Brand Hackers

2024 was the year of twists - and VERY unexpected partnerships. Just in case you needed a recap, here are 3 standout examples that truly stole the spotlight: 🍞👚Greggs x Primark - because who doesn’t want a steak bake with your new wardrobe? This collab brought us an 11-piece collection, in-store bakeries, and the chance to wear our love for Greggs on our sleeves – literally. 🍅🍸 Heinz x Absolut Vodka - a pasta sauce with the sophistication of a cocktail? Heinz and Absolut Vodka stirred things up with a limited-edition vodka pasta sauce that’s perfect for date night or dinner parties. Because why just sip your vodka when you can eat it too? 🥤🍪 Coca-Cola x Oreo - two global icons united for a flavour-packed partnership, bringing us the bold and unexpected fusion of fizz and crunch. Proof that opposites really do attract?! What’s your favourite unexpected brand partnership of the year? Let me know in the comments below! ⬇️

Did you know you can have your cake and make a difference at the same time? That’s exactly what we’re doing with Luminary Bakery – a social enterprise that’s baking up more than just delicious treats, but life-changing opportunities for women. They're empowering some of the most disadvantaged women in London through training, employment, and community support and we're so excited to announce our new charity partnership with them. Our contribution will directly support their life-changing programmes – whether it’s funding part of the apprentice programme or supporting one woman’s journey to a brighter future. How can you help support their mission? 🍫 Gifting their delicious post-box brownies ☕️ Visiting their Camden or Stoke Newington locations for a coffee and a bake 🎁 Using their corporate events service

Want our top hack for how to stay on top of what's new in social? Dedicated. Social. Account. Just for inspo. 📱 The rules are simple: ✅ It needs to be a new account, and can't be your personal account ✅ Only follow brands, no people and no influencers ✅ Stick to your niche to train the algorithm The result? An endless stream of inspiration on tap! ✨ What are your tips for staying inspired? 

At Brand Hackers, Up World & Up Talent we’re proud to give away 2% of our revenue, always. Particularly to causes that help disadvantaged women thrive. So we’re over the moon to announce our second charity partner Luminary Bakery alongside Sambhali Trust. Luminary Bakery are a Social Enterprise empowering women in London through training, employment, and community support. Their mission? Helping women build skills, pursue careers, and break cycles of poverty and violence. Our contribution will directly support their life-changing programmes – whether it’s funding part of the apprentice programme or supporting one woman’s journey to a brighter future. Not only do they do amazing work, but their bakes are to die for. You can support them at their bakeries in Stoke Newington or Camden, or through their online shop and postal bakes - we’ll be sending them to all of our new starters from now on! We’re SO proud to support Luminary and can’t wait to see the incredible work they’ll continue to do with our help.

How do you stop commuters in their tracks during rush hour tube chaos? You make a statement. Not just any statement, but one that has your audience saying, "That is SO me." 🙋♀️ Bumble Inc. knows their audience like the back of their hand. How many brands can say they know the exact conversations their audience is having around the Christmas dinner table? We love that Instead of hopping on the well-trodden 'cuffing season' bandwagon, Bumble chose to tackle the real struggles their audience faces, speaking their language loud and clear. That’s how you go from catching eyes to capturing hearts. 👀

Working with a limited budget but eager to optimise ad spend on Meta? 💸 We've worked with A LOT of brands in this boat. Here’s our Basics 101 Guide to help you creative-test more effectively: 🎯 Step 1: Prioritise Your Objective Focus on what matters most for your brand—a clear, defined goal helps tailor your creative strategy efficiently. 🎨 Step 2: Choose the Right Element to Test To stretch your budget, start by testing high-impact creative elements like headlines or imagery. These often have the most significant effect on engagement. 💡 Step 3: Create Budget-Friendly Variations Instead of creating multiple variations, focus on two strong options within your budget. Quality over quantity ensures that limited funds are used effectively, and it’s much easier to keep track of! 📊 Step 4: Focus on Cost-Effective Metrics Track metrics that matter to your bottom line, such as CTR or cost per conversion, ensuring every pound spent is accounted for. 🚀 Step 5: Apply Learnings Wisely Once a winning creative is identified, apply these insights to other areas and scale gradually to optimise your budget. Some Smart Spending Tips... • Start Small: Begin with a small daily budget and gradually increase based on performance. • Repurpose Content: Use existing assets creatively to save on production costs. • Continuous Learning: Document insights from each test to refine future campaigns without additional expense. With creative testing, even brands with the most modest budgets can generate valuable learnings for better-informed spending decisions! Have small-budget success stories or tips? Let’s discuss them in the comments! 👇

🌟 Excited to share that I’ve started a new chapter as a Growth Marketing Executive at Brand Hackers! 🌟 I’m thrilled to join a team that shares my passion for driving impactful marketing strategies and leveraging data to achieve exceptional results. A special thank you to Pam Macaulay for her incredible support and guidance throughout the hiring process—your guidance and encouragement have been invaluable. Looking forward to this exciting journey ahead. 🚀 #NewBeginnings #GrowthMarketing #BrandHackers

🧑🌾🌾🚜 Celebrating Herefordshire Farmers with our new Golden Tickets! 🥇 Being a small team we often scratch our heads when it comes to creating a buzz and excitement around Christmas 🎄 Last year we had our successful 'Gin for Life' which drove so many people in store for a chance to win big (thank you Brand Hackers Elle Ponsonby & Lizzie Staiano) This year, ‘Peal To Reveal’ your code for a chance to win 🍸 6 bottles of our Penrhos Spirits Award winning Gin 🥔 £100 worth of Two Farmers Crisps 🌾 £100 worth of Foreva Farmers BUT everyone wins something May it be a second bottle of Penrhos or 20% off - no one is left out! Seems like a no brainer to me! 🙌 Let us know if you spot our golden tickets (that happen to be silver but we'll just ignore that for now...)

We asked 131 founders what their biggest marketing challenge is right now. Here’s the top 3 we kept hearing…. 1️⃣Budget budget budget! With costs rising everywhere, having enough budget left over for marketing is a struggle across the board. And I get it - always feels like an easy thing to cut. The odd email here, the odd social post there - but be careful not to kill your brand with 1000 cuts. 2️⃣Not knowing where to find good people There’s a reluctance to overload the payroll but where do you go for great freelancers or agencies? How do you know they’re good? This never gets easier tbh - although Brand Hackers and Up World are good places to start. 3️⃣Knowing where to focus So many channels you could tackle - so little time (and money!). We see this all the time. And the answer is always FOCUS! Which 1-2 (max!) channels can you get impact from if budget is small? James is doing DM office hours over the next week - so if there’s a marketing challenge he might be able to help solve - drop him a note! What’s your biggest challenge right now?

Another Brand Hacker has joined our team! Welcome, Lizzie, our Senior Social Manager! With over 9 years of experience in Creative, Content & Social Media Marketing, Lizzie's career began on the editorial team at John Lewis before founding a creative agency working for brands including Women’s Health, Luminary Bakery and Puresport and then leading socials at Deliciously Ella. (What a line-up) Having studied a Music degree, Lizzie is a classically trained pianist and cellist, but nowadays can usually be found: 🍪 Whipping something sweet up in the kitchen 💪 Crushing it at Pilates 🏉 Out playing touch rugby We're thrilled to have you, Lizzie!