Adding transparency to your marketing toolkit

Hello,

I don’t know about you but I’ve got that Friday-feel-good-feeling!

Maybe it’s the sunshine; maybe it’s the promise of some R&R this weekend, but today I woke up feeling grateful. Monica and I have spent just under a decade building up Studio Almond, and looking around today I’m incredibly proud of what we have achieved. We have amazing clients, a beautiful space, and a fun, talented and hard-working team. Life is good.

But the journey to this point hasn’t been without its bumps in the road, and it won’t be all smooth sailing from here—I know you can all relate. So today I want to talk about the beauty of mistakes in business, and how—with the right approach—you can turn those mishaps into opportunities.

Here’s what I’ve got for you this afternoon:

Strategy
🛠️ Adding transparency to your marketing toolkit

Insight
🏃 Finding fortune in “failure”

🛠️ STRATEGY

Adding transparency to your marketing toolkit

We’ve all been there. You plan and you plan, and then in the blink of an eye, it all goes pear-shaped. Mistakes in business cost money, but they also teach you a lot. And sometimes, just sometimes, they work out for the better—particularly when you respond with honesty.

I was reading this Shopify article about an American health food brand called Elavi. During the production of a large batch of nut butter, they experienced a significant issue with their packaging. Rather than wearing the cost and throwing away $10K worth of perfectly good nut butter, they owned the mistake and turned it into a marketing opportunity.

With full transparency, they called the defective products “Oopsie Jars” and offered them to their customers at a discounted rate.

They made a month’s worth of sales in 1 week.

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again—people buy from people. While professionalism is important, human connection goes a long way. By taking a lighthearted but honest approach to a production mishap, they prevented a tonne of unnecessary food waste and offered their customers a great deal. Win-win!

When I read this, I was reminded of a similar campaign our client Kōkako Organic Coffee did a while back. Stuck with a bunch of branded coffee tins with defective lids, they chose to save the tins from landfill, offering them to customers at a ‘pay-what-you-feel’ price, with all proceeds going to a conservation partner.

The campaign showed a number of alternative uses for “the tin that won’t keep your coffee fresh”—some valid, some ridiculous—but it worked. Every one of the tins sold.

The lesson here? People respond to honesty. If you make a mistake, own it. Stay true to your company values, and if you can, find a creative solution to turn that mistake into an opportunity. It can be a great way to drum up some quality brand engagement.

🏃 INSIGHT

Finding fortune in “failure”

While often uncomfortable, “failure” has a way of shaping us in ways that success sometimes cannot. I’d like to share a moment from our journey at Studio Almond—a reflection on taking risks, facing setbacks, and finding value in the process.

We’ve developed the first Shopify no-code toolkit, Roadmap—a project that has been a significant investment for Monica and I. It’s just one example of the self-funded, bootstrapped approach we've taken throughout my 18 years of creating digital experiences. Each venture, including this one, has been driven by a simple aim: to build something meaningful, create sustainable revenue, and enjoy the freedom to pursue projects that inspire us.

Not all our earlier ventures are still around, but the lessons learned from them remain. Each one contributed in some way to the clarity and direction that shaped Roadmap. Over 12–18 months, we carefully worked through its concept and design, building on those past experiences.

Roadmap is doing well today, and the growth is accelerating. I can’t tell you what our next venture will be but the knowledge we’ve gained will prove invaluable, opening new doors and opportunities.

For me, the takeaway is this: it’s worth aiming high, knowing that even if things don’t go as planned, the experience gained may lead to something even better. There is always something to be gained from trying.

That’s all from me this week.

Thanks for reading!

Have a great weekend.

Alex Murton
Managing Director & Co-Founder
Studio Almond