Hey 👋 I'm Isaac!

I’m a growth strategist and the founder of Pistachio, a GTM and brand-led growth partner for startups and scaleups. We help teams launch, scale and stand out by turning positioning into pipeline.

Most companies have strong products but fractured go-to-market efforts: sales, marketing and product aren’t aligned. The story isn’t clear. Growth depends too much on short-term tactics. That’s where we step in.

At Pistachio, we combine:
Brand strategy → defining your positioning, narrative, and messaging so you win trust and convert more buyers.
GTM blueprints → ICP definition, value prop, channels, packaging, sequencing.
Content systems → newsletters, CRM, LinkedIn and amplification to operationalise GTM and compound growth.
Growth ops → automation and reporting systems to scale without chaos.

Before founding Pistachio, I led growth at The Daily Aus (scaled to 180,000 subs in 10 months) and Mamamia (grew subscriptions to 30,000+ members and $170k+ MRR). Since then, I’ve worked with teams at BuzzFeed, Clay and many more to build GTM systems that turn brand trust into business results.

I also write Brand Chemistry, a newsletter about building trust and driving compounding growth.

🚀 Ready to align your story, GTM and growth engine? Let’s chat! check out my Featured section to get started.

Isaac Peiris

AI tried to draw ketchup.

Every time, it created Heinz.

Nobody described the logo.
Nobody mentioned the brand in the prompt.
Nobody guaranteed which ketchup would show up.

But AI kept producing the same visual:

→ Red bottle, white text panel
→ That distinctive keystone shape
→ The iconic silhouette everyone knows

All signature Heinz elements.

Instead of jumping on an AI bandwagon, Heinz saw an opportunity.

They turned it into a statement about their brand.

So they invited the world to test it themselves.

"Give AI the prompt. See what ketchup it generates."

Social media exploded with AI-created Heinz imagery.

People couldn't resist testing it themselves.

→ Mass engagement across every platform
→ Over 1B earned impressions
→ 2,500% ROI

Not from chasing AI. From being so consistent that AI couldn't draw ketchup any other way.

150+ years of the same bottle shape, the same red label, the same visual identity across every touchpoint.

When people think ketchup, they don't think category.

They think Heinz.

While other brands scramble to stay current with trends, Heinz leaned on decades of visual consistency.

They used a trend to prove they'd already won.

How consistent is your visual identity across 150 touchpoints, let alone 150 years?

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I share #brand and #growth insights daily, follow for more.

Founder @ Pistachio | Content-led growth for B2B brands

Well, this is happening 🎤

I’ll be speaking at Content Summit Australia 2026 on 31 March - 1 April at the Brisbane Powerhouse. If you love all things content, brand, social, and strategy, come hang out with me and a room full of brilliant people (or just heckle me from the front row)

Get your tickets here: https://lnkd.in/eh3HBzGU

#ContentSummitAus

Content Summit Australia | Isaac Peiris - Speaker

Everyone’s looking at the $8 million Super Bowl ads.

But Duolingo did something smarter.

They looked at the cultural moment, Bad Bunny performing the first all-Spanish halftime show, and asked a better question:

How do we make people feel part of this?

So instead of trying to outspend other brands, they launched Bad Bunny 101, a Spanish crash course built for fans who want to be in on the moment.

They didn’t wait for game day either.

They ran pre-game TV spots.
Targeted Bad Bunny listeners on audio platforms.
Dropped social reminders as the hype built.

Even had Duo the owl show up dressed like Bad Bunny in a 15-second ad.

Nothing loud. Nothing desperate.
Just… relevant.

And that’s the thing!!

The most valuable part of a cultural moment isn’t the moment. It’s the lead-up.

When anticipation is high, people are sharing, talking and building excitement.

That’s when Duolingo showed up.

Not to hijack attention, but to add value to it.

There’s a lesson in that for any brand or creator trying to stay relevant:

Instead of asking “How do we make noise on the big day?”

Try asking “What would make us useful before it even arrives?”

That’s where real connection happens.

That’s what people remember.

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I share #brand and #growth insights daily, follow for more.

I came back from my holiday to 47 unread Slack threads.

First thing I did? Asked Notion Agent "what have I missed?"

30 seconds later, I had my answer. Including a client deliverable due in 6 days that was waiting for my review.

That’s something I've been building toward all year.

Systems that work without me manually holding everything together.

I'm building an agency in 2026. We're a team of 3 right now. The goal is to scale to handle 3x the project volume by year end.

That requires different infrastructure. I can't be the bottleneck searching for notes, setting up databases, or catching up on context.

Notion Agent saves me an hour every day on that manual work.

Database setup that used to take hours?
↳ Done in minutes with the right properties and views already configured.

Can't remember where I saved that client brief?
↳ Found instantly across my entire workspace.

Need to understand what happened while I was away?
↳ Searches Notion, Slack, and Gmail to surface what actually matters.

Those lost hours add up. That's time I now get to spend on the work I love most.

Working with our talented team. Solving problems for clients across completely different businesses. Building systems that let us take on bigger challenges.

2026 is about building the foundation that scales. Notion Agent helps me build it faster.

What are you building in 2026?

Try Notion Agent for free at https://lnkd.in/dcFAtkS9

#NotionPartner #NotionNewYear

When tl;dv decided to grow through TikTok, they didn't hire marketers.

They hired comedians.

The result? 2M users and $4.5M in revenue.

No sales team. No paid ads.

Just 3 creators making workplace skits and jokes tech workers could see themselves in.

But they posted 102 videos before anything clicked.

Their CEO told the team upfront:
"Be ready to burn a year's budget for little results."

That's the part most B2B brands struggle with.

They know this type of content works.
They just can't push through the awkward, expensive, slow middle where nothing seems to be working.

tl;dv won because:

→ They let personality lead, not product features
→ They pushed past the flatline phase
→ They accepted messy attribution

In crowded markets, personality scales faster than features.

Your product won't make you stand out in a saturated market. Your personality will.

If your content disappeared tomorrow, would anyone notice?

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I share #brand and #growth insights daily, follow for more.

Nike had Steph Curry.

Then they called him the wrong name.

2013. Curry's contract was up for renewal.

Nike had first right of refusal. They could match any offer and keep him.

Then came their pitch meeting...

They mispronounced his name. Multiple times.
They offered no signature shoe. No real investment.
They left Kevin Durant's name on the presentation deck.

Under Armour's pitch was the opposite.

We see your potential. You'll be the face of our basketball division.

Curry signed with Under Armour for $2.5M.

Today, his shoes outsell every NBA player but Jordan.

That deal became $200M+ with equity and Curry's estimated value to the brand is $14 billion.

Nike had matching rights. They had the relationship.

They lost him in a conference room because the details didn't match the opportunity.

Nike waited for proof. Under Armour bet on potential.

That's the difference between keeping talent and watching them walk.

What's a time you chose to work with someone who believed in you before you had proof?

---

I share #brand and #growth insights daily, follow for more.

Here's what I'm predicting for 2026 in marketing.
Honestly, I think most people aren't ready.

Last year, everyone adopted AI for marketing.
This year, we'll realise why it's not working.

Every cold email is the same. 
Every video uses identical hooks. 
Every landing page follows the exact template.

When 99% of marketers use the same AI tools, nobody has an advantage.

Meanwhile, audiences are actively retreating.

Daily time spent on social media has decreased for the first time ever. We're drowning people in volume while they're literally trying to escape it.

So here is what I'm seeing for this year:

1️⃣ Founder media becomes non-negotiable

More than exec social posting, more leaders will build out deeper media platforms.

Tyler Denk’s newsletter won beehiiv TIME magazine as a customer. Stripe’s co-founder runs a podcast interviewing business leaders.

More will level up from posting on Linkedin and Twitter to building out full media platforms so they can engage audiences more deeply and through owned channels.

2️⃣ Anthropic fills the gap left by Apple

ChatGPT’s first-mover advantage will have diminishing returns as Google steps up their AI roll out.

They’ll keep fighting head to head over being the everyday productivity tool.

But Apple’s absence on AI leaves a market gap for more professional and creative options, which Anthropic is filling.

They’ve already overtaken OpenAI on enterprise LLM usage.

3️⃣ AI amplifies but doesn't replace

I get it. AI makes everything faster and easier.

But when AI commodifies execution it’s your perspective that can't be automated.

Marketing wins this year will use AI to amplify human connection, not replace it.

It seems obvious to say, but most marketers will keep chasing AI efficiency. We’ll get a bunch more content that audiences will increasingly ignore.

Have I nailed it? Am I being delusional?

Keen to hear what you think!

---

I share #growthstrategy insights daily, follow for more.

Founder of Pistachio | Build trust. Drive growth.

La Vieille Ferme spent 50 years as a decent French rosé.

Then the internet started calling it "chicken wine" and everything changed.

The brand didn't create the nickname.

People just saw the chicken on the label and figured "chicken wine" is easier to say than "La Vieille Ferme"...

It became a cultural moment with "chicken wine" trending on TikTok and Instagram.

Sales spiked 300% in some markets. Grocery stores couldn't keep it stocked.

Then La Vieille Ferme launched a limited-edition bottle literally labelled "The Chicken Wine"

They leaned all the way in.

A lot of 50-year-old brands would have worried about their heritage. Especially French wine brands!

But this brand let the internet rewrite their positioning and ran with it.

Sometimes your audience hands you a better story than the one you've been telling.

The best move can just be to roll with it 🤷‍♂️

---

I share #brand and #growth insights daily, follow for more.

La Vieille Ferme rebrands to ‘The Chicken Wine’

Google's logo just changed for the first time in 10 years.
Most people think it's a minor tweak.
It's actually the end of an era.

For 10 years, flat design ruled everything. Apple's iOS 7 set the template in 2013. Brands stripped away texture, depth, and colour. Everything went clean, simple, static.

But it also flattened creativity. Every logo started looking the same. Sans serif wordmarks. Solid colours. Geometric shapes. The visual language of tech became indistinguishable.

Then AI came along. Brands needed identities that reflected what the technology does, constantly learning, adapting, creating.

OpenAI, Claude, Gemini. All created visual identities that match what their technology actually does.

Look at Gemini in Gmail. Hover over it and the gradient spins, the shape shifts. Every other button stays static.

That's why Google's new logo gradient matters.

It's a strategic pivot toward dynamic identity systems that reflect how modern technology works.

The next wave of branding will be more about feeling responsive than being polished.

Minimalism brought order, as well as conformity.

Now it's about brands that feel alive.

What do you think this shift means for your brand?

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I share #brand and #growth insights daily, follow for more.

Heineken is paying people to stop sending voice notes and meet for a beer instead.

Their new "Could Have Been A Heineken" campaign in Brazil targets people who receive voice notes over 3 minutes long on WhatsApp.

Send the bot your voice note, get a voucher for a free beer and bar recommendations to meet up IRL.

9 billion WhatsApp voice notes are sent daily (up 7% YoY). But 54% of people say their most fulfilling conversations happen in person.

Heineken made their brand the bridge for this gap.

Here’s why this works:

1. Brazil sends 4x more voice notes than anywhere else
The activation is culturally specific, not globally generic.

2. It's consistent with Heineken's broader positioning
They've built a sustained narrative around IRL connections, this isn’t a one-off stunt.

3. It uses a real friction point
Voice notes are more personal than a text, but still not the same a real in-person conversation.

Are you a voice note person? Or do you secretly wish they'd just suggest meeting up instead?

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I share brand strategy insights daily, follow for more.

Everyone in growth obsesses over removing friction.

Decathlon just added more and won.

92% of New Year's fitness resolutions fail by mid-Jan.

So they made one of their bestselling running shoes non-refundable.

No returns. No second thoughts. Buy it, commit to it.

This breaks every conversion playbook. We're trained to make conversion as smooth as possible.

But Decathlon flipped the question.

Instead of asking "how do we make this easier to buy?" they asked "how do we help people stick with what they’re trying to achieve?"

The no-returns policy protects the decision, not the inventory.

Buying shifts from "maybe I'll try running" to "I'm actually committing to doing this".

They reinforced that decision with meaning. Stick with it for 30 days and earn loyalty points.

Not a discount, but a reward for consistency.

This is what happens when marketing stops chasing persuasion and starts designing belief.

We default to frictionless.

Fewer steps. Less resistance. Instant gratification.

But sometimes friction IS the value.

Sometimes your job isn't just getting people to say yes. It's helping them mean it.

Makes me wonder where else we're over-optimising for ease when we should be designing for follow-through.

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I share #brand and #growth insights daily, follow for more.

Apple just locked in a billion-dollar deal with Google.

This time, it's Gemini powering Siri.

Google pays Apple $20B annually to be the default search engine on iOS. Apple now pays Google $1B to power Siri's intelligence layer.

Some see this as smart strategy. Outsource the intelligence layer, keep control of privacy and UX, maintain optionability.

But Apple’s admitting they can't build competitive AI.

They tested their own models against alternatives.
They delayed Siri's AI upgrade multiple times.
They used ChatGPT when Siri needed to.

Now they’re choosing Gemini to run the whole thing.

It’s a pretty major dependancy for a company built on vertical integration.

Apple used to own the entire stack. Now they're renting the most critical layer from their biggest competitor.

When Google controls both the search layer and the intelligence layer on Apple's devices, the balance of power shifts fundamentally.

Apple's privacy infrastructure is real. But this deal shows they know users won't accept worse AI for better privacy.

Is this pragmatic decision-making, or is Apple falling behind on the technology that will define the next decade?

---

I share #brand and #growth insights daily, follow for more.

Everyone says “pick your audience first.”
I think that’s backwards.

Most founders get paralysed by audience selection.

They spend months crafting detailed personas.
”Sarah, 34, marketing manager, drinks oat milk lattes”

Meanwhile, their actual business just... waits.

The problem isn’t the exercise.
It’s the timing.

Most strategy advice looks like this:
→ Pick your audience
→ Identify their problems
→ Solve their problems

But your audience should pick you.
Not the other way around.

Here's the process I actually use:

1️⃣ 𝗦𝘁𝗮𝗿𝘁 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝘄𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗺𝗮𝗸𝗲𝘀 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗱𝗶𝗳𝗳𝗲𝗿𝗲𝗻𝘁.
Every strategy begins here. Your unique strengths, perspective, unfair advantage. This determines your leverage.

2️⃣ 𝗙𝗶𝗴𝘂𝗿𝗲 𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝗶𝗳 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗱𝗶𝗳𝗳𝗲𝗿𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗲 𝗵𝗮𝘀 𝘃𝗮𝗹𝘂𝗲.
Does it solve a real problem? Change the game? Bring fresh thinking to a stale industry?

3️⃣ 𝗖𝗼𝗻𝗻𝗲𝗰𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝘃𝗮𝗹𝘂𝗲 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝗽𝗼𝘁𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗶𝗮𝗹 𝗮𝘂𝗱𝗶𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗲𝘀.
Who would actually benefit? Just list everyone who might find value.

4️⃣ 𝗙𝗶𝗻𝗱 𝘄𝗵𝗼 𝗻𝗲𝗲𝗱𝘀 𝗶𝘁 𝗺𝗼𝘀𝘁.
You'll have multiple groups. Pick the one with the most urgent pain. Urgency always converts better than curiosity.

5️⃣ 𝗔𝘀𝗸 𝘄𝗵𝗼 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗰𝗮𝗻 𝗮𝗰𝘁𝘂𝗮𝗹𝗹𝘆 𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗰𝗵.
Based on your network, budget, and experience. Sometimes the “easiest” audience beats the “best” one on paper.

When you start here, the right audience becomes obvious.

You don’t find product-market fit by guessing personas.
You find it by following your leverage.

Focus on being fully yourself, and you'll find your people.

The strongest connections aren't forced.
They're discovered.

What's your experience?
Does your audience pick you, or do you pick them?

What happened in growth and marketing this week?

Here’s your Friday recap:

🔍 B2B buyers are doing their research on Reddit, not brand websites.

New data from HubSpot and Reddit shows most decisions happen before sales contact, and those conversations are now feeding AI search results.

🎮 Luxury brands are returning to gaming as a real channel.

Not experiments, not metaverse hype. Gaming is being used to reach Gen Z where time and attention already exist.

⚠️ Google’s AI Overviews are reshaping brand reputation.

Forum posts and old threads are being summarised as answers, pushing brands to actively monitor and respond where AI pulls its sources.

🎬 Apple launched Creator Studio to compete directly with Adobe.

A lower-priced bundle that gives creators access to pro tools across Mac and iPad, while still offering one-time purchase options.

😂 tl;dv built a $4.5M SaaS business through TikTok comedy.

Three creators, consistent skits, minimal product mentions and more than half of their leads came from social.

👉 Swipe through for the full breakdown.

Want the links to any of the articles?
Comment or DM and I’ll send them through.

This week in growth & marketing #10

First growth & marketing recap of the year
and honestly, it already feels like a big one

Here’s what’s worth knowing this week:

🧠 Kantar’s 2026 trends are clear

AI isn’t just about efficiency anymore. It’s shaping how brands get chosen, recommended, and trusted by people and by machines.

💬 HubSpot says Reddit is becoming impossible to ignore for B2B

As AI search drives fewer clicks, brands need to show up where buyers actually research and where AI models pull their answers from.

📉 2025 quietly killed a lot of old ad industry assumptions

From traditional search and news traffic to realistic social feeds and tidy creative briefs, the old defaults aren’t holding up.

🧴 Unilever’s Vaseline moment shows how “social listening” should work

Watch what people are already doing, validate it, and amplify it without killing the vibe.

📈 And one big theme ties it all together

Growth in 2026 won’t come from more output. It’ll come from relevance, owned distribution, and genuinely human connection.

👉 Swipe to catch up in under a minute.

Want the link to any story?
Drop a comment or DM me.

This week in growth & marketing #8

Rachel Hopping

Superhero

Head of Strategy

Unbroke

Co-Founder

FinTech Australia

Head of Strategic Partnerships

Responsible for leading the marketing strategy for Superhero, covering acquisition, partnerships and CRM to drive growth and customer retention.

Marketing Lead

Marketing Manager

eBay Australia

- Marketing and communications lead of eBay managed payments
- Drive seller partnerships across seller acquisition and scaling, integration and channel partners
- Strategic growth of key channels including email, social media and video

Seller Marketing & Communications

- Product and program management of eBay Click & Collect, Postage Labels, Returns & Tracking (Planning, Forecasting & Budgets, Stakeholder Management, Marketing & Reporting)
- eBay Fulfilment Program Management (Seller Logistics Solutions)
- Relationship Management of both external and internal stakeholders and business partners including third party carriers & integrators

Shipping Lead

- Acquisition & retention strategy & implementation for eBay’s loyalty program, eBay Plus (email & onsite marketing, partnerships with Stan, Google and other key strategic partners)
- Planning and execution of key eBay brand campaigns (Halloween, Back to School)

Marketing Coordinator - Brand, Loyalty & Partnerships

- Led eBay for Charity platform launch and seller scaling project (account management and UX design)
- Webpage design and execution for all eBay.com.au retail promotions and brand partnerships (LEGO, Google)
- Launch team of new eBay user browse experience (over 40,000 new pages)
- Account management & merchandising of enterprise sellers in key verticals (Health & Beauty, Grocery)

Category Growth Operations

Jaguar Land Rover Australia

- Event Coordination (Jaguar’s The Art of Performance Tour, Australian Grand Prix 2017, Working with Creative/Event Agencies)
- Social Media and Digital (Google Analytics Custom Reporting, Social Media Analytics and Reporting, Website Updates, YouTube Search Optimization, EDMs)
- PR (Media Coverage and ASR Reports, Vehicle Transportation Bookings)

taplio

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Isaac Peiris

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