New Engen

⚠️ Recruiting Scam Alert Recently, we’ve become aware of individuals impersonating New Engen’s People and Recruiting teams using a fraudulent email domain (@newengencareers.com) to contact job seekers about illegitimate opportunities. 📋 Here’s what to know: • New Engen does not use @newengencareers.com for any hiring or recruitment communication. • All official emails from our team come from @newengen.com. • Initial outreach regarding applications is sent through our applicant tracking system (JazzHR/ApplyToJob), including emails from noreply@applytojob.com, with follow-up communication from our team via @newengen.com. • We will never request sensitive personal information or identification documents during early stages of the hiring process. ‼️ If you’ve received a suspicious message or believe you’ve been impacted, please reach out to us directly at peopleteam@newengen.com.   We take this seriously and are actively working to investigate and stop this activity. In the meantime, we encourage everyone to stay vigilant and verify communications before taking action. If something doesn’t feel right, trust your instincts and don’t hesitate to contact us to confirm.

Full funnel is having a moment. And that's a good thing. Over the last 6 months, I'd estimate 80-90% of the accounts we've audited or reviewed are running some form of upper funnel media. That's up from maybe 30-40% in the 6-12 months prior. The industry is finally getting the memo that you can't performance market your way to sustained growth. But I have bad news: of those 80-90%, roughly 95% are doing it wrong. Most brands start by activating upper funnel in their core channels (Meta, Google). This is a totally fine, smart choice. The problem is the majority of their upper funnel dollars end up delivering in the lowest-visibility placements on the platform(s). High reach, sure. But terribly low impact. Here's what I mean. Take the chart below from an account we looked at last week: - 57% of upper funnel spend is going to "Other" placements (Audience Network, right column, Marketplace, etc.) - Only 27% is going to Feed. Compare that to Conversion campaigns in the same account, where Feed gets 49% of spend. Their BOF campaigns are getting MORE high-visibility placement share than their upper funnel campaigns. The campaigns that are supposed to be building memory structures and brand awareness are being served in the lowest-visibility, lowest-attention placements on the platform. Why? Because these brands are launching upper funnel campaigns with a performance marketing mindset. Set the objective, let the algorithm optimize, and trust the machine. When your goal is reach, the algorithm will find you the cheapest impressions. And cheap impressions on Meta or Google overwhelmingly mean Audience Network/Video Partners and low-attention placements. This is the "check box" trap. You check the box on "full funnel," your reach growth suddenly looks great on paper, and you feel good about the strategy. But you're buying low-visibility reach that is doing little to nothing to actually bring new customers to your brand. And what usually happens? Upper funnel gets killed because its not having an impact, even though it was really just poor execution. If you're investing in upper funnel in your core channels, start here: - Look at your placement breakdown by campaign objective. It's highly likely your awareness/reach campaigns have a lower Feed share than your conversion campaigns. - Opt for manual placement selection for upper funnel campaigns. The algorithm is not your friend here and you need to intervene. - Reels, Feed, Non-skip are where attention is strongest in digital channels. "Other" is for cheap, low value impressions that can contribute some value for BoF campaigns but do nothing for ToF. This is Part 1 of a short series on why most brands getting into upper funnel are doing it wrong. Placement is the most tactical issue, but it's often the first symptom of a deeper problem: running upper funnel the same way you run BOF and expecting it to work. More coming in part 2... New Engen

Campfires > conference rooms. Introducing Camp New Engen ⛺ For the first time, we're bringing together a select group of CMOs, VPs, and senior marketing leaders for a one-day summit at Calamigos Ranch in Malibu, designed for the thinking your day job rarely makes room for. Topics on the table: → The future of brand in an AI-saturated culture → The new creative operating model: speed, scale, and AI → Measurement and proving incrementality in a performance-driven world → Search, AI, and the new discovery stack → Where marketing leadership goes from here Featuring speakers and partners spanning creative, media, technology, and brand. Full lineup to be announced soon. 📅 May 12, 2026 📍 Calamigos Ranch, Malibu Attendance is by application only, with space limited by design. If you're a senior marketing leader or know someone who belongs in the room, tag them in the comments. 👉 Apply to attend in the comments. #MarketingLeadership #CampNewEngen

Creatine has a perception problem. 👀 For many women, it still signals bulk and bloat—not strength. When Arrae launched Tone, a women-first creatine, the goal wasn’t just awareness. It was reframing the category. The insight 💡: Hesitation around bloating was the real barrier. The message 💬 : “Not Your Boyfriend’s Creatine.” The execution ⚡: Rapid creative testing, scaling what resonated fast. The impact 📈 : ▪️ 31% of quarterly revenue driven by Tone creative ▪️ +11% ROAS lift ▪️ +19% CTR lift When you anchor creative in real consumer tension, results follow. Curious how we turned this into a repeatable blueprint across SKUs? 👉 Check out the full case study linked in the comments. 🖇️ #PerformanceMarketing #CreativeStrategy #DTCBrand #WellnessMarketing

A big development for brands navigating tariffs. The Supreme Court just struck down the administration’s sweeping tariffs, a move that could ease cost pressure across retail, ecommerce, and CPG. Over the past year, tariffs have added real complexity for brands, from margin pressure to tougher pricing and efficiency conversations. For many teams, today’s news is a welcome reset. But the story isn’t finished. Still in play:  • Refund decisions  • Potential replacement policies  • Ongoing supply chain volatility We’ve linked a breakdown by EMARKETER in the comments for those tracking the downstream impact. #Retail #CPG #Tariffs #EconomicUpdate #MarketingLeaders

We just dropped our February Influencer Marketing Update. Built from signals across 7M+ creator profiles and 1.7K+ campaigns. Inside the update: 💸 The real cost of waiting until February to scale campaigns 📺 Why broadcast moments now belong to creators 🔁 How repeat creator partnerships are driving measurable lift 👀 The rising creator everyone’s watching If influencer is part of your 2026 plan, this is a quick read worth your time. 🔗 Link to the full blog in the comments. #InfluencerMarketing #CreatorEconomy #SocialStrategy #DigitalMarketing #MarketingInsights

POV: your 10am Google Meet turns into the Bad Bunny halftime show. Our Donut Studios team committed to the bit… grass costumes, choreography, the whole thing. We posted it to Instagram and TikTok and it took off — millions of views later, it landed on CBS News' morning segment. Check out the segment below, and if you enjoyed the chaos, you may want to follow Donut Studios on IG and TikTok. Link in comments. #SuperBowl #ViralVideo #BadBunny #TikTokTrend #SocialMediaMarketing

When you invest in your people, it shows. Ad Age just named us one of their Best Places to Work for 2026—a recognition that reflects the culture our team builds every day. What does that actually look like? Our press release breaks it down: → Proprietary tools we've built (like LIFT, Mr. Oven, and Trend Chef) that help our teams streamline work → Transparent compensation practices and pay equity analysis we conduct regularly → Leadership accountability tied to inclusion metrics → Mentorship programs and affinity groups that create space for people to grow We're grateful to everyone at New Engen who makes this what it is. This recognition belongs to you. Want to see how we're building culture at scale? We've shared more in our latest press release—link in comments.👇 #AdAge #BestPlacesToWork #WorkplaceCulture #PeopleFirst #AgencyLife

It was great to have Caroline Levere in our Seattle office this week following New Engen's recent acquisition of GrapevineAI, with a focus on how we can add greater value for our clients. We’ve believed for a long time that content is the most powerful driver of performance. As platforms continue to reward native, creator-led formats, that belief has only become more concrete. Grapevine strengthens our ability to help clients meet the growing demands for high-velocity, performance-driven content that actually delivers outcomes. Grateful to Caroline and the entire Grapevine team for the trust, and a special shout out to Aniket (Nick) Shah for building such a strong foundation. Looking forward to building what’s next together.

🎉Big news: New Engen has acquired Grapevine! We’re adding a creator-powered performance content capability designed to solve one of the biggest constraints brands are facing in paid social right now: creating enough authentic, high-performing creative—fast enough. Grapevine brings a creator-powered approach to performance content that helps brands:  ✅ Brief creators strategically around real business objectives  ✅ Produce advertorial-style, platform-native creative at scale  ✅ Activate creator content through whitelisted paid social—without relying on brand handles alone Together, we’re expanding our existing creator-led performance capabilities to help brands create volume with velocity, without sacrificing impact or authenticity. Link to the full release is in the comments 👇 #PaidSocial #CreatorMarketing #BrandGrowth #AcquisitionNews #PerformanceCreative