Podcast Summary: "What’s Up THIS WEEK: Cool NEW Subject Line TEST! Gemini AI News! Kardashian update?"

Podcast: Do This, NOT That: Marketing Tips with Jay Schwedelson
Host: Jay Schwedelson (presented as 'A' in transcript)
Episode: 441
Date: November 4, 2025

Main Theme

In this brisk, high-impact episode, Jay Schwedelson delivers a roundup of the week’s most compelling trends and mishaps in marketing, tech, and pop culture. He covers actionable new email marketing tactics, highlights evolving AI competition, explores the psychology behind "moment marketing," and even touches on the social responsibility of influencers—peppering it all with humor, candor, and direct calls-to-action for marketers.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Target’s Layoffs Fiasco and Internal Communications (00:30–02:10)

• Topic: Target lays off 1,800 employees, handling it via a problematic Zoom call.
  • "So Target... had to do layoffs this week... They were laying off 1800 employees... They were about to announce on the Zoom like which parts of the company were going to have all the layoffs and who was going to get laid off or whatever. And then right at that moment, they had a technical glitch and it went to like a black screen... HR had to just email out to everybody a summary... and that's how you found out." (00:20–01:45)
• Insight: Poorly managed digital communications can massively erode trust and create confusion, especially in high-stress scenarios.
• Tone: Empathetic, slightly incredulous about the mismanagement.

2. Hot Email Subject Line Tactic: Brackets at the End (02:10–05:00)

• Topic: A new email subject line tactic from Subjectline.com—putting bracketed text at the end of subject lines.
  • Example: "Don't miss our deals [NEW]"
  • "We’ve all hopefully been testing using brackets at the start of your subject line, right? But now the tactic of if you use a bracket at the end... it’s actually lifting email open rates by about 15%." (02:40)
  • “Put brackets around it. The square brackets, not the circle brackets. And no, it does not cause you to go to the junk... That's a myth. That's a lie. That's garbage.” (03:10)
• Insight: Placing bracketed text (e.g., [NEW], [IN], [READ THIS]) at the end draws attention and can significantly increase open rates—an easy, data-backed A/B test for any marketer.
• Advice: "If you never tested actually sticking the really important thing at the end of your subject line and putting it in brackets, you got to test that." (04:05)
• Tone: Practical, myth-busting.

3. Creating Moments: Lessons from Cash App x Sabrina Carpenter (05:00–09:30)

• Topic: Cash App and Sabrina Carpenter's pop-up event generated 30M social views; the principle is fleeting, high-energy "moment marketing."
  • “This is going to be one of the biggest trends in marketing going into 2026, which is the idea of creating moments of any kind.” (06:20)
  • Even B2B or "boring" industries can adopt this tactic: e.g., 24-hour "vault unlocks" or timed Slack communities.
  • “I think this idea of just putting these Slack communities out there is total garbage because... nobody goes to the Slack community because it’s really, really boring and it dries up. So what we do is pop-up communities.” (08:20)
• Insight: Short-lived, event-driven experiences produce urgency and buzz, generating far more engagement than static, ongoing communities.
• Advice: Build anticipation, create a deadline, and let the event “disappear” to maximize energy.
• Tone: Encouraging, motivational, slightly cheeky.

4. Gemini AI on the Rise: Watch the Browser Wars Redux (09:30–11:00)

• Topic: Google’s Gemini AI has nearly doubled its share of AI tool web traffic in a year; ChatGPT’s share drops.
  • “Gemini was getting 6.4%... Now they're at 12.9%. Chat GPT a year ago... 87%, now they're at 74%.” (10:00)
  • “Really does remind me a lot of the original browser wars... Now look at it, Chrome just dominates.” (10:36)
• Insight: Don’t ignore Gemini—brands should monitor their visibility and readiness across AI platforms, as the landscape is changing fast.
• Advice: Prepare for a multi-AI world; don’t assume ChatGPT’s dominance will last.
• Tone: Cautious, strategic.

5. Pop Culture Segment: The Kardashian Moon Landing & Influence (11:00–13:25)

• Topic: Reaction to Kim Kardashian’s claim (on her show) that the US moon landing didn’t happen, citing TikTok.
  • “Completely ridiculous... That's one of the worst conspiracy theories of all time.” (12:00)
  • “She reaches 350 million people on her social media platforms. Everybody consumes what she talks about. And now there are a bunch of doofuses... saying it didn’t happen... because nobody has their own brain.” (12:45)
• Insight: High-reach influencers carry responsibility; spreading misinformation can have real, negative effects.
• Advice: Those with large platforms should consider the harm of amplifying baseless conspiracies—even offhand.
• Tone: Direct, a bit ranting, but still appreciative of Kardashian’s overall work ethic.

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On subject lines:
  “No, it does not cause you to go to the junk folder... That’s a myth. That’s a lie. That’s garbage.” (03:15)
• On moment marketing:
  “You want to have this idea of creating a moment... It could be a small thing, right? Doesn’t have to be where you’re doing a pop up collaboration in New York City.” (06:30)
• On pop-up communities:
  “I think this idea of just putting these Slack communities out there is total garbage... So what we do is pop-up communities.” (08:20)
• On Gemini AI’s rise:
  “Really does remind me a lot of the original browser wars back in the day when Netscape had like 90%.” (10:36)
• On influencer responsibility:
  “People that have a platform like this need to really be a little bit more careful with amplifying garbage conspiracies, whether they believe them or not.” (13:15)

Timestamps for Important Segments

• 00:30–02:10: Target’s Layoffs and Digital Mishandling
• 02:10–05:00: Email Subject Line Bracket Tactic
• 05:00–09:30: Cash App/Sabrina Carpenter & “Moment Marketing”
• 09:30–11:00: Gemini AI’s Growth vs. ChatGPT
• 11:00–13:25: Kardashians, Influence, and Fake Moon Landing

Takeaways for Marketers

• Test new email tactics—brackets at the end of subject lines are working now.
• Design fleeting, energy-driven moments for your audience, regardless of sector or resources.
• Diversify your brand’s AI footprint as Gemini (Google) rapidly gains ground.
• Use your influence wisely; steer clear of amplifying misinformation, even in jest.

Jay’s tone is as energetic and honest as ever; he breaks down what’s relevant right now for marketers and throws in a little chaos and pop culture at the end. If you want actionable ideas and a no-nonsense approach—with a shot of entertainment—this episode delivers.