The 4 Biggest Brand Blockers- and how to break through!!
- RobFryer
- May 2
- 6 min read
When you hear the word branding, what comes to mind?
Most people think it’s about logos, fonts, and maybe a colour palette. But in truth, branding runs far deeper than aesthetics. It’s about creating connection, clarity, and direction — all of which can drive real, measurable business growth.
So why do so many businesses struggle to get it right?
In our recent live Branding OS session, we dug into the concept of brand blockers — the invisible barriers that prevent a business from developing a brand that’s fit for purpose and built to thrive.
Here are 4 of the biggest brand blockers we see time and time again — and how to move past them.
Blocker 1 – Lack of Clarity:
When your brand’s message is vague or complicated, you leave your audience confused — and confused customers don't buy.
If you're not clear on what your brand stands for, and why it truly matters. Then how do your audiences know that? So if you're confused about it, your customers definitely are going to be confused as well.
Some common symptoms that you may have a brand clarity problem are:
You have confused messaging across different channels
You may tend to overuse overcomplicated language and jargon
Your team may be telling contradictory brand stories depending on who’s speaking
You may be continually getting low conversion rates and lead quality
Internal team members can't explain what the brand truly stands for
Big Brand Example:
Airbnb used to describe itself as a "peer-to-peer home rental service". Accurate? Sure. Inspiring? Not quite. Their rebrand in 2014 repositioned them with the focus on ‘Belong Anywhere’ – It tapped into an emotion for adventure and belonging. Suddenly, they weren’t just a service. They were a movement.
How to break free:
Clarify Your Essence: Define the emotional “why” behind your brand.
Simplify Your Language: Be understood at a glance — cleverness loses to clarity.
Align Your Story: Everyone internally should tell the same compelling story.
Build Messaging Pillars: Establish 3–5 key ideas to anchor all communications.
"If you confuse, you lose. People don't buy the best product — they buy the clearest message." - Donald Miller
Blocker 2 – Inconsistent Visual Identity:
When your brand visuals are outdated or inconsistent, you lose trust and recognition.
As you grow and evolve, so, too, does your brand, and these days your brand has to appear in many different places and on many different platforms. If you don't keep track of it. All your brand visuals can then become outdated in some areas or inconsistent in others. For example, if you change your logo, make sure you're changing it everywhere. Don't leave an old one lying around somewhere.
Some common symptoms that you may have an identity problem are:
Different versions of logos across touchpoints
Uncoordinated typography, colours, imagery styles
Inconsistent tone and look on website vs marketing materials
Outdated design that doesn’t reflect who you are today
Poor brand recall and low customer loyalty
Big Brand Example:
Before 2012, Microsoft’s branding was all over the place. Their rebrand aligned product divisions under one consistent visual identity. It reflected clarity, unity, and progress. Suddenly, the brand felt sharper and more innovative.
How to break free:
Audit All Touchpoints: Catalogue where your brand appears and how it looks.
Refresh Visual Identity: Evolve your brand to match your purpose and audience.
Create Clear Brand Guidelines: Define logo use, fonts, colours, imagery.
Train Your Team: Ensure consistent application of visuals everywhere.
"Design is the silent ambassador of your brand." - Paul rand
Blocker 3 – Fear of standing out:
Many businesses play it too safe and dilute their message to appeal to everyone – and in doing so, resonate with no one.
There are many reasons why businesses are happy to just be another face in the crowd - "it feels safe treading a trodden path". "It's that path of least resistance". "Maybe if we just sit back and copy that big industry leader. Then perhaps we'd be just like them".
But the trouble is that when you start doing that you just become second best because the industry leader has already got the people and the eyeballs from your audience. They're already working with people you want to work and you are just going to be seen as the second best competitor out there.
Some common symptoms that you may have a fear of standing out or playing it too safe are:
Generic Language: Overused buzzwords ("innovative solutions," "trusted partner").
Me-Too Branding: Copying competitors' language and visuals.
Risk Aversion: Fear of alienating customers prevents originality.
No Distinct Personality: Brands that sound and look like everyone else.
Weak Emotional Bonds: No loyalty built beyond function. What's stopping customers going elsewhere?.
Big Brand Example:
In a saturated market like bottled water as an example, how do you stand out and be different. Every brand is fighting for attention with no focus on a specific audience need other than 'people who are thirsty'. They are all competing on price and the water purity - (and let's be honest, its's just the price we care about, water is water right?)
When Liquid Death entered the market it sent shock waves through it. The water was in a can so no more plastic waste - they had a cause and purpose to champion. Their branding and messaging was rebellious with a heavy metal theme, they had opened the market to those that proudly choose to drink water without looking boring.
Did it work? After their first year of appearing on the supermarket shelves in America their revenue was $3m. 5 years on in 2024 it is sold globally and valued at $333m.
How to break free:
Define Your Difference: Embrace what truly and authentically sets you apart.
Create Emotional Hooks: Move from function to feeling.
Be Bold and Original: Safe = invisible. Daring = unforgettable.
Stay Authentic: Boldness must align with your brand values.
"If you're not remarkable, you're invisible." — Seth Godin
Blocker 4 – Internal Misalignment:
If your internal teams aren't aligned around the brand, your customer experience becomes fragmented and confusing.
This is about teams putting in different brand directions. If they're not clear on the brand values, not clear on the mission or the vision of the business you'll soon find teams will start saying different things and they're telling customers different stories.
There's no unified vision driving strategy and all these things must be coming down from the top down. So it's all about making sure the leadership team are really clear on this as well, because if they buy into it, then they're going to filter it down across the organisation.
Some common symptoms that you may have some internal brand misalignment are:
Different Departments, Different Messages: No single brand voice.
Leadership Disconnect: Leaders pulling in opposite directions.
No Brand Training: Teams unaware of brand standards and story.
Low Team Engagement: Employees don't feel invested in the brand.
Change Resistance: Difficulty evolving the brand because of internal culture blocks.
Big Brand Example:
In the early 2000s, LEGO over-expanded into things like theme parks, clothing lines and video games and nearly went bankrupt. There was a Loss of focus from the core mission with disjointed product lines. Internal leadership disagreements about direction which was diluted by unrelated ventures.
Then LEGO refocused on its core — play & creativity — and aligned all teams under one clear, emotional brand purpose to “Inspire and develop the builders of tomorrow.”
Product lines were re-aligned with mission and the leadership and product teams were fully unified and bought into brand vision and this renewed focus drove a massive resurgence.
How to break free:
Run Internal Workshops: See our Prepare for the Storm Workshops Co-create understanding of brand vision and values.
Align Leadership First: Executive buy-in is critical for brand clarity and culture.
Create Brand Playbooks: Help every team member understand and use the brand consistently.
Celebrate Brand Champions: Recognise and reward internal alignment efforts.
"Culture eats strategy for breakfast." — Peter Drucker
In Conclusion:
If you’re serious about growing your business, you can’t afford to let brand blockers get in the way. The good news? Every barrier is also an opportunity — to clarify, connect, and create a brand that actually makes a difference.
At BrandStorm, we specialise in helping businesses harness the full power of their brand. Ready to see how we can help transform your brand into a powerful asset? See below:
FREE brand strength audit and score:
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About the author:
Rob Fryer heads up BrandStorm and has successfully helped 100s of businesses rebrand and flourish?
#BrandStrategy #Rebranding #EmployerBranding #MarketingROI #BrandEquity #PurposeDrivenBusiness #BrandExpansion
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