Before we go further, let’s take a step back and remind ourselves what the differences are between UI and UX (user experience).

• User interface refers to the actual design elements and interface screens that make up a product. These are design elements that you see like colors, buttons, layouts and how they relate back to the overall look and feel of a brand. 
• User experience refers to the intention behind those designs. This includes considerations such as what audience the product is for, the flow of how users will get to a specific action, what the overall information architecture is of how the page is laid out.

These two principles go hand in hand to create something users actually find visually appealing to using and intuitive for them to navigate.

What Is a UI Design System?

UI design systems are building blocks of reusable components that designers and developers reference to create robust products. This creates a consistent source of truth for scaling and adapting products that will improve the velocity of future product features or updates. Every UI/UX designer builds design systems a little differently, but the foundational setup typically follows the same logic. It can seem a little daunting to start to build out a UI design system.

Let’s break it down into phases:

Phase 1: Creating Design Tokens

This is essentially your foundation layer; if we thought about it how we thought about baking a cake, we would start by gathering all of our raw ingredients. We are doing the same thing here by establishing a hierarchical token structure that includes specific raw values like hex color codes, typography, spacing. These are sometimes referred to as primitive variables.

From there, you create semantic tokens which reference the primitive variable. The semantic layer helps tie a certain set of primitive foundations back to how they will be used in context.

Perhaps this means a specific color is being used in a primary versus a secondary button. Perhaps your product has a light versus dark mode system; essentially, this is where categorizing and naming these variables in a systematic way helps to create a language that is custom to your design system.

Phase 2: Creating Components

From here, the components are ready to be defined and built. This is essentially the filling of the cake where you are mixing the ingredients together. Typically, this can be the most time sensitive portion of the system build, as product designers are ensuring that all variant states are being considered from an interaction perspective: default, hover, pressed, empty, failed across all several components.

• At a macro level, this also requires collaboration from product managers and developers to ensure that various user needs and product intentions are factored in to make the system as robust as possible.
• At a micro level, this also means creating multiple variants of a same component such as multiple sizes of one component such as an avatar to be compatible across different parts of the product.

Usually this process starts from smaller components into more complex templates. This chart helps to break down the levels:

Phase 3: Creating Templates & Flows

Now, we’re finally putting all the pieces together (or assembling our cake); because we did all of the pre-work, designers can now create larger flows and templates.

Let’s take an example where we combine various components to create an actual checkout flow. If the product lives in a dashboard, there can be several dashboard views, table views, and flows that can then be easily referenced. This is also the time to ensure that these larger templates work across responsive breakpoints.

Phase 4: Development

Developers’ roles are key in bringing design systems to life, and it’s important to collaborate with them along the way. In order to integrate the system, developers will typically:

1. Set up design tokens in code often using a code program like React.
2. Build components with token variables, and settings applicable to the component.
3. Use tools like Storybook; it’s essentially a testing environment with a visual catalog library of all the components created.

This allows developers and designers to test and QA the components and easily make edits where needed, before the components are used in a live environment.

Phase 5: Scaling

It’s also important to think about components being flexible, and having the right building blocks but not necessarily creating hundreds of unique variants that are edge cases. In order to scale for future use, building governance and documentation of who can add components, review proposed system changes, and how changes ultimately get shared across the team are key.

Having guidelines for how components should be used provides clarity and reminders for you or teammates in the future. Whether this looks like a version change document, or a design systems guidelines, this will save teams headaches in the future.

Design System Resources & Tools

Luckily, today there are several resources to help get you started building a design system so that you don’t always need to start from scratch.

1. Google Material Design System: The most well-known and comprehensive design system with clear usage guidelines to plug into.
2. ShadCN: Another functional system often a developer favorite, but still allows for customization.
3. Atlassian Design System: Often used for productivity and collaboration tools.
4. Polaris Design System (by Shopify): Well known for eCommerce products.
5. Primer (by Github): Another UI system that works well with developers.

With all of the tools available above, you might be wondering: when is it best to start building from an existing system, versus building one from scratch? This will vary case by case for each brand based on business needs, capacity and end goals. To decide where you stand, here are some things to consider:

At the end of the day, starting from a resource foundation will always help increase the speed of the project versus creating from zero. The decision also depends on a company’s resources and scale of the team:

• Startups will likely go for the low customization option.
• Later-stage startups or scaleups may go the more highly customized route.
• Mature companies typically have their own proprietary design system.

There are also numerous YouTube creators and additional Medium writers (I’m personally a big fan of Christopher Deane) who offer tutorials and speak even more in-depth on approaching design systems, as well as recommending specific Figma plugins that can help the process.

All of this to say, no resource is too limited to help anyone start tackling system building!

Why Do UI Design Systems Matter?

Now that we’ve covered how systems are set up, it’s also important to zoom out and understand the value behind a strong UI design system. At the end of the day, every design system should serve your unique product’s or team’s needs.

With feature launches going to market in record speed accelerated by AI, having a clear system foundation also allows teams to ship features and updates faster.

They serve to create a unified user experience, and act as a source of truth for how components in the product interact, look like, and should be used. There is a reduction of design debt when components have already been tested. Having a strong system setup allows for edits to be made more easily universally. They create consistency across products, allow for a way to onboard new designers and developers more quickly and for these teams to collaborate more effectively. This allows designers to focus their time on high impact solutions and allow time to focus more on optimizing the user experience.

The post How to Create a Strong UI Design System appeared first on NoGood™: Growth Marketing Agency.

What is Design Psychology

Design psychology bridges the gap between human psychology and creative practice, examining how people perceive, process, and respond to visual and interactive elements. At its core, it’s the study of how psychological theories and cognitive biases influence user behavior, decision-making, and emotional responses to design. 

What Does a Design Psychologist Do?

To maximize the impact of your designs, it helps to think like a design psychologist: someone who applies the psychology of design, human psychology, and insights into cognitive processing to user interfaces and visual elements. This perspective focuses on anticipating user behavior and designing experiences that are intuitive, engaging, and aligned with how people naturally perceive and process information.

In practical application, designers leverage this psychological knowledge throughout their design process, from reducing cognitive load in user interface layouts to strategically applying color psychology in branding decisions.By understanding principles like Hick’s Law, Gestalt theory, color psychology, typography, and Cognitive Load Theory, designers create visual elements and experiences that feel intuitive, minimize friction, and guide users toward desired outcomes without conscious effort. Let’s start by exploring the first principle and its application: Hick’s Law.

1. Hick’s Law

Design should always aim for clarity to avoid overwhelming users. Hick’s law states:

“The time it takes to make a decision increases with the number and complexity of choices available.”

Therefore, when designing, it is important to keep in mind the concept of cognitive load, especially in relation to Hick’s Law and how users make choices. Cognitive load refers to the mental effort required by our working memory; just as computer processors have limited capacity, our brains do, too. The goal of clean design is to reduce this mental effort by keeping only the elements that add value and support clear information processing.

In UX design, it is essential to stay focused on the primary goal of the user and include only the components that help support that goal. Designers should reduce unnecessary steps in the user flow, avoid choice overload, and remove elements that distract from the main objective. This approach improves usability, strengthens visual hierarchy, and aligns with the psychology of design.

2. Gestalt Principles

Gestalt principles, established nearly a century ago, continue to remain highly relevant today. The term “gestalt” means “unified whole” in this context, and the theory examines how people perceive visual elements in relation to each other. These seven principles explain how humans instinctively group and connect elements. For designers, this knowledge is crucial as it directs the viewer’s attention, clarifies the hierarchy of elements, and effectively communicates the design’s intent.

Applying Gestalt principles helps designers create harmonious and easily comprehensible compositions that guide the viewer’s eye and convey information effectively.

Similarity

The principle of similarity suggests that when elements look alike, people group them together and assume they serve similar functions. Similarity can be defined by attributes such as shape, color, size, texture, or value, helping to indicate relatedness or differences among elements.For example, in UX design, your primary brand color is often linked to components that are interactive, such as button CTAs. This relates to color psychology, and helps create clear affordance within the user interface. Using one consistent color signals to the user that these elements allow action and supports the psychology of design by reducing cognitive effort. As the user continues to interact with the product, they form a stronger mental model that action and interactive components are always connected to this primary brand color, which improves cognitive processing and makes the experience feel more intuitive.

Continuity

Continuity refers to the natural tendency of the human eye to follow a smooth path from one object to another. When designing, use this principle to guide the viewer’s eye along a desired path by placing important elements along this route.

In the UI design example below, the first accordion separates each selection chip, which can create dissonance for the user by making it seem as if the chips have separate functions. The second example uses a continuous fill and stroke, signaling that these visual elements are part of a single user interface component. This reduces the number of separate components on the screen, decreasing cognitive load by turning multiple elements into one.

Consider the Pinterest UI. Image blocks are all different sizes, however, they’re arranged in columns, creating unbroken vertical lines of negative space between the pictures. The continuity principle is apparent here, encouraging users to move up and down to view more content.

Closure

Closure is based on the eye’s inclination to perceive complete shapes even when parts are missing. Our minds fill in gaps to form coherent shapes, showing our preference for completeness. For example, we can still see the circle and rectangle below, even though the lines are broken.

Proximity

The principle of proximity states that elements placed close to each other are perceived as related, even if they differ in color or shape. Proximity helps group elements together and can enhance clarity. This is evident in form design, where text near a field indicates what information is needed. If text were placed farther away, it could lead to confusion.

Common Regions

The principle of common region builds on the idea of proximity by emphasizing the role of spatial boundaries in grouping elements. According to this principle, objects that are enclosed within the same visual boundary or region are perceived as belonging together, regardless of their individual characteristics. This principle highlights the importance of visual containers, such as boxes, backgrounds, or any form of delimiters that group elements. By using borders or distinct backgrounds, you create a clear visual separation between different sections or categories, making it easier for users to understand and navigate the content.

For example, in a user interface, placing form fields within a shaded box or a bordered area helps users to see that these fields are part of a specific task or section, such as contact information or payment details. This grouping can prevent confusion and streamline the user experience by clearly delineating different parts of a form or page.

Focal Point

The focal point is a crucial design element that draws the viewer’s attention to the most important part of a composition. It is the area of a design that stands out visually, commanding immediate attention and guiding the viewer’s focus. This principle is essential for ensuring that key information or calls to action are not overlooked.

To create an effective focal point, designers use various techniques to make certain elements stand out from the rest. These techniques include:

• Contrast: Utilizing strong contrasts in color, size, or brightness can make an element more noticeable. For example, a bright, bold button on a neutral background will attract more attention than a subdued one.
• Size and Scale: Larger elements tend to draw more attention. By making a key feature significantly bigger than other elements, you ensure it becomes the focal point of the design.
• Position: Placing important elements in prominent positions, such as the center of a layout or the top of a page, can naturally draw the viewer’s eye. The top-left corner is often where viewers start looking, so placing crucial information there can be effective.
• Color: Using vibrant or contrasting colors for key elements can make them stand out. For instance, a call-to-action button in a bright, contrasting color will catch the viewer’s eye more readily than a button that blends in with the background.
• Whitespace: Surrounding an element with ample whitespace can also create a focal point. By isolating an element from other content, you make it more noticeable and important.

It is important to be intentional when applying these techniques and to avoid overwhelming the audience with “technique stuffing.” Focusing on 2-3 techniques at a time helps maintain clarity and effective psychological processing. In the example below, the design strategically uses color psychology and display fonts as visual elements to guide the user to the primary message of the social ad, supporting core principles of UX design and the psychology of design.

Figure-Ground

The figure-ground principle is central to visual perception, distinguishing between an object (the figure) and its background (the ground). This principle helps us interpret and prioritize what we see by clearly defining the focal point and its surrounding context. In design, effectively applying figure-ground ensures that key elements stand out and are easily identifiable against their backdrop.

The Enduring Relevance of Gestalt

The remarkable longevity of these principles, nearly a century after their establishment, demonstrates their fundamental truth about these principles and how they remain as relevant in today’s digital interfaces as they were in early 20th-century print design.Whether you’re designing a website, mobile app, or print advertisement, these principles form the foundation for clear, effective communication that resonates with how humans are wired to see and interpret the world around them.

3. Color Psychology

The study of color psychology is relatively recent, yet the fascination with color and its effects has ancient roots. Warm colors, such as red, orange, and yellow, fall within the red spectrum and are known to elicit a range of emotions. These hues can create feelings of warmth and comfort, but they may also provoke feelings of anger and aggression.In contrast, cool colors like blue, purple, and green, which are found on the blue end of the spectrum, are often associated with calmness. However, they can also evoke emotions such as sadness or detachment.

Understanding color psychology helps designers select appropriate color schemes that align with the intended message and audience preferences.

4. Typography & Readability

Typography affects how information is perceived and understood. Key considerations include:

Font Type & Size

Selecting an appropriate font type is crucial for readability. Serif fonts, with their distinctive strokes and lines, are often used in print for their classic and formal appearance, whereas sans-serif fonts offer a clean and modern look, making them popular for digital screens. Font size should be large enough to read comfortably without straining the eyes.

🌟 Best Practice: Generally, body text should be between 16-18 pixels for web content to ensure legibility across various devices. Additionally to ensure adequate hierarchy between body fonts and headers, try to maintain at least a 1.5x-3x difference in size between the body text and header.

Line Spacing & Length

Proper line spacing, or leading, improves readability by preventing the text from appearing too dense. Adequate spacing between lines helps guide the reader’s eye smoothly from one line to the next. Similarly, line length should be optimal; text lines that are too long can cause eye strain and disrupt the reading flow, while excessively short lines can make reading cumbersome.

🌟 Best Practice: It’s recommended to keep line lengths between 50-75 characters. This equates to a container size of anywhere from 600-800px when designing to ensure adhering to best practices for scannability.

Contrast & Color

High contrast between text and background is essential for readability. Ensure that there is sufficient contrast to make the text stand out, particularly for users with visual impairments. Many designers will refer to authoritative sources such as WCAG AA Guidelines to make sure that colors are color compliant. Many design platforms such as Figma also have built-in functionality to help you check the readability of your text. 

🌟 Best Practice: Using a dark font on a light background or vice versa is a common practice. Additionally, avoid using too many different colors or font styles in a single piece of content, as this can distract or confuse readers.

Hierarchy & Emphasis

Effective typography also involves creating a clear hierarchy to guide readers through the content. This helps readers navigate and understand the content structure, making it easier to find key information. Establishing typography guidelines that denote the primary headers, body text, footer text, call out text is essential to establish before designing for a brand.

🌟 Best Practice: Use different font sizes, weights, and styles to differentiate headings, subheadings, and body text.

Whitespace & Alignment

Incorporating whitespace around text elements prevents visual clutter and enhances readability. Proper alignment of text (whether left-aligned, right-aligned, centered, or justified) affects how easily readers can follow and absorb the information. Consistent alignment contributes to a clean and organized appearance, improving the overall reading experience.

🌟 Best Practice: Use left-alignment for body text in Western languages, as it creates a consistent starting point that’s easier for the eye to track. Reserve centered alignment for short headlines or callouts, and avoid justified text in narrow columns as it can create awkward spacing gaps.

5. Cognitive Load Theory

At its core, Cognitive Load Theory aims to enhance learning and problem-solving by understanding the constraints of human memory. It divides cognitive load into three types: intrinsic, extraneous, and germane, and each impacts how we process and retain information.

• Intrinsic load pertains to the inherent difficulty of the content or task.
• Extraneous load refers to the way that information is presented.
• Germane load relates to the effort invested in understanding and integrating new knowledge.

In the context of design, applying CLT means creating interfaces and interactions that align with these cognitive constraints. By managing and reducing unnecessary cognitive load, designers can make information more accessible, learning processes more efficient, and user experiences more intuitive. Effective design guided by CLT not only enhances usability, but also promotes clearer communication and better decision-making. Understanding and applying these principles helps create environments where users can focus on the task at hand without being bogged down by cognitive overload.

Design Strategies to Manage Cognitive Load

• Simplify & Prioritize Information: Present only the most relevant information and prioritize content to avoid overwhelming users. Use progressive disclosure to reveal details gradually as needed.
• Utilize Visual Hierarchies: Organize information with clear headings, bullet points, and visual cues to guide users through the content. Effective use of typography, colors, and spacing can enhance readability and comprehension.
• Incorporate Consistent Design Patterns: Consistency in layout and navigation reduces the cognitive effort needed to understand how to interact with the interface. Familiar patterns help users quickly learn how to use the system without having to relearn different elements.
• Leverage Data-Driven Insights:  Use analytics, user testing, and behavioral data to inform design decisions that align with user mental models. By understanding how users naturally think and navigate, you can create layouts and interactions that feel intuitive and reduce the learning curve with data-driven design. 
• Leverage Multimedia: Motion graphics, when used purposefully, can break down complex processes into digestible animated sequences that reduce cognitive load and improve information retention.”
• Incorporate AI Feedback: As designers navigate the complexity of managing cognitive load, AI-powered tools are increasingly helping to analyze user behavior patterns, predict potential friction points, and suggest optimizations that align with how users naturally process information. AI tools can also help super-charge your design workflow by speeding up monotonous processes.

An Excerpt on Emotional Design

Don Norman’s Emotional Design set the standard for defining how emotions have a crucial role in the human ability to understand the world, and how we learn new things. According to Norman, emotional design is pivotal in creating products that not only function well but also resonate with users on an emotional level. He identifies three levels of emotional response: visceral, behavioral, and reflective

• The visceral level relates to immediate, automatic reactions to a product’s appearance, such as whether it is visually appealing or aesthetically pleasing.
• The behavioral level focuses on the usability and functionality of a product, emphasizing the importance of ease of use and effectiveness.
• The reflective level pertains to the personal significance and long-term impact of the product, including how it aligns with users’ values and self-image.

Conclusion

By applying Hick’s Law, Gestalt principles, color psychology, typography, and Cognitive Load Theory throughout your design process, you create experiences that align with natural human perception and behavior. Design psychology should inform your work from the earliest concepts through final execution, ensuring every decision reduces friction and guides users intuitively toward their goals. As these concepts become second nature in your thinking, you’ll find yourself creating work that truly resonates with users and boosting conversions in performance creatives.

The post Psychology of Design: 5 Key Principles for Impactful Creations appeared first on NoGood™: Growth Marketing Agency.

Instagram is still one of the most powerful tools for visual storytelling. It’s where brands craft their personality and connect with millions of people scrolling through their feeds daily. But if every other brand has perfected their strategy, standing out becomes twice as hard (if not more).

It all comes down to organic engagement; the kind that signals real connection, not just doomscrolling. I’m talking about saves, shares, and comments that drive discussion.

The strategies that brands use to drive this engagement vary. Some lean into user-generated content while others ride cultural moments or build entire communities around niche interests. When you study what’s working, patterns start to emerge, and those patterns are what separate the brands that thrive from the ones that just post in hopes of some type of engagement because it “looks cool.”

So after analyzing different Instagram accounts, I’ve narrowed it down to 18 brands absolutely crushing it on Instagram right now. And no, these aren’t just brands with big followings like Duolingo (I’ve done my research, and almost everyone puts Duolingo on their list). These are brands with a strategy that leverage Instagram’s features intelligently, create content that resonates, and build lasting relationships with their audiences.

1. SSENSE

SSENSE is a luxury eCommerce platform specializing in high-end fashion and streetwear. But their Instagram is not your typical designer brand feed. Most fashion brands follow the same rules: polished product shots, runway looks, and aspirational lifestyle imagery. SSENSE did the complete opposite, turning their Instagram into something completely different: a fashion meme page.

They’ve gamified fashion in a way I haven’t seen done well on any other fashion page. Instead of just showcasing clothes, they create cultural commentary through absurd captions paired with editorial imagery. Captions like “Your political science teacher and your astrocartologist are getting married,” sound random out of context, but when paired with the right visuals, it captures the vibe ✨perfectly✨

By leaning heavily into niche fashion humor and those black-and-white text graphics that feel like they were ripped straight from a Y2K fashion magazine quiz, SSENSE turns luxury into something playful, self-aware, and out of the ordinary.

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Strategic Takeaway: Treating their feed like a cultural mood board instead of a product catalog helped SSENSE build a community. With the comments section full of people riffing on the jokes and tagging friends, they’ve built a cult following of active participants.

2. Wendy’s

If you’ve spent any time on the internet in the last few years, you’ve probably seen Wendy’s roasting competitors, dropping hot takes, or going viral for being unapologetically unhinged. Any list of the best brands on social media might make do without Duolingo, but would be incomplete without Wendy’s.

They pioneered the brand as your “friend with zero filter” approach on X (when it was still Twitter, RIP), where they built a reputation for savage clapbacks, competitor roasts, and the kind of energy that makes you think, “Did a fast-food chain really just say that?”

I’m happy to inform you: their Instagram strategy is just as sharp, just executed slightly differently.

Instagram is where they focus on visual storytelling and product hype. Their content is slightly more polished, but the personality stays intact. Think memes, product drops, and fun campaigns. Take their “Meal of Misfortune” collaboration with Netflix’s Wednesday. They turned Wendy into Wednesday Adams, complete with her iconic braids, goth vibes, and a campaign that leaned fully into the show’s aesthetic. Wendy’s turned a generic product launch into a cultural crossover that made people line up for a limited-time menu item.

Strategic Takeaways: Wendy’s upper hand is consistency across platforms without being repetitive. Their personality is cohesive whether you’re seeing them on X, Instagram, or TikTok, but the execution adapts to what each platform rewards. And they’ve mastered something most brands struggle with: not taking themselves too seriously. Wendy’s is your reminder that people don’t always follow brands that feel like brands; they follow brands that feel like people.

3. Sweetgreen

With over 400k followers, Sweetgreen has mastered the art of making vegetables feel aspirational. While their Instagram feed looks freshly picked from a local farmers’ market, it’s visually created that way to sell users a lifestyle. Their thumbnails become a sensory experience that makes you crave a $15 salad.

This is sensory marketing on steroids. Sweetgreen’s visual strategy is almost entirely cinematic. By using professional, film-quality food photography, every shot is designed to evoke an emotion, whether that be hunger or aspiration. The visuals don’t just show you what’s in the bowl, but almost make you think you can taste what you’re seeing through the screen.

And it’s not an accident; research shows that sensory-driven content triggers stronger emotional responses and drives higher engagement. Sweetgreen knows this, and they use it to their advantage, making their feed feel alive in a way most food brands don’t.

Strategic Takeaway: Sweetgreen is a masterclass in sensory marketing. In other words, don’t just show your product; make people feel it. Invest in high-quality visuals that evoke emotion, lean into sensory details (textures, colors, movement), and build a brand identity that people want to partake in.

4. We’re Not Really Strangers

We’re Not Really Strangers is a purpose-driven card game and movement that aims to empower meaningful connections… except calling it “just a card game” misses the point entirely.

WNRS built a global community around vulnerability, self-reflection, and the idea that we’re all craving deeper human connection, which can be done through their selection of a deck of red cards. By building an emotional ecosystem, they’ve gained over 5 million followers on Instagram, turning their brand into a cultural phenomenon.

At first glance, WNRS looks like your typical motivational content: thought-provoking questions, vulnerable statements, empowering messages, the usual. But if you look closer, you’ll notice a distinct shade of red appears in almost every single post. Whether it’s obvious or subtle, that red is their visual signature.

Intentional branding like this causes followers to recognize WNRS content almost instantly, separating them from other motivational pages. From painting quotes on large pieces of paper, answering journal prompts, or shared experiences playing the game, WNRS creates emotional investment.

Strategic Takeaway: WNRS doesn’t just share quotes; they transform their audience into participants in the content creation itself. They turned a card game into a global movement by understanding the truth that people are craving transparency (I’m tired of the word authenticity), and if you give them a safe space to be vulnerable, they’ll show up.

5. Netflix2

Remember back in high school when almost everyone had a spam account? Netflix has proved to all of us that they also know ball.

Netflix2 is Netflix’s finsta, a private Instagram account, but instead of posting blurry bathroom selfies with the dog filter on, Netflix2 posts memes from iconic TV show moments from The Great British Baking Show to Love is Blind. Luckily for me, they accepted my follow request (it did take them two weeks, though 🤨).

For those that haven’t tried to join the exclusive club quite yet, enjoy this sneak peek:

Netflix doesn’t exactly need another Instagram account, but Netflix2 isn’t updating followers with movie clips from their latest show or movie (lately it’s been a lot of K-Pop Demon Hunters).

By owning a private Instagram account, they turned niche film moments into an exclusive, two-way conversation with their most passionate fans. Tapping into the psychology of exclusivity makes their finsta all the more compelling. Once you’re granted access, it feels like you’ve been given the pass to an exclusive club; a crowd who gets to be a part of the inside jokes.

Netflix creates FOMO, and whether you feel left out or part of the club, it works. The exclusivity makes the content feel more worth engaging with.

Strategic Takeaway: By creating a private, exclusive space for die-hard fans, Netflix built a community that feels more like a group chat with friends than a brand account. If your brand has a passionate, niche audience that’s already engaging deeply with your content, consider creating a space for them.

And if a finsta isn’t quite your brand’s style, there’s always Discord, Substack, a Facebook Group, or even a Close Friends Story list.

6. Rhode

Rhode is Hailey Bieber’s minimalist skincare and beauty brand that launched in 2022; three years later, it was acquired by e.l.f. Beauty for $1 billion (talk about a glow-up).

From Hailey Bieber’s strawberry glaze era to lemontini summer, Rhode became a staple in everyone’s “clean girl aesthetic” makeup bags. While her status may have helped her brand from the jump, the brand aesthetic is what drove Rhode to success. Its feed is meticulously curated. Every thumbnail, campaign shoot, product photo, and even UGC reshare follows the same visual language: clean, minimal, aspirational.

Their brand colors are gray and white, but they smartly incorporate light, muted tones that feel luxurious without being intimidating. And you can expect to see a Rhode logo somewhere, though it’s often subtly placed without feeling too flashy.

But Rhode doesn’t just launch “clean girl” products; they launch worlds. Take their lemontini summer campaign. Everywhere you looked there were yellow towels, martinis, bikinis, floaties, and that signature Rhode aesthetic tying a through-line between every element. Rhode sold a summer fantasy that people wanted to be part of (which they did, with a Rhode Beach club).

While we’re here, let’s also talk about the strawberry glaze era; after all, it’s where the viral photo of Hailey Bieber in a red dress with her husband Justin Bieber following behind in a hoodie and Crocs came to be. The strawberry glaze era resulted in limited-edition Krispy Kreme donuts and the “strawberry glaze trend” (aka dewey pink makeup). These campaigns work because they’re cohesively thematic, making them Instagrammable.

Strategic Takeaway: If your brand is in a visual-heavy industry (beauty, fashion, lifestyle), take notes from Rhode. Invest in high-quality, cohesive visuals, create thematic worlds people want to be part of, and make your aesthetic so consistent that people recognize your brand at first glance, even without the logo.

7. Yahoo!

Yahoo is the internet company that’s been around for 30 years, known primarily for email, news, and being the butt of millions of “wait, Yahoo still exists?” jokes.

Yes, they still exist; and you would’ve known that if you followed them on social media. Nothing says “I love sending emails” more than Yahoo’s Instagram account. And if you’re an office employee who sends at least 15 emails a day (probably more), Yahoo is the kind of account that just gets you.

Their entire feed is dedicated to email and office-related memes. Do you think everyone who emails you secretly hates you? There’s a meme for that. Do you have over 2,000 unopened emails sitting in your inbox right now? There’s one for that, too.

Yahoo is the epitome of “per my last email” energy. But the thing is, they don’t try to sell you anything or promote new features. Instead, they create memes about the universal pain points of email culture like the anxiety of waiting for a response or the passive-aggressive “just following up!”

Yahoo works for the bit, which sets them apart from other popular email brands like Gmail and Outlook (who currently have no clear social media presence on Instagram). Yahoo may be the butt of the joke, but at least they have the following to prove that they’re still relevant.

Strategic Takeaway: The universal frustrations, anxieties, or inside jokes of that community are what turn Yahoo into shareable content. Instead of selling the latest updates, just make people feel seen.

8. Brita

If you only know Brita from their product aisle, their Instagram will feel like stepping into an alternate dimension. We all know Duolingo (sigh) for creating the unhinged marketing playbook: turning a mascot into a mildly threatening character that haunts you if you skip a Spanish lesson. After proving that strategy works, brands like Nutter Butter and Brita tapped into their unhinged side and did a full 360 from traditional marketing.

According to the Harris Poll, Brita became the fastest-growing home care brand in late 2022 through early 2023. The initial surge was sparked by a viral user trend involving filtering vodka through a Brita pitcher (I’m not recommending this), but it was Brita’s own bizarre content that sustained that attention and turned it into brand affinity.

Their social team puts together randomly edited clips of memes while singing Brita songs in a monotone voice. Except in most clips, you’ll see a singing, dancing shark often talking about being hydrated in the most absurd way. This strategy mirrors Nutter Butter’s unpredictability and leverages character variety to keep audiences guessing. It’s consistently random in a way that becomes a brand signature.

Should Brita be on Broadway? Probably not, but being somewhat musically inclined gets people saying, “oh, that’s the Brita guy.” Throughout 2025, you could watch the meteoric rise of the Brita universe unfold in real-time.

Strategic Takeaway: The first step to Brita’s success was that one-off vodka post. But what they did differently was take advantage of the momentum. They leaned into serialized storytelling, as equally absurd and unexpected as filtering vodka in a Brita. If your brand voice isn’t naturally playful, weird, or experimental, don’t try to manufacture it. Brita’s strategy works because their team is certifiably fluent in Gen Z humor.

9. Starface

I know I’m not the only one who often sees influencers wearing bright yellow star-shaped pimple patches on their stories or in person in the subway. That’s Starface, a brand that makes unique “acne stickers” in the shape of stars that fit perfectly with their Gen Z-forward aesthetic.

Since their initial launch, they’ve expanded into other neon colors like pink and blue, limited-edition shapes like Hello Kitty or SpongeBob, and skincare with their lip balms. But besides their brightly colored feed, their ability to turn a universal insecurity into something revolutionary is what won Gen Z over.

For years, acne was something to hide. Traditional acne products used medical language words like “blemish” or “cover up.” The entire industry was built on the idea that acne is embarrassing and needs to be concealed. Then Starface came in with a different perspective: make pimple patches visible. What’s brighter than a neon yellow star on your face? Their reusable compact with a smiling face soon became their brand mascot. They developed a brand ethos that says “celebrate your skin, don’t hide it.”

What sets Starface apart from other brands is their ability to redefine acne care. Starface isn’t marketing skincare with medical language like “hydrocolloid” (even though that’s what’s in their patches).

From stars to Hello Kitty patches, the ultimate goal is self-expression; turning an insecurity into a fashion accessory for your face. By reposting UGC pictures of creators wearing their patches to animated videos and Starface memes, they turned a universal experience into an empowering community.

Strategic Takeaway: Starface proves that emotional positioning is greater than product features. When Gen Z goes to buy products, they don’t only want products that work, but also want products that make them feel seen and validated.

10. Notion

Notion is a productivity app that lets people build customizable organizational systems; essentially an all-in-one workspace tool. It’s become the go-to productivity app for thousands of users, from solo creators to entire enterprise teams, who want to build systems that actually work for them. From films to memes to demos, Notion has crafted a slow feed for the type of users who just get it. Their Instagram shows you what’s possible when productivity becomes personal.

Where every brand is chasing virality, Notion took a different approach: slow growth. Alex Hao, Notion’s social media manager, says “Social is a fast-paced environment, so it can seem both efficient and fitting to lean into trends to growth-hack your way to a new follower count, rather than indexing on something less sexy like ‘value to the user’ as a north star. But we’re big believers in slow growth—investing in our product and community sustainably.”

Now, this doesn’t mean they reject trends entirely. Instead, Notion participates in trends and leverages influencer marketing where it makes sense, but they don’t do so at the expense of their long-term commitments.

One format they often use is highlighting the stories of real Notion users: what they do, what their problem is, and how Notion helped keep their schedule in order. Showcasing other people’s entry-to-Notion stories fosters a sense of community and relatability, prompting viewers to comment and share their own experiences. It’s not a strategy that will answer your manager’s “make it go viral” demand, but it helps you thoughtfully grow a dedicated, trusting community that truly knows your brand inside and out.

Strategic Takeaway: When you consistently deliver value, you don’t need to shout from the rooftops. The community does that for you and Notion proves that slow growth works when you’re building for the long term.

11. ClickUp Comedy

ClickUp is a cloud-based project management platform used by companies to streamline workflows and manage tasks. But @clickupcomedy on Instagram gives off the energy of an after-hours office party. It’s ClickUp’s separate Instagram account dedicated entirely to corporate comedy sketches, aka the SNL of project management platforms.

EGC (employee-generated content) is the reason why ClickUp Comedy does so well. From office humor jokes to fully fleshed-out skits and tunes, this account hits the nail on the head. They relate to practically every single typical corporate office joke you could think of (I’ll bet at least one of the scenarios they cover feels familiar to you).

Not only is their content recognizable thanks to their consistent characters, it’s relatable and consistent enough to be shareable, allowing them to appear in the DMs of many people.

Office humor isn’t dead; it just needs the right execution, and ClickUp Comedy does that extremely well. But what I love most about this strategy is that this isn’t ClickUp’s main account.

They have their own separate official ClickUp account, meaning ClickUp Comedy was a strategic decision to turn a tool many corporate offices use into something office workers can actually understand and enjoy. So if a ClickUp user wants tool updates or feature demos, they can head over to the main channel. But if they want entertainment during their coffee break, they can head over to ClickUp Comedy.

Strategic Takeaway: ClickUp Comedy proves that B2B doesn’t have to be boring. In fact, B2B comedy might be one of the most underutilized strategies in social media marketing and creating a separate channel to separate professional content with comedy helped push that strategy forward.

12. Liquid Death

Who knew water could be so hardcore? As a marketer who frequently discusses brands doing weird stuff in our space, I did.

Liquid Death taps into hardcore rock and roll, punk, and heavy metal culture, turning something as simple as water into a full-blown brand identity. Liquid Death launched in 2019 and has already amassed 7 million followers on Instagram; more than A-list water brands like Poland Spring, SmartWater, and Essentia.

Keeping the “water” part discreet and making their product look like a beer can was already daring enough. But their online personality equally reflects, if not amplifies, the confusion that a customer feels when doing a double-take on their can, confusing it for a late-night drink.

Dan Murphy, SVP of Marketing at Liquid Death, states, “We want to be the funniest thing you see on your feed, and our God metric for social are shares. That is the thing we want to see happen that lets us know it’s broken through.”

Liquid Death abandoned traditional brand guidelines. Instead, they approach every piece of content like writers on a TV show. This character-driven approach gives the brand a consistent voice that can adapt to different formats while remaining true to its core. And crucially, they never break character. When they released the Pit Diaper (for people who drink a lot in the mosh pit) in collaboration with adult diaper company Depend, they priced it at $75 and it sold out within 24 hours.

Strategic Takeaway: Liquid Death proves that you can sell anything if you make it entertaining enough. Water is (arguably) the most boring product imaginable. But by wrapping it in hardcore branding, Liquid Death turned water into a $1.4 billion cultural phenomenon.

13. Oura

Unlike bulky smartwatches, Oura Ring is a sleek piece of jewelry that delivers clinical-grade biometric data straight to your phone (in my opinion, one of the best and cleanest health wellness profiles I’ve seen).

But another thing they’ve done well is gamify the wellness experience. Mixing education with personalization, their feed consists of carousels that educate customers on their health results, such as sleep quality and what it means, and navigating the how and why behind the what.

They make complex health data accessible and actionable. Most wearables dump raw data onto users without context, whereas Oura translates it into simple scores with personalized recommendations. This creates a deeper relationship with their users by providing them with more insights into the product they’re using.

But my personal favorite is their use of community and data insights. They tap into Oura user niche habits like checking their sleep score when waking up or getting an Oura Ring tan line during the summer. Seeing posts that they relate to encourages users to share their “icks” or relatable moments with their Oura ring friends.

Besides that, plenty of their educational posts are data-driven, which turns Oura into a platform of expertise, making users feel like they’re getting advice from an actual health advisor. Their use of Stories (where they frequently repost Oura Ring users’ stories) shows that they care about their users and appreciate their learnings or habits.

Strategic Takeaway: Education is engagement, when done right. If your product is complex or data-driven, take it as an opportunity to teach them what the numbers mean and why they matter.

14. Loewe

Loewe is a global luxury powerhouse that has evolved over the years. Under the LVMH group since 1996 and the creative direction of Jonathan Anderson since 2013, Loewe has transformed from a conservative heritage brand into a modern cultural phenomenon, blending artisanal craftsmanship with avant-garde design and digital innovation.

You often see posts that resemble the cover of a magazine: professional photos with their brand name “LOEWE” in bold. It’s clean, aesthetically pleasing, and in the carousels they utilize, they use other Loewe objects to resemble the color of whatever fashion piece they photographed, making their carousels feel like a sort of color palette or brand collage.

They have a way of contrasting bold colors, of making their products pop. But they are also super big on quality, often showing clips of behind-the-scenes craftsmanship like hand-blown glass clutches and leather weaving techniques. This proof of concept and the behind-the-scenes process of making one-of-a-kind pieces reveal the thought process behind design, elevating Loewe from a fashion brand to an art house.

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Strategic Takeaway: The key is maintaining quality, craftsmanship, and artistic integrity in everything you create. In an era full of AI slop, proof of human work matters more than ever, adding a stamp of quality in every piece of content you make.

15. Craighill

Craighill is one of those Instagram accounts that’s a no-skip, no 2x speed kind of watch. In feeds full of GRWMs and out-of-touch influencer hauls, it’s refreshing to see creators explain something they’re so passionate about.

Craighill is a design and manufacturing brand rooted in curiosity, ingenuity, and satisfaction. They create functional, timeless objects like key rings, card cases, wine openers, rulers, desk accessories, etc, that solve everyday design problems with meticulous engineering and beautiful craftsmanship. As they explain on their website, “They know that the world already has too much ‘stuff’ and that you don’t need yet another shiny object. That’s why they design products to be as functional and timeless as they are beautiful and intriguing.”

On Instagram, they post in-depth, educational explainer videos on tiny nuances in objects you’ve probably thought about once but never questioned, like the line on a pair of scissors or why trash cans taper. Whether it’s explaining the mechanics of their actual product or using a common object to back the understanding of their design philosophy, their content is worth watching. Comments underneath their videos often rave about their peculiar attention to detail, calling their content satisfying and praising their engineering. 

Strategic Takeaway: In 2026, people are hungry for content that teaches them something; content that respects their time and intelligence. They’re tired of being sold to and surface-level content that feels AI-generated. Craighill gives them the opposite: depth, curiosity, craftsmanship, and genuine passion.

16. Jacquemus

Branded storytelling is on the rise, and Jacquemus does a great job at doing it. As AI slop continues to crowd the internet and the line of what’s real and what’s not becomes blurred, Jacquemus stands on the opposite end by flexing human craftsmanship. From behind-the-scenes looks to iconic campaigns to reels full of contrast, vignettes, and raw moments their content feels not performative, but lived in.

Founded by Simon Porte Jacquemus when he was just 18 years old, the brand is rooted in deeply personal storytelling inspired by his Provençal upbringing and late mother. Every collection tells a story, whether it’s the viral lavender field runway show in Provence or his Le Valerie bag, inspired by his late mother.

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But what sets this fashion brand apart is their commitment to human craftsmanship in the AI age. Their behind-the-scenes content is polished, yet raw and cinematic. While other brands chase trends, Jacquemus creates Instagrammable spectacles designed for maximum visual impact with a sense of familiarity.

Strategic Takeaway: In an age of AI-generated content, authenticity isn’t your competitive advantage, transparency is. Behind-the-scenes looks, raw, uncut moments, etc. Personal storytelling creates emotional connections that artificial relationships can’t.

17. Beli

If you’re a major foodie, you’ve probably already heard of Beli. It’s a social restaurant app where users track, rate, and share dining experiences (similar to Yelp, but ~cooler~). Behind the delicious-looking videos they post comes a consistent content strategy. There are three constant formats that they repeat:

• Ranked food or restaurants
• Top three spots or foods
• Their “come with us to try…” videos

Beli flexes consistency with their content, allowing for it to be unpredictable, entertaining, yet mouth-watering. With 784K Instagram followers, this restaurant app turned into a social media hive that’s redefining how Gen Z discovers food.

What makes their strategy work is repeatability with variety. Every video follows a proven formula: ranked lists, location highlights, mouth-watering B-roll, but the restaurants and cities change. They post shortlists of the highest-ranked spots for specific cuisines, track the most highly rated new places each month, and more.

Where other foodies also post food content, repeatability is what makes content stand out. Finding that “it factor” to keep content unique while maintaining consistency is what’ll make you stand out, and Beli did just that. Their consistency influences followers and non-followers to like, share, and save their content away to reference back to on a Friday night.

Strategic Takeaway: Consistency beats creativity chaos. Develop repeatable content formats and hooks that work, then execute them religiously with fresh subject matter. By creating that pattern recognition, your audience will keep coming back, and your format becomes your differentiator.

18. Rains

Rains does a great job at detaching from the online world and tapping into something that’s more lived in. The Danish outerwear label launched their AW25 collection with a refreshingly analog twist: a physical sticker book titled “Getting Dressed Should Be Fun.”

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A post shared by Rains (@rains)

Their most viral posts blend fashion with pre-digital physical hobbies like jigsaw puzzles, Guess Who, activity books, and trading cards. Comments calling their content “creativity premium” and saying, “the person behind this idea format is a genius,” show that there’s a call to action here: bring screen-free activities back.

Everyone praises innovation and technology, but the brands that touch on nostalgia in a way that not only reminds you of the past but makes you crave the time you once lived turn into brands that get it. As their Marketing Director, Josh Bredehoeft notes, “People often think innovation has to be loud or flashy, but sometimes it’s as simple as putting your own interpretation on a classic format.”

Rains’ tactile, hands-on approach feels daring and innovative, despite being a classic format. Meanwhile, every other brand is focused on what’s trending. But sometimes, revisiting the archives makes it all worth it.

Strategic Takeaway: Brands should think about countering digital with analog experiences. As AI slop and screen fatigue increase, physical, tactile brand interactions become premium experiences. By leveraging nostalgia, it offers intentional slowness and hands-on engagement in a hyper-digital world.

Bonus: NoGood

If staying on the pulse of social is up your alley, we’re NoGood for that (haha, get it?). In all seriousness, our Instagram channel consists of trend explainers, campaign breakdowns, and industry marketing trends. Through our thought leadership, we provide viewers with accurate, up-to-date insights on all things social from consumer to B2B to Fintech. If you’re looking to keep up with our content, give us a follow on Instagram. 

Key Strategic Takeaways

With so many brands and users killing it on Instagram, it’s super challenging to stand out from the crowd. Luckily, there are few limits to what a brand can do on Instagram. There are, however, a couple of key takeaways that any brand can incorporate into their own strategy. Regardless of which tactics you choose to try, make sure they are relevant to your own brand voice and audience’s needs, and you’ll soon reap the benefits.

1. Given the visual nature of Instagram, brands must craft out some sort of cohesive visual identity or theme.
2. Show some personality and authenticity. People connect with people, so make your brand feel like just another person you actually like speaking to.
3. For content, figure out what makes the most sense for your business, but provide a careful balance of inspiration, entertainment, and information.
4. Find creative ways to boost engagement, like in-caption polls, open-ended questions, and posting on your stories with stickers. 

The post 18 of the Best Brands on Instagram in 2026 appeared first on NoGood™: Growth Marketing Agency.

Marketers and designers find themselves at an intersection of creativity and computation, leveraging generative AI to produce visuals, videos, and experiences at unprecedented speed and scale. In this piece, we’re breaking down AI design strategy in practice: how AI is actually changing design workflows today.

We’ll also delve into the ethical and strategic considerations that come with this shift, provide real-world examples, and forecast how collaboration, roles, and aesthetics might evolve in an AI-driven design future.

AI Design Tools: A New Creative Toolbox

Generative image models (think Midjourney, Adobe Firefly, Stable Diffusion, etc.) have become go-to sources for creating quick visuals. These models can produce everything from concept art to social media graphics in minutes based on simple text prompts. Notably, Midjourney has grown to over 20 million Discord users and leads the AI image generation market with approximately 26% market share.

OpenAI’s DALL-E 3, launched with improved prompt understanding and image quality, further empowers creatives to generate high-fidelity visuals that align with their vision.

Adobe Firefly, introduced in 2023, brings generative AI directly into designers’ familiar tools. Firefly can generate images, refine art styles, and create text effects, all integrated across Creative Cloud applications like Photoshop and Illustrator. Unlike Midjourney’s often artistic, freeform outputs, Firefly is marketed for practical design use cases; from marketing collateral and branded imagery to UI elements. This positions Firefly as a powerful ally for marketing creatives seeking brand-aligned visuals at speed.

Major design platforms are building AI into their core, too. In 2025, Figma rolled out AI-assisted design features that can auto-generate design mockups, suggest layout improvements, and even fill in UI copy. The goal is to reduce time spent on tedious tweaks, allowing designers to iterate faster. Canva has taken a similar leap; after introducing an AI suite in 2023, it launched Canva AI as an integrated “design partner” across its platform, helping users create polished graphics with just a few prompts.

Tools like Runway ML are also enabling text-to-video capabilities and intelligent video editing. Top creative agencies are already experimenting with AI for video storyboarding and production; for example, R/GA uses Runway to eliminate manual storyboard work while maintaining creative control by having humans still architect the story.

Likewise, emerging AI tools can generate 3D designs, music, and other multimedia, opening new frontiers for immersive marketing content.

Which AI design tool should I start with?

For most marketing teams, start with Adobe Firefly (if you’re already in Creative Cloud) or Canva AI (for social-first content). Both integrate into existing workflows with minimal learning curve.

How AI Is Actually Changing Design Workflows (Not Just Hyping Them)

Beyond the hype and headlines, AI is fundamentally reshaping how design teams operate day-to-day. From initial concepting to final delivery, AI design strategy is compressing timelines, expanding creative possibilities, and redefining collaboration between humans and machines. Here’s what’s actually changing (from a boots on the ground perspective):

Rapid Ideation & Prototyping

Here’s what’s actually happening: designers throw a rough idea at AI, and minutes later, they’ve got multiple variations or full mood boards to choose from. What used to take weeks of sketching now happens almost instantly (cue my sigh of relief).

Instead of spending weeks sketching concepts, AI enables generating dozens of options almost instantly. This rapid iteration accelerates the creative process; for instance, an AI can churn out 10 different ad layout ideas or banner designs while a human would traditionally craft just one or two.

This means you’ve got a way richer pool of concepts to choose from. Ideas that might never have surfaced through traditional brainstorming.

Efficiency & Scale Gains

By handling grunt work, AI dramatically compresses production timelines. Routine tasks like resizing images, applying styles, or versioning ads for different audiences can be automated.

The numbers back this up: Creative agencies using AI report (in this case, Ogilvy, who we’ll cover a bit later) report significant cuts in production time:

• Traditional design timeline: 6 weeks, 1-2 variations
• AI-powered timeline: 2 weeks, 10+ variations
• Time savings: 67% reduction in production time

Personalization at Scale

Generative AI is enabling a new level of one-to-one marketing design. Instead of a single static design for all, AI can tailor visuals to each user or segment. Imagine an email campaign where the product images, colors, or even design style adapt to each recipient’s preferences; AI makes this feasible.

In fact, AI can help create “designs for the individual”, using data to customize creative content for extreme granularity. For marketers, this means the ability to deploy highly personalized ads, emails, and landing pages that resonate more with consumers, potentially improving engagement and conversion rates. What used to require enormous manual design resources (or was simply impossible) can now be done dynamically, at scale, by an AI that learns what visuals work best for each viewer.

Human-AI Creative Collaboration

Let’s be clear: AI isn’t replacing designers. It’s making them faster and more effective. The best outcomes arise when human creativity and AI efficiency work hand-in-hand. Think of AI as a creative assistant that can churn through variations and data, while the human designer acts as the director or editor, injecting strategy, brand understanding, and emotional intelligence.

For example, Airbnb built an AI system to turn napkin sketches into polished UI designs, automating the coding of prototypes. But human designers still guide the process, defining the user experience and refining the AI’s output.

Leading agencies have adopted an AI design strategy that uses AI as a “creative amplifier rather than a replacement,” using it to handle repetitive production tasks while freeing their teams to concentrate on high-level creative decisions.

Here’s how it works in practice: AI cranks out dozens of variations, handles the tedious production work, and speeds up iteration. Humans step in to pick the winners, ensure everything stays on brand, and inject the strategy and emotional intelligence that AI just can’t quite replicate (as of yet, that is).

AI in Action: Practical Examples of Design + AI in Marketing

To ground these ideas, let’s look at how companies are implementing AI design strategy in real marketing campaigns:

Campaign Creative at Lightning Speed: Heinz “AI Ketchup”

When Heinz wanted to reinforce its iconic status, it turned to generative AI for a clever experiment. The team at ad agency Rethink prompted DALL-E to “draw ketchup,” and the results were strikingly ketchup-like, albeit surreal. This formed the basis of an award-winning campaign showing that even an AI, when asked for “ketchup,” produces something resembling a Heinz bottle.

The Draw Ketchup campaign’s AI-generated visuals were not only attention-grabbing, but also reinforced brand recognition in a novel way. This example shows how marketers can use AI to put a creative twist on brand storytelling: AI becomes a collaborative partner to visualize the brand through a new lens, quickly generating ideas that would take artists much longer to sketch by hand.

Mass Variation in Advertising: Ogilvy’s IBM “FishyAI” Project

Global agency Ogilvy harnessed Adobe Firefly for IBM’s “FishyAI” campaign, dramatically speeding up their design process. They needed a multitude of character variations for the campaign; traditionally, creating these illustrated characters in all their different poses and styles would have been a labor-intensive task.

With generative AI, though, Ogilvy cut the character design time from around 15 days to 2 days per variation, slashing the overall production timeline from 6 weeks to 2 weeks. The AI produced dozens of fish character images in different artistic styles almost instantaneously, which the team then curated and refined.

The extra time saved was reinvested into strategy and fine-tuning the campaign’s message. The campaign demonstrated how AI can boost efficiency without sacrificing creative quality. For marketers, this showcases how AI can handle the heavy lifting of producing multiple ad variants (for different demographics, channels, A/B tests, etc.), allowing human creatives to focus on selecting and polishing the best concepts.

Social Media Content & Co-Creation: Coca-Cola’s “Create Real Magic”

In 2023, Coca-Cola launched an innovative contest called “Create Real Magic”, inviting fans to generate Coke-themed artwork using a custom AI platform powered by DALL-E and GPT-4.

Participants could combine Coca-Cola’s iconic imagery with AI’s endless creativity, resulting in hundreds of unique pieces of art. Coca-Cola then showcased selected fan-generated AI artworks in its marketing, effectively co-creating with its audience. This campaign served multiple purposes: it crowd-sourced fresh creative content, engaged consumers deeply by letting them play with AI and the brand’s assets, and associated the Coca-Cola brand with cutting-edge innovation.

The success of Create Real Magic demonstrated a practical marketing use-case for AI design tools: not only to speed up internal workflows. but also to foster interactive campaigns where consumers become creators via AI. Marketers can take note that generative AI can be a tool for engagement, not just production; it opens opportunities for interactive experiences (think AI-designed product customizations, or contests where users generate their own ads for the brand).

The Near Future: Design Collaboration, Roles & Aesthetics in an AI Era

As AI takes over routine production work, designers are shifting from pixel-pushers to curators and strategists. They’re spending less time executing and more time directing creative vision, shaping brand expression, and deciding which AI-generated options actually work. It’s less about making every pixel perfect and more about guiding the overall direction.

At the same time, increasingly accessible AI design tools will democratize creation, enabling non-designers to produce usable assets and accelerating experimentation; while also creating new challenges around generic outputs, brand consistency, and quality control, pushing designers into more editorial roles where they define systems, standards, and guardrails.

This shift is already giving rise to new hybrid roles:

• Prompt Engineers, specializing in crafting effective AI inputs.
• AI Art Directors, curating and directing AI-generated outputs.
• Creative AI Strategists, defining AI integration across campaigns.
• AI Ethics Specialists, ensuring responsible and brand-safe AI use.

In fact, most CMOs are already using or exploring generative AI, signaling rapid upskilling across the industry.

The future? Think of it as a “centaur” model: half human, half AI, working together in real time. Designers will work inside platforms like Figma, Canva, and Adobe, iterating with AI on the fly. The weird part? We’ll need to learn how to brief and critique AI the same way we’d work with a junior designer. Modifiers like, “No, that’s not quite right, try again,” become part of the workflow.

Aesthetically, AI will unlock new, surreal, hyper-detailed, and hybrid visual styles (while simultaneously making some looks ubiquitous, increasing the value of intentionally human-made work and forcing brands to strike a balance between AI-native experimentation and authentic identity).

Overall, the near future of design promises expanded possibilities, new roles, and a redefinition of what creative collaboration looks like.

Conclusion: Embracing AI-Driven Design for Tomorrow’s Marketing

An effective AI design strategy isn’t a future concept; it’s the present, and marketers who embrace it as a creative co-pilot are already unlocking faster production, greater personalization, and higher ROI, while those who resist risk falling behind.

The most effective teams treat AI as a catalyst that amplifies human creativity by taking over repetitive work so that designers can focus on strategy, storytelling, and innovation, but doing this well requires building AI literacy, setting ethical guidelines, and maintaining a strong human-centered mindset. Experimenting with tools like Midjourney, Firefly, and Figma AI helps teams learn, refine best practices, and ensure AI-generated content still connects emotionally; because in an automated, data-driven world, empathy and originality become even more valuable.

The bottom line: AI works best when it’s collaborating with humans, not replacing them. The agencies and teams that figure out this balance (using AI for speed and scale while keeping humans in charge of strategy and creativity) are the ones that’ll stay ahead.

As roles evolve and tools advance, the core of great design remains the same, understanding people; and the agencies that proactively and responsibly integrate AI will shape the future of marketing design.

AI Design Strategy FAQs

The post AI Design Strategy: Looking Forward to the Convergence of Design, AI & Marketing appeared first on NoGood™: Growth Marketing Agency.

The traditional marketing playbook we know and love is crumbling. The old formulas (polished ads, product placement jammed into every scroll, scripted influencer partnerships, etc.) just don’t work the same as they used to.

Why might that be? It’s plain and simple: consumers are growing tired of being sold to. Feeds are turning into ones that feel less like a place for connection and more like a storefront. Even algorithms, once designed to tailor content to our interests, have become thinly veiled marketplaces pushing whatever’s trending.

Enter narratives. A way to tell a story from a customer’s perspective that gives audiences a reason to stop the scroll. We’re seeing this in the rise of Substack writers, where audiences are craving that “slow burn” feeling. They’re carving out time for slower, more thoughtful consumption. And that same hunger for depth is shaping how people engage with brands, both online and offline.

That’s why we’re seeing the rise of branded content storytelling. It flips the script: it’s no longer about spotlighting a product, but about creating narratives that elevate a customer’s experience.

Building a branded content series (which we’ll get into later) takes this even further. Brands are finally discovering how to weave together stories that entertain, inspire, and resonate with their customers without their brand presence feeling overpowering.

But here’s the real question: do you know how to tell a story right?

What Is Branded Storytelling?

Weaving a clever narrative around your product doesn’t mean it’s good brand storytelling. It’s about re-centering your brand around the customer experience itself. When it reflects how customers feel, how they’re impacted, and what role your brand plays in their lives, that’s how your brand builds trust that can’t be bought.

We all know about the word authenticity. It was (and still is) a common buzzword. Dare I say, it’s been greatly overused. Every brand claims to be “authentic.” What was once a term that signaled “I’m genuine and real” now feels like a clear marketing tactic.

But today’s audiences are asking for something deeper: transparency. They want to see the imperfect moments and unfiltered truths that make a brand human. Transparency builds trust because it makes people feel like they’re being let in. It’s like inviting someone over to your house for dinner after meeting them once.

And when you combine transparency with narrative, you create emotional resonance. A story that mirrors an audience’s struggles, celebrates their wins, or reflects their aspirations is what hits close to home. And that emotional impact is what elevates branded storytelling above traditional advertising.

Traditional ads tell you what a product does. Branded storytelling shows you how a product or brand makes you feel. When brands successfully create a space where audiences see themselves in the narrative, they begin to trust them because their efforts feel transparent, not transactional.

Why It Matters:

• Builds Emotional Resonance: Narratives rooted in real-life experiences that trigger emotions like empathy or inspiration make audiences remember your brand long after the scroll. 
• Creates Trust Through Transparency: When stories show honesty, vulnerability, and a peek into the human side of your business, brands gain trust and visibility without forcing product messages.
• Turns Customers Into Advocates: When a story resonates, customers don’t just consume. They begin to start conversations and spread your message organically to others.

4 Ways To Do Branded Storytelling Right

Not all stories are created equal. A narrative can be beautifully shot, well-written, or highly produced, but if it doesn’t land with your audience, it’s just noise that can easily be swiped past.

Success comes from understanding your audience, framing the story from their perspective, and using insights to turn real challenges and aspirations into compelling narratives.

1. Build Genuine Connections

Genuine connections go beyond clever campaigns; they tap into real human emotions and experiences. To build them, start by understanding your audience beyond FYPs and algorithms.

Show Vulnerability

Share moments that reveal the human side of your brand, no matter how “imperfect” it may be. Transparency is what makes a brand relatable and trustworthy. A brand that’s transparent or “authentic” doesn’t need to flaunt it in every video or page on its website.

Highlight Shared Experiences

Focus on stories that reflect your audience’s reality, celebrating their wins or empathizing with their struggles. When people see themselves in a story, the connection is almost immediate. And that prompts them to save and share them with friends.

Engage in Two-Way Communication

Connections can’t be one-sided. Try to encourage feedback and respond to comments when you can. From there, create content that invites participation so audiences can feel a sense of ownership in the story.

Consistency Builds Trust

Repeated exposure to stories that align with your brand’s values and the audience’s experience strengthens emotional bonds over time.

2. Tell Stories Through The Customer’s Lens

Your customer is the hero of your brand story, not you (sorry, not sorry!). By framing stories around their journey, challenges, and aspirations, you create narratives that feel personal and relatable.

• Empathize With Their Experience: Map out the moments where your audience struggles, celebrates, or seeks inspiration. These are the moments your story should amplify.
• Celebrate Wins, Not Products: Instead of spotlighting your product, showcase how it supports or enhances the customer experience. Give them the chance to feel like the protagonist in their own story.
• Use Real Voices: Incorporate testimonials, user-generated content (UGC), or interviews to make stories more authentic. Hearing peers’ experiences creates more believable narratives.

3. Use Data To Power Stories

Use customer data to your advantage. With properly crafted dashboards, you can understand your audience’s pain points, preferences, and behavior so you can craft stories that resonate.

• Identify Opportunities: Look for patterns in customer feedback, search behavior, or social sentiment to uncover topics that matter.
• Turn Insights Into Stories: Translate pain points into narratives of problem-solving, triumph, or growth. Then, show how your brand participates in those real-life experiences.
• Test & Iterate: Track engagement metrics to see which stories connect best with your audience. Data-driven storytelling allows you to refine your narratives over time for maximum impact.

4. Weave Stories Across Channels

If it needs to be stated, a great story loses its power if it’s fragmented or inconsistent. Consistency ensures that every touchpoint, from short-form to long-form content, reinforces the same narrative, voice, and emotional tone. This repeated exposure builds recognition over time, making your brand feel reliable against your competitors.

Consistency Matters

Ensure your story’s message and visual identity are aligned across all existing channels.

Tailor, Don’t Repeat

Adapt the story to each platform’s format while keeping the core narrative intact. A video should feel native to its respective channel but still be connected all throughout.

Create a Cohesive Experience

When audiences encounter your story across multiple channels, they should feel continuity rather than disconnection. Each touchpoint should build on the narrative and deepen their understanding and emotional connection with the story you’re trying to tell.

The Rise of Branded Content Series

Trends alone aren’t keeping users hooked anymore. Sure, the attention is there, but it’s fleeting. For years, brands were told to chase trends for relevance, but many forgot the real goal: relatability and connection.

Trends can be fun in the short term, but they rarely answer the bigger question: what perspective are you offering your audience? What unique story are you telling instead of following the crowd? The old playbook told brands to act like TikTok creators: keep it short, jump on memes, push out volume. That approach worked… until it didn’t.

Enter branded content storytelling (aka, branded content series). Brands are now building their own content universes and social shows. While creators once posted funny skits reminiscent of the Vine era, the format has evolved. Brands are adopting it in a way that feels natural, entertaining, and immersive, all without shoving their logo in viewers’ faces.

The shift is clear: we’re no longer just selling products; we’re sharing narratives. Brands are thinking less about which celebrity to endorse in their latest campaign and more about which character to create, what world to build, and who can act, write, or entertain.

But who? This ranges from creators to in-house employees. Merging two types of talent balances the execution: someone who turned their internet personality into a profession, and someone who knows exactly what the brand is.

Platforms like Instagram, TikTok, and YouTube favor these serialized, binge-worthy storytelling videos. That’s why we’re seeing writers’ rooms being created within marketing teams.

Content creators are the executors, but copywriters and creative strategists play a key role in embedding brand identity seamlessly into scripts, ensuring that stories feel natural while staying on-brand. The benefits are clear: higher engagement, longer attention spans, and stronger audience loyalty.

Common Mistakes to Avoid

However, even the most creative ideas can fall flat if branded content storytelling doesn’t land or if a series isn’t planned and executed with the right intentions. Small missteps, whether in tone, pacing, or audience alignment, can easily turn a compelling story into a missed opportunity with wasted effort. Here are some things to keep in mind:

1. Over-Branding

Pushing a product aggressively or attempting to squeeze it into every scene becomes obvious and makes your content feel more like an ad than a binge-worthy story. Whether you’re highlighting a product, service, or experience, the goal should be to integrate it naturally into the narrative so it connects seamlessly with your audience.

2. Lack of Transparency

If your content feels staged or disconnected from real customer experiences, trust can easily be lost. Telling a story through a content series needs to feel natural. That means writing scripts that make sense for both your brand and your customer, no matter how many versions it takes to get the story just right.

3. Starting Without a Narrative Arc

Random, one-off posts may grab attention momentarily, but fail to retain audiences without a coherent storyline. Writing storylines means an episodic series needs to either build off one another, carry a consistent message, or have a similar tone and vibe.

4. Ignoring Audience Insight

Failing to understand customer behaviors, needs, and values can make content irrelevant or tone-deaf. Try to use customer data to uncover their highs and lows, then translate those into your scripts. This makes content feel more relatable and relevant to their lives.

5. Inconsistent Delivery

Irregular posting and mismatched formats can weaken engagement. Be consistent with your posting cadence, whether it be every day or once a week; make it clear that customers can expect more. When audiences know the “next episode” is coming, they’ll have a reason to come back and tune in.

What Is a Brand Storytelling Example?

These examples show how different industries are experimenting with format, tone, and narrative to leverage branded content storytelling. They’re proof that you don’t need to be a media company to think like one.

Bilt

Bilt, the payment and rewards program for renters, launched a content series called Roomies. The main character, Ellie, is a girl who moved to New York from Ohio. In Roomies, she navigates having roommates and figuring out life while living in NYC for the first time. 

The connection? Bilt and Roomies talk about renting. In an interview with “Link in Bio,” Bilt’s Senior Director of Content, Cyrus Ferguson, and Chief Marketing Officer, Zoe Oz, discuss playing the long game. They state that their members navigate through life transitions like “moving, renting, career changes, relationship shifts and Roomies explores exactly these themes through authentic storytelling.”

By talking about those universal experiences, viewers can connect with this series on a deeper level. They even take it a step further by setting the location in NYC, a place where rent is at an all-time high.

However, a reason why Roomies is so successful and stands out against other content series is that Bilt decided to separate its show from its brand account. Splitting the two allows for the show to shine on its own without the shadow of a branded profile picture.

With this move, Episode 1 of Roomies gained over 3 million views across channels and continues to see steady impressions. Across both Instagram and TikTok, they’ve gained over 150k followers. The goal behind this move was to invite attention, not demand it.

InStyle

InStyle is the infamous media brand known for its focus on pop culture, fashion, and beauty. This year, Season 3 of their show, The Intern, dropped. The first episode? Over 5 million views. 

This series has a workplace comedy plot where InStyle searches for interns to join the company, poking fun at the stereotypes and quirks of interning at a fashion brand. It’s dramatic and funny; it doesn’t feel like a brand forcing the comedy angle. That humor comes naturally because of the character they chose.

InStyle chose influencers and creators to star in their series, bringing their built-in TikTok audiences over to the brand. These creators add their own personalities from their personal brands and blend it into InStyle’s scripts. With this, the acting looks and feels natural to viewers. Scripts don’t feel as rehearsed or stiff; often because parts are improvised, which plays to the creators’ strengths.

Cozy Earth

Cozy Earth is a luxury lifestyle brand known for selling home goods and quality bedding. Some would say they’re known for making their products with organic bamboo viscose. Others would know them for something more unexpected: the Bed Rot Challenge series. 

Cozy Earth has turned its TikTok account into the stage for this viral competition, where contestants battle it out to see who can stay in bed the longest. The grand prize? $25,000. 10 contestants, 6 days, and a rotating lineup of over-the-top challenges from holding snakes to spiders in bed.

What makes this series so addictive is Cozy Earth’s commitment to the bit. It has the energy of shows like Wipeout or Ninja Warriors, but with a twist: competitive sleeping. Who said sleeping in can’t be a competitive sport, right? That’s what Cozy Earth plays with: the idea that good sleep can be rewarded, even if it means rotting in bed all day.

But what takes this series a step further is its immersiveness. Anyone within the US can apply to be a contestant in its Bed Rot Challenge series. Simply fill out an application, answer a few questions, submit a video about why you should be chosen, and the selected few get flown out (paid by Cozy Earth) to participate in their games. 

Every challenge is recorded, posted on TikTok, and lets viewers follow along like a binge-worthy reality show. It gets users thinking to themselves, “guess what my ego says,” which prompts them to apply. The games may be scripted, but the contestants aren’t. By using real people, Cozy Earth creates a series that is uncut and unfiltered.

Takeaways for Brands Starting a Content Series

Great branded storytelling goes beyond selling products. Here’s what to keep in mind when leveraging branded content storytelling in marketing:

• Lead with story, not sales. The audience should feel entertained or inspired first, and be marketed to second.
• Tie in brand values. Make sure the narrative ties back to your brand’s mission or positioning in an authentic way without depending on logos to do the work for you.
• Leverage in-house copywriters. Create writers’ rooms to ensure brand identity and messaging are reflected accurately in scripts to execute in video.
• Repurpose content correctly. Cross-post your series, but adapt the format for each platform. Captions, thumbnails, and pacing should all match the expectations of the channel’s audience and algorithm.
• Measure what matters. Track engagement, sentiment, and audience insights to refine your storytelling and naturally weave in solutions or plot points.
• Collaborate for credibility. Partner with creators, experts, or communities that align with your brand’s story to add more hype to what you’re sharing.

By focusing on these principles, you’ll create a content series that not only captures attention but also builds lasting trust and loyalty with your audience, which is invaluable in today’s overcrowded market.

The post Leveraging Branded Content Storytelling for Marketing appeared first on NoGood™: Growth Marketing Agency.

Slipping into a category dominated by billion-dollar beasts and somehow convincing everyone from city-run-club rookies to Roger Federer that its “clouds” are worth the climb. In a flattening sneaker market, On keeps posting outsized growth, proof that its marketing is doing more than selling shoes.

It’s a winning game plan with premium positioning holding the defensive line, a cultural charm offensive driving the attack, and channel discipline keeping control of the field.

In this strategy analysis, we’ll trace how On built its momentum, dissect its community and creative plays, unpack its athlete partnerships, and see how its strategy stacks up against the competition.

On the Rise: From Swiss Startup to Global Breakout

On was launched in 2010 in Zurich by former Swiss professional triathlete, Olivier Bernhard, and his friends David Allemann and Caspar Coppetti. Their mission? To reinvent running with a radically different cushioning technology.

Their first breakthrough came with the CloudTec® sole; a unique, cloud-like architecture that on one hand (or foot, I should say) improved performance but also gained massive visibility, becoming instantly recognizable on shelves and social media.

By 2014, On had entered the U.S. market and opened flagship stores in New York, London, and other key running hubs in hopes to lay the foundation for fruitful global presence. The brand truly skyrocketed after its 2021 NYSE listing (and with Roger Federer joining as both investor and partner), bringing mainstream awareness alongside technical credibility.

On’s marketing strategy has translated into measurable business results:

• 2024 Annual Revenue: CHF 2.32 billion (Swiss francs), up 29.4% from 2023, showing that brand storytelling, DTC growth, and selective wholesale are driving meaningful sales increases.
• 2025 Q2 Revenue: CHF 749.2 million, a 32% year-over-year increase, highlighting continued momentum across regions.
• Stock Performance (NYSE: ONON, Aug 13, 2025): $48.08 per share, up 10% after Q2 earnings, reflecting investor confidence in the brand’s marketing-led growth strategy. 

Today, On continues to outpace the athletic market, posting double-digit growth across regions, proof that its rise from a Swiss startup to a global brand is a case study in scaling visibility while carefully curating brand image.

Premium Performance With Personality

On’s roots in Switzerland give the brand an inherent perception of precision, engineering rigor, and quality. Switzerland is globally associated with technical excellence. Think Swiss watches or high-performance engineering. On leverages this cultural association in its storytelling (positioning).

The CloudTec® sole, the patented cushioning system, is functional and framed as a piece of engineered Swiss innovation. This gives the brand more authenticity entering into the battle of performance footwear. This “precision first” mindset reassures serious runners that the shoes are technically sound, reliable, and designed for measurable improvement.

On pairs this technical rigor with elevated, aspirational, and effortlessly stylish lifestyle cues. Sleek, minimalist colorways; campaigns featuring real-world runners; and social content that’s optimistic, playful, and inclusive. This brand marketing decision turns On into more a statement of taste, culture, and everyday vitality.

In 2025, the ability to engage both elite, performance-driven athletes and discerning, style-conscious consumers represents a strategically ambitious undertaking. Yet it allows On to maintain a commanding position within the category, establishing a hierarchy that few competitors can replicate. This demonstrates that technical excellence and cultural relevance can coexist without compromise.

Creative Strategy: Distinctive, Human & Culturally Aware

On’s creative philosophy orbits around “soft performance”. This messaging is meant to resonate across skill levels, welcoming newcomers to running (or exercise at large) while still earning respect from elite runners. This approach allows the brand to celebrate movement and wellness without defaulting to the hyper-aggressive, ego-driven tone often seen in the performance running category.

On + Sesame Street = Soft Wins

A prime example is their Soft Wins campaign featuring Elmo. By fusing Sesame Street’s universal nostalgia with the wellness and motivation of running, On created content that was immediately shareable and culturally relevant. Social clips went viral, memes proliferated, and lifestyle adoption extended beyond traditional runners, all without undercutting technical credibility.

But what made Soft Wins especially powerful was how it invited the community into the creative. Runners became co-creators. User-generated content flooded social feeds as people tweeted and/or filmed their own “Soft Wins” moments of relatable training struggles or sentiment from support systems. By leaning into UGC, On amplified the campaign’s reach organically and gave runners a chance to see themselves reflected in the brand story. This participatory layer didn’t just boost engagement metrics; it reinforced On’s positioning as a brand that listens to and builds with its community, not just for them.

Running for Each Other

Another notable campaign, “Run for Each Other,” aimed to emphasize community and mutual support among runners by showcasing diverse groups running together.

If you’re a runner, or athlete of any kind, you know just how much you’re forced to battle physical and mental pain. Sore muscles, blisters, fatigue, and the constant push against personal limits but, these hardships are universally understood within the running community, creating an unspoken bond that transcends demographics, geography, and skill level. A beginner finishing their first 5K feels the same triumph and vulnerability that an elite marathoner experiences at Mile 20.

The campaign showcased the power of collective effort and the shared highs and lows of running, reinforcing that while On is a performance brand, it’s simultaneously a catalyst for connection, inclusivity, and a deeply engaged community where every runner’s journey matters.

By layering in humor, warmth, and cultural references, campaigns like Soft Wins move far beyond product promotion, they tap into everyday human moments that runners (and non-runners alike) want to share. The integration of UGC only magnified this effect, transforming the campaign from a top-down message into a bottom-up cultural wave. On’s ability to engineer content for relatability and keep the brand voice authentic ensures that their storytelling resonates across TikTok, Instagram, and beyond. The result is a marketing strategy that creates belonging, builds community touchpoints, and reinforces a unified brand personality across every interaction.

Community & Experiential Marketing: Run Clubs as Growth Engines

Today’s most relevant brands understand that “community” isn’t just a buzzword you can throw around; it’s a cultural currency. To stand out, companies must approach the community not as a single channel but as a multi-dimensional ecosystem that blends digital, physical, and emotional connection points. This has led many to double down on experiential activations, giving consumers something tangible to belong to rather than simply something to buy.

On exemplifies this shift through its global network of run clubs. More than a fitness meet-up, these gatherings function as cultural hubs, particularly for Gen Z and millennials in urban centers, where running has exploded as both a wellness habit and social identity marker. By leaning into this movement as an authentic participant (not a top-down sponsor), On embeds itself directly into the fabric of modern community culture.

Why it matters: Run clubs fuse brand experience with human connection in ways digital content alone cannot. They transform casual customers into loyal members through shared rituals, they tap into the psychology of belonging and identity, and they build durable relationships that extend well beyond a single transaction.

On’s playbook for run clubs includes:

• Weekly sessions hosted from flagship stores and partner retailers.
• Staff and ambassadors leading warmups, pacing, and integrating live try-ons + gait analysis.
• Content capture (routes, photos, recap videos) shared across Strava, TikTok, and Instagram.
• Conversion effects: low-barrier trials lead to same-day sales and heightened purchase intent.
• CRM impact: participant data fuels personalized follow-ups, product recommendations, and future event invites.
• Influencers and micro-creators amplify the experience digitally, scaling reach far beyond the physical run.

The result is a growth engine that is equal parts marketing, sales, and community-building. For On, run clubs don’t just drive trials; they cement the brand as a cultural participant in the everyday lives of runners, earning loyalty through belonging rather than advertising.

Partnerships & Athlete Strategy

On’s athlete strategy is not built on star power alone. Quite frankly, the starpower of athlete partnerships can often come across unrelatable and uninspiring to the average consumer. On’s strategy, however, is carefully curated to span different tiers of influence, disciplines, and cultural touchpoints, ensuring technical credibility in elite competition while remaining accessible and fashionable to everyday runners.

The most high-profile partnership is, of course, with Roger Federer. Unlike traditional athlete endorsements, Federer became both an equity investor and product collaborator, working directly on the design of the Roger Pro tennis shoe.

This dual role gave him skin in the game and allowed On to leverage his unmatched (no pun intended) reputation for precision and longevity. His involvement instantly legitimized On within the wildly growing sport of tennis and across the sports industry at large, all while attracting business and lifestyle press coverage.

At the same time, On provided Federer a runway to extend his legacy into entrepreneurship and innovation, serving (once again, no pun intended) as a cornerstone of his influence off the court as a visionary leader shaping the future of performance gear.

But Federer is only one set in the match. Crucial, but the whole story takes many wins. On’s roster spans elite track and field athletes, long-distance runners, extreme hikers, tennis players, and increasingly, community leaders and grassroots athletes.Olympic sprinters and marathoners validate the performance side of the product, while everyday run club leaders and micro-influencers extend the brand into culture, authenticity, and community-building. This dual approach means On shows up in both headline-grabbing global moments (like the Austin Marathon or the US Open) and hyper-local activations (weekly run clubs and regional races).

Crucially, On is intentional about how they communicate and act on their values. Their athlete partners are chosen as much for their reputations off the track as on it. Wholesome, optimistic, full of integrity, and collaborative figures who embody the brand’s “optimistic performance” ethos. This brand-safe approach differentiates On from competitors who occasionally risk polarizing or controversial endorsements.

Together, this multi-layered athlete strategy creates breadth (across sports and geographies) and depth (from grassroots to global icons), ensuring the brand’s credibility resonates with every level of consumer, from the first-time 5K runner to the elite Olympic qualifier.

Measurement & Optimization

On’s growth engine isn’t left to intuition; it’s constantly measured and refined:

• At the brand level, metrics like unaided awareness, social share of voice, and distinctive asset recall gauge cultural resonance.
• On the commercial side, the team tracks DTC mix percentages, repeat purchase behavior, and CRM engagement, ensuring that community initiatives translate into lasting customer value.
• Events and run clubs are assessed through a conversion funnel: attendance → trial → purchase, to quantify ROI beyond surface-level buzz.
• Creative performance is benchmarked against control groups to isolate engagement lift and organic reach impact.
• Finally, global KPIs balance growth across regions (e.g., +24% in the Americas, +42% in EMEA), allowing spend to shift dynamically with market momentum.

Together, these measurements ensure that On is growing smart, just as fast. In such a competitive market, every creative choice and community investment must be tied back to measurable impact and long-term brand equity.

Competitive Context

The running and performance footwear market is saturated with giants like Nike, Adidas, and emerging challengers like Hoka, each vying for cultural relevance and consumer loyalty. Nike and Adidas continue to dominate on sheer scale, leveraging global endorsement rosters and iconic campaigns that are intimidating to compete against.

Yet, their size often slows their ability to innovate culturally within running alone. What once felt revolutionary can now feel formulaic. Their storytelling still leans heavily on performance bravado and athlete heroics, sometimes missing the more “average” human and community-driven narratives resonating with younger consumers.

Hoka, by contrast, has carved a niche with its maximalist cushioning story and grassroots community building (similar to On). Its positioning as the “comfort-first” brand resonates with endurance athletes and everyday runners alike, and its run clubs and event strategy drive strong community engagement. However, Hoka has yet to fully bridge into broader lifestyle appeal, the shoes remain functional-first, limiting cultural adoption beyond performance-only contexts.

On’s edge lies in how it has fused performance credibility with cultural momentum:

• Its ownable visual identity (clean, minimalist Swiss design) sets it apart on a crowded footwear shelf.
• Its premium channel mix, positions it closer to lifestyle and fashion retailers than purely performance shelves, expanding its reach into aspirational audiences.
• Creative campaigns like Soft Wins and Run for Each Other show On’s ability to blend emotions in a way that neither Nike’s hero worship nor Hoka’s comfort-first narratives fully achieve.

Layer in the Federer halo effect, a mix of investor credibility, media coverage, and athlete association, and On has elevated its brand story far beyond product specs.

The risk is clear: competitors are watching. Nike and Adidas have the resources to imitate community-driven tactics, while Hoka could double down on lifestyle crossover. For On, the path forward will be about refreshing tone, innovating experiences, and staying ahead of imitation, ensuring the brand feels not only current but leading in how performance and culture intersect.

Final Thoughts: The Human Edge

At the end of the day, On’s marketing strategy has less to do with selling shoes and more to do with redefining what a modern performance brand looks like. By blending cultural fluency, community-first activations, and a carefully curated athlete strategy, On has built a brand that resonates as much on TikTok and Strava as it does at the starting line of a marathon or first serve of a match.

Competitors may have scale, but On has agility, authenticity, and a storytelling edge that keeps it ahead. The lesson is clear for marketers: product function sets the baseline, but cultural relevance and human connection are what turn a rally into a winning point or a sprint into the finish line.

The post On, More Than a Shoe Brand: Marketing Strategy Analysis appeared first on NoGood™: Growth Marketing Agency.