Feeling the pressure of year-end marketing goals while watching ad costs climb? You're not alone. The holiday season brings opportunities but also challenges as advertising platforms become increasingly competitive and expensive. In this return of our "Kickstart Your Week" series, we're tackling Q4 marketing strategies that won't deplete your budget.

Digital advertising costs, especially on platforms like Meta, see significant increases as brands compete for consumer attention around Black Friday and throughout the holiday shopping season. Your regular ad budget simply won't stretch as far during this period. But don't panic, higher costs don't necessarily signal campaign failure. We share practical advice on how to adjust your expectations and strategies accordingly.

One of our key recommendations is starting early with awareness-focused campaigns. These more affordable ads help build familiarity with your brand before the holiday rush, creating warm audiences you can later target with conversion campaigns when they matter most. We explain why keeping early messaging educational rather than sales-focused pays dividends when competition heats up. Additionally, we explore how email marketing provides a cost-effective alternative to paid social during peak periods, allowing you to nurture leads without paying premium prices for each impression.

Service-based businesses face unique considerations during Q4. While e-commerce brands naturally lean into the holiday shopping frenzy, companies with longer sales cycles might benefit from a different approach. We discuss strategic budget allocation that might involve maintaining presence during expensive periods while saving major pushes for January when costs typically decrease. This episode delivers practical, actionable marketing advice to help you finish the year strong without unnecessary budget strain. Subscribe to our channel and join us every Monday morning for more business and marketing insights designed to kickstart your week!

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Meet your hosts and learn more about Kickstart Collective at kickstartcollective.co

Kickstart Collective is a creative marketing agency based in Wilmington, NC. We offer our clients a creative advantage through creative content and marketing strategies.

Video marketing has evolved beyond trends to become an essential business tool, with specific approaches that capture audience attention and drive meaningful engagement in today's digital landscape.

• Short-form content remains dominant, requiring hooks that capture attention in the first 3-5 seconds
• Effective videos combine compelling visuals, catchy music, and on-screen text – the "three-headed monster" approach
• Authentic slow-paced content offers viewers a break from high-energy videos and stands out by being deliberately calmer
• Long-form content continues to thrive with more niches finding audiences and platforms extending video length thresholds
• Creating long-form content allows for efficient repurposing into shorter clips, extending content shelf life
• Content series build viewer expectations and loyalty while establishing brand consistency
• Live shopping experiences on platforms like TikTok and Amazon create direct paths from viewer to buyer

If you're interested in starting long-form content in our studio or creating brand videos, head to kickstartcollective.co or reach out on Instagram. Subscribe on YouTube, Spotify, or wherever you listen to podcasts, and join our email newsletter to be notified when new episodes drop.

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Meet your hosts and learn more about Kickstart Collective at kickstartcollective.co

Kickstart Collective is a creative marketing agency based in Wilmington, NC. We offer our clients a creative advantage through creative content and marketing strategies.

Get more from Toucan Talks!

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Meet your hosts and learn more about Kickstart Collective at kickstartcollective.co

Kickstart Collective is a creative marketing agency based in Wilmington, NC. We offer our clients a creative advantage through creative content and marketing strategies.

Marketing never stands still, and as we move through 2025, several key trends are already reshaping how successful brands connect with their audiences. In this episode of Toucan Talks, we unpack the strategies that are delivering real results right now.

Short-form video leads the charge, with platforms like Instagram Reels and TikTok continuing to offer exceptional reach potential. We break down what makes these videos work - from capturing attention in those crucial first three seconds to delivering genuine value that keeps viewers engaged. The days of posting multiple times daily are firmly behind us, as quality now definitively trumps quantity across all marketing channels. We explore how finding the right content cadence prevents audience fatigue while still maintaining the consistency needed for growth.

Personalization through strategic audience segmentation is more powerful than ever, with today's platforms making it increasingly simple to deliver tailored messages to specific customer groups. Yet perhaps most fascinating is the growing consumer demand for authentic human connection amidst the AI revolution. As automation touches every aspect of marketing, brands that successfully balance technological efficiency with genuine human touchpoints are gaining a distinct competitive advantage.

Email marketing remains unshakable as a cornerstone of effective digital strategy, with recent social platform outages reinforcing the value of these owned channels. Subscribe now for more marketing insights, and join us next month when we dive deeper into video content strategies for 2025!

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Meet your hosts and learn more about Kickstart Collective at kickstartcollective.co

Kickstart Collective is a creative marketing agency based in Wilmington, NC. We offer our clients a creative advantage through creative content and marketing strategies.

Season 3 is here! We’re kicking off the new season of Toucan Talks with one of our favorite topics—Super Bowl ads! In this episode, we break down the biggest marketing moments from the 2025 Super Bowl, sharing which ads we loved, which ones missed the mark, and a few that left us scratching our heads.

Super Bowl Ads We Loved:

✅ Uber Eats – A Century of Cravings: Star power featuring Matthew McConaughey and a clever script made this a standout.
✅ Doritos – Abduction Commercial: A mix of humor and sci-fi weirdness that worked. Plus, UNCW alum made this ad!
✅ Coors – Case of the Mondays A fun take on having a "Case of the Mondays" with adorable sloths. The limited edition "Monday" packaging and giveaway made this campaign more than just an ad spot.
✅ Bud Light – Big Men on Cul-de-Sac: Comedy gold with a relatable suburban twist. After the ad aired, it cut to the football stadium where they had the extra-long cooler in real life.

Super Bowl Ads We Didn’t Love:

❌ Hims & Hers – Sick of the System: Confusing messaging that didn’t sit right.
❌ Mountain Dew – Kiss From a Lime: Seal transforms into an actual seal for this Baja Blast ad. Shock factor? Yes. Effective? Not so much for us.
❌ Rocket Mortgage – Own the Dream: Great ad with "Take Me Home, Country Roads," but influencer reactions on social media made it feel forced.

Honorable Mentions:

🔸 Tubi with The Fleshly Hat: Memorable but way too disturbing.
🔸 Coffee Mate with the Tongue Commercial: Another oddball entry that left us feeling… weird.
🔸 Dunkin’ Ad: A fun celeb cameo but not our favorite concept.
🔸 Jeep with Harrison Ford: Great humor and well-executed.
🔸 Poppi with Vending Machine Campaign: Loved the ad, but influencer backlash could be a problem.

What Small Businesses Can Learn from Super Bowl Ads

While most small businesses don’t have a Super Bowl-sized budget, there are still valuable takeaways from these big-brand campaigns.

One major theme this year was storytelling that connects emotionally—whether it was humor, nostalgia, or a relatable moment. The Uber Eats, Coors, and Bud Light commercials all leaned into entertainment first, branding second, proving that an ad doesn’t have to feel like an ad to be effective.

Small businesses can apply this by focusing on engaging content that resonates with their audience rather than just pushing a product or service.

Another key trend? Authenticity matters more than ever. Some brands, like Rocket Mortgage and Poppi, faced backlash due to influencer reactions that felt inauthentic. This highlights the importance of genuine brand storytelling and selecting marketing partners who align with your values.

Whether you're running a local campaign or leveraging social media, staying true to your brand and ensuring consistency in your messaging is crucial.

Marketing Themes to Watch in 2025

From this year’s Super Bowl ads, we’re seeing humor, family-centric, and shared experiences as a way to cut through the noise. Quirky, unexpected elements (like Doritos’ alien abduction or Jeep’s Harrison Ford humor) can make an ad more memorable.

For small businesses

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Meet your hosts and learn more about Kickstart Collective at kickstartcollective.co

Kickstart Collective is a creative marketing agency based in Wilmington, NC. We offer our clients a creative advantage through creative content and marketing strategies.

Tune into this week's episode of Toucan Talks as Luke and Joshua Break Down Mess Hall's Good Burger Ad. Ever wondered how a dollop of humor and a dash of nostalgia can turbocharge a marketing campaign? Get the inside scoop on how we transformed the essence of "Good Burger" into a feast for the funny bone that not only entertained but struck a chord with viewers. Our discussion peels back the layers of the conceptualization process, illuminates the hurdles of crafting comedy that clicks, and demonstrates the magnetic pull of a well-timed giveaway—ingredients that when mixed just right, can skyrocket your content's organic reach.

Join us as we recount the thrills and spills of an adventurous shoot with camera gear teetering on the brink—all in the pursuit of that perfect shot. As we reflect on the video we underscore the magic of creative gambles and their payoffs. Listen in, and you may find the inspiration to infuse your next project with a memorable blend of humor and heart!

Thanks for listening to this minisode!

Haven't seen Mess Hall's video yet?
Watch Here!

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Meet your hosts and learn more about Kickstart Collective at kickstartcollective.co

Kickstart Collective is a creative marketing agency based in Wilmington, NC. We offer our clients a creative advantage through creative content and marketing strategies.

Tune into Toucan Talks this week as we chat with Will Hardison of Creative Outdoor Solutions. Once a cover band member and DJ, he started a successful marketing agency and worked with an innovative e-commerce business selling meats online. Now he is working on a new venture called Creative Outdoor Solutions to help keep you home safe with storm shutters.

As we chat, we peel back the layers of this entrepreneurial venture, examining the essentials of targeting the right customer base. Will has good advice that's especially pertinent for those just stepping onto their entrepreneurial path. We also talk with him about his own podcast "Grow A Fanbase". Will opens up about the synergetic power of team dynamics in business and leaves us with strategic nuggets on the potential comeback of direct mail in a digitized world.

We hope you enjoy this episode of Toucan Talks!

Check out Will's Podcast here:
Grow a FanBase
Instagram

Will's Personal Instagram

Creative Outdoor Solutions
Website

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Meet your hosts and learn more about Kickstart Collective at kickstartcollective.co

Kickstart Collective is a creative marketing agency based in Wilmington, NC. We offer our clients a creative advantage through creative content and marketing strategies.

Jacob Tippett joins us on this week's episode of Toucan Talks to unravel his journey as a serial entrepreneur. With ventures ranging from e-learning platforms like Production Online to the innovative Sticky Notes, Jacob imparts a masterclass in steering businesses through the tides of time zones and the subtleties of product design.

Get ready to immerse yourself in the entrepreneurial ethos as we explore the intricacies of crafting business strategies and attainable objectives. We delve into essential insights for small business owners, including when to scale up and the resilience needed to overcome setbacks. Expect some lighthearted moments, from high school tales to Jacob's love of local restaurant favorite, Savorez.

We hope you enjoy this week's episode!

Check out Jacob's businesses here:

Production Online

Sticky Nodes
Sticky Nodes Instagram

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Meet your hosts and learn more about Kickstart Collective at kickstartcollective.co

Kickstart Collective is a creative marketing agency based in Wilmington, NC. We offer our clients a creative advantage through creative content and marketing strategies.

Join us as we breakdown some of our favorite Super Bowl ads from this year. This episode pulls back the curtain on big-brand maneuvers, revealing how they can be scaled for small and medium-sized businesses. From the importance of generating pre-launch buzz to the clever use of witty humor, this episode can help you with creating content that's not just seen but felt. We dive deep into some of the common themes from this year's big game, covering everything from big celebrities to dark humor and nostalgia.

We analyze how brands can create memorable moments with giveaways and how these initiatives can evoke a wide range of reactions. Whether you're crafting your first campaign or looking to refine your approach, we hope these breakdowns give your marketing efforts that championship edge.

Didn't see one of the Super Bowl ads we talked about?
Check out these links to watch along:
Michael Cerave
Paramount + "Football Shaped Head"
DoorDash Promo Code
Can't B Broken "Beyonce"
Game Time Glow "Cetaphil"
Jennifer Aniston and David Schwimmer Forget "Uber Eats"

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Meet your hosts and learn more about Kickstart Collective at kickstartcollective.co

Kickstart Collective is a creative marketing agency based in Wilmington, NC. We offer our clients a creative advantage through creative content and marketing strategies.