• Table of Contents

  • Stop Chasing Virality: Build a Brand That Outlives the Algorithm
  • The Problem with Viral Marketing: It’s a Sugar High
  • Brand > Buzz: The Long Game That Actually Wins
  • The Anti-Viral Framework: How to Build a Brand That Sticks
  • 1. Define Your Brand DNA
  • 2. Nail Your Positioning
  • 3. Build a Content Engine, Not a Content Slot Machine
  • 4. Create Consistency Across Channels
  • 5. Measure What Matters
  • Case Study: Liquid Death’s Brand-First Strategy
  • Final Thought: Be the Brand, Not the Trend

Stop Chasing Virality: Build a Brand That Outlives the Algorithm

Let’s get one thing straight: if your marketing strategy is “go viral,” you might as well be playing roulette with your Q4 revenue. Sure, virality is sexy. It’s the marketing equivalent of a Vegas jackpot—flashing lights, champagne, and a brief moment where everyone thinks you’re a genius. But here’s the kicker: the house always wins, and the algorithm is the house.

So unless your business model is built on TikTok dances and trending audio clips (looking at you, Gen Z skincare brands), it’s time to stop chasing the dopamine hit of likes and start building a brand that actually lasts.

The Problem with Viral Marketing: It’s a Sugar High

Virality is like eating a dozen donuts for breakfast. Feels amazing for 10 minutes. Then you crash, question your life choices, and realize you’re still hungry for something real.

Here’s what happens when you go viral without a brand strategy:

• You get a spike in traffic, but no one remembers your name a week later.
• Your team scrambles to replicate the magic, but lightning doesn’t strike twice.
• Your CEO asks why revenue didn’t increase even though “we got 2 million views.”

Virality is a tactic, not a strategy. And if your entire marketing plan is built on tactics, you’re not a marketer—you’re a magician pulling rabbits out of hats and hoping no one notices the strings.

Brand > Buzz: The Long Game That Actually Wins

Let’s talk about the brands that don’t need to go viral to win. Think Patagonia, Apple, or even Mailchimp. These companies have built such strong brand equity that their customers would follow them into a burning building—or at least into a new product category.

Why? Because they’ve invested in:

• Clear positioning: They know who they are and who they’re for.
• Consistent messaging: Every touchpoint reinforces the brand story.
• Emotional connection: They make people feel something—loyalty, trust, even joy.

Here’s the truth bomb you didn’t know you needed:

“If your brand disappears tomorrow and no one notices, you didn’t have a brand—you had a content calendar.”

The Anti-Viral Framework: How to Build a Brand That Sticks

Ready to stop chasing trends and start building something that lasts longer than a TikTok trend cycle? Here’s your 5-step Anti-Viral Framework:

1. Define Your Brand DNA

What do you stand for? What do you stand against? If your brand were a person, would anyone want to sit next to them at a dinner party—or would they be the guy quoting Steve Jobs for the 12th time?

Use this simple formula:

• Mission: Why do you exist?
• Values: What do you believe in?
• Voice: How do you sound when you talk?

2. Nail Your Positioning

If you can’t explain what makes you different in one sentence, you’re not different—you’re just louder. Use the classic positioning statement:

“For [target audience], [brand] is the [category] that [unique benefit], because [reason to believe].”

Example: For overworked marketers, MarkCMO is the strategy site that delivers truth bombs and tactical gold, because we’ve been in the trenches—and we brought snacks.

3. Build a Content Engine, Not a Content Slot Machine

Stop pulling the lever and hoping for cherries. Build a content strategy that aligns with your brand pillars and speaks to your audience’s real problems. Not just what’s trending on LinkedIn this week.

Pro tip: Create content that’s so good your competitors send it to their team with the subject line “Why aren’t we doing this?”

4. Create Consistency Across Channels

Your brand should feel like the same person whether it’s on your website, your Instagram, or your customer support chat. If your tone shifts from “fun and friendly” on social to “corporate robot” in your emails, you’re confusing people—and confused people don’t buy.

5. Measure What Matters

Vanity metrics are called that for a reason—they make you feel good but don’t pay the bills. Focus on:

• Brand recall
• Customer lifetime value
• Organic search growth
• Direct traffic (aka people typing your name into Google like it’s 1999)

Because if people remember your brand without needing to be reminded by an algorithm, you’ve already won.

Case Study: Liquid Death’s Brand-First Strategy

Let’s talk about Liquid Death. Yes, the canned water company that looks like it should be selling IPA to metalheads. They didn’t go viral by accident—they built a brand so distinct, so unapologetically weird, that people couldn’t help but talk about it.

They didn’t just sell water. They sold rebellion. They sold identity. And they did it with a brand voice that could punch you in the face and still make you laugh.

Result? $130M in revenue in 2022. From water. In a can. With a skull on it.

Final Thought: Be the Brand, Not the Trend

Look, I get it. The temptation to chase virality is real. It’s fast