In the world of branding, there’s a common misconception that a company owns its brand. But the truth is, a brand doesn’t belong to the company, it belongs to the people who interact with it. Every customer, prospect, and stakeholder who engages with your brand carries a unique perception shaped by their experiences, expectations, and emotions. This reality has profound implications for how brands should be built, managed, and evolved.
The brand is in the eye of the beholder
Jeremy Bullmore, one of the greatest minds in advertising, once likened brands to “a myriad of different impressions stored inside the heads of customers.” He famously illustrated this idea with an example: ask people to define the brand “Spice Girls,” and you’ll get everything from “Posh Spice” to “a manufactured pop group” to “girl power.” Each response is true, because a brand is the sum of all perceptions, not just a singular definition.
Branding expert Marty Neumeier expands on this idea in The Brand Gap, stating, “A brand is not what you say it is. It’s what they say it is.” No matter how carefully crafted a brand’s guidelines are, its image ultimately lies in the hands of consumers. Perception is shaped by cultural context, personal experiences, peer opinions, and even the sequence in which someone encounters the brand.
Marketing visionary Seth Godin takes this concept further, arguing that “people do not buy goods and services. They buy relations, stories, and magic.” This highlights the emotional and experiential nature of branding. People don’t just purchase a product, they buy into a brand’s story, its values, and how it makes them feel. A brand that understands this builds deeper, more meaningful connections with its audience, while one that focuses solely on features and benefits risks becoming commoditised.
If perception is ultimately beyond a company’s full control, does that mean brand-building is futile? Quite the opposite. It means that successful brands must focus less on rigid definitions and more on cultivating authentic, positive relationships with their audience. Consistency, storytelling, and experience design become crucial tools in shaping perception.
No two people see your brand the same way
Even two customers with nearly identical demographics and behaviours will experience a brand differently. One might have discovered a brand through a heartfelt story shared by a friend, while another may have encountered it through a disappointing customer service interaction. These experiences shape their beliefs, and those beliefs ultimately define the brand, at least for them.
This phenomenon makes brand building both complex and fascinating. The same logo, tagline, and mission statement will mean different things to different people. As long as the brand resonates correctly with its intended demographic, that diversity in perception isn’t an issue. A golfer purchasing Nike equipment may perceive the brand differently than a runner buying athletic gear. The key is for the company to understand these distinct consumer segments, recognise their unique needs, and communicate effectively through the right channels. A company might position itself as a champion of innovation, but if customers experience slow service or outdated processes, their experience will override the intended messaging.
The most successful brands have a clear and confident understanding of their identity and values, allowing authenticity to shine through. It is this authenticity that fosters strong emotional connections, driving long-term loyalty. In contrast, weaker brands often struggle to recover from negative experiences. Building a meaningful connection between a brand and its customers requires more than just good intentions, it demands authenticity, strategic storytelling, consistency, and continuous effort.
The sequence of experiences matters
Not only do different people have different perceptions, but the order in which they experience a brand also plays a pivotal role. If the first encounter is positive, whether through excellent customer service, a seamless product experience, or a compelling piece of storytelling, it lays the foundation for a resilient relationship. This positive association can act as a buffer when inevitable missteps occur.
On the other hand, if the first touchpoint is negative, recovery becomes an uphill battle. Even subsequent positive experiences may not fully undo the initial damage. This is why brands must prioritise early-stage interactions and ensure that first impressions set the right tone.
Kevin Lane Keller, author of Strategic Brand Management, emphasises that brand resonance is built over time and depends on consistent, positive experiences. Brands must create deep emotional connections rather than just functional relationships with their customers.
The emotional power of great brands
Maya Angelou once said, “People will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.” This insight is at the heart of great branding. The most successful brands don’t just sell products; they make people feel something, whether it’s excitement, confidence, belonging, or pride.
Strong brands make people feel great about purchasing, using, owning, and being associated with them. Think of brands like Apple, Nike, or Mercedes, each evokes strong emotions in their customers. People don’t just buy an iPhone for its specs; they buy into the innovation and exclusivity that Apple represents. Nike’s “Just Do It” isn’t just a slogan; it’s an emotional call to push boundaries. Mercedes customers don’t just buy a car; they buy into the engineering excellence and luxury the brand embodies.
How brands can shape perception
While brands may not own their perception, they can influence it in several ways.
- Brand storytelling: Brands that craft compelling, authentic stories create deeper emotional engagement. Companies like Patagonia use their commitment to sustainability as a cornerstone of their brand identity, reinforcing their values through marketing, product design, and corporate responsibility.
- Community engagement:Strong brands involve their customers in meaningful ways. LEGO encourages its community of builders to contribute ideas for new sets, giving them a sense of ownership and connection to the brand.
- Consistency across touchpoints:The best brands ensure every customer interaction, from social media to in-store experiences, reinforces the same core message. Starbucks maintains a consistent atmosphere and customer experience globally, making it a familiar and comforting brand for individuals that choose it as their coffee outlet.
- Leveraging user-generated content:Brands like GoPro and Strava thrive on user-generated content, using real customer experiences to shape brand perception rather than dictating it from the top down.
The implications for strategic brand management
Recognising that your brand exists in the minds of your customers should fundamentally reshape how you approach brand strategy. Rather than viewing branding as a set of fixed assets, businesses must embrace a more dynamic, customer-centric approach. Here are four key takeaways for strategic brand management:
- Deeply understand your customers, and who they are not: Successful brands are built on a clear understanding of their audience. This means going beyond demographics to uncover motivations, behaviours, and emotional drivers. Equally important is understanding who your brand is not for. No brand can be everything to everyone, and attempting to appeal too broadly risks diluting authenticity. Instead, focus on what makes your brand unique, why that matters to your ideal customers, and how to communicate that meaningfully. Only with this clarity can you build a strong, lasting connection between your brand and your audience.
- Prioritise experience over just messaging: A brand is not defined by what it says, but by how customers feel when they engage with it. Every touchpoint, from website usability and packaging design to customer service interactions, shapes brand perception. Inconsistent, underwhelming, or disjointed experiences can undermine even the most well-crafted messaging. Brand strategy must extend beyond marketing communications to encompass experience design, ensuring that every interaction reinforces the desired brand perception.
- Embrace the fluidity of brand perception: Brand perception is not fixed; it evolves with every interaction, conversation, and cultural shift. No two customers will perceive your brand in exactly the same way, and that’s not a weakness, it’s an opportunity. Instead of trying to enforce rigid uniformity, focus on creating consistently positive and meaningful experiences that resonate with different segments of your audience. A strong brand is not about control, but about influence, shaping perception through authentic, value-driven interactions.
- Invest in first impressions: The early moments of engagement with your brand carry disproportionate weight in shaping long-term perceptions. A seamless, engaging, and strategically designed first impression builds trust, fosters emotional connection, and sets the tone for future interactions. A misstep, however, can be difficult to recover from. Whether it’s a website visit, a product trial, or a customer service call, ensuring that these first interactions align with your brand promise is critical to long-term success.
Conclusion
Strategic brand management is not just about messaging, it’s about experience, perception, and relationships. The strongest brands aren’t those that try to control every aspect of their identity, but those that actively shape and nurture customer experiences. By deeply understanding their audience, prioritising experience design, embracing brand fluidity, and investing in first impressions, businesses can build brands that are not only recognised but also inspire loyalty, advocacy, and lasting success.
How In The Mind helps build the bridge between brand and customer
At In the Mind, we understand that a brand is a living entity, shaped by the people who interact with it. The strongest brands don’t just broadcast a message; they create a dialogue, foster trust, and build emotional connections that stand the test of time.
We invest time to understand your business, your customers and your competitors so that everything that we create is based on the needs of your customer and how it should make them feel about your brand.
As Jeremy Bullmore once said, “People build brands as birds build nests, by bringing together scraps and pieces.” Every experience, interaction, and emotion contributes to what your brand means to the world. The question is: Are you giving your audience the right pieces to build something remarkable?
