The Content Dump, Vol 10: Why World-Building Gives Brands An Unfair Advantage
A practical guide to making your brand magnetic.
Welcome to The Content Dump, our weekly round-up of the brands, campaigns and content we’ve been loving this week. Every Sunday, we’ll be curating the content moments you need to know about — ready to inspire you to create some magic in the week ahead.
This week, we’re spotlighting the brands setting the bar for world-building in their marketing. In crowded markets, competing on price alone is a race to the bottom. Instead, savvy founders are making their brands memorable and magnetic by creating content, merch and immersive experiences that show taste, set a tone and cultivate a community that consumers want to be a part of.
Okay, there’s plenty to cover, so let’s dive in. ✨
🎧 Press Play
⭐ Gemma Dimond in conversation with Sophia Marcoux (Founder of Ficifolia Fragrances)
We listen to a lot of podcasts at Starr Studio. So, we’ve decided to bring our latest recs out of our Slack channel and into our Substack with a new segment called Press Play. Each week, we’ll be spotlighting a show or episode we’ve been loving about business, brand building, founder mindset or anything in between.
To kick things off, we’re featuring the latest episode of the Glow Journal podcast, hosted by beauty writer, MC and one of our favourite creators to follow on TikTok, Gemma Diamond.
In episode 142, Gemma sits down with Sophie from Ficifolia Fragrances. It’s the kind of conversation we love: a deep dive into how to convert customers with tactical offers as an e-commerce brand, the importance of “creating a world people want to return to,” and even a juicy chat about the natural vs. synthetic debate in fragrance.
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🔍 Founder Spotlight
⭐ Remy Tucker (founder of On The House) is making period products free via ads
Access to sanitary products isn’t a “nice-to-have” — it’s a necessity for all women. But according to The Period Gap Index 2025, an alarming 3 in 5 women in 2025 are using makeshift pads.
Remy Tucker (founder of On The House) is on a mission to change that. Her company is offering a revolutionary marketing channel that uses sanitary product packaging as a new type of advertising medium. Brands pay to advertise on each pack, and consumers in need receive free period products in return.
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We love seeing female-founded, purpose-driven organisations working to solve big social problems and work towards ambitious goals (like ending period poverty in Australia). Bravo, Remy and team!
🫶🏻 Who To Follow
⭐ Worktones sets an A+ example of world-building on social media
Who knew aprons and work uniforms could be so cool?
Worktones is redefining what hospitality wares look like, with a design studio creating apparel worn by hospo legends in your favourite venues across Australia (think Hector’s Deli, The StandardX and Coffee Supreme).
But what we’re really here to talk about is the brand’s Instagram presence. Rather than focusing solely on what they do (creating and designing bespoke uniforms), Worktones uses their organic social presence to deliver curated local suburb guides, spotlighting the best places to eat and drink across Sydney, Melbourne and beyond.
Their Worktones World content series is one of our favourites, delivering a monthly wrap-up of venues to visit, cookbooks to purchase and new openings to add to your radar. It’s editorial, branded and save-worthy — the perfect example of world-building in action.
🫶🏻 Content, Ads and Campaigns We’re Crushing
⭐ Glossier’s genius PR drop allows you to ‘see’ the world through their fragrances
How do you sell fragrance as an e-commerce brand? Glossier are giving us a perfect playbook to follow.
To align with the brand’s launch of two body spritzes, the Glossier team put together an EPIC immersive PR drop to bring recipients into the world of each scent.
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Rather than settling for visuals and copywriting to do the talking, each PR box was packed with a retro viewfinder to allow consumers to ‘see’ and experience the world of each fragrance (Orange Blossom Neroli’s instant vacation or Sandstone’s aromatic retreat).
Plus, they even ran a giveaway on their social channels to give real shoppers and brand lovers a chance to experience this PR drop, too. This approach instantly transformed a new product release into an unforgettable, sensory experience that resonated with both new and existing customers alike.
⭐ Hinge’s ‘No Ordinary Love’ campaign shows brands how to win Gen Z through Substack
Think newsletters and Substack content aren’t worth your time? Think again.
The global dating app Hinge has recently launched the second installement of its ‘No Ordinary Love’ campaign, this time publishing real love stories as weekly Substack drops.
(We love that they’ve teamed up with a stack of incredible contemporary writers to bring this to life, with author Roxane Gay brought back to introduce and launch the series).
Campaigns like this are a long-term play. But they have an important role in tastemaking and capturing untapped audience segments who might not be converted by traditional bottom-of-the-funnel advertising.
This brand-led campaign makes a subtle nod to what Hinge does best (encouraging daters to embrace new, meaningful connections) without making themselves the focus of the content. Perhaps a Substack or editorial newsletter could be a top-of-funnel tactic to add to your strategy, too?
⭐ Being Haircare’s latest activation shows how to deliver personalised experiences IRL
Being Haircare’s entire brand is built on this insight: 79% find it difficult to find a haircare product that works best for their hair type.
So, they designed a huge range of haircare products tailored to different hair types and needs. And they’re using that same insight to inform their IRL activations, like a recent pop-up at Bluewater Shopping Centre in the UK to celebrate their exclusive launch into Superdrug.
Not only did attendees score a bespoke consultation with a haircare expert, but they walked away with a new swag of products, personalised to their exact haircare needs.
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The takeaway? Look for ways to unify your brand positioning and USPs across every touchpoint you have with consumers, from social posts to in-person events like this.
And that’s a wrap! See you next Sunday for another dose of all things content. ✨