10 Common Branding Misconceptions (and what they actually mean)
Most people think they “get” branding because they see logos, ads and social posts all day. Last week I had to present a 10 minute talk to my weekly business group. So I decided to educate the group about the common misconceptions of branding. Let’s unpack some of the biggest myths.
1. “Branding is just a logo”
The myth:
“If we have a nice logo, we’re branded.”
The reality:
A logo is just one expression of your brand. Branding is the total experience people have with your business – visual identity, tone of voice, service, culture, and how they feel after interacting with you.
You can have a beautiful logo and still have a weak brand if:
Your messaging is unclear
Your customer experience is inconsistent
Your team all describe the business differently
What to do instead:
Start with brand foundations (purpose, positioning, audience, values, personality) and let the logo and visuals flow from that strategy.
2. “Branding is only for big companies”
The myth:
“Branding is for Nike and Apple, not local businesses like ours.”
The reality:
Every business has a brand, whether you work on it or not. Small businesses actually feel the impact more because:
Word-of-mouth matters
Local reputation moves fast
Being memorable is the difference between getting recommended or forgotten
What to do instead:
Treat branding as a tool to make it easier for people to recognise, remember and refer you – especially in your local or niche market.
3. “Branding is about making things look pretty”
The myth:
“It’s just colours, fonts and making things look nice.”
The reality:
Good branding is a business tool, not decoration. It should:
Support your positioning (premium, value, specialist, etc.)
Attract the right customers (and gently repel the wrong ones)
Make it easier for people to understand what you do and why it matters
What to do instead:
Judge design work by how well it solves the business’ problems – not just whether you “like” the colours.
4. “Our customers only care about price, not brand”
The myth:
“In our industry, people just shop on price.”
The reality:
People default to price when everything looks and sounds the same. If every website, brochure and social page in your category feels identical, price is the only obvious way to compare.
A strong brand:
Adds perceived value
Builds trust and familiarity
Makes it easier for customers to justify paying more
What to do instead:
Clarify what makes you different and communicate it consistently. Branding is how you earn the right not to be the cheapest.
5. “A rebrand will fix everything”
The myth:
“If we change our logo/name/colours, people will magically think differently about us.”
The reality:
A rebrand amplifies what already exists. If your service is slow or communication is messy, a new look just draws more people into a disappointing experience.
What to do instead:
Align rebrand work with internal change:
Improve systems and service
Clarify offers and processes
Then update how everything looks and sounds
New visuals + same old behaviour = expensive costume.
6. “Branding is a one-off project”
The myth:
“We did our branding years ago – it’s done.”
The reality:
Brands are living things. Your market, competitors, products and customers evolve. If your brand never moves, it slowly becomes out of date or inconsistent.
What to do instead:
Keep the core strategy stable, but review:
Key messages
Visual execution
Priority touchpoints
at least once a year to make sure the brand still matches the business. Book an audit.
7. “Consistency is boring”
The myth:
“If we always use the same logo, fonts and tone, people will get sick of it.”
The reality:
You see your brand every day. Your audience doesn’t. Consistency:
Builds recognition
Signals professionalism and reliability
Creates a familiar “feel” that people come to trust
Most businesses change things because they are bored, long before the market has even noticed.
What to do instead:
Keep the core elements consistent and introduce variety through content, campaigns, and storytelling – not by reinventing the brand every few months. Get some advice.
8. “Our brand is what we say it is”
The myth:
“Our tagline and mission statement define our brand.”
The reality:
Your brand is not what you say – it’s what people experience and say about you.
It’s shaped by:
How easy you are to deal with
How you respond when things go wrong
Whether you do what you say you’ll do
What to do instead:
Use brand values and promises as behavioural guidelines, not wallpaper. Ask regularly: “If a customer watched us for a week, would they believe what’s written on our website?”
9. “We need to appeal to everyone”
The myth:
“If we niche too much, we’ll lose business.”
The reality:
When you try to appeal to everyone, you end up sounding like no one in particular: vague, generic and forgettable. Strong brands are sharp:
Clear about who they are for
Comfortable with not being for everyone
What to do instead:
Define a primary audience and build your brand around their world – their language, frustrations and goals. You can still serve others, but your brand needs a clear centre of gravity.
10. “Branding is just marketing’s job”
The myth:
“Marketing looks after the brand.”
The reality:
Marketing communicates the brand – it doesn’t create it alone. Brand lives across:
Leadership (decisions, priorities)
Operations (how things are delivered)
HR (who you hire and reward)
Sales and customer service (how you treat people)
What to do instead:
Treat brand as a whole-business responsibility. Marketing can lead, but everyone needs to understand and uphold the brand.
Bringing it all together
Branding isn’t a logo, a colour palette or a one-off project. It’s the deliberate shaping of how people understand, experience and remember your business.
When you move past the myths and treat branding as a strategic tool, you get:
Clearer communication
More aligned teams
Better customers
And marketing that actually works harder for you
