Imagine an argument about whether Chester – yes, Chester of Cheetos fame – should be 2D or 3D. The debate raged in almost every corner of Frito-Lay headquarters at the time. There were strong opinions on both sides and an even more provocative discussion about the brand’s target audience. At the time, two of every three bags of Cheetos purchased were consumed by adults, not tweens and teens. So, the debate was fair, if inconvenient.

Struggling with disarray, my mentor at the time advised, “Stuart, when so many people disagree on tactics, it’s almost never due to any specific tactic. It’s a brand strategy issue.” His words never left my side.

Do you have a brand issue?

I have seen it everywhere, and perhaps you have also seen symptoms in your business.

Have endless A/B tests on advertising and all the creative horsepower behind it left you in a wake of marginal engagement or low and diminishing returns? Are you promoting more frequently or deeply season after season to stay competitive? Are your margins compressing? Is your market share flat?

You might also be having fanatical debates about color or font choices, campaign ideas, or product innovation pipeline and launch priorities, but as my mentor told me, these discussions are rarely about the tactical elements themselves. A brand is not a logo or a font or a color scheme. But what is it?

What is a brand?

Outside of the larger brand-driven companies, I have found that few fully understand or embrace brand strategy. Most business leaders have a limited, inconsistent, or shallow understanding of it and write it off as a mere tactical branding element. Definitions vary. “It’s my logo.” “It’s my product. The product is the brand.” “It’s our latest ad campaign. Have you seen it yet?” “That’s marketing’s job. Ask them. I just sell our stuff.”

Do we care about all these things? Yes. We do care. All are essential and important, especially product, in shaping the brand.

But are these strategic elements of the brand? No. No, they are not. Even if it is king, your product is not your brand.

Brand is the face of your business. A brand stands upon the competitive advantage of your company and the value that it consistently delivers to your ideal customer. Any competitor that attempts to steal your position will need an operation to support it, or the capital to build it and fast. Without it, all attempts will be superficial claims and fail.

Brand is a promise. Terra firma is where your uncommon advantage meets and relentlessly serves a customer, a product, or a service with rare, resonant value to them. This value is an enduring and uncommon promise with a deep moat around it. Volvo promises safety, for example, and every aspect of product design and service delivers on the core benefit of feeling safe and cared for as a customer. By contrast, BMW is renowned for its German engineering, luxury, and performance. The brand promises couldn’t be more different, despite serving a similar market.

Brand is how customers decide to perceive, think, and feel about your company, its promise, and offerings. Over time, the brand delivers its value and builds a unique meaning with your customers, not you. However, executives often struggle to distinguish between the two and understand that the brand is not intended to appeal to them.

Now that we’ve covered what a brand is, why should anyone in the C-suite care about it? We’ve already stated that the brand isn’t for them, it’s for the customer. In part two, we will address the “why” and give leaders multiple reasons to care about brand.

In part 2, we are going to explore why the C-suite should care about its brand at all. Stay tuned!