Shruti Gupta's Linkedin Analytics

rhode skin got acquired for $1B. For a skincare brand that launched just 2 years ago. How? One name: Hailey Bieber She knew how to build attention and own an aesthetic. Meanwhile… Rare Beauty is now valued at $2B. Built slower. But deeper. And yes, it’s still growing fast. Two celebrity brands. Same target audience. Same social platforms.  Same weapons: TikTok, virality, fandom. But they played very different games. Rhode = aesthetic domination • Launched 2022 • "Glazed donut skin" = cultural moment • Krispy Kreme lip gloss drop? Viral on day 1 • 10M+ Instagram followers. Every launch = sold out. • Minimal, curated, hyper-Instagrammable Hailey didn’t just sell skincare- she sold a lifestyle. Clean girl. Polished. Lux. The internet roasted Hailey for “copying” Selena. But the drama triggered the TikTok algorithm like wildfire. Negative publicity = free marketing. Searches for “Rhode vs Rare” spiked. The brand still sold out. She made herself the campaign. Rare Beauty = mission-led movement • Launched 2020 • 48 shades of foundation- inclusivity was day one, not an afterthought • $100M pledge to mental health = real purpose • Soft Pinch Liquid Blush = fan favorite, influencer favorite, TikTok favorite • Selena shows up vulnerable, honest, human Selena didn’t create a brand. She created a community. Hailey mastered virality. Selena mastered vulnerability. One is an aesthetic powerhouse. The other is a purpose-driven empire. And guess what? Both won. So the real lesson? Celebrity brands are not about who’s more famous. It’s about who’s more strategic. → Hailey knew how to dominate the scroll- her phone cover with lip balm holder went nuts the moment it showed up on feed. → Selena knew how to win hearts with her real self. But now that brand is sold, hailey was the face so do you think it will survive after knew faces and knew branding because it was build on her aesthtics. This is how you monetize audience + identity. P.S. Repost this ♻️ for your network. This is how modern brands are built. #BrandStrategy #CelebrityBrands #BeautyMarketing #RareBeauty #RhodeSkin #DTC #LinkedInBreakdown

Most brands rush into branding like a wedding proposal on the day 1 of your date. And yes customers will freak out & ghost you! Branding is dating. First you listen, then talk, build trust, show up consistently and only then comes commitment. No one falls in love with just visual identity. They fall in love with how your brand makes them feel. Founders: if you're not getting traction, maybe it’s time to stop proposing but date your audience. P.s.: Happy to answer any doubts, feel free to drop in comments or DM me. #branding #visualidentity #brand

Here is the idea I had that Tinder could post on the RCB win! 🏆 #copywriting #rcb

My favourite marketing & collaboration for the week! ✨ Which one you liked the most? Let me know in comments 👇🏽 #branding #marketing #campaigns Shaadi.com Zomato MINISO USA Wholesale Miniso

Zara pretends to be a luxury brand and has made a 17.8 billion dollar brand out of it. Their logo, store style, minimal staff, and layout all scream a luxury store. But it’s fast fashion at its core. Same model as H&M. Still beats them in the market. ZARA cracked something most brands still ignore: People want the feel of luxury, even if they can’t afford it. So what did they do? → Copied luxury styles → Manufactured them in-house → Priced them at 1/4 the cost → Delivered the illusion of status They’re not selling clothes. They’re selling status with their classic, simple, and decent style. And the strategy? ↘ New drops every 2 weeks ↘ 30-day no-questions-asked return policy ↘ 2,000+ stores in 88 countries ↘ $13B in profit, zero losses ↘ No ad campaigns, no influencer budget Why spend on ads… When your store is the brand? No design is repeated that creates scarcity and curiosity. Minimalism triggers aspiration. Frequent rotation creates FOMO. Zara isn’t trying to be the most affordable. It’s trying to be the most aspirational at an affordable price. They sell you the fantasy. And deliver it… fast. That’s the magic trick. And we all keep falling for it. What’s your favourite fashion brand?

How a 110-year-old brand became a Gen Z obsessed 750M$ brand with just 1 water bottle. (Stanley’s viral marketing breakdown 👇) In 1913, William Stanley Jr. invented the all-steel vacuum bottle. For decades, Stanley 1913 was built for workers, adventurers, and dads’ toolboxes. Reliable. Rugged. Functional. But Gen Z wasn’t buying that. Then came the pivot: the Stanley Quencher Tumbler 2016. Then in 2020, a women-led shopping platform, The Buy Guide, featured it, and Stanley listened. They noticed something: Women (especially moms and millennials) didn’t want just hydration tools. They wanted hydration and aesthetics. Stanley responded with: • Pastel color drops • 40 oz sizing (fashion + function) • Ergonomic shape (yes, it fits in cup holders) • Limited releases = built-in hype TikTok did the rest • 1 billion+ views on #StanleyTumbler • “What’s in my Stanley” videos are everywhere • Even the sound of the lid became ASMR-worthy Stanley didn’t just go viral — they architected it Alix Earle, Emma Chamberlain, Adele, Brittany Mahomes, even casual appearances in Hollywood interviews Not paid placements. Just smart product seeding → The internet did the rest. The results? Staggering. • 10 M+ units sold in 2023 • Revenue: $17M (2019) → $750M (2023) • 1M+ Instagram followers • TikTok? 1.6M+ and climbing Stanley leaned into: • “Sneaker drop” culture • Seasonal colorways • Retail collabs (Target, Starbucks, NFL) One Target drop in 2024 caused literal stampedes. But here’s the real marketing genius: Community • 100k+ Facebook members swapping Stanley's • A customization economy of sleeves and stickers • Micro-niches: moms, nurses, teachers, students It wasn’t just a product. It was identity, wellness,and  belonging. Even Indian beauty brand Yes Madam featured Stanley-style tumblers in their recent campaign. Marketing takeaways? Save these: • Niche buyers = billion-dollar pivots • Function + identity = emotional product • Drops = urgency = obsession • Influencer ≠ ads → they seeded the right voices • UGC isn’t noise → it’s distribution Repost this if it made you rethink what “brand” actually means ♻️ P.S. Do you own a Stanley? #BrandStrategy #MarketingCaseStudy #StanleyCup #TikTokMarketing #ConsumerBehaviour #LinkedInBranding Stanley 1913

Quick commerce hits 4 M+ daily orders in India. Blinkit, Instamart, and BigBasket are everywhere but Zepto? Just 15 cities and still 28% of the market. While others expand, Zepto dominates with focus and flawless execution. Let’s break down what they did differently 👇 1) 10-minute delivery was a revolution.  ↳ Zepto didn’t promise 10 minutes. They built around it. Speed became their positioning, culture, and differentiator. → Changed what Indians expect from delivery → 30 minutes, and even Amazon’s Prime Day delivery feels slow. → Turned convenience into obsession 2) They Built Their Distribution system ↳ No dependency on third-party stores. Zepto launched its dark stores, block by block. → 1,147+ dark stores across 10 major cities → 18,000+ delivery partners → Served 500K+ orders daily and growing 3) Operations that work on machine speed ↳They focus on data points to understand which products are most ordered to update the inventory, which reduces waste. → Auto-replenishment keeps items in stock → Tech backend optimised for repeatability, not just speed 4) They Made 10 Minutes Cool ↳ Zepto didn’t sell groceries. They sold the flex. → Social proof from customers, not influencers → Quick commerce turned into a lifestyle 5) They Raised Funds, But Spent Like Founders ↳ $ 1.95 B+ raised across 8 rounds. Backed by Nexus, YC, StepStone, Glade Brook → Didn’t burn on ads or discounts → Poured capital into infra, ops, & precision 6) Pure Focus on Retention, Not Vanity ↳ No distractions. No shiny features. → Delivery time → Product availability → Seamless reordering 7) They Built a Culture That’s Not for Everyone ↳ Zepto isn’t shy about its ambition. CEO Aadit Palicha said it bluntly: “India’s biggest threat is the mindset of ‘we’ve arrived’.” → The company only hires people ready to give it their all In just 3 years: ✅ $5B valuation ✅ $1B+ revenue ✅ 2,000+ team ✅ 500 K+ orders/day ✅ 18,000+ delivery partners They didn’t just build fast. They built first, and they built better. The others are still catching up. Which Indian startup do you think is playing the long game in 2025? 👇 Drop your bets. I’m watching the comments. #zepto #quickcommerce #startupstrategy #consumertech #founderstory #brandbuilding

My niece was staring at the shelves of sketch pens in a mall for long! So many colours. So many brands. She could’ve picked anything. But she didn’t hesitate and picked the Camlin set her sister uses. Not because of any ad. Because her sister uses it. Loves it. Trusts it. And most importantly she is used to it. And that’s the thing about brand trust- It’s the legacy that is carried & lifestyle people get used to. The real brand building happens when word of mouth plays maximum role in your sales. If you’re building a brand, don’t just focus on attention. Focus on influence — Brand that becomes lifestyle! #BrandBuilding #BrandTrust #InfluencerMarketing #ConsumerPsychology #MarketingInsights

Luxury is meant to be experienced — not just sold. I walked into Chroma this weekend and spotted the Dyson Curler. As a curly-haired girl, I’ve always been curious but also lowkey skeptical. Will it actually work on my hair? The guy at the counter gave me a quick demo. But then he said something that really stayed with me: “You can buy it, try it for 10 days, and if you don’t love it - return it. No question asked" No hard sell. Just: take it, use it, live with it. And honestly? That’s brilliant. Because that’s what experience marketing does. It removes hesitation. Builds trust. And for a brand like Dyson — it reinforces what they stand for: ✨ Confidence in product ✨ Status in utility ✨ And luxury that’s lived, not just promised It made me think — How many brands today trust their product enough to let it speak for itself? Have you seen a brand do this well? p.s.: can you make a guess from the photo taken on same day- if i have used dyson or not? #BrandStrategy #ExperienceMarketing #marketing #Dyson

Chai at ₹10 vs. ₹150: How Chaayos Made It Work at 5x Chaayos made chai... premium, profitable, and programmable → India drinks over 1 billion cups of chai a day → Most are ₹10 at your local tapri → Chaayos sells it for ₹150, and people come back Here’s what they did right (and how founders can steal a page): 1. They owned the category Chai wasn’t a café thing. It was a street thing. So they carved out a mass premium. Comfort + hygiene + choice. → Over 80,000 ways to customise your chai → Built nostalgia into every sip 2. They scaled but quietly → First café: 2012, Cyber City → First delivery: 2015 (yes, hot chai delivery in kettles) → Pandemic? Opened cloud kitchens → By 2022: 200 cafés 3. They went full-on retail tech lab → Launched Chai Monks (yes, actual robots) → Built facial recognition payments → Dynamic pricing menus based on time of day → Customised offers per customer per hour → AI-based POS and loyalty built in-house Cost? ₹1.5 crore Payoff? Under 2 years → This isn’t a tea company. It’s a data company with tea like Starbucks for tea. 4. AI wasn’t just a gimmick → The robot, self-billings, and community app helped the revenue ↑ 14% in the first month and repeat orders ↑ from 2.6% to 3.5% This isn’t just a Chaayos story. It’s a glimpse of what chai could become. The market? $11.5B and rising. Cafés are growing fast. Functional blends and ready-to-drink formats are gaining steam. And still… no one owns “chai” the way Starbucks owns coffee. From green tea, to boba, to now Matcha becoming mainstream with bamboo brushes. The organised chai café segment (Chai Point, Chaayos, etc.) is growing at 25.1% CAGR, now worth ₹873 crores. There is a lot of scope from RTD, to medicinal categories, to fun flavours. If someone cracked that code... Built a brand around that complexity... That’s the future of beverages. That would win. Happy Tea Day Nitin Saluja Raghav Verma ☕️ P.s.: Comment “Chai” if you want a more in-depth dissection of the beverage industry and what the business brand building opportunity looks like for tea. #chaayos #branding #brand

You know what messes with most ambitious people? Taking a pause without guilt. For the longest time, I believed if I just worked hard enough, stayed disciplined enough, ticked every box I’d earn the life I wanted. So I did it all: - 16-18 hour workdays - Clean eating - Workout - Progress. Growth. Discipline. I was chasing progress. And every night I’d crash into bed, not fulfilled – just… drained. No time to reflect. No room to breathe. All because I kept telling myself: “Mujhe bhagna hai, udna hai… rukna nahi.” But maybe… rukhna bhi zaroori hota hai. This week, I did something different. I took a random mid-week leave, Went out alone- no plan, no productivity tracker. Just me. And for the first time in a while, I felt clear. Creative. Alive. Turns out, rest isn’t the opposite of growth. It’s where real growth happens. You don’t need to burn out to take a break. You don’t need to keep proving to keep progressing. Sometimes, the bravest thing you can do take a breath and not feel guilty about it. When was the last time you paused… without guilt?

Influencers Usually Make Bad Founders But Kusha Kapila Did It Differently. Let's see "How" She could’ve launched directly saying- Hey, I made this. Go buy it as she has strong real fan base on same platform she launched Instead, she crafted a very strategic content funnel. But Why? 👉 To gain trust of women & built her credibility in niche among her potential customers/ followers that she understands the problem in depth and once she launches people trust her blindly, leading to conversions! And that's what happened also. Power of community building! By the time her brand, underneat.in, launched, she'd built a 100k+ strong Instagram community without posting a single product image. That’s brilliant pre-launch demand. And we know the result- Completely sold out on launch day. But here's the real secret sauce that she used 👇 - She smartly viewed content as distribution and collaborated with seasoned business operators who genuinely understand scaling. Backed by investors like Fireside Ventures and Ghazal Alagh. - She smartly targeted the underserved category of mass-premium shapewear in India. I'm genuinely curious to see how this creator-led brand fares long-term. What do you think? P.S.: Found this insightful? Consider resharing! ♻️ Thanks! #influencer #socialmedia #brandlaunch