Brand Confusion Starts at the Top - What CEOs Get Wrong About Branding
When a business leader says, “Our brand just isn’t working,” the first instinct is often to call in a designer, tweak the messaging, or plan a rebrand.
But in my experience, that’s usually treating the symptom, not the cause.
The real issue? Lack of clarity at the top.
Because brands, whether intentional or not, are a direct reflection of leadership. If there’s confusion up there, it echoes everywhere, in your team, your positioning, your customer experience, your marketing… and eventually, your results.
The most common branding problem isn’t visual — it’s strategic.
Too often, branding is seen as a cosmetic fix. Something to delegate when things feel stale or disconnected. A new logo, a fresh look, a more polished tone of voice.
But your brand isn’t failing because of how it looks.
It’s failing because it doesn’t mean anything.
And meaning, the kind that resonates with your team, your audience, and the culture you operate within, starts with you, the leader.
Here’s what happens when there’s no clarity at the top:
Your messaging changes with every campaign, chasing trends instead of driving truth.
Your team operates without alignment, unsure of what the brand actually stands for.
Your customers get mixed signals, and begin to lose trust or interest.
Your marketing spends go up, but your results stay flat, because you’re trying to push a brand that isn’t rooted in anything.
This isn’t a design problem. It’s a leadership disconnect.
What CEOs often get wrong about branding:
They treat it like a one-time event, rather than an ongoing business strategy.
They delegate it to the marketing team, instead of owning it as leaders.
They start with the visual identity, instead of the internal belief system.
They confuse awareness with alignment, and wonder why the brand doesn’t convert.
A brand isn’t built when you hire an agency.
It’s built the moment you decide what your business stands for, and lead from that place consistently.
So what should you do instead?
Start with belief. Start with purpose. Start with strategy.
Because when you’re clear on who you are and where you’re headed, your brand becomes more than a campaign. It becomes a culture.
Define your positioning. Align your team. Build your belief system from the inside out. Then, and only then, express it through your brand identity.
That’s the work we do.
That’s where the shift happens.
And that’s when the brand finally starts to work, because it’s no longer pretending. It’s leading.
If you're a leader feeling that internal pull to rethink your brand, don’t start with the visuals.
Start with you.
Because when you’re clear, everything else aligns.