In the age of overnight launches, D2C playbooks, and performance dashboards that refresh every 10 minutes, most founders are tempted by the “speed to market” and treat brand strategy like ‘flossing’- they know they should do it, but who has the time when there is a launch party to plan and social media mockups to post? So they rather invest in hiring a designer, spinning up canva and slap some serif fonts – and they call it a brand.
The reality hits – fragmented messaging, inappropriate positioning, price focused growth, rising call to action, and a never ending cycle of rebranding, that might fix the presentation, not the substance.
SPEED TO MARKET: A MYTH
For decades, companies have been told that execution matters more than strategy. “Just get it out there,” they say. And so, many brands rush to launch — driven by fleeting trend windows, investor pressure, quarterly KPIs, and looming deadlines. Hence, strategy starts feeling like a luxury that brand’s can’t afford to spend time on.
SPOILER ALERT: 90% of startups fail not because of poor execution — but because they lack strategic clarity. They don’t understand the market landscape, have no sense of direction, and fail to articulate how their solution fits into an evolving world (Forbes, Adam, 2024).
Ever heard of Quibi? Of course not.
The $1.75 billion disaster of a mobile video app who tried to rival Netflix with a vague promise of “snackable content” and star-studded funding. It had a flashy launch, but no clear audience, no differentiated value, and no reason to exist in a world already full of streaming options (Horton, 2020).
Spoiler: people do like snacks — they just didn’t like Quibi.
What Quibi lacked wasn’t money or momentum. It lacked meaning & concrete value offering.
Brands often skip the deep foundational work — defining their purpose, understanding their customer, or assessing whether their solution actually matters in a shifting cultural and technological context. In today’s competitive environment, strategy is no longer optional. It’s the survival kit. When you skip strategy, you end up building fast — in the wrong direction. Execution might get you on the playing field — but strategy tells you which game you’re playing, and how to win.
PERFORMACE MYOPIA
Many companies remain blinded by the belief that brand awareness is everything. Sure, we get it—ROAS is king. But if your entire brand strategy is “whatever ad gets the most clicks,” then congratulations: you’ve just outsourced your brand to an algorithm.
Your logo might look premium, your typeface may whisper elegance—but none of it will save you if your positioning sounds as banal as a meditation app. In the relentless chase for short-term gains, sales spikes, and viral traction, too many companies overlook the need for strategic clarity.
In the relentless chase for short-term gains, sales spikes, and viral traction, too many companies overlook the need for strategic clarity.
The result? A brand that’s reactive, not resilient—one that struggles to keep up with evolving customer expectations, technological shifts, and a rapidly changing competitive landscape —ultimately leaving themselves exposed to stagnation or decline..
History has no shortage of cautionary tales. Remember BlackBerry? No, not your favourite fruit—though its downfall was equally mushy.
Once a market leader in mobile phones, BlackBerry’s deep attachment to its iconic keyboard became its Achilles’ heel. As customer preferences shifted and touchscreen smartphones emerged, BlackBerry stayed stubborn. The world moved on; BlackBerry didn’t (Baig, 2024).
RIP Blackberry: From market domination to existential crisis
Remember the post-COVID skincare boom? Every new brand popped up looking like they were copy-pasted from the same Pinterest board—sans-serif fonts, millennial pink, and buzzwords like “ritual,” “clean,” and “glow.”
SPOILER ALERT: They all melted into one indistinguishable, glossy blob.
What went wrong? Most of these brands prioritized aesthetic over strategic depth. In their rush for Instagrammable shelf appeal and viral traction, they skipped the most crucial step: defining a clear, differentiated brand strategy. Ironically, in their pursuit of “clean beauty,” they failed to do the deep cleaning required to understand their audience, their purpose, or their position in a saturated market.
Meanwhile, brands like Glossier didn’t just survive—they thrived. Not because of fonts or filters, but because they knew exactly who they were talking to, what made them different, and how to stay consistent. Strategic clarity wasn’t an afterthought—it was the foundation.
SOME FOUNDERS GET HIGH ON THEIR OWN SUPPLY
Founder’s love their products, as they should. Passion is the fuel, that drives long hours and relentless iterations that leads to breakthrough innovations.
SPOILER ALERT: Just because you’re in love with your idea doesn’t mean anyone else is. Loving your baby doesn’t mean the world sees a genius — sometimes, they just see a baby…
This is where we need to introduce strategy, to convert your excitement into their urgency. Without a strategy, the company talks to itself, not its market.
Many founders skip the hard questions: Is there a real market need? Do people actually care? Instead, they confuse aesthetic with identity, story with slogans, and Instagram polish with purpose. They design for themselves, not for their customers.
Like most, when you start designing for yourself, not your customer, build for approval from your own echo chamber instead of your audience, before you know it, your company is just… talking to itself!!!! The founder’s are not wrong, it’s just that the founders need to fall more in love with customer’s and their problems.
The Case of Pepsi
Crystal clear kiss of death
Pitched to become a billion dollar idea turned into a colossal flop!!!! Driven by the need to go big (ego passion project of Novak) and based on multiple assumption like clear suggest its healthier, people cared about the looks of their cola rather than the flavour ( Penner,2022), people are ready for the change etc. clear Pepsi hit the market. After a year and millions spent on the marketing, it was discontinued (Neill, 2020). Everybody tried it, but nobody retried it and it turned into a crystal clear kiss of death!!! A passion project gone wrong….
WHAT CAN YOU DO INSTEAD
Skipping strategy is like skipping architecture because you’re excited about interiors. You can decorate forever—but the walls still won’t hold. The companies that endure are the ones that slow down just enough to decide who they are, why they matter, and how they’ll win—then accelerate with conviction
REFRENCES
- Penner, J. (2022) Founder motivations: The light and the Shadow, Medium. Available at: https://medium.com/the-soul-of-startups/founder-motivations-the-light-and-theshadow-4d2355cc05a7 (Accessed: 28 August 2025).
- O’Neill, N. (2020) How Crystal Pepsi became the Soda World’s greatest fail, Thrillist. Available at: https://www.thrillist.com/drink/nation/what-is-crystal-pepsi (Accessed: 28 August 2025).
- Baig, A. (2021a) Overcoming strategic myopia: How business excellence can drive sustainable success, Best Practice Improvement Resource | BPIR.com. Available at: https://www.bpir.com/overcoming-strategic-myopia-how-business-excellence-candrive-sustainable-success/ (Accessed: 28 August 2025).
- Adam, A. (2024) 90% of startups fail-how to secure your place in the 10%, Forbes. Available at: https://www.forbes.com/councils/forbescoachescouncil/2024/09/10/90-of-startups-fail-how-to-secure-your-place-in-the-10/ (Accessed: 28 August 2025).
- Horton, A. (2020) The fall of Quibi: How did a starry $1.75bn netflix rival Crash so fast?, The Guardian. Available at: https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2020/jun/28/quibi-netflix-jeffrey-katzenberg-crash (Accessed: 28 August 2025).
- David Aaker, Building Strong Brands (1996)
- Byron Sharp, How Brands Grow (2010)
- Simon Sinek, Start With Why (2009)
- Richard Rumelt, Good Strategy/Bad Strategy (2011)
- Philip Kotler & Kevin Lane Keller, Marketing Management (various editions)
- Youngme Moon, Different (2010)
- Interbrand, Top 100 Brands 2024 Report
