Your ATTN Please || Tuesday, 10 June

You wanna hear a secret?

This sauna is actually from Walmart. Those are the opening lines of the retail behemoth’s newest ad, featuring The White Lotus star Walton Goggins. "Who Knew” reintroduces Walmart and the half a billion items they stock (including bear spray, pianos, tap shoes and accordions). But will bringing in celebs be enough to change public perception of Walmart from discount big box store to “the most innovative brand”? Idk.

- Charlotte Ellis, Editor ♡

**Only 3 days left to get your tix**

Join our team for a 90-minute workshop to find out the exact strategies we've used to grow our Instagram following to 600k+. This workshop is not about theory. It's about giving you actionable takeaways you can implement straight away.

Learn what's working on the platform right now from:

• Jony Lee, our expert short-form strategist

• Stanley Henry, founder at The Attention Seeker 

Bring your questions and we will bring everything we've learnt spending thousands of hours on Instagram. We're not gatekeeping anything, so get ready!

Friday 13 June | 8:30–10:00am NZT | $49

WHAT’S HAPPENING IN MARKETING TODAY?

Walmart wants us to know the “real Walmart,” Netflix gets a makeover & Cannes Lions is 6 days away

Walmart seeks to change its brand reputation.

With 150 million shoppers weekly, and a 4.5% increase in same-store sales over the last quarter, you’d think the behemoth wouldn’t worry too much about consumer perception. However, the retail giant believes not many people know Walmart as it exists today, hence the new campaign tagline: “Walmart: Who knew?”. CMO William White told AdAge: “People have an ingrained thinking about who is Walmart. In the last several years, we have become the most innovative brand hiding in plain sight.”

While wants customers to not only think of Walmart as a physical space you have to drive to, but also a super-fast omni retailer with a large assortment. People often have a perception that Walmart is a low-priced retailer. White believes many consumers don't know about the Bettergoods brand launch last year of 400 (soon to be 500) items, which includes on-trend products such as pistachio nut butter or jalapeno limeade.

Walmart is also turning to Reddit to back the campaign by finding conversations where people acknowledge surprises about Walmart. The brand has also tapped Paris Hilton, Walton Goggins (White Lotus), and Stephanie Beatriz (Brooklyn Nine-Nine), who apparently always “knew” what Walmart was about.

Netflix is amidst its biggest redesign in over a decade. 

Think: sleeker layout, top-nav shortcuts (Search, My Netflix, Games), and rich title cards with awards, runtime, and cast info front-and-centre. They’ve also teamed up with OpenAI for a generative‑AI search that actually gets you. You can just type, “something funny and upbeat” and voilà—custom recs are served. In short, Netflix isn’t just updating its look. It’s gone all-in on AI, discovery, and scroll‑bait vibes to keep eyeballs glued and thumbs tapping.

Cannes Lions is coming up. So, here’s what to expect...

Cannes Lions ’25 is set to sizzle with AI creativity at its core (no surprises there). We're sure to see live demos of generative tools helping craft campaigns on the fly. And, of course, brands will be debating whether AI is their creativity sidekick or potential soul-stealer. We’ll also see immersive physical and metaverse plays, with AR/VR activations spotlighted across panels and in brand showcases.

Purpose & sustainability will likely trend hard, too. Expect plenty of real-talk on authentic activism and climate urgency shaped by the latest IPCC report. Watch for diversity and culture programming to hit fresh highs with bold conversations around equity, burnout, and DEI as core creative muscle. Also, word on the Croisette is we should look out for Apple’s AR/VR headset unveiling. And, if that’s true, prepare for a tidal wave of "how do we use this for storytelling?" chatter.

-Sophie Randell, Writer

DEEP DIVE

WTF is a marketing funnel?

And why do we like to make this harder than it needs to be?

Half the time someone says “funnel,” a marketer somewhere (me) opens a tab to Google “what is TOFU again??” The marketing funnel isn’t sacred. It’s just a way to map how people go from “who the hell are you” → “shut up and take my money.” And yet… we’ve overcomplicated it with acronyms, diagrams, and vibes-only decks.

So, let’s break it down. In plain human. For the girlies in the back (also me.)

TOFU (Top of Funnel) – AWARENESS

You're just trying to get noticed. Not sell. Not pitch. Just… show up in the feed and not be boring. A little wink, a small flirt, a bright red lip at the party. This is where you date around. You’re mysterious. Cool, even.

Think: Scroll-stopping social ads, memes, PR chaos, "wait who is this brand and why do I suddenly love them?"

Hot tip: Buy the impressions that actually matter, not just the cheap ones. Because being forgettable is expensive, darling.

MOFU (Middle of Funnel) – CONSIDERATION

Now they know you. But do they trust you? This is the second date. The “so what do you do for work?” stage. You’re giving value, answering questions, making them feel seen.

Think: Emails, how-to videos, comparison charts, behind-the-scenes, “why we exist” rants.

Goal: Right audience. Right message. Right creative. Right vibe. (It’s not that deep, but it is that intentional.)

BOFU (Bottom of Funnel) – CONVERSION

Okay now it’s time. You’ve done the dance. They’re warm. They’re curious. They want the link. This is where you stop flirting and make it easy to buy, book, or sign up. No riddles. No cryptic UX. Just... yes.

Think: Product demos, free trials, strong CTAs, “last chance” emails, smooth checkout flows.

Don’t drop the ball now, babe. Make the moment seamless. The perfect first kiss under a starlit night (or whatever).

The funnel's a great starting point, but IRL people are messy.

Funnels aren’t linear. People bounce around. They see your ad, forget it, stalk your IG, open an email from 2022, then convert via a meme three months later. So don’t treat the funnel like a straight line… treat it like a content sorting system.

To be an effective marketer, you don’t need a PhD in funnel theory. You do need common sense, a little understanding, and the audacity to keep it simple, stupid. So, be clear, be intentional, and PLEASE have some fun with it honey! You are dating after all.

-Sophie Randell, Writer

TREND PLUG

If you ever think about me

Inspired by the song, "There Is Something On Your Mind" by Big Jay McNeely (a beautiful song that deserved its comeback) - today we're reflecting on all the things we/our brands identify with. 

For this trend, creators are using the lyrics, "If you ever think about me..." and writing about all the things they hope people remember them by.

How you can jump on this trend:

Start with the sound. Then, take a still shot of you or something that represents your brand. Write "If you ever think about me" in the centre of the frame. Then, add words around the centre of things you love, things you identify with, quotes you say all the time - essentially anything that screams YOU.

A few ideas to get you started:

• For someone in hospitality the surrounding words might look like: coffee, more coffee, "busy day?", stains on my shirt

• For someone who works remote the surrounding words might look like: "what café today?", working with no pants, walks to the fridge

• For a marketing girlie the surrounding words may look like: 3pm sweet treats, matcha, "wait let me get a photo first", "my stomach hurts", lip gloss

- Jony Lee, Creative

TODAY ON THE YAP PODCAST

Want even more “YAP”ing? Check out the full podcast here.

ASK THE EDITOR

What tips do you have for staying consistent with posting content? - Jeremy

Hey Jeremy!

There's no magic formula to staying consistent! At some point, you just have to carve out time and get it done. But one thing you can do to make that a bit easier is to come up with an easily repeatable content style. At TAS, we call this ERC. This is a content style that's easy to produce, and, ideally, one you can create in bulk. It should also be something you can do over and over, only changing one factor for each video.

This should fit your niche, but could be something like street interviews, simple games, reaction videos, or answering FAQs about your industry. When you've got this content style, you'll no longer need to reinvent the wheel every time you need to create content. You're essentially taking 90% of the thinking out of it, which makes it much more likely you're going to post more regularly. Then, remember that done is better than perfect. You will learn as you go, and that's ok. So stop overthinking and start doing!

- Charlotte Ellis, Editor ♡

Not going viral yet?

We get it. Creating content that does numbers is harder than it looks. But doing those big numbers is the fastest way to grow your brand. So if you’re tired of throwing sh*t at the wall and seeing what sticks, you’re in luck. Because making our clients go viral is kinda what we do every single day.

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