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A lot of founders and CXOs want great branding. Fewer of them want to lead it. The result? A perfectly decent logo, some templated messaging, a deck that ticks the boxes — and a brand no one connects with. It works, but it doesn’t stick.
The difference between a forgettable brand and a loved one isn’t budget, talent, or even strategy. It’s leadership. Not leadership by title — leadership by involvement.
Great brands are personal. And that makes them powerful.
Think about the brands you admire — the ones you follow, quote, or even tattoo. There’s a good chance they started with a founder who didn’t just approve branding, but built it into the business.
Steve Jobs didn’t hand over Apple’s identity to an external team. He obsessively crafted it into every corner — from typography to the tone of voice in packaging. Same with Ben Francis at Gymshark. Or Melanie Perkins at Canva. When the brand starts at the top, it shows up everywhere.
These aren’t leaders who just said, “Make it look nice.” They asked, “What do we mean to people?”
Brand direction isn't a deliverable. Its more of a responsibility.
Founders who think branding is something you “brief and forget” end up with brands that feel vague and replaceable. The ones who treat branding like culture — something you live, shape, and protect — create movements.
Here’s what that leadership looks like in practice:
- Showing up for brand workshops, not just launch meetings
- Making decisions based on long-term meaning, not short-term hype
- Championing the emotional connection, not just the visual assets
- Building consistency across touchpoints — even the small ones
A leader’s job isn’t to design the brand. It’s to protect its soul.
The brief gets better when the founder is in the room.
This isn’t about micromanagement. It’s about ownership. Branding partners don’t need you to write every headline. But they do need you to define what your brand will never say. That clarity doesn’t come from documents — it comes from dialogue.
At Grey Truffle, we’ve seen brand transformations accelerate when the founder is actively engaged. They move faster. They land harder. They feel more real. Because when leadership cares, everything else follows.
If your brand feels generic, misaligned, or forgettable — ask yourself this:
Have you really led the brand? Or just approved the assets?
The most iconic brands aren’t shaped by strategy decks alone. They’re shaped by leaders who care enough to stay close — not just at launch, but long after. That’s not creative direction. That’s brand leadership.
