Our expert this week has a few hot takes. 

Here's one: "Any marketer that says they've never felt the ick from marketing isn't a true marketer. You do feel the ick."

While that doesn't sound like the best lesson to open a marketing newsletter, stay with me. I swear this isn't a I'm-quitting-my-job-to-work-on-a-goat-farm hail mary. 

It actually has more to do with foundational marketing than you think.

|   Meet the Master

Cristina Jerome

Creative Strategist and Founder, Off Worque

• Claim to fame: Leading social for Topical's infamous Faded Eye mask campaign.
• Fun fact: She was the voiceover for the Topical's brand campaign video.

Lesson 1:
Feel the ick. And use it to create better marketing.

Cristina Jerome has had a whole host of jobs most marketers would kill for. 

She's worked on content and social strategy for Jada Pinkett Smith's show Red Table Talk, plus Issa Rae's Rap Sh!t on HBOMax. She directed social content at Topicals, Sephora's fastest growing Black-owned skincare brand. 

She's also dabbled in marketing for Adidas and Lobos 1707, a luxury tequila brand. 

And, most recently, she launched her own non-profit social club, Off Worque, which emphasizes mental health and work-life balance.

Phew. I'm exhausted just typing that up.

So my first question to Jerome was an easy one: How did building her own brand shift her approach to marketing?

"It didn't change logically," she told me. "It changed spiritually. When you're working for someone, you're so pressed on reaching KPIs… with Off Worque, it's more organic, nurturing, emotional." 

She still has KPIs, but they’re rooted in storytelling and community, not just conversions.

"The strategy is not 'do this to get these people.' It's me sharing my own personal story, and giving the mic to other people to share [theirs]."

Jerome’s proudest takeaway? The work doesn’t feel as “icky" because it's centered on well-being, not just selling. 

Even if you’re 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.

If you feel inspired by what you're saying, other people will, too.

Lesson 2:
Treat real customers like influencers.

"I don't need to see another influencer on a boat," Jerome told me. 

Which, you know. Amen, sister. 

Who does she want to see instead? Someone like Kathy, who hasn't had a break in three years and wants to FaceTime her kids to show them the lip gloss she's bringing home to them.

Jerome predicts the next level of community and brand-building will revolve around brands that take real customers on trips.

"Influencing… is becoming unrelatable," Jerome told me, adding that she'd much prefer to see brands rewarding real customers because "it shows you that the brand actually hears you, and you're not just order #564 to them."

Sure, we might not all have the marketing budget to take our devoted customers on yacht excursions. But it'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. 

Maybe that means sending surprise freebies or thoughtful swag. It’s not a luxury cruise — but recognition goes a long way.

Lesson 3:
If you're going to do culture-first marketing, root it

in a genuine backstory.