A single domain model and a single application typically aren't isolated things, without anything around them. You need to think about the big picture as well. Strategic design is about that.
Eric Evans has said that if he were to rewrite the book, he would put the chapters on Strategic Design at the front of the book and not at the end because nobody reads that far but that part of the book is perhaps the most important.
I know, this is no reason for you to try out an alternative to database-driven design because strategic design isn't the opposite at all, it's not at the same level. No matter if you go for db-driven design or domain models, I think strategic design is very important and therefore it felt important to mention it as a reason to have a closer look at DDD.