Author: Becca Cooper Leebove, CEO and Chief Brand Strategist, ShuBu Creative Group
Key Takeaways
Marketing channels change constantly, from print ads to SEO to social to influencers to AI.
Branding is the one piece of the marketing mix that never goes out of style.
A clear brand defines your mission, vision, values, brand promise, and what makes you different.
At ShuBu, we work on a client's brand before anything else, including PR.
You can't tell an impactful story until you know what your story is.
We've seen a lot of trends
Over my decades-long career in branding, marketing, and PR, including nearly eight years leading ShuBu Creative Group, I've delivered work for companies of every size and watched a lot of trends come and go.
Print advertising was once the center of every marketing plan. Then came digital marketing, then experiential marketing and brand activations. SEO became the thing everyone needed. Organic social media took over, followed by influencer content. Most of these strategies and tactics are needed in your marketing mix, but through the years there is always some buzz about the latest marketing must have. And now, in the age of AI, earned media and Public Relations (PR) is having its moment.
Each of these had its time, and many still have a place. But through every shift, one thing has never changed: branding is the core of your marketing mix.
What branding actually means
Branding is so much more than a logo or a color palette. It's knowing what makes your business unique and how your story resonates with a human audience. That includes:
Your mission: what you do and why it matters.
Your vision: where you're going.
Your values: what you stand for and how you show up.
Your brand promise: what people can count on when they work with you.
Your differentiators: what sets you apart from everyone else doing similar work.
When those pieces are clear, every marketing channel works better. When they're not, even the most cutting-edge tactics fall flat.
The human side isn't going anywhere
Technology will keep changing how we reach people. But I don't believe we'll ever let go of how a brand makes a human audience feel, or how a brand is perceived by others.
People still choose businesses they connect with. They still buy from brands they trust, and they still remember the stories that move them. AI can help create content faster than ever, but it can't decide what your brand stands for. That's still up to you.
Why we start with your brand, even for PR
At ShuBu Creative Group, branding is a requirement. No matter how much PR we do for a client, we make sure we understand their brand first, and that they do too.
Before we pitch a single journalist, we ask questions like:
Who are your target audiences?
What makes you different?
What makes up your culture and values?
Why do you do what you do?
What problem are you solving for people today?
Those answers shape everything that comes after: which outlets we pitch, which awards we pursue, which stories we tell, and how we tell them. Having clarity on your brand is a critical piece of telling an impactful, purposeful story. Without it, PR is just noise.
A clear brand is everything
Trends will keep coming. Some will stick, and some will fade. But a clear brand gives you a steady foundation, so you can try new channels and tactics without losing who you are.
That's why it's the first thing we work on, before anything else.
If your brand feels unclear, outdated, or hard to explain, that's the place to start. Book a 30-minute call with me and let's talk about getting your brand ready for whatever comes next.