• Table of Contents

  • No One Cares About Your Brand—Until You Make Them
  • Let’s Get One Thing Straight: Nobody Woke Up Thinking About Your Brand
  • Why Most Brands Are Forgettable (And How Not to Be)
  • Here’s what forgettable brands do:
  • Here’s what unforgettable brands do:
  • Brand Isn’t a Logo—It’s a Gut Feeling
  • The “Nobody Cares” Framework: How to Make Them Give a Damn
  • 1. Start With the Enemy
  • 2. Make a Promise That Matters
  • 3. Show, Don’t Tell
  • 4. Create Moments, Not Messages
  • 5. Be Consistently Unignorable
  • Case Study: Liquid Death—The Brand That Made Water Punk Rock
  • Truth Bomb:
  • Why CMOs Need to Think Like Showrunners, Not Salespeople
  • Stop Measuring Attention—Start Earning It
  • How to Make People Care: 5 Strategic Moves

No One Cares About Your Brand—Until You Make Them

No one cares about your brand—until you give them a damn good reason to. In a world drowning in logos, taglines, and empty promises, the only brands that matter are the ones that make people feel something. This article is a wake-up call for CMOs, founders, and marketing leaders who are still clinging to the idea that a clever campaign or a shiny rebrand will save them. It won’t. What will? Strategy, guts, and a relentless focus on what actually moves people.

Let’s Get One Thing Straight: Nobody Woke Up Thinking About Your Brand

Unless you’re Apple, Nike, or Beyoncé, your brand is not top of mind for anyone. Harsh? Maybe. True? Absolutely. The average consumer is bombarded with over 10,000 brand messages a day. Yours is just one more in the noise unless you do something radically different.

And no, slapping a new logo on your homepage or launching a “brand refresh” isn’t going to cut it. That’s like putting lipstick on a ghost—nobody sees it, and even if they did, they wouldn’t care.

Why Most Brands Are Forgettable (And How Not to Be)

Here’s the brutal truth: most brands are built backwards. They start with what they want to say instead of what people actually want to hear. They obsess over fonts and color palettes while ignoring the emotional triggers that drive real engagement.

Here’s what forgettable brands do:

• Lead with features, not feelings
• Talk about themselves more than their customers
• Use jargon that sounds smart but says nothing
• Try to be everything to everyone

Here’s what unforgettable brands do:

• Tap into a core human truth
• Stand for something bigger than their product
• Make people feel seen, heard, and understood
• Take risks that others won’t

Brand Isn’t a Logo—It’s a Gut Feeling

Let’s kill the myth once and for all: your brand is not your logo, your website, or your tagline. Your brand is the gut feeling people have when they think about you. It’s emotional, irrational, and deeply human.

That means your job as a marketer isn’t to “build a brand.” It’s to engineer a feeling. And that takes more than a style guide—it takes strategy, storytelling, and a deep understanding of what your audience actually cares about.

The “Nobody Cares” Framework: How to Make Them Give a Damn

Here’s a simple framework I use with clients who are stuck in the “nobody cares” zone. It’s not magic—it’s just marketing that actually works.

1. Start With the Enemy

Every great brand has a villain. It could be boredom (Red Bull), complexity (Apple), or mediocrity (Nike). Find yours and make it the enemy of your story.

2. Make a Promise That Matters

Not a product promise—a human one. What will your brand help people become? What pain will it remove? What dream will it fulfill?

3. Show, Don’t Tell

Don’t say you’re innovative—be innovative. Don’t say you care—prove it. Actions beat adjectives every time.

4. Create Moments, Not Messages

People don’t remember taglines. They remember how you made them feel. Design experiences that create emotional spikes—surprise, delight, even outrage.

5. Be Consistently Unignorable

Consistency doesn’t mean boring. It means showing up with the same energy, values, and voice across every touchpoint. Be the brand that people can’t scroll past.

Case Study: Liquid Death—The Brand That Made Water Punk Rock

Let’s talk about Liquid Death. It’s water. In a can. That’s it. But they’ve built a cult following by branding it like a heavy metal band. Their enemy? Plastic pollution and boring bottled water. Their promise? “Murder your thirst.”

They didn’t just sell water—they sold rebellion. And people bought it. Literally and figuratively.

Truth Bomb:

If your brand disappeared tomorrow, would anyone notice—or care?

Why CMOs Need to Think Like Showrunners, Not Salespeople

Today’s CMO isn’t just a marketer—they’re a showrunner. Your job is to create a narrative universe that people want to be part of. That means:

• Building characters (your team, your customers, your founder)
• Creating plotlines (product launches, campaigns, content)
• Delivering episodes (emails, ads, social posts) that keep people coming back

Think less “quarterly campaign” and more “season arc.” The brands that win are the ones that build worlds—not just websites.

Stop Measuring Attention—Start Earning It

Impressions are not impact. Reach is not relevance. If your brand is showing up in feeds but not in hearts, you’re wasting money.

Instead of asking “How many people saw this?” ask “How many people felt this?” That’s the metric that matters.

How to Make People Care: 5 Strategic Moves

• Own a POV: Stand for something.