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Three-Piece Marketing
Structure to help your ideas spread
Jaime Solis
08 Aug
⏰ 5-Second Summary
The Red Thread – Why attention isn’t enough (and never was.)
The Unlock – The 3 elements every marketing effort needs to actually work.
Creative Edge – If no one’s acting, there’s no tension. And no trust.
Prompt Playground – Diagnose what’s missing in your current marketing stack.
Industry Pulse – New AI music moves, the history of audio and podcasting, trust in the age of AI.
Creator Tools – Tools for educators, transcription services, and AI agents for Excel.
Open Opportunities – New roles at Amazon, UMG, and audio industry job boards.
⏳Read time: ~4 minutes
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"Without a sense of urgency, desire loses its value."
— Jim Rohn
The Red Thread This Week
Three-Piece Marketing
Most people think the hardest part of marketing is getting noticed.
"If more people saw my work, everything would fall into place..."
But being seen is rarely the primary challenge.
The real issue is what happens after someone sees you.
Because awareness without trust is just noise. And trust without tension? That's too comfortable—and comfort doesn't inspire action.
As I’ve written about before, we’re all marketers now. So whether you're launching a product, pitching an idea in a boardroom, or trying to get your team to embrace a new process, the same truth applies.
People need a reason to act beyond just seeing you, or hearing you.
Think of it like dating: You can get someone's attention across a crowded room. You can even build trust over coffee or dinner.
But if there's no spark, no fear of missing out on something special—no tension—nothing happens.
They might just go home thinking, "Nice person," and forget you exist.
Marketing works the same way.
If you want your work or your ideas to land—and spread—you need all three:
Awareness (They see you)
Trust (They believe you)
Tension (They need to act)
Miss even one, and your marketing becomes forgettable, and ineffective.
This week’s Red Thread is about how to apply this framework to move beyond chasing attention, and instead—inspire action.
Let's dive in.
~ Jaime
🔑 The Unlock
Three-Piece Marketing Framework
Here’s a practical frame to evaluate your current marketing efforts, and help you craft more effective ways to spread your ideas going forward:
1️⃣ Awareness – Necessary, but Overrated
Yes, people need to know you exist. But attention alone is useless.
Everyone knows McDonald's exists—but not everyone eats there.
Everyone knows ebooks exist—but most go unread.
The better question: What happens once someone finds you?
Attention isn't the end goal. It's the starting line.
2️⃣ Trust – The Scarce Ingredient
Trust is what turns awareness into belief. And belief into action.
It's built by showing up consistently, keeping your promises, and reminding people of something or someone they already trust.
Think less "viral moment" and more "earned relationship." You don't need to be loud. You need to be credible.
3️⃣ Tension – The Invisible Force
This is where most marketing efforts stall.
Even if people know you and trust you, they won't act without tension.
Tension is the gap between where someone is and where they could be. It's the feeling that staying put costs more than moving forward.
And the job of the professional marketer is to purposefully inflict tension in order to move people from:
"Sounds good" → "I need this now"
"Maybe later" → "How do I start?"
Because the truth is, comfort is the enemy of action. If your audience feels no tension, they'll stay still.
📌 Remember: Effective marketing creates pressure—with focus, generosity, and consistency. It shows people a vision of what’s possible, then makes the path forward clear.
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💡 Creative Edge
Trust + Tension = Movement
Here's your quick brand check: Look at your last piece of advertising or marketing material.
Was it infused with trust signals—or just visible?
Was there real tension to move. or take action—or just an ‘ask’?
The best marketing feels a lot like leadership. It creates forward motion by showing people:
A better version of themselves or their environment
A clear path to progress
What they're losing by waiting
📌 Mindset shift: If no one's moving, ask: "Where's the tension? Where's the proof?" Then close the gap.
🎲 Prompt Playground
Diagnose Your Marketing Gaps
Use this to evaluate your marketing through the Awareness-Trust-Tension lens.
Copy + paste the prompt below into ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini, or Perplexity, fill in the blanks, and see what happens!
Prompt:
You are my CMO and creative partner. I want you to help me evaluate a recent piece of my marketing content using a 3-part framework.
Here's what I want you to analyze: [Describe your recent campaign, post, email, or content piece]
Break down my content like this:
AWARENESS: Did this get in front of the right people? How strong was the hook? What made someone stop scrolling?
TRUST: What proof, consistency, or credibility did I offer? Why should someone believe me over all the other voices saying similar things?
TENSION: Was there a clear reason to act now? Did I show what's at stake? What gap did I highlight between where they are and where they want to be?
Then give me one specific way to strengthen the weakest pillar in my next piece of content. Be concrete—not just "add more tension" but exactly how to do it.
✅ Bonus Prompt:
Leading change inside an organization? The same framework applies.
Getting people to adopt new processes, embrace initiatives, or shift priorities requires the same three elements—just with internal stakeholders instead of external customers.
Try this:
"I need to introduce a significant change to my team or organization. Using this framework, help me craft a communication strategy that doesn't just inform people about the change, but actually motivates them to embrace it. What tension can I create between staying with the status quo and moving toward our better future?"
📡 Industry Pulse
ElevenLabs Enters AI Music Arena: The AI voice/audio platform launches music creation with licensing from Kobalt and Merlin. Read more
Duolingo Ramps Up Music Move: The app is doubling down on music and gamified learning. Read more
The Evolution of Audio: Excellent 5min watch about the history of audio from early radio to podcasting and streaming. Watch
Brand Trust Beats AI Hype: In a world of sameness, trust is becoming the edge. Read more
Journalists or Creators? New episode of On with Kara Swisher pod explores how media pros are blurring the lines. Listen in
An overview of podcasting history: Podcasts are now a primary form of entertainment. Read more
🛠️ Creator Tools
CleverSchool – AI powered tools for modern teachers
Transcript.lol – Instantly transcribe and summarize any YouTube video or podcast episode.
Endex – An AI agent specifically designed to automate Excel work
Anything – A no-code AI tool for building mobile apps and web apps
💼 Open Opportunities
Senior Software Development Engineer, Rails – ART19 an Amazon Co. (Sunnyvale, CA) View Role →
Marketing Manager, Verve Records – Universal Music Group (New York, NY) View Role →
Your next move in Music
Explore the MBW Job Board →
Crack into Podcasting
Check out the Sounds Profitable Job Board →
📌 Know someone looking? Forward this to them!
⚡ Your Next Bold Move
I run JMedia, an advisory firm helping companies and creatives bring their ideas to life. Here are a few ways we can work together when you’re ready:
Get 1:1 Support from Me: Need a thought partner to help shape what's next for your project or team? Let’s talk!
Audit Your Podcast: Get pro-level eyes on your podcast without hiring a full-time producer.
Speaking Engagements & Workshops: Looking for a speaker for your next live (or virtual) event? Or someone to lead your next strategic workshop?
Thanks you for spending time with Red Threads this week.
I’m glad you’re here :)
~ Jaime
P.S. My weekly Red Threads newsletter goes out every Friday. Move my emails to your primary inbox so you see the next edition!
💌 Know someone who should be growing with us? Forward this their way.