Why Brand is the “glue” your Product and Marketing actually need.
“We just need to grow fast, we’ll figure out Brand down the road.”
Sounds logical, until you realize every feature, every customer interaction, every ad is already shaping your brand, with or without your intervention.
When you’re building a company, speed feels like the only thing that matters. Brand can sound like a luxury, something you’ll tackle later, once the product is ready to go to market. But the thing is, every feature you ship, every customer interaction, every ad you run… it’s already shaping your brand, whether you’re intentional about it or not.
So the question isn’t should you deal with brand now, the question is: are you going to let it drift, or use it as the “glue” that keeps product and marketing moving in the same direction?
Brand isn’t a bottleneck
A lot of founders worry that brand work will slow things down. “We don’t have the insights yet.” “It’ll box us in.” “We’ll lose flexibility.”
But the opposite is true, without brand, every choice becomes a debate. Product says one thing, marketing says another, and suddenly the team is pulling in different directions. That’s where the real friction, and wasted time, comes in.
With brand, every choice has context, it doesn’t mean you’re locked in forever. It means you’ve got a direction, a starting point and a compass. Far from being a bottleneck, brand actually helps you move faster because you’re not reinventing the wheel with every decision.
How the “why” guides the “how”
Simon Sinek popularized “start with why,” and yes, it’s become a bit of a cliché, but it’s still the missing piece in most early-stage brand work. The goal isn’t to figure everything out or craft the perfect slogan, it’s about digging deep enough to move past surface-level answers and find a starting point that actually guides decisions.
When the question “Why do you exist?” is asked, the first answer is usually functional: “We want to help people manage their health.”
Not bad, but too generic to serve as a compass.
Ask why again: “Because the health system is broken.”
And again: “Because it wasn’t built for prevention, only treatment.”
One more time, why do you care: “Because we believe health is about daily empowerment, not just doctor visits.”
Now you’re at a belief that can actually guide decisions, how you design your product, how you write your copy, how you show up in every interaction.
When you do this exercise, the why becomes your compass. It shapes not just what you build, but how you build it. Not just what you market, but how you tell your story, and ultimately, people don’t just connect with products, they connect with stories and beliefs. That’s why starting with your why gives everything else meaning.
Brand, Marketing, and Product: The symbiosis
Unpopular opinion, but marketing isn’t just a sales engine, it’s more a revenue-driving extension of your brand.
Brand gives the why, the core identity, beliefs, and soul of your company. But it’s not about making every message, campaign, or visual identical (a mistake often teams fall into) well-defined why lets marketing experiment, product evolve, and culture adapt, all while staying anchored to the same guiding principle.
Marketing takes that why and turns it into action. It can try different angles, test new approaches, and experiment freely, all without losing consistency because the brand provides the framework. Campaigns remain coherent yet flexible, connecting with your audience, shaping perception, and still driving conversions.
Product brings the brand to life. Every feature, interaction, and design choice reflects the same underlying belief. When product aligns with brand and marketing, the experience feels smooth and authentic.
Think of it like this: product, marketing, sales, they’re all the peas, Brand is the pod. Without the pod, each pea rolls off wherever gravity takes it. With the pod, they’re aligned, contained, and moving as one.
Image from Designing Brand Identity by Alina Wheeler
Pepsi vs Coca-Cola. Brand vs short-term Marketing
Problem: Pepsi has historically leaned into marketing campaigns aimed at immediate attention, youth appeal, or promotions. Coca-Cola has leaned into consistent brand storytelling (“happiness,” heritage, shared experiences).
Impact: Coca-Cola’s consistent brand identity allowed campaigns to reinforce loyalty over decades, giving marketing a compounding effect. Pepsi often spent more on aggressive campaigns to gain short-term share because inconsistent brand positioning diluted long-term impact.
The pain of not aligning early
Misalignment between brand, marketing, and product often creates wasted time, confused teams, and inconsistent experiences.
Marketing moves fast + brand clarity not fully baked = campaigns feel inconsistent.
Product is evolving + brand messaging doesn’t match user experience = diluted perception.
Brand strategy is still forming + marketing and product teams want rules, but brand is fluid = tension builds.
The Cost of Misalignment
Confused team direction
Visual and messaging inconsistencies
Difficulty scaling brand or making design decisions
Lost confidence in the brand internally and externally
Framework / Action Steps
A simple framework for alignment:
Start with Brand: define your purpose, beliefs, and story. Dig beyond surface answers to uncover your true why.
Translate into Branding: make it tangible, look & feel, tone, and design elements like logo, color palette, typography, and visual systems.
Activate through Marketing: ensure campaigns, channels, and experiences reflect your why consistently.
Guide Product decisions: design features, interactions, and touchpoints that convey your brand promise.
