Living in The Era of Mass/Miss Personalization

What happens when we try to automate connection

We’re all trying to connect more… faster, broader, louder. But what happens when the tools built to scale connection start breaking it instead?

We work in marketing, so we see a lot of pitches. Cold emails promising better SEO, stronger branding, game-changing lead gen tactics… You name it, it’s hit our inbox.

Sometimes they’re thoughtful. Sometimes they’re pushy.

And sometimes… they forget to replace the bracketed text.

 

 

One email even opened with:

“I enjoyed seeing HEROFarm’s recent branding work for [mention a client or project you saw on their website or LinkedIn] – truly impactful storytelling!”

We appreciated the compliment. It’s a shame it came with instructions.

But if you’re going to show up in someone’s inbox, especially a marketing team’s, bring a little more care with you. Because if your first impression says, “I don’t really know you,” you’ve already told us everything.

We explored this more in our last post on why people don’t trust marketers. Spoiler: shortcuts don’t build trust.

Lazy Outreach is Easy to Spot

These templated intros and blank-fill greetings aren’t just awkward. They’re lazy. And people can tell.

That goes for everything from job applications and sales pitches to fundraising appeals and networking emails. The moment it feels like you’re just copying and pasting your way through a list, the trust breaks before it even begins.

And it’s not rare. According to Search Engine Journal, 73% of marketers are already using generative AI to create content and personalize outreach. But “personalized” doesn’t always mean personal.

These kinds of “insert-name-here” moments are some of the most common personalization mistakes marketers make, especially when automation leads and intention gets left behind.

We don’t do fill-in-the-blank relationships. We do thoughtful strategy. Honest storytelling. Actual listening.

It’s not about being perfect. It’s about being real.

 

What We Believe at HEROfarm

At HEROFarm, we believe in doing great work for good people. That means more than clever campaigns and creative copy. It means giving a damn. About our clients. Their audiences. And the way they’re introduced to each other.

Because whether you’re emailing a potential customer, applying for a job, or just trying to connect, people can always tell when you didn’t mean it.

Real gets noticed. So does lazy.

Personalization isn’t going away, it’s evolving. As McKinsey points out, the next frontier in marketing will depend not just on smarter tools, particularly AI, but on how thoughtfully we use them.