Welcome to Marketing S'mores, where we ignite the campfire of creativity and innovation in the world of marketing. Hosted by Jacob Campos, this podcast is your go-to guide in the wilderness of today's dynamic marketing landscape.
Each week, we gather around our digital campfire to roast the marshmallows of marketing wisdom. From SEO to social media, content marketing to email strategies, we unpack it all, serving you a delightful mix of insights, tips, and trends. Whether you're a seasoned marketer or just setting up your tent, we've got the perfect s'more of knowledge for you.
We also host expert guests who share their unique experiences and strategies, helping you blaze a trail to success. And don't miss our S'mores Q&A, where we answer your burning questions about all things marketing.
So, pull up a log, and join us around the campfire as we explore the world of marketing one s'more at a time.
Meta's algorithm no longer rewards polish — it rewards realness. In today's episode, Jacob breaks down why "ugly" lo-fi ads are outperforming expensive studio creative on Meta right now, and what that means for your Cost Per Acquisition this week. He also covers Meta's new prompt-based audience targeting that cuts campaign setup from hours to minutes, why AI chatbots are quietly eating retail media's $38 billion search market (and what to do before your search ad ROI takes a hit), and a new tool called Timelaps that finally tells you whether your brand is actually growing — or if you're just renting customers one click at a time.
If you're spending money on paid ads and you want to know why your numbers feel off, this episode is your answer.
Topics covered:
Meta's Andromeda AI and the "ugly ad" revolution · Prompt-based audience targeting · AI chatbots disrupting retail search · Meta's attribution cleanup · Tool Watch: Timelaps
7 Mar 2026
The 60% Traffic Drop Nobody Wants to Talk About (And How to Fix It)
If you've looked at your Google Analytics recently and noticed your organic traffic slowly bleeding out — even though your rankings haven't dropped — you are not crazy.
This week, LinkedIn made a stunning public admission: Google's AI Overviews have slashed their non-brand B2B traffic by up to 60%. The click is dying, and the way we measure marketing success is fundamentally changing.
In this episode, Jacob Campos breaks down exactly why this is happening, why LinkedIn just fired their traditional SEO team, and the 10-minute audit you need to run today to see if your brand is surviving the shift to AI search.
Also covered: Netflix coming for your performance ad budgets using Amazon purchase data, a shocking influencer pay transparency gap, and the one social media habit that boosts engagement by 42%.
Get the free weekly newsletter at marketingsmores.com
5 Mar 2026
Meta Changed What a Click Means. Here's What to Do.
Your Meta click numbers are about to drop. Here's why that's actually good news.
Meta just changed what counts as a "click" — and if you're running ads on Facebook or Instagram, your reports are going to look very different starting this month. In today's episode, Jacob breaks down exactly what changed, why your numbers will drop even if your ads are performing perfectly, and the 3 things you need to do this week to get ahead of it.
We also cover:
Why Meta plans to fully automate ad creation by end of 2026 — and what that means for your creative strategy
ChatGPT's first official ad partner (and why this is the Google Ads moment of 2003)
The 2026 Edelman Trust Barometer's big finding: reach is dead, alignment is the new metric
Whether you're commuting or at your desk, this episode gives you the clarity and the action plan to turn today's marketing news into a real advantage for your business.
Subscribe to the free Marketing S'mores newsletter at marketingsmores.com
27 Feb 2026
AI Shakeup: WPP and the Future of Agencies
The advertising world just had its Kodak moment.
Today, WPP — the world's second-largest advertising group — announced a radical restructure to survive the rise of AI. New CEO Cindy Rose is cutting jobs, selling off assets, and merging iconic agencies including Ogilvy, VML, and AKQA under a single umbrella, targeting £500 million in annual savings by 2028.
But this episode isn't just about WPP. It's about what their pain signals for every marketer and agency professional listening right now. If the biggest players in the industry are being forced to rebuild from the ground up, what does that mean for your agency? Your clients? Your career?
We break it all down — and then cover three more signals you need to know this week: Urban Outfitters completely rethinking its influencer strategy with a new micro-creator community program, U.S. Connected TV ad spend surpassing $37 billion as the streaming shift accelerates, and Salesforce doubling down on autonomous AI agents that don't just assist marketers — they execute.
This episode covers:
What WPP selling assets and cutting jobs actually means for brand marketers and independent agencies
Why the "Enterprise Solutions" division is the most important part of WPP's announcement
Urban Outfitters' "Me@UO" program and the shift from influencer reach to community participation
Why CTV is no longer an emerging channel — and what to do about it
Salesforce's AI agent bet and the shift from marketing automation to marketing autonomy
Tool Watch: How CTV advertising is being democratized for smaller brands and agencies
New episodes every week. See you around the campfire.
Everyone's chasing one-off viral moments with influencers. A big splash, a quick spike, then on to the next creator. But brand new data published today by eMarketer reveals the real ROI is in the follow-up — not the first post.
In this episode, we break down the Creator Loyalty Multiplier: a study showing that by the eighth integration with the same YouTube creator, your affiliate link click-through rate reaches 1.8 times the rate of the very first. The problem isn't influencer marketing. It's that most brands are quitting before the strategy has a chance to work.
We also cover three quick signals you need to act on this week: Google's AI Max feature suite quietly removing manual control from your Search campaigns, a Google Ads budget pacing change going live March 1st that could spike your daily spend, and TikTok's expanding MLB partnership signaling sports as its next big content frontier.
Plus, in Tool Watch: micro-influencer platform Statusphere just raised $18 million to build the infrastructure for always-on creator partnerships — and it's a signal about exactly where the industry is heading.
This episode covers:
The Creator Loyalty Multiplier and why one-off campaigns are a broken model
How Dick's Sporting Goods and Best Buy are building long-term creator infrastructure
Google AI Max and what advertisers need to do before it goes live
The March 1st Google Ads budget pacing change
TikTok's sports content strategy and what it means for brands
Statusphere's $18M raise and the "always-on" influencer model
New episodes every week. See you around the campfire.
23 Feb 2026
AI-Driven Marketing: The UCP Era
The marketing funnel didn't just get shorter. It disappeared.
Google quietly launched its Universal Cart Platform (UCP) — a new system that lets AI agents like Gemini purchase products directly from Wayfair, Etsy, and other retailers without the user ever visiting a website. In this episode, we break down exactly how agentic commerce works, why it's fundamentally different from every 'Buy on Google' attempt before it, and what it means for the metrics, creative, and data strategies marketers have spent years building.
We also cover three Quick Signals you need on your radar: TikTok Shop's stunning projection to become a top-3 global retailer by 2030 and what the "shoppertainment" model means for your content strategy; Snapchat's new creator subscriptions and what the shift to fan monetization means for influencer marketing; and a quick recap of ChatGPT's ad rollout — including the trust tightrope OpenAI now has to walk.
Plus, Tool Watch: Google Ads finally added a Results Tab so you can see if their recommendations actually helped you — or just helped Google.
In this episode: Google UCP · Agentic Commerce · TikTok Shop · Snapchat Creator Subscriptions · ChatGPT Ads · Google Ads Results Tab
20 Feb 2026
ChatGPT Just Became a Paid Media Channel
The game just changed for every marketer with a budget. This week, the first real ads were spotted inside ChatGPT, with Expedia leading the charge. We break down what this means for the future of search advertising, how it collapses the wall between SEO and paid media, and why your strategy needs to change today.
Also in this episode: new data reveals TikTok's engagement is surging 200% while Instagram's is in decline, a critical Google Ads update that could cause you to overspend if you're not careful, and why 75% of marketers are still using AI for generic, one-way campaigns. Tune in for the marketing news that matters, not just what's trending.
19 Feb 2026
Building a Full-Funnel Ad Ecosystem
Most businesses don’t fail because of bad ideas.
They fail because they’re using outdated marketing playbooks.
Marketing S’mores is the podcast for founders, creators, and operators who want to build real leverage — not just chase attention.
This show breaks down what’s actually working in modern marketing right now — from Meta ads and content systems to customer journeys, audience ownership, and scalable growth frameworks.
No theory. No fluff. Just practical strategy you can execute immediately.
You’ll learn how to:
⚡ Build full-funnel marketing systems that turn attention into revenue
⚡ Stop chasing “winning ads” and start engineering customer journeys
⚡ Use content as a long-term growth asset — not a daily chore
⚡ Leverage algorithms instead of fighting them
⚡ Turn audience trust into predictable business growth
⚡ Scale smarter with data, automation, and positioning
Each episode delivers clear frameworks, real-world insights, and tactical moves you can apply the same day — whether you run ads, build content, or operate a growing company.
If you care about digital marketing, brand building, creator growth, performance advertising, and building a business that compounds over time, you’re in the right place.
Build smarter. Move faster. Stay relevant.
Pull up a seat by the campfire — and let’s grow.
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