Vision #6 - The AI x Marketing Dispatch

Hey, it’s Shubham here, welcome to Edition #6.

If you’ve been reading the past issues, you know this newsletter is my way of sharing what we’re testing at Questera, the updates shaping AI x marketing, and the tools I think are worth your time. This week’s edition is packed with things you can put into action right away.

What’s New in AI x Marketing

1. CMOs are considering brand awareness as the most important metric, with 62% now tracking it versus 42% last year.
   It has overtaken sales, engagement, and new customer acquisition as the top marketing metric.

2. Mischief marketing is rising as a strategic response to ad fatigue, with brands breaking rules to grab attention.
   Burger King Brazil hijacked Google Maps with coupons, Liquid Death sparked buzz with “Kegs for Pregs,” and IKEA Canada texted “U up?” late at night to sell sleep products.

3. 29% of marketers plan to cut ad spend on X in 2026, with some pulling out entirely, Kantar’s Media Reactions report reveals.
   Under Elon Musk’s ownership, X has faced ongoing controversy, a decline in ad revenue, and ranks last among global brands for trust for the third straight year.

What’s new in Elma?

We’ve been heads down making Elma smarter and lighter for you, here’s a quick peek at what’s new:

1. Template Variants – Every generated email now comes with 3 subject line + body variants so you can A/B test instantly.

2. We added live campaign dashboards, so you can watch opens, clicks, and conversions update in real time without waiting for reports.

3. Old or duplicate segments get flagged so you don’t clutter your workspace.

3 Interesting Marketing Tactics

1. What works for brands today is running persona-driven accounts instead of brand accounts. Opal did this with Olivia Unplugged on TikTok, where a creator-style profile shares tips on focus and screen time with no hard sell. The subtle “Powered by Opal” in the bio turned 8M+ views into app installs without feeling like ads.

2. Use Risk-Reversal Copy at Checkout
   Adding a short reassurance like “You can change or cancel anytime” reduces buyer anxiety, encourages confident plan selection, and can drive double-digit lifts in conversions and revenue.

3. Using short subject lines along with no pre-header can boost open rates by 25%+. The extra whitespace helps your email pop in crowded inboxes. You can suppress default pre-headers with code (works in most inboxes), and since it doesn’t impact deliverability, the best move is to test.

Top 3 tools I found interesting this week:

1. Kixie – Lets your sales reps automate calls, texts, and follow-ups directly from their CRM.

2. Humantic AI – Decode buyer psychology with AI-driven profiles, so every outreach feels tailor-made.

3. Pictory – Turn blogs, webinars, or case studies into scroll-stopping videos that generate leads across channels.

My Opinions & Learnings

This week I noticed something I hadn’t paid enough attention to before: the gap between how we imagine users move through a flow and how they actually do. On paper, everything looked fine. But in reality, small hesitations like an unclear subject line, an extra click, a confusing CTA were enough to break the chain.

I saw this first-hand while testing Elma’s email flows. Users would generate a campaign but then stall at the “Review & Confirm” step. To us, it felt harmless. To them, it looked like they might lose their draft or accidentally send the email right away. That tiny doubt was enough to cause drop-offs until we fixed the wording and made it clear nothing was final yet.

That's all for this week! If you found this valuable, please forward it to a colleague who might benefit. 

Have ideas for future vision or any feedback? Reply directly to this email - I read every response.

(I talk about marketing hacks and interesting AI tools on my channels, follow along Youtube Instagram)

Until next time, Keep believing!

Shubham Nigam

Founder, Questera

[email protected]