Monthly Marketing Meeting
May 2026 — Performance review, campaign updates, and next steps
May 2026 Agenda
- 01Discussion Items
- 06Paid Media Performance
- 02Video Strategy & Content Discussion
- 07Website Performance
- 03Campaign & Marketing Updates
- 08Content Performance
- 04Business & Marketing Goals
- 09Updates from Your Team
- 05Lead Generation
Interview Process & Prep
- We want to make sure interview prep materials give you enough context and direction to walk in ready — going forward, Newfangled will provide a brief ahead of each interview that outlines the topic, the angle, the audience, and specific questions so the conversation is focused and the resulting content is on-strategy.
Corporate Events as a Content & Targeting Opportunity
- Matchbox has done President's Trip-style corporate event work for Keurig Dr. Pepper and FedEx Kinkos — recurring annual projects that rarely surface in marketing conversations but represent a distinct, scalable service category worth building content and LinkedIn targeting around.
Strategic Positioning
- Jeff flagged that repositioning from "creative shop" to strategic growth partner is rapidly becoming the most critical goal — content needs to lean toward how an agency like Matchbox survives and wins as AI changes executional work, positioning them as strategic advisors who captain the ship and leverage tools on the client's behalf.
Video Strategy
- A/B test data showed a 175% CTR lift on a still-from-video creative, pointing toward a LinkedIn video ad campaign — the concept "The Night Big Tex Burned Down" emerged from the April 22 meeting as a hooky, engaging format that moves away from pure thought leadership; timeline and production details TBD with Corey.
Personal Social
- Jeff is actively ramping up his personal LinkedIn presence and should be sharing and amplifying the articles we're producing — upcoming client project reveals like the Dallas Marathon theme and State Fair poster are strong organic posting opportunities Newfangled can help amplify.
Outstanding Insight Engine Questions
- Jeff raised questions around MQL/SQL definitions, when to use the hide button, and navigating leads efficiently — key clarification: contact form submissions can be marked SQL if you've reached out; hide is appropriate for bots and test leads; and Jeff flagged a UX improvement request (next/previous arrows) that's been noted for the product team.
Contact Form Routing
- Jeff noted a high volume of vendors, students, and job seekers coming through the main contact form — the recommendation is to add a dropdown or inline routing options (e.g. "vendor," "student/internship") so prospective clients reach you directly while others are directed to a more appropriate path.
Let's Talk About It
Format 01
60-Second Takes
Fast, single-idea videos built for LinkedIn autoplay. High cadence, low production lift. Keeps Matchbox in the feed between bigger content moments.
Format 02
Case Study Crack-Opens
90 seconds to 2 minutes. One project, one strategic insight. The State Fair of Texas (73% revenue growth) is the natural first candidate. Framed around what viewers can learn, not what Matchbox made.
Format 03
The Diagnosis
2–3 minutes. Matchbox analyzes a real entertainment brand's public marketing and calls out what's working and why. High authority-building potential. Unique in the category.
"The Night Big Tex Burned Down"?
The concept that started this conversation — hooky, engaging, less thought leadership and more story. Still on the table. Where does this fit in the mix?
Active and completed work across all channels
Completed — Launched & Live
- 001 LinkedIn Awareness: Understanding the Brand Vision PhaseLive 3/11
- 002 LinkedIn Awareness: Brand Execution PhaseLive 3/9
- 003 Article: Higher Attendance Doesn't Come From Higher Ad Spend
- 004 Article: How to Defeat the Couch
- 005 Article: Generalists vs. Specialists
- 006 LinkedIn Promotion: X Strategies to Drive AttendanceLive 4/21
- 007 LinkedIn Promotion: The Couch Is Your CompetitionLive 3/16
- 008 LinkedIn Promotion: Generalists vs. SpecialistsLive 4/24
With Matchbox — Action Needed
- 009 LinkedIn Promotion: State Fair of Texas Case StudyWaiting on: updated case study page + ad creative assets
- 012 Article: X Questions We Ask Every ClientReady to publish — LinkedIn promotion to follow
- 015 Article: How Experiential Brands Can Create "Get Out More Often" MomentsInterview scheduled
In Development — Newfangled
- 016 Google Search RSA: Brand SearchApproved — addressing one comment, launching shortly
- 011 Content Upgrade: When Is It Time for a Brand Refresh? ChecklistIn production — LinkedIn promotion dependent
- Video Campaign: Matchbox VideoLinkedIn video ad — timeline under review with Corey
- 013 LinkedIn Promotion: When Is It Time for a Brand Refresh?Dependent on 011
- 014 LinkedIn Promotion: X Questions We Ask Every ClientDependent on 012
- 010 Email: Engagement Email Series 1Not started — begins after X Questions + Case Study published
Five LinkedIn campaigns are now live. The program enters its validation window — steady lead volume is expected 3–4 months post-launch, putting May–June as the key measurement period for the 15–25 SQL goal.
The strategic backdrop for everything we're measuring
Business Goals
- Shift from creative shop → strategic growth partner
- Land larger, more established clients
- Build retainer-based, predictable revenue streams
- Demonstrate ROI — ticket sales, attendance, return visitors
- Strengthen presence in the entertainment brand sector
Marketing Goals — Campaign 1
- Fill pipeline with qualified leads from established entertainment brands
- Generate 15–25 sales qualified leads over 6 months
- Position Matchbox as thought leader, not just a vendor
- Build a lead nurture infrastructure
17 new leads in April — 46 total since January
10 SQLs and 5 MQLs program-to-date. 4 new leads in May, 5 active.
17
New Leads — April
Direct: 8 · Organic Search: 4
Organic Social: 3 · LinkedIn Paid: 2
First paid leads in the program
18
Active Leads — April
46 total new leads since January · 5 MQLs · 10 SQLs
10
SQLs — Program to Date
21.7% SQL rate — well above the 5% benchmark
New Lead Trends (Insight Engine)
| Metric | Jan 2026 | Feb 2026 | Mar 2026 | Apr 2026 | May* | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| New Leads | 3 | 11 | 11 | 17 | 4 | 46 |
| Paid LinkedIn | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 3 |
| MQLs | 1 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 5 |
| SQLs | 2 | 3 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 10 |
| SQL Rate | 66.7% | 27.3% | 36.4% | 5.9% | — | 21.7% |
Featured Leads — April 2026
Google (organic)
Direct — highest page depth of any April lead
LinkedIn (paid) — Strategies to Drive Attendance Lead Gen
LinkedIn (paid) — Strategies to Drive Attendance Lead Gen
Lead Gen campaigns launched in March — the first paid leads appeared in April right on schedule. Kristen Gordon at Fossil is worth watching: 22 pages viewed suggests active research. With 4 leads through May 12, the program is tracking toward steady volume ahead of the 15–25 SQL goal window.
LinkedIn Ads — March vs. April 2026
April was a strong step forward across every metric — more impressions, more clicks, lower CPC, and the first 2 conversions recorded.
Month-over-Month Performance
LinkedIn benchmarks: CTR 0.4–0.6% · CPC $4–$8 · CPL $50–$200| Metric | March 2026 | April 2026 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Spend | $1,352 | $1,634 | +$282 (+21%) |
| Impressions | 37,517 | 50,105 | +12,588 (+34%) |
| Clicks | 322 | 453 | +131 (+41%) |
| CTR | 0.86% | 0.90% | +4.65% |
| CPC | $4.20 | $3.61 | -$0.59 (-14%) |
| Conversions | 0 | 2 | +2 |
Efficiency Improved
CPC dropped 14% alongside volume growth
Spending more and getting more — CPC fell from $4.20 to $3.61 as clicks grew 41%, suggesting the campaigns are finding their audience more efficiently.
Top Performer
Generalists vs. Specialists: 1.41% CTR at $0.97 CPC
Highest CTR and lowest CPC of any campaign — nearly 4x more efficient on cost per click than the account average. The sponsored article format is clearly resonating.
Lead Gen Early Results
Strategies to Drive Attendance: 2 leads in first full month
Expected at this spend level and early stage. Worth monitoring closely as budget increases. CPL tracking below the $250 LinkedIn B2B benchmark.
Budget & Campaign Discussion
With 5 active campaigns, the current $1,600/month budget is no longer sufficient to fund each campaign meaningfully. Two paths forward.
Option 1
Increase budget to $2,500/month ($80/day)
$40/day allocated to the lead gen campaign, $10/day to each of the 4 website visits campaigns. Every campaign gets adequate daily spend and lead gen investment is properly separated from awareness spend.
Option 2
Consolidate website visits campaigns at $1,600/month
Pause the lower-performing website visits campaigns and concentrate spend on the strongest performer (Generalists vs. Specialists based on April data). Keeps total spend near the current budget while maintaining lead gen investment.
Google Brand Search RSA (MB-016) approved — addressing one comment before launch at $100/month. Email sign-up forms are also being added to the article side nav on desktop and peek-above-fold on mobile.
April vs March 2026
3,480 total sessions in April — up 20% month over month. Organic Social up 111%.
Sessions by Channel
| Channel | Apr 2026 | Mar 2026 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Organic Search | 757 | 693 | +9% |
| Direct | 947 | 1,044 | -9% |
| Paid Social | 807 | 692 | +17% |
| Organic Social | 609 | 288 | +111% |
| Referral | 230 | 121 | +90% |
| Total | 3,480 | 2,896 | +20% |
Avg. session duration: 2m 12s · Total GA4 conversions: 177 · 2,762 unique users in April
Published insight articles — April 2026
Generalists vs. Specialists drove 342 sessions in its first month — the strongest debut of any article in the campaign. A/B testing confirms declarative copy outperforms questions by up to 175%.
Article Performance
| Article | Sessions (Apr) | Avg Duration | Primary Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Generalists vs. Specialists (pub. 4/15) | 342 | 0m 38s | LinkedIn Paid |
| Brand Execution Phase | 256 | 0m 30s | LinkedIn Paid |
| How to Defeat the Couch (pub. 2/27) | 161 | 0m 21s | LinkedIn Paid |
| Brand Vision Phase | 93 | 0m 15s | LinkedIn Paid |
| Higher Attendance (pub. 3/28) | ~15 | — | Organic |
Coming Up in May
- MB-012: X Questions We Ask Every ClientSent to client 4/28 — awaiting publication confirmation.
- MB-016: Google Brand Search RSAApproved — addressing one comment, launching shortly.
- MB-011: When Is It Time for a Brand Refresh?Interview request sent 5/5 — awaiting Jeff's input.
- MB-015: Get Out More Often MomentsInterview request sent 5/5 — planned publication 5/19.
Most article traffic is currently coming from LinkedIn paid campaigns, which skews toward mobile visitors. Email sign-up forms are being added to the article side nav so we can build the subscriber list from that traffic as it grows.
Client updates and monthly retrospective
Client Updates
- Any upcoming marketing events or activations we should know about?
- Any projects launching this month — Dallas Marathon, State Fair theme reveals, Downtown Dallas Inc. — we should amplify organically?
- Anything else that would impact our marketing efforts?
Monthly Retrospective
- What went well this month?
- Was anything confusing or concerning?
- Is there any way we can better support you?
The information contained in this presentation is privileged and confidential.
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