Why Brand Building Isn’t Just for CPG: Lessons From Wayfair and Chewy

In this episode of ExperiMENTAL, host Sundar dives into the overlooked pivot from hypergrowth to brand building with Lauren Sutkowski, Head of Brand Marketing at Insurify and former marketing leader at Chewy and Wayfair. This isn't a fluffy chat. It’s a real, practical breakdown of what happens when the growth engine starts sputtering and brand finally takes the wheel. From internal education to channel strategy, Lauren shares what most marketers miss about timing, targeting, and team alignment. If you’ve ever struggled to prove the ROI of brand or wondered when to stop chasing paid search and start building unaided awareness, this one is for you.

Key Takeaways:

• Every consumer-facing team member should know your customer and how they buy
• You can't build a flywheel by chasing only high-intent acquisition
• Slow growth is often the trigger that forces brand investment
• Retention requires deep cross-functional collaboration and clarity
• Price is rarely enough of a differentiator, even with strong CX
• Wayfair succeeded by tightening audience focus on high-LTV segments
• You can’t be everything to everyone and expect retention to work
• Internal brand education needs to touch finance, data, ops, and merch
• YouTube and Meta may be more crutch than brand builders
• Brand impact takes time, patience, and serious measurement commitment

Best Moments:

00:03:18. “Isn't it just keep paying for those customers like you're not really...there's no way to build this strong flywheel.”
00:05:07. “Growth had slowed...it felt like we had started to plateau.”
00:09:10. “A bit more storytelling, a bit more just like, solving their problems.”
00:12:27. “I want to feel like I'm aligning myself with a brand I fully believe in.”
00:14:39. “This is how we retain them. It's not just price point.”
00:17:00. “If you say too many things to your customers, it's a great way to tell them nothing.”
00:19:19. “I think the biggest thing starts with internal education.”
00:34:51. “You can hide not knowing who your audience is really well in those platforms.”

🎧 ExperiMENTAL is hosted by Sundar Swaminathan, Head of Data Science at Bounce and former Uber leader. This show is your behind-the-scenes look at how top marketers and data scientists make smarter decisions.

🧠 Expect unfiltered conversations, mental models, and case studies that help you cut waste, build conviction, and grow your B2C business.

📬 Subscribe to the ExperiMENTAL newsletter for deep dives and frameworks: https://experimental.beehiiv.com/
This podcast has been brought to you by APodcastGeek. https://www.apodcastgeek.com