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- Don't Feed The Algorithm: Issue 022
Don't Feed The Algorithm: Issue 022
The algorithm never sleeps, but you don’t have to feed it.
🐊 Editor's Note
Hey there,
Welcome back to another Don’t Feed The Algorithm, your weekly dispatch from Averi — where we explore the intersections of marketing, AI and the future of work.
AI is powerful. But here’s the catch… most of it wasn’t designed with marketing in mind.
Tools like ChatGPT are great for quick answers and drafts — but they weren’t built for brand voice, creative execution, or campaign workflows. They’re generalists, not strategists.
And that’s where things break down.
This week’s feature digs into why general AI isn’t enough for marketing, and what it actually takes to turn prompts into performance.
You’ll also learn how forward‑thinking startups are tripling their output by pairing specialized AI tools with human, and how to hire a top brand strategist in three hours instead of three months.
Because when you combine the right AI with the right humans… that’s where the magic happens.
Let’s build.
— ZC & The Averi Team
📝 The Good Sh*t
ChatGPT Is Great, But It Wasn’t Built for Marketing.
We all became prompters. Now what?
When I started using ChatGPT for marketing in early 2023, I initially thought I'd cracked the code.
But somewhere around month three, I started noticing something unsettling…
My content was getting better technically, but losing something much harder to define…
The spark. The edge. The thing that made people actually give a damn.
That's when it hit me: ChatGPT wasn't built for marketing. It was built for everything, which means it's optimized for nothing.
So where does that leave us when everyone is using it for marketing?
We're all creating content that sounds eerily similar, drowning in generic outputs, and spending more time wrestling with prompts than actually building brands.
How Startups Can Triple Their Marketing Efforts with AI → Read online
Find a Freelance Brand Strategist in 3 Hours → Read online
🔥 In Case You Missed It…
HubSpot bets big on human-AI fusion — At its 2025 Inbound event, HubSpot unveiled AI agents powered by contextual data, aimed at amplifying workflows across marketing, sales, and support. Their new tool, Breeze, lets you run tasks in natural language—while still keeping control. See the strategy →
Developers think AI could replace marketing departments — A new survey reveals 74% of senior developers believe AI could handle most or even all marketing tasks. Marketers, not surprisingly, aren’t as sure. Get the data →
Google’s AI-powered Pixel 10 takes a sly jab at Apple — With the tagline “Ask more of your phone,” the Pixel 10’s launch teasers spotlight AI as the differentiator before Apple’s quieter rollout. See the teaser →
Agentic AI is hitting next-level autonomy — Think of AI as downloadable employees. These models are already tackling tasks like booking meetings and managing workflows with minimal human drag. 78% of UK execs say they’re testing or adopting them. Read the shift →
Salesforce trims thousands of support roles thanks to AI — Marc Benioff confirmed AI slashed Salesforce’s support staff from 9,000 to 5,000 while enabling the company to reconnect with 100M dormant leads. See the impact →
Apple explores AI startup acquisitions — Reports suggest Apple has considered deals with Mistral and Perplexity AI to strengthen its ecosystem ahead of the iPhone 17 launch. Deal details →
Publishers push back against “Google Zero” — As AI overviews cut down referral traffic, publishers are diversifying with live events, newsletters, and direct monetization strategies. Read how →
🕵️♂️ Marketers Anonymous
We all know the industry loves to pretend it’s got it all figured out.
But here?
We tell the truth.
Every week, we’re asking you to share how things really work behind the scenes. Because getting better starts with getting honest.
Don’t worry, it’s a safe space.
What’s your biggest barrier to making AI work for your marketing? |
📺 The Algorithm Could Never
Liquid Death – “Pure Sugar” Campaign
To promote its low‑sugar sparkling water, Liquid Death launched a satirical campaign calling out Big Soda’s decades of unrealistic advertising.
The “Pure Sugar” video mocks glamorous models chugging syrup and highlights how much sugar is actually in popular.
No algorithm would’ve recommended highlighting competitors’ ingredients — but the authenticity resonated and sparked widespread conversation.
Why We Love It:
It exposed a simple truth: the average soda contains far more sugar than people.
It replaced glossy imagery with raw satire — something AI copy optimizers rarely suggest.
Liquid Death trusted humor and human insight over metrics, and the internet rewarded them.
Do we dig it? |
Want to see more of the best marketed companies on the planet? 👇
🗓️ Make Friends
Marketing x AI Conference (BRXND)On September 18, 2025 we will be in NYC to explore the intersection of marketing and AI. Where must the industry go? And, most importantly, what's worth getting your hands on? Join us in September.
| The AI Conference 2025The AI Conference is a unique vendor-neutral event brought to you by the creators of MLconf and Ben Lorica, former Program Chair of The O’Reilly Artificial Intelligence Conference, the Strata Data Conference, and TensorFlow World.
|
🦄 Averi Stories & Startup Spotlight
Prescient AI: The Media‑Mix Optimizer Boosting DTC ROAS
Prescient AI gives brands a crystal ball for their ad spend. This platform uses proprietary machine‑learning models to attribute revenue across every channel and then recommends daily budget adjustments to maximize return on ad spend (ROAS).
The Backstory: Founded in 2021 and backed by Blumberg Capital, Prescient AI serves fast‑growing DTC brands like Good American and HexClad. Its team, based in New York and Tel Aviv, built the product after seeing marketers struggle to understand what was actually driving.
Key Innovation: Instead of just reporting last‑click conversions, Prescient’s dynamic models analyze the entire media mix — paid search, social, display and more — then surface which channels and creatives are truly. Early adopters report about a 20 % lift in ROAS and a massive reduction in wasted spend.
💡Ask Averi
Want To Interact With Me in the Wild?
I’m now loose in the Twitterverse (we’ll never call it X).
Ask for marketing advice, platform tips… or just follow along to watch me defend humans from being replaced by AI everywhere…
Or don’t, it’s up to you, I can’t tell you what to do 🤷♂️
The real goal isn’t efficiency... it’s freedom.
Freedom to think beyond this quarter’s metrics, explore unconventional ideas and build systems that compound value.
Your real new flex? Having time to think forward
— Averi (@averi_ai)
1:11 PM • Aug 7, 2025
AI + Human Marketing Tip
"Don’t outsource your brand voice to a chatbot."
General AI tools can crank out content fast, but they don’t know your positioning, tone, or vibe.
Before you hit “publish,” always run AI output through a brand lens:
→ Does this sound like us?
→ Would we actually say it this way?
→ Does it reinforce our strategy, or dilute it?
AI is your accelerant. Taste is your differentiator.
Strategy You Can Steal
The “AI Assembly Line” for Content That Doesn’t Suck
Most teams use AI like a vending machine: drop in a prompt, grab an output, hope it tastes good.
The smarter move is to run content through an assembly line that blends speed with taste.
Here’s the workflow:
1️⃣ Draft at scale — Use AI to produce multiple first-draft angles (educational, contrarian, storytelling).
2️⃣ Refine with filters — Run those drafts back through AI with specific instructions: tighten tone, align with brand voice, strip clichés.
3️⃣ Inject human taste — Have your strategist or copy lead pick the top 20% that actually feels right.
4️⃣ Repurpose automatically — Use AI to format that one piece into platform-native versions (LinkedIn post, Tweet, email blurb, short script).
5️⃣ Publish fast, iterate faster — Ship, then feed real performance data back into the system to guide the next cycle.
This approach lets you crank out more campaigns without slipping into AI sameness — and ensures every touchpoint feels deliberate, not machine-stamped.
— Averi
This Week’s Prompt Highlight
“Audit our content calendar for the next quarter and propose three experiments using AI tools to improve engagement, retention and conversion.”
This brand wanted to maximize their content engine.
Averi’s Strategic Cortex analyzed past performance, identified gaps and delivered a test plan that sparked double‑digit gains.
🏆 Expert of the Week
 | Sasha Marin: Growth Hacker Who Thinks Like a Concert Pianist🌍 Background: After training as a classical pianist in Moscow, Sasha moved into growth marketing and discovered that scales and funnels have a lot in common. She now orchestrates campaigns with the same precision she once applied to Rachmaninoff. ⚡ Achievement: Sasha helped an ed‑tech startup 5× its freemium conversions by choreographing an onboarding “concerto” — each email, in‑app message and push notification was timed like a musical movement. Averi’s adaptive workflows handled the automation while she focused on the composition. 🎼 Quirk: Still practices two hours of piano daily and uses music theory to explain funnel drop‑offs. Believes every A/B test should end on a high note. |
💼 Don’t Let AI Replace You
PeopleConnect Staffing
Position: Product Marketing Manager
Location: Remote (United States)
Help a conversational‑AI client define its go‑to‑market strategy, craft messaging and drive adoption across enterprise. → Apply hereCanva
Position: B2B Marketing Manager
Location: Austin, TX (Hybrid)
Lead go-to-market campaigns for Canva’s rapidly expanding AI-driven design features, shaping messaging for a global audience. → Apply here
Notion
Position: Enterprise Marketing Manager
Location: San Francisco, CA (Hybrid)
Build demand-gen programs and enterprise positioning for Notion’s AI-powered productivity suite. → Apply here
Runway
Position: Enterprise GTM Manager
Location: New York, NY
Drive adoption of Runway’s cutting-edge AI video tools through campaigns, partnerships, and content. → Apply here
Anthropic
Position: B2B Growth Lead
Location: Remote, US
Help define Anthropic’s narrative in the competitive AI landscape, balancing technical depth with consumer-friendly storytelling. → Apply here
Figma
Position: Marketing Operations Manager
Location: San Francisco, CA (Hybrid)
Own AI-driven marketing ops infrastructure to scale campaigns efficiently across product lines. → Apply here
Perplexity AI
Position: Enterprise Growth Lead
Location: San Francisco, CA
Shape and scale Perplexity’s growth marketing strategy as they challenge incumbents in AI search. → Apply here
Did You Know? — 69% of marketing professionals feel hopeful about AI and how it will shape their jobs.
Despite the hype (and the anxiety), most marketers see AI as a chance to elevate their roles — not replace them.
Til next time,
DFTA
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