(Or: how to make brand and performance stop ghosting each other)

In performance marketing, we track everything—CAC, ROAS, LTV, UGC ROI (and sometimes, TMI). But here’s some real talk: if you don’t have a brand, all that metric horsepower becomes worthless if it’s not supporting something bigger than itself.

And to be clear, a brand isn’t a tagline or a color palette. It’s an engine that builds trust, drops acquisition costs, and drives lifetime value. Brand doesn’t compete with performance—it supercharges it. No brand? You’re just renting attention at a huge markup.

So, what is a brand? It’s a simple, sticky promise—understood without a deck, remembered without a brief, and repeated by your audience without distortion. Brand isn’t a ’nice-to-have’—it’s a revenue driver. 

Now you know the stakes. So how do you develop your brand?

It starts with clear positioning — your brand’s position should be sharp enough to state in a sentence and strong enough to stand out in a crowded market. A well-staked brand position drives higher sales, smarter spend, and internal team alignment.

Look at Oatly. Its “Wow, No Cow” campaign doesn’t just challenge the dairy industry — it turns product positioning into a cultural statement. The minimalist packaging, cheeky voice, and campaign boldness make it instantly recognizable, repeatable, and resonant.

Next up is emotional resonance. Because, let’s be honest, no one buys on logic alone. Whether it’s joy, identity, awe, or aspiration, emotional content drives lead gen, loyalty, and LTV. And the best part? It’s measurable. A/B test the emotional tone, and you’ll see the difference where it matters.

Glossier works as a great example of this in the lower funnel. Emails and PDPs read like texts from your best friend. “How to Use” guides, “Get the Look” tutorials, and win-back emails that offer gifts instead of discounts create a warm, practical, emotionally sticky experience that converts without shouting.

Great brands also tell a consistent story across every touchpoint. From a TikTok to a retargeted carousel ad to your checkout flow, narrative cohesion matters. According to McKinsey & Co., top performers who align messaging across channels report up to 25% gains in EBITDA. That’s not brand theory — that’s bottom-line impact.

And then there’s cultural integration. The best brands don’t interrupt culture — they join it. They show up where their audience is, participate in what they care about, and stay fluent in the now. For well over a decade, design- and brand-led organizations have outperformed other S&P 500 companies by more than 200%. Coincidence? Doubt it.

Liquid Death is a masterclass in this. They’ve extended their brand into horror films, merch drops, and event partnerships that reflect their rebellious, punk-flavored identity. Whether it’s $6,000 casket coolers, Cold Plunge tubs, or NASCAR collabs, they’ve turned canned water into a full-blown lifestyle experience. This is how a brand becomes a community — and a community becomes an evergreen source of conversions.

Let’s talk voice and consistency. A recognizable brand personality builds trust over time. If you sound like five different agencies wrote your campaigns, customers notice — and not in a good way. Your voice should appear everywhere: in the same POV, tailored by channel but rooted in the same soul.

Finally, great brands are modular and adaptable. Campaigns end. Brand stories don’t. You scale without losing your soul and customers’ trust when you build modular brand assets and messaging that flex across personas, platforms, and moments.

TL;DR:
Strong brands aren’t fluff — they’re fuel.
They outperform. They convert. They compound.

+201% growth vs. S&P 500
+25% EBITDA with brand-performance alignment
Emotional resonance = measurable lifts in trust, loyalty, and lifetime value

If your brand isn’t working with your performance engine, it’s working against it.

TL;DR Part 2:
Not convinced? Don’t take my word for it — look at your shopping cart.
Why do you buy the same oat milk, sneakers, or streaming service every month when you’ve got 27 other options (many cheaper, faster, or more aggressively algorithmic)?
It’s not just the product.
It’s not just the price.
It’s the brand.
It’s the promise.
The feeling.
The reason is that you don’t have to think twice.

In a world where everything can be delivered to your door from anywhere on Earth, brand is the reason it’s the one in your cart.

If you liked this post, I just did a webinar with the Playbook Media team where I shared more tactical approaches and tools you can use to elevate your brand’s creative. Check it out here.