Marketing MVPs from 2024

This newsletter comes from the hosts of The Marketing Architects, a research-first show answering your biggest marketing questions. Find us on Apple Podcasts or wherever you listen to podcasts!

This week, we have a special issue where we're analyzing brands that demonstrated marketing effectiveness principles in action during 2024... and a few that strayed from proven guidelines.  

—Elena  

Jaguar’s rebrand narrows in on just 10-15% of their current buyers.            

The luxury automaker's dramatic shift to an ultra-luxury EV brand deliberately abandons most of their existing customer base. This strategy runs counter to marketing effectiveness principles, which emphasize growing through market penetration.  

2024 boasts marketing moments both memorable and questionable.         

This year's standout brands proved that following proven principles like broad reach, physical availability, and distinctive assets leads to growth, while departing from these fundamentals comes at a cost. 

Our marketing winners of 2024 

1. Uber Eats leveraged $100M in TV spend and Super Bowl momentum to challenge DoorDash's leadership.
   
2. Elf Beauty hit $1B in sales through broad distribution and a memorable "eyes, lips, face" campaign.
   
3. Olipop reached $500M in revenue by dominating distribution across 35,000+ stores and owning the healthy soda category.
   
4. Liquid Death generated buzz through outrageous partnerships with YETI and Depends.
   
5. Ulta and Sephora expanded reach through smart retail partnerships with Target and Kohl's.
   
6. Reese's nailed distinctiveness thanks to Will Arnett's voice, its signature orange branding, and crave-worthy product shots.
   

And... some mixed results. 

1. Coca-Cola's AI holiday campaign sparked industry debate but resonated with consumers.
   
2. Tropicana's bottle redesign led to 8-10% sales decline despite keeping their iconic orange imagery.
   
3. Jaguar abandoned 85% of customers and their iconic logo for ultra-luxury EVs, testing whether brand growth laws apply at the highest end of the market. 

You can bet we’re keeping an eye on these brands in 2025 to see how their marketing decisions continue to pan out.

Listen in on our discussion.

“‘You can’t cheat the fundamentals’: Why Prime has been reduced to the bargain bin.”       

MarketingWeek’s top article of 2024 recounts the decline of energy drink brand Prime Hydration—and why marketing fundamentals don’t go out of style. 

Read the article.

The answer isn’t always something new.      

“Sometimes when you innovate, you make mistakes. It is best to admit them quickly and get on with improving your other innovations." 

— Steve Jobs