Bloom & Wild CMO: How to Raise a Brand That’s Growing Up Fast

Like many marketers, my team and I are responsible for marketing across multiple brands, markets, and propositions. And one of the more challenging parts of our job is approaching them all differently and finding the right models for each part of the business. Copy that works in the UK does not resonate in Germany. Nurturing retention for gifters vs subscribers is a completely different ballgame. How and why customers think about gifting a hamper is subtly but importantly different from how they buy flowers.

We have parts of our business and associated marketing activities that are well established. King of like a teenager, (we're a scale up after all), who's getting on well at school, knows what they need to do to get the grades they want, but benefits from continued learning and every now and then comes across something that really expands their mind.

But there are parts of our business that feel more like a toddler, walking confidently one moments, lying face down in a puddle the next. Then there's the stuff where we're starting from scratch that feels more like dealing with a newborn to me: trying loads of things to see which one will stick and feeling absolutely ecstatic when something works.

So this got me thinking. How do we need to lead differently depending on whether we’re dealing with marketing challenges that are in their teenage, toddler or newborn stages? And what could we borrow from each stage when we’re in another?

For the newborn stage stuff - a new market or proposition say - you can read a lot of books and do a lot of planning but really you need to try stuff. And hope you’ll land on the strategy that works quickly so you can accelerate out of the chaos swiftly. And you’ll know that what worked one week might completely stop working the next and you need a new tactic. Community is super important, and you’ll want to find or create cheerleaders for your brand or new proposition who help you reach the next stage.

For the toddler stage stuff - where the business/unit/proposition is still finding its feet - the rate of learning is super rapid but more focused. There are more known knowns. These bits can start to head towards teenager behaviour: you’ve nailed walking. But there’s plenty of stuff you’re still discovering so you’re not quite running. And you need to remain alert to what’s coming around the corner so you don’t get tripped up.

For the teenage stage stuff - the more established parts of the business - it’s about continuous optimisation. How can we learn something new every month? And like the ambitious student, sometimes you need an injection of new thinking. What worked before (rote learning for GCSEs say) isn’t getting you to the next level (writing essays for A Level) so you need to add in a new skill or approach. Read: new channels, performance to brand transition, creative overhaul. You’re going to need to go back to toddler mode here. And sometimes you need to respond to a major change in the market (hello AI) and that’s going to feel like regressing into newborn life. 

So what does this ever-more-thinly stretched metaphor tell us about marketing? There is no one mode you can be in, no matter how big or small your business. There will always be areas that need a different kind of attention. It’s no good trying to care for a teenager like you would a baby. And as marketers we need to spend more time thinking about which phase of life our marketing activities are in so we choose the right approach for spend, channels and creative to steer them into their next phase.