A version of this article was first published on our Excursion Studio mini-paper on how to make your brand stand out.
Download it HERE.

Chances are you are clear on your niche. 

You are a running brand, so your target is runners. You are a cycling brand, you want to target those who also live for the ride. You make climbing gear, you target climbers.

And we get it.

This passion for such a niche, the connections into the community, and the best products to serve the people in that niche…

… it’s been the foundations of your marketing success.

But what do you do when it feels like you are all in one big community echo chamber and you are struggling to stand out? What do you do when you are trying to shift your stock to the same audience over and over again?

You are going to need a different approach.

The strongest brands don’t just dominate their niche, they invite new audiences in. They find cultural crossover moments, tap into unexpected spaces, and connect with people beyond the sport itself.

Les Binet and Peter Field, the architects of marketing effectiveness, have shown that brands grow by increasing penetration, not just loyalty.

That means drawing new people into your world, not just reinforcing the walls around it.

And that takes a bigger story. A fresh way in.

Take Satisfy running, their reach extends way beyond just going for a run.

Where most chase speed, the competitve edge or PR’s, Satisfy runs against the grain.

Rooted in subcultures, music, and underground aesthetics, they defy the traditional performance driven narratives, speaking not only to runners but to the outliers, the ones who run for something deeper.

Those who move to escape, express and live life on their own terms.

As founder Brice Partouche puts it: “Running isn’t just an activity, it’s a lifestyle. It’s how you eat, how you sleep, how you act.”

From high-fashion to unexpected collabs and running playlists, Satisfy energise their brand by leveraging the cultures that extend way beyond the typical running space. 

Cultures that speak to the passions they’re rooted in, fuelling a a running counterculture that’s as much about a lifestyle as it is about running.

And like Satisfy, Palace Skateboards harnesses the power of culture to extend far beyond their skateboarding niche.

From high-fashion collaborations with Calvin Klein to the raw energy of music legends like Happy Mondays, Palace connects with culture in all its forms.

They’ve teamed up with football icons Umbro and even created a limited-edition kit for the riders of EF Education-TIBCO-SVB and EF Education-EasyPost for the 2022 Tour de France.

Beyond the board, they’ve made bold cultural moves in unexpected ways.

While most stick to their lane, Palace flips the script, blending skateboarding with influences far beyond the board.

By venturing into unexpected cultural realms, Palace has evolved into a cultural icon themselves, embraced not only by skateboarders but by influential figures across music, fashion, and beyond.

So, how do you take your brand into cultures beyond your niche?

The answer lies in finding your sweet spot, the place where your brand can connect with worlds outside your own.

You need to look beyond your niche into the culture of your target audience, and see where you have permission to play.

Growth isn’t just about attracting more runners, cyclists, or climbers. It’s about tapping into the universal moments that speak to something deeper.

The most powerful brands don’t simply serve a niche, they reshape culture.

They find those surprising moments of crossover, the unexpected collisions that create emotional hooks.

Whether through collaborations with celebrities, borrowing language and visual cues from other realms, or showing up in spaces where their audience exists, they push boundaries and invite new connections.

Want to discover the untold story of your brand? Break beyond your niche and explore new cultural territories?

Book a FREE 1-to-1 session and let’s unlock your brand’s bigger story together.