From Cornwall to the World: How Finisterre’s community marketing strategy built a global brand

Born from a surfer’s epiphany in the cold, gritty waters of Cornwall, Finisterre set out to challenge glossy surf tropes by building an ocean-first outdoor brand rooted in place and purpose. In this episode, Bronwen Foster-Butler, CMO of Finisterre, joins Eric to unpack how a niche, cold-water surf brand, can scale when you “create through community, not for it.” Drawing on her time at Lululemon’s turnaround (“one customer at a time”), Bronwen breaks down the challenger playbook: show up where communities already gather (from Kendal Mountain Festival to film circuits), treat stores and ambassadors as your listening engine, and protect top-of-funnel even when budgets are tight. The result is stronger acquisition and a higher customer lifetime value from purpose-led programming. Bronwen shows how place, purpose, and disciplined community become a profitable growth system, proving you can scale a challenger brand without sanding off what makes it special.