THE BIG 3 ARE BROKEN. WHAT’S NEXT FOR BRANDS?
By Amy Kapolnek, Founder, the fwrd group, Fractional CMO, Growth Strategist, Indie Brand Specialist & Lacey Norton, Commercialization & Operations Executive, Advisor, Thoughtful Builder of Brands, Teams & Systems, GTM Expertise
Every Thursday, THE BOARD BRIEFING brings you curated industry insights directly from our Members to your inbox.
We just wrapped an amazing conversation for THE BOARD’S series Piping Hot, and we couldn’t wait to share some key takeaways with you.
Amy Kapolnek and Lacey Norton, both longtime brand builders who’ve spent their careers inside indie CPG and scaling challenger brands, share what they see next.
THE BIG IDEA: THE OLD MARKETING PLAYBOOK NO LONGER WORKS.
WHY?
Because the cost of paid media is up, and performance is way down. Brands are being forced to rethink how they connect with customers.
Meta, Google, TikTok = more expensive, less effective.
Audiences are tuning out.
Connection isn’t disappearing — it’s evolving.
SO WHERE ARE OUR BRANDS HEADING?
We’re seeing a powerful rebalancing of strategy — and a rise in digital grassroots marketing. Think early brand community energy, but adapted to today’s landscape. The new playbook is all about:
AUTHENTICITY
INTIMACY AT SCALE
PLATFORM EXPERIMENTATION BEYOND THE BIG 3
NEW CHANNELS, NEW PLAYBOOK
Here are a few channels and shifts we're exploring:
REDDIT – Real conversation. Real accountability.
Redditors are savvy, informed, and brutally honest. It's not about selling — it's about listening and participating in existing conversations.
“You can’t fake it on Reddit. If you try, they’ll smell it from a mile away.”
SUBSTACK – Storytelling is making a comeback.
A home for long-form, founder-led content that invites your audience into your purpose, not just your products.
Check out how Rare Beauty is doing this brilliantly.
ONLYFANS – Hear us out.
Beyond the headlines, it's a platform giving taboo or underrepresented voices actual power. It’s authentic, direct, and community-driven — and that’s why it matters.
TYB (Try Your Best) – Loyalty reimagined.
Founded by Ty Haney (Outdoor Voices), TYB rewards super fans for participation, not just purchases.
Think: building with your community, not marketing at them.
EMERGING PLAYS WE’RE WATCHING
Community is becoming the new marketing channel (take it from us - we’re built on it at THE BOARD!)
Connection isn’t fading — it’s being redefined.
We’re heading into an era where earned, genuine relationships will outperform paid reach every time. And the brands who invest in building community — digitally or IRL — will win.
Stay tuned — we’ll be unpacking this even further in our upcoming Lunch & Learn session, exclusively for THE BOARD members. We’ll dive deeper into frameworks, examples, and how to operationalize these channels for real impact.
Thank you for being part of this conversation.
Let’s keep pushing the playbook forward and sharing results along the way!
#IndieBrands #CPGMarketing #BrandStrategy #DigitalCommunity #RedditMarketing #Substack #OnlyFans #TYB #LinkedInLive #CommunityBuilding #GrowthMarketing #FutureOfMarketing #PipingHot
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