Marketing Sucks

This week on Marketing Sucks, Amanda and Phil are talking about why performance marketing alone is not enough to build a business that lasts. After seeing James Hurman speak in Toronto about his book Future Demand, they break down the difference between marketing to people who are ready to buy now and building trust with the people who may buy from you in the future. From paid ads, retargeting, sa...

This week on Marketing Sucks, Amanda sits down with co-host, husband, and Grind Media Group partner Phil Ginther to celebrate his one-year anniversary of leaving corporate life and stepping into entrepreneurship. In this honest, funny, and very real conversation, Amanda grills Phil on what it actually felt like to walk away from a 15-year corporate career, rebuild his relationship with risk, and b...

This week on Marketing Sucks, Amanda is joined by Chelsea Clark, founder and CEO of Momfluence, to break down what brands get wrong about influencer marketing and what actually makes creator partnerships work. From unrealistic expectations and one-post “magic” thinking to budgets, briefs, affiliate offers, mom creators, micro-influencers, and why smaller communities often convert better than massi...

This week on Marketing Sucks, Amanda is joined by award-winning psychotherapist Natacha Pennycooke for a real conversation about visibility fatigue, self-doubt, comparison, and the emotional cost of constantly showing up online. They unpack why being visible as an entrepreneur can feel so draining, especially when social media makes it look like everyone else is growing faster, doing more, and liv...

This week on Marketing Sucks, Amanda and Phil tackle a mistake too many business owners are making right now: confusing social media advice with actual marketing strategy. They break down why content tips, posting hacks, and follower growth tactics are only one tiny part of the bigger picture and why relying on them alone can leave your business stuck. Using the classic four Ps of marketing, they...

This week on Marketing Sucks, Amanda and Phil dig into one of the most overlooked reasons marketing falls flat: people are chasing quick answers instead of asking better questions. They unpack how lazy questions lead to lazy strategy, generic content, unclear messaging, and teams that are busy but not actually building anything meaningful. From client strategy sessions to everyday content planning...

This week on Marketing Sucks, Amanda and Phil take on one of the most painfully obvious problems in modern marketing: AI-generated content that sounds polished, empty, and completely forgettable. Through a game of “Marketing Guru or AI Slop,” they compare real quotes from iconic marketing voices against fake AI-written ones and break down exactly why bad AI content is so easy to spot. From vague f...

This week on Marketing Sucks, Amanda and Phil are calling out one of the biggest mistakes brands are still making online: posting for followers instead of posting for interest. They break down why chasing trends, vanity metrics, and random viral moments might grow your audience, but will not necessarily grow your business. Instead, they unpack what it really means to create content that earns atte...

Stop making your marketing harder than it has to be! In this episode of Marketing Sucks, Phil and I reveal the top 5 marketing mistakes you’re probably making right now — and how to stop driving yourself crazy struggling to do it ALL.  Listen in as we break down the most crucial do’s and don’ts of showing up online, reveal the #1 easiest way to boost your conversions, and give you our official per...

In week two of this January series, Amanda and Phil break down one of the biggest myths in modern marketing: that more content automatically equals more growth. Spoiler: it doesn’t. This episode dismantles the obsession with daily posting, viral content, and arbitrary challenges, and replaces it with something far more uncomfortable and far more effective: real objectives, real numbers, and real a...

This week on Marketing Sucks, Amanda and Phil go in on something that quietly kills revenue every single day. Overcomplicated messaging. From jargon-filled landing pages to brands trying to say 17 things in 12 seconds, this episode is a blunt reminder that simplicity always wins. They break down why clear messaging builds trust faster, how cognitive fluency affects buying decisions, and why the mo...

In this episode of Marketing Sucks, Amanda and Phil go off on faceless marketing, AI avatars, and the illusion that you can build trust without ever showing your face They break down why we are living in a post-trust economy, why polished Canva carousels are not enough anymore, and why founder-led marketing is not the same thing as becoming an influencer. They unpack what founder-led marketing act...

In this episode of Marketing Sucks, Amanda sits down with three-time award-winning psychotherapist Natacha Pennycooke for a real, unfiltered conversation about boundaries. They dive into what is actually happening psychologically when we say yes but mean no, why high-achieving women overfill their plates, and how guilt quietly drives burnout in both motherhood and entrepreneurship From attachment...

This week on Marketing Sucks, nothing actually sucks. Amanda and Phil are celebrating 100 episodes and instead of doing a polished recap, they sit down and talk honestly about what it really took to get here. From awkward mic setups and last-minute recordings to moments of wanting to quit entirely, this episode pulls back the curtain on what building something long-term actually feels like. It is...

In this solo episode of Marketing Sucks, Amanda breaks down one of the most common reasons small and mid-sized businesses stay stuck: copying big brand marketing. Amanda explains why brands like Nike, McDonald’s, and Apple are playing a completely different game, one built on decades of brand equity, cultural dominance, and massive budgets, and why trying to replicate their strategies too early le...

In this episode of Marketing Sucks, Amanda Casinha and Phil Ginther dismantle some of the most repeated marketing advice that sounds smart but quietly kills revenue. They break down three of the biggest offenders: “educate, don’t sell,” “build trust before asking for money,” and “just give value,” and explain why these one-liners work for massive brands but actively sabotage small and mid-sized bu...

In this episode of Marketing Sucks, Amanda Casinha and Phil Ginther tackle one of the biggest excuses in marketing right now: blaming the algorithm. Instead of feeding into outdated myths about reach and suppression, they break down what’s actually happening on Instagram and why most content struggles have nothing to do with the algorithm and everything to do with voice, originality, and how the p...

In this episode of Marketing Sucks, Amanda Casinha and Phil Ginther flip the script. Instead of tearing apart bad marketing, they break down three major brands that are actually getting it right right now and explain why their campaigns are working in today’s attention economy. From unhinged humour and cultural relevance to emotional storytelling and radical honesty, this episode explores what mod...

In this final episode of a four-part Marketing Sucks series, Amanda Casinha and Phil Ginther break down one of the most misunderstood reasons marketing fails: not understanding funnel stages. From awkward couch setups to brutally honest real-world examples, this episode strips away the fluff around funnels and explains what they actually are, how people misuse them, and why jumping straight to “bu...

Most businesses say they’re running campaigns. Very few actually are. In Part 3 of this January series, Amanda and Phil break down what a real marketing campaign is, what it is not, and why so many businesses are unknowingly sabotaging their results by overcomplicating everything. This episode introduces a deceptively simple rule that drives real conversions and explains why clarity beats creativi...

In week two of this January series, Amanda and Phil break down one of the biggest myths in modern marketing: that more content automatically equals more growth. Spoiler: it doesn’t. This episode dismantles the obsession with daily posting, viral content, and arbitrary challenges, and replaces it with something far more uncomfortable and far more effective: real objectives, real numbers, and real a...

It’s the second week of January, and the hype is loud. New year, new you. New platforms. New offers. New ads. New everything. In this episode, Amanda and Phil call out the New Year marketing lie that convinces business owners they’re already behind and need to do more, faster, right now. Spoiler: that energy is usually what drains your budget and derails your strategy. Instead of panic-driven deci...

You heard it here first: 2026 will be the year of email marketing. Not only is it the fastest way to be seen by your audience, it converts 4x higher than any other channel. If you’re not already on the bandwagon and growing your list, this episode of Marketing Sucks is required listening.  Tune in as Phil and I explore the forgotten art of email and how to use it to make your revenue explode this...

You can’t outsource being the founder or CEO. These days, your personal brand is your #1 business growth strategy - and if you’re not showing up online often and authentically this year, your business is going to suffer. Full stop.  In this short-and-spicy episode of Marketing Sucks, Phil and I lay out the new rules of engagement for 2026, from keeping the algorithm happy to becoming BFFs with you...

Stop making your marketing way harder than it needs to be. In this episode of Marketing Sucks, Phil and I reveal the five major marketing mistakes you’re probably making right now - and how to stop driving yourself crazy doing all the things.  Listen in as we break down the most crucial do’s and don’ts of showing up online, reveal the #1 easiest way to boost your conversions (it may not be what yo...