Branding Strategies for Startups

I just read a crisis PR plan that someone paid $12,000 for. Journalists got 14 mentions. Reddit got zero. This plan was written in 2025, not 2015. Most are still museum pieces. They go deep on traditional media (which is still important) but miss the platforms where your reputation can be shredded much faster. Here's what I would've added to this strategy (ecommerce, founder-led brand big on socials): 1. LLM audit → Does your brand show up in ChatGPT responses? Citations? What's the framing like? You need a pre-crisis benchmark so you can track recovery. 2. Reddit watch list → Map your brand and category subreddits. Save them in the plan. Reddit conversations move fast and can amplify quickly - you can't afford to discover this during a crisis. 3. TikTok strategy → If your plan just says "monitor socials" it's useless. Who's watching your TikTok? Who drafts DM responses? Does your official statement go up as a video or text post? These aren't nice-to-haves anymore. 4. Influencer protocol → If you work with creators regularly, they belong in your stakeholder matrix. I've seen too many founders scramble when their usual influencer partners suddenly go quiet during a PR storm. The media landscape has REALLY shifted. Your crisis planning needs to catch up.

The Chocolate Finance fiasco should worry all startups that don’t have a comms team. Now, first, let’s be clear. A Comms executive is not a Marketing executive. They may sit under the same umbrella of Marketing but their roles couldn’t be more different. A Comms executive job is to shape narratives, manage crises, and maintain trust with stakeholders—investors, media, customers, and employees. Their job is in anticipating risks, controlling messaging, and ensuring the company’s reputation remains intact, especially when things go south. A Marketing executive, on the other hand, is focused on growth—driving sales, acquiring customers, and building brand awareness. They craft campaigns, optimise conversions, and push engagement. The difference is seen when a crisis like Chocolate Finance happens. Marketing asks, “How do we spin this?” Comms asks, “How do we contain this?” I’ve interviewed many CEOs and spoken to many business leaders. Some new, green, and accidental. Some stalwarts, veteran, and planned. Unfortunately, the lack of foresight in hiring a Comms executive is experience-agnostic. For a lot of these CEOs, their focus is on the product. So they hire engineers. They hire product teams. They hire Sales leads. Is it complacency or poor foreboding? I’m not sure. But I understand—I do. Still, that doesn’t explain the many panicked messages I get from CEOs asking me how they can comms their way out of a crisis. I do offer advice, for sure, but I should reiterate here that reputation management cannot be an afterthought. It is not something to deal with when a crisis happens. By then it’s too late to get anyone on your side. Because the terrible truth is that when your company is under duress, you tend to lose all sense of reason. Each media attack and every hurtful comment becomes personal. Suddenly it’s just you against the world. Suddenly nothing makes sense. Suddenly “For what, all this?”. And then your first response is to fight. To be defensive. To throw a tantrum. To lash out. The alternative is even worse—take flight. You stay quiet and keep your head down hoping it all goes away when you wake up in two weeks. It perhaps would but what is left in its wake is a city in rubble. A city nonetheless. But one that is in ruins. So do this. If your concern is budget, keep a freelance communication expert on retainer and utilise their services for the occasional interview here or the podcast episode there. Or when either is not scheduled, use the time to craft messaging and structures that you can reach for in duress. Too many startups think comms is a luxury, an optional hire, a nice to have after engineering, product, and sales are sorted. It’s not. It is in fact the difference between a company that weathers a storm and one that drowns in it. And as a journalist, I can assure you that the latter always makes for better fodder.

This young brand, JACQUEMUS, stole the spotlight from giants like Gucci, CHANEL, and did €200+ million in revenue (The Business of Fashion). Let me tell you how. The world of fashion is a battlefield. It's dominated by established giants like Gucci, Chanel and more. But here's a surprising twist: a young brand called Jacquemus has managed to upstage them. So, how did this upstart disrupt the industry? Let's delve into the secrets behind Jacquemus' success – a strategy built on unexpected marketing. This is what the other brands did not do: 📍 Ditch the predictable: Not following the same social media playbook, Jacquemus created viral AI-generated imagery and design shops. This encouraged user-generated content on Instagram and more. They understand the power of unexpectedness, sparking conversations and excitement around their brand. 📍 Unconventional locations: Runway shows in lavender fields were unheard of before Jacquemus. The brand owns unexpected locations, making their brand synonymous with "Instagram material." Their choice of venue goes beyond just a backdrop; it becomes an integral part of the story they're telling with each collection. 📍 Unique product mix: Jacquemus prioritizes quality and differentiation over chasing trends. Think tiny bags and oversized straw hats – these are conversation starters! They offer pieces designed to make a statement. They understand that unique products can be staples in a world saturated with fast fashion. 📍 Strategic collaborations: By partnering with Nike, celebrities, and influencers, they expand their reach while staying independent. Jacquemus carefully selects partners that align with their brand image and values. These collaborations introduce the brand to new audiences while preserving their creative freedom and unique identity. The takeaway here is: Be bold. Be creative. Focus on being memorable and resonate with your audience. Jacquemus is like a masterclass in how even a young brand can disrupt the status quo and achieve breakout success. #fashion #brands #brandstrategy #success

In 2023, we re-designed 30+ websites for new businesses. The challenge – - brand identity is WIP - model photoshoots are on the way - which USPs work is yet to be discovered In this post, using Silk Jewels as an example, I'll share 7 ways you can solve these common concerns and boost your new website's conversion rate. 1. Offer up to 20% discount to acquire new users. Make sure you mention an 'end date' to your sale. That creates urgency and can evoke action. 2. Put your most elegant image forward. Make sure it's high resolution. Consider adding a badge 'Most loved', or 'Best-seller' to build some social proof. You can also highlight the key product USP in the image. 3. Add a review rating if you don't have a review count. This can build trust in the first fold. Meanwhile, continue to collect reviews with every purchase. 4. Highlight the main feature and what differentiates your product. This is the most important content piece. A/B test and see which messaging works best for you. 5. Make sure the size selection is extremely simple to do. The size options should be easy to click. Add a size guide to help anyone who's not sure about their size. 6. If you have a generous delivery period (1-3 days), highlight that close to the add to cart. You can also mention other service USPs like free shipping, COD available, and exchange policy. 7. Talk about your brand - where the product is made/designed, authenticity, and your warranty (applicable for a few industries like jewelry, gadgets). Bonus tip: Make sure your design language (the fonts, colors, icons) is similar to your packaging. This create a consistent brand experience. One brand that does this quite well is Perfora. Found this helpful? Let me know in the comments! P.S. Which of these strategies do you find most effective? What other challenges do you face as a new brand?

From Employable to Preferred: How Do You Build a Brand People Choose—Again and Again? We often talk about building “employable” brands — ones that attract talent and opportunity. But in today’s world, that’s not enough. The real question is: ✔️ Would people choose to work with you again? Not just candidates. Not just customers. But employees, partners, collaborators — anyone who interacts with your brand. This is where the concept of brand preference comes in. It’s what sets companies like Tata Group, Google, Infosys apart. Their success isn’t just what they do — it’s how they do it. ↳ Their purpose is clear. ↳ Their teams are proud. ↳ And that pride builds trust, loyalty, and advocacy — on repeat. So how do we build that kind of brand? ☑️Lead with authenticity. Live your values loudly and consistently. ☑️Invest in your people. Empower growth beyond KPIs. ☑️Focus on how people feel. Every touchpoint counts. ☑️Communicate openly. Transparency breeds trust. ☑️Deliver inside-out. Happy teams → Happy customers → Loyal communities. This mindset is central to how I’m building The Wisdom Club — a senior living space designed not as a facility, but as a purpose-driven community. Built as a tribute to my parents, it’s a space that aims to feel like home. For the residents. For the team. And for every partner who works with us. Because when you build with heart, people don’t just engage — they  choose you. They stay. They advocate. They help you grow. That’s the real brand edge. 📌I’d love to hear from you: What makes you prefer a brand — to work for, to buy from, or to recommend? Let’s start a conversation about the 'How' behind the choice. ♻️Repost to spread the message. #BrandBuilding #Leadership #CultureMatters #TheWisdomClub #PeopleFirst #SeniorLiving #WorkplaceCulture #EmployerBrand

Global employee engagement just dropped to 21%. Leadership teams are asking a more urgent question: Why aren’t the best people choosing us? Most companies respond the same way. They refine the careers page. They update the values. They launch an internal brand campaign. And still, the talent they want goes elsewhere. Because top talent isn’t persuaded by messaging. They’re pulled by meaning. In 1878, George Cadbury had a choice about how to grow his company. He could have expanded his factory like everyone else. Instead, he built Bournville. A place designed around a better way to live and work. Not a campaign, or a careers page. An environment. He didn’t ask people to adopt values. He built a world where those values were real. That’s the shift most companies haven’t made yet. They are still trying to tell people what the culture is. The companies winning talent are building brands that make culture unmistakable. A clear point of view. An idea of the future. A level of ambition people want to be part of. Because the smartest people are not just looking for perks. They’re looking for a place that sharpens them. Challenges them. Expands what they’re capable of. This is where Motto does some of our best work. We approach employer branding as part of the brand itself. We help companies define a single, clear Idea Worth Rallying Around®. Not a collection of values or a vague mission. An idea with gravity. The kind that attracts people who want to do meaningful work and filters out those who don’t. Then we build the brand around it so it shows up everywhere talent looks. ↪ What you say. ↪ What you ship. ↪ How you operate. So when the right people encounter your company, the decision is already made. “This is the company I want to build with.” Because employer branding is not a layer on top of the business. It is the signal your entire company sends about what it stands for and who it’s built for. Motto®

Ramp is running one of the most interesting brand strategies in B2B SaaS right now ...bc they're effectively running three playbooks at once: 1) Entertainment. They put Brian Baumgartner (Kevin from The Office) in a glass box in Manhattan doing expense reports by hand for six hours while Ramp's software processed receipts automatically beside him. 112 million views. Their creative team came from the MrBeast and creator world, not traditional B2B marketing. It shows. 2) Proprietary data. Their lead economist publishes spending insights so valuable that the The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, Bloomberg, and NPR cite Ramp as a primary source. A B2B finance company's in-house economist became a go-to for the world's most influential financial media. 3) Product positioning. CEO Eric Glyman identified a structural misalignment in corporate cards, issuers made money when you spent more, so they'd never help you spend less. Ramp flipped that. Every campaign, activation, and data point reinforces this same story. The part that's hard to replicate isn't any single tactic. It's the system underneath. The Super Bowl ad started conversations. The glass box gave people something to share. The data publishing converted that attention into credibility with the exact buyers they want. And the product turned curious trialists into advocates. Each layer made the next one more effective. Three takeaways for any B2B team: → Your creative ceiling is determined by who you hire. If everyone on your marketing team has only worked in B2B, the output will look like everyone else's. → Every SaaS company sits on data the market can't get elsewhere. Publish it and you become an authority. Keep it locked inside and you stay a vendor. → Speed creates the impression of momentum and momentum attracts customers, talent, and media in ways no single campaign can. An expense management company that makes you laugh, makes you smarter, and makes your finance team faster. That shouldn't work in B2B. The fact that it does tells you everything. Full breakdown on State of Brand here https://lnkd.in/gJ7jHfur

We all want to hire the best people - but a mistake so many founders make is ignoring step 1: Build a talent magnet 🧲 Psychometric testing, blind referencing, task-based assignments and culture-fit interviews - all great tools for selecting talent... But if your top of funnel is only 50 candidates per role - you're better off investing time in building the top of funnel rather than selection. At my first company we built a talent magnet that attracted 2,000 candidates per role (pre AI applications). Here are the core steps to building top of funnel in hiring: 1. Define your culture - ensure it is authentic and 'controversial' 2. Craft your employer brand - the reasons people enjoy working at your company (beyond your culture) - eg at sequel those might be working with the world's best athletes on a daily basis, funding pioneering founders, a 'dope' office with a roof terrace & plenty of socialising space, an experienced team with multiple exits 3. Pick your benefits carefully - you are what you attract - at sequel we offer a learning budget, free gym membership, private healthcare, a generous parental policy and proactive wellness screenings - therefore we have healthy team members with a hunger to learn and who want to have families one day 4. Talk about the above publicly - post on LinkedIn, attend events, talk to the press, apply for awards 5. Craft job descriptions optimising for top-of-funnel - remove barriers like requirements for certain levels of education, include wide salary ranges (and pick the range carefully), offer equity if you can, link to other resources to help people learn about your brand (eg we have a team video on our website) 6. Use an ATS & post widely to job boards - we use Workable and post to 20+ job boards for every role 7. Host events - hackathons are a great way to build relationships with engineering and product talent and spend extended period of time seeing how they work 8. Outbound - do not just rely on inbound - create an ideal candidate profile with a detailed dream job history - and start pro-actively reaching out to people who fit the profile Focus on attraction before you invest time in selection. It's a bit like dating... Any other tips for building a magnet for talent?

Number 1 strategy to be a top 1% Google Ads media buyer for a fashion brand. To operate as a top 1% media buyer for a fashion brand, the priority is to maximise ROAS and ensure efficient stock turnover through smart segmentation and investment. Your product inventory needs to be segmented into four strategic classes using critical commercial and performance metrics to align advertising with real business results. 🔹 Class A – Hero Products (Core Performers) 🔸 Characteristics: High conversion rates (>3.5%) Low return rates (<15%) Strong profit margins Healthy size curve (good availability in key sizes, e.g. S–M–L) Efficient clicks-to-convert ratio High full-price sell-through Low to moderate CPCs Evergreen or long-season items 🔸 Campaign Strategy: Aggressive bidding strategies (target ROAS or enhanced CPC) Full-funnel coverage, including remarketing Product-led Performance Max campaigns Largest share of budget (~40–50%) 🔸 Objective: Drive consistent revenue and profit. These are reliable performers that justify ongoing investment. 🔹 Class B – Potential Winners (Emerging or Trend-Driven) 🔸 Characteristics: Moderate to high conversion rates (2.5–3.5%) Acceptable return rates (15–20%) Good margins Balanced size availability Moderate CPCs Trend-sensitive or newly launched Medium seasonality 🔸 Campaign Strategy: Mid-level Performance Max or Standard Shopping Dynamic Search Ads (DSA) with structured targeting Test-and-learn budget approach with phased scaling Share of budget: 25–30% 🔸 Objective: Identify and nurture potential high-performers. Invest based on traction and customer signals. 🔹 Class C – Clearance / High-Risk Stock 🔸 Characteristics: Low conversion rates (<2%) High return rates (>20%) Low margins Broken size curves (limited in popular sizes) High CPCs Outdated or short lifecycle 🔸 Campaign Strategy: Clearance-specific campaigns Include sale messaging in titles (e.g. “Final Sale”) Manual CPC with focused negative keywords Target only lower-funnel / remarketing Share of budget: 10–15% 🔸 Objective: Clear old or underperforming stock with minimal ad waste. Focus on efficiency, not profit. 🔹 Class D – Brand Builders / High AOV, Low Volume 🔸 Characteristics: High AOV (Average Order Value) but low conversion rates Premium or luxury positioning Low sales volume but high brand impact Good margins Typically more expensive to advertise Used in brand storytelling or editorial content 🔸 Campaign Strategy: Asset-rich Performance Max campaigns Upsell and cross-sell strategies post-purchase Share of budget: 10–15% 🔸 Objective: Build brand equity and attract high-value traffic. These items often drive halo effects. This should be dynamically updating everyday for you. What’s your strategy when it comes to Google Ads? Please don’t tell me you allow Google to decide 🤪

To build emotional resonance, you need to connect with your audience on a personal level—and that starts with knowing them deeply. This goes beyond basic demographics like age, location, or income. Emotional connection happens when you understand their values, fears, and motivations. → Start by observing conversations in your niche. Look at social media comments, forums, or community spaces where your audience hangs out. → Pay attention to the language they use—what words and phrases pop up often? These conversations provide clues about their emotional triggers and concerns, which you can reflect in your messaging. → Conduct open-ended surveys that ask “why” questions rather than just “what” questions. For example, instead of asking which features they like, ask why those features matter to them. This reveals the emotions behind their preferences, helping you create messages that align with their deeper needs. → Lean into behavioral data. What content do they engage with the most? Which emails get opened and which links get clicked? Patterns in behavior tell a story—identify what topics capture their interest and shape future content around those insights. → Build personas that reflect real challenges and aspirations. Instead of general personas, create living profiles that evolve as you learn more about your audience. Use specific examples or anecdotes that help your team see the audience as individuals, not just statistics. → Most importantly, listen without assumptions. Don’t assume you know what your audience wants—stay curious, ask questions, and let their responses shape your strategy. When your audience feels understood, your content naturally becomes more engaging and emotionally resonant. Knowing your audience deeply means being present in their world. When you tap into their motivations and speak directly to their fears and aspirations, your message cuts through the noise and builds meaningful, lasting connections. #storytelling #marketing #customermarketing