👋 Hey there,

Big news: we’re growing, too. Starting today, The Growth Memo becomes The Growth Bulletin—where fast-growing business leaders find their next stroke of genius.

Beginners are welcome, but we are kicking the tactics up a notch.

Couple reasons why:

1. We realized there’s another Growth Memo out there (shoutout to SEO expert Kevin Indig). So we decided it was time to carve out our own space and do something bigger.

2. We’re powered by Semrush now, and armed with their expertise, we’re upping the ante.

What you get from here on:

• Tactics you won’t find with a search.

• Your best ideas yet.

The new program:

• A weekly issue similar to the one you know, with beefed up tactics. 

• A monthly tactical deep dive from Semrush-vetted experts.

• The occasional high-value free resources (like this one).  

Doesn’t sound aligned with your goals? Click here to unsubscribe.

To our readers, let’s resume the climb!

And now, for today’s issue ▶️ 

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👋 What’s growing: Penny-pinching marketers. Looks like the industry will be tightening the purse strings in 2025. According to Gartner research, average marketing budgets dropped from 9.1% of company revenue in 2023 to 7.7% in 2024. Experts are dubbing it “anaemic growth”.

Marketers will have to get creative to hit their goals without simply throwing dollars at them.

LEADERSHIP

Do your employees hate you?

Getting the truth is the hard part. But at least you can do something about it.

Most people are highly motivated to not get fired. So, if they’re unhappy with you as a boss, they probably won’t tell you. They’ll probably browse job postings on company time instead.

The thing is, you’ll never grow to your full potential if you’re always dealing with unhappy, unmotivated employees. 

Employees usually won’t tell you they hate you. But there will be signs:

• High turnover. Obv. Research by Gallup found that around half of Americans have left a job to escape their manager. If people are quitting, it’s likely a ‘you’ problem.

• No complaints, ever. It sounds counterintuitive, but people in a healthy work environment feel comfortable complaining to their boss. If you’re not getting the low-down, employees are probably grumbling between themselves — and behind your back.

• Bickering between coworkers. If people are being short or sarcastic with each other, you might have created that culture. “Follow the leader”, as they say…

• Avoidance. If you always start the conversion, your employees probably aren’t engaged. (Or they’re avoiding you. Ouch.) 

• Bad Glassdoor reviews. People aren’t going to post “My boss so-and-so is an a**hole”, but critical reviews still give you a sense of the overall climate.

Think you might be an unpopular boss? You could still turn things around…

First of all: You need to get [anonymous] feedback, but feel free to throw Google Forms in the trash. No one believes that Google Forms are anonymous. And if your team doesn’t like you, they definitely don’t trust you enough to tell you the truth to your face. Look for a truly anonymous feedback-gathering tool (like SurveyMonkey or Typeform*), and brace yourself as honesty comes flooding in.

*And please, turn off IP address tracking.

Once you have that feedback, prioritize acting on it. It’s not fun, but you might need to make some drastic changes. Maybe you’ve been protecting toxic employees, or maybe you’re not the best leader for your team. For example, a team of devs might thrive with a more experienced developer—rather than a marketer—taking charge.

Still unsure about the best next steps? You might benefit from a mentor. Find someone whose leadership you admire and take their advice onboard.

Until then, scroll for the 8 skills that make a great leader in 2025. 👇️ 

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CULTURE

Super Bowl ads. Now. Then. And further back then.

Money can’t buy icon status.

Fox CEO Lachlan Murdoch said ad space sold at “record pricing” for this year’s Super Bowl. Last year’s bills were reportedly around $7 million for 30 seconds of air time (according to Statista), so you do the math.

More than 120 million viewers in the US are expected to tune in on Sunday. Dream audience. Big opportunity. High stakes. Crippling pressure.

The best ads make us laugh or cry, use creativity, tell a story, and make us want to buy the product. But the OG Super Bowl ads proved it’s not all about a big budget. In fact, some of the older commercials are still the most iconic.

Let’s look at some of our favorites through the eras. Do you remember these?

Now:

Amazon - “Alexa Loses Her Voice” (2021). A hilarious, star-studded spot where Alexa takes a day off, and celebrities like Gordon Ramsay and Cardi B step in.

Kia - “Perfect 10” (2024). A heart-tugging celebration of that one person who always shows up for you. And a reminder that bringing power to your life makes anything possible.

Unarguably iconic, yes. However, Infegy used their self-made social listening API and found that, despite today’s astronomical budgets, the most effective ads were from 2010-2011.

Some ads from back then:

Google - “Parisian Love” (2010). Who’d have thought a search engine could give us a lump in the throat? Google captures a whole love story through searches. Genius.

Chrysler - “Born of Fire” (2011). Feels like a full movie told in a tiny spot. A celebration of Detroit, featuring Eminem. 

And the ads that made history:

Apple - “1984” (1984). Created when Apple was just a scrappy startup. This creepy ad, presenting a dystopian world and inspired by Orwell’s 1984 novel, reportedly triggered a huge spike in sales.

Budweiser - “Wassup” (1991). We couldn’t write this list without featuring Bud. Silly and forever memorable, this is surely one of the best beer ads of all time.

Some of these commercials are probably etched in your brain. For everything else, there’s YouTube.

DATA POINT

These 8 skills can make you a better leader

Harvard Business Publishing did some digging to find out what makes an effective leader. They surveyed 1100 leadership and development professionals, and functional leaders.

HBP found that 70% of people think it’s important or very important for leaders to master a wider range of skills. Being good at your job isn’t enough.

Just over half of the respondents rated their bosses as “very effective.” That sounds pretty good. But that means almost half (47%) of respondents believe there’s room for improvement.

How can leaders be better?

Last year, tech savviness and digital adaptability were rated as the most important skills. This year feels more human. Here are the skills the respondents think every good leader should have:

1. Connecting employees to the organization’s purpose

2. Managing employee stress/burnout

3. Emotional and social intelligence

4. Managing contract/gig workers

5. Providing clarity/direction

6. Appropriate risk-taking

7. Managing polarization

8. Managing conflict

The skills leaders need—and how they obtain them—will always be evolving. Lately, AI and remote work are reshaping the business landscape. Next year, it’ll be something else.

An “always-on” approach to learning is key to keeping up.

This week’s issue was written by Amy Hawthorne and edited by Catherine Solbrig.