28/09/2026
At a multinational, marketing looks very different. You have big budgets, built-in audiences, and communities that already existed before you got there. People already know the brand, so naturally, you can talk about yourself and people will listen.
But when I started working with smaller, early-stage brands, I kept seeing them look at brands like Alo, Rhode, and Skims, study what they posted, copy the formats, copy the tone, and try to recreate the same kind of content for their own brand.
And that’s the mistake:
1. They were copying the marketing strategy of brands that already had an audience. They were borrowing the content without having the years of recognition, trust, and community behind it.
2. They were focusing on what the brand wanted to say instead of what the customer needed to hear. When people don’t know you yet, they don’t necessarily care about your story, your values, or how great your product is.
3. They were trying to build the brand before building awareness. Early on, the goal isn’t always to get people to love your brand. It’s to get them to notice you, understand what you offer, and give them a reason to care.
4. They were treating content as the strategy. But content is only the ex*****on. Without understanding who you’re speaking to, what they need, and why they should pay attention, even great-looking content can fall flat.
That’s why before we create anything at Evolve, before we touch the content, the tone, or the trends, we ask one simple question:
Who are we actually trying to reach, and why would they care yet?
Because after three years of learning, testing, and understanding the industry, we’ve learned that you don’t build a strong brand by looking like one that’s already made it.
You build it by understanding where your brand is now, what your audience needs from you, and earning their attention one step at a time.
