronan Harris of Snap Inc. and EssenceMediacom. And to our wonderful team Sarah Ramsey, Kitty Hollamby, Faith Lorainey, Keishia Evans, Natalie Narh, Natasha Trewin Marshall (née Jones), and Sunday Treat.

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A lot of you have heard me say "we aren't thematic investors EXCEPT when it comes to our consumer thesis and Vertikal Brands". So what does that mean exactly, and how did we choose to double down on outdoor specifically? I recently sat down with Matt Blevins who heads up the strategy for Clearview Capital, L.P. and we had the chance to talk about just that! Tune into our third episode of 'Coffee with Clearview' to learn more about how we got started in the space, and how we continue to partner with world-class outdoor consumer brands. #consumerprivateequity #consumerproducts #privateequity #outdoorenthusiast #outdoorbrands

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AI ad products present both opportunities and risks. Leveraging them optimally for consumer brands requires a lot of nuance - with a few of my thoughts in Modern Retail https://lnkd.in/gcYrqmV4

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Congratulations to all the #MostInfluentialCMOs on Forbes' annual list. It is wonderful to see these leaders recognized for the amazing work they have done and the impact they have had on marketing influence. Sprinklr was proud to be the primary research and data partner in analyzing billions of data points for the 8th consecutive year. Check out our companion report to learn more about how we measured their influence in their respective industries: https://lnkd.in/e_gQF_Yi

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Want to know the story behind those unique Asian-inspired sparkling water flavors you've been seeing? I sat down with Sandro Roco of Sanzo on the Consumer Rundown podcast. We talked #Asian representation and voices, building a #beverage empire, and the importance of being a "good ancestor"! Listen to the full conversation – link in comments! #entrepreneurship #cpgindustry #beveragebusiness

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Our influencer panel discusses influencer brand deals. Hear from the experts themselves. #influencermarketing

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The consumer news, brands, people, places, things that captured my attention last week: 1. Hims & Hers rolls out Ozempic and Wegovy dupes at 85% off — (from Fox Business) https://shorturl.at/TTEoK 2. E.l.f. Beauty surpasses $1 Billion in annual sales — (from BoF) https://shorturl.at/HAJzz 3. The BOF shared Volume 2 of The BoF Brand Magic Index and Dior is still on top — (on the BoF Instagram) https://shorturl.at/sPmJ4 4. Hannah Beals is in, a new SHE-EO alert at OUAI — (from WWD) https://shorturl.at/DD6GN 5. Grace Coddington is Merit’s newest face — why older women are the key to the brand’s success — (from Glossy) https://shorturl.at/Y8IlP 6. Bumble buys community building app Geneva to expand further into friendships — (from Tech Crunch) https://rb.gy/2nvbzj 7. How VCs are using podcasts to lure in founders — (from Vanity Fair) https://rb.gy/srg8el

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I’m honored to be one of the judges for this year’s Pause Fest & Awards We have 12 new categories, to help celebrate a diverse range of innovations and achievements across the business landscape. New categories include: Creative Maverick — for unstoppable leaders. Quiet Achiever — for the unsung heroes. Splash Down Under — for entering into the Australian market. Always Evolving — for a culture of continuous improvement. Ethical Leadership — for exemplary governance. Collab — for mutual growth and innovation. Going Global — for international growth and success. Next Level — for scaling through acquisition or integration. Enter today: https://lnkd.in/dVhNxAQw We love clever ideas, no matter the size, that spark something bigger and have an impact. Let Pause Awards tell your story. Together, we break through. 🚀

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Fatigue around #celebrity and #creator brands has set in. Well said, Gabriela Barkho. Great piece in Modern Retail on how investors - and consumers! - should be looking at creator or celebrity-led brands … with skepticism. We get pitched a lot of these: to invest and to build (given the track record with Made by Nacho). To make a celebrity brand work is to know that it could work without the celebrity. So rarely is there an uncharted category or new idea in consumer - something you never knew you needed but becomes critical to your every day. It takes real #authority and credentials to build a generational #brand, and if that authority/expert happens to be a public figure - then you’re on to something. Impressed by Once Upon a Farm, The Honest Company, and Made by Nacho as examples of companies to identify categories that needed reshaping. Curious to see where the creator economy goes and evolves from here especially as investors are becoming more timid. New Fare Hallie Bonnar Sriya Koganti Made by Nacho #cpg #cpgbrands #celebritybrands #talent https://lnkd.in/eVXurzfV

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I’m opening some availability to help micro-stage brands out with brand direction, marketing strategy, creative direction, and product / IP design & strategy. (Contract, part-time, freelance, and advisory) • $250mm consumer investments generated in web3 through viral marketing strategies. • ROAS 14.6x in 3 months • Actively supported in 2x successful liquidation events in 10 months in Private Equity / Venture Capital. • 8k followers to 168k followers in 2 months. • lead designed many user-friendly SAAS products from ideation to launch & scale working in cohesion with senior developers. Started in creative direction turned cmo. Now I build businesses to sell. I build systems to replace myself. Efficiency is key, agile teams are stronger when leveraging AI appropriately. If you’re looking for a creative that has an aggressive understanding of business, my messages are open. Let’s scale some shit.

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I have worked extensively across the CPG brand life cycle…from dying zombie brands (Triscuit in 2007) to hyperbolic, DTC growth engines like Dr. Squatch. Here’s the weird thing I’ve discerned. Your team is most in control very early on. Every move has enormous impact. One small-ish seeming operational mistake could lose your only national distribution slots and end you. Once you are $500M and above..the obsession with control only grows in intensity but now exists in inverse proportion to your actual control over demand. This is why enormous humility is required at both stages…but for different reasons. Startup humility is about surviving the roller coaster of your own ignorance and ego. Moving fast and learning fast. Midmarket humility is about tweaking what little you really control in a business driven mostly by consumer behavior and retail ecosystem shifts. And disciplined, almost pessimistic, skepticism… Do not hire folks who just lived in the latter fish bowl for your startup. No matter how cheap they come. Do you see why?

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The consumer news, brands, people, places, things that captured my attention last week: 1. Kiehl’s starts selling on Amazon — (from WWD) https://lnkd.in/gxA2mDWH 2. Gap raises full year forecast and Zac Posen bets on celebrities to revive the brand — (from WWD & Vogue Business Instagram) https://lnkd.in/gxA2mDWH 3. The flat lay is back — (from Glossy) https://lnkd.in/gxA2mDWH 4. DTC Briefing: Startups are pursuing a mix of credit and equity amid fractures in funding — (from Modern Retail) https://lnkd.in/gxA2mDWH 5. The fight for influencer marketing dollars heats up with a lawsuit — (from BoF) https://lnkd.in/gtWGAb6A 6. 96% of Ulta’s sales run through their loyalty program — BoF Case study on loyalty — (from BoF) https://lnkd.in/ghZ9Gx-u 7. Abercrombie’s stock surges 24% as they capitalized on “wedding weeks” — (from CNBC) https://lnkd.in/guzQKu8U 8. Golden Goose sells $500 dirty sneakers — they’re raising €100M in an IPO — (from WSJ) https://lnkd.in/gi94ff54 9. L Catterton leads $40M Series A investment for Squared Circles — (from PR Newswire) https://lnkd.in/gdJzvTij

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Why are consumers increasingly disloyal to brands? Forbes points to major societal shifts - increased job mobility, less religiosity, higher divorce rates, corporate scandals eroding trust, and an overstimulated "popcorn brain" perpetually craving new inputs. These trends have fundamentally changed how consumers approach brands - no longer viewing them as trusted, lifelong partners but rather disposable options to be swapped out for the newest novelty. While not the newest take, it's a reminder that D2C brands need to constantly innovate and produce fresh offerings to survive in this new age of dwindling brand allegiance. https://lnkd.in/dfXmYU2W

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In our March San Francisco Beelieve Conference, Adam Lifshitz, Sr. Director of Product Subscriptions from Condé Nast, opened the Chargebee audience eyes to how Conde's media brands are constantly improving at acquiring and retaining millions of media subscribers through targeting, testing, and engagement of niche audiences. This has had had an "immense" impact on Conde's top line. 📈 From our new case study, now live: "Deploying Chargebee Retention transformed our strategy, allowing us to craft targeted experiences for niche audiences. By simply introducing this technology, we witnessed a notable increase in customer retention. Through a customized approach to retain subscribers, we initially focused on simply reiterating the value they gain by staying with us, which in itself resulted in a significant boost in retention right out of the gate." Adam Lifshitz thank you for you/your teams' efforts to constantly improve your subscription business with Chargebee - and for being a great partner! Case study linked in comments below ⬇

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Huge shoutout to the CreatorIQ team for putting on another amazing event this morning in New York City. The TLDR: The Creator Economy is transforming marketing, advertising, and brand building from the ground up, and I think the next 5-10 years are going to be extremely exciting. Brands that tap into creators and influencers as the foundation of their marketing efforts will win. We've felt inklings of that shift for a long time, but finally, the data supports it. Market shifts like this can go 1 of 2 ways - they can deepen the moats of incumbents, or they can level the playing field for a new generation of companies to win. In AI, I think we're seeing the moats of incumbent deepening, which, frankly, is a bit boring. In the brand world, it's the exact opposite. The disruption is leveling the playing field, fast. Big, entrenched brands have never been more vulnerable As Conor Begley showed in his presentation, Brands like PRIME are quickly passing PepsiCo's Gatorade in social followings and growth. SKIMS is passing Spanx Alo Yoga is passing lululemon Feastables is passing Herseys And it's not even close The event and conversations were PERFECTLY timed with Chamath's report on the Creator Economy and how central it has become in every part of building a business. Whether you're selling widgets, software, or services, Creators will be a part of distribution and monetization. As Andy Dufresne said, "Get busy living (working with creators) or get busy dying." He said that, right?

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Starting a new fun project with Victor Lee - an AMA series with early stage founders. There are many podcast shows featuring successful, famous entrepreneurs. But what about those who are still relatively early in their journey, perhaps just one step ahead? The zero-to-one founders who have recently cracked the product-market fit and raised Seed or Series A capital. They may not have figured out everything yet, but they have fresh, relatable tips and advice to share. We’ll invite early-stage founders for a one-hour AMA session. Afterwards, we’ll create a public webpage featuring each Q&A session with media clips and transcriptions. This will be 100% free and open to the public. Our first AMA (June 11 1pm PST) will feature Will Drewery, whose company (Diagon) recently raised $5.1 million in Seed funding. We’ll get to know Will better and cover topics such as tips on raising funding in this tough environment. It will be a fun AMA, and you can register for free using the link below. RSVP now!

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