We’ve all seen a campaign, ad, or even a single social post that neglected to read the room. Your brilliant, groundbreaking message can lose all impact if it reaches your audience at the wrong moment. In the same way that you’d want to ask a friend for a favor when they’re already in a good mood, this timing is a careful, delicate dance. But it’s not (fully) out of our control. 

Every campaign has a story to tell. But in a noisy world, even the best story can get lost if it isn’t placed in the right spaces, at the right times, and in front of the right people. With the rise of programmatic advertising, wasted ad spend rose 34% in the past two years, and reached a high of $26.8 billion in 2025 (Association of National Advertisers, 2025).

Many marketers are familiar with Binet and Field’s legendary 60/40 rule: A marketing budget should allocate 60% toward long-term brand building and 40% toward short-term sales activation. It’s a solid rule of thumb. The problem is, many organizations aren’t actually sitting down to calculate their current ratio and, as a result, are probably underinvesting in brand marketing without realizing it.

What are the first brands that come to mind when I say: tissue? Statistically, you probably thought of Kleenex. (If not, you’re an anomaly who should be celebrated.)