How to Build a Brand People Actually Remember

Howdy!! Happy Monday and last day of Q1! A little switch-up from our usual. I felt creative yesterday so we’re running with it. I hope you all had an amazing weekend and if you were in NYC, I hope you got to take advantage of the fake summer weather.

The highlight of my weekend was literally sitting still in silence for a bit. The last 4-5 weeks have been a sprint and foot on the gas at all times and haven’t gotten to prioritize me, my relationships, and just things outside of work, but that’s where you just need to know when to push and when to chill.

Anyway, after walking for hours around Brooklyn, today’s newsletter breakdown hit me. We’re going to chat about something that doesn’t get nearly enough attention — and yet it’s the reason so many brands feel like they’re spinning their wheels:

Brand awareness.
Just the simple idea of: Do people even know you exist?

I’ve been having a lot of conversations lately — with founders, marketers, and teams across the board in terms of the phase they are in — and one thing keeps coming up. It’s not that their product isn’t good. It’s not that their marketing isn’t thoughtful. It’s that… not enough people have heard of them. And without that, everything else gets harder or it’s easy to just assume the worst.

In a world where platform algorithms shift daily and attention is harder to earn, brand awareness has become both harder and more important than ever.

This week’s newsletter is a breakdown of what brand awareness really is, why it’s foundational, how some of the best brands are building it, and the underrated power of influencer marketing + product seeding to make it happen.

Let’s get into it.

Last week, I mentioned YouTube and its importance for brands and I am in your inbox to tell you today that the same goes for brand awareness. Why do so many marketers and C-suite type folks roll their eyes when the words “brand awareness” show up anywhere, but then tell their teams that they want the brand “everywhere”? Riddle me that.

Brands needs to pick a side. Personally, if you aren’t investing in a formula of brand awareness channels to help gain reach and impressions to give that FOMO (fear of missing out) energy + some paid spend, what are you doin’? 

There are a few ways brands can dip their toes into working for more awareness:

• Building the brand to be socially-first in its thinking

• Brand collaborations to tap into new communities or similar and like-minded shoppers 

• Putting the gas on outbound community management (entering new conversations vs. staying within your own)

However, influencer-focused awareness plays like gifting products, creator partnerships, whitelisting their content, creator and content collaborations, affiliate programs, and more can pull so much of this weight. 

That’s why AdFairy allows you to blend the best of both worlds by being able to find new and upcoming creators who are popping off, test verticals of the type of influencers you want, build long-term partnerships with them, gain views and impressions, and repeat. 

Trusted by leading brands like OLIPOP, Graza, and more, AdFairy allows you to discover partners that truly drive growth across Instagram, TikTok, and YouTube Shorts.

Don't believe me? Well, OLIPOP has used AdFairy to push over 3 billion organic impressions with creators. Yes, that is a B.

Brands want an easy way to monitor all of this without having to spend hours on a platform, which is why it was a no-brainer when I signed them on for Graza.

The workflow is easy.

1. Tell the AdFairy team what you are looking for across goals, verticals, CPM goals.

2. You will be given a list of top talent that helps support your initiatives that you can offer feedback on.

3. Once you approve creators, you can effortlessly monitor their progress whether a draft for content is pending, needs review, or has been uploaded.

4. As content rolls out, you can track success in real-time across how many total views the content is pulling in.

If you are a brand, who is…

• Looking to partner with influencers to supplement your current efforts and have budget to test

• Looking for a scalable solution to work with influencers month over month to support a variety of ongoing initiatives (retail launch, product launch, flavor launch, getting into a new community, etc)

• Tired of endless email chains with influencers and their agents

• Looking to increase retail velocities for your brand, especially if you have nationwide distribution

This might just be what you have been looking for. 

If you'd like to check out AdFairy for yourself, go to their website HERE to book a demo now.

Now, let’s bring it all together.

One of the most common things I see when working with early-stage CPG brands is the following: great product, solid team. decent distribution, but the sales aren’t there — and no one can figure out why.

Not enough people know you exist.
Not enough people understand what you do.
And not enough people have any emotional connection to your brand at all.

That’s not a knock — it’s a starting point and one with so much opportunity to test and have fun, which I feel like is something people keep forgetting to do.

So, What is Brand Awareness?

It’s how well your target audience knows who you are, what you sell, and why you exist. It's the difference between:

“Oh yeah, I’ve seen them on TikTok or I saw ____ post them” vs. “What? Never heard of it.”

It’s not just about name recognition — it’s about recognition and recall and relevance. You want people to not just know your name, but associate it with something/someone positive, memorable, and worth buying.

Brand awareness is the top of the funnel, but it impacts everything underneath it: conversion, retention, word of mouth, even retailer sell-through.

No awareness = no trust = no sales.

Why Brand Awareness Matters More Than Ever

With CAC (Customer Acquisition Cost) getting more expensive and organic reach harder to come by, brand awareness becomes your long-term unfair advantage.

It does a few things:

• Reduces friction: People are more likely to click, buy, or recommend something they’ve heard of before and see consistently and everywhere. It almost feels like they cannot get away.

• Lowers CAC: A familiar brand converts better. It’s that simple.

• Increases LTV: People come back to brands they feel connected to and/or want to try the new things that brand comes out with. Awareness is step one in building that loyalty.

• Drives retail success: If a buyer sees that people are talking about your brand online, you’re more likely to get in-store support, shelf space, and reorders.

And let’s be honest — most consumer brands aren’t building for performance marketing only. You’re building for brand equity. You’re building for culture. You’re building for the long run.. or well you should be.

If awareness is low, here are a few things you could do:

1. Shift your content mix to focus on reach over repetition.
Yes, it's great that your followers like your content — but growth comes from new eyeballs. This might mean tapping creators, creating content that zooms out a bit to be more friendly towards people sharing it and repurposing content across platforms.

2. Tell your origin story more.
Your why is magnetic, but only if you talk about it. People connect to people, not products. Founder-led content, behind-the-scenes, mission-driven messaging… this is what builds brand. Not just performance.

3. Introduce yourself often.
Don’t assume everyone knows who you are. Most people need to see your brand multiple times before they even start to recognize it. Your job is to show up again and again in a way that doesn’t feel repetitive — just consistent. Think about it. How many times did you need to see an ad to finally purchase something from a brand? The lucky number is usually 7-8 times.

4. Partner where the attention already lives.
Find the influencers, creators, events, communities, and other brands more that already have the trust of your target customer. You don’t have to build every touchpoint yourself — you just have to borrow the trust of those who already have it.

One of the fastest ways to build awareness? Influencers + product seeding.

It’s not a Kendall newsletter if I don’t remind you how important having inventory to gift is.

Putting your product in the hands of people who already have trust and attention — and letting them do the introducing for you is one of the biggest unlocks as a brand especially if you are an affordable brand.

Here’s why it works:

• It creates social proof — If five people someone follows are all posting about your product in a week? That’s not a coincidence, that’s a moment.

• It’s opt-in awareness — Unlike an ad, people choose to watch or engage with creator content. That attention is more valuable than a random impression.

• It’s scalable and repeatable — A good seeding program runs like a machine. You can start small, test what lands, and build from there and expand.

And no, you don’t need to break the bank to get results. You just need the right products, the right message, and the right people. You do not need to invest hundreds into a pretty box before you know if you have the right market fit. I feel some kind of way around influencer boxes as a whole when it comes to design, but we can tackle that another day.

Product gifting is actually one of the lowest-cost ways to start generating buzz. No strings attached. No forced talking points. Please re-read that.

When done consistently (and strategically), it builds brand heat — the kind that spills into organic content, retail velocity, and that magical “I keep seeing them everywhere” effect and we loooooove that.

Examples of Brands Who Do It Right:

These are picked just based on them being brands I follow or ones I have had a hand in.
It’s so easy to assume the brands crushing it right now just “got lucky” or had one viral moment that changed everything.

But what’s actually happening behind the scenes? They’re building brand awareness on purpose — consistently, strategically, and with a strong point of view.

→ Graza
It’s only right for me to talk about a brand I helped building for almost 4 years. In 2021, we showed up first in the hands of as many people as we could. At first, it was 50-75 packages a month to now over 300+. It turned from seeding to home cooks and foodies people loved to expanding across communities where we could play a part (baking, grilling, health and wellness, retail-specific influencers). The goal I was given from Day 0 was always “get everywhere” and everywhere could be in the background of videos, being used in a video, etc. So, I did that and it only grew as the team grew. From seeding to content collaborations with influencers and brands like this, product collaborations, to events, to being in retail, you quite literally cannot escape it. It’s always seen, it’s always used, it’s always staring at you from the background of a video, or it’s taking over a shelf in your local shop or nationwide retailer.

→ Glowbar
Glowbar has always been a concept I loved. Over the last few months, their content game has been so on point. They are a great example of a brand who creates content that is adjacent to the niche they are in, but do not brand it to be only about Glowbar. If you like beauty or skincare/self-care, you’re bound to get a laugh. Their content is so shareable, which only helps them get more awareness. They use social to demystify skincare, hit on the relatable moments within beauty and skincare and more.

→ Magna
Magna is still early — but already unforgettable. Their positioning is tight, their visuals are stunning, and their tone has real clarity. But more than that, they’ve tapped into a creator-first mindset from the jump. Strategic influencer partnerships, smart sampling, and platform-native content have put them in front of the right people — fast. Their awareness isn’t loud, it’s intentional. And it’s working.

What these brands have in common isn’t just good design or good distribution. It’s that they’ve invested early in making sure people know who they are — not just what they sell.

And that’s what creates momentum you can actually build on. Mic drop.

It’s time for Ahead of The Trend.

A quick, snappy ode to the fun things I’m seeing online across creators, social, and brands. Sometimes, it’s a trend. Sometimes, it’s just a tip I want to share about marketing. TL;DR: just cool things I’m loving right now or things you should know.

Products of the Week That I Can’t Stop Using, Eating, Reading…You Get The Point:

• Using: This phone stand from MOFT to make some #content.

• Eating + Drinking: I am in my weird era again of when I turn like everything I eat into a quesadilla. Does this happen to anyone else? My favorite tortillas are the Vista Hermosa Flour Tortillas. Sorry, but you will never catch me choosing to eat corn unless it’s the only option. This week, I also stocked up on Cream Soda Olipop and forgot how amazing it is.

• Influencer of the Week: Emily Gates. I have no idea how to describe her, but i am so happy I found her.

• Account of the Week: There’s a team from the the brand, Botanical H2O, in Australia that has an account made for the showing the life in their jewelry studio and it’s hilarious. They did a series of people bringing random things into work and truly it had be even questioning where some of these people found these things.

A Random Mix of Things You Should Definitely Know About: 

• You can finally watch Instagram Reels on 2x speed. I almost screamed out of excitement about this.

• Like Tiktok, Instagram is going to start bringing a “repost” button into the mix to further the reach of people’s posts.

• Instagram Notes never caught on (via Social Media Today). Shocker.

• We have a bit more insight from Youtube around how Shorts “success” is determined (via Social Media Today)

• Out of content ideas? See some quick formats you can rip right here (Born To/Forced To), here (Yes, that one clip from Ashton Hall’s routine), here Spring Break Plans) if your a brand who likes to bring a little laugh to the internet.

That’s a Wrap!

As always, thanks for spending some time with me this morning. If you made it this far, I want to hear your greatest accomplishment that happened in Q1 - professionally or personally. Hit “reply”.

Also, if you have a friend or coworker who you think would love to join the party of 3,000+ really cool folks (including yourself), just shoot them this link - would mean a lot 🙂 https://kendalldickieson.beehiiv.com/subscribe

See you soon!

This edition of No Filter is brought to you by AdFairy