How

to

Grow

Your

Brand
Marketing Strategies for

Mid-Market Companies A Mailchimp Report
INTRO GREG SHUMCHENIA P. 03

01
Chapter The Big AND The Small Of It

LES BINET
P. 04-19

02
Chapter The Two Small Upsides

DR. MARK RITSON

P. 20-24

03
Chapter Winning The Underdog Game

TY HEATH
P. 25-33

04
Chapter Grow with Zero-Party Data

JAMAL MILLER
P. 34-38

05
Chapter AI Is The Big Breakthrough For

Small Brands

Peter Weinberg AND Jon Lombardo

P. 39-42
I NTRO GR G HU
— E S MC H NAE I intro

No one wonders how big, established brands grow. The Big and the Small of It by Les Binet

Built on decades or often centuries of equity and Emphasizing the custom approaches that brands can


fame, they pull from their arsenals of cash to develop use to grow—whether they are new, niche, expensive,

products, hire agencies, and pay celebrities to under-funded, or in a small market.

execute wildly original, splashy, and effective

marketing campaigns. They are growth machines.

The Two Small Upsides by Dr. Mark Ritson

Highlighting how you can exploit your size as a

And while learning from these masters of craft can strategic advantage by taking a “Versus Position”


be inspiring and educational for brand leaders
 or mining niches.


and marketers at small and mid-market businesses,

it often leads to budget envy, wishful thinking, and Winning the Underdog Game by Ty Heath

maybe even a frustrated eye roll. Large, established Introducing the 95-5 Rule and explaining why building


brands can cast an equally large shadow on smaller
 a memorable brand is essential for long-term success.

brands. This report aims to shine light into the

shadows and delve into a set of transformative Grow with Zero-Party Data by Jamal Miller

strategies written by some of the brightest minds
 Exploring why zero-party data is a competitive

in the marketing effectiveness field.

advantage for personalization, especially during


peak season, and providing five tips on how


These strategies are evergreen and based on to build a robust zero-party data strategy.

principles you should pursue year-round, but we've

chosen this critical time of year to put them in
 AI Is the Big Breakthrough for Small Brands by


your hands. As you gear up for the holiday season Peter Weinberg and Jon Lombardo

and the peak sales that follow, this report will be Demonstrating how AI can help you develop and launch

your comprehensive guide to growth. We’ve broken effective marketing plans quickly and affordably.

the report into chapters with a subject matter

expert authoring each one. They can be digested If you work at Apple, Nike, Coca-Cola, P&G, Frito-Lay,

in pieces, but the whole report also tells a full story.

Meta, or a similar global powerhouse brand, put this

report down; it's not for you. This guide to growth was

written for performance-obsessed marketers at mid-

market companies and small businesses, for founders

at start-ups and scale-ups, and for anyone growing a

brand who has ever asked, “Where do I go from here?”

We hope this report offers you a useful roadmap for

your brand’s growth. By embracing the latest thinking

in marketing effectiveness, leveraging the benefits of

your size, and harnessing the power of personalization

and AI, brands like yours can not only survive, but

thrive in today's competitive landscape.

Greg is the Director of Brand at Intuit Mailchimp,

where he leads efforts to shape the brand into

something distinctive and unforgettable. He comes

from a planning and strategy background with


some of the world's biggest consumer brands.

LinkedIn

Website

HOW TO GROW YOUR BRAND p 03

CHAPTER

01


LES BINET

The Big and

Small of it

HOW TO GROW YOUR BRAND p 04

T he B AND
ig Small of it c H0 1

Wh grow? y

How can small brands grow? Before we think about

that question, it’s worth asking another one. Why should
small brands want to grow?
To many people in business, that probably sounds W ith fatter margins and deeper pockets, big firms
like a dumb question. Big business is where the
 can spend more on marketing than their smaller
big bucks are. Growth is dynamic and exciting,
 rivals, and their marketing tends to be more efficient.

and it’s the only way to make serious money.

No wonder, then, that firms with higher market

And there’s a lot of truth in that point of view.

share tend to make much bigger profits, both in

Big companies and big brands have all sorts
 absolute terms and relative to their size. Big is

of advantages over little ones.

where the money is.

Big brands find it easier to acquire customers Conversely, smaller firms and brands suffer from


because people find them easier to remember
 a host of corresponding disadvantages: fewer

and easier to buy. And because people tend to be customers, lower loyalty rates, weaker pricing

more receptive to big, familiar brands, they power, higher unit costs, less efficient marketing,


convert prospects into customers more easily
 and so on. As a result, they mostly tend to have

than their smaller rivals—without having to lower profit margins.

compete quite as hard on price.

Growth not only offers a path to higher profitability ,

Big brands have more customers than small brands, but it also has benefits in itself. Growth gives a

and those customers tend to be more loyal.1 And
firm momentum. It gets you and your company

that gives big brands more scope for cross-selling.

noticed. It attracts customers, talent, and capital.

It makes for happier staff and happier investors.

And in some categories, size is inherently attractive. Growth is where the fame and the fun are.

Search engines, ride-hailing services, social media,

and dating sites are all examples where network
effects favor big players over small ones.

There are economies of scale on the supply side,

too. Big firms find it easier to hire people and
invest in them. They can negotiate better deals
with suppliers and distributors. They can borrow
money more easily and at lower rates.

1This may not seem obvious, but it’s true. Decades of research shows that big
brands have both higher penetration and stronger brand loyalty. Read “How
Brands Grow” by Professor Byron Sharp.

HOW TO GROW YOUR BRAND p 05

T he B AND
ig Small of it c H0 1

What are your ambitions ?

But before you go hell-for-leather after growth, it’s

worth asking yourself exactly what your ambitions are.

How big do you really want to be? Do you want to H ow soon do you want to reap the inancial rewards
f ?

end up running a gigantic corporation? Or would A re you prepared to wait years before the business
you be happier running something on a more human starts ma ing serious money or do you need pro its
k , f

scale? Do you enjoy the challenges of managing right now ?

people and money? Or is it the craft itself that

motivates you? Growth may make you rich, but if
 H ow and when will you lea e the business? n O?
v A IP

it takes you away from the things you love, it might Being acquired by a bigger player? Selling the

also make you and your colleagues miserable.

business or passing it on to an heir? r ust a nice,

O j

comfortable retirement? Di erent exit strategies

ff

How fast do you want to grow? Sometimes, rapid re uire di erent growth plans
q ff .

growth is essential. When Uber entered the UK

market, they knew they had to move fast to establish
dominance before their rivals. But “move fast and
break things” is not everyone’s cup of tea. Years ago,
I worked at a tech startup that expanded 30-fold

in 9 months. It was chaotic, stressful, and unpleasant.
Slow, steady growth may be more rewarding.

Do you want to be the biggest, or do you want to

be the best? Sometimes there's tension between
those two. If you had to choose, which would

you prefer?

Do you want to create a high-volume business, or are

you more interested in high margins? For some
firms, growth is more about charging higher prices
than selling more units.

HOW TO GROW YOUR BRAND p 06

T he B ig AND Small of it cH 01

How can you grow?

Over the last 60 years or so, academic researchers Think carefully about prices


have learned a lot about how brands grow. It turns
out that there really are some iron rules that you need Pricing is really, really important. The easiest way

to follow, and you would be well-advised to learn to sell more products and services is to give the
about them. If there’s one book to read, it’s “How customer more value for their money. Trouble is,
Brands Grow” by Professor Byron Sharp, which that may also be the best way to destroy your
sums up the relevant research in one short, readable margins. Price cuts and promotions (which are
text. If you have a bit more room on your shelf,
 really just price cuts in disguise) are a notorious

you might consider “The Long and the Short of It” vice of marketing. They give you a short-term high,
by myself and Peter Field, which explains how but the long-term effects can be ruinous. Use

marketing communications work over the short them sparingly, and, if possible, try to grow without
and long term, and our more recent book, discounting. Yes, it can be done!

“Effectiveness in Context,” which looks at how the

rules vary in different situations (including those The next question to ask yourself is, “Why aren't
faced by small brands).

you a global powerhouse?” You’ll usually find that

this boils down to a small customer base, but why?
Some of these rules, which are supported by decades’ There are several common reasons
worth of data from many categories and markets,
may surprise you. Here are three broad lessons for Your brand is ne
smaller and mid-market brands Yours is a “niche” bran
Your brand operates in a small category

or marke
Expand your customer base

Your brand is limited by supply constraint

Your brand is expensiv
The main way brands grow is by expanding their There has been a lack of investment

customer base, and the main way they do that


is by increasing the rate of acquisition. This is true Each situation requires a slightly different approach.
for all brands, but it’s particularly true for small Let’s look at each in turn.
ones, which have fewer customers to start with.
So, gaining more customers should always be

your primary marketing objective

Improve brand loyalty


Having acquired more customers, the secondary

task is to extract more value from them. Loyalty
marketing, aimed at retaining customers and getting
them to spend more, has a role to play here. Smaller
brands tend to like loyalty marketing because it’s
relatively cheap. But contrary to what many believe,
brand loyalty is a weak influence on growth and

is influenced much more by customer experience
than CRM.

HOW TO GROW YOUR BRAND p 07

T he B ig AND Small of it cH 01

Getting started: How to grow new brands

New brands are the easiest ones to grow. When you
first enter the market, you have novelty on your side, “Offering low prices is an easy way
and the only way is up.

to gain market share in the early

Remember that marketing new products involves
more than just advertising. Use all four marketing
phase, but you may find it condemns
“Ps” in this order you to years of low margins and
small profits.”
Product

Sadly, a high proportion of brand launches end in

failure, usually because the product itself is not

up to scratch. Make sure your products and services
are right for the market before you start promoting
them, otherwise you’ll just fail faster.

Price


Think very carefully about your pricing. Go too high,

and you’ll put potential customers off. Go too low,
and you won’t make any money. Think about your
long-term pricing strategy. Offering low prices is
an easy way to gain market share in the early phase,
but you may find it condemns you to years of low
margins and small profits

Place

Promotion


Once you get your products and prices right, the
 Or, to put it another way, marketing communications.
next step is to make them easy for people to buy. Remember, this is the last step in launching a
Traditionally, this meant getting distribution via brand. It’s pointless to spend money on comms if
places such as shops, offices, restaurants, or the product is bad (you’ll just fail faster), the price
vending machines, and spaces in the media— is wrong (your comms won’t pay back), or the
direct marketing via newspapers, magazines, product is hard to find and buy (ditto). Get the other
leaflets, telesales, and so on. These days, a lot of three Ps right first, then use marketing media to
the important places are where people buy promote your product.

online.

I’m not an expert in new product development,

Remember that competition is fierce, and people pricing, or distribution logistics, but I do know a
are lazy. If your brand is not easy to find and buy thing or two about advertising and other marketing
right now, people will choose something else. Try communications, so let me expand on that area.
to ensure that whenever your brand is needed,

it’s only an arm’s length or a couple of clicks away.

HOW TO GROW YOUR BRAND p 08

T he B ig AND Small of it cH 01

How much should you spend on

marketing communications?

New brands have a tremendous advantage when
 If you have good intelligence on your competitors,
it comes to promoting themselves. People find
 you may be able to estimate their A/S ratios. If so,
new things interesting, so it’s much easier to get go higher. Otherwise, you’ll just need to experiment
attention. And in some categories, like food or until you find the A/S level that gets you the growth
fashion, people actively seek novelty.

rate you need.

So, new product advertising tends to be highly But brace yourself—the advertising-to-sales rule
efficient, and new brands don’t need to spend
 means that you’ll need to keep increasing your

as much as established brands.

ad budget as you grow. Advertising is not just for

launch, it’s for life.

What’s more, if your product is good and your prices

are attractive, word gets around. People who
discover the brand tell their friends, and they tell
their friends, and so on. If you can get a chain
reaction going, then your marketing spend will

go even further.

In fact, great innovators can get away with spending


very little on advertising at first. “Build it, and they
will come,” as they say.

But sooner or later, even the most innovative brands

find that growth slows down. At this point, you
need to turn the advertising engines on to keep
powering forward.

And if you want really fast growth, you should start

advertising early, because that accelerates things.

Working out how much to spend on advertising is

hard, especially for new brands. But, there is one
useful benchmark: the advertising-to-sales ratio.
This is simply the size of your advertising budget
divided by your gross sales revenue.

If you set your A/S ratio above the average for your
category, sales growth should accelerate.2 And the
more you punch above your weight, the faster
you’ll grow.

2 For those familiar with Share of Voice theory, this is equivalent to setting share of
voice above market share.

HOW TO GROW YOUR BRAND p 09

T he B ig AND Small of it c H 01

How should you spend your budget?

Having set your budget, decide where to spend it.

“As you dial up your budget, go

If you’ve got a big budget and/or a clever media
agency, do some research. Segment and prioritize broader. Start talking to the

potential audiences according to how much they
cost to reach, how responsive they are, and how
wider market—the people who

much they spend.

are not actively shopping right


Alternatively, test and learn directly. Try different now but may enter the market
These people are harder

things. Turn them on and off. See what works and

what doesn’t. Measure the effects.

soon.
If you’ve got a tiny budget, spend it on those to reach and convert but represent

audiences and media that give you the highest ROI.
That usually means focusing on people who are
 a much bigger prize.”
in the market right now, using che ap, direct-
response media.

But the pool of active shoppers is small—maybe 5% Brand advertising works differently. It requires
of the market—and saturates quickly. So, as you dial broader reach media (often a mix of online and
up your budget, go broader. Start talking to the wider offline) and a more creative approach to get people
market—the people who are not actively shopping to pay attention and remember your brand when
right now but may enter the market soon. These they eventually come to market.

people are harder to reach and convert but represent

a much bigger prize.

Our follow-up book, “Effectiveness in Context,” shows

how to tweak the brand/activation balance to suit
It helps to divide your media budget into two broad your brand and category. At launch, activation is
pots, which Peter Field, my co-author, and I call usually the priority (typically 65% of the budget).
“brand” and “activation.” Activation is targeted at But as you grow, you’ll need to dial up the brand
active shoppers to generate immediate sale s. budget. Mature brands typically need to spend
Brand reaches out to the wider market and prepares 60% or more on brand advertising and only 40%
them to buy your brand later, when they are ready. on activation.

Our book, “The Long and the Short of It,” explains

why you need both short-term activation and long-
term brand building—and how to get the best out
of each.

We found that activation needs to be tightly targeted

and works best when it is rational and functional.
This is the world of performance marketing. Think
SEO, paid search, personalized emails, shopper
marketing, and so on.

HOW TO GROW YOUR BRAND p 10

T he B ig AND Small of it cH 01

What should you say in your ads?

Whatever kind of advertising you’re doing, it should

always be obvious who you are, what you are selling,
and how it meets people’s needs. Those three rules sound
blindingly obvious, but big firms often lose sight of them.
Make sure everything you do is clearly branded. Don’t fill your brand ads with facts and figures
Branding means more than adding a big logo.
 because people won’t remember them. Use brand

It covers everything from the colors and fonts you ads to announce who you are and what you do,

use to the slogans, characters, and music in your and to make people feel you are worth checking

ads. Develop a distinctive style and personality for out when they need you.

your brand, and use it consistently across

everything you do.

Then, when they do come to market, hit them with

your activation. This is a much more rational,
Make it clear what you are selling. You’re new to functional business. Focus on giving them the
the market, so don’t assume people know anything information they need, removing barriers to
about your products and services.

purchase and closing the deal. But use your

branding to evoke the feelings and memories

Put yourself in the customer’s shoes. Show how you planted earlier with your brand ads.
your products and services fit into their lives.

Focus on their needs and desires, not on yourself.

These three rules apply to all advertising,

regardless of who you are talking to. But how you

apply them depends on whether you are doing

brand or activation.

Brand advertising is aimed at the broad pool of

people who are not in the market for your product

right now, but will be one day. You can’t assume

those people will be interested in you, your product,

or what you have to say, so you have to work hard


to get their attention.

And because they are unlikely to respond straight

away, you need to make sure they remember you.

So, brand advertising needs to be interesting,

attention-grabbing, and memorable.

HOW TO GROW YOUR BRAND p 11

T he B ig AND Small of it cH 01

How to grow niche brands

If you follow those rules, your new brand should Don’t think that niche marketing means you can get
grow. But sometimes you hit a wall before you away with low budgets. If you find a profitable
make it big.

niche, bigger brands will want to enter it. You’ll need

to keep spending to defend yourself against new
This may be because you have limited yourself to
 entrants, albeit in a tightly targeted way. Building
a small target market. Have you become a big fish
 strong relationships with your niche audiences 

in a small pool? If so, it may be time to break out.

will help, too.

Many marketers believe that the way to make big

money is to own a specific niche in the market.

They focus their marketing on one particular group
of people or one particular purchase occasion,
rather than spending more and going broader.


In fact, successful niche brands are quite rare.

Most so-called niche brands are just brands that
have failed to reach their full potential. They’re not
particularly profitable, and their tightly targeted
approach is simply holding them back.


So, when growth starts to slow, ask whether you’ve

imposed limits on yourself. Could you sell to a wider
pool of people? Could you address a wider range
of customer needs? You may have started as a
clothing brand for skaters, say, but once you’ve
saturated that niche, think about going broader.
You’ll need to spend more, but you’ll have the
potential to make more money, too.

But if you do decide to specialize, focus on increasing

price rather than volume. The only niche brands
that are reliably profitable are those that charge
premium prices.

It goes without saying that you need outstanding

product quality to justify a price premium. But
brand advertising also has a role to play. It’s hard

to get people to pay higher prices with rational

arguments. The emotions, feelings, and associations
that creative advertising evokes are far more
powerful. That’s why premium brands tend to spend
more on brand ads than budget brands.

HOW TO GROW YOUR BRAND p 12

The Big AND Small of it cH 01

How to grow small categories and markets

Even if you aren’t a niche brand, you may be limited
by the size of the category or market that you play
in. If so, my advice is pretty much the same as before.
Think about how you can break out and go broader,
and, if you can’t, think about charging higher prices.

What about trying to expand the market? That’s

rarely a successful strategy, unless you’re the leader
in a new category. Marketing tends to increase
market share rather than market size. Better to think
about broadening the range of products and
services you sell and entering adjacent categories.

Similarly, if you have a big share in a small region,

think about marketing further afield. If you’re a
local brand, could you extend across your region?
If you’re a national brand, could you sell abroad?

As before, you will have to increase your marketing

budget. And you’ll probably need to shift from tightly
focused, local media to broader reach channels.
But if you want to keep growing, that’s the price
you’ll have to pay.

And if you can’t extend, shift your focus from volume

to price. You run the best restaurant in town? You’ve
got a line around the block? You can’t or won’t open
more locations? Then it’s time to raise your prices,

in which case you need a strong brand.

Brand advertising may not be the right place to start.

Make sure your products and services really are

up to scratch first. Think carefully about design and

customer experience. How do your emails look?

How does shopping in your store feel? Every contact
you have with the public should signal quality if you
want to charge more. Consider brand ads if you want
to send those quality signals to a wider audience.

HOW TO GROW YOUR BRAND p 13

T he B AND
ig Small of it c H 1
0

H ow to grow capacity-constrained brands

Innovate, advertise, and reach as many potential Above all, be prepared to turn work down. You can’t
customers as possible—this is great advice for smaller negotiate hard on price unless you’re prepared to
and medium-sized brands with big ambitions. But
 walk away. Only cut your price if you get something
the vast majority of small firms are really small, with
 valuable in return or there’s less work involved.

less than 10 employees. And often the thing holding

them back is not lack of demand, it’s tight supply.

Ifyou get your pricing right, you will have more

money and more time. Don’t run your operation

Picture the local cheese store’s husband and wife at full tilt—you need a bit of slack. You need time

team who just can’t make enough of their delicious to think, plan, and develop. That will help you

artisanal gouda cheese, the restaurateur whose grow further.

establishment is full every night, and the interior

design company that's booked up months in advance. N ow think about ways to expand supply. If you’ve
How can tiny businesses with limited capacity got the ambition and the guts, you’ll probably
make big money?

realize there are plenty of ways to grow. Hire more

staff and delegate more. Open more outlets.
The answer is obvious to anyone who has studied C onsider o u tso u rcing, licensing, or f ranchising . 

economics: price. Price is the single most powerful Most businesses can expand if they really want


force in marketing. Price effects are big and work to. Even sole traders who can’t (or won’t) delegate
quickly. Changing prices is quick, easy, and almost can find ways to reach more people if they

costless. That’s why price promotions are so
 think creatively.

common—cutting prices is the easiest way to drum

up extra business.

Imagine you are a troubadour in medieval Europe.

Everyone loves your songs, and they ply you with

But if demand exceeds supply, you need to increase gold to hear you sing them. But there’s only one of
your prices, and that can be scary. What if you lose you, and there’s a limit to how many people you
valuable customers? What if the phone stops ringing? can sing to at once. Your business does not scale.

What if you price yourself out of the market?

O ver the centuries, a series of technological

Increasing your prices does require a certain amount advances has solved that problem. The ability

of nerve, but once you get the hang of it, you’ll
 to publish, record, and broadcast means that
be pleasantly surprised by the difference it makes. musicians do not need to be physically present

And there are some useful tricks. Resist the urge
 to reach an audience. Huge video screens and
to draw people in with low prices—if you’re at powerful sound systems mean concert audiences
capacity, new customers should pay more.

can be much bigger. And the success of “ABBA

Voyage” suggests that some musicians may be

Each time you pitch for a new bit of business, try a able to keep performing long after they’ve retired.

slightly higher price. Build annual price rises into

your contracts, and make sure they’re higher than Continued on the next page

inflation. Launch premium variants of your products

and services—they’ll make your standard offering
look cheap, and if they sell well, you can phase out
the old ones.

HOW TO GROW YOUR BRAND p 14

T he B ig AND Small of it cH 01

How to grow capacity-constrained brands

(continued)
I’m not suggesting you become a pop star, but maybe You will need to constantly promote yourself.

you could use technology to reach more people. If you're always in demand and constantly turning
Could you automate or outsource some part of what down work, it’s easy to think that you don’t need

you do? Could you deliver your services online? to advertise. Wrong. If you want to be famous,

Could you deliver your services en masse? If you stay famous, and keep charging high prices, then
run your yoga class online, there’s no limit to the you need to keep your name at the forefront of
number of people you can teach. It has never been people’s minds. You need to reserve time and
easier for private individuals to reach mass money for self-promotion, whether it’s social media
audiences and markets than it is now.

or huge billboards. Don’t worry about getting too

much work—you can always use price to manage
The downside is that there’s never been more demand. Keep promoting, even when you’re busy.
competition. Everybody has a podcast. Everybody Otherwise, one day, the work will dry up.

has a blog. Everybody has a YouTube channel. 

Once again, the music industry teaches us a lesson.

These days, a teenager with a basic kit can record
an album in her bedroom and release it globally for
next to nothing. There are more bands and albums
competing for our ears than ever before, and very
few of them make money. But the top stars are
making more money than ever before. Taylor Swift

is earning around $100 million a year.

The miracle ingredient that enables top musicians,

actors, and athletes to earn obscene amounts of
money is fame. When everyone knows you and
everyone wants you, you can name your price.
What’s more, personal fame opens the door to
more scalable ways of making money. That’s why
celebrities end up launching fragrances or
sportswear brands.

Now, just because you’re small, it doesn't mean you

can’t be famous.3 Maybe not as famous as Taylor
Swift. Not even as famous as Jamie Oliver or Robert
Winston or that woman on the telly who advises
people on how to train their pets. But if you’re good
at what you do, you have a talent for publicity, and
you’re prepared to hustle, you can become a “name”
in your field. And that can be very profitable.

3 My personal philosophy.

HOW TO GROW YOUR BRAND p 15

T he B ig AND Small of it cH 01

How to grow expensive brands

As I explained earlier, most niche brands are really This tiered approach is common in the luxury sector.4
small, unprofitable brands that have failed to A quick Google search reveals 118 variants of
achieve their full potential. But there is one niche Johnnie Walker whiskey available here in the UK,
that can be very profitable indeed: the luxury sector. priced from £19.99 a bottle to £15,999.95. And rumor
Smaller and mid-sized brands that command very has it that, if you’re willing to go to Singapore, there's

high prices can make serious money.

a $200,000 Diamond Jubilee edition on sale there.

But how to grow bigger? The market for luxury goods You don’t have to go that extreme, but tiered pricing
is inherently small. There are only so many people can be powerful. But proceed with caution. If you
willing to spend $1,000 on a bottle of booze or launch a diffusion brand, make sure it doesn’t
$10,000 on a handbag.

cannibalize on your more expensive products.

Design, distribute, and promote them in different
So, think global. Premium pricing may restrict you ways, so that the cognoscenti feel that it’s worth
to a tiny share of each market, but if your market
 paying extra for the real thing.

is the world, you can still become a big brand.

What about advertising? Why do exclusive brands


What about pricing? Straightforward price cuts are like Gucci and Prada “waste” money on mass media?
usually a bad idea. Strong luxury brands tend to There are several reasons. Firstly, more people buy
have low price elasticities, which means that price luxury brands than you might think. People who are
cuts reduce profits, sometimes catastrophically. normally very sensible with their money may splash
But some luxury brands manage to broaden their out on a luxury treat once in a blue moon.
appeal through artful, tiered pricing strategies.

Secondly, high margins mean that luxury brands

get a high ROI from their advertising, even if

Imagine you’re a dressmaker. You love making a lot of it is “wasted.” Thirdly, that “waste” serves

clothes and have an eye for color and design.
 a purpose. Odious as it may seem, one reason
Right from the start, you refuse to compromise
 people buy luxury brands is to signal their status,
on quality. You stick to couture fashion, keeping so it’s important that people who can’t afford to

volumes small and prices high. You make a name buy them know what they stand for. My agency
for yourself. People pay top dollar for your work. once ran press ads for Bentley that said, “Just

How do you grow further?

turn the page, young man.”

A common solution is tiered pricing. Couture sits
at the top, available only to a tiny fraction of the
market. Below that sits the premium ready-to-wear
products—still expensive, but accessible to the
mass affluent. Below that, there may be a more
reasonably priced diffusion brand. Think smaller
items like gloves, belts, wallets, and keyrings.

4 Brands can also use it to increase prices, but this is often harder.

HOW TO GROW YOUR BRAND p 16

T he B ig AND Small of it c H 01

How to grow under-invested brands

What if you’ve been at it for years, and you’re still
 But there are some success stories. Let me tell you
a smaller brand?

about Felix Cat Food. Back in 1989, Felix was a

small, cheap UK brand. It hadn’t been advertised
Be frank with yourself about what’s holding you for at least 40 years and was in danger of being
back. Is your product up to scratch? Do you have
 delisted by the big supermarkets. The owners
a distribution problem? Is your pricing right? Have decided to give it one last shot. They freshened

you limited yourself by focusing on a small category up the packaging, launched a few new flavors,

or market? Do you have capacity constraints? If so, and, crucially, commissioned an ad campaign from
read the later sections for some tips on how to my agency, BMP.

reignite growth.

At first, Felix’s owners could only afford cheap black-


But if you’ve addressed all those issues, you probably and-white ads in a handful of newspapers. These
just need to spend more on marketing.

showed Felix, the cat from the side of the tin, getting
into all sorts of misadventures. Think cat memes

Take a good, hard look at your comms budget. Is your
 in cartoon form.

advertising-to-sales ratio low compared to your

competitors? If your share of voice is low for your As soon as the ads appeared, sales started to grow
market share, use the budget-setting techniques again. Cat owners really loved the cheeky little
described earlier to work out how much you need character we created, and that made them like

to spend to get your brand growing again.

the brand.

And ask yourself whether you’re spending the money Pretty soon, the client was able to afford TV ads

efficiently. Smaller and mid-market businesses as well. Felix’s adventures continued in animated
often spend too much of their budget on bottom- form, with music that the public came to love and
of-funnel activation and not enough on top-of- recognize. Budgets increased. Market share rose.

funnel brand advertising. As I said earlier, brands

can get away with that when they first launch,
 Ten years later, the Felix campaign was still going,
but mature small brands need a different approach. and the brand had been transformed. No longer

Typically, they should spend about 75% of their a small, cheap brand, Felix was vying with Whiskas
budget on brand ads and only 25% on activation.

for the No. 1 slot and was able to charge premium

prices. No longer limited to the UK market, Felix
If you’re prepared to invest at a high enough level— extended across the whole of Europe.

and stick with it—you can transform a dusty little

brand into a big one. But it’s not for the faint-hearted.

It took a long time, and a lot of investment, but the

financial payback was huge. Today Felix is a big,
Neglected little brands have all the disadvantages profitable, multinational brand.

of being small, and none of the advantages that

accrue from being new, niche, or premium. They Not every neglected brand can “do a Felix.” But if
tend to have low advertising efficiency, low margins, you’re prepared to invest consistently in brand ads
and low ROI. Escaping the small brand trap can over a decent period and have great media and
take years. creative agencies on your side, you can do amazing
things. You can break out of the small brand trap
and become a big brand.

HOW TO GROW YOUR BRAND p 17

The Big AND Small of it cH 01

Conclusion: Attacking Goliath

As I said at the start, big brands have huge advantages over small brands,
and challenging them is hard. But they have weaknesses, too.

They may be wedded to old ways of doing things. That can make them
vulnerable to disruptive new firms that have less baggage. Think of how
Amazon took on traditional brick-and-mortar retailers, or how Uber
stole business from taxi firms. Big brands may have aging customers

and a dusty image, allowing younger, more fashionable brands to move
onto their territory. Above all, big brands can become complacent.

Once a brand reaches a certain size, it can become really difficult to keep
growing, even with heavy investment in marketing. At this point,
advertising and other marketing activities mostly serve to maintain
market share and high margins, rather than increase them.

When growth slows, brand owners often make the mistake of thinking
that marketing is no longer working and, therefore, cut budgets.

That opens the door to challenger brands like you.

Seize the opportunity, and you may become a big brand yourself.

HOW TO GROW YOUR BRAND p 18

The Big AND Small of it cH 01

Les Binet is a world-renowned expert in marketing Les Binet


effectiveness and evaluation and has probably


won more awards in this field than anyone else.
 Website

In 2014, the Institute of Practitioners in Advertising LinkedIn

awarded him The President’s Medal, the highest
honor it can bestow, in recognition of these
achievements. As well as his many journal articles
and case studies, he has published six books,
several of which are now regarded as required
reading for marketers.

The opinions expressed are those of the author


and not necessarily those of Intuit Mailchimp.

NEXT:

The Two Small Upside s

HOW TO GROW YOUR BRAND p 19

CHAPTER

02


Dr. Mark Ritson

The Two

Small Upsides
HOW TO GROW YOUR BRAND p 20
THE TWO SMALL UPSIDE S cH 02

It’s hard to be small. Despite all the David vs. Goliath

nonsense about agility and underdogs, the odds

are very much against you. Not only do you lack scale

Not only do you lack distribution. Not only are your

pockets shallow and empty. According to the famous

statistician Paul Dyson, the biggest driver of advertising

profitability is size. Look at it any which way and it’s clear

that marketing is a game rigged in favor of the big guys.


So, what are the upsides of smallness? Is there a judo

move that enables smaller players to enjoy some

advantages over the big boys and girls of the category?

Well, I know of two, but only two, such advantages.

HOW TO GROW YOUR BRAND p 21

THE TWO SMALL UPSIDES cH 02

The versus position

The traditional approach to positioning, the big Eventually, as air travel increased, Hertz matched

brand way, is all about making clear what you stand the Avis strategy and infringed on its rival’s


for directly to your target customer. However, there
 airport territory with its own airport locations. The

is an alternative method that calls for playing the combination of both downtown and airport locations

angles and positioning against something or meant that Hertz became the more successful

someone that the target customer already dislikes. brand, enjoying double the market share of Avis.

By taking on an enemy, a marketer can position Throughout the ‘50s, Avis struggled, losing millions,

very clearly what they stand for, often in a manner stuck behind its far bigger rival.

that is quicker to grab attention and more persuasive

than trying to state it directly.

That is until one fateful afternoon in 1962 when Avis

walked into the New York City headquarters of

Marketers are usually too gentle to countenance legendary advertising agency Doyle Dane Bernbach.

such a move. They are more than happy to mine At a loss as to how to position Avis successfully in


their company’s advantages for positioning fodder, a market that was dominated by Hertz, the company

and are comfortable trying to understand and then agreed to run any campaign that DDB recommended.

exceed customer needs. But when it comes to

competitors, there is a reticence to call out rivals A young copywriter, Paula Green, came up with the

and openly slight them.

slogan that reversed the traditional logic that

bigger was always better. Her line, “We Try Harder,”

That’s a real pity, because for smaller brands this pioneered “underdog advertising,” became the

can be a winning approach. Big brands cannot most famous slogan in advertising history, and, more

focus on rivals because it makes them look like importantly, enabled Avis to turn an annual loss


bullies and because, for the most part, the attention into a profit the following year. The success of


they would share with that rival is bad for business. the campaign was not the result of spending

But these caveats do not apply to smaller brands megabucks—executions ran as billboards and in

who can’t look like a bully and who don’t mind any print—but stemmed from a creative idea that

form of attention being thrown their way.

resonated with the target audience.

In the versus approach to positioning, we still focus Over on the other side of town, advertising guru

on what the customer wants. But to communicate David Ogilvy called it a piece of “diabolical

the message, we pick out a specific competitor and positioning,” and indeed it was. By positioning

position our brand against them as overtly and directly against Hertz and its number-one status,


aggressively as possible to garner as much shadow Avis had immediately turned the marketing tables

salience as possible and highlight our benefits
 on its greatest rival. Over the next five years,


by way of comparison.

the “We Try Harder” campaign saw Avis gradually

close the gap on Hertz until the paradoxical

The prototypical example of the versus school of moment was reached where the campaign had

positioning is Avis. Avis is everywhere today, but been so successful it was no longer relevant.

when Warren Avis set up his car rental business in

the 1940s, he did so by focusing on an unusual Avis became the number one brand in the market.

niche: offering rental cars at airports. Hertz, which

had been established three decades earlier at the

beginning of the automotive era, had traditionally

offered its rental cars within the downtown

locations of most cities.

HOW TO GROW YOUR BRAND p 22

THE TWO SMALL UPSIDES cH 02

The niche play

The other judo move only available to the smaller
brand is the direct result of not being big. Large brands “Starting small and with a focus
must dominate their category; they must opt for
enables you to grow safely and
hen attack with scale and the
penetration, deploy big marketing budgets, seek
economies of scale, and be all things to all people
t
comfort of knowing a different
in order to maintain their enormous revenue
streams and investor expectations.

But smaller brands have the luxury of choosing their way of doing business.”
growth opportunities. They work from a small

base, enabling them to focus in a manner the big

boys and girls simply cannot match. This focus The other niche that small brands should consider
can be directed in one of two ways: either at a small is a sub-category opportunity. Rather than focusing

bunch of customers or a small corner of the on a smaller bunch of consumers, look at a mature
category. Let me examine both.

category and seek out a smaller, newer part of its

geography. Find a corner of the market that is growing
These days, most marketers accept the idea that and currently underserved by all the bigger players.

penetration is the route to all happiness, and


you need to reach as many consumers as possible. Yogurt was pretty much a busted flush until, as a new
That may be true. But only eventually true. While start-up, Chobani went hard at the Greek sub-
you are small and your resources and expectations category, for example. Enterprise did a similar thing
are modest, you have time to focus on an in car rentals by focusing on the inner-city rental
underserved segment of the market and build your market when it began, not the traditional heartland
business there. First, the irony is that the best route of airports.

to mass marketing might be via segment focus.

These sub-categories operate very much like market

Lululemon is a great example. These days, it targets segments, a safe niche where you can grow and
pretty much anyone with a pulse anywhere on
 scale in the comfort of your own specialist business.
the planet. But when it began back in 1998, it was In both cases, your ultimate goal is to take on

specifically aimed at female Canadian yoga fanatics. the mass market and eventually win the whole
It does not get much more niche than that.

category. But starting small and with a focus

enables you to grow safely and then attack with
But, the point of the niche—and I am saying it in scale and the comfort of knowing a different way

French with the soft ending and not the American of doing business.

way that rhymes with ditch—is that it provides a

rich, safe place to grow and scale before attempting Being smaller will always be difficult. My two
the broader, bigger mass market.

suggestions don’t turn the tables on the big brands.

It will always be better to be big. But they do offer

The better you understand your target consumer, a sliver of hope that, while being small is an
the more relevant and personal your marketing
 incredible impediment, there are some strategic
can be. Conquer one segment, move on, and target advantages to be had.

the next.

HOW TO GROW YOUR BRAND p 23

THE TWO SMALL UPSIDES cH 02

Dr. Mark Ritson is one of the world's most Dr. Mark Ritson

respected marketing and branding strategists.

Mark teaches the Mini MBA in Marketing,
 Website

which inspires businesses to cut through the
 LinkedIn

hype and hysteria surrounding marketing

today and return to irrefutable principles and
practices that work. He has a PhD in Marketing

and has been a marketing professor at Melbourne
Business School, London Business School, MIT

Sloan (visiting), and the University of Minnesota.

The opinions expressed are those of the author


and not necessarily those of Intuit Mailchimp.

NEXT:

Winning the Underdog Game

HOW TO GROW YOUR BRAND p 24

CHAPTER

03


TY HEATH

Winning the
Underdog Game
HOW TO GROW YOUR BRAND p 25
W inning the U nderdog G ame c H 03

Everyone loves a good underdog story. From “Rocky”

to “The Karate Kid,” “Bend It Like Beckham” to
“Hidden Figures” and “Erin Brockovich,” these tales
celebrate tenacity, hard work, and clever strategy
over brute force. They resonate because they tap into
our innate love for ingenuity and problem-solving. 


In the marketing world, small brands are the ultimate

underdogs, and marketing has its own inspiring
underdog stories: Warby Parker, Airbnb, and, yes,
Mailchimp. These brands defied the odds, showing
how small players can succeed in the marketing
game. What they lacked in size, they made up for in
bold creativity and thoughtful marketing strategy.

Marketing is a competitive sport where smaller The solution? Remembering that share of memory

brands go head-to-head with established giants,
 leads to share of market. In-market customers

all vying to capture attention, loyalty, and market primarily rely on their memories to choose brands,

share. It’s no easy feat. Smaller brands face not demand generation ads. So, as we move into

numerous challenges, such as limited resources the holiday season, it is worth keeping some basic

and economies of scale. But the biggest hurdle rules of marketing in mind.

from a marketing perspective? Reaching “in-

market” customers during their fleeting window


of opportunity.

HOW TO GROW YOUR BRAND p 26

W inning the U nderdog Game c H 03

T he importance of the 95-5 Rule

The 95-5 Rule highlights this perfectly: in any given Here’s a clue: all the evidence suggests the latter
quarter, only a small percentage of people are strategy is the most effective. Whether it is a timely
actively researching or shopping your category, email, TikTok influencer video, or Facebook ad,
maybe as few as 5% of all potential buyers. Most making your brand the obvious choice is a winning
potential shoppers are “out of market,” not currently strategy. As Les Binet suggested in the first chapter,
considering your product, and likely to overlook this is not an either/or. You still need to capture a
your direct-response ads. That is the 95%. Focusing good share of in-market shoppers, and that opportunity
solely on the 5% can be a pitfall for smaller brands.
 will expand during peak sales season. But doing so
To truly succeed, you must strike a balance. While will be far easier if they start the shopping process
demand generation ads play a role, building a with your brand in mind.

memorable brand that resonates with potential

customers is the key to long-term growth.

Use the “Laws of Marketing” to compete effectively

Direct response has its limits

For small and mid-market brands, the “Laws of

Marketing” developed by the Ehrenberg-Bass
Many startups fall into the trap of overspending
 Institute (EBI) offer a competitive edge. These
on demand generation ads. Although helpful in
 principles reveal essential truths about marketing
the early stages, this strategy can stifle long-term effectivene ss, relevant to B2C and B2B, D2C

growth. It’s especially dangerous for smaller
 and e-commerce brands, and product and service
brands aiming for profitability because demand brands, enabling smaller brands to compete

generation ads target only a small pool of customers more effectively with their larger competitors.

actively looking to buy now, and this approach


can be very costly, particularly as your business Building a strong brand is not like flipping a switch; it's
grows and must reach out to new customer a muscle that needs years of consistent exercise

segments. Overreliance on demand generation can
 to grow. Imagine trying to do a pull-up without any
render your brand invisible to a broader audience, training—yikes, it's simply not possible. Similarly,
making it harder to build the brand recognition neglecting brand building early on can leave you
essential for sustainable growth.

unprepared for the scaling stage of growth.


As Senator Dianne Feinstein wisely said, “You have

Let’s think about the upcoming holiday season in to learn the rules of the game. And then you have

the context of e-commerce. Which strategy is going to play better than anyone else.”

to be most productive?
Competing with hundreds of other brands to
target time-pressed shoppers and divert them

to your site, or
Making your brand the obvious choice when
people first start shopping?

HOW TO GROW YOUR BRAND p 27

W inning the U nderdog Game c H 03

G ame for the underdogs:

T he Laws of Marketing

The Laws The Game The Move

The Law of Double Jeopardy:

Prioritize increasing brand awareness Reach as many potential customers
Brands grow primarily by acquiring and acquiring new customers.
 as your budget allows to boost
new customers, not just by trying While retaining existing customers brand recall and sales. Consistent,
to retain existing customers. is important, investing in strategies year-round marketing communications
that boost brand recognition will maintain brand visibility, avoiding
naturally enhance customer loyalty the risk of being forgotten. Choose
over time. the right marketing activities to
reach and influence potential buyers,
and prioritize effectiveness over
efficiency to achieve business goals.

The Duplication of Purchase Law: Instead of trying to stand out as Invest in distinctive brand assets
Brands grow by primarily acquiring completely unique, smaller brands linked with common, credible,
new customers from category should focus on building brand and competitive buying situations.
leaders at a higher rate than they recognition and familiarity, as Go bold. Great content can be
lose existing customers. customers often see brands in the 10-20 times more effective at
same category as similar. The key driving sales than mediocre content.
is to be remembered and available This means that creativity is the
when customers need something most powerful tool in a marketer’s
in your category, ensuring they toolkit. Even with a small budget,
choose you over others. effective and creative content
can have a big impact.

The Law of Buying Frequencies: Successful companies attract
 Enhance customer value and cost
Brands grow by acquiring all types a diverse range of customers,
 efficiency through improved
of new customers; they will mostly so smaller brands should focus
 service, product innovation, strong
have light buyers and very few on expanding their customer base branding, and effective CRM.
heavy buyers. and building brand recognition
 Streamlining operations to boost
to ensure they come to mind when
 productivity enhances cost
a customer is ready to buy. This efficiency and profit margins,
means you must serve even light ensuring sustained growth and
spenders profitably by optimizing competitiveness.
operations. Pricing strategy is also
essential for sustainable growth.

HOW TO GROW YOUR BRAND p 28

W inning the U nderdog G ame c H 03

T he Law of D ouble Jeopa rdy

The Law of Double Jeopardy shows that brand Tastemakers iko Da kos and Paul Firmin use email
N f

growth relies more on attracting new customers to deepen relationships with longtime customers

than just keeping the ones you have. Here's the and new ones al ke The r bus ness, arl of ast ,
i . i i E E

deal: loyalty is closely tied to brand awareness.
 started as a stall at their local London market and
The more people recognize your brand, the more grew into a lifestyle brand that sells everything from
likely they are to stick with you. Smaller brands vintage home goods to their own line of sustainably
face a double whammy—they have fewer customers made candles and apothecary items. Unique,
to start with, and those customers tend to be less value-added email content, such as sharing their
loyal. In contrast, bigger brands benefit from higher favorite neighborhood spots and things to do
recognition, leading to better customer retention. around London, as well as tips for hosting, cooking,
This means that as brand awareness grows, so and gifting, helped sustain customer relationships
does loyalty.

through the pandemic and beyond. In an interview

for Mailchimp, iko describes the benefits of a value-
N

For mid-market brands, this means focusing on add email campaign as follows,

acquiring new customers. While keeping current

customers happy is important, it's not enough
 “I can't expect anyone to shop twice a week with

for long-term growth. Investing in strategies that a lifestyle retailer. But when we look at the lifecycle
boost brand awareness and attract new customers of a customer, our return rate is pretty high for our
is crucial. Don't rely solely on having a great industry. People come back and shop repeatedly
product—it's vital, but it won't build loyalty by itself. with us.”

You need to make sure people know about your

brand so that new customers think of you first.
Building brand awareness doesn't have to mean The takeaway

expensive advertising. Look for creative, budget-

friendly options that give you underpriced attention. Focus on increasing brand awareness and acquiring
For smaller brands, maximizing ad reach efficiently
 new customers, while keeping as many customers

is crucial to boost brand recall and sales. Here's as you can. As you do this, you'll naturally see an
where cost per reach comes in. This metric helps improvement in loyalty metrics too, provided your
you understand how efficiently your budget is product meets expectations and your CRM is effective.

being used to reach the right audience.

Do this by maximizing the reach of your marketing

communications to boost brand recall and sales.
Do not take loyalty for granted

Consistent, year-round communication maintains

brand visibility, avoiding the risk of being forgotten
The Law of Double Jeopardy states that as the during peak sales season. And efficient digital media
number of customers grows, so does loyalty.
ensures every dollar spent contributes effectively

But no brand can afford to take that fact for granted to bus ness goals, support ng smart competition
i i

because every customer you keep is one less that
 in the market.

you must acquire. Once people have bought from

you, make sure that you keep them engaged.

Once people sign up for your mailing list, segment
that audience so you can send them relevant,
engaging, and timely content to help keep your
brand top of mind.

HOW TO GROW YOUR BRAND p 29

W inning the U nderdog Game c H 03

T he D uplication of Purchase Law

Imagine the challenge mid-market brands face with
the Duplication of Purchase Law: customers often “Even with an excellent product,
choose multiple brands within the same category.
Sigh. Where’s the loyalty?! Smaller brands not only
customers may overlook a

compete among themselves but also with larger, more
established companies.

brand they aren't familiar with.


Traditional advice suggests smaller brands should
By building and sustaining

differentiate themselves, but Ehrenberg-Bass
Institute rese arch shows customers see most
brand awareness, and ensuring
brands within a c a tego r y a s s i m i l ar. Wh i le
 your brand comes readily to

some b ra nds h ave unique features, familiarity
within the category is what matters most for
 mind when a need arises, you
most customers. Instead of spending resources
trying to convince people you're completely increase your chances of being

different, focus on building brand recognition.

the brand people choose first.”

The takeaway

The Duplication of Purchase Law highlights the

importance of being recognized. Even with

an excellent product, customers may overlook

a brand they aren't familiar with. By building

and sustaining brand awareness, and ensuring

your brand comes re adily to mind when a

need arises, you increase your chances of being
the brand people choose first. Customers with a

brand in mind are less receptive to new information,
so building brand awareness early allows you to
influence their decision-making process quickly.
This way, you become a viable choice for buyers who
might otherwise go with established competitors.

Do this by investing in distinctive brand assets and

with messages linked to common, credible,

and competitive buying situations, also known as
Category Entry Points. Creative content can be
10-20 times more effective at driving sales than
mediocre content. This means that creativity is

the most powerful tool in a marketer’s toolkit. Even
with a tight budget, effective and creative messaging
connected with relevant buying situations can
have a big impact.

HOW TO GROW YOUR BRAND p 30

W inning the U nderdog Game cH 03

T he Law of B uying Frequencies

The Law of Buying Frequencies reveals a key insight:
growth comes from acquiring all types of “Since many customers will be light
customers, not just focusing on heavy spenders.
Here's why this matters. Most buyers spend spenders, it's important to serve
modestly—whatever the product or service, there

are fewer big spenders than you might think.

them profitably. Optimize your
This isn't random; it's a predictable pattern where
different consumer segments purchase at different
operations and pricing strategies to
rates. Successful companies attract a diverse ensure every customer contributes
range of customers, not just heavy spenders.

For smaller brands, this means not putting all your

positively to your business.”
focus on upselling. While increasing sales to
existing customers is important, it's equally crucial
to diversify your customer base. Aim to attract all
types of new customers, not just those who might
spend the most. Building a broad base of customers

is essential for sustainable growth.

Profitability is key, too. Since many customers will

be light spenders, it's important to serve them
profitably. Optimize your operations and pricing
strategies to ensure every customer contributes
positively to your business. Building a strong brand
creates value. It drives long-term sales, lets you
charge higher prices, opens new growth
opportunities, attracts top talent, builds investor
confidence, and more. In essence, it creates a
protective moat that gives your business an edge
over competitors.

The takeaway

Focus on acquiring a diverse range of customers.

Optimize your operations and pricing strategies

to ensure every customer contributes positively

to your business. Our research shows that great
marketing correlates to more leads, more influenced
e-commerce outcomes, and more influenced

hires. You'll naturally improve loyalty and ensure
sustainable growth. Do this by enhancing

customer value and cost efficiency through
improved service, product innovation, good
customer data management, and strong branding.

HOW TO GROW YOUR BRAND p 31

Winning the Underdog Game cH 03

Conclusion

Small and mid-sized brands must bootstrap themselves

to growth. However, to grow, they must consistently
attract new customers. Start building brand awareness
early to gain a competitive edge—it helps you reach a
broader audience and resonate with potential future
clients. A strong brand naturally attracts customers,
reducing the need for expensive advertising and lowering
acquisition costs. Embrace the underdog spirit—it’s
what makes the competition exciting.

Cheers to the underdogs who make the marketing

world more interesting!

HOW TO GROW YOUR BRAND p 32

Winning the Underdog Game cH 03

Ty Heath is a leading B2B marketer, speaker, author, Ty Heath

athlete, and community builder who explores


these topics at the intersection of behavioral science, Website

diversity, equity, inclusion, and transformation.
 LinkedIn

Ty is Director, Market Engagement, The B2B Institute
at LinkedIn, a think tank funded by LinkedIn studying
the future of B2B marketing and decision making.

The opinions expressed are those of the author and not

necessarily those of Intuit Mailchimp.

NEXT:

Grow with Zero-Party Data

HOW TO GROW YOUR BRAND P 33

CHAPTER

04


JAMAL MILLER

Grow with

Zero-Party Data
HOW TO GROW YOUR BRAND p 34
G row with Zero-Party Data c H 04

Consumers in our data driven, algorithmically - -

obsessed world have come to expect highly personalized

experiences that are tailored to their specific wants

and needs.

They want to be approached with the right offers
 In contrast to third-party data, which is passively
at the right moments, not when it’s convenient
 collected from cookies and used by companies

for a brand’s marketing calendar. This is especially
 to make inferences about broad demographic
true during the holiday shopping season, when segments of people, zero-party data is intentionally
retail spending surges.

and proactively shared directly by individual

consumers. And marketers have more control

This is your busiest and most important time of
 to ensure any zero-party data is collected, stored,
year. And with good reason: your revenue goals and maintained, in compliance with applicable
are highest, and so is the opportunity to capture privacy and data protection laws.

new customers. Last year, the top 100 performers

on the Mailchimp platform saw a 325% spike in
 To be sure, while zero-party data collection is not
their daily order value during the Black Friday Cyber the most novel marketing tactic, it is becoming
Monday (BFCM) weekend compared to their
 increasingly prevalent. Consider two compelling
average daily order value. And 65% of orders that data points that support zero-party data’s rise in
Mailchimp customers with connected stores importance for marketers
received were from new customers.

Roughly 3 in 10 consumers in the US, UK,

It is also the time when inboxes become most Canada, and Australia who have signed

crowded. In 2023, the volume of emails sent in up for an email mailing list have participated

November on the Mailchimp platform was 18% in surveys or given feedback, according to

higher than the average send volume between our February 2024 Science of Loyalty report
January and October.

Personalized content is expected—and it leads


Ahead of what is expected to be another fiercely to better email marketing performance.
competitive holiday season, the best online retailers
 According to our 2023 survey with Edelman,
are leaning into personalization efforts to deliver 69% of consumers in the US and UK want

relevant, engaging experiences tailored to individuals’ to receive more personalized content, and 87%

unique needs and preferences. And they’re doing it are more likely to read an email and click

with a secret weapon: zero-party data.

into an email if the content is personalized


to them.

With the uncertainty around the deprecation of

third-party cookies and Apple’s AppTracking- With the holiday season being such a critical time
Transparency initiative, e-commerce businesses for retailers, accounting for a significant portion

have been searching for new avenues to collect of annual revenue, retailers must go beyond generic
data to provide better, more personalized promotions and deliver personalized experiences
experiences for their customers. Zero-party data that resonate with individual customers. Zero-party
offers an effective—and privacy-centric—solution. data can be a key to achieving this.

HOW TO GROW YOUR BRAND p 35

G row with Zero-Party D ata c H 04

When combined with first-party data (an individual’s Give customers control over the types of data

site-wide, app-wide, email behaviors, and on-page they share 


behaviors, such as hovering, scrolling, and active

time spent on a website), zero-party data can be
Of course, there are certain types of data that are
a competitive differentiator.

more sensitive than others. erhaps a custome

P r


is comfortable sharing their name and date of birth ,

However, successful adoption and integration
 but would rather not share their home address or
of zero-party data relies on five critical success mobile phone number. utting the customer in
P

factors that companies should consider to bolster control and providing flexibility in the types of data
their consumer data strategy they are able to share makes it far more likely that

they will offer up at least some personal information.

Expand the scope of your zero-party data

Survey your customers to gauge their preferences

for personalization versus privacy. sk about their
A

While surveying your customers about their expectations for use of the data and their data-sharing

preferences has always been an important way
 comfort levels. Use this feedback to balance

to better understand them, this holiday season, personalization and privacy, crafting campaigns

consider how you might expand your current that respect boundaries while delivering desired

approach. Many brands have begun using experiences. This approach builds trust, strengthens

mechanisms such as polls, games, quizzes, relationships, and fosters loyalty.

sweepstakes, questionnaires, or interactive social
media stories to collect explicitly opt-in data

that provides highly specific insights into Build customer profiles


consumer preferences. You can ask them how

often they would prefer to receive emails, what
 As you collect zero-party data, you can use it to

types of content or products they are most interested
 augment your email performance data to build and

in, and even ask specific questions to better regularly update detailed customer profiles. A

understand their shopping and spending habits customer profile is a description of an ideal
during the holiday season.

customer based on data and characteristics like

demographics, buying behavior, consumer pain

This type of data collection is a win-win: It offers points, and interests. It is essentially a snapshot of


customers greater control and transparency
 a segment of customers that you want to target.

into exactly what data is being collected, while

giving companies access to much more useful Customer profiles help you understand and

information that enables them to target personalized anticipate customer needs, personalize their

offers much more effectively.

journeys, and deliver relevant content throughout

their experience.  

When auditing your approach to customer surveys,

it’s important to remember that the problem with
cookies isn’t personalization—it’s a lack of respect
for consumer privacy, and an approach to
personalization that often doesn’t actually deliver
useful information to the customer or the company.
Consumers are increasingly interested in
personalized offers, and zero-party data makes it
possible to offer much better personalization than
cookies ever could (without the privacy issues).



HOW TO GROW YOUR BRAND p 36

Grow with Zero-Party Data cH 04

4. Connect your data 


“Ultimately, zero-party data isn’t

With consumer data being a must for successful
personalization efforts, companies need a clear, just a new way to do targeted

coherent strategy to collect the right data in a ads or email campaigns — it’s about
regulatory-compliant manner. At the same time,
companies also need the right tools and transforming how companies
capabilities to make sense of collected data—

either zero-party or first-party—and apply it across engage with (and demonstrate
use cases and channels in a manner that

is secure and legally compliant yet sufficiently respect for) their most valuable
personalized to deliver an enriching experience

to the right consumer at the right moment.

stakeholders: their customers.”

One way to connect all your disparate data is by
integrating your various platforms, particularly

your e-commerce tools and email service provider.
This will provide you with a single view of your
customer data that can then be segmented in
nearly endless ways to create more personalized
marketing campaigns.

Recent research we conducted with Ipsos found

that marketers who saw an annual growth of
revenue of 15% or more were more likely to have
their systems integrated than marketers without
that caliber of revenue growth. Only 39% of
Baseline Marketers integrate their systems, while
49% of Revenue Leaders in our survey were

using connected systems to drive better data-
sharing functionality, contributing to stronger
revenue results.

Test and optimize (and learn)

Boost engagement by analyzing performance,

using predictive analytics, and testing different
timings and channels. Split your audience to
compare message effectiveness and refine your
approach based on real-time data. This helps
optimize campaigns, enhance audience connection,
and drive better results.

Ultimately, zero-party data isn’t just a new way to

do targeted ads or email campaigns—it’s about
transforming how companies engage with (and
demonstrate respect for) their most valuable
stakeholders: their customers.

HOW TO GROW YOUR BRAND p 37

Grow with Zero-Party Data cH 04

Jamal Miller is Sr. Director of Product Marketing at Intuit LinkedIn

Mailchimp, where he helps entrepreneurs and SMB

marketers unlock growth with Mailchimp’s marketing

platform. At Mailchimp since 2019, Jamal leads the

team responsible for building go-to-market and launch

strategies for Mailchimp features, creating platform

product positioning to resonate with target audiences,

enabling sales teams to engage with prospective


users, and managing co-branded marketing campaigns

with technology partners.

NEXT:

AI is The Big Breakthrough for Small Brands

HOW TO GROW YOUR BRAND P 38

CHAPTER

05


Peter Weinberg AND


Jon Lombardo

AI is The Big
Breakthrough

for Small

Brands
HOW TO GROW YOUR BRAND p 39
AI is T he B ig B reakthrough for Small B rands cH 05

The Generative AI Revolution has just begun.

We know how the story begins—with the launch
of ChatGPT in November of 2022. Within two
months, ChatGPT managed to acquire 100 million
active users, making it one of the fastest-growing
applications in history. But how will the story end?

Humans are notoriously bad at predicting the future. The obvious AI opportunity: 

But we do have a talent for documenting the past, Creative efficiency

and history has a habit of repeating itself. And what  

history teaches us is that new technologies are the To date, the marketing industry has mostly been
ultimate equalizers, democratizing access to focused on the creative impact of AI. As Professor
resources once reserved for the few. The printing Ritson reminded us in Chapter 2, in 1962, you had

press brought books out of the monasteries and to hire an agency like DDB to develop a winning
into the hands of the masses. The Industrial creative campaign. In 2024, you can hire one of

Revolution brought textiles and furniture out of
 a thousand AI startups that promise to generate
the castles and into the cottages.
creative at a fraction of the cost and time. Will the

 
creative be as good? Probably not, but the latest
Marketing technology tends to follow a similar pattern.
research suggests that ~70% of human-generated
 
creative is not very good, either. Mediocre creative
Once upon a time, only the biggest brands could can still generate sales, assuming it is sufficiently
afford to advertise or break into retail. Social media well-branded and focused on the right buying
and email made marketing accessible to smaller situations. Great creative will work 10-20 times
brands, and platforms like Amazon and Shopify let harder, but it’s not a precondition for success.
those brands secure a spot on an infinite digital Machine-manufactured furniture may not match
shelf space.
the quality of an artisanal, hand-whittled chair,

 
but it sure beats sitting on the floor!

AI is as disruptive, and perhaps more disruptive,  

than any of those breakthroughs. But history AI doesn’t need to generate Cannes-winning video
suggests that smaller brands will be the biggest creative for it to be a useful tool for smaller brands,
beneficiaries of this efficiency revolution. who could never afford to hire the fanciest creative
agencies in the first place.

HOW TO GROW YOUR BRAND p 40

A I is T he B ig B reakthrough for Small B rands cH 05

The less obvious AI opportunity:


Strategic efficiency
“These sorts of advanced optimization
 

While the creative applications of generative AI can techniques were once only available

be powerful (and should be used by brands of all
sizes), the truth is that creative is a small part of the
to the biggest players. Now they are
job of marketing. Marketers don’t just write copy
and design pretty pictures. Marketers represent the
available on demand to businesses

voice of the customer. Marketers decide who to target,
what to say, where to say it, and how to measure
of all shapes and sizes.”
and optimize performance.  

These are the areas in which AI’s impact will be

most profound.

Take customer research as an example. Research is And once a customer has been acquired, AI tools
the foundation of an effective marketing strategy. can help those customers extract maximum value
But, surveying a statistically significant sample of from their purchases. Mailchimp, as an example,
buyers used to cost hundreds of thousands of has been incorporating generative AI technologies
dollars and could take as long as 12 months. At our to enhance its services and help clients create
startup, Evidenza, we survey AI-generated copies more effective marketing and email campaigns.
of customers. These synthetic samples can give Mailchimp's AI tools can suggest content ideas that
the same answers as real humans, but in minutes are likely to resonate with subscribers and then
instead of hours, and at a far more accessible
 generate email subject lines, body copy, and even
price point.
entire email templates to quickly produce engaging
 
content and help improve open and click-through
Segmentation and targeting is yet another example. rates. These sorts of advanced optimization
Mid-sized businesses often lack the resources and techniques were once only available to the biggest
bandwidth to build out elaborate customer personas. players. Now, they are available on demand to
AI, however, can identify all the potential buyers
 businesses of all shapes and sizes.

in a category, group those buyers into discrete  

segments, and leverage financial data like CLV to The AI opportunity is much bigger than creative.
determine which segments to most profitably The big brands are myopically focused on the
target. It was always possible to develop great creative use case, and that opens up an opportunity
creative on a shoestring budget (see: Dollar Shave for smaller brands who can infuse AI into their end-
Club). But it was never possible to develop a great to-end marketing process, from diagnosis to
segmentation on a shoestring budget—until now.
strategy to execution to measurement. AI changes
 
the calculus and brings big brand marketing

Or consider the case of physical availability. As Les to the masses.

Binet likes to say, marketers need their brands


to be both easy to mind and easy to find. AI can
help on both sides of the equation. Soon, every

e-commerce website will have an AI-generated
chatbot that can seamlessly guide potential buyers
through the purchasing process and recommend
product packages that are tailored to the customer’s
needs and budgets, articulated in natural language.

HOW TO GROW YOUR BRAND p 41

AI is The Big Breakthrough for Small Brands cH 05

Peter Weinberg and Jon Lombardo are co-founders
 Peter Weinberg

of Evidenza, a synthetic research platform. Prior to LinkedIn

Evidenza, they worked at LinkedIn for 10 years, founding

its B2B Institute, a think tank. Their research and ideas Jon Lombardo

have been referenced and adopted by thousands of B2B
 Linkedin

marketers all across the world and covered in
publications like Marketing Week, WARC, and The Drum.

The opinions expressed are those of the authors and not

necessarily those of Intuit Mailchimp.

HOW TO GROW YOUR BRAND P 42

Your

growth

starts

now
Intuit Mailchimp

Evidenza

Intuit Mailchimp is an email and marketing automations Evidenza is the world's first synthetic research platform.
platform for growing businesses. We empower millions We help you make smarter, faster go-to-market
of customers around the world to start and grow their decisions by interviewing and surveying AI-generated
businesses with world-class marketing technology, copies of your customers. Our platform delivers
award-winning customer support, and inspiring content. evidence-based sales, marketing, and communication
Mailchimp puts data-backed recommendations at the plans, transforming the way businesses understand
heart of your marketing, so you can find and engage and interact with their markets. By leveraging
customers across email, social media, landing pages, advanced AI, Evidenza offers in-depth insights

and advertising—automatically and with the power of AI.
in hours, not months, enabling businesses to

make informed decisions rapidly.

Grow with Mailchimp

HOW TO GROW YOUR BRAND p 43