I’ve spent my career working out what makes brands grow.
Before launching my consultancy in 2016, I spent 15 years working across brand, strategy, marketing and growth - including almost a decade in strategy agencies in Sydney, a senior marketing role at Foxtel and Head of Sales + Marketing at I Quit Sugar.
Those years taught me a lot about what good strategy can do. They also taught me how easily businesses can jump into doing before they’ve done the thinking.
A brief gets written. An agency gets appointed. A new product gets developed. A big strategy or marketing plan gets built. And somewhere along the way, the simplest questions haven’t really been answered:
Why are we doing this? Where are we trying to go? And of all the things we could do, what actually matters most right now?
That’s the bit I love.
Getting everything out of your head and into one place. Stress-testing the ideas and assumptions. Working out what matters and what doesn’t. And creating enough clarity that when you do brief the designer, agency or team, everyone knows what you’re actually trying to achieve.
Slow down the thinking. Get clear. Then move.
Marketing starts before the marketing.
That thinking needs to happen before the product is finished and the marketing starts.
A good idea needs to answer a real need for real people - not just be something a founder wants to make. Who is it for? Why will they care? What makes it different? Where do those people already gather, online and in the real world? And what can we build into the product, brand and experience that gives them a reason to talk about it?
That’s also where experience matters.
After years working in food, drink + wellness, I bring more than a framework or a good set of questions. I know the category, I’ve seen what works (and what doesn’t), I know where opportunities can exist and I have a network of people across the industry to draw on.
So the thinking can quickly become practical. Who should we talk to? Where should we launch? Is there a partnership here? Who could help make it? Stock it? Serve it? Write about it? Share it?
I bring brand, marketing and PR thinking into those decisions from the beginning. Because by the time the product is finished and you’re asking how do we get people to buy this?, you’ve left a lot of the most important marketing decisions too late.
You can pay for reach. You can pay someone to talk about you. You can discount to drive sales. But none of those things replaces giving people a reason to want you, choose you and tell someone else about you.
I want that thinking baked into the product and brand from the start - so when you do spend money on marketing, PR or retail, you’re amplifying something people already have a reason to care about.
Strategic slowness.
I call my approach Strategic Slowness.
It’s not about growing slowly. It’s about creating enough space to step out of the day-to-day, make considered decisions and focus your time, energy and money on the things most likely to move the business forward.
Because good strategy should make running your business simpler, not give you more to do.
Sustainable growth comes from knowing what matters, what doesn’t and what to do next - then getting on with it.
READ MORE ABOUT MY APPROACH TO STRATEGY HERE
And I’ve been on the founder side too.
In 2020, I co-founded Oomite, an all-natural savoury spread.
Building a food brand myself has given me an even greater appreciation for the realities of doing it - product development, manufacturing, margins, wholesale, marketing, cash flow and the million decisions in between.
It’s one thing to advise a founder on what to prioritise. It’s another to know exactly how it feels when it’s your own money, product and time on the line.
THE STORY OF OOMITE HERE
These days.
I’m based in Byron Bay and work with food, drink + wellness founders across Australia.
Most of my work is as a strategic sounding board - sometimes for one decision, sometimes to build the strategy, and sometimes working alongside a business over time.
I also co-founded Sustainable Growth Co with Tara McFall, where we help founder-led businesses through bigger brand + website transformations.
Different ways of working, same underlying belief: clarity makes growth easier.
In her words.
“Katie came highly recommended by a colleague. She helped refine my business’ purpose and gave me clarity on which direction I should focus my efforts, based on insightful market research which outlined future trends. Katie also has reputable connections and was able to put me in touch with some key players based on outcomes from our workshop.” - Kate Williams - Nodo