The DNA Theory of Influence

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In this newsletter, you’ll find:

🧬 The DNA Theory of Influence: Why the Best Creators Aren’t Found—They’re Engineered

🚨 The Future of Search: AI Takes Over, CTRs Drop & Google’s AI Mode Emerges

🎥 Ad of the Day

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Together With Poplar

How Kettle & Fire leveraged direct mail to win back customers

Email and digital ad performance aren’t what they used to be, and brands are looking for new, efficient ways to reengage their customers and drive repeat purchases.

That’s why Kettle & Fire turned to direct mail with Poplar to reach valuable customers who simply weren’t engaging with their email campaigns.

Using Poplar’s easy Klaviyo integration, Kettle & Fire targeted lapsed customers who didn’t open their emails with a 1:1 mailer that fit into their existing Klaviyo workflows. Not only did this immediately boost the response rates of that group by 1.4%+, it drove over 15x ROI.

Don’t take our word for it, hear it from them directly:  “We use Poplar for our win-back campaigns, and they’ve consistently shown a super high ROAS with personalized messaging and content.”

Want to see how direct mail can drive more conversions for your brand?

Book a free demo today!

🧬 The DNA Theory of Influence: Why the Best Creators Aren’t Found—They’re Engineered

Most brands think of influencer marketing as a matching problem—find the right creators, and everything falls into place. But what if that’s completely wrong?

The real winners aren’t those who find great influencers—they’re the ones who build them.

The best creators don’t just align with your brand. They evolve with it. Instead of constantly chasing new talent, the smartest brands are engineering their own network of influencers—training, optimizing, and scaling them into long-term assets.

Here’s how to build influence, not borrow it.

1️⃣ Identify & Develop “Seed Creators”

• Find low-risk, high-upside influencers—creators who align with your niche but haven’t yet exploded in popularity.
• Offer co-creation opportunities instead of one-off deals—let them shape your brand narrative.
• Build exclusive partnerships so they grow with your brand, not competitors.

2️⃣ Optimize for Engagement, Not Just Reach

• Track comment sentiment, not just likes—who’s actually influencing their audience?
• Incentivize conversation-driven content—challenge audiences, spark debates, and encourage responses.
• Use a feedback loop—run A/B tests on creator content to refine messaging over time.

Insense helps brands move past one-off influencer deals—connecting them with high-impact, long-term creators who don’t just promote but integrate into the brand’s growth. Book a discovery call by March 21 and get a $200 bonus for your first campaign.

3️⃣ Scale Influence Like a Media Channel

• Treat your top-performing creators like owned media assets—distribute their content across paid ads, email, and website placements.
• Create creator “clusters”—networks of complementary influencers who reinforce each other’s credibility.
• Turn influencers into brand equity—offer ambassador deals, revenue shares, or even co-branded product lines.

💡 Gymshark doesn’t buy ads. They built an army of fitness influencers, turning their creators into the brand itself.

The brands that win in 2025 won’t be those with the best influencer outreach. They’ll be the ones who own influence from the inside out.

✅ Find creators early and build them up.

✅ Optimize for depth of engagement, not just follower count.

✅ Turn creators into a long-term asset, not a short-term campaign.

Stop searching for perfect influencers. Create them.

🚨 The Future of Search: AI Takes Over, CTRs Drop & Google’s AI Mode Emerges

AI is transforming how we search, shifting from traditional results to automated responses. As search engines prioritize AI-driven answers, businesses and publishers face new challenges. The impact on traffic, visibility, and content discovery is becoming impossible to ignore.

The Breakdown:

• AI Overviews Are Taking Over Search Results - AIOs surged 8.83 percentage points last quarter, cutting into CTRs for informational queries. Science (-6.03%) and careers (-4.34%) saw the steepest drops, while shopping queries struggled despite a 142% increase in search demand. Business and fashion were the only industries to see growth.
• AI Search Engines Are Starving Websites of Traffic - A study found AI-powered search tools send 96% less traffic than traditional Google Search. Meanwhile, AI crawlers are aggressively scraping content—some pages were hit 500 times but received barely 10,000 clicks back.
• Google’s AI Mode is Testing AI-Only Search Results - Google is rolling out AI Mode, which replaces traditional search results with fully AI-generated answers. No more 10 blue links—just Gemini 2.0-generated responses. While Google says AI Mode will still help users find web content, it admits AI may form opinions, accuracy remains an issue, and organic traffic could take a massive hit.

The days of relying on Google Search for traffic may be numbered. AI-driven search is changing how users interact with content, making ranking #1 less valuable than ever. The question is—are you ready to adapt?

🎥 Ad of the Day

What Works:

This ad leverages expert endorsement marketing, positioning Dr. Brent, the brand’s founder, as an authoritative figure. By featuring a medical professional in a lab coat, the ad triggers trust heuristics, reinforcing the credibility. Consumers subconsciously associate white coats with expertise and scientific validation, a tactic often seen in pharma and dermocosmetic branding.

The phrase “This is my script for better aging” is a brilliant example of semantic framing. The word “script” is a double entendre, referencing both a doctor’s prescription (implying medical-grade efficacy) and a personalized approach to aging (making it feel tailored to the consumer). 

What could be Better:

Unlike conversion-driven beauty ads, this one lacks a direct purchase call-to-action, suggesting a brand elevation and awareness play rather than an immediate conversion tactic. While this enhances brand perception and exclusivity, adding a low-friction CTA could subtly increase intent-driven traffic without compromising luxury branding.

Broader Insights:

This ad successfully integrates expert trust-building, omnichannel validation, and persuasive linguistic framing to position Beekman 1802 as a premium yet science-backed skincare brand. 

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