Single Most Important Year-End Task for CMOs

This week, the team breaks down what recent platform moves signal for operators heading into 2026 — starting with Shopify’s Winter Editions and the growing role of Sidekick inside the Shopify ecosystem.

They discuss how tools like Sidekick are democratizing data access, reducing operational friction, and changing how lean growth teams analyze performance, build reports, and take action inside the admin.

From there, the conversation shifts to BFCM performance and incrementality, with the hosts unpacking what they learned from scaling spend in steps during peak periods. They discuss where incremental gains showed up, where marginal returns began to flatten, and why short testing windows can still offer directional insight even when results are noisy.

The team then reacts to and unpacks a tweet about Amazon bidding more aggressively on brand terms, using it as a jumping-off point to explore demand capture during promo periods, brand search strategy, and how branded demand is distributed across Amazon and DTC during high-intent moments.

Throughout the episode, a key theme emerges: how operators should interpret signals from major platforms and translate them into proactive strategy rather than reactive tactics.

The episode wraps with a candid conversation on 2026 planning, including examples like Connor Rolain’s pyramid-style goal-setting framework, org design considerations, and how growth leaders can balance short-term execution with long-term thinking.

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Chapters

00:00:00 – Shopify Winter Editions and the Rise of Sidekick

00:06:46 – Data Democratization and AI Inside Shopify

00:14:34 – Shopify Collective and Cross-Brand Merchandising

00:19:03 – Black Friday Scaling Tests and Marginal ROAS

00:27:27 – Brand Search Incrementality and Paid Search Myths

00:32:14 – Amazon Brand Bidding and the “Amazon Tax”

00:36:39 – What CMOs Must Lock Before Year-End Planning

00:41:22 – Hiring Plans, Budgets, and 2026 Readiness

00:46:21 – Managing Multiple Timelines Across Growth Teams

00:49:38 – Strategic Filters, Objectives, and Goal-Setting Frameworks

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