Working on Wurundjeri land
Working on Wurundjeri land
Brands that last are built on meaning as much as metrics, and that was the heartbeat of our latest Food for Thought session: Balancing Brand Building With Tactical Wins. In a room full of smart, curious marketers, Katherine Brown from Brown Family Wine Group showed how to stay anchored in long-term brand equity while still delivering sharp, commercial results in the here and now.
If performance marketing speaks to the head, brand marketing speaks to the heart. Brand is what people remember and feel about you when you are not in the room: the story, the trust, the sense of belonging that builds over time, long before a paid ad asks them to “buy now”. That emotional imprint is hard to measure, but it is what turns awareness into allegiance and occasional buyers into loyal advocates.
Brand work plants the seed so tactical activity can harvest it. A strong brand gives every performance channel a lift, because people are more likely to click, book or buy when they already know who you are and what you stand for. The trick is remembering that brand is a slow burn; it needs ongoing care, not just a campaign every few years when there is leftover budget.
One of the most powerful moments of the night came when the room met “Alex” and “Sam” – fully fleshed-out personas that went far beyond age, postcode and household income. Once values, motivations, insecurities and desires were on the table, decisions about channels, creative and messaging suddenly felt sharper and more obvious.
Katherine encouraged brands to get forensic about who they are really talking to, and to keep that understanding fresh. That means combining formal market research with on-the-ground feedback from places like cellar doors or retail stores, surveys, events and social media, then capturing those insights in living personas that guide both brand and performance decisions.
Brand is not just a logo or a colour palette; it is the story that shows up in every interaction, from the first Instagram scroll to the last email unsubscribe. The group reflected on how small details – like a Tamar Ridge golf umbrella on a course, or the tone of voice when someone answers the phone – quietly signal whether a brand is thoughtful, premium, playful or forgettable.
These tiny touchpoints become proof points for the bigger narrative you want people to believe. When they are aligned with your positioning and personality, they build a sense of resonance, desire and belonging that no impression count can fully capture. When they are inconsistent, even the best media plan struggles to make the brand feel trustworthy or distinct.
Katherine shared how Brown Family Wine Group uses intrapreneurship to diversify its portfolio and reach new audiences without losing its heritage roots. Brands like Tamar Ridge and Pirie sit alongside Brown Brothers, giving the group room to explore new price points, regions and stories that speak to different segments.
This “brands within brands” approach gives marketers more precise levers to pull. Instead of stretching one master brand to be everything to everyone, intrapreneurial brands can be crafted around specific audience needs, occasions and identities – while still benefiting from shared systems, knowledge and values behind the scenes.
Performance channels are not the villain; in fact, they work best when they are in service to a clear brand story. Tactical campaigns – from flash sales to retargeting to promo-led partnerships – become much more effective when they ladder back to a defined positioning and purpose. The room explored how “brand creates meaning, performance creates transactions”, and why the magic happens when you design tactics to reinforce the meaning rather than distract from it.
Instead of seeing performance as separate, the group discussed building an always-on layer of brand activity that continually enriches what your performance channels can draw from. Think ongoing storytelling, PR, organic social and experiential touchpoints that ensure your next discount code or “last chance” email lands with a familiar, trusted and well-loved brand behind it.
So how do you keep brand building while the to-do list screams for quick wins? The conversation surfaced a few practical habits that any marketer can adopt.
There was far more richness in the room than can fit on one webpage, but the throughline was clear: brands that balance heart and head – resonance and results – are the ones that will still matter long after the latest algorithm tweak.
Katherine Brown’s deep passion for the wine industry is immediately apparent and impossible to ignore.
As one of the 4th generation family members and the first female winemaker from the family lineage, she has paved her own way in a historic legacy for her family business, Brown Family Wine Group. With over ten vintages under her belt in both France and Australia, Katherine holds Master’s degrees in Wine Business, Oenology and Viticulture. Her expertise has earned her accolades, including a trophy for Best Alternative Red Wine at the Melbourne Wine Show and a spot among the top 50 emerging winemakers in the 2018 Young Gun of Wine awards.
Currently, Katherine’s business focus is on the Brown Family Wine Group’s luxury brand portfolio, which includes Tamar Ridge and Pirie, bringing a brand marketing and consumer experience focused approach to these brands.
In addition to her role at the family company, she is actively involved in the broader wine industry. Katherine serves on various boards and committees including the National Board of Wine Communicators Australia and Board Member for Wine Victoria. She also plays a pivotal role in Australia’s First Families of Wine (AFFW), contributing her expertise and leadership to the industry’s growth and development.
