Marketing: Audience Relevance Over Noise and Virality Metrics

How I Suffered a Fiasco and Got the Most Important Marketing Lesson at Age 4: Or, Ineffective Word-of-Mouth and the Subsequent Punishment.

Prologue. Stop the Viral Hype: Success is about Relevance, not Reach.

In the world of marketing, as in any self-respecting “religion,” there are dogmas, unbreakable canons, and axioms. Sacred cows that are not supposed to be challenged. They are repeated like mantras at conferences, thrown into arguments as the ultimate trump card, and hammered into students’ heads. One such cow, plump and imperturbable, grazes in the greenest pastures of marketing fields: “Word-of-mouth is the best kind of marketing.” It is idolized, desired, and sought at any cost.

But I don’t believe in it. I believe in recommendations, but with one huge, fundamental caveat. And this revelation hit me not at a growth-hacking conference, but in a kindergarten sandbox. Where I, a four-year-old strategist and tactician, suffered the most crushing and humiliating fiasco while trying to win the heart of the beautiful girl Mashenka using unconventional methods of popularity, which I bought with coins and popsicles.

This story is not so much about failure as it is about the very first, most important lesson in marketing. About how I first intuitively grasped, and years later realized, the difference between reach and relevance, between noise and resonance, between virality metrics and a targeted action. Settle in. It will be fun and very insightful.

Chapter 1: The Unexpected Liquid Asset, or the First Capital of the Young Marketer.

It all started when I, a four-year-old adventurer posing as a traveler sailing the seas and oceans in a makeshift ship made of two chairs, found a fortune on one of the islands (on my grandfather’s chest of drawers). Not diamonds, not gold bars, but something more valuable in the reality of my worldview—a giant pile of loose change: 10, 15, 20 kopecks. For me, this was Croesus’s treasure! I found a treasure! I was rich!

Shouting excitedly, I reported my find to my grandfather. My eyes shone, my voice trembled. My grandfather, a man with a pedagogical streak, clarified: “If coins or something else are lying in the house, especially on a chest of drawers, it is not treasure, but someone’s property.” I was disappointed. No, I was crushed: I didn’t find treasure, I didn’t get rich… My genuine distress touched my grandfather so much that he decided to play along and allowed me to become the family’s first self-made millionaire: he let me stuff the pockets of my shorts full of coins and buy anything I wanted with them. My delight knew no bounds! I went out into the yard, victoriously jingling the coins in my pockets. I wasn’t just a boy. I became a walking IPO. I was bringing liquidity to the masses.

The first attempt to use the assets ran into severe restrictions from the state regulator: concession stands selling soda and ice cream fundamentally refused to work with clients my age without adult supervision. Yes, a kind of KYC (Know Your Customer) back then. I had to look for intermediaries—older kids, local “whales,” or, if you will, market makers.

I offered them a simple and clear deal: they provide me with access to the product (buy ice cream and soda), and I share generously with them. The “whales” intuitively understood their extremely high CPI (Cost Per Interaction), and my KPI was achieved instantly, with a pleasant bonus: the boys not only fulfilled my order but also called me “friend” and promised protection in case of neighborhood skirmishes. I bought loyalty. My first B2B contract was successfully concluded.

Chapter 2: The Sandbox Patron, or Master of the Coin and Lord of the Weather.

Learning about my unprecedented generosity, other boys in the yard immediately wanted to join my “club of the chosen.” I was not a greedy oligarch. Why hoard capital if you can convert it into something more valuable? I became a patron, a crowdfunder, and the main sponsor of the entire yard and surrounding areas. Coins flowed like a river, and I basked in the glory, universal love, respect, and recognition. I discovered the magic and power of word-of-mouth in all its glory: give something desirable to a few opinion leaders (respected boys), and the crowd will come to you itself. Engagement was off the charts, reach was total.

I felt like a genius. Master of the Coin (Game of Thrones) and Lord of the Weather (or rather, the mood of the yard audience). I decided that my monetary policy was all-powerful and could buy the loyalty and recognition of any boy. And maybe a girl, too?

In kindergarten, there was one girl: a blonde with surprisingly blue eyes, quiet, calm, and taciturn. Mashenka. My first kindergarten love. She seemed so perfect and beautiful to me that I was even afraid to look at her, let alone talk to her. Mashenka always avoided noisy games and quietly played with her two dolls. She was very diligent, neat, and well-behaved. The pride of her parents and the favorite of our teacher.

At some point, fueled by the success of my previous campaigns, and convinced of my exceptionalism and genius, I decided to win Mashenka’s attention the same way. Armed with capital, I launched a challenge in kindergarten: I gave coins to girls for small “bonuses”: cuddles and a kiss on the cheek. And oh, miracle! Word-of-mouth worked wonders here too: in a very short time, a line of young ladies formed, eager to get their share of generosity and conclude a partnership agreement. The advertising campaign budget melted away, and the conversion rate for “kisses” was simply stratospheric! By all classic advertising and marketing metrics, this was a MEGA successful campaign. I created a frenzy. I was viral. My genius was jubilant.

But suddenly, a serious, critically important problem emerged: this selective, high-budget campaign made absolutely no impression on Mashenka. Absolute zero. She didn’t join the queue. Mashenka looked at this parade of arrogance and boasting with slight, almost scientific bewilderment, like an entomologist looking at an anthill, and quietly continued playing with her dolls.

Without realizing it, I spent all my starting capital on engaging an absolutely irrelevant, low-margin audience that could never and should never have led me to my true goal—establishing strong, long-term relationships with the “ideal client.” A vivid example of a wasted budget. Sound familiar?

Chapter 3: Fiasco, Punishment, and the Birth of a Hypothesis.

The finale was predictable, harsh, and bore all the hallmarks of a reputational crisis. The teacher, acting as the supervisory body, observed my “Don Juan” adventures and at the next parents’ meeting gave my mother a severe dressing down. The color of my mother’s face, as she listened to all this, smoothly relocated to my rear end. After which, I was sent to the corner, where I picked at patterns on the wallpaper and, for the first time in my life, pondered the fundamental injustice of this world.

Years passed. I was professionally engaged in marketing: I researched niches, the competitive environment, analyzed campaigns, built funnels, calculated CPL, LTV, segmented audiences, and built communication strategies for brands. And one day, while dissecting another failed campaign that had brilliant reach and virality metrics but a depressingly low conversion to the target action, I suddenly remembered that very sandbox. I remembered the line of girls. I remembered Mashenka with her dolls and her complete indifference to my coins.

And it hit me. I suddenly realized why I failed then. Oh, if only I had known everything I know now! I would definitely have gone for walks hand-in-hand with Mashenka.

The word-of-mouth worked, as it should. It attracted a lot of people. It generated noise, activity, and engagement. It showed ideal quantitative metrics!

But all of it turned out to be useless because I did not take into account the interests and values of the Target Audience. I was talking to the wrong people. I wasted the budget on those who are easily engaged but who do not influence the opinion of my target. Instead of finding the one and only correct communication channel with my true target audience, I hoped to achieve the desired conversion through wide coverage and hype. I was measuring the wrong metrics and rejoicing over the wrong result.

This is the very answer, hard-earned in the corner, to the four-year-old boy’s plea to the Universe about injustice. This is the highest justice: if you act incorrectly, there is no result, only losses. This remains the cornerstone of my entire professional (and life) philosophy to this day.

The loudest word-of-mouth is useless if your message does not take into account the interests of the target audience and does not come from the “right” people. You can stage the most viral event, create a buzz, trend on social media, but if your audience is “Mashenka,” who plays with dolls, loves silence, and doesn’t look where ice cream is given out for kisses, you will simply waste your budget and be left with beautiful but empty numbers in your report.

All the magic is not in the fact of the recommendation itself, but in between “whom and whom,” and most importantly, “how” that recommendation happens. The key is in audience relevance, not the loudness of the noise. In qualitative, not quantitative, communication.

Chapter 4: The Art of Finding “Masha” and Influencing Her. Or Why I Don’t Believe in Mass Appeal.

Today, when building marketing strategies for businesses, I always look not for “opinion leaders in general,” but for those whom my “Masha” specifically listens to. I look not just for noise, but for resonance at the right frequency. This is meticulous, almost jewelry-level work.

What does this look like in practice? Let’s analyze it using your business as an example.

1. Deep Analytics and Segmentation. Before running off for coins, it’s important to understand who our “Mashenka” is. What does she live for? What are her concerns? Where does she hang out? What does she read? What are her hobbies? And whom does she trust? We won’t divide the audience by the principle of “Men aged 30-40, living in NY or LA, with average+ income.” We will create detailed portraits, outlining their values, fears, and decision-making paths. This is the foundation. When I talk to entrepreneurs who don’t know their audience, I understand. And I am the one who meticulously compiles client portraits.
2. Choosing Channels based on “Where she is,” not “Where everyone is.” Is Instagram trendy? Yes. Is TikTok popular? Yes. But your “Masha” might be lurking on niche forums, reading long posts in Telegram channels or professional blogs, “playing” Dota, and being an active member of that community. We go where she is, not where it is noisy.
3. Working with Opinion Leaders. I don’t look for bloggers with millions of followers and equally large budgets for ad placements. I look for those whom our “Masha” specifically trusts. A recommendation from micro-bloggers or even nano-influencers with a small but hyper-loyal and relevant audience is more effective than a shout from the cover of a glossy magazine.
4. Creating Relevant Content. I don’t make “viral” hollow shells just for the buzz. We will talk to “Masha” in her language about her concerns. This may not be as spectacular from the outside, but it is incredibly effective.
5. Constant Testing and the Right Metrics. You and I will not applaud thousands of views. We are only interested in metrics that lead to the goal: Cost Per Targeted Lead (CPL), conversion to sales, LTV, and the actual Return On Marketing Investment (ROMI), not virtual popularity.

This is marketing without tinsel. Marketing that works not for the EGO, but for the result.

So, thanks to my grandfather for that seed capital and the first lesson in budget management. Thanks to those boys and girls for a vivid demonstration of the principles of virality. And a separate huge thank you to Mashenka—my strictest, most important, and most effective marketing teacher. The lesson learned at age 4 turned out to be more valuable than dozens of thick textbooks read cover-to-cover.

Epilogue: A Few Words About Whom You Might Want to Shake Hands With.

So, if after reading this story you have a strong desire to discuss how to find your “Mashenka” and talk specifically to her, then let’s get acquainted. I promise our conversation will be lively, interesting, and held in a friendly atmosphere of good professional humor. And for our dialogue to be as productive as possible, allow me to structurally, without false modesty (it’s serious business, after all), outline my professional background. All of this is the result of 15 years of highly specialized practice and 28 years of entrepreneurial experience that taught me the main thing: to see and know the essence, not to float on the surface.

My principles and skills, refined over the years:

1. Strategic Thinking and Analytical Approach. I don’t start with creatives. I start with numbers, with an analysis of the market, competitors, and your current situation. I don’t “invent super advertising”; I build a marketing system that solves business problems. My tools: SWOT-analysis, PEST-analysis, calculation and construction of sales funnels, unit economics, calculation of LTV and CAC.
2. Deep Knowledge of Digital Channels and the Ability to Work with Them. From classic SEO, contextual advertising, and SMM to complex PR and GR communication schemes. I will speak the languages of Google Analytics, SEMrush, GSC, Hyros, Branch Metrics, and others with advertising agencies on your behalf. And if you have a startup, I will independently prepare and launch all the necessary advertising tools.
3. Expertise in Content Marketing and Branding. I, more than anyone, understand and know that content is not just “articles on a website” or social media posts. It is a strategic tool for attraction, retention, and conversion. As the greatest marketer in the sports industry, Jon Spoelstra, preached: “Every article or post must sell. If the article doesn’t sell, don’t waste your time and money on it.” The ability to build a content strategy that works for image and sales is one of my key skills.
4. Project and Budget Management. Marketing is not a bottomless money pit. It is an investment. Getting the maximum out of what you have—that is where true professionalism is recognized. I very quickly put “greedy to the point of stupor” advertisers in their place, those who convince you that you need to spend a million dollars for anyone to even know about you, just because competitors spend 10 million. My position is: let them spend it, we don’t mind their money. We will go straight to our “Masha” with minimal costs and a very constructive and profitable offer.
5. Legal and Business Literacy. Experience working with government structures, federal corporations, international venture funds, and small businesses has accustomed me to the importance of “paperwork.” I quickly read contracts and spot “pitfalls,” I know the nuances of advertising law and personal data law, and I can build communication in a way that is not only effective but also absolutely legal. This is NOT relevant for “white” businesses, but when it comes to areas that cannot be promoted or advertised, this skill turns into a superpower.
6. Flexibility and Adaptability. The market does not stand still. New channels appear, algorithms change, new trends are born. My superpower is the ability to quickly learn, study new things, and put them to work. I know how to quickly learn what I don’t know and project new experience onto my existing expertise.
7. Communication Skills. I know how to listen and hear. Not what people say, but what they want to say. I understand the intents. I know how to talk not only to the audience and you but also to myself: honestly, openly, and without embellishment. This helps assess the real situation with the project. I can explain complex things with simple examples. During the research stage, I will listen to you, every one of your employees, your contractors, suppliers, and, of course, your clients/customers. I am pleasant to communicate with, which is why people tell me much more than they do to others.

In conclusion:

Marketing is not about shouting loudly about yourself. It’s about being correctly heard by those whom you specifically need. It is the art of finding your “Mashas” and speaking to them in their language. If this approach resonates with you—no filler, with humor, but with an iron business grip and immersion in the essence—let’s discuss your plans and objectives. I invite you for a cup of coffee.

Sincerely Yours,

Business Pathfinder

P.S. This is where the story ends. If you liked it, I would be pleased if you rate it with a “like” and a comment. Perhaps you will even decide to tip to encourage my creative work. Absolutely any amount, as a sign of your attention and recognition. Thank you.