What’s Up THIS WEEK: Subject Line Trends, Instagram CAROUSELS Crushing it, Karate Kid: Legends? | Ep. 336

Summary

Episode 336 Summary: Subject Line Trends, Instagram Carousels, Business Moves, and More

In Episode 336 of "Do This, NOT That: Marketing Tips with Jay Schwedelson" presented by Marigold, host Jay Schwedelson dives into the latest trends and developments in the marketing landscape. Released on May 20, 2025, this episode offers valuable insights for marketers looking to stay ahead in a rapidly evolving environment.

Instagram's Carousel Craze

The episode kicks off with a deep dive into Instagram's latest algorithm updates. Adam Mosseri, the head of Instagram, recently highlighted the rising importance of carousel posts. According to Mosseri, "carousel posts are the future of engagement on Instagram," emphasizing that these multi-image posts can significantly boost interaction.

[01:20] Jay Schwedelson: "If you’re not leveraging carousel posts, you’re missing out on a 30% higher engagement rate compared to regular posts."

Carousel posts not only keep users swiping through multiple images but also allow Instagram to recirculate the same post with different images, effectively increasing visibility and engagement.

Summer Subject Lines Drive Higher Open Rates

Moving on to email marketing, the podcast highlights a compelling trend from SubjectLine.com: summer-oriented subject lines lead to a 22% higher average email open rate during marketing campaigns starting June 1st. This seasonal approach taps into the vibrant energy of summer, making emails more enticing.

Examples of Effective Summer Subject Lines:

• Consumer Marketing:

  • "Your Summer Starts Here!"
  • "Hot Summer, Hotter Discounts!"
  • "Summer Essentials 30% Off – Limited Time"

• B2B Marketing:

  • "This Tool Doesn't Take Summer Fridays"
  • "What Every CMO Should Download This Summer"
  • "Beat the Summer Slump with This Report"

[04:10] Jay Schwedelson: "Incorporating summer themes into your subject lines can make your emails stand out in crowded inboxes."

By aligning email content with the seasonal sentiment, marketers can enhance engagement and drive higher open rates.

LinkedIn Faces Irony with Job Cuts

In a surprising turn of events, Microsoft announced significant job cuts at LinkedIn, targeting around 400 to 500 positions. Despite LinkedIn's robust revenue and user growth, the decision stems from a strategic shift towards greater efficiency and increased focus on artificial intelligence.

[05:45] Jay Schwedelson: "It's ironic that LinkedIn, a platform for job seekers, is laying off a substantial number of its own employees."

The hosts discuss the potential impacts of these cuts, pondering whether affected employees will turn to LinkedIn to find new opportunities, thereby sustaining the platform's ecosystem despite internal reductions.

Dick's Sporting Goods Acquires Foot Locker

A major business development discussed is Dick's Sporting Goods' acquisition of Foot Locker for $2.4 billion. The plan is to preserve the Foot Locker brand and operate the stores as standalone businesses across 2,400 locations in 22 countries.

[06:50] Jay Schwedelson: "With this acquisition, Dick's Sporting Goods could control up to 35% of Nike's sales, significantly increasing their bargaining power with major brands like Nike, Adidas, and Hoka."

This strategic move not only expands Dick's market presence but also positions them as a formidable player capable of negotiating better terms with top athletic brands.

Most Viewed TV Ads of the Week

The podcast also sheds light on the most circulated TV ads from the past week, revealing impressive viewership numbers and hefty investment costs:

1. Liberty Mutual’s Limu Emu:

   • Impressions: 443 million
   • Airings: 2,400 times
   • Estimated Spend: $2.7 million

   [06:00] Jay Schwedelson: "Liberty Mutual's Limu Emu commercials are everywhere, and it's no surprise given their massive reach."

2. WeGovy’s "Discover the Power":

   • Impressions: 334 million
   • Airings: 1,900 times
   • Estimated Spend: $8.7 million

   [06:30] Jay Schwedelson: "Spending $8.7 million in a single week on ads is a bold move, but it clearly pays off with 334 million impressions."

These statistics underscore the significant investments brands are making to maximize their visibility through television advertising.

Off-Topic Chats and Personal Anecdotes

In a lighter segment, Jay shares his excitement for upcoming movie releases, including Mission Impossible and expresses his disdain for live-action remakes like Disney's Lilo & Stitch and the upcoming Karate Kid Legends. He also vents about celebrity news, particularly targeting Blake Lively, adding a personal touch to the episode.

[05:00] Jay Schwedelson: "I really wanted to go to the movies in the next few weeks. Mission Impossible is back, and I can’t wait to see what Tom Cruise does this time."

While these tangents provide a relaxed break from the core marketing discussions, they also humanize the hosts, making the podcast relatable to listeners.

Conclusion

Episode 336 of "Do This, NOT That!" offers a comprehensive look at current marketing strategies and business movements. From leveraging Instagram carousels and optimizing email subject lines to navigating major corporate acquisitions and understanding high-stakes advertising investments, Jay Schwedelson delivers actionable insights for marketers aiming to elevate their strategies. The episode balances heavy industry analysis with personal anecdotes, ensuring an engaging and informative listen for all marketing professionals.

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Transcript

[A]

What up? Welcome to do this, not that, the podcast for marketers.

[B]

I'm Jay Schwedelson.

[A]

Let's dig into some tips and some randomness. We are back for what's up this week from the do this not that podcast presented by Marigold. This is our super short episode where we break down what's going on this week in business, in marketing and life, and then we solve our other episodes. So what's going on? So let's talk Instagram first. Adam Mosseri, the head of Instagram, came out this week and he was talking about what type of posts get the most circulation on Instagram. So basically you should only be posting carousels. That's pretty much what I got out of what he said, because what he said about carousel posts, which by the way are those posts that have like multiple images that you can kind of scroll through. He said that what happens on Instagram is if a user doesn't engage in the post in their feed, that's a carousel post, they will recirculate that same post but show the second image in that post so you get more bites of the apple because they're actually serving up the same post multiple time. And it is increasing average engagement rates for carousel specific posts to about 30% higher than other forms of posts. So that was straight from Instagram. Now other cool data coming out this week. This is from subject line.com summer oriented subject lines starting on June 1st for both business and consumer marketing campaigns have a 22% higher average email open rate. So what does that mean? That really means incorporating summer into your subject line. So on the consumer side side, I'll give you some examples, then I'll do B2B. So your subject lines may be something like your summer starts with this email or hot summer hotter discounts or your Summer essentials are 30% off, but not for long. And on the business side, it might be something like this tool doesn't take summer Fridays or what every CMO should download this summer or beat the summer slump with this report. Basically, we want to get excited about the fact that it's the summer and we want to tap into that in all of our marketing. So if you're not testing or planning on testing summer oriented subject lines, I think you're missing out in a, in a big, big way. What else going on this week? Well, this is not cool, Slightly ironic, but LinkedIn is facing job cuts. Microsoft announced that they're cutting some people from LinkedIn and they're cutting somewhere in the neighbor of 400 to 500 jobs. But according to Microsoft, it's not because of revenue and usage, because both of those are up on LinkedIn, but it's because of them wanting to be more efficient and they want to do more stuff with AI. Shocker. So that's kind of. I said ironic because you go on LinkedIn to actually find a job. I actually wonder this, like, if you work at LinkedIn and then you get let go, do you have like glass in your teeth? Do you not then use LinkedIn to find your next job? Like, what would you do? I feel like I would use it because what are you going to do not use it? I don't know. All right, some other news going on in the business marketing world. Did you see that Dick's Sporting Goods bought foot locker for $2.4 billion and their plan is to maintain the Foot Locker name and to run the shoe stores as standalone businesses. At least that's what they say they're going to do. And they're 2400 stores across 22 countries. Pretty wild. But the thing that's really interesting and I think the reason that they did this for real is that UBS is reporting that they now Dick's total sales, including now the Foot Locker portion, they can be a total of 35% of Nike's sales. Which is really interesting because I think in a lot of ways, Nike can bully a lot of the retailers and doing what they want to do. But when you control that much of another company's sales and you could bully them. So there's a lot of bargaining power that Dicks is going to have for Nike and Adidas and Hoka and all these other brands. Some other things. And we'll jump into the nonsense. I've been starting to check out what are the most seen ads, TV ads every single week. Because I'm so curious about how often some of these ads are running. So what do you think the most seen TV ad was this week? Well, it was Liberty Mutuals TV Spot, the Limu Emu. Okay. I do love those commercials. They're very, very good. Limu Emu. But I didn't realize how widely circulated they are. So this past week, those TV spots got 443 million impressions views. The ad aired 2400 times and they spent estimated according to I spot TV. Okay, I spot TV estimates they spent $2.7 million on that ad this week. The second one, the most widely circulated one according to I spot TV was WeGovy's TV spot Discover the Power, which had 334 million impressions. It aired 1900 times. You know how much they spent this week? $8.7 million. Because they're going after some more expensive markets. Dude, that's just this week alone. That is bananas. Do you have $8.7 million to spend this week on your ad campaigns? That would be cool. All right, let's get into some nonsense stuff. So I really wanted to go to the movies in the next few weeks. So I'm like, what movies are coming out? I want to check out the movies. So first off, the movie that I am excited about that's coming out. Not that you asked. I know you don't care, but I am excited about Mission Impossible. I've seen every Mission Impossible, and I could barely get in my car without tripping and falling down. And Tom Cruise can, like, jump out of planes. And I mean, it's unbelievable what that dude's doing. So I'm very into seeing Mission Impossible. The other thing that's coming out this week, which I don't care about, which I think we need to stop. Lilo and Stitch from Disney, they're doing a live action version of the cartoon. I do not like these live action versions of cartoons. Like, what is. What happened to creativity? We just have to turn cartoons into real things. This is ridiculous. I'm not a fan of. I know. I'm a downer. Who cares? Whatever. And then the ones coming out next week, which I definitely am not seeing, is Karate Kid Legends. Come on. They're making another film. This is the sixth film in the Karate Kid. Whatever. And this picks up right after Cobra Kai. The show ends. Right? And enough. Enough with the Karate Kid. It's ridiculous. I know. Everybody out there gets so much hate whenever I talk about Cobra Kai. I get so much hate that I'm not that into it. I don't care. I really don't care. You know what else I'm not into? I talked about this before, but I'm not into Blake Lively. Sorry, Blake Lively. I know I shouldn't talk about this, but I don't care. So I saw that. It was all over the news that she had a girls night out. Who cares that she had a girls night out and she was with her sisters and there are all these pictures that she posted and all this stuff. You know why she had a girls night out with her sisters? Because nobody else wants to be in a picture with her right now. She needs to hide. If she just hidden for a few months and let everything die down and stop being annoying, everything for her would be fine, I think. Anyway, what are we talking about? I don't know. I appreciate you being here. Listen, check out the episodes later in the week and have a great week later.

[B]

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[A]

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[B]

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