CPG Brand Growth Tips

Marketing has two big jobs, but we're usually judged on only one. Our job in marketing splits into two parts: Building mental availability: making sure people know who we are and remember us when they’re ready to buy. This is often called brand marketing. Activating demand: making sure that people who are ready to buy choose us. This is typically performance or demand marketing. Here’s the challenge — most of our metrics (MQLs, pipeline, revenue) are tied to demand activation. But brand and demand aren’t separate – they work together. Still, they behave differently and aren’t always easy to measure in the same way. Brand is like staying in shape. You go to the gym, eat healthy, and take care of yourself. You don’t always see instant results, but over time, your body gets stronger. → In marketing terms: We want more people to know us, remember us, and think of us when they’re ready to buy. This is a long-term game. Demand activation is like showing up on race day. You’ve trained for months, and now it’s time to perform. If you’re fit, you’ll likely do well. → In marketing terms: When someone’s ready to buy, our goal is to be easy to find and hard to ignore. Most of the time, our execs care about the race day numbers – leads, opps, deals. That’s fair, because those drive revenue. But if we don’t also take care of our brand (our fitness), performance eventually suffers. So what do we do? We need to measure both. Performance marketing already has clear metrics. But brand often feels fuzzy — hard to prove it’s working. That’s why Share of Search (SoS) is useful. It’s a quantifiable way to track how much people are searching for our brand compared to competitors. It acts like a “brand scoreboard”, so we can see how campaigns are moving the needle, even if the revenue impact comes later. So: Use performance metrics for activation (leads, opps, CAC, etc.) Use Share of Search as the north star for brand Run both in parallel, and know that each supports the other Two different motions. Two different metrics. One goal: revenue growth.

If you over-curate & overthink your personal brand to perfection, your engagement will be dead! You see them everywhere—polished, poised, and perfectly positioned personal brands. Yet, their engagement is flat. Their audience? Passive. This is the"Perfect Persona" Effect—where people curate an online brand so flawlessly that it becomes unrelatable. And science backs this up. 📌 A study from Harvard Business Review found that leaders who share their struggles increase trust by 66% compared to those who only share polished success. 📌 Social psychologist Dr. Elliot Aronson’s "Pratfall Effect" proves that people perceive those who show vulnerability as more likable than those who appear perfect. The brands that win aren’t the ones that look flawless. They’re the ones that feel real. This is how we work this out with SackBerry clients: 1. Show the process, not just the results. ❌ “We grew our business 10x in a year!” ✅ “We struggled for months with zero sales—here’s what finally worked.” People relate to struggles, lessons, and real journeys. Share the how, not just the highlight. 2. Write like you talk. The easiest way to sound human? Read your post out loud. If you wouldn’t say it in a conversation, rewrite it. 3. Share your unpopular opinions. The fastest way to stand out isn’t to blend in. Take a stance. Challenge industry clichés. Say what others won’t. 4. Use the “3-Post Rule” to create trust. Your content should rotate between these formats: A personal story (human connection) An actionable insight (expert credibility) A polarizing take (sparks discussion) 5. Don’t fear the “mess.” -Not every post needs to be perfect. - Test new ideas. - Share drafts. - Build in public. People love watching something unfold in real time. So, tell me—what’s one thing you wish more people shared online? #PersonalBranding #Authenticity #BuildingInPublic #ContentMarketing

I spent most of the time on the road to Chubbies' IPO thinking “Brand” marketing was B.S. However, these 5 ideas changed that. They helped me gain confidence that: 1) Brand building is something modern consumer brands NEED to do 2) There IS a way to connect brand building to financial results 3) Doing so generates MORE PROFITS than direct response alone Cliffs notes on the 5 ideas and what you can do about it: IDEA 1: The 95/5 Rule EXPERT: John Dawes; Ehrenberg-Bass Institute CONTENT 1: The 95:5 rule is the new 60:40 rule URL: https://lnkd.in/grVu7-KS POINTS: - Only 5% of buyers are in-market to buy right now. - Effective marketing increases the probability the brand comes to mind when the buyer goes in-market. ACTION: - Focus on the 95% - Make creative that gets remembered. IDEA 2: Physical and Mental Availability EXPERT: Byron Sharp; Ehrenberg Bass CONTENT: How do you measure 'How Brands Grow'? URL: https://lnkd.in/g3Rvswmu (translate 2 English) POINTS: - Brand growth comes from growing the following two things a) Mental availability: buyers think of the brand when in the market to buy. b) Physical availability: buyers can buy the brand when and where they’re ready. - When you build mental availability, you increase the likelihood people buy from you without being prompted by a conversion ad. ACTION: - Building mental availability is priority numero uno. IDEA 3: There's an optimal split btw Brand Marketing and Activation marketing to maximize profits EXPERT: Les Binet CONTENT: The Long and the Short of It: Balancing Short and Long-Term Marketing URL: https://lnkd.in/g2fbT3JT KEY POINTS: - Objective data support a 60/40 split of brand building & conversion as the ideal mix of base sales growth and sales spikes TOGETHER. - Brand and DR creative is v different. ACTION: - Determine if ur current split is ideal IDEA 4: Connecting Brand building to financial results is possible EXPERT: Dominique Hanssens & Prof. dr. Koen Pauwels at UCLA & Les Binet CONTENT: Consumer Attitude Metrics for Guiding Marketing Mix Decisions URL: https://lnkd.in/gXGm7YKa POINTS: - Measuring the financial impact of brand marketing is a 2 step process: 1) marketing activities impact consumer attitudes 2) consumer attitude changes lead to future revenue changes ACTION: - read 5 below IDEA 5: Measuring digital behaviors is the modern method for doing idea 4 EXPERT: James Hankins & Les Binet CONTENT: Share of Search - a new way to track brands advertising URL: https://lnkd.in/gm5CAGVU POINTS: - Digital behaviors like share of search predict future sales ACTION: - Identify the digital behaviors that lead to the largest future $ impact - Focus brand building on increasing those metrics And there you have it: How to turn Brand marketing from Bull Sh*t to Holy Sh*t

My weekends are often spent mentoring, and I frequently get asked how I find the time and if it gets exhausting. For me, it doesn't. Spending a few hours each week lecturing at a college, solving issues for friends, or catching up with contemporaries is a delight. The diversity of my work is like being a space traveler: one day, it's creating music with Ankur Tewari; the next, it's discussing comedy with Tanmay Bhatt, or exploring the future of publishing with Shreya Punj. My schedule might exhaust others, but as Amit Varma says, it's like creating a picture of the universe—the more dots, the clearer the picture. And as I say, "To sprinkle stardust, you have to visit the stars." Every person is an adventure, an Aladdin’s cave filled with treasure. The question is, can you unlock them? Some steps for Learning and Mentoring Conversations - Listen More Than Talk: Truly hear what the other person is saying. - Keep Devices Away: Focus on the conversation unless taking notes, and inform them if you are. - Frame Questions Well: Ask open-ended questions to elicit more than a yes or no. - Set Goals: Establish clear objectives for mentoring sessions. - Encourage Openness: Create a safe environment for sharing. - Be Patient: Let the conversation flow naturally. - Provide Constructive Feedback: Offer supportive insights. - Summarize and Reflect: Ensure understanding and engagement. - Follow Up: Check progress and continue discussions. - Stay Curious:Maintain genuine interest in their journey. - Encourage Self-Reflection: Prompt deep thinking about their actions. - Respect Boundaries:Be mindful of sensitive topics. These strategies help create meaningful, effective learning conversations that enrich both parties.

Most people think creating content is the key to growing a personal brand but 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗮𝗹𝗼𝗻𝗲 𝘄𝗼𝗻’𝘁 𝗴𝗲𝘁 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝘁𝗿𝗮𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻. When I first started posting on LinkedIn, I thought that 𝘪𝘧 𝘐 𝘤𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘨𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘵 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘯𝘵, 𝘱𝘦𝘰𝘱𝘭𝘦 𝘸𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘧𝘪𝘯𝘥 𝘮𝘦. 𝗧𝗵𝗲𝘆 𝗱𝗶𝗱𝗻’𝘁. I spent hours crafting posts, but the engagement? Crickets.🦗 No traction, no momentum. It was frustrating. So, I changed my approach. And when I did, 𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘆𝘁𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘀𝗵𝗶𝗳𝘁𝗲𝗱. Here’s what actually worked 👇 1️⃣ 𝗜 𝗯𝘂𝗶𝗹𝘁 𝗺𝘆 𝗻𝗲𝘁𝘄𝗼𝗿𝗸—𝗱𝗮𝗶𝗹𝘆. I stopped waiting for my audience to find me and 𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗿𝘁𝗲𝗱 𝗳𝗶𝗻𝗱𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗺. Every day, I connect with 𝟮𝟬 𝗶𝗱𝗲𝗮𝗹 𝗽𝗲𝗼𝗽𝗹𝗲—those who actually need to hear my message. 2️⃣ 𝗜 𝗲𝗻𝗴𝗮𝗴𝗲𝗱—𝗶𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝗮𝗹𝗹𝘆. I make time to leave thoughtful comments and message supporters. My engagement 𝘀𝗸𝘆𝗿𝗼𝗰𝗸𝗲𝘁𝗲𝗱. And here’s the kicker: 𝗶𝘁 𝗶𝘀𝗻’𝘁 𝗮𝗹𝘄𝗮𝘆𝘀 𝗳𝗿𝗼𝗺 𝗺𝘆 𝗼𝘄𝗻 𝗽𝗼𝘀𝘁𝘀—𝗶𝘁’𝘀 𝗳𝗿𝗼𝗺 𝘀𝗵𝗼𝘄𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘂𝗽 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗼𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗿𝘀. 3️⃣ 𝗜 𝗴𝗼𝘁 𝗵𝘆𝗽𝗲𝗿-𝗳𝗼𝗰𝘂𝘀𝗲𝗱 𝗼𝗻 𝗺𝘆 𝗮𝘂𝗱𝗶𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗲’𝘀 𝘁𝗼𝗽 𝟯 𝗶𝘀𝘀𝘂𝗲𝘀. And I 𝘁𝗮𝗹𝗸𝗲𝗱 𝗮𝗯𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗺 𝗼𝗻 𝗿𝗲𝗽𝗲𝗮𝘁. Again. And again. And again. Did it feel repetitive? Sometimes. But people need to hear something 𝟳-𝟭𝟮 𝘁𝗶𝗺𝗲𝘀 𝗯𝗲𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗲 𝗶𝘁 𝘀𝘁𝗶𝗰𝗸𝘀. Consistency isn’t overkill—it’s psychology. 4️⃣ 𝗜 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗺𝗶𝘁𝘁𝗲𝗱 𝘁𝗼 𝗺𝘆 𝗟𝗶𝗻𝗸𝗲𝗱𝗜𝗻 𝗻𝗲𝘄𝘀𝗹𝗲𝘁𝘁𝗲𝗿. This was a game-changer. I grew it to 𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗿 𝟱𝟬,𝟬𝟬𝟬 𝘀𝘂𝗯𝘀𝗰𝗿𝗶𝗯𝗲𝗿𝘀 and saw a direct impact: every edition earns me, on average, 𝟯𝟲 𝗻𝗲𝘄 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝗻𝗲𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗱𝗮𝘆. 💡 𝗛𝗲𝗿𝗲’𝘀 𝘄𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗜 𝗹𝗲𝗮𝗿𝗻𝗲𝗱: Your brand won’t grow just because you create content. It grows when you 𝗶𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝗮𝗹𝗹𝘆 𝗯𝘂𝗶𝗹𝗱 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗮𝘂𝗱𝗶𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗲, 𝗲𝗻𝗴𝗮𝗴𝗲 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗺, 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘀𝘁𝗮𝘆 𝗿𝗶𝗱𝗶𝗰𝘂𝗹𝗼𝘂𝘀𝗹𝘆 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝘀𝗶𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗻𝘁. If I could go back and give myself advice when I first started, it’d be this: 𝗦𝘁𝗼𝗽 𝗵𝗼𝗽𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗽𝗲𝗼𝗽𝗹𝗲 𝘄𝗶𝗹𝗹 𝗻𝗼𝘁𝗶𝗰𝗲 𝘆𝗼𝘂. 𝗦𝘁𝗮𝗿𝘁 𝗺𝗮𝗸𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘀𝘂𝗿𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝘆 𝗱𝗼. What’s working best for your LinkedIn growth right now?👇

Over the last 6 months at Triangle, we’ve reviewed the performance of dozens of our Executive and Founder LinkedIn posts across all sectors. We pulled together reach, engagement, and story-type metrics, and three consistent patterns emerged. (1) Cultural hooks drive visibility. Posts that lead with a recognisable figure or big event attract high impressions. By tying in to these topics, you get broad distribution and big numbers. Then insert your idea, offer, company within this. Example: A tech leader building in the AI space opened with “Mark Zuckerberg wanted to buy Google.” The post reached 3.2M impressions. (2) Use proof points to build credibility. Executive posts that point to a real outcome (a campaign delivered, a deal closed, a client story) bump engagement rates significantly. Fewer eyeballs, but more meaningful interaction. That’s the kind of peer-recognition that moves you from “someone who talks” to “someone you want to buy from.” Example: A founder of a UK-based speaker bureau shared that they booked an Olympic gold medalist for a client. The post generated 26k impressions with 15 qualified MQLs. (3) Personal narrative and spotlighting others deepen the connection to your readers. When executives share a lived experience, like hardship, change, lessons learnt or they deliberately make someone else the hero, engagement spikes. You build trust at scale and deepen the connection with your audience. Example: A founder reflecting on 8 years of building their company reached 3.7k impressions with 1.57% engagement. Another spotlighting a client’s book launch hit 2.5k impressions and achieved 5.86% engagement. Actions you can take • Use a mix of formats rather than a single style. • Use a cultural hook when you need to amplify reach. • Use proof posts when you want to underpin your capability. • Use personal stories when you want to humanise your brand and deepen trust. • Track not just impressions but meaningful engagement: comments from peers, ICP engagement, follow-ups, profile views, DMs initiated. The difference between executives who get seen or not – is down to having a system in place. At Triangle, we build that system. Turning your ideas, proof points, and stories into a consistent flow of credibility, reach, and opportunity.

Your product isn’t failing…it’s grown up. Every successful Indian brand eventually hits a point where sales slow down. That’s the maturity stage of the product life cycle. The brands that survive don’t panic. They play smarter. Here’s how you can also do : 1️⃣ Find New Users When your current audience is saturated, growth comes from people who have never tried you. • New Markets: Move beyond metros. Tier-II and Tier-III cities are hungry for quality products. • Competitor Switchers: Offer loyalty points or “exchange offers” to tempt rival customers. 👉 Think of how Zomato started targeting small towns once metros were crowded. 2️⃣ Increase Usage Among Current Customers Sometimes you don’t need more customers you need more moments of use. • Show fresh ways to enjoy the same product. • Encourage higher frequency: “twice a day,” “every weekend,” etc. 👉 Amul promotes butter not just for toast, but for parathas, desserts, even baking. 3️⃣ Refresh the Product People love the familiar, but they notice when you keep it exciting. • Quality Upgrade: Better ingredients, more durability. • Feature Upgrade: New flavours, limited-edition festive packs, eco-friendly packaging. 👉 Parle-G introduced premium “Platina” cookies while keeping the classic biscuit alive. 4️⃣ Adjust the Marketing Mix Sometimes a smart tweak beats a big reinvention. • Price: Create a ₹10 entry pack for reach or launch a premium version for status. • Place: Sell on quick-commerce apps, WhatsApp, or local kirana tie-ups. • Promotion: Regional festivals + local influencers = instant attention. 👉 Tata Tea nails this with hyper-local ads for every state. 5️⃣ Build the Next Big Thing While you stretch today’s hero product, quietly invest in what’s next. 👉 Reliance didn’t stop at Jio; it’s already deep into retail and AI. Example Product: South Indian Filter Coffee Goal: Make people drink it more often. Visual: A lively Bengaluru co-working space. Copy: “Morning ritual? Now your 4 p.m. brainstorm booster. Ready-to-pour filter coffee packs, anytime energy.” A single new habit = more sales. The maturity stage isn’t the end it’s the test. Brands that educate, refresh, and adapt turn maturity into long-term dominance. Which Indian brand do you think is stuck in maturity but ready for a comeback? Drop your idea in the commentslet’s share strategies that could spark its next growth wave. #linkedin

🚀 The Secret Sauce Behind Every Thriving D2C Empire: Blending Performance Marketing with a Compelling Brand Story In the fast-paced realm of direct-to-consumer (D2C) businesses, two growth engines are often pitted against each other: Performance Marketing and Brand Strategy. But why choose one when you can power your growth with both? 📈 Short-Term Boost: Performance Marketing Performance marketing is like the turbo boost your D2C brand needs to get off the starting line. It’s data-driven, highly measurable, and can drive immediate results by targeting low-hanging fruit. You see quick conversions and can adjust campaigns in real time. However, is that enough to sustain growth? 🌟 Long-Term Vision: Brand Strategy Enter the power of a strong brand strategy. It’s the storyline that connects your products to your customers' lives, creating lasting relationships. While performance marketing can feel like a sprint, brand strategy is the marathon that builds loyalty, trust, and recognition. This isn’t just about surviving; it’s about thriving. 🏗️ Building Your Empire: The Perfect Blend Imagine a scenario where every quick win from your performance marketing fuels the long-term narrative of your brand strategy. It’s not just about making a sale; it’s about creating a story that sells itself over and over again. This dual approach doesn’t just add layers to your business; it multiplies your growth potential. 🔍 Why This Matters In a world where consumers are bombarded with choices, a well-defined brand stands out. It transforms first-time buyers into lifetime advocates. Pair this with sharp, responsive performance marketing, and your D2C brand isn’t just running the race; it’s setting the pace. 🌐 Transform Into an Empire Let’s not settle for growth spurts. Aim for legacy. Balance your fierce performance marketing tactics with a compelling brand story. That’s not just how you build a business; it’s how you build an empire. Take a look at companies like Licious, Mamaearth, SUGAR Cosmetics, The Souled Store The Whole Truth Foods and Glossier, Inc. Licious focuses on delivering fresh meat and seafood directly to consumers, Licious combines its narrative of freshness and quality with efficient performance marketing strategies. Their timely and contextually relevant campaigns during festivals and holidays boost visibility and sales. Similarly, The Whole Truth Foods ’s approach starts with its community-driven brand narrative, which is amplified by sharp performance marketing tactics. These brands showcase how a well-executed combination of both strategies can lead to sustainable growth and a robust market presence. Their success is not merely in capturing market share quickly but maintaining it by making their customers feel like part of a larger story ✨ Join the Conversation What’s your take on balancing performance marketing with brand strategy? Have you seen this dynamic duo in action? Share your thoughts and experiences below

One phone call made me realise how much control we had lost over the business. In 2014, I was attending a residential business programme when my wife and the finance controller called with news I never expected to hear. There wasn’t enough cash in the bank to cover salaries. I still remember the sinking feeling. For years, I had worked hard to build a profitable business. I had always believed that no employee should ever have to wonder whether their salary would arrive on time. Yet there I was, faced with the possibility of missing payroll for the first and thankfully the last time. The irony was that the business was growing. We had raised funding, expanded rapidly, hired aggressively and focused intensely on revenue growth. But somewhere along the way, we had taken our eyes off the fundamentals. My father had warned me repeatedly: “The only thing that really matters is cash flow.” At the time, I thought growth would solve everything. It took that phone call for me to realise what he meant. The first two calls I made were to people whom I would normally reach out to in difficult situations. As it happened, those two people were the ones who actually helped me cover the shortfall. But that day taught me a lesson that continues to be my guiding principle: revenue is an opinion, profit is a result, but cash flow is reality. Rebuilding took a few years. We went back to the basics, building better processes, stronger controls and greater visibility into the numbers. Today, whenever I speak to founders, I share the same advice: • Never lose sight of your cash flow. • Build your dashboard early and ensure you have real-time visibility into the business. • Keep a close eye on your margins during periods of rapid growth. • Keep cost growth at no more than half the pace of revenue growth. If the cost is growing by 10%, your revenue should grow by 20%. • Every high-cost hire should eventually pay for themselves through value creation. What is the most important business lesson you’ve learnt the hard way?

I have spent years in the highs and lows of the consumer goods industry but never seen a pricing climate quite like this. Manufacturers are getting squeezed from every direction-tariffs, skyrocketing raw material costs, and relentless supply chain disruptions. The old playbook of raising prices to cover costs? That’s dead. Why? Because consumers are feeling the pressure too. A 2024 Nielsen report makes it clear: today’s shoppers are scrutinizing every dollar they spend, and brands that aren’t strategic about pricing risk losing market share fast. Here’s what I’m seeing from top CPG brands that get it: 1️⃣ Walmart is investing heavily in AI-driven pricing models to keep costs competitive-e-commerce now makes up 18% of total revenue. 2️⃣ PepsiCo is doubling down on pack-size innovation, offering smaller, affordable options to maintain volume without excessive discounting. 3️⃣ Luxury brands are using price elasticity models, testing demand thresholds before rolling out increases-avoiding consumer pushback. 4️⃣ Supply chain resilience is non-negotiable. Companies are shifting manufacturing away from China, despite short-term cost spikes, to avoid future geopolitical risks. The smartest brands aren’t just reacting. They’re rethinking. They’re moving toward Revenue Growth Management (RGM) frameworks that help them: ✅ Optimize pricing and promotions (because blanket price hikes are a losing game) ✅ Focus on margin-smart growth, not just revenue ✅ Leverage data analytics to make smarter, faster pricing decisions Brands that don’t evolve risk eroding profitability or pricing themselves out of the market. CPG leaders who master strategic pricing, operational efficiency, and consumer-driven value creation will own the future of this industry. Are you adjusting your strategy, or just reacting to rising costs? Because in 2025, only the most adaptable brands will win. #CPG #FMCG #PricingStrategy #RevenueGrowth #ConsumerGoods