Saved by Muhammad Ibrahim
part I: discovery-led brand growth
If you’re working with start-up budgets and you’re not buying media, the glossy “big campaign” really has nowhere to live but your homepage and social, ditch the shoot in Portugal and instead focus on capturing social first content that’s curated. Give your channels a point of view and a repeated format - make the style instantly recognisable -... See more
holly chapman • part I: discovery-led brand growth
art direction as a DBA
Focus on discovery
When you can’t be everywhere, optimise for discovery — you want to be the brand people talk about in the group chat, bring up at dinner or the one friends say is doing interesting things. Oversaturated and everywhere feels tired and a bit desperate. Small, thoughtful and considered feels fresh and cool. People share brands that... See more
When you can’t be everywhere, optimise for discovery — you want to be the brand people talk about in the group chat, bring up at dinner or the one friends say is doing interesting things. Oversaturated and everywhere feels tired and a bit desperate. Small, thoughtful and considered feels fresh and cool. People share brands that... See more
holly chapman • part I: discovery-led brand growth
Talk-ability
Be unscalable by design
If you can’t outspend, out-care. Do what bigger brands won’t: a handwritten note in early orders, offer a small extra that is genuinely cool, a human check-in after delivery, host get-togethers that facilitate connection. It’s high effort, low cost, but it sticks. When everyone else is papering a city with billboards,... See more
If you can’t outspend, out-care. Do what bigger brands won’t: a handwritten note in early orders, offer a small extra that is genuinely cool, a human check-in after delivery, host get-togethers that facilitate connection. It’s high effort, low cost, but it sticks. When everyone else is papering a city with billboards,... See more
holly chapman • part I: discovery-led brand growth
Noticeability
If you can’t outspend, out-care.
holly chapman • part I: discovery-led brand growth
Michael Scott could’ve said this line
The most effective brands on a budget trade reach for resonance—and let discovery do the work. While I’ll always advocate for investing in brand, when budgets are lean, it’s about being intentional—be unforgettable somewhere specific, and craft details that draw attention in quieter, smarter ways. Intimacy scales more slowly than paid, and that’s... See more
holly chapman • part I: discovery-led brand growth
trade reach for resonance? i’d love to see some case studies where this ends well. reach is still important for sure, but maybe because small brands can’t get a lot of it there maybe something more useful for them. will this be resonance? deserves deeper exploration…