As our unofficial “shadow guest”, Taylor Holiday, CEO of Common Thread Collective, finally joins us to unpack what growing a brand actually looks like in 2025. From shifting Meta performance and rising creative demands to tighter margins and changing consumer behavior, we explore the real constraints shaping how brands operate today.

We talk about how the best brands are adjusting their messaging to drive performance, how to think about media spend through a margin-first lens, and why bundling, offer structure, and disciplined execution are more important than ever.

Taylor also shares his take on the evolving balance between brand and product-led growth, how to think about testing in a high-cost environment, and why most teams of the future will look leaner, faster, and increasingly AI-powered.

If you have a question for the MOperators Hotline, click the link to be in with a chance of it being discussed on the show: https://forms.gle/1W7nKoNK5Zakm1Xv6

00:00 Introduction

04:08 E-commerce Challenges and Growth Strategies

11:08 Navigating Meta's Advertising Landscape

18:14 Optimizing for Incrementality and Brand Engagement

25:21 The Role of Brand Activations and Measurement

37:44 Unlocking New Reach in Marketing

40:05 The Short-Term Impact of Advertising

43:39 Balancing Brand and Performance Marketing

46:24 Evolving Marketing Strategies for Growth

49:19 The Role of Creative Campaigns in Business Growth

53:08 The Future of Marketing and AI Integration

01:00:09 The Changing Landscape of Creative Development

01:05:42 The Role of Humans in an AI-Driven World

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