{"id":5824,"date":"2025-12-01T13:35:48","date_gmt":"2025-12-01T13:35:48","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.dietdebunker.com\/index.php\/2025\/12\/01\/use-the-ick-to-create-better-marketing\/"},"modified":"2025-12-01T13:35:48","modified_gmt":"2025-12-01T13:35:48","slug":"use-the-ick-to-create-better-marketing","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.dietdebunker.com\/index.php\/2025\/12\/01\/use-the-ick-to-create-better-marketing\/","title":{"rendered":"Use the Ick to Create Better Marketing"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Our expert this week has a few hot takes.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Here&#8217;s one: &#8220;Any marketer that says they&#8217;ve never felt the ick from marketing isn&#8217;t a true marketer. You do feel the ick.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p><a class=\"cta_button\" href=\"https:\/\/www.hubspot.com\/cs\/ci\/?pg=bcbe2652-03f9-49fe-b517-acedc47b6f27&amp;pid=53&amp;ecid=&amp;hseid=&amp;hsic=\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"hs-cta-img \" style=\"height: auto !important; width: auto !important; max-width: 100% !important;border-width: 0px; \/*hs-extra-styles*\/; \" alt=\"Click Here to Subscribe to Masters in Marketing\" height=\"58\" width=\"431\" src=\"https:\/\/no-cache.hubspot.com\/cta\/default\/53\/bcbe2652-03f9-49fe-b517-acedc47b6f27.png\"><\/a><\/p>\n<p>While that doesn&#8217;t sound like the <em>best<\/em> lesson to open a marketing newsletter, stay with me. I swear this isn&#8217;t a I&#8217;m-quitting-my-job-to-work-on-a-goat-farm hail mary.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>It actually has more to do with foundational marketing than you think.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h2>Meet the Master<\/h2>\n<h3><strong><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"data:image\/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAAAAACH5BAEKAAEALAAAAAABAAEAAAICTAEAOw==\" width=\"1080\" height=\"1080\" alt=\"Cristina Jerome\" style=\"height: auto; max-width: 100%; width: 1080px;\" class=\"lazyload\" data-src=\"https:\/\/53.fs1.hubspotusercontent-na1.net\/hub\/53\/hubfs\/Cristina%20Jerome.png?width=1080&amp;height=1080&amp;name=Cristina%20Jerome.png\"><\/strong><\/h3>\n<h3><strong>Cristina Jerome<\/strong><\/h3>\n<h4><em><span style=\"font-size: 22px;\"><span style=\"font-weight: normal;\">Creative Strategist and Founder, <\/span><\/span><\/em><span style=\"font-size: 22px;\"><span style=\"font-weight: normal;\">O<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: normal;\">ff Worque<\/span><\/span><\/h4>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-size: 15px; line-height: 150%;\"><strong>Claim to fame: <\/strong>Leading social for Topical&#8217;s infamous Faded Eye mask campaign.<\/li>\n<li style=\"font-size: 15px; line-height: 150%;\"><strong>Fun fact: <\/strong><span style=\"font-weight: normal;\">She<\/span>&nbsp;was the voiceover for the Topical&#8217;s brand campaign <a href=\"https:\/\/cristinajerome.com\/blogs\/news\/social-media-roll-out-and-strategy-for-topicals\">video<\/a>.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3><strong>Lesson one: Feel the ick. And use it to create better marketing.&nbsp;<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p>Cristina Jerome has had a whole host of jobs most marketers would kill for.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>She&#8217;s worked on content and social strategy for Jada Pinkett Smith&#8217;s show <em>Red Table Talk<\/em>, plus Issa Rae&#8217;s <em>Rap Sh!t<\/em> on HBOMax. She directed social content at Topicals, Sephora&#8217;s fastest growing Black-owned skincare brand.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>She&#8217;s also dabbled in marketing for Adidas and Lobos 1707, a luxury tequila brand.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>And, most recently, she launched her own non-profit social club, <a href=\"https:\/\/offworque.com\/\"><span>Off Worque<\/span><\/a>, which emphasizes mental health and work-life balance.<\/p>\n<p>Phew. I&#8217;m exhausted just typing that up.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>So my first question to Jerome was an easy one: <strong>How did building her own brand shift her approach to marketing?<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>&#8220;It didn&#8217;t change logically,&#8221; she told me. &#8220;It changed spiritually. When you&#8217;re working for someone, you&#8217;re so pressed on reaching KPIs\u2026 with Off Worque, it&#8217;s more organic, nurturing, emotional.&#8221;&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>She still has KPIs, but they\u2019re rooted in storytelling and community, not just conversions.<\/p>\n<p><strong>&#8220;The strategy is not &#8216;do this to get these people.&#8217; It&#8217;s me sharing my own personal story, and giving the mic to other people to share [theirs].&#8221;<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>Jerome\u2019s<\/strong> proudest takeaway? The work doesn\u2019t feel as \u201cicky&#8221; because it&#8217;s centered on well-being, not just selling.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Even if you\u2019re in SaaS or skincare, the lesson holds: If your marketing feels meaningless (or icky), it might be time to reconnect with the story behind the numbers.<\/p>\n<p>If you feel inspired by what you&#8217;re saying, other people will, too.<\/p>\n<h3><strong>Lesson two: Treat real customers like influencers.&nbsp;<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p>&#8220;<strong>I don&#8217;t need to see another influencer on a boat,<\/strong>&#8221; Jerome told me.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Which, you know. Amen, sister.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Who does she want to see instead? Someone like Kathy, who hasn&#8217;t had a break in three years and wants to FaceTime her kids to show them the lip gloss she&#8217;s bringing home to them.<\/p>\n<p>Jerome predicts the next level of community and brand-building will revolve around brands that take <em>real<\/em> customers on trips.<\/p>\n<p><strong>&#8220;Influencing\u2026 is becoming unrelatable,&#8221;<\/strong> Jerome told me, adding that she&#8217;d much prefer to see brands rewarding real customers because &#8220;it shows you that the brand actually hears you, and you&#8217;re not just order #564 to them.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>Sure, we might not all have the marketing budget to take our devoted customers on yacht excursions. But it&#8217;s worth assessing your current budget allotment and questioning whether you can spend a little more of it on loyal customers, versus sinking thousands into another sponsored LinkedIn post.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Maybe that means sending surprise freebies or thoughtful swag. It\u2019s not a luxury cruise \u2014 but recognition goes a long way.<\/p>\n<h3><strong>Lesson three: If you&#8217;re going to do culture-first marketing, root it in a genuine backstory.<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p>Jerome defines culture-first marketing as marketing rooted in authenticity and genuine cultural connection\u2026 not surface-level inclusivity.<\/p>\n<p>In fact, she thinks inclusive marketing is a bit of a myth.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;I don&#8217;t think inclusive marketing is a thing,&#8221; Jerome told me, pointing to brands like Skims that appear inclusive but really cater to a particular aesthetic and lifestyle. <strong>Many brands mistake broad targeting for inclusivity when they&#8217;re actually appealing to a specific consumer without acknowledging it.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>In contrast, truly culture-first brands like Nike or Topicals are built around stories and experiences that resonate deeply with a defined cultural group \u2014 whether athletes or people with real skin conditions.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;You can&#8217;t have culture-first marketing without a founder or brand story that aligns with the culture you&#8217;re trying to speak to,&#8221; Jerome explains. &#8220;Without that alignment, the marketing feels performative.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>If you don&#8217;t have a founder who aligns with the culture, Jerome recommends building relationships with ambassadors from that community \u2014 and letting those partnerships inform your strategy and storytelling.<\/p>\n<p><a class=\"cta_button\" href=\"https:\/\/www.hubspot.com\/cs\/ci\/?pg=e1f0958d-1b15-418e-b4db-45ee531f71af&amp;pid=53&amp;ecid=&amp;hseid=&amp;hsic=\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"hs-cta-img \" style=\"height: auto !important; width: auto !important; max-width: 100% !important;border-width: 0px; \/*hs-extra-styles*\/; \" alt=\"Click Here to Subscribe to Masters in Marketing\" height=\"613\" width=\"1920\" src=\"https:\/\/no-cache.hubspot.com\/cta\/default\/53\/e1f0958d-1b15-418e-b4db-45ee531f71af.png\"><\/a><\/p>\n<p> <img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"data:image\/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAAAAACH5BAEKAAEALAAAAAABAAEAAAICTAEAOw==\" alt=\"\" width=\"1\" height=\"1\" style=\"min-height:1px!important;width:1px!important;border-width:0!important;margin-top:0!important;margin-bottom:0!important;margin-right:0!important;margin-left:0!important;padding-top:0!important;padding-bottom:0!important;padding-right:0!important;padding-left:0!important; \" class=\"lazyload\" data-src=\"https:\/\/track.hubspot.com\/__ptq.gif?a=53&amp;k=14&amp;r=https%3A%2F%2Fblog.hubspot.com%2Fmarketing%2Fcristina-jerome-marketing-hot-takes&amp;bu=https%253A%252F%252Fblog.hubspot.com%252Fmarketing&amp;bvt=rss\"><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"\n<p>Our expert this week has a few hot takes.&nbsp;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":0,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[11],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-5824","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-marketing"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.dietdebunker.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5824","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.dietdebunker.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.dietdebunker.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.dietdebunker.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5824"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"http:\/\/www.dietdebunker.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5824\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.dietdebunker.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5824"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.dietdebunker.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5824"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.dietdebunker.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5824"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}