In a world obsessed with innovation, novelty, and ‘the next big thing’, it’s tempting to think that reinventing your brand is the key to it staying relevant. Everywhere you look, big brands are playfully tweaking their logos, flipping their packaging, or releasing limited-edition variations of their most iconic products. It’s easy to get swept up in that and assume that you should do the same.

But before you start changing things up, there’s a critical question you need to ask yourself: If no one knows your original brand, why would they care about the remixed version?

At The Conscious Marketing Group, we help brands maximise their marketing impact through creative, strategy-based approaches. And when it comes to branding, one of the biggest mistakes we see businesses make is prioritising reinvention before they’ve built enough recognition.

Big Brands Have Earned the Right to Mix It Up

Take a look at brands like Coca-Cola, McDonald’s, and Apple. They’ve spent decades building and reinforcing their brand identity, making their logos, colours, fonts, and even sounds instantly recognisable on a global scale. Because of this deep-seeded brand memory, they can afford to tweak and experiment because people will still recognise them.

Think about Coca-Cola’s holiday bottles, McDonald’s minimalistic golden arches campaign, or Apple’s decision to remove the word ‘Macintosh’ from their computers. These brands were able to make these sudden and arguably drastic changes because their foundations are rock solid. The audience familiarity with these brands’ products is so strong that when these companies introduce a playful twist to their packaging or messaging, it grabs attention without causing confusion.

But if a lesser-known brand suddenly changes its logo, messaging, or visual identity, it risks losing whatever recognition it has built. Instead of looking fresh and innovative, it looks inconsistent, leaving customers confused rather than engaged.

Repetition Builds Memory. Memory Builds Trust. Trust Builds Sales.

Marketing is not just about creativity, it’s about strategy. One of the most powerful strategic moves you can make is reinforcing what works before you experiment with it.

If your audience doesn’t recognise your brand yet, your priority should be consistency rather than jumping ahead to reinvention. And here’s why: 

Repetition builds memory.

When people see your brand’s colors, typography, logo, and messaging over and over again, it sticks. The more consistent you are, the more familiar your brand becomes.

Memory builds trust.

Consumers are more likely to choose a brand they recognise and remember. Trust isn’t just built through great products; it’s built through familiarity.

Trust builds sales.

Once people trust your brand, they feel more confident in buying from you as they believe it is reliable and worthwhile. And that’s the goal – turning awareness into action.

Every tweak, change, or refresh should be made with intention. If it disrupts recognition rather than strengthening it, it’s not helping your brand, it’s diluting it.

Before you start pushing boundaries and tweaking your brand codes, take a moment to reflect and ask yourself:

If your logo, tagline, or core messaging keeps changing, are you making it harder for people to remember you?

If you don’t have strong brand recognition yet, altering your identity could confuse rather than excite your audience.

If you’re still in the early stages of brand awareness, your focus should be on building consistency, not complexity.

If your brand isn’t widely recognised yet, changing things up too soon is like a band releasing a remix of a song no one has heard. It simply won’t resonate because there’s no existing connection.

How to Build Brand Recognition Before Reinvention

At CMG, we believe in creativity with purpose. Instead of changing for the sake of change, we encourage our clients to strengthen their brand foundation first. Here’s three simple rules to stick to to make it work.

1. Get Crystal Clear on Your Brand Codes

Your brand codes are the visual, verbal, and emotional elements that make your brand recognisable. These include:

Before you start playing around with these, ensure they are strong, consistent, and widely recognised by your audience.

2. Use Consistency to Your Advantage

Repetition isn’t boring, it’s strategic. The more consistent your branding is across all touchpoints, the stronger your recognition will be. This includes:

The goal is to make your brand unmistakable so that when people see a certain colour, phrase, or image, they immediately think of you.

3. Measure Recognition Before Reinventing

Before you consider a refresh or remix, ask yourself: Do people recognise my brand as it is? You can judge this by looking at key brand awareness metrics such as:

If you answer ‘no’ to these questions then your brand isn’t easily recognised yet, hold off on changes and focus on strengthening awareness first.

Give the Original Enough Play Before You Remix

At CMG, we believe in the power of strategic branding. Reinvention is exciting, but recognition is essential.

Your brand should be so well-known and well-loved that when you do decide to try a remix, your audience instantly understands the reference. Until then, your focus should be on consistency, repetition, and clarity.

So before you tweak your logo, change your colours, or shift your messaging, ask yourself:

Has the original been played enough times to stick?

If not, keep playing it, and make it loud and clear.

If you need help building a brand that sticks, CMG is here to help. Let’s craft a marketing strategy that maximises your impact, builds recognition, and sets the foundation for your brand’s long-term success. Get in touch with us today.

When we think about marketing, clever slogans, persuasive copy, or high-converting ads tend to pop into our heads, trying to convince us to buy whatever is being sold. While those tools are important in persuading consumers to purchase products and services, they’re really just a small part of a much bigger whole. The real power of great marketing, especially in an increasingly crowded and competitive world, isn’t just about persuasion.

It’s about memory.

A strong marketing strategy doesn’t just convince people to buy – it makes sure they remember your brand when they’re ready to buy.

At The Conscious Marketing Group, we work with purpose-driven brands to make them unforgettable – not just clever or catchy for a single campaign or social post, but committed to the long-term memory of their audiences and potential customers. Because when the decisive moment comes, consumers will choose the brand that they remember.

Mental Availability: The Silent Driver Behind Consumer Choices

Let’s consider a few common scenarios.

When was the last time you booked a hotel, grabbed a coffee, or ordered a pair of shoes online? Did you research every possible option? Probably not. You chose the first brand that came to mind. Perhaps, you chose a handful to get the bet price. Nevertheless, you chose the first few that you could remember off the top of your head. 

That’s mental availability at work. It’s a concept that explains how easily a brand comes to mind in buying situations. The more mentally available a brand is to consumers, the more likely it is to be chosen. This isn’t necessarily because it’s better, cheaper, or more innovative as a brand but simply because it’s the most familiar.

At CMG, we specialise in strategies that build this mental availability intentionally and effectively. Our work helps brands become the default choice, not because they manipulate, but because they resonate and are memorable.

What Are the Building Blocks of a Memorable Brand

If you want your brand to be the one that jumps into people’s minds when they’re ready to make a purchase, it takes more than a good product. It requires strategic, long-term marketing designed to build familiarity, create repetition, and drive recognition.

1. Building Familiarity

Familiarity breeds trust. In a consumer world of endless options, people naturally gravitate towards what they recognise. We help our clients build consistent, cohesive brand identities across every touchpoint, from social media to packaging, from content to customer experience.

We don’t believe in one-off campaigns. We believe in sustained visibility, grounded in your brand’s values and voice.

2. Creating Repetition

It’s not enough to show up once, sit back, and hope it sticks. Repetition is what moves a brand from obscurity to memory. But repetition doesn’t mean saying the same thing over and over in exactly the same way; it means showing up consistently with a recognisable message, look, and tone.

At CMG, we design content calendars, campaign strategies, and messaging systems that ensure your brand isn’t just seen, it’s remembered through rhythm, storytelling, and intelligent, strategic distribution.

3. Driving Recognition

Recognition leads to action. Once your brand becomes familiar and consistent, it builds a level of comfort that accelerates decision-making. Your audience begins to associate your brand with a category (“hotel = you,” “shoes = you”), so when the moment comes to buy, they don’t hesitate.

We help our clients strengthen their brand characteristics, those distinctive visual, verbal, and emotional cues that set them apart. Logos, colour palettes, taglines, tone of voice, brand rituals, we ensure every piece works together to cement your identity in the mind of your audience.

How CMG Makes Brands Memorable

At CMG, we craft strategic foundations by helping clients show up, stick around, and stay top-of-mind.

Brand Strategy with Depth

We dig deep to understand what makes your brand unique, meaningful, and worth remembering. We then transform those insights into clear messaging frameworks, positioning strategies, and visual systems that stick in the minds of your target audiences.

Content that Connects

Our creative team produces content that aligns with your brand’s identity and speaks to your audience where they are. From videos to blogs, social campaigns to email eshots, we create with consistency and clarity purposely designed to reinforce recognition.

Campaigns with Purpose

Every campaign we run is designed not just to convert but to contribute to memorability. We craft multi-touch campaigns that balance emotional resonance with strategic repetition, ensuring your brand becomes embedded in the buyers’ (and potential buyers’) subconsciouses.

Transparent Marketing Principles

We want your brand to be committed to memory, but for good reasons. We focus building your brand up on trust, not manipulation, by adding value, not noise. After all, transparent, meaningful brands are the most memorable of all.

Your Brand Deserves to Be Remembered

In today’s world, attention is fragmented. People are bombarded with thousands of messages every day. So, how do you stand out?

Be the brand they can’t forget.

Whether you’re launching something new, repositioning an existing offer, or trying to rise above the noise, CMG can help you become the brand that’s chosen, not just because it persuades, but because it sticks.

Because when the decisive buy-or-pass moment comes, people will pick the brand they remember.

Let’s make sure that brand is yours.

Ready to become unforgettable?

Reach out to The Conscious Marketing Group today and let’s craft a strategy that puts your brand top-of-mind, where it belongs.

Pricing isn’t just a number on a tag or a figure in a spreadsheet – it’s a story, a declaration of value, and a compass to help guide your brand’s trajectory and marketability. Consciously deciding how to price a product opens a world of possibilities. This exploration of pricing not only reveals the deeper layers of your business strategy but also builds a psychological connection with your customers that can lead to loyalty, advocacy, and growth. 

In short, pricing is transformative. It can reposition a brand, disrupt tired markets, and create opportunities to grow revenue all while capturing the hearts of valued customers, both loyal and new. However, the fundamental question is still: how do you craft a pricing strategy that not only reflects the essence of your brand but also captivates your audience and aligns with your business goals? 

Let’s explore pricing as a strategic tool so that you can understand and uncover the pricing models that can turn your product into an offering that resonates, inspires, and thrives. 

Pricing as a Strategic Tool 

Pricing is far more than a financial exercise. It’s a signal of value, a marker of differentiation, and a bridge between your brand and your customers. Each price tells a story about your product’s worth, who it’s for, and how it fits into their lives. 

When done consciously, pricing can: 

The essence of pricing lies in alignment; aligning the value you deliver with what your audience is willing to pay and what your business needs to thrive is key. 

The Universe of Pricing Models 

At its core, every pricing model is a lens through which a brand views its value and its customers. The pricing method you choose amplifies your strengths, addresses market challenges, and guides your business toward its goals. But how do you know that you’re picking the right pricing method for your brand? We’ve created a super simple guide to help make the complexities of market pricing a bit more digestible. Below are some of the most effective models and the contexts in which they shine. 

Cost-Plus Pricing: The Starting Point 

Cost-plus pricing is simplicity in action. By calculating production costs and adding a markup, you ensure profitability with every sale. 

This pricing method is pragmatic but rarely magical. It works when costs are consistent, but in competitive markets or value-driven industries, it can feel disconnected from what truly matters for ensuring steady future growth: the customer experience. 

Value-Based Pricing: The Customer’s Perspective 

Value-based pricing shifts the focus from what your product costs to what it is worth. Here, price reflects the benefits, emotional resonance, or transformative powers your product offers. 

This model isn’t just about selling, it’s about storytelling. When executed well, value-based pricing elevates a product from a transaction to an experience customers can’t live without. 

Penetration Pricing: Building Bridges 

Penetration pricing involves setting a low initial price to attract attention, gain market share, and establish a foothold. 

This approach works when you’re playing the long game. It’s not about immediate profit but rather about establishing a relationship, with the intent of growing together as brand and loyal customer. 

Premium Pricing: The Art of Exclusivity 

Premium pricing is an assertion: “This is not for everyone. This is for those who want (and can afford) the best.” In essence, this is the pricing method of every luxury brand you can think of – Tiffany & Co., Chanel, Givenchy, the list is endless.  

Premium pricing thrives on consistency. The price, the product, and the experience must align to sustain the allure of exclusivity. 

Freemium Pricing: An Invitation to Explore 

Freemium pricing offers a glimpse of value at no cost, with paid tiers for enhanced features or experiences – think Bumble, Duolingo, and Spotify. 

Freemium is an act of generosity, inviting users to experience your brand. The conversion comes on the trust and value your users feel they gained from your product. When this trust and value are built consciously and precisely, they can lead to the creation of lifelong customers. 

Dynamic Pricing: The Science of Flexibility 

Dynamic pricing adjusts in real time based on demand, competition, or customer behaviour. 

Dynamic pricing requires transparency and balance. Customers should feel that the pricing flexibility being offered to them is enhancing their experience, not taking advantage of them and their wallets. 

Tying Pricing to the Bigger Picture 

Pricing doesn’t exist in a vacuum. It’s woven intrinsically throughout the fabric of your brand’s narrative and strategy. A worthwhile pricing strategy amplifies your broader marketing efforts, enhancing resonance and driving results. 

Every price you set plays a vital role in your brand’s overall story. It should reinforce who you are, what you stand for, and why your customers should care. 

Unlock the Magic of Pricing 

The art of pricing isn’t about finding the perfect number, it’s about uncovering what your product represents, who it serves, and what it promises. When you align your pricing with your brand’s essence, you are inviting your customers to see, experience, and believe in the value offered by your brand. 

From cost-plus to premium, from freemium to dynamic, pricing models offer more than financial solutions, they offer opportunities to build trust, excitement, and loyalty. Conscious pricing transforms a transaction into a relationship and a product into an icon. 

So, ask yourself: what story does your pricing tell?  

When pricing becomes more than a number, it becomes a beacon, drawing your customers toward not just a purchase, but a belief in your brand’s possibilities.

Virality isn’t an accident. Nor is it just a lucky break granted by the algorithm gods. It’s something that happens when content taps into a fundamental human instinct: the desire to share.

Every viral post, campaign, or piece of content has one thing in common, it makes people want to turn to a friend, a colleague, or their WhatsApp group chat and say, “Have you seen this?/This made me think of you.”

At The Conscious Marketing Group, we believe that virality isn’t about chasing trends or crossing fingers and hoping that something sticks. It’s about understanding why people want to share content in the first place, then designing content with clear, conscious thinking that makes it easy for them to do so. In this article, we’ll break down the mechanics of viral sharing and how UK businesses can create marketing that audiences want to share.

Why Do People Share?

At its core, sharing is a social act. As humans, we don’t just share for the sake of it, we share because it serves a purpose for us. If a piece of content doesn’t offer us or someone we know something valuable, it’s unlikely to travel far.

So, how does that translate to marketing content? There are a few key psychological drivers behind why people feel the desire to share content they come across:

To Entertain

Humour is one of the strongest catalysts for virality. A hilarious tweet, a perfectly timed meme, or an unexpected punchline in a video all trigger that instant urge to share that we’ve all felt. When something makes us laugh, we instinctively want others to experience that same joy.

To Educate or Inform

We like to be the first to share useful information – the original bearer of educational information. Whether it’s an industry insight, a shocking statistic, or a fresh take on an old problem, valuable knowledge spreads because it makes the sharer look insightful and in-the-know.

To Express Identity

Sharing is a form of self-expression. We share content that aligns with our beliefs, values, or interests; a bold opinion piece, a relatable struggle, or a piece of content that captures a feeling we’ve never been able to articulate, these all make people think, “That is me.”

To Strengthen Relationships

Sometimes, sharing is about connection. A funny video sent to a friend, a nostalgic post tagged with an old colleague’s name, a photo used as an excuse to get in touch with an ex, these small moments keep relationships alive. If content sparks conversation, it has a natural path to spread.

To Signal Status

People share content that makes us look good. Be it by showing off our knowledge, taste, or sense of humour, if a piece of content makes us feel smarter, ahead of the curve, or part of an exclusive group, we’ll pass it on.

The “Who” Matters Just as Much as the “Why”

Understanding why people share is step one, but step two is the equally important question: who are they sharing it with?

Virality happens within networks. A single person might share a piece of content, but if it doesn’t reach the right audience, it stalls and crashes out.

Brands have to think strategically and clarify precisely who they want their content to land with and travel to:

By parking the idea of asking, “How do we go viral?” and adopting the strategy of asking: “Who would share this, and who would they send it to?” brands can benefit from a targeted, conscious marketing approach rather than leaving it up to luck.

How to Create Content People Want to Share

If businesses want their content to spread, they need to design it for sharing from the start. That means creating content that makes people look good when they share it, gives them a reason to pass it on, and feels tailor-made for the right audience.

While there isn’t a one-size-fits-all marketing approach that works flawlessly every time, there are five steadfast rules that, if followed, offer a strong foundation to start. Here’s how to do it:

1. Start With Emotion

Content that sparks emotion, whether it’s laughter, surprise, curiosity, or even outrage, is far more likely to be shared. Start by asking: What reaction do we want this to trigger?

2. Make It Instantly Understandable

People share things they can grasp in seconds, and as social media continues to shorten people’s attention spans, we have fewer seconds in which to grab audiences’ attention. If someone has to read a paragraph before they understand what you’re saying or selling then it’s too complicated. Simplify your message and make sure it’s crystal clear at first glance.

3. Encourage “Inside Joke” Energy

People love content that makes them feel like part of a group. Whether it’s industry-specific humour, relatable struggles, or clever nods to shared experiences, content that taps into a sense of belonging spreads fast.

4. Leverage Trends, But Make Them Your Own

Jumping on a trend can work if you add something unique. Too many brands simply replicate what’s already popular, but the ones that succeed take a trend and put a fresh, unexpected spin on it.

5. Optimise for Private Sharing

If your content isn’t something people would DM to a friend, it’s missing out on a huge channel of organic reach. Short-form videos, bold statements, unique humour, and surprising insights all thrive in private conversations.

Going Beyond Virality: Creating Sustainable Word-of-Mouth

Going viral is incredible, but for brands, the real goal is sustained, meaningful engagement. Virality without strategy is a fleeting win, a flash in the pan and a glimpse of what your content could be. The brands that succeed aren’t the ones chasing random viral moments; they’re the ones building long-term, word-of-mouth shareability by consistently creating content that people want to talk about.

At CMG, we help UK businesses craft marketing strategies that don’t rely on luck. We understand that virality isn’t magic, it’s about knowing your audience, tapping into their emotions, and making it effortless for people to share your content.

Instead of asking, “How can we go viral?” the real question is:

“Are we creating something that’s genuinely worth sharing?”

Answer that, and you’re not just chasing trends, you’re creating marketing that moves.

The New Year brings more than just a fresh start — it marks a powerful moment of transformation for consumers. It’s a time when people assess their habits, make resolutions, and embrace new goals. For brands, this reset presents a unique opportunity to connect with customers when they’re not just open to changes, they’re actively seeking how to make them. Understanding how these shifts in behaviour happen and how your brand can align with them can help you create marketing strategies that break into established routines and position your brand as part of the new ones. 

This month, we’re exploring why the New Year is a critical time for customer engagement, how your brand can make a meaningful impact, and share actionable strategies to create marketing campaigns that resonate with customers during this pivotal time in the marketing landscape. 

The New Year: A Unique Moment to Connect with Customers 

For many people, the New Year is a symbolic “reset.” It’s a time to reflect on the past and set intentions for the future, whether that’s committing to a healthier lifestyle, improving financial habits, or simply trying a new hobby. The psychological impact of this time is powerful; research shows that over 40% of adults make New Year’s resolutions, often centred on personal growth. This mindset makes January an ideal time for brands to reach out and form stronger, lasting connections with their audiences. 

The timing of the New Year makes it particularly impactful for brands. It’s a moment when people are motivated, receptive, and ready to embrace new habits, products, and experiences. For businesses big or small, this is an opportunity to engage with customers in a way that speaks directly to their new aspirations and desires for improvement. 

New Year’s resolutions often lead to long-term behavioural changes. Generally speaking, people are more likely to stick with new habits if they feel supported, encouraged, and guided. If your brand can provide these feelings of care and support, you are more likely to create customers that are invested in your brand’s success and remain long-term loyal customers.  

Breaking into Established Routines and Becoming Part of New Ones 

As New Year’s resolutions are about change, that means that often old patterns of behaviour need to be broken or altered. Whether it’s ditching unhealthy habits, saving more money, or learning a new skill, people often look to build new routines that align with their fresh goals. But forming new habits can be difficult. People often need a little extra support and motivation to make these new changes last. 

This is where your brand can step in. The key to success is understanding that customers are in the midst of reshaping their habits and routines. By offering products, services, or experiences that make it easier for them to embrace and work toward their resolutions, you can help break into their existing routines and become part of the new ones they’re trying to build. 

If it helps, you can think of the New Year as a bridge between the old and the new. This transitional period presents an opportunity for brands to introduce themselves as valuable allies in the process. Whether it’s through a time-saving tool, a health-related product, or an educational service, your brand can be part of the solution people need to succeed in their new endeavours. 

Actionable Strategies for Marketing Campaigns Tailored to the New Year 

To make the most of the New Year’s reset, your brand needs to focus on creating campaigns that resonate with the mindset of your target audience. Here are six actionable strategies to consider when planning your marketing efforts: 

1. Align Your Messaging with New Year’s Aspirations 

The New Year is about self-improvement, fresh starts, and setting intentions. Your messaging should tap into this desire for growth and transformation. For example, if your brand offers a product or service that supports health, productivity, or self-care, position it as a key part of helping consumers achieve their goals. 

Actionable Tip: Create campaigns that use positive, aspirational language. Focus on how your product can help customers “start fresh” or “embrace change.” Instead of simply promoting features, highlight how your product or service will support your customers’ larger life goals — whether it’s getting healthier mentally and physically, improving finances, or learning a brand-new skill. 

2. Capitalise on the Habit-Forming Mindset 

New Year’s resolutions are often centred around the desire to build new habits. Brands that position themselves as a strong, beneficial part of this process are more likely to see long-term engagement and brand loyalty. Whether it’s a health and wellness routine, a savings plan, or a step-by-step learning journey, your brand can help customers establish and maintain their positive new habits. 

Actionable Tip: Offer products or services that support customers in sticking to their resolutions. If you’re a fitness brand, offer a “30-day challenge” or subscription packages that keep people motivated beyond the first few weeks of January. For educational brands, offer a structured course or calendar to help users build learning habits. For financial brands, provide tools or apps that make budgeting and saving easier and desirable. 

3. Use Time-Sensitive Offers to Create Urgency 

The New Year is a time when people are eager to take action. As a brand, you can capitalise on this urgency by offering limited-time promotions or exclusive deals that tap into that “fresh start” mentality. These promotions not only drive immediate sales but also create a sense of exclusivity, encouraging customers to act quickly while they’re feeling motivated. 

Actionable Tip: Launch a “New Year, New You” campaign with time-limited discounts, bundles, or VIP packages. Emphasise the idea that it’s the perfect moment to make a change and offer special deals to encourage immediate purchases. For example, if you’re a skincare brand, offer a “New Year Glow” starter kit at a discounted price or include a free consultation for fitness or nutrition products. 

4. Personalise Your Campaigns 

One of the most powerful ways to connect with customers is by offering personalised experiences that reflect their unique goals and aspirations. Data-driven marketing can help tailor your messaging based on customer behaviour, preferences, and past purchases. Personalised recommendations make customers feel valued, understood, and more likely to follow through with their resolutions. 

Actionable Tip: Use customer data to send personalised emails with tailored suggestions based on their earlier purchases. For example, if you’re a brand that sells fitness products, offer a customised training plan or a bundle based on their past shopping behaviour. Acknowledge the specific goals they may have for the New Year and suggest solutions that can help them achieve success. 

5. Incorporate Social Proof and Success Stories 

Consumers are often motivated by the success of others. If they see that others are successfully achieving their New Year’s resolutions with the help of your product, they’ll be more inclined to follow suit. Sharing testimonials, case studies, positive reviews, or success stories can be a powerful way to build trust and credibility, this is especially important as more and more consumers are seeking authenticity from brands and services. 

Actionable Tip: Feature user-generated content, testimonials, and success stories in your campaigns. If your brand helps people reach fitness goals, showcase before-and-after transformations. If your product helps people save money, share stories about customers who reached their financial goals with your help. Consider running a “success story” contest where customers can submit their own experiences with your product in exchange for a prize. 

6. Create Engaging, Value-Driven Content 

Content marketing is a fantastic way to engage with customers during the New Year reset. By providing value — whether it’s tips, how-tos, or expert advice — you can position your brand as a trusted partner in helping your consumers achieve their New Year’s goals. Content should be designed to help customers succeed and keep them engaged with your brand beyond just a one-time purchase. 

Actionable Tip: Create a content hub filled with resources that align with common New Year’s resolutions. For instance, if you’re in the wellness space, offer a free downloadable guide to setting realistic health goals. If you’re in the tech space, offer tips on using your product to improve productivity or organisation. Use blogs, videos, and social media to share helpful advice that keeps customers engaged and coming back for more. 

Helping Your Consumers Start the New Year Off Right 

The New Year is a powerful reset that offers brands a unique opportunity to connect with customers during a time of transformation and self-reflection. By understanding the mindset of your audience and crafting marketing campaigns that align with their New Year’s aspirations, you can break into established routines and become an essential part of their new ones. 

Use the actionable strategies outlined above to engage customers, build long-term loyalty, and position your brand as a valuable ally in their pursuit of a better year. When done right, the New Year reset isn’t just a fleeting moment, it’s an opportunity to create lasting connections and set the stage for sustained success in the year ahead. 

At The Conscious Marketing Group, we specialise in helping brands navigate these seasonal shifts, creating campaigns that resonate with customers and drive results. Let us help you make the most of the New Year reset. 

It’s that time of year again. The inbox is full of newsletters from marketing gurus, each proclaiming they have the ultimate but simple guide to crush the competition in 2025. There are webinars, ebooks, digital courses, and articles galore – all screaming for your attention. They’re asking the same questions: What should you prepare for? What should you avoid at all costs? And how do you make sure your brand isn’t left behind? 

As much as we at Conscious Marketing Group would love to sit on the sidelines, popcorn in hand, watching the industry frantically predict the next big thing, we can’t. It’s our job as a marketing agency with your brand’s best interest at its core to keep you informed with the trends that will help boost growth for your brand. In the spirit of providing real, actionable insights (and keeping the hype in check), let’s break down the (projected) marketing trends of 2025 that are worth your attention. 

1. The AI Revolution Will Reach New Heights – But Stay Human 

If you think artificial intelligence (AI) has already taken over marketing and can’t possibly integrate itself any further, you should probably brace yourself. By 2025, it is thought that AI will be more deeply integrated into every aspect of marketing. From campaign design and execution to customer service and communication, AI-powered content creation, hyper-targeted ads, chatbots that understand context and sentiment, and predictive analytics are going to become the norm. And it’s projected to be faster, smarter, and more efficient. 

But here’s the thing, with all the technological advancements at your fingertips, the brands that thrive will be the ones that maintain a human touch. Customers are already wary of the impersonal nature of AI-generated content and while AI can streamline processes, you’ll still need to ensure that your brand’s messaging and ethos still resonate on an emotional and human level. In 2025, empathy and emotional intelligence will set excellent brands apart from the ones that rely too heavily on automation. 

Pro Tip:  

Use AI as an assistant, not a replacement. Let it help with personalisation and data analysis but keep humans at the heart of your messaging. Ultimately and in terms of sustainable future growth, empathy-driven marketing will win hearts, while cold, robotic interactions will drive people away. 

2. Privacy Concerns Will Reshape Data Strategies 

If 2023 and 2024 were all about adjusting to General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and other privacy regulations, 2025 is projected to take things up a notch. Consumers are more wary and protective of their data than ever before, especially with the news around recent data breaches of major digital companies, and they are becoming increasingly skeptical of how brands use it. In response, governments worldwide are tightening their data privacy laws, and third-party cookies will once again have their head on the chopping block in 2025. 

Brands will need to shift from a third-party data strategy to a first-party data approach. In simple terms, this means your brand will have to build deeper relationships with its audience and get them to willingly share their information with you – whether through personalised experiences, value-driven content, or transparent communication about how their data will be used. Trust and authenticity will be key to building brand advocates and enthusiasts in the upcoming year. 

Pro Tip:  

Prioritise trust. Be clear, transparent, and upfront about your data practices. Implement ethical data collection methods and give consumers control over how their data is used – after all, it is their data. A trust-first approach will not only help you comply with regulations but also foster brand loyalty. 

3. The Rise of Purpose-Driven Brands  

It’s no longer enough to just have a great product or service – consumers are demanding more from the companies they support. By 2025, purpose-driven marketing will be a must. Consumers, especially younger generations, want to know that the brands they engage with and support align with their personal values. Whether these are sustainability, social justice, or mental health awareness, brands need to stand for something beyond just profit. 

Making this work is harder than it sounds, and brand authenticity is the key to success. Consumers can smell inauthenticity a mile off, and if your brand jumps on a cause bandwagon without genuine commitment, it could (and most likely will) backfire. Brands that chose to show their alignment to social causes and sustainability through action will win consumer trust, while those that engage in performative activism should prepare themselves to face serious and swift backlash. 

Pro Tip:  

Identify the values that are core to your brand and build them into the DNA of your brand. Don’t just market your purpose but show that you live it. Whether through sustainable practices, inclusive campaigns, or giving back to communities, make sure your actions reflect your brand’s ethos and mission. 

4. Video Content Will Dominate…Again 

Surprise, surprise – video content will continue its reign in 2025, but with a few key shifts. Short-form video platforms like TikTok and Instagram Reels will remain popular, but longer-form content is making a slow and steady comeback. As consumers become more discerning in the content they are consuming, they’re looking for deeper, more meaningful content from the brands they follow and choose to support. 

Additionally, shoppable video content is projected to rise due to its quick-growing popularity toward the second half of 2024. This form of content allows consumers to purchase directly from video streams. Live streaming and interactive video experiences will become essential tools for engaging audiences in real-time, whether for product launches, behind-the-scenes content, or live Q&A sessions. 

Pro Tip:  

Don’t simply focus on quantity, focus on quality. Create videos that are engaging, informative, and, above all, aligned with your brand story and true to its personality. Be sure to make your video content accessible, with captions and audio descriptions, to reach a wider audience. 

5. The Metaverse: Hype or Reality? 

We can’t talk about 2025 digital marketing trends without mentioning the metaverse, that futuristic space where digital worlds meet human interaction. While the metaverse has been hyped for years, 2025 may be the year it goes mainstream (maybe) at least for certain industries and sectors. Fashion, gaming, entertainment, health, and education are poised to lead the way, with more immersive experiences being created for consumers.  

For brands, this could mean everything from virtual product launches to immersive shopping experiences. However, it’s important to approach the metaverse with caution. The space is still evolving, and the last thing you want to do is dive into an expensive marketing experiment that doesn’t align with your audience or brand. 

Pro Tip:  

Don’t jump on the metaverse bandwagon just because it’s trendy. Take time to understand how your target audience interacts with the digital world and whether the metaverse makes sense for your brand. If it does, focus on creating authentic, value-driven experiences and products rather than flashy gimmicks. 

6. Sustainability Is No Longer Optional 

Sustainability isn’t just a buzzword anymore. By 2025, consumers will expect brands to be leaders in environmental responsibility and ethical practices. Whether through sustainable packaging, eco-friendly production processes, or partnerships with organisations dedicated to environmental causes, brands that prioritise the planet are on target to win consumer loyalty. 

Branding yourself as a sustainable business or organisation, is more than slapping a “green” label on your products and calling it a day, as many brands have done in the past. Greenwashing will be scrutinised even more closely in 2025. Consumers are savvy, and they expect brands to provide real, measurable proof of their sustainability efforts. 

Pro Tip:  

Be transparent about your sustainability journey. If you’re not perfect yet, that’s okay but be honest about it and highlight the steps you’re taking to get there. Share your goals, your progress, and the challenges you’re facing. Remember, authenticity can earn your brand a trusting and loyal following. 

7. Community-Driven Brands Will Thrive 

Community will be at the heart of successful marketing in 2025. Consumers are looking for more than just products; they want to be part of something bigger. Brands that foster genuine, interactive communities around their values, products, or causes will build deeper connections with their audiences. 

Whether it’s through online forums, social media groups, or even in-person events, creating spaces where your audience can engage with each other – and your brand – will be critical to building long-term loyalty and future growth. 

Pro Tip:  

Invest in creating a community where your audience feels seen and heard. Listen to their feedback, foster meaningful conversations, and encourage them to share their own stories. A strong community will become your most powerful marketing tool. 

Conclusion 

As we gear up for 2025, it’s clear that the marketing landscape is evolving. The brands that will thrive are the ones that remain adaptable, empathetic, and purpose-driven. At the Conscious Marketing Group, our goal is to help your brand navigate these trends with clarity and confidence without getting caught up in the hype. 

So, as you map out your 2025 marketing strategy, keep these trends in mind. Leverage AI, prioritise privacy, stand for something real, and most importantly, stay human. The future of marketing is bright – let’s build it together. 

Uncovering a brand’s true essence opens up a world of possibilities. This exploration of what is behind a brand not only unveils the core of what a brand genuinely represents but also paves the way for creating lifelong customers and ardent fans. It can radically transform tired and outdated narratives, opening new avenues to drive growth and explore uncharted territories within the world of marketing. This process of uncovering and discovering what a brand can really offer is magical. But the pivotal question remains: how can you distil the essence of your brand into a story that not only resonates but also captivates your target audience?  

Step 1: Discover Your Brand’s Core Identity 

The initial step in crafting a compelling brand story is to take a deep dive into your brand’s core identity. What values do you stand for? What is your mission? Why was your company or business founded in the first place? These questions help unearth the foundational elements of your brand that differentiate you from competitors. This exploration involves talking to founders, long-time employees, and loyal customers, and analysing your company’s history to weave together the unique threads that form the fabric of your brand. 

A great tool to aid this discovery process is the “Brand Essence Wheel,” which helps pinpoint your brand’s character, benefits, values, and persona. This exercise ensures that every facet of your story reflects who you truly are, transforming abstract values into tangible narratives that people can connect with emotionally. 

Step 2: Understand Your Audience  

 A story is only as powerful as its impact on the audience. To truly resonate, you must understand the emotions and psyche of those you wish to reach. Developing detailed buyer personas is more than an exercise, it’s a critical investment. Ask yourself:  

 Engage with your audience through surveys, social media interactions, and direct feedback to grasp their perspectives. This deeper level understanding allows you to tailor your story, ensuring it not only reaches your audience but resonates, making the narrative something they can see themselves in. 

Step 3: Your Unique Selling Proposition Is Part of Your Narrative  

Every brand has something that makes it unique – its Unique Selling Proposition (USP). Your brand story should be an embodiment of this distinctiveness. It’s not just about what you sell, but how what you are selling transforms lives. Whether it’s exceptional customer service, innovative product features, or a commitment to sustainability or social consciousness, your USP should be weaved seamlessly into your brand story. Highlight how your products or services solve problems in a way no one else can and use real-life examples, customer testimonials, and behind-the-scenes insights to show (not just tell) how your brand embodies its values and delivers on its promises.

Step 4: Craft an Emotional Appeal 

Humans are emotional beings, and stories that stir up strong feelings create lasting impressions. Infuse your brand story with emotions that align with your core values and resonate with your target audience. Whether it’s joy, trust, anticipation, or relief, tapping into these emotions can elevate your narrative transforming it from informative to inspiring. 

Use powerful storytelling elements such as metaphors, vivid descriptions, and relatable characters to make your brand story more engaging and relatable. Remember, the goal is to make your audience feel and connect to something, compelling them to act, whether it’s making a purchase, signing up for a newsletter, or joining a community.

Step 5: Consistency is Key 

Once your brand story is crafted, maintaining consistency across all platforms is essential. Your website, social media, advertising, and even your product packaging should all tell the same story. Your audience should be able to jump from one to the other and know, beyond a shadow of a doubt, that they are still reading the story of your brand. This consistency builds trust and reinforces your brand identity, making it easier for customers to remember and recognise your brand across different mediums, instantly. 

Ensure that your tone, style, and messaging are uniform, whether you’re creating a video script, a blog post, or an Instagram caption. Each piece of content is a chapter of the same book, contributing to a coherent story that embodies your brand essence.  

That’s The Magic of Storytelling 

The process of uncovering and discovering what a brand can really offer isn’t just informative; it’s transformative. By delving deep into the essence of your brand and presenting it through a carefully crafted, emotionally resonant story, you create avenues and opportunities for genuine connection. This not only endears you to your existing audience but also attracts new customers, turning first-time buyers into lifelong fans. 

As you continue to refine and adapt your brand story, remember that it is a living narrative, evolving with your brand and your audience. With each iteration, you refine and enhance your connection, ensuring that your brand not only tells a story but lives it, creating a legacy of authenticity and purpose in the hearts and minds of your audience. 

Developing a customer journey map can seem like an insurmountable task, the customer can be fickle, with intricate emotions, and quickly changing needs and wants. Mapping their journey is a process that demands careful consideration, thorough research, and continuous refinement to develop a clear picture of how your customers experience your brand at every touchpoint. Drawing out a customer journey map simply cannot happen overnight; it requires patience, commitment, detailed analysis, and the willingness to understand your customer’s opinions and perspectives. However, the payoff is worth every bit of energy you invest, as it offers invaluable insight into how your customers interact with your brand and where you can improve to meet – and exceed – their expectations. 

At the Conscious Marketing Group (CMG), we understand the critical role your customers’ experience plays in determining the success of your brand. We know how the right customer interaction at the right time can make all the difference, turning a potential lead into a loyal customer. But how can you ensure that you are aligning your brand, its personality, essence, and story, with what your customers’ needs and desires? How can you anticipate the emotional and practical steps your customer will take, ensuring they feel recognised, understood, and appreciated along the way to create ardent brand supporters? 

Customer journey mapping. 

A customer journey map is a visual representation that outlines your customers’ experiences as they interact with your brand – from their discovery of your product or service to post-purchase support and engagement. It tells the story of their journey, detailing their interactions, emotions, and decisions they make throughout. 

In this guide, we will walk you through a step-by-step process to create an effective customer journey map that will help you build a stronger connection with your audience and guide your marketing strategy with precision and empathy.  

Step 1: Define Clear Objectives 

Before getting bogged down with minute details, it’s crucial to first define why you are creating a customer journey map. What is the purpose? What is your goal?  

Begin by asking yourself a few simple questions: Am I looking to improve my customers’ experience at a particular stage of their journey? Am I launching a new product or service and want to ensure my marketing touchpoints are aligned with customer expectations to avoid disappointment or negative feedback? Have I noticed gaps in my customer retention efforts and need to address them? 

By answering these questions, you can begin to establish clear goals, you lay the foundation for how you will approach the mapping process. This step helps ensure that all subsequent efforts are aligned with achieving specific, actionable results, be it boosting customer satisfaction, identifying pain points, or improving conversion rates, clarity of purpose will help guide you in the right direction.  

Step 2: Research Your Customers, Gather Data 

The second step in the process is information gathering. You need to gather as much information about your customers as possible; the most accurate journey maps are based on real customer experiences and don’t rely on assumptions. 

Start by collecting both qualitative and quantitative data that will help you get a clearer understanding of your actual customer base. Luckily, there are numerous ways to do this including conducting interviews, surveys, focus groups, and customer feedback sessions. Additionally, you can use analytics from your website, social media platforms, and CRM systems to get a full picture of how your customers behave across various channels. 

This data should cover everything from demographic information to behavioural patterns and can be garnered by asking the following questions:   

Understanding your customers’ needs and motivations is crucial to accurately mapping their journey and identifying opportunities for improvement. 

Step 3: Create Customer Personas 

Once you have collected the necessary data, you can segment your audience into distinct customer personas. These personas are semi-fictional characters that represent the various customers who interact with your brand. These characters should be based on the patterns, needs, and behaviours found during your research. 

 Each persona should have a backstory, demographic details, motivations, goals, pain points, and buying habits. By creating these personas, you can personalise your customer journey map to reflect the different experiences and emotional journeys each group of customers goes through. This helps ensure that your map stays relevant to various customer segments, leading to more targeted strategies and messaging. 

Step 4: Identify Touchpoints and Key Consumer Stages 

The next step is to identify every possible touchpoint where your customers interact with your brand. These could be online touchpoints such as your website, email campaigns, or social media, as well as offline touchpoints like in-store experiences, phone calls, or events. 

Break down the consumer journey into key stages, such as awareness, consideration, purchase, and post-purchase. Each stage represents a unique phase in your customer’s relationship with your brand, and the touchpoints you identify will help you see where you need to improve or optimise your communication efforts. 

At each touchpoint, ask yourself: 

Step 5: Map Out the Current Customer Experience 

Now it’s time to bring it all together by mapping out the current customer experience. This is where you visually plot out each stage of the journey for each customer persona. You want to illustrate not only the actions your customers are taking at each touchpoint, but also their emotional state and any barriers they might face along the way.  

Use a visual format that works for you and your team – this could be in the form of a flowchart, diagram, or timeline. For each stage, highlight what the customer is doing, thinking, and feeling. Remember to include those points of positive and negative experiences, and the areas where there is friction or room for improvement.  

This step is imperative for gaining an in-depth and usable understanding of the customer’s perspective so you can better empathise with their challenges and frustrations and begin finding opportunities and ways to improve their experience, helping create long-term supporters of your brand. 

Step 6: Identify Gaps and Opportunities 

As you map out the customer journey, you’ll begin to see gaps or sticking points that may be preventing your customers from having a smith experience with your brand. These are the areas where you should focus your efforts to improve your marketing strategy, customer service, or product or service offering. 

Look for those places where customers tend to drop off or get frustrated and ask yourself why. Are there unclear instructions? Is the checkout process too complicated? Are you missing key communication or information at important points in the journey? 

On the other side, you might also discover positive moments that you can enhance or replicate elsewhere in the journey. These opportunities are your chance to exceed customer expectations, building stronger relationships and fostering a sense of brand loyalty.  

Step 7: Don’t Stay Static – Continue to Refine and Update 

Customer journeys are not static – they evolve as your customers’ needs change and as your business develops and grows. This is why it’s important to continuously refine your customer journey map over time. Regularly gather new data, revisit pain points, and update your touchpoints to reflect changes in your brand or customer behaviour. 

Keeping your customer journey map updated ensures your marketing strategies and customer experience efforts are always aligned with current customer expectations. 

Conclusion 

Creating a customer journey map is an ongoing process that requires dedication, hard work, and attention to detail. But the benefits are undeniable. By understanding your customers on a deeper level, you are able to create personalised experiences that lead to stronger brand loyalty, improved conversion rates, and a more engaged, loyal audience. Mapping and refining your customer’s journey are investments in your brand’s long-term success by helping to create and nurture a brand worth remembering. 

Influencers are everywhere. They are photographing their eggs Benedict at your favourite restaurant; they are queuing up to catch the perfect Golden Hour lighting at premier holiday destinations; they are displaying the latest must-have clothing on the streets of cities around the world. It would appear that they are unstoppable. 

The most successful brands realised their potential early, which is why we’ve seen the rapid growth of influencer marketing. As an industry estimated to be worth $17.4 billion as of 2023, according to Fortune Business Insights, influencer marketing is not only thriving but also projected to grow steadily in the coming years. For brands looking to leverage this market, the question is this: How do you use influencer marketing to its fullest potential while adhering to best practices and maintaining ethical integrity? 

Let’s cover the best practices for influencer marketing and explore some of the ethical considerations that are crucial for building trust with your audience.  

Understanding the Influencer Landscape 

Before diving into influencer marketing best practices, it’s important to understand the distinct types of influencers that operate on social media platforms, their audience numbers, and their market potential and limitations.  

 1. Nano-influencers (1K – 10K followers): Highly engaged audiences and strong personal connections. Best for niche markets and targeted campaigns. 

2. Micro-influencers (10K – 100K followers): Often experts in specific niches. They boast higher engagement rates than macro-influencers and are more cost-effective. 

3. Macro-influencers (100K – 1M followers): Broad reach and influence across various topics, but often have a lower engagement rate due to the size of their following. 

4. Mega-influencers (1M+ followers): These influencers, including celebrities, have massive reach, but at the cost of a less engaged audience. Their fees are the highest, but they can provide brand visibility at an incredible scale. 

Knowing which category of influencer appropriately aligns with your brand’s goals is crucial for success. For example, a niche beauty brand might see better Return on Investment (ROI) working with a micro-influencer known for authentic beauty product reviews rather than a mega-influencer with a general audience and a less loyal and emotionally invested fan base. 

Best Practices for Influencer Marketing 

1. Your Brand Needs the Right Influencers 

Not all influencers are created equal, and it’s vital that brands choose those those who align with their values, audience, and goals. Don’t just go for influencers based on follower count – take the time to have a proper look at their content style, engagement rates, and audience demographics.  

How to evaluate potential influencers: 

2. Set Clear Goals and Key Performance Indicators (KPIs)

Influencer campaigns need to have a clear goal, whether that’s to increase brand awareness, drive sales, or grow social media followings. Keeping this in mind, it may be best to create specific, measurable, and time-bound KPIs to track campaign success. 

Common KPIs include: 

3. Prioritise Authenticity

One of the most significant reasons people follow influencers is authenticity. Consumers crave genuine opinions and unfiltered content, which is why influencer marketing can be so effective – when it is done right.

Avoid scripted or overly promotional content. Audiences can tell when an influencer’s endorsement doesn’t feel real, and that can harm both the influencer’s and the brand’s credibility. Encourage influencers to review your product or service in a way that feels natural to their style and resonates naturally with their audience. 

4. Create Long-Term Partnerships 

The best influencer-brand relationships are built on long-term partnerships. One-off collaborations can be effective for short-term goals, but long-term relationships create deeper trust and authenticity. When an influencer repeatedly features your brand over time, their audience is more likely to see the endorsement as genuine and trustworthy. 

A strategic, long-term partnership can also help foster loyalty from the influencer’s community. Repetition reinforces brand recognition, and consistent messaging over time increases the likelihood of consumer trust and conversions.

5. Measure and Optimise Performance 

After launching an influencer campaign, measure its effectiveness against your initial goals and KPIs. Use social media analytics, affiliate tracking, and influencer management platforms to assess what worked and what didn’t.  

Some elements to review: 

 Once you’ve gathered these insights, you will be able to optimise future campaigns based on your findings. Whether it’s choosing different influencers or adjusting the format of the content, constant refinement ensures sustained success for your brand long-term. 

Ethical Considerations in Influencer Marketing  

With influencer marketing growing rapidly, ethical concerns have become more prevalent. Consumers are increasingly aware of sponsored content and have higher expectations and demands for transparency and honesty. 

1. Transparency and Disclosure 

One of the most important ethical considerations is transparency. Influencers must clearly disclose sponsored content, if they have been paid, given free products, or offered a discount. Platforms like Instagram and YouTube have clear guidelines for this, but brands should ensure that any influencers that they choose to work with are compliant.  

When brands and influencers aren’t transparent about partnerships, it can damage trust with their audience and lead to penalties from regulatory bodies like the Competition and Markets Authority in the UK or the Federal Trade Commission in the United States. 

 Encourage your chosen influencers to use hashtags like #ad, #sponsored, or #partner, and make it clear within their captions or video descriptions that the content is part of a paid partnership.  

2. Authenticity vs. Over-commercialisation 

It can be tempting for brands to push for overly promotional content, but this can often backfire. Influencers should be free to craft messages in their own voice, making for more natural content that more strongly resonates with audiences. Overly commercialised content can disappoint and alienate followers, leading to lower engagement or even backlash against both the influencer and the brand. 

Brands should collaborate with influencers to ensure that the product integration feels natural and aligns with their regular content style.  

3. Diversity and Inclusion 

Ethical influencer marketing also involves promoting diversity and inclusion. Working with influencers from a wide range of backgrounds ensures that your brand resonates with a broader, more diverse audience. Partnering with influencers who represent different ethnicities, body types, genders, and lifestyles helps promote a realistic representation of the world in which your brand plays a significant role.  

However, it is important to avoid tokenism. Rather than working with diverse influencers solely to tick a box or fill a diversity quota, be careful to choose influencers who genuinely align with your brand’s mission and values. Authentic inclusion fosters deeper connections with audiences, and remember, audiences will know when they are witnessing something that is inauthentic.  

4. Sustainability and Responsible Promotion  

Influencer marketing has an impact on consumer behaviour, and with that comes a responsibility to promote products and services ethically. Brands and influencers should be cautious not to promote harmful or unsustainable products. Conscious consumerism is on the rise, and audiences appreciate when influencers champion ethical products – whether it’s eco-friendly packaging, cruelty-free beauty, or locally sourced goods. Kindness and consciousness is playing an increasingly important role in brand marketing.   

The Future of Ethical Influencer Marketing  

Influencer marketing shows no signs of slowing down, and for brands willing to invest in it, the potential for growth is massive. By following best practices – like choosing the right influencers, fostering long-term partnerships, and prioritising authenticity – brands can drive meaningful engagement. 

Equally important is the ethical dimension of influencer marketing. By emphasising transparency, diversity, and sustainability, brands can build trust with audiences and contribute to a more responsible and impactful industry. 

When done right, influencer marketing isn’t just about generating sales – it’s about building a community that values your brand for its authenticity and integrity.