Brand Strategy for Scaleups: How to Build Brands That Drive Profit, Not Just Clicks

Laura Derbyshire
Nov 13
2 min read

Updated: 5 days ago

Why Brand Strategy for Scaleups Drives Long-Term Profit

Many scaleups hit the same wall. Growth slows. CAC rises. Marketing starts to cost more, and delivers less.

You haven’t failed, you’ve just hit what we call the Performance Plateau - the point where doing more of the same stops working.

The good news? There’s a second gear of growth. One that the smartest and largest brands in the world already use.

ROI isn’t the goal, profit is.

Most scaleups chase short-term ROI because it feels measurable and safe. But, ROI isn’t the same as profit. Big brands know this - they invest in brand building because it compounds over time.

Airbnb for example, cut performance marketing by 58% in 2020 and launched its first brand campaign in 5 years. The result? They maintained 95% of their online traffic - and achieved their first year of profitability.

That’s the difference between ROI thinking and profit thinking.

Stop preaching to the converted!

According to research from Oxford University and Wavemaker UK, 84% of consumers already know which brand they’ll buy before they even enter the market.

If your ads only reach people ready to buy today, you’re ignoring most of your future customers. Growth comes from building mental availability - showing up before people are in-market, so your brand is the one they think of when they are.

That’s what big brands do, and it’s why they keep growing.

Different isn’t enough; you need to be distinctive.

Tesco out-of-home advertising billboard featuring food items arranged along a graphic line

89% of all advertising is ignored, skipped, or scrolled past.

Being different won’t help if no one notices you.

Instead, scaleups need distinctiveness: consistent ownable assets that build memory and recognition over time.

Colours, tone, logo, tagline, storytelling - repeated until they become the shorthand for who you are. Distinctive beats ‘different’ every time.

Expert insight: An opportunity for Founders, CEOS & Investors

Diego Chicharro, former Head of Effectiveness at Publicis and marketing effectiveness consultant at OSER — Diego Chicharro, Ex-head of Effectiveness at Publicis + Consultant at OSER

“Effectiveness isn’t about having more data or tools - it’s about mastering the brilliant basics and focusing on what truly drives growth. Scaleups can have a rare advantage: they can combine the rigour of big-brand strategy with the agility that big brand envy, That’s where sustainable growth can happen.”

DIEGO CHICHARRO - AWARD-WINNING EFFECTIVENESS CONSULTANT