Building a world people want to belong to: Grace Andrews’s takeaways at Discovered
At our flagship event Discovered, we hosted Grace Andrews, creator entrepreneur, brand builder and the person who scaled The Diary of a CEO’s viewership to over a billion. Grace sits right at the intersection of media, business and culture, which made her the perfect person to help us explore where discovery is heading next…
Our Discovered event was created to support marketers in the new era of discovery, where search is so much more dynamic and AI-powered experiences can leave brands lost in the waves of generated content. And Grace Andrews definitely agreed with the concept. She highlighted that the brands who truly stand out make people feel something.
To create that feeling of trust, connection and a sense of belonging, brands need to move beyond selling products and to create worlds that people genuinely want to be part of.
Grace drew on her experience helping grow The Diary of a CEO, noting that reaching more people doesn’t automatically mean converting more customers. Instead of maximising reach, brands need to focus on the emotional connection to resonate with audiences. Just getting seen by as many people as possible is a flawed strategy. You need to find the people who care, then build your community.
Grace talked about the importance of showing up consistently. Customers will encounter your brand across so many channels, social, website, customer service, and more, but every encounter stacks up to shape their perception.
For Grace, the key to building trust for brands is showing up consistently across each touchpoint and channel. This repeated exposure will then build familiarity, with every interaction reinforcing the same brand identity.
Customers rarely follow a linear path to purchase, and within the discovery era, this is even more prevalent. However, Grace highlighted the importance of a connected experience, regardless of where the customer enters: “Every touch point is a doorway into your world”.
In the discovery era, brands can have a large social following, but that doesn’t mean they’re getting discovered, and it doesn’t guarantee trust or sales. Grace describes the core misunderstanding most brands have with creator partnerships: they see them as a way to rent an audience, rather than a way to build meaningful connections.
With the example of Rhode, Hailey Bieber’s beauty and lifestyle brand, Grace showcased how creators, collaborations, imagery and products all unite as key contributions to a recognisable brand world. A space where customers feel safe, included and their expectations of the brand are met at every turn. But having a celebrity endorsement can bring following, without the connection, if not done with a genuine connection. Transactional briefs and paying for followers are a huge no.
The next example of Red Bull’s deal with Max Verstappen demonstrates a logical fit with extreme athletics like Formula 1. They captured attention, connection and then long-term trust. Red Bull built an ecosystem where their brand became synonymous with an entire culture. As Grace puts it “they’re not selling cans, they’re selling a feeling”.
It’s essential to work with creators who authentically belong in line with your brand. This brings credibility and creates a genuine relationship that makes sense.
Building brand in the authentic and consistent way that Grace outlined requires alignment across the whole business. Everyone needs to understand the same identity, as well as communicating it in the same way.
Grace recommended going back to basics. Start by mapping every customer’s touchpoint, auditing brand language and clarifying the fundamental questions of who the business is and what it stands for. “We are the brand that does X for X”.
Next, map the inconsistencies. Like journalist Omar Oakes also highlighted during Discovered (link talk), it can be tempting to chase every new trend with more content out online than ever before. However, staying true to relevant and specific communication which truly resonates with your audience, is much more likely to generate buildable return.
As Grace puts it: the strongest brands create meaning beyond the product itself, so build the world people want to belong to.
Be the brand that stands out
Our Discovered event was created to support marketers in the new era of discovery, where search is so much more dynamic and AI-powered experiences can leave brands lost in the waves of generated content. And Grace Andrews definitely agreed with the concept. She highlighted that the brands who truly stand out make people feel something.
To create that feeling of trust, connection and a sense of belonging, brands need to move beyond selling products and to create worlds that people genuinely want to be part of.
Grace drew on her experience helping grow The Diary of a CEO, noting that reaching more people doesn’t automatically mean converting more customers. Instead of maximising reach, brands need to focus on the emotional connection to resonate with audiences. Just getting seen by as many people as possible is a flawed strategy. You need to find the people who care, then build your community.
“It’s all about how you make people feel and how you make them trust you”
Build real trust
Grace talked about the importance of showing up consistently. Customers will encounter your brand across so many channels, social, website, customer service, and more, but every encounter stacks up to shape their perception.
For Grace, the key to building trust for brands is showing up consistently across each touchpoint and channel. This repeated exposure will then build familiarity, with every interaction reinforcing the same brand identity.
“Repetition leads to recognition. Which leads to trust. Which leads to choice.”
Customers rarely follow a linear path to purchase, and within the discovery era, this is even more prevalent. However, Grace highlighted the importance of a connected experience, regardless of where the customer enters: “Every touch point is a doorway into your world”.
Use creators as part of your story
In the discovery era, brands can have a large social following, but that doesn’t mean they’re getting discovered, and it doesn’t guarantee trust or sales. Grace describes the core misunderstanding most brands have with creator partnerships: they see them as a way to rent an audience, rather than a way to build meaningful connections.
“Creators aren't just assets. They're not media assets. They're characters in your brand world story.”
With the example of Rhode, Hailey Bieber’s beauty and lifestyle brand, Grace showcased how creators, collaborations, imagery and products all unite as key contributions to a recognisable brand world. A space where customers feel safe, included and their expectations of the brand are met at every turn. But having a celebrity endorsement can bring following, without the connection, if not done with a genuine connection. Transactional briefs and paying for followers are a huge no.
The next example of Red Bull’s deal with Max Verstappen demonstrates a logical fit with extreme athletics like Formula 1. They captured attention, connection and then long-term trust. Red Bull built an ecosystem where their brand became synonymous with an entire culture. As Grace puts it “they’re not selling cans, they’re selling a feeling”.
It’s essential to work with creators who authentically belong in line with your brand. This brings credibility and creates a genuine relationship that makes sense.
Go back to basics
Building brand in the authentic and consistent way that Grace outlined requires alignment across the whole business. Everyone needs to understand the same identity, as well as communicating it in the same way.
“Sometimes you've actually just got to sit back for a second. Who are we? What do we stand for?
Grace recommended going back to basics. Start by mapping every customer’s touchpoint, auditing brand language and clarifying the fundamental questions of who the business is and what it stands for. “We are the brand that does X for X”.
Next, map the inconsistencies. Like journalist Omar Oakes also highlighted during Discovered (link talk), it can be tempting to chase every new trend with more content out online than ever before. However, staying true to relevant and specific communication which truly resonates with your audience, is much more likely to generate buildable return.
As Grace puts it: the strongest brands create meaning beyond the product itself, so build the world people want to belong to.
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