Brand Development Stages

How Brands Grow is one of the most quoted books in marketing But what worries me is seeing a lot of early stage consumer founders and VCs getting  influenced too much by it Byron Sharp’s core message is simple: - Mental and physical availability drive growth - Mass marketing > targeting - Light buyers matter more than heavy ones - Loyalty is overrated - Reach matters more than frequency All useful principles—if you're a scaled brand with ₹1000 crore+ in revenue, national distribution, and years of brand equity But if you're a new-age Indian brand doing under ₹100 crore with limited pull—this is the wrong playbook 1. “Target everyone” doesn’t work when you're starting from zero Byron says: go broad. Don’t over-target. But early-stage brands don’t have the money to do that You don’t even know who your best customers are yet. You haven’t earned the right to be broad When you're building from scratch, you must: - Focus on 1–2 cities - Target narrow, high-intent cohorts - Double down on what converts and repeats Depth first. Width later 2. Physical availability is not about being everywhere Yes, consumers should find you easily. But for early-stage Indian brands, “being everywhere” in General Trade or even all SKUs in all ecom/qcom channels often leads to inventory dumps, not sales. GT works only when: - You already have pull in that market - Retailers have seen demand or branded search Without that, it’s just placement without movement. And it breaks working capital 3. Light buyers won’t build your business Byron’s data says light buyers drive brand growth. But for early-stage brands, repeat cohorts are the difference between life and death M1 and M3 repeats aren’t vanity—they're your CAC payback and early signs of brand strength. 4. Mental availability isn’t media spends Yes, people need to know you exist before they buy. But most early-stage media spends don’t build mental availability. They build temporary vanity. Mental availability in early stage brands is earned through: - Strong point of purchase presemce - Great service leading to word of mouth - Delivering a product that over-delivers on value Early stage brands don't buy mental availability. You build it. 5. Brand vs performance is a false binary All communication builds brand. At early scale, you need benefit-first, geography-targeted, performance campaigns that seed pull across D2C, marketplaces and offline How Brands Grow is a good book. But it’s not how brands are built from 0 to 100 cr or even 500 cr It's how brands scale after they've cracked product-market-channel fit. If you’re under 100 cr and chasing Byron’s rules, you’re skipping the unskippable Don’t confuse someone else’s endgame for your opening moves.

Brand conversations, especially in earlier-stage B2B organizations, get stuck when we treat “brand” as a fuzzy idea instead of a measurable driver of pipeline. We covered brand and demand, working together, in last week's CMO Coffee Talk sessions. And we asked each attendee to share how they are measuring brand strength and impact today. Out of hundreds of responses, here's what stood out. What CMOs are primarily measuring: 🔥 Awareness (aided/unaided) and branded search volume as leading indicators 🔥 Consideration/shortlist rates and first-page SEO/AEO visibility 🔥 Perception/sentiment, PR reach, review-site ratings and analyst recognition 🔥 Supplementary signals: NPS/CSAT, eNPS, and % of TAM reached/engaged How leaders frame “brand” internally: Many avoid the word altogether and talk about awareness, reputation and future pipeline/early demand indicators. This focuses more on the "job to be done" and helps connect the dots to revenue. Programs most tied to measurable lift: ➕ Consistent winners were content/PR & thought leadership, Share of Search/SEO/GEO programs, events & sponsorships/keynotes, and customer advocacy initiatives. ➕ Several leaders emphasized brand-exposed cohort analysis over last-click attribution to show lift in conversion, win rate, and sales-cycle time. A few practical brand KPIs CMOs are pivoting to this quarter and into 2026: 🧮 Market indicators: Share of Search; branded search & direct visits; aided/unaided awareness; consideration/shortlist 🧮 Trust & authority: sentiment/attributes; analyst placement; review-site ratings; NPS/CSAT; eNPS 🧮 Pipeline linkage: cohort-based lifts for brand-exposed audiences (opportunity creation, win rate, cycle time) TL:DR: If you’re fighting for "brand" budget, lead with the market indicators and tie them to cohort-level pipeline outcomes (including top of funnel interest/awareness indicators). This creates a straight line from “brand work” to business impact without pretending every dollar should show up in last-touch.

So you want to do brand advertising to increase awareness and consideration... what's the best way? Turns out 81% of B2B video ads are burning your budget. Zero brand recall. That's what happened when researchers tracked 770 professionals watching 109 real LinkedIn video ads in a lab setting. The reality? Your ad stays in feed for 12.3 seconds, but gets looked at for only 3.7 seconds — in short micro-bursts, not continuous attention. Here's what actually works (backed by 350 hours of eye-tracking and neurometric data): • Brand in the FIRST SECOND. The first 4 seconds determine everything, but cognitive load peaks immediately. After that window closes, the brain checks out. • Keep logo on screen at all times. Let there be no confusion who the advertiser it. • Repeat your brand name 3+ times. This lifted correct brand ID from 32% to 48% with NO drop in likeability. • Keep videos under 10 seconds. Shorter spots generated higher recognition than 18+ second ones. Extra seconds dilute rather than deepen. • Your brand color isn't enough. Dell's signature blue triggered Microsoft recall twice as often as Dell. Cloudflare's orange cued Amazon more than Cloudflare. • Sound matters more than you think. Only 8% of sessions were sound-on, yet those moments produced the sharpest spikes in neurometric engagement. The most counterintuitive finding? "Over-branding" doesn't exist. More branding actually RAISED likeability scores (5.5 vs 4.9) while cementing brand recall. Don't overthink this. Brand early. Brand often. Keep it short. Add a sonic cue.

A soap launched in 1986 with ₹60 crore in its first decade just crossed ₹2,850 crore. 𝗛𝗲𝗿𝗲'𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘀𝘁𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗴𝘆 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗯𝘂𝗶𝗹𝘁 𝗜𝗻𝗱𝗶𝗮'𝘀 𝗺𝗼𝘀𝘁 𝗿𝗲𝗺𝗮𝗿𝗸𝗮𝗯𝗹𝗲 𝗙𝗠𝗖𝗚 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗲𝗯𝗮𝗰𝗸. Santoor didn't outspend Lifebuoy. They outsmarted it. In a category dominated by legacy giants with decades of brand equity, Santoor chose a different playbook, and it's one every founder building against a bigger competitor needs to study. 𝟬𝟭. 𝗣𝗶𝗰𝗸 𝗱𝗲𝗽𝘁𝗵 𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗿 𝗯𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗱𝘁𝗵 Instead of spreading thin across India, Santoor went deep into Andhra Pradesh first. Built dominance. Then moved state by state – Telangana, Karnataka, Maharashtra, Gujarat. By 2009, they were the largest soap brand across South and West India. → Don't try to win everywhere at once. Identify one geography or segment where you can become undeniable. Win it completely. Then expand. Depth builds a moat. Breadth builds exposure. 𝟬𝟮. 𝗕𝗲𝗻𝗲𝗳𝗶𝘁 𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗿 𝗶𝗻𝗴𝗿𝗲𝗱𝗶𝗲𝗻𝘁 Santoor started as a sandalwood-turmeric soap – an ingredient story. Then they repositioned around one powerful benefit: younger-looking skin. That one shift changed everything. → Ask yourself honestly – are you selling what your product is, or what it does for the customer? Features attract attention. Benefits build loyalty. Repositioning from ingredient to outcome is often the highest-leverage brand move a founder can make. 𝟬𝟯. 𝗦𝘁𝗮𝘆 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝘀𝗶𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗹𝗼𝗻𝗴 𝗲𝗻𝗼𝘂𝗴𝗵 𝘁𝗼 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗽𝗼𝘂𝗻𝗱 The "Santoor Mom" campaign ran for decades – same theme, evolving story. No reinvention every year. No chasing trends. Just disciplined consistency until it became cultural memory. → Most founders change their brand positioning too early because they're bored of it. Your customer hasn't seen it 1000 times like you have. Pick a positioning that's true and stay with it long enough to compound. ₹60 crore to ₹2,850 crore. One brand. Four decades. No shortcuts. That's what patient brand building looks like. #santoor #fmcg #brandstrategy #founders #business

Luxury and Culture: A Global Conversation Luxury is universal, but its meaning is profoundly cultural. The way people perceive and consume luxury is never neutral. It is shaped by their history, beliefs, and collective values. What inspires desire in one country may leave another completely indifferent. In India, luxury often resonates with spirituality, craftsmanship, and tradition. A jewel or textile carries the memory of sacred rituals and artisanal lineage. In Russia, luxury expresses power, heritage, and social recognition. It must be visible, tangible, and grand, a demonstration of personal achievement. In Dubai, it is a social code, a language of belonging that celebrates success and abundance. In Japan, luxury is silent. It is found in perfection, detail, and discretion, where beauty lies in mastery rather than excess. For brands, understanding these differences is not optional. It determines whether they are perceived as authentic or as outsiders. Yet, the goal is not to imitate local cultures but to interpret them with sensitivity, while remaining faithful to the brand’s own identity. True luxury adapts its gestures, not its soul. The most successful brands are those that know how to read a culture before speaking to it. Hermès in Japan is not the same as Hermès in Brazil. Both share the same identity, yet the experience, tone, and rituals differ profoundly. CHANEL’s art exhibitions in China, Christian Dior Couture’s Indian-inspired couture, or Louis Vuitton’s architectural boutiques in Seoul are all forms of dialogue, acts of respect that acknowledge local values while reaffirming global excellence. In an increasingly interconnected world, cultural literacy has become one of the rarest and most valuable assets in luxury management. It is what allows a brand to be understood everywhere without becoming banal. If your brand or institution wishes to strengthen its cultural understanding of global luxury markets, I can help you decode these nuances, train your teams, and design strategies that speak the language of each client without losing the essence of who you are. #LuxuryStrategy #LuxuryConsulting #CulturalIntelligence #LuxuryCulture #LuxuryMarketing #GlobalLuxury #HNWI #LuxuryEducation #LuxuryBrands #LuxuryClients

companies shouldnt wait until they're "big enough" to start building their brand. here's the thing: your brand isn't your logo or your colour palette —> it's the mental shortcuts people create about your product and company. and those shortcuts start forming from day one. three brand marketing tactics that actually work for early-stage companies: 𝟭/ 𝗼𝘄𝗻 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗰𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗴𝗼𝗿𝘆 𝗽𝗼𝘀𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗲𝗮𝗿𝗹𝘆 𝟮/ 𝗯𝘂𝗶𝗹𝗱 𝗶𝗻 𝗽𝘂𝗯𝗹𝗶𝗰 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝘀𝗶𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗹𝘆 𝟯/ 𝗳𝗼𝗰𝘂𝘀 𝗼𝗻 𝗱𝗶𝗿𝗲𝗰𝘁 𝘁𝗿𝗮𝗳𝗳𝗶𝗰 𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗿 𝘃𝗮𝗻𝗶𝘁𝘆 𝗺𝗲𝘁𝗿𝗶𝗰𝘀 === 1/ 𝗼𝘄𝗻 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗰𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗴𝗼𝗿𝘆 𝗽𝗼𝘀𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗲𝗮𝗿𝗹𝘆 don't try to be everything to everyone. pick your lane and dominate it in your messaging. example: when slack launched, they owned "team collaboration platform", a specific category that positioned them as the solution for workplace communication, not just another chat or messaging app. 2/ 𝗯𝘂𝗶𝗹𝗱 𝗶𝗻 𝗽𝘂𝗯𝗹𝗶𝗰 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝘀𝗶𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗹𝘆 it is 2025 with so much content out there, but create content that only you have. your audience wants to see the journey, not just the destination. share wins, losses, and learnings. example: buffer built their entire brand by being transparent about everything — from their revenue dashboard to their salary formula. this transparency became their differentiation and built massive trust before they had massive budgets. 3/ 𝗳𝗼𝗰𝘂𝘀 𝗼𝗻 𝗱𝗶𝗿𝗲𝗰𝘁 𝘁𝗿𝗮𝗳𝗳𝗶𝗰 𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗿 𝘃𝗮𝗻𝗶𝘁𝘆 𝗺𝗲𝘁𝗿𝗶𝗰𝘀 here's a simple brand health check: look at your direct traffic and branded search volume in google analytics. if people are typing your company name directly into their browser or searching specifically for you, that's genuine brand equity. it means you've created mental availability. example: mailchimp built massive direct traffic by becoming the go-to resource for small business marketing education. their guides, templates, and educational content meant people visited their homepage for marketing advice first, email tool second. this content-first approach drove direct brand searches and made them synonymous with "email marketing for small business." === the magic happens when people think of your category and your company name pops into their head first. that mental shortcut it starts small but compounds over time. what's one way you're building brand equity at your early-stage company?

“Marketing used to be seen as order takers,” explained the CMO from a $190m services firm, “but after several years, we’re now seen as business drivers.” Several years! And that’s your internal audience. Imagine how long it takes to change external perceptions. Like it or not, marketing leaders must devote time to marketing their marketing. Not once at an “all hands” town hall. Not twice via follow-up emails. Relentlessly. Fearlessly. Consistently. Across all possible channels. Personally. And via surrogates. Why is this so important? Marketing often gets a bad rap in the C-suite which trickles down to disrespect across the org. Disrespect that manifests as unsolicited advice on all aspects of marketing. Advice that can derail your well-conceived plan especially if it is centered on tactics.  Marketing is not a snowball fight. You can’t just gather your ammunition, and hurl it at your target one toss at a time. Well, you can try. But that approach inevitably fails to leave a lasting impression. Instead, think of marketing as the ball of snow rolling down a mountain, gathering girth and speed (i.e. force = mass x acceleration). Marketing is the cumulative impact of all your activities over time – starting with your internal audience. Here are several sure-fire ways of marketing your marketing internally: 🐧 Involve employees in your repositioning work. 🐧 Field and share quarterly employee surveys 🐧 Own and indoctrinate BDRs 🐧 Help employees build their personal brands 🐧 Orchestrate innovation days 🐧 Create an entertaining “this week in marketing” update Involve employees: If you expect employees to believe in the brand, make them part of the process from Day 1. Keep them updated throughout the process. Before launching publicly, create a brand certification program (easily done now with GenAI) that all employees must pass. Quarterly surveys: Don’t leave this to HR. Surveying is too important. Measure eNPS. Ask if they are proud to work for your company. Include at least 2 open-ended questions. [I’m happy to share a sample survey] Indoctrinate BDRs: Half the CMOs in CMO Huddles “own” BDRs. Ensuring that Marketing delivers qualified opportunities to Sales, BDRs also become marketing evangelists once they move up and around the org. Enable personal branding: Employees are “free” brand ambassadors and can be awesome advocates if properly trained. By teaching employees how to build their personal brands, you’re helping their careers and your company. Orchestrate innovation days: Ask your employees to work together in small teams to develop innovative solutions to your biggest challenges in one day. Have a panel of judges. Offer prizes. Implement winning ideas. Count the smiles. Update weekly: A pithy yet entertaining weekly update will educate employees on how Marketing is helping to drive the business. After a few weeks, employees will look forward to your reports.    What’s your approach to marketing the marketing?

Logos don’t move markets. Big ideas do. Design works better when it reinforces something bigger, an idea people already believe in and are ready to champion. When we rebranded a legacy watch brand, we didn’t start with the identity. We began by finding their Idea Worth Rallying Around®. That idea became 'Love Every Second.' And it turned a 50-year-old company’s first rebrand into a revenue driver. How the right big idea changes everything: → The discovery was in the culture Through audits, competitor analysis, and stakeholder interviews, we uncovered something interesting: Armitron’s team didn’t see time as a measurement but as a tapestry of memories, experiences, and emotions. → The idea had to bridge generations Armitron thrived for 50 years with Boomers and Gen X. But they needed Millennials and Gen Z. We needed to honor heritage while speaking a new language. Love Every Second worked because it resonated with a 60-year-old remembering their first watch and a 25-year-old documenting life on Instagram. → Words came before visuals We built voice pillars—Positive, Human, Partnering. That verbal foundation guided every decision: ↳ A logo that nodded to 1975 while feeling fresh. ↳ Photography that celebrated moments over mechanisms. → The idea inspired the organization Their CMO said: “Love Every Second isn’t just a tagline; it’s our internal north star now.” Teams used it in meetings. Customer service adopted it. Product development referenced it. You know you’ve found the right idea when it’s championed across the organization. → Results proved the strategy ↳ DTC revenue grew significantly ↳ Successfully reached Gen Z buyers ↳ Team alignment improved ↳ First rebrand in 50 years positioned them for the next 50 Here's what most rebrands get wrong: ↳ They start with what looks cool instead of what drives business. ↳ They brainstorm taglines instead of anchoring to a deeper truth. ↳ They change the surface without capturing the spirit. Your brand either reinforces your market position or undermines it. The difference? Start with an idea your people love, and your audience will champion.

From Globalization to “GLOCALIZATION” and how beauty brands are turning this into profits. Why is local culture going viral in the global beauty market? For decades, beauty branding aimed for universality, clean, minimal, borderless aesthetics designed to appeal to everyone. Today, the opposite is happening: hyper-local culture is becoming globally desirable. >Sociological drivers → Identity in a fragmented world People now value roots over reach, where cultural specificity signals depth, authenticity, and humanity. At the same time, social media amplifies niche cultures, turning local rituals into global trends and proving that the more local something is, the more it can resonate worldwide. In this context, culturally rich brands act as social currency, helping consumers express identity, taste, and discovery. >Psychological drivers → Why local feels better Consumers use mental shortcuts to judge trust, and “local” signals authenticity through craft, heritage, transparency, and care. It also balances novelty and familiarity, exotic yet understandable, especially in beauty through regional ingredients and modernized rituals. Finally, local narratives create emotional anchoring, as stories are remembered more than features. >Behavioral drivers → Why it spreads Local culture spreads because it is built for sharing, discovery, and habit formation. Discovery culture adds momentum, as finding niche brands or traditional ingredients creates insider status and fuels word-of-mouth. Finally, embedded rituals and multi-step routines deepen engagement, increase perceived value, and turn products into lasting habits. >>10 steps to translating insight into strategy<< 1.-Move to authority by grounding the brand in a real place or tradition 2.-Showcase real people, craftsmanship, and processes 3.-Build a strong cultural manifesto with local collaboration 4.-Add subtle native language and cultural cues 5.-Turn culture into product performance, not just storytelling 6.-Use heritage ingredients with proven efficacy 7.-Reframe rituals into simple, modern skincare routines 8.-Encode culture in packaging through abstraction over literal imagery 9.-Use authentic design systems (color, texture, typography) 10.-Avoid clichés, stereotypes, and overly “touristic” aesthetics Culture as a competitive advantage Local culture is going viral because it fulfills deep needs for identity, authenticity, discovery, and connection. In beauty, this is a chance to move beyond surface differentiation and build meaningful, defensible brands rooted in real cultural narratives. The future won’t belong to brands that look global, but to those that feel real, and real always comes from somewhere specific. Featured brands: Alima Pure Cocoon Apothecary Dr. Alkaitis Herbivore Botanicals Inika Organic Juvia’s Place Kora Organics L:A Bruket Sol de Janeiro Tata Harper Viori #beautybusiness #beautyprofessionals #marketingprofessionals #localitzation #glocalitzation #genZ

One Brand. Many Personalities. The Secret to Winning Growth Markets. For decades, #marketers were told: Be consistent. Be one brand. Everywhere. But here’s the uncomfortable truth—the brands growing fastest in 2025 are not one-dimensional. They’re shapeshifters. Why This Matters: In India, a brand might be playful in Mumbai, aspirational in Delhi, and family-centric in Jaipur—because each city has a different cultural pulse. In China, the same brand might emphasise technology and status, while in Vietnam it leans on affordability and practicality. In the US, a campaign that’s bold and individualistic in New York might need to be community-driven in Texas. In the UK, heritage and trust matter; in Singapore, speed and innovation drive decisions; and in the Middle East, luxury cues are non-negotiable for premium buyers. Data backs this up: ✅ 21–30% higher ad recall for brands that adapt tone, visuals, and offers to match local culture—because familiarity drives faster cognitive connection. ✅ 2.2x higher engagement on social media when campaigns use localised language, creators, and cultural cues. ✅ 15–25% better conversion rates when brands customise CTAs, pricing, and product mix for regional and demographic segments. ✅ 32% lower customer acquisition cost (CAC) observed in multi-variant campaigns that speak to micro-audiences instead of one-size-fits-all messaging. ✅ 3x higher repeat purchase rates in markets where brands embed local festivals, rituals, and emotions into their brand calendar. ✅ Up to 40% lower media wastage when brands run city-level campaigns vs. generic national blasts, as targeting relevance increases. This isn’t about being inconsistent. It’s about holding on to one core brand promise and letting it express itself differently for each audience. McDonald's’s nails it—Maharaja Macs in India, Kimchi Burgers in Korea, all-day breakfast in the US—always staying true to “simple, feel-good moments.” Apple anchors itself in creativity but speaks precision in Japan and celebrates colour in Brazil. Nike’s “Just Do It” empowers women in India, fuels social change in Europe, and celebrates individual wins in the US. At Fox&Angel and Apppl Combine – AI, Marketing & Advertising Agency, we help brands do the same—crafting multi-persona playbooks that keep you relevant in Bangalore and Boston, Singapore and San Francisco, without losing your core. Because in 2025, growth won’t come from one rigid personality— It will come from a brand that flexes, adapts, and shows the right face to the right audience at the right moment. Drop a DM to master this art in practice Raashi R Daas Ranjan Das Talks Brandwand – Marketing & Advertising Agencyy #CMOStrategy #MarketingLeadership #IndiaMarketEntry #BrandStrategy #GlobalExpansion #MarketEntryStrategy #InternationalMarketing #EmergingMarkets #CrossBorderStrategy #BrandLocalization #DigitalTransformation #MarketingTrends2025 #MarketingROI #BrandGrowth