📫 Jeff Bezos No-Phone Rule

Good morning, business enthusiasts!

Amazon CEO Andy Jassy said in a memo to employees the company was returning to "the way we were before the onset of COVID."

Meanwhile, Tupperware Brands Corp. (TUP) filed for bankruptcy following a years-long struggle with sales declines and growing competition.

Week’s Top Updates

→ BlackRock Inc. and Microsoft Corp. are teaming up on one of the largest efforts to date to bankroll the build-out of data warehouses and energy infrastructure behind the boom in artificial intelligence.

→ Tupperware filed for bankruptcy following a years-long struggle with sales declines and growing competition. Publicly-traded Tupperware filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, listing assets of between $500 million to $1 billion and liabilities of $1 billion to $10 billion.

→ In a surprising move, Michael Conway, Starbucks North America CEO, has resigned after only six months in the role.

→ 'The pressure became too much for her': Mother blames 'work stress' for 26-year-old EY employee's (CA Anna Sebastian Perayil) death.

→ CEOs of big US companies are increasingly expecting to end hybrid work setups in the next few years, according to KPMG US.

→ Kamala Harris gains significant support from Hollywood stars, including George Clooney and Charli XCX.

Markets

Tech Titans' Morning Rituals

Jeff Bezos Follows This One “Strict“ Rule for the Mornings

Lauren Sánchez said her fiancé, Jeff Bezos, set a rule not to use their phones in the morning.

The couple kicks off each day with a fresh cup of coffee and some quality conversation before the kids wake up or the world starts buzzing. It's their "magic moment," as Sánchez puts it.

This tech-free start is a far cry from some other Silicon Valley bigwigs.

Meta's Mark Zuckerberg, for instance, admits to checking Facebook first thing every morning. Meanwhile, Apple's Tim Cook is up at the crack of dawn, tackling emails before most of us have hit the snooze button.

But Bezos isn't alone in his slow-and-steady approach.

His morning "puttering" time, as he calls it, involves reading the newspaper and having breakfast with family. He claims this leisurely start actually boosts his energy and decision-making skills throughout the day.

So, next time you're tempted to reach for your phone the moment you wake up, remember: even Jeff Bezos takes a moment to smell the coffee.

Maybe there's something to be said for starting the day on your own terms, not your inbox's.

Let's Study Marketing

Amazon Business's "Buy Smarter, Dream Bigger" Campaign

Ever heard of Amazon Business? No? Well, that was their problem too.

Despite being part of the Amazon family, Amazon Business (AB) was the forgotten cousin at the e-commerce family reunion. They needed to make some noise, and fast.

So, what did they do? They went big with their "Buy smarter. Dream bigger" campaign.

AB's first large-scale mass advertising campaign. This wasn't your grandpa's B2B marketing strategy. Amazon Business went all in. They launched a 20-week ad blitz across TV, social media, podcasts, and even billboards – you name it, they did it.

But here's where it gets interesting.

AB introduced a whole new concept to the business world: "smart business buying" (SBB).

Now, let's talk results, because in marketing, numbers are the name of the game:

1. Brand consideration skyrocketed by 590 basis points among those who recalled the ads.

2. The campaign reached a whopping 95% of the target audience, with each person seeing the ads an average of 65 times. Talk about persistence!

3. 3.5 billion impressions across various channels. That's billion with a 'B', folks.

4. Video views? How about 781 million+ in paid media and another 18 million+ on YouTube.

5. Traffic to business.amazon.com exploded, with 7.7 million unique visitors and 12.9 million+ pageviews.

So, why did this campaign work?

• They were everywhere. You couldn't escape them if you tried.

• They made "business buying" sound cool. Who knew that was possible?

• They used humor and real people in their ads. No more boring suits and handshakes.

• They tracked everything. Data is king, after all.

• They showed all kinds of businesses, big and small. Everyone's invited to this party.

The Big Lesson:

Even if you're part of a famous brand, you might need to make some noise to stand out. Amazon Business turned up the volume, and boy, did people listen. Go big, be everywhere, and don't be afraid to make business buying sound exciting.

Funding Roundup

• TeamBridge, a Workforce OS (workforce operating system) empowering hourly workforces, has secured $28 million in Series B funding.
  

• Lyon-based Brenus Pharma, a biotech startup specialising in the development of cancer vaccines, has secured €22.2 million in Series A financing.
  

• 11x, an AI startup transforming the modern workforce with autonomous digital workers, has raised $24 million in Series A funding. The round was led by Benchmark (which invested in Leya, Fireworks AI, and HeyGen), with participation from Quiet Capital, SV Angel.
  

• Reports are in that Intel is set to receive up to $3.5B in federal grants as part of a new deal with the U.S. government to produce advanced semiconductors for military.
  

• Quick commerce unicorn Flink snaps $150M funding, plans to open 30 hubs in Germany and the Netherlands.

And That's a wrap

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