When Community Is the Channel: How Knowing Your Audience Beats Bigger Budgets With Chanelle Leslie

In this episode, host Thomas Stirling sits down with Chanelle Leslie, a senior marketing leader who has scaled brands across CPG, beauty, fitness, and subscription models, including Overtone, Ceremonia, and somatic fitness app, The Class. Chanelle shares her core belief that sustainable growth does not require louder marketing; instead, it stems from knowing your audience better than anyone else.The conversation explores how building a true community differs from simply managing an audience. Chanelle breaks down how community-led growth naturally drives high-converting word-of-mouth traffic, reduces acquisition costs, and even unlocks massive retail partnerships like Sephora. She emphasizes that authentic community is a long-term play built on values that resonate deeply with specific cultural or emotional niches.Chanelle also shares a powerful case study from her work at The Class. By shifting away from celebrity-focused hype ads to copy that addressed real user needs mined from exit surveys, her team cut acquisition costs in half over nine months, proving that community feedback is the ultimate foundation for creative strategy.Connect with Chanelle Leslie:Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thisischanelle/Website: http://taryntoomey.com/ or https://www.chanelleleslie.com/If this conversation moved you, share it with someone who needs to pull up a chair. Subscribe so you never miss a seat at the table.