Your Brand Isn't Your Logo—It's How You Make People Feel 🎯

[admin]

I see so many businesses obsessing over:

• The perfect shade of blue
• Expensive logo redesigns
• Professional photoshoots
• Fancy brand guidelines

While completely ignoring:

• How they actually communicate
• Their customer service experience
• Whether they keep promises
• Their actual reputation

HERE'S THE TRUTH:

Apple's brand isn't the apple logo. It's the feeling of premium simplicity, attention to detail, and thinking differently.

Nike's brand isn't the swoosh. It's the feeling of empowerment, pushing limits, and just doing it.

Tesla's brand isn't the T. It's the feeling of being part of the future, innovation, and disrupting status quo.

Patagonia's brand isn't their logo. It's authentic environmentalism, durability, and corporate responsibility.

YOUR BRAND IS:

✨ How you respond to customer emails ✨ Your product packaging and unboxing experience ✨ How you handle mistakes and complaints ✨ Your social media tone and personality ✨ Whether you deliver on promises ✨ How employees talk about working there ✨ The stories customers tell about you ✨ Whether you stand for something meaningful

A logo is just a symbol. It becomes meaningful only after you attach experiences and emotions to it.

THE REAL WORK OF BRANDING:

1. Define Your Values (And Actually Live Them)

• What do you stand for?
• What would you refuse to do even if profitable?
• What's non-negotiable about how you operate?

Example: Patagonia prioritizes environment over profit. They literally sued the President to protect public lands.

2. Be Consistent (In Everything)

• Same quality, same tone, every touchpoint
• Consistency builds trust
• Inconsistency destroys brand value faster than anything

Example: McDonald's tastes the same everywhere. You know exactly what you're getting.

3. Tell Stories (Not Features)

• Nobody cares about specifications
• They care about transformations
• What changed for your customers?

Example: Dollar Shave Club's launch video told a story ("Our blades are f***ing great"), went viral, sold for $1B.

4. Show Personality (Not Corporate Speak)

• Brands that sound like robots are forgettable
• Be human, be authentic
• Polarizing is better than boring

Example: Wendy's built a powerful brand with witty, savage Twitter responses. People LOVE or HATE it. Nobody's indifferent.

5. Deliver on Promises (Every Single Time)

• Your reputation IS your brand
• One bad experience outweighs ten good ones
• Under-promise, over-deliver

Example: Zappos built billion-dollar brand on exceptional customer service, not shoes.

EXAMPLES OF BRAND CONSISTENCY:

Mailchimp:

• Friendly, approachable, slightly quirky
• Every touchpoint reflects this personality
• UI, copy, mascot, support—all aligned
• Result: People LOVE their brand

Basecamp/37signals:

• Opinionated, contrarian, no-BS
• Consistent for 20+ years
• "It doesn't have to be crazy at work"
• Loyal following trusts them completely

Glossier:

• Minimalist, authentic, community-first
• Instagram-native brand
• Lives their brand in every detail
• Customers become brand evangelists

THE MISTAKES I SEE CONSTANTLY:

❌ Copying competitors' branding

• You become forgettable
• "Me too" positioning
• No differentiation

❌ Trying to appeal to everyone

• When you speak to everyone, you speak to no one
• Niche down, own something specific
• Better 1,000 raving fans than 100,000 indifferent followers

❌ Saying one thing, doing another

• "We care about sustainability" (ships in excessive plastic)
• Trust destroyed instantly
• Greenwashing, virtue signaling backfire

❌ Inconsistent messaging across channels

• Professional on LinkedIn, memes on Twitter, confusing website
• Choose personality and stick to it
• Every channel should feel like same brand

❌ Focusing on looking good vs. being good

• Substance over style
• Beautiful brand with terrible product = dead brand
• Great product with mediocre branding > opposite

BRAND POSITIONING EXERCISE:

Answer these questions:

1. Who are you FOR? (Be specific)

• Not "everyone aged 18-65"
• "Busy parents who value health but lack time"

2. What problem do you solve? (One specific problem)

• Not "we help with everything"
• "We eliminate decision fatigue for breakfast"

3. How are you different? (Unique approach)

• Not "we're high quality" (everyone says that)
• "We're radically transparent about costs and margins"

4. What do you stand for? (Your values)

• Not vague corporate speak
• Real positions you defend publicly

5. What's your personality? (Brand voice)

• If your brand was a person at a party, describe them
• Formal? Playful? Rebellious? Nurturing?

BRAND PERSONALITY FRAMEWORK:

Describe your brand as a person:

Appearance:

• How do they dress? (Formal suit? Jeans and hoodie? Vintage?)
• This informs visual identity

Communication:

• How do they talk? (Casual? Professional? Witty? Straightforward?)
• This informs copy and tone

Values:

• What do they care about deeply?
• What pisses them off?
• This informs positioning and messaging

Social Circle:

• Who are their friends? (Your target customers)
• Where do they **** out? (Your channels)
• What do they talk about? (Your content topics)

If you can't answer these clearly and consistently, your brand isn't defined yet.

BUILDING A BRAND ON A BUDGET:

You Don't Need: ❌ Expensive brand agency ($50k-500k) ❌ Celebrity endorsements ❌ Super Bowl ads ❌ Fancy office space

You DO Need: ✅ Crystal clear positioning ✅ Consistent visual identity (DIY is fine initially) ✅ Authentic voice and personality ✅ Exceptional customer experience ✅ Community engagement ✅ Patience (brands take years to build)

Free/Cheap Brand Tools:

• Canva (free/$13/mo) - Design templates, brand kit
• Coolors (free) - Color palette generator
• Google Fonts (free) - Professional typography
• Figma (free) - Design and prototyping
• Notion (free) - Brand guidelines documentation

MEASURING BRAND STRENGTH:

Quantitative:

• Brand awareness surveys
• Net Promoter Score (NPS)
• Search volume for brand name
• Direct traffic to website
• Social media mentions/sentiment
• Customer lifetime value

Qualitative:

• Do people recommend you unprompted?
• Can customers describe what you stand for?
• Do you command premium pricing?
• Are you the category leader in your niche?
• Do people wear your logo proudly?

CASE STUDIES:

Liquid Death (Canned Water):

• Positioned water as rebellious, punk rock
• Intentionally polarizing
• Built $700M valuation selling WATER
• Proof: Positioning > Product

Oatly (Oat Milk):

• Quirky, self-aware, weird packaging
• "It's like milk but made for humans"
• Took on dairy industry directly
• Differentiation through personality

Warby Parker (Eyewear):

• "Buy a pair, give a pair" social mission
• Transparent pricing breakdown
• Home try-on (innovation)
• Disrupted Luxottica monopoly

RESOURCES:

Books:

• "Building a StoryBrand" by Donald Miller - Framework for messaging
• "Positioning" by Al Ries & Jack Trout - Classic, timeless
• "The Brand Gap" by Marty Neumeier - Visual guide
• "Shoe Dog" by Phil Knight - Nike's brand story

Tools:

• Brand Deck Template (free on Canva)
• StoryBrand Brandscript (clarify messaging)
• Value Proposition Canvas (strategyzer.com)

YouTube:

• The Futur - Brand strategy, design
• Flux Academy - Branding process

QUESTIONS:

• What brands do you admire and WHY? (Beyond "cool logo")
• How would you describe YOUR brand personality in 3 words?
• What feeling do you want people to have after interacting with your brand?
• Are your actions consistent with your brand values?
• What brand promise do you make—and do you ALWAYS keep it?

Share your branding challenges and wins! 👇