The 3 Silent Killers of Brand Growth

This week I’m handing the mic to someone who knows a thing or two about brand-building – and brand-breaking.

Meet Hannah – Head of Growth Strategy at Charlie Oscar, and one of the UK’s Top 20 Marketers. She’s worked across 30+ DTC and global brands in beauty, fashion and lifestyle.

In this guest feature, Hannah breaks down the 3 most common brand mistakes even smart teams make – and how to avoid slowly killing your brand without even realising.

Over to Hannah...

3 things you’re doing that are killing your brand (and what to do instead) by Hannah, Head of Growth Strategy at Charlie Oscar

1. You’re chasing reach, not relevance

   You can pay to be seen.
   But you can’t pay people to care.
   Your competition isn’t just other brands – it’s culture, memes, group chats, and every other thing your customer is consuming on their phone right now.
   
    🔁 Instead: Ask every day, “Why would anyone care?” If you don’t know, your audience won’t either.
   
   💡 Who’s nailing it? Peachy Den (fashion brand) who partnered with Amelia Dimoldenberg in a way that just made sense to their world. Relevance is a growth lever, not a nice-to-have.

2. You’re creating for your deck, not the scroll
   
   Big-budget, glossy brand films might wow investors.
   But on TikTok?
   They die in 6 seconds.
   
   🔁 Instead: Design for the feed, not your ego.
   Lo-fi doesn’t mean low-quality.
   It means you’ve understood the medium.
   Keep it native.
   Keep it fast.
   Get to the point before your viewer swipes.
   
   💡 Who’s doing this best? Duolingo, Ryanair, Wendy’s.
   Unhinged? Sometimes. But they’ve mastered platform-native brand-building.

@ryanair

you thought it was free? 🪟 #stitch w/ @Molly #ryanair

3. You’re measuring brand by last-click metrics
   
   If you’re judging a brand on ROAS alone, you’re not building a brand.
   You’re running a short-term sales promo machine.
   
   🔁 Instead: Combine short-term wins with long-term metrics.
   Use full-funnel reporting and MMM-style measurement to show how brand builds over time – even if it’s not showing up in last-click dashboards.
   
   💡 Example? Gymshark. They went hard on influencers before it was cool – and stuck with it. The brand equity compounding effect is real.

Hannah shares great weekly brand round-ups on Linkedin, so give her a follow if you want to stay in the know!

Stay Bold, Stay Brilliant

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Let’s make moves,
Beth

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Disclaimer: I share advice from my own experience. Every business is unique, so tailor these ideas to fit your needs.