When PMax backfires

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Ready for another day of staying ahead of the competition in the Growth race?

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Partnership with Creator.co

From Invisible to Irresistible: How UGC Helped This Brand Pop Off the Shelf

What if the biggest unlock for your CPG brand isn’t a packaging refresh or a promo blitz but creators telling the story your audience actually wants to hear? 

That’s exactly what happened when this everyday grocery staple shifted from pushing polished product shots to activating creators across food, lifestyle, and everyday routines. The result wasn’t just content; it was momentum. 

Delivering 560K+ views, 247K reach, 9K likes, 2K saves, and $58K EMV - all from authentic storytelling that felt like discovery, not advertising.

More importantly, it became repeatable. Mid-tier creators expanded visibility. Micro-influencers added warmth and trust. 

And with Creator.co managing recruitment, briefs, and delivery, the brand built a scalable content engine, everything from 71K-view recipe videos to 600+ save snack hacks. 

When UGC becomes the heart of your strategy, your product stops blending in and starts belonging in the lives (and carts) of your consumers.

👉 See how creator-led storytelling can fuel your brand’s next breakthrough →

💡 When to Say No to Performance Max

Google is pushing Performance Max hard. It promises AI-driven optimization across every placement, from Search to YouTube to Display. But strongly recommended does not mean best for your business.

For some accounts, Performance Max is a multiplier. For others, it becomes a budget leak that is hard to diagnose because control and transparency are limited.

Here is when saying no is the smarter move.

1️⃣ B2B And Low Conversion Funnels Need A Different Playbook: Performance Max needs volume to learn. If you operate in a low-volume, high-value, or slow-converting industry, the system often stays stuck in learning mode. With only a handful of conversions each month, bids swing, performance becomes inconsistent, and optimization can chase noise. 

In these cases, Standard Shopping tends to work better because you can focus on high-intent traffic and optimize around meaningful micro conversions like quote requests and contact forms.

2️⃣ When You Need Feed Only Traffic: Performance Max frequently spreads budget across Display, YouTube, and Discovery. That can inflate clicks while conversions stay flat. If your priority is purchase intent, that distribution is a problem, not a benefit. 

Standard Shopping keeps the budget concentrated on traffic that is closer to buying, making it easier to stay efficient and reduce wasted spend.

3️⃣ When Brand Building Is Not The Goal: Performance Max often frames wider reach as brand building. But real brand campaigns require strategy, creative control, and measurement that match awareness objectives. 

If you are working with tight budgets, allowing spend to drift into broad placements can quietly erode returns. If you need direct response outcomes, you need tighter guardrails than Performance Max typically provides.

4️⃣ When You Need Granular Controls To Protect Margins: Performance Max gives you limited levers. No true bid caps. Less product-level control. More algorithmic decisions you cannot always explain. 

If you have tight margins or a diverse catalogue with different profit profiles, that lack of control can hurt. Standard Shopping lets you set bid caps, split products by margin, and apply portfolio strategies so you can push winners while protecting profitability.

5️⃣ When You Need A Safety Net for Volatility: Relying fully on Performance Max can backfire. Learning periods can cause traffic drops. Audience or custom segment issues can stall performance. And recovery can take time. 

Keeping Standard Shopping running as a fallback gives you stability, protects peak season performance, and helps you recover quickly when Performance Max underdelivers.

The Takeaway

Performance Max can complement a strong strategy, but it is not always the backbone. If you need intent focus, margin protection, or predictable volume, Standard Shopping often remains the more reliable foundation.

💡 Your Customers Aren’t As Loyal As You Think They Are

The view from the C suite is optimistic. The view from the checkout line is colder.

There is a widening gap between what leadership believes and what customers actually feel. And that gap can quietly distort your strategy, your forecasting, and your retention plans.

1️⃣ The Loyalty Gap Is Massive: Most executives believe loyalty is rising. Most consumers do not. While 89% of executives think customers are more loyal in recent years, only 39% of consumers agree. More than half of consumers say their loyalty has not changed at all. A smaller but important slice even admits they are less loyal now.

2️⃣ Repeat Purchases Are Being Misread: A customer buying again does not always mean they chose you. It can mean there were limited alternatives. It can mean convenience. It can mean habit. Companies often mistake these behaviors for true brand loyalty, then celebrate metrics that do not reflect real preference or emotional connection.

3️⃣ Internal Belief Is Not A Strategy: When leadership confidence replaces customer reality, teams start optimizing for the wrong outcomes. You get retention plans built on assumptions, not evidence. You get messaging that feels out of sync. You get surprise churn when competitors offer a better deal or a smoother experience.

4️⃣ Measure Reality Immediately: The fix is simple. Stop guessing. Run an NPS or CSAT survey now and track it consistently. Use it to identify what customers actually value, what frustrates them, and what would make them switch. Your loyalty strategy should be based on direct feedback, not internal optimism.

The Takeaway

Customer loyalty is not a feeling you can assume. It is a signal you must measure. If your leadership team believes loyalty is rising, verify it with customer data before you build plans around it.

As we prepare more "Growthful" content, we'd love to hear your thoughts on today's edition! Feel free to share this with someone who would appreciate it. 🥰