Articles by Willis
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Definition of Engagement in Performance Marketing
Definition of Engagement in Performance Marketing
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Willis Chan reposted thisWillis Chan reposted thisThe Man Who Invented Email Never Patented It. Ray Tomlinson sent the first email in 1971. He was an engineer at BBN Technologies, working on ARPANET — the precursor to the internet. He needed a way to separate a user from their machine. He looked at his keyboard, picked the @ sign, and thought nothing more of it. That instinct is now how 4 billion people communicate every single day. He never patented it. Never tried to monetise it. When asked what that first-ever email actually said, he shrugged and admitted he couldn't remember. Probably something like "QWERTYUIOP." The man who rewired human communication sent a forgettable message and went home. We live in a world obsessed with credit. With ownership. Ensure your name is on the item you've built. Ray just... built it. Quietly. Without fanfare. Without a LinkedIn post announcing his personal brand journey. He passed away in 2016. Most people still couldn't name him. And yet every single morning, billions of people wake up, reach for their phones, and carry on his work whether they like it or not. Some legacies are built in silence. #email Others leave behind 600 unread emails, a calendar blocked solid with "Quick Syncs", a $28 billion productivity software industry, and an entire generation of people who end their messages with "Please action urgently" at 11 pm on a Sunday. Ray, you beautiful, chaotic genius. What have you done to us.
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Willis Chan reposted thisWillis Chan reposted thisLiquid Death clowned an entire industry With one ad 😂 Soda brands built their entire identity around lifestyle Cool people drinking cool drinks looking cool The product was almost secondary to the image That formula worked for decades because nobody called it out Liquid Death understood that the formula itself had become the joke So instead of competing with it, they recreated it frame for frame They made it so accurate that anyone who grew up watching Sprite and Mountain Dew commercials in the 90s felt it immediately And then they named it Once you label a tactic, people can't unsee it That's what this ad did to soda marketing It didn't need to talk about sugar content or calories or aluminum cans It just made you feel a little suspicious every time you saw the alternative And that suspicion doesn't go away Which means every future soda ad does part of Liquid Death's job for them That's the long game Liquid Death competed for how you think about an entire category going forward Very few brands think that far ahead --- 👋 P.S. Follow Ad Psychology for more winning ads (And the psychology of why they work) Part of Marketing Psychology Media
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Willis Chan reposted thisWillis Chan reposted thisIvan Zhao of Notion has a good line about AI: agency is like muscle. It can be built, but it can also atrophy. That feels like a useful frame for this moment. A lot of the debate around AI is stuck between utopianism and panic. But one of the more grounded questions is “what happens to people when a machine starts doing more of the cognitive work that used to keep certain human muscles strong?” We’ve seen versions of this before, throughout history. The printing press weakened some forms of memory and oral tradition. Something was indeed lost, but so much was gained, too. The printing press helped create the conditions for mass literacy, broader access to knowledge, and the Enlightenment. Those who changed with the times, and continued to train their agency using new tools succeeded, while others who didn’t fell behind. That’s because agency is not just intelligence (which can be thought of as raw horsepower). It’s the habit of acting, deciding, and pushing forward. Like a muscle, agency weakens when it isn’t used. The question we must all ask is how to use AI in a way that makes our agency muscle stronger. It can help you practice, or pressure test your ideas. It can even help you accomplish new things you would’ve never thought possible (e.g. building an app from scratch). In that version, AI is not replacing agency, it is increasing the number of exercises you can get in to train it.
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Willis Chan reposted thisWillis Chan reposted thisA Boomer picks up a payphone. A Zoomer picks up another. Two strangers. One conversation. Suddenly — not strangers anymore. This video stopped me cold. (Watch it.) It hit home because I see this same thing happen on StandOutIn90Sec — 600+ guests, most of them complete strangers before we talk. 90 seconds later? Something shifts. Two Gen Z guests embody this beautifully. Ria brought cybersecurity awareness to seniors at an elder care facility. Her team arrived to find many residents weren't mobile and didn't speak English. So they pivoted — going room to room, tailoring every conversation to meet people where they were. Cody noticed during the 2020 lockdowns how lonely his grandmother had become. That one observation sparked the Senior Sunshine Club — students writing letters to seniors, sharing stories and photos. Pen-pal notes became pizza parties, trivia nights, and real friendships. A payphone. A letter. A 90-second conversation. The format doesn't matter. Someone showing up for another human being does. Who would you pick up the phone for? 🎥 Credit: Matter Neuroscience
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Willis Chan reposted thisWillis Chan reposted thisThe advice that changed everything for Matthew McConaughey ⤵ Most people don’t need permission to chase their dream. They need someone to look them in the eye and say: "If you're gonna do it - do it right. No excuses." That's exactly what Matthew McConaughey got. One sentence from his father became the launchpad for everything: "Don't half-ass your dream." It wasn’t comfort. It wasn’t praise. It was the wake-up call we all need. Let’s break it down: 1/ ➠ Permission vs. expectation ➝ We're raised to seek approval ➝ And to follow safe, respectable paths ➝ But "safe" often leads to silent resentment ↳ So stop playing by rules that were never yours 2/ ➠ McConaughey's moment ➝ He was set for law school ➝ But wanted to chase film instead ➝ He feared disappointment ↳ What he got was belief - because he owned the choice 3/ ➠ What his dad really said ➝ "Don't half-ass it" meant: go all in ➝ It wasn’t coddling - it was a challenge ➝ If you choose it, then back it with force ↳ Commitment is the cost of clarity 4/ ➠ What that means for you ➝ Dreams aren't hobbies ➝ They're responsibilities ➝ And they demand effort ↳ Half-hearted effort kills more dreams than failure ever will 5/ ➠ Why it still matters ➝ Owning your path inspires others ➝ Taking action changes identity ➝ Regret haunts the untried ↳ One act of courage often unlocks another Most people wait for belief. For an external validation. For someone's permission. But belief is earned by doing - not by waiting. ▶ What if "support" looked more like challenge? ▶ Who's waiting for you to act so they can believe? ▶ When was the last time you didn’t half-ass something? // Repost this ⇄ // Source: Matthew McConaughey, “Greenlights” // Follow me for daily posts on emerging tech and growth: https://lnkd.in/gqzS_9Tf //
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Willis Chan shared thisWillis Chan shared thisWe don’t grow by accident. We grow by continually showing up to learn. 💡 For a limited time, we’re offering 50% off The Optimism Library — a resource for leaders who want to think and lead with more intention: https://lnkd.in/grAhp4P3
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Willis Chan reposted thisWillis Chan reposted thisWas fun to be at a dev event in Bengaluru and demo an app I built recently for deep research with multiple models and decision frameworks... think of it as "chain of debate"... Next stop, Copilot!!
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Willis Chan reposted thisWillis Chan reposted thisWhy are American doctors so burnt out? Perhaps because of how bureaucratic American medicine is. This is a good example of how AI might help make bureaucracies function better. Read more: https://lnkd.in/enPKaCjR
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Willis Chan shared thisWillis Chan shared thisMcDonald's just did what most brands would NEVER do… They ran a McMuffin ad without ever saying “McMuffin.” Just a slow, zoomed in spin of the sandwich and a whisper saying: "We don't need to tell you what this is, you already know. It's there, deep in your mind. You can summon its name without us even saying it. There it is. Told you". And it worked because it snapped people out of autopilot. If this were a normal ad yelling features and deals, most of us wouldn’t even register it. We’d half-hear it, be on our phone, move on. But because it did less, we leaned in more. Brilliant. If you're new here, I post about marketing, connect with me (Brendan Cox) to stay in the loop. #marketing #creative #advertising #branding #creativity
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Willis Chan liked thisWillis Chan liked thisWomen, if You're: if you are technical, understand physics, win chess games, were Head of AI, ex-Amazon, were founding engineer at an acquired company, bold, enthusiastic, and speak confidently, - you still need to have a co-founder to raise. Raising means scaling. Even when you have a traction. Investors kept asking me: "Are you looking for a co-founder?". I was. I was asking people around, was checking YC-co-founder matching platform. And decided that I will find my people on the way. And I did! Meet a killing team, Dzianis V. joined me as a co-founder. Annd, I love when investors read our one-pager: "You have a very strong team!" They make that face... you can imagine. He is ex-Coinbase. His agents answer emails, comment on my LinkedIn posts, apply for jobs. He built a browser extension that navigates UI automatically. He is one of the few people I can learn from in real life. We were part of the same community, and would share our scars of building startups. I changed an idea from AI Outreach, to something very cool. And he got it immediately! More updates are coming... 🙃
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Willis Chan liked thisWillis Chan liked thisAfter almost 11 years, sharing the bittersweet news that I am leaving Microsoft to pursue a new opportunity. I could not be more grateful for my time at the company and to detail all it has meant to me feels like an impossible task. Instead, a huge thank you to my managers, mentors, teammates, and clients. Thank you for the trust, collaboration, and laughs, and for bringing out the very best in me professionally and personally. Please don’t be a stranger (and accept my sincere apologies for the bungled goodbye email - should have had Copilot handle it! 😉)
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Willis Chan liked thisWillis Chan liked thisThe hardest thing I do as a leader? Let people go. When you take other people’s money, you have a responsibility — you build the best team possible. And if it’s not working, you fix it. That means being honest, even when it’s uncomfortable. That’s leadership.
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Willis Chan liked thisWillis Chan liked thisBelieving that you can is more profitable than believing that you can’t… I interviewed a Houston multi-millionaire and asked him the best financial advice he received throughout his career. I also asked him the turning point to becoming financially free and what keeps people broke in today’s world.
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Willis Chan liked thisWillis Chan liked thisThe most dangerous path is the one that feels "safe." Sam Altman shared the #1 piece of advice people regret ignoring: 𝐈𝐭 𝐢𝐬 𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐫𝐢𝐟𝐲𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐥𝐲 𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐲 𝐭𝐨 𝐠𝐞𝐭 𝐬𝐮𝐜𝐤𝐞𝐝 𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐨 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐰𝐫𝐨𝐧𝐠 𝐩𝐚𝐭𝐡. My life could have been very different if I hadn't chosen the fashion industry so early. I didn't just want to be in "fashion"— I wanted to be a stylist. I locked in on that path and didn't look back. I’ve made sacrifices along the way (and I still do). But the biggest one? Making a total of £𝟓𝟎 𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐟𝐢𝐫𝐬𝐭 𝟑 𝐲𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐬. Most people would have called that the "wrong path." I called it the foundation. Paths have gravity. The longer you stay on one that doesn’t align with your purpose, the heavier the "Sunk Cost" becomes. 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝟓-𝐘𝐞𝐚𝐫 𝐆𝐫𝐚𝐯𝐢𝐭𝐲 𝐏𝐫𝐨𝐛𝐥𝐞𝐦 𝐥𝐨𝐨𝐤𝐬 𝐥𝐢𝐤𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬: 𝐘𝐞𝐚𝐫 𝟏: "I’m just doing this for the money and the resume. It’s temporary." 𝐘𝐞𝐚𝐫 𝟑: "I have a mortgage and a title to protect now. I’ll leave after the next bonus." 𝐘𝐞𝐚𝐫 𝟓: "I’m too 'successful' to start over as a beginner. I’ve invested too much time to walk away." Five years is the sweet spot where your lifestyle finally catches up to your paycheck. You think you’re building a bridge to your dream, but you’re actually building 𝐆𝐨𝐥𝐝𝐞𝐧 𝐇𝐚𝐧𝐝𝐜𝐮𝐟𝐟𝐬. The most dangerous risk isn't failing at your startup or your passion project. The real risk is spending two decades as a high-performer in a room you never wanted to be in. 𝐀𝐬𝐤 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫𝐬𝐞𝐥𝐟: If you stay on this exact path for five more years, will you be closer to your purpose—or just deeper in the cage? Have a blessed day my people. Peace 💋🤘🏽 #Purpose #SamAltman #Life
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Willis Chan liked thisWillis Chan liked thisMarc Andreessen explains why the manager class might disappear in the AI era: "I've always viewed my entire life as—we're raging against the dying of the light. We're constantly trying to fight off managerialism swamping everything and everything getting boring, gray, dumb, and old." "The challenge is going to be for the innovators to figure out how to leverage AI to actually do this." "The other challenge is going to be for the incumbents that are managerial to figure out—what does that mean? Because now they're going to be facing a different kind of insurgent competitor that has a different set of capabilities than they're used to." "I think this is going to force a lot of big companies to figure out innovation—figure out innovation or die trying." Source: Latent Space Podcast
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Willis Chan liked thisWillis Chan liked this🧭 #AI #Strategy: Why Toxic Leaders Get Promoted Simon Sinek, Navy Seals, and Fighting Toxic Leadership: A lesson for all of us in our #ArtificialIntelligence efforts. There is something bizarre about the fact that one of the "nerdiest" professions of all time- MY profession- has a tendency to promote such toxic managers. Watch this video to get some tips on how to avoid it. Ironically, the correct analytics might help all of us! Agree? Any personal stories of Toxic AI Leaders? Any stories of better managers? - T. Scott Clendaniel, Nautilus-AI Academy
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Willis Chan liked thisWillis Chan liked this🧠 IT REALLY IS THAT SIMPLE 🧠 If you make a million dollars 💰 are you rich? Most people say no ❌ Why? Because we’ve been trained 🎓 to think the obvious answer can’t be right. So we ignore the simple truths 👀 and go searching for complicated ones 🧩 “Surely it can’t be that easy…” But most of the time — it is. I worked harder making $30K a year 😓 than I do making $30K a day 💥 Stop overthinking. Wisdom is usually right in front of you 👏
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Willis Chan liked thisWillis Chan liked thisThe end of Week Reality Check I’ve been thinking a lot about a quote from Anthony Hopkins lately: “Believe in yourself totally... even though you may think it’s a lie.” It’s a gritty perspective. In leadership and operations, we’re conditioned to talk about the wins, the frameworks, and the growth. But if I’m being honest? I’ve hit more walls than I’d like to admit. There have been days where I’ve missed the mark, questioned the strategy, and felt the weight of a project not hitting the way it should. We all have those moments where "self-belief" feels more like a performance than a reality. But here’s what I’ve realized: Persistence isn’t about never failing. It’s about the quiet, often unglamorous act of getting back up—one more time than you were knocked down. If you’re feeling the pressure or facing a setback right now, don't let the noise define your value. Success isn't always a straight line; usually, it's just a reward for the person who refused to stop moving. Be bold, keep going, and trust the process. Happy Friday, everyone. Progress Over Perfection. #Leadership #Resilience #GrowthMindset #Persistence #CareerJourney
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Education
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Licenses & Certifications
Honors & Awards
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Most Magnet Performance Approach
Maxus Magnet Awards
Trophy 🏆 for Most Magnet Performance Approach in the Maxus Magnet Awards! #OurPeopleRock
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Yahoo Media Star 2014
Yahoo! Advertising
An absolutely awesome award to win and I am extremely humbled and honored to be a recipient--Yahoo Media Star 2014. http://lnkd.in/dVP2kG9
http://blog.smvgroup.com/mediavest-usas-willis-chan-named-a-yahoo-media-star/ -
Cannes Lions Cyber Grand Prix 2013 - Multi-Agency Award
Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity
To celebrate the Oreo brand's 100th birthday, agencies developed and distributed 100 ads in 100 days, OREO's ‘Daily Twist,’ a multi-agency effort that also included Draftfcb, 360i and Weber Shandwick, was awarded the Grand Prix award in the Cyber Lions.
Additionally, the campaign garnered a Gold Lion in PR, a Silver Lion in Direct and a Bronze Lion in Promo & Activation. -
1st Place Team - Kontera Kup
Kontera
The competition was fierce, but the 2011 Kontera Kup Championship title was awarded to Team Boom Boom of Mediavest. http://blog.kontera.com/2011/10/27/the-kontera-kup-challenge-2011/
Organizations
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212NYC New York
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Delta Sigma Pi
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PRSA
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