From Meta to meat raffles: Tracksuit CEO advises businesses to meet their customers where they are

When I spoke with Matt Herbert, co-founder and co-CEO of Tracksuit, I anticipated a discussion centered solely on digital marketing. After all, Tracksuit’s platform is tailored to assist brands in monitoring their performance through online metrics. However, Herbert also emphasized the value of traditional, offline marketing strategies despite the growing emphasis on digital.

“How many customers do you truly need? Who are your customers? Where do they spend their time?”

These were the questions Herbert posed to a dental practice in New Zealand that had heavily invested in Google AdWords and Facebook ads but was not achieving significant results.

Tracksuit was co-founded by Herbert and Connor Archbold in New Zealand in 2021 and secured $20.5 million in Series A funding earlier this year. With its expansion into the US and UK, the platform now monitors over 4,000 brands worldwide, offering real-time insights into consumer sentiment and brand awareness.

Yet, despite being an online business, Herbert advised the dental practice to adopt a more traditional approach rather than focusing solely on digital advertisements.

“Create flyers and visit local bowling or golf clubs in your area. Offer support for their prize draws and raffles,” Herbert recommended.

“Start by consistently connecting with your community face-to-face before turning your attention to digital performance investments.”

Herbert acknowledged that making this decision can be challenging for brands, especially as the digital marketing landscape grows more complex.

“If you lack that expertise, it’s easy to waste a lot of money without seeing results,” Herbert remarked.

For Herbert, it’s not about choosing between digital and traditional marketing; it’s about achieving the right balance.

“You can certainly build brands on TikTok or online. You can also create brands offline or on television,” Herbert explained.

It’s more important to focus on your innovation, messaging, and channel utilization than on the actual channel. The key is to provide purpose-driven content.”

Herbert emphasizes the importance of understanding who your customers are and where they spend their time.

“You don’t need to be everywhere. Focus on where your current and future customers are engaging. Then, make sure to show up in those spaces in a distinctive and meaningful way that strengthens your brand.”

While advocating for traditional marketing strategies, Tracksuit also fully embraces technology to simplify insights—utilizing platforms like HubSpot and AI to assist its customers in making decisions based on streamlined real-time data.

Herbert noted that this has become increasingly vital as privacy regulations tighten and third-party cookies are phased out.

In this context, Herbert points out Tracksuit’s capability to gather broad, anonymized data on brand performance, enabling businesses to comply with regulations while still obtaining valuable insights.

Tracksuit’s upcoming initiatives will concentrate on expanding its presence in the UK and US while further enhancing its AI-driven insights to help brands remain competitive.

“Our goal is to become one of those mainstream businesses that emerges from our region, achieving global impact and recognition, which will encourage more people to enter the industry,” Herbert stated.