👉🏻 SUM NEWS: Your mid-week marketing update

February 05, 2025

In partnership with

With January finally behind us, we’re taking on February with a renewed sense of vim and vigor! This week, we’re covering the impact of zero-click search on marketers, PR discontent, Google’s new MMM, and social media spend trends.

Plus, don’t forget to RSVP to our exclusive SUM community events every Thursday—your weekly power hour for growth, insights, and community! 💪

IN THIS ISSUE

  • 🔥 Marketer Spotlight

  • 🎯 The Dual Currency of Leadership

  • 🔍 Are You Zero-Click Ready?

  • 🌎 Around the Web: Google, Pinterest, LinkedIn, Social Media Spend

  • 🎬 SUM Events & Recaps

  • 💡 In the Meme Time

Marketer Spotlight

We recently caught up with SUM Advisory Board member James O’Brien, a senior marketing and advertising consultant with experience at Digiday, Verve, The Boston Globe, and Contently. Learn all about his go-to resources, lessons learned, and the marketing superpower that sets him apart. Meet James.

The Dual Currency of Leadership

Vision without action is just a dream. Execution without strategy leads to long-term stagnation. The best marketing leaders are both dreamers AND doers. Our latest article explores why this combination is essential and how you can strike the right balance.

Are You Zero-Click Ready?

SUM Book an Expert David Fossas recently shared his take on zero-click search—a trend with significant implications for SEO, digital marketing, and business strategy. David spells out what it is, how it impacts search behavior, and 10 tactics for zero-click SEO.

Interested in sharing your POV on a relevant topic? Submit your pitch for publication.

AROUND THE WEB

  • Google just launched Meridian, an open-source MMM that factors in seasonality, pricing, and economic trends to show your true marketing impact across channels.

  • No data science degrees required: The best time to post on LinkedIn is during the weekday, 7 am-4 pm, according to an analysis of over 1 million LinkedIn posts sent through Buffer.

  • 78% of marketing and PR execs are unhappy with their newswire ROI, according to EZ Newswire’s 2025 State of the Newswire Report.

  • Pinterest has launched its 2025 marketing moments calendar, featuring both calendar events and life moments to help you plan for the year ahead.

  • 79% of marketers have increased organic social media spend over the past three years and 50% plan to further increase spend, according to research from VaynerX and Ipsos.

  • Consumers (61.3%) want media publications to always disclose when content is created by AI, EMARKETER reports.

  • LinkedIn has rolled out new video updates, including full-screen desktop view, enhanced analytics, and new learning courses.

Start learning AI in 2025

Everyone talks about AI, but no one has the time to learn it. So, we found the easiest way to learn AI in as little time as possible: The Rundown AI.

It's a free AI newsletter that keeps you up-to-date on the latest AI news, and teaches you how to apply it in just 5 minutes a day.

Plus, complete the quiz after signing up and they’ll recommend the best AI tools, guides, and courses – tailored to your needs.

SUM POLL

Does your marketing team leverage freelancers?

Login or Subscribe to participate in polls.

Enter the OSSUM Awards

Whether you’re a startup, scale-up, or just an all-around scrappy marketer, your hard work deserves recognition. The OSSUM Awards celebrate marketers like you who turn limited resources into incredible results. You’ve done more with less—now it’s time to soak up the spotlight!

SUM COMMUNITY EVENTS

Friendly reminder to block off Thursdays at 3 pm ET for SUM Expert Sessions and Tea Times—consider it your weekly power hour for growth, insights, and community. Note: These events are exclusively available to SUM members. Not a member? 👉 Join now 👈

Tea Time with the Vanderlindens

Having helped countless organizations visually tell their stories, Matt and Chris dive into the power of video marketing, sharing insights from building their company Detonator and discussing the power of storytelling for startups.

Tea Time with Jessica Foster Brandt

Seasoned startup marketer Jessica Foster Brandt explores the unique challenges, pain points, and pet peeves of startup marketers, revealing battle-tested strategies for managing common triggers and tips for turning frustrations into opportunities.

Expert Session: Product Marketing vs. Commercialization

Nicole Ferrara will break down the unique roles, key responsibilities, and synergies between product marketing and commercialization, helping you optimize your product's journey from development to market success.

Working Session: AI for Marketers

Roll up your sleeves for this hands-on working session discussing real-world practical marketing applications of AI, from content creation and campaign optimization to analytics, all focused on the unique needs and constraints of startup, scale-up, and scrappy marketing teams.

ICYMI: A BITE OF INSIGHT

PITCH PERFECT

“It can be really hard to break through the noise when reporters have a lot on their plates. I think tying [your PR] to newsworthy events happening in the world and kind of trend-jacking or news-jacking can be helpful—it can also be seen as opportunistic, so you have to tread carefully with that.”

MESSAGE FOR MARKETING GRADS

“If you’re struggling to get [a marketing job], get into business development—it might sound horrible, and it might sound scary, but it will serve you dramatically as a marketer.”

IN THE MEME TIME

Reply with your favorite marketing meme and we just might feature it in the next newsletter!