Designers often focus on selling their craft to design managers, but the final hiring decision frequently lies with product leaders. To succeed, designers must frame their value as a business investment, emphasizing the ROI and metric impact that resonates with the ultimate approver.

Podcast interviews are a powerful tool for building relationships with otherwise inaccessible decision-makers and mentors. Offering someone a platform to share their expertise is a more effective way to get their attention than a cold email, creating genuine connections and business opportunities.

Instead of treating all channels equally, identify which customer segments (e.g., brand advertisers) are best served by which channels (e.g., TV screens). Shifting demand accordingly can unlock massive growth by optimizing the entire portfolio and increasing customer ROI.

Placing products in hotel rooms serves as a 'non-cheesy free sample.' It's a high-context discovery channel where consumers experience the brand as a curated part of a premium travel experience. This creates a strong positive association and drives adoption more effectively than traditional sampling.

To secure a critical partnership with Beyond Meat after another deal collapsed, Emma Hernan didn't use traditional channels. She systematically reached out to every account Beyond Meat followed on social media, correctly assuming this network contained employees or close connections, and successfully landed the deal.

Don't dismiss the success of celebrity brands as unattainable. Instead, analyze the core mechanism: massive 'free reach' and 'memory generation.' The takeaway isn't to hire a celebrity, but to find your own creative ways to generate a similar level of organic attention and build a tribe around your brand.

A powerful first move for a new brand is leveraging community-driven affiliate platforms. By getting the product into the hands of engaged creators in relevant communities, a brand can build authentic word-of-mouth and generate multi-million dollar revenue before ever investing in traditional CRM or paid media channels.

To break through the noise of modern influencer marketing, target less-obvious platforms. Instead of competing for attention on Instagram and TikTok, pitch YouTubers and Substack writers who receive fewer inquiries. This approach increases your chances of getting noticed and securing features without a budget.

Chanel's subway fashion show demonstrates how placing a luxury product in an unexpected, everyday environment creates powerful tension. This strategy makes the background the main attraction, generating broad, mainstream media coverage and social media buzz that a traditional runway show couldn't achieve.