REGISTER NOW: Uncomfortable Conversations: The Skills Crisis
REGISTER: 8THIRTYFOUR Skills Survival School Founding Cohort

5 Branding Myths That’ll Make You Want to Punch a Wall

Share This Post:

Stacks of stickers on a desk with an illustration overlay

Let’s bust some myths about branding that are driving us all to drink. Grab your coffee (or something stronger,) and let’s dive into this cesspool of misinformation.

Branding is just a pretty logo, right?

Wrong. If you think slapping a shiny new logo on your crappy product will magically fix everything, you’re in for a rude awakening. Branding is the whole package – your voice, your values, your messaging, and, yes, your visuals. It’s the DNA of your company, not just a fancy haircut.

Let's decide on our brand by committee!

Oh, fantastic idea! Let’s gather every Tom, Dick, and Karen from accounting to weigh in on our brand strategy. While we’re at it, why don’t we ask the janitor and that guy who delivers our lunch? Newsflash: Branding by committee is like designing a horse by committee – you end up with a camel. Pick your best minds, trust the experts, and for the love of God, make a decision.

Our brand needs to make everyone happy.

Sweetie, if you’re trying to please everyone, you’ll end up pleasing no one. Your brand should have backbone. Take a stand, ruffle some feathers, and polarize people. The right people will love you for it, and the rest? Who gives a flying f*ck.

Kim Bode speaks on the phone while holding a dog at her desk
Emma Writes about PR strategy on a whiteboard

We can DIY our branding to save money.

Sure, and we can perform brain surgery after watching a few YouTube tutorials. Branding isn’t a weekend project you tackle between Netflix binges. It requires strategy, expertise, and a deep understanding of your market. Cutting corners here is like buying discount parachutes – it might seem like a good idea until you’re plummeting towards the ground at terminal velocity.

Once we launch our brand, we're done!

Oh honey, if only it were that simple. Your brand isn’t a set-it-and-forget-it crock pot. It’s a living, breathing entity that needs constant attention and evolution. Markets change, trends shift, and if your brand doesn’t adapt, it’ll be as relevant as a floppy disk in no time.

Look, branding isn’t rocket science, but it’s not finger painting, either. It’s the foundation of your entire marketing strategy, the face you show the world and the personality that makes people give a damn about your company.

So stop treating it like an afterthought or a quick fix. Invest the time, money, and brainpower to do it right. Your brand is your battle cry in a noisy marketplace – make it count, or get ready to be ignored faster than a vegan at a BBQ joint.

Now, go forth and brand like you mean it. And if anyone tries to tell you branding is just about picking pretty colors, feel free to send them our way.

Responses

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Search

Recent Posts

Something on Your Mind?

If you ever need proof that personal brand matters...Kim got to see the @nasaartemis II launch in person as a direct result of her Big Deal Energyâ„¢. 

You need to work hard, show up authentically, and provide value. That was her message to a room full of students and young professionals at @western_michigan_pmi's theProject Collegiate Competition. 

The Big Deal Energyâ„¢ Workshop is on June 23. Register at the link in bio.
Employers think Gen Z is lazy, entitled, and will quit the second things get hard. That perception is keeping you out of the room before you ever get a chance to prove otherwise.

The good news is, you can flip the script, but it will take some serious work and a personal brand, or as Kim Bode refers to it: Big Deal Energyâ„¢.

Kim is speaking at theProjectâ„¢ Collegiate Event, hosted by the Project Management Institute Western Michigan Chapter on April 14. She'll cover how to build a personal brand that actually sounds like you (not ChatGPT) and how you can show your value through social, content and networking. 

Link in bio to learn more.
No one talks about how lonely it is to own a business. The tough decisions land on you, the business doesn't pause when you need a break, and nobody - not your employees or your spouse - really gets it. 

If you know a business owner, tell them they're doing a good job. It matters more than you know.
The growth stage is the hardest part of building a business. 

Kim was recently quoted in @corpmagazine on what she sees running the Women's Entrepreneurial Fellowship: women who have built something, survived the hardest part, and are still doing everything themselves. The natural tendency to be humble and attached to their work creates unique business challenges for women; they put up walls because they can't be vulnerable. 

Meanwhile, when a woman CEO needs growth capital, she compiles three years of tax returns before a bank will schedule a meeting, while her male competitor closes the same deal over drinks.

When women have access to the right resources, they grow and invest back. Full article at the link in bio.