Brand Is Not a Logo. It’s a Strategy.

Let’s settle this once and for all: Your brand is not your logo. It’s not your font, your color palette, or your shiny new website.

Those are visual assets—important, yes. But not enough. Because without a strategy behind them, they’re just decoration.

The Myth: "Branding is just a logo"

If I had a dollar for every founder who said, "We need branding—can you mock up a logo?" or "Let's change up the website" I’d have enough to fund a decent seed round.

This belief is especially common in early-stage startups. With limited time and resources, design becomes a checkbox. A shortcut. A “nice to have.”

But the truth is this: A logo without positioning is just a pretty placeholder.

And if you’re building a high-growth company, that’s not going to cut it.

So what is a brand?

A brand is how people perceive you—before you speak and after they walk away.

It’s the feeling you evoke. The problem you solve. The story you tell.

It’s the reason someone scrolls past a dozen competitors and chooses you.

Your brand includes:

• Positioning: Who you are, who you serve, and why you matter.

• Messaging: What you say and how you say it. (Clarity wins.)

• Promise: The outcome you deliver consistently.

• Personality: The tone, style, and emotional imprint of your brand.

• Visual Identity: Yes—this includes your logo. But only after everything else is defined.

You may be thinking, "But, Loren, you're a copywriter of course you think the message and position are important." That's true. But before I was a self-employed copywriter, I spent a decade overseeing marketing & communications teams including all parts -- creative (visual design), email marketing, social media, public relations, digital marketing (website copy + downloadable assets). While I was leading MarCom strategy, I never went to design until we had approved copy and strategy. Why? It just wastes everyone's time and when you are a startup--you don't have time to waste and redo.

And even today I work with some of the best designers and creative agencies. They almost always prefer that copy and strategy lead the way. Before they even start to design a site, sales sheet, or social graphic, they want to know the vision -- the strategy and message vision -- not the visual vision. Because it's always harder to design a mock up and get married to a template and then see copy changes or strategy changes that will not work.

How neglecting brand strategy hurts your growth

When startups treat branding as an afterthought, they usually:

• Burn ad spend without seeing results.

• Confuse potential customers.

• Attract the wrong audience.

• Waste time rewriting content every quarter because nothing sticks.

On the flip side, strong branding creates:

• Trust before the first sales call.

• Clarity that makes you easy to buy from.

• Consistency across marketing, sales, and product.

• Momentum that compounds over time.

  
  

In other words: Good branding does what no hack or growth tactic can. It scales your reputation.

How to build a brand

If you want a brand that grows with your business, start with strategy:

1. Define your difference: What makes you better and different in the market? Get specific.

   
   

2. Know your audience: Who are you really talking to? What keeps them up at night?

   
   

3. Craft your narrative: Tell a story people want to be part of. No buzzwords. Just truth and clarity.

   
   

4. Build visual assets last: Once your strategy is clear then you translate it into design.

Don’t DIY your brand identity

You wouldn’t build code before defining the product. Don’t launch marketing before defining your brand. Because a logo might turn heads—but a real brand? It turns customers into believers.