The 3 Biggest Lies Branding Studios Tell (And Yes, I Believed Them Too)

Where Branding Actually Falls Apart

Branding rarely fails because of fonts, colors, or strategy decks. It fails in boardrooms where three executives argue about Pantone shades, someone’s nephew “knows design,” and half the leadership team confuses personal taste with brand identity. And studios terrified of losing the pitch nod politely while their soul evaporates.

I know this because… I’ve nodded. Many times.

Branding breaks when studios lie, and leaders confuse ego with expertise.

“The know-how, Chico, it never lies. But performative studios do…with a smile.”

Lie 1: “We will create your brand’s essence.”

This one’s poetic, mystical, and beautifully useless. Studios love pretending they’ll discover your “true essence” through a ritual involving sticky notes and pseudo-psychology (“blue feels more trustworthy”).

Meanwhile, leadership wants an essence that makes them sound like the heroes of a Marvel movie:

“We’re innovative, premium, disruptive, family-oriented, customer-obsessed, timeless, modern, and also minimal.”

Sure. And I’m Spider-Man.

I used to sell this lie too (in my 20s) — until I realized I was basically writing astrology for businesses.

Trying to be everything for everyone makes the brand essence vanish.

What performative studio says and does:

• “We will define who you are.”

• Drops a massive strategy deck with enough buzzwords to power a small village.

• Creates a fictional identity that looks great but feels fake the moment real customers show up.

• Lets executives dictate colors because “blue feels more trustworthy.”

• Avoids conflict by agreeing to everything.

What truth-driven studio says and does:

• “Your essence already exists. We just stop you from lying to yourself.”

• Observes behavior, culture, and customer reality.

• Cuts through internal politics and ego-driven preferences.

• Protects the brand from bad taste and emotional decisions.

• Builds identity based on truth, not imagination.

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A good studio doesn’t invent your identity — it shapes what already exists into something clear and powerful.

Lie 2: “We understand your audience better than you do.”

I used to fall for this one too.

I’d invent personas like “Lara, 31, drinks matcha, loves minimalism, does yoga at 6 AM.” And then I’d meet the actual customers and realize they were nothing like Lara.

Meanwhile, dysfunctional leadership will tell you: “Our customers love bold colors.”

“NO, our customers want something premium and subtle.”

Nobody actually knows, but everyone thinks they do.

The trap of creating fictional, one-dimensional target audience.

What performative studio says and does:

• “We deeply understand your audience.”

• Invents cartoonish personas.

• Makes decisions based on trends or personal preference.

• Confuses founder ego with customer insight.

• Produces branding for imaginary people.

What truth-driven studio says and does:

• “You know your audience. We help you see possible blind spots.”

• Combines founder intuition with real research.

• Challenges false assumptions (yes, even the CEO’s).

• Studies behaviors, not demographics.

• Designs for real humans, not committee fantasies.

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A good studio doesn’t claim psychic abilities — it uncovers reality with the client, not against them.

Lie 3: “Branding will transform your business.”

This is the industry’s favorite lie because it sells hope.

“Your new identity will make people stay longer, buy more, trust more, love more!”

Leadership loves it too because it’s easier than fixing culture, product, or operations.

And yes, I’ve also believed this lie early in my career.

Branding as a bandage on a wound that never healed. metaphoric, yet familiar.

What performative studio says and does:

• “This brand will change everything.”

• Avoids addressing the real business problems.

• Worships aesthetics over function.

• Creates a gorgeous brand that dies the moment real execution begins.

• Lets leadership think identity is therapy.

What truth-driven studio says and does:

• “Branding amplifies what’s already there. If the foundation is broken, amplification makes it worse.”

• Grounds identity in business reality.

• Doesn’t promise miracles, promises clarity.

• Aligns brand, product, and team capability.

• Helps leadership face uncomfortable truths.

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Branding is not transformation. Branding is a megaphone.

If you whisper nonsense into it, it just gets louder.

Conclusion:

Branding Doesn’t Fail.

People Fail Branding.

Brands die at the intersection of ego, confusion, fear, politics, and the lies studios tell to keep clients happy. But the studios that refuse to lie, the ones that challenge, question, and occasionally offend, create brands that actually work.

VRLN Studio is where branding stops pretending.

We cut through ego, trends, and corporate delusion to build brands that are honest, sharp, and impossible to ignore.