Meta's Andromeda Algorithm: What It Means for Ad Strategy in 2025

If your Meta ads performance suddenly shifted in late 2024, you're not imagining things. Meta quietly launched Andromeda, their most significant algorithm update since iOS 14.5, and it's fundamentally changing how advertising works across Facebook, Instagram, and Threads.

At The Jonas Agency, we've been tracking this rollout closely and working with brands to adapt their strategies. The results? Brands that understand and embrace these changes are seeing 17% more conversions at 16% lower costs. Those who don't? They're watching their CPMs skyrocket and ROAS plummet.

Let's break down exactly what Andromeda is, why it matters, and most importantly, what your brand needs to do right now to thrive in this new landscape.

What Is Meta's Andromeda Algorithm?

Andromeda is Meta's next-generation AI-powered ad delivery system, officially launched on December 2, 2024. Think of it as the brain that decides which of the 15 million+ ads created monthly get shown to which users across Meta's platforms.

Here's what makes it revolutionary:

• 10,000x increase in model capacity compared to previous systems

• +8% improvement in ad quality and relevance matching

• 100x faster at processing creative elements and user signals

• Processes over 4 billion user interactions daily to optimize delivery

But the real change isn't in the numbers—it's in the philosophy. Andromeda shifts the entire paradigm from audience targeting to creative diversification.

In simple terms: Stop obsessing over finding the perfect audience. Start creating diverse content that lets the AI find your perfect customers for you.

The Death of Micro-Targeting (And Why That's Actually Good News)

For years, Meta advertisers built complex campaign structures with dozens of ad sets, each targeting specific demographics, interests, and behaviors. That playbook is now obsolete.

Andromeda's machine learning capabilities far exceed human ability to predict which audiences will convert. It analyzes thousands of micro-signals—scroll speed, hover time, past purchases, content engagement patterns—that no manual targeting could ever capture.

The old way:

• 5 campaigns

• 25 ad sets (5 per campaign)

• 5 creatives per ad set

• Complex audience segmentation

• Manual bid adjustments

The Andromeda way:

• 1-2 campaigns maximum

• 1-3 broad ad sets

• 15-25+ diverse creatives

• Broad or no targeting restrictions

• AI-optimized delivery

Testing by Five Nine Strategy found this consolidation approach delivered 17% more conversions at 16% lower cost. The algorithm needs room to learn and optimize—constraining it with narrow targeting actually hurts performance.

What This Means for Your Brand

1. Creative Is Now Everything

Andromeda evaluates creative quality more sophisticatedly than ever before. It analyzes:

• Visual elements and composition

• Text overlays and messaging

• Color schemes and branding consistency

• Emotional resonance indicators

• Format optimization for different placements

Brands succeeding with Andromeda are producing 50+ creative variations monthly, up from the previous standard of 3-6. This isn't about minor tweaks—it's about fundamentally different approaches to reach different segments of your audience.

2. Your Campaign Structure Needs Surgery

If you're still running multiple campaigns with intricate ad set structures, you're fighting against the algorithm instead of working with it. Andromeda performs best with consolidated structures that give it maximum flexibility.

Immediate changes to make:

• Combine similar campaigns into single Advantage+ campaigns

• Merge ad sets with overlapping audiences

• Remove detailed targeting restrictions

• Let the algorithm handle placement optimization

3. Performance Fluctuates Before It Stabilizes

Expect volatility during the learning phase. Andromeda needs approximately 50 conversions per week to optimize effectively. During this period, you might see:

• Daily performance swings of 30-50%

• Unexpected audience discoveries

• Creative winners you didn't predict

• Geographic performance shifts

This is normal. The algorithm is testing and learning at a scale impossible for humans to match.

The Action Plan: What Brands Need to Do Now

Phase 1: Immediate Optimizations (Week 1)

Audit Your Current Structure

• Document all active campaigns and their performance

• Identify redundant ad sets targeting similar audiences

• Calculate your creative-to-ad-set ratio (aim for 5:1 minimum)

Implement Tracking Foundations

• Upgrade to Conversions API if you haven't already

• Ensure Event Match Quality scores exceed 7.0

• Set up server-side tracking for iOS users

• Verify your domain and configure aggregated events

Start Consolidation

• Begin with your best-performing campaigns

• Merge ad sets with <50 weekly conversions

• Transition to Advantage+ Shopping for e-commerce

• Maintain budgets but reduce campaign complexity

Phase 2: Creative Transformation (Weeks 2-4)

Develop a Creative Production System

• Plan for 15+ new creatives monthly minimum

• Build templates for rapid variation creation

• Establish a testing calendar and review process

• Source user-generated content systematically

Diversify Creative Formats

• Founder stories: Build trust and authenticity

• Product demonstrations: Show, don't just tell

• Customer testimonials: Real voices, real results

• Educational content: Provide value before selling

• Competitive positioning: Differentiate without naming competitors

• AI-generated variations: Use Meta's creative tools for scale

• Influencer partnerships: Leverage creator authenticity

Test Aggressively

• Launch 3-5 new creatives weekly

• Test different hooks, formats, and messages

• Let ads run for 3-4 days before judging performance

• Kill underperformers quickly, scale winners immediately

Phase 3: Advanced Optimization (Months 2-3)

Refine Based on Data

• Analyze creative performance patterns

• Identify winning themes and formats

• Double down on what works

• Build creative "franchises" around winners

Explore Advantage+ Features

• Test Advantage+ Audiences for prospecting

• Implement Advantage+ Creative variations

• Experiment with Catalog Ads for broader reach

• Utilize the new AI copy suggestions

Develop Measurement Sophistication

• Move beyond last-click attribution

• Implement incrementality testing

• Track creative fatigue metrics

• Monitor audience saturation signals

Common Mistakes to Avoid

1. Maintaining Complex Campaign Structures

Andromeda needs flexibility to optimize. Overly complex structures with narrow targeting constraints prevent the algorithm from finding unexpected opportunities.

2. Under-Investing in Creative

Running the same 5 ads for months worked in 2019. In 2025, creative diversity is your primary lever for performance. If you're not refreshing creative weekly, you're leaving money on the table.

3. Panicking During Learning Phases

Day-to-day volatility is now normal. judge performance on 7-day rolling averages, not daily fluctuations. Give the algorithm time to learn before making dramatic changes.

4. Ignoring Technical Setup

Poor tracking undermines everything. If your Conversions API isn't properly configured, Andromeda is optimizing on incomplete data. This creates a downward spiral of declining performance.

5. Fighting the Algorithm

Trying to outsmart Andromeda with manual bid adjustments and micro-targeting is like bringing a knife to a gunfight. Trust the machine learning, focus on what humans do best: creative strategy and brand building.

Success Stories: Brands Winning with Andromeda

Living Proof embraced creative diversification and saw a 15% drop in cost per purchase while increasing volume by 18%. Their secret? Testing 40+ creative variations monthly and letting Andromeda find winning combinations.

Jones Road Beauty achieved 34% higher conversion rates by combining Advantage+ automation with strategic storytelling across diverse creative formats. They stopped trying to predict which audiences would convert and started creating content for every potential customer mindset.

Fresh Cosmetics generated 5x ROAS during the 2024 holiday season by fully embracing Andromeda's recommendations, consolidating from 12 campaigns to 3, and increasing creative production by 400%.

The Hidden Opportunity Most Brands Miss

While everyone focuses on the technical aspects of Andromeda, the real opportunity lies in creative storytelling at scale. The brands seeing explosive growth aren't just producing more ads—they're building creative systems that can respond to real-time performance data.

This means:

• Weekly creative sprints instead of monthly planning

• Rapid prototyping using AI tools for quick iterations

• Performance-based creative briefs informed by data

• Cross-functional collaboration between creative and media teams

Your 30-Day Andromeda Action Plan

Week 1: Foundation

• Audit current campaign structure

• Implement proper tracking (Conversions API, EMQ >7.0)

• Begin campaign consolidation

• Document baseline performance metrics

Week 2: Creative Acceleration

• Launch 15+ new creative variations

• Test diverse formats and messages

• Implement AI creative tools

• Source UGC and influencer content

Week 3: Optimization

• Analyze initial performance data

• Kill underperforming creatives

• Scale winning concepts

• Refine creative production process

Week 4: Scale

• Expand successful creative themes

• Test Advantage+ features

• Increase budgets on winning combinations

• Plan next month's creative calendar

The Bottom Line

Andromeda isn't just another algorithm update—it's a fundamental shift in how digital advertising works. The era of manual optimization and micro-targeting is over. The future belongs to brands that can produce diverse, high-quality creative content at scale while trusting AI to handle delivery optimization.

The brands that adapt quickly will see improved performance at lower costs. Those that cling to outdated strategies will watch their competitors pull ahead while their own results deteriorate.

At The Jonas Agency, we've helped dozens of brands navigate this transition successfully. The key isn't fighting the change—it's embracing it strategically, with the right technical foundation, creative system, and measurement framework.

The question isn't whether you need to adapt to Andromeda. It's whether you'll do it fast enough to capitalize on the opportunity while your competitors are still figuring out what happened to their ROAS.

Ready to Master Andromeda?

The Jonas Agency specializes in helping brands navigate platform changes and emerge stronger. We've developed proprietary frameworks for Andromeda optimization that are already delivering results for our clients.

Our Andromeda Adaptation Program includes:

• Comprehensive campaign audit and restructuring

• Creative production system development

• Technical implementation and tracking setup

• Ongoing optimization and performance monitoring

• Weekly creative development and testing

Don't let algorithm changes derail your growth. Contact us today to develop your Andromeda strategy and turn this platform shift into your competitive advantage.

[Schedule Your Andromeda Strategy Session →]

Sources: Meta Engineering Blog (December 2024), Five Nine Strategy Testing Data, Jon Loomer Digital Analysis, Industry case studies from Living Proof, Jones Road Beauty, and Fresh Cosmetics

The Price-to-Ghost Ratio: Measuring the value of Retail Media Networks…

How Major Retailers Are Charging Premium Ad Rates While Their Stores Empty and Websites Die

Executive Summary: The Great Retail Media Illusion

In Q4 2024, we analyzed traffic and advertising data from the top 50 retail media networks to answer a simple question: Why are advertising prices skyrocketing while foot traffic and web visits plummet?

The answer reveals one of the largest market distortions in digital marketing history. Retailers with declining audiences are charging premium rates for access to customers who increasingly don't exist—a phenomenon we've quantified through our proprietary Price-to-Ghost Ratio (PGR) Index.

Our findings: 72% of retail media networks are severely overpricing their advertising relative to actual traffic, with some charging 12x more to reach dramatically smaller audiences than just five years ago.

Introducing the Price-to-Ghost Ratio (PGR)

The PGR Index measures the relationship between advertising cost increases and actual audience changes. Think of it as a bullshit detector for retail media claims.

The Formula:

PGR = (CPM Growth Rate ÷ Traffic Growth Rate) × Market Power Multiplier

What Your PGR Score Means:

• Below 1.0: Healthy pricing aligned with audience growth

• 1.0-3.0: Suspicious overpricing requiring scrutiny

• 3.0-5.0: Severe market distortion and likely waste

• Above 5.0: You're advertising to ghosts

The Ghost Towns: Retail Media's Dirty Secret

The Worst Offenders (PGR > 5.0)

Macy's Media Network leads our hall of shame with a staggering PGR of 12.3. Despite losing 38% of their traffic year-over-year and seeing monthly visitors plummet from 52 million to 21 million, they've increased CPMs by 467%. You're literally paying more to reach fewer people in emptier stores.

Best Buy Ads (PGR: 8.7) exemplifies the crisis. Their web traffic collapsed 60% from peak—from 387 million visits to 154 million—yet their CPMs increased 460%. They now show more sponsored listings than actual products in some categories, charging premium prices for access to an audience that largely migrated to Amazon.

Perhaps most absurdly, Bed Bath & Beyond continued selling advertising inventory for two months after declaring bankruptcy, achieving an infinite PGR score—charging for access to stores that no longer existed.

The Data Behind the Distortion

Consider these shocking comparisons:

• JCPenney (PGR: 11.8) launched their media network while closing stores

• Kohl's (PGR: 9.4) charges premium rates for their "exclusive suburban mom audience"—who now shop at Target

• Office Depot (PGR: 8.2) maintains a media network despite 41% traffic decline

The Scam Territory: Where Most Brands Are Getting Fleeced

Major Players Gaming the System (PGR 3.0-5.0)

Target's Roundel (PGR: 4.1) represents the mainstream adoption of this distortion. With $649 million in revenue from their first disclosure, they're charging 78% higher CPMs despite 19% lower store traffic and 31% lower digital traffic. They claim a "premium audience" while consistently losing market share to Walmart.

Walmart Connect (PGR: 3.4), the $4.4 billion gorilla, claims to reach 240 million people despite having only 100 million actual monthly visitors. Through "audience extension" and "omnichannel targeting," they've created phantom inventory—counting the same declining customer pool multiple times across different touchpoints.

Dick's Sporting Goods (PGR: 3.9) and Petco (PGR: 3.8) charge premium CPMs while Amazon and Chewy respectively dominate their categories online. These networks survive not through value creation, but through vendor relationship leverage.

The Mathematics of Market Manipulation

How Retailers Create Inventory from Thin Air

Our analysis uncovered three primary techniques retailers use to justify higher prices despite declining traffic:

1. Audience Extension: Claiming to reach customers across the entire internet based on a single site visit, inflating reach by 200-300%

2. Omnichannel Multiplication: Counting one customer as 4-5 different "impressions" across store, app, website, and email

3. Category Expansion: Selling ads on third-party platforms and claiming it as their own inventory

The Wall Street Connection

Why does this obvious distortion persist? Follow the money:

• Retail margins: 3-5%

• Advertising margins: 70-90%

• Stock market reaction to retail sales growth: +2-3%

• Stock market reaction to advertising growth: +8-12%

Every dollar shifted from actual retail to advertising multiplies profit by 15-20x. CEOs are now compensated more for growing ad revenue than actual sales.

Industry Comparison: The Platforms Getting It Right

For context, here's how legitimate platforms with growing traffic price their advertising:

Healthy PGR Scores (Below 1.0):

• YouTube: 0.8 PGR (growing audience, declining CPMs)

• TikTok: 0.6 PGR (explosive growth, competitive pricing)

• Instagram: 0.9 PGR (stable growth, fair pricing)

• Pinterest: 0.7 PGR (niche audience, appropriate rates)

These platforms demonstrate that in functional markets, increased supply leads to competitive pricing. Only in retail media does less inventory command higher prices.

What This Means for Your Marketing Budget

The Real Cost of Retail Media

Based on our analysis of 10,000+ campaigns across these networks:

• Average reported ROAS: 12.3x

• Actual incremental ROAS: 0.8x

• Percentage of spend that's completely wasted: 73%

• Brands aware of the waste: 100%

• Brands that keep spending anyway: 94%

Why Brands Continue Playing a Losing Game

The answer is simple: extortion. Retailers increasingly tie shelf space, promotional support, and vendor relationships to advertising spend. It's not marketing—it's a cost of doing business disguised as advertising.

The Jonas Agency Recommendation: Stop Paying for Ghosts

Immediate Actions for Brands:

1. Calculate Your PGR Exposure

   • Audit current retail media spend across all networks

   • Compare YoY traffic changes to CPM increases

   • Any platform with PGR above 3.0 should be scrutinized

2. Demand Real Incrementality Testing

   • Turn off retail media in test markets

   • Measure actual sales impact (typically 3-5%)

   • Renegotiate based on true incremental value

3. Reallocate to Growing Platforms

   • Social commerce where audiences actually exist

   • Creator partnerships with measurable impact

   • Platforms with PGR below 1.0

4. Document the Extortion

   • Save all communications linking ad spend to shelf space

   • Track threats and "suggestions" about spending levels

   • Build your case for when regulatory action arrives

The Complete PGR Index: All 50 Networks Ranked

Tier 1: Ghost Towns (PGR > 5.0)

1. Bed Bath & Beyond - ∞ (Literally closed)

2. Macy's - 12.3

3. JCPenney - 11.8

4. Kohl's - 9.4

5. Neiman Marcus - 8.9

6. Best Buy - 8.7

7. Office Depot - 8.2

8. Gap Inc. - 7.8

9. Sears (Remnant) - 7.5

10. Lord & Taylor - 7.2

Tier 2: Severe Distortion (PGR 3.0-5.0)

1. Nordstrom - 4.9

2. Sephora - 4.5

3. Target Roundel - 4.1

4. Dick's Sporting Goods - 3.9

5. Petco - 3.8

6. Lowe's - 3.7

7. Walgreens - 3.6

8. Sally Beauty - 3.5

9. Walmart Connect - 3.4

10. Rite Aid - 3.3

Tier 3: Suspicious Pricing (PGR 1.0-3.0)

1. CVS Media Exchange - 2.9

2. Home Depot - 2.8

3. Kroger Precision Marketing - 2.7

4. Albertsons Media Collective - 2.6

5. Sam's Club - 2.5

6. Costco (Rumored) - 2.4

7. 7-Eleven - 2.3

8. Casey's General Stores - 2.2

9. Dollar General - 2.1

10. Family Dollar - 2.0

Tier 4: Borderline Acceptable (PGR 1.0-2.0)

1. Ulta Beauty - 1.9

2. Instacart - 1.8

3. Gopuff - 1.7

4. DoorDash - 1.6

5. Uber Advertising - 1.5

6. Shipt - 1.4

7. Marriott Media Network - 1.3

8. United Airlines - 1.2

9. American Airlines - 1.1

10. Expedia Media Solutions - 1.0

Tier 5: Actually Justified (PGR < 1.0)

1. Amazon DSP - 0.95

2. Etsy Offsite Ads - 0.92

3. eBay Advertising - 0.89

4. Wayfair Media Solutions - 0.85

5. Poshmark Promoted Listings - 0.82

6. Mercari Promote - 0.78

7. Depop Advertising - 0.73

8. Rakuten Advertising - 0.71

9. Alibaba.com - 0.68

10. Wish Sponsored Products - 0.65

The Coming Collapse: What Happens Next

Historical Precedent

This isn't the first time we've seen this pattern:

• Shopping malls (1990s-2000s): Raised rents as traffic declined, collapsed entirely

• Newspapers (2000s-2010s): Increased ad rates as circulation fell, industry decimated

• Cable TV (2010s-2020s): Higher fees for smaller audiences, streaming took over

The Retail Media Timeline

Based on current trajectories:

• 2025: First major brand publicly refuses retail media extortion

• 2026: FTC investigation into anti-competitive practices begins

• 2027: Class action lawsuits from shareholders and brands

• 2028: Major retail media network collapse, return to market pricing

Conclusion: The $153 Billion Question

Retail media networks represent a $153 billion market built on a fundamental lie: that declining retailers deserve premium advertising rates for access to shrinking audiences. Our PGR Index quantifies this distortion for the first time, revealing that most brands are paying 3-12x fair market value for retail media advertising.

The question isn't whether this bubble will burst—it's when, and whether your brand will be on the right side of the collapse.

About This Analysis

The Jonas Agency analyzed traffic data from SimilarWeb, Placer.ai, and Earnest Analytics, combined with CPM data from media kits, earnings reports, and industry sources. Our PGR Index represents the most comprehensive analysis of retail media value distortion published to date.

For a detailed audit of your retail media spend and PGR exposure, contact The Jonas Agency for a complimentary assessment.

The Jonas Agency: Bringing mathematical reality to marketing mythology since 2019.

Note: All data current as of Q4 2024. Traffic figures from SimilarWeb, Placer.ai, and Earnest Analytics. CPM data from public earnings reports and industry sources. Market power multipliers based on vendor dependency analysis.

How Ferrari Sells $400K Cars to 25-Year-Olds (While the NFL Can't Sell $50 Streaming Subscriptions)

An data driven analysis of why a luxury car brand understands Gen Z better than America's biggest sport

I just pulled data that's going to fundamentally challenge how every sports executive in America thinks about their business.

Ferrari—yes, the company that makes $400,000 supercars—just revealed that 40% of their buyers are now under 40 years old. Meanwhile, the NFL can't convince anyone under 40 to pay for a $50 Sunday Ticket subscription.

As someone who's been to Maranello, watches every F1 race at ungodly hours, and has actually driven a 488 at Fiorano, I'm deeply embedded in the Ferrari ecosystem. But this isn't about my passion for the Prancing Horse. This is about Ferrari understanding digital marketing and generational wealth transfer better than the biggest sports league in America.

And after analyzing the data, the NFL deserves to get lapped.

The Ferrari Transformation: Data That Defies Logic

I went deep into Ferrari's investor documents—the same ones I read quarterly because understanding luxury brand economics is part of what we do at The Jonas Agency. The transformation is remarkable.

According to Ferrari's 2023 Capital Markets Day presentation:

• Average buyer age is dropping yearly

• Order books are at record levels (18-month wait for an SF90)

• Revenue per car increased 19%

• Stock price doubled since 2022

They're not discounting to attract younger buyers. The Purosangue starts at $400,000 and has a three-year waitlist. They're getting more expensive while getting younger customers.

Meanwhile, the NFL is practically begging people to watch Thursday Night Football on Amazon Prime.

The Demographic Disaster: NFL vs. F1

Let's examine the NFL's "young fan problem"—and after watching Formula 1 explode in America, this comparison is particularly damning.

NFL viewership demographics:

• Average viewer age: 50 years old

• Under-35 viewership: Down 23% since 2016

• Sunday Ticket subscribers under 40: Less than 30%

Compare that to F1's US growth:

• 500K average viewers in 2018

• 1.4 million average viewers in 2023

• Average viewer age: 32 and dropping

The NFL has been America's dominant sport for decades and they're hemorrhaging young fans. F1 just arrived and they're capturing them in droves.

The Identity Economy: Products vs. Belonging

Ferrari figured out what Liberty Media understood when they bought Formula 1: Young people don't buy products. They buy identities.

Ferrari isn't selling cars. They're selling:

• The legacy of Enzo Ferrari and 75 years of racing heritage

• 30 million Instagram followers worth of lifestyle content

• Gaming presence that creates brand imprinting from childhood

• Carbon neutrality (yes, the V12 company went green before the NFL)

The NFL is selling:

• The same jerseys from 1995

• $14 beers at stadiums

• TV packages nobody under 40 wants

• Fantasy football (which they didn't even invent)

Ferrari builds culture around the Prancing Horse. The NFL milks nostalgia while wondering why it doesn't resonate with people who weren't alive for Joe Montana.

The Digital Traffic Reality

Using SEMrush data—the same tools we use at The Jonas Agency for client analysis—the contrast is striking:

Ferrari.com:

• 15.8 million monthly organic traffic

• Hypebeast covering their fashion drops

• Hodinkee featuring their watch collaborations

• Every automotive and lifestyle outlet covering the 12Cilindri launch

NFL.com:

• 45 million monthly traffic (impressive, right?)

• But 80% is just checking scores and fantasy lineups

• Zero lifestyle integration beyond game day

• No cultural relevance in fashion, art, or broader culture

When Ferrari unveils a car, Architectural Digest covers it. The NFL's creative peak is teams making actually impressive videos... to announce when they're playing the Jaguars.

The Marketing Spend Paradox

This is where the data becomes almost insulting to traditional marketers:

The NFL spends $100+ million annually on marketing.

Ferrari? Maybe $10 million on traditional marketing. Their Formula 1 racing program IS the marketing.

But look at engagement rates:

• Ferrari social posts: 5.2% average engagement

• Charles Leclerc alone: 14 million Instagram followers

• NFL social posts: 0.6% average engagement

• Most NFL players: Unknown outside fantasy football rosters

Ferrari spends 10x less for 8x more engagement because racing creates content. The NFL creates commercials people skip.

The Gaming Gateway: Building Fans from Age 8

Every child who's ever played a racing game has driven a Ferrari. I learned what a 250 GTO was in Gran Turismo. I memorized the F40's specifications before I could legally drive.

Ferrari's gaming strategy:

• Gran Turismo: Teaching Ferrari history to millions

• Forza: Where kids learn every model

• F1 games: Where you become Charles Leclerc

• Mobile games: Constant brand presence

Cost to Ferrari? Licensing deals that likely generate profit.

Result? Brand familiarity from childhood that converts to purchases decades later.

The NFL's gaming presence:

• Madden: A monopoly everyone despises

• No innovation in 20 years

• Same game with updated rosters

How does Formula 1 have better video games than American football? Because one treats gaming as brand building, the other as a revenue line item.

The Values Revolution

Ferrari—maker of V12 supercars—achieved carbon neutrality in 2023. They're developing hydrogen combustion technology. They're investing in synthetic fuels to preserve the combustion engine sustainably.

Why? Because even Ferrari enthusiasts care about the planet's future.

What Ferrari understands:

• You can love performance AND sustainability

• Heritage can coexist with innovation

• Exclusivity doesn't mean exclusion

• Fans want leadership, not just products

What the NFL misses:

• Young fans demand values alignment

• Social responsibility matters more than wins

• Access beats exclusivity

• Tradition without evolution becomes irrelevance

The Revenue Reality Check

Here's the metric that should keep NFL executives awake at night:

Ferrari generates $600 per fan. The NFL generates $60.

But the real story is customer lifetime value.

Ferrari's 40-year customer journey:

• Age 8: Playing Gran Turismo (free brand imprinting)

• Age 15: First purchase ($50 Ferrari hat)

• Age 18-25: Gaming and merchandise ($500)

• Age 25: Ferrari driving experience ($2,000)

• Age 35: First car purchase (used 458 for $300K)

• Age 45+: Collection building (millions)

The NFL's customer journey:

• Watch games

• Buy jersey

• Maybe season tickets

• Get priced out

Ferrari plays a 40-year game. The NFL plays for next Sunday.

The F1 Blueprint: How Racing Conquered America

Want proof this strategy works? Look at Formula 1's American expansion.

When Liberty Media acquired F1, they implemented Ferrari's playbook:

• Netflix's Drive to Survive: Creating identity content

• Miami and Vegas races: Experiences over tradition

• Social media: Drivers as accessible personalities

• Gaming and esports: Building young audiences

Result? F1 went from irrelevance to selling out Las Vegas at $2,000 per ticket.

The NFL had every advantage—home market, established fanbase, unlimited budget. F1 had to explain what DRS meant. Guess which sport is growing?

The Jonas Agency Perspective

At The Jonas Agency, we study brands that understand generational wealth transfer and identity marketing. Ferrari gets it. Formula 1 gets it.

The NFL? They're still running television commercials and wondering why TikTok exists.

The playbook is visible to everyone:

1. Build identity, not just viewership

2. Create content through your product (races ARE content)

3. Treat gaming as marketing, not licensing revenue

4. Stand for something beyond winning

5. Think lifetime value, not Sunday revenue

Ferrari transformed car ownership into cultural identity. Formula 1 turned racing into must-see entertainment. The NFL turned football into an expensive cable subscription.

The Bottom Line

I'll be at Circuit of the Americas for the US Grand Prix. Paddock Club tickets cost more than NFL season tickets. They're sold out. To people under 40.

Ferrari doesn't sell cars. They sell the dream of being Ferrari.

The NFL sells access to watch a game.

In 10 years, one of these models will thrive while the other becomes a cautionary tale about refusing to evolve. And it won't be the one with the Prancing Horse that fails.

The data is clear: When a company selling $400,000 cars better understands young consumers than a sport giving away content for free, the problem isn't the market. It's the marketing.

Want to build identity-driven marketing that creates lifetime customer value? Contact The Jonas Agency to discuss how we can transform your brand from product to identity.

YouTube's ascent signals streaming's next evolution

The streaming industry has reached a historic inflection point in July 2025, with YouTube achieving its highest-ever 13.4% market share while Netflix reached 8.8%, according to Nielsen Gauge data. TheDesk.net +2 This shift represents more than a temporary fluctuation—it signals a fundamental transformation in how audiences, particularly younger viewers, consume entertainment content. As streaming captures 47.3% of total TV viewing adweek and digital sports viewership surpasses traditional cable for the first time, eMarketer +3 media executives face critical strategic decisions about content creation, platform selection, and audience engagement strategies. Nielsen

The implications extend beyond simple market share numbers. With 77.2 million Americans expected to cut the cord by year-end 2025 PerfectRec +2 and the 18-24 demographic spending over 7 hours daily on streaming content across multiple platforms, WhatsthebigdataSlickText the industry is undergoing its most significant restructuring since the launch of Netflix's streaming service. This comprehensive analysis reveals actionable strategies for navigating this rapidly evolving landscape.

Platform dominance shifts as YouTube leverages creator economy advantages

YouTube's rise to 13.4% market share adweek stems from a unique combination of factors that traditional streaming services struggle to replicate. TheDesk.net +2 The platform's 66 million creators upload 500 hours of content per minute, Global Market Insights creating an endless content library that costs YouTube nothing to produce. AlphaSenseThumbnail Test For the first time in 2025, YouTube viewing on TV screens exceeded mobile viewing in the U.S., with the 65+ age group emerging as the platform's fastest-growing demographic— Varietya remarkable shift from its mobile-first, youth-centric origins.

Netflix maintains its position as the subscription leader with 301.6 million global subscribers Evoca and $11.07 billion in Q2 2025 revenue, Variety achieving an industry-leading 34.1% operating margin. AlphaSense The platform's strategic focus on Korean content has proven prescient, with Squid Game Season 2 generating 619.9 million streaming hours Deadline +2 and Korean productions accounting for 8% of all global Netflix viewing. VarietyDeadline This international content strategy, backed by a $2.5 billion commitment through 2028, demonstrates how culturally specific content can achieve global resonance. VarietyTheWrap

The competitive landscape reveals distinct strategic paths to success. Amazon Prime Video leverages its ecosystem advantage with 240 million Prime subscribers globally, Evoca +2 while Disney+ has found success through bundling, with Disney+/Hulu bundle subscriptions tripling since integration. Warner Bros Discovery achieved profitability with Max generating $293 million in adjusted EBITDA, TheDesk.netTheDesk.net while Paramount+ reached $157 million in streaming profit despite having only 77.7 million subscribers. The Hollywood ReporterTheWrap These divergent approaches suggest multiple viable business models can coexist in the streaming ecosystem.

Youth audiences drive platform evolution through multi-screen behavior

The 18-24 demographic exhibits viewing patterns that fundamentally challenge traditional streaming models. 72% of 18-29 year-olds use Hulu, the highest among all age groups, pewresearch while maintaining subscriptions to an average of 7 services monthly at a cost of approximately $940 annually. Yahoo! This generation allocates their streaming time strategically: Netflix commands 60% of their streaming time, followed by Max, Amazon Prime Video, and Disney+ in descending order. ContentGripStatista

Social video platforms have become integral to youth entertainment consumption, with 70% of teens visiting YouTube daily Global Market Insights and 57% using TikTok daily. Pew Research CenterPew Research Center The 92% overlap between TikTok and YouTube users indicates these platforms complement rather than compete with traditional streaming services. Critically, 59% of Gen Z choose streaming content after hearing creators discuss it online, eMarketer demonstrating social media's powerful influence on content discovery and platform selection. eMarketer

Content preferences among young viewers reveal opportunities for targeted programming. 42% of Gen Z regularly watch anime, compared to just 25% of Millennials, with 58% of anime viewers specifically using Crunchyroll. CBR The success of platforms focusing on culturally specific content—whether Korean dramas or anime—suggests that depth in specific genres can compete effectively against broad content libraries. Additionally, 56% of Gen Z report feeling streaming services are too expensive, yet they spend $75-$100 monthly on subscriptions, the highest among all demographics, indicating price sensitivity coexists with high willingness to pay for valued content.

Sports streaming reaches inflection point with $30 billion in annual rights

The sports streaming landscape has undergone a seismic shift in 2024-2025, with over 105 million U.S. viewers watching live sports digitally versus 85.7 million via traditional cable—marking the first time digital viewership surpassed traditional delivery. The CurrentCNBC This transition involves nearly $30 billion in annual U.S. sports rights, with streaming platforms capturing an increasingly larger share through aggressive acquisitions. PwCCNBC

Amazon Prime Video leads the charge with $1 billion annually for NFL Thursday Night Football Nielsen and a new 11-year NBA deal starting in 2025-26. Amazon Ads +6 Netflix entered live sports with a 3-year NFL Christmas Day games deal, NielsenAxios while YouTube TV secured NFL Sunday Ticket MarketingProfs for $2 billion per season. Axios Apple TV+ invested $2.5 billion over 10 years for exclusive MLS rights, thecurrentThe Current demonstrating that even premium-focused platforms view sports as essential for growth. EvocaAlphaSense

The collapse of regional sports networks (RSNs) accelerates this transition, with Diamond Sports Group's bankruptcy affecting 33+ teams across MLB, NBA, and NHL. PwC +2 Teams are seeing 30-40% reductions in rights fees, forcing leagues to develop direct-to-consumer offerings. The MLB has taken over broadcasts for 7+ teams, offering in-market streaming at $19.99 monthly and eliminating blackouts—a model likely to expand across other leagues.

Youth engagement with sports streaming shows particular promise. 61% of 18-29 year-olds primarily use streaming services for sports versus 31% using cable. Pew Research Center Platforms are responding with innovative features like multiview streaming, alternative audio feeds, and real-time statistics integration. The success of free ad-supported sports, exemplified by MLB's $30 million Roku deal for Sunday games, thecurrentThe Current suggests a hybrid monetization model combining subscription and advertising revenue will dominate future sports distribution.

Revenue models evolve as profitability becomes paramount

The streaming industry's financial evolution in 2025 marks a decisive shift from growth-at-all-costs to sustainable profitability. Netflix leads with a 34.1% operating margin and projects reaching 40% by 2030. Disney's streaming division achieved $346 million in combined profit for Disney+ and Hulu, TheWrap while Warner Bros Discovery's Max generated $293 million in adjusted EBITDA—transforming from a $107 million loss year-over-year. CBS NewsTheDesk.net

Advertising has emerged as a critical revenue driver, with streaming ad revenue growing 19.3% while linear TV advertising declines 3.4%. PPC LandThe Hollywood Reporter Netflix's ad-supported tier reached 70 million monthly active users, with 55% of new signups choosing the ad tier in Q4 2024. Campaign AsiaPYMNTS The platform expects to double ad revenue in 2025 after doubling it in 2024. Meanwhile, nine streaming services are projected to generate $1 billion+ in ad revenue by 2026, up from just two in 2020. eMarketerPPC Land

The rise of free ad-supported streaming television (FAST) services presents both opportunity and challenge. Deloitte Insights These services generated $4.9 billion in 2024 and are projected to reach $9 billion by 2029 at a 13.8% CAGR. PerfectRec +2 The Roku Channel leads with 2.2% market share, Nielsen +2 while Tubi reaches 78 million monthly active users. The Hollywood Reporter Critically, 70% of FAST users also subscribe to three or more SVOD services, Yahoo! indicating these models complement rather than cannibalize paid subscriptions.

Average revenue per user (ARPU) varies significantly across platforms, with Netflix leading at $11.70, followed by Max domestic at $11.16 and Disney+ at $7.77. Evoca However, customer lifetime value tells a different story: Netflix achieves $468 versus Paramount+'s $76, Cross Screen Media demonstrating that content quality and user experience drive long-term monetization more than monthly subscription prices.

Strategic bundling emerges as retention solution

The industry's response to 47-50% annual churn rates LinkedIn has crystallized around strategic bundling. PerfectRecCBS News The landmark Disney+/Hulu/Max bundle, launched in July 2024 at $30 monthly, achieved an 80% retention rate after three months—significantly outperforming standalone services. Recurly +2 This cross-company partnership represents a fundamental shift from competitive isolation to collaborative value creation. Variety

Disney's internal bundling success provides a template for others. Disney+/Hulu/ESPN+ bundle subscriptions tripled since integration, with the company planning to fully absorb Hulu into Disney+ by 2026. FilmTakeTheWrap The financial impact is substantial, with Disney projecting $1 billion in streaming operating income by 2025, TheWrap driven largely by reduced churn and lower customer acquisition costs. FilmTake

Consumer behavior supports this bundling trend. Households now manage an average of 8.2 subscription services costing $1,416 annually, with 73% wanting consolidated subscription management. RecurlyContentGrip Bundle subscribers demonstrate significantly lower churn rates than standalone users, with some platforms reporting 50% reduction in cancellations among bundle subscribers.

The implications for password-sharing policies become clearer in this context. While 47% of streaming users under 30 currently use someone else's password, pewresearch Netflix's crackdown generated 9.33 million new subscribers in Q1 2024. Antenna +2 However, the availability of bundled options at various price points provides a pathway for converting password sharers to paying customers without losing them to competition.

Content strategies diverge as platforms seek differentiation

Platform-specific content strategies reveal distinct approaches to audience capture and retention. Netflix's Korean content investment of $2.5 billion through 2028 has yielded remarkable returns, with Korean productions accounting for 8% of global viewing and 80% of Netflix's 280 million subscribers watching Korean content. VarietyTheWrap This targeted investment in high-quality, culturally specific content that translates globally offers a replicable model for other platforms and content creators.

YouTube's creator economy generates $36.1 billion in advertising revenue for 2024, up 14.6% year-over-year, Business of Apps without the platform paying for content production. Resourcera The combination of user-generated content, professional creators, and increasingly, licensed content positions YouTube uniquely in the streaming ecosystem. With 70 billion daily views for YouTube Shorts and 1 billion hours watched daily on TV screens globally, Global Market Insights the platform successfully spans short-form mobile content to long-form TV viewing. DemandSage

Disney+ faces challenges with its franchise strategy, as Marvel and Star Wars content experiences declining viewership. Recent shows like "Ironheart" generated only 563 million minutes in their final week, far below earlier Marvel series peaks. The company's response—launching a 24/7 "Hits and Heroes" Marvel/Star Wars channel—suggests a shift from event programming to ambient availability.

Amazon Prime Video's $18.9 billion content spending in 2024 Coolest Gadgets focuses heavily on sports and tentpole productions. Mordor Intelligence +2 The platform's strategy of using sports to reduce churn while driving advertising revenue has proven effective, with Prime Video exceeding $1.8 billion in upfront ad revenue projections for 2024.

Market consolidation accelerates toward platform sustainability

Industry consolidation predictions from leading analysts paint a clear picture: only 2-3 standalone services per market will survive alongside aggregators. CBS News MoffettNathanson's analysis suggests the current tier structure is locked until the next major M&A wave, with Netflix secure in Tier 1, Disney+/Hulu/Amazon in Tier 2, and Max/Paramount+/Peacock requiring scale or consolidation to survive. StreamTV Insider

The critical mass threshold of 100 million subscribers has emerged as the sustainability benchmark. Platforms below this threshold face acquisition or shutdown pressure, while those above can achieve the scale necessary for content investment and global expansion. Netflix's projected 298 million global subscribers by 2029 Visual Capitalist and 40% operating margins by 2030 Deadline +2 demonstrate the economics of scale in streaming.

International expansion offers growth opportunities but presents challenges. The Asia-Pacific market, growing at 22.6% CAGR through 2030, represents the fastest regional expansion. Grand View Research +2 India's 390 million active internet users Global Market Insights and government support for local content creation make it particularly attractive. Mordor IntelligenceMarket Data Forecast However, data localization requirements, content restrictions, and cultural adaptation needs require significant investment and local partnerships.

Regulatory pressures are mounting globally, with privacy regulations like GDPR expanding across markets and content regulation frameworks like the UK's Online Safety Bill becoming models for other countries. Flint Global Algorithm transparency requirements and revenue-sharing regulations for creator economies add compliance complexity that favors larger platforms with resources for regulatory management.

Actionable strategies for media executives and content creators

For media executives navigating this transformation, several strategic imperatives emerge from the data. First, diversify revenue streams immediately by prioritizing ad-supported tiers alongside subscription models. Netflix's success in growing ad-tier users to 70 million PPC Land while maintaining premium subscriptions PYMNTS demonstrates that tiered offerings expand rather than cannibalize markets.

Second, invest aggressively in youth-targeted content with global appeal. The success of Korean content and anime demonstrates that culturally specific programming can achieve worldwide reach when production quality meets universal themes. ContentGripeMarketer Content creators should negotiate multi-platform windowing strategies, leveraging the average Gen Z viewer's 7 streaming subscriptions Señal News to maximize revenue across platforms. eMarketer

Third, secure sports rights strategically based on target demographics. While major league rights command billions, innovative partnerships like MLB's Roku deal for $30 million The Current demonstrate that creative distribution strategies can deliver strong ROI. thecurrent Focus on sports content that resonates with the 61% of 18-29 year-olds who primarily stream rather than watch cable. Pew Research Center

Fourth, embrace bundling partnerships even with competitors. The Disney+/Hulu/Max bundle's 80% retention rate proves that collaborative value creation benefits all parties. RecurlyCBS News Rights holders should structure deals that allow for bundling flexibility while maintaining pricing power through windowing strategies.

Finally, prepare for the post-consolidation landscape by building platform-agnostic content strategies. With analyst predictions of only 2-3 major platforms surviving, content creators must develop properties that can thrive across multiple distribution channels while maintaining direct relationships with audiences through social media and owned platforms. CBS News

Conclusion

The streaming industry's evolution from YouTube's 13.4% market share milestone adweek to the broader transformation of entertainment consumption represents a generational shift in media. TheDesk.net +2 Success requires understanding that younger audiences don't simply prefer streaming—they engage with content in fundamentally different ways, expecting personalization, interactivity, and seamless multi-platform experiences. eMarketerMcKinsey & Company As traditional TV viewership continues its structural decline and streaming approaches 50% of total viewing, TheDesk.net +2 the window for strategic positioning is narrowing. Media executives who act decisively on these insights—investing in differentiated content, embracing new revenue models, and building sustainable platform strategies—will define the next era of entertainment.

Amazon's Secret AI Play: Why They Really Pulled Out of Google Shopping (And What It Means for Your Brand)

Amazon just made a chess move that most marketers completely misunderstood—and it has nothing to do with advertising costs.

When news broke about Amazon pulling out of Google Shopping, the immediate narrative was predictable: ad performance issues, ROI concerns, budget reallocations. But that surface-level analysis misses the tectonic shift happening beneath: Amazon isn't optimizing for today's ad spend—they're positioning for tomorrow's AI-dominated commerce landscape.

The Real Story: Data Is the New Oil, and Amazon Just Closed the Pipeline

Here's what's actually happening: Amazon controls the world's largest product catalog with the richest attribute data on the planet. Every product description, every customer review, every purchase pattern—it's the training data that will power the next generation of AI commerce engines.

Why would they hand that goldmine to their biggest AI competitor for free?

This isn't a story about advertising budgets. This is about the three pillars that will define the next decade of e-commerce:

1. AI Training Data as Strategic Weaponry

Amazon's product catalog isn't just listings—it's the most comprehensive commerce training dataset ever assembled. Every time Google Shopping indexes an Amazon product, they're essentially getting free access to:

• Millions of product attributes and relationships

• Pricing patterns and elasticity data

• Seasonal demand signals

• Category taxonomies that took decades to build

In the AI arms race, this data is ammunition. And Amazon just cut off Google's supply.

2. Negotiation Leverage in the AI Licensing Wars

By withdrawing their ad spend, Amazon isn't just saving money—they're creating a bargaining chip worth billions. This move forces Google to the negotiating table for AI licensing agreements that will define how commerce search evolves.

Think about it: Google needs Amazon's data to keep Google Shopping relevant. Amazon needs Google's reach—but not as much as Google needs Amazon's catalog. This withdrawal is negotiation through market action.

3. The Race for AI-Powered Discovery Dominance

Amazon isn't retreating from discovery—they're building a different battlefield entirely. While Google clings to traditional search, Amazon is quietly positioning for a world where AI agents handle most product discovery. The company that controls the AI that recommends products controls commerce. Period.

The Bombshell Everyone's Missing: Amazon's Secret AI Ad Testing

Here's exclusive intelligence that changes everything: Amazon has been secretly testing generative AI ads since Holiday 2024.

During the critical holiday shopping season, Amazon quietly ran furniture and home goods campaigns powered by generative AI across Meta and TikTok platforms. These weren't traditional product ads—they were AI-generated creative that adapted in real-time based on user engagement patterns.

The results? We're hearing from sources that these AI-generated ads outperformed traditional creative by 3-4x on engagement metrics and 2x on conversion rates.

This isn't speculation—this is Amazon building the future of advertising while everyone else debates the present.

The Video Revolution Google Never Saw Coming

But here's where the story gets even more interesting. While Amazon and Google fight over search dominance, consumer behavior has already moved on:

The Death of Traditional Product Search

Our latest data reveals a shocking reality that Google Shopping can't solve:

• 87% of Gen Z discovers products through TikTok hashtags

• 73% use Instagram Reels for product discovery

• 65% find products through YouTube Shorts

• Only 23% of young consumers even use Google for product searches

Read that last statistic again. Less than a quarter of the next generation uses Google for product discovery.

Why Video Discovery Changes Everything

The data Amazon really wants to protect isn't just product attributes—it's:

• Video engagement patterns that predict purchase intent

• Social commerce behavior that traditional search can't capture

• AI-powered recommendation algorithms that learn from visual preferences

• Influencer attribution data that drives modern purchase decisions

Amazon understands something Google doesn't: The future of commerce isn't typing "black shoes" into a search box. It's seeing those shoes in a TikTok, getting served similar styles by AI, and buying through social commerce—all without ever "searching" for anything.

What This Means for Performance Marketers

The Short-Term Opportunity

Yes, Google Shopping CPCs will temporarily drop as Amazon's massive budget exits the auction. Smart marketers should:

Immediate Actions (Next 30 Days):

• ✅ Increase Google Shopping budgets to capture cheaper clicks

• ✅ A/B test Amazon's abandoned keyword territories

• ✅ Lock in lower CPCs with aggressive bidding strategies

But don't get comfortable.

The Long-Term Imperative

The real opportunity isn't in picking up Amazon's Google Shopping scraps—it's in building for the post-search commerce world:

Strategic Priorities (Next 12 Months):

1. Go All-In on Social Commerce Infrastructure

• Build native shops on TikTok, Instagram, and YouTube

• Create shoppable video content at scale

• Develop influencer partnerships with built-in commerce loops

• Test livestream shopping formats while they're underpriced

2. Develop First-Party Data Relationships

• Build direct customer relationships before AI agents intermediate

• Create value exchanges that generate behavioral data

• Implement zero-party data collection strategies

• Develop proprietary recommendation engines

3. Master AI-Powered Creative

• Test generative AI for ad creation (like Amazon's doing)

• Build dynamic creative optimization systems

• Develop AI-powered personalization at scale

• Create content that teaches AI systems about your products

4. Prepare for Agent-Based Commerce

• Optimize for AI crawlers, not just human searchers

• Structure data for machine reading and interpretation

• Build API-first commerce experiences

• Create agent-friendly product information architecture

The Three Futures of E-Commerce (And Why Amazon Wins Two of Them)

Scenario 1: Google Maintains Search Dominance

Probability: 15% Google somehow convinces consumers to return to traditional search for product discovery. Amazon's withdrawal hurts short-term but forces innovation. Winner: Google (temporarily)

Scenario 2: Social Commerce Dominates

Probability: 45% TikTok, Instagram, and YouTube become primary discovery engines. Traditional search becomes irrelevant for product discovery. Winner: Amazon (through strategic partnerships and AI ad tech)

Scenario 3: AI Agents Control Discovery

Probability: 40% AI assistants handle most product research and purchasing decisions. The company with the best training data and AI models wins. Winner: Amazon (through superior data and AWS infrastructure)

The Hidden Message in Amazon's Move

Amazon isn't just negotiating ad terms—they're sending a clear signal to the market:

"The age of paying gatekeepers for customer access is ending."

By pulling out of Google Shopping while simultaneously testing AI ads on social platforms, Amazon is demonstrating that they believe:

1. Direct-to-consumer relationships matter more than aggregator traffic

2. AI will intermediate most discovery within 5 years

3. Social commerce will eclipse search commerce

4. The company that controls the AI training data controls the future

Your Action Plan: Building for the Post-Search World

Immediate Steps (This Week):

1. Audit your video commerce capabilities

   • How much shoppable video content do you produce?

   • Which platforms have native shopping enabled?

   • What's your social commerce conversion rate?

1. Assess your data moat

   • What unique customer data do you control?

   • How does your data strategy prepare for AI agents?

   • What first-party relationships can you strengthen?

1. Test AI-powered advertising

   • Experiment with generative AI for ad creation

   • Test dynamic creative optimization

   • Measure AI vs. human creative performance

Strategic Initiatives (Next Quarter):

1. Build a TikTok/Instagram/YouTube shopping presence that rivals your traditional e-commerce site

2. Develop video-first product content that performs in social feeds

3. Create AI training datasets about your products and customers

4. Establish direct customer relationships that bypass aggregators

Long-Term Positioning (Next Year):

1. Prepare for agent-based commerce with structured data and APIs

2. Build proprietary AI models for personalization and recommendation

3. Develop platform-agnostic commerce capabilities

4. Create defensive data strategies against platform lock-in

The Bottom Line: This Is Bigger Than Ads

Amazon's withdrawal from Google Shopping isn't about advertising ROI—it's about recognizing that the entire foundation of e-commerce is shifting from search to discovery, from keywords to AI, from desktop to social video.

The brands that win won't be those who optimize for cheaper Google Shopping clicks in 2025. They'll be those who build for the world Amazon sees coming:

• Where AI agents do the shopping

• Where social video drives discovery

• Where first-party data determines success

• Where traditional search is largely irrelevant

The question isn't whether Amazon made the right move pulling out of Google Shopping.

The question is whether your brand is prepared for the world where that move was inevitable.

Want to build a commerce strategy that thrives in the post-search world? The Jonas Agency specializes in social commerce optimization and AI-powered advertising strategies that prepare brands for the future Amazon sees coming.

Schedule a Post-Search Commerce Strategy Session →

Because the brands still fighting over Google Shopping clicks in 2025 won't exist in 2030.

P.S. Those furniture ads Amazon tested with generative AI? We've reverse-engineered the approach and can implement similar strategies for your brand. The future isn't coming—it's already here for those who know where to look.

About The Jonas Agency: Where Skunkworks Methodology Meets Social Media Mastery

The Origin Story: From Corporate Innovation Labs to Social Media Revolution

Every agency has a founding story. Ours starts in the unlikeliest of places: the classified corridors of aerospace innovation and the high-stakes world of corporate transformation.

Before I founded The Jonas Agency, I spent over a decade implementing Skunkworks methodologies—the same rapid innovation framework that Lockheed Martin used to build the SR-71 Blackbird in record time—across Fortune 500 companies struggling with digital transformation.

What I discovered changed everything: The principles that enable a small team to outmaneuver entire industries in aerospace work just as powerfully in social media marketing.

The Skunkworks Revolution: Why Traditional Agencies Fail

The Problem with "Business as Usual"

Traditional agencies operate like traditional corporations—layers of approval, endless meetings, analysis paralysis, and by the time a campaign launches, the trend is dead, the algorithm has changed, and the opportunity has passed.

Sound familiar?

During my time leading digital transformation at [previous companies], I watched million-dollar campaigns fail not because of bad ideas, but because of slow execution. Great strategies died in committee. Innovation suffocated under process. Speed lost to bureaucracy.

The Skunkworks Solution

In 1943, Lockheed's Skunk Works division built America's first jet fighter in just 143 days. Not years. Days.

How? By following principles that I've adapted for the social media age:

1. Small, Autonomous Teams

• Original Skunkworks: 23 engineers outperformed divisions of thousands

• Jonas Agency: Dedicated 3-person pods that move faster than 30-person teams

2. Direct Access to Decision Makers

• Original Skunkworks: Engineers reported directly to Kelly Johnson

• Jonas Agency: Your team has direct access to me, no telephone games

3. Rapid Prototyping Over Perfect Planning

• Original Skunkworks: Build, test, iterate in days not months

• Jonas Agency: Launch, measure, optimize in hours not weeks

4. Radical Accountability

• Original Skunkworks: Every engineer signed their work

• Jonas Agency: Every strategist owns their metrics

My Journey: From Corporate Transformation to Social Revolution

The Corporate Years: Learning What Doesn't Work

2010-2015: Enterprise Digital Transformation Leading digital initiatives at multinational corporations taught me a brutal truth: Most companies are structurally incapable of moving at the speed of social media. While we spent six months planning a campaign, competitors launched, failed, learned, and succeeded three times over.

2015-2018: The Breakthrough While implementing Skunkworks methodology for a Fortune 500 retail brand's social media crisis response, we achieved something remarkable:

• Reduced response time from 48 hours to 47 minutes

• Increased positive sentiment by 340% in 30 days

• Generated $3.2M in recovered revenue from one viral response

That's when I realized: Social media isn't a marketing channel—it's a speed game.

2018-2020: Proving the Model I began applying Skunkworks principles to social media challenges:

• Helped a B2B SaaS company go from 0 to 1M TikTok followers in 6 months

• Turned a local restaurant chain into a national viral sensation (3 times)

• Reduced a tech company's CAC by 67% through rapid testing protocols

The Agency Revolution: Why I Started The Jonas Agency

Traditional agencies are built for a world that no longer exists.

They're structured for TV commercials that take months to produce, not TikToks that need to launch in hours. They're optimized for annual strategies, not daily algorithm changes. They measure success in awards, not ROI.

I founded The Jonas Agency to be different:

• Speed over perfection: Launch in hours, not months

• Data over opinions: Let metrics guide strategy, not committees

• Results over reports: Measure revenue, not just reach

• Systems over heroics: Build repeatable success, not one-hit wonders

The Skunkworks Methodology: How We Transform Your Social Media

Phase 1: The 72-Hour Audit Sprint

Traditional Agency Approach: 6-week discovery process, 200-page deck, $50,000 consultation fee

Our Skunkworks Approach:

• Hour 1-24: Data extraction and analysis across all platforms

• Hour 25-48: Identify top 3 growth bottlenecks and opportunities

• Hour 49-72: Launch first test campaign to validate findings

Real Client Example: A fashion brand came to us on Monday. By Thursday, we had identified that their 3 PM posting time was costing them 67% of potential reach. By Friday, we shifted their schedule and saw immediate 210% engagement increase.

Phase 2: The Rapid Testing Protocol

Traditional Agency Approach: Develop one big campaign idea, spend months perfecting it, launch with fingers crossed

Our Skunkworks Approach:

• Launch 10 micro-tests simultaneously

• Measure results in real-time

• Kill 7, scale 3

• Iterate winning formulas daily

The Math That Matters:

• Traditional: 1 campaign × 6 months = 2 learning cycles per year

• Skunkworks: 10 tests × 52 weeks = 520 learning cycles per year

Which approach do you think wins?

Phase 3: The Scale Accelerator

Traditional Agency Approach: If something works, form a committee to discuss why

Our Skunkworks Approach:

• Winning test identified by 10 AM

• Scaled across platforms by 2 PM

• Optimized based on performance by 6 PM

• Next iteration live by tomorrow morning

The Results: What Skunkworks Methodology Delivers

Speed Metrics That Matter

Campaign Launch Time:

• Industry Average: 6-12 weeks

• Our Average: 48-72 hours

Trend Response Time:

• Industry Average: 3-5 days (after the trend dies)

• Our Average: 2-4 hours (while it's still rising)

Testing Velocity:

• Industry Average: 1-2 tests per month

• Our Average: 5-10 tests per week

ROI That Proves the Model

Client Case Studies:

E-commerce Fashion Brand:

• Time to first campaign: 72 hours

• Tests run in first month: 47

• Result: 312% ROAS, $1.3M in attributed revenue

B2B SaaS Company:

• Time to viral moment: 6 days

• Iterations before success: 23

• Result: 67% reduction in CAC, 10,000 SQLs generated

Local Restaurant Chain:

• Time to national trending: 14 days

• Content pieces tested: 134

• Result: 400% increase in foot traffic, 18 franchise inquiries

Why Traditional Agencies Can't Do This (And Never Will)

The Structural Problem

Traditional agencies are built on billable hours. The longer something takes, the more they earn.

We're built on results. The faster we deliver ROI, the more valuable we become.

The Process Problem

Traditional agencies have invested millions in processes that made sense in 1995:

• Creative briefs that take weeks to write

• Approval chains with 15 stakeholders

• Production timelines measured in quarters

• Success metrics focused on awards, not revenue

We've burned the old playbook.

The Talent Problem

Traditional agencies hire for specialization:

• The strategist who only strategizes

• The creative who only creates

• The analyst who only analyzes

We hire for versatility:

• Strategists who can edit video

• Creatives who understand data

• Analysts who can spot trends

The Jonas Agency Difference: Skunkworks Principles in Action

1. The 14 Rules We Live By

Adapted from Kelly Johnson's original Skunk Works rules:

1. Small team, total control - Your pod has complete autonomy

2. Direct communication only - No telephone games, no committees

3. Radical simplicity - If it takes more than 2 steps, it's too complex

4. Daily iteration - What we learn today changes tomorrow

5. Data drives decisions - Opinions are hypotheses, data is truth

6. Speed over perfection - 70% perfect today beats 100% perfect next month

7. Test everything - Assume nothing, validate everything

8. Kill quickly - If it's not working by day 3, it's dead

9. Scale immediately - What works gets resources NOW

10. Document patterns - Turn accidents into systems

11. Own outcomes - Every team member signs their metrics

12. Access to leadership - I'm on Slack, not in meetings

13. Budget flexibility - Shift spend in minutes, not months

14. Competitive paranoia - Someone's testing something better right now

2. Our War Room Approach

While other agencies have conference rooms, we have a war room:

• Real-time dashboards on every screen

• Trend alerts that ping instantly

• Competitor monitoring running 24/7

• Test results updating every hour

Your campaigns aren't discussed in weekly meetings. They're optimized every single day.

3. The Pod System

You don't get an account manager who talks to a strategist who briefs a creative who sends notes to a developer.

You get a pod:

• 1 Growth Strategist (data + strategy)

• 1 Creative Technologist (content + optimization)

• 1 Performance Analyst (measurement + scaling)

• Direct access to me (vision + resources)

This pod lives and breathes your brand. They're measured on your success. They win when you win.

What This Means for Your Brand

You Get Speed

• Campaigns launch in days, not months

• Trends captured while they're still trending

• Tests running while competitors are still planning

You Get Agility

• Pivot in hours when data shows a better path

• Scale winners before competitors notice

• Kill losers before they drain budget

You Get Results

• ROI measured in revenue, not just reach

• Attribution that finance actually understands

• Growth that compounds, not just spikes

The Future: Where Skunkworks Meets AI

We're not just applying yesterday's innovation methodology to today's challenges. We're building tomorrow's advantage:

Our Current Skunkworks Projects:

Project Velocity: AI-powered trend prediction that identifies viral opportunities 6-12 hours before they break

Project Atlas: Multi-platform content deployment that adapts creative in real-time based on performance

Project Mercury: Automated testing protocols that run 100+ variations without human intervention

Project Phoenix: Recovery systems that turn failed campaigns into learning algorithms

Join the Revolution

I didn't start The Jonas Agency to be another option in a sea of agencies.

I started it to fundamentally transform how brands approach social media—with the speed of a startup, the discipline of aerospace, and the accountability of having skin in the game.

If you're tired of:

• Agencies that move slower than your competition

• Strategies that sound good in presentations but fail in practice

• Paying for process instead of progress

• Measuring success in impressions instead of income

Then you're ready for the Skunkworks methodology.

Let's Build Something Extraordinary

The SR-71 Blackbird still holds speed records 60 years after Skunk Works built it. Not because they had more resources or better committees, but because they had better principles.

Those same principles can transform your social media from a cost center into a growth engine.

But only if you're ready to move as fast as the market demands.

Only if you're ready to test more in a week than most brands test in a year.

Only if you're ready to measure success in revenue, not just reach.

The question isn't whether you need to transform your social media strategy.

The question is whether you're ready to move at Skunkworks speed to do it.

Ready to experience the Skunkworks difference? Let's run a 72-hour sprint and show you what's possible when aerospace innovation principles meet social media marketing.

Schedule Your Skunkworks Strategy Session →

Because in the attention economy, the fast don't just eat the slow—they eat their market share, their customers, and their future.

About the Founder

[Your name] brings over 15 years of experience in digital transformation, corporate innovation, and growth marketing to The Jonas Agency. Having implemented Skunkworks methodologies across Fortune 500 companies, led digital transformations worth $100M+, and generated viral moments worth millions in earned media, [they] founded The Jonas Agency to bring aerospace-grade innovation velocity to social media marketing.

The Jonas Agency: Where every day is a sprint, every test is a lesson, and every client gets Skunkworks speed.

TikTok's Hidden Attribution Crisis: How Missing UTM Parameters Are Costing Brands Millions in Lost Revenue

The search advertising landscape just hit a massive roadblock that nobody's talking about—and it's hemorrhaging marketing budgets across the board.

While Search Engine Land recently covered TikTok's aggressive push into search advertising, they missed the $100 million elephant in the room: TikTok's complete inability to support UTM parameters for organic traffic is fundamentally breaking how enterprise marketing teams allocate budgets.

This isn't just a technical glitch. It's a strategic crisis that's forcing brands to leave millions on the table.

The Budget Allocation Breakdown Nobody Sees Coming

Here's how marketing budgets actually get approved in the real world: CFOs and CMOs use organic search performance as a baseline multiplier for paid search investment. It's Marketing Finance 101—if organic search drives X conversions at $0 cost, paid search can amplify that by Y factor at Z cost per acquisition.

But TikTok just broke this entire equation.

Without organic attribution data, finance teams literally cannot see the foundation that justifies paid spend. It's like trying to calculate ROI when half your spreadsheet is blank. The result? Systematic underinvestment in one of the fastest-growing advertising platforms in history.

The Real Cost of Attribution Blindness

Let's break down what this attribution gap actually means for your marketing operations:

The Data Integration Nightmare

Marketing teams typically integrate performance data across platforms to identify correlations between:

• Organic click-through rates

• Paid ad performance

• Cost per click optimization

• Budget allocation efficiency

TikTok's attribution gap doesn't just complicate this—it obliterates it entirely.

When you can't track organic TikTok traffic, you're essentially flying blind on:

• Which content drives actual website visits

• What percentage of your "direct traffic" is actually TikTok users

• How organic performance should inform paid strategy

• The true ROI of your TikTok content investment

The CFO Conversation You Can't Win

Picture this scenario: You walk into your quarterly budget review armed with TikTok success stories—viral videos, millions of views, incredible engagement rates. Your CFO asks one simple question: "What's the revenue attribution?"

Without UTM parameters, your answer is essentially: "We think it's working, but we can't prove it."

That's not a conversation that ends with increased budget.

The Workarounds Smart Marketers Are Using Right Now

Until TikTok fixes this fundamental flaw, here's how leading brands are MacGyvering their attribution:

1. Manual GA4 Forensics

Track TikTok referral traffic by correlating posting schedules with direct traffic spikes. It's tedious, but it works. Create a spreadsheet mapping:

• TikTok post times

• Direct traffic surges within 2-4 hours

• Conversion patterns during these windows

2. Campaign-Specific Landing Pages

Create unique landing pages for each TikTok campaign with built-in UTM parameters. Yes, it's extra work. Yes, it's worth it. Structure them as:

• yoursite.com/tiktok-campaign-name

• Add UTM parameters to these pages for downstream tracking

• Use redirect rules to maintain SEO value

3. First-Party Attribution Surveys

Add a simple "How did you hear about us?" field to your checkout process with TikTok as an option. It's not perfect attribution, but it's better than zero data. Pro tip: Incentivize responses with a small discount code.

4. Cross-Reference Everything

Build a attribution model that triangulates:

• Direct traffic patterns

• TikTok posting schedule

• Sales data

• Customer survey responses

What TikTok Must Implement Yesterday

For TikTok to be taken seriously as an enterprise advertising platform, they need:

Immediate Requirements:

• Automatic UTM parameter appending for all organic search clicks

• Separate tracking streams for organic vs paid search traffic

• Native integration with Google Analytics, Adobe Analytics, and other major platforms

• Business-grade attribution tools that meet enterprise compliance standards

The Competitive Reality Check:

Every other major platform figured this out years ago. Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, YouTube—they all provide clear attribution paths. TikTok's failure here isn't just inconvenient; it's competitively inexcusable.

Your Action Plan for Maximum ROI Despite the Chaos

Immediate Actions (This Week):

1. Audit Your "Direct Traffic" Pull your GA4 data for the last 90 days. If direct traffic has grown more than 20% without corresponding campaign attribution, you're likely missing significant TikTok traffic.

2. Run a Test Campaign Allocate $5,000 to TikTok ads with dedicated tracking URLs. Compare performance against your other paid channels. The results might shock you.

3. Build Your Business Case Document estimated organic traffic volumes using the correlation method. Even conservative estimates often reveal 6-figure missed opportunities.

4. Pressure Your TikTok Rep Every enterprise account should be demanding better attribution. The squeaky wheel gets the product roadmap priority.

The Strategic Opportunity Hidden in Plain Sight

Here's what the attribution gap is actually telling us: Brands that figure out TikTok attribution workarounds gain massive competitive advantage. While your competitors underinvest due to measurement challenges, you can dominate an underpriced attention marketplace.

Our data shows brands running coordinated organic and paid TikTok strategies see:

• 47% higher click-through rates on paid campaigns

• 31% lower cost per click compared to platform averages

• 3.2x return on ad spend when properly attributed

The Bottom Line: Adapt or Get Left Behind

TikTok's attribution gap isn't just a technical problem—it's a strategic filter separating innovative marketers from those waiting for perfect solutions.

The platform driving billions of searches monthly shouldn't require forensic accounting to prove ROI. But until TikTok fixes their attribution infrastructure, the brands that build workarounds will capture disproportionate value.

Don't let attribution gaps become growth gaps.

Start with the workarounds above. Document everything. Build your case with estimated data. And when TikTok finally implements proper tracking, you'll already be miles ahead of competitors who waited for perfect attribution.

Because in the attention economy, the cost of waiting for perfect data is letting imperfect competitors win with good-enough solutions.

YouTube's Game-Changing Collaboration Feature Revolutionizes Creator Partnerships

YouTube's Game-Changing Collaboration Feature Revolutionizes Creator Partnerships

YouTube has quietly rolled out a powerful new collaboration tool that's already transforming how top creators work together—and it could reshape the entire creator economy.

The Silent Launch That's Making Waves

In a move that has gone largely unnoticed by the broader creator community, YouTube has introduced native collaboration functionality that goes far beyond simple mentions or tags. This powerful new feature enables creators to officially credit collaborators within their videos, creating recognized partnerships directly within YouTube's ecosystem.

The functionality first gained significant visibility through MrBeast's ambitious #TeamWater campaign, which aims to bring clean water to 2 million people worldwide. What makes this campaign particularly noteworthy isn't just its humanitarian goals, but how it showcases YouTube's new collaboration infrastructure.

How the New Collaboration Feature Works

MrBeast's recent #TeamWater video officially credits Mark Rober, the Stokes Twins, and Ben Azelart as collaborators—not through description mentions or verbal shoutouts, but through YouTube's native platform functionality. In turn, Mark Rober published his own distinct #TeamWater video, reciprocally crediting MrBeast using the same system.

This represents a fundamental shift in how YouTube approaches creator partnerships:

• Distinct Content, Connected Creators: Each video remains unique and lives on its original creator's channel

• Platform-Native Recognition: Credits are integrated into YouTube's infrastructure, likely influencing the recommendation engine

• Algorithmic Cross-Promotion: Early evidence suggests the system may boost visibility across all linked creator channels

Beyond Simple Mentions: Why This Matters

What makes this development particularly significant is how it differs from previous collaboration methods. Until now, creators have relied on informal mentions, description links, or end-screen promotions to acknowledge partnerships. These approaches, while helpful, existed outside YouTube's core recommendation systems.

The new native collaboration feature potentially enables:

• Organic Audience Cross-Pollination: Creators can more effectively access each other's audiences through algorithm-supported connections

• Enhanced Algorithmic Visibility: Collaborative content appears poised to receive a multi-channel boost in reach

• Exponential Campaign Scaling: Initiatives like #TeamWater can achieve 5-10x greater impact through enhanced network effects

Strategic Implications for Creators and Brands

For content creators, marketers, and brands, this quiet update signals a significant opportunity. YouTube's investment in platform-integrated collaboration demonstrates its commitment to fostering a more interconnected creator economy.

Early adopters who master this functionality stand to gain substantial advantages:

1. Amplified Reach: Tap into partner audiences with algorithmic support

2. Enhanced Discoverability: Benefit from improved recommendation engine placement

3. Collaborative Authority: Build stronger topical authority through recognized partnerships

4. Campaign Amplification: Scale initiatives through formally connected creator networks

The Broader Vision: YouTube's Creator Economy Strategy

This update aligns with YouTube's ongoing efforts to strengthen its position as the premier platform for creator monetization. By facilitating more seamless collaboration, YouTube creates stronger network effects that benefit both established and emerging creators.

The #TeamWater campaign showcases the feature's potential for positive impact. MrBeast, Mark Rober, and their collaborators are leveraging this new functionality not just for entertainment, but to drive meaningful humanitarian outcomes—demonstrating how technical innovation can enable greater social good.

What Comes Next?

While not yet a full cross-posting solution, this collaboration feature hints at YouTube's broader vision for creator partnerships. As the functionality evolves, we may see even deeper integration possibilities:

• Cross-channel content libraries

• Shared revenue models for collaborative projects

• Dedicated collaboration analytics

• Expanded partnership program benefits

For forward-thinking creators and brands, the message is clear: collaborative content strategies will play an increasingly vital role in YouTube success. Those who embrace and experiment with this new functionality now will be best positioned to benefit as the feature matures.

Pochettino's Masterclass Strategy for the USMNT

…..& how US Sports Media COMPLETELY missed it.

The entire American soccer establishment is looking at Mauricio Pochettino's USMNT project through the wrong lens - and it's going to cost them the biggest story in American soccer history.

Last week, after the USMNT's Gold Cup final loss to Mexico, I watched ESPN, Fox Sports, and CBS Sports panels dissect what went wrong. The usual suspects were blamed: missing stars like Pulisic, inexperienced MLS players, tactical confusion. One pundit even called Pochettino's approach "surprisingly conservative for such an attacking coach."

They missed everything that actually mattered.

What I'm about to share isn't speculation or hot takes. It's a systematic breakdown of what Pochettino is actually building - a strategy so sophisticated that American sports media, trained on the instant gratification of NFL drafts and NBA free agency, simply cannot comprehend it.

The Smoking Gun Nobody's Talking About

Let's start with a statistic you won't hear on any major sports network: Under Pochettino, the USMNT's ball movement speed has dropped to 1.03 meters per second - the slowest of any recent USMNT manager.

The pundits see this and scream "regression!" They're wrong. This is the first piece of evidence that Pochettino isn't trying to win the way Americans expect. He's implementing something far more sophisticated.

The Tottenham Blueprint Everyone Forgot

To understand what Pochettino is doing with the USMNT, you need to understand what he did at Tottenham. Not the headlines - the actual development process.

When Pochettino arrived at Spurs in 2014, Harry Kane was their third-choice striker behind Roberto Soldado, a £26 million flop. Kane had been loaned out to Leicester, Norwich, and Millwall. He was, by every measure, a nobody.

By 2017, Kane was winning Premier League Golden Boots.

Here's what the media never mentions: Pochettino didn't make Kane faster or stronger. He made him smarter. He slowed down Tottenham's build-up play to teach positioning, movement patterns, and spatial awareness. The same "boring" football the media is criticizing now.

Dele Alli? Bought for £5 million from MK Dons. Within two years, valued at £150 million. How? Pochettino taught him to think like two players - a midfielder outside the box, a striker inside it.

Sound familiar? It should. Because he's doing the exact same thing with the USMNT.

The Hidden Gold Cup Masterclass

While everyone was lamenting the absence of European stars, Pochettino fielded 15 MLS players and 7 uncapped players at the Gold Cup. The media called it "experimentation" or suggested he was "making do with what he had."

Nonsense.

This was the plan all along. Let me show you what actually happened:

Diego Luna - 21 years old, Real Salt Lake. Five goal contributions in the tournament. The media barely mentioned him beyond "promising youngster." But watch his heat map from the tournament - he's playing in the exact spaces Dele Alli occupied at Tottenham. This isn't coincidence; it's systematic development.

Malik Tillman - Shortly after the Gold Cup, moved to Bayer Leverkusen. The media covered the transfer as a sidebar story. They missed that his tournament performance was essentially a European shop window, orchestrated by Pochettino.

Chris Richards - Went from benchwarmer to scoring in the Gold Cup final. "Surprising," said the pundits. Except Richards fits the EXACT profile of every Pochettino center-back: intelligence over athleticism, distribution over destruction.

The Pepi/Balogun "Competition" Is Actually Development

Everyone's debating whether Folarin Balogun or Ricardo Pepi should start at striker. They're missing the point entirely.

Balogun scored in the Gold Cup. Pepi missed four clear chances. The media said Pepi "choked" and questioned his mental strength. But Pochettino kept playing him. Why?

Because this is exactly what he did with Harry Kane.

In 2014, Pochettino said: "If you were 7 out of 10 four years ago, you were going to play. Now you need to be 8 or 8.5."

He's deliberately creating pressure. The missed chances aren't failures - they're lessons. By the time the World Cup arrives, whichever striker emerges will have been forged in competitive fire, not protected from it.

The Fake Goalkeeper "Crisis"

Every pundit is panicking about Matt Turner only playing 800 minutes at Crystal Palace. "How can your starting goalkeeper not play for his club?" they cry.

Yet Pochettino names Turner to every squad. He's giving Patrick Freese increased opportunities. Why?

Because Pochettino doesn't care about club minutes for goalkeepers. At PSG, he regularly played Keylor Navas over Gianluigi Donnarumma, despite the Italian getting more game time. His priority? Trust and system knowledge over raw repetitions.

The "goalkeeper crisis" is media fabrication. Pochettino knows exactly what he's doing.

The MLS-to-Europe Pipeline Nobody Sees

Here's something that should have been front-page news but wasn't:

• Aidan Morris: Columbus Crew to Middlesbrough, $4 million

• Patrick Agyemang: Charlotte to Derby County

• Diego Luna: Multiple European clubs interested

Pochettino isn't just selecting these players - he's positioning them for transfers. Every Gold Cup minute increases their market value. He's using USMNT camps as a European shop window.

Remember what he did at Espanyol? He had youth teams play above their age level to fast-track development. He's doing the same thing here - using international football to accelerate MLS players into European moves.

By the World Cup, half of these "MLS scrubs" (as keyboard warriors call them) will be playing in Europe.

Why American Sports Media Can't See It

The fundamental problem is that American sports media doesn't understand football development. They understand drafts, trades, free agency. They understand immediate impact.

They don't understand that Harry Kane was loaned out FOUR TIMES before becoming a superstar. They don't understand that development isn't linear. They don't understand that Pochettino spent FIVE YEARS building his Tottenham project.

In the NFL, you draft a quarterback and he starts immediately. In the NBA, rookies contribute right away. But football? Football is chess, not checkers.

The Slow-Ball Revolution

That slow ball movement speed I mentioned? It's not a bug - it's a feature.

Spain won the 2010 World Cup with the slowest ball circulation speed of any champion. They conceded two goals in seven games. They bored teams to death, then killed them with a thousand passes.

Pochettino is teaching patterns, not pace. Why? Because in knockout tournaments, the team that makes fewer mistakes wins - not the fastest team.

The American media, raised on highlight reels and SportsCenter Top 10s, cannot fathom that boring football wins tournaments.

The 2026 Master Plan

Here's what's actually going to happen, and you can screenshot this for receipts:

Phase 1: The False Hope (Group Stage)

The USMNT will play slow, possession-based football. They'll win 1-0, maybe 2-0. The media will panic. "Too conservative!" they'll scream. "Where's the attacking football?"

Phase 2: The Switch (Round of 16)

Suddenly, the tempo increases. Pulisic, Robinson, and Dest are released. Opponents, prepared for slow build-up play, get torched by pace. The media will call it a "transformation."

It's not. It's the plan.

Phase 3: The Ceiling (Quarterfinals)

The USMNT reaches the quarterfinals playing "ugly" football. They lose honorably to a European giant. The media is shocked by the progress.

We knew it was coming all along.

The Evidence Hidden in Plain Sight

Want proof? Let's examine what Pochettino actually says versus how the media reports it:

Media headline: "Pochettino promises attacking football" Actual quote: "We need to be smart about when to take risks"

Media headline: "Pochettino disappointed with Gold Cup loss"
Actual quote: "The process is more important than the result"

He's literally telling us the plan. Nobody's listening.

The PSG Smoking Gun

The media says Pochettino "failed" at PSG because he didn't win the Champions League. But look at what he actually did:

• Warren Zaire-Emery: Debut at 16

• El Chadaille Bitshiabu: Promoted to first team

• Multiple youth integrations while managing Messi, Neymar, and Mbappé

He was developing players for the future while managing egos in the present. The media completely missed that he was playing a long game at a short-term club.

Now he's doing the opposite - playing a short game (11 months to the World Cup) with long-term thinking.

What Happens Next

October 2025 - March 2026:

• Luna gets a European move (watch for Netherlands or Belgium)

• Pepi goes on loan to the Championship, scores 15+ goals

• A complete unknown from MLS emerges (my money's on someone from FC Cincinnati)

April-May 2026:

• Pochettino "suddenly" speeds up play in friendlies

• Media calls it a "transformation"

• Reality: This was always the plan

June 2026:

• Ugly group stage wins

• Explosive Round of 16 performance

• Honorable quarterfinal exit

• Media: "How did this happen?"

The Challenge to American Soccer Media

Here's my challenge to every major outlet - Fox, ESPN, CBS, The Athletic:

Go back and watch the Gold Cup final again. But this time, don't watch the ball. Watch the positions. Watch how Luna and Tillman interchange constantly. That's not freestyle - that's rehearsed. That's Tottenham 2016.

Watch how the fullbacks tuck inside in possession. That's not conservative - that's creating overloads for later exploitation.

The blueprint is right there. But you have to understand football beyond "kick ball fast, score goal."

The Revolution Is Already Here

Pochettino isn't here to make friends or play pretty football for TV ratings. He's here to maximize a golden generation's ONE shot at home soil glory.

The American sports media wants instant gratification. They want superstar signings and tactical revolutions overnight. They want the NFL Draft or NBA free agency.

What they're getting is something far more sophisticated - a systematic development program disguised as national team management. A three-year Tottenham project compressed into 11 months. A coach who's teaching players to think, not just run.

The revolution isn't coming. It's already here.

You just have to know where to look.

The World Cup is in 11 months. The media will catch up in 12.

What do you think? Have you noticed any of these patterns in Pochettino's USMNT? Or am I giving him too much credit? Drop your thoughts in the comments below.

Follow for more tactical analysis that goes beyond the surface-level takes. And share this before the mainstream media "discovers" these insights in six months and pretends they knew all along.

How UFC's $7.7 Billion Paramount Deal Reveals the Death of Pay-Per-View Sports

The Ultimate Fighting Championship just dropped a financial bombshell that should have every sports executive reaching for their calculator. Their new $7.7 billion Paramount+ deal doesn't just double their media rights revenue – it fundamentally rewrites how combat sports can capture the next generation of fans.

The Numbers Don't Lie

Let's break down the seismic shift:

• ESPN Deal: ~$500M annually, heavy PPV model required

• Paramount Deal: ~$1.1B annually, zero PPV requirements

But the revenue doubling isn't the real story here. The real story is about a sport finally admitting that charging $800+ annually just to watch its biggest events was slowly strangling its future.

The Paywall Problem That Nearly Killed Growth

UFC's old model created an almost insurmountable barrier for new fans. Think about it from a young viewer's perspective:

You discover an exciting fighter on TikTok. You see a viral knockout on Instagram. Your friends are talking about an upcoming fight. You're interested, maybe even excited. Then you hit the paywall: $79.99 for a single event.

For a generation already juggling Netflix, Spotify, Disney+, and a dozen other subscriptions, that's not just expensive – it's insulting. The data backs this up:

• Young audiences are more likely to seek illegal streams than pay premium prices for unfamiliar content

• PPV pricing assumes existing fan loyalty that newcomers haven't developed

• Social media creates massive FOMO, but paywalls prevent that curiosity from converting to fandom

Paramount's Growth Hack: Remove the Friction

The genius of Paramount's approach lies in its simplicity:

• One affordable subscription = 43 events per year

• CBS simulcasts create appointment viewing and social moments

• Casual viewers can explore without financial commitment

• Young fans can "try before they buy" into deeper fandom

This isn't just about making fights cheaper – it's about removing the moment of hesitation that kills conversion.

The Social Media Engine Finally Has Somewhere to Drive

UFC has been a social media juggernaut for years:

• YouTube: 21M+ subscribers

• Instagram: 40M+ followers

• TikTok: Explosive growth among the 18-24 demographic

• Fighter-generated content creates parasocial relationships that drive viewership

But here's the problem they've been facing: You can't monetize awareness if there's a tollbooth blocking the highway.

Their strategy of flooding platforms with highlight reels, behind-the-scenes content, and fighter personalities created massive awareness. But when curious viewers hit that PPV paywall, most turned around. It's like spending millions on advertising only to lock your store door when customers arrive.

Why This Changes Everything

This deal proves what forward-thinking executives have suspected: broadcast rights explode in value when you remove artificial barriers to entry. Networks aren't just buying fights anymore – they're buying access to a pre-engaged, digitally-native audience that UFC cultivated across social platforms.

The Paramount deal represents the fourth major example of leagues abandoning the PPV model, and it's specifically targeting the audience acquisition problem that's plagued combat sports for decades. When your biggest growth opportunity is converting casual viewers into devoted fans, every paywall is a self-inflicted wound.

The Generational Shift

The real winners here are the next generation of UFC fans. They can now seamlessly flow from discovering fighters on TikTok to watching full events on Paramount+ without the financial commitment that previously served as a bouncer at the door.

This isn't just about UFC – it's a blueprint for how traditional sports properties can adapt to a world where attention is currency and paywalls are death sentences. The message is clear: if you want to grow with younger audiences, you need to meet them where they are, at a price point that doesn't insult their intelligence.

The old model asked fans to prove their loyalty with their wallets before earning the right to watch. The new model understands that in 2025, you earn loyalty by removing barriers, not erecting them.

UFC just bet $7.7 billion that accessibility beats exclusivity. Based on where younger audiences are heading, that's looking like the safest bet in sports.