Monday Memo
A Byte of Knowledge
The market doesn't care about your plan.
It's throwing curveballs every single day.
A new competitor launches. A trend shifts. Your audience wakes up craving something they couldn't name yesterday.
You can operate in one of two ways.
The first... with rigid strategy.
Lock in your angle, your offer, your creative.
When the unexpected hits, you either ignore the signal completely or white-knuckle through it hoping things correct themselves.
You refuse to admit that something outside your spreadsheet might actually matter.
And because you won't adapt to what's actually happening... you're no longer in control. You're just along for the ride, hoping circumstances break your way.
Or you can use an elastic system.
You still have a plan.
But it's inherently built to bend the moment circumstances shift.
Landing page tanks? You've already got variations warming up in the bullpen.
A throwaway subject line outperforms the one you slaved over?
You're chasing that thread within the hour, hunting for why.
Rigid marketers get dragged around by events.
Elastic marketers bend those same events to fit their will... finding openings that no locked-in strategy could ever predict.
🚀 Whether you're selling a $50 supplements or a $10,000 coaching program – having these 5 'Copy Blocks' on your landing page could be the difference between crickets and an avalanche of cash flow.
Discover All 5 'Copy Blocks' Now
Something to Ponder
We Asked – AI Answered
Our Question:
"Crumbl Cookies rotates its menu weekly...tossing recipes customers love for untested ones. Traditional franchise wisdom says consistency is king. McDonald's built an empire on 'same experience, every time.'
Yet Crumbl hit 900+ locations faster than almost anyone. Why does beat the reliability model that dominated franchising for decades?"
AI's Answer: Why Chaos Beats Consistency (The Crumbl Paradox)
While McDonald's took 14 years to hit 1,000 locations, Crumbl crossed that mark in just 7 years, with over 1,000 locations across the U.S. and Canada[1][2]. They violated every franchise rule—and won.
Here's what actually happened.
🧠 THE SUNDAY NIGHT DRUG DEAL
Every Sunday night, Crumbl drops their weekly menu reveal video. One week's flavor drop drove 153,000 likes on TikTok and 80,000 on Instagram.
Think about that. A cookie announcement gets more engagement than some if not most Super Bowl ads.
Why it works: Variable reward schedules (think slot machines) trigger MORE dopamine than consistent rewards. Your brain literally gets addicted to NOT knowing what's coming next. Each lineup lasts only seven days, nudging customers to come back before flavors vanish.
📱 THE TIKTOK TAKEOVER
Crumbl's TikTok has amassed 10.8 million followers, - the hashtag "#crumblcookiereview" features over 19,000 posts from thousands of different creators.
The genius move: Crumbl's social media team responds to every influencer's post, whether they're nano or micro or very famous. When the brand comments, creators post MORE—free advertising on steroids.
Back in 2021, Crumbl hit 1.6 million TikTok followers in just six weeks. Not through corporate content—through an army of unpaid cookie reviewers filming themselves in cars.
💰 THE REAL NUMBERS
Here's what nobody talks about:
• By 2024, a single cookie could approach $5, with a dozen nearing $50.
• Average store profit dropped 59% last year
• Crumbl recorded its first permanent closures in 2023, when seven franchised locations shut their doors.
Yet franchisees keep buying in. Why? Same reason gamblers stay at the table...the winners are LOUD.
Top stores still clear $600K+ annually.
🎯 THE MARKETING GENIUS
Co-founder Jason McGowan confirms, "Our strategy right from the beginning was social media". They built a 30-plus person social media team while competitors were still buying billboards.
Three killer moves:
- The Pink Box Effect 📦
Their pink boxes, perfectly styled cookies, and clean, minimalist design create a signature look that stands out in feeds, That box IS the advertisement—carried by customers, posted everywhere. - Celebrity Hijacking 🌟
Crumbl partnered with Jimmy Fallon for limited edition cookies, Dove for body care products, Olivia Rodrigo for tour-exclusive flavors. Each partnership = viral moment. - The Wednesday Sweet Spot ⏰
By Wednesday, Crumbl's workers have baked each new flavor enough times to nail the recipe—no more Monday mishaps or undercooked centers. Smart customers learned this timing hack and turned it into content: "PSA: Never go to Crumbl on Mondays" videos rack up millions of views.
Think about that. Even WHEN to buy a cookie became shareable knowledge. People film "Crumbl timing strategies" like they're teaching stock market tips. The brand didn't create this content—customers did, turning operational realities into viral insider knowledge.
🎰 OWNING THE DOPAMINE ECONOMY
McDonald's optimized for predictability in the industrial age. Crumbl optimized for shareability in the dopamine economy.
The Uncomfortable Truth:
We're not rational creatures making logical purchases. We're dopamine junkies dressed in business casual. Variable rewards trigger more addiction than consistency—it's why slot machines beat salaries for engagement.
Crumbl proved three things:
• Anticipation > Consumption (Your brain gets higher on waiting than having)
• Scarcity > Quality (We want what disappears tomorrow, not what's best)
• Social Proof > Personal Preference (We buy to post, not to eat)
In 2025's attention economy, products aren't consumed—they're performed. Consistency built the 20th century. Chaos owns the 21st.
Thanks for reading the Monday Memo.
Until next time!
The AI Marketers
P.S. Help shape the future of this newsletter – take a short 2-minute survey so we can deliver even better AI marketing insights, prompts, and tools.
[Take Survey Here]
