Issue #3 | Selling Brand & Culture

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Why I Champion Brand and Culture

I know it's going to be a challenge. Some might think I'm mad.

But when you believe in something so deeply and see its profound impact on businesses, transforming them from within, it's a cause worth fighting for. Right? Right.

The brand and culture work I do wasn't just a career choice; it was the result of hours of self-reflection, analysing my skills and values. It led me to a place that complemented my abilities, experience, and passion.

Brand and culture matter to me because they represent the essence of what makes a business not just successful, but meaningful. They build environments where individuals feel valued, their contributions recognised, and where they can connect with a larger purpose. This inspires collective effort toward a common goal and creates a sense of belonging.

My journey into brand and culture is fuelled by the belief that businesses can and should be better—for their people, their communities, and their future. Moving beyond archaic, self-serving approaches, we need strategies that prioritise authentic relationships, transparency, and enduring value.

By cultivating strong brands and positive cultures, I aim to transform workplaces into thriving ecosystems where everyone wins, proving that business success and human fulfillment are deeply connected.

Having worked with businesses that neglected their very foundations, I often found myself playing part brand and marketing strategist, part company advisor. I’ve always been driven by the desire to help businesses create systems and spaces where people can thrive, where trust is the foundation, and every action aligns with a shared mission.

It's an interesting place to work from when you're asked to come up with a brand for a business that is fractured, disparate and siloed. It just didn't sit well with me. Now, that's all good and well - and I'm sure there are plenty of brand and culture strategist that have a similar passion. But is there demand for this type of work?

I was recently on The Watercooler BrandTalks hosted by Ash Rathod, Wes Henstock and Martin Zarlan, with guests Sean Masters and Marc Gutman, covering the topic of 'How to Sell Brand'. The big questions were posed 'how do you sell brand strategy?'; 'why is it so hard?'; 'do your customers even care?'. The discussion was interesting to say the least!

Why Brand and Culture Has a Branding Problem

Despite their immense value, brand and culture work struggles with a branding problem of its own.

Brand and culture are hard to sell to businesses because short-term gains often blind leaders to long-term benefits. These intangible assets are harder to quantify in terms of immediate financial return, so it's not surprising that leaders prioritise more tangible, short-term metrics like revenue and cost-reduction.

I mentioned the 'culture eye-roll' and 'brand shrug' in my last newsletter edition. Many business leaders see brand and culture as abstract, secondary to financial concerns, fluffy, nice-to-have elements rather than essential components of a successful strategy.

The misconception that brand and culture do not yield measurable short-term returns overlooks how these elements fuel business objectives - customer loyalty, employee engagement, sustainable growth, to name a few.

It's hard to help a business if they're operating within outdated systems and was of thinking. Those are the real adversaries here. The remnants of short-term gains prioritised over long-term vision, often to the detriment of employees and customers.

Short-termism, focused on benefiting those at the top, stifles innovation, erodes trust, and undermines sustainable success. One international company I worked with was so entrenched in a short-term mindset that it stagnated within three years.

It made me quickly realise that no amount of waving the 'Logic Flag' was going to combat emotional decisions, the need to appease shareholders, or lining the pockets of people much higher up the chain.

Elle McCarthy, Global VP Brand and GM Merchandising at Ford, wrote a great LinkedIn post about combating emotion with emotion.

The challenge in investing in brand and culture lies in reframing the conversation. How do we better highlight their strategic importance and tangible benefits? Does this need to be approached with logic, or does it require a more nuanced emotional and behavioural science perspective?

We could talk for days about the moral or ethical choice, but how do we demonstrate that this is a smart business decision that pays off. Real-world success stories, data, and impact on business objectives is helpful, though I can't shake the need for us to shift perceptions - because clearly this argument isn't working.

Brand and culture need to be central to business strategy, far beyond the abstract concepts many of us peddle.

Another Bump in the Road - The World In Paradox

The BrandTalk LinkedIn Live event coincided nicely with last weeks New Forest Business Partnership 'Power Hour' led by Matthew Lawson, highlighting the palpable sense of uncertainty businesses face. The shaky economic climate, looming general elections, and global conflicts only add to this. In other networking groups, a recurring theme is how to navigate these turbulent times.

I read a lot of stuff on LinkedIn (maybe too much), and one of the most striking realisations from what leaders are saying is the paradoxical nature of modern business.

We want to be connected yet have our freedom and autonomy. We want purpose and meaning, but we don't want work to define us. We're called to be both adaptable yet focused, resilient yet vulnerable, with a keen eye on the short-term without losing sight of long-term goals.

In such a context, I asked myself the question 'where does investing in brand and culture fit?'

As I outlined above, for many business owners, brand and culture seems like a luxury, a nice-to-have rather than a must-have, especially when immediate survival takes precedence. Yet, this very thinking might be what holds businesses back from thriving, not just surviving.

The Unseen Power of Brand and Culture

The other week I was talking with fellow Brand and Culture Strategist about the 'Suits and Cardigans', and this Business Age article by Sarah Beart and Toby Lindsay .

Brand and culture are often seen as the intangible, soft aspects of business strategy - difficult to quantify and easy to sideline. But in a context of uncertainty and relentless change, they unlock remarkable resilience and sustainable growth.

A strong brand can be a pillar of stability and guide decision-making. A cohesive culture can be the foundation of employee productivity, innovation, and loyalty. As businesses grow and teams become more complex, maintaining a solid culture and strong brand requires dedicated effort.

Successful business leaders create accountable, adaptable, and capable cultures, enabling teams to take massive action without micromanagement. A healthy business relies on an honest, skilled team that genuinely cares about the company's goals and mission.

Developing a strong culture of independence and alignment in your brand mission, vision, and values allows teams to operate autonomously, freeing leaders to focus on revenue-generating initiatives.

If you can achieve a high level of alignment, then you can afford high levels of autonomy. Everybody wins.

We're Not Just Future-Proofing

I've talked previously about the benefit of brand and culture in future-proofing your business, but this places the risks and threats far off in the distance.

The truth is, investment in brand and culture is not just about future-proofing but also fortifying the present. It creates a solid base-line, where businesses can adapt to rapid changes without losing their core identity.

So, what does this mean for businesses operating from a place of uncertainty? It means it’s time to rethink priorities. Instead of viewing brand and culture as secondary concerns, recognise them as strategic catalysts. They’re part and parcel, whether you give them credence or not.

How will you balance the paradoxes to define success in your business?

How will you build a strong brand that differentiates your business?

How are you using your brand to connect with audiences who will scrutinise every purchase decision?

How will you define and nurture a positive, robust culture that means the difference between disengagement and dedication, between turnover and tenacity?

This deep work might not offer immediate, quantifiable returns, but their long-term benefits are immeasurable. Perhaps begin with small, tangible steps - maybe a pilot project to revamp customer service to align more closely with your brand values, or a cultural audit to identify gaps and opportunities for improvement.

If you're looking for advise and support in this area, check out my brand, culture and strategy workshops.

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Ryan Grimshaw is the founder of Cest Pamplemousse, the brand consultancy for culture-first businesses for those who want to drive success, with everyone on the bus for the ride. Unite brand and culture to empower your people on the inside and build trust with customers on the outside ??

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