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Welcome to Cutting Through The Fog.
Each week I share the thinking and frameworks I’ve used (and learned the hard way) to help you build with more clarity, more momentum, and fewer avoidable mistakes.
This week it’s “How to Build a Brand”:
Most founders treat “brand” like a logo and a colour palette.
Brand is a promise.
And the product is the proof.
Brand and product are two sides of the same coin.
The brand makes a promise.
The product delivers on the promise.
Brands create margin.
And margin creates valuation, especially at exit.
Why build a brand?
Because it changes the economics of the business.
A strong brand allows “premiumisation”.
Premiumisation leads to higher margins.
Higher margins leads to higher valuation.
And on exit, it becomes intellectual property, not just a product line.
Take this as the simplest example:
Dell is a transaction.
Apple is an emotion.
That difference is where real profit lives.
Step 1: Start with consumer insight, not opinion
Brand building starts with one thing:
Who exactly are you for?
Here’s the consumer insight checklist that forces specificity:
Who is your target audience?
What problem are you solving for them?
Why will they care?
Where do they shop?
What do they read?
What do they do in their spare time?
What do they value?
Then the line most founders avoid:
Ask them. Go to them and simply ask them.
Do it through sampling, exhibitions, focus groups, conversations.
And test price elasticity early, because price is part of the brand promise.
If you want a sharper version of this in one question:
What is the one-line promise a sceptic would accept?
Remember, positioning is the foundation of your brand.
Step 2: Ride a real trend, don’t invent one
A trend is not a marketing angle.
It’s a change in consumer behaviour that keeps moving whether you exist or not.
Think: plant-based, protein, sustainability, health, convenience, world flavours, GLP-1.
The key is not naming trends.
It’s choosing the one your customer already cares about.
And then aligning your proposition to it without losing your identity (easier said than done but at least you know where to start).
Step 3: Build the brand pyramid (this is the work)
This framework stops your brand from being vague.
It forces decisions.
Brand Pyramid
Physical attributes: what is the product, and what is it not
Physical benefits: what does it do for the consumer
Emotional benefits: how does it make them feel
Personality: if the brand walked into a room, how would people describe it
Values: what does it stand for
Essence: 1 to 4 words that summarise everything
Most founders start at the top (essence).
The best founders earn the top by nailing the bottom.
You don’t get emotional benefit unless the functional benefit is real.
You don’t get trust unless the promise is consistently delivered.
Step 4: If you are in retail…
Brand in retail is a two-part job
This line should be printed and taped to every FMCG founder’s laptop:
Get your product on the shelf (sell to the retailer).
Get your product off the shelf (market to the consumer).
Founders obsess over the first.
Then they wonder why the listing doesn’t stick.
Retail buyers don’t just buy your product.
They buy your plan to create velocity.
Step 5: Build awareness with a proper mix
A good awareness mix can include:
On-pack communication, awards, price promotions, PR, NPD and innovation, in-store theatre, advertising, direct communications, event sponsorship.
The mistake is trying to do all of it.
The smarter move is sequencing it.
Start with what builds trust fastest for your customer.
Then add what scales.
Also: build consumer relationships through channels like brand ambassadors, influencers, PR, vouchers and flyers, social platforms, and newsletters.
The principle is simple:
If your brand doesn’t show up repeatedly in the life of the customer, it doesn’t exist.
Step 6: Credibility is a brand asset
Awards build credibility.
So do partnerships and sponsorships that put you inside a community.
And even a book can reinforce authority and trust if it fits the brand.
These are not “marketing extras”.
They are trust accelerators.
Step 7: Innovation keeps the brand alive
Brand is not static.
The point is not range for the sake of it.
The point is staying relevant while remaining recognisable.
Innovation should deepen the promise, not dilute it.
Step 8: Cost it properly (or it’s not a plan)
Brand building becomes real when it becomes an operating plan.
Timing.
Priorities.
And real numbers.
This is where founders separate themselves.
Anyone can write “PR, influencers, sampling”.
Very few can show what they will do, when they will do it, and what it costs.
Let’s say you forgot every single thing you just read on the above section.
It’s vital that you remember these 3 questions which are going to unavoidably lead you to the correct answers, and most likely back to the above points.
As long as you keep asking them over and over again.
If you want to build a brand, answer these three questions in writing:
What promise are you making?
What proof makes that promise believable?
Where will your customer encounter that proof repeatedly?
If you can’t answer those, you don’t have a brand yet.
You have a product and some design.
Final thought
Brand is not what you say.
It’s what the customer believes after experiencing what you have to offer.
So build it like a system:
Insight. Promise. Proof. Repeat.
That’s how brands become margin.
And margin becomes valuation.
