When things get loud, your brand decides everything
Reader,
Your brand carries more weight than you think. It isn’t decoration. It’s the lynchpin.
When it’s doing its job, marketing has a backbone. When it isn’t, everything collapses into noise.
Here’s what I mean:
If you are anything like me, you wake up angry about what’s happening in this country. Not performative outrage. Real, lived-in anger. You want your business to say something because staying silent feels dishonest.
Your brand decides why you’re allowed to speak.
So when you post about ICE, it lands with authority. Your work, your proximity, your lived experience are already doing the credentialing. The message reads as earned conviction, not borrowed outrage.
Your brand decides how you speak when things get heated.
So your email doesn’t suddenly sound like a manifesto you downloaded at midnight. It still sounds like you: familiar, clear and sharp. The tone holds, even when the temperature rises.
Your brand decides who this message is actually for.
So when the comments roll in and a few Karens start clutching their pearls, you don’t flinch. You already knew this wasn’t designed to keep everyone comfortable. It was designed to be true.
Your brand carries your credibility into the moment.
That’s why you don’t over-explain. One clean line does the work. “I’ve spent 15 years working with small business owners harmed by broken systems.” Burn delivered. Receipts implied.
Your brand protects the experience people expect from you.
So even when you’re angry, your message still feels grounded, confident, and intentional. Not reactive or sloppy. And certainly not cosplay activism.
Your brand gives you a visual language to pull from.
So when you ask Canva’s AI to create your anti-Trump carousel, it still looks like your brand. Same signature, just with extra spice. People clock it instantly.
And your brand gives you permission to infuse your personality and be clever.
So instead of a poster that just says FUCK ICE, yours is on-brand: ICE belongs in cocktails, not on the streets; Shaken, not detained; or No ICE. I like my humanity NEAT.
This is what happens when your brand is doing its job. Marketing stops making decisions. It starts executing them.
The Brand Bar is open, and this is exactly the work it supports.
If you want your brand to hold steady when things get loud, this is your invitation.
Join The Brand Bar and lock in the $197/year founding rate.
Cheers,
Kristin
P.S. The Make Marketing Suck Less Summit kicks off today and it’s still free. If you want smart, practical ideas that don’t insult your intelligence, grab your spot and come hang out.
