Perception is reality.
We like to compartmentalize marketing into tidy, measurable boxes: ‘Performance. Brand. Promos. Social. Influencer. PR.’ The list goes on.
Separate buckets with well-defined KPIs.
But in reality, the lines are blurred. Consumers don’t differentiate performance ads v. brand ads. They don’t separate social content from bad press. To them, it's all just...the brand. And each message, decision and creative choice accumulates into something both powerful and elusive: 𝙥𝙚𝙧𝙘𝙚𝙥𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣.
And 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙩 is where a brand is truly defined.
Here's an exercise to play that out. Notice how your perception creates differences between two brands that offer nearly identical things:
- Target v. Walmart
- Adidas v. Nike
- Jeep v. BMW
- Chick-fil-A v. McDonald’s
- Apple v. Microsoft
- Starbucks v. Dunkin’
Your perception of the brand creates preference, choice and maybe even loyalty. A real-life example: No matter how strong the marketing is, it can’t compensate for unfair employee practices that leave half the country boycotting the company. The entire brand is diminished without consistency.
And here lies The Case for Good Strategy during a time when perception is 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘺𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨.
Professionally, I could point to our country's political climate and extreme polarization. Said bluntly—and I think the current state of the world allows for bluntness (and a well intentioned f-bomb)—it's a f*cking mess out here.
Our resources - our time, our loyalty, our money, our attention - have never been more sacred. Perceptions are fleeting. Loyalty is declining. Corporate miscalculations and missteps are not easily forgiven. A deep and dynamic understanding of your consumer is crucial. The stakes are too high for anything less.
𝗜𝗳 𝗯𝗿𝗮𝗻𝗱𝘀 𝗱𝗼𝗻’𝘁 𝗶𝗻𝘃𝗲𝘀𝘁 𝗶𝗻 𝘂𝗻𝗱𝗲𝗿𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗻𝗱𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗲𝘃𝗼𝗹𝘃𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗶𝗿 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝘀𝘂𝗺𝗲𝗿𝘀, 𝘄𝗵𝘆 𝘀𝗵𝗼𝘂𝗹𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝘆 𝗲𝘅𝗽𝗲𝗰𝘁 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝘀𝘂𝗺𝗲𝗿𝘀 𝘁𝗼 𝗶𝗻𝘃𝗲𝘀𝘁 𝗶𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗺?
Good strategy starts not with control, but with observation. We have to get out of the echo chamber of brands talking to themselves and observe how the brand already exists in culture.
Now is not the time to simply say more. It’s time to observe more, listen better, and 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘯 fine-tune your brand (across the entire experience).
Observe your brand on-shelf. Linger a bit and see who tosses it in their cart. Observe Reddit discussions. Observe reviews, even (especially) the bad ones. Observe where trust is earned or lost, where intention and action break down. Listen to why people use it. What difference it makes in their day. Observe their perception of it.
Perception can’t be controlled by spreadsheets, budgets, or marketing alone. If perception 𝙞𝙨 the brand, it can only be shaped, in real time, by how deeply you understand your people and how consistently every single decision reflects what they want or need.
