146: Building Brands Women Actually Trust ft. Sara Brooks

In this episode, host Alex sits down with Sara Brooks — co-founder of Goldilocks, a CPG brand strategy and marketing consultancy, co-founder of Plainspeak, and one of the most respected voices in consumer brand building — for a conversation about the shift happening right now in how women consume, who they trust, and what it actually takes to build a brand they will actually buy.Sara founded Covet PR, which became one of the country's fastest-growing consumer agencies before being acquired by Power Digital in 2020, where she went on to serve as Chief Brand Officer. Over the course of her career she has partnered with more than 200 consumer brands — from pre-revenue startups to public companies — helping founders build brands that people actually care about. Now she is putting her own money, time, and reputation on the line with Plainspeak, a consumer wellness brand born out of a group chat between three women who were tired of being confused, overwhelmed, and over-marketed to. And it is already changing the conversation.This is the episode for every woman who has ever added something to her cart because an influencer told her to — and every founder who wants to build something she actually believes in.💬 Topics we cover:Why influencer marketing is not hitting the way it used to — and what is replacing itHow Plainspeak was born out of a group chat and why that is actually a genius brand strategyWhy Sara believes picking a co-founder is as important as picking a spouseWhat the postal service disaster taught them about building real one-on-one relationships with customersWhy celebrity and macro-influencer brands keep failing — and what the smartest brands are doing insteadThe difference between a brand that gets a first purchase and one that earns a repeat customerWhat it actually looks like to do qualitative consumer research before you build anythingWhy gut and intuition will take you further than a business degree every single timeIf you have ever wondered whether the thing you are building actually matters to the people you are building it for — this is the episode for you.New episodes drop every Monday. Ready to Cultivate? Hit Subscribe.Check out ⁠Big River Film Co.⁠⛺️ Learn more about ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Camp Collective⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠📝 Follow Cultivate with Alex Canavan on ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Substack⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠🎥 Follow Cultivate with Alex Canavan on ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Instagram⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Apply⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ to be a guest on CultivateConnect with Alex Canavan, the host of Cultivate on her ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠website⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠LinkedIn⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ & ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Instagram⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠This episode is brought to you by ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Diam Media Group⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠