Why AG1 Thinks the Real Risk in Marketing is Playing It Safe

Welcome back to The Friday Fortune! If your brain is already half-packed for the weekend but your inbox is still pretending it needs you, congratulations, you’re doing modern work perfectly. This is your sanctioned pause. No meetings, no dashboards, just a few smart ideas from people who actually know what they’re doing.

Each week, we bring you conversations with CMOs who are shaping culture, pushing creative boundaries, and occasionally making their CFO a little nervous (the good kind). This week, we’re diving into a conversation with a marketer who’s building one of the most talked-about wellness brands in the world by refusing to play it safe.

Here’s what’s on deck this week:

• A sit-down with AG1 Chief Marketing Officer, Paulie Dery

• YouTube annual revenue tops $60B

• Octave x OpenFortune

📈 Marketer of the Week

If there’s anyone challenging the way modern brands are built, it’s Paulie Dery, Chief Marketing Officer at AG1. As the leader behind AG1’s global brand strategy, Paulie has helped transform the company from a product-first growth rocket into a purpose-driven lifestyle brand, one rooted in community, optimism, and long-term thinking.

Paulie’s journey is unconventional by design. Coming up through the creative side of the industry, he developed an instinct for storytelling and cultural relevance that now defines AG1’s marketing philosophy. Instead of chasing short-term wins, Paulie has focused on building a brand people want to belong to and something they’re proud to use every single day.

That mindset came to life with AG1’s recently launched brand platform, Morning People. Built around the quiet, optimistic moments at the start of the day, the campaign reframes AG1 not as a supplement, but as a daily ritual. One that helps people reset, focus, and show up better for whatever comes next. It’s a major evolution for a brand that built its early success through podcasts and creator partnerships, now expanding confidently into linear TV, out-of-home, and connected channels.

But what really separates Paulie’s approach is how he measures success. Beyond revenue and growth metrics, he pays close attention to something harder to quantify, but instantly recognizable. As he put it, “brands do carry energy.” For Paulie, that energy shows up in how people talk about AG1 at events, how partners and ambassadors engage with the brand, and whether new work sparks genuine excitement or silence.

That philosophy extends to creativity itself. Paulie is vocal about the dangers of playing it safe, and even more outspoken about what happens when marketers stop pushing. In a world where AI can generate endless “good enough” ideas, he believes the real risk is boring work that never moves anyone. His advice to marketers, especially early in their careers, is simple and unapologetic: “what the world doesn’t need is more boring marketers.” 

At AG1, that belief has shaped everything from their in-house creative model to their documentary-style storytelling approach. It’s work that’s allowed to evolve, adapt, and sometimes surprise even the people making it.

Paulie’s Takeaway

For Paulie, great marketing comes down to energy, curiosity, and the willingness to stand behind work that makes you slightly uncomfortable. He believes creativity is a muscle. One that gets stronger the more you study great work, surround yourself with people who challenge you, and push past fear in favor of impact.

To hear more about how Paulie is building AG1 into a legacy brand, and why energy might be the most underrated KPI in marketing, listen to the full episode of CMO Weekly.

🥠 The Cookie Jar

Crack open a handful of the week’s best marketing links—because good fortune favors the curious.

• The Backstreet Boys Want It T-Mobile’s Way in This Super Bowl 60 Ad. Tell me why (ain't nothing but a data plan).

• YouTube annual revenue tops $60B as Google’s focus expands beyond ads. $60 billion later, Google's still asking if you want to try Premium.

• How Fortune Cookies Crushed Octave Therapy’s TikTok Ads In a Head-to-Head Test. Turns out the best way to crack the Philadelphia market is literally cracking something open.

• Uber Eats lets fans build their own Super Bowl ad with in-app integration. Finally, crowdsourcing that won't forget the dipping sauce.

That’s a wrap for this week’s Friday fortune.

If you enjoyed the read, pass it along to your favorite marketer who could use a little extra inspo in their inbox.

Until next time, may your marketing be memorable and your cookies always be fortunate!

— The OpenFortune team