The Promo Playbook by Cubic Promote

Charles has spent years on both sides of big contracts and tenders, and he opens with blunt advice: if you’re selling something close to a commodity and you have no relationship with the organisation issuing the tender, don’t bother. Then he immediately adds the caveat that may change everything, more organisations, government ones included, are now using AI to evaluate submissions, which takes th...

Charles started Cubic Promote making one phone call at a time, selling pens. In this episode he walks Nathan through the stages that took the business from there to where it is now, and the idea that changed everything: a captive audience, where you say your message once and have it amplified instead of repeating it to one person at a time.  He covers the tactics that built that audience, includin...

Charles Liu and Nathan open the conversation with the question every business owner is quietly asking: with new AI tools landing every week, what separates a marketer who performs from one who just keeps busy?  Charles explains why he now screens candidates on what they follow on LinkedIn, Instagram and YouTube Shorts, why he personally tests two new tools every single week, and why the old “be pe...

Woolworths credited Ooshies with adding up to two percentage points to sales growth, on a $69 billion business with 1,800 stores. Charles breaks down what those little collectables actually cost to make (about 20-25c each) and why the licensing fee, not the production, is the real expense: Marvel doesn't go easy on you, while Snoopy will hand you the IP for free and take a cut of every unit s...

Nathan asks the question every business owner wants answered: what actually separates a great salesperson from a mediocre one? Charles gives his top three. being unafraid to ask for the sale, asking the right questions, and knowing when to zip it and listen. Also in this episode: why "let me know if you need anything else" is the safest and worst thing you can say · why you can't tr...

Australian advertising just hit records on both sides: internet advertising reached $19.8 billion in FY2026, the strongest growth in four years (IAB Australia), while out-of-home advertising climbed 6.51% year on year (Outdoor Media Association, Aug 2026). Charles and Nathan unpack what that means for B2B marketers here in Australia. In this episode: why tactile things are back (physical cameras,...

Join Charles and Jasmine (Financial Controller at Cubic Promote) for an episode packed with marketing insights that matter in 2026. ChatGPT can now run ads and that single change raises a bigger question: are we about to lose the feeling of choice that makes marketing work? Charles sits down with Jasmine to map the real 2026 marketing mix, where AI discovery, search, and offline advertising collid...

In this episode of The Promo Playbook, Charles sits down with Cubic Promote's own Aubrey Vitor and Ly Mai to unpack a question every brand is facing in 2026: when customers ask AI instead of Google, how do you avoid becoming invisible? We cover: how to get your content picked up and cited by AI engines · why real-world data beats generic content · who's actually to blame when AI gets it...

Charles got featured in 20+ publications in two weeks — and explains why PR mentions are now the key to showing up in Google, ChatGPT and Claude. Plus his controversial take on big SEO agencies. In this episode: • How PR coverage feeds AI / answer-engine visibility (AEO) • Why AI scraping paywalled articles matters for your brand • "Large SEO companies are a scam" — genuine relationships...

Charles reveals the direct-mail campaign that turned ~$7K into $10K in sales in a week, why every company should send branded merch, and how AI tools now find buyers the moment they're ready. In this episode: • The "T-shirt you wear for getting things done" campaign • Why long-term marketing beats chasing instant returns • Email marketing — the one medium you can actually control •...

Referred clients spend more, stay longer, and are 3× more likely to refer others — yet most businesses leave referrals to chance. Nathan breaks down a simple referral system any professional-services firm can put in place. In this episode: • The 4 reasons happy clients don't refer you • How to "paint the picture" of your ideal referral • Planting the referral seed during onboarding...

Everyone's chasing digital, but the best marketing might be the stuff you can hold in your hand. Charles shares his top non-digital marketing tactics, starting with promotional products, plus direct mail, print, and showing up in your community. Then the conversation turns to referrals and word-of-mouth: how and when to ask, and why every team member should think like a marketer. 👉 Put tacti...

How are customers actually finding businesses in 2026? Charles and Nathan unpack the biggest shifts in AI search, the stats every marketer should know (listicles, YouTube mentions, AI overviews cutting clicks), and what it takes to stay visible now that Google isn't the only game. Then they switch to staying safe online: a real AI scam story, how easily these are built, and the security basic...

The tools are moving faster than most teams can keep up. In this episode of The Promo Playbook, Charles and Nathan break down the latest AI advancements, from Fable 5 to how AI is reshaping professional services like accounting and legal, and what still sets great businesses apart: trust, experience, and real human accountability. They dig into the "hollowing out of the middle," why Aust...

Your next best lead might not come from another ad set or another “set and forget” campaign. We get concrete about offline marketing tools that still work in 2026 because they are tangible, repeatable, and hard to ignore, especially for B2B marketing and local business growth. From promotional products that stay on desks to branded uniforms that turn your team into walking brand touchpoints, we fo...

A website in two minutes sounds like hype until you realise it can be a zip file you upload and publish right away. We walk through how we’re using Claude as an AI website builder to generate real HTML and styling for a brand new finance site, then iterate fast by re-prompting: split pages, refine copy, and test responsiveness on mobile, tablet, and desktop. It’s the kind of speed that makes tradi...

We talk through what it really takes to get staff comfortable with AI when the tools are changing fast and the results are not always right. Then we zoom out to the industries most at risk, from SEO to CRM and project management software, and what that means for junior career pathways.  • setting expectations with staff so experimentation does not erode trust  • getting buy in by asking for feedba...

One photo can reopen a cold case and that same emotional trigger can revive a stalled campaign. We start with a true crime example where investigators deliberately choose a specific image to stir memory and emotion, then pull that thread into what still works on Instagram, TikTok, and paid social today. Visual marketing is not just “pretty content” it is a behavioural lever, and we break down why...

A wedding venue hands over a bottle of champagne before you have paid a cent. It feels generous, it feels memorable, and it also raises a sharper question: how much of our “rational” buying is shaped by small moments of persuasion? We start with a real vendor search, from shortlisting a dozen venues to making the garden versus beach call, then we unpack why warmth, patience, and genuine listening...

Email feels “quick” until you realise you’ve reread the same thread three times, mentally drafted a reply twice, and still haven’t sent it. We start with a deceptively simple productivity idea that changes that pattern: touch an email once. If you can’t take the next action right now, don’t open it yet. Pair that with a daily inbox window, smart flags, and calendar blocking, and your attention sto...

Skipping the jingle is not a gimmick, it is a bet on your time. We start with the “cold open” philosophy and why the attention economy rewards creators and business owners who get to the point fast, especially when people are trying to learn something practical and they are already halfway through the problem.  From there, we borrow a sharp line from Jay Abraham: “You can’t see the label if you’re...

Silence after you send a quote can mess with your head, but it’s usually just friction, timing, or mismatched tone. We walk through a follow-up email we’d actually send when a prospective client hasn’t replied for a few weeks, including the exact kind of wording that makes it easy for someone to answer without feeling pressured. The goal is simple: get clarity, uncover objections, and move the opp...

Follow-up gets a bad reputation, but we think the real problem is fear. If you’ve ever held back because you didn’t want to annoy a prospect, we unpack a different lens: when someone enquires, they’re asking you to help solve a problem, and consistent follow-up is part of doing the job well. We talk about the personality side too, especially how introverts can follow up confidently without feeling...

Hiring used to be a slow grind: post a role, drown in resumes, miss great people because you can’t move fast enough. We put that to the test by running an international search for high-skill web developers, pulling in roughly 150 applicants in two days, then using AI to cut the pile down to a tight shortlist we could actually interview. The result surprised us: within a couple of days we hired two...

Virtual selling didn’t just “grow” after 2020, it took over. We share a stat that over 90% of B2B companies have shifted to virtual sales models thanks to better sales process efficiency and modern management software, then we zoom in on the exceptions. South Korea and Japan still lean more heavily toward face-to-face business meetings, which sparks a bigger question: when does digital selling bui...